To the Editor:
I was disappointed by the exaggerated coverage in the Jewish Link of Rabbi Yechiel Abuchatzeira’s upcoming appearance at a charity event in Teaneck, including a feature article (“Rabbi Yechiel Abuchatzeira Visiting Teaneck Next Thursday,” May 15), a full page ad, and a front-page photo.
Rabbi Abuchatzeira is scheduled to speak on “How to Elevate Your Mazel [Fortune] and Merit Happiness” and is billed as someone who offers “advice and personal blessings for shidduchim, shalom bayis, parnassah, children, refuah sheleimah, and all individual matters in urgent need of a yeshua.”
This statement is problematic on many levels. Practical advice by experts is always welcome, but the offer of “blessings” capable of providing “yeshua [salvation]” implies the possession of quasi-divine powers on the part of the person giving the blessing. The claim that a human being living after the end of prophecy can magically solve family, health, and financial emergencies, is not at all credible, lacks humility, and exploits the desperate.
Furthermore, the idea that one even has a “fortune” that requires “elevation” flies in the face of our belief in human freedom. We reject the concept of predestination. At a time in history when astrological determinism was considered inescapable, our Sages concluded unequivocally that “Israel is not subject to mazal.”
Let me be clear: This is not an ad hominem critique of any individual or organization. I do not question anyone’s sincerity or piety; I have no reason to doubt that all of Rabbi Abuchatzeira’s activities are performed for the sake of Heaven. But I do believe that bnei Torah should greet any modern miracle-worker with a healthy dose of skepticism.
David S. Zinberg
Teaneck, NJ
To the Editor:
As a mother of two sons and a 6-year-old granddaughter who live in Israel, as well as a teacher of Early Childhood for the past 25 years, I read with great interest the article “Are Preschoolers Ready to Learn About the Holocaust?”
In a nutshell, I believe that in Israel even very young children need to be taught about the Holocaust. Children in Israel are unfortunately privy to events and situations that our children in Bergen County can’t even imagine. As was noted in the article, there is the “siren” that sounds on Yom Hashoah and Yom Hazikaron. When that siren sounds, these young children know something serious is occurring, but they have nothing to attach their feelings of fear or anxiety to. Nothing is happening when the siren sounds; they see sad faces, they sense the tension, but why? As we all know, fear of the unknown is sometimes even worse than fear of what is actually happening. It is important for these very young and concrete children to receive substantive yet developmentally appropriate information as to why this siren evokes so much emotion in the adults around them.
However, I also strongly believe that young children growing up in America, and for the purposes of this letter specifically in Bergen County, should not be directly taught about the Holocaust, with the operative word being “directly.” Our young children have lives that are generally carefree, enjoyable, and to use their words, “so fun.” There is no siren, literally or figuratively, in our young children’s lives. Concurrently, however, I believe that when educators of young children skip over Yom HaShoah, they lose an opportunity to begin to lay the foundation for Holocaust education in the years to come.
Holocaust education in early childhood does not at all have to include death, destruction, and concentration camps. The words Holocaust or Shoah need never be mentioned. Even writing the words “concentration camps” and “Early Childhood” in the same sentence is anathema to me. But on Yom HaShoah we do have the opportunity to begin to teach these young children about our history, thereby laying the groundwork for their later Holocaust education. With an eye toward teaching about the growth of Israel, on Yom HaShoah I read the book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. This book is obviously set in Europe (Poland to be exact), and we engaged in a lively and interesting conversation about the people’s mode of dress, the activities in which they were engaged, the look of the buildings and surrounding land, and the family closeness that was evident through the pictures.
When we began learning about Yom Ha’atzmaut a week later, I intentionally referred once again to Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. I told the children that many of the people in Israel who built the land came from Europe, like the people did in the above mentioned book. Lo and behold one little boy then said, and I quote: “That means that after Israel was built there weren’t that many Jewish people living in Europe anymore.” Bingo! Or in teacher language, there was that “Aha!” moment, when a child uses information that a teacher gives him and then constructs his own knowledge from it. Nowhere was the Holocaust mentioned; nowhere was the destruction of huge Jewish communities mentioned. But this little boy now knows that at some point in our history the large Jewish population of Europe dwindled. And as a result, Israel became bigger. And some of his contemporaries know this as well, because they heard him say this in the classroom with the teacher concurring that this is correct. This is concrete. This is real. And this is not scary. Later, in fourth or fifth grade, this same child will learn that the Jewish population in Europe dwindled after the Holocaust because of the Holocaust. But right now he knows that Europe once had a huge Jewish population, many Jews moved to Israel, and now Europe has a smaller Jewish population.
I believe that this is the type of “Holocaust education” that our young children in Bergen County should receive. And as they mature and get older, and can take in even more about the communities that existed in Europe and what happened to them, may they continue to use their knowledge to understand our vibrant and remarkable history.
