Published Articles

The Original Article is Published at JPost.com

Leah embraces the words of one of her many beloved rabbis and teachers who encourages people to “be where history is being written” – in Israel.

Leah Haziza came to Israel after high school for two very compelling reasons: “I felt very stuck in Greece – there was no way to get a significant Jewish education, and it was hard to meet Jews. And I came because my mother said to go!”

Her mother, Rebbetzin Shulamit Arar, knew a thing or two about Israel and leading a life committed to Jewish practice. She grew up in France to parents who left Romania for Paris before the Holocaust, then moved to the South of France. Haziza reports, “She was brought up in a Catholic boarding school. She always said that life started when people brought her to Bnei Akiva.”

Rebbetzin Arar made aliyah in 1960 to the religious Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. She might have stayed in Israel her whole life had she not returned to visit family in France and met her future husband, Jacob Arar, a Greek rabbi in France at the time learning shechita (kosher ritual slaughter) and furthering his rabbinic training. They married, and Rabbi Arar went on to serve as chief rabbi of Athens for 46 years. They eventually made aliyah in 2011.

Leah Arar Haziza came to Israel earlier, making aliyah in 1987, inspired in large part by her mother.

“My mom always told me, ‘Greece is not our place.’”

A Greek national flag flutters as people visit a beach, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Athens, Greece, April 28, 2020. (credit: GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS)

Moving to Israel, studying at university

Leah’s aliyah came one year after high school, and although she concedes that her dream had been to see the world, she notes in heartfelt fashion, “The truth is, the world was here, in Israel, and I get to meet them!”

Leah continued getting to know the world at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem through her studies in international relations, along with courses in economics and Italian.

She recalls the experience as “pretty challenging.” She notes, “I went to college and did a four-year course, so I had to stay!” A tip she offers to other young olim.

The program and the experience of living in Israel were not easy. “It took me two years until I felt I was not in Athens but Jerusalem.”

Her pre-university mechina (preparatory program) helped expand her social world and her familiarity with Israeli society and helped improve her Hebrew language skills. She met many Americans and was invited to work in the Tikvah Program (for campers with disabilities) at Camp Ramah in Massachusetts, an experience she still values.

During her time at Hebrew U, she got involved with Bnei Akiva, the Jewish youth movement that had such a big impact on her mother. She also learned additional languages (she speaks four and understands five or six). She stresses the importance of knowing languages but concedes it is not always easy.

“I cried taking notes in Hebrew my first year – but you get better.”

She also notes the importance of making friends outside the university to ease the process of integrating into Israeli society. She volunteered through Gadna (a short IDF program)and participated in Jewish Bnei Akiva learning programs.

Jewish learning has become a central part of Leah’s life in Israel. She reflects on the lack of Jewish learning opportunities growing up in Greece and is delighted with the opportunities available in Israel. She notes how fortunate she was to have met the revered Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who told her, ‘If your level of Judaism stays like that of a child, people will want to leave Yiddishkeit.”

“Through learning texts,” she says, “my Hebrew has become significantly better.” She has learned in many places and attended many shiurim, which only makes her want to continue to learn more.

After eight years of living in Israel, Leah met her husband, Netanel “Nat” Haziza, an architect born in Montreal who moved to Toronto for eight years before making aliyah in 1996.

Nat has a great deal of experience in architectural design and consulting, creating elevation facades for buildings, landscape architecture, and residential and interior design.

Leah is proud of her husband’s work and enjoys walking around Jerusalem with a person who truly understands, knows, and appreciates architecture.

Nat initially came to Israel on a tourist visa which, at the time, permitted him to work and “test it out.” He reports, “I felt at home and never looked back.”

Nat feels that having a good base in the Hebrew language was useful. He continued to “build on the base through work and interactions.” He is proud of his ability to write fluently in Hebrew as well. Having relatives and family friends in Israel also contributed to a smooth aliyah process.

“I had hashkafa pratit [Divine providence] from the minute I got off the plane! I quickly found work and met Leah within four months of arriving,” he says. They have a daughter, Tiferet, who is almost six.

OVER THE years, Leah has had many meaningful jobs and volunteer opportunities in Israel, such as working for CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education), the Joint (JDC), The Center for Business Ethics & Social Responsibility/Machon Lev (Jerusalem College of Technology ), Chidon Hatanach International Bible Competition, and Hadassah Hospital and Hadassah Academic College. She has also served for decades as a translator from Hebrew and English to Greek, and from Greek to Hebrew and English for the courts, embassies, Foreign Affairs Ministry, and various other government and educational institutions.

