Modiinfo Winter 2012

Modiin Area’s English Speaking Magazine

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Winter 2012 | Kislev/Tevet 5773 | Volume 10, Issue 1 | FREE

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DEAR READERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS Daniella Hellerstein & Caryn Meltz

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For a few moments it seemed as if the tables had turned. Here in Israel, we found ourselves on the receiving the end of pleas for help. Hurricane Sandy had hit the tri-state area and the Jewish communities there were suffering. We were being asked to pray on their behalf, have them in our thoughts and even donate much needed money. Friends in New Jersey, lacking basic necessities like power and gasoline, complained of feeling as if they live in a third world country.

We, in Israel, on the other hand, were living the good life: com-fortable, safe and toasty warm from the Mediterranean sun. Some living in Israel even used the storm as an aliyah incentive bragging about our fortunate hurricane free location. That was until a few days ago. Now that Israel is under attack the roles have been re-versed to their familiar positions. It’s a few weeks before Chanuka and facebook is flooded with calls for unity amongst the Jewish

The Champ ........................................................................................................................................................... 5Spirit and Strength - The Dual Nature of Chanuka ........................................................................ 6HealthSkincare: Is There a Method to the Madness? ................................................................................. 10Why Speech, Language and Learning Matter ................................................................................. 12When 6/6 (or 20/20) is Not Good Enough .....................................................................................14TravelTravel Diary ........................................................................................................................................................ 16Israel’s Top 10 Caves ...................................................................................................................................... 20

ModiInfOnline ................................................................................................................................................... 28ModiInfor Kids ................................................................................................................................................... 32Recipe .................................................................................................................................................................... 36

To volunteer, go to:http://www.levdarom.com/https://www.z2systems.com/np/clients/tis/giftstore.jsp

To host a family, speak to:Limor Rubin from the Israel Community Center in Modiin: [email protected] from the Modiin Municipality: [email protected] or 106

To stay informed:Home Front Command Instructions in English: http://www.oref.org.il/Sip_Storage/FILES/6/1736.pdfModiin Municipality: http://www.modiin.muni.il/ModiinWebSite/MainPage.aspx

Follow ModiInfo on facebook for up-to-date information about our area.

Take advantage of this issue’s discounts for ModiInfo readers:

Angel’s Bakery - free donut with donut purchase and up to 20% off gluten-free productsBasar Ve’od - special prices on American cuts of meatBaba Jim - festive Fridays and all you can eat dealsCurrency Avenue - select discountsEddie’s Travel - reduced prices on first come basisiSpa - 50% off second treatmentJoe Stepsky - 10% off all ordersLior Shemer - special complete kitchen offerMisparat Express - discounted prices on all haircutsQue Riko Pizza - special prices over ChanukaTechnolite - 15% off all purchasesYuval Hair Design - 50 NIS off haircut of 130 NIS or more

See ads inside for details and restrictions.

Operation Amud Annan (Pillar of Defense)

is in full swing. While our soldiers prepare

for battle, those at home are seeking ways

to help while staying informed. people as we stand strong against our enemies. Messages from around the world express support and admiration for this tiny beloved piece of land. Prayers are being said and money is being sent.

We have learned that no one is immune to crises and nothing is to be taken for granted. Only one thing is cer-tain, that though we are separated by oceans, Jews around the world are connected like never before. We reach out, we share, we ask for help, we see pictures and gasp, we feel each other’s pain, we pray for one another, we band together and we take some measure of comfort and strength from the stories of survival. The Jewish people, though small in numbers, is a force to be reckoned with. Not much has changed since the Chanuka story.

Best wishes for a happy Chanuka, Caryn and Daniella


By: Shaindy Zudick

Two years ago my husband and I had the zechut to finally make aliyah. It had been our dream for over 38 years. As we assembled on the platform of where the Beit Knesset of the Maccabim stood, our first Shabbat Chanuka, I was so overcome with emotion and gratitude. We witnessed hundreds of Jews, sabras and Anglos, da-tim and chilonim streaming from all directions to be part of con-tinuum of the destiny of Am Yisrael b”Eretz Yisrael; to pray as one people on the beloved and Holy Land that we inherited when our Patriarchs and Matriarchs passed through the Covenant with Hashem. I was transported in time, standing on this rocky stretch of land, as I imagined Matityahu and Yehuda Hamaccabi fighting for the soil and soul of the Jewish People. Lovingly listening to the sweet voices of children singing and laughing while we chanted kabbalat Shabbat, I knew that they too would carry on the legacy of their ancestors. This is what Chanuka in Israel meant to me.

And yet, the Gemara in Shabbat 21 amud B asks a very puzzling

question? What is Chanuka? What could they have meant by this question? The tannaim had been practicing Chanuka for hundreds of years. The Rav in his sefer Days Of Deliverance - Essays on Purim and Chanuka, quotes a Zohar on Parshat Nasso, that states “everything depends on luck, mazal, even the Torah scroll in the Sanctuary”. He states that even the chagim can have good or bad luck. The Shabbat had no luck; already on the second week after receiving the Torah, a Jew violated it and in the days of Neviim Achronim, Shabbat was constantly desecrated. But Chanuka, the Rav notes, is one of the luckiest holidays. Everyone, dati or chi-loni, loves Chanuka and celebrates with the lighting of the cha-nukia. Everybody takes great pride in the military victory over the oppressive monarchy.

Upon further investigation in the Gemaras, ambivalence about the nature of Chanuka emerges. תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבת דף כא עמוד stresses that the significance of the chag is due to the miracle of בthe oil which lasted for eight days; whereas in בבלי מסכת תלמוד the military battle that liberated the Jews so ראש השנה דף יח עמוד ב

Spirit and StrengthThe Dual Nature of Chanuka

that they could openly spread the name of Hashem seems to be the focus of the chag.

