22-28 Av, 5778 • August 3-9, 2018 Connect. Inform. Inspire.A Jewish Take on Happinessby Rabbi Mordecai FinleyHIGH HOLIDAY SCHEDULEBeverly Hills Jewish Community Synagogueat The Beverly Hills HotelROSH HASHANAH SEPTEMBER 9-11Traditional Ashkenaz Services Led by Rabbi Yossi Cunin with Cantor Levi Coleman & The Beverly Hills Jewish Community Choir Sephardic Services Led by Cantor Yossi AbitbolMoroccan Services Led by Cantor Avshalom Even HaimChildcare / Children’s ProgramSpecial Guest Lecture by David Suissa President, Tribe Media and Jewish JournalSeating is Limited. Please reserve early.RSVP RequiredPhone 310-276-4246 Online BeverlyHillsJC.org Email Info@BeverlyHillsJC.orgServices are Held atThe Beverly Hills Hotel9641 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90210YOM KIPPUR SEPTEMBER 18-19ה״בWINTER CAMP 2018- REGISTER NOW- DECEMBER 26-30 Gindling Hilltop Camp • Grades 2-6 • $550EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIESStart here.wbtecc.orgDiscover More.brawerman.orgwbtreligiousschool.orgwbtcamps.orgExperience& Enrich.Experience& Enrich.inside the journal20 » happiness and the story of job rabbi Mordecai Finley takes us on a deep dive into the jewish roots of happiness, making the case that authentic happiness means living a life of truth — and that job was the happiest character in the Bible. 9 » CoLUMnists Karen Lehrman bloch looks at how Facebook has polluted the idea of real friendship; Marcus freed takes a satirical look at our obsession with marriage; ramona schindelheim explains why, in a booming jobs market, wages are not rising; Micha danzig pushes back on a critique of Yossi Klein Halevi’s new book; and sara hershkowitz tells us what it was like to jog by a former concentration camp in Germany. 14 » Who KiLLed raphaeL’s son? our summer Fiction series concludes with part five of Gina nahai’s excerpt from her suspense novel “the luminous heart of jonah s.” Can you guess who killed him? 16 » Can fLeXibiLity saVe jUdaisM? rabbi Meni even-israel argues that judaism cannot survive without embracing the godlike quality of flexibility.19 » pLUs Ça ChanGe senior Political editor shmuel rosner writes that despite the passage of israel’s nationality law, neither the country nor israeli realities have changed. 25 » borsCht beLt VeGGies Food editor Yamit Behar Wood recalls time spent with Chef robin Mailley at his restaurant in the Catskills, and shares his roasted carrot hummus with japanese turnips recipe.27 » tabLe for fiVe: parsha eiKeV david sacks, judy Weintraub, ilana Wilner, rabbi aryeh Markman and rabbanit alissa thomas-newborn share their insights on this week’s torah portion.30 » ‘fiGhtinG Zionists’ at stanford jewish organizations are calling for disciplinary action after a stanford student wrote that he wanted to “physically fight” Zionists. staff Writer aaron Bandler reports.31 » sUiCide aWareness after losing his friend to suicide, jonah sanderson organized a panel at shomrei torah synagogue to shine a light on the stigma surrounding mental health issues and suicide. leslee Komaiko reports. .38 » sUrViVor hUMor the film “Bye Bye Germany” uses a touch of humor to show the strength of ashkenazi jews who survived the holocaust.42 » the isLand of beVerLy hiLLs Book editor jonathan Kirsch reviews a new book that reveals how and why Beverly hills has maintained its iconic status.55 » baCK to CooL just in time for the start of the school year, journal designer jonathan Fong shows us how to create a very cool crayon pencil holder.58 » CoaChinG CoUraGe rabbi alyson solomon combines her traditional rabbi duties with spiritual techniques to enable people to connect with their souls. Mark Miller reports. 58 8 » Letters 17 » nation/World 25 » yamit’s table 28 » Community 36 » Movers & shakers 38 » arts 44 » What’s happening 55 » jonathan fong style 58 » just asking shabbat CandLe LiGhtinG fri august 3 7:34 p.m.shabbat ends august 4 8:36 p.m.»4220August 3-9, 2018 jewishjournal.com jewish journal | 555Listen in on some great conversations.The DAVID SUISSA PodcastAvailable on iTunes“Digestion is so basic to every human’s function.Unfortunately, we live in a society where certain things still are taboo. Even though this is a very legitimate medical condition, it is difficult. It is not sexy. It is not cool to talk about these symptoms in almost any setting.” - Medical researcher and activist Marci Reissin conversation with David SuissaAugust 3-9, 2018 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 7I understand why so many people are freaking out over the recent legislation making Israel the “nation-state of the Jew-ish people.” The optics