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A NATION MOURNS

RAV OVADIA YOSEF ZT " L 5681— 5774

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

THE SON: CHIEF RABBI YITZCHAK YO S E F THE DAUGHTER: RABBANIT ADINA BAR-SHALOM THE BROTHER: R ’ N A I M OVA D I A T H E S E C R E TA R Y : R ’ A M I R K RY S PA L THE RABBI OF HADASSAH H O S P I TA L : RAV MOSHE KLEIN T H E TA L M I D : RAV YITZHAK DWEK

ISSUE 138 OCTOBER 9, 2013 5 CHESHVAN 5774

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Departments

8 12 14

EDITORIAL The heart of his nation LETTERS ATIONAL AND N INTERNATIONAL NEWS YOS SI KRAUSZ

18 19 20

IN THE NEWS TURX

SIGHTINGS AND CITINGS

ARNOOOSA P Building your vision MAURICE STEI N

28

UNCH BREAK L With Abe Backenroth

67 80

MY WORD!

HE JOURNEY T A tale of two Torahs

82

SK A Sick of debating my husband

Features

RABBI SHAI S TAUB

84

HE SHUL CHRONICLES T Emailing the past and the future

88

BRAINSTORM

68 74

BEN ROSEN

EWISH NEWS J Rav Shteinman on chinuch—Dirshu siyum NESANEL GANTZ AND AMI STAFF

22

EWISH LIVING IN: J New Haven, Connecticut E STH ER MUROFF

24

BUSINESS YEDI DA WOLFE

90

26

NE SANEL GANTZ

THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE The artist’s testimony

AS TOLD TO DOVI D MARGOLI N

94

STREETS OF LIFE It’s a trip RABBI MORDECHAI KAM ENETZKY

ASH ER V. FI NN

RABBI SHOLOM FRI EDMANN

RABBI MOSH E TAUB

Q&A WITH DEVORA ALLON RABBI YITZCHOK FRANKFURTER

S PYVIEW: MY FRIEND The man who fought terrorists all the way to the Supreme Court

YITZY YABOK

JOHN LOFTUS

SPECIAL COVERAGE

32-p a pullo ge ut

RAV OVADIA YOSEF, ZT”L

32

L EADER OF A NATION There was none like him

34

SHIRA SCHMIDT AND AMI STAFF

F OR THE LOVE OF TORAH The life of Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l

36

CHANANYA BLEICH

R AV YITZCHAK YOSEF A son reflects on his father’s life RABBI YITZCHOK FRANKFURTER

40

T HROUGH A DAUGHTER’S EYES Interview with Rabbanit Adina Bar-Shalom SHIRA SCHMIDT AND BRACHA MANTAKA

46

C HILDHOOD MEMORIES R’ Naim Ovadia discusses his brother YAAKOV AMIR

10 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

50

T HE SECRETARY Rabbi Amir Kryspal describes the Rav’s dedication NESANEL GANTZ

56

S O APPROACHABLE, SO WARM Rav Ovadia’s visits to Deal, New Jersey VICTORIA DWEK

60

I N THE HOSPITAL WITH RAV OVADIA Rav Moshe Klein of Hadassah Medical Center on the final weeks CHANANYA BLEICH

62

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RABBI YITZCHOK FRANKFURTER

The Mind and Heart of the Jewish Nation

B

efore Ami was launched in the winter of 2010, I sought the blessings of various gedolei Yisrael. In particular, I traveled to Israel and visited the gadol hador and the singular leader of the Jewish nation, Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l. After being seated in the study at his home in Har Nof, Yerushalayim, I shared with Rav Ovadia my intent to publish a magazine that would seek to unite all segments of klal Yisrael. Before I even finished my statement, Rav Ovadia lovingly put his right hand on my forehead and started to bless me. Then, as a further sign of affection, he began to ever so gently slap my face in his signature style of showing fondness, while mouthing one warm blessing after the other. He touched me so deeply that I grabbed both of Rav Ovadia’s majestic hands and started kissing them.

That encounter was not merely one of the most moving moments of my life, but also one of its most transformative. In fact, I attribute the amazing siyata di’shmaya I have witnessed as the editor of Ami to that encounter. The mere fact that I, among countless others, attribute our respective successes to Rav Ovadia’s blessings is the greatest proof of how deeply Rav Ovadia touched the people who came in contact with him.

One of the prescripts governing a Jewish monarch is a limitation upon the number of wives he may marry. Should a king become consumed in marital affairs and domestic responsibilities, it is logical that that may impose a strain on his time and resources, hindering his ability to rule effectively. The Rambam, however, as always, offers a deeper understanding to this law. He writes: “A king should not be consumed in marital affairs. Even if he has only one wife he should not be constantly with her, as is the practice of fools...the Torah cautions against the diverting of his heart, as it states ‘lest his heart go astray...’”

And the Rambam explains: “…for libo lev kol ha’am—his heart is the heart of the entire Jewish nation; therefore, the verse commanded him to cleave to the Torah to a greater degree than the rest of the nation, as it is written: ‘He should learn from the Torah every day of his life.’”

(Hilchos Melachim 3:6) 8 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

Assigning the king the role of the “heart of his nation,” rather than the “mind of his nation,” establishes him as the loving caretaker of each and every Jewish person. Indeed, a true Jewish king not only thinks about his people, but he also has limitless compassion for every individual man, woman and child.

Rav Ovadia was, through his formidable erudition and Torah scholarship, a sovereign, a Jewish king, a Torah leader, who almost single-handedly changed the face of an entire people. He inspired thousands upon thousands of Jews, especially in the Sephardi and Mizrahi communities, to live lives informed by Torah and mitzvos. But in addition, “libo lev kol ha’am,” his heart was the heart of the entire Jewish nation. Only one who merited witnessing his warmth, his indescribable love for a fellow Jew, could possibly understand what true ahavas Yisrael means.

Yet ironically, because Rav Ovadia often chastised those who deviated from Torah and mitzvos, in secular circles and anti-religious environs he was often perceived during his lifetime as harsh and lacking in empathy. Words of rebuke are apparently no smart way of obtaining high ratings. But Rav Ovadia never sought high ratings, only to guide the Jewish nation through the abyss of its moral haze. By his singular focus on doing what is moral and right, however, he became the foremost gadol of our time. Hundreds of thousands of people were smitten by his piety, warmth and love, and now all of Israel mourns his passing.

In an email to us, our writer in Israel, Shira Leibowitz Schmidt, described Rav Ovadia’s funeral as follows: “The funeral is absolutely astounding. The estimates keep growing, 500,000, 600,000 or more. All roads to Jerusalem are jammed. Police and army have to organize logistics; Jerusalem has never seen anything like this. A few dozen minor injuries due to crowding, fainting, etc. TV and radio have ceased all broadcasts except for the funeral.”

It seems that secular Israelis, too, have finally recognized the greatness of Rav Ovadia.

May this belated recognition along with his memory be for a blessing.

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LETTERS EXECUTIVE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Chesky Kauftheil EDITORIAL

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter SENIOR EDITOR

Rechy Frankfurter MANAGING EDITOR

Yossi Krausz

RABBINIC EDITOR

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Ami Magazine P: 718.534.8800 F: 718.484.7731 info@amimagazine.org Ami Magazine. Published by Mezoogmag LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form without prior written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher reserves the right to edit all articles for clarity, space, and editorial sensitivities. Ami Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content of articles or advertisements in the publication, nor for the contents of books that are referred to or excerpted herein.

THERE’S NO REASON TO HOPE Iran’s charm offensive is offensive

In reference to “Obama, Netanyahu and Rouhani’s Long-Distance Handshake,” Issue 137

Dear Editor: I read your coverage of the Rouhani and Netanyahu visits to the US last week with great interest. I thought that a number of the experts you quoted seemed well-informed, but the two who felt that there is a hope for peace with Iran seem to me to be awfully naïve. The Iranians are masters of deception and their ideology is anti-Semitic and certainly anti-Israeli. Jews in Iran are tolerated, but they live on a knife’s edge.

Maybe Obama thinks that peace is a possibility, but we shouldn’t fool ourselves.

Dovid Kohanim Brooklyn, NY

I LIKE LOFTUS

A perspective that’s welcome In reference to Spyview

Dear Editor: Thank you for John Loftus’ “Spyview” column. I wonder how many Ami readers realize just how fortunate we are to read his unique perspective on the news every week.

Ever since the John Batchelor radio show’s good old days (in its more controversial earlier incarnation), I have been a fan of John Loftus. So it is a treat that Mr. Loftus’ weekly reports appear in Ami, a forum that most would never have predicted back when Loftus was a regular on the John Batchelor Show (before there was an Ami Magazine).

Loftus can be relied upon to take whatever is happening on the national and international scene, and shine a new light

on the basic conventional wisdom, exposing the inner machinations we might not otherwise learn about. Even though I don’t always agree with his personal politics, I have to say that I find him to be fair and evenhanded. He is a precious fountain of knowledge, due to his unique career experiences over many years, and the fact that he has courageously retained his integrity, staying strong in heart, soul and character despite the ominous (and often downright sinister) underside of the powers that be.

Keep up the great work, Ami and Mr. Loftus!

J.L. New Jersey

LETTERS WHAT DEMOCRATS DON’T UNDERSTAND

PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD SHOWER PRAISE

In reference to Q & A, Issue 137

In reference to “The Glass House,” Issue 137

Dear Editor:

Dear Editor:

I read the recent interview with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and was disgusted. Rep. Jeffries and the Democrats may paint the Republicans as nasty obstructionists, but they ignore the real reason behind their attempt to stop Obamacare. If they had a serious need for healthcare because of a dangerous chronic illness, like I do, and would be facing a huge increase in their insurance premiums, they might realize why Republicans want to demolish this pernicious “healthcare” law.

To put it plainly, Obamacare will kill or bankrupt people like me. Obama, of course, doesn’t care; he’s happy to bump off a few older people for the good of his socialist project. But since there is little other option to stop Obamacare, no one should expect the Republicans to let it run roughshod over the American people without fighting hard to stop it. For my sake and for the sake of other sick people, I hope they succeed.

I’ve recently become somewhat involved in the Holocaust curriculum in my daughters’ Bais Yaakov. When I opened the magazine last week and read Roizy Waldman’s fascinating article on Carl Lutz and the Glass House, I realized that we really had not tackled the subject of non-Jewish rescuers in the Holocaust as well as we need to.

Just this last week, I’ve begun collecting material and guidance from experts for a section on similar rescuers. It turns out that the subject is interesting and has controversial elements, such as cases involving false claims of Holocaust rescue, that will certainly make the learning more exciting for the students, including my girls. Thank you to Ami and Roizy Waldman for the inspiration.

There’s good reason to shut the government down

Holocaust education should include this

Leah David

Sarah Willig P.S. Ben Rosen’s smarmy attacks on Republicans in the “Sightings and Citings” column fall into the same category.

AMI MAGAZINE 1575 50th St., Brooklyn, NY 11219 letters@amimagazine.org Phone: (718) 534-8800 Fax: (718) 484-7731

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A CLOSER LOOK

ANALYZING THE NEWS THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

The Uncivil War

CAN REPUBLICANS DEFEAT OBAMACARE WITHOUT DEFEATING THEMSELVES?

T

he effect that the continuing US government shutdown will have on the economy was hopefully mitigated this weekend. Legislation that unanimously passed the House of Representatives would give backpay to the approximately 800,000 furloughed government workers, whenever the government starts running again. But the effect that the unpopular shutdown will have on the Republican Party, which initiated the shutdown by refusing to pass a House bill that would fund the government without affecting Obamacare, still remains to be seen.

Early news reports indicate that some Tea Party-favored congressmen may be facing challenges because of dissatisfaction with their tactics. That includes Republican Michigan congressman Justin Amash; the local business establishment is looking to support a more moderate Republican primary challenger. But some of the fallout from the Republican strategy may be moderate Republicans losing their seats to Democrats in the general elections.

