Lois Goldrich
Community rallies for survivors in Israel
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin told those who attended the Englewood/Tenafly Yom HaShoah commemoration in Englewood on April 15 that Holocaust survivors in Israel need their help.
When Englewood resident Debra Corman learned about the plight of Holocaust survivors in Israel, she knew she had to do something.
"Right before Pesach, I read a piece in the Jerusalem Post entitled 'For Shame.' It said that thousands of survivors — people who helped to build the state — are now living below the poverty level, and alone. It really got to me," she said.
Corman called Englewood Rabbis Zev Reichman of East Hill Synaoguge and Shmuel Goldin of Cong. Ahavath Torah to make them aware of what she learned and seek their support in doing something about it. She also called Howard Charish, executive vice president of UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey.
"They all said 'yes' immediately," she said. "Nobody hesitated."
For love of Ladino
Enrique Levy, founder of the Ladino Club at the JCC on the Palisades, recently attended an Israeli gathering of Ladino speakers.
Englewood resident Enrique Levy left his native Cuba some 50 years ago. What he did not leave behind was his love for Ladino, a language he describes as "muy hermozo" (very beautiful).
"I can't describe it…. It's more than just beautiful sounds," he said. "It can convey entire moods, like Yiddish."
Ladino, otherwise known as Judeo-Spanish, is the spoken and written Hispanic language of Jews of Spanish origin. According to the Website of the Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture, Ladino did not become a specifically Jewish language until after the expulsion from Spain in 149'.
Local Sephardic groups unite to celebrate their heritage
Rabbi Ely Allen, religious leader of Cong. Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, says the Sephardic community in Bergen County is growing.
"People are moving in and we're becoming more established," notes the Teaneck rabbi, who helps coordinate the Sephardic Council of northern New Jersey, established in '005. The council is composed of representatives from the four established Sephardic congregations in Bergen County, says Allen, who also serves as director of Hillel and Teen Connections for UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey.
