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See ad on page 21 Winter 2009 | KIslev / Adar 5769 | Volume 6, Issue 5 | FREE ] [ To Advertise “ 052-6404414 | 052-3868768 | [email protected] | www.modiinfo.com To Advertise “ 052-6404414 | 052-3868768 | [email protected] | www.modiinfo.com
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See ad on page 21
6th AnniversaryWinter 2009 | KIslev / Adar 5769 | Volume 6, Issue 5 | FREE
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Dear Readers,Though ModiInfo no longer runs the Why We Live in Israel column, we still experience
those why we live in Israel moments. Visiting the kotel motzai Shabbat erev Yom Kippur
was an unbelievably uplifting experience. I joined throngs of people of all ages and from
all religious walks of life streamed into the packed plaza to offer up one last prayer in the
holiest place to Jews on the night before the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Recently
I went to Kever Rachel where I felt the same sense of unity amongst people who came
from around the country to our foremother’s burial spot. Right here in Modiin when
I went to the mall to see the bikers from the Alyn bike ride I was moved once again
by the coming together of Jews from around the world, this time to raise money for a
worthy cause. And just last week I walked out my front door to find a Torah scroll being
escorted by singing and dancing (and disco lights) to a nearby shul. It drew the attention
of all the neighbors on my mixed block, many of whom joined the festivity, proving once
again that in a country so often divided, at least on some mundane level, we are in fact
united. Something I look forward to more of this Chanukah season.
Best wishes for a happy Chanukah,
Caryn and Daniella
ModiInfo is an independently owned, advertiser supported publication distributed monthly to Modiin and the surrounding neighborhoods. ModiInfo welcomes all articles and ads but reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The views expressed by writers and contributors are not necessarily those of ModiInfo. ModiInfo is not responsible for facts or claims made by ads or authors, nor for any typographical errors. Work produced by ModiInfo is the property of ModiInfo and may not be reproduced without consent.
Daniella Hellerstein & Caryn Meltz
Co-publishers and editors0526-404-414 | 0523-868-768
Studio Dana CyviakDesign & Layout
www.cvkdesign.co.il
Judy SimonAd Graphics
Ilana EpsteinMarketing Assistant
Fax: 077-201-1310
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Printing by Dfus Ayalon
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By: Tamar Weissman
We live right in the thick of Chanuka territory, and that
makes our region such a popular destination over the
month of Kislev. A short drive from home can take you to
some of the key battle sites in the 20-year war between
the Jews and the Syrian Greeks. Also of interest are sites
which have been tentatively identified as the monumental
pyramid-topped tombs that Shimon HaChashmonai built
for his father Mattityahu and brothers (most notably,
Yehudah HaMaccabi). Josephus tells us that these tombs
were large enough to be visible by seafarers!
Right in our own backyard, though, is a treasure dating
to the Chanuka period that is a meaningful pilgrimage
of sorts for the whole family. Ever wonder about that
curious fenced-off area on the left-hand side of the
highway as you head south towards Latrun? Welcome
to the ruins known by the Arabs as Um el-Umdan. At
one time a 25-dunam village located in what is now the
Moriah (Buchman Darom) area, this town was established
by Judeans in the late 3rd century BCE and destroyed in
135 CE by Caesar Hadrian in the wake of the Bar Kochba
revolt.
Could this be the the site of ancient Modiin, the cradle
of the Hasmonean revolt? The Arab name of the place is
certainly telling. Some suggest the similarity between the
place name “Umdan” and “Modiin” belies its identity as the
ancient city of Mattityahu (Arab place-names are seen
as reliable evidence in establishing locations for earlier
Jewish cities, as the Arabs were very respectful of earlier
traditions when naming their villages). Alternatively, the
place might have been named “Umdan” based on the
many pillars and pillar bases in the area (amudim).
What’s visible ba’shetach is the synagogue and mikveh
complex. Archaeologists have determined that this Beit
Knesset – one of only five discovered in Eretz Yisrael
Could This Be Ancient Modiin?
