Ellen Geller Kamaras

 You may be wondering what a recent election at the World Zionist Congress (WZC) has to do with you and me in the United States.

You may also be asking yourself why does my vote matter?

Before I answer these questions and expand on the positive and potential ripple effects of the election and the accompanying huge victory for promoting Torah values within the Jewish communities in Israel, abroad, and here in the U.S., please allow me to give you some background and context.

The World Zionist Organization (WZO) was founded in 1896 by Theodore Herzl (1860-1904). For those of you who grew up in the 20^th century, Herzl is synonymous with modern day Zionism.  Herzl, an Austrian Jewish journalist, published a pamphlet, The Jewish State, introducing Zionism as a political movement with the objective of establishing a Jewish homeland/state as the solution to anti-Semitism.

Herzl spearheaded the First World Congress of Zionists in 1897 (now the WZC), by bringing together 200 delegates in Basel, Switzerland, primarily from Eastern and Central Europe,  Russia, and a few from Western Europe and the United States.  The delegates ranged from Orthodox Jews to atheists and from businessmen to students but all were united in their goal to create The Basel Program, which advocated for a publicly guaranteed homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine.  Herzl became the first president of the WZO.  Although he died before the State of Israel’s establishment in 1948, Herzl is remembered and honored as Israel’s founding father.

After the State of Israel was created in 1948, four organizations resulted from the WZC and they remain as influential national institutions in Israel – WZO, the umbrella organization, Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael (KKL), the Jewish National Fund (JNF), the Jewish Agency for Israel, and Keren Hayesod, or United Israel Appeal, a fundraising wing.   The current WZC determines the leadership of these organizations, which together have annual budgets of approximately $1 billion.

Fast Forward to Today’s WZO

The WZO is the overall supreme ideological and policy-making body of the Zionist movement.

Its primary goals are to promote Jewish and Zionist education, fight anti-Semitism, and help every Jew who wants to move to Israel to make aliyah.

 How Does the WZO Accomplish Its Mission and Objectives?

As the umbrella organization for the four major Zionist institutions described above, the WZO influences the agenda and Jewish education of the organized Jewish communities in Israel and the Diaspora.  It sends shlichim (emissaries) of the Zionist federations to Jewish communities globally.  Shlichim promote Zionism and also help with campus activities, social events, educational programs, and advocacy sessions that promote Jewish culture, and depending on who that shaliach is (pro-greater Israel or pro-Palestinian rights), push the State of Israel and assist Diaspora Jews to keep strong ties with Judaism, again depending on the religious affiliation, or lack of, of that shaliach.

The 2020 WZC 38^th Congress and its Groundbreaking Shift in the Ideological Balance of Power from the Left to the Religious and Right-Leaning Secular Slates

The WZC meets every five years in Yerushalayim. This year, the “parliament of the Jewish people” met virtually for the first time in its history, due to the novel coronavirus. The virtual platform allowed more delegates than ever before to attend the Congress.

Of the 525 delegates at the 38^th Congress, approximately one-third came from Israel and two-thirds from the Diaspora.  Of the Diaspora segment, 152 elected seats came from the U.S., nearly a third of the total delegates.

Almost 124,000 votes from all 50 states were collected to compete for the 152 seats, almost double the number from the 2015 WJC election and the largest number of votes since American Jews started voting 30 years ago.

Of these record-breaking votes, the newly created Eretz Hakodesh (The Holy Land) slate, which champions “traditional religious values and Jewish rights in the entire Land of Israel,” garnered over 20,000 votes and was the third-largest block in the elections.  Eretz Hakodesh represents the American chareidi and right-wing Orthodox communities.  The success of the Mizrachi and ZOA slates, the other more right-wing parties, urged on by the entrance of the Eretz Hakodesh slate, also helped shift WZC’s balance to the right. The WZC has historically leaned towards the left/secular ideology.

The Birth of the Eretz Hakodesh Party

 The Eretz Hakodesh party is the brainchild of Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Chairman of the slate. Rabbi Lerner is the former Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel and President of the Coalition for Jewish Values.  Rabbi Lerner described his party as “an American chareidi initiative established to protect the kedusha and mesorah in Eretz Yisrael.”  He urged chareidim and Orthodox Jews to express their love for Israel, Torah, and the Jewish people by voting in these elections.

