Tov Pizza Damaged by Fire

WBAL (and several Presence sources) report that Baltimore's Tov Pizza was damaged by a fire early this morning around 5 AM. No one was injured in the fire; the cause is under investigation.

The damage does not look to be extensive, and is localized towards the back of the building; the exterior and eating area towards the front of the restaurant looked fine, although there was some glass being replaced (which may indicate a break-in/arson). The restaurant is closed as of now, no word on when it will be re-opening.

Yeshivat Rambam's New Rosh Yeshiva: R. Shmuel Silber

Yeshivat Rambam has just announced that R. Shmuel Silber, rav of Suburban Orthodox Congregation, is their new rosh yeshiva.

2008 Baltimore Kosher Community Survey

The 2008 Baltimore Kosher Community Survey is now up and available from the Kosher Community Surveys website.

You can also view the results of last year's survey, as well as completed surveys for other communities around the US, such as Cleveland, Boston and Philadelphia.

Incidentally, last year, in one of the towns surveyed, there was some controversy as to the appropriateness of these surveys; some rabbonim went so far as to decry them as lashon hara. My personal opinion is that not only are these surveys l'toeles, making them permissible (perhaps even compulsory), but in addition, using data generated in a statistical manner, from a large group of people, is the best way (other than, of course, divine revelation, which is, sadly, in short supply these days) for an uninformed person to form as valid an opinion as possible without direct experience. The statistical process ensures that even if a single individual answers irresponsibly, their results don't skew the overall outcome. Contrast this to the real world, where anyone with the necessary means and free time can shout their opinion from the rooftops and influence people in a less than valid way. A rabbi agrees with me.

Star-K Kosher Slurpee List Summer 2008

The Star-K has released their list of kosher Slurpee flavors, updated for Summer 2008.

R. Heinemann Stands By "Sabbath Mode" Ovens

The Yeshiva World recently posted letters from prominent Israeli and American rabbis against the use of "Sabbath Mode" ovens. The letters made reference to an individual opinion that they believed to be erroneous. That opinion, although not explicitly attributed to him, was that of R. Moshe Heinemann of Baltimore's Star-K.

Today, the Star-K sent out an email stating that R. Heinemann stands by his ruling:

June 5, 2008

Regarding Star-K certified Sabbath Mode ovens

Rav Heinemann, shlita, stands by his Psak that it is permissible to raise and lower temperatures on Yom Tov on ovens equipped with that particular Sabbath Mode feature. Please see Star-K website at http://www.star-k.org/consumer.htm , or call our office for details about your particular model. Star-K will, in the next few days, post an audio presentation from Rav Heinemann explaining his views.

For those who wish to refrain from placing their ovens in Sabbath Mode and still use their oven on Yom Tov, please be aware of the possible serious "Michshol" on many models. Opening the oven door will immediately shut off the heating elements, an act clearly forbidden on Yom Tov. Thus, even if you don't raise or lower the temperature, it is still important to keep the oven in Sabbath Mode.

Star-K Certification

Below is R. Heinemann's original teshuva on Sabbath Mode ovens, which can also be found on the Star-K's website, along with additional information regarding Sabbath Mode appliances:

Yeshivat Rambam's New Executive Director

Yeshivat Rambam has just announced their new Executive Directory, Rabbi Ari Lerner, formerly of Bais Yaakov. The Lerners will be switching a number of his children to Yeshivat Rambam.

From the YR email list:

Yeshivat Rambam is pleased to welcome Rabbi Ari Lerner as our new Executive Director. Rabbi Lerner brings with him a wealth of experience as a highly talented financial administrator with a penchant toward innovative and growth-oriented fundraising. His excitement and vision for the future of Yeshivat Rambam is a perfect fit for our school. Rabbi Lerner, his wife Shoshana and 7 children (Be'H), are members of Suburban Orthodox Congregation. B'ruchim HaBa'im.

Kosher Krispy Kreme Kloses

The Krispy Kreme in Owings Mills, which heretofore had been listed as kosher by the Star-K, but possibly certified kosher by the someone else, is now closed. When asked why they were closing, a person who answered their phone said, "We weren't making enough money." Hat tip to IG.

Krispy Kreme (KKD) was trading up nine cents on the news.

Baltimore Hatzalah Makes The News

Baltimore's Hatzalah made the news yesterday responding to an accident near Fallstaff and Reisterstown Rds. A woman was trapped between her minivan and another car, and was later rescued by fire firefighters. Hatzalah was first on the scene and provided support. The woman suffered minor injuries, everyone else is ok. WJZ has a story on the incident, including brief video footage; the Baltimore Sun has an article as well.

Kosher Subway Opens Today

Baltimore's Kosher Subway is open today. A private preview gathering was held last Thursday night, Peninah and I were fortunate enough to attend along with mostly Star-K employees and friends of the owners, and I got a chance to sample some of Subway's sandwiches. I was very impressed, especially by the breads and the selection of toppings.

Many people have remarked to me that they think Subway will have a tough time competing with other local delis like Accents and The Knish Shop. While I agree that they will face competition, from what I've seen Subway does have some unique aspects to it that set it apart:

• parve cheeze


• a wide assortment of breads and toppings (the garlic bread is amazing)


• the Subway name (which doesn't matter much to frum Jews, but will bring non-frum business)


• a very nice and spacious location, with free wifi


• items not available at other locations, such as the meatball sub with cheeze

As such, I think there's plenty of room for a kosher Subway in the local market.

In the interests of full disclosure, I'd like to make it clear that I've received no compensation from Subway (other than the free samples I got last night). I like the food and I like the fact that mainstream American franchises are going kosher. I had kosher Cinnabon and Subway this week; I think it's a signal of where things are going, and I hope it continues.

View Larger Map

Kosher Bed and Breakfast Opens in Ocean City

Steffi's Place is a new kosher Bed and Breakfast located in Ocean City, MD. The B&B is owned and operated by Stephanie and Andy Becker of Baltimore, and is located one block from the Chabad of Ocean City, and is open year round. Service includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, certified by R. Y. Zvi Weiss of Baltimore. The menu looks quite diverse, and there is mention of scotch on Shabbos, which is always a plus.

A one-day stay at Steffi's Place is $109 per person; they also have a Thursday-Sunday Shabbos package which is $325 per person (keep in mind this includes all meals). For reservations, visit their website.

Letter to Yeshivat Rambam Parents

The following letter was sent out to the Yeshivat Rambam parent body today. It contains a more complete outline of the evalution process and the work of the visioning committee, along with a summary of the conclusions and decisions. It's a very clear and concise summary of what was presented at the meeting; it does not address any of the questions that have been raised since the meeting, but does lay out the process and rationale behind the decision that abrogates some of those questions.

Yeshivat Rambam: One Week Later

It's been just over a week since Yeshivat Rambam announced their two-school solution in an effort to attract more families and students. What has happened since then?

Rambam has held meetings with students, as well as with parents of the current eleventh grade class to discuss the changes.

A independant meeting of about fourty parents took place Tuesday night to discuss other educational options for high school students. Options discussed included Beth Tfiloh, Cardin and Yeshiva of Greater Washington (not sure if/why the school formerly known as HAGWASH was omitted). It was reported that Beth Tfiloh has no free appointments for prospective students for two weeks, and is holding a mass testing early in April. It seemed like many parents were anxious to find out more from the school about what the plan for next is going to be, and how the school will maintain or even increase the academic standards with a configuration that will undoubtedly cost more money.

The students put on a Purim shpiel at the school, which portrayed a past, present and future Yeshivat Rambam. Video is available on Facebook, and it's pretty funny. I don't know all the teachers involved, but the ones that I did recognize were very well done.

A person, or persons, unknown sprayed graffiti on the Yeshivat Rambam building that said "F*** Rambam."

The Baltimore Jewish Times has an article in this week's edition entitled "Rambam Splitting Into Two Schools." It features comments from Alex Porcelain and head of the Yeshivat Rambam debate squad, Maddy List.

The discussion on the previous post was intense, to say the least. It's hard to summarize the discussion, but it's clear there are a lot of issues here. Some are meta-issues, such as the value and place of co-education, the rightward movement of Modern Orthodoxy, the balance between secular and religious studies. Other issues are more specific: what will the actual two-school solution look like? Will more people come to the school or leave? What details will emerge at the next meeting in sixty days?

It does seem, however, that most involved in the discussion have accepted the fact that Yeshivat Rambam has to change, or die. While some would prefer to see the school close rather than change, most parents that I have spoken to, and the general evolution in tone of the comments from the previous post, indicate that many that are against the changes conceptually understand that they must be done.

I will add that I'm very impressed with all of the Yeshivat Rambam students who've commented on this blog. The fact that they confidently voiced their opinions, using their real names, and rationally debated with other commentors (most of whom were adults), shows a tremendous amount of self-confidence, courage and maturity. Thank you for participating and yiyasher kochachem.

Exclusive Photos of Baltimore's Kosher Subway, Opening in April

I had the opportunity to talk with Harry Kozlovsky, owner and operator of the new kosher Subway opening soon in Baltimore. Harry gave me a tour of the new restaurant (pictures below) and gave me some more details on the restaurant

Baltimore's kosher Subway is hoping to open around the beginning of April (at the latest, after Pesach), with a Grand Opening, with Jared the Subway Guy, in May. The restaurant's opening has been delayed by a few months, mostly due to logisital issues relating to permits. The space has been completely remodeled with all new construction and furnishings, including seating inside for fifty, with additional seating available outside in warm weather. They plan to be open from 10AM to 9PM, as well as Saturday night's during the winter. The restaurant will also have wireless internet access available.

The Baltimore kosher Subway is certified by the Star-K; Harry told me that the Star-K is a pleasure to work with. I asked if the Star-K expressed any concern about certifying a franchise of a national brand such as Subway; he told me that they did not, and have been supportive in every way, and that they also had no issues with pareve cheese as a part of the menu. Harry also outlined the economic advantages available as a Subway franchise: many Subway items are already kosher, such as their breads and lettuce; purchasing them directly from Subway distribution results in a tremendous cost savings and insulates them from severe price fluctations (flour happens to be spiking right now, which is causing an increase in expenses for many of the area's kosher establishments). Meat suppliers are still being determined.

Harry also told me that they have plans to expand to Montgomery County in the near future. He didn't have a lot of information yet, it sounds like they are first scouting for the right location, somewhere in the Rockville/Bethesda/Silver Spring area.

Take a look at the pictures below, things are still under construction, but you get the general idea. Check back soon for more information on the opening of Baltimore's kosher Subway.

Presenting: Presentations Gifts - a New Gift Store in Baltimore!

There's a new gift shop in town. Many of you are familiar with Mostly Simchas, a gift shop run by Tova Taragin and Yehudit Shields. They've been operating for almost four years out of Mrs. Taragin's garage. Now, the dynamic duo has teamed up with Ahuva Weinreb and are opening a brand-new storefront location, Presentations Gifts, right near the new Goldberg's Bagels and Salon Kids.

The store is scheduled to open the beginning of May after Pesach and will feature an expanded line of gifts, including higher end items suitable for weddings, such as serving pieces and decorative vases. The new location is six times the size of the current store, so browsing their selection of gift options will be much more enjoyable than in the current location. And if you're a big fan of the personal service and low prices offered at the current Mostly Simchas, don't worry: all the original Mostly Simchas merchandise will be available in the new store, at the same prices as before.

Along with the new store, Presentations Gifts is launching www.presentationsgifts.com, an e-commerce website that will enable online browsing and ordering of all of Presentations Gifts merchandise. The website will also have options for in-store pickup or home delivery. The site is scheduled to launch around the same time as the new store opens.

So make sure to visit Presentations Gifts in Baltimore for gifts for all occasions.

Here's a picture of the new location:

[Disclosure: two-thirds of the ownership of Presentations Gifts are my mother-in-law and sister-in-law]

Upscale Kosher Dining Done Right: Potomac's Pomegranate Bistro

Peninah and I took a trip down to Potomac to try out the new kosher restaurant, The Pomegranate Bistro. It was a great experience. The restaurant was nice, clean, well-decorated; the staff was courteous and service was prompt. The portions were generous, the food was delicious and the prices were reasonable. Reservations can be made quickly and easily via their website. I don't really have anything bad to say.

I highly recommend you give The Pomegranate Bistro a try; it's appropriate both for special occasions and business meetings. As of now, it is, in my opinion, the finest kosher dining experience to be had in the Baltimore-Washington area.

A few pics (including shots of the menu) below.

Exterior of the restaurant.

Foyer/Entryway

Seating area

Menu - Appetizers (you can see the prices, click through and look for the All Sizes link to enlarge)

Menu - Entrees (you can see the prices, click through and look for the All Sizes link to enlarge)

Beef Satay Appetizer (forgot to take a picture before I ate)

Sicilian Eggplant

London Broil

Salmon - a very large piece of fish

Peninah had the Rib Eye Steak.

Amarreto Chocolate Cake - really good.

Dougie's On The Run - Closing

Email from the folks at Dougie's On The Run:

Dear Friends,

It is with sadness that we announce that Dougie's on the Run will be closing for business. A combination of unforeseen factors has forced us to make this difficult decision. Sunday night at Willowglen and Sanzo will likely be our last time to serve you. We will be open from 4:30-7:30 PM. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have supported us. This is a wonderful community and we hope you will continue to support local kosher dining establishments as much as possible.

~Caycee and Aaron Polun

According to my records, they opened for business at the end of October (Hat tip: AS).

Kosher Subway Update

Passed by the old Goldberg's today (on the way to the new Goldberg's) and saw this sign in front of the space next door:

Word from the owners is they are looking to open mid February to early March. More information is availabe at www.koshersubs.com.

So Happy Together

From this week's Jewish Times, an article about parents and children working together features our very own Mostly Simchas:

The pastel pink, blue, purple, green and orange walls of Mostly Simchas exude warmth rarely seen in a gift shop. Its photo albums, picture frames, bulletin boards, magnets and notepads are funky, whimsical and fun.

Sales have skyrocketed in the last couple of years, and it’s not just because of the products, say mother-daughter team Tova Taragin and Yehudit Shields. It’s because of the owners.

We're very proud.

Baltimore Kosher News: Rita's, Schmell's and Amanda's

• A new Rita's has opened in Reisterstown Road Plaza. This Rita's is actually indoors, so it's open all year round. Brain freeze in the summer is one thing; brain freeze when it's below freezing out is quite a rush.
• Schmell's Bakery is under new ownership (Don Tkatch, if the word on the street is to be believed). Plans are to renovate to include sit down for a bakery/coffe shop establishment.
• The folks at Amanda's Fine Dining (formerly The Brasserie) let me know that they have a new website, www.amandasfinedining.com, which has information including menus and hours of operation. They also have new specials in the $16-$25 range, and all fish and beef entrees now include a complimentary house salad (your welcome). They are also hiring a new chef from New York to compliment local chef Bryan Crystal.

