It is never easy to say goodbye.

But that is what is happening.

I have the unpleasant task of telling you that I am leaving the JT, and I am taking a job in Kansas City. This is a difficult conversation for me to have with you, not because things have gone badly; just the opposite, things have gone so well. I love my job, the people I work with — and mostly all the exceptional individuals who I have met along the way, people who bring so much to the table. I’ll miss the people of Jewish Baltimore. I’ll miss the stories. That’s what makes this process of resigning so difficult.

For the entire nearly eight years that I have lived in Baltimore, I have worked in the Jewish community — at the JT as a staff reporter/business editor, at The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore as marketing and communications manager and then back at the JT as managing editor and editor-in-chief. Everyone who lives Jewish Baltimore knows it is a small town with a lot of people — and a lot of ruach [spirit] and koach [strength].

In just the 18 months I have worked with the JT as editor, I have been a part of tremendous growth and development. We have recouped lost subscribers and experienced close to 10 percent growth in subscribers in 2013. I’ve been a part of our greatest successes, such as the six awards we won last year from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association (including a best of show, beating out the Washington Post, for our political coverage). I have had the privilege to write stories that have been picked up not only by wire services and shared nationally, but that have been referenced by acclaimed analysts and bloggers.

I have also been there through some not-so-great times — such as covering a derecho (while eight-and-a-half months pregnant with my own power out for a week) and reporting on a sexual predator who worked at two of our area day schools and a rapist who took advantage of a young woman in Northwest Baltimore.

But through the good and the challenges, we’ve stuck it out. You’ve written to me to tell me how happy you are with the direction of the paper. And when you’ve been upset, you haven’t been afraid to say something. The good communities are like families, and leaving my job is like leaving family.

I am leaving the JT because of an exceptional opportunity to continue my growth and development as a Jewish communal professional in Kansas City. I didn’t go looking for it; it found me (though I did go through the long application process), and it was a great fit. I thought a long time about how I would walk into the office, such a short time after believing I could make this commute between Baltimore and Kansas City work, and tell my co-workers that my four human children need me more than this newspaper (my fifth child), that I don’t want to miss their important moments, that I am tired from working 21-hour days when I come to Baltimore and, at this stage in my life, that I should be living and working by my family.

I thought of the people this would impact, the staff and the readers I feel like I am abandoning, the writing and marketing projects I am leaving behind … some incomplete. I lost a lot of sleep over it; I am still losing sleep over it.

I will always have incredible memories from this job. There was the time I called up the office of the president of Iran and started asking to speak to someone about the Jewish community there. And then I called Iranian universities and the local embassy. I am still convinced that when Kansas City Power & Light told my husband they would need to conduct a 72-hour security check on our family before turning on the gas and electricity in our new home that was just code for, “We’re not sure if we want you in Kansas. Your wife is a crazy journalist who wants to be buddy-buddy with the Ayatollah.”

There were the community leaders who stepped down, such as CHAI’s Ken Gelula and the Jewish Community Center’s Buddy Sapolsky. There were the leaders who celebrated their successful tenures, including The Associated’s Marc B. Terrill. There were the young people who became community leaders, such as Jakir Manela at the Pearlstone Center and David Golaner at Edward A. Myerberg Center.

Before Chanukah 2012, my staff and I went driving around in the cold on a wild goose chase for the best kosher latke. I think we all gained 10 pounds that night! There were nights we stayed until midnight, churning out political copy, analyzing the J Street conference or pulling together to think about The Jewish Federations of North America 2012 General Assembly, which happened in Baltimore.

We flipped our paper upside down last Purim — literally. And even I wrote funny copy (or at least my staff told me that it was funny).

And this past Rosh Hashanah our cover focused on Jewish unity. And for what may have been the first time (or certainly the first in a long time), a mainstream Orthodox, modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist rabbi each tackled the same question of how we can better unite in an ever-individualized Jewish world — and published their answers in print.

I don’t think for one minute that anyone will begrudge me for leaving. In fact, I am quite sure they will be happy for me — that’s just another part of what makes this hurt.

I don’t have any grandiose ideas that I cannot be replaced or that the paper won’t go on or won’t continue to improve under someone else’s leadership. I also know that my reign here is just a blip in time of the paper’s more than 90 years.

But nonetheless, it has meant a lot to me. This role, our mission, of building and strengthening community penetrates my soul.

This is my final Opening Thoughts. But this is not lehitraot [just goodbye], it is shalom, the closing of one door, the opening of another. And it is a call to action to keep reading us, keep helping us to do our little part in providing Jewish Baltimore with a platform for dialogue and a place in which people of all diverse lifestyles can come together around a common Jewish core.

Joe Cluster, the Maryland Republican Party’s executive director, says he is “cautiously optimistic.” (provided)

Although it is still early, the race for governor of Maryland is already shaping up to be a competitive one.

With nine candidates saying they plan on running, the field ranges from seasoned politicians to experienced businessmen and even to a Baltimore-area teacher, all of whom want to succeed the still-popular Gov. Martin O’Malley.

