••• ■ ••• ■ R ound All the news that Compiled by Elizabeth Applebaum / Hebrew University Researchers, AIDS and Fireflies It's Never Too Late To Learn Hebrew finding it throughout the prayer book and repeatedly pronouncing its sound. They next learn reish, which the authors combine with bet so that both letters Learn Hebrew Today: Alef-Bet for of become familiar through repetition. Adults. By the end of the book, students will The new book, published by the be able to read the Union of American blessings contained LEARN HEBR EW TODAY Hebrew Congrega- at the end, including is Alef-Bet for Adul tions, teaches adults Pa& Michael Yccineab those recited before how to pronounce with Howard I. fiDgot • 0401 reading the Torah, the Hebrew letters when putting up a and vowels found in mezuzah, and upon the basic blessings. seeing a rainbow. It was written by Through use of Rabbi Paul Yedwab the book, students of Temple Israel, and will "discover that Rabbi Howard Bo- leshon Hebrew got, director of the is the hakodesh UAHC Department language for sacr- for Religious Educa- ed times, places tion and the Reform and ideas," the text Judaism Commis- states. "Hebrew ex- sion on Education. presses the Jew's Learn Hebrew search for meaning and commitment Today uses familiar blessings to teach to community. Hebrew is the ve- The first lesson begins the aleph-bet. hicle through which the Jew defines with the blessing over the wine. Read- the essence of Jewish identity." bet by ers learn to recognize the letter I f aleph, betand gimme) are about as familiar to you as the Chinese alphabet, you need a healthy dose Survivors, Liberators Return To Dachau n official delegation of American officers and sol- iers who liberated the Nazi death camps at the end of World War II, along with several survivors of those camps, this week returned to the sites on a "Journey of Remem- brance." Coordinated by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, which will open in April, in coopera- tion with the U.S. Department of De- fense's 50th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration Committee, the journey has as its primary aim the gathering of soil from Dachau, Buchenwald, Mauthausen and oth- er significant Holocaust sites for in- Ad terment in the museum's Hall of Re- membrance. The trip will feature a visit to Nor- mandy, where top Pentagon officials and veterans of the Allied invasion will join the delegation in commemorat- ing the historical landing. "Forty-seven years ago, I stood in the morning sun at Dachau and stared in amazement as American tanks barreled over a hill, heading to- ward us," recalled Museum Vice Chairman William Lowenberg, a sur- vivor of Auschwitz. "I have always be- lieved that the debt we survivors owe to our American liberators is one that must be remembered, and can nev- er be repaid." ith the help of the firefly, professors at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have developed a simple, quick and in- expensive new method for identifying active viruses — including the virus that causes AIDS — in human blood. Professor Alexander Honigman of the Department of Molecular Genetics at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Med- ical School, who helped develop the new method, said it can be especially helpful in identifying AIDS in infants bom to par- ents with the virus, according to a report in the American Friends of the Hebrew University newsletter. W The Pickle Man Goes Nationwide he protagonist of the 1989 film Crossing Delancey was in a pickle. - Her well-intentioned but meddle- some grandmother wanted her to date the nice Jewish boy down the street, the guy who davened every day and liked handball and worked selling pick- les in the Lower East Side. But Isabelle "Izzy" had someone else in mind. Her dreamboat was author An- ton Maas, the banana-brained woman- izer who liked to charm his dates by reading them poems about "ripe plums" (remember that scene?). Oh, brother. The film was fiction; the pickle man's store is not. Scenes from Crossing De- lancey were filmed at the Essex Street Pickle Corp. in New York, which for years now has been producing not only pickles but sauerkraut, horseradish, cel- ery, olives and hot peppers. Now the Essex Street Pickle Corp. is making its tasty delights available na- tionwide. To place an order, call 1-800- 252-CUSS (4877). T Using a bioengineering process, He- brew University researchers managed to create a row of cells in which the "light gene"—which causes the firefly's glow — produces light in the presence of viruses. In addition to being more cost effec- tive and quicker than older tests, the new method also will allow fol- low-up on AIDS patients, and fur- ther enhance evaluation of the success of tissue-culture samples testing drugs used in the treatment of the disease. llA New Service Helps The Blind he American Red Cross has initiated a new program to help visually impaired and any other handicapped individuals find information about family who perished in the Holocaust. The Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Service contains new infor- mation made available with the open- ing of war archives in the former Soviet Union. Those who lost a relative during the war, are seeking to verify a fam- ily members death, need certification T for reparation or pension, or who are looking for missing relatives, should contact the Jewish Heritage for the Blind, which will provide information on scheduling appointments with the Red Cross. Forms are available in both Braille and regular print. The service is available at no charge. For an application or further in- formation, contact the Jewish Her- itage for the Blind Tracing Service, 1655 E. 24th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11229. . Love And Latkes f Chanukah is here, can romance be far behind? That's right, singles. If you're looking for love and your mom is talking about latke parties, maybe you should listen up. According to American Woman magazine, religious gatherings are the best place to meet the man or woman of your dreams. Coming in at number two: a friend's home. Other top places for finding your sweetheart: evening classes, work and, coming in at num- ber five, nightclubs. I New York's Sephardic Home or the past 40 years, a New York home for the aged has been providing care not just for elderly Jews, but for Sephardic Jewish senior citizens. Located in Brooklyn, the home was started by Sephardim and continues to provide Sephardic culture to residents. In addition to therapeutic recreation and other rehabilitation programs, it has a synagogue with daily and Shabbat F Sephardic services, while the kitchen offers kosher Sephardic food. For information, contact the Sephardic Home at 2266 Cropsey Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11214, (718) 266-6100.