THE JEWISH January 30, 2015 • 10 Shevat 5775 STAR Vol 14, No. 5 • TheJewishStar.com Beshalach • Published weekly since 2002 • 516-622-7461 THE NEWSPAPER OF LONG ISLAND’S ORTHODOX COMMUNITIES Northern exposure 70 years later World remembers Shoah, told Jews remain targets Fighting on border 5HEEHW]LQ %DWVKHYD .DQLHYVN\ OHIW EHIRUH FDQGOH OLJKWLQJ LQ %QHL%UDN Batsheva Kanievsky Archives Ner Echad draws 5 Towns women By Celia Weintrob As women put a few coins or bills into the pushka just before lighting the Shabbos candles, they think of their family and friends who need a special blessing for health or peace, and of Jews facing difficulties across the globe. Ner Echad (One Light) seeks to magnify the power of those blessings 1,000 -fold, allowing the ladies to tap into a worldwide sisterhood that is giving tzedakah and lighting candles together at the same auspicious moment. Ner Echad was founded this past Succos, on the third yahrzeit of Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky of Bnei Brak, by her husband, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, an acclaimed Talmudic scholar, through the efforts of close family friends, Rabbi Ernest Rothman and his son Yehuda. Many of the founding supporters of this new organization hail from the Five Towns. By all accounts, this unassuming Rebbetzin greeted scores each day with )RU WKH )LYH7RZQV WKH EOL]]DUG RI WKH FHQWXU\ WXUQHG RXW WR EH « QRW VR PXFK$OWKRXJKDFFXPXODWLRQVZHUHQRWKLQJOLNHWKRVHLQ6XIIRONWKHVQRZ cheer and respect, leaving a DORQJ&HQWUDO$YHQXHLQ&HGDUKXUVWKDGWREHFOHDUHGQRQHWKHOHVV$VDOZD\V mark upon countless hearts Continued on page 10 $FKLH]HUKHOSHGSUHSDUHIRUDQ\HYHQWXDOLW\VHHSDJH0RQLFD5]HZVNL <HVLWVQRZHG By Vanessa Gera, AP BRZEZINKA, Poland — A Jewish leader stood before 300 survivors of the Nazis’ most notorious death camp on Tuesday and asked world leaders to prevent another Auschwitz, warning of a rise of anti-Semitism that has made many European Jews fearful of walking the streets, and is causing many to flee the continent. World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder made his bleak assessment on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, speaking next to the gate and the railroad tracks that marked the last journey for more than a million people murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He said his speech was shaped by the recent terrorist attacks in France that targeted Jews and newspaper satirists. “For a time, we thought that the hatred of Jews had finally been eradicated. But slowly the demonization of Jews started $50 OFF BIRTHDAY PARTIES IF HAVE PARTY BY 3/31/15 SEE AD INSIDE Sign up for free trial class* at www.greatplay.com/woodmere odmere 1012 Railroad Avenue • Woodmere • (516) 341-0050 0050 742823 2823 Winter Is Here-Have Fun Indoors! 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It followed a Jan. 18 airstrike attributed to Israel that killed six Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general. Hezbollah said its fighters destroyed a number of Israeli vehicles and caused casualties among “enemy ranks,” and that the attack was carried out by a group calling itself the “righteous martyrs of Quneitra.” Ever since, Israel has braced for a response to the strike, beefing up its air defenses and increasing surContinued on page 17 0RUHRQSDJH to come back,” Lauder said. “Once again, young Jewish boys are afraid to wear yarmulkes on the streets of Paris and Budapest and London. Once again, Jewish businesses are targeted. And once again, Jewish families are fleeing Europe.” The recent attack in Paris, in which four Jews were killed in a kosher supermarket, is not the first deadly attack on Jews in recent years. Last May a shooting killed four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels and in 2012 a rabbi and three children were murdered in the French city of Toulouse. Europe also saw a spasm of anti-Semitism last summer during the war in Gaza, with protests in Paris turning violent and other hostility across the continent. Continued on page 18 Ner Echad draws 5 Towns women… Continued from page 1 and households. She quietly raised millions of dollars for the needy, and gave sustenance of the soul in even greater currency. Put simply: one dollar + two candles = infinite impact. Ner Echad members automatically give a dollar by credit card just before candle lighting, exponentially amplifying the unity and blessing of Jewish women. Members receive a text, phone or email alert stating the weekly lighting time, and the first name of another member to pray for. And when a person joins, their name is sent that week to Bnai Brak for a blessing for what they request (parnassa, gezunt, shidduchs, etc). Signing up for Ner Echad only takes a few minutes, and creates “spiritual and material protection for the individual, their family, and the Jewish nation,” said Henya Storch, a Woodmere resident and the group’s outreach and special events director. Every dollar donated by Ner Echad members goes