A poll by left-leaning polling group Public Policy Polling (PPP) indicates that the Republicans could lose the House in 2014, partially because of the shutdown

Though he voted for the two initial continuing resolutions that would have delayed Obamacare or its individual mandate (unlike the other 17 GOP rebels), Rep. Grimm voted against the final resolution to go to conference. His communications director, Carol Danko, explained in an email to Ami: “Rep. Grimm President Barack Obama makes a viewed this as the last chance statement about the government to vote to keep the government shutdown as he visits Federal Emergency Management Agency running and believed the reso(FEMA) headquarters in Washington lution should have had a provision to keep the government tactics. (The Democrats’ Obamacare itself running.” Despite this, Grimm is facing still remains unpopular.) They found that political backlash because of the actions of certain Republican congressmen were vul- the rest of the House Republicans. nerable only if the pollster explained to the In an interview with Ami, Grimm experson being polled that their congress- plained that he remains strongly opposed man had supported the shutdown. to Obamacare: One of those found vulnerable was New “I think Obamacare is as bad a policy York congressman Michael Grimm, who as you can get. Little by little, people are represents the 11th congressional district seeing it. It’s going to result in less quality (Staten Island-Brooklyn). Grimm is being of care, less choice for patients, and more targeted by MoveOn.org (which also paid cost. Everyone’s premiums are going to for the PPP poll), which will be running go through the roof, which we’re already ads against him accusing him of support- seeing. ing the shutdown. The ironic aspect is that “The last nonpartisan study that was Rep. Grimm was actually one of 18 con- done shows that premiums for families gressmen to break ranks with the rest of across the entire country have gone up the House GOP and try to avoid the shut- $3,761 on average. This is not rocket scidown. ence.

14 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

BY YOSSI KRAUSZ

“The president and Democrats are talking about the 48 million people who didn’t have healthcare. And I cede to them that if you didn’t have any healthcare before, then this is somewhat beneficial. If you went from nothing to something, you’re going to see a benefit there. What they don’t tell you is that for everyone who did have healthcare, much of it employer-sponsored, this is a nightmare.” Even for those people who get cheap insurance, he said, the deductibles may be so high as to make that insurance incredibly expensive to use.

Grimm went on to point out a number of other problems with Obamacare, including the trend of companies like UPS and IBM to reduce coverage for spouses because of the new law, as well as the rise in hiring for part-time jobs because businesses want to remain with fewer than 50 full-time employees and avoid Obamacare requirements.

But despite his opposition to the health care law, Grimm says that he disagrees with how House Republicans brought the situation over the brink.

“As bad a policy as Obamacare is, I also think it is very bad policy to shut the government down, which is why I did not and do not support a government shutdown. I don’t think compounding one bad policy with another is prudent.”

Grimm said his primary concern was the 800,000 furloughed workers, whose paychecks won’t show up until the shutdown is ended. “These aren’t rich people, for the most part.”

He acknowledged that voters may see the Republicans as the cause of the shutdown.

“I think that’s because individuals like Senator Ted Cruz [R-Texas] made a circus out of the legitimate debate about the effects of Obamacare and the very serious concerns Americans have about it. They got overshadowed by a circus created by Ted Cruz. I don’t support that style of politics and that type of rhetoric. I think it demeans the House and the Senate. There

should be a certain level of decorum. Republicans have to take some blame; we are somewhat responsible.”

But Grimm isn’t willing to place the entire blame on Republicans.

“I would say the Democrats are equally responsible—and believe me when I say this: I have many friends on the other side of the aisle—because they played along and pushed the envelope for political gain.

“They don’t want the shutdown as a policy; they know it’s bad. But they believe they’re scoring points and that this will help them in the next election. That’s why you see the president of the United States saying things that a head of state of any country should never say. It’s certainly not presidential to say, ‘It’s my way or the highway.’” Grimm said that besides the internal damage to the US, foreign enemies like Russia and Iran will see America as weak.

When we asked him whether Republicans can regain a tactical advantage, Grimm responded: “Personally, I don’t care. The politics is something I don’t care about; it’s the policy. We need to get our country moving.” But he added that the Democrats’ refusal to negotiate will be seen as politically motivated by voters.

He said that time for negotiation on the debt ceiling is also passing, with possibly dangerous consequences.

“I think that we’re already there [at the deadline for the debt ceiling]. Everyone knows that the Senate can’t move as quickly as the House. If we send something over to the Senate, even today, it takes four days for them to send something back. So the window to negotiate a deal is rapidly closing. It may look like we have until the 16th or 17th, but that’s not a lot of time because of Senate procedural restrictions.” Grimm said that bipartisan support for a “grand bargain” involving a continuing resolution to fund the government, the raising of the debt ceiling, funding increases for the sequester and some Democratic concessions on entitlements is the way he sees to move forward. “Right now,” he said, “the Demo-

cratic refusal to have the dialogue is hurting us most of all.”

Professor Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told Ami that divisions inside political parties like the one facing Republicans now are not new. He pointed to divisions in the Democratic Party in the 1950s and 1960s over civil rights; divisions between “Watergate babies” and “traditional New Deal-Great Society” Democrats in the 1970s over the extent of government reform; and the divisions between the Young Republicans and the establishment Republicans in the mid-‘90s.

The fight between Democrats in the 1960s ended up splitting the Democratic Party, with southern conservatives joining the Republicans. But Zelizer says that the Republican divisions have shown no sign of doing that. “There has been no comparable regional shift.”

He doesn’t see the rise of the Tea Party as representing a new shift either. “I think they are an extension of a faction of the Republican Party that came of age in the mid-‘90s.

They were ideologically very conservative and also willing to use pretty aggressive tactics to achieve what they wanted.” Despite increased aggressiveness and new voices in the party, he sees the present political extreme as merely an outgrowth of the 1990sera Republican extreme.

Zelizer says that a splinter group can have a strong effect on a political party, and he points to the present leadership of the Republicans as having been part of the Young Republican movement of the 1990s, who eventually took control, despite pushback at the time and their loss of the 1995-1996 government shutdown battle.

He says, though, that the tarnishing of the Republican brand over the last 20 years means that the Tea Party may be more of a problem for the party than possible inheritors of leadership.

How big a problem that is will become apparent as we approach the 2014 elections.

5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4 / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / A M I M A G A Z I N E

15

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LIFE IN NUMBERS

Can We Trust the Pew Poll?

Not Really The biggest Jewish demographic news in recent days has come from the Pew Research Center survey of American Jews.

(See “The Shul Chronicles” this week for Rabbi Moshe Taub’s discussion of some of the findings of the survey.)

One of the biggest bits of news to come out of the survey was that the number of people who identify as Jews but say they have no religion gets larger the younger the people are, with 32 percent of Jews born after 1980 saying that they are Jewish

based on culture or ancestry but not on the basis of religion. Jews are progressively falling away from a religious identity, according to the poll.

Another fascinating part of the survey involves retention of Orthodox Jews. Pew says that the numbers of people raised as Orthodox Jews who remain Orthodox gets larger the younger they are. Hopefully that would mean we are doing a better job of retention. But it could also mean that as people get older, more of them go off the

derech.

But the question is: Should any of these numbers really concern us? There are a number of findings of the Pew study, particularly about “ultra-Orthodox Jews,” that seem…well…highly unlikely. Some may have been due to badly phrased questions.

Others seem like practical jokes. And the ridiculous nature of those numbers casts the whole thing into doubt. (Some numbers below are rounded and therefore don’t add up to 100 percent.)

SOME SERIOUS NUMBERS

UNBELIEVABLE NUMBERS

JEWISH IDENTITY BY GENERATION

PERCENT WHO BELIEVE “HAVING A SENSE OF HUMOR” IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF JEWISH IDENTITY Modern Orthodox: 39% | Ultra-Orthodox: 33%

BORN 1914-1927 (GREATEST) 94% Jew by religion | 7% Jew of no religion BORN 1928-1945 (SILENT) 86% Jew by religion | 14% Jew of no religion BORN 1946-1964 (BOOMER) 81% Jew by religion | 19% Jew of no religion BORN 1965-1980 (GEN X) 74% Jew by religion | 26% Jew of no religion BORN 1981 AND ON (MILLENIAL) 68% Jew by religion | 32% Jew of no religion

PERCENT WHO SAY THAT A PERSON “CAN BE JEWISH” IF HE OR SHE BELIEVES IN THE CHRISTIAN MESSIAH Modern Orthodox: 33% | Ultra-Orthodox: 35% PERCENT OF ORTHODOX RAISING THEIR CHILDREN AS “NOT JEWISH” 2% PERCENT OF MODERN ORTHODOX WHO REGULARLY LIGHT SHABBOS CANDLES 78%

ORTHODOX RETENTION BY AGE AMONG THOSE RAISED ORTHODOX, PERCENT HAVING REMAINED ORTHODOX 18-29 years old: 83% 30-49 years old: 57% 50-64 years old: 41% 65 years old and up: 22%

PERCENT WHO DON’T HANDLE MONEY ON SHABBOS Modern Orthodox: 81% | Ultra-Orthodox: 76% PERCENT WHO HAD AN XMAS TREE LAST YEAR Modern Orthodox: 4% | Ultra-Orthodox: 1% PERCENT WHO ATTEND NON-JEWISH RELIGIOUS SERVICES A FEW TIMES A YEAR Modern Orthodox: 15% | Ultra-Orthodox: 15%

16 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

BY YOSSI KRAUSZ

U P D AT E S New Info on Stories We’ve Run

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International monitors began overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons systems on Sunday. The actual work was being done by a team of Syrians that was using simple tools to destroy delivery and production systems; that apparently included using vehicles to run over equipment, according to the Washington Post. Filled warheads and precursor chemicals will require more careful techniques when the team reaches them.

The US military carried out two military operations over the weekend aimed at terrorist groups. One, in Libya, netted Al-Qaeda leader Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, also known as Abu Anas al-Liby, who was indicted in 2000 for his role in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The other operation, in Somalia, failed to capture the “high-value” Al Shabaab target that was being focused on. The target reportedly was involved in the recent attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi.

The Ayatollah Khamenei hinted over the weekend at disapproval of the overtures Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has made toward the US, including a 15-minute phone call to President Obama. Khamenei said, “We support the government’s diplomatic moves including the New York trip because we have faith [in them]. But some of what happened in the New York trip was not appropriate.” He went on to say that the US government has been “captured by the international Zionism network.”

Khamenei’s remarks come while hardliners in Iran have continued to attack Rouhani for his actions.

Commemoration of attacks by Egyptian forces against Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War set the scene for violent crackdowns by Egyptian army forces on supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood this Sunday in Cairo, where over 50 people were killed. Many more were wounded.

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IN THE NEWS

BY TURX

Cruz Control

BY DR. CRUZ

In a place far away, Many a month back, I decided to give Spoofing a crack.

It turns out the place Was the state of my mind.

In the noodles therein, A tale was entwined.

Now once again, As inspired by Ted Cruz, A government shutdown As [posthumously] told by Dr. Seuss: Some days before today, While moving ASAP In the prairie of DC, Came a Right-Going Party And a Left-Going Party.

And it happened that both of them came to a place Where they bumped. There they stood.

Foot to foot. Face to face.

“Look here, now!” the Right-Going Party said, “I say!

You are blocking my path. You are right in my way.

I’m a Right-Going Party and I always go right.

Get out of my way, now, get out of my sight!”

“Who’s in whose way?” snapped the LeftGoing Party.

“I always go left, as left as can be.

So you’re in my way! And I ask you to move.

And let me go left in my left-going groove.”

Then the Right-Going Party puffed his chest up with pride.

“I never,” he said, “take a step to one side.