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that dates to the period when the Second Temple was
standing – was first built sometime between 34-5 BCE,
over a hundred years after the Chanuka story. This Beit
Knesset had a ceiling supported by eight pillars, the bases
of which are still in situ. There was a ring of stadium-style
seating around the perimeter. The courtyard just east of
the Beit Knesset was ringed by stone benches (perhaps
this is where the first Modiin Kiddush Club met).
Even though this complex was built later in history, the
small village in which it was located could very well have
been the site of ancient Modiin where the Hashmonai
family first rallied the Judeans to fight for their faith. The
location is right, based on very early sources such as
Eusebius’ Onomasticon (a 4th century lexicon of locations
in E”Y) and the 6th century Medaba map, which places
Modiin in the area where the mountains of Jerusalem
meet the Shephela (the lowhills of Judea). Further,
archaeological probes have revealed an older building
under the extant synagogue complex dating to the
Hashmonai period (mid-second century BCE). It could
very well be that the later complex was built on top of
the earlier synagogue of Matityahu!
The City of Modiin is reviewing plans to create a
Modiin Heritage Center on the site of the synagogue/
mikveh complex. An on-site museum would display the
various artifacts uncovered during excavations, including
coins dating to the period of the Hasmonean revolt, oil
lamps and many intact utensils.
In past years, a group of Modiin residents have gathered
on the Friday night of Chanuka to welcome Shabbat at
Um el-Umdan, a privilege of celebration that will hopefully
grow in popularity. Why not join them this year and
breathe new life into ancient Modiin? The others are located in Masada, Gamla, Herodion
and closer to home: Kiryat Sefer. ß
Tamar Weissman is a teacher and tour guide. She can be reached at
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Modiin Profile Osnat Wieder
Age: 47
Marital Status: Married with three sons
Education: Acquired degrees in music
and in communication
Job: Osnat Wieder Marketing and
Communications Consulting
Current Job:
After teaching music for five years, Wieder saw an
ad in Globes looking for communication students. After
completeling the program, she eventually got into media
and also became active in various local causes. Wieder and
a partner formed a woman owned company to promote
business fairs and exhibitions. The Tel Aviv Chocolate
Festival is an innovative and tasty example.
Being one of the very early Modiin inhabitants, she was
instrumental in starting the Modiin Yeshiva and worked closely
with Modiin’s first mayor, Moshe Schechter to get it off the
ground. She also campaigned and volunteered for him when
he ran for reelection. Naturally, she was appointed to be his
spokesperson when he won. Although that position ended
when Schechter’s term ended, Wieder was able to utilize
the countless connections she made throughout the city to
launch her business. Wieder’s job is to make sure her clients
are well known and understood throughout the city so that
they can attract as many consumers as possible. Her clients
are comprised of local businesses and Wieder promotes
them through the local media. She advises them as to how
best get their message out there and boost business.
Family Life:
Wieder is married to Yehuda and has three sons. The
oldest, Tzori is 24 (and single) and has finished the army
through the Hezder program at Yeshivat Guzsh Etzion.
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He is currently studying psychology at Bar Ilan University
and is learning as a sixth year student at the yeshiva. Nataf
is 20 and studying in the Otneil Yeshiva and Yarden is 13
and attends the local Modiin Bnei Akiva Yeshiva.
Wieder is immensely proud of her three boys and
shares her passion for music with them. Their home is
always filled with guests that the boys bring back from
yeshiva and their Shabbat meals go on for hours since
they spend much of the time singing. On Motzai Shabbat
they have a musical Melava Malka with everyone playing
an instrument. Wieder says the neighbors in their mixed
neighborhood of Prachim especially love it.
Religious Life:
Although Wieder is religious and together with her
husband has raised three firmly committed boys, she says
she never had a desire to attend synagogue or learn Torah.
