As I raced from my home in New Haven to the Manhattan bound Metro North train, enroute to Kosherfest 2006 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, I realized that I first needed a few groceries.

The nearby Stop & Shop in Woodbridge has a nice selection of fresh and frozen kosher foods, so I decided to surprise my children with an Eddies New York City frozen kosher pizza. At the checkout register, the clerk scanned the pie and looked incredulously at the price. $13.49 — that is very expensive, he said.

It is kosher pizza, I explained.

Oh! he said, understanding now.

So began my long road to Kosherfest 2006.

For Menachem Lubinsky, president and CEO of Lubicom Marketing Consulting, Diversified Business Communications, and the entire Kosherfest planning team, the road to the 18th annual kosher food and foodservice trade show begins long before the Nov. 14-15 show. Kosherfest brings together thousands of people involved in every aspect of the kosher food industry. It affords attendees from all around the world an opportunity to interact, explore and sample new products, and conduct business. And it also allows attendees an opportunity to explore new products upstairs at the International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show, and to visit booths at both Expo Comida Latina, the Latin food show, and the All Asia Food Show – taking place simultaneously at the Javits Center.

Developing a kosherfest strategy is key. Before arriving at Kosherfest, I had in hand my list of exhibitors and their booth locations. I had also received by email the list of award winners in each category. I would make a note of these locations and be sure to sample these products.

I began my day with the 80 page 2006 Official Show Directory and Buyers Guide. I searched for Connecticut businesses (none in attendance), circled booth numbers of vendors from unusual countries and states (Chile and Australia, Iowa and Montana), and glanced at the names of seminars that I would not have time to attend, including the keynote address State of the Kosher Industry: Whats Next in Kosher Retail Marketing, and a second educational session on The Evolution of Kosher Restaurants. I also noted the locations of booths of people I had previously arranged to meet. The big companies have PR and marketing people who contact journalists prior to the show to arrange meetings. I also noted the sign just past security (where bags and people are searched) that noted that Mincha would take place every half hour.

Kosherfest organizers also called attention to Morris Katz, billed as the world’s fastest painter, who created the largest OU certified

Kosher Soynut Butter & Jelly sandwich, 18 feet long, using 32 pounds of soynut butter, 32 pounds of jelly and 70 pounds of flour.

I started by sampling trans fat-free, chemical-free, real fruit Olivier Bouvai muffins from Montreal. This company offers frozen dough that bakeries and other kosher shops can defrost and bake. An interesting, tasty, new product.

A nearby booth was offering a similar product – Ostreichers All-NaturalChocolate Chip Cookie Dough – though the latter was also Kosher for Passover – and offered 18 ready to bake cookies instead of muffins.

Other nearby neighbors included Near East and Ossies Fish, offering samples of old favorites – rice pilaf, couscous and fish. I smiled but didnt stop to sample the product at the Kosher Heaven booth, offering the only glatt kosher cured beef jerky product on the market.

I quickly walked past booths from various trucking and marketing companies, and for ZEP skin and hand cream.

The friendly, well-dressed man at Classic Raphys Kosher Food encouraged me to stop by and sample his products.

Asher Ohana, the director of marketing and sales and son of founder Raphy, proudly told me how the company has been in business for only five months and already won the Kosherfest 2006 New Product Competition in the Best New Packaging/Design category for their stuffed cabbage. I tasted their delicious cabbage and sampled the absolutely delicious Temptation Kosher Pareve Soy Ice Cream at the booth nearby. I had never found a frozen vegan, pareve product so tasty – and in some of my favorite flavors, including mint chocolate chip, coffee and chocolate chip cookie dough.

It was time for my noon appointment at the Manischewitz booth with well-known cookbook author Susie Fishbein, today demonstrating recipes from her newest cookbook, Kosher By Design Short on Time. The friendly New Jersey mother of four continues to travel the country showing ways to cook simple, aesthetically-pleasing kosher meals. Fishbein is now working on a book designed for people who have cooked and eaten too many of the recipes in her previous books, titled Kosher By Design Lightens Up, which shows readers how to take off pounds!

Fishbein was working at the Manischewitz booth, and David Rossi, the Vice President of Marketing for R.A.B. Foods, was talking to customers and journalists about some of the exciting developments in the company.