Baltimore Jewish Times Adds Comments

An ad in last week's Baltimore Jewish Times says that the online edition of the BJT will soon have comments on all articles. Adding this additional level of interactivity and communication will likely lead to an increase in site visits and usage. I suggested the BJT's blogs add comments earlier this year.

Arutz Sheva Reports Vandalism in Baltimore?

Arutz Sheva reports: "Three black swastikas were spray-painted on the walls of an Orthodox Jewish day school in suburban Baltimore. Racial slurs were also painted on nearby roads."

Anyone know if this was a recent incident, or if A7 is just re-reporting old news? And what school is this referring to?

Update: An anonymous comment points to the crime log page of the local Owings Mills Times for November 21, 2007, which records an incident: "Smith Avenue, 6300 block, Nov. 16. Three black swastikas spray-painted on stone entrance wall to Bais Yaakov High School. Racial slur spray-painted on road sign at Smith and Chelwood roads. Racial slur and Star of David spray-painted on Jersey wall at Smith and Pebblebrook roads."

Dougie's Listens and Responds

The owner of Dougie's On the Run has taken the time to read through the comments on our recent post announcing their opening. I've copied it here, as it contains lots of useful information, but also shows that the proprietors get blogs and see the value in this kind of open dialogue.

To all who have posted and expressed feelings both positive and negative we sincerely appreciate your patience and feedback. As we continue to develop this new business model we will try to improve operations and communicate as clearly as possible. I am the owner of Dougie's on the Run and did want to respond to a few items in the blog.

- We have heard the concerns regarding the safety at the Greenspring and Willowglen location. We also see the danger and have stopped using that location despite how busy it was. We hope to find a safer and more suitable location. Thank you to all who expressed their concerns.

- We absolutely have a masgiach on board at all times. The truck has a locking door between the cab and the kitchen that the mashgiach holds the key to. We have spent a lot of money on securing the truck with a state of the art alarm system that will notify us of a breach even if we are not within earshot of the truck at the time. We have worked closely with the Star-K to develop this concept. Our intentions have always been to provide quality kosher food for the community especially in places where none is currently available.

- Although we do not have New York rents we have many costs that are substantially higher than a traditional restaurant. Our insurance, fuel, and licensing costs are understandably higher than other establishments. Our food, labor, advertising, etc. are just as high as any other restaurant. We have tried to keep our prices competitive for the area.

- We did speak with the gentleman who runs the farmers market prior to setting up in that location. He was thrilled to have us and is saddened that we will no longer be using that location. According to him our presence increased his sales.

- Finally, I would like to once again thank all of those who have expressed feelings both good and bad about our venture. I think the debate is healthy and can only make us better. I would however like to mention that our desire is to be good neighbors, good Jews, and good and honest businessmen. I am happy to address any genuine concerns that do not attack our character, integrity, or level of observance which quite frankly have no basis. Our email address is dougiesontherun@yahoo.com.

Dougie's On The Run Schedule

Just received an email from Dougie's on the Run with schedule information:

Dougie's On the Run will be at the following locations...
this week, beginning November 4, 2007:
*********************************************************************************************************
Sunday - Greenspring & Willowglen Ave. for dinner, 4:30 - 7:30pm
Monday - Social Security on Security Blvd. near Gwenoak for lunch at 11 - 2pm
Tuesday - Greenspring & Willowglen Ave. for dinner, 5 - 8pm
Wednesday - Owings Mills at Red Run Blvd. & Mill Run Circle for lunch, 11 - 2pm
Thursday - Woodholm Elem on Mt. Wilson Lane for dinner at 5 - 7:30pm
Fridays we'll be closed on a regular basis
Sunday - Etz Chaim on Fords Lane for dinner at 4:30 - 7:30 pm
*********************************************************************************************************

We hope to be adding more times & locations soon...including a downtown location, so stay tuned! Thanks for patience and your support as Dougie's gets up and running in Baltimore!

If you know anyone who wants Dougie's updates, have them email us & we'll be happy to add them.

As excited as many of you undoubtedly are, let's try to keep the comments somewhat civilized.

Goldberg's Has Left the Building

Word on the street is that Goldberg's has officially relocated and opened up shop in their new location.

Dougie's Express Open for Business

Dougie's On the Run is open for business. The Dougie's truck is serving customers right now, on the corner of Greenspring and Willow Glen (no word yet on their full schedule).

I stopped by and picked up an order of Fire Slammers, which were delicious. All the food is prepared fresh on the spot. The menu looks to be comparable to the menu at the full-service Dougie's; they have burgers (pastrami, chili and portabello mushroom), hot dogs, wraps, deli sandwiches, chicken, salads, bloomin' onions, all the Dougie's favorites. Prices were a little on the high side (a half order of Fire Slammers is $7.49, burgers range from $4.95 to $10.50), but I guess kosher food isn't less expensive even if you sell it out of a truck. There were about four people inside the truck, taking orders and cooking food. There were about six or seven folks ordering or waiting for their orders.

Here's a few shots I snapped with my phone:

Order here

Washing station

Logo

Where the magic happens.

Thanks to Penny for the tip.

2007 Baltimore Kosher Community Survey Results

The results of the 2007 Baltimore Kosher Community Survey are in.

The Brasserie Reborn: Amanda's

A few months back, the owners of The Brasserie sold their establishment to the Shalom Kosher Group, owners of Shalom Strictly Kosher Market and Max's Kosher Cafe in Silver Spring. The restaurant was closed for remodeling just before Rosh HaShannah, and reopened this past Wednesday as Amanda's. Penny and I stopped by last night to check things out.

When news came out that the new owners were also the proprietors of Max's, which is known for it's schwarma but not for it's ambiance, there were worries that Amanda's would devolve into nothing more than a glorified Kosher Bite. Thankfully, that is not the case. There is little difference between the old Brasserie and the new Amanda's. In remodeling, the coat room was removed, and some updates were made to the decor, but overall the place looks pretty much the same. Most of the staff from The Brasserie are back as well.

The menu is also not much different; appetizers all looked familiar, as well as main courses (for a refreshed, check out the old Brasserie menu). There were a few new items, such as a stuffed chicken entre, as well as a few old favorites that finally came off the specials list and onto the menu (Chilean Sea Bass, anyone?). The prices were on average about the same, leaning towards a bit more affordable. The current menu was not very comprehensive, with a focus on chicken, steak and pasta dishes; no sign of the Mexican fare previously offered by The Brasserie. Sushi is now presented as a separate menu, and it appears that the selections have increased.

The food took a long time to arrive, at least thirty minutes. In the old Brasserie days, I don't recall it taking this long; perhaps the wait was mitigated by the fact that a complimentary house salad was provided with each entre ordered. Amanda's has done away with the free salad, so the wait for the food was that much more frustrating. When the food finally did arrive, I was pleasantly surprised that, although the menu was at first glance the same, the food was much improved. I thoroughly enjoyed my steak, which came with a very tasty honey/peper sauce; and I actually ate all my green beans, which rarely happens. Penny had the stuffed chicken which she also enjoyed (according to the waiter, her old staple, flounder stuffed with imitation crab meat, will be added back on the menu in the coming weeks).

Overall, I was pleased with the new Amanda's. The lack of a salad irked me a bit, and the wait time was frustrating, but the food was good and the ambiance acceptable. I'm happy to say that there is still a nice place to go for special occasions in Baltimore; our fears of a fast food joint were unfounded.

Amanda's is located in Pomona Square, in the location previously occupied by The Brasserie. They are currently taking reservations for dinner only, with plans to open for lunch in the next few weeks.

Photos of the new Goldberg's Bagels

I happened to be over near Goldberg's new location in downtown Pikesville, and snapped this picture on my phone. Their new location is near the corner of Old Court and Reisterstown Rd., where Joan and Gary's used to be located, nearby where Blockbuster used to be located.

View Larger Map

Baltimore Kosher News Update

A few quick updates:

• Someone posted to the following to the Luach.com Baltimore page: "Would you support a dairy restaurant in the MT Washington Area? Would you support a dairy restaurant in the MT Washington Area. I'm looking to see if the Kosher world would support a full service fun, funky dairy concept restaurant in the Mout Washington area of Baltimore. Your input would be greatly appricated." I think this would be great; strangely enough, I find myself missing 921. They'd have to compete with Cocoaccino's, which still does not have free wifi.


• I've received several emails about the Dougie's Express (thanks!). I've contacted "Dougie" and gotten confirmation, and had a brief conversation with Aaron Pulon, who's running the the Baltimore Dougie's Express. It's going to be a van that stops in various locations (downtown, Social Security, Joey Pollak's office, etc.) at specific times. They've got a MySpace page, with no real information. I'm hoping to have a more detailed conversation with Mr. Pulon now that the holidays are over to get more details.


• I had a brief chat with someone at Amanda's, formerly The Brasserie. They were closed down (apart from sushi) from Yom Kippur through Sukkos, should be reopening soon. I'm going to try to talk to them this week also.

That's all the news that's fit to print, please let me know if you hear anything, and thanks to everyone who wrote in.

Dougie's (Express) Coming to Baltimore

Just so's you don't think I've lost my game: yes, I've heard the murmurings that a Dougie's (or Dougie's Express) is coming to Baltimore; that the deal is signed and will be announced soon. I'm working on getting in touch with those involved to see about getting some more concrete information. Meanwhile, all you hat-tip fiends, you know where to find me.

Hat tip to T, Esq. and YS, amongst others.

Liebes Closing

Tomorrow is the last day to shop at Liebes Kosher Deli, a long-time Baltimore kosher establishment. Liebe's recently sold to new owners, who are apparently closing down the shop to pursue other business ventures. If anyone would like to write up a history of Liebe's, I'd be happy to publish it.

The Brasserie Sold to Max's

Word on the street is that The Brasserie has been sold. The new owners are, reportedly, The Shalom Group, who also own Max's Cafe in Silver Spring (they also own Shalom's Kosher Market next door). Word is that Max's will be revamping the space over the next few weeks to make Max's a more affordable eatery.

Interesting news, to say the least. Max's in Silver Springs is good food (much better than Kosher Bite) in a somewhat nice environment (again, nicer than Kosher Bite...why is that the standard?). One thing that Max's does and does well is schwarma; Max's has a dedicated schwarma chef (a Palestinian, actually) who is passionate about his craft. It is probably the best schwarma in the Baltimore/DC area, so hopefully it will make it's way to Baltimore.

Hat tip to AS and IG.

Dutch Wonderland Tickets For Sale

We've got some extra tickets for Dutch Wonderland for sale. We got rained out yesterday after only a few hours of fun. Tickets are normally $28.95, we're selling these for $20 a piece, and if buy four or more, their $18.75 a piece (that's four for $75). The passes are good for ages 3-59, for any day of the 2007 season (which is over October 7, 2007, check schedule for exact dates). We've got around 12 tickets, first come, first serve, so get them while they are hot.

Contact me at greggersh AT yahoo DOT com, or leave a comment below with an email address I can reply to.

This was my first trip to Dutch Wonderland, I was very impressed. It's perfect for kids between the ages of 2 and 10.

UPDATE: The tickets are all sold. Thanks!

Concerned Parents of TA

Someone has started a blog entitled Concerned Parents of TA (Baltimore). From the first post on the blog:

It is the goal of this blog to provide a forum for parents to provide candid feedback to the school, but also to explore, in a constructive manner, ideas that can be implemented to make TA the school that we all know, hope, and expect it to be.

It will be interesting to see if this works. I'm sure there will be lots of anonymous venting, as well as impassioned defenses of the school. I would encourage everyone to either comment under their real names or to adopt a consistent pseudonym, so that there is a sense of conversation, rather than a free-for-all. Also, the administration of the school should be following this blog very carefully, as well as participate in the conversation non-anonymously, which will show that you're listening and help to keep the conversation civil. The feedback you'll get from parents commenting on the blog will be very valuable. Also, it's just about a given that this blog will end up on the first page of Google results for searches for TA, etc., which means people looking for and at the school for the first time will find this blog. If there's silence from the administration, it will look bad from the outside.

The blog was brought to my attention by a commenter on my previous post. If I had to guess, I'd bet that the person who left the comment is the one who started the blog.

Cost of Being an Observant Jew

CartoonBarry has a good breakdown of the costs of being an observant Jew. His prices are based on Monsey cost of living, and some of the numbers seem strange (who pays $800 a month to their shul?) but overall it's a fairly accurate accounting.

We just signed our payment agreement for tuition for our three kids for the coming year: $26,000. And that's before scholarships, banquet ads, scrip; not to mention hot lunches, books, uniforms, and who knows what else. It boggles the mind.

It's All About the Message

AddeRabbi writes:

I had the good fortune of taking a graduate school class in the history of Jewish Education with Prof. Shaul Stampfer. His emphasis on community-driven ‘market forces’ as a major determinant of the success or failure of educational institutions was truly eye-opening. Every educational institution in the world makes 'business' decisions about what alumni accomplishments to take pride in and what not. Every announcement and every photo in their publications and on their websites are part of this general promotion of their product. News concerning alumni which does not promote the school's vision in some way will simply not be advertised. News which really provides an example of the type of alumni achievement that the school strives for will be celebrated.

This is important not only in the context of alumni, but also in regard to the current parent body and the entire community (even those unaffiliated with the school directly). Some things need to be emphasized, and some things don't, but it has to be done very deliberately and carefully given the communal context.

Press Release: Baltimore Soon To Offer a Kosher Subway Restaurant

Just received this press release:

PRESS RELEASE                                                           

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Email: koshersubs@gmail.com

Web: www.koshersubs.com
Phone: (240) 715-1903

SUBWAY® BALTIMORE KOSHER SUBS To Open in the Fall

July 28,
2007 (Baltimore) – Come Fall, Baltimore will join Cleveland and Brooklyn offering a
Kosher SUBWAY®. The anticipated location will be at the 700-718 Reisterstown
Road Shopping Center in Pikesville, MD. 
Kosher Subway will offer the authentic Subway menu available for dining
in, catering or take-out. The menu will feature Glatt Kosher meat and pareve, non-dairy cheese as well as seafood
and vegetarian offerings under the Kashrus supervision of the Star-K of
Baltimore. 

With more than 28,000 locations in 86 countries, the SUBWAY® restaurant chain is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise. The SUBWAY® sandwich chain has surpassed the number of McDonald's locations throughout the United States, Canada, and most recently, in Australia and New Zealand.

