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Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015
Your Weekly Guide for Savings and Directory for the Jewish homeCOMMUNITY LINKS
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December 26, 2014
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5SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Continued on page 7
The Rebbe shed a tear and then replied, “In whom do you expect me
to believe after Auschwitz? In man?”
Two Versions
One of the intriguing things about the Ten Commandments is that they
were engraved on two separate tablets. Was G-d short of granite that He
needed to use two tablets? Why could He not carve the commandments
onto a single stone?
The rabbis in the midrash proposed a novel answer.
The rabbis in the midrash proposed a novel answer. The Ten
Commandments, they suggested, were engraved on two tablets, five on
each stone, so that they would be read in two directions -- from top to
bottom, and from side to side.(Mechilta, ch. 20)
The simplest way of reading the Ten Commandments is, of course, from
top to bottom:
On the first stone:
1) “I am the Lord your G-d who has taken you out of Egypt...”
2) “You shall have no other gods...”
3) “You shall not swear in G-d’s name in vain...”
4) “Remember the Sabbath...”
5) “Honor your father and your mother...”
And the five commandments engraved on the second tablet:
6) “You shall not murder.”
ROOTS OF SECULAR & RELIGIOUS
FUNDAMENTALISM
By Yosef Y. Jacobson
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6 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
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7SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
7) “You shall not commit adultery.”
8) “You shall not steal.”
9) “You shall not bear false witness against your fellow.”
10) “You shall not covet your fellow’s house; you shall not covet your
fellow’s wife … nor anything that belongs to your fellow.”
This was the way of reading the Ten Commandments vertically. Yet due to
the fact that the first five commandments were engraved on one stone and
the second five on a separate stone, there was another way of reading the
commandments -- horizontally instead of vertically, from commandment
#1 directly to #6; from #2 to #7; #3 -- #8; #4 -- #9; #5 -- #10.
This version of the Ten Commandments would then read like this:
1) I am the Lord your G-d/You shall not murder. 2) You shall have no
other gods/You shall not commit adultery; and so forth with the rest of
the commandments.
Yet this explanation begs the question: Why is it necessary to read the
Ten Commandments horizontally? What insight can we gain from this
alternative reading of the commandments?
In this essay we will discuss the juxtaposition of the first and sixth
commandments: “I am the Lord your G-d/You shall not murder.” The
significance of this “horizontal” reading from a historical, political and
religious standpoint cannot be overstated. It embodies one of the most
stunning aspects of Judaism. What is at stake in this juxtaposition is
nothing less than the future of human civilization.
Two Historical Attempts
The result for both was moral defeat.
Two groups have made an attempt to divorce commandment #1 from
commandment #6 -- to sever the idea of a Creator, who conceived the
world for a moral purpose, from the imperative to honor the life of
another human being. The first group was comprised of the philosophers
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8 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
of the Enlightenment during the 18th and 19th centuries, the second
of religious leaders in many and diverse ages. The result for both was
moral defeat.
The thinkers of the Enlightenment ushered in the Age of Reason and the
modern secular era, founded on the belief that the great ideal of “You
shall not murder” did not require the prerequisite of “I am the Lord Your
G-d” in order to be sustained. Religion was not necessary to ensure moral
behavior; reason alone -- without G-d -- would guide humanity into
an age of liberty and to the achievement of moral greatness. The sixth
commandment could operate successfully independent of the first.
While religion embodied the vision of man standing in a continuous
relationship with G-d, the essence of the Enlightenment represented the
vision of man without G-d. It was a vision already introduced during the
first days of creation near the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, by the
most sophisticated animal of the time, the serpent. “You shall be like G-d,”
it promised Eve (Gen. 3:5). Man could, and ought to, replace G-d. Left to
his own vices, the thinking went, the human being will achieve greatness.
...the Holocaust spelled the end of this grand faith in
the promise of human progress based on human reason.