We acquired Rokeach Foods, reported Rossi, who then showed me such new products as chocolate covered Tam Tam crackers, a new line of sparkling grape juices, and the Magic Max for Kids products. Parents should be on the lookout for such Magic Max Soups as Chicken & Stars, Chicken & Noodle Os and Chicken & Alef Bet to hit the shelves soon. I cant wait to cook with their new Hebrew Alef-Bet Macaroni.

Shabtai Gourmets owner, Cindy Fern Itzkowitx, and her Cinderella-claddaughter were proudly giving out samples of their Bell Ring Cake, voted Best New Passover Product, under their Cinderella Sweets Line. Shabtai Gourmet is a Jewish holiday bakery line specializing in gourmet, kosher for Passover cakes and cookies.

The Golds booth proudly displayed old and new products. According to Marc Gold, the fifth generation company, best known for its horseradish and borsht, was established in 1932. The company has evolved over the years, now carrying such products as duck sauce, salsa, a full-line of mustards, ketchups and barbecue sauces, and Hungarian cabbage.

Empire Kosher Poultry had several huge booths, proudly displaying their new and old products, which include deli meats, frozen foods, appetizers and hours doeuvres, etc. Elie Rosenfeld of Joseph Jacobs Advertising, proudly showed me the new hologram packaging soon to hit the stores, which, in light of the recent Monsey kosher poultry scandal, will guarantee kashrut of poultry.

While it is always a pleasure to see the older companies that anchor the kosher food industry in attendance alive and well, it is a treat to see new companies bringing products to market. Healthy products sampled included Sadaf (humus mix, couscous and stuffed vine leaves), Bruno (pareve and vegetarian products – I loved the lasagna Florentine), and various veggie burgers in the Dr. Praegers Sensible Foods line.

Jill Ginsberg, the founder and president of Thou Shalt Snack, which started in May 2005, was giving out samples of her Latke Crisps – original and sour cram and onion flavor – which she called, The Worlds First Latke Snack. They are all natural, low in fat, and have zero trans fat.

Najlas Inc. of Lousville, Kentucky, the winner in the Best New Snack Food category, was giving out samples of their Gone Nuts! product.

What sets it apart is the flavor, said Charles Asward, the marketing director. Other Najlas products include such cookies as classic chocolate chunk and oatmeal dried cherry white chocolate chunk.

Stephanie Schandler, president of Lettuce In Love, was at her booth with her mother and husband, proudly showing off her healthy line of ranch, skinny Italian, sweet balsamic and thousand island dressings. The individually packaged dressing cups with their beautiful packaging can be found at Whole Foods and Fairways stores and, according to Schandler, are Dressings so good youll want to drink them!

My Family Farm was back showing their crackers and cookies which use all organic products.

My wife started this company after she noticed the junk food kids were eating in schools, reported Tom Bennett, who also serves as the companys chief financial officer. Kosher certification was just one more sign of quality.

I was pleased to see a number of kosher cheese companies, from Royal George Cheese from Britain (with Cheddar, Double Gloucester and Red Leicester), to Oneg Kosher Gourmet from Shiller Park, Ill., (with Mozzarella, Cheddar, Muenster, Gouda and oven smoked Mozzarella, Cheddar and Gouda), to Joseph Farms of California. Dick Witter, the director of sales for Joseph Farms, noted that they carry more than 40 kosher items, and what makes their company unique is that they do not use artificial hormones. That is unusual for an operation our size, reported Witter, who is proud of the fact that the company, owned by Joseph Gallo of the famous Gallo wine family, is also kosher. We want the public to know how important quality is to us – we dont use artificial hormones, and we also became kosher – it tells our customers that we have outside supervision.

As my time at Kosherfest drew to a close, I reflected on companies doing new things to old products. What can you do to gefilte fish? The A & B Company, using the motto The Way Grandma Made It, is still making gefilte fish, but is now selling Salmon Franks. Their motto says, If you love salmon, you’ll love these franks. Better than hot dogs..and better for you. Im curious to see the market for this product.

And I am confident that Joshua Auerbach and David Raphael, president and CEO respectively, of The Black and White Cookie Company, have the right idea with their extensive line of black and white cookies. We took an 80 year old recipe, we use all natural products, and no coloring, and we make it all from scratch, reported Auerbach. The two young men are happy to tell you of the recent shipment of black and red cookies – to the Miami Heat!