So far, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney General Doug Gansler, Montgomery County Delegate Heather Mizeur and Baltimore resident Ralph Jaffe have thrown their hats in the ring for the Democratic nomination in the June 24 primary.

On the Republican side, the field consists of Harford County Executive David R. Craig, Anne Arundel Delegate Ron George, Charles County businessman Charles Lollar, former Baltimore City firefighter Brian Vaeth and Anne Arundel County resident Larry Hogan, who served as Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich’s appointment secretary.

Although only one Republican has managed to win a Maryland gubernatorial election during the past 48 years (Ehrlich, who defeated then-Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in 2002), the Maryland Republican Party feels good about 2014.

“We’re cautiously optimistic,” said Joe Cluster, the party’s executive director, adding that he and his associates see a lot of similarities between 2014 and 2002, when underdog Ehrlich defeated Townsend, who had easily won the Democratic nomination on the back of her status within then-Gov. Parris Glendening’s administration.

Predicting that 2014 will be a good year for Republicans across the country, Cluster added that the Democratic candidates face a tough battle among each other in June, something that could leave the candidates with more than a few primary bruises.

However, in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one, all indicators suggest the race will be decided by the Democratic primary.

In terms of name recognition, Democrats have a clear upper hand. October 2013 polls showed that Brown has the most name recognition — 62 percent — among the candidates. Gansler follows with 58 percent. Baltimore’s Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-2), who recently said he is leaning toward not running, leads Republicans Craig, Lollar, George and fellow Democrat Mizeur in name recognition.

Although it is not impossible, “it’s hard to see Maryland as a state where a Republican is going to win a statewide election,” said Laslo Boyd, political columnist and managing partner at Mellenbrook Policy Advisors. “If a Republican candidate comes with the Tea Party baggage of being anti-marriage equality, anti-abortion [and] strongly against the gun regulations, that’s not going to play well in Maryland.”

On the other hand, many Marylanders have grown increasingly wary of the state’s high taxes. According to 2010 Census data, Baltimore ranks above the national average for cost of transportation, utilities, housing and food. In Washington, D.C., the situation is even worse with the overall cost of living 40 percent higher than the national average.

If the Republicans focus their efforts on fiscal issues and concede some of the social issues popular along the party line, Boyd said their chances of victory could be much higher.

“It’s going to take a candidate who can appeal to those issues that are frustrating to people — perhaps taxes, perhaps the cost of government — without falling prey to the divisive social issues that play well in other states,” said Boyd.

In the meantime, much of the attention has been focusing on Democrats Gansler and Brown.

For Gansler, who has served on the board of directors of the Jewish Community Center for Greater Washington and has been involved with the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, the biggest hurdle could be overcoming the mishandling of some of the stories that surfaced earlier this year involving a teen beach party and disgruntled state police aides. While the stories have died down, they easily could be rekindled by opponents.

For Brown, who has collected endorsements from U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.-5) and two former Maryland attorneys general, one of his proudest and most touted accomplishments could prove to be a pitfall. His website boasts that he “led the nation in implementing the Affordable Care Act,” but with many people still frustrated with the new policy, it remains to be seen whether this will work for or against his campaign.

“There has been some political discussion that if the health-care exchanges are not working well, that could hurt him,” said Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, an advocacy organization that lobbies for government accountability.

The Brown-[Ken] Ulman ticket looks like the frontrunner right now, said Bevan-Dangel, but that can easily change. While candidates who serve in the Maryland General Assembly are not permitted to fund raise while they are in session, both Brown and running mate Ulman, county executive of Howard County, are free to keep adding to their treasure chest.

“Historically in Maryland, we’ve seen a pretty straight-line correlation between fundraising and success of the campaign,” said Bevan-Dangel. “It’s simply a mechanism of how much you can afford to get your name out.”

See related articles, “By The Numbers.

Heather Norris is a JT staff reporter
hnorris@jewishtimes.com

Rabbi Michael Schudrich, chief rabbi of Poland, learns with members of the Polish Jewish community.

In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, instantly murdering about 20,000 Jews and bombing approximately 50,000 Jewish-owned factories, workshops and stores in more than 120 local communities. Several hundred synagogues were also destroyed.

Within a month, all Polish Jews were either confined to ghettos or in hiding.

Then the Nazis began liquidating the ghettos. Within 18 months, almost all of them had been emptied. Following a period of calculated mass murder, Poland’s once-thriving Jewish population of 3.3 million was diminished to 100,000.

Poland, under Soviet rule and a curtain of communism, forced what remained of its Jewish population to emigrate or to go into hiding. Many converted or denied their faith. In 2013, only approximately 3,000 to 4,000 Jews register themselves as Jewish. But it is believed that in Poland there are an estimated 25,000 Jews among a population of 38.5 million people.

And slowly, more and more Jewish faces are starting to appear. Some call it a renaissance. Others call it a resurgence. But a once dark and diminished community, it seems, is slowly — and maybe not as slowly as one would think — starting to emerge.

The Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in the Polish Republic coordinates the activities of the different Jewish organizations in Poland. The Lauder Foundation has established a number of clubs and events for the Jewish youth, as well as a primary school in Warsaw. And through the assistance of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, not only are the survivors and other elderly being cared for, but young Jews also are reconnecting to Judaism and working to secure a new and vibrant future for what was once Europe’s largest Jewish community.

It is inspiring.

“It’s changing,” said Polish-Jewish fashion designer Antonina Samecka in an article published by JDC. “It’s not like you think in Poland anymore.”

It Takes Time
Seven mainstream Orthodox rabbis. Three Chabad rabbis. Three Reform/ progressive rabbis. That is how many clergy are actively working in Poland each day.

Rabbi Michael Schudrich serves as the chief rabbi of Poland. He visited Poland for the first time in the 1970s but moved there beginning in 1990. He was appointed to his post in 2004.

Rabbi Schudrich said the Polish-Jewish resurgence has progressed in three or four stages. In the early 1990s, the question was, “Are there still Jews in Poland?” Then, as they were slowly found, the question became, “Do they want to be Jewish?” Finally, “How can we remake this Jewish community? How can we help Polish Jews?”

“I am not here to tell people what they must do,” said Rabbi Schudrich of when someone comes to him and says he or she might be Jewish. “I am here to teach them what Jewish tradition says, and they have to decide what they want to do with that.”

Many learn Hebrew and attend a synagogue or a lecture. Some have documentation that they are Jewish and others undergo a conversion process. It is all very personal, and it all takes time.

Rabbi Schudrich talks about one woman who 18 years ago approached him and told her that her mother’s grandmother died of typhus in 1842; Jews were more likely to die of the disease back then. She said her mother cooked Jewish foods, such as tzimmes and kept a special pot in which to cook milk (as opposed to meat).

“Am I Jewish?” she asked me, recalled the rabbi. “That is a very hard question. We talked about it. … We talked, and then she left. That same woman came back three months ago and said, ‘Now I am ready to be Jewish.’”

He continued, “It is a progress and a process. We are in the middle of a process. … The key is openness, accepting people where they are and as who they are and letting them make their journey to their Jewish identity in a way that makes sense for them.”

Rabbi Yehoshua Ellis expressed similar sentiments. The rabbi of a small town called Katowice, he said only about 200 Jews live in a population of three million people there. He said his job is about “achdut” [Jewish unity], and he looks at what he does as “an opportunity to galvanize the people, to keep them moving forward.”

Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak oversees the Jewish Renewal or progressive Judaism movement in Poland. He said that as many as 30 people convert to Judaism through his movement per year. The group just completed its first progressive prayer book, which is Hebrew translated and transliterated into Polish.

There was a massively successful Limmud program this past year as well.

“A lot of people are coming forward now,” said Rabbi Beliak. “No one has papers. No one can prove their Jewish identity. They might have a siddur they found in the attic. … We are not in control of everything the way we would like to think we are. There is a migration of Jewish souls back [to Judaism], and I cannot explain why people are coming back in rational terms.”

Rabbi Schudrich equated the resurgence of Judaism to the Marranos or “Secret Jews” of the Iberian Peninsula, who maintained a private religious identity behind a façade of Catholicism. However, said Jonathan Ornstein, executive director of the Jewish Community Center of Krakow, “We are not waiting 500 years to see who has Jewish roots.”

To be fair, anti-Semitism does still exist in Poland, though according to those on the ground it is not on the upswing as we are seeing in many European and Eastern European countries. Joanna Auron-Górska, who works with the progressive Beit Polska, said the younger generation harbors less prejudice and less fear than their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. She countered that while many surveys paint young Poles as racist and anti-Semitics, her personal experience is different.

“People in their 20s and 30s are the most tolerant people. … They are curious, but they are willing to help,” she said.

On the day that she spoke with the JT, she had come from the police department. There she had been reporting a website that listed Jewish people participating in her programs as targets for anti-Semitic attacks. There has been nothing physical directly pointed at Jews, she said, but in the smaller towns — outside of Krakow and Warsaw — she said there is more curiosity.

Rabbi Ellis said similarly that there are certain routes he thinks twice before taking and that whereas African-Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, in Poland he has seen very few. And Jews are almost as scarce — so people notice.

The call to action, said Lucia Goodhart, one Polish activist in an interview provided to the JT by Auron-Górska, is for the Diaspora Jewish community to be supportive.

She said, “If we have Jewish people who are making a life now in Poland, it behooves us, as our brothers’ keepers, to be involved positively.

Ornstein said this involvement is important for Diaspora Jews, too. He told the JT that the story of Polish Jewry is an important story of revival.

“It is not just for the Polish community, but for all of us, as a people. We are able to thrive despite the Holocaust,” he said. “We can connect to the loss, but also must connect to the growing and the thriving of Jewish community. We need to know about this as North American Jews.”