The SUBWAY® restaurant chain is now growing into the Kosher marketplace with the addition of very successful SUBWAY® Kosher restaurants already opened in Cleveland, Brooklyn, and openings have been announced for Los Angeles, Cedarhurst, and Kansas. In the next year, SUBWAY® Kosher restaurants will be opening in 15 additional locations across North and South America. The SUBWAY® brand offers a variety of options that tie in well with the desire to promote healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. It will be great for health conscious fitness enthusiasts and all families.

Baltimore Orthodox Community member Harry Kozlovsky, a partner in SUBWAY® BALTIMORE KOSHER SUBS stated, "We are excited to bring the flagship SUBWAY® brand experience to the Baltimore area kosher population. The availability of kosher, healthy, quickly prepared, very reasonably priced food, in a clean, happy, and friendly atmosphere, will be a great amenity for the vibrant Baltimore community."

SUBWAY® restaurants are famous for made-to-order foot long and 6-inch submarine sandwiches, served on SUBWAY® exclusive Italian, wheat and a variety of seasoned breads that are baked fresh daily in each restaurant. Hot and cold subs, many with 6 grams of fat, are available with an assortment of meats, fish, vegetables and condiments, toasted, all added at each customer's request.

Subway will be open six days a week for lunch and dinner and be available for dining in, take-out and catering services. In addition to offering a typical Subway® menu, it will also offer the very popular SUBWAY® Fresh Fit for Kids children's menu.

Harry Kozlovsky , Cleveland residents: Ghazi Faddoul, SUBWAY® franchisee and Development Agent, and Charles Zuchowski, the pioneer of the Cleveland SUBWAY® kosher concept, among others, have joined together to bring the SUBWAY® kosher experience to Baltimore and other communities in the future.

For other SUBWAY® Baltimore Kosher Subs

details, please go to www.koshersubs.com and send all
inquiries to

koshersubs@gmail.com.

 

More Information on Kosher Subway in Baltimore

Rumors of a kosher Subway coming to Baltimore have been circulating for some time. Through a bit of research and journalistic finesse, Presence has managed to uncover and confirm most of the details. I spoke with Harry Kozlovsky, one of the partners in the new venture, and he has confirmed that a kosher Subway will be opening in Baltimore in the fall of 2007. The restaurant will be located in the same strip mall that Goldberg's Bagels is currently located (if you notice, the two spaces next to Goldberg's across the small alley are closed or closing, my guess is this it where the kosher Subway will be).

That's all the information I have to report now, but you can be assured that the kosher Subway is happening. A press release will be going out early next week (either Sunday or Monday); we'll have the details here, which will include information on the restaurant, the restaurant's website (which is not yet live, so I'm not yet linking to it), along with additional information on some of the people involved and time frame for opening. Make sure to check back here over the weekend to get the scoop!

Pikesville Library Open

For those of you sick of schlepping out to Towson, the Pikesville library is open once again. It's almost exactly the same as the old library, except the door is in a different place.

No, seriously, this time, we're closed

Word on the street is that the Brasserie is really closed now. Last night was purportedly the last night of full menu service. Sushi may or may not be available (as a non-sushi issue, I'm not terribly concerned).

In other Baltimore kosher restaurant news, I finally found something at Accents I am going to order again (the teriyaki fired beef wrap). I went to David Chu's right before the nine days, and it was very good. Rumors of a Dougie's Express opening up in Baltimore (some kind of mobile thing). No new news on the Kosher Subway, although I've heard from various folks that it's going to be moving into the spot next to Goldberg's current location.

More on Abuse

DMZ writes about his experience with the subject of the Baltimore Jewish Times' latest article on sexual abuse, adding a unique and personal perspective to the topic.

Kosher Subway Rumors

A while back there were rumors of a kosher Subway opening in the Baltimore. This week, I received a number of anonymous email from someone identifying himself only as "koshersubwayfresh." This individual claims that the kosher Subway is happening in Baltimore, sometime around the end of the summer. I really don't have any other information, so take it with a grain of salt. But, if it's true, you heard it here first, check back for updates, I'll post as I get more information.

Krispy Kreme still Kosher

I've been hearing lots of talk that Krispy Kreme in Owings Mills was no longer kosher; indeed, they are no longer certified by the Star-D. I called the Vaad today to double-check, as the Star-K's website, as of this morning, still listed Krispy Kreme as under the Star-D. Turns out it is true that Krispy Kreme in Owings Mills is no longer under the Star-D, but someone from the Vaad does go in and check it on a regular basis and it is, according to the woman I spoke with, OK. So there you go, feel free to make your own inquires.

This applies only to the Krispy Kreme at 10021 Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills.

[Update: I forgot that Diana posted about this a while back. Consider me enforced.]

R. Weinreb in Sderot Kassam Attack

R. Tzvi Hirsch Weinreb was in Sderot during a Kassam attack. R. Weinreb has been "blogging" many of the details from his Blackberry. No one from the OU delegation was injured in the attack.

Jewish Times Cover Baltimore Rabbis

The Baltimore Jewish Times has an article about the statements of both the Vaad and the Baltimore Board of Rabbis condemning abuse. I'm glad the Jewish Times is finally covering the efforts of the Vaad, as it's an important part of the overall story; unbeknownst to many, they are still working on steps to combat the problem of abuse in our community.

BHU in Trouble

According to the Jewish Times, Baltimore Hebrew University is in trouble. I can't really comment on the role or affect BHU has on the Baltimore community; all I know is that their library is a great resource and it would be a shame to lose it.

More on Confronting Abuse in Baltimore

The Forward has an article entitled Baltimore Roiled by Abuse Charge Against Late Rabbi. Overall, it looks like a decent summary of the situation; there was, however, one error, I believe

More research, including conversations with victims, rabbis and mental health professionals, led to a February 23 cover story, which told the story of “Steve,” a survivor of sexual abuse in the synagogue.

The paper did not reveal the identity of the victim nor of the alleged abuser. According to Jacobs, the paper suspected that Shapiro was the rabbi in question but could not confirm it.

After the first article came out, a friend walked up to Jacobs and identified Shapiro as the rabbi in question.

In the "Steve" article, the Jewish Times did not reveal the victim, but did name one of the alleged abusers. Also, as far as I know, none of the alleged abusers in the "Steve" article were Shapiro. In fact, according to the article, "Steve" is now 25, which means he would have been seven in 1989, the year Shapiro died, so something here is either vague or incorrect.

Another article in The Jewish Press by Elliot Pasik entitled How To Eradicate Abuse In Our Communities, offers suggestins for how Jewish organizations can help prevent abuse.

[Hat tip: Hirhurim]

R. Teichman Opening Shul, Beis Medrash Near Smith Ave.

A letter is circulating with details of a metting in the coming weeks to discuss a new shul and beis medrash in the works, with R. Zvi Teichman as rav. The new shul is planned to be in the Pickwick/Indian Village area (in other words, near, possibly across Smith Ave.). The letter is somewhat vague, but it sounds like what is being planned is more than just a shul, but a kind of post-high school yeshiva/college hybrid program, along the lines of the beis medrash program at Yeshiva of Greater Washington in Silver Springs.

R. Teichman is the former Rosh Mesivta of Talmudical Academy.

Response to Jewish Times Article

This week's edition of the Baltimore Jewish Times has four editorial letters from members of the Baltimore community in response to last' week's article.

• How Terrible
• Alleged Molester
• The Real Issue
  (best of the bunch, in my opinion)
• The Unspoken

Baltimore Examiner on Jewish Times Article

The Baltimore Examiner has an article about the Baltimore Jewish Time article (it's like a play within a play, only different). The article makes no mention of the statements from the Vaad HaRabonim.

More on Confronting Abuse

A few tidbits from over Shabbos:

• R. Shmuel Silber was scheduled to speak on the topic at Suburban Orthodox. I haven't heard what he had to say.


• R. Shmuel Kaplan also addressed the topic. I am somewhat hesitant to recount what he said without clarifying with him, but I believe he said that he thought the article in Jewish Times was well done, and offered anecdotal evidence that going to the secular authorities did not always produce satisfactory results in all cases.


• Baltimore's Shalom USA radio show did a segment on this morning's show on the general topic of abuse, featuring Phil Jacobs, Murray Levin and Yaakov Margolese. I'll see if I can get a clip and post it.


• There were some signatures missing from the letter distributed last week. Although the letter states that not everyone was available to sign due to the Pesach holiday, there are some who did not sign intentionally. Those that did not sign the letter (whether intentionally or unintentionally, I do not know) include: R. Yosef Berger, R. Yaakov Horowitz (Darchei Tzedek), R. Shlomo Naiman (Adas).


• R. Yosef Shaul Nathanson (1808-1875), author of the responsa Shoel U'Mashiv, wrote a teshuva on the issue of a teacher who was accused of child abuse. Hirhurim posted the text of the teshuvah, along with a translation, a few weeks ago.

Vaad HaRabbonim of Baltimore: Abuse in our Community

The letter below was sent to the entire Baltimore Orthodox Jewish community from the Rabbincal Council of Greater Baltimore. It is the letter referred to in R. Gottlieb's drasha. Click on the pictures to enlarge, use the arrow keys to scroll down.

The signatories are:

• R. Elan Adler


• R. Reuben Arieh


• R. Menachem Goldberger


• R. Emanuel Goldfeiz


• R. Dovid Gottlieb


• R. Moshe Hauer


• R. Dovid Heber


• R. Moshe Heinemann


• R. Yaakov Hopfer


• R. Shmuel Kaplan


• R. Nesanel Kostelitz


• R. Chaim Landau


• R. Elchonon Lisbon


• R. Sheftel Neuberger


• R. Gavriel Newman


• R. Shlomo Salfer


• R. Jonathan Seidemann


• R. Simcha Shafran


• R. Mordechai Shuchatowitz


• R. Shmuel Silber


• R. Amrom Taub


• R. Y. Zvi Weiss


• R. Mitchell Wohlberg

[Hat tip to Aishel for the scans]

The Jewish Times Article

Baltimore Jewish Times: Rabbi's Abuse Victims Suffer Years Later.

The Positive Value of the Internet in Orthodox Jewish Society

I wanted to post my thoughts on R. Gottlieb's drasha, but I wanted to do it as a separate post, so there would be no confusion as to what I am saying and what R. Gottlieb said. There will be much news that will be coming out over the coming weeks, and I will have to decide if, what and how I want to comment on it. In the mean time, I wanted to offer a concise thought on how and why these changes came about.

My main thought about this is that it shows the positive value of the Internet in contemporary Orthodox society. I firmly believe that the reason this issue is finally being dealt with in a forthright manner by the rabbinate is that they have no choice but to do so. The way information is controlled and disseminated to and within the community has fundamentally changed. This is due in large part to the web in general, and blogs in particular. That is not to say that everything done on the web is done appropriately or in the best possible fashion, but the very existence of the medium, and the fact that information can be published and circulated freely and quickly, has made past approaches to this problem no longer viable. That is not to say that past approaches were correct, either; the existence of the web has enabled a more accurate understanding of the magnitude of the problem to become apparent to those who erred with good intentions and now have the ability to make changes.

Let me make it clear that I do not mean this to be critical of the rabbinate; on the contrary, the fact that they are addressing the issue, rather than not, is responsible and commendable. I do think, however, it is important to recognize the crucial role that the "grass roots" had in bringing about this change.

As a general rule, in any social ecosystem, those in positions of authority by definition maintain the status quo; change must come from the people, and it is the responsibility of those with authority to be sensitive to the needs of the people and judge how to best respond. There is a famous interchange between two poskim that beautifully illustrates this point. The Terumat HaDeshen would often invent theoretical cases to server as the basis for responsum. The Magen Avraham frowned on this practice, arguing that a posek receives special divine guidance when weighing an issue of halachic jurisprudence from an actual real, live person. I don't think it's homiletics to explain this as meaning that halachic decisions are more meaningful when considered in the context of those that practice them, and that the posek must first and foremost respond to the individual.

At any rate, those of us who believe that blogs in particular, and the web in general, have a positive role to play in the Jewish community can count this as a point in our favor.

For more thoughts check out Kefirot's post on the subject.

Baltimore Rabbis Address Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community

Just before the last days of Pesach, congregants of Shomrei Emunah received an email from R. Gottlieb that he would be addressing the entire shul on "a very important and timely issue confronting our community," over Yom Tov. Speculation abounded as to the topic, but most thought the issue at hand was sexual abuse in Baltimore community.

The second day of Yom Tov, R. Gottlieb did indeed devote his drasha to the topic of sexual abuse. The drasha came in advance of a letter that is being sent to the Baltimore community with a statement adopted by the Va'ad HaRabbonim of Baltimore on the issue of sexual abuse.

Since taboo and silence are the two greatest enablers of abuse, R. Gottlieb asked us to resist our natural inclination to do several things:

• To deny allegations are true.


• To hide behind the laws of lashon hara or chillul Hashem (*).


• To minimize the damage done to those that are victimized.


• To not talk about the issue of sexual abuse with our children.

R. Gottlieb acknowledged that, in the past, cases of abuse have been mishandled because of giving in to these natural inclinations, and that, even if the intentions were from a good place, that this resulted in even greater damage.

The Va'ad is in the process of putting together a systematic approach that will delineate proper behavior in an effort to prevent sexual abuse, such as guidelines for schools and educators. As an example, the Va'ad is looking to the city of Chicago, which recently formed a special beis din to address claims in an open and forthright manner. This will hopefully help prevent incidents of sexual abuse from occurring, as well as help ensure an open process of addressing incidents that do arise, God forbid. There is also the very real concern of false accusations, which, R. Gottlieb also mentioned, has occurred as well.

More details will be available in the letter coming sometime this week. R. Gottlieb is also in the process of formalizing his remarks and will make them available to those that are interested. My thoughts will follow in a separate post.

* By "ignoring" the laws of lashon hara, it is my understanding that R. Gottlieb did not mean that issues of abuse are open for public discussion, nor that one should readily believe anything that is printed in the press or on the web. Rather, if one knows of a case of abuse and does not investigate, or does not report it, or does not inform others of the potential danger, out of a fear of spreading "lashon hara," they are in error. There is no issue of lashon hara if you are protecting an innocent person from damage. This is commonly applied in the realm of shidduchim.

Brasserie Open After Pesach

The Brasserie answered their phone this morning and said they are open from 5 to 9 today. Hurray!

And, about that other thing, more coming soon.

Brasserie Not Re-opening after Pesach

Word is that the Brasserie, Baltimore's only high-end kosher eating establishment, will not be re-opening after Passover. More details as they emerge.

The Brasserie is regularly closed on Fridays, but will be open on Sunday, Erev Pesach, from 4-9PM.