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MILFORD — Manny Strumpf is the man responsible for the first wedding and the first murder at the Statue of Liberty. But he is neither a rabbi nor a criminal.

Milford resident and long-time Jewish Ledger columnist, Strumpf knows a thing or two about Lady Liberty — he served for 22 years as the public affairs officer for the National Parks Service in New York City and had an office at the Statue of Liberty.

Strumpf once went to great lengths to help a Chicago couple plan a wedding at the Statue of Liberty-helping to arrange everything from the marriage license, to a minister, to media coverage. Now in his new book, “Murder at the Statue of Liberty” (2006, Publish America), Strumpf writes about a fictional murder at the national monument.

The idea for the book evolved from Strumpf’s real life work at the Statue. He recalls one incident when a man hid in the torch and tried to parachute from the Statue-but his parachute got stuck and he was left dangling.

“I thought, ‘What would have happened if this person hiding in the torch was a murderer?’ That afternoon on the train home from Grand Central Station, I jotted down some notes.”

Every afternoon from then on, he jotted down more notes for what would eventually become his book.
Besides his own experience at the Statue of Liberty, he received input for the book from the members of the United States Park Police New York Field Office.

“I developed a great respect and admiration during that time for the men and women who are devoting their careers to protecting and preserving our natural and historic resources, including the Statue of Liberty,” he said. “I’m proud to have worked closely with them during my career. Although I was an eyewitness to many activities on Liberty Island, fortunately, there never was a homicide.”

A six-year process
Strumpf, who was trained as a journalist at New York University, worked as a sports editor for a newspaper in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and served for 14 years as a reporter for the New Haven Register, before becoming PR officer for the National Parks Service.

Besides the Statue of Liberty, he also handled public relations for landmarks like Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace, Grant’s Tomb, Federal Hall, Castle Clinton and Alexander Hamilton’s Home.

Over the years, Strumpf’s job at the Statue of Liberty has led him to meet many famous people, including President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca, and country singer Dolly Parton. He once gave a private tour to actress Mary Tyler Moore and her father.

Strumpf used much of his own knowledge about the famous New York City monument in writing his murder mystery.

In “Murder at the Statue of Liberty,” main characters William Johnson, deputy chief ranger at the Statue of Liberty, and ranger Jennifer Marcus find a dead body one morning inside the monument. They soon become prime suspects when U.S. Park Police Lt. Mike Finnegan and Vince Torre of the NYPD begin to investigate the shocking murder.

After completing one draft of the novel, Strumpf put it away for eight months. When he looked at it again, he felt it needed revision. He met book editor Stuart Meyer at a conference at Manhattan’s World Trade Center, who agreed to offer feedback. Strumpf ended up rewriting the book twice and changed the outcome several times. In all, it took him six years to finish the project.

Strumpf said that he has received many letters and emails of support for his book – and he has also received his first royalty check.

“I’ve received letters from London, Toronto, Los Angeles, North and South Carolina and I have been featured in the newsletter of the International Statue of Liberty Club,” reports Strumpf.

Strumpf, and his wife, Phyllis — the parents of two grown children and grandparents of three – are members of Congregation Or Shalom in Orange, where he is chairperson of the communications committee and was the recent recipient of the synagogue’s Shomerei Or Award.

Strumpf and his wife will soon head to their winter home in Florida where he will spend his time following sports, reading, golfing, and working on his next novel, which takes place at another interesting New York landmark — Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace.

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NEW HAVEN — When a New Haven doctor received an email with a plea for help from an Israeli doctor, he knew it was time to mobilize-especially since the lives of Israeli soldiers were at stake.

Just before the start of Shabbat in mid-August, Dr. Arthur Levy, a New Haven oncologist and chairperson of the Westville Synagogues social action committee, received an email informing him that Israeli reservists fighting in Lebanon did not have adequate body armor to protect them.

There was no time to get lots of details, reports Levy. I made an announcement at the end of services, and received an astounding response. More than 50 people raised their hands to make pledges to purchase vests-not bad for a Shabbat during the summer when many people were away on vacation.

More than 60 vests have been purchased thus far by the Westville Synagogue.