In recent years, Leah has been working on various art projects and devotes a lot of time to her daughter, and currently, to working with children relocated from the South.

Leah acknowledges that this past year has been difficult, noting “We are all in pain.”

Yet, she says, “I have started to fall in love again with the map of Israel and the people of Israel.”

She observes that every part of life has ups and downs and points out, “For anything substantial, you have to choose it every day.”

She stresses the importance of “knowing why you are here and what you are giving” and reminds people that the Hebrew word kasheh (“difficult”) is “not a bad word.”

Leah feels that living in Israel has become easier over the years. Those considering aliyah have the benefit of better communication (including WhatsApp to stay in touch with family abroad), and such organizations as Nefesh B’Nefesh to assist in the aliyah process.

She notes playfully that these days, a person can “live in Israel without a word of Hebrew.” However, she encourages those considering aliyah to “invest in Hebrew, Jewish history, and emotional maturity.”

Leah embraces the words of one of her many beloved rabbis and teachers who encourages people to “be where history is being written” – in Israel.

She loves living here, stressing that “there is beauty everywhere” and that it “forces you to think about your relationship with Hashem.” ■

Leah Haziza From Athens to Jerusalem, 1987

Read more

The Original Article is Published at JPost.com

With her new book, Adeena Sussman has made the special taste and excitement of Shabbat accessible to everyone, whatever their level of observance or lack thereof.

Prolific cookbook writer, recipe and product developer, and Tel Aviv resident Adeena Sussman is particularly suited to bringing the essence of Shabbat to an audience beyond the traditionally observant – to those simply looking for a day of rest and relaxation accompanied by great food.

Sussman’s latest cookbook, Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours, offers recipes, ideas for entertaining on Shabbat, and explanations and tidbits for readers of all backgrounds who have one thing in common: a willingness to put in time and effort to create beautiful, freshly made breads, soups, salads, main courses, and desserts for the day of rest.

The Shabbat cookbook follows the success of her acclaimed Sababa: Fresh Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen. Sussman has authored or co-authored 15 cookbooks, including one with American model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen. Three have also been New York Times bestsellers.

Growing up in her family’s observant Palo Alto, California, home, Sussman looked forward to Shabbat each week. She would watch her working mother, Steffi, jot down menus on recycled scraps of paper throughout the week and rise early to start the Shabbat cooking process on Wednesdays.

She learned her first kitchen hack from her mother – cutting brown paper bags into makeshift parchment paper. During those years, kosher products weren’t readily available in that part of the United States, so her family would pick up kosher meat delivered to a local synagogue once a month and keep it stocked in a freezer in their garage.

Shabbat (Illustrative). (credit: MENDY HECHTMAN/FLASH90)

In the book’s introduction, Sussman writes, “Shabbat is the North Star of my kitchen identity; after all, it’s been a central part of my whole life.” The family came together to observe Shabbat, relax, unwind, socialize, and eat. Today, no longer fully Sabbath observant, she concedes that “it took almost leaving Shabbat cooking behind to realize how much I actually needed this respite. Shabbat is a weekly opportunity to slow down, chill out, and feast along the way.”

Sussman’s personal journey and years living in Israel help inspire her recipes, which offer innovative twists on familiar Shabbat dishes, ranging from soups such as dushpara, (Uzbecki-Jewish dumpling soup), to kugels and stews (Ashkenazi cholent and cauliflower hamin), to brunch and cocktail options for secular Israelis getting together with family and friends.

She describes the Friday rituals in her childhood home, which included dressing in special Shabbat clothes, attending synagogue, and a series of pre-meal blessings. She offers tips (it is best to knead challah by hand), weaves in explanations for why there are traditionally two challot on the Shabbat table, and offers recipes for five types of challah, jachnun (rolled Yemenite Shabbat bread), and dabo (Ethiopian Shabbat bread).

Sussman intersperses her recipes with stories, as well as tributes to friends and colleagues. When introducing her jachnun recipe, she recounts how her friend Merav Tzanani Perez, “known as Tamati at the coffee shop her husband Miki named after her,” would come home from clubbing late Friday nights and be tempted by the aroma of jachnun slow-baking in the oven. Café Tamati, near Shuk HaCarmel, is just around the corner from Sussman’s home, where she loves to meet friends and hold meetings.

She introduces her Ultimate Egg Salad recipe (which can be prepared with raw or caramelized onions – “I’m firmly team caramelized,” writes Sussman) by recounting the history of egg salad as shared by her friend, the late food historian Gil Marks. She quotes him, noting that “egg salad is a Shabbat staple food” dating back to 11th-century Franco-German Jews.