But the Holocaust spelled the end of this grand faith in the promise of
human progress based on human reason. In Auschwitz, the belief that
modern man felt a natural empathy for others was ruined forever.
The gas chambers were not invented by a primitive, barbaric and illiterate
people. To the contrary, this people excelled in sciences and the arts,
but nevertheless sent 1.5 million children, and 4.5 million adults, to
their deaths solely because they had Jewish blood flowing in their veins.
SS guards would spend a day in Auschwitz, gassing as many as 12,000
human beings, and then return home in the evening to pet their dogs
and laugh with their wives. As the smoke of children ascended from
the crematoriums, these charming romantics would enjoy good wine,
beautiful women and the moving music of Bach, Mozart and Wagner.
They murdered millions of innocents in the name of a developed ethic,
Continued on page 10
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9SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
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1010 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
and they justified genocide on purely rational grounds.
Elie Wiesel who gripped the world’s imagination with his book “Night,”
a personaltestimony of life and death in Auschwitz, once asked
the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who himself lost many members of his family
in the Holocaust, how he could believe in G-d after Auschwitz. If G-d
existed, Wiesel asked, posing the single greatest challenge to faith, how
could He ignore 6 million of His children de-humanized and murdered
in the cruelest of fashions?
The Rebbe shed a tear and then replied, “In whom do you expect me to
believe after Auschwitz? In man?”
This must remain one of the lasting legacies of Auschwitz. If there is any
faith at all left after the extermination of 6 million people, it must glean
its vitality from something transcending the human rationale and its
properties. If morality is left to be determined exclusively by the human
mind, it can become a morality that justifies the guillotine, the gulag
and the gas chamber. As Dostoevsky famously put it in The Brothers
Karamazov: “Where there is no G-d, all is permitted.”
Without G-d, we cannot objectively define any behavior as good or evil.
As difficult as it is to entertain, no one can objectively claim that gassing
a mother and her children is any more evil than killing a mouse. It is all
a matter of taste and opinion. The validity and effectiveness of “You shall
not murder” can be sustained only if it is predicated on the foundation
of faith in a universal moral creator who gave humanity an absolute and
unwavering definition of what constitutes good vs. evil. When the vision
of the sacred dies in the soul of a person, he or she is capable of becoming
a servant of the devil.
Religious Evil
But this is far from the whole picture.
While the Enlightenment abandoned commandment #1 in favor of #6,
various religions over the ages abandoned #6 in favor of #1. Theirs has
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1111SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
been the atrocious belief that as long as you believe in the Lord, or in
Allah, you can kill and maim whomever you brand an “infidel.” Whether
it is a business executive in New York, or a teen-ager eating a slice of
pizza in Jerusalem, or a child on the first day of school in Beslan, or a
commuter in Madrid, or a tourist in Bali, or aChabad couple in Mumbai,
if the person is not a member of your faith, G-d wants him or her to die.
For the religious fundamentalist, “I am the Lord your G-d” has nothing to
do with “You shall not murder.”
To believe in G-d means to honor the life of every person...
This is the greatest perversion of faith. Faith that does not inculcate its
followers with the sanctity of every single human life desecrates and
erodes the very purpose of faith, which is to elevate the human person
to a state beyond personal instinct and prejudice. If you delete “You
shall not murder” from religion, you have detached yourself from “I am
the Lord your G-d.” To believe in G-d means to honor the life of every
person created in the image of G-d. What the juxtaposition of the two
commandments is telling us is that you can’t believe in G-d and murder.
Conversely, if you truly believe that taking the life of another human is
wrong -- not just because you lack the means or motive to do so or are
afraid of ending up in jail, but because you recognize the transcendent,
inviolable value of life -- that’s just another way of saying you believe in
G-d. For what confers upon human life its radical grace, its transcendent
sanctity and its absolute value if not the living presence of G-d imprinted
on the face of the human person?