The idea for the Kevlar vests came about when Dr. Eli Reshef, an Oklahoma City fertility specialist and husband of Edie Rodman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City, spoke with his reservist nephew, Peleg Reshef. Peleg had been deployed to Lebanon, and Eli contacted him by cell phone. What can I do for you? asked Eli. Peleg immediately informed his Uncle Eli that his unit of 80 men, a reservist combat engineering regiment known as the Orev Company, did not have adequate protective vests and body armor. Vests had apparently been issued to active duty soldiers, but vests for reservists were either nonexistent, tattered or not updated. Eli, worried about Peleg and his other two nephews who were all serving in Lebanon at the same time, asked, How much will it cost and how many do you need?

Within hours, after making a few phone calls and sending emails, Eli Reshef, a former member of the Israel Defense Force who saw combat on Mount Hermon, the scene of some of the most intense fighting during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, had commitments for 80 of the vests at $110 per vest. Thus, Operation Body Armor was born.

Edi Rodman proudly notes, We have raised more than $60,000 so far and have provided vests for four or five units so far. And every penny goes directly for the body armor-none of the donated money is spent on administrative costs, postage, etc. Reshef also hoped to purchase the vests in Israel as a way of supporting the Israeli economy. He purchased all of the vests from Kibbutz Sasa.

Rodman said that on Channel 2 TV in Israel, they interviewed soldiers on their way out of Lebanon, and they repeated over and over again how appreciative they were.

CAP: PELEG NEWSPAPER: An article in an Israeli newspaper about the Kevlar vests purchased for Israeli soldiers.

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Original Article Published On The Jewish Ledger

From the Land of Milk and Honey to the Nutmeg state

Israeli professors have made their way from the Land of Milk and Honey to the Nutmeg State to touch the lives of students of all ages. Private and public universities throughout the state of Connecticut serve as hosts to Israel’s “best and brightest,” representing many Israeli colleges and academic disciplines, as they pass through during a semester or full year of sabbatical.

According to Steven Fraade, Mark Taper Professor of the History of Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at Yale University, the relationship between the Israelis and their host communities is mutually beneficial. “It is a concrete, tangible way to strengthen ties and make bonds which continue for many years,” observes Fraade, “And when Israelis apply to be at Yale and live in New Haven, they tell us they have heard what a warm, welcoming community we have here.” There is a strong assistance network which exists between the Israelis, Yale professors, and members of the Westville (New Haven) community.

There are many stories of cars and furniture which have passed from one visiting Israeli family to another. And Sydney Perry, former head of the Department of Jewish Education, current director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, and frequent Shabbat lunch and dinner hostess to visiting Israelis, laughs as she tells how she continues to store dishes and flatware of Israelis likely to return to New Haven for a future sabbatical. There are several visiting professors at Yale, some of whom declined to be interviewed. Others, like Isaiah Gafni of Hebrew University, Goldsmith Visiting Professor of Judaic Studies and Religious Studies at Yale for the spring semester, were not contacted for this article. Gulie Neeman Arad, at Yale for the year as Blaustein Visiting Associate professor of Judaic Studies, was not available for comment. There are Israeli professors in the state such as Professor Yehezkel Landau, Faculty Associate in Interfaith Relations at the Hartford Seminary. He is interested in Jewish spirituality, religion, conflict and peacemaking, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations. Landau is now at Hartford Seminary for an extended stay, through at least June, 2006. And Dr. Clinton Bailey, though not in Connecticut this year, deserves mention as he has served as Visiting Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Trinity College and Tel Aviv University, and he has done important work on Israel’s Bedouins; Bailey has lived among the Bedouin people and studied their culture for 30 years. He is the author of the book “Bedouin Poetry from Sinai and the Negev: Mirror of a Culture,” and he received the Emil Grunzweig Human Rights Award of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel in 1994.

What follows is a round-up of Israeli academics at Connecticut universities during all or part of the 2004-2005 academic year.

The following questions were asked of each visiting Israeli faculty member:

1. Where do you live in Israel? Where do you teach?

2. How would you describe your main area of interest or expertise?

3. What attracted you to Connecticut and to your chosen university as you began planning for your sabbatical?

4. What are your goals for this year in the States? (What courses are you teaching? What are you currently researching, writing and speaking about?)

5. What has been your experience in Connecticut so far? How has it been living so far away from family and friends in Israel?