aren’t good. While much of the Nationality Law affirms the obvious symbols of a Jewish state — the flag, the national anthem, holidays, etc. — other parts are more controversial. These include clauses relegating the Arab lan-guage to a “special” status rather than an official one, and promoting the establish-ment of Jewish communities throughout Israel. Like I said, bad optics. But what about actual impact? Yuval Shani, executive vice president of the Israel Democracy Institute, an in-dependent think tank known to be highly sensitive to anything that threatens Is-rael’s democratic character, told The Jeru-salem Post: “It is not a game changer and has very little problematic implications. It won’t change how the country is run.” Having said that, Shani added: “It is not an injury but an insult.” So, while Arabs and other minorities will not suffer injury and will have the same civil liberties as before — the same freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to protest, freedom of the press, etc. — many non-Jews may feel insulted and diminished because the “Jewish” part of “Jewish state” will become more official. Said another way, the Zionist elephant in the room will now be sitting at the table, munching on the hummus.I guess it was just a matter of time be-fore the great paradox of the Zionist proj-ect — A state for the Jews with equal rights for non-Jews? A Jewish state that recog-nizes other religions? — would come in for some reckoning. How could it not? I confess that what I find bothersome in all the hysteria is a seeming lack of ap-preciation for the incredible difficulty in managing this paradox, not to mention the precarious tension inherent in the very idea of a Jewish democracy. Presumably, critics of the National-ity Law would have had no problem with beefing up the “democratic” part of the equation. That would have triggered no controversy. But to beef up the Jewish part? That’s not as popular. “Democracy” signifies human rights, freedom, equality, social justice and all the noble ideals associated with modern societies. “Jewish” signifies religion, tribalism, exclusivity and all that is unfashionable about less enlightened nation-states. Viewed through that lens, any move seen as downplaying democracy and play-ing up Jewishness is asking for trouble, even if the trouble is mostly symbolic. That is what happened with the Nation-ality Law: Israel played up its Jewishness and the world pounced.Through the firestorm, we don’t hear much about Israel’s courageous accom-plishment on the democratic part of the ledger. Amid the toxic talk about Israel turning into a racist state, you would nev-er know that the luckiest Muslims in the Middle East are the ones who live in the Jewish state, a state under siege and in a continuous state of war. With all of their challenges, it is only in Israel where Arabs and Muslims enjoy such a high level of basic rights and free-doms. The new law changes none of that, good or bad. What it does is touch an emo-tional chord — it reminds non-Jews that they live in a Jewish country.I don’t want to minimize that senti-ment, but I don’t want to blow it out of proportion, either. It’s instructive that most criticism of the new law is indeed blown out of pro-portion, as with the Jewish leader who predicted it would result in “enormous damage” to the “legitimacy of the Zionist vision.” Really? As much as I agree that the op-tics are bad and a case could be made that the law wasn’t necessary, such over-the-top reactions end up making a case that the law may, in fact, be necessary. After all, if the law “is not a game changer” and “won’t change how the country is run,” why are people freaking out over the recognition of the Jewish character of the Jewish state? In other words, if the world explodes in horror at a step to reaffirm Israel’s Jewishness, may-be that in itself is a reason for Israel to take that step.“National self-determination for the Jews in the State of Israel does not com-promise by one iota the democratic or human rights of any of its other citizens,” wrote British journalist Melanie Phillips, who has written on the Middle East for decades. “No country in the world offers national self-determination to its minori-ties, for the simple reason that to do so would make those minorities themselves a nation.”In any event, the Jewish democracy project was always destined to be a deli-cate dance between two crucial ideals in constant tension. The rising hysteria against the new law has turned this dance into a fistfight. Nationality Law: Optics Vs. Impact» by David SuissaPublisher & Editor-in-Chief David Suissa