And I’ll prove to you that I won’t change my ways, If I have to keep standing here fifty-nine days!”

“And I’ll prove to YOU,” yelled the LeftGoing Party, That I can stand here in the prairie of DC For fifty-nine years! For I live by a rule That I learned as a boy back in Left-Going School: Never budge! That’s my rule. Never budge in the least!

Not an inch to the west! Not an inch to the east!

I’ll stay here, not budging! I can and I will, If it makes you and I and the whole world stand still!”

And right there in DC Standing firm like a tree, The Right-Going Party And Left-Going Party, Their screams we could hear Each other they’d lambast They were both going nowhere And getting there fast.

Then marching up from the south all the way to DC Arrived the brand new Party of Tea, In one hand a constitution, in the other an Uzi,

18 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

It drawled and said, “Y’all best follow just me.”

“It’s the end of the world As we know it,” they did claim, Accusations all whirled: “You are to blame!”

So the US as a country And DC as a town Just couldn’t agree And the government shut down.

They’re still out there fighting, Those parties, them three.

They’re still doing battle In the prairie of DC. But in all that time much progress was made, The private market still traded its trade; Highways were built and roads were laid, And by nary an inch were those parties swayed.

But one brilliant point, observed a local in that town, “The best kind of government is one that’s shut down.”

•

Ben Rosen

Sightings&Citings Synopses of, and excerpts from, interesting items that have recently appeared here and there —and sometimes way over there—in the media

MEDIUM OR MEDIUM WELL-DONE? A woman with some spirit

HEROES AT WORK

JTA recently reported on the success of Rebecca Rosen, a “psychic medium” who has been featured on major television programs and writes a monthly column for media mogul Oprah Winfrey’s website.

Rosen charges clients $1,000 an hour to channel dead relatives.

Rosen, who grew up as a Conservative Jew and whose Conservative rabbi brother endorses her work, says that her first encounter with the “other side” came as she channeled her dead grandmother in a journal during college. She later stopped working in advertising (hmm…) and began doing psychic readings for friends.

In her writing, Rosen has attributed her abilities to highly developed “clair-senses,” which she uses to sense spirits as “orbs of light.” She also explains to readers how to develop such senses as “clair-gustance,” the sense of ghostly tastes; and “clair-cognizance.”

B ut her most important It’s only “one of the most,” not the most?

What a liberal.

lessons involve clair-suckers and clair-cash.

A comparison goes down in flames The eagerness of many Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives to attempt to delay Obamacare (after attempting to defund it) was palpable, according to news reports last week. But one congressman who spoke about the scene may have been a bit too proud of what the caucus was about to do, which ended up provoking a government shutdown.

MSNBC reported that Congressman John Culberson of Texas recalled the scene. “The whole room: ‘Let’s vote!’ I said, like 9/11, ‘Let’s roll!’”

“Let’s roll” refers to the phrase spoken by United Airlines Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer on a cellphone call shortly before he and other passengers rushed the terrorists who had commandeered the cockpit in an apparent attempt to crash into the White House or US Capitol Building. The flight crashed soon afterward in

Pennsylvania.

A difference: the Republicans crashed the plane into the Capitol themselves.

HONOR AMONG DRUG DEALERS The Dread Pirate Roberts complains The largest online market for illegal drugs and other illegal items was taken offline last week by federal agents, who arrested Ross Ulbricht and shuttered his Deep Web website Silk Road. Ulbricht, who went by the name Dread Pirate Roberts, had enabled about $1.3 billion of revenue for sellers and had himself gained about $85 million in commissions.

Besides the criminal complaints against Ulbricht for his drug selling, the feds also revealed a pair of occasions on which Ulbricht had paid for people to be killed. His latest hit involved a supplier who claimed that he had cracked encryption on a computer that allowed him access to information about buyers on Silk Road.

Ulbricht reportedly paid $150,000 for this most recent hit. (It’s unclear whether it was

A SIGN THIS MAY TAKE A LONG TIME “We’re not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”

—Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Indiana) to the Washington Examiner, discussing the Republican position on the government shutdown.

Maybe we ought to reopen the government until you get some ideas? actually carried out.) But he complained that he had previously paid only $80,000 for killing a worker who had stolen from Ulbricht. That $80,000 was actually paid to a federal agent posing as a hit man, who sent faked pictures of the execution. Writing to the agent, Ulbricht expressed his regrets at having to order his employee killed. “But what’s done is done,” Ulbricht wrote. “I just can’t believe he was so stupid...

I just wish more people had some integrity.”

He’s right. What is the world of drug-dealing coming to?

THEY’RE CONGRESSMEN, NOT HISTORIANS “One of the most insidious laws ever created by man.”

—Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Indiana), describing Obamacare to CNN

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19

JEWISHNEWS

You Don’t Throw Away Gold RAV STEINMAN CALLS FOR A “GOLDEN” APPROACH TO CHINUCH

T

he world of chinuch, like the world of commerce, is all about product value. In the case of chinuch, however, the products in question have no price tag. So said Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, who recently addressed a group of hundreds of high school rebbeim and roshei yeshivah at an annual gathering in Eretz Yisrael on chinuch in today’s generation. The event has garnered significant coverage due to a number of Rav Shteinman’s remarks, particularly his statement that, during his six decades in chinuch, he never once threw out a bachur from yeshivah.

Ami spoke to Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein, current mayor of Bnei Brak and organizer of the gathering for over 20 years, for an eyewitness account of what took place. “One of the topics Rav Shteinman mentioned,” noted Rubinstein, “was how valuable each child has to be in the eyes of his rebbeim. He mentioned a gemara in Bava Kama (62a), that discusses a scenario where a man gave a golden coin to a woman to watch, and he told her he was giving her a silver coin.

If she destroyed it intentionally, she has to pay for it as if it was gold. However, if she was careless, she has to pay for silver, as she can say, ‘I thought it was a silver coin and did not watch over it like I would have a golden coin’—neturusei d’dahava.

“Rav Shteinman continued [to say] that each and every rebbe and rosh yeshivah must know that he is dealing with neshamos— golden coins—even greater than golden coins. Additionally, one cannot get into chinuch if he is not aware of what he is dealing with, like the silver coins. In truth, even gold is not a comparable mashal to these neshamos. Every rosh yeshivah must know that every child needs to be viewed as neturusei d’dahava. They must be given indi-

The rebbe should view the situation as if it was his own child. Would the rebbe throw out his own child? vidualized attention and cannot be viewed as something to be mezalzel in. The achrayus toward children has to be like gold, even more than gold. If you view children in this light, Hashem will help that the children will turn out as Hashem wants them to.

“It was after these words,” continued the mayor, “that Rav Shteinman said that, except for one instance, he never threw a bachur out of yeshivah. I want to add to this

20 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

that Rav Shteinman has been a rosh yeshivah in yeshivah ketanah [high school, in America] for close to seventy years, first in Kfar Saba and then in Ponovezh, so this statement carries significant weight. He then said that a rebbe is responsible for what will become of the child if he is thrown out. The rebbe should view the situation as if it was his own child. Would the rebbe throw out his own child?”

Later on, Rav Shteinman addressed the question of how to infuse the talmidim with a geshmak in learning: “If you have a visible geshmak in learning, then the children will learn from you and also have a geshmak.

The rebbe has to have the geshmak first. If he is lacking enthusiasm in learning, how can he give it over to his talmidim?”

According to the mayor, the main focus of Rav Shteinman’s address, which he drove home again and again, was that each and

every child learning in yeshivah should be cherished and regarded as the most important responsibility by his mechanchim. This means that every talmid, his temperament and his situation, must be dealt with on an individual basis, with personal attention and with the utmost care. After all, the mayor explained concerning Rav Shteinman’s speech, you don’t throw away gold; how much more so must we hold on to the precious neshamos of klal Yisrael?

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RAV CHAIM KANIEVSKY ATTENDS SPECIAL SIYUM

A

s the fight for Torah in Eretz Yisrael continues without respite, an awe-inspiring group of gedolei Yisrael assembled on Sunday, to strengthen the cause of Torah and celebrate the completion of Bava Kama by a group of bachurim from Yeshivos Ponevezh and Orchos Torah, who had studied the mesechta using the Dirshu yeshivah program, which helps bachurim gain a strong kinyan in the mesechta their yeshivah is learning.

The event was particularly enhanced by the participation of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, who rarely attends public events. Rav Chaim gave a heartfelt brachah to the gathering; the crowd responded with a loud amein.

A number of illustrious rabbanim spoke at the event. Rosh Yeshivah Rav Berel Povarsky, shlita, spoke about the special nature of a siyum made on in-depth learning. The nasi of Ponovezh, Rav Eliezer Kahaneman, shlita, related stories and insights connected to the siyum from his grandfather, the Ponovezher Rav, zt”l. Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, nasi of Dirshu, spoke about the responsibility that Torah scholars have in upholding the world. Rav Issamar Garbuz, shlita, rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Orchos Torah, spoke about the power of a siyum. Other rabbanim who participated included Rav Dov Diskin, shlita, a rosh yeshivah at Orchos Torah; Rav Chaim Peretz Berman, shlita, a rosh mesivta at Ponovezh; and Rav Chizkiyahu Yosef Mishkovsky, shlita, mashgiach of Orchos Torah.

With secular forces baying outside the fortresses of Torah and the sources of sustenance for Torah scholars gravely threatened, the importance of the chizuk that the event gave not just to those who completed the mesechta but also to everyone else attending cannot be underestimated. Once again, Dirshu has shored up the walls of citadels of Torah and given strength to the soldiers of the fight, the talmidei chachamim.

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JEWISH LIVING IN

New Haven, Co

Warm, chesed-oriented community just northeast of New York

T

he first thing you will notice when visiting the New Haven Jewish community is the constant outpouring of warmth and hospitality. With Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital nearby, there are many opportunities for chesed at every level. Whether inviting students for Shabbos seudos, setting up an apartment for the family of a patient, or making hot, satisfying meals for those staying at the hospital, there is always some way to help.

The Jewish community has been around since the 1800s, and has managed to retain

a core of committed Yidden who ensure that the city always has everything a Jew could need. There are several shuls and an active Hillel and Chabad presence on the Yale campus. Proximity to New York offers the advantage of well-priced kosher food available at local supermarkets. Daily Daf Yomi and other weekly shiurim all attest to the Torah ambience felt in New Haven.

There is also a fully furnished bikur cholim apartment, a mikvah, an eruv, and a chevrah kadisha. An online searchable database has been developed for the Jewish cemeteries in New Haven (many of which are very old), and people often come to see the kevaros of their ancestors and various gedolim.

22 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

Celebrating Lag Ba’Omer

REAL ESTATE A one-family house sells for $275,000–$400,000.

Two-bedroom apartments rent for $900 per month.

onnecticut

BY ESTHER MUROFF

Cost of Living TUITION $11,000 (Scholarships are available.)

FOOD Grape juice costs $3.99 for a 64-oz bottle.

Chalav Yisrael milk costs $3.49 for a half-gallon container.

Getting there 

From New York by car: 1½ hours From Israel by plane: 10–12 hours to JFK or Newark airports, then a 1½-hour drive

The Shul



WEATHER

New Haven has typical Northeast US weather: Summer high temperatures are in the 80s (F), and winter highs are in the 30s and 40s. Spring and fall are just beautiful, with warm days and cool nights. Annual precipitation averages 47 inches.

The city’s Westville neighborhood features two shuls: the Westville Synagogue and Bikur Cholim. The neighborhood boasts a thriving weekly adult education program and a Shabbos program. Elsewhere, the Orchard Street Shul, which meets on Shabbos, has been beautifully restored. Additionally, there is a Chabad House with a daily minyan. Another shul in the area, in existence for many years, is the Yeshiva of New Haven Synagogue. Along with regular minyanim and shiurim, there is a night kollel, where avreichim from neighboring cities join with shul members in chavrusa learning. At the shul, every

effort is made to ensure that the children are involved hands-on in all aspects of Yiddishkeit. Children of every age can be found in shul each Shabbos, fully participating in the davening. They love shul so much that one of their favorite pretend games is “Let’s play shul!”

