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Sunday evening, August 5    

                                                                        Vol. 1, Number 97
 

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 Technion scientist develops theoretical time machine:

 it would help travelers from future come to our time

HAIFA (Press Release)—Technion researchers have developed a theoretical model of a time machine that, in the distant future, could possibly enable future generations to travel into the past. An article on this was published last week in the scientific journal Physical Review.

“In order to travel back in time, the spacetime structure must be engineered appropriately,” explains Prof. Amos Ori of the Technion’s Faculty of Physics. “This is what Einstein’s theory of general relativity deals with. It says that spacetime can be flat. That is – it has a trivial, simple structure. But it can also be curved with various configurations. According to the theory of relativity, the essence of gravitational fields is in the curving of spacetime. The theory of relativity also defines how space is curved and how this curvature develops over time.”

     San Diego Jewish World
             August 5, 2007

  (click on headline below to jump to the story)

Israel and Middle East
Technion scientist develops theoretical time machine:
 it would help travelers from future come to our time


IDF Class, including women, begins Artillery Corps training

European Socialists to be briefed on Middle East

Hebrew University reaches agreement to market
drug for epilepsy, other neurological disorders


Tel Aviv University announces device to improve gas mileage on trucks traveling at highway speeds

Genes to 'broadcast' their 'news' via MRI readings

Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind is now a
tzedakah project for bar and bat mitzvah students


Features
News sleuths

Sports

Lightning batters fan 11 times, yet still win 3-2

Arts & Entertainment
The disciplines of Torah.... and of the ballet

Margulies' Sight Unseen should not be left unseen
 

The main question is – if according to the principles of curvature development in the theory of relativity - can a time machine be created? In other words – can we cause spacetime to curve in such a way as to enable travel back in time? Such a journey requires a significant curvature of spacetime, in a very special form.

Traveling back in time is actually closing time-like curves so we can go back to an event at which we were present in the past. In flat space, it is not possible to close curves and go back in time. In order for closed time-like curves to exist, there has to be a curvature of a specific form on spacetime.

The question Prof. Ori is investigating is – do the laws of gravity permit the development of spacetime with the required curvature (closed time-like curves)? In the past, scientists raised a number of objections to this possibility. Now, Prof. Ori is proposing a theoretical model for spacetime that could develop into a time machine.

 

 


 

 
The model overcomes some of the questions, which, until now, scientists have not succeeded in solving. One of the difficult claims against a time machine was that, in order to create a time machine, it would be necessary for it to contain material with negative density. And since we do not have such material – and it is also not clear if the laws of nature enable the existence of such material in the quantities required - it is not possible to build a time machine. Now, Prof. Ori comes along and proposes a theoretical model that does not require material with negative density. The model that he proposes is, essentially, a vacuum space that contains a region field with standard positive density material.

 “The machine is spacetime itself,” he explains. “Today, if we were to create a time machine – an area with a warp like this in space that would enable time lines to close on themselves – it might enable future generations to return to visit our time. We, apparently, cannot return to previous ages because our predecessors did not create this infrastructure for us.”

Prof. Ori emphasizes that we still do not have the technology to control gravitational fields at will, despite the fact that the theoretical principles of how to do this exist. “The model that we developed at the Technion is a significant step but there still remains a number of non-trivial open questions,” he stresses.

“It may be that some of these questions also will not be solved in the future. This is still not clear.” As an example, he brings up the problem of instability according to which in spacetime with a time machine there could be disturbances with increasing strength so that spacetime would be disrupted to such an extent that it would cancel out the time machine. Prof. Ori, one of the few scientists in the world investigating this issue, hopes that continued research will present a clearer picture with respect to these questions.

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IDF Class, including women, begins Artillery Corps training

  By Dor Blech

SHIVTA, Israel (Press Release)—Hundreds of new soldiers will arrive at the Artillery Corps School here  in order to begin their training as part of the firepower of the IDF today.

The Combat Soldier’s training course takes place over approximately a year, in which the soldiers of the corps are split up into many different specializations. At the end of the course, the soldiers are designated for the battalions of the corps, according to the specialization training which they had completed. The Artillery Corps operated day and night during the Second Lebanon War, and received much accolades.

The girls of the corps serve either as instructors in the Moran special artillery unit, or as combat soldiers in the ‘Mantez’ Battalion which took a significant part in last summer’s war.

“It does not bother me that I will be required to serve for three years,” says Luba as she tries on military boots for the first time. “I was looking for a meaningful military service, and as a combat soldier I will contribute that much more, for a longer period of time.”

Iris, parts from her daughter Sarit, as she boards the bus which will take her to the enlistment chain. “I am very proud of her,” she says. “She is very special, she was absolutely certain that she would serve in a significant position which would contribute as much as possible, and where she could fulfill her values.

“She is my eldest daughter. … Her father and I support her as much as possible. She was a scout and made a contribution, and in the military she is looking to contribute as much as possible as well. It is strange to me, from the moment she was born, until now, I never thought about the fact that she would enlist.”

The preceding story was provided by the Israel Defense Force
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European Socialists to be briefed on Middle East

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni will meet tomorrow (Monday, August 6) with the co-chairmen of the Middle East Committee of the Socialist International, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Secretary of the Italian Democratic Party of the Left, Piero Fassino. 