All that changed for her when she discovered Beit Knesset
Darchi Noam and started attending weekly Shabbat
services there. Wieder says she finally found her place in
Judaism in the liberal Orthodox minyan which sparked a
newfound interest and commitment to being religious. She
says she dresses more modestly, is always on time to shul,
learns more and does things she had never done before
such as serve as gabbait of the minyan. While two of her
sons still go to the traditional minyan near their home they
have been supportive. A frequent Shabbat table debate
amongst her sons was the controversial nature of Darchei
Noam. Now that her family has witnessed the undeniably
positive change in her, Wieder says they have stopped
discussing the halachic issues.
Modiin Life:
The Wieders moved from Reut to Modiin in 1997 when
the city was first created. Being here from the beginning has
given Wieder an interesting perspective on the development
of the city. Since she works with the local businesses she has a
keen sense of what has been successful and what’s lacking. For
example, Wieder explains that Modiin was planned with a
small shopping center in every neighborhood. Yet, aside from
a local makollet there is no need for centers every few blocks.
Most people want to leave their immediate neighborhood to
Continues on page 20
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Since this year there are two Shabbatot
during Chanukah we will read a Haftarah
which we do not get to read most years.
It is read on the second Shabbat and
taken from the 7th chapter of Melachim,
and tells how King Shlomo used his Divine wisdom to build
the Beit Hamikdash.
The culmination of this project is related in the verses
that were chosen as this Haftarah for the second Shabbat
of Chanukah. There is a lengthy description of the vessels
and dimensions of the Temple that Shlomo built, since one
of these was the menorah this is the obvious connection
with Chanukah.
Yet the exact choice of the verses for the Haftarah seems
a little unusual. If the rabbis wanted to link the Haftarah
with Chanukah by the menorah, then the Haftarah could
have started with verse that speaks of the vessels that
Shlomo made including the menorah. Instead the Haftarah
starts with the verses that describe the work that Chiram,
the king of Tzor, contributed to the Temple.
This is strange in of itself, why did Shlomo turn to this
non-Jewish king to assist him in building the Temple? Surely
it would have been better to use only Jewish labor? Shlomo
himself answers this question with a verse that rationalizes
his actions. “You [Chiram] know that we have none among
us who knows how to carve like the Sidonim” (Melachim
I 5:20).
Yet still the question remains. Agreed the Sidonim were
better carvers than the Jews in Israel at the time, but is
it essential to get the best carvers in the world? Could
the Temple not have been built without having the world-
famous Sidon carvers?
An answer can be found in the understanding of a
piece of Gemara that deals with studying Greek. The
The Beauty of Yefet and the Tents of Shem
By: Rav Gideon Weitzman
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Gemara brings a story of a man who was versed in Greek
philosophy and caused tremendous trouble to the Jews in
Israel during the reign of the Chasmonaim. As a result the
rabbis decreed, “Cursed is he who teaches his son Greek
philosophy” (Baba Kama 82b). However, we see that the
Rabbis sanctioned the study of Greek. But there a clear
distinction between Greek philosophy and Greek language.
In the words of the Gemara, “Greek language by itself and
Greek wisdom by itself ” (ibid. 83a).
Language is the form, whereas the wisdom is the
content.
Even after the great struggle of the Chasmonaim against
the Greeks and the Hellenists Greek remained. What the
Chasmonaim fought against was the content of Greek
philosophy and Greek mythology. These taught that the
world was always in existence and therefore left no room
for God. They believed that man could not be holy.
However the rabbis still recognized that the form
and style that the Greeks developed was impressive and
Continues on page 24
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English Modiin Business Networking
When I left the last company I worked for as a full time
employee, I decided I wanted to learn something to
increase my value in the market. I had been interested
in coaching for about five years. My interest then was
focused around using coaching in my job as a team leader
and department manager. I found a course being given in
Modiin in conjunction with the Open University that gave
By: Josh Weiss official certification for personal and business coaching.
At the time I signed up for the course I was not yet sure if
I was going to use the tools I was learning to go back into
to hi-tech management or to go into full time coaching.
During this course, I registered as an independently
employed and starting working on how to build up a
business as a personal and business coach. I had realized
that my passion was much more to work with people than
software and I could get more of this from coaching.