There are two local day schools, where children learn together in a small, familylike setting. There are also two yeshivah high schools, Yeshiva Gedola Rabbinical Institute and Yeshiva of New Haven.

At the latter, catering to both local and out-of-town boys, the limudei kodesh curriculum is skills-oriented, focusing on fundamentals and developing each student’s abilities to learn Gemara independently. Small classes assure each bachur the personal attention and warm kesher so important for growth in Torah. Additionally, the bachurim are involved in community work, such as helping make food for the shul kiddush, occasionally assisting with kevuros, and helping out at shechitah.

In the summertime, when the yeshivos are not in session, several bachurim from the SEED program come to New Haven to

learn with members of the community and reenergize Torah learning.

The most unique feature of the community is the feeling that everyone is family.

By constantly contributing to the tzibbur, everyone becomes closer and feels like an important part of the klal. The men coordinate minyanim and learning programs, and the women organize shul functions and chesed meals. Children are constantly running back and forth between their friends’ houses, all of which are within a span of a few blocks, and there is a certain “bungalow colony” feeling—except that it’s all year round! There is always someone visiting—an alumnus bringing along his entire family to experience a New Haven Shabbos, a visiting relative or a family that once got stuck in traffic and ended up in New Haven for Shabbos and now have become regulars.

No matter who it is, they are welcomed and invited to join in the excitement and camaraderie of the community.

•

To submit a community’s story or to have your community featured here, please contact us at submissions@amimagazine.org.

5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4 / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / A M I M A G A Z I N E

23

BUSINESS

l NEWS

B Y Y E D I DA WO LF E

Congress Gets Paid, Not Staffers KEY ECONOMIC INDICATORS REMAIN UNREPORTED

C

ongress members will continue to receive their paychecks during the partial government shutdown that went into effect last week. While 83 percent of government services will function as usual, neither essential nor nonessential workers will receive their salaries until the impasse is resolved. The difference is that essential workers must show up for work, while the furloughed staff stays home for now. A victim of the shutdown, the Labor Department didn’t release its famous market-moving employment data due to the shutdown, causing uncertainty for Federal Reserve officials and stockbrokers trying to determine the health of the US economy. The construction report was similarly sidelined, since the US Commerce Department is also dark until the government reopens. Economists are relying on private reports for the short term, but they hope that losing the most reliable data won’t erode confidence that the Fed policymakers and investment advisors are making informed judgments.

(Sources: NPR, CNN, Slate)

Data Point

US #3

The US is the third largest producer of oil and gas in the world, beating out Russia, Canada, Venezuela and Nigeria.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

Fighting Fraud at the Cash Register “DIGITAL TOKENS” TO MAKE PAYMENTS SAFER

Global credit card fraud rose 15 percent last year to $11.3 billion. Smaller merchants are particularly vulnerable since they don’t invest in fraud-fighting tools, according to Visa executive Jim McCarthy. A joint move by Visa, MasterCard and American Express to use digital tokens instead of magnetic strips may help make payments safer. Tokens provide an added layer of security and eliminate the need for merchants to store account numbers. The new technology will also help the US integrate with Europe’s safer EMV payment technology. (The US is among the last developed nations relying on cards with magnetic strips.) Uniformity among the three largest payment networks is expected to help curb fraud, especially as online and mobile forums offer consumers new ways to pay.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Into the Niche SMALL BUSINESSES NEED NEW MARKETS

Bigger isn’t better anymore. A series of breakthrough technologies and new business models allow niche businesses a bigger piece of the pie. The Internet provides a vast and cheap audience via Etsy, Amazon and eBay; social media provides advertising venues; and payment processing is no longer a legal and financial nightmare with products like Square and Stripe. To succeed requires adopting a new “unscaled” mindset where the emphasis is on selling a greater number of specialized products at modest prices to customers around the world who know exactly what they need. Hermant Taneja writes that this new economy built on “fragmented niches” will create sustainable companies that will finally boost the US job market. (Source: Harvard Business Review)

24 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

RISE AND FALL OF BEST GLOBAL BRANDS

BETWEEN

2000-2013

2000

1. Coca Cola 2. Microsoft 3. IBM 4. Intel 5. Nokia 6. GE 7. Ford 8. Disney 9. McDonald’s 10. AT&T

2013

1. Apple 2. Google 3. Coca Cola 4. IBM 5. Microsoft 6. GE 7. McDonald’s 8. Samsung 9. Intel 10. Toyota (Source: Bloomberg Businessweek)

BUSINESS

l PARNOOOSA

PARNOOOSA!

BY MAURICE STEIN

Parnassah 101: Building Your Vision A LITTLE IMAGINATION GOES A LONG WAY

I

t was a busy week, between catching up on work after Yom Tov and preparing for an event I hosted. But I managed to find one possible candidate for our present project of coaching three people towards landing and keeping a job.

Here’s the first email I got from our first candidate: Hi Maurice, My name is Chaim Rosenfeld. I would very much like to be considered for your latest contest. I recently left kollel and entered the job market. I have a wife and little baby girl to support and I have been actively looking for opportunities since before the summer.

This summer I worked as a madrich in a local boys day camp. I headed their summer play and I enjoyed the work tremendously. However the school year has started and I am feeling lost. I need someone to guide me and help me discover where I can best reach my full potential. My situation is very similar to many yungerleit in Boro Park. The education I received is equal to an eighth grader’s but I have abundant common sense and a good head. What I lack in education and expertise, I make up for with my determination and willingness to work hard.

I am motivated and I am not afraid to dig in and succeed. I have fantastic interpersonal skills and I enjoy learning new things. I am creative and artistic and I am hoping you can help me.

Thank you for your consideration, Chaim Rosenfeld From the moment I met Chaim, I liked his excitement about life and his willingness to work hard. He is the right mix of respectful and straightforward, humble and confident. He’s the type who, in the right environment, would get things done. But having all your options open can be a problem if you don’t have an idea of where you’re headed. It was important to determine his strong points and find something that would suit him.

I asked him these questions: Where do you want to be in 20 years from now? I don’t know.

If we ignore making money, what would you do with your day? Not sure.

If you have to choose between managing a warehouse and managing projects in an office, which one would you choose? Office. Why? I

don’t like running around.

Then I gave him these exercises: 1. Sit down with a pen and paper.

26 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / 5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4

Create a vision for your life.

It’s important to have this picture clear before you make any decisions about work. You need a vision in order to know what kind of job will help you get where you want to go.

Most people think about a job as simply a means to make money, but there is much more to a job than just getting paid. A job also serves as a vehicle to help a person get from one place to another; it helps him or her develop new skills and make connections with people that can be helpful in achieving their long-term goals. If you have a bigger picture about what you want in life, your career will help you achieve that vision.

One of the challenges of creating a vision is that you have to do it in a state of mind where everything is possible—because in reality, it is. But most people, when confronted with limitless possibilities, will often hear a little voice urging them to stop the nonsense and go back to reality.

That voice, by the way, is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of the unknown. Fear of other people’s opinions. Fear makes a case for playing by the “rules,” when the truth is there are no rules when it comes to achieving

your potential. An inspiring vision, followed by action, is how great jobs—great lives—are created. And it’s the most potent antidote to fear there is.

Find your vision. Then decide what steps are needed to take you there.

In Chaim’s case, I told him to sit down with a pen and paper (or a keyboard and screen) and start writing what he wanted his life to be like, 20 years from now, starting with “I just turned 42 and….”

(By writing in the present tense, Chaim’s vision would feel more real and immediate.) Then, he had to keep writing for as long as he could without stopping to think if what he was writing was “logical.”

2. Ask your wife and three friends what they think your strengths are.

Sometimes the people who are closest to us, who know us the best, see our talents better than we do. Their insight can sometimes give us direction we might not be able to find anywhere else. Listen to what they have to say; take notes if you can. Give what they tell you serious thought. It might give you the answer you’re looking for.

3. Make a list of things you love to do.

It’s important to remember that find-

MAURICE'S

ing a job takes work. My experience has shown that those people who are unwilling to put in the effort it takes to get the right job, the jobs they find (if they find them) will probably not be the right ones.

And most likely, they will not work hard at those jobs, either. People with jobs that excite and motivate them don’t feel like it’s “work.” With a clear vision of what you want to do and willingness to work hard, it’s possible to build a career that you love.

One reason why people struggle to find work is because they believe that there is nothing out there for them. They become frozen in limited, “victim” thinking. In the end, they often settle for a less-than-ideal situation simply because they feel there is no better option. I don’t judge them; in many ways, it’s easier to stay stuck. But for those who are not afraid to let go of victimhood, who have committed themselves to doing things differently, great changes are possible—for their careers…and for their lives.

I hope Chaim takes my advice to heart.

To be continued...

•

NEXT

PROJECT!

is FINDING you a job! want to be a part of tHE NExt PARNOoOSA COLUMN?

If you are interested in being one of our three candidates, please send an email with the following information.

Include contact information. State your age, marital status, number of children, the type of job you are looking for, and past work history if any.

All information is strictly confidential. If I believe you may be a good candidate for this project, I will contact you.

~

Follow this column as we coach three people towards landing a new job and beyond.

Looking forward to your emails at Maurice@amimagazine.org.

interva.mie.w

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B Y N E S A NE L G A NT Z

Name: Abe Backenroth

Position: Founding Partner

Age: 62

Firm: Backenroth Frankel & Krinsky, LLP

Lives: Flatbush Firm Established: 1990 Field: Bankruptcy Law Wife: Eva Background: Avraham (Abe) Backenroth is a noted bankruptcy attorney and founding partner of Backenroth Frankel & Krinsky, LLP, one of the top bankruptcy law firms in NYC. He graduated magna cum laude from Brooklyn College and received his law degree from NYU in 1976.

Mr. Backenroth, who stems from a long line of Chortkover chasidim, is often recognized by his trademark bowtie and his distinguished manner, characteristic of the Yidden of Vienna among whom his father, a”h, grew up. He is also active as the rosh hakahal of Kahal Premishlan in Flatbush.

Besides his full-time profession as a lawyer, he delivers several shiurim, including his famed weekly Thursday night hashkafah shiurim in Flatbush. During the summers, he delivers a weekly shiur on Kedushas Levi at Sun Circle Colony in South Fallsburg, New York. He and his wife live in Flatbush, and they are proud to have married off all five of their children.

LUNCH BREAK with Abe Backenroth Why did you decide to become a lawyer?

My mother convinced me. I had graduated from Brooklyn College, receiving an honorarium as the top graduating Economics and Business major in my class, and was planning to get my MBA, but my mother had other plans. She wanted me to go to law school, like my brother. Women in general, and my mother in particular, have a binah yeseirah. I listened to my mother, went to NYU and I never regretted it.

How did you end up in bankruptcy law?

It’s a very long story. However, the bottom line is it was a case of extreme hashgachah pratis. In a nutshell, I saw an ad to be a bankruptcy clerk for an

Irish bankruptcy judge, Judge Galgay, and I applied. When I arrived, there was no one there except one man, Chief Bankruptcy Judge Roy Babit, who was Jewish but nonreligious.

Seeing me standing there with my yarmulke and my tzitzis, he invited me in for coffee, and when Judge Galgay arrived, Babit told him, “You’ll take the next one.” Judge Babit got me my first job. Years later, Judge Babit asked me if I ever wondered why he chose me that day to be his law clerk. He then told me, “I saw a boy standing there with a yarmulke and tzitzis, and I said to myself, ‘That boy needs a friend in this world,’ and I wanted to be your friend.” Back in those days, all the frum attorneys broke into the profession because of the kindness of fellow Jews who were not frum. We then worked

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hard and established a reputation that opened the doors for succeeding frum attorneys to enter into the profession.