The meeting will focus on regional developments, on the political process and on the Norwegian initiative to re-establish the contributory forum to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC).

The visit is to take place within the framework of an updating tour, during which they will meet with President Shimon Peres, Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Labor Party Ehud Barak and with Labor and Meretz Party Knesset members.

The preceding story was provided by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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BIOSCIENTISTS—Prof. Meir Bialer (left) and Prof. Boris Yagen in their lab
Photo: Sasson Tiram

Hebrew University reaches agreement to market
drug for epilepsy, other neurological disorders


JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has entered into a worldwide licensing agreement with Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. for the development and commercialization of valnoctamide stereoisomers. Valnoctamide and its individual stereoisomers have been shown to be active in a number of preclinical models and have the potential to treat epilepsy, bipolar disease and neuropathic pain.

A stereoisomer is a molecule containing the same number and kind of atomic groupings as another but having a different spatial arrangement, thus exhibiting different properties.

The parent compound is a uniform combination of four valnoctamide
stereoisomers that has been marketed as an anxiolytic in several European countries.

While from the same chemical class as valproate (e.g. Depakote ® and Depakene®), a leading antiepileptic drug (AED) currently approved for use in the treatment of epilepsy, migraine prophylaxis and bipolar disease, this version of valnoctamide has not been associated in preclinical studies completed to date with the safety concerns (i.e. teratogenicity, and hepatotoxicity) of valproate and its related analogues.

The clinical development of one of the stereoisomers of valnoctamide is intended to offer patients suffering from neurological and psychiatric disorders, a safer and
potentially more efficacious treatment option. Neurocrine intends to initiate clinical
studies after submission of an investigational new drug (IND) application in the first half of 2008.

“This stereoisomer of valnoctamide may provide the opportunity to address many of the current unmet medical needs in the area of neurology and psychiatry by offering patients and their physicians a unique new product profile. We look forward to initiating a clinical development program and plan to file our IND in the first half of 2008,” said Christopher F. O’Brien M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer of Neurocrine.

“Due to its side effects, the use of valproate is restricted in women of child bearing age and in children. The development of valnoctamide stereoisomers may provide more efficacious and safer CNS drugs and a suitable answer for these clinical needs across all patient types,” said Meir Bialer, David H. Eisenberg Professor of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Bialer, together with Prof. Boris Yagen of the Hebrew University, have guided the discovery of the chemical and biological properties of valnoctamide and its individual stereoisomers. Bialer is a leader in the discovery of antiepileptic agents and has authored over 190 publications in the area of pharmacokinetics, antiepileptics and CNS drugs.

“We are delighted with this first-ever cooperative agreement with Neocrine,” said Nava Swersky-Sofer, president and CEO of Yissum. “We congratulate Professors Bialer and Yagen on the fruits of their research and we are proud of the confidence shown by Neurocrine in the valnoctamide stereoisomers.”

According to IMS Health, sales of valproate derived branded and generic products
exceeded $1.5 billion in the U.S. alone for 2006. With indications possible in therapeutic categories ranging from neurology (epilepsy, migraine pain, and neuropathic pain) to psychiatry (bipolar disorder), commercialization of a stereoisomer of valnoctamide provides the opportunity to access markets accounting for more than $15 billion in drug sales (Med Ad News, 2006) and in excess of 50 million patients (Mattson Jack Group, 2007) on a worldwide basis.

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. is a product-based biopharmaceutical company focused on neurological and endocrine diseases and disorders. The product candidates address some of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world, including insomnia, anxiety,
depression, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, pain and diabetes.
 

The preceding story was provided by Hebrew University

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Adventures in Cruising—Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas


Table for Seven—The Ford family dines together aboard the Monarch of the Seas: Left from front: Ashlee, Craig, Lisa, Taylor. Right from front: Tyler, Caren, Kevin.


Thanks to the Ford family of Agoura, California, for sharing their photos of their family reunion weekend cruise



 


Tel Aviv University announces device to improve gas mileage on trucks traveling at highway speeds

TEL AVIV (Press Release) American investors and entrepreneurs are paying close attention to the results of research conducted at the TAU Fleishman Faculty of Engineering on improving the aerodynamics of heavy trucks, which could potentially save the world transportation industry hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel and reduce the production of "green house" gases. The potential benefits are a result of the huge impact (about 65%) the air flow resistance has on the fuel consumption of large vehicles driving at highway speeds for long distances. 

Tel-Aviv University (TAU) has developed an aerodynamic "drag" (resistance) reduction device resulting in decreased fuel consumption and environmentally important reduction in the burning of fossil fuels. The device that can be fitted as an add-on to the back side of a truck or its trailer is designed to reduce fuel by as much as 10%. Naturally, this reduction in the use of fossil fuels will have a significant economical, environmental and possibly political impact.

Prof. Avraham Seifert and his co-researchers from TAU’s Meadow aerodynamics laboratory at the Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering are currently testing a small actuator which, when scaled up, can be attached to the periphery of the rear-end of a truck or its trailer. By the combined action of suction and pulsed blowing of airflow, the device reduces drag in a controlled manner, due to increased pressure on the back of the truck. At an expected end-user cost of a couple thousand dollars per unit, the device is expected to return the investment relatively quickly, about a year or two, for trucks riding some 50,000 miles for long distances on highways per year.