I visited the business networking group which my
father has been a member of for the past three years. The
idea of meeting with other people working on building
up their own businesses where each person has a true
interest in helping others achieve their business goals was
enticing to me. The basic rule of non-competition among
group members prevents friction and really leaves a good
feeling of wanting to help others knowing that others will
help you especially if they feel you are helping them.
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I looked around in Modiin talking to people and
searching the Internet and found a number of groups
that were already active. After much research, I reached
the conclusion that although Modiin had a variety of
networking groups, none of them were in English (I later
learned that there is one other group but it is a women’s
group – which I guess is why I did not come across it).
We met for the first time in July at Holy Bagel (which is
our regular meeting place). In the first two meetings I set
the basic grounds of the group. The group is non-profit
and is run as a service. We now have an executive team
who took on responsibilities like coordinating speakers
and new member introduction and accounting. The group
has been growing ever since and we meet every other
Thursday.
The question is does the group work? I can answer that
for me it works well. I have gotten a number of referrals
which led to closed business deals. I know that there have
been quite a few opportunities that have come up due
Continues on page 13
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Olim CornerThe Absorption Department of the Modiin Municipality
has absorbed 50 families since the beginning of the
summer. These olim are currently participating in ulpan
for adults, ulpan for children and a teen ulpan in Jerusalem
with Municipality funded transportation.
A rich variety of activities are organized for the olim.
Over the summer we ran a
kaytana for 50 children. There
they learned about Israeli
culture, got to know each other
and went on outings to Eretz
MiBerishit, Park Hayarkon and
the Tenuva Factory.
On Sukkot we took two buses of olim to Neot
Kedumim. They had a great time picking and crushing
herbs, and making spice bottles for havdala.
The olim children had a fantastic time at our Sukkot
Happening creating music with Paul Moore and his one-
man band singing and making arts and crafts.
At the time of going to press the department is
marketing their latest program to include: Budgeting
workshops, a trip to Jerusalem, a huge Chanuka party
and a workshop about the emotional side of Aliyah.
Two afternoons a week we operate the afternoon
Study Center where school-age children are invited to
come and get help with their homework and participate
in Hebrew enrichment classes. We have a pool of five
Sherut Leumi girls and 10 Bnei Akiva volunteers on site
to work with the children.
If you are an oleh up to 10 years in the country
then you are entitled to the services of the Absorption
Department – receive programming details, be on our
email listings and use the Study Center.
Please contact us at the following numbers and we
will be happy to help you: Main Office: 972-6198, English
Speaking Coordinators: 972-6196 or 972-6164. ß
51232825123282
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‡Continued from page 11
the group’s activities. It is important to take into account
that networking does not produce results right away.
Since the concept works based on referrals members
of the group need to get to know each other in order
to make the right referrals. The meetings are meant to
produce business and we make sure not to forget this
but the environment is pleasant and fun.
We had a workshop given outside our group by a
coach and a stylist which gave 2.5 hours focused on how
to present yourself. We have touched topics like how to
prepare and how to give a 60 second presentation in
the educational part of our meetings and we have more
ideas of workshops and educational sessions planned. ß
Joshua Weiss is a Personal & Business Coach and can be reached at
[email protected]; 054-333-1950. If you would like to reach
out to potential customers through business networking, please be in
touch to receive more information about the next meeting.
51232825123282
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The annual ALYN Bike Ride is Israel’s largest multi-day
multi-route international charity sport event. It takes place
every year in the fall and draws over 300 participants
from nine countries. This year’s Wheels of Love Charity
Bike Ride, as it is called, was the tenth such bike ride
to raise much needed funds for the ALYN Children’s
Hospital in Jerusalem. It began on November 1 in Rosh
Pina, followed the Jordan River through the Golan Heights
and ultimately to Modiin, where the bikers stopped in
front of the Azrieli Mall for a rest on November 5, the
fifth and final day. They then continued on to Jerusalem
where the children of ALYN gathered to greet the riders
at the hospital for a moving ceremony and probably the
most meaningful aspect of the five-day journey.
