Delivery of this week’s Jewish Standard and updates on the Website will be delayed this week because of the recent storm. We apologize for the inconvenience.

UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey is working in partnership with the Jewish Family Service of North Jersey and the Jewish Family Service of Bergen County & North Hudson to help people in our community deal with the impact of the devastating storm last weekend.

If you or anyone you know was severely affected by last weekend’s storm, please get in touch with the following:
Jewish Family Service of Bergen County & North Hudson
1485 Teaneck Rd, Teaneck (201) 837-9090
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Jewish Family Service of North Jersey
One Pike Dr., Wayne (973) 595-0111 or 17-10 River Road, Fair Lawn (201) 796-5151
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

We stand ready to help our community in any way we can. We are living through a series of crises — here in northern New Jersey, in Haiti and in Chile—that test us and call upon us to find the ways and means to help people rebuild and rebound.

If you are in need of assistance , please be in touch with the agencies above or with us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). If you are able to reach out and help your neighbors, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to volunteer.

Please share this email with neighbors who might not have access to their computers.

With thanks,
Alan Scharfstein

Howard E. Charish
Executive Vice President

www.uja.org

50 Eisenhower Drive, Paramus, NJ 07652

Saturday’s storm took the lives of two Teaneck men, killed by a falling tree on their way home from synagogue.

According to town officials, 49-year-old Ovadia Mussaffi and 54-year-old Lawrence Krause were hit by the tree on Saturday evening after leaving the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck.

Mussaffi was president of the shul; Krause was the managing partner of Krause & Associates law firm in New York City.

The minaret and the satellite dish offer a sharp contrast between centuries of tradition and belief, and the promise and perils that lie ahead in the Middle East.

Building on that image, Avi Melamed — Jerusalem native, former Israeli intelligence officer, scholar of Middle Eastern studies, and teacher — spoke Tuesday night about the ferment in the region.

In a presentation sponsored by UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey at its offices in Paramus, Melamed spoke of a deep identity crisis in the Arab Muslim world, citing increasing political unrest, the influence of radical Islam, and the tension between Sunnis and Shiites as major factors.

The 40-year-old Glen Rock finalist in Redbook Magazine’s national “Hottest Husband” contest is also one of the only Jews among the 22 lucky guys. A Jewish hottie? Well, his wife certainly thinks so; she’s the one who nominated him.

“I’d like to go on the record that this is extremely embarrassing for me,” Bryan Kule told The Jewish Standard. Nevertheless, he added, “I’m flattered that my wife thought enough of me to put me in there.”

Kule said she told him about the nomination after she was informed that he made the finals.

From the outside, Space Odyssey is a plain building in an out-of-the-way corner of Englewood south of Route 4 reminiscent of its origins as a warehouse.

Open the door and you enter a stellar fantasy world of high-tech playthings, where youngsters can safely romp in a controlled environment while their parents wait for them in a comfortable lounge setting.

“Sometimes dreams do come true,” said Elvira Grau of Cresskill, who took a vision, added a lot of hard work and turned that unused building into a cosmic-themed family entertainment venue, and by the way, a multi-million dollar business. As she did so, the Jewish immigrant from Ukraine became a poster person for American-style success.

What’s in a name? A lot, say the leaders of Teaneck’s Holy Name Hospital, which this week announced a change in title.

On Tuesday, hospital administrators said the facility will henceforth be known as Holy Name Medical Center — a change that will better promote its purpose to the community, according to medical center leaders.

“Holy Name has evolved in so many ways that the term ‘hospital’ is no longer applicable to who we are and what we do,” said Michael Maron, Holy Name’s president and CEO, at a ceremony marking the rebranding. “It’s more than a hospital. The people inside the walls are much greater than the bricks and mortar.”