WJRO Renews Call For Private Property Restitution In Poland >>

Maayan Jaffe is JT editor-in-chief — mjaffe@jewishtimes.com

House prices and property demand are rising in Israel, fuelled by better-than-expected economic growth. In 2012, the average price of owner-occupied dwellings in Israel averaged $299,086.

There is a range in housing prices depending on area.

Tel Aviv has the country’s most expensive housing, with an average price of $516,056. Jerusalem is next, at around $411,534.

Source: globalpropertyguide.com

Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb’s new community is named for Emek Ha’Ela, the Ela Valley, which is situated just on the outskirts of Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Emek Ha’Ela is where the battle of David and Goliath took place (Book of Samuel 17).

The story is that Saul and his army were camped in Emek Ha’Ela when Goliath the giant challenged them daily to one-on-one combat to settle the battle with the Philistines. David took up the challenge. Without any armor, but rather with a slingshot and the help of God, he triumphed over the giant.

When Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb made aliyah to Ramat Beit Shemesh, Israel from Baltimore, he gave up a strong bully pulpit at Congregation Shomrei Emunah. In Israel, he said, the whole structure of community is different, and since moving, Rabbi Gottlieb has been teaching and fulfilling various other part-time rabbinical roles.

Now, he is hoping to change all that — not so much in terms of his salary (rabbis rarely get paid to hold pulpits in Israel), but in terms of the role he can play in a community.

Earlier this year, Rabbi Gottlieb, in conjunction with one of Israel’s top developers, Shelly Tivuch, announced plans for a new neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, Ganei Ha’Ela. In this neighborhood Rabbi Gottlieb will serve as spiritual leader and fill a need he says he thinks many Americans have when they move to Israel — one that often remains unfulfilled.

“Americans are used to this structure. They come here with a new culture and language, and they don’t have the community structure they are familiar with to serve as a spiritual, emotional hub for them, like their rabbi did in chutz l’aretz [outside of Israel],” Rabbi Gottlieb explained. “I saw this need, and I had a desire.”

The community will have 60 housing units in its first phase and another 30 in a second phase. Already, close to a quarter of the first set of houses are sold. The builder is in process of laying the foundations and erecting the houses. People who buy now can save between 10 and 30 percent. Rabbi Gottlieb said he hopes homes will be ready for move-in within three years.

Rabbi Gottlieb, who lives in the Ramat Shilo neighborhood of Beit Shemesh, was known in Baltimore for his inspiring talks, numerous weekly Torah classes, his energy and his leadership. He said he has built a small following in the Jewish state, but he is also working with a top marketing and advertising firm to recruit. Most of the units sold so far are to Americans already living in Israel, but he hopes to attract others looking to move to Israel, too.

Who is the right candidate? The rabbi is targeting Orthodox Jews, what one might call mainstream or modern Orthodox in the United States (though those concepts and terms don’t really exist in Israel). In other words, he wants to create a religious neighborhood that is nonetheless diverse in its observance.

One family that has already committed is the Geffner family, originally from Staten Island, N.Y. Avi and Michael, both 32, have four children. The couple moved to Israel in 2011.

The Platnicks have also bought a home in the neighborhood. Yossie, 34, and Shira, 33, made aliyah from New Jersey in 2011. He’s a neuroradiologist, and she stays home with their five children.

“We are not building houses,” said Rabbi Gottlieb. “We are building community.”

Beit Shemesh has been in the news lately, mostly in a negative light, due to what appears to be ever-increasing tension between the Orthodox and non-Orthodox residents of the city. But Rabbi Gottlieb explained he does not expect any issues. Geographically, there are three areas of the city: Beit Shemesh, Ramat Beit Shemesh A (where Ganei Ha’Ela is situated) and Ramat Beit Shemesh B. The majority of the issues have occurred between residents of Beit Shemesh and Ramat Beit Shemesh B, which border one another. Beit Shemesh has a mixed community; Ramat Beit Shemesh B is almost predominantly Haredi.

“The actual problem is real,” Rabbi Gottlieb said. “But the facts are always more complicated than the headlines.”

Rabbi Gottlieb said the problem “really is sporadic” and that no one is “living under siege. It is a handful and that’s it. Those incidents get a lot of news.”

Why go to all this trouble? The rabbi was welcome to stay at Shomrei.

Rabbi Gottlieb doesn’t understand the question.

“The Jewish people have one true home and that is the land of Israel, and we are very fortunate to be living in one of the rare times in Jewish history where we have sovereignty over the land and the State of Israel,” Rabbi Gottlieb said. “To be living in that modern miracle is an incredible opportunity — for all the challenges. It is the greatest blessing you can give your children and very rewarding for parents, too.”

To learn more, visit ganeihaela.com. >>

Where Does The Name Ganei Ha’Ela Come From? >>

How Much Does It Cost To Buy In Israel? >>

Maayan Jaffe is JT editor-in-chief — mjaffe@jewishtimes.com

For coffee drinkers in the Jewish community, a kosher coffee that advertises benefits such as weight loss and increased focus and memory has made its way to Maryland.