 “The Torah and chareidi world wasn’t represented.  We had the chance to lessen the influence of the left and increase the Torah right’s influence.  How could we continue to sit by on the sidelines and complain?  Monies were being allocated to programs and projects that were harmful to Torah values and to what we would consider pro-Israel.  Eretz Hakodesh ran in these elections to diminish the control of the liberal and left organizations and to gain positive influence. And it succeeded in doing just that.”

 What Is the Impact of This Shift at the WJC?

 One Example: Israeli law currently provides that every student in the Israeli public school system must receive some weekly education in Judaism.  Thanks to the Eretz Hakodesh slate, Rabbi Lerner explains that the Torah community will be in a position to guide the education of these Israeli students.  Until now, the Liberal-left shaped that educational curriculum.  Eretz Hakodesh will also remain in charge of the KKL education department for the coming 2 ½ years and a new WZO department was established for “charedi spiritual services.”

 Let’s talk about our own Sam Sutton who represents the Sephardic Community with Eretz Hakodesh.  Sam is the president of the Sephardic Community Federation, the founder and co-chairman of Teach NYS and is the former Executive Vice President of Sephardic Bikur Holim.Five years ago, Mr. Sutton helped register Sephardic community members to vote in the 37^th Congress. At that time, Rabbi Elie Abadie, Rabbi of the Edmond Safra Synagogue in Manhattan, founded the World Sephardic Zionist Organization, also known as Ohavei Zion.  Rabbi Abadie was motivated to do so by Hacham Ovadia Yosef’s backing and directive to participate in the Congress for the advancement of Torah.  Sam was active in recruiting people to register and vote for Ohavei Zion.

Sam was approached by Rabbi Lerner to run on the Eretz Hakodesh slate.  He would not consider it unless he received the approval of Rabbi David Ozeri, Rabbi of Yad Yosef Congregation, and spiritual leader of Brooklyn’s Syrian Orthodox community.   Rabbi Lerner and Rabbi Ozeri studied together in Ner Yisroel Yeshiva in Baltimore.  Sam received Rabbi Ozeri’s blessing and, indeed, his encouragement.  Rabbi Lerner tells of the special mandate Eretz Hakodesh had and the berachot from the gedolim that he received behind the scenes, including a beracha from HaRav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a and from the Hacham Yosef Harari-Raful.

Mr. Sutton is impassioned about the huge potential positive effects of the Eretz Hakodesh victory.  “There are so many opportunities now to support Jewish education in the Diaspora and combat assimilation.  Most importantly, we hope that the WZO will now be more disposed to send Orthodox shlichim to educate Jewish communities both in Israel and abroad and support Torah values and Zionism.  This can improve the face of Judaism around the world and could help support Jewish educational organizations.”

Sam knows about the power of Israeli involvement in the Diaspora.  He has worked with Dvir Kahana, the Director General of the Diaspora Ministry of the State of Israel.  Together, through the work of Ozar Hatorah, more than 1,800 Jewish children transferred to yeshivot from public schools in France, in the last three years alone.  The assimilation rate in France is over 60%. For children in yeshivot, the assimilation rate is only  a tiny fraction of that.

Please stay tuned for updates about the Eretz Hakodesh party and remember to protect our love of Israel and vote at the next WZC. It is so easy and inexpensive to vote.  You can affect the culture and atmosphere in Israel and the galut with just a few clicks.

Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach.  Her coaching specialties include life, career, and dating coaching.   Ellen works part-time as an entitlement specialist at Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services. She can be contacted at ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com).

An exceedingly humble scholar whose legal and personal advice was sought day and night

Aharon Loschak

Rabbi Dovid Feinstein, the Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem in New York and a leading halachic authority in North America, passed away on Friday, November 6. He was 91 years old.

Rabbi Feinstein was born in 1929 to the illustrious Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rebbetzin Sima Feinstein in the city of Lyuban in the Soviet Union (currently Belarus). When Dovid was eight years old, the family immigrated to the United States and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where he was to live for the rest of his life.