Professor Daniel J. Lasker: Yale University for full year as Goldsmith

Visiting Professor, Judaic Studies and Religious Studies; from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev—Beer Sheva, Israel, where he is the Norbert Blechner Professor of Jewish Values Department of Jewish Thought

1. Beer Sheva, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

2. Medieval Jewish philosophy, The Jewish-Christian debate, Karaism.

3. Quality of Yale; terms of sabbatical.

4. I am teaching medieval debates among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Judah Halevi’s Kuzari, (also teaching at Queens College). I am researching the Jewish-Christian debate and issues in Karaism. I have a number of outstanding articles to finish. I have also been lecturing on Maimonides for the 800th anniversary of his death.

5. The experience has been very positive; the people in New Haven at the Westville Shul are very hospitable. We miss family and friends, but so far, two of our children have been here (plus son-in-law and grandson) and another son arrives soon, so we are not out of touch. There is also Internet including webcam and webmicrophone.

Professor Tamar Ross

Yale University for full year as Blaustein Visiting Professor, Judaic Studies and Religious Studies; from Bar-Ilan University.

1. I live in Jerusalem. I hold two jobs: one as professor in the dept. of philosophy at Bar Ilan University. I have also been teaching continuously in the first women’s Yeshiva, Midreshet Lindenbaum (once known as Bruria) ever since its inception in 1976.

2. My main area of interest is in theological questions of the modern era which engage the interface between tradition and modernity.

My areas of expertise are the thought of Harav Kook, Mitnaggedism, and the Musar movement founded by R. Yisrael Salanter. But I have also taught courses and published in topics relating to mysticism and to Medieval Jewish thought.

3. I got to Connecticut very much by chance. The invitation to Yale more or less rolled into my lap, and – aside from Yale’s great reputation – I heard from other Israelis that New Haven was a nice place to be in, especially on account of the welcoming Jewish community.

4. My goals are first of all to ready the Hebrew translation of my

recently published book on Orthodoxy and Feminism into final form for publication in Israel. There are also several spin-offs from that book in the form of tangential articles which need to be readied for publication. After that I want to return to a monograph I have been preparing on the topic of the belief in divine revelation in light of biblical criticism and the documentary hypothesis. I also am trying to get the doctorate I wrote on the philosophy of education of the disciples of R. Yisrael Salanter into book form. I am writing and speaking mostly about various implications of feminism upon Orthodox Jewish theology and practice, simply because there seems to be an endless public demand for discussion of this sort. I am also offering a mini-course on Maimonides at the Drisha institute one day a week in New York, and will be continuing with Yeshivat Hovevei Torah and the Edah Lehrhaus in Manhattan during the second semester. During that semester I will also be giving a seminar on the thought of Harav Kook at Yale.

5. My experience in Connecticut so far has been pleasant as far as people, my students and colleagues at Yale, and particularly the Jewish community is concerned who are very helpful and hospitable. On the other hand, I find the hassle of uprooting and then adjusting to a new setting terribly frustrating and time-consuming: getting used to new highways and byways, finding one’s way around giant supermarkets to identify kosher products among a huge array, adopting endless pin numbers, i.d.’s, passwords and manuals in the process of getting into the bureaucracy of telephone and bank accounts, utilities, internet, etc. And the worst hurdle of all is adjusting and transferring material to a new computer and establishing email contact without glitches. But email and telephones do create a sense that we are all living in a global village with family and friends not too far away. All that these cannot reproduce is the special light of an early Jerusalem morning and the beautiful view of the hills that serves as background to my daily routine back home.

Professor Joseph Yahalom Yale for fall semester as Perlow Visiting Professor, Judaic Studies and Religious Studies, from Hebrew University.

1. Jerusalem, in the Nayot neighborhood near the Israel Museum and the Knesset. I teach at Hebrew University.

2. Shira Ivrit—Modern Hebrew Poetry (secular poetry and piyyutim). For example, I am interested in poetry of Spain and Israel and the interrelationship between poetry and music, and poetry and language. I am also interested in the influences of Turkish and Sufi poetry during the 16th century.

3. There is a very interesting papyrus of liturgical Hebrew poetry at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. It is the most extensive piece of papyrus which includes Hebrew poetry.

4. I am here for one semester, teaching “Poetry and Society in Late Antiquity” at Yale, as well as a weekly course at Yeshiva University in New York.