Javita coffee launched in 2011 with the introduction of its energy-plus-mind instant coffee. With ingredients such as South American estate-blend coffee (100 percent Arabica and Robusta), green tea, bacopa monnieri herb and gotu kola herb, the company says the coffee helps jumpstart the drinker’s brain and supports learning and memory.

In 2012, the company released its burn-plus-control instant coffee. The list of ingredients includes those commonly associated with healthy metabolic activity, such as garcinia cambogia extract and yerba mate extract combined with coffee.

Shayna Hefetz, who learned about the coffee from an uncle who lost 30 pounds in his first six weeks drinking Javita, leads a team of more than 20 distributors who sell Javita in Maryland. She said the coffee helped her lose 20 pounds in less than two months.

She began drinking the coffee in early May, and by summer, she said, clothing she wore in April and June was practically falling off.

“I had this one favorite skirt — it was a skirt I bought at the Gap when I was in 10th grade — and it’s actually got room in it,” she said. “I couldn’t button it six months ago.”

For Hefetz, Javita’s real benefit was its ability to suppress her cravings.

“I used to be a carboholic,” she said. “When I’m drinking the Javita burn-plus-control, I don’t think about carbs anymore.”

The change, she said, has been dramatic. Many of her customers are people she knows, who have seen her transformation.

“People see me and they say, ‘Wow, whatever you did, I want to do that, too,’” said Hefetz.

The biggest advantage of using Javita over any of the other alternatives available, said Darryl Anderson, vice president of marketing at Javita, is that it does not require a major lifestyle change.

“You’re already drinking coffee,” said Anderson. “Instead of changing your habits, change your coffee.”

This isn’t the first time a coffee has been promoted to have additional benefits. In 2010, the FDA issued a warning about Magic Power Coffee, an instant coffee marketed as a sexual-enhancement supplement. The agency informed consumers that the coffee contained a chemical similar to the active ingredient in Viagra that can cause extremely low blood pressure when combined with some prescription drugs.

In 2011, the FDA warned consumers against a weight-loss supplement called Lose Weight Coffee after a lab analysis found sibutramine, a controlled substance that was removed from the U.S. market in 2010 because of links to high blood pressure and increased heart rate. In a news release, the agency told consumers to “stop using this product immediately and throw it away.” On the same day, the FDA also issued a warning against Leisure 18 Slimming Coffee, another weight-loss coffee found to contain the dangerous drug.

There have been no FDA warnings about Javita.

“There’s not any one particular product that’s going to make you burn fat or magically lose weight,” said Diana Sugiuchi, a registered dietitian nutritionist and licensed nutritionist at Baltimore’s Nourish Family Nutrition.

Sugiuchi said she is often skeptical of many of the products she sees advertised as a quick fix for weight loss.

“A lot of these supplements [are] really expensive and the placebo effect is extremely powerful,” she said. “If you think that by drinking this coffee or taking this pill your appetite is going to be reduced, it probably will be.”

In place of spending a bunch of money on a magic fix, Sugiuchi recommends her clients increase their muscle mass by strength training, drinking enough water, reducing stress and getting adequate sleep.

Heather Norris is a JT staff reporter — hnorris@jewishtimes.com

Shoshana Shamberg has helped many children suffering from Irlen Syndrome including Sivi Feinstein, 12, pictured here wearing her Irlen Method glasses. (David Stuck)

Westminster mother Anna Lipka had always sensed something was interfering with her daughter Adrianna’s academic performance. Yet, none of the professionals who tested Adrianna could find anything out of the ordinary.

“I knew she was very smart — she talked at 16 months and could memorize all the books I read to her,” Lipka said. But when she started school, it was clear to both Lipka and Adrianna’s teacher that the child was having trouble focusing and keeping up with early-reading skills and handwriting lessons.

“Adrianna was a very social, happy child, and one day when I picked her up from pre-K, she came out crying. ‘Mommy,’ she told me, ‘they kept showing me these papers [flashcards] and I couldn’t see them.”

An eye examination showed that Adrianna had 20/20 vision, and enrollment in a remedial reading program didn’t prove helpful. By the time Adrianna was in the third grade, Lipka was deeply concerned. Desperate for answers, she called a friend who was a special educator.

“She started asking me some questions about Adrianna and then said, ‘I think she might have Irlen Syndrome,’” Lipka recalled.

According to local occupational therapist and special educator Sho-shana Shamberg, difficulty with reading or opting to read in dim light, poor handwriting, difficulty copying from the blackboard, attentional problems, clumsiness, headaches and even nausea are some of the symptoms that may be caused or exacerbated by a syndrome known as scotopic sensitivity or Irlen Syndrome.

Identified in 1981 by Helen Irlen, an educational psychologist, the syndrome is believed to be a problem with the way the brain perceives visual stimuli and responds to light rather than an optical defect.

