And Hashem took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden, to work it and to protect it.

“In order to serve G-d, one needs access to the enjoyment of the beauties of nature, such as the contemplation of flower-decorated meadows, majestic mountains, and flowing rivers. For all these are essential to the spiritual development of even the holiest of people.”
Rabbi Abraham Ben Moses Ben Maimon (1186-1237)

Nature plays a significant role in traditional Jewish liturgy, from the creation story, to our everyday prayers upon rising each day and blessings over food—from blessings upon seeing natural wonders and trees in blossom for the first time in a season, to our cyclical holidays marking harvest festivals, the birthday of trees, the waxing and waning moon, and light in the darkness. Indeed, our most sacred Torah is understood as a “tree of life” that contains within its scrolls important mitzvot that prohibit against purposeless destruction and waste, and when given the choice of life and death, blessing and curse, we are commanded, “Choose life, that both you and your offspring may live.”

It has been more than 60 years since the Holocaust in Europe, more than 60 years since the world declared “Never again,” more than 60 years since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and declared genocide a crime, and yet the large-scale killing of one group of humans by another continues with no end in sight.

Some believe it is impossible to stop genocide. The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation agrees: Genocide, once begun, is fiendishly difficult to stop. But it can be prevented.

Some people are afraid of flying. Others are afraid of snakes. Now meet Sarah, a third grader in a local school. Sarah has a very uncommon fear. She’s afraid of recess.

On the surface Sarah is a bright and intelligent young lady who gets good grades on her tests and excellent report cards. Inside, she’s miserable. That’s because she has a major problem dealing with social situations. She becomes awkward and shy whenever she has to interact with classmates or potential friends. So during school hours she can bury her head in her books and perform reasonably well. But during recess she is a social mess.

A classroom at Allegra College

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. It’s a saying we have all heard and at different times in our lives relied on for guidance. But it is true—we all experience different phases of our lives, starting as children and on through adulthood.

One of these phases is the amazing time in many women’s lives when they go from the never-ending, full-time job of motherhood to when their youngest is in school full-time and they start to wonder, “What do I want to do now?”

This summer, the second annual Iron Chef cook-off tournament for Nesach Yisrael took place at the home of Audrey and Stevie Shalom. The tournament was accompanied by a fully-stocked barbecue and an exquisite Chinese Auction. All proceeds were given to Nesach Yisrael, a school for underprivileged and disabled children in Eretz Yisrael, founded and run by Rabbi Victor Harari.  With Hashem’s help and the help of our devoted committee, the night started off without a glitch.

This summer, Rabbi Naftali Besser, dean of students at the Yeshivah of Flatbush High School, led the first Flatbush alumni hesed mission to Israel. Everyone who joined the mission agreed it was a unique experience; even those who have been to Israel many times have never experienced the country in this way. We were all touched and moved by this phenomenal vacation.

Rabbi Besser has been running a hesed mission to Israel with YOF students during winter break for the past eight years. The idea of an alumni hesed mission came about casually at Rabbi Besser’s weekly ladies’ parashah class. With his immense passion for hesed, Rabbi Besser was ready to run with the idea. Of course, leaving our family and children at home, as well as missing work for a week was challenging. However, we realized, what better example could we set for our children, family, and friends than to take a special trip to Israel to help others? After many emails and phone calls we were 20 people committed to going: six couples including Rabbi Besser and his lovely wife Safreda, and eight college-age singles.

The first Monday night of August was definitely one for the books. If you were able to hear the blasting Hebrew music and smell the succulent, mouth-watering aroma of Chinese food in Long Branch, it was coming from the 1st Annual Jesse Dweck Learning Center Summer Party, held at Yaakov Shwekey’s house.

It was definitely a night to remember, as we had the pleasure of dancing to music from world-renowned Yaakov Shwekey, as well as hearing Divre Torah and words of mussar from our community rabbis: Rabbi Shlomo Diamond, Rabbi Eli Mansour and Rabbi Meyer Yedid.

Guests

Recently, Congregation Magen David of Union Square (also known as MDUS) held a brunch at the home of David and Julienne Dweck in honor of its generous donors and sponsors. Although MDUS was founded in 2001 to serve an ever-growing contingent of community members residing in downtown Manhattan, many community members in attendance were introduced to MDUS for the first time.

On a recent Sunday morning, the day started out sunny and hot, but the weather forecast predicted possible severe thunderstorms for the late afternoon. With the 4th annual SEAD Gridiron Tournament scheduled to run from 10 am to 6 pm that day, event organizer Elliot Maleh and staff anxiously hoped the weather would hold. Once again, the event was being held at the field on Ocean and Park Avenues in Long Branch.

Sixteen teams registered to play, and the competitive spirit ran hotter than the summer sun. Screaming voices and flying bodies were part of virtually every play. Off the field, players indulged in cold drinks, sandwiches, cakes, cookies and ice cream prepared by Sarah Maleh and Richard Serure’s ice cream truck.

The proud graduates

The Reach for the Stars Learning Center recently celebrated a major milestone with the graduation of four students. The hard work and tremendous progress of these children, was a true reason to celebrate.

In 2005, Barbara Matalon and Nancy Levy, while working with autistic children in a Sunday program, saw the community’s need for a school for children with autism.

Sammy Saka, Morris Franco and Isaac Massry work together as a team to ensure our children’s bright and successful futures

As a community, we are pretty predictable. While we work, travel and play plenty, culture seems to have taken a back seat for many of us. This year, for the Hillel Yeshiva fundraiser, Sally and Ralph Tawil did their part to change that, at least for a few days. From the start it was clear that this event was going to be spectacular.

Accompanying the hand-delivered invitation was a beautiful coffee table book on art and artists. This was the perfect way to warm up their intended audience for the lesson to come. Then, turning their home on Elberon Avenue into a virtual museum, the Tawils ensured that the most exquisite and rare works of art, both painted and sculpted, made their way here to our little summer enclave and drew a crowd that was both amazed and generous.

Mark Chalme, Richie Chalme, Hy Chalme, Robin Chalme, Ray Chalme and Nemo Chalme

Over 1,400 community members turned out, recently, to unite and fight against lung cancer. “Kites for a Cure 2009” had a unique and simple concept: it was a fun, uplifting afternoon benefiting Elliot’s Legacy, an organization that was founded in the memory of Elliot Chalme A”H, by his family and friends.

Elliot’s warmhearted and congenial personality allowed him to cherish every moment of his life. He was a kite enthusiast, an avid cyclist, and a man who lived every moment to its fullest. Elliot’s smile radiated like the sun and he inspired young and old alike not to sweat the small stuff, as life is too precious. After a final bout with lung cancer, Elliot was taken from us at the early age of 56.

Sol Betesh and Stanley Chera

SAFE has made our community aware of a growing problem, which we won’t succeed in halting unless we change the culture behind it—starting with the parents.

One of the many staunch supporters the SAFE organization has garnered over the years, Mr. Morris Bailey, delivered a dose of common sense. In an impromptu speech at the ever gracious home of Cookie and Stanley Chera, he went on to make clear that everyone is aware of the club scene out there, and that celebrities impact our youth—often to an ill effect. “There is a line we don’t cross,” said Mr. Bailey. “Many of our youth know it, but some just don’t.”