WHEN SUSSMAN suggests that cooks keep “a few staples” in their kitchen, she refers to amba, harissa, tahini sauce, labneh, pomegranate molasses, preserved lemons and preserved lemon paste, schug, and za’atar spice blend. Having these staples on hand makes it easier to follow the recipes in her “Appetizers, Dips, and Salatim” chapter, which includes Moroccan Carrot Salad; Cauliflower and Green Bean Masabacha; and Lachmagine (chewy-crispy Syrian flatbreads).

The section on kugels includes recipes for Colorful Vegetable Kugel; Caramel Apple Noodle Kugel Ring; and an explanatory note about Yapchik, a potato kugel studded with beef flanken and cooked for hours in a low-temperature oven.

Following recipes for a Shabbat dinner

In preparation for a recent family Shabbat dinner, we followed a few recipes from Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours, using its beautiful photos as a guide. Shredding the two types of cabbage needed for the Crunchy Slaw with Chickpeas and Creamy Sesame Dressing was time-consuming, but the results were as colorful as the picture in the cookbook, delightfully crisp, and refreshingly tasty.

Although we substituted the pargiot (chicken thighs) with chicken breast based on our family preference, we closely followed the recipe for Baghdadi Chicken Curry with sweet and nutty rice. The spices were perfectly balanced, and the cashews and apricots added a unique and flavorful touch.

For dessert, the Apricot Tahini Shortbread Bars were subtly sweet with a robust tahini flavor. We chose apricot preserve, suggested as an alternative, over fresh apricots or plums, unavailable in Israel in the winter months. In general, we chose recipes based on the availability of ingredients and look forward to trying the Lime-Coconut Custard Pie and the Pear and Cherry Phyllo Strudel when those fruits are in season.

Sussman’s recipes require some advanced planning and a fair amount of time to prepare. The dishes are well worth the effort – creative, well balanced, and delicious. 

With her new book, Sussman has made the special taste and excitement of Shabbat accessible to everyone, whatever their level of observance or lack thereof. Hosts and guests alike can look forward to many tasty and inspiring days of rest.  

  • SHABBAT: RECIPES AND RITUALS FROM MY TABLE TO YOURS
  • By Adeena Sussman 
  • Penguin Random House
  • 384 pages; $23
Read more

The Original Article is Published at JNS.org

“The Jewish community was a huge support—with Israeli flags (some bearing the slogan ‘Bring the Hostages Back’).”

When Israeli wheelchair tennis player Guy Sasson boarded a plane from Houston to Israel on Oct. 7, he had no way of knowing what the next three months would have in store for himself or for his homeland.

Sasson was set to change planes in Istanbul but the flight to Israel was canceled and he was sent back to Houston, where he and his family are currently residing for his wife’s specialist medical training.

He has spent these last few months deeply immersed in three worlds that are dear to him—tennis, Israel and family. Sasson, the #33 ranked tennis player in the world for singles in the quads wheelchair division, made it to the finals in both singles and doubles of the recent Australian Open Grand Slam. He was one of two Israelis representing Israel at the Australian Open (Mika Buchnik lost in the second round of the junior girls’ tournament).

Sasson, the owner of IsraMich (real estate) investments in Israel, is a very actively involved parent and with his wife helps manage the complex lives of four children. In addition, he helped arrange for fellow top Israeli wheelchair tennis player Adam Berdichevsky and his family from an Israeli community near the Gaza Strip to relocate temporarily to Houston.

Unlike many tennis players, Sasson never intended to play tennis professionally. He grew up non-disabled in Ramat Gan, served in the Israel Defense Forces, attended the University of Michigan, married Aya Mohr (now Dr. Aya Mohr-Sasson) and started several businesses. He became a wheelchair user in 2015 after falling off a cliff while snowboarding in France.

Sasson has come a long way since this harrowing ordeal, when after his accident his future was uncertain at best. He recounts: “They flew me to Tel Hashomer Hospital in Israel, I had major surgery on my spine and hand, and the doctors told me I won’t walk again. It turns out, I was in a rehab hospital at Tel Hashomer for one year and did walk out—with braces and canes.

He was keen to keep active and contacted the Israel ParaSport Center in Ramat Gan. After seeing the tennis facilities and learning that Ofri Lankri, a professional tennis player who played on Israel’s 2014 Fed Cup team, would be serving as coach, Sasson, who played tennis when he was a child, became interested. He started slowly and without sharing the news with others. “At first, I didn’t tell anyone—not even my wife.”

