Daily Archives: March 8, 2006

Purim Festivities for Children With Special Needs

Autism, cerebral palsy, Asperger’s syndrome, Down syndrome, and ADHD are no longer obstacles to Purim fun as Friendship Circle programs, offered at 20 Chabad-Lubavitch centers around the world, sponsor events for children with special needs for the upcoming holiday.

Celebrated this year March 13-15, Purim marks the salvation of the Jewish people in 365 B.C.E. from certain annihilation at the hands of Haman, a prime minister whose evil ways were trumped only by the righteousness of Mordechai, the valiance of Queen Esther and the prayers of Jewish children. Creativity and thoughtful planning are required to ensure that children with special needs are included, but not overwhelmed, by the festivities of the lively holiday of Purim.

OK Kosher Filled to Capacity for Restaurant Mashgichim Conference

On Wednesday, March 8, 2006, the OK held a massive mashgiach training session at its headquarters in Brooklyn. Led by Restaurant and Catering Rabbinic Coordinator, Rabbi Naftali Marrus, the session focused on familiarizing new mashgichim with OK policies and procedures. The OK conference room was filled beyond capacity, with dozens mashgichim who were ready to learn the ropes of the OK.

Rabbi Chaim Fogleman, the Rabbinic Coordinator who oversees Restaurants and Catering Facilities, began the conference with a D’Var Torah that connected Parshas Tetzaveh and kashrus. He explained that Moshe Rabbeinu has a connection and responsibility for every Jew and that is why Hashem spoke through Moshe. Even Hashem’s instructions to Aharon HaCohen came through Moshe. In a similar way, the OK has a responsibility for the kashrus of every Jew who eats in one of its many certified restaurants. Since the OK is responsible for what every Jew eats in its restaurants, its certification must be up to the highest standard of Cholov Yisroel, Pas Yisroel, Bishul Yisroel and Chassidishe Shechita.

Forgetting Terror

Of the many New York Times readers who made their way through this week’s three-part series, “An Imam in America,” one was paying especially close attention.

The series, which ran at the top of Page One on Sunday and Tuesday, focused on the political tightrope walked by Sheik Reda Shata, imam of Brooklyn’s Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, as he tries to reconcile the often conflicting values of America and Islam.

Devorah Halberstam knows full well about the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge. On March 1, 1994, a Lebanese-born man who had just listened to a hate-filled anti-Jewish sermon at that mosque filled his car with deadly weapons and attacked a van filled with Hasidic Jewish children on the Brooklyn Bridge.

For Ari Halberstam

No sooner had the New York Times launched its series on the Imam of the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge than the phone rang at The New York Sun. It was Devorah Halberstam, the mother of Aaron “Ari” Halberstam, a 16-year-old rabbinical student gunned down on the Brooklyn Bridge on March 1, 1994. She was calling to say that Monday would be the 12th anniversary of the murder of her son and that the mosque the Times was extolling as a seat of peaceable Islam was the place from which Rashid Baz set out on the shooting spree that claimed her son.

As the Times ran out its series, we waited for some mention of this fact. We were interested to read that the Imam at the center of the reporter’s story, Sheik Reda Shata, “is,” as the Times reporter wrote, “neither a firebrand nor a ready advocate of progressive Islam. Some of his views would offend conservative Muslims; other beliefs would repel American liberals. He is in many ways a work in progress, mapping his own middle ground between two different worlds.”

A journey of 304,805 steps begins with one letter

For those who live by the torah, there is plenty to keep them on their toes. Within the pages of Judaism’s sacred text there are no fewer than 304,805 letters assembled into words which make up some 613 commandments, ending with the daunting requirement that every believer must write his or her own torah.

Lest any Jew simply grab a legal pad and begin scribbling, be forewarned that producing a torah fit for use in the eyes of God is a bit more grueling task than it might seem on the surface. A kosher torah must be written on rolls of parchment flayed from the back of a cow or calf, for example, and if any one letter touches another or the ink within a letter cracks, theentire torah is no longer kosher.

Post-Mark-It’s New Awning

Stores all around Crown Heights have recently been updating their facades, and where new stores have been opening up off Kingston Ave. we have been seeing nice shiny new signs pop up on Troy, Albany and East New York. The latest is what used to be known as “Doar” for the longest time and now is Post Mark It has finally put up their sign.

So now it’s a competition of who can make it bigger and more creative!

Dancehall With a Different Accent

On Monday night, America’s most popular reggae singer took the stage wearing a black hat and a long black coat, but it wasn’t a costume. The singer is Matisyahu, a former hippie from White Plains. Once he followed Phish. Now he follows the teachings of Hasidic Judaism. And tons of fans follow him.

Monday’s concert was the first of two sold-out shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom. And yesterday he released his major-label debut album, “Youth” (JDub/Or/Epic), which is all but certain to enter the pop charts near the top. The record is dull, and the concert was often worse.