Today, it is a much different environment for frum attorneys than when I started, and the primary credit goes to those Jews who, although not religious themselves, opened the door for us to enter the profession. Another such Jew, Alex Rosen, may he rest in peace, eventually offered me a job, where I worked myself up to partner.

Does this apply to today’s generation?

Absolutely. In my day, not working on Shabbos and Yom Tov was a privilege, not a right. We would work insanely long hours so that Shabbos would not be a problem for our employers. I once worked for three

straight days without sleep to hand in a brief on time. We never used frumkeit as an excuse for not getting the work done and therefore paved the way for other frum attorneys to get a job. My twin brother, Gil, was such an outstanding candidate that the firm he worked for then hired frum associates because they assumed all frum Yidden were probably all like Gil. Today

meaning, people trying to grow their business beyond their means when they don’t have the resources to cover it. There is no rule on how to prevent it from failing. If I could give you an answer to that question, that book would be the bestseller of the century. People obviously need to calculate better, but at the same time, what leads to bankruptcy is also what usually

In my day, not working on Shabbos and Yom Tov was a privilege, not a right. things are easier for frum Yidden, and the previous generation has a lot to do with it.

They paved the way.

Do you need good business sense to operate a law firm?

You need good business acumen. Firstly, the running of a law firm as a business is just like any other business. Additionally, a lawyer has to know their clients’ business in order to advise them. Bankruptcy, for example, is a microcosm of the entire commercial world. Advising a client involves knowing a lot of what he is doing wrong, business-wise.

Is there any advice you can give our readers on how to prevent mistakes in business that lead to bankruptcy, based on your clients’ past experiences?

There is no one single rule. However, in general, bankruptcy is caused by overexpansion and undercapitalization,

leads to success as well.

Are you saying that overexpansion without enough money can be a means to success?

Exactly. It is one of the most popular ways to success in the business world, especially the Jewish business world.

Although it has improved slightly recently, there is a significant lack of capital funding in the Jewish world. When someone sees his business is doing well, he rides the momentum by expanding, even if he doesn’t have the money right away to cover it. He often believes he will make enough in the business to cover it. In other words, the same approach that leads to success for one person, leads to overexpansion and bankruptcy for another.

A secular Jew who loaned to frum Jews once told me this: “Frum Jews are great at starting businesses, and while the business is small, they are on top of every nut and bolt. Unfortunately, because of the

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There is no conflict between lifestyle and business. The Torah is the blueprint for how to live one’s life. lack of technical training, once their business grows, unless they bring in professional help, they lose control of their operations. Proper books and records are not here merely to prepare tax returns; they are there to give feedback in real time: how the business is doing, and to take corrective measures before it reaches the crisis state of a bankruptcy.”

Today, there are wonderful organizations where the accounting rudiments of business can be learned in a kosher environment. Our community should take advantage of this.

Do you help people file for bankruptcy or help people avert bankruptcy?

We do both. I would say eighty percent of the people who come into my office end up not having to file. I like to refer to bankruptcy as “serious medicine,” like a treatment for a serious disease. If you have to, you take it, but only if you have to. There are serious side effects.

How do you deal with the stress and rigors of work?

Stress is an unavoidable byproduct of work. In terms of stress in the business of law itself, my job really affects me. There are lawyers who talk about “detachment” as a coping mechanism,

but I don’t understand it. When a Yid comes into your office suffering and under great duress, how can it not affect you? In my over 37 years of practice, I have never learned how not to be affected by the tzaros of others.

Many of my colleagues have the same feelings of pain when dealing with a Yid’s tzaros. There is no detachment.

How does one balance a Torah lifestyle and business, especially in the law profession?

I believe there is no conflict. My philosophy is that the Torah is the blueprint for how to live one’s life. It is the blueprint as to how the world works. Operating in this world in accordance with its instruction manual is the best policy, even from a purely mundane point of view. While it is true that “Sechar mitzvah b’hai alma leka— the primary reward for performing in accordance with the Torah is not in this world,” that does not mean there aren’t also collateral benefits of performing in accordance with the blueprint of the Torah. In this world, there are.

People who work long hours (like lawyers) often gripe that they don’t have time to learn.

How does one find time?

You can divide the answer into two parts. With regard to time manage-

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ment, there is Shabbos or at night.

There is always time to learn. I learn on the subway. Secondly, I would like to share with you a vort from the Kedushas Levi, which addresses this very point. The Gemara asks: What is the first question asked in the world to come. One gemara says, “Nasata v’natata b’emunah,” which we explain to mean, “Did we conduct ourselves honestly in business?” while the other gemara says it is the question of whether we were “kovei'a itim l’Torah,” or limmud haTorah. The Kedushas Levi says it is one and the same question. When a person is confronted with the challenges of life, he is required to engage in a thinking process, a limmud, before he acts. This limmud is [the question of] whether he is conducting himself according to the Torah. There is a lilmod bish'as hala’asos. The first question is, therefore, did you attempt, in lilmod bish’as hala’asos, to apply the principles of Torah to the facts and circumstances before you? A person is not only required to be kovei'a itim l’Torah, but he is also required to be kovei'a Torah b’ito—to apply the principles of Torah to new challenges he is confronted with each moment of the day; to live with the Torah. When one uses the Torah to guide his life, he is learning Torah all day; he is living with the Torah. Since the lilmod bish’as hala’asos takes place all day long, a mentch ken lernen a gantzen tug un a sefer. Of course, you still have to set aside times for learning, but if you live with the Torah, you are learning all day long, b’hasmadah.

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RAV OVADIA YOSEF ZT"L

The Leader of a Nation No one in our generation encompassed as many facets as Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt�l A tenth of the population of Eretz Yisrael.

That is how many people crowded into the streets of Yerushalayim for the levayah of Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt"l, this past Monday, according to the final police count.

The unprecedented crowds represent the fact that Rav Ovadia Yosef was singular in modern times. It’s no exaggeration to say that he was the individual gadol hador who encompassed more roles than any other in our lifetimes.

He was the posek hador for myriads of Jews. His writings not only delved into the new questions of the times, but also codified all of halachah according to Sephardi custom. His works have taken on the importance for

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Sephardim that those of the Chofetz Chaim and Aruch Hashulchan have for Ashkenazim.

He was also the modern gadol who provided spiritual sustenance to the largest number of Jews and brought the greatest number of people back to Torah Yiddishkeit through his efforts. He founded and led a school system with tens of thousands of students and developed a kashrus organization catering specifically to Sephardim. No chasidishe rebbe, Litvishe rosh yeshivah or other Torah teacher had as many followers who looked to him for both halachic guidance and spiritual advice. All of Sephardi Jewry deemed him their personal leader and

by Shira Leibowitz Schmidt and Ami Staff rebbi. The refugees of Arab countries, of Persia, and of other lands, who fled their countries of origin during the twentieth century and arrived in Eretz Yisrael and other countries to start new lives looked to him to recreate the glory that once was and bring pride back to a downtrodden people. Even the Jews of Ethiopia were brought to join the Jewish nation because of his psak. And he served as an incomparable political head and fighter for the rights of Sephardim and the primacy of Torah on a national stage.

The nature of this gadol in his life meant that people did not need encouragement to come to the levayah. From 1:30 in the afternoon, when it was announced that the funeral would take place at 6 p.m., people started pouring into Jerusalem. At 3 p.m. the police closed the main Jerusalem road, Highway 1, to private vehicles. By 5, the buses also could not enter because of miles and miles of traffic jams.

People began abandoning their cars on the highway and started hiking miles to Jerusalem on foot. The army’s homefront command had to be called out, as were emergency police, as the estimates of the crowd grew: 300,000, then a half million, 600,000 and finally police estimates reached 800,000 (with some authorities saying the attendance may have reached a million). Magen David Adom estimated that 300 people needed some medical attention (from fainting, dehydration), one woman gave birth, and 29 needed brief hospitalization for light injuries. With such immense, unexpected throngs, these numbers are miniscule and, baruch Hashem, not serious.

Extra trains had to be added in order to transport people from Jerusalem, and the radio stations announced the relocation of buses because the Central Bus Station was paralyzed. “For buses to Beitar Illit, go to Binyanei Ha’umah; for buses to Kiryat Sefer go to Golda Highway; for buses to Beit Shemesh, go to the exit of Jerusalem,” etc.

It was not unusual to see teenage girls openly weeping. Mazal Cohen, on the 2 p.m. bus from Bnei Brak to Netanya, explained her sobs. “From first grade, my parents sent me to the new Beit Margalit

school, even though it was untried and new. Rav Ovadia was our spiritual guide.

I was proud when we were given optional white berets to wear during tefillah and Birkat Hamazon, according to Rav Ovadia’s opinion. Today, after graduating high school, half of my unmarried friends wear some kind of bandana or head covering during prayer. We learned to take Torah and mitzvot seriously. What will we do without Rav Ovadia?”

Not only was the transportation system dominated by the funeral. All television and radio programming on almost every TV station and every radio station stopped the entire afternoon, evening and night programs to focus on the funeral.

Admorim, Litvishe yeshivah heads, poskim, hesder yeshivah rabbis and national religious educators all joined in mourning and a feeling of profound loss.

President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were not allowed by the security services to attend because it was impossible to guard them in these circumstances. But they did go to the Shamgar funeral home before the funeral in mid-afternoon, and both spoke movingly, praising Rav Ovadia. Peres, who had also visited when the Rav was conscious in the last 24 hours, was especially effusive. He said he always felt that the crown of kingship should go to see the crown of Torah, and not vice versa.

But once he got to the Rav’s daled amos, all the crowns disappeared, and he felt he was in the presence of a great mind and soul.

Even secular and sometimes anti-religious commentators voluntarily muffled their usual biting criticism.

The secular viewers and listeners gaped open-jawed at the numbers.

No secular or pop culture leaders have way over half-a-million mourners at their funeral. No political leaders have hundreds, maybe thousands, of followers who perform kriah, tearing their shirts in identification with their leader and his values.

There was none like him.

Yehi zichro baruch.

Shas: Rav Ovadia’s Legacy in the World of Politics Before 1984, there was no Israeli political party that specifically appealed to Jews hailing from Middle Eastern countries, and Sephardim often felt that they were discriminated against in the political arena. Then Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, brought Shas into being, and the Israeli political landscape was irrevocably changed.

Before Shas, there had been a divide in the Sephardi world.

Many voters had supported Likud; others stood behind religious parties like Agudas Yisrael. When Rav Ovadia Yosef, with the help of Rav Shach, zt”l, created Shas (which is an acronym for Shomrei Sefarad), it formed a political home for all of Sephardi Jewry, from all levels of religious observance and types of ideological views.

That unique quality of Shas led to its incredible political power. In 1999, it became the third largest party in the Knesset, capturing 17 seats at the time, and it has since been an almost indispensable partner in any coalition. That gave Rav Ovadia strong influence in the Israeli political process, including in the status of negotiations with the Palestinians or even the rise and fall of prime ministers.

Shas is hardly Rav Ovadia Yosef’s greatest accomplishment; that would lie somewhere between his talmud Torah, piskei halachah, and rejuvenation of Yiddishkeit for Jews around the world. But the intense political force that he wielded and the political party that he made shows the multifaceted, astonishing abilities of this great gadol.

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FOR THE LOVE OF TORAH The Life of Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l In the month of Tishrei of the year 1920, Rav Ovadia Yosef was born to Reb Yaakov and Gurijya Yosef of Baghdad. When he was four years old, his family moved to Eretz Yisrael, settling in Yerushalayim. Even at a young age, Rav Ovadia was recognized as unique; when he was as young as seven years old he would learn Tanach and the perush Torah Temimah for hours with diligence and hasmadah.