An Apology for Charedi Orthodoxy

An apt title summarizing R. Adlerstein's weekend as Scholar-in-Residence at Shomrei would be, "An Apology for Charedi Orthodoxy." In two, possibly three, of the five times R. Adlerstein spoke, his focus was defending a fundamentalist viewpoint from criticism.

Friday night, R. Adlerstein spoke about the banning of R. Natan Slifkin's books.

R. Adlerstein was, and remains, one of R. Slifkin's supporters. R. Adlerstein gave a bit of background on how the ban unfolded (the infamous call that R. Slifkin received where he was threated, "You have two hours to recant your position, or you will be put in herem."), and how R. Slifkin sought an audience with any of the rabbis threatening to ban him, and they all refused. R. Adlerstein explained that three basic groups of people were affected by the ban were ba'alei teshuvah, kiruv professionals and anyone else who has an education. R. Adlerstein related that, as a kiruv professional himself, he had considered discontinuing his work, as the conflict between presenting Judaism as not in conflict with scientific or rational thought while at the same time conveying the system of authority inherent to Orthodox Judaism was impossible. R. Adlerstein continued by asking us to appreciate the ban from the perspective of the Charedim. This apology consisted of a critique on the general approach of interpreting Genesis as allegory (due to the potential to slippery-slope taking as allegory other parts of the Torah), as well as a general appeal to unification of the Orthodox world. While R. Adlerstein was adamant that his feeling was that the ban was unfounded on rational, logical and historical levels, he felt that falling into line with the approach outlined by the rabbis in Israel that issued the ban was a more important value than speaking out against the ban.

R. Adlerstein closed by answering questions. I asked how the rabbonim in Israel, who themselves speak either Yiddish or Hebrew, and little English, became aware of a book written in English. R. Adlerstein acknowledged that the rabbis banning the book did not read it, and that this was not an issue that was at all pertinent to their communities. What happened was that two overzealous YU guys read Slifkin's work and started shopping it around in an effort to get it banned. After failing to get any traction in Monsey and Lakewood, they took it to B'nei Brak and Israel and finally found someone that would listen to them. When the ban hit the States, R. Adlerstein explained that many within American Orthodoxy have an axe to grind with the Kaminetsky family, as they felt that R. Yaakov Kaminetsky had long fostered a version of "Charedi-lite" Orthodoxy to which they took issue with. R. Yaakov Kaminetsky was well known to openly teach that Chazal were not infallible and that often their science was wrong. As such, some on the American Orthodox community took this as an opportunity to get back at the Kaminetsky family by supporting the ban. I really don't know all the details here, but it was clear that, whatever went on, decisions to support or oppose the ban were not being made on rational grounds.

So all in all, the talk left me depressed and disheartened at the state of present-day Orthodox Judaism. It doesn't bother me so much that some rabbis in Israel feel that what R. Slifkin wrote is heretical; I suppose they are entitled to their opinion, and certainly have the authority to make statements for those that listen what they have to say. Their statements, however, should not be beyond criticism from others (especially when, in this case, their arguments are certainly assailable on a number of levels). I am also extremely disappointed by the lack of a response by those, both in America and Israel, who have, and continue to believe the opposite to not only be a legitimate approach (both historically and haskafically), but true in an objective sense. R. Adlerstein made a consistent appeal for unity of opinion, that for some reason we are better off all supporting the position espoused by the rabbis in Israel. But why? This seems to me to be a pretty big deal, and if those that believe Judaism isn't still shackled to pre-medieval dogmas aren't willing to take a stand on this issue, what are they willing to take a stand on? There were a few notable exceptions, rabbis who did speak out in support of R. Slifkin, such as R. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb. But by and large, the proclamation by the rabbis in Israel that a significant portion of Orthodox Jewry held heretical beliefs was met with little to no resistance, because people are afraid to stand up for the truth. To me, this is the saddest part of the whole affair.

Shabbos afternoon, R. Adlerstein spoke about the differences between Islam and Judaism. His approach was to take a passage from the Koran or the Hadith which seemed to correspond either to an established Jewish tradition, or a recent Charedi stringency. One example: the Islamic court in Saudi Arabia ruled that a woman is not allowed to drive her dying brother to a hospital if her husband is not accompanying her; apparently, women in Islam are not allowed to drive a car by themselves, as it would promote lewdness. A woman must have her husband present, and therefore, even if someone's life were in danger, she would not be able to drive him to the hospital (I apologize in advance to any Muslims who might read this and find fault with my portrayal of their law; I am relating this from memory as it was explained in a lecture, I have regretfully done no research to verify if this is in fact the case, or even if I am explaining it correctly. I intend no disrespect). Compare this to recent proclamations in Lakewood that woman should not drive their husbands to yeshiva. R. Adlerstein offered a few reasons why, despite almost identical phenomenologies, why Judaism is different (i.e. better), and how we don't really need to worry about the manifestation of what appear to be fanatical, fundamentalist, misogynistic, etc. behaviors in our community, because our system of halacha will prevent things from ever getting too off course.

My response to this is, with all due respect, "bologna." If anything, the Slifkin affair demonstrates the complete opposite to be the case. If those in power are willing to trample over several hundred years worth of Jewish history and thought, and continue to foster an oligarchy that has little to no oversight and zero checks and balances, and is afraid to even criticize itself on the most fundamental of issues...there's nothing that will stop Judaism from backsliding in the same direction.

In summary, and in conclusion, I was extremely disheartened after R. Adlerstein's visit. He painted a bleak picture of contemporary Orthodox Judaism, not so much because specific factions take fundamentalist approaches, but because those factions that have reasonably justified non-fundamental approaches in the past are unwilling to stand up for what they have heretofore supported. I was led to believe that R. Adlerstein would be presenting a controversial approach, but what I got was standard apologetics for the status quo.

R. Adlerstein Scholar in Residence

This Shabbos, Shomrei Emunah is hosting R. Yitzchok Adlerstein as Pearlstone Scholar-in-Residence. R. Adlerstein wil be speaking five times over Shabbos:

• Friday Night Oneg at 9:30 PM at the home of Mr. And Mrs. Jordan Wiener (2502 Shelleydale Dr.) L'Affaire Slifkin: In this forum, Rabbi Adlerstein will give his assessment of this controversial issue. He will both advocate his position and defend his critics.


• Shiur at the 8:15 AM Minyan: The Frum Yellow Pages: Does Halacha Demand That We Buy Jewish?


• Shabbos Morning Drasha at the 9:00 AM Minyan


• Keynote Address Shabbos Afternoon at 5:45 PM: The Burka and the Sheitel: Judaism and Halacha heavily influenced the development of Islam. How Islam did things differently is a fascinating study. The comparison and contrast of legal systems will help us appreciate Halacha all the more.


• Seudah Shlishis: Haggadah Gems From Rav Kook

For a preview, please see R. Adlerstein's original post on L'Affaire Slifkin at Cross-Currents.

Posted by Greg at 12:33 PM

Dunkin Donuts Outside of DC Remain Kosher, for now

The Forward has an article entitled 'No Donuts, No Peace,' Cry Kosher Protesters, which details the DC area Dunkin Donuts loss of kosher certification and the subsequent fury of the kosher-donut-consuming populace. In the article, it is noted that the decision to force the DC franchise to adhere to the standard Dunkin Donuts corporate menu only applied to the DC area for demographic reasons, and would not become standard corporate policy. In other words, Baltimore, New York, Boston and others, can breath easy and continue inhaling donuts.

The article also contains what I thought to be poigniant psychological insight into just why Dunkin Donuts is so gosh-darned important to the kosher community:

For observant Jews, though, Dunkin’ Donuts and a few other coffee chains are among the only points of access to mainstream, chain-restaurant America.

“The sad fact of life is that we are in the kosher community. We don’t get access to the other world very often,” said Rabbi Binyamin Sanders, director of field operations for the Washington rabbinical authority, or Vaad, that provides kosher certification for local Dunkin’ Donuts branches.

“The other world is the world where you can have a Dunkin’ Donuts product,” Sanders added. “It’s not like those regular kosher stores. It’s a national thing. It’s something you can feel like part of the rest of the world. You’re not so isolated.”

OIB of the Day: Goldberg's Bagels

Goldberg's Bagels has a nifty online order form, you can fill it out and supposedly, your order will be ready in 20 minutes. I used it this morning to place an order for a baker's dozen of bagels for a small family gathering. Five minutes after I placed my order, the phone rings. It's Goldberg's Bagels telling me that Sunday morning is walk-in orders only!

OIB. In the time it took for them to call me, they could have filled my order and had it waiting.

The Baltimore Jewish Times is Blogging

Just noticed that the Baltimore Jewish Times has launched a blogs section, Buerger Bites, authored by Andrew Buerger, publisher of the BJT; On My Mind, by Phil Jacobs, executive editor.

Both blogs have RSS feeds (scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page), so you can subscribe to them in your favorite RSS aggregator, and have comments enabled, so you can communicate directly with the authors. I did notice that the blogging software used does not create permanent link pages on the home page for each individual blog post; creating and exposing a linked, individual page for each blog post is a good idea, as it allows for other to directly link to your posts, and increases a posts visibility in search engines like Google (which brings in traffic, increases readership and advertising revenue). As an example, I want to link to Phil Jacobs' recent blog post entitled Too Much Fear, where he gives his personal thoughts about the state of abuse in the frum community, but I have to look in the RSS feed to find the link). It's also nice when comments appear with the article, as it creates a sense of conversation around the post. It's possible that these options are available with the current blogging software they are using, it may just need to be configured correctly.

Baltimore Jewish Times on Sexual Abuse in the Frum Community

From the February 23, 2007 edition of the Baltimore Jewish Times, an article entitled Today, Steve Is 25:

Steve is from an Orthodox family of eight children. He is no longer observant. Still, he remains close to his parents and siblings. He was a student at a Baltimore-area yeshiva and then a yeshiva high school in the Midwest.

But along the way, everything went so very wrong.

This article is notable as it is the first time the Baltimore Jewish community, perhaps even the entire Baltimore media establishment, has made reference to the Juravel case.

There's a lot to say here. My brief thoughts: There should be no arrogance with being frum. The frum community needs to internalize the fact that, as individuals, each of us are no better, holier or righteous than any other person, be they frum or not, Jew or Gentile. At the same time, it is important to believe that, as a community, if the dictates of our religion are taken seriously, there is a real potential for true goodness and greatness.

I think the article was well done. It confronts a very controversial topic without shying away from the truth but at the same time maintaining a very high level of respect. Kudos to Phil Jacobs.

Rav Documentary Playing Charles Theatre on Sunday

Baltimore Hebrew University is holding a screening of Lonely Man of Faith: The Life and Legacy of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik this Sunday, February 25th at The Charles Theatre. Although both the film's site and The Charles' website don't specify a time, I've heard it's showing around 2:00PM. Matinees at The Charles are usually $6.

Truth in Advertising

[Note: to get the full effect, read this post here]

A few weeks ago, the following ad ran in Baltimore's The Advertiser:

Last week, the following ad ran in Baltimore's Jewish Times:

They are the exact same picture, only in The Advertiser version, someone photoshopped skirts onto all the non-frum/non-Jewish employees.

Peninah and I disagreed as to the reason why the digital alterations were made. My theory was that The Advertiser refused to run an ad with "un-Tznius" women (I say "un-Tznius" in quotes both because it's a colloquialism and because there really isn't anything terribly "un-Tznius" about how these women are dressed). Peninah thought that the ad was altering in hopes of better marketing to frum people by making all the subjects of the ad appear frum. The reason why I think my answer is better is because most people would not think a black woman was frum just because she's wearing a long khaki skirt. Any other ideas?

Say it with me now: OIB.

The Senator Theatre Raises $109K in Two Weeks, Out of Trouble

The Senator Theatre website has updated to say they've successfully raised the $109,000 to prevent foreclosure. Hurray! I hope it will last them for some time, there was no word on how long this money would hold them over for.

Assorted Baltimore Kosher Tidbits

• David Chu's is not as good as it used to be. Ever since the ownership change late last year, the food hasn't been the same. I'd heard reports of this, but finally got to try it for myself. I was very disappointed. Hopefully they can get their groove back, as it's still one of the nicest places to eat in town. Rumor is that the original David Chu's chef left and is now at Kosher Bite, so perhaps KB's Chinese food is now better.
• The world-famous Kosher Bite french fry is dead. Kosher Bite recently changed the type of french fry they use in making their fries. The new fry is the same as the fries used by Accents. Kosher Bite: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!? Just because Accents does it, doesn't mean you have to. We want our fries back. Next time you're at KB, remember to tell them to bring back the old fries.
• The latest unconfirmed word-on-the-street is that the Kosher Subway is not happening in Baltimore. More on this as it develops.
• I had a Cocoaccino's hot chocolate yesterday. It was really, really good. Still no wifi.

Historic Senator Theatre up for Foreclosure

Baltimore's historic Senator Theatre is subject to foreclosure if they don't repay a $91,000 debt in less than two weeks; if they are unable to produce the money, the Theatre goes up for auction at the end of February. The Senator Theatre's website has a link to contribute via Paypal, but what they really need is some person or persons with deep pockets to step in and save the day.

The Baltimore Sun has a good article on the current situation, including details of the challenges of running a single-screen theatre in the age of the multiplex. I would like to think there are creative ways a small theatre could attract audiences, but I know very little about the film industry. The article also details the massive amount of debt the current owners have amassed, as well as the help the theatre has received from Baltimore City over the years.

Seeing a movie at the Senator is a unique experience; when going to a movie, I first check the Senator to see if it's playing there. I would hate to see the Senator close, although it seems from the articles that it's quite possible that the theatre would go up for auction and simply continue operating under new ownership; I'm sure there's a chance that won't happen as well.

[Update: A very interesting article from the City Paper on the dynamics of the film industry in Baltimore.]

A Baltimore Day

All is not right on the home front.

• Wow! Look at all that snow! Yeesh. These meteorologists need some accountability; I saw, from now on, whenever they call for a blizzard and we get nothing, we get to publicly humiliate them in some way. Or, they just have to work a shift at the local supermarket every time they predict snow.


• I have no idea what is going on with HFS. I do not like Kirk and Mark, I miss the Junks. Kirk and Mark are just not funny. HFS is dying, if not dead.


• My BGE bill was almost doubled from last month, which doesn't make any sense to me; yes, it's been cold, but we just got a new furnace which is supposed to be saving us money. The whole damn world's against me, dude, I swear to God.

Lunch at Cocoaccino's

Peninah and I lunched at Cocoaccino's yesterday, they've launched their food menu, which includes soup (looks like one flavor a day, yesterday was French Onion), a salad bar reminiscent of 921, bagels ($1.50 for a bagel with cream cheese), sandwiches (ranging from $4 to $9) and eggs/omelettes. We both got salads, which were very generously apportioned, and split a three-cheese (cheddar, feta and mozzarella) grilled cheese sandwich on 12-grain bread. Quite good. The other side of The Atrium is now set up with tables for Cocoaccino's patrons, with a little isle in the middle for those getting their nails done to pass through (rumors have been heard that the owners of The Atrium would like to develop a kosher food court).

