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In this issue:

       Torah Portion of the Week Shoftim
God gives us so many good things. He wants us to enjoy the good of the world,
but He doesn't want us to waste it.  In this week's Torah portion we learn that
when an army goes to war and needs to cut down trees for the wood, they should
be careful only to cut down trees that don't bear fruit. It would be an unnecessary
waste of resources. We learn from here how mindful we should be of our personal
environment and careful not to waste the things with which God has blessed us.
Read it with your child

       The Kippah Quandary
        I want to make a confession: I wear a kippah. And not just in synagogue either.
All the time. Even in social situations. I didn't used to. In fact, for the
first 36 years of my life I only wore one in synagogue. And even that was a
rarity

*       Once again, something special:
Recipe of the week:
        Tomatoes and Potatoes

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*       Family Parsha Shoftim by Nesanel Safran
God gives us so many good things. He wants us to enjoy the good of the world,
but He doesn't want us to waste it.. We learn from here how mindful we should
be of our personal environment and careful not to waste the things with which
God has blessed us.
In our story a boy recognizes the value of not wasting and does something good
for the people around him.
"THE BICYCLE RE-CYCLE"
      It all started when Andy was playing in the parking lot behind his family's
condo. He noticed a kid he knew from the building walking his bicycle in the
direction of the big blue dumpster at the corner of the lot. Andy did a double
take as he watched the boy calmly lift the bike up over the mouth of the dumpster.
      "Hey, what are you doing?!" Andy cried out.
      The boy looked his way. "I'm just trashing this old bike," he said. "My
dad just got me a new 15-speeder for my birthday."
In this week's Torah portion we learn that when an army goes to war and needs
to cut down trees for the wood, they should be careful only to cut down trees
that don't bear fruit. It would be an unnecessary waste of resources
      The bike didn't look so old to Andy, and it certainly didn't look like
trash. "Is there anything wrong with the bike?" he asked.
      The boy, feeling a bit on the defensive answered, "Well ... er ... one
of the tires is flat, and the seat is loose. I just don't need it anymore,"
he added.
      Andy shook his head. "What a waste of a good bike," he thought. Since
he didn't need a new bicycle he was about to go back to his game when a thought
struck him. He remembered seeing in the paper that a local group was conducting
a 'toy drive' and asking people to donate used toys and games to needy children.
"Hey do you mind if I take the bike?" he asked.
      The boy shrugged. "Be my guest," he said. "As far as I'm concerned it's
trash."
      Andy wheeled the green three-speed bicycle to the side of his house. He
ran in to get a couple of tools that his dad always let him borrow. A few turns
of a wrench later, and the bike was as good as new!
      Meanwhile Andy's friend Rob had been curiously watching him at work. When
Andy told him his plans for the newly-repaired bike, Rob got very excited. "What
if I tell you where there are about 100 bikes we can fix up and give to needy
kids?" he said brightly.
      Andy looked up as his friend explained. "My dad owns, 'Herman's Second-Hand
City.' It's a big salvage company. He has all kinds of used and broken-down
stuff there. Just yesterday my dad pointed to this huge pile of broken bikes
he has and mentioned that he doesn't know what to do with them since nobody
wants to buy them. I'm sure if we tell him that we want to fix them and give
them to those kids he would be happy to let us."
      Andy loved the idea and when his friend called him back to tell him that
his dad agreed, they planned to meet early the next morning. With tools in hand,
the two friends approached the big tangled pile of bicycles and started to pull
them apart. Surprisingly a lot of them were okay and just needed some air in
the tires. Many others they were able to fix up with a few simple 'transplants.'
A tire from here, a handle-bar from there.
      When Mr. Herman saw how into it the boys were, he brought them a few cans
of spray paint that really made the repaired bikes shine like new. By the end
of the day, the boys had redeemed nearly 20 bikes from the trash!
      Mr. Herman called up the toy-drive group which was delighted to send out
a truck to pick the up the bikes. The local newspaper even sent a reporter to
write up a story about it.
      The next day Andy felt really good when he saw the picture of him and
Rob in front of the bikes under the headline: YOUNG HEROES TURN BROKEN BICYCLES
INTO RE-CYCLES." He realized how much good he had prevented from going to waste.
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       The Kippah Quandary by Ross HIrschmann
http://aish.com/societyWork/work/The_Kippah_Quandary.asp
I want to make a confession: I wear a kippah. And not just in synagogue either.
All the time. Even in social situations. I didn't used to. In fact, for the
first 36 years of my life I only wore one in synagogue. And even that was a
rarity.
The phenomenon of the switch from "no kippah" to "everyday kippah" is most indelibly
recorded by the reactions you get from friends, family and co-workers. These
reactions range from "Why are you wearing that? Is it some kind of Jewish holiday
again?" to "He's such a fanatic!" to "He wears it to hide his bald spot!" (I
only wish I had thought of that when my bald spot first appeared 15 years ago!)