To understand the full significance of the 25th of Kislev Cha-nuka, the day that Bayit Sheni was rededicated, it is important to note that according to 3 במדבר רבה )וילנא( פרשת נשא פרשה יג the mishkan was completed on the 25th of Kislev as well but it wasn’t

until the first of Nissan that the dedication took place in order to emphasize its redemptive nature.

The foundation of the second Beit Hamikdash was also com-pleted on the 24th of Kislev, described in Chaggai’s prophecies. The allusion to Chanuka is suggested in Zechariah’s prophetic vi-sion of the menorah and the two olive branches (the symbol on the Knesset) but the message minimizes the military theme and underscores the spiritual goal of an independent people and land: Zech. 4:6 ...”’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

As I pray on the hilltop in Modiin, I reflect on the significance of the miracles of Chanuka. And while this holiday presents a so-bering reality that Jewish ideals will always be challenged and so we will need to physically defend Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael, I hope and pray for the full redemption so that we are driven by the “spirit of Hashem” to become a “light unto the nations”.

Chag Urim Sameach!

Shaindy and her husband Harold made aliyah two years ago from West Orange, New Jersey. She served as the associate principal of the Frisch School in Paramus, New Jersey prior to making aliyah. She currently gives Tanach shiurim at the Women’s Beit Midrash Program at Kehillat Shaarei Yonah Menachem and also tutors English, Tanach and Bat Mitzvah preparation privately. She can be reached at: [email protected].


The Champalso an outstanding student who strives for excellence in every-thing he does.

Sapir’s mother made aliyah with her parents when she was eight years old from New York. She speaks fluent English and so do her three children. Sapir’s father is a born Israeli. The fam-ily has lived in Modiin for the past six years and is committed to helping Sapir as much as pos-sible. “Our family plans outings around Sapir’s training sched-ule. When the competitions are held on Fridays the entire fam-ily helps get ready for Shabbat. We also come to every competi-tion to cheer him on.”

Dr. Romanitsky explains that the desire to perform well in all areas, and not just in judo, is his method for success. He said that many people think that athletes should dedicate themselves solely to their sport leaving everything else aside but according to him, it’s not true. Many athletes on the Israeli national team are out-standing students as well. One of the things he teaches his stu-

dents is that they need to plan their days, their weeks and even their year properly in order to accomplish the goals they want to achieve. Dr. Romanitsky helps plan his stu-dents training time around school so that they can excel in school as well and even be part of youth groups if they want. For example, Sapir is active in Bnei Akiva.

Even though Sapir is very exceptional for a sixth grader he still enjoys just hang-ing out with friends. “Every day after I do my homework I meet my friends and we hang out, talk and play games. On Tues-days and Shabbat I go to Bnei Akiva. I re-ally feel that I am capable of doing every-

thing I want to do.” When asked if he has any tips for kids who want to do well in judo or other sports, Sapir replies, “first of all you have to love what you’re doing. If you love it, it motivates you to put in the time and effort. You have to always come to practice and not miss anything and of course you have to be dedicated to it and enjoy it!”

By: ModiInfo Staff

He’s only 11 and already knows what it’s like to be an Israeli champion. Sapir Fleger was in fourth grade when he won the title as the Israel judo champion for up to 27 kilo. In fifth grade he was second runner up to the judo champion and this year he’s train-ing for the next judo championship where he is hoping to get the champion title back.

Now in sixth grade at Netiv Zevulun ele-mentary school, Sapir has been learning judo in the Sakura Judo Club for the past three years. The director, Dr. Igor Romanitsky spotted Sapir’s talent early on and encour-aged him to continue training. Sapir practic-es judo three times a week here in Modiin, and competes against other judo champions in state competitions around Israel. Sapir’s family is observant, therefore he doesn’t attend competitions that are held on Shabbat. Dr. Romanitsky explains that the Sakura Judo Club accommodates many religious judo competitors who cannot attend games on Shabbat and is always looking for competitions that take place on weekdays. Sapir takes part in about four compe-titions throughout the year including the annual state competitions which don’t take place on Shabbat.

Ariella, Sapir’s mother, said that seven years ago, when they lived in Jerusalem, the only afternoon program available for the children in the neighborhood was judo, so at age four she enrolled him in a judo chug. From the beginning Sapir loved it. Two years later, after they moved to Modiin, Sa-pir discovered the judo competition world. He became successful in the competitions and just loved the thrill of competing.

When asked what he likes most about judo, Sapir replies, “I like the fact that it’s a competitive sport because I like competi-tion. Judo is a sport in which you put in a lot of thought and not only physical strength. I always need to think what move is good at what time and always be attentive to my competitor, then think how to benefit from his next move.”

For Sapir, sports and exercise are a way of life. He runs a lot as well and represented his school in the local running races. He rides his bike, plays basketball with friends and loves to swim. He is

H E A LT H


By: Daniela Sahar

Each season comes with different weather, activities and holi-days. All of these things affect our skin and often times we are not adjusting our routines to coincide with these inevitable changes. Now is the time to take a few moments to look at your skin and review the habits of your skin care regimen. Sometimes, it’s as easy as looking in the mirror or just touching the skin. Maybe it feels dry, irritated or both. Maybe the texture is rough and scaly, but oily at the same time. Ideally, getting a professional opinion from a skin care practitioner to reassess the state of your skin is a good place to start.

If your schedule or wallet doesn’t permit visiting your favor-ite esthetician, you can at least take stock of what you are doing and what products you do have. I know a lot of you out there are harboring stockpiles of products you barely use while creating your own museum of jars and bottles probably equaling in value to some modern works of art. Or, you have just resorted to some-thing store bought and that seems to get you through until your next impulse-buy or until your abandonment of product usage al-

together – Gasp! Wait, maybe what you need is already on your vanity! When getting into a drier time of year, try less exfoliation or changing from a scrub to an enzyme exfoliation. If you cannot use a richer cream during the day, switching to something heavier at night can maintain moisture levels. In the morning, use cream or soap-less cleansers as to not strip the natural moisture layer of the skin as foaming washes and cleansers should mostly be used at night to remove make up. Treatment products like serums are bet-ter utilized at night while our bodies rest and repair themselves. A lot of times, we have what we need, we just need to use it properly.