I asked the owner about free wifi, and he told me that they are thinking about it, but are concerned that some folks will come and buy one cup of coffee and sit for three hours. I told him I thought that would be a good thing. Wouldn't you like to have someone come everyday and sit for three hours, and buy a cup of coffee every day, rather than coming only when they drive by or feel like it? How many people are going to be there between the hours of 9 and 12 anyhow? If I could get free wifi, I'd go every morning, buy a hot chocolate and bagel with cream cheese and work for 1-2 hours. That's about $60 over the course of a month from one person; even if I go half that, if you have two people who do that, you've covered your Internet costs and then some. I'd probably also have meetings there now and again, which would be a fully-expensed meal (meaning I won't be skimping on salad toppings). Without wifi, I'll go there for lunch occasionally, order the cheapest salad with no extra toppings, and split a sandwich with my wife (or better yet, not tell her I'm going).

Cocoaccino's is Open

Cocoaccino's, from the proprietors of Accents Grill, opens today for coffee and ice cream; other menu items will be available in February. Cocoaccino is located in the Greenspring Shopping Center, right next to Accents, where Baskin and Robbin's used to be.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: get free wifi, and I'll be there every day (maybe some space heaters for the Atrium in the winter).

A Kosher Subway Grows In Brooklyn. And LA. And Baltimore...

Life-of-Rubin spots a Kosher Subway in Brooklyn.

Look! Another one, this time in LA (coming April 2007).

The Brooklyn establishment opened around the beginning of the year. Word is they don't serve parve (read: fake) cheese at the NY establishment; Cleveland does, no word if LA or Baltimore will follow suit.

Does anyone have information on who owns these restaurants? I know that the folks in Cleveland (Ghazi Faddoul, Charles Zuchowski and Avi Cohen, per the original Cleveland Jewish News article) have right of first refusal for any kosher Subway franchise. The website for the LA branch is registered to one "Jonathan Sedaghat" of Beverly Hills, CA. I don't know who is involved with the Baltimore branch, but I have learned that there might possibly be two locations opening.

If anyone can provide significant information for a scoop, I'll buy you a sandwich at the new Subway.

eBagels

Not sure how new this is, but you can place an order with Goldeberg's Bagels online. Awe-some.

Note to Goldberg's: your website does not list your hours of operation, as far as I could find.

R. Teichman Leaving TA - This Time, For Real

SoccerDad posts that R. Teichman is leaving TA. No word yet on his replacement, although R. Fuchs will be filling in in the mean time.

There's much, much more to talk about regarding the bigger picture of the shifting educational landscape of the Baltimore Jewish community. Perhaps this week, time permitting.

Yeshivat Rambam Advertises for Baltimore

The following message was posted to the TeaneckShuls Yahoo! Group:

Baltimore, though an `out of town' community, has all the amenities that an Orthodox Jew would need. This includes a wide variety of shuls, schools, and eateries, only 3.5 hours from NYC. In addition, Baltimore has an affordable cost of living & housing and solid career opportunities which makes life for young couples much more comfortable. Yeshivat Rambam of Baltimore, closely affiliated with Yeshiva University is seeking to attract families to the Baltimore area and build up a community based on the values of halacha, Torah umadda, and religious Zionism.

Representatives of Yeshivat Rambam including the current administration and Mr. Barry Nabozny, a well-known real estate agent will be presenting the community. They will discuss Yeshivat Rambam, shuls, careers, real estate market, and provide a general picture of the community.

The meeting will take place on Thursday evening at 7:45 PM at Erica and Efraim Markovitz at 1496 W. Terrace Circle, Teaneck NJ.

If you are interested in more information please contact: Rabbi Kovie Wagner (Assistant Principal of Yeshivat Rambam Elementary School) or Rabbi Uriel Lubetski (Principal of Yeshivat Rambam Middle School & High School).

It's no secret that Yeshivat Rambam has been feeling the heat and looking to attract new families; it doesn't help that a significant number of existing Rambam families make aliyah each year. Teaneck is overcrowded and overpriced, and very close by (if you drive straight, you can get to Baltimore in under three hours), so Baltimore should represent a real alternative for many Teaneck families.

While in the past Baltimore has not had a significant YU presence, that has changed as of late. Two of the larger shuls in Baltimore have YU musmachim, and Yeshivat Rambam itself has many RIETS graduates on staff, as well as a strong connection to YU (when Rambam instituted changes to their educational policy, R. Yosef Blau came down to answer questions from the parent body), not to mention a growing number of YU/Stern alumni in the community.

Housing is much more affordable than Teaneck (or anywhere in NY, for that matter). The kosher restaurant situation is not comparable to Teaneck, but there is certainly a decent selection. The job market isn't comparable to NY either, but there are ample opportunities for professionals, many large state and federal government offices and a few large financial institutions, as well as opportunities for those in chinuch. There are also many diverse and ample opportunities in Torah learning.

It will be interesting to see if this bears any fruits.

Kosher Subway Coming to Baltimore?

The latest rumor is that a Kosher Subway will be opening in the location vacated by Goldberg's Bagels when they move a few blocks north to where Ace and Gary's Bagels used to be.

OIB of the Day: Tov Pizza

Hopefully you're familiar with the term OIB (if not, read Peninah's seminal post on OIB). Last night at Tov Pizza, I attempted to order two slices with broccoli for my wife, but was told that there is a four-slice minimum for slices with toppings on Thursday night. So instead I ordered two plain slices. So I guess this is a two part OIB: OIB on the four-slice minimum, and OIB on me for being too cheap.

There's added irony to this if you know who originated the term OIB...or perhaps it explains it.

Woldholme Coldstone: No Hechsher

A anonymous source today sent in word about the new Coldstone Creamery in the Woodholme shopping center that we had previously reported would be obtaining kosher certification:

The Coldstone in the Woodholme shopping center has decided to abandon its pursuit of kosher certification. They were working with Rabbi Salfer regarding it, but since the franchise owners are Jewish, they would have to be closed on Shabbos, so it wouldn't be worth it financially. They do claim that all of their ingredients are kosher certified and are glad to show documentation to that effect to whoever asks...Unlike Baskin Robbins which ships in tubs of factory made ice cream, Coldstone makes their ice cream on premises, which gives it more of a factory status, and needs certification on the location.

So, check with your LOR (Local Orthodox Rabbi).

Which leaves the question: where does one go for ice cream?

Baltimore Kosher News: Goldberg's Moving; Star-K Expands to Israel

A few Baltimore-related bits of kashrus news. The first: rumor is that Baltimore's beloved Goldberg's Bagels is moving it's Pikesville retail location. No word yet on the exact location, but it will be nearby. Hopefully it will be a larger and nicer establishment, and they will keep the free wi-fi.

Another rumor floating around is that the Star-K, the Baltimore-based kashrus certification organization, is expanding overseas with the acquisition of a Jerusalem-based hashgacha. It's still unclear which one; either way it's an interesting expansion. I'm not that familiar with the intricacies of international kashrus, I believe the OU is not well-respected there, so the joining of a respectable US organization with a respected Israeli one could be an important step.

More Rabbinic Movements

For those of you at Shomrei, you may remember R. Jonathan Rosenberg. R. Rosenberg interviewed for the position of Rabbi at Shomrei after R. Weinreb left. He was offered the job, but negotiations broke down when his shul in Columbus offered him a lifetime contract.

While looking around for more information on R. Weinreb and the OU, I found the following at LukeFord.net (the only other blog I've seen mention of the OU story):

Valley's Biggest Orthodox Shul Hires Columbus Rabbi

Jonathan Rosenberg wowed the shul a few weeks ago and was a popular choice. Rabbi Rosenberg has seven children.

The Valley's "Biggest Orthodox Shul" is Shaarey Zedek.

Getting Gas in Upper Park Heights

No, this post is not about Kosher Bite...the gas station on the corner of Fords and Reisterstown (next to Tov Pizza) used to be my regular station, as their prices were consistently better than those in the surrounding area. A few weeks ago, the station changed over to a Chevron (not sure what it used to be), and since then I've noticed the price has gone up. Today I drove down Reisterstown from Slade to Fords, and the cheapest gas to be found was at the Sunoco at the corner of Clarks and the Exxon in front of Shabsi's (both came it at $2.25 for regular). The Chevron by Tov Pizza was $2.27. So for now, I'm going to be going to the Sunoco.

The Baltimore Chevra

On this morning's edition of Shalom USA they featured a new organization in Baltimore called The Baltimore Chevra:

The Baltimore Chevra is a social network designed to facilitate communication among young Modern-Orthodox Jewish professionals and graduate students living in the Baltimore community.

The unique thing about The Baltimore Chevra is that it is co-ed, and although it was not created explicitly for dating purposes, it does function as a way for guys and gals with similar backgrounds and interests to meet in a safe environment, as the shidduch system does not work for everyone.

Scholar In Residence: R. Moshe Taragin

Sorry this is a little late; Shomrei has a Scholar in Residence this week.

Rabbi Moshe Taragin - Yeshivat Har Etzion December 8-9, 2006
Schedule

For more details, see the Shomrei website.

Baltimore Jewish News Shutting Down

Phil Jacobs was on Shalom USA this morning to report that the Baltimore Jewish News would be shutting down after next week's edition. Jacobs said it was purely an economic decision; the paper was losing $2000-3000 a week (I didn't hear the broadcast, so I may have some facts wrong, please correct me if I do).

It's not surprising. Although the articles got slightly less non-interesting in the past few months, the paper seemed to be suffering from an identity crisis. While the target audience was ostensibly the frum community, the articles were instead presented in a quasi-voyeuristic fashion, as if attempting to present the frum community to an outside observer. Combine that with competition from a few well-entrenched, within-the-community competitors (even if they are either complete devoid of content or 100% heimesh), and it's easy to see where things went wrong.

This raises an interesting question regarding the relationship between journalism and the frum community. On the one hand, the pieces in the Baltimore Jewish News were no less puffy than the stuff in the Where What When; but to what extent does the community need, or want, a serious journalistic endeavor examining our goings-ons? Do we really just want fluffy, feel-good, Chopra-esque spiritual mumbo-jumbo wrapped in heimieshe clothing, or do we want insightful, critical looks at our present situation. Do we want Ask the Rebbetizen, or a closer look at the activities our teens are engaging in when their parents are out of town? I think there is a place for the latter, especially in a community like Baltimore; but it has to be done with the right amount of common sense and respect.

More on Baskin Robbins/Accents/Atrium

DW left a comment on my last post on Baskin Robbins closing:

I got the real "scoop" last night, it will be more like a cafe, with ice cream, paninis, expresso type drinks, salads and yes - cheese cake. "Cococcino" will be opening in January, there will be atrium seating. No pasta at the beginning due to the limited food prep.space. As usually all the naysayers in Baltimore are ready to put in down before they open the doors and they will be the first to cry in their lattes when the place does not do well. But the Franks (who also own Accents) have many years of catering and restaurant experience so I have faith that they will do it right.

Awesome! I hope they have free wifi.

A Private Sun?

From the Washington Post: Sun Joins a Growing List of Papers That Investors Aim to Take Private:

A group of Baltimore business leaders headed by longtime politico Ted Venetoulis is angling to buy the Baltimore Sun, becoming the latest speculators aiming to rescue newspapers from the earnings grind of Wall Street and deliver them into private ownership.

Condolences

The Baskin Robbins in Greenspring Shopping Center has closed, suddenly and unexpectedly. They are no longer open; today, the cash registers were locked and no ice cream was being sold.

The word is a kosher milchig restaurant is moving into the space. A dairy Accents, perhaps? If you were at my niece's bat mitzvah, you know they do a good job.

Just Vote

Elliott Cahan is voting for Bob Ehrlich, and has a great post detailing his experiences with the two candidates and why he feels Ehrlich deservers to be re-elected.

If you won't be here on November 7th, you can register for an absentee ballot. The deadline is Oct. 31.

The Shomrei Blog

Shomrei Emunah Blog: "A forum for Shomrei's members to respectfully discuss curent issues, concerns, and matters relating to Torah life."

It appears to have been up since September, with not a lot of updating. I suggested something like this a while back; I still think it would be good to post on a weekly basis with a slimmed down version of the bulliten, along with occasional updates about the progress of the building (including pictures) and other assorted links and information. I also think it should be right on the home page, so you see it first thing.

My Blogging Rabbi

R. Dovid Gottlieb has a guest post over at Cross Currents discussing the nature of forgiveness in the wake of the Amish school killings.

For those keeping score at home, this marks the second time Cross Currents has taken on the Amish; the first was a post by R. Yaakov Menken from last year.

Watching the Bubble Burst

A seven-bedroom home on Green Meadow Way just went on the market (listed through Long and Foster). Asking price: $1.2 million. Best of luck. [Hat Tip: ST the PT]

Shomer Shabbos!

More Jews in the news. Last night, WBAL ran a story on the 11 o'clock news about a local man, David Brown, a Towson University police officer, who is suing his employer for discrimination (video included). Brown is an Orthodox Jew, and is suing Towson for insisting he roll out on Shabbos.

Make sure to watch the video, and catch the incisive legal punditry by hotshot discrimination attorney Ari "S.Z." Taragin, Esquire. Not since Bubby Susan's rendition of "Home on the Range" graced the airwaves has the family been this proud.

Operatic Tendencies

Nabucco (apparently Italian for Nebchadnezzar) is playing at the Baltimore Opera. I saw an ad for it somewhere online and found the teaser dialogue intriguing enough to click through:

“I am God.” --Nabucco
“I don’t think so.” --God
“Zzzzzzaaaaaaapppp!” --Lightning Bolt

Then I looked at the ticket prices, and was a little less intrigued. Culture's nice and all, but it also comes on DVD.

Power Off, Power On

Our power went out. Our power went on. Just your ordinary, everyday blackout.

BGE has a useful page with details on their current power outages. Which is completely and totally useless to you if your power is off.

And now back to your regularly scheduled evening.

Baltimore Agunah Making News

After yesterday's piece in the Examiner, the Sun and WJZ have picked up the story of Cynthia Ohana's struggle to obtain a get from her husband Ephraim Ohana.

For more information on what is being done about the agunah problem in general, see the Orthodox Caucus' Prenuptial Agreement page, which includes a sample prenup that obligates a husband to pay a very large sum of money to his wife if he refuses to grant her a get. Many rabbis will now refuse to perform a wedding if a prenup such as this is not signed.