Shamberg and other proponents of the Irlen Method say people with Irlen Syndrome may find that words look blurry, may have difficulty tracking, may experience double vision and sensitivity to light (especially fluorescent light) and may bump into things or have trouble catching a ball. They believe that many children and adults who suffer from these symptoms and are diagnosed with dyslexia, ADHD, sensory-processing disorders and autism may be helped by colored acetate overlays placed over pages of text as well as by eyeglasses or contacts with colored lenses called spectral filters (Irlen Method), which were developed by Irlen. The lenses come in 120 colors, which are available in thousands of hues. Shamberg said that of 400 clients she has tested in the past six years, she has rarely seen anyone respond to the same color combination.

Shamberg first saw the Irlen Method at work 10 years ago when she sat in on an Irlen Syndrome screening exam.

“My friend’s son had been experiencing terrible headaches at school, so she had him screened for Irlen Syndrome,” said Shamberg. “As I watched the testing, I saw him become more alert and less pained.”

Later, her friend reported that the frequency and intensity of her son’s headaches had decreased by 80 percent, and he was performing well in school. After training to become an Irlen screener, Shamberg saw even more dramatic results.

Heather Dorst of Columbia brought her son, Eli, to be assessed by Shamberg when he was 14 years old. Eli had been having trouble processing information at school, and no one had been able to detect the cause of his difficulties. While he was being tested for Irlen Syndrome, Dorst realized that she shared many of her son’s visual processing problems. This wasn’t surprising to Shamberg who said that Irlen Syndrome frequently runs in families. In her practice, she has seen three generations of sufferers.

After both Dorst and her son were tested, each began wearing Irlen glasses.

“The first thing I noticed was that before I wore the glasses I had not been seeing things three-dimensionally,” said Dorst. “They also made reading easier, and my eye strain diminished.”

Dorst said her son uses the glasses at school.

“When he doesn’t have them he gets bad headaches and has difficulty focusing. I wish we had started this earlier,” she said.

Mike and Karen Topolosky and their daughter, Ashley, are also big fans of the Irlen Method.

“It was like night and day,” said Karen Topolosky. “All of her life, Ashley (now 19 and in college) could barely read. She also had poor depth perception. Everything appeared flat, but everyone who tested her said that nothing was wrong. [The glasses are] phenomenal. We call them her magic glasses.”

When Adrianna Lipka was screened for Irlen Syndrome the results were similar.

“I remember the first time she tried them on,” said her mother. “All the trees used to droop to one side and her perceptions of near and far were off. She was always very klutzy and even read in the closet because she liked the darkness. All of these kids with Irlen Syndrome think they’re dumb, and it’s ruined their lives. I wish more people knew about it.”

Shamberg said that around 50 percent of children and adults with reading, learning or attention problems have Irlen Syndrome. While Shamberg doesn’t claim that the Irlen Method is the solution for all, she believes it is for some. And even among those who have issues that cannot be entirely solved by Irlen lenses or overlays, Shamberg said that these tools can make it easier for managing underlying or related problems.

But not everyone believes in the efficacy of the Irlen Method. Although Shamberg points to at least 54 studies that show the benefits of Irlen, some physicians, neuropsychologists and professional organizations have said there is no clear scientific evidence that Irlen Syndrome exists as a separate entity from other recognized ophthalmological diagnoses  or that the Irlen Method works.

“The bottom line is that proponents have never demonstrated the scientific validity of their claims,” said Dr. Steven Novella, assistant professor of neurology at Yale University and executive editor of the journal “Science-Based Medicine.”

Novella argued that Irlen Syndrome is not distinct from other recognized ophthalmologic disorders. When asked about the research that the Irlen Method community cites, Novella insisted that the data they present has been “cherry-picked” to support their claims.

Dr. Anna Maria Wilms Floet, a behavioral developmental pediatrician at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, conferred.

“It sounds too good to be true and just doesn’t add up,” she said, citing a joint technical report by the American Pediatric Academy, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmologists and the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.

“Scientific evidence does not support the claims that visual training, muscle exercises, ocular pursuit-and-tracking exercises, behavioral/perceptual vision therapy, ‘training’ glasses, prisms and colored lenses and filters are effective direct or indirect treatments for learning disabilities,” the study said. “There is no valid evidence that children who participate in vision therapy are more responsive to educational instruction than children who do not participate.”

With regard to the many people who claim their Irlen glasses have been life changing, Novella said that throughout history, people have always believed in treatments not supported by real science.

“That’s the nature of human psychology. It’s the placebo effect,” said Novella.

Dr. Joseph A. Annibali, a psychiatrist at the Amen Clinic in Reston, Va., disputed the placebo theory in this case. Annibali’s daughter, Liz, has been wearing and benefiting from the lenses to control “severe and disabling” headaches for about 10 years. He noted that placebo responses usually don’t endure over time.

“At first, I was skeptical,” he admitted. “But when your kid hurts, you’re willing to try anything.”

The Annibalis had already taken Liz to other specialists, including pediatric ophthalmologists and neurologists, but she found no relief.