Resulting from several focused research projects, “Prof. Seifert’s device not only saves energy, but can extend the range and improve the performance of aircraft and other fluid related systems as well,” says Prof. Ehud Heyman, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at TAU

"This research is an example of unique innovation and focused effort spent by a group of our most dedicated scientists and engineers at a very difficult time to Israeli universities in general and Mechanical engineering in particular,” says Prof. Lev Shemer, the head of the school of Mechanical Engineering at TAU, who witnessed the first operation of the actuator developed by Prof. Seifert and Mr. Shlomo Paster in October 2003.

The device was presented on May 16, at the annual showcase in Fort Worth, Texas. The audience included entrepreneurs, investors and Fortune 500 companies. Each year the showcase offers an unparalleled forum that is both deal-focused and unbiased with regard to geography, funding source or originating research institution. Participating technologies are selected by - and presented to - over 100 seasoned venture investors and licensing scouts representing a variety of industries, each supported by private funding, federal R&D grants or both.

“We were approached by a group of American angel investors at the conference and we have subsequently met with them in Israel,” says Larry Loev, Director, Business Development for Engineering and Physical Science Ramot at Tel Aviv University Ltd. “We are at the beginning of the negotiation stage and if all goes according to plan, a prototype could be ready for road tests by as early as next year.”

 The preceding story was provided by Tel Aviv University

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Genes to 'broadcast' their 'news' via MRI readings

REHOVOT, Israel (Press Release)—To help molecular biologists in the difficult task of keeping abreast of current events in the world of cells and organisms, they employ reporter genes to 'broadcast' specific happenings. For example, if a scientist is interested in the whereabouts and activities of a certain gene, the reporter 'follows' it, and when this gene is activated in any way, the reporter gene produces an easily detectable protein, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP). The scientists are then able to 'read' this 'report' and learn about the specific events that are occurring and in what regions.

The light given off by these proteins is scattered in the tissue, however, reducing the resolution of many images. An alternative to fluorescent proteins is reporters that would be detectable via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). But for most of the candidate reporters proposed so far, a second material needs to be administered in addition to the reporter gene to allow the MRI to detect its signals. Unfortunately, processes such as fetal development and those that take place within the central nervous system present barriers to these additional substances.

Prof. Michal Neeman and Dr. Batya Cohen of the Weizmann Institute’s Biological Regulation Department, along with Ph.D. students Keren Ziv and Vicki Plaks and colleagues, have now developed genetically modified mice that carry  a promising candidate reporter named ferritin, which could circumvent these problems. Ferritin works by sequestering iron from cells. When it is overexpressed, iron uptake increases, causing signal changes in the surrounding environment that can be detected by MRI, without the need to administer an additional substance.

As recently described in the journal Nature Medicine, ferritin has so far successfully broadcast live reports via MRI detection from the liver, endothelial cells and even during fetal development in pregnant mice, without the need for additional substances.   

Prof. Michal Neeman’s research is supported by the Clore Center for Biological Physics. Prof. Neeman is the incumbent of the Helen and Morris Mauerberger Chair in Biological Sciences.

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to 2,600 scientists, students, technicians and supporting staff. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment.

The preceding story was provided by the Weizmann Institute of Science

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Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind is now a
tzedakah project for bar and bat mitzvah students

BEIT OVED, Israel (Press Release)—As Bar and Bat Mitzvah students across North America prepare for one of the most momentous occasions in their Jewish lives, they are encouraged to take on a Jewish community service project to supplement their studies. Such projects have come to be known as Mitzvah or Tzedakah Projects. One cause that’s been gaining attention and popularity among students is a guide dog sponsorship program with The Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind (IGDCB) here.


Guide dog in training

Through this rewarding experience, students learn first-hand about helping visually impaired Israelis gain independence, mobility and freedom through guide dog partnership.  It’s typically a two-year program, during which time the student raises $500 to go towards food and care for the future guide dog. The money is typically raised through baby sitting, working odd jobs, doing chores around the house and asking relatives for donations.  If in the end they haven’t reached their goal, they may choose to apply a portion of their gifts to reach the goal. In the process, the students develop a meaningful tie with Israel.

Guide dogs are becoming a more familiar sight in cities and towns throughout Israel thanks to the efforts of The Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind. The dogs move alertly through sidewalk traffic, guide their owners to work, to the bank, to the market—even for a walk on the beach. 

They squeeze into revolving doors without complaint, walk around obstacles at street corners and are virtually invisible as they lay beneath restaurant tables, waiting for their next command.  They even warn their human partners about cutout curbs that are so helpful for wheelchairs but so lethal for the blind, who count on curbs as street alarms.

The guide dog process begins with a new litter of puppies who stay with their mother for two months and are then placed in the homes of puppy-raising families where they learn socialization and other skills to help assure that they will be acceptable for guide dog training. The goal of these foster families is to lavish love and teach the puppies how to learn.  They romp and play and sleep by the bed.  They learn right from left and right from wrong.  No begging at the table, no sleeping on couches and no chasing cats. These dogs must learn discipline, but also lead happy, active lives. It all looks easy, but getting there takes a lot of work and training.  It involves hundreds of miles of walking, a lot of perseverance, a ton of patience, a dose of fear and even a few tears, but the puppy-raisers say it’s all worth it.