Riders have four separate five-day routes to choose
from when they register : on-road, on-road challenge, off-
road and a touring route that includes sightseeing and
shorter riding days. There is also the option to join the
group for only the last day of the ride as over 300 people
did this year bringing the number of bikers on the fifth
day to 660. All routes are staffed with police, medical
ALYN to Azrieli By: Daniella Hellerstein
Jodi Mugrabi and kids pose with her brother-in-law Yehuda Blinder from Englewood, N.J.
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services, bike mechanics and volunteer support staff. This
year even the so-called easier routes were challenging
due to the severe weather. Although the ride continued
through heavy rain, mud and fog, they were at one point
forced to stop because of dangerously high winds. The
riders spent that day touring the local wineries of the
Golan Heights instead.
The first charity bike ride for ALYN was in 1997 when
ten bikers rode from Jerusalem to Eilat and raised over
$65,000. The event has grown annually and this year
boasted 375 participants in the five day ride, 60% of which
come from abroad, mostly North America. Participants are
required to raise a minimum of $2,000 each with many
of them setting and meeting higher goals of over $5,000.
Sponsorship helps ALYN spread its message throughout
the world as participants work hard to connect with
friends, family and business acquaintances to raise the funds.
Although this year’s ride only brought in $1,644,160 (low
compared to the $3,000,000 raised in 2007) the hospital
hopes to meet their goal of 2.5 million as participants
return home uplifted and inspired to keep fundraising. ß
Modiin residents greet relatives from the ride in front of Azrieli Mall
Aliza Sussman and family meet sister Robin Kravtiz from Baltimore, Maryland
Shimon Zack meets cousin Dr. Jonathan Abrams from Toronto, Canada
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Is your child having difficulties in his studies? Is
he mixing up letters and having a hard time
remembering sentences? Before you go
getting him evaluated and invest a ton of
money in private tutors, consider this:
maybe your child is simply not seeing
correctly!
Hagit Rosenstein is an optometrist
with 20 years experience in the
field and she has opened “Opti-
Clic Kids” in Modiin Center.
Hagit practiced optometry
in London doing eye exams
and fitting people for
glasses, especially children.
In the past year Hagit
specialized in eye exercises and vision focus, otherwise
known as VT (Vision herapy).
School is a place where your child is required to learn
a sea of new information and his vision is the gateway
in essence through which he acquires that knowledge.
Children, even from a very young age, have difficulties in
school and one of the reasons behind those difficulties
is faulty eyesight. It should be noted that these fore-
mentioned eye problems couldn’t always be detected
during routine eye exams.
Statistics presume the number of children suffering
from bad vision to be between 10%-15%. Furthermore,
children who were already evaluated to have learning
issues have produced even high numbers (30%-60%).
Continues on page 26
Why is Your Child Failing?By: Hagit Rosenstein
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Opt for OpticlicOpticlic optical store carries a wide variety of glasses
frames and offers warm and personal attention to each
customer. Certified and licensed optometrists administer
complete eye examinations, with professionalism, and in
English. At Opticlic your new glasses will be ready in a
half hour while you sit leisurely and enjoy a cup of coffee.
They also carry a large stock of thin lenses and protective
lenses in a wide variety of types. In addition, they carry
thousands of glasses frames as well as sunglasses. At
Opticlic experienced professionals in multi-focal eye
lenses will pair each customer with the most advanced
and leading technologies in the world – all at great
prices!
Only Opticlic has a machine for taking new passport
or driver’s license pictures, the only one in the Modiin
area! Bring one of the following when getting a driver’s
license picture: Teudat Zehut, valid passport, valid driving
license, police/officer badge (as long as the carrier is still
serving in that position).