Products are usually designed to work together within a line, so it can be beneficial to stay within a system. If you learn what in-gredients work together, you can mix and match between different lines if they don’t contradict one another such as mixing a Vitamin C product with a Retinol product. The well-known anti-aging rem-edies can be cancelled out by each other and render the result inef-fective. They both can be used, but on different days and perhaps in an alternating way seasonally. Sometimes simply rereading the directions on packaging or visiting the website of the product com-pany can be quite helpful in understanding what we use.

Eventually though, we brave the waters of the beauty counter/spa again regardless of our home apothecaries. So, with all the in-novative and technologically advanced products out there today, how do we choose what is right for us? You have to ask yourself

a few more questions. What are my skincare goals? Do I like my current products and their results? Am I using the same products I did 10 years ago? Not knowing exactly what you want to achieve won’t help you in choosing a product or fending off an overeager salesperson. And, treating your skin the way you did 10 years ago may not be relevant anymore. It may be time for a change.

Change is difficult. You are probably wondering if there is truth to the hype in skincare these days. There is but, everyone’s truth is different. Everyone’s needs and goals are different, so of course the recipe for success is going to vary. It might mean three products, it might actually mean 10. But, it doesn’t mean you will use them all, all the time. Skincare treatments by an esthetician and great products can deliver results, but you and your practitioner should decide if your goals are realistic within non-medical parameters. When getting a professional opinion, it’s also important to maintain a regular visit annually to a dermatologist. Checking for abnormali-ties is crucial and inquiring about advanced medical treatments can be a more intensive way to treat your cosmetic skin care concerns.

Daniela Sahar is an olah chadashah from New York who is a licensed aestheti-cian with 13 years of high level experience in the spa, service and hospitality in-dustries. She provides quality aesthetic and make-up services current with today’s trends while still adherent to the tried and true. Since making aliya three years ago, she has been the department head of aesthetics at The David Citadel & Mamilla Hotels in Jerusalem and has a private studio in the Modiin area. Tel: 054-243-0768

Skincare: Is There a Method to the Madness?

H E A LT H


By: Uri Schneider

“I am not a man of words” (Moshe Rabbeinu)Before, during and after aliyah, we are all confronted

with a slew of tough decisions. One of the most univer-sal decisions is what to do about Hebrew! Being that we live in Israel, the “Hebrew” issue is [almost] unavoid-able, even in some of our Anglo havens.

In Western culture, communication skills are crowned as critical keys to social and vocational success, and in Jewish wisdom, communication is the most profound, distinct, spiritual gift. When G-d created man, He made him a speaking being (Un-kelus). We walk, breathe and eat like other beasts. It’s our speech that sets us apart and makes us holy (Zohar). Insofar as we harness the power of speech, we can create worlds, we can heal wounds and we can connect with people. Our speech and language skills can make it all happen!

So let’s learn a bit more about Speech and Language and the kinds of issues that arise in general, and especially for us – and our kids - in Israel.What is a “speech” issue?

Refers to anything related to the production of speech sounds, from the depths of your lungs’ breaths to the dexterity of your tongue tip (i.e. articulation, dyspraxia, voice, stuttering are all “speech” issues).

What is a “language” issue?Refers to anything related to how your brain orga-

nizes, stores and retrieves language. Language travels across many channels – speaking and listening; reading and writing; as well as non-verbal “body language” and “social language” channels (i.e. word finding, spelling, reading, grammar, paraphrasing, comprehension and composition are all “language” issues).What does it have to do with “learning”?

In life, we always learn by processing novel information and as-sociating it with prior knowledge. Since school-based learning oc-curs almost exclusively through language, kids with language is-sues often underperform in school. While the teacher may see the “weak student,” this might be the very same creative Lego builder, problem solver, and social super star that we know and love at home. This is a very simplistic description of the intrinsic con-nection between language and learning. The more dynamic con-nection has to do with the additional layers that develop around the language issue. Some kids may cope very well – getting-by relying on tutors, classmates’ notes and social or athletic strengths, while others lack strategies to get-by, and show obvious signs of failure. Too often, poor grades on a test reflect a misunderstanding in the instructions or in the lesson, but teachers and parents may incorrectly interpret poor grades as “laziness” or lack of “smarts”.

Unfortunately, the diagnostic error between “You’re lazy - just try harder” versus uncovering a bonafide language-learning issue, can be the difference between a kid with the self-worth and moti-vation to keep learning versus a kid who may seek comfort in the sidelines, sidewalks or streets. “Collect the dots, before you connect the dots” (Anonymous)

The right understanding, leads to the right intervention which leads to the best outcomes. Studies of meta-research concur that 15-20% of kids in school have a language-learning disability. That makes it more common than you would think, in a mono-lingual environment. It also means that many more than 20% of the kids struggle with language and learning even though they do not have a diagnosable disorder. Now for our kids in Israel, add the following factors to the equation:(1) The extreme value and weight placed on literacy and verbal skills in Jewish education.(2) Many kids grow-up in English-speaking homes/communities and attend Hebrew-speaking schools.(3) Increased class sizes and limited individualization in learning (aka chanoch lanaar al pi darko). What does this mean?

Well, the good news is that most kids are wired with the capa-bility to learn and master an infinite number of languages, pro-vided adequate exposure and experiences. So, many of our kids

Why Speech, Language and Learning Matter will truly benefit from the documented advantages – neurologi-cal as well as economical – of being truly bilingual success sto-ries. The other good news is that almost every kid is born with an appetite to learn, explore, understand and create! Each kid is endowed with a divinely custom-fit set of strengths and weak-nesses and specific channels of intelligence; whether it’s linguis-tic, inter-personal, mathematical, musical, or spatial intelligence, these strengths can be cultivated to become an exceptional lawyer, politician, rav, scientist, therapist, musician or architect. The bad news is that school-learning can be very demanding of one type of intelligence and kids with weaker speech and language skills can find themselves up against academic and social demands that can “make them” or “break them”.