When guide dog owner Moti Barzilai was asked how his dog changed his life, he commented that his Chocolate Lab guide dog, Charlie, did more than change his life, “he revolutionized it.” Moti travels by bus from Sefad to the guide dog center in Beit Oved, making one change at the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv. Of the three methods of mobility—a human guide, a long cane and a guide dog—guide dog users like Moti agree: guide dogs enable them to achieve a whole new level of empowerment.

As Puppy Sponsors, students learn about the vital relationship between a guide dog and a blind Israeli. Everything from companionship to the new-found active and independent lifestyle made possible through the pairing. Then, at the end of their Bar and Bat Mitzvah studies, the student sponsors share their project experiences with their congregation, explaining how they have grown through this process and what they have learned about assisting the Jewish community. It’s quite a rewarding and emotional project for all involved, as well as a wonderful introduction for these young adults to feel a part of the Jewish community both at home and in the State of Israel.

The Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind is in Beit Oved, just a twenty-minute drive south of Tel Aviv near Rehovot.  For further information about this Mitzvah Project, call 267-927-0205, E-mail igdcb@nni.com, visit their website: www.israelguidedog.org or write to the American branch of Israel Guide Dog Center for the Blind, 732 S. Settlers Circle, Warrington, PA 18976.

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 News Sleuths:

Watching the media gathering
and reporting the news
of Jewish interest

(Editor's Note: Back from the Middle East,  U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was a guest interviewee on Sunday morning television news shows. The State Department provided transcripts of her interviews, and we here excerpt those questions and answers relating to the proposed Saudi arms deal):

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace:
 

QUESTION: The President has just announced a $20 billion arms sale of sophisticated weapons to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. But according to the New York Times, U.S. officials feel the Saudis have worked against the Iraqi Government, are currently funding Sunni insurgent groups, and that the majority of suicide bombers in Iraq are actually Saudi. Secretary Rice, given what our own UN Ambassador calls the "destabilizing policies" on the part of Saudi Arabia, why would we be selling them more sophisticated weapons?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, let's remember that the United States has had interests in security cooperation in this region for decades; there is nothing new in this. And certainly, we want our allies and strategic partners in the region to be well defended. It would make no sense to leave Saudi Arabia or the other Gulf states undefended -- incapable of defending themselves -- or turning to others who might be less reliable in providing for their defense at a time when the security challenges in that region are increasing.

Now as to political cooperation with Saudi Arabia, we have -- I've just been in Saudi Arabia, talking with the Saudis and with the Gulf states, Egypt and Jordan, about all of our obligations to a Iraq that is unified. I think these are states that understand that an Iraq that is unified is in their interest; indeed, it's in their vital interest. And I also would note that the Saudi Government announced that it's going to put an embassy in Baghdad; something that we have hoped they would do for quite some time. They're working to forgive the debt of Iraq and they're working with these local tribes -- some of whom have relatives across the Saudi border -- to try and reinforce the need for Sunnis to be fully integrated in and fully active in the policies of Iraq.

And so I simply think that we have good cooperation. We want all of the states, all of the neighbors to do more. But it makes no sense to leave our longtime strategic allies undefended in a region in which Iranian and other challenges are growing.

CBS Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer:
 

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, well, let's shift then to Iraq. You are just back from the region out there, trying to find a way to encourage Iraq's neighbors to take more of a stance and lend more support to the United States' efforts to somehow find some in to what is going on there. One of the things you did is propose an enormous arms sale to the Saudi -- to the Saudis.

Back home, people in the Congress -- they created something of an uproar. Some hundred or so members of Congress have now signed a letter asking you not to do this. They're warning it could set off some sort of an arms race in the Middle East. Why did you do this, and why is this a good thing?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, this effort to have security cooperation and to help provide for the defense of our allies goes back decades. The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states -- and by the way, it's not just Saudi Arabia, it's several of the Gulf states -- does go back decades, and it's because America has important interests in the region that need to be defended. And it doesn't make sense that our friends and allies would be undefended, or that they would have to rely on somebody else for the supply of goods for their defense at a time of growing challenge in this region.

I don't think anybody doubts that Iran constitutes a major challenge, security challenge, to our friends, our allies and therefore to our interests in the Gulf region. And we will be briefing the Congress. We will work with the Congress. We believe we've constructed these security cooperation packages with the Gulf states; with Israel, by the way, where we are now going to start a new ten-year program; with Egypt, where we will start a new ten-year program.

But the United States has had security interests in this region for decades. And we need to be able to be a reliable security partner for our friends.

QUESTION: Do you believe that Saudi Arabia is doing all it can to block militants from crossing the border into Iraq, because, as we hear it, most of the foreign fighters who are coming into Iraq are coming across the Saudi border.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, we believe that the most unguarded situation is really with Syria, where people are not just crawling across the border, they're coming in through the Damascus airport. That could be cut off if the Syrians wish to do it. One of the reasons they're coming in through the Damascus airport is that the Saudis are working on the border to try and cut off the flow of foreign fighters. It's a difficult border to defend.