EditorialSenior Political Editor Shmuel Rosnerassistant Editor Richard Core Book Editor Jonathan KirschFood Editor Yamit Behar WoodSenior Writer Kelly HartogStaff Writer Ryan TorokCopy Editors Linda Whitmore, Chris WoldtContributing Editors Tom Tugend, Jane UlmanContributing Writers Michael Berenbaum, Karen Lehrman Bloch, Debra Eckerling, Steve Greenberg, Esther D. Kustanowitz, Kylie Ora Lobell, Gerri Miller, Gina Nahai, Ari Noonan, Judea Pearl, Ben Shapiro, Raphael J. Sonenshein, Tom Teicholz, Michelle K. Wolf, David WolpeManagement Supervisor Eli FinkJEWiShJournal.CoMdigital team Aaron Bandler, Armando Koghandigital director Shoshana LewinadvErtiSingExecutive director, advertisingMartin FinkelsteinSenior account ExecutivesShoshana Cohen, Arlyn Isentraffic Manager Sara BudisantosoSales Coordinator Angela Haydesign Consultant Jonathan FongExecutive assistant Shanni SuissaProduCtionart director Lynn Pelkeygraphic designer Paul TakizawaadMiniStrationChief Financial officer Adam LevineBookkeeper Andrea Alonsoadministrative assistant Tova Suissaisrael advertising Partnersimp group ltdPOB 7195, Jerusalem 91071 ISRAELTel: 972-2-625-2933Fax: 972-2-624-9240E-mail: info@impmedia.co.illegal Counsel/accountants Jonathan Kirsch of Law Offices of Jonathan Kirsch O’Melveny & Myers LLP (pro bono legal services on employment law matters)Past PublishersRichard Volpert (1985-1986)Ed Brennglass (1986-1997)Stanley Hirsh (1997-2003)Irwin S. Field (2003-2011)Rob Eshman (2011-2017)TRIBE MEDIA CORP. 3250 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1250, Los Angeles, CA 90010. (213) 368-1661Annual subscription rate: $75 for home delivery (restricted in certain areas); $160 for mail both in California and out of state; $350 outside of the United States. For all subscription services, visit JewishJournal.com or call (213) 368-1661, ext.129. The Jewish Journal does not endorse the goods and services advertised in its pages, and it makes no representation as to the kashrut of the food products and services in such advertising. Published weekly by TRIBE Media Corp. All rights reserved. © 2018Volume 33, Number 22August 3-9, 2018jewishjournal.comEditor’S notE If the law “is not a game changer” and “won’t change how the country is run,” why are people freaking out over the recognition of the Jewish character of the Jewish state? The Jewish democracy project was always destined to be a delicate dance between two crucial ideals in constant tension.Sabbaths in JerusalemI found Sarah Tuttle-Singer’s beautifully and movingly written account of her deeply felt experiences, as she bravely journeyed into the thicket of the three Jerusalems, as validating universal truths.Living in harmony and acceptance in a multicultural, ethnically and religiously diverse society is a difficult dream to attain. People the world over have tried for millennia to find systems of governance that would achieve such a desirable outcome. Yet, it’s a fact that humans are inherently tribal beings. They thrive in their own communities of shared values, beliefs and common aspirations. Even as time and circumstances have evolved, the ideas of the necessity of coexistence, it’s a constant struggle.David LengaWoodland Hills Baron Cohen Sinks to New DepthsJournal writer Eli Fink claims that comedian Sasha Baron Cohen has exposed “the fringe elements in our society” in his new series, “Who Is America?” Uh, no.Cohen has exposed what he really is: an arrogant, unfunny elitist desperate to shore up his diminishing media market presence.It isn’t funny to skewer innocent people, regardless of their political views. Cohen is not a comic but a boorish bully.Arthur Christopher SchaperTorranceTikkun Olam and JudaismGil Troy, in his review of Jonathan Neumann’s book “To Heal the World?” points to the author’s concern that tikkun olam “can lure Jews away from a rich, authentic Judaism.” Rich, authentic Jewish teaching abounds in the imperative to help those in need. As Troy himself observes, “tikkun olam is one of a series of Jewish values, visions and virtues.”Since 2006, BJE Impact: Center for Jewish Service Learning has, in partnership with the Jewish Federation, helped schools, youth groups and camps connect tikkun olam action with Jewish learning and values through consultation and coaching. BJE also runs multiple, weeklong summer day camp sessions, BJE Teen Service Corps, enabling middle school and high school teens to engage in tikkun olam activities combined with Jewish learning and reflection. Gil GraffExecutive DirectorBuilders of Jewish EducationKudos for Gil Troy’s piece on Jonathan Newmann’s “To Heal the World?” At times, it does