His parents, seeing that he was gifted, sent Rav Ovadia to learn in Talmud Torah Bnei Tzion with many well-known talmidei chachamim. There, he became especially close to Rav Eliyahu Lopaz who passed away in 1938. Reb Ovadia referred to him as a “sefer Torah and aron kodesh.”

By the age of twelve years old, Rav Ovadia demonstrated his knowledge of many of the masechtos of Shas, writing countless chiddushim. His mastery of the Zohar is also clear in his writings. His rebbeim and peers all recognized his unbelievable capabilities, his depth of understanding, his drive to accomplish, his amazing memory and an unparalleled diligence in Torah learning.

Rav Ovadia studied in Yeshivas Porat Yosef, which was then located in the Old City. In Porat Yosef, he learned under the rosh hayeshivah, Harav Ezra Attia, zt”l, who recognized Rav Ovadia’s great34 A M I M A G A Z I N E / / O C T O B E R 2 , 2 0 1 3 / / 2 8 T I S H R E I 5 7 7 4

ness and saw his potential to be a leader and guide for the Sefardi world. A deep love and friendship developed between Rav Ovadia and his mentor.

In 1944, Rav Ovadia married Rabbanit Margalit, a”h, the daughter of Rav Avraham Patel. Shortly after his marriage, Rav Ovadia joined the Sefardi beis din in Yerushalayim. He remained in this position until the year 1947, when he moved to Kahir, Egypt, to serve as a rav and dayan there. In Egypt he gave shiurim at the yeshivos Ahavah V’Achvah and Midrash Rashbi, influencing the community to grow in the ways of the Torah. In the year 1949 he resigned from his position in Egypt and traveled back to Eretz Yisrael by way of Italy.

Upon his return to Eretz Yisrael in 1950, Rav Ovadia began learning in Midrash Bnei Tzion, under Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, zt”l. Many other great tzaddikim and talmidei chachamim also learned there, including Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Yisrael Yaakov Fisher, and Rav Avraham Zleznick. Over time, Rav Frank and Rav Ovadia became quite close, and in the year 1953, after the passing of Rav Ben Zion Meir Chai Uziel, Rav Frank requested that Rav Ovadia run for election as the next Rishon LeZion. There were many other great Sefardi rabbanim who were both older and more experienced than Rav Ovadia, but

By Chananya Bleich Rav Frank felt that Rav Ovadia was the most qualified for the position. Rav Ovadia was not elected then, but would become the Rishon LeZion 20 years later, in 1973.

During this period, Rav Ovadia established Yeshivas Ohr Ha'Torah in Yerushalayim. Many rabbanim—including Chacham Efrayim Hakohen, Harav Menzor Ben Shimon, Harav Dovid Jungreis, Harav Pinchos Epstein, Harav Dovid Naeh and Harav Ezra Attia—participated in the inauguration of the yeshivah.

For one year, 1951, Rav Ovadia joined a beis din in Petach Tikvah. Upon his return to Yerushalayim in 1952, he released his sefer, Chazon Ovadia, which was very well received. It was the first of many highly respected works he would write throughout the years. Other sefarim, which have become a staple in Sefardi homes, include Yabia Omer, Yechaveh Daas, and Beis Yosef, an orderly series of Sefardi halachic rulings, which became the standard halachic reference of the Sefardi world. His work demonstrates his foresight in preserving generations-old Sefardi hanhagos that would have otherwise been forgotten.

With time, Rav Ovadia became acknowledged as a posek hador. Rav Reuven Katz, one of the pre-Holocaust gedolim, urged Rav Ovadia to become the head rav of Petach Tikvah.

Rav Ovadia declined, not wishing to take the position from another, older rav who wanted it. Rav Katz was not pleased with his decision, yet he praised Rav Ovadia in front of the gedolei Yerushalayim, saying how great he was to give up such a coveted position to avoid hurting someone else.

Rav Ovadia returned to Petach Tikvah from 1957 until 1959, then returned to Yerushalayim and became part of the beis din. At that time, Rav Ovadia became very close to Rav Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg, the author of Tzitz Eliezer, who also sat on the beis din. The two spent much time together, deciding different matters of halachah that were brought before them. In 1964, Rav Ovadia became part of a higher beis din, and decided matters of halachah with Rav Betzalel Zolty, zt”l, and Rav Elyashiv, zt”l.

In 1969, Rav Ovadia was inaugurated as the head rav of Tel Aviv and Yaffo. This position was multifaceted; it included ensuring that the mikvaos there were run according to Sefardi halachah, maintaining high standards of kashrus, and establishing shiurim and other Torah classes.

His inauguration as rav of Tel Aviv was especially lavish and beautiful, and many took it as a sign that the gedolim of that time willed Rav Ovadia to take on the position of Rishon LeZion. Rav Ovadia, however, had no interest in taking on such a position, especially since it was not available. At that time, Rav Yitzchak Nissim, a talmid chacham from Iraq, served as Rishon LeZion. Many of Rav Nissim’s halachic rulings opposed those of Rav Ovadia, but Rav Ovadia was very careful to honor Rav Nissim at all times.

Rav Elyashiv and other great rabbanim strongly pressured Rav Ovadia to become the Rishon LeZion. Rav Ovadia acquiesced and ran for the position.

Despite the efforts of many, including Prime Minister Golda Meir, to prevent him from winning, Rav Ovadia was elected as Rishon LeZion in 1973. Rav Ovadia made positive reforms within the rabbanus, improving judiciary matters by pressuring the judges to act morally and with proper respect to others, and toiling to raise and bring honor to the Torah.

His work elevated the position of Rishon LeZion, which was until then subordinate to the head Ashkenazi rav.

In those days, Rav Ovadia traveled around Eretz Yisrael to strengthen people in Jewish observance, urging them to keep Shabbos, kashrus and taharas hamishpachah. He established talmudei Torah and Torah day schools and collected money for Torah institutions. He supported many talmidei chachamim from his own pocket, and his rebbetzin would never turn away from helping a Torah cause.

He was the rav of Tel Aviv when the Yom Kippur War broke out. There were many casualties, resulting in many agunos who did not know the whereabouts of their husbands. It was very difficult to find someone who was able to go through such a volume of cases. Rav Ovadia was appointed to examine them, and he was able to free all of these women from their agunah status, and established precedents for future cases.

In 1984, Rav Ovadia finished his service as Rishon LeZion and as the head of the higher beis din, yet until his last days, dayanim would come to him with their difficult cases to ask for his psak and advice. Rav Ovadia never turned down an invitation to a Torah event, no matter how small, for he felt it incumbent upon him to promote anything that had to do with Torah.

Rav Ovadia created the Shas political party in order to promote the cause of the Torah of the Sefardim in a Torahdik fashion. He was involved in every detail of the party. He also had another goal in mind: to use Shas as a vehicle to bring Torah education to children all over the country, especially in places that had no other connection to Torah Judaism. Today over 40,000 children are enrolled in Shas educational institutions.

One cannot describe the Rav’s life without mention of the Rabbanit’s dedication and devotion. In each of his sefarim, Rav Ovadia writes that he could not have accomplished anything without his wife. When she passed away in 1994, Rav Ovadia spoke at her levayah, asking that everyone daven that he should be able to continue to be able to learn, to teach and to uphold his life as before.

The centerpiece of Rav Ovadia’s life was learning Torah and sefarim. Shelves upon shelves of sefarim adorn his home, and Rav Ovadia knew them all by heart. He even knew where to find each one within his expansive collection.

Rav Ovadia leaves behind sons who are all involved in rabbanus, among them the Rishon LeZion Rav Yitzchak Yosef; the rav of Holon, Harav Avraham Yosef; Rav Moshe Yosef; and Rav David Yosef. His sons-in-law are also involved in Torah positions throughout Eretz Yisrael.

Oy, mi yiten lanu t’murasah.

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Rav Ovadia blessing Rav Yitzchak Yosef at Rav Yitzchak's coronation as Rishon L'Tzion

RAV YITZCHAK YOSEF Reflects on the Life of His Father Rav Yitzchak Yosef is the son of Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, and is the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, also known as the Rishon LeZion. He is the rosh yeshivah of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia, and is the author of the multivolume Yalkut Yosef.

Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter visited Rav Yosef at his home in Jerusalem in the winter of 2010, where he conducted the following interview.

On the vestibule wall at the entrance of the building in which you reside, hang two posters.

One has pictures of the great Sephardic Torah sages. The other lists those who successfully engaged in outreach. To my great surprise, the picture of your venerated father, Rav Ovadia Yosef, is not on the poster of the great Torah scholars, but on the one listing those who engaged in outreach.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise. My father brought an entire generation from the brink to Torah education and observance.

To what do you attribute that accomplishment?

My father was never home in the evening. He would travel to many places throughout Eretz Yisrael. He also traveled to the Diaspora. He went to speak to people; to provide encouragement for people. He spoke to them words of mussar, words of halachah… There is no place that he didn’t go. Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion, Netanya, Be’er Sheva, Netivot... Every evening he was somewhere else. When he was in Chutz La’aretz, he would travel to four or five places a day in order to deliver speeches. He also went to kollelim and yeshivot, but mostly spoke to baalei habatim. That’s how he

By Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter brought people back. That’s his uniqueness.

Everyone knows Ivrit.

Did anyone else you know do that?

Does your father have a close relationship with the Ashkenazi gedolim?

There is no Sephardic rosh yeshivah today who dedicates time to baalei habatim the way my father did. My father traveled to speak in any place that invited him to come. Every evening he spoke to a different group of baalei habatim.

What did he speak about?

Wherever he went, he spoke about the importance of providing children with proper chinuch and sending them to yeshivot. There was a large population of Persian immigrants in the Bukharian section of Yerushalayim: thousands of people. They were simple Jews who were completely unlearned. My father delivered lectures to them almost daily.

What were the results?

Many of them eventually sent their children to yeshivah.

Today, there are hundreds of scholars from this community.

There are hundreds of Persian avrechim in kollel. They are all students of my father. This is all in his merit. Many yeshivot opened in his zechut. When there were enough potential students, he arranged for a yeshivah to open. When another yeshivah was needed, he opened another one.

Was traveling so much something your father found difficult?

My father is a tremendous matmid. Traveling and giving of his precious time every evening was a great sacrifice for him.

His only desire was to learn. Closing his Gemara was very burdensome for him.

One can certainly discern a great, amazing improvement in the Sephardic community from the one that existed just some short years ago.

Yes, today there are Sephardic kollel avrechim everywhere. I am invited to speak in many places and I never refuse. There are numerous Sephardic avrechim wherever I go. It wasn’t always like this.

I recall that at the funeral of Rav Kahaneman [the Rav of Ponovezh] I was looking for other Sephardim. There were almost none present. The eulogizers and attendees were almost all Ashkenazim. All of the eulogies were in Yiddish. Rav Shach spoke in Yiddish, as did all the others. My father, who was present, did not understand Yiddish, so he sat and studied mishnayot by heart so as not to waste time.

I was recently at the funeral of Rav Reuvan Muallim.

There were perhaps 50,000 people there. The majority were Sephardim.

Does your father understand Yiddish at all?

No. It would take time to learn Yiddish and he utilizes all his time for learning. Anyway, in Yerushalayim you don’t need it.

One Thursday night recently I visited a yeshivah in Beitar where there is a kollel of 200 avrechim who stay up and learn the entire Thursday night. The kollel is comprised of both Ashkenazim and Sephardim. I related to them that my father said that 60 years ago, when he was a young avrech in Yerushalayim, his closest friends were the rabbanim of the Ashkenazim.

How did this friendship come about?

