News, Info & Resources for the Cleveland Orthodox Jewish Community
Snow expected Shabbos and Sunday. Snowfall in Pittsburgh is forecasted as up to 14″ and in northeast central Ohio up to 8″. Snowfall predictions for northeast Ohio haven’t been released yet (as of 12:40pm) but the National Weather Service says:
“This system has the potential to bring significant snow to much of the region on Saturday and Sunday” (NWS).
Temperatures are expected to drop into the teens and lower.
Young Israel of Greater Cleveland was proud to receive a grant from the Orthodox Union to create an innovative series of three events for the women of our community, combining Torah study with opportunities for social engagement.
Our second event was held on Motzei Shabbos, 1/12/19, with over eighty women of all ages in attendance. Daniella R. Botnick delivered an insightful shiur examining midrashic traditions about the central role women played in Egypt, followed by a delicious light dinner from Chef Dave’s Catering and Bar Sushi.
After eating and shmoozing, Adina Forouzon shared some of her passion and tips for getting organized, and the evening closed with a presentation from Karen Marocco on how focused breathing and mindfulness can help face life’s stresses. After a few breathing exercises, everyone left the event both relaxed and excited for the next program, im yirtzeh Hashem to be held in March!
Cleveland Heights City Council seeks applications for the open Council seat of Councilwoman Cheryl Stephens (who was elected to County Council). To be considered for appointment, please visit www.clevelandheights.com/CouncilApplication. The deadline for all applications is Tuesday, January 15th at 5:00pm.
by Susan Efroymson
No matter who you choose to vote for, candidates seeking our votes take note of our needs when we vote. One can vote by mail, at the Board of Elections, or at their polling location on Tuesday, November 6. Please consider the following:
(for any ballot items that are not listed here, there is no recommendation)
Expanded Edition:
As a general perspective, in making my recommendations I am often faced with a choice between supporting principles we believe in, and practical considerations for facilitating the needs of our community. I do seek Rabbinic guidance to help balance these interests, and the recommendations above reflect that.
In that vein, I would like to note that Democrats Sherrod Brown and Marcia Fudge have supported us on issues such as funding for anti-terrorist security improvements in our schools. Richard Cordray is a centrist with a good record who has pledged support for maintaining the voucher system, along with Sandra Williams. Steve Dettelbach has ties to our community and like all those listed here, a good working relationship with our askanim. Locally, Janine Boyd and Cheryl Stephens known our neighborhoods well and have been good advocates for us. Our community needs people in office who will pick up the phone and respond when we call and we have good reason to show gratitude at the polls to people in both parties.
A word about Judge Daniel Gaul: While he has made some insensitive comments and was censured, all sources I’ve contacted say that Judge Daniel Gaul has, in his 28-year career, done a good job and is rated significantly higher than his opponent by the bar associations. He is said to be caring and comes to the right decisions. However, his comments and style have become highly public, and therefore the Plain Dealer is now narrowly recommending Wanda Jones.
State Issue 1: Support and Opposition to this largely falls along party lines; most Republican politicians opposing; most Democrats supporting. The goal is laudable: currently, people are convicted just for possessing drugs, and wind up in prison, which is itself a terrible environment. This imposes significant costs on society, and this Issue reallocates those funds to treatment. However, the mechanism of this issue is to create a constitutional amendment. This prevents lawmakers from adjusting it or changing aspects of it, no matter what happens. This is of particular concern since it lumps together several complex items, and the success of such a program has not been validated in any other state. Further, it doesn’t differentiate between types and quantities of drugs, or whether the drugs were for personal use or distribution. There are many very dangerous types of drugs, and Ohio is in the top 5 states for deaths due to drug overdose. This issue, as written, ironically may have the effect of trivializing the seriousness of the drug epidemic in Ohio. Finally, it even takes the issue out of the hands of judges to decide based on the circumstances of the case, which is why it is opposed by organizations of judges and law enforcement. Aside from the drug focus, it also enshrines sentence reduction for participation in education programs regardless of whether they are deserved or likely to be effective in a particular case, and without regard to the effects on victims. Further, it is supported by out of state interests, and law enforcement foresees a rise in assaults, robbery and most other violent crimes if this passes based on recidivism rates resulting from the violent jail environment. As important as the problem is, it is just as important that the solution be structured in a way that everyone can
rally around. Vote No, but lobby legislators to support an effective solution.
County Charter Amendments
Issue 10 – Recently, Council made it illegal for any place of public accommodation (businesses, all places where you don’t require a membership to get in including Churches) to use “gender identity” issues as a factor in hiring. That was legislation and affects all public locations. This is a Charter Amendment which is the equivalent of putting it in the county constitution. However, this amendment differs because it refers only to County Offices and how the overseeing personnel offices deal with hiring, firing and discipline among themselves, while adding gender identity neutrality into the Charter – even if this only refers to County offices and not all businesses. As for how it
works, it is just another tweak making the county work better in terms of interdepartmental affairs, but it also takes the opportunity to put that nondiscrimination wording into the charter. It’s already the law because they passed it, so no need to enshrine it more permanently. Vote No.