Open: Sunday-Thursday 9:00-13:00, 16:00-19:00,
Friday and Holiday Eves: 9:00-14:00. Located in Modiin
Center, 2nd floor (next to Bank Yahav). ß
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Gold Time By: ModiInfo Staff
Modiin residents already do most of their every day
shopping close to home. Now they can make even
the most luxurious
purchases right here
in Modiin. Gold Time
is a jewelry store
established in 1942
as a family business
which first opened
on Rechov Yaffo in
Jerusalem. The chain
has now grown to six
stores, five branches
in Jerusalem and now
one in Modiin. Each store is tailor made to fit the needs
of the clientele in each area. The Modiin branch carries
more moderately priced pieces, however, they sell higher-
end items as well.
Gold Time prides itself on keeping
up with the latest fashions and their
prices are very competitive if not
lower than their competitors.
Every day is a sale day
at Gold Time. They are
also able to custom make
jewelry. If you see something to
your liking, but it’s not exactly what you envisioned, they
will work with you to create the perfect piece.
Gold Time carries many name brands as well as their
own line. The jewelry is made from yellow gold and white
gold, precious stones and diamonds.
If you’re looking for a gift or just a little something for
yourself, Gold Time is the address (located on the second
floor next to Café Café). ß
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By: Cynthia Barmor
Last April, when my friend Jackie Klein approached me to
help her expand the activities of ESRA (English Speaking
Residents Association) in Modiin, I jumped at the chance
to give something back to our community. We both felt
that there was sufficient ground for the introduction of
ESRA’s excellent volunteer programs which center on
educational, civic, social and cultural activities.
Initially, we compiled a mailing list of all Anglo families
for delivery of ESRA’s free bi-monthly magazines. We wish
to pay tribute to ModiInfo, whose editors proved most
helpful and also posted a link on their website to ESRA’s
(www.esra.org.il). Over the intervening months, our
volunteers have delivered over 1,000 ESRA magazines to
Anglo households, which we hope have been welcomed
and enjoyed by readers.
ESRA Modiin
Continues on page 21
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‡Continued from page 7
do their shopping and prefer places like the mall or Yishpro
Center. Even the Azrieli Mall which boasts the strongest
stores is having a difficult time given that there is only so much
business out there. Many people still leave the city to shop.
Native Israelis often go back to their home towns and many
people shop close to work. An effort is underway to drive
the message home to Modiin residents that they do not need
to leave the city to shop. Everything a person could want or
need is available locally. With all the competition, it’s all the
more difficult for the smaller businesses to succeed. The rents
are high and they must offer something unique to stay afloat.
According to Wieder the most successful businesses are
those geared towards children. Research shows that relative
to other cities, Modiin parents spend a disproportionate
amount of money on their children by way of chugim and
other purchases. The goal now is to keep as much spending
within the city as possible. ß
Osnat Wieder Marketing and Communications Consulting,
052-349-5800.
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] �1 [
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We recently introduced English conversation classes
in four local high schools to assist youngsters prepare for
their oral bagrut (matriculation) exams. These have been
such a huge success that the Municipality would like to
extend our activities to all high schools in the city.
We hope to open a second-hand English bookshop
but regrettably, have not been able to find cheap or
free premises despite numerous meetings with the
municipality. We are currently seeking ways around this
obstacle including an online bookstore and periodic book
sales. Meanwhile, we appeal for book donations and will
be happy to come collect.
The ESRA movie club will open at the end of December
with other social activities planned for the future.
We will be happy to add you to our emailing list (our
pledge: no list sharing); please call Jackie 052-747-2151
([email protected]) or Cynthia 050-8251923
‡Continued from page 19
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La Guf’s Winter Tips
sadot haaretz
Summer has finally come to an end. Winter is an excellent
time to fix your facial skin after all of the summer’s harmful
effects and make your skin return to the way it should be!
Whether we realize it or not, our facial skin is exposed
to powerful sunrays throughout the entire year. It’s
important to remember that the sunrays penetrate the
deep layers of the skin and directly damage the collagen
and elasticity.
La Guf ’s Winter Tips:
‡Drink Water- it’s important to be strict about
remembering to drink water because water helps
remove various poisons within our bodies. The
suggested amount is 12 cups of water per day.