He had been sent to Egypt at the age of 27 by the Rishon LeZion, Rav Uziel, and Rav Ezrat, to serve as head of the local bet din. He also opened a yeshivah there. After three years in Egypt, he returned to Eretz Yisrael. Yeshivat Porat Yosef, where he had been learning previously, which was the only higher yeshivah for Sephardim, refused to take him back into the yeshivah. They explained that they were a yeshivah for younger students and he was too old to study there, as he was already over 30.

Since he had no yeshivah, he simply sat down in a bet midrash to learn by himself. There he began writing his sefer, Yabeah Omer. One day, he received a draft notice from the army. Since he was not a practicing rav or enrolled in any yeshivah, he had no grounds for deferment. He was on his way to the draft board to plead his case when he bumped into Rav Yitzchok Rosenthal. Rav Rosenthal was a well-known scholar who had authored the multivolume Sefer Kerem Tzion and served as secretary for the rav of Yerushalayim, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank.

My father told Rav Rosenthal of his dilemma, and Rav Rosenthal immediately asked him to learn in Rav Frank’s kollel.

As a rabbi in the kollel, he would be eligible for a deferment.

Thus, my father entered this kollel for half of the day. In the morning, he wrote his chiddushim. He then sat on a bet din for a while every day. Then, in the afternoon, he came to learn in the kollel.

Who was in this kollel? Rav Elyashiv, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Betzalel Zolty (later the Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim), Rav Sholom Schwadron, Rav Shmuel Rozovsky (later the Rosh Yeshivah of Ponovezh), Rav Zelaznik (later Rosh Yeshivah of Eitz Chaim), Rav Miletzky, and Rav Goldshmidt.

All of the most distinguished future rabbanim were learning there at that time.

Did they recognize your father’s scholarship and acumen?

The entire yeshivah would eagerly wait for my father to come join them in the afternoon. When he arrived, he would inquire as to what topic they were in the middle of. They would tell him, “We are debating such-and-such topic.” And

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each scholar would relate their opinion of the matter. My father would hear them out and reply, “What you are saying is in Rav Akiva Eiger. What you are saying is in such-and-such rare sefer, what you are saying can be found in this perush...” and so on. They all anticipated his arrival, when he would show them these sources.

Who was your father’s learning partner?

My father studied b’chavruta with Rav Shmuel Rozovsky, who was Rav Frank’s son-in-law, for half a year. Afterwards, Rav Rozovsky left the kollel to assume his position in Ponovezh. My father once told me that of all the “lomdishe” sefarim, the one that comes closest to the ultimate truth is that of Rav Rozovsky.

Did your father maintain these relationships?

My father stayed bound to many of the great Ashkenazi rabbanim. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was a young man then.

He would consistently speak in learning with my father. They had a tremendous kinship with each other. It was a genuine love. There are no words to describe it.

Rav Elyashiv, Rav Zolty, Rav Goldshmidt, and Rav Yisroeli would frequent our house to discuss important matters of halachah. They always expressed the utmost love and respect for my father.

I recall a story that occurred many years ago at the chanukas habayis of Chevron Yeshivah…

Yes, I know to which story you refer and I can tell it to you. Rav Elyashiv was not yet widely known as he is today. When he came to the event, he sat down off to

Rav Yitzchak Yosef with Rabbi Frankfurter

the side. My father sat down next to him.

There were several empty seats in the middle of the dais, in the “prominent” section. My father asked Rav Elyashiv, “Why are you sitting on the side? You belong in the center.” And he took him to the front seats. That was the respect that my father had for Rav Elyashiv.

Were your father and Rav Elyashiv together in the Chief Rabbinate?

Yes. When Rav Elyashiv served in the Rabbanut he sat on the bet din with my father for many years, from 1964 until 1983.

When my father later was elected to serve as Chief Rabbi, he only agreed to serve at the urging of Rav Elyashiv. He did not want to take this position. He accepted the position at Rav Elyashiv’s behest to act as a counterweight to Rav Goren, who was

the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi.

Are they still close?

Leaving political differences aside, he has a great bond with Rav Elyashiv and Rav Shteinman.

Where did your father learn in yeshivah, prior to attending the kollel of Rav Frank?

As a youth, he studied in Porat Yosef in the Old City of Yerushalayim. The yeshivah was only open until 5:00 or 6:00 PM. Then it became dangerous to stay there because of the British. So in the evenings, he went to Chevron Yeshivah in Geulah. He learned there until 2:00 AM for years. In Chevron, he met Rav Zolty. He also remembers Rav Goren from his time in Chevron. Rav Goren was a matmid and a gaon.

How old was your father when he came to Eretz Yisrael?

My father brought an entire generation from the brink to Torah education and observance.

Five years old. My father was born in Baghdad in 1921. In 1926, he emigrated from Baghdad to Eretz Yisrael. He was placed in Rav Moshe Porush’s Talmud Torah Bnei Tzion. At about 10 years old, he went to Porat Yosef.

Was Porat Yosef an Iraqi yeshivah?

The Sephardim in Yerushalayim at that time were primarily Iraqi. The rav, Rav Bentzion Chazzan, had known the Ben Ish

Chai. He founded the Porat Yosef yeshivah over 100 years ago. My father was one of the early students of the yeshivah.

Do you remember your father’s father?

Yes. He was a baal habayit. He was not a rav. But he knew a lot of Torah.

Are there rabbanim in your father’s lineage?

Yes. My great-grandfather, who was also named Rav Ovadia, was a chacham in Baghdad. He passed away young. My paternal grandfather, though not a rav, was a scholar. He was highly acquainted with the works of the Ben Ish Chai.

Are there great differences between the Sephardi and Ashkenazi ways of learning?

I would like to tell you something important that will help explain our way of learning. There is a yeshivah called Kol Yaakov, where the rosh yeshivah is Rav Yehuda Ades. He is a Sephardi who is married to an Ashkenazi, and half of his yeshivah is Ashkenazi.

Rav Ades once came across a student learning Kaf Hachaim, a practical halachah sefer, during first seder, when the yeshivah students study Gemara. He explained to the student that during first seder, we do not study the final law. Rather, we study the basis of the law—the Gemara, Rishonim, and Achronim. The bachur replied that he had been at the shiur of Rav Ovadia Yosef the night before, and had become inspired to learn practical halachah to become a proficient posek. He stubbornly refused to listen to Rav Ades’s objections.

Rather than argue with him, Rav Ades invited him to his home for supper.

During supper, Rav Ades related a brilliant pilpul, weaving together many sugyot.

“Was that a nice pilpul?” he asked the bachur.

“Of course,” he answered.

“Do you know who says this pilpul?”

“Rav Chaim, Rav Boruch Ber?” the bachur attempted.

“No,” answered Rav Ades, “this pilpul comes from Rav Yosef’s sefer, Yabeah Omer. By looking up all the sources that Rav Yosef cites as the basis of his psak and seeing how he explains them, one sees

how he reached his psak. This is how one becomes a posek.”

You see how deep halachah truly is. It is not an easier limmud. Every ruling is the result of a pilpul. Many mistakenly equate the learning of halachah only with sefarim like Mishnah Berurah. This is wrong. This is what I do in my sefarim: explain the lomdut of the halachah. This is how we learn in my yeshivah as well.

Are you a talmid exclusively of your father or did you have other rabbeim?

I learned in Chevron. I am a student of Rav Farbshtein and Rav Broyde. But it is true that my main path in learning comes from my father.

I even took my first sefarim to my father for him to look over as I was writing them.

He reviewed each halachah, word by word.

Is your father a warm person?

Definitely. Very family-oriented. He recognizes every relative and shows much warmth.

He also is very warm to my yeshivah. In the early years, until 21 years ago, he supported the entire yeshivah and covered all expenses.

Where did he get the funds?

He knows wealthy people who give

him money for the spreading of Torah.

He encouraged me to open the yeshivah, and he came weekly to deliver shiurim and check on the bachurim’s progress.

I see that your father writes in his approbation that you are continuing in his path.

He is my rebbi muvhak.

Was your father close to American gedolim?

Rav Shneur Kotler knew my father well.

When my father was Chief Rabbi, he came to Lakewood and said a shiur to the yeshivah. He also said a shiur where Rav Moshe Feinstein was present. Rav Feinstein told him that he is familiar with all halachic works, but Yabeah Omer is in a class by itself. Rav Feinstein sat next to my father during the shiur, and afterward he personally escorted him out. I have pictures of the two of them together.

A final thought?

My father is a great talmid chacham. My father also merited having sons talmidei chachamim. Not everyone merits this.

Thank you. May this interview increase kavod shamayim.

Amen.

Rav Yitzchak Yosef kissing his father's hand at his coronation as Rishon L'Tzion

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Through the Eyes of a Daughter The following interview was conducted with Rabbanit Adina Bar-Shalom, eldest child of Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt�l, shortly before his passing.

By Shira Schmidt and Bracha Mantaka Learning and austerity

The first and most emphatic statement

by Rabbanit Adina in describing her revered father was his love of learning.

“We were brought up on ahavat hasefer,” she says—an attitude that was already manifested in her father as a child.

“I’d like to share a story that happened when I was a child in the 1950s. As a young man, my father taught in several different locations. Every week, he would hand over his salary to our mother, Rabbanit Margalit, a”h. Aside from whatever was allotted for his bus fare, the rest went for household expenses. You have to remember that those were years of austerity in Israel, when food was so scarce that it was rationed. Every single lira counted.

Buying sefarim was out of the question for our family. But my father loved books so much that sometimes he saw one that he absolutely had to have. To that end, he would forgo taking the bus and would walk many kilometers to reach his destination. When he had accumulated the required amount he would buy the sefer, tuck the precious object under his jacket and walk home elated. He didn’t want our mother to see that he had bought it, because she would realize that he had sacrificed his bus fare and would feel bad.

“Now, how did I know what was going on? Our apartment was very small. It consisted of only two rooms: a dining room that doubled as a bedroom for our parents and babies, and a second room that served as our father’s library as well as a bedroom for us older children. My father would come into the room and quietly remove the newly-purchased book from under his jacket and add it to the shelves, unseen by everyone except for me, the oldest. But I never said anything.”

Rav Ovadia's abilities had been noticeable from early on, Rabbanit Adina says.

“Even as a young bachur, my father was recognized as a prodigy by the head of the Porat Yosef yeshivah, Rav Ezra Attiya. One time, when he disappeared from classes for a few days, the rosh yeshivah went to look for him and found him working in his father’s grocery. My grandfather explained that he needed someone to help him run his grocery and couldn’t afford to

pay for help. Early the next morning, the rosh yeshivah returned and announced that he had found a substitute so the boy could go back to his studies. The substitute? The rosh yeshivah himself. My father received semichah at the age of 20.

“My father came from a poor, nonrabbinical family, but he turned this into an advantage. Because he grew up in this milieu and knew the language and style of speaking, he was able to create lines of communication with the very large Sefardi working public who were in the lower socioeconomic strata of Israeli society.”

“Chanting was our lullaby”

“My father would study until the early hours of the morning, 2:00 or 3:00 a.m.

He often had a chavruta, people like Rav Zolti or others who are gedolim today.

Because they studied in the library, which was also our bedroom, we learned to sleep with the light on—not like today’s kids who are somewhat spoiled and can’t sleep unless the room is dark. We would fall asleep to the sounds of our father’s Torah study. That was our lullaby.”

On those rare occasions when Rabbi Ovadia did ride city buses, he was often so absorbed in his learning that he was oblivious to his surroundings. “One time he boarded a bus and sat in the nearest available seat,” Rabbanit Adina says. “My mother happened to be on the bus in a nearby seat, but he never even noticed her [since] he was so deep in thought. After they both got off near our apartment, my father suddenly looked up and said, ‘Oh, where are you coming from?’ “‘Chacham Ovadia,’ she answered, ‘I was sitting next to you the whole way home, but you didn’t see me.’ They both had a good laugh.