Ironically, those who've seen Lilo and Stitch know that, in Hawaiian, ohana means family (and "family means no one is left behind").

Kosher Rumors

An anonymous tipster sent in word that there is a new Coldstone Creamery opening near Woodholme, and they are considering obtaining kosher certification.

For those of you unfamiliar with Coldstone, it's like Starbucks for ice cream; basically, they create an "experience" around something simple like an ice cream with toppings so they can charge you $3.50 for something that would be $2 at Baskin and Robbins. They have menu items, combinations of ice creams and toppings you can choose from, and their servers prepare your dish right before your eyes using these short, flat-headed, shovel-like scoopers. It's a bit unsettling to watch them massage your ice cream and toppings into a homogenous mush, but it is kind of tasty.

There is a kosher Coldstone in Norfolk, VA, we went there earlier this year. If you tip the servers, they will sing to you while they prepare your ice cream. After the people in front of us left a tip, I specifically didn't, so they wouldn't sing. It's not that I'm cheap (well, I am, but that's beside the point), it's just that I want all your attention focused on my ice cream.

Important Announcement

The Baltimore Chevra is having a Carlebach minyan this Friday night
in the Ner Tamid Main Sanctuary. Mincha @ 7 pm. Dinner - whenever Dinner was a joke, but apparently there is a dinner, but it's booked solid. Sorry slackers.

Who? How? Why?

This might be old news, but apparently Baltimore's pride and joy, the Where What When, has a website. Which is awesome only because now I can finally link to this.

The Truth about Mishulachim Drivers

AlanLaz posts on the economics of the mishulachim drivers, which brings to mind an issue I've been meaning to look into for some time now.

Seeing as how the Baltimore Jewish News has pretty much abdicated the role of provider of substantive, informative journalism to the community (actually, this past Shabbos' issue was not horrible, but it's going to take a lot to make up for the weeks previous), I'm going to take it upon myself to get the story on the mishulachim drivers; the who, what, when, where, how and why (well, I think we know the why...). If anyone has any information, please email me (greggersh AT yahoo DOT com). We'll go from there.

Baltimore Kosher Survey Results

Kosher Community Surveys has released the results from their survey of Baltimore area kosher restaurants. Not too many big surprises, but an interesting read.

Meet the FACKer

On Friday night August 5, Shomrei Emunah was vandalized. On Shabbos morning, congregants were greeted with the word "FACK" spray-painted in big red letters on the front of the shul. The FACKer is either really bad at spelling, or is attempting to make some sort of statement about Emil Fackenheim. Word is Larry Soltz has secured a sniping position in the Wach attic, should he return. Consider yourself warned, FACKer.

Shomrei is equipped with a state-of-the-art video surveillance system, and I was able to review the video surveillance tapes from the night in question. At 3:37 AM, a young male approached Shomrei from the north. He spent less than one minute in front of the shul, his act of vandalism clearly recorded by the video camera mounted just outside the main entrance. The video does not have a clear shot of his face, but a partial profile is visible; we've got the boys down at the crime lab working in shifts (in all seriousness, I have no idea if the police are actively investigating the matter). Of note, the perpertrator is left-handed. After completing his vandalism, he continued south along Greenspring Ave. I may be able to get a hold of a copy of the security video, and if I can, I'll post it. In the mean time, I've posted some photos of the graffiti.

As far as I know, Shomrei has never been vandalized in the past. I would speculate that the current climate appears to be weakening the stigma of, for now, covert expressions of latent anti-semitism.

I Need a Good Plumber

I'm looking for a good plumber/HVAC guy (or girl). The pipes from our baseboard heating system need some work, and I could probably use a new furnace as well. I had the John E. Ruth company come out for some quick repairs, and although their guy took extensive measurements to give me an estimate, I've called them thre times and have gotten no response, so I guess they don't want my business. I also spoke with someone from Farner and Dermer, but he was extremely rude. So if you have any good suggestions for a good plumbing/HVAC company, please let me know.

Kosher Community Survey

I received an email from Neil Rosenbaum, who runs a site called Kosher Community Surveys, about their latest survey focusing on the Baltimore area kosher establishments. Check it out, rate your favorite restaurants, and they'll publish the results at some later date.

The site also has previous surveys for the DC and Boston areas.

Baltimore Jewish History

OnTheMainLine drudged up a search engine for the The Jewish Mueseum of Maryland's collections (hence his post on Baruch Aronson's hat!).

I did a search for Taragin (Peninah's family), and came up with lots of very interesting stuff. Nothing for Mihaly.

I am sure there are hours of interesting stuff here.

A picture of Zaydie Mendel (R. Menachem Mendel Taragin, Peninah's great grandfather).

Ner Israel students, circa 1960. R. Herman Nueberger on the left (is that Jerry Kadden in the back row, center? I may be way off here in terms of chronology...).

The Original Shomrei Emunah, now a hole in the ground.

If you find anything else interesting, post it in the comments.

The Zilberman Method

Last night, TA held an informational meeting for parents of children going into second grade on the Zilberman method.  Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to attend, so when I got home last night, I did a little online research to see what I could learn.  There isn't much online (an inquiry on LOOKJED along with a few responses is pretty much the only formal discussions I found), so I thought I'd do my best to summarize what I know, and hopefully folks can chime in to give a more complete picture.

For those unfamiliar with the Zilberman method, it was started about 20 years ago by R. Yitzchok Shlomo Zilberman, who founded a school in the Old City that took an approach to Torah learning based on the Mishneh in Pirkei Avos (age five for Torah, ten for Mishneh, fifteen for Talmud); in the past, this approach has been championed by the Maharal and the Gra, but not widely adopted.  The Zilberman approach reportedly gained popularity in Israel, and recently (within the past five years, I believe) was instituted in a number of schools in Lakewood.  TA's R. Leventhal went to Israel a few years ago to learn the Zilberman method, and began teaching a single class at TA in the style; after making aliyah last year, R. Pollack received instruction in the method and continues in R. Leventhal's place.

The Zilberman method, based on Pirkei Avos, focuses on Chumash for younger boys, but the method is applied as well to Mishneh and Gemara.  The method focuses on laining the Chumash with the ta'amei ha'mikra (tropp), and includes repitition so as to familiarize the student with the text as much as possible.  Basically, the class will take a section of Chumash, learn to lain it with the tropp, and repeat it several times in order to commit it to memory (I do not know if, in American schools, this includes translation).  This is in contradistinction to the traditional approach, which does not focus as much on memorization, but in understanding the story, words and explanation of the text (usually based on Rashi).  Besides familiarity and memorization of the text, the Zilberman approach touts many other benefits as well (R. Kahane sent a letter explaining these, but there was little substantive information other than vague platitudes to the quasi-supernatural inherenet knowledge of the method's proponents).

TA's current approach is to start a Zilberman method class in second grade, continuing through the rest of elementary school; I do not know if they take the Zilberman approach beyond Chumash, or, if once Chumash is completed, they begin a traditional Mishneh/Talmud curriculum (I don't know for sure, but I am guessing the Nach portion is skipped over in American schools).  The goal here, I believe, is to provide the student with knowledge and familiarty with verses quoted in the Mishneh/Talmud, saving them the need to open a Chumash and learn the relavent text while learning a sugya.

That's about as much information as I have; my intial reactions to hearing about this method a year or so ago was that, for American students, this approach does not make sense.  For Israeli boys, fluent in Hebrew, a simple laining of the Chumash may be enough to convey the plain meaning of the text; in America, where Hebrew is mostly unlearned in a linguistic fashion, it would seem that while the students absorbed the text in a superficial fashion, there would be no real understanding, and certainly no critical understanding.  What would result is a familiarty with the text, making it easier to incorporate into later gemara learning.

Recently, however, my opinion changed.  My son is in R. Pollack's first grade class at TA; for Parshas Noach, R. Pollack has been teaching them both the traditional and Zilberman method (I don't know this for a fact, all I know is that Ezra has been wanting to lain his Chumash instead of reading and translating; he does, however, still know the translation, which leads me to believe that R. Pollack is teaching both methods).  I have to say, I am very impressed with Ezra's knowledge; he is able to lain the psukim covered in class, and has shown interest in laining other parts of Chumash that he has yet to learn (he enjoys reading with the tropp).  I really don't have enough information to make a conclusive decision as to whether or not I would want him taking this approach fully, but I am much more inclined after this than before.  In addition, comments I have heard from parents with older students have been positive.

I am interested in finding out if there are any professional/academic assessments of this approach (beyond what assorted "gedolim" say), and if the Zilberman method has any correlations in other educational approaches.  There is little information online (a Yahoo Search for "zilberman method" should turn up the few pages out there, mostly schools advertising their programs or newsgroup threads), hopefully we can get some good discussion in the comments, maybe even from some people who went last night, or have children in the program at TA.

Update: I did find references to the "Barkai system," which, based on this paper entitled, "An Analysis of the Implementation of The Barkai Method in the Orot Etzion School System," by Steven Esses, sounds similar to the Zilberman method.

How to Raise Internet Safe Children

The Internet Ban has (thankfully) not come to Baltimore , but that doesn't mean you can't be well-informed and educated as to what is out there and decide for yourself if and how you want it getting into your home. If you're not technical, consider attending this meeting at TA, which should help you understand what your kids are doing (or could be doing) online.

Tuesday, June 6, 8:00 PM, a meeting will take place that is a must for every T. A. family. The meeting, titled "Behind the Screensaver...What's really there? How to Raise Internet Safe Children"., will take place in the MULTI PURPOSE ROOM. We will discuss and give solutions to this issue. Grandparents are encouraged to attend as well.

I'm not sure if this is open to the public, but TA has been sending out flyers and emails and making phone calls, so they are trying to promote it. Should be very worthwhile.

Yuck

It looks like spring is over, at least in Baltimore. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted, which was longer than usual.

David Chu's - On The Block

Rumors have been circulating that David Chu's China Bistro, probably the best overall kosher restaurant in Baltimore, is either up for sale or has been sold. There's been questions as to whether or not the new owner intends on keeping the place kosher. So far, I've heard nothing conclusive; the Star-K said only that it is kosher right now, and the woman at David Chu's seemed to be saying that they are still kosher, and perhaps that they will continue to be kosher under new ownership.

It would be a real loss for Baltimore if David Chu's went treif. I can't even imagine why a new owner would consider dropping the certification, as the place has been doing business for years and has an excellent reputation.

I've got some more stuff, but I'm waiting for a bit more info. Stay tuned.

Meshulach Alert

We've been visited by the same gentleman twice in the past week. A short, elderly Israeli man with a white beard, speaks Hebrew. He does not have a teudah from the Agudah (although he has several from out-of-town). He claims to be collecting for three cholim, and will show you checks from several people in town who have given him $100+ donations. He asks for checks, and refuses cash donations.

This same man was here a few months ago, with the same story and the same lack of credentials. He came to us this week (Wed. or Thursday) and was back this morning, making that three times he's visited us.

I usually refrain from discouraging people in areas of mitzvos, and obviously you're free to make your own decisions, but in this case, I'm fairly certain there's something shady going on, and I'm sick of this community being taken advantage of.

Baltimore Jewish News - A Review

I picked up a copy of the Baltimore Jewish News (which I am assuming is the publication formerly known as the Baltimore Orthodox Times) at Shoppers, hot off the presses. Keeping in mind that this is the first edition, I was, by and large, unimpressed.

The first half of the BJN can be summarized as, "Every day, more and more Orthodox Jews are born. They like to build things and eat." Seriously, who are these articles for? They aren't for the frum people, unless restating the obvious counts as news (What?!? There's a Goldman's Bakery, and Jews shop there?!? Whoah! Jews who keep kosher spend extra money to have kosher kitchens?!? Well I'll be!). So this must be for the non-Orthodox, in which case I would consider the articles superficial and voyueristic.

The second half of the BJN consisted mostly of columns, either of opinion, editorial or a Torah nature. This is where Avi Shafran let's us know that, really, his family is responsible for making Baltimore the place it is. Oh, and some other people. I counted two articles about R. Nueberger, one of which bore a striking resemblance to a column published the the Jewish Times a few months back. A Divrei Torah section, this week featuring Rabbi and Rebbetizen Goldberger, along with a column on local politics that looks promising, although it's too early to tell for sure. I did like the short interview with Dr. Andrew Goldfinger; I was jumping out of my chair when it looked as if we might get a substantive discussion of intelligent design from a frum Ph.D. in theoretical physics, but unfortunately all it left me with were some things to look up on Wikipedia (cf. Copenhagen Interpretation).

The advertising was unrestrainedly frum, replete with Yinglish slogans; clearly these advertisers have just been chomping at the bit to burst forth in all their yiddishe glory. The ads were actually the most informative part of the publication, with information about things going on in the community.

When I first heard about the imminent launch of a seperate publication for Baltimore's Orthodox community, I was skeptical and dismayed. Skeptical that it could (or would) be done in a way that would add something to the community, and dismayed by the fact that it represented a schism in the larger Jewish community. I don't blame the publishers for chasing the advertising dollars of the frum community, but if this is all we're going to get, I don't see the need. If I sound harsh it's because I really would like to see this be successful, and I do think the Orthodox community could use a publication that provides an honest look from a knowledgable yet detached point of view, to offer perspective, along with content that resonates with the communal interest. If we can't keep the greater Jewish community together, we can at least aim towards informing and uniting the Orthodox community, which is on the verge of breaking apart as well. Hopefully, the BJN can evolve into this; after all, this is only the first edition. We shall see.

Update: It was pointed out to me by one of my loyal readers that the regular Jewish Times contains pretty much all the articles recycled into the BJN; in which case, it's pretty clear what is going on: facing declining interest in the Jewish Times in the Orthodox demographic (attributed to various different causes, such as non-kosher restaurant reviews, under-dressed women in ads, and general non-Orthodox content), the JT has decided to re-purpose the Orthodox-friendly bits of content into a new publication, rebranded with ads from the community. Totally a business move.

Baltimore Orthodox Times Website

The Baltimore Orthodox Times is set to debut this week. Although nothing is live yet, it appears that the Baltimore Jewish Times has registered www.baltimoreorthodoxtimes.com. So, if they do have a web version, this is likely where it will be.

That's it for now. Move along, nothing to see here. These aren't the droids you're looking for. An so long, Ana Lucia.

