While in Paris last March celebrating his wedding anniversary, Jacques Baghdadi set in motion another kind of shidduch. Like many in the community, frustrated with the high cost of yeshivahs in Brooklyn, he knocked on the door of Alliance Israelite Universelle, an organization with 150 years of experience providing high-quality, affordable Jewish education worldwide.

One year and one more trip to Paris later, Baghdadi’s journey has come full circle; the Yeshiva of Manhattan Beach (YMB) became the first American school to partner with Alliance in an effort to expand the school and enhance the curriculum while keeping costs down. This convergence was possible because both institutions have a common mission.

Betty Greenberg wins the reading game with her team

Recently, Fuel Fitness and Yeshivah of Flatbush collaborated to create a unique and innovative reading program for the students in lower division. Franci Cohen, owner of Fuel Fitness, together with Mr. Leonard Zeplin, lower division principal, carefully designed a program to help foster a love of reading through fitness. It succeeded beyond their wildest dreams! Over the course of two weeks, each grade had an opportunity to partake in the program.

Each day, an entire grade was bussed to Fuel Fitness for a fun-filled day of group fitness, silent reading and healthy snacks, rock climbing, and reading games. They began jumping on trampolines doing various aerobic movements. Then the Fuel Fitness staff dimmed the lights, and added glow-in-the-dark light sticks for an extra bonus. The children loved every minute! They learned the martial art of kickboxing, and much more!

The Middle Eastern Sephardic Jewish community has a unique tradition of using a different maqam (Arabic: melody type) each Shabbat for the Shaharit (morning) prayer services. The melodies used in a given maqam aim effectively to express the mood throughout the prayers. The maqam that will be used is based on the theme of the parasha.

The main maqamat generally used are: Rast, Mahour, Ajam, Nahwand, Saba, Sigah, Bayat, Hoseni, Rahawi/Nawah and Hijaz.

Have you heard the buzz about the little pouches the women of our community have been walking around with? Rebecca Kraiem, Barbara Haber, Jane Choueka and Loraine Mishan have been busy handing out these little pouches or (as they like to think of them) personal tzedakah boxes, to be used to collect money on a monthly basis to be allocated to a community charity in crisis that month.

It started with a community yeshivah in crisis that needed to raise immediate funds. They called upon one of their supporters asking for a large donation. The husband discussed it with his wife and realized that they just couldnt do it, but she couldnt get the phone call off her mind. She truly wanted to help them and other institutions in need. She spent a lot of time thinking about it and decided to call a few friends.

In just one year, Deal Sephardic Network (DSN) has transitioned from a group of dedicated parents with a few amazing ideas to over 500 children participating, on a monthly basis, in our sports leagues (baseball and football), Sunday Mania, Travel Mania, open center nights, and holiday trips. Although the focus of DSN in the infancy stage was on the children, the breadth and wealth of what is being offered is limitless. As we grow, our mission and vision will be to provide social and recreational programming to the entire community. From parenting classes to Daddy and Me, from sports leagues for boys, girls, and adults, to women’s fitness classes, from cultural trips for kids and adults to card tournaments and ballroom dancing—our family events will be remembered for their quality and for their ability to bring the community together as one big family!

On August 3, 4 and 5, the historic Paramount Theatre will host ENCORE ’09, where community members will enjoy a dynamic showcase of talented performers. The Paramount Theatre is Asbury Parks’ most enduring Beaux Arts building. This theatre has undergone recent multi-million dollar renovations.

From the Marx Brothers to Lou Reed to Green Day, it seems that anybody who’s anybody has played at either Convention Hall or the Paramount Theater since the venues first opened in 1930. Located on the historic Asbury Park boardwalk and connected by a grand arcade, the two venues have characters all of their own. Convention Hall has a wood-floored ballroom that’s a great setting for harder rocking shows; the Paramount retains the warm feel of an elegant theater from a bygone era and hosts performers such as Reed and Levon Helm.

For tickets to ENCORE, call (718) 627-4300.

Eliyahu S. Cohen, Shy Cohen, Rabbi Choueka and Elie I. Cohen

Recently, my father took me to a big event by the Jersey Shore—Birkath Hachamah. Birkath Hachamah is a big event because it happens every 28 years and you have to say a brachah hachama, because the sun and the planets are lined up the same way they were when they were created. The mitzvah cannot be fulfilled if it’s a cloudy day and you cannot see the sun.

The 33rd day of the counting of the Omer is Lag Ba’Omer. The origins of the Omer count are found in the Torah itself, in Leviticus, which states that it is a commandment to count seven complete weeks from the day after Passover night ending with the festival of Shavuot on the 50th day. The 49 days of the Omer correspond to the time between physical emancipation from Egypt and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai on Shavuot. There are a number of explanations for why the 33rd day is treated as a special holiday.

The Talmud states that during the time of Rabbi Akiva, 24,000 of his students died from a divine-sent plague during the counting of the Omer, because they did not show proper respect to one another. We celebrate Lag Ba’Omer, the 33rd day of the count, as the day that this plague ended.

Come show your support, as 250 Jewish motorcyclists from around the country visit Savannah, Georgia to join the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance’s (JMA) Fifth Annual Ride to Remember from May 14th through May 16th.

The Ride to Remember is a fundraising project with proceeds always going to Holocaust remembrance causes and other Jewish organizations. This year the proceeds will be donated to projects in Savannah and Charleston. The ride is expected to raise thousands of dollars for the planned Holocaust Educator’s Lending Library. Past Rides to Remember have benefited the Paper Clips project in Whitwell, Tennessee, Magen David Adom and the National Holocaust Endowment Fund.

Sandy Srour, Elly Gross and Mrs. Tokayer

Magen David Yeshivah was kind enough to bring the students a Yom Hashoah program that was so meaningful that I know it will stay with me forever.

It’s not enough to just hear a story, you want to feel it, see it and have it within your reach. It’s very difficult for today’s youth to understand something they know nothing about. Of course they are told the stories, but it’s different to hear it from someone who has actually been there and lived through the traumatic experience we call the Holocaust.

YOF High School students in a dramatic presentation, telling the story of one student’s grandfather and his survival

Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, commemorates one of the most heartbreaking and tragic events to happen to the Jewish people. The Yeshivah of Flatbush memorialized the six million who perished with three separate programs, each reinforcing the message, “Never Forget.”

The Joel Braverman High School commemorated the event with both a community and school program. The seriousness of the day was enhanced when instead of being called down to the auditorium, classes were escorted by students holding candles, and walked down in silence.

Asthma and allergies strike nearly one in four Americans, almost 60 million people, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Both conditions cause adults to miss work, children to miss school, and are a leading cause of emergency room visits and hospital stays.

Allergies and asthma don’t only affect those suffering from the illnesses, but family members and loved ones as well. So whether you have asthma and allergies, live with someone who does, or have frequent asthmatic or allergic visitors, how do you make your home a safe environment?