More than 3,300 years ago, Judaism, in the most ennobling attempt to
create a society based on justice and peace, established its principle code
in the sequence of the two commandments – “I am the Lord your G-d/
You shall not murder.” A society without G-d can become monstrous;
a society that abandons the eternal and absolute commandment: “You
shall not murder” is equally evil. Both are capable of burning children
alive during the day and then retiring to sleep with a clear conscience.
Continued on page 13
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1212 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
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The Mountain
The Talmud (Shabbat 88a) captures this notion in a rather strange, but
intriguing, fashion.
The Talmud cites a tradition that when Israel approached Sinai, G-d
lifted up the mountain, held it over the people’s heads and declared:
“Either you accept theTorah, or be crushed beneath the mountain” (see
Ex. 19:17, Rashi)
This seems ludicrous. What worth is there to a relationship and a covenant
accepted through coercion?1
If you reject the morality of Torah...the result will be
humanity crushed under a mountain of tyrants.
The answer is profoundly simple. What G-d was telling the Jewish people is
that the creation of societies that honor life and shun cruelty is dependent
on education and on the value system inculcated within children of the
society. The system of Torah, G-d was suggesting, was the guarantor for
life and liberty. If you reject the morality of Torah, if you will lack the
courage and conviction to teach the world that “I am the Lord your G-d”
and that I have stated unequivocally “You shall not murder,” the result
will be humanity crushed under a mountain of tyrants.
Seventy-plus years since Auschwitz and after one decade of incessant
Islamic terrorism, the mountain is hanging over our heads once again.
Shall we embrace the path of divine-based morality? Shall we never forget
that religion must always be defined by “You shall not murder” (#7)? ■
[From an e-mailing in 2006. Rabbi Jacobson based this essay on
a Yiddishletter by the Lubavitcher Rebbe written to Dr. Elie Wiesel in
1965 (published inLikutei Sichot vol. 33 pp.255-260) and on a 1962 public
address by the Rebbe (published in Likkutei Sichot vol. 3 pp. 887-895), and
on other sources; Copyright © TheYeshiva.net ]
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1414 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
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1515SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
BY MINDY RAFALOWITZ
Chocolate-Honey
Birthday CakeThis recipe makes a great base to decorate or to make layered cakes of all shapes. Since it’s a large recipe, you can use the extra batter to
make identical cupcakes or bake in loaf pans and freeze for Shabbos.
INGREDIENTS:
• 9 eggs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 4½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ cups baking cocoa
• 4½ tablespoons instant coffee
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 2 cups oil
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sweet red wine
• 1¾ cups honey
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12x15-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the whole eggs with the sugar for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cocoa, instant coffee, and vanilla sugar. In another medium bowl, combine the oil, water, wine and honey.
As the mixer continues beating the eggs, gradually add the dry ingredients and the liquids, alternating between the two mixtures.
Baking directions and decorating tips follow.
DECORATING TIP #1:
Before you begin to decorate your cake of choice, line a decorative cake dish with two pieces of parchment paper meeting in the center. As you work, the parchment paper will catch any drippings that may occur in the process. When the decorating is done, carefully remove each half of parchment paper and discard, leaving your serving dish
clean and your cake ready to serve.
DECORATING TIP #2:
To make chocolate decorations that can be used as “decals”: Put a square of baking chocolate (or an equal amount of colorful chocolate melts) into a sandwich bag, add 1 tablespoon oil and tie the bag on top. Immerse the bag in a cup of hot (not boiling)
water until the chocolate melts, mixing slightly with your fi ngers until smooth and oil is combined well.
Spread a piece of parchment paper on your work surface. With baking scissors (regular scissors that were toiveled), cut off a small corner of the bag of melted chocolate. Using the sandwich bag as a piping bag, draw shapes or print letters as you like on the paper. A good way to ensure
perfect shapes is to place an outline under the parchment paper and trace over it with the melted chocolate.
Allow design to cool and harden (in warm weather, place in the refrigerator). Peel off the decals and place on your cream-covered cake.