Comming Attractions - R. JJ Schacter

This coming Shabbos, Shomrei Emunah will be hosting R. JJ Schacter as a scholar in residence. If you miss it, you'll be sorry. The agenda:

- Shiur at the 8:15 AM Minyan - The Ba'al Hamaor's Position on Sefiras Ha'Omer
- Shabbos Morning Drasha at the 9:00 AM Minyan - America, Israel, and the World: Orthodoxy Confronts Modern Society
- Keynote Address Shabbos Afternoon at 6:00 PM - The Wandering Jew: Commemorating National Catastrophe: This lecture will examine Jewish attempts to remember communal catastrophes experienced from the Middle Ages through the Twentieth Century. The specific focus will be on the reaction to the massacre in Blois, France in 1171 as a basis for the response to the Chmielnicki Massacres of 1648-1649 in Poland and to the Holocaust.
· - Seudah Shlishis (expanded format, following 7:00 Mincha) - Intellect and Emotion in the Observance of Mitzvos

Update: ADDeRabbi sent along a link to a post by Jewish Worker with the basic sources for the Ba'al Hamaor's position on Sefiras HaOmer.

Kosher Stand at Camden Yards

In an act that has been described by some as a "selfless sacrifice," I took the kids this afternoon, so Penny could get some Pesach cleaning done. So we went to the O's game. I know, Artscroll material. Anyway...

I was a bit confused when I headed out to left field to get me some kosher food; what had been the kosher stand in previous years was now selling nachos with meat and cheese toppings. I was halfway through my second order (JOKE) when I realized the kosher stand had relocated across the concourse. The new kosher stand now looks just like all the other concession stands, only the line of patrons is about evenly split betweeo folks in yarmulkas, and folks who stare at the menu for about 2 minutes, can't find anything with cheese, and go someplace else.

Along with the new location, the menu has been updated as well; in addition to the old favorites (hot dogs, hot pretzels, relish packets), the kosher stand now sells Italian sausauge (which, in kosher stand terms, means a beef hot dog slightly less red in color than the regular hot dogs), french fries and chicken tenders. They also sell the MinuteMaid Lemonade frezzie things, which are awesome. Oh, they sell beer too, but nothing good. I had the chicken tenders, and they were really good, but I had to wait about ten minutes for them.

As for the game, Boston won, a Yankees fan caught a fly ball and, upon brandishing his jersey, was collectively booed by the crowd. We had seats right behind home plate about 10 rows back, really great seats, the weather was nice (I traditionally have bad luck with April games and end up freezing). All in all, a good way to start the season. And when I came home, the house was clean!

Baltimore Orthodox Times

From the Baltimore Jewish Times:

Seeking to better serve its diverse readership, the Baltimore Jewish Times this week announced the founding of a new publication, the Baltimore Orthodox Times. The free weekly will begin publishing on Friday, May 5.

An article in The City Paper goes into more deatils about the Jewish Times' parent company, Alter Communications, and their plans for the Baltimore Orthodox Times:

The forthcoming Orthodox Jewish Times will likewise avoid "hard-hitting and investigative" content, Buerger says, though neither will it be a pure "cheerleader" for the 20,000-strong religious Jewish community concentrated in the Pikesville and Upper Park Heights neighborhoods. Any unpleasant news about the insular Orthodox world will still be covered by the Jewish Times, he promises.

Matisyahu at Ram's Head Live

I've somehow managed to obtain tickets to tonight's sold-out Matisyahu show at Ram's Head Live. I'm debating whether or not to dust off the old Borsalino and dress up for the show. Peninah and I were at Ram's Head last week for O.A.R.'s show; it's a really nice venue, and they've got some pretty good shows (Friday night, Kansas is playing...KANSAS!). While the O.A.R. crowd was pretty monolithic ("Valley of Color" must be in refererence to the variety of polo shirts in the audience), I'm expecting Matisyahu to draw a more diverse audience.

We're planning on hanging out on the second level, so if you're at the show, stop on by and say hello (if you mention you read my blog, I might buy you a beer; or at least give you a sip of mine). We'll be the older, fatter guys trying to look cool with the women in shietels and knee-high leather boots.

Turmoil at TA

I stopped by TA today around noon (my son, feeling sick this morning, miraculously recovered in time for pizza day). As I pulled through the parking lot, I noticed the stop sign in the middle of the drive had been replaced with a photo of R. Teichman, with the words "We Want R. Teichman" written underneath. As I pulled out of the parking lot, a group of high school boys (none of whom I recognized) were passing out flyers with the same message.

I stopped for a few minutes and asked the boys a few questions. There's not much new information to report, basically R. Teichman and the school mutually agreed to part ways next year. The boys attributed this to the school board (when I asked them who the school board consisted of, they named Joel Pleeter), one student commented that the board did not consider R. Teichman "frum enough," but there were no further details about what that meant. The group of boys I spoke to (about ten in number) all seemed genuinely upset about R. Teichman's departure and showed a real affection towards their Rosh Yeshiva (by which I was very impressed).

I also heard that R. Asia (spelling uncertain), the Rosh Yeshiva of the high school for the past two years, will also not be returning next year (R. Teichman functioned as the menahel of the high school and Rosh Yeshiva of the Beis Medrash, from what I understand).

So there really aren't any further details available. There was much speculation in the comments of the previous post, all I will say is that we really don't know anything yet regarding what changes are in store for TA, so it's too early to make any judgements as regards the way things are going. It is clear that there is some impetus to modify the school environment to the more yeshivish in an effort to retain the students who would normally transfer to Ner, but I don't have details as to what those changes are, although I expect we will hear something by the end of the week. The changes could be superficial, or they could be significant. Either way, I hope the board (or whoever is running things) articulates a clear vision as to the future goals of what TA high school will be striving towards over the next few years.

Changes at Talmudical Academy

More big changes in the Baltimore Jewish education arena. I've just got word that R. Teichman, head of the high school at Talmudical Academy, will not be returning next year. I'm not 100% clear on R. Teichman's motivations for leaving, but it is clear it has something to do with TA high school's rapid shift to the right. Word is that the high school will be patterning itself more like R. Schlanger's, with entrance exams (the traditional yeshiva faher), Shabbosim in the school, and possibly (probably) more. I've heard that R. Teichman was uncomfortable with the school changing so quickly and so drastically, but I haven't confirmed it yet (if anyone has any info, please let me know).

I think it's time we raised this as a serious issue within the community. I understand TA's need to move (pander?) to the right; when you look at the demographics of the families in the community, there is no question that TA as it is today does not appeal to the largest segment. Many boys leave for Ner or out of town, TA is then forced to accept washouts from New York to fill up classes, degrading the high school atmosphere. Although I doubt that there isn't some religious motivation behind their moving to the right, I understand from a business perspective why an institution would do this from a business perspective.

But the real question is: Where do middle-of-the-road families send their children to high school in Baltimore? While I empathize with TA's dilema, in some ways I view this as a betrayal of the community. We have a yeshiva (Ner), we have a mesivta (R. Schlanger's). We don't need another one. What we do need is a yeshiva day school for boys that takes both Jewish and secular education seriously. More than anything, I see this as an opportunity for Rambam to step up and play a larger, more prominent role in Baltimore's Jewish educational landscape. I would hope that the schools are engaged in some sort of dialogue with each other to discuss how to collectively address the educational needs of the community in the best fashion; I doubt that they actually are, and that's a shame.

More news as it develops, if you have information, please send it my way.

Changes at Yeshivat Rambam

The following is an approximate excerpt from the letter detailing impending changes, sent to current parents of Yeshivat Rambam students:

In 2005:
- The addition of R. Jay Wagner as an Assistant Administrator in the Elementary School.
- The addition of R. Ira Kosowsky as the Israel Yeshivot and Seminaries Guidance Counselor.
- Separate Shabbatonim for boys and girls in the Middle School.
- A slightly altered model for Senior Class Trip.

In addition to the above, we are looking into the possibility of offering a more intese Beit Midrash track in the High School and introducing rebbeim to teach Parshat Hashavua to the 3rd through 5th grades. This will be in addition to Mishna which is already taught by R. Wagner in 4th and 5th grades.

Additionally, there is a mention of "greater commitment and active parent participation in helping Yeshivat Rambam students understand the importance of tzniut, both in their dress and in their general deportment."

School Daze

Last week, Yeshivat Rambam held a series of parlor meetings in an effort to gather feedback from current, former and prospective Rambam parents on the school. We attended one of the meetings, as we are both former and possibly future Rambam parents. I didn't really participate in the conversation, since I was having trouble formulating exactly how to express how I felt about Rambam. After some time to gather my thoughts, here they are.

Most of us going in thought this was really just a meeting to discuss the co-ed nature of Rambam. Although we were assured that it wasn't, it really was. The evening began with everyone saying what they liked about the school (BORING), and then what they did not like. The subject of co-education came up immiedietly, and dominated the conversation for the rest of the evening.

In retrospect, these meetings were really market research focus groups. Rambam has a problem in that the school is apprently not growing. They are looking at what they need to do to expand their student body. They got lots of good feedback last night. My advice to Rambam: think of it like a business. If there are more families that want would send their kids to a non-co-ed yeshiva day school than those that would insist on co-education, then it would behoove you to adjust your environment accordingly. Let's face it: Rambam was started by whoever it was started however many years ago. That's great. Who knows if being co-ed was an explicit choice or a neccesity. It doesn't matter. Look at the community, and figure out how you can service the broadest range of students and families. If you build it, they will come.

All the other schools in town are doing this. TA, Bais Yakov, TI, B'nos Yisrael. They are all refining their school's atmosphere in order to attract the largest number of students. Rambam is the only school that is not (although, I guess by starting this conversation with the community, they are; but they haven't done anything yet). I guess that's OK, but with it must come the realization that you will be a niche school. I personally think it's also a disservice to the community, but that's just my opinion.

On a personal level, I'm not sure what it is that differentiates Rambam from TA/Bais Yaakov (where my children are currently enrolled). I don't really have much of a problem with elementary co-education, and my objections to middle and high school co-education are less religious in nature, more based on my own experience. I guess I just feel that Rambam is off pursuing their own agenda, and making that their mission, rather than attempting to organically fit in with the needs of the community. I'm not really interested in making a political statement with where I send my child to school. I just want him to get a good education, enjoy learning and have nice friends. I'm not ecstatic with the current educational options for my kids (my son less than my daughter), but I feel that their current school exists more as a service to the community than to wave it's own flag. If Rambam can become a part of the community, I'm all in.

Speech! Speech!

For those of your in town, I'm speaking tonight at the Maryland Apple Corps User Group on everything you ever wanted to know about blogging. I'll be covering everything from the basics on how to blog to topics like syndication, RSS and blog search. The gathering is free to all, here's the details:

November 8, 2005, 6:30 - 8:45 pm
Towson Library, 320 York Rd., Towson, MD 21204, Lower Level Meeting Room

Stop by if you're in the neighborhood!

R.I.P. HFS

Peninah just emailed me a news report that 99.1 WHFS has shut down. Infinity is transitioning the frequency to Latino music. www.whfs.com already redirects to 99.1 El Zol. I guess the real question is what is going to become of The Junkies. Crazy.

Update: Follow the comments on Blogdigger. DCRTV links to an mp3 of the death of alternative in DC.

Radio Ga-Ga

So, apparently, a lot more people than I thought listen to Shalom USA. Yes, I was the "Greg" who called in towards the end of the show. For the few of you who weren't listening, the show's host, Jay Bernstein, mentioned something about Sri Lanka's rejection of aid from Israel. On a typical Sunday morning around 10:45 in the AM, I'm trying to get my kids to play something that allows me to nap on the couch without the house burning down; today, it just so happened, I was on my way back from Annapolis after helping my father install an ice heater, and so I was able to tune in. I've always enjoyed the show, but am usually not able to listen to more than a few minutes, and certainly unable to call in. Today, however, a long, open stretch of 695 lay between me and my couch, nights and weekends were free, and I was feeling a tad ornery after missing the segment with Alan Mittleman while installing said ice heater. And so, I felt the urge to speak up.

It seems, despite the fact that so many people seem to listen to the show, the line to get on the air is disproportionately small. My call was quickly taken, and I pointed out that Sri Lanka had, in fact, only rejected aid from Israeli military personnel, not from Israel, or Jews, in general. Jay then responded that, in any case, the military personnel rejected were competent and trained doctors with extensive experience in emergency situations, and the rejection was irrational and detrimental to their citizens' well-being. Jay's probably right, although I could, in some way, understand a country's reluctance to allow soliders from a foreign military with a low popular regard (independent of whether this view was founded or unfounded) to enter the country as a somewhat reasonable position, especially at a time when their infrastructre was ashambles after a sudden and unexpected tragic geological event, and their populace not readily controllable by customary methods. But I'm willing to concede the point.

I then made a somewhat cryptic comment about the Vatican, which I will now spin as having been a comment on the mistranslation of the article by the CWN, not the actual statement, of the L'Observatorio, which may or may not have been what I was originally talking about. More detail available from less muddled sources is readily available.

Lessons learned? Probably none, other than, apparently, only wackos actually call into the show (I'm fighting an inner impropriety demon not to make a joke here), and that if you call in the morning, expect to hear about it at mincha. Special thanks S.J. and E.L. for giving my face that special shade of red.

City Paper on Cahan

The City Paper has a quick and dirty on Elliott Cahan's move to Israel, making them the first media outlet (besides Presence) to cover this story.

The kicker:

Cahan says that though his formal campaign will end, his name will remain on the ballot, which his blog notes will “send a message to the leadership of this city that we want and need different leadership.”

Leadership willing to stick around Baltimore a little longer, that is.

Ouch.

Cahan calls it quits

Elliott Cahan, of late running for the Baltimore City Council's 5th district seat, announces he's moving to Israel.

Somewhat ironic, as one of our campaign claims was that the incumbent lived most of the time out of the district, in the Inner Harbor. Whatever.

Alas, don't despair, ye seekers of justice; you can still vote for Cahan in Novemeber. Once the party candidate, always the party candidate. Elliott will remain on the ballot. So send your message downtown. Send one for me, also, because I live in the County.

There was supposed to be an article in The Jewish Times about this whole thing, but no sign of it yet. Instead they went with Y.A.A.A.S.S. - "yet another article about Steve Solomon." Seriously, this is news in Baltimore.

It goes with out saying that we in Baltimore will miss the Cahan's a great deal. We'll make sure to pack you some potato kugel.

Justice for Baltimore City!

Coming Attractions - Sunday

R. Mitch Ackerson, recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq, is giving a presentation about his experiences, including photos. The relevant information:

Presentation for the Community
By Rabbi Mitchell Ackerson

Sunday, June 6, 7:30 pm at Shomrei
A Multimedia Presentation:

By the Waters of Babylon:
A Chaplain's Reflections on Iraq --
Past, Present and Future

Happy Hour Wrapup

The Happy Hour was a bit more than an hour, but plenty happy. Good to meet the new folks (Fool's Fate, Tuesday's Coming, who's blog is not named after the O.A.R. song) and see the rest of the old gang MB, Bre, Seadragon, Gemini, DaB and EEBmore (who is now powered by Baltiblogs). I was also happy that everyone got to meet Maphet, cause he really does an incredible job keeping Baltiblogs up and running. Rachi (Technomind) apologizes for his absence; he was off at an Evan and Jaron show.