5. This is a very nice community, and the shul has a nice new rabbi. I have especially enjoyed the American students I have been teaching at Yale. They ask questions, they are more relaxed (than Israeli students) and they are very open.

Professor Matt Silver

At both University of Hartford and Central Connecticut State University for one year, from the Emek Yezreel College (of the Galilee).

1. In Tuval, a private neighborhood alongside Kibbutz Tuval, on Mount Mitzpeh, about 10 kilometers above Karmiel. I grew up in Westchester (NY) and in Montgomery County (MD), I am a Cornell graduate, and we made aliyah 20 years ago. I teach Modern Jewish History at Emek Yezreel College.

2. My field is modern Jewish history. I’m interested in general issues of 19th century modern Jewish history, communities in the West. I focus on American and Israeli issues, where the cultures are alike and similar. I say that I teach American Jewry to Israelis and I teach Israel to American Jews.

3. I am a visiting professor at the Univ. of Hartford Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies. It is an academic appointment in modern Jewish history. I also have a chance to work with the Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Hartford and SNEC. The Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford participates in a program designed by Prof. Richard Freund, an American with ties to Israel, where an Israeli gets to provide an important service on campuses and in synagogues; it is an opportunity to get a pro-Israel voice which is neutral and also academic. Professor Freund’s ideas was for a visiting professor to come for one year to teach courses and to network and do outreach to the Jewish community.

4. I came two years ago as a visiting professor for one semester. My own college, Emek Yezreel College [a college in northern Israel with 25% non-Jewish students including Israeli Arabs], entered into a tri-lateral agreement with the University of Hartford and C.C.S.U.

(Central Connecticut State University). This semester, I am teaching “Modern Jewish History,” and “Contemporary Studies, Media and the Middle East,” I have been “expanding my radius,” speaking in New Haven, Stamford and Worcester.

5. One highlight so far has been speaking during the 6th or 7th game of the World Series, and people stayed to hear about Israel, through the third inning! I find that people want to hear information, even though I speak on issues of the highest controversy. My sense is that I can present what unites and divides us in an informational, engaging way, and this is what people want. My wife and four kids, ages 12, 11 and twins age 6 are here with me. My children attend the Solomon Schechter Day School (in West Hartford), and it is an opportunity to experience the middle ground on a whole spectrum—something that is mainly missing in Israel.

Professor Etgar Keret

(Was at Wesleyan University for fall semester, visiting from Tel Aviv University. Will soon begin new teaching appointment at Ben Gurion University.

1. I live in Tel Aviv. I have spent the last ten years in the film department at Tel Aviv University. I will now be joining the creative writing department (which is part of the Hebrew literature department) at Ben Gurion University.

2. First, I must say that I am a writer and not an academic. I started teaching because of my writing. I actually studied math and philosophy (in university). My greatest interest is in story telling and writing—playwriting and screenwriting. I try to work with students on things that transcends genre—what makes a story a story, and how to move a story from a sentence to a plot to a story.

3. I have given guest lectures and readings on two occasions in the past. I found the religion department to be a very special place because the head of the Religion Department, Jeremy Zwellinger, is extremely open and smart and tries to push the envelope I had lectured overseas (in Berlin) in English before and was invited to Wesleyan.

4. I was teaching a one semester course entitled “From Idea to Plot Development,” which was about how to move from an abstract idea to a plot and story line. The course was offered in the religion department at Wesleyan. While in the States, I have also delivered lectures at Harvard University, Washington University in St. Louis, and McGill University. I am mostly writing short fiction. My stories are sometimes fantastical and surrealistic, with a lot of humor. They are often more

associated with Jewish writing than Hebrew writing.

5. I have been teaching for ten years and the class I taught at Wesleyan was by far one of the best classes I’ve ever had! The students always did their best to get the most from the class. They always asked what they could do to get more out of the class. If they worked on a project, they would even come back to me after they got their grade to ask what else they could do to get more out of the material and the class. The contrast to the Israeli students I teach is so drastic. In Israel, when I teach, the students, from the first lesson, are on a first name basis. This interaction causes the relationship to be more subjective; we are like a bunch of people stuck in the same classroom. This has more disadvantages than advantages. The students will read my stories and say things like, “the third story was not as good as the first one…” Before I came to America, I expected the students to be more pragmatic, more ambitious, out for good grades. This was not the case at all. They always wanted to learn. Everything they did came from the right place!

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