Note: If you’re not satisfi ed with the shape you made, peel off when hardened and set aside to melt again.
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Engaging the Bungler
When his daughter reached marriageable age, Reb Shmuel asked his rebbe, R.
Mottel of Chernobyl, to recommend a match for her. He was quite shocked
when the Rebbe replied to him, “What’s the rush? She’s got plenty of time.”
Upon reflection, Shmuel felt pleased with the Rebbe’s reply, for he assumed
that the Rebbe meant that there was nothing to worry about. However, when he
continued to receive this same reply year after year, he began to feel ill at ease.
One year, when his daughter was no longer a youngster, Shmuel asked the Rebbe
why he kept brushing his request aside. Seeing his chasid’s anxiety, the Rebbe said:
“Shmuel, your daughter’s mate does exist, and I even know his name. But what can I do
if he doesn’t want to get married now? He is one of the thirty-six hidden saints for whose
sake the world is maintained, and prefers to abstain from worldly pleasures. But don’t
worry. I’ll yet persuade him to take a wife. It is forbidden for a Jew to live alone, especially
when his mate is standing in the doorway waiting for him.”
Shmuel heaved a sigh of relief. However, when he pressed the Rebbe for further
information, the Rebbe reprimanded him, saying:
“Be patient. I told you.”
Obediently, Shmuel suppressed his curiosity and waited to see what the future would
bring.
When Shmuel came to Chernobyl for Rosh HaShana, the Rebbe said to him even before
he could ask, “Prepare for a trip. You and your daughter will go to the village of C. after
Yom Kippur. You’ll be staying there for Sukkot, so prepare yourself accordingly. You will
build a sukka there and invite Yosseleh to dine with you. Everyone in the village knows
him. He is your future son-in-law. Over the holiday he will soften his position, and by the
end of the festival, your daughter will be a kalla (bride-to-be), G-d willing of course.”
The arrival of Reb Shmuel and his daughter in C. aroused the curiosity of the townsfolk,
for no Jew settles in a new town on the eve of a major holiday without an urgent reason.
Assuming correctly that Shmuel had come to find a match for his daughter, all the local
marriage brokers began pounding on his door. However, he dismissed them all, saying that
he was looking for Reb Yosseleh.
Strangely, no one in town knew of a Reb Yossel. There were many ordinary Yossels around,
but no Reb (‘Mr.’) Yosseleh. However, Shmuel did not despair, and began to look up every
Yossel in town: Yossel the grocer, Yossel the driver, Yossel the water carrier. But all those
Yossels were happily married. The only eligible Yossel in town was the shammes’ (shul
caretaker’s) assistant - Yossel the shlemiel (bungler).
Shmuel met Yossel in shul where Yossel was busy sweeping the floor. When he finished,
he disappeared. Reb Shmuel began to investigate Yossel’s habits, and learnt that Yossel
slept under the bench in the Beit HaMidrash (Torah Study Hall). No one knew what he did
Continued on page 19
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1818 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Many ingredients are prone to infestation. Please consult a local Rav for specifi c guidelines on how to avoid transgressions related to insects.
“Way to Go!” CakeThis recipe requires a little more know-how than the others, but it’s defi nitely easier to make than to write the instructions explaining how to make it!
TO DECORATE:
• cake recipe on page 57
• approximately 20 wafer rolls
• 36 chewing gum squares
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 to 2 drops green food coloring
• flower or leaf confetti
• toy cars, trucks and street signs
For nonstick chocolate frosting:• 1½ cup confectioner’s sugar
• 5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1½ tablespoons instant coffee
• 5 tablespoons oil
• 4 to 6 tablespoons water
TO PREPARE CAKE:
Pour the batter into two 7-inch round baking pans (or bake one after another if you have only one pan), fi lling pan only three-quarters. Bake at 350°F (170°C) for about 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs on it. Cool completely on a rack.