take an outsider to make the cogent point that leftism has invaded the Reform, Conservative, and now even the Orthodox factions of American Jewry. This brings home Dennis Prager’s point that leftism is the fastest growing religion in the world.Question: What do we do about it?Enriqué GasconWestside VillageThe wise and venerable Rabbi Irving Greenberg once taught us that our current pluralistic environment offered an opportunity for each stream of Judaism to expand its bandwidth: Orthodoxy could benefit from a dose of liberal tikkun olam and liberal Judaism could deepen its commitment to Talmud Torah (Torah learning) and shmirat mitzvot (mitzvah observance).The present struggle between Jewish universalists and particularists exemplified by the counterpoints that appeared in the Journal make Greenberg’s longstanding observation all the more poignant and timely.And I can vouch for the fact that, to paraphrase Paul Simon, the “words of the prophets (the urgent call to act justly) rarely appeared on the walls of the beit midrash.”Rabbi Chaim Seidler-FellerDirector Emeritus, UCLA HillelThink, Don’t TweetI completely agree with David Suissa’s column about thinking (“Thinking About Thinking,” July 20). But why are you “expected to contribute” to Twitter “all day long”? No doubt tweeting less would be good for all of us.Susan RosenthalSherman OaksICE and the DemocratsDavid Suissa is concerned by the self-destructive power of the two words uttered by the radical left — “abolish ICE” — and its potentially disastrous implications for the future of the Democratic Party (“Two Words Democrats May Regret,” July 27). However, there are many more two-word labels that portend bad omens: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young, Marxist anti-Israel representative in New York comes to mind, among many other factors.Richard FriedmanCulver CityIdentifying as JewsExcellent column by Karen Lehman Bloch (“We, the Israelites,” July 27). I could not agree more with her point of view. Racism has a strong social class-conflict background. I live in Argentina, a country that has very few African-looking citizens but very strong racist traditions. The “Blacks” are always the “others,” regardless of who looks darker. In the case of Jews, we used to be the Blacks of Eastern Europe but, all of a sudden, when we got to America, we magically became white.Was that because we became somehow “richer,” like they say in Brazil? Because we moved up in the social ladder? Magic works! My zayde (zichrono livracha) used to be called “Moishe der Paraguaye” when he came from Russia to Buenos Aires because he was very dark, and two generations later, I believe myself to be blond haired (I don’t have too much hair left) but my daughters agree that I have dark hair (I still don’t agree).We have a very deep trauma with skin color. We have been killed by the millions for not matching the race standards of old Europe (or for not matching the social class position they wanted us to belong to) and we desperately fight against our self-hate trying to show empathy or not when others are discriminated against as we used to be. I believe that rescuing the concept of an “Israelite Nation” will help us to heal some of these wounds in our soul.Daniel Libermanvia FacebookThank you, Karen, a wonderfully written column. May your assertions come to be seen as a blessing to all the family of Israel.Roslyn Andersonvia FacebookFacebook on Holocaust DenialOn the one hand, as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says that people should be allowed to “express themselves even if they get things wrong.” Meanwhile, he stresses that he does not want Facebook to serve as a platform for harming others (“Jewish Groups Slam Zuckerberg for Refusing to Take Down Holocaust Denial Content From Facebook,” posted online July 18).On the other hand, Anti-Defamation League National Director Jonathan Greenblatt believes that Facebook should take a harder line on Holocaust denial, labelling it “a willful, deliberate and longstanding deception tactic by anti-Semites.”Recognizing the power of the press, I would liken the Holocaust denials published in Facebook and other social networks as examples of shouting, “Fire!” in a crowded theater. No good can come of it. Most likely, it will harm the pursuit of peace in our world by inspiring deadly terrorism against Israel and Jews throughout the world.George Epsteinvia emailyour turnLetters should be no more than 200 words and must include a valid name and city. The Journal reserves the right to edit all letters. letters@jewishjournal.com.Don’t be shy. Send your letters to