Sasson progressed quickly, began competing professionally, and represented Israel in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2021. He was recently reclassified from the open to the quads wheelchair division due to some changes in his upper body functioning. He competed in this summer’s U.S. Open in New York where he was ranked #7 and reached the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles.

Jennifer Flink, national executive director of the Israel ParaSport Center, U.S., watched Sasson at the U.S. Open this summer and says, “Watching Guy Sasson play tennis at one of the largest events in the world was exhilarating.” She recognizes the important work she and her colleagues have in store given the numbers of newly wounded and disabled from the current war. 

“At Israel ParaSport, sport is more than just a game. It empowers children and adults living with physical disabilities to succeed in all aspects of life. Not all become champions, but all become champions in life. And if the result is a world-class wheelchair tennis player like Guy, then that is the icing on the cake,” Flink notes.

Guy Sasson plays Sam Schroder (not seen) of the Netherlands at the Australian Open, Jan. 27, 2024. Photo by Josh Chadwick/Tennis Australia.

Kicked off in Australia

Sasson says that the current professional tennis season, which kicked off in Australia, got off to a great start. He won the Victorian Wheelchair Open for singles (Jan. 8-12), he won the doubles of the Melbourne Wheelchair Open (Jan 14-19) and he reached the finals in the Australian Open for both singles and doubles (Jan. 23-27). 

He admits that he was a bit worried about how he would hold up away from home for so long. “I am usually gone for no more than 10 or 11 days. It is hard to be away from family and it is physically and mentally hard.” 

His hard work, coupled with support from many Jewish and Israeli fans, contributed to his success in Australia. “They supported me at all Grand Slam matches and even at all of my practices. They came in the hundreds and there were 1,000 people from the Jewish community at the finals! They were a huge support—with Israeli flags (some bearing the slogan ‘Bring the Hostages Back’) and shouting in Hebrew.”

Sasson was impressed that his playing in the tournament seemed to provide a forum for the Jewish community to come together in support of Israel. “This sports event was an occasion for a big coming together—even for people who were not tennis fans! That is the power of sports!

“The players were really surprised at the number of people who came out from the Jewish community to support a wheelchair tennis player.” [At the U.S. Open, only a handful of fans came to watch any of the wheelchair tennis matches.]

Sasson has not experienced any anti-Israel sentiment on the tennis tour. “I haven’t heard any negative comments about being Israeli or displaying ‘Bring Back the Hostages’ slogans.

Houston, Texas

Both during his world travels and at home in Houston, he remains very connected to events in Israel. Most of his family members live in Israel, and Sasson’s brother spent two months in the IDF reserves in Gaza.

Sasson worked hard to help bring his close friend and fellow Israel wheelchair tennis player Adam Berdichevsky to Houston. Berdichevsky is a member of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, one of the communities near Gaza, which was assaulted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. Six members of the kibbutz and an IDF soldier were killed and eight hostages were taken captive on the day of the attack.

Berdichevsky, his wife and three young children spent many hours in a safe room and survived. Sasson and Israel Sports Center helped get the family to Houston where they live in an apartment near the Sassons.

“The Jewish community hugged them. They have welcomed them and want to hear their stories. They have invited them for Shabbat dinner, helped raise money for a car and place to stay and helped the kids with school,” reports Sasson, who regularly practices with Berdichevsky at the Houston JCC’s outdoor and indoor tennis courts.

The Sassons appreciate the love and support they have received from the Houston Jewish community, where they are spending several years during Mohr-Sasson’s gynecology fellowship program at the University of Texas Health Center in Houston. Their children—ages 5, 8, 11 and 13—are settled in at school.

Sasson wakes at 3 each morning to work with his real-estate team in Israel. He also follows a strict training regimen, which seems to be paying off, and continues to seek sponsors to support his worldwide tennis travels. He hopes to play in upcoming tournaments in the U.S., South Korea and Japan.

But this all depends on family matters being in order. He notes sadly, “Our au pair just quit!”

Read more

Original Article is Published at JNS.org

“They felt that solving the Middle East’s water problem may lead to peace,” said Ellen Marcus of the infusion of money her parents gave to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva.

Ellen Marcus had no idea how rich her simple, unassuming, Holocaust refugee parents, Howard and Lottie Marcus, were until their estate planner told her. She shared the climactic story of that discovery, in addition to their life, their interest in water resources in Israel and throughout the Middle East, and their eventual donation of $500 million to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva, the largest philanthropic donation to Israel in the history of the Jewish state.

“They felt that solving the Middle East’s water problem may lead to peace,” said their daughter.