Invert the 2 baked cakes side by side, touching each other, onto a suitable cake platter or tray, lined with parchment paper as described in Tip #1.
TO PREPARE CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
Mix all the ingredients except water in a small bowl, then add the water tablespoon by tablespoon until you reach a good spreading consistency. Immediately spread on the cake before icing hardens.
TO MAKE THE HIGHWAY:
Cut 14 wafer rolls in half and 6 wafer rolls in thirds. Lay down the wafer roll halves lengthwise around the circumference of the two cakes, connecting between them so a “road” is formed (see photo). Then form traffi c circles with the smaller pieces of wafer rolls. Add the gum squares for the dotted crosswalks. Decorate as you wish with the confetti, cars, trucks and street signs.
Mix the shredded coconut with the food coloring in a small bowl. Sprinkle around the cake to cover the serving platter or tray. Enjoy the birthday fun!
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1919SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
in his spare time. Sometimes he was seen leaning over a book. But it was said that a glance over
Yossel’s shoulder at such times would reveal that the book was upside down. No one ever saw him
davven (pray) properly, and some said that he could not pronounce the words of the prayers.
Hearing these reports, Shmuel was so downcast that if it hadn’t been Sukkot, he would have gone
home. He was sure that he had misunderstood the Rebbe’s directions, and had gone to the wrong
village. The Rebbe could not possibly have been referring to Yossel the shlemiel!
Shmuel built himself a sukka, and he and his daughter did their best to decorate it. Recalling that
the Rebbe had instructed him to invite Yosseleh to the holiday meal, he said:
“If we can’t invite the Yosseleh, at least let us invite a Yosseleh. Poor shlemiel. He ‘s probably
sleeping under a bench right now. I’ll go to shul and wake him up.”
Reb Shmuel tiptoed into the shul which was dimly lit by a few memorial candles. Although the
service had ended long ago, someone stood in the corner davvening fervently in a sweet voice.
Only a tzadik (perfectly righteous) could pray like that! Curious to discover the identity of the
worshipper, Reb Shmuel crept up behind him. To his amazement, he realized that the solitary
worshipper was Yossel, the shammes’ assistant. The shlemiel?
When Yossel finished praying, he left the shul, Reb Shmuel at his heels. Soon Reb Shmuel found
himself in a dense forest. Hiding behind a tree, Shmuel watched Yossel’s every move. Out of the
darkness, a sukka suddenly appeared. Yosseleh entered the sukka and began to chant the Order of
the Ushpizin (the 7 Heavenly Guests) in a voice that was sweet beyond description. Shmuel crept
over to the sukka and peeked inside. What he saw nearly caused him to faint, for at the table were
seated seven tzadikim whose faces shone like the noonday sun.
The next morning, Reb Shmuel bought maftir (the right to read the final section of the weekly
portion of the Torah), and invited Yossel to recite the blessings. At first Yossel declined the honor,
saying that he did not know how to read. However, Reb Shmuel grabbed him by the arm and said:
“Yosseleh. The truth is out. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Accepting that he had no choice, that Jewish Law bound him to accept the invitation, Yossel
ascended the bima (podium). At first, he tried to stutter. However, he soon abandoned his guise,
and began to recite the blessings with such fervor, that the entire congregation was overwhelmed.
Shmuel invited Yossel to dine the festive holiday meal in his sukka, and Yossel accepted the
invitation. After the meal, Reb Shmuel said to Yossel:
“According to the Rebbe of Chernobel, you are my daughter’s match. Have you any comment to
make?”
“The Rebbe only states truth” was the quiet response.
On the night after the holiday’s conclusion, Reb Shmuel’s daughter happily became a betrothed
kalla. ■
Source: Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from “The Joy of the Festivals - Succos” (Zohar Press).