One of the issues that the Saudis raised with me is: better security cooperation between the United States -- or the multinational forces -- Iraq and Saudi Arabia to try and really deal with that border. The Saudis also noted, while I was there, that they're going to put an embassy in Baghdad. We've been asking for that from Arab states for some time; I think that's a step forward. And the Saudis have been active in engaging Sunni tribes -- many of whom have ties of kinship across the borders between Iraq and its neighbors -- to really be active in the political life of the country.

And so yes, there is more that all of Iraq's neighbors can do. And that's why we had the Sharm neighbors conference; is to emphasize that. But we're working with those neighbors, and all of them understand that a stable Iraq is going to be in their interests and an unstable one is going to threaten their interests.

The preceding transcripts were provided by the U.S. State Department

                                                                        


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               Sports

                     
        News from the    
  Israel Baseball League


Lightning batters fan 11 times, yet still win 3-2

By Nathaniel Edelstein


KIBBUTZ GEZER, Israel (Press Release)— Maximo Nelson fanned 11 batters in seven innings of work, but it wasn't enough to beat the Tel Aviv Lightning as the Modi'in Miracle lost 3-2 on Sunday night.

The three runs came on solo homers from shortstop Raul Franco, third baseman Nate Fish, and first baseman Stuart Brito, who had two hits on the game.  Australian Adam Crabb pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed just one earned run before giving way to New York native Mike Etkin, who picked up the win.

Miracle first baseman Aaron Levin went 4-for-4 as Modi'in lost its third consecutive game and Tel Aviv won for the fourth straight time.

Meanwhile at the Sportek in Tel Aviv the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox beat the Netanya Tigers 7-4.  The Blue Sox only had three hits, but scored five runs in the first inning on a combination of walks, hit batsmen, errors, a passed ball, and a wild pitch.  Netanya's Colombian pitcher Rafael Rojano left after just one inning before Israeli Shlomo Lipetz
took over and threw six innings, giving up no runs on one hit while striking out 11 and walking one.

But righty Jason Benson kept Bet Shemesh in it with a complete game, allowing two earned runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking none.  Australian rightfielder Jason Rees slugged his league-leading 15th homerun of the season.

At the Baptist Village the last-place Petach Tikva Pioneers lost their seventh straight game, going down at the hands of the Ra'anana Express in a 16-1 laugher called due to darkness after five innings.

Express shortstop Brendan Rubenstein went 4-for-5 with five RBI and three runs scored and first baseman Scott Feller went 3-for-3 with two RBI.  All but two Ra'anana starting position players had at least one hit.

Express right-hander Nathan Mittag pitched all five innings and allowed only one run on three hits, striking out three batters and walking two.  The win is the third in a row for manager Shaun Smith's club.

Before Monday's games the Modi'in Miracle will tour the city they represent with Modi'in Deputy Mayor Alex Weinreb.  The tour will begin at 10:30 am and conclude at noon when the Miracle will return to City Hall to meet with fans and give away souvenirs and tickets.  Manager Art Shamsky also will be speaking with fans and children aboutbaseball fundamentals to help young Israelis become future IBL stars.

On Tuesday, August 7 at 11:30 am to 1:30 pm players from the Netanya Tigers will be visiting the Hadarim Mall in Netanya.  Netanyaplayers who hail from Israel, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Australia and Japan will have a "meet and greet" with fans.  Players will be handing out free tickets to games and there will also be fun activities with prizes for fans.  Also, in attendance will be Netanya Manager and Israel's own Ami Baran.

Summaries:
                       1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Tel Aviv          0   1   1   1   0   0   0   3    7    2
Modi'in            0   2   0   0   0   0   0   2    9    0
W: Mike Etkin (3-0); L: Maximo Nelson (5-2); HR: Nate Fish (2), Raul
Franco (4), Stewart Perez Brito (3)

                         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   R   H   E
Bet Shemesh     5   2   0   0   0   0   0   7    3    3
Netanya             0   0   0   2   0   1   1   4    7    1
W: Jason Benson (5-1); L: Rafael Rojano (2-3); HR: Jason Rees (15),
Ryan Forsythe (1)

                        1   2   3   4   5   R   H   E
Petach Tikva     0   1   0   0   0    1    3   2
Tel Aviv           2   4   5   4   1   16  16  1
W: Nathan Mittag (2-2); L: Ari Alexenberg (0-5); HR: None.

Standings:
Team                               W    L     %     GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox    23    8    .742     –
Tel Aviv Lightning          21    9    .700   1.5
Modi'in Miracle               18   13   .581   5.0
Ra'anana Express             13   18   .419   10.0
Netanya Tigers                 11   18   .379   11.0
Petach Tikva Pioneers       5    25   .167  17.5

Today at 4:30 pm at the Sportek in Tel Aviv the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox
and the Netanya Tigers play the last half-inning of the July 1st protested game before playing their regularly scheduled game at 5pm.  Also at 5 pm the Modi'in Miracle host the Ra'anana Express at Kibbutz Gezer and at 7 pm the Tel Aviv Lightning and the PetachTikva Pioneers play at Yarkon Field at the Baptist Village.