As parents, we bear the responsibility to understand our kids, to advocate on their behalf, and when we don’t have the information or resources to help our kids, we need to seek and find the people that do.

Rabbi Uri Schneider, MA, CCC-SLP, is co-director of Schneider Speech (www.schneiderspeech.com) a unique team of speech professionals, specializing in stutter-ing, voice, public speaking and learning, with offices in Ramat Bet Shemesh, Jerusalem, New York and Skype. As an educational consultant, learning specialist and speech-language pathologist, Uri’s mission is to empower each learner and every speaker to achieve their best, with the skills they need to independently drive their achieve-ments forward. Uris’ married with four children and enjoys biking and basketball.

Most of the speech and language issues that present in preschool years, resolve in the preschool and early elementary school years. Some require therapy and others resolve on their own. The best advice is to trust your intuition and seek professional input when necessary. A professional consultation should not assume initiating therapy. Sometimes, gaining information, advice and having a professional to follow-up in the future, is all you need to help your child.

My preschooler mispronounces wordsAs a rule of thumb:• At 2 years of age – speech should be 50% understandable.• At 3 years of age – speech should be 75% understandable.• At 4 years of age – speech should be 100% understandable.• Some sounds – like “s” “l” and the Anglo “r” - are develop-mentally the last sounds to be mastered (as late as 6-8years of age), while others are mastered earlier.• While it is true that girls develop speech quicker than boys, any clinical assessment should examine this individual child, in the context of the “whole child”.

If you still have concerns:• Prepare before you contact a professional – you will save time and get better results.• Take note of what you see/hear. Write down the sounds and words that catch your ear. Record both the “error” as well as the intended word – i.e. replacing f/th as in “free” for “three”; or sin/sh as in “salos” for “shalosh”.• Prepare relevant medical and life history to present to professional.

My preschooler stutters• Some dysfluency is typical to development in the preschool years, and one Should give the child time to grow out of it.• However, there is new research (within the last 15 years) that we can effectively treat preschool children who stutter.• As a rule, you might seek a professional consultation if either one of the following is true.• 4-6 months have passed since the onset of stuttering.• Parent or child is showing concern regarding the stuttering.

Continues on page 27

H E A LT H


By: Sharon Schajer

How can my child see perfectly well and still have a vision prob-lem?

Yoni (not his real name) is a typical patient of mine. He never complained about his eyes, he wasn’t doing that well in Kita Bet, and has never enjoyed reading. Regular eye tests showed him to have excellent vision with no need for glasses. According to his parents, he isn’t the most coordinated kid, especially when it comes to catching or hitting a ball. His teachers have said that he could produce better work if only he tried harder, but he is easily distracted. He often reverses letters or words and mixes up his rights and lefts. His handwriting isn’t very neat, and his teachers also refer to behavioural issues. At the end of the day he often comes home from school tired, but his parents know him as a lov-ing, bright child but one who becomes frustrated easily.

As we see with Yoni, your child can have 6/6 eyesight (or “20/20” to some of you) and still have vision problems that can radically affect their learning and classroom performance. In fact, studies indicate that 60% of those students identified as “problem learners” may actually have undetected vision issues.

The five most common signs that a vision problem may be inter-fering with your child’s ability to read and learn are:1. Skipping or re-reading lines 2. Poor reading comprehension3. Homework takes much longer than it should4. Reversing letters like “b” and “d” when reading; and

5. Having a short attention span with reading and schoolwork, or complaining of headaches whilst doing it.

Any one of these symptoms is a sign of a possible vision problem. But how do I know if vision therapy can help my child?An optometrist, when carrying out a full assessment for bin-

ocular vision (מיקוד ראייה), will not only check how many letters your child can read on the chart, but also test how well their two eyes work together as a team, their depth perception, focusing, eye movements, visual-motor and visual-perceptual skills.

Following the full examination, an optometrist will determine if your child’s academic challenges are potentially caused by an un-detected visual problem. A customised vision therapy program can then be devised involving a wide range of specialised techniques. Non-medical “tools,” such as balls, balance boards, metronomes and other devices also play a part, and this has the happy side-ef-fect of making vision therapy sessions fun and engaging for your child. It is usual for there to be 12-24 weekly therapy sessions, with some activities recommended for you to continue at home. Once the course of treatment is complete, regular check-ups are advised to ensure everything continues to work as it should.

It can help to think of vision therapy as being similar to physi-cal therapy, just for the eyes and the parts of the brain that control vision. Vision therapy retrains the brain, eyes and body to work together. These skills can eventually become automatic and the child can refocus their effort into concentrating and succeeding on other tasks. Once that automatic stage is achieved, that person owns that skillset forever.

Whilst the focus of this brief article has been on children, vision therapy can cer-tainly help adults too, as well those kids without the classroom difficulties, but with other challenges such as a lazy eye, head-aches or a squint. The saying goes that you can’t teach an old dog, new tricks. Vision therapy may be the exception that proves the rule, with some profound results being seen in motivated patients.

If it sounds like you have a Yoni, or parts of Yoni, in your home, or if a teacher, doc-tor or optometrist has previously recom-mended vision therapy to you, make an appointment today - it could change your child’s life forever.

Sharon Schajer, BSc (Hons), MCOptom is a UK trained optometrist with a Vision Therapy clinic in Taz-peet, Mercaz Renanim, Maccabim. She can be reached at 054-336-5401 or by email [email protected].

When 6/6 (or 20/20) is Not Good Enough


T R A V E L

By: Daniella Hellerstein

How did you get into the travel business?It’s actually an interesting story. We never intended to get into

the travel business. When we lived in Australia we had other busi-nesses. I (David) was in the steel security manufacturing business and Chana was in residential real estate. One year we went on vacation to the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. Chana was pregnant with our third son and we were already thinking about the stress of Pesach even though it was still several months away. We made the decision then that we would come back for Pesach with our own food and spend the holiday there, which was pos-sible because the area had the infrastructure of a shul and Jewish community. When we returned home and began telling our friends and community about our plans everyone wanted in. At the time, there was no Pesach program in Australia so this was a first. We ended up hosting 200 guests and imported a team of eight chefs from Israel. We did this for five years and it grew each year but it always remained a side business-hobby.