Biographical note: Rabbi Mordechai (“Mottel”) of Chernobyl [of blessed memory: 5530 - 20
Iyar 5697 (1770 - May 1837 C.E.)] was the second rebbe in the dynasty and a leading rebbe of
his generation. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Aharon the Great of Karlin, and subsequently of
Rabbi David Seirkes, an important disciple of the Baal Shem Tov. His eight sons all became major
Chasidic leaders.
Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015
2020 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Community Links 718-778-7278 June 21, July, 6, 2012
13
1391 CONEY ISLAND AVENUE BETWEEN AVENUES J & K
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RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED
Cafe VeneziaVALET PARKING AVAILABLE FOR YOUR EVENT
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PARTIES, AND BUSINESSMEETINGS WITH FULL SCREEN DVD PLAYER
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2121SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Community Links 718-778-7278 June 21, July, 6, 2012
10
Cafe Renaissance
802 kings highway, Brooklyn New York 718 382-1900
“Our serene ambience with our scrumptious menu will keep you coming back”
Under the strict supervision of Rabbi Yisroel Gornish
On/off Premises Catering Available Brisim, L'chaim's, Sheva Brochos, Upshernish, Bar/Bas Mitzvahs,
Private Parties, Accommodating up to 120 people
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2222 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish UN peacekeeper have been killed as Hezbollah militants traded
fire with Israeli forces on the Lebanese border.
After Israeli forces were hit by missile fire, they responded by firing shells into southern Lebanon.
The UN Security Council is to discuss the fighting at an emergency meeting called by France in New
York.
A senior UN official on the ground in Lebanon urged “maximum restraint to prevent an escalation”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency security meeting and said the
attackers would “pay the full price”.
The cross-border violence erupted when Israeli military vehicles were struck by anti-tank missiles
at about 11:35 (09:35 GMT) near Mt Dov, in the Shebaa Farms area, a tract of land where the
borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet.
Two soldiers died in the attack. Hezbollah said it was retaliation for an Israeli air strike that killed six
of its fighters and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general in the Syrian Golan Heights 10 days ago.
Air and ground
Seven other Israeli soldiers were injured, two of them moderately.
ISRAEL news
Continued on page 24
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2323SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Community Links 718-778-7278 May 18, June 1, 2012
18
Exclusive Tailoring
We are offering silk Kapotes custom made
Price range is $350
Alterations for dresses, pants, shirts and blouses are $10.00 and up, kapota repairs is $20.00 and up shirts $3.00.
We now do shoe and bag repair We make women and children's clothes.
We have been working in the community for over 10 yrs.
We specialize in kapotes, andwe will repair them for as low as $12.
We have black pants custom made for only $25
We also do Drycleaning - We pickup and deliver. - Same day service
men's suit $8.00 and pants $4.00.
545 Kingston Ave Corner of Midwood St. 347-406-9480
johnexclusivetailoring.com.
545 Kingston Ave Corner of Midwood St.347-406-9480 / 347-525-1587
E-mail: [email protected]
johnexclusivetailoring.com.
Price range is $450.00 without pants.
Wool kapotes are $450.00 with pants
We also do alterations on all types of clothes
We specialize in kapotes, and we will repair them for as low as $12We have black pants custom made for only $50.00
with free alterations on same pants.
We specialize in kapotes
Special for the holidays we will repair kapotes for $12
$3.00$6.00
Special for the holidays
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2424 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Just over an hour later, mortars hit an Israeli military position on Mt Hermon, prompting troops to
close the site and evacuate civilians from a ski resort in the area.
Israel struck back with combined aerial and ground strikes on Hezbollah operational positions
along the border, the military said.
At least 50 artillery shells were fired at the villages of Majidiyeh, Abbasiyeh and Kfar Chouba,
according to Lebanese officials.
Later, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon announced that one of its peacekeepers had been killed
close to the Shebaa Farms area.
The defence ministry in Madrid identified the dead man as a Spanish soldier who had been at a
position near the village of Ghajar.