The preceding story was provided by the Israel Baseball League

 

                            

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Arts & Entertainment

Dance~The Jewish C~o~n~n~e~c~t~i~o~n
                                   by Sheila Orysiek

  The disciplines of Torah.... and of the ballet

(Editor's Note: We have combined into a single magazine-length article a three-part story by Sheila Orysiek in which, in the first part, she compares the discipline of Torah study with that of ballet; in the second part, she observes and reports upon the teaching style of Susan Jaffe, a Jewish Prima Ballerina who for 20 years was a Principal Dancer for the American Ballet Theatre {ABT};  and in the final part, she interviews Jaffe about her new role and techniques as a teacher.)
 

SAN DIEGO—The dedication of scholars of the Torah is legendary; starting at an early age – it never ends.  In a cheder, properly dressed, they greet the teacher with utter respect, begin with a blessing and prepare for a long day of study.  Across the world (Occident, Orient and in between) ballet students gather in studios, properly dressed, greet the teacher with a reverence (bow/curtsy) and begin their day with the basics from which even the most glorious dancer never graduates.  After the applause of the previous night, before the flowers have begun to wilt, the ballet dancer is back in class the next morning to be corrected; a humbling experience on a daily basis. 

Torah is not learned alone – it is studied in a group setting; so, too, the classical dance.  It cannot be self-taught – the body misinforms the mind, misleading it and ultimately undermining it.  Private lessons are not sufficient; the dancer must learn to relate to others in space.  The Torah directs us how to relate within a community – there is no need for a civil structure when one lives alone.  Just as Torah is transmitted from teacher to student – correcting pronunciation, presenting concepts, the teacher shaping and sharpening the mental capacity of the student; a ballet teacher shapes a foot, turns a hand, tilts a head and teaches the student to discipline both mind and body.

The Torah student is aware of the long line of historical scholarship, the commentaries inform his thought.  The ballet dancer is the product of centuries of study and structure; the achievements of those who came before influencing how the dance is taught and presented.

Hebrew binds together a people dispersed to virtually every corner of the earth speaking hundreds of different languages.  Hebrew has always been the binding thread, giving entry to the history the people carried on their backs as well as a living language today. Enter a synagogue in an uncharted village and the worshipper at Shabbat services may sing a different tune, but will pray essentially the same words. The ballet was born in Italy, codified in France, thus French is the language through which dancers communicate with one another no matter where they go to study or perform. An Israeli ballet dancer taking class in Ulan Bator (yes, there is ballet in Mongolia) will understand what is being taught.

After the Torah student finishes reading Deuteronomy he (or she) returns again to Genesis.  Every day at the barre the ballet dancer starts once again with pliés and tendus. There is a prescribed order - a unifying structure.  Judaism has Ten Commandments – ballet has Five Positions.  Judaism has 613 Mitzvot – ballet has almost that many variations of pas de bourrée (a series of three small steps).

Sometimes the Torah Student finds it advantageous to study with another teacher or a visiting scholar will join the group.  Recognizing the benefit of this concept, a serious ballet school will often invite in another – or several – guest teachers to come to teach a “summer intensive.”

City Ballet of San Diego, founded and directed by Stephen and Elizabeth Wistrich, has invited in three such renowned guest teachers:

Susan Jaffe: retired Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre; David Howard, internationally recognized ballet teacher; Evelyn Cisneros:  retired Principal Dancer, San Francisco Ballet.
 

My Observations of the Class  

Retired ABT Prima Ballerina Susan Jaffe began her weeklong teacher-in-residence with City Ballet of San Diego on July 30.  The two 90 minute morning classes were divided between an upper and lower level each with 20-30 students which is more than normal for ballet class but is not unusual for a summer intensive.  Every student was neatly attired in pink tights, black leotards, tidily confined hair, a few very short black skirts; no leg warmers or other distracting bits and pieces so beloved by ballet dancers. Respectful and ready to work the students took their places at the barre.  Several had traveled across the country for this series of classes; name tags were pinned to chests so the teacher could readily communicate on a personal basis.


Susan Jaffe

I was immediately struck by Susan Jaffe’s positive manner: corrections, whether for an individual or group, were given as “what can be improved” rather than emphasizing “what’s wrong.”  Teaching negatively is a fairly common failure among teachers.  It is especially important to set a positive tone when the guest teacher is such a famous ballerina - and this she did. 

Although Jaffe wore plain practice clothes and her beautiful feet were shod in clogs – one could still feel her presence as it once filled the world’s finest theaters.  She actively walked around the class, adjusting a student’s foot (uninhibited to get down on the floor to do so), tucking in an abdomen, tilting a head.  No area of the class escaped her attention. 

She stressed “design and beauty over height” (of leg in extension) – something that needs constant emphasis as young dancers often mistake sport for art. She concentrated on the necessity of engaging the muscles at the back of the leg, the requirement for square pelvis/hip placement and alignment of the torso as it reaches up from the hip.  Active use of the muscle group under the derriére which supports and stabilizes the structure above was her constant concern:  “There must be a strong rod of steel going up through the body, ” she said. When one student continued to practice after the music had stopped, Jaffe took advantage of the student’s efforts and walked over to give her additional help.  A good teacher does that.