Why and when did you make aliyah?We always wanted to make aliyah to give our children a fuller

Jewish life and better education than what we had in Australia and…because we are a little crazy to want to leave Down Under - such a beautiful country! After 17 years of marriage and four kids later, we decided it was ‘now or never’ and made a pilot

trip to Israel in October ’07. The plan was to spend one Shabbat in Modiin and the next Shabbat elsewhere. We had such a great experience in Modiin we decided to come back for the second Shabbat. We fell in love with the people, community, and loca-tion. We made aliyah in March ’08. It was close to Pesach and Platinum Travel, who we had connected with during our pilot trip, was planning to run a Pesach program at the Dead Sea for over 1,200 guests. They desperately needed help running it and we were happy to step in.

How did you go from that to owning a successful travel agency?Eddie’s Travel was founded by Eddie Freudmann in 1976. He

was from the UK and together, with his wife Barbara, made aliyah to Netanya. He opened a travel business booking vacations and operating kosher cruises and this grew substantially. In 1986 he started a Pesach Hotel for Anglos coming to Israel. A year before we made aliyah, Eddie suddenly passed away. His son-in-law took over the business but since he was a lawyer it was not his natural forte. We had been previously introduced to Eddie’s Travel on our pilot trip so we reconnected and after prolonged negotiations, we bought the business in November 2008.

Why not just start your own agency?We bought the name, logo and database because Eddie’s Travel

was already a very recognizable brand name in the industry with a great reputation and a strong clientele from all over the world. We changed the official name to “Eddie’s Kosher Travel & Tourism”

because Eddie’s Travel didn’t have a particularly Jewish ring to it. Our market was kosher vacations and cruises and it tied in with our domain website called koshertravelers.com. We ended up making other chang-es too. The beginning of 2009 was when the Madoff scheme emerged and a major worldwide recession set in. Not the best time to get into the luxury travel business! The industry was hit hard and by Pesach of that year we were feeling the impact big. We had done all our due dili-gence and research but nothing could have predicted this. We

Travel DiaryUp close and personal with Chana and David Walles of Eddie’s Travel

Continues on page 18Havdala at the Leonardo Plaza in Tiberias


T R A V E L

decided to revamp. First we merged our cruise operations with our main competitor, Kosherica Corporation. We were both feeling the crunch so by merging we became the number one player in the kosher cruises market. We also introduced a wide range of kosher land tours to exotic destinations. Then we shut the physical office and set up our staff to work from their homes. This made sense because no one walks into a travel agency anymore to make travel plans. We revamped the website and built up the Pesach programs, expanding it from one hotel to four.

Were you able to successfully turn things around?It’s been a process but we are slowly starting to see results. Our

merged kosher cruises is the market leader. We run a full kosher program within the regular luxury cruise line’s program and take care of every detail from providing Shabbat elevators to Jewish heritage tours at each port destination. If a cruise leaves on a Sun-day morning we organize Shabbat at the city of departure. Cruises are popular because you can visit multiple destinations and only unpack once. Our Pesach and Sukkot programs in Israel are very popular with loyal returning clients as well as new clients from the USA, Canada, UK, South Africa and Australia and Israelis who have heard of our reputation. This year for Pesach we are offering a range of hotel options at unprecedented lower prices

than ever before.Is it draining to host people and be “on” all the time?When we see families getting together and enjoying each other’s

company it makes the job worthwhile. We consider it a real privi-lege to be able to bring Jews together, to celebrate a special occa-sion or united as one large extended family. That’s not to say there aren’t stressful moments. In this service oriented business you have to have a thick skin while you treat every request with grace and patience. Once we got a call Erev Pesach from a client who wanted to make sure that the flowers we provided would match the color of the Haggadot. We don’t just sell rooms, we provide a unique and memorable experience. We work hard all year around to exceed our client’s expectations. In addition, we are able to do a lot of communal good through our business. By nominating a cause at each hotel, we sell aliyot, distribute pledge forms and have managed to raise tzedaka for various organizations and proj-ects. We have raised funds for Kehillat Shaarei Yonah Menchem in Modiin, Yeshivat Hesder Modiin, Leket Food Bank, IYIM sin-gles program and Mishne Lechem. Our proudest moment was last Pesach when we donated a Sefer Torah to Israel’s Iron Dome IDF base in the presence of top army brass, in honor of the Company’s 25th year at the same Tiberias hotel. We are grateful that we have the opportunity to give back to the community as it is not only about the business.

What is it like to be husband and wife and business partners?We each have our own complimentary roles and we know one

another’s strengths and how to create the space that we each need especially in this 24/6 environment as our clients call and email from all over the world from different time zones. We enjoy work-ing together especially when we are planning each program and then when we are busy hosting… but most of all when we get to spend time with our kids at dinner time during the week and on Shabbat.

Chana and David Walles of Eddie’s Travel donate a Sefer Torah

Continued from page 16


T R A V E L

By: ISRAEL21C

“It’s nearly impossible to count Israel’s caves because new ones are discovered every day,” says Prof. Amos Frumkin, director of the Cave Research Unit at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s geography department. “Right now we have about 1,200 regis-tered caves in our database, but I can estimate roughly that there are many thousands,” he tells ISRAEL21c.

Most of the caves are formed by rainwater infiltrating under-ground and dissolving the soluble rock that is plentiful in Israel. Others were created by people carving out spaces for quarries, liv-ing quarters, industry, burial, hiding or other reasons, says Frumkin.

Many of Israeli caves are closed to the public, but others are visitor-friendly. Here are 10 of the coolest caves in Israel that you can explore.