Joyce Buckman
Assistant Early Childhood Director/Pre-K Teacher
Yeshivat Noam
To the Editor:
I am writing to you in reference to your article that appeared in last week’s issue about rheumatoid arthritis. My husband was just diagnosed with this disease and is trying to keep upbeat and a positive attitude. When I saw the article last week, I was excited to learn more about what is going on with my husband. First of all the choice of photo was quite disturbing. Why would you choose to show a person severely affected by the disease vs. a person who is affected but looks healthy and is living with the disease to the max? Then I began to read the article, and my reaction was one of stunned silence. This article presented the disease in the most negative way possible (shortness of life, employability, etc.) I thought that maybe it was just my take, but I presented it to a friend who is a pa and works with a rheumatologist—she too was stunned by the negativity (although she did find two positive statements.)
My Shabbat was quite disturbed by your article. I’m not sure who previews what is presented in articles, but this one should never have been included in your issue. I hope that when you select articles in the future, that someone reads them through and looks for articles that present a more positive outlook on common (or even uncommon) diseases affecting our community.
Robyn Safier
Dear Editor,
I was very disappointed to read your editorial referencing the Holocaust in connection with the low voter turnout at the recent Teaneck municipal elections. I truly don’t think the first lesson— political or otherwise—to be learned from the Holocaust is to cast your vote in local municipal elections. The Jews in Germany had no real say in any kind of election well before the Holocaust started, and that wasn’t because of their low voter turnout. In fact, nobody had any real say in the political process because Hitler was a totalitarian ruler who quashed any sign of dissent.
I’m not sure what the first lesson of the Holocaust should be, and I’m not arrogant enough to suggest that I do. Perhaps it’s to be alarmed should men in military uniforms arrive at your door to take a census of all the Jews in town (circa 1916 and the Judenzahlung, arguably the turn of events that ignited tangible hostility toward the Jews), or to take careful note of any men with tiny mustaches and hysterical anti-Jewish sentiments popping up in public forums or, you know, in positions of real political power. There are many, many lessons to be learned. But I think your paper did an extreme disservice to the memory of six million Jews to in any way suggest a thread of commonality between the lessons of the Holocaust and what we can learn from the recent abysmally low turnout in the Teaneck municipal elections, and frankly, I’m shocked that it was approved for publishing. Being apathetic about commuter parking or how much money should be budgeted for parks and recreation is a shame, but I doubt it’s very dangerous. It’s certainly not comparable to the danger in which European Jews found themselves in the Holocaust era.
Respectfully,
Tova Ross
Bergenfield, NJ
To the Editor,
Your May 15 cover headline, “Teaneck Council 2014 Election Winners – Close Race Marked by Low Turnout” got me flipping pages to “SEE STORY ON PAGE 75.” What a letdown! Not one statistic, not one quote, not one word about the turnout.
Likewise, I was perplexed, and not a little uncomfortable, with your editorial on page 28. Perplexed because here, too, the low turnout was bemoaned as fact without any data to support the claim or put it in context; and uncomfortable because raising the specter of the Holocaust strikes me as inappropriate after an election in which thousands of conscientious citizens chose two fine, public-spirited newcomers, one of them a member of the Orthodox community.
For decades, turnout in Teaneck municipal races has seldom been robust. What I would have liked to know is, was it significantly lower than usual in this election? Lower across-the-board, or in districts that, to their credit, have traditionally led the town in turnout? And if the latter, can we attribute that simply to “apathy”? Or to disillusionment with the quality of governance the voters had previously elected?
A drop in turnout can sometimes reflect conscious voter abstentions. And dismissing that as apathy can sometimes just be sour grapes.
Jeff Ostroth
Teaneck, NJ
To the Editor:
I am writing as a concerned and outraged parent of a child in Pre-K at Temple Emeth Early Childhood Center. This past Friday, we found out that Temple Emeth ECC would be closing at the end of summer camp. This decision was made by the Temple Emeth Board members, without any knowledge or warning to the ECC family-staff and parents alike.
The Early Childhood Center has been housed at Temple Emeth for over 10 years. It has become a family within itself, including the families that have been lucky enough to be touched by its staff and program. This program offered an education for so many young children, but that is only the beginning. The warm attentive atmosphere provided a place for each child to blossom at his or her own pace, to learn to cooperate and to share. It furnished them with a positive start to their many years of school ahead and established a foundation for their Jewish identity. This was done remarkably, in an inclusive atmosphere, with children and staff representing the various branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform).