A few years after arriving in the United States, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was named Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta Tifereth Jerusalem (known as MTJ). It was then a small yeshivah that gained renown under his leadership. Over the years, he became world-famous as one of the foremost halachic authorities of his generation.

Upon his father’s passing in 5746 (1986), Rabbi Dovid took charge of the Manhattan branch of the yeshivah, while his brother, Rabbi Reuven Feinstein, directed the Staten Island branch of MTJ. Despite the changing tide of neighborhoods in New York City, Rabbi Feinstein remained a stalwart presence in the historically Jewish neighborhood of the Lower East Side.

Like his father before him, Rabbi Dovid Feinstein soon became a leading halachic authority. He was known to have his phone busy at all hours of the day and night, with calls from around the world seeking his advice on all areas of halachah.

Rabbi Dovid Feinstein was also a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America and authored many works and commentaries on the Torah, Talmud, and halachah. For example, in the classic Stone Edition of the Torah printed by Artscroll, there appears an explanation from Rabbi Feinstein as to the significance of the Masoretic note that appears at the end of every parashah.

A Humble and Engaging Leader and Teacher

Despite his illustrious background and prominent position, Rabbi Feinstein was known to be exceedingly humble and easy to relate to. He would often say that “I am much more comfortable in the back of the room with the students,” than in the front of the study hall, traditionally reserved for respected figures and teachers. Over the course of his many years of leadership, he was always approachable, shying away from the spotlight and fanfare usually afforded a man of his stature.

When Rabbi Dovid Feinstein celebrated his bar mitzvah, he took on a practice which would change his entire life. He felt that since he was born during the week of Parshat Korach, he had come to the world to fix the sin of lashon hara (evil talk). From this time on he took upon himself to speak sparsely and he would often shorten his discussions on general topics and would remain silent. The Satmar Rebbe, who came to console him after the death of his sister, said that “from Rabbi Dovid’s silence I can learn more than any mussar speech I heard in my life.”

“Rabbi Feinstein was so unassuming that if you did not who he was, you would never guess that he was a world-class Torah scholar,” said Rabbi Yisroel Stone, co-director  of Chabad of the Lower East Side with his wife, Chani. “At public events or weddings, he would never rise to speak, always shunning honor. What’s more, though he would willingly offer his opinion on any halachic matter, he would never push it on anyone.”

Indeed, wherever he was needed, he would be there. His son, Rabbi Mordechai, relates how despite his father’s tremendous responsibilities, if he heard that someone needed a rabbi to officiate at a wedding, he would make it a point to personally tend to it.

Rabbi Feinstein is survived by two sons and a daughter, and by grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A third son died in his youth.

The funeral took place in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and then in Jerusalem.

Adapted from an article written by Aharon Loschak from Chabad.org. with permission of  Chabad.org/News.
Original article link: https://chabad.org/4935126

Here’s a riddle: What do Hanukah and PROPEL have in common? Stumped? In a word: LOTS!

Hanukah represents the Jewish people’s tenacious refusal to give up on its values.  It represents working hard to change the situation.  It stresses education and an eye toward the future.  Confronted by the evil assimilationist decrees of the Syrian Greeks, the tiny band of Hasmoneans said, “This has to change.”  Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, they persisted, and achieved the only period of true independence during the Second Bet Hamikdash. And women played a key role in the story.

At its core, PROPEL represents many of the same values. Its dedicated board members, supporters, and professional staff do not give up, helping each client dream and then make plans to actualize that dream.  Obstacles are encountered and jointly overcome. PROPEL staff members work to marshal resources within the community and beyond, providing encouragement and a cheering squad every step of the way, PROPEL has helped over 200 women this year alone.  PROPEL’s career coaches tailor plans to specific client needs,  and have facilitated change in these women’s – and their families’ – lives and incomes.  COVID-19 brought a new set of challenges. And PROPEL was there, researching and implementing the best ways to serve, without compromising on any aspect of their service delivery.