1. Sorek (Avshalom) Cave – Also called the Stalactite Cave, this small cavern is in a nature reserve on the western slopes of the Judean mountains between Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. Workers blasting at a limestone quarry 44 years ago came across it by ac-

cident. Inside were stalactites and stalagmites up to 13 feet long. Some of them are believed to be at least 300,000 years old, while others are still forming.The Israel Nature and Parks Authority installed wooden walk-ways, lighting and handrails inside the cave and offers an audiovi-sual presentation and guided tour.

2. Bell Caves – One of many caves to explore at Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park near Beit Shemesh – the “land of a thou-sand caves” – the Bell Caves consist of a series of 80 large caves, which the ancient inhabitants connected by passageways. The tall-est of the Bell Caves are more than 16 feet high.Dug out as quarries during the Early Arab period in the seventh-10th centuries CE, the caves got their name because the digging was done in the shape of a bell. Arabic inscriptions and crosses can still be seen on the walls. Even Hollywood finds the area awe-some; Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo III was filmed here.

3. Malcham – The largest cave in Israel and the largest salt cave in the world, Malcham is one of more than 100 salt-rock caves in Mount Sedom at the southwest end of the Dead Sea. Open free to the public, this rare formation has huge rooms, vertical shafts over 426 feet deep, stalactites and stalagmites made of salt.“It’s a river cave,” explains Frumkin. “Water flowing in a surface stream flows underground and dissolves the salt, creating caves – a process that is still going on when there is strong rain over the mountain about once a year.”

Israel’s Top 10 Caves


The Sorek Cave


T R A V E L

4. The 11 Caves of Qumran – In the year 68 CE, a Jewish cult occupying these caves overlooking the northwest end of the Dead Sea fled from the invading Romans. But first they hid their treasures in clay jars. They were only discovered starting in 1947, and became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The parch-ments – including the oldest known Bible – can be seen at the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book or online.The caves are now a tourist site complete with a video presenta-tion. You can walk through a room where ancient scribes may have worked and an area where the caves’ ascetic inhabitants dried dates and made clay pots like the ones used to store the scrolls for two millennia.

5. HaYonim (The Pigeons) Cave – Situated in a limestone bluff in the upper Galilee, HaYonim Cave was used as a living space on and off between 250,000 and 12,000 years ago. Excavations have turned up blades, cooking hearths, finished floors and graves.“This is a good example of a prehistoric natural cave. Such caves could be associated with two types of humans that coexisted in the last Ice Age – Homo sapiens and Neanderthals,” explains

Frumkin. “In the Natufian period about 11,000 years ago, people started building small houses, and there are such structures inside the entrance of the cave.” Visitors can explore part of the cave for free. The archeological excavation area is blocked off.

6. Tabun (Tanur) Cave (Oven Cave) – Not far from HaY-onim, a 120,000-year-old Neanderthal-type female skeleton was discovered in the Tabun Cave, so named because it resembles a chimney (“oven” is “tanur” in Hebrew and “tabun” in Ara-bic). Different groups of humans lived inside it from 500,000 to 40,000 years ago.Tabun is the highest one of three Carmel Caves in the Nahal Me’orot Nature Reserve. Stairs lead from a visitor’s center to the entrance. Archeologists found many hunting and foraging tools here along with piles of fallow deer bones and other leftovers of ancient meals.

7. Hanahal (El-Wad) Cave – This is the largest of the Carmel Caves. Here you can watch an audiovisual presentation about prehistoric daily life, and see a model of a skeleton illus-trating burial customs of the Natufian culture 10,000 years ago.




T R A V E L

More than 100 ancient skeletons were discovered buried here in a tightly flexed position, some with ornaments made of stone,

bone or shell. (Don’t worry: The bodies were long since removed from the prem-ises.)

8. Zedekiah’s Cave – Steeped in legend, Zedeki-ah’s Cave goes back about 1,000 feet under the north-ern wall of Jerusalem’s Old City, and more than 2,000 years in history. People long believed that this was the cave described in the bible’s account of how Zedekiah, Jerusalem’s last biblical king, attempted to flee to Jericho during a Babylonian siege. He was captured and tortured, which is why the spring at the back of the

cave is called “Zedekiah’s Tears.”However, the cave has no exit, so it wouldn’t have made a good escape route. Still, it has great significance because archaeolo-gists believe it was from this quarry that workers cut the giant stones to build the Second Temple in the fourth century BCE. The cave is lighted and has signage in Hebrew, Arabic and Eng-lish. About half of its length is open to the public.

9. Pa’ar Cave – This limestone sinkhole in the Upper Galilee was formed by water flowing from the surface Pa’ar Stream to the underground. “This is maybe the best example of such a limestone phenomenon in Israel,” says Frumkin. “In winter you can follow the water with your eye and see it sinking underground. It’s in a nice [3.5-acre] nature reserve open to the public for free. Just be prepared for mud because it’s an active cave.”

10. Hariton Cave – Israel’s largest limestone cave is shaped like a labyrinth, necessitating a guide from the nearby field school, lanterns and appropriate shoes. It’s located near Bethle-hem and Herodion south of Jerusalem, near the town of Tekoa. According to ancient historian Josephus Flavius, Hariton was part of an underground system of escape routes used by Jews fleeing the Romans more than 2,000 years ago.

Article courtesy of ISRAEL21c, htth://israel21c.org, URL to article: http://israel21c.org/travel/top-10-caves-of0israel


27


My bilingual school-age child mispronounces words, misspells words and works hard for poor results.Problem solving might include the following questions (and more!)• What does it look like when we compare first-language and second-language?• If one language is intact and the second shows weaknesses, it may be more likely a “second language issue”.• If both languages show weaknesses, it may be more likely that there is some underlying language issue.• What are the errors? Some may be normal influence of first language and others may be the result of the second language. Is-raeli kids will say things in English, like “save on this” instead of “watch this for me” as a result of Hebrew-influenced language- and sentence-structure – not necessarily a language disorder.• New-olim students may be dependent on vowel in Hebrew texts – and it may be a result of more limited Hebrew reading experiences rather than a language or reading disorder.