While I recognize the right of any institution to go after financial gain for their organization, the callousness of making a decision of this kind, in May, is unbelievable. Teachers and parents are without a place to go for the fall, after signing contracts and giving deposits in good faith for the children. A change like this should at least be given with a notice of nine months. It is astonishing that Temple Emeth, a religious institution, would behave this way towards anyone, especially Jewish children, families and employees. Last summer, it came to my attention that the Board had decided to eliminate any advertising budget for the Early Childhood Center, thus rendering it difficult to attract new families, or inform the community of additional services and hours offered by the ECC. Possibly the Board already had its sights on gaining more lucrative tenants for its space, therefore setting up the inevitable and claiming the need for change and more money. But why not give the ECC an opportunity to grow and offer this needed monetary assistance? Parents are being forced to now to pay hundreds of dollars in late fees while scrambling to find spots in schools for next fall. We were never asked about increasing tuition to maintain this beloved program for our children, enrolled and those we hoped to enroll in the future. In addition, the school staff was not afforded the opportunity to seek a new space to keep such a unique, warm and vibrant program alive. At the very least, they could have been shown respect and value by allowing them the time to apply and seek out alternative employment so that their families and financial obligations would not suffer.
Shocked, angry and saddened, that is how I have been going about my days since hearing this news. I am sure this is true for the rest of the ECC family as well, although, you would not be able to tell this by walking through the halls and observing classes. The remarkable teachers have been steadfastly providing warmth and education to the children in their classes. They have been celebrating Lag B’Omer, students’ birthdays, continuing lessons, and giving more than 100%, as usual. A strong and committed staff despite the hard blow they have suddenly been dealt.
With a heavy heart,
Sheila Chetrit
To the Editor:
For the past two years I have sent my oldest daughter to preschool at Temple Emeth Early Childhood Center in Teaneck. As a new resident of Teaneck, I was supremely impressed with the quality of education, facilities, and warmth of community. Late last week, I, as well as the rest of the Temple Emeth community, was informed that this school would be closing at the end of this summer. The school’s director, teachers, and parents were all informed of this decision in mid-May. It seems that a bid was placed on the space by a local public school and the Temple’s board felt it would be financially beneficial to accept this offer. While I understand synagogues have fiscal responsibilities and bottom lines, I remain shocked by this turn of events. How could the Temple, in good conscience, make this decision at the very end of our school year? We have suddenly lost our children’s school, scrambling to find spots in other preschools, many of which are currently closed out or requiring hundreds of dollars in late fees for registration at this late date. The inconveniences faced by parents, however, are nothing compared to the plight of the pre-school teachers, who now find themselves looking for employment for the coming school year when almost no positions are available. For shame that these wonderful instructors of Jewish youth, some of whom have been with the Temple Emeth ECC program for fifteen to twenty years, are being put in this situation! A synagogue is a Jewish community center and it seems reprehensible that this institution has abandoned its own Jewish community in this way. It is also my understanding that the ECC advertising budget was cut over the past year. Why? Was there nothing that could be done to possibly improve enrollment numbers so that the Temple could have kept this cherished program in place? I am deeply saddened that this pillar in the Teaneck Jewish community chose this path.
Heather Kagedan
To the Editor:
We found out, rather unceremoniously, in shul over Shabbat that Temple Emeth had announced their sudden closure. Being human, our first thoughts turned to ourselves and our son who, while only recently entering the world of Temple Emeth has quickly come to love his first taste of classroom life.
This being our first school experience we were thrilled to have found a program as high-caliber as Temple Emeth. We joined the Mommy and Me program to facilitate our son’s transition in the fall. We have only been attending for a few weeks but already our son has developed a real love for school, excitedly asking every day, “Are we going to school today?” The teachers and staff are so warm and loving—they really made our son feel comfortable. We were so relieved to know that in September when we would have to leave him in school for the first time he would be happy and safe in the care of these wonderful professionals. We’ve barely been part of Temple Emeth and yet we feel it’s closure so astutely. We can’t even imagine the emotional turmoil of those families who have sent their children here for years must be experiencing.
Which all pales in comparison, of course, to what the dedicated teachers and administrators must be experiencing. Landing a quality teaching job is difficult enough. Looking for a job in June for September is nothing short of ludicrous. It was these staff members who, after learning of their impending dismissal, took the time to call around to other local schools to try and secure spots for their soon-to-be-former students.
It is interesting to see polar-opposite behaviors emerge from the situation. In one corner stands a Board of Trustees who seem so preoccupied with budgetary concerns they’ve let the Jewish values they stand for lie forgotten. Why couldn’t the Temple announce a closure after the next school year, giving parents and teachers enough time to properly prepare? In the other stand those who made the Temple Emeth ECC program the great success it has been for the past two decades. They are the people who our son has only known for a few weeks and the same people who he talks about constantly even when he is not with them.
Yani and Jeremy Chernikoff