She talked about the legacy of her parents following a Feb. 6 screening of the 90-minute documentary made about her parents, “Who Are the Marcuses?” at the Marlene Meyerson Jewish Community Center in New York City, in partnership with Americans for Ben-Gurion University, attended by about 100 people.

The film was directed by Matthew Mishory with cinematographer Michael Marius Pessah.

Young dentist Hans (“Howard”) and his wife, Lottie, who were proud Germans, recognized the warning signs in 1933 when he was barred by Nazi guards in April 1933 from entering the building that housed his office. They fled to Naples, Italy, where Ellen Marcus recounted just how dire their situation was. “This wasn’t in the film—he had to sleep in a tub or on the couch of his waiting room. He varied his diet—milk with bread and bread with milk,” she said, tongue in cheek.

He also suffered from tuberculosis and typhus, both incurable at the time, she said.

When a dental patient who worked for the British consul general was unwilling to help him escape Mussolini’s Italy for England, another patient who worked for the American consul general’s office creatively completed paperwork that allowed the couple to relocate to the United States, despite strict restrictions on immigration.

Once there, Lottie began working at a Jewish investment firm, and the two befriended, Ben Graham, known as the father of value investing and the author of The Intelligent Investor. He recommended contacting one of his mentees—a young investor named Warren Buffett, who worked for him in 1954 before returning to Omaha, Neb., to start what would become Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate holding company.

Howard and Lottie Marcus with their daughter, Ellen. Credit: Courtesy of the film, “Who Are the Marcuses?”

The film refers to the Marcuses’ “buy and hold ’em for life” approach to investing in the stock market. Over time, their initial modest investment grew to stock holdings worth approximately $200 million. Stalwart supporters of Israel, the couple eventually decided to invest their fortune in water technology and research by donating to BGU.

Howard died at the age of 104 in 2014; Lottie died in 2015 at the age of 99. BGU announced the large endowment from the Marcus estate in June 2016. By the time the stocks were transferred to the university, their value had risen to $500 million.

‘The transformative power of education’

The film features footage of the Marcuses in Germany, Italy, the United States and Israel, and serves as a virtual “who’s who” of Israeli academics, politicians and thought leaders, including past and current presidents of BGU Daniel Chamovitz, Rivka Carmi and Avishay Braverman; Israel President Isaac Herzog; American-born Israeli author Daniel Gordis; former Prime Minister Shimon Peres; and others. All offered insightful, sometimes humorous insights.

Buffett said: “They made a wise choice—to do something that wasn’t getting done.” The late Peres offered: “The Marcuses flew coach so Israel can fly first class!”

Filming the documentary on Howard and Lottie Marcus. Credit: Courtesy of the film, “Who Are the Marcuses?”

Filming the documentary on Howard and Lottie Marcus. Credit: Courtesy of the film, “Who Are the Marcuses?”

Ellen Marcus reported that she’s still in touch with the 93-year-old Buffett: “I call him Mr. Buffett. I emailed him 10 years ago after my father died and have been corresponding with him ever since.”

The two participated in a panel discussion in March 2023 after the film was screened at the Omaha Film Festival. She noted that not that “he just came—no Armani suit, no security, just his family!”

After the screening this week, Martha Graybow of New York said the film was “uplifting to watch during these very dark times for those who care deeply about Israel and its future.”

She continued, saying “I have so much admiration for the Marcus family and their astonishing generosity to Ben-Gurion University. They are true visionaries who believed in the transformative power of education and the potential for peaceful coexistence across the Middle East.”

At the screening of the film “Who Are the Marcuses?” in New York City on Feb. 6, 2024. Photo by Lenore LaVine.

Brett Cohen, who lives on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, has spent significant time in the Negev, including participating in the Arava Institute’s Israel Ride in 2016, 2022, and hopefully, this year as well.

He visited communities in southern Israel such as Ofakim/Merchavim and Kibbutz Erez—partner communities with Greater Metrowest NJ Jewish Federation in his former New Jersey community—where he said he has seen “the importance of that region to the future of Israel.”

Along those lines, Cohen also noted being “deeply fascinated by climate innovation and the remarkable work being done at BGU and by others in Israel, particularly in water solutions and other climate mitigation efforts.”

Ellen Marcus, who encouraged her parents to leave their wealth for a greater purpose, is now deeply involved in stewarding the funds, ensuring their legacy continues to ripple outward.

Filming the documentary on Howard and Lottie Marcus. Credit: Courtesy of the film, “Who Are the Marcuses?”

Read more