letters@jewishjournal.com8 | Jewish Journal JewishJournal.com August 3-9, 2018Cartoon by David MametAugust 3-9, 2018 JewishJournal.com Jewish Journal | 9“Don’t stanD on ceremony.” It was one of my mother’s favorite expressions. And a few of her friends gave her plenty of reasons to use it. Like when they didn’t visit her in the hospital after major surgery, or when they didn’t check in with her after my grandmother died. It would drive my dad insane. “How can you call her after she did this to you?” He must have said that about a thousand times. But it would never change my mother’s position. These were her close friends whom she loved and did everything for; if they didn’t reciprocate, she thought, there must be a good reason.Over the years, I’ve toggled back and forth between my parents’ positions. But for the most part, I’ve been blessed with such caring, giving friends that it really hasn’t been an issue. All of this changed with the advent of social media, most especially the intertwining of politics and friendship. Politics used to be a backdrop to relationships; it was there but no one except extremists would allow it to affect a friendship. Today, politics is one of the first things people ask about when meeting new people. But there’s another element at play — you can call it the Facebooking of friendships. We are liking, disliking, unfriending and blocking friends in real life with a touchscreen ease and frequency. One friend told me that an old friend recently unfriended her — in real life — because she didn’t like how she makes decisions. Another friend was booted from her social circle for not dealing with her son in the manner they deemed appropriate.Here in New York City, superficial friendships well predate social media, but the level has definitely been cranked up a few notches in recent years. One father told me that when he goes to his kids’ events, he does a quick social status scan and if there’s no one there “worth his time,” he leaves. A few women at my son’s school only talk to me when they like what I’m wearing. A couple I know only socializes with other couples who own second homes in the Hamptons.Is it any wonder that studies show we are getting lonelier and lonelier?I had my first encounter with the new face of friendship when I began to defend Israel publicly in the summer of 2014. Half of my friends — friends of 20-plus years — stopped talking to me. In the past six months, I’ve been dealing with one of those major, life-changing events. Many of those same friends were too busy to check in with a quick, “How’s it going?”I can hear my mom sweetly rationalizing and my dad yelling back at her. But I find myself moving to my dad’s position more and more. Why? Because those friends — those friends who I thought were friends for life — have been almost weirdly replaced by some of the most beautiful souls I have ever encountered. Friends who happen to be largely politically aligned, but on the areas that we’re not, we shrug. Who cares? Why does that matter?What matters is how we treat one another. And these new friends have been there for me every painful step of an exquisitely painful process. The truth is, the new face of friendship needs a spiritual facelift. My mother’s desire to forgive the unforgivable, to try to find the light in people who hurt her immeasurably, was kindhearted but ultimately misguided. Because if we are to truly value friendship, how can it be valued when it is not true? Unlike familial relationships, friendship is indeed conditional. But only fools make it conditional on politics or designer clothing. Friendship should be conditional on shared values. And when it is, friends can inspire us to be the best we can possibly be. In Judaism, not only are friends sometimes valued even more than relatives, it is what friends offer each other — loyalty, support, love, guidance — that is of most importance. “Judaism is not about the lonely soul,” Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes. “It is about the bonds that bind us to one another and to the Author of all. It is, in the highest sense, about friendship.” Like a soul needs beauty, of course, friendships need tending, nourishing. Every moment of which is well worth the work.“A faithful friend is the elixir of life,” wrote Ben Sira in his apocryphal book, “Ecclesiasticus.” That holds true today, with or without Facebook. nKaren Lehrman Bloch is an author and cultural critic living in New York..lIve from new yorkFacebooking Friendship» by Karen Lehrman BlochWe are liking, disliking, unfriending and blocking friends in real life with a touchscreen ease and frequency.Next >