In the centre milieu (sans barre) she gave an adage exercise (slow work involving large extension of the leg) before a tendu exercise (stretch of the foot to a pointe on the floor.  These two exercises are often given in reverse order – the tendu exercise first as a warm up to the larger shapes in adage.  She did the same thing after the students put on their pointe shoes.  A series of petit sauté (small jumps) of echappés (“escapes” – feet flashing out to the side on pointe) and relevés (springs onto pointe) came before the tendu exercise – which is, again, often reversed.  Although I’ve seen those two exercises reversed before, it’s always puzzled me why that should be so.  One wouldn’t give a jump or adage at the barre before a tendu – so why reverse it in the centre?

Jaffe emphasized that the preparation for pirouette begins long before the pirouette actually occurs – that the plié is not a time to “rest” but to “prepare.”  The arms in pirouette need to be supported, she told them, at navel height – which makes everything closer to the center of gravity, more aerodynamic and therefore the arms are a helpful (rather than a hurtful) component to the execution of the pirouette.

The centre enchainement (series of steps) danced on the diagonal (upstage corner to downstage corner) integrated pirouettes both en dedans (inward – toward the supporting leg) and en dehors (outward – away from the supporting leg) as well as balancés (“rocking” step) and waltz turns gave the students ample opportunity to “dance” the exercise – which is what Jaffe asked them to do.  There is a difference between “doing” an exercise and “dancing” it. In the changements serré (series of small jumps changing the feet front/back in 5th position) she insisted on heels coming down and contacting the floor, not over crossing the 5th position, having an expressive face and to be aware of “the journey of the arms in space.”

Jaffe alternated lines in the centre – bringing those in back forward so everyone had a chance to be in front.  One of the most difficult things a dancer has to learn is to stand still especially after finishing with any particular sequence.  This includes work at the barre.  As each segment was completed, Jaffe insisted that they finish cleanly and hold that finish “its not easy standing in 5th position,” she said; a central lesson in protocol, classical dance structure, discipline and muscle memory.  She did not encourage any extremes either in height of extension or pirouette rotation.  Jaffe gave them cautionary corrections before they began as well as not allowing them to proceed when she spotted problems.  All too often a teacher will only correct when the exercise is over and the student therefore has no opportunity to incorporate the corrections.  What I didn’t see was the requirement to constantly test placement at the barre by letting go of it; a major area of concern, in my opinion.

Class ended – with applause and individual reverences to the teacher.

The Interview and Lunch with Principal Dancer Susan Jaffe

Q: In the relatively short time a guest teacher has with a class -  other than addressing overt problem areas....what do you think you can bring to the class?

Jaffe: It depends upon which segment of the summer intensive I am teaching – in the beginning such as now I have to go with what I see before me.  Every group is different. I can’t assume beforehand what I will find. But I know this is a good school and I am aware of how the Wistrichs teach.

Q: Some teachers come with a preconceived idea and then no matter what proceed with it.

Jaffe:  That’s so RAD. (Royal Academy of Dance – a set syllabus method of teaching.)  A teacher has to go with what’s happening.

Q: On the other hand having a relatively short time with a guest teacher, what do you think a student can gain?

Jaffe: Each teacher emphasizes something else - the students have to know the basic structure - I can see how the Wistrichs teach and I try to add to that.  I think it’s good for the students to hear a different voice.  Sometimes they get used to always hearing the same words from the same teacher.  A different voice – even though it’s the same concept – makes them think.  In the short time I’m here – if they get one thing that helps them – I’ll be happy.  It takes a long time to understand something in ballet, to be able to incorporate it.

Q: What do you think about the so-called “advances” in technique such super high leg extensions when performed in Romantic ballets such as Swan Lake or La Sylphide?  Do you think these are “advances” or exaggerations?

Jaffe: Generally, I’m not against it, but it has to be within the style, musicality, the movement, and the point of view.  The body needs to reflect the mood of the music – dance transcends physicality, it is much more.  In a ballet like La Sylphide it’s uneducated to exaggerate.

Q: Do you think such “advances” should be a goal in class – aiming for higher and higher extensions – 6/oclock penchés?  It tends to destroy the line between the raised leg and the extended arm….and blocks the ballerina’s partner’s head…

Jaffe: Yes, it does. It does destroy that line. Dance is about learning the mood of the music – (choreographer Wm.) Forsythe is not danced the same as Petipa and Mozart or Tchaikovsky.  The student has to learn the style and dance that style.  But it is also important not to be too careful – we do have to push the body but we can’t forfeit position of the body – it must stay within the limits of the classical ballet.

Q: Will you be conferring with the regular teachers and sharing your observations of the students?"

Jaffe: No.  If they ask me, that’s fine.  These are good teachers at this school.  I don’t come in as “the expert” – I try to be very careful not to step on toes. 

Q: Do you find guest teaching as gratifying as your regular teaching schedule?

Jaffe: It’s different – I’m not here long enough to see them really make progress but I do enjoy it.  I want them to learn and have a fun experience.  I enjoy imparting what I’ve learned over the years.  I love seeing my regular students make progress. It’s an honor to be able to pass it on. 