‡Preemptive protection- it’s important to make sure
that you protect your facial skin throughout the entire
year.
‡Homemade facial tonic for lightening skin spots: 2 fig leafs,
½ spoon lemon juice and one cup of boiling water.
La Guf, 47 Yigal Yadin. See ad on page 7.
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] �� [
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] �� [
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‡Continued from page 9
could be employed in the service of God and the Torah.
Therefore even as they outlawed studying Greek wisdom
they condoned studying Greek language. Content was out,
form and style were allowed.
The Mishnah wrote that books of Tanach can be written
in any language, unlike tefilin that have to be in Hebrew.
(Megilah 1:8). The Gemara explains that this is due to the
special place that Greek holds. From the verse “God will
make Yefet beautiful and he will dwell in the tents of Shem”
(BeReishit 9:27). “The beauty of Yefet (Greece) will dwell in
the tents of Shem” (Megilah 9b).
In the same way, Chiram helped Shlomo with the
external aspects; he assisted in creating the form and style
of the Temple. But, when it came to building the inner
vessels; the altar, the table, the menorah, Shlomo built these
himself. These were the content and the sanctity of the Beit
Hamikdash, here there was no place for Chiram and his
master carvers. Here was exclusive to the Jewish people.
This was the wisdom, the inner sections, the content.
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] �� [
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‡Continued from page 9
We can now explain the connection between the
Haftarah and Chanukah. Both speak of a division and a
fusion. A division between Jewish and Greek wisdom, a
division between Chiram’s work and that of Shlomo. Yet
they both present a possible point of fusion as well. The
adoption of Greek language, and the use of the Sidoni
carvers.
This is maybe the message of Chanukah. To find the
perfect balance between the inside and the outside,
between form and content, between the exclusive and the
universal.
May God give us the wisdom to distinguish between
the two. ß
Rav Gideon Weitzman is the Rav of Beit Knesset Merkaz Modiin.
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‡Continued from page 16
Most of those children successfully passed the vision
tests and were deemed to have 20/20 vision! Therefore,
it’s important to understand that seeing means more
than being able to look at letters from a predetermined
distance, and that there exist hidden vision problems with
clear and evident symptoms.
Vision problems can be divided into two categories:
problems with the effectiveness of the vision and problems
with the processing of what has been viewed. Problems
dealing with effective vision include: astigmatism, problems
focusing and following as well as compatible activity of
both eyes. Problems dealing with processing of what’s
being viewed include: the ability of a child to understand
the visual information he has received, meaning that he
has trouble understanding shapes, as well as with his visual
memory and his visual motor-integration.
Subsequent to evaluating the child and getting him
fitted for glasses, between 85%-90% of the children
have their vision problems taken care of. However, the
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] �� [
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‡Continued from page 16
remaining 10%-15% need to undergo vision exercises.
Difficulties with tracing activities are expressed in the
constant head-moving while reading, losing one’s place
while reading, skipping sentences, using a finger to keep
track of the place, having trouble understanding what’s
written and having a short attention span.
Difficulty differentiating between right and left, mixing
up letters as well as having a hard time remembering
letters and numbers, are all signs of a vision problem that
needs to be tested.
An exercise regimen developed by the optometrist for
your child and daily exercises daily can improve 100% of
the vision problems within a short period of time. The
vision exercises create compatibility between the vision
ability and the ability to visually absorb. ß
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BillboardTell our advertisers you saw their ad in
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] �� [
Chanuka Sufganiot (Dairy)
Recipe Corner
By: Tziona Zacks
2 eggs
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons oil
1 1/4 cup flour
1 bag baking powder
1/3 cup milk or Eshel
1 tsp. brandy
Mix all ingredients and drop by the spoonful
in a pot of hot oil.
Drain oil on paper towels and sprinkle
sugar powder on top.
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Happy Chanuka!
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To Advertise “ 052-6404414 | 052-3868768 | [email protected] | www.modiinfo.com Winter 2009 | Kislev/Adar 5769 | Volume 6, Issue 5