Issue 11 – As above, this is merely tweaking the way the government works to make it work more effectively and is like other such amendments offered after the redesign of county government where they found what doesn’t work and came to the people to correct it. It provides the Department of Internal Auditing discretion to bill departments for the cost of conducting audits. This is merely an internal county affair. Vote Yes.
Issue 12 – Again, this is merely a correction. It moves the Charter of the County of Cuyahoga to establish the Agency of Inspector General, who would be the chief ethics officer and conduct investigations into wrongdoing of any department or head and who would have powers including access to county information and subpoena power. This office already exists as an appointment. This would make it permanent at the charter level and add the subpoena power. Supporters feel it is important to have such an officer. Opponents worry about abuse of
subpoena power, but those I spoke to were less concerned, because the scope of the Inspector would be to inspect the county offices, its personnel and officers, but not the general public.
Rabbi Chaim Ellis, LISW-S, a talmid of Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim, teaches in the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland and works as a social worker at the Yeshiva Derech Hatorah. He practices as a Licensed Social Worker in private practice and provides trainings to schools and mental health agencies.
The recent tragedy that took place in Pittsburgh is shaking the core of Klal Yisroel. The fact that a tragedy of this magnitude can happen in America, a medina shel chesed, where those who died and suffered injuries only because they were Jews is shattering. We don’t ask why as we do not understand. However, a tragedy can bring up feelings, fears and uncertainties. How do we address our young who look towards us for warmth, security and love?
To ignore it may not be correct–if even possible–in today’s day and age where the news surrounds us and arrives at lightning speed.
Here are a few pointers you may consider when discussing this tragic event with your children:
May we never need to have discussions like this again and may we be zoche to celebrate the ultimate simcha in the coming of Mashiach speedily on our days.
by Susan Efroymson
(More expanded version to follow.)
No matter who you choose to vote for, candidates seeking our votes take note of our needs when we vote. One can vote by mail, at the Board of Elections, or at their polling location on Tuesday, November 6. Please consider the following:
(For any ballot items that are not listed here, there is no recommendation.)
Governor: Mike DeWine and Jon Husted (R)
State Attorney General: Steve Dettelbach (D)
State Auditor: Keith Faber (R)
Secretary of State of OH: Frank LaRose(R)
State Treasurer: Robert Sprague (R)
U.S. Senator: Jim Renacci (R) or Sherrod Brown(D)
Representative to U.S. Congress, District 11: Marcia Fudge (D)
State Senator District 21: Sandra Williams (D)
State Representative District 9: Janine Boyd (D)
Cuyahoga County Executive: Armond Budish (D)
Member of County Council District 10: Cheryl Stephens (D)
Ohio Supreme Court: Craig Baldwin (R), Mary DeGenaro (R)
Court of Appeals: Michelle Sheehan
Cuyahoga County Judges: Joseph Russo, Ashley Kilbane, William McGinty, John O’Donnell, Kathleen Sutula, John Sutula, Emily Hagan, Deborah Turner
State Issue 1 – Allows drug users out of prison by reclassifying drug possession as a misdemeanor. Vote No
Cuyahoga County Issue 10 – Disallows the county to discriminate regarding employment based on gender identity. Vote No
Cuyahoga County Issue 11- Allows the auditing office to bill the departments it audits. This is merely an interdepartmental issue and should be supported. Vote Yes.
Cuyahoga County Issue 12: Established the already in place office of Inspector General and gives it the power to subpoena in an investigation. Vote: no recommendation
The murder of eleven people during a Shabbos service this morning in a Pittsburgh synagogue is a horrific tragedy and an outrage. Our deepest sympathies go out to the mourning families and friends of the victims who were targeted because they were Jews. We extend our deepest gratitude to the law enforcement personnel who arrived at the scene and captured the murderer. We also thank law enforcement across the country who are ramping up security measures around houses of worship.
There are simply no words of condemnation that can truly express our anguish and disgust at the perpetrator of this hate-fueled act or others like it. Any platform or group, including those on social media, that serves to stir up and metastasize bigotry and anti-Semitic hatred, needs to be called out and shut down for incitement of violence. Until all Americans confront the horror of anti-Semitism head on, our great Democracy will not have achieved its promise.
May those who were injured in today’s senseless violence have a speedy and complete recovery from their wounds.