Q: How do you keep your teaching refreshed?

Jaffe: I enjoy talking to and observing other classes and teachers.  It keeps me thinking.

Q: In the past ballet has always been taught hand to hand.  However, in the last several years teachers have been constrained from touching a student – to correct a head position – shape a foot – how does this affect your teaching and what do you think about it?

Jaffe: I couldn’t teach without touching but we have to be aware of where the touch occurs.  It’s much more difficult when men teach women.  When I teach men I always say “Excuse me, I have to touch you.”

***As our lunch continued she said when she retired five years ago she was completely done with performing – mentally as well as physically and went on to say:

Jaffe: “I told myself I would never want to teach, never choreograph and would never (laughing) come back as the “Queen” (in Sleeping Beauty which she performed in July).  I was centered on myself and I didn’t think I was interested in enhancing others.  But after six months of sitting around and watching my waistline grow I felt the need to do something.  Now I found – it was a very happy surprise - that I love teaching and choreographing.  I was asked to choreograph the Waltz of the Flowers (Nutcracker) and it took me months.  Now I’ve choreographed an entire Nutcracker and I enjoyed doing it.  I have a school and am working toward a chamber size company.”

“I realized I’ve been a creative artist all my life – I can’t let what I’ve learned die with me.  It felt selfish.  It was a gift to discover that I liked passing it on – took me six months to recognize it.  It’s poignant, fun, beautiful and I love it.”

Susan Jaffe is aware of her Jewish heritage through her father, but she is not religiously observant.

And just for the record – the ballerina needn’t worry about her waistline –it’s as small as ever.

 
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Cynthia Citron's L.A. Beat

  Margulies' Sight Unseen should not be left unseen

HOLLYWOOD—Arthur Miller’s plays are filled with tragedy and angst and troubled characters searching for identity and approval.  So are Donald Margulies’.  But unlike Miller, Margulies leavens his angst with humor.  You might call him “Arthur Miller Light.”

Which is not to say that Margulies is not a formidable playwright.  He has been nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize (and won it for Dinner with Friends) and four Drama Desk awards. And his play “Sight Unseen” won the 1992 Obie award for Best New American Play.

Sight Unseen, which was originally commissioned by Costa Mesa’s South Coast Repertory in 1991, opened here in Los Angeles this week at the art/works Theatre in Hollywood.  Presented by a sparkling cast and well directed by William Lewis, “Sight Unseen” proves once again that Donald Margulies is one of our most interesting and engaging playwrights.

The play deals with the bitter aftermath of a love affair between two American college students, Jonathan and Patricia, that ended badly.  Now, some 17 years later, Jonathan (richly played by Jeffery Dean), has become a much-sought after artist and Patricia (a gorgeous Tiffany Walker), is married to an angry, quirky archaeologist and spends her time helping him dig through the middens of an early encampment in the north of England.  As the husband, Nick (in a spot-on rude and brittle portrayal by Steve Owsley), proclaims, “You have to study the past to make sense of the present.”  Which, of course, includes his wife’s past love affair with Jonathan.

As the play opens, Jonathan has come to England for a retrospective of his work that is opening in a London gallery and, seemingly on a whim, has come to visit his old love.  At her bleak home he rediscovers a portrait he painted of her when they were in school and, even though it is only a “student work, not meant to be taken seriously,” he realizes that it has a life and spirit, a “certain something” that his current work lacks. 

In successive scenes that move backward and forward from the past to a few days into the future, Nick is on the attack relentlessly.  His jealousy knows no bounds, and his anger takes the form of outbursts against Jonathan’s work.  (He dismisses it as “pornography.”)  Jonathan retorts that there is truth in his art and that an artist doesn’t have to explain his work, but the audience does have to participate.  “My intention is irrelevant,” he says.  “My work is what YOU think it is.”

Four days later he is being interviewed by a reporter who also goes on the attack.  She is a German woman (played boldly by Pilar Monroe), and she tries to explore his relationship with his own Jewish background.  She claims that there is a commonality between artists and Jews, as they are both “alien from the mainstream culture.”  Jonathan, who obviously has ambivalent feelings about his religious identity, blows up and storms out of the room.  Ironically, he is currently married to a woman who is not Jewish, even though he had earlier broken up with Patricia precisely because she was not Jewish.  But now his parents are gone and he laments that “all the shockable people are dead.”

Jeffery Dean holds the stage in a virtuoso performance that has him being self-effacing, tentative, pompous, and reflective.  Unfortunately, Tiffany Walker does not match him in complexity.  She plays her part consistently on one-note: unresolved distress.  What’s more, she is consistently unintelligible, speaking so rapidly that most of her lines are delivered in a frenzied lump.  Steve Owsley, however, is a perfect foil for Dean.  He plays Nick as a stiff, unpleasant, and frustrated husband.  And he never loses his crisp British accent!

Donald Margulies’ plays are always worth seeing.  And Sight Unseen is no exception.  So go!  You’ll enjoy.

Sight Unseen will be presented Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 3 through September 1st at art/works Theatre, 6569 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood.  Call (323) 960-7789 for tickets.

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