Organizational and attention skills• Kids that work hard and get disproportionate results are des-tined to burnout.

• Sometimes small investments in getting physically organized can make a big difference.• Proper calendar/planner (physical or iTouch/Smartphone).• One binder, clearly divided to hold all the notebooks and folders.• Creating a daily and weekly plan and schedule for work [and play].• Some kids need to learn paraphrasing, summarizing and outlin-ing skills. These are critical academic skills that can slow down students for a long time.• Consider learning and working in chunks.• Some kids don't have the stamina to work for 2 hours without a break, but they can be as/more productive if they sit for the same amount of time in 10-20 minute chunks.• For some kids, a kitchen-timer, sand-timer or digital watch can help regular work-time and break-time.

Consider environmental factors at home/school that can in-terfere or enhance learning• Sleep• Diet• Exercise• Noise• Messiness


ModiInfo is with you quarterly in print and daily online. Here’s a quick recap of some of our recent posts:

The Circus Came to Town: More than 60,000 visitors came to Modiin during chol hamoed Sukkot to enjoy the first international

circus event. For three days the Fish Park, Emek Hahula and the Heichal Tar-but (Cultural Cen-ter) were turned into large circus arenas. Free transportation to and from the cir-cus site was provid-ed from a makeshift parking lot off of Begin St. Between 6 pm-11pm, a variety of free performances

took place simultaneously and attracted thousands of people from around the country. The festival shows included 250 acrobats who performed in 50 different shows at 13 different stages around the city. The municipality of Modiin estimates that there were over 12,000 visitors on the first day, over 16,000 on the second day and more than 25,000 visitors on the last day. Positive media reports from the first day spurred many more people to come for the sec-ond and third days. The mayor of Modiin, Haim Bibas, congratu-lated the acrobats and the people who worked hard to organize the event and invited everyone to come again next year.Anabe Aftermath: Civil rights group ACRI called on Modiin Mayor, Haim Bibas, to rescind his policy of preventing non-res-idents from using the city’s main public park during the interme-diary days of the Pesach and Sukkot holidays, as well as during other school vacations. Park Anabe in Modiin is a large, modern expanse containing picnicking areas, an events stage, a small boat-ing lake and an adventure playground. The restrictions were en-acted just before this year’s Sukkot holiday. Public sentiment in Modiin did not seem to support the Mayor’s decision. “The fact that the park was built on municipal land does not mean that the municipality can do whatever it wants with it,” ACRI wrote in its letter to Bibas. The letter stressed that the policy of restricting entry to non-residents is illegal, as it contradicts laws governing municipal authority as well as anti-discrimination laws.

New Center in the Center: A new institution to train Israe-li rabbis to better serve as pulpit and community rabbis in local communities has opened in Modiin. Called the Barkai Center for Practical Rabbinics, it is an intensive two-year-program consist-ing of classes and field work dealing with practical issues fac-ing community rabbis. Topics covered include medical ethics and technology and halacha as well as training in public speaking and leadership. Twenty newly ordained rabbis have been accepted into the program housed in Kehillat Shaarei Yonah Menachem under the guidance of Rabbis Shlomo Sobol and David Fine. Former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau is serving as the organization’s president.And the Votes are in: iVoteIsrael announced that 80,000 Ameri-cans from Israel submitted their ballots to their local county board

of elections. “This represents an unprecedented increase in voter participation from the 20,000 or so that voted in 2008.” com-mented Elie Pieprz, national director of iVoteIsrael. Internation-ally, American expats typically have a 5% turnout rate. If those trends continue, the American vote from Israel will represent 20-25% of the total expat community from around the world, further solidifying the unique nature of the relationship between the US and Israel, which is not limited to the diplomatic and strategic, levels but also, at the grassroots and electoral level. “This con-nection between countries demonstrates the breadth of the unique relationship between the two countries, and iVoteIsrael is proud to have played a role in illustrating this connection to the public,” commented Pieprz.Bet on Bennett: Out of the 54,000 Mafdal party members, 800 live in Modiin and of those, 524 voted. In Modiin, 387 voted for Bennett while 137 voted for Orlev. Bennett, born to American parents who made Aliyah before he was born, visited Modiin a number of times before the election to garner support from the communities here. Money Matters: Of the Modiin Municipality’s 2013 budget, 215 million shekels (around 50%) will go to education. Of that, 3.5 million NIS will be invested in bringing over 360 computers to



14 different schools and 72 kindergartens in Modiin. In addition the Municipality is installing 200 projectors in the high schools in Modiin.Modiin Messengers: Ten teens in Modiin became young am-bassadors for two weeks when they went on the fourth group trip from Modiin as part of the youth exchange program in the

America-Israel Friendship League. The program brought the Is-raeli teens together with American teens for a unique experience together. The delegation from Modiin was hosted by families who live in Virginia and welcomed them warmly into their com-munity and homes. The delegation joined the local teens on their yellow school bus and went to the Tallwood High School where they split up and went into different classrooms to talk about Is-rael and introduce the students to their lives as teens in Israel. The experience was positive and the Israeli delegation got a lot of positive feedback from the local students who want to now come visit them in Modiin. Road Runners: Over 1400 people participated in this year’s Mo-diin Race organized by Sachlavim-Matnas. The winner of the 15 km race was 26-year-old Miguel Atias from Maccabim. This was her second year in a row to win the title. Atias also holds the honor of being the first baby to be born in Maccabim! The men’s winner was Damso Zagia who finished in 52.45 minutes.Mayor Haim Bibas launched and participated in the 5km race with his wife. The men’s winner of the 5k race finished in 18.27 min-utes and the women’s winner finished in 22.36 minutes. Many young students also participated in the1.5 km and 2.5 km races (read more on pages 32-33).Talk to Me: Esra’s Let’s Talk program is looking for volunteers to engage in easy conversation on a one-to-one basis. Volunteers


are matched with Israelis wishing to improve their spoken English and meet at a time and place convenient for you. Call Brenda for details, 052-668-4871.Just in from New York: On November 16, MDA (Magen David Adom) forces received a special reinforcement when a team of 25 volunteers from Hatzalah New York landed in Israel and joined the MDA teams in the South, to express soli-darity with Israel›s Magen David Adom team and help treat the wounded. Kol Hakavod!