The UN special co-ordinator for Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag, expressed “deep concern over the serious
deterioration of the security situation” and “urgently called on all parties to refrain from any actions
that could destabilise the situation further”.
Edmond Mulet, assistant secretary-general for UN peacekeeping operations, is to brief the Security
Council in closed consultations.
Analysis: Jim Muir, BBC News, Beirut
After Israel’s surprise air strike inside Syria on 18 January, it was clear that Hezbollah and its Iranian
backers would feel obliged to respond. The question now is whether the two sides will regard honour
as satisfied by their responses so far.
ISRAEL news
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2525SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Continued on page 28
Everyone is mindful of the Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, which lasted a month and caused death,
destruction and disruption on both sides of the border without either side clearly winning.
The feeling is that neither Hezbollah nor Israel has much interest in an escalation to that point.
Hezbollah is already heavily embroiled in the war in Syria.
Israel’s leaders face general elections in March. They could benefit if a robust response was seen to
punish Hezbollah without repercussions, but a disruptive war could backfire at the polls.
‘Criminal terror attack’
Mr Netanyahu said Israel was “prepared to act powerfully on all fronts”, adding, “Security comes
before everything else.”
The UN expressed “deep concern over the serious deterioration of the security situation
His office accused Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer, of being behind a “criminal terror attack” by the
Shia Islamist movement.
In a statement, Hezbollah said the attack had been carried out by a cell calling itself the “heroic
martyrs of Quneitra”, an apparent reference to an area of the Syrian Golan Heights where the Israeli
air strike took place on 18 January.
Sources in Israel say that attack was aimed at stopping an attack on Israeli soil.
The Israeli military boosted its air defences and stepped up surveillance along its northern frontiers
after Hezbollah and Iran vowed to seek revenge.
ISRAEL news
Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015
2626 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
800.638.84201425 37th Street, Brooklyn, NY
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Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015 Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015
2727SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
HOW TO SELECT A MATTRESSThe No Frills Way
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2828 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli aircraft bombed Syrian army artillery positions in response to two
rockets that were fired the previous day into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israeli medics said up to seven people were lightly injured by the rocket fire.
What are the Shebaa Farms?
The farms cover an area about 14km (9 miles) long and 2.5km wide, to the south of the
Lebanese village of Shebaa, on the western slopes of Mount Hermon/Jabal al-Sheikh
The area has been a flashpoint for violence since Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon in
2000
Until the 1967 Middle East war, the farms were under Syrian control, but the farmers had
Lebanese citizenship
The area was captured by Israel and annexed in 1981 along with the rest of the Golan
Heights, a move not internationally recognised
The Lebanese government says the farms are part of its territory, a claim backed by
Damascus, but not the UN
Hezbollah has consistently used Israel’s presence in the area as justification for retaining its
weapons and continuing “resistance” ■
ISRAEL news
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2929SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015Community Links 718-778-7278 January 30, February 13, 2015
3030 SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Turning your m
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3131SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKSSAY YOU SAW IT IN THE CH-LINKS
Since the time of the Baal Shem Tovthe violin has been the Soul ofChassidic and classical music.
Now Concert Violinist Yitzchok Hurwitz isAVAILABLE HERE INCROWN HEIGHTSto teach this nobleinstrument.
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646-706-8289
Mr. Hurwitz has performed asSoloist and Concertmaster in theUnited States and Europe. He taught violin at The JuilliardSchool of Music, and was Professorand Director of InstrumentalMusic at Wesleyan University inConnecticut.
In this community, R‘ Yitzchok isknown for his violin performancesat simchas. His violin is the “Viotti”Stradivarius, made in Cremona,Italy in 1712.
Yitzchok Hurwitz teaching violinin a scene from “I am a Chassid”
CHASSIDISHE NIGUNIM, CLASSICAL MUSIC CHILDREN AND ADULTS BEGINNERS AND ADVANCED
646-706-8289
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323 243 5715 323 935 1399www.ilanwain.com [email protected]
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