But my favorite and most subtle reaction came from a colleague whose eyes would
dart back and forth between my kippah and me about 50 times during a 5-minute
conversation.
A landmark dilemma of newfound "kippahedness" comes when confronting your first
new work situation wearing the "traditional Hebraic skullcap," as one co-worker
deemed it. This involves meeting with someone outside your current company and
thus, outside of the group who saw your slow transition from secular guy to
religious guy, and who asked all the questions about your new practices and
actually seemed interested in the answers. Now you are venturing beyond the
safe zone, out into the final frontier.
For me, this "first contact" came while interviewing for a new job. What made
it even more difficult was that it was a job I actually wanted! In other words,
there was a lot at stake professionally. So, now I had to make a choice. One
does not have to wear a kippah to work if it will prejudice his position in
a negative way. So, I had an "out" if I wanted one. But should I take the out?
To kippah or not to kippah? That was the question.
Whenever I have these deep, moral questions, I always consult my wife. She's
not just smarter and cuter than I am, she's a whole lot wiser. As usual, she
had a brilliantly insightful response. "Well," she said, "if you're afraid that
your new prospective boss may not like Jews or religious people in general,
it's better to find out in the interview stage, rather than after you're working
for them."
And with that, the decision was made. I would kippah.
TESTING THE FIELD
I arrived at the interview a few minutes early and went to the men's room to
check my wardrobe. I looked pretty much the same as I had in all my other job
interviews. Except for the circular addition atop my head. My kippah was clean
and tasteful (I wouldn't be caught in public without a tasteful kippah!), but
it was also a statement. A BIG statement. So standing there in the restroom,
I hesitated for a moment and thought, "You can could still take it off."
But then I realized that not wearing my kippah would be an even bigger statement.
A statement about denial of who I am. A Jew. A religious Jew. So for me, going
in without a kippah would be a statement that I am less-than-fully committed
to those ideas around which I base my life. So, in I went -- tasteful kippah
and all.
The man who greeted me smiled and shook my hand. No eyes darting from my kippah
to me, no jaw hanging down to the ground like in the cartoons. Just a nice "hello."
Early in the interview, he asked me, "What are you passionate about?"
"In business or in life in general?" I asked.
"Life in general," he replied.
I thought for a split second. Should I be really honest? Should I tell him what
truly animates and motivates me in life? Or should I just give him the stock
corporate answer that "a job well done and sacrifice for the company is what
makes me tick"?
I opted for the former. I figured what the heck, he's already seen the kippah.
Might as well be honest. Just go for it.
"My passions are God, family, community, and work. In that order."
I tried to soften the blow. "Probably not what a manager wants to hear! But
don't misunderstand me. I work hard and take my job seriously. But it's a matter
of priorities."
I looked for his response; any sign of shock or noticeable disappointment. I
saw none. He simply smiled and continued the interview.
We really clicked and the rest of the interview went great. But I couldn't help
wondering what he thought of my answer to that first question. At the end of
the interview, he asked me if I had any questions for him.
"Just one," I said. "What are you passionate about in life?"
(When I later told my friends that I asked him that, they were as shocked as
if I had asked him whether he wore boxers or briefs.)
"Well," he said smiling. "It's funny. As I listened to you answering that question,
I felt as if I was hearing myself answer it."
I got the job shortly thereafter.
TAKING A STAND
In the end, going to the interview with a kippah and answering the questions
in an honest-but-not-politically-correct way, was not a heroic act. My in-laws
who survived the Nazi concentration camps, my father who flew over 50 combat
missions during World War Two -- they are the true heroes.
Still, what I did made a bold statement. I took a stand for something I believe
in. It became clear to me that if I am only a religious Jew in private, then
what, if anything, am I really? If I never take a stand on anything then I really
stand for nothing. Indeed, maybe because it was evident by my kippah and my
words that I did stand for something that I stood out from the other candidates
and got the job.       Recipe of the week:
        Tomatoes and Potatoes  Vegetarian/Parev
You will love this simple vegetarian recipe. It can be served with rice, pasta,
and semolina or eaten with bread.

Ingredients:
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 large potatoes, diced
8 - 10 fresh tomatoes, pureed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of water

Preparation:
Brown the onions and garlic in the oil, then add the tomato puree and water.
Bring to the boil, then add the potatoes. Season to taste. You can adjust the
thickness of the sauce as to how much water you put in.
The cooking time will vary depending on how large your pot is. It is ready to
serve when the potatoes are soft.

Enjoy!

        PLEASE SEND US YOUR FAVORITE RECIPES, SO WE CAN SHARE THEM WITH OTHERS!
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Have a Good Shabbos,

Isroel Serg Akerman
Mariana Fradman

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