“The moment she got her Irlen filters, her headaches went away,” said Annibali. “It’s difficult not to become a convert.”

Wilms Floet understands that parents like the Annibalis are desperate to find help for their children, but she maintains that Irlen isn’t the answer.

“Working in the field of developmental disabilities as I do, is like the Wild West. Parents are looking for anything that might help their children. We need to educate the public and make them critical consumers,” she said.

Simone Ellin is JT senior features reporter
sellin@jewishtimes.com

The Fields of Pikesville building won’t be getting a kosher market anytime soon, the realtor redeveloping the building said.

Seasons, a New York-based kosher market, is instead planning to open at 401 Reisterstown Road, which was once home to Danielle’s Bluecrest Caterers.

“We feel it’s a good growth neighborhood,” said Mayer Gold, Seasons’ owner. “It’s a nice, vibrant kosher community.”

He said his company, which has been looking for a Baltimore location for about a year and a half, is under contract to purchase the Reisterstown Road building.

Baltimore County held a public parking variance hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The building’s parking lot is not properly zoned, Gold said. If all goes as planned, he hopes to open in Baltimore in one year.

Carl Verstandig, president and CEO of America’s Realty, LLC, said Seasons needed almost 5,000 more square feet than the Fields building could offer.

“Logistically, we couldn’t get the space to fit,” said Verstandig, whose company is redeveloping the Fields building.

Advanced Auto parts will be opening in its stead, Verstandig said.

Seasons, a gourmet kosher market, offers takeout food, deli meats, fish, produce, a butcher, a bakery and floral arrangements, according to its website. It has four locations in New York: Lawrence, Scarsdale, Queens and Manhattan. The company will also be opening a store in Lakewood, N.J., in about 18 months, Gold said.

He likened Seasons to a kosher Whole Foods, a family-friendly, clean and upscale store with fresh food, but not “upscale prices,” he said.

Although Verstandig couldn’t work things out with Seasons, he is optimistic about the future, having recently acquired the Wells Fargo building on the corner of Reisterstown and Old Court roads for $1.45 million.

At the Wells Fargo building, he hopes to have the 14,000 vacant square feet leased to a law firm and a real estate company within the next few weeks.

At the Fields building, he expects Advanced Auto Parts to open in March and self-defense and fitness studio Masada Tactical to open the month prior, in February.

When his company’s pending deals are wrapped up, it will own 227 centers in 31 states. With the recent Pikesville acquisition, his company now owns 10 buildings within three blocks of each other in Pikesville, he said.

“That’s gives us quite a bit of confidence in Pikesville,” Verstandig said.

On December 11, 2013, HERSCHEL, cherished husband of the late Goldene Blumberg (nee Zalis); devoted father of Susan Levin (Stanley Senders), Margie Blumberg (James Catler) and Dr. Mark Blumberg; brother of Marvin (Diane) Blumberg; stepbrother of Sandra Love and Pauline Freundel; adored grandfather of Ari Levin and Aaron Levin; also survived by loving nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at Bnai Israel Congregation, 6301 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852 on Friday, December 13 at 11 a.m. Interment at Beth Tfiloh Cemetery, 5800 Windsor Mill Road. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Masorti Foundation, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 832, New York, New York 10115 or the charity of your choice. In mourning at 5801 Nicholson Lane, #1909 (The Grand), Rockville, MD 20852.

On December 12, 2013, MARK, beloved husband of Carla Ottenheimer (nee Buckwalter); cherished father of Lindsey (Christopher) Whitling and Eric Ottenheimer; devoted brother of Ellen Pierce; loving grandfather of Caden Ottenheimer. Also survived by other loving family and many dear friends. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Sunday, December 15 at 10 a.m. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Gilchrist Hospice Care, 11311 McCormick Road, Suite 350, Hunt Valley, MD 21031. In mourning at 11811 Berans Road, Lutherville, MD 21093, on Sunday, immediately following funeral service.

On December 10, 2013, MICHAEL, cherished husband of Phyllis Sharon Zolotorow (nee Berkowitz); devoted father of Craig Justin Zolotorow; dear brother of Stuart (Caryn) Zolotorow; loving son of the late Bernard and Nora Zolotorow. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Sunday, December 15 at 2 p.m. Interment at Moses Montefiore Woodmoor Hebrew Cemetery, Washington Boulevard. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the National Kidney Foundation, 30 E. 33rd St., New York, NY 10016.

On December 14, 2013, FRED, beloved husband of the late Debra Cohen; cherished father of Robert Barnstein and Richard Barnstein; dear father-in-law of Jenny and Fran Barnstein; devoted grandfather of Michael and Samantha Barnstein. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Monday, December 16 at 11 a.m. Interment at Chizuk Amuno (Arlington), North Rogers Avenue. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Baltimore Humane Society, 1601 Nicodemus Road, Reisterstown, MD 21136.