By: Micah Schoor, 6th gradeBeit Sefer Ariel

One night my mom was signing up for the Nike night run and I asked her if I could run with her. Her answer was, “Sure Mi-cah.” And that’s how it started. First I ran 5k then I went to 7k and at the last run I ran 10k. After that last 10k run I was confident that I could do it. And here we get to the interesting part: the race day.

You know how you are always nerves before a race? If you don’t know, it’s extremely stressful! So I was nerves all day long. At six

o’clock I got on the bus to the race, that was the peak of the pres-sure because you couldn’t turn back. So the bus took us to Tel Aviv and we walked to the race because many streets were closed. When I got to the main area of the race, some of my pressure was relieved and when the first group of runners left a little bit more of my nervousness was released. I calmed down when I left the starting line because then I felt like there was a party. Hands up, clapping, music blasting and strong lights were shining on the sky. After the race they gave out water, medals and ice pops. Later on there were some Nike athletes signing autographs. It was fun to run and I was proud of myself for having set a goal and accomplishing it.

By: Ma’ayan Lange, 5th gradeBeit Sefer Shivtei Yisrael

I was very excited to be picked for my school running team and my first run was on Friday, November 2 in the Modiin race.

I arrived in the morning with my mum and dad. My dad was running in the 15km race and I was running in the 1.5km race with girls from kita daled to vav from all different schools in Modiin. I met up with my sports teachers and the rest of the running team from my school. Before the race started we did some stretches to warm up and then we waited for our race to begin. I was a little bit nervous but when the race started I forgot about being nervous and concentrated on my running. It wasn’t easy because it was quite hilly and the weather was very hot. Finally I saw the finishing line so I ran as fast as I could and as I crossed the finishing line I saw my mum cheering me on.

After the race had finished we were given bottles of water and I found out that I had run the race in 9 minutes and 9 seconds and came 47th out of 148 girls from kita daled to vav and the school running team, both the boys and the girls, came in 3rd place out

of all the schools in Modiin and we were presented with a trophy. I was very proud of myself and look forward to running many

more races.

Nike Run

The Modiin Race


BILLBOARD BILLBOARD


RECIPE

By: Pesha Fischer, adapted from Baking Bites Ingredients3/4 cup sugar 1 egg 1/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup milk (I used soy)1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Coating 2 tablespoons butter, melted (optional) 1/2 cup powdered sugar

By: Beit Hagvinot

Ingredients100 gr Greek Kashkaval250 gr Edam or Emek400 gr Tabarouk2 eggs6 tbs flourSpices according to your taste, don’t overdue the salt because the cheese is already salty, black pepper, oregano and dried parsley

Cheese BallsDonut Muffins Lightly grease a muffin tin with vegetable oil or spray.In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color. Add vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla to sugar mixture and combine.In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and nut-meg. Then pour into liquid mixture and stir to combine. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full, and bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.Also good on topPareve Caramel Sauce1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup rich non-dairy coffee creamer 2 tablespoons margarine In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, sugar, creamer and marga-rine. Bring to a boil over moderate heat while stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved.

Makes 10 regular muffins

Grate the cheese in a bowl, whisk the eggs and mix together with the cheese and flour. Add the spices. If the mixture is wet, add flour. The desired consis-tency should be slightly damp and not too liquidy. Make balls with a spoon, not too large and bake at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes. If you want to spruce up the recipe, add whole pitted olives. Put a little bit of red sauce in the olive and then make cubes. Gluten free – recommend using corn flour.


CLASSIFIEDS

CANDLE LIGHTING

November 23/9 KislevParashat VayeitzeiCandle lighting: 16:15Shabbat ends: 17:15

November 30/16 KislevParashat VayishlachCandle lighting: 16:15Shabbat ends: 17:16

December 7/23 KislevParashat VayeshevShabbat MevarchimCandle lighting: 16:15Shabbat ends: 17:15

December 14/1 TevetParashat MiketzCandle lighting: 16:16Shabbat ends: 17:16

December 21/8 TevetParashat VayigashCandle lighting: 16:19Shabbat ends: 17:20

December 28/15 TevetParashat VayechiCandle lighting: 16:23Shabbat ends: 17:25

January 4/22 TevetParashat ShemotShabbat Mevarchim Candle lighting: 16:28Shabbat ends: 17:30

January 11/29 TevetParashat VaeraCandle lighting: 16:34Shabbat ends: 17:35

January 18/7 ShevatParashat BoCandle lighting: 16:40Shabbat ends: 17:40

January 25/14 ShevatParashat BeshalachCandle lighting: 16:47Shabbat ends: 17:50

February 1/21 ShevatParashat YitroCandle lighting: 16:53Shabbat ends: 17:55

February 8/28 ShevatParashat Mishpatim (Shekalim)Shabbat MevarchimCandle lighting: 16:59Shabbat ends: 18:00

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February 15/5 AdarParashat TerumaCandle lighting: 17:06Shabbat ends: 18:05

February 22/12 AdarParashat Tezavei (Zachor)Candle lighting: 17:11Shabbat ends: 18:13

March 1/20 AdarParashat Ki Tisa (Parah)Candle lighting: 17:17Shabbat ends: 18:20

March 8/26 AdarParashat Vayakel/Pekudai (HaChodesh)Shabbat MevarchimCandle lighting: 17:22Shabbat ends: 18:25

March 15/4 NissanParashat VayikraCandle lighting: 17:27 Shabbat ends: 18:30

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Modiinfo Winter 2012