And, of course, who could forget the now-infamous Mike the Waiter. I didn't think he was all that bad, but that blog of his is some weird stuff.

Anyways, it was good times; I'm definetly up for another one!

Come on over to our house, Hon!

The Barblog - Senator Barbara Mikulski's Typepad Blog (via TheBaltiblog).

Goodbye Preakness

[via TheBaltiBlog]

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is pushing for a state-owned $400 million racetrack and slot machine parlor in downtown Baltimore that would serve as the new home of the Preakness Stakes as part of his effort to break a political stalemate over legalized gambling.

I could care less where they move it, so long as it's out of Park Heights. Preakness weekend, for Orthodox Jews that live along Greenspring Avenue, invariably involves the hurling of at least one alcohol-fueled anti-semitic epithet and several empty beer bottles.

Quick

Minutes to go before Yom Tov; Quick thoughts:

Nathan rocks.

Go Cahan!

See ya on Wed. night!

Blog Baltimore Meetup

There comes a time for each of us when we must walk into a room, approach a complete stranger and ask, "Uh, are you here for the, um, blog thing?"

For me, that time was tonight. Lucky for me, the people I approached were the right ones.

The Blog Baltimore meetup was great. The blogroll:

• Rachi (Technomind)


• Alex (al3x.net)


• MB (SupaMB)


• DaBrettman (Brett)


• Kelly (I Spy Gemini)


• Tamara (Baltimore Roll)


• Dean (deamckenzie.org)


• Bre (breonline)


• Adam (eebmore)


• and a brief appearance by Amy (amymckenzie.com) and Caleb

I'll add more tomorrow; all in all, I had a great time, it was really great to meet everybody, and I hope we can do this again some time. Thanks to Kelly and MB for organizing this!

TheBaltiblog.com!!!

drumroll please...

Maphet made the official announcement - TheBaltiblog.com is live! Check out the opening message to get an idea for the type of information the site will present.

I'm excited about this (although, I wish I had more time to devote to it). The site is meant to be open, so, please, if you're interested, send Nathan an email and get started!

Blog Baltimore Happy Hour

[via SupaMB]

Kelly over at i spy gemini has a brilliant idea: Hump Day Happy Hour for Baltimore Bloggers on Wednesday, March 31.

Who else is up for it? Location is still up in the air, but I think this is a good idea. Spread the word.

I'm good just about anywhere. Beer, thankfully, is almost ubiquitously kosher.

Cahan on Vouchers

Elliott Cahan, who is running for Baltimore City Council in District #5, posted on his website about school vouchers:

While the crisis around the school system continues to unfold, one option that does not appear to be on the table is school vouchers. We can no longer dance around this issue. I urge the Governor to set aside funds to allow city students to attend private schools. Instead of giving money to that giant vacuum on North Avenue, give parents back their tax dollars in the form a voucher that will allow them to choose where their children should go to school. Start with the kids in the worst performing schools in the City. Save these kids before it is too late. We heard so much talk about improving test scores. The test scores have really only improved in lower grades and have continued to decline as the children get older. Therefore, any gains that have been made are vanishing. Save our children now and give them vouchers.

It's pretty clear, at least to me, that the problems Baltimore City is having with the school system were caused by the ineptitude of the School board (to give you an idea, here's a statistic for you: Baltimore City went from 192,000 students in the early '90s to around 92,000 today. Number of schools closed in that time period: 0). Education is so important and is given such short shrift in this country, particularly in Baltimore. It's no wonder we have one of the highest murder rates in the country.

Elliott also wants to put a park near my house. I was playing around with Microsoft Streets and Trips yesterday (amazing program). While looking at my parents neighborhood, the house I grew up in, I noticed that our street backed up to a state park. I spent many a long summer afternoon in those woods, riding bikes, building dams and forts, fishing for mutant catfish (I don't think, as a child, I knew I was playing in a state park; I figured I was in "the wild."). As, at heart, I'm still that twelve-year-old boy who thought it was a good idea to go swimming in Muddy Branch Creek (emphasis on Mud), I'm all for it.

Cahan for City Council Virtual fundraiser

Elliott Cahan kicked off his virtual fundraiser over at his web site (Elliott is running for Baltimore City Council, District 5). If you are for change in Baltimore City, check out the site, see what he has to say.

I realize the apparent similarities between Elliott's use of a weblog for the campaign and some of the Democratic presidential candidates; it's not coincidental, as I set up the site and have been following the technological aspects of the primaries quite closely. But I think there's a tremendous difference in usage here. Most of the presidential candidates used the Internet as a means of connecting with fringe voters and raising money, rarely if ever personally contributing to the site. Elliott's site is much different. I set up CahanforCityCouncil.com, but other than editing the layout, Elliott does all the work. Thanks to the simplicity of Blogger, he is able to add content to the site on his own (Elliott has no formal technical training).

Local positions like the city council position are about getting in touch with the real people who live in your neighborhood, understanding and listening to what they need, how their lives can be made better. Besides the web site, Elliott is setting up meetings all around the district, talking to people and finding out what they want. The web site is just an extension of this idea; a way to communicate easily with those you represent.

It's odd how the lines are drawn in this particular race. Usually the Republican candidate has the connections to big business, and the Democrats are the "people's party." But in this case, the incumbent is in bed with wealthy developers and private interest groups that don't take into account the needs of the citizens of Baltimore City. Elliott is going door to door to find out what people want. Whereas Elliott lives in and sends his kids to school in his district, the incumbent lives downtown, far away from her constituents. Elliott is the one listening to the people in this election. Using a blog makes it easier for Elliott to keep in touch with those he hopes to represent.

Cahan for City Council!!!

Time for a link to another one of my side projects. A good friend of mine, Elliott Cahan, is running for Baltimore City Council, District 5. Elliott has assembled a crack team of strategists to help him fight the uphill battle of taking back Baltimore City for the people. I'm lucky enough to be one of them.

So naturally, me being the gigantic technological visionary that I am, I helped get the website going. Check out CahanforCityCouncil.com. Yep, it's powered by Blogger. The main reason is that, honestly, it's a whole lot simpler to maintain a site using blog software than by hand. I like the personal approach as well.

Check back to the site for Elliott's comments on all things Baltimore City (with a strong focus on District 5). In case you're a syndication/subsrciption fanatic, you can grab the site's Atom feed.

We'll see you on the campaign trail. YEEEEAAAGHHHH!

Baltiblogs is picking up!

Balitblogs has a few new members (check them out from the Baltiblogs home page. In particular, I'm looking forward to the thoughts of Technomind, a close personal friend and fellow Greenspringer. If we can get him talking, some good stuff is bound to come out.

Welcome to Baltiblogs, and thanks to Maphet for this great (and free) service.

Blog Baltimore

SupaMB has set up a Blog Ring for Baltimore Bloggers.

There are a few other geo-centered resources focusing on Baltimore that I know of. One is Crablogs; I've emailed the site a few times asking to be added but so far have recieved no response. Another is the Baltimore Localfeeds page, which uses GeoURL meta-data (there I go again, slipping into geek-talk) to aggregate blog posts from bloggers close to each other. Getting listed on Localfeeds takes a bit of extra work, as you have to find out your Lat/Lon coordinates and add them to your blog using a special markup format. And, of course, there is the Baltiblogs home page, which lists the most recent posts from the Baltiblogs bloggers.

I love the concept of connecting bloggers that are geographically co-located. It helps to get a broader perspective of your home town (especially when your town is small, yet, big, like Baltimore). More news as it develops.

There's no place like...

The City Paper lists their top 10 quotes from Baltimoreans from 2003.

My favorite:

"That [rebellious] spirit is needed, but the bottom line is if it's going to block progress, then we've got to work to silence them." --City Council President Sheila Dixon on how she planned to handle a potential influx of new City Council members elected on anti-incumbent platforms (Sept. 3; Original Article).

Go Elliott!

Baltimore City Paper has a blog

The City Paper has a blog, although it appears to be in stagnation since the beginning of December. [via SupaMB]

This has huge, huge potential. Picture it: they could offer extended information from articles in the print edition, letters to the editor that don't make the print edition, breaking news, and who knows what else. This is where it starts(although the Baltimore Sun does have RSS feeds for its content. Blech). I really hope this gets going again.

My one comment would be to ditch Blogger's free service. I'm sure the City Paper has the resoruces to set up MovableType (or something) on their server. Then they can have RSS, comments, trackback, etc., etc. That would be cool.

Twain meeting - The Shema

We had another Twain meeting this week (due to the holidays, two month's sessions were a week apart). The topic of discussion was the Shema (Deut. 6:4). This session was a bit different from past meetings; instead of the dividing up by table for discussions, we had an open-forum type of atmosphere. The speakers were Rabbi Avraham Kowalsky and Rabbi Joe Menashe (of the JHU Hillel). R. Kowalsky gave a background of what the Shema is, a brief overview of the laws of its recitation, and his translation. R. Menashe then presented a list of ten different translations from various Orthodox, Conservative and Reform siddurim. We then discussed, as a group, the possible implications of the various translations.

The discussion revolved around the concept of God's Oneness. Most of the translations seemed to focus either on the Maimonidean conceptualization of Oneness (which is really closer to Unity than Oneness) or the singular nature of God as God (i.e. monotheism). R. Kowalsky did mention my personal favorite interpretation, that despite the fact that our perceived experience of God is disparate (we experience his love as well as his anger), He is whole, all the different experiences come from one source.

There was also a brief discussion of how to translate "Shema." The standard seems to be "Hear," with a small number opting for "Listen." We decided the disctinction between them had to do with actively paying attention (listening) rather than simply hearing passively (hearing). R. Menashe commented that he thought it was colloquial (along the lines of the dictum, "the Torah speaks in the common language of men"), simply a way of saying "Listen up!" or "Check this out."

I disagree with both of these interpreations. I believe the usage of Shema (a conjugation of the infinitive "l'shmoa," to hear) is in contradistinction to the verb "liroat," to see. Seeing implies an objective knowledge or approach to something. To see something, I need not interact with it, and I can come to know it as an object. But to hear, I must interact with the subject I am hearing. It requires a concious effort on my part to treat the subject of my interaction as a true subject, and not an object. The knowledge gained from such a relationship is "subjective" (this is different from "relative"), and on a deeper and truer level than can be gained by "seeing" or objective knowledge. This contrast between "seeing" and "hearing" is all over the Torah, especially in Parshas Yisro (Ex 18-20). This is also (in my opinion) why we cover our eyes while reciting Shema.

Scary

FBI Probes Taping Outside Jewish School By Saudi National

POSTED: 9:57 a.m. EST November 5, 2003

BALTIMORE -- The FBI is investigating suspicious activity outside a Jewish girls' middle school in Mount Washington.

The president of Bais Yaakov School for Girls, Shlomo Spetner, sent a letter to parents Friday that a parent had spotted a man and woman videotaping the entrance to the campus and some pupils.

The parent reported that the couple appeared to be Middle Eastern and fled when the parent approached them.

Spetner's letter says the parent took down the license plate and the driver has been questioned by the FBI. The man is said to be a Saudi national who attends a local college.

I've been meaning to post about this for a few days now. I hadn't seen this incident reported anywhere in the news, so I thought it might be on the hush-hush. I hope this is all a big mistake, and that there is a logical, coherent explanation for it, and not that someone was targeting middle- and high-school girls.

The Future of Greenspring

Take a look at the concept plan for the Quarry Development along Greenspring Ave.

No word yet if the Satmar rumors are true.

Jewish Baltimore Bloggers

Found one! David Gerstman (no relation) contributes to not one, but four (4) active blogs (one more than I contribute to, by the way). His main blog is SoccerDad, along with Doubting Thomas, a blog aimed at critiqueing the work of Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. He also contributes to Israpundit and Bsurot. Check it out.

I emailed David and told him about Baltiblogs, so hopefully we can get him to switch over. Baltiblogs uses MovableType, which supports easy import of Blogger archives, and provides built-in comments, trackback and RSS. Blogger is a great free service, but once you get serious about blogging, you start to realize the advantages to MovableType.

Either way, I should start a list of Baltimore J-Bloggers...

Baltimore Links

I've updated my links with sections for Jewish Baltimore and Baltimore Torah. If you have any links you think should go here, send them to me or leave them in the comments.

The Jewish Baltimore group is for just about any Jewish institution in Baltimore (excluding synagogues - I think eventually I'll have another section for this). I put a few I could think of that I visit frequently; a few more are coming to mind now as I write this.

Baltimore Torah is for links to d'vrei Torah from Rabbis or individuals in Baltimore. I only know of R. Wohlberg's stuff; I am sure there is more out there. Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, whatever, send them in.

Any other suggestions?

Update: I did a quick check of most of the shuls in town, and I found only two that regularly publish their Rabbi's sermons. How come there aren't more? Are shuls afraid that if they put stuff online, no one will show up for services? Or are the technological hurdles too great? If the latter, we need to set these shuls up with weblogs.

Ner Israel in the Sun

The Sun gives us a pre-Rosh Hashannah expose on Ner Israel (They bless us with this stuff every year around this time). Overall, the article was fairly accurate. I'm not sure "be fruitful and multiply" has much to do with the increase in enrollment; more likely its the fact that Ner is a more affordable option compared with equivalent schools in New York. Ner also offers students the choice to pursue a secular degree (albeit at a one-class-a-semseter pace), which many schools in New York, et. al., do not.

And then there is Helmreich's statement:

CUNY's Helmreich says the growth at Ner Israel and other schools has had at least one negative effect: They attract some students who simply aren't capable of becoming Talmudic scholars.

I'm not sure what to make of this. If he is simply saying that way to many people stay on to learn when they really should be going out and working? If so, that problem isn't specific to Ner Israel. On the other hand, if he is saying that not all Jews should get some form of basic Talmudic education, simply because they lack immense potential, I'd disagree. Since when is the goal for everyone to become Talmudic scholars?

If that's the case, Helmreich's statement belies a tendency in the frum community to encourage our children to become 'talmidei chachamim' or 'tzaddikim'. More appropriate would be to teach them to be (like our governor) ehrlich. More some other time on how this affects Jewish high school educations, and the teen-at-risk problem.

I also found the references to undergraduate and graduate programs somewhat amusing. As far as I can tell, the only requirement for becoming a 'graduate student' it to be married (I was a grad student at Ner at the same time I was finishing my undergraduate degree from YU)!

Note: I found this article via Protocols, which is ironic as they are in New York. They also made some comments on the article. Their S.L.O.W. column is priceless. Check it out.