On December 14, 2013, BONNIE (nee Ifshien), beloved wife of the late William P. Fischer; loving mother of Jay Gullish (Zeba Reyazuddin) and Amy Gullish (David Weinberg); devoted sister of Carol (Ivan) Strasfeld; cherished grandmother of Alexander Gullish, Sabrina Gullish and Bella Weinberg. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Tuesday, December 17 at 11 a.m. Interment at Garden of Remembrance, Clarksburg, Md. Please omit flowers. The family will be receiving at 4 Hartley Circle, #824, Owings Mills, MD 21117.

On December 15, 2013, HOMER, beloved husband of Bess LaBorwit (nee Muskin); loving father of Phyllis Dreyfuss and the late Dr. Larry LaBorwit; dear father-in-law of Goody Finklestein; cherished brother of the late Gerald LaBorwit and the late Dorothy Franklin; loving grandfather of Mitchell (Nancy) LaBorwit, Scott (Lisa) LaBorwit, Todd (Adrienne) LaBorwit, Brian (Ellen) Dreyfuss and Kevin (Christie) Dreyfuss; devoted great-grandfather of Lindsey, Austin, Gabrielle, Tyler, Dylan and Drew LaBorwit, Max, Leo and Luke Dreyfuss. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Tuesday, December 17 at 1 p.m. Interment at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery, Berrymans Lane. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to JSSA Hospice, 6123 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852 or Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, 6121 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852. In mourning at 10226 Democracy Lane, Potomac, MD 20854, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On December 15, 2013, DAVID, beloved husband of Linda Barron (nee Sugar); devoted father of Robert Barron, Dr. Jeremy (Rachel) Barron and Jon (Michele) Barron; dear brother of Dorothy Sager and the late Morton and Daniel Barron; devoted brother-in-law of Howard Sager, Iris Barron, Dr. Mark Sugar and the late Inge Barron; loving grandfather of Tova, Miriam, Sarah, Moshe, Steven, Ryan and Debra Barron. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Tuesday, December 17 at 2 p.m. Interment at Beth Tfiloh Cemetery, 5800 Windsor Mill Road. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Alzheimer’s Association, 1850 York Road, Suite D, Timonium, MD 21093 or Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, Scholarship Fund, 3300 Old Court Road, Baltimore, MD 21208. In mourning at 7934 Winterset Ave., Baltimore, MD 21208. Shiva services will be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday at 4:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Monday (12/23) at 7:30 a.m. and Sunday at 8 a.m.

On December 13, 2013, MORTON “MORTY,” beloved husband of the late Beverly M. Steinhorn (nee Steinberg); devoted father of Neil (Judy) Steinhorn, Barbara (David) Goldberg and Arthur Steinhorn; dear brother of the late Gilbert and Allen Steinhorn; loving grandfather of Brandon, Jonathan and Jeremy (Amanda) Steinhorn, Joseph (Venessa) Goldberg, Mindy (Roie) Assin and Benjamin Steinhorn; loving great-grandfather of Sawyer Steinhorn, Aaron, Isaac and Lillia Goldberg; dear friend of Esther Elkin. Interment at Hebrew Young Mens Cemetery, 5800 Windsor Mill Road. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah, 7000 Rockland Hills Drive, Baltimore, MD 21209 or the charity of your choice. In mourning at 107 Old Crossing Drive, Baltimore, MD 21208, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings.

On December 16, 2013, SYLVAN, cherished husband of the late Lauren Wexler (nee Dimler); loving father of Melissa Johnson; devoted son of Mindelle Wexler (nee Blum) and the late Edward Wexler; devoted brother of Ilene (late Richard) Rosenthal and the late Joyce Wexler; adored grandfather of Tamya Stubbs; loving uncle of Erin (Seth) Herring and Stephen Rosenthal. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Wednesday, December 18 at 9 a.m. Interment at Baltimore Hebrew Cemetery, Berrymans Lane. Please omit flowers. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the charity of your choice. In mourning at 7203 Rockland Hills Drive, Baltimore, MD 21209.

On December 16, 2013, MINA (nee Milikowsky), cherished wife of the late Noah Podberesky; loving mother of Sam (Rosita) Podberesky and Naomi (Dr. Mark Steven) Klein; adored grandmother of Daniel (Lesley)Podberesky and Michael (Suzanne) Podberesky, Melissa (Brett) Marcus and Justin (Polly) Klein; devoted great-grandmother of Arielle, Jonah, Ethan and Sarah Podberesky, Harris, Evyn and Noa Marcus and Ruthie Klein. Services at SOL LEVINSON & BROS., INC., 8900 Reisterstown Road, at Mount Wilson Lane, on Wednesday, December 18 at noon. Interment at Bobroisker Beneficial Circle Cemetery, Rosedale. Please omit flowers. Contributions in her memory may be sent to the U.S. Holocaust Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024. In mourning at 7202 Rockland Hills Drive, #501, Baltimore, MD 21209, Wednesday following the funeral until 9 p.m., Thursday 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to noon. Evening service times to be determined.