Can’t meet coaches face-to-face? Zoom and cell phones have made technology our best friends.  Want to start college? Classes are available on-line and by Zoom. Thanks to the internet (and the good old-fashioned phone), clients still receive that signature PROPEL personal touch. PROPEL continues to provide mentoring, coaching, and information to women entering the workforce.  PROPEL enables the women of our community to earn and help support their families while maintaining our values. PROPEL provides career advice to women of all ages, including young women in high school, college, and graduate programs. The organization encourages the women of our community to tap into their potential by utilizing education to transform a passion into a profession. Working with area colleges, the PROPEL team finds the “best fit” for each client, based on her goals, background, and personal circumstances.  Training and professional certification programs are also available to PROPEL clients. Financial support is available to help women reach their goals. PROPEL also promotes networking opportunities for community members. Clients can receive targeted advice and mentorship for specific careers and work to advance their earning potential.  PROPEL encourages women to be the heroes.

Want to create your own Hanukah miracle? Reach out to PROPEL.

————————

If you are interested in a career, please reach out to PROPEL and we can help you fulfill your professional goal. Follow PROPEL on Instagram @PropelNetwork.

PROPEL 646-494-0822 | info@thepropelnetwork.org

Pnina Souid

The Mitzvah Man organization is always on the lookout for how to bring joy to any Jew in need. And what better time to bring extra joy than during Sukkot, one of the happiest times in the Jewish calendar! In fact, the Mishna in Tractate Sukkah tells us that one who never saw the simha (joy) at the Place of the Water-Drawing (the Simhat Beit HaShoeva in the Beit HaMikdash) has never seen joy in his life.

Many sukkot adorn the front and back yards and terraces of the neighborhoods in our community. However, circumstances often do not permit for some families to have their own sukkah, even if there is room for one on their property.

Enter the Mitzvah Man. To help families to perform the mitzva of residing in their sukkot, this year the Mitzvah Man organization delivered 27 brand new sukkot to families that never before had their own sukkah.

On erev Sukkot, after all the deliveries were made and the sukkot were set up, the Mitzvah Man received a text. He could not get to it immediately, and thirty minutes later he opened it. It read: “Hi Mitzvah Man, my husband is in the sukkah store and wants to donate two brand new sukkot.”

The Mitzvah Man returned the call as soon as he could, telling the woman who texted, Mrs. S.: “Baruch Hashem, we just gave away all the brand new sukkot that we had requests for. However, I will keep you in mind as it does happen that we get additional requests. But right now I have no one to give the sukkot to. Hashem sees your heart. We will stay in touch.”

“Please do,” answered Mrs. S., “however, at this point my husband is returning from the store which is quite a distance from us, and I don’t think that he will be going back. Certainly not on erev Sukkot.”

The Mitzvah Man got off the phone with Mrs. S. about 2pm. One hour later, he received two additional calls. These calls were requests for sukkot for two families that never had sukkot of their own before.

What a shame the calls had not come in an hour or two earlier! the Mitzvah Man thought. Then, Mr. S. could have bought those two sukkot he was willing to donate, and these families would be all set. Sadly, the Mitzvah Man told the callers he did not have more sukkot to distribute, but he would definitely keep them in mind.

At 3:30pm. the Mitzvah Man received a text from Mrs. S. As it turned out, when Mr. S. opened the box he brought home from the store containing his sukkah, he saw that a couple of items had not been put into the package. He was about to go straight back to the store and was still willing to buy those two new sukkot he had offered to donate.

Just imagine the holiday joy these two families experienced – at the very last minute!  Their brand new sukkot were delivered and installed an hour before the hag by the hesed loving Mitzvah Man volunteers. The Mitzvah Man organization always goes the extra mile to do hesed!

Everyone involved in this special mitzvah was amazed by the hashgacha pratit, the Divine Providence of our Creator.

We could say that it was just another day, another story for the Mitzvah Man organization, but our rabbis say it better – missva goreret missva. One mitzvah causes another mitzvah to happen.

The Mitzvah Man never ceases to be amazed by the hashgacha pratit he experiences on a constant basis and he always says, “When one has the desire to do hesed for another, the Bore Olam helps them along.”