directly to the Batsheva Kanievsky Widow and Children Fund and into the hands of needy women and children across Israel. But Rabbi Rothman also pointed to the spiritual unity that the group achieves. “It enhances the prayers and requests that one beseeches the Almighty at that time. This is done all together, all member credit cards are charged $1 at exactly the same moment: candle-lighting time in Jerusalem, the spiritual center of the world. So it’s lighting Shabbos candles together, praying for each other together, and dispensing charity together,” he said. Storch recalls meeting Rebbetzin Kavievsky unexpectedly, and relates the mystical, inspirational influence she had on her as both a Jewish woman and a medical professional. “There isn’t a day that I don’t think about her and the impact that her captivatingly warm personality has had on my own spiritual and personal growth,” she said. She indicated that the Ohel Sara Amen Group in Lawrence has its roots in a bracha given by Rebbetzin Kanievsky. Dena Harary of Woodmere noted that “My husband, Charlie, works hard to strengthen Klal Yisrael. I, too, am working to help Jewish women feel more connected to G-d and to Judaism. That is why I am so excited about Ner Echad. Not only is it a tribute to Rebbetzin Kanievsky, who is 5HEEHW]LQ%DWVKHYD.DQLHYVN\Batsheva Kanievsky Archives WINTER IS HEREHAVE FUN INDOORS SPECIAL PROMOTIONS PLEASE SIGN UP ON OUR WEBSITE Interactive Gym for Kids Ages 6mo.-12 years old Awesome Birthday Parties SPECIAL OFFERS! Visit www.greatplay.com/woodmere and sign up for our FREE Great Play Insiders Promotion list! You Will Receive OFF FREE 20 For 2nd Class % Trial Classes & Additional Siblings $ 50 OFF Birthday Parties IF HAVE PARTY BY 3/31/15 K PROGRAMS E E W 8 4 & ogram Is Discounted (s 8 Wee k Pr Limited Time Offer ave $3 9) Great Play of Woodmere 1012 Railroad Avenue, Woodmere, NY 11598 (516) 341-0050 Fax: (516) 341-0052 www.greatplay.com/woodmere Great Play of Woodmere 742751 January 30, 2015 • 10 Shevat 5775 • THE JEWISH STAR 10 my role model, it is a powerful way to bring Jewish women closer to mitzvot and to each other.” Debbie Greenblatt of Lawrence, the wellknown public speaker for Gateways, commented, “Our Sages teach: ‘In the merit of righteous women, our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt, and in the merit of righteous women they will be redeemed in the future.’ Throughout the ages, Jewish women have maintained a clear vision of the direction that our people need to take. At this critical juncture in history, the idea of women joining together in a mitzvah, and to honor the great Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, of blessed memory, is an expression of that vision and will no doubt create a formidable force that will hasten the ultimate redemption.” Rebbetzin Aviva Feiner,menahales of Machon Basya Rochel Girls Seminary in Lawrence, and Rebbetzin of the White Shul in Far Rockaway said, “From the few momentous opportunities that I had to meet Rebbetzin Kanievsky there are two feelings that linger: warmth and simcha. Ner Echad has hightlighted our mitzva of hadlakas neros to be a zechus for the continued aliya of her neshama. Let’s all embrace this opportunity to connect our candles to Rebbetzin Kanievsky, and enable that warmth and simcha to permeate our hearts and homes, every Shabbos Kodesh and all week long.” Rebbetzin Slovie Jungreis Wolfe of Lawrence, an author, international lecturer, and leader of Hineni Couples, stated, “More than the Jewish people have kept Shabbos alive, Shabbos has kept the Jewish people alive. We have the incredible opportunity to ignite our Shabbos candles across the world and give life to our nation. Through our acts of kindness, prayers and our Shabbos lights we join as one people, as Ner Echad, and bring blessing to Am Yisroel.” Ner Echad’s website is replete with testimonials of dozens of well-known Jewish women encouraging others to join, such as Rachel Frankel, Yamina Mizrachi, Rebbetzin Tzipporah Heller, Rabbanit Yehudit Yosef, Bracha Goetz, and Shani Hikind. For six extraordinary decades, Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky’s tiny apartment in Bnei Brak overflowed onto the streets of Israel with women coming from all over the world to seek her advice, blessing and support. “The Kanievsky family devote their lives 24/7 to the Jewish people,” Storch said. “If we have a chance to say thank you, and show hakoros hatov, and help the Rebbetzin’s soul have an aliyah, how can we not take a few minutes to sign up, and donate a dollar for candlelighting in her memory that helps widows, divorcees, and children in need?” Volunteers are sought as communal ambassadors, to spread the word, do good deeds, and build a huge network of Jewish women from all backgrounds. If you are ready to light up the world, join Ner Echad by signing up on the website: www. nerechad.org/join, by calling 844-637-3242, or emailing [email protected].
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