Agudah Arba Minim TSA Travel Guidelines (PDF)
As in past years, Agudath Israel of America’s Washington Office has worked closely with agencies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help avoid potential problems for travelers carrying arba minim.
Both the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have notified their respective field personnel about the upcoming Sukkos holiday and the increased level of travel by persons of the Jewish faith, many of whom will be carrying arba minim.
The notifications, which have been sent out to federal officials at airports and border crossings, emphasize the religious significance of these items and outline the rules and procedures that would help allay possible security and health issues that are of concern to the federal government. Prior to these agency steps, lack of familiarity regarding Sukkos and the arba minim had led to numerous incidents each year of inadvertent mishandling and mistreatment — including denial of entry — of these ritual objects.
The TSA Notice makes clear that the arba minim carried in airports, through security checkpoints or on aircraft, are not on the “prohibited items list” and provides instructions for travelers needing “special accommodations” in regard to checkpoint screening. The CBP Guidance sets forth detailed information regarding the inspection process for arba minim entering the United States from foreign countries through designated American ports and points out that the agency is “committed to treating all travelers, including travelers who may be observing Sukkot, with respect and dignity at all U.S. ports of entry.”
“We are gratified by the ongoing sensitivity of these agencies to the religious concerns of our community,” said Rabbi Abba Cohen, Agudath Israel’s vice president for federal affairs and Washington director. “They are taking meaningful and appropriate steps to accommodate our religious needs.”
He also praised Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel’s national director of state relations, for once again producing a one-page handout (see above or click here) that travelers can print out – or save to their phones – to familiarize themselves with the rules before traveling.
Bikur Cholim of Cleveland is grateful to General Manager of Motorcars Toyota, Mr. Matt Gile, and the Motorcars Group for generously offering a $200 donation in support of the organization each time their dealership is presented with a special coupon towards the purchase or lease of a Honda or Toyota.
If you already took possession of your vehicle without presenting a coupon or if you plan to purchase/lease in 2018, please call the Bikur Cholim office at 216/320-1771 or email info@bikurcholimcleveland.org.
We will be happy to send you a coupon.
Bikur Cholim of Cleveland is grateful to General Manager of Motorcars Toyota, Mr. Matt Gile, and the Motorcars Group for generously offering a $200 donation in support of the organization each time their dealership is presented with a special coupon towards the purchase or lease of a Honda or Toyota.
If you already took possession of your vehicle without presenting a coupon or if you plan to purchase/lease in 2018, please call the Bikur Cholim office at 216/320-1771 or email info@bikurcholimcleveland.org.
We will be happy to send you a coupon.
As the first year of our careers division comes to a close, we are happy to share with you our accomplishments so far!
Stats:
Services We Provide:
With the expanding growth at Gesher, we have made significant changes to accommodate the growing needs of our clients. We have moved to a new and larger location that has classroom space to house our vocational training courses. Additionally, we have just launched our new and updated website, featuring all of our career division services!
Thank you to all of our partners for allowing us access to your wealth of resources and for your willingness to meet our needs and specifications. We would not be able to offer these services without you!
Thank you to our committee members for your assistance to network, guide, and advise our clients and for connecting our staff with the various companies, agencies, and recruiters.
Thank you to all those in the community who have sent us leads and tips.
We are truly grateful to everyone for all the various contributions and support you have made to make this mission a reality. May we continue to work together as a community to support each other and grow successful together.
Bikur Cholim of Cleveland is grateful to General Manager of Motorcars Toyota, Mr. Matt Gile, and the Motorcars Group for generously offering a $200 donation in support of the organization each time their dealership is presented with a special coupon towards the purchase or lease of a Honda or Toyota.
If you already took possession of your vehicle without presenting a coupon or if you plan to purchase/lease in 2018, please call the Bikur Cholim office at 216/320-1771 or email info@bikurcholimcleveland.org.
We will be happy to send you a coupon.
Bikur Cholim of Cleveland is grateful to General Manager of Motorcars Toyota, Mr. Matt Gile, and the Motorcars Group for generously offering a $200 donation in support of the organization each time their dealership is presented with a special coupon towards the purchase or lease of a Honda or Toyota.
If you already took possession of your vehicle without presenting a coupon or if you plan to purchase/lease in 2018, please call the Bikur Cholim office at 216/320-1771 or email info@bikurcholimcleveland.org.
We will be happy to send you a coupon.
Hebrew Free Loan Association announces new loan fund, the ZaGiBe Fund designated to help with shortfalls to pay for Jewish Sleep away camp, Teen Israel trips, or Israel year programs with interest free loans. This loan fund can also be used for Jewish widows and widowers dealing with a hardship.
We do ask that the families first explore all scholarships and grants and conventional funds available to them.
Our applications are available on our website: www.interestfree.org. For more information call, 216-378-9042 or email: team@interestfree.org