“When I was three and my brother Yaakov [who passed away this year] was a toddler, my father was offered a position as head of the Ahavah V’Achvah yeshivah in Cairo. The year was 1947, and Egypt was already engaging in hostilities against the soon-to-be-declared Jewish state. My mother’s brother was killed in the War of Independence. In order to keep a lower profile, our family spoke Arabic at home. Three years later, when we returned to Israel,

I didn’t know a word of spoken Hebrew aside from some tefillot and brachot.”

An Arab Neighbor Saved His Life

“Arabic was the native tongue of both of my parents. My paternal grandparents made aliyah from Iraq when my father was four. My mother was from a SyrianJewish family. In fact, their knowledge of Arabic stood them in good stead during their years of serving the Jewish community in Egypt.

“A group of Israeli-Arab notables once came to my father in the wake of some caustic comments he had made after a terrorist attack. Speaking in their own language, he explained to them that he had spoken out strongly against terrorism and suicide bombers—suicide is forbidden even according to Islam—but by no means had he meant to generalize about all Arabs and Muslims. In fact, he told them, when he was a baby in Iraq, a snake had crawled into his cradle. An Arab neighbor had seen it and grabbed it in time, saving his life by risking her own.

My father always says that he could never make a negative generalization about Arabs when an Arab had saved his life.”

Three Years in Egypt

“At one point during the three years my father spent as head of the Ahavah V’Achvah yeshivah, he was assigned a bodyguard by the Egyptian government, partly to protect him from Arab nationalists, and partly to make sure that he wasn’t spying for Israel. Even in the short time he was there, he wrought a near-revolution in Torah study and observance among the local Jews. My parents ‘went down’ to Egypt with two children and returned to Eretz Yisrael with four, my sister Malka and brother [now Rav] Avraham having been born in Cairo. My father ended up leaving in 1950 over an issue of principle: He insisted that the Jewish hospital serve only kosher food, even though it was more expensive. Up until then the administrators had relied on a leniency for sick people to eat non-kosher food, but my father refused to accept it as a blanket heter. When the more assimilated Jewish

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leaders didn’t accept his ruling, he felt he had to leave.”

Outings to the Pyramids

“One of my father’s goals was to rekindle a love of learning in the mostly assimilated Egyptian Jewish community. To gain the respect and friendship of the students who came to the yeshivah—usually after a full day’s work—he always referred to them as ‘chaverim’ (friends) rather than ‘talmidim’ (students). This boosted their self-image and self-esteem. Another aspect of his outreach efforts was to spend time socially with them. We took a lot of trips and went on many outings,” she recalled.

“I remember riding on my father’s shoulders during these hikes. He continued this throughout his life, making efforts to stay in touch with all kinds of people: blue-collar workers, professionals, farmers, businessmen, shopkeepers and yeshivah students.

More recently, his weekly Motzaei Shabbat drashah, given in a folksy manner and spiced with humor, reflected this conscious effort to encourage people to rededicate themselves to Torah.”

During the time Rav Ovadia was in Cairo, Sundays were “a day off.” He would take trips with his students to row on the Nile or ride camels to the pyramids. The students were aware of Rabbanit Margalit’s difficulties in adjusting to life in Egypt and would come early to the house to help her by preparing the children for these trips and making sandwiches for picnics. Rav Ovadia would be in the center of the group,

singing in Arabic and enjoying the scenery, while the Rabbanit was uncomfortable.

One of the many reasons for her discomfort was that the lifestyle of the Jewish women in Cairo was very cosmopolitan.

She was practically the only one who covered her hair. This became a symbol of the Yosefs. Fifty years later the Rav continued to express pride in the fact that his wife resisted the tremendous peer pressure to go with uncovered hair. When Rabbanit Adina’s daughter married and moved to Los Angeles, Adina asked her father for a heter for her daughter to at least wear a wig instead of a hat. The Rav responded that if Savta Margalit suffered in Cairo but still did not go with head uncovered, and did not change to a wig, then the granddaughter, named Margalit after her grandmother, could also make this sacrifice.

Back in Jerusalem

“Having returned to the newly-declared State of Israel, our family lived in very cramped quarters in the Beit Yisrael section of Jerusalem. We had such a limited budget that the only apartment we could afford to rent had only two rooms and an outdoor bath we shared with neighbors. You can imagine how cold it was in the wintertime!” she remembers with a shiver.

“My parents sent me to the local Bais Yaakov, although the daughters of most of the other rabbinical staff went to National Religious schools. I was one of only three girls from Sefardi families in my class of forty. Because I had spoken only Arabic

“My father came from a poor, non-rabbinical family, but he turned it into an advantage, creating lines of communication with the very large Sefardi working public.”

in Egypt and knew no Hebrew, I didn’t fit in at first. But I made a great effort, and within three months I was reading, writing and speaking Hebrew fluently. After that, I never felt any discrimination in school.”

Going to Great Lengths— or Heights

“My father’s appetite for books remained voracious, despite our lack of money. Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, who went on to become Chief Rabbi of Israel, wrote an autobiography entitled Out of the Depths, in which he described visiting used bookstores in Jerusalem in the 1950s: ‘When we didn’t have classes I used to wander around the used religious bookstores that were packed with volumes from floor to ceiling and were so small you could hardly even stand in them, much less walk around. Once, one of the owners said to me, “You’re beginning to remind me of Rabbi Ovadia.” When I returned a blank look he continued, “There’s a young married man around here by the name of Ovadia Yosef, who comes to the store and asks to look at the books. He doesn’t have money to purchase them— he’s already blessed with many children— so I let him use the ladder. He stands there for three hours at a time and studies a book until it’s finished. Then the book is safe inside his head, stored away as if in a box.’

“Eventually, in order to be able to move to larger quarters to accommodate our growing family, my father took a position as a dayan. There was an opening on the beit din in Petach Tikvah, and although he was loath to leave Jerusalem, he accepted it.”

Bat Mitzvah

“When I turned 12,” Adina reminisces, “it wasn’t common for girls to mark their bat mitzvah. I had a celebration Shabbat afternoon. All my classmates came. We sang songs and served special foods. My father was the one who encouraged me and practically insisted on it. For my 14th birthday I received a special present—a new baby sister. But when the baby was a month old, my mother suffered a slipped disc. She could barely walk and wasn’t allowed to lift anything. I ended up taking three months off from school to help her run the house. I already had some experience with babies, which I acquired when

Father and daughter

my twin sisters were born a few years earlier. But now I was almost on my own—taking the baby to the doctor, getting her inoculated, waking up at night to diaper her. I had to put the infant in my mother’s arms at feeding times. But I did everything near my mother to make her feel like she was participating.

Thank G-d, she eventually recuperated and I went back to school.

Baruch Hashem, not only did I catch up on the schoolwork I missed but I graduated with honors. I guess we all inherited our father’s ability to focus and accomplish whatever needs to be done.”

The Bride Sewed Her Own Gown

“After that, I attended a vocational high school and majored in sewing.

I also took professional courses in dress design in my junior and senior years, because I knew I wanted to be able to support a husband who would be a full-time scholar.

“My father was my shadchan,” she shares. “When I turned 18 he suggested three students. One of them was particularly intriguing: Rav Ezra Bar-Shalom. I accepted my father’s

suggestion that he would be an outstanding scholar, and we were married in 1963.

“I designed and sewed my own wedding gown, as well my mother’s and sisters’ dresses. Afterwards, I opened a bridal salon as a source of parnassah so my husband could continue his studies, although my parents weren’t so happy about me taking on so much responsibility. My husband currently serves as a dayan on the Jerusalem Beit Din Hagadol.

“It wasn’t until several decades later that I decided to realize my long-time dream of going to college. My first choice was to study psychology. It had always puzzled me that I and my ten siblings had grown up in the same family and environment but were all so different. All my brothers are scholars, but that’s where the similarity ends. Even my two sisters who are twins are so different that it’s hard to believe they’re siblings. Now I know that psychology doesn’t hold all the answers, but at the time this issue tantalized me. However, my father dissuaded me from studying psychology in a secular setting, as it can be problematic. My second choice

was to study fashion design at the Shankar College of Design. I loved my profession and knew which skills I was weak in and needed to learn. I graduated in 1997.

“Around that time I began to think about a mission in life. My children were already married and the mortgage was paid. I wanted to follow my father’s example and do something for the Jewish people. In 1984 my father founded the Shas movement and the party won four Knesset seats. In 1999 they won a whopping 17 seats, and it took a lot of secular Israelis by surprise. This led to anti-Shas demonstrations calling on Prime Minister Ehud Barak not to invite Shas to enter the coalition. I was deeply hurt,” she admits.

“I cried. Not only was it a rejection of my father’s efforts, but it also represented Jews hating Jews. The secular public blamed the Sefardim for all of the country’s problems. Forty years after the demonstrations in the Wadi Salib neighborhood of Haifa, by poor North African immigrants, it seemed like little had changed, and many Sefardim were still not integrated into society.”

Rabbanit Bar-Shalom explained

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the cheshbon hanefesh that led her to her next step. “I knew that I wasn’t cut out for fundraising projects like kimcha d’Pischa.

There are many others who do that wonderful and necessary work, and do it well.

But I wanted to work for unity and decrease the enmity among various sectors in Israel.

I spent many months involved in dialogue groups that tried to increase understanding between secular and religious Jews. But I eventually saw that the yeshuah would not come from these discussions.

“I realized that an academic degree was increasingly being required for many jobs, which made it hard for most chareidim to find employment, since they lacked academic credentials. In Israel today, a bank clerk needs to have a BA. It was clear that chareidim weren’t going to attend mixed-

gender university campuses, and co-ed education wasn’t the only problem. We have many values that aren’t respected in certain academic settings. We needed to have our own academic institutions. I wanted to explore the possibility of creating a school of higher learning for chareidim.

“The first step was to float my idea to the Council for Higher Education (CHE), which oversees most post-secondary institutions in Israel. I looked up the phone number of its head, [the late] Professor Nechemia Levzion; made an appointment to see him; and outlined my idea to start a chareidi university. Although he himself wasn’t observant, he was very supportive, but he suggested that I downscale my goal to a chareidi college.

“It was only after he agreed in principle

“The hospital administrators had relied on a leniency for sick people to eat nonkosher food, but my father refused to accept it as a blanket heter.”

and I saw there was a realistic chance that I mentioned it to my father. I wouldn’t dream of wasting his precious time on a project that might not even be possible.

Like me, my father saw it as a way to help chareidim who were not in full-time study acquire a profession and earn a respectable parnassah. He thought it was a positive step for both men and women, in separate frameworks. My concept was to have supplementary Torah classes related to specific areas of the academic curriculum.”

The Rabbanit gave an example. If there’s a unit in the social work curriculum regarding guardianship and whether to place at-risk children in a foster home or leave them where they are with additional resources for the parents, the halachah has much to say about such matters. In our college, the rabbinic staff would provide these supplementary lectures. My father put the idea of establishing a chareidi college before the Moetzet Hachachamim (Council of Torah Sages) and they approved it. He also broached the idea with the dayanim on the Beit Din Hagadol, where scholars such as Rav Zalman Nechamia Goldberg and Rav Shlomo Amar [later chief rabbi] gave their approval as a means of opening up more avenues of parnassah.

“I then began discussions with Hebrew University about starting a chareidi college under their auspices. We discussed issues like minimum scores on college entrance exams, attire, and which majors would be offered. But after almost two years, the negotiations broke down and they backed out. I was crestfallen—two years down the drain! It was a terrible blow. I thought that if they wouldn’t cooperate on a joint venture, no other university would. But Professor Levzion encouraged me to try to start the school as a separate unit under the auspices of Bar-Ilan University. I was pleasantly surprised when the school agreed. In April 2001 the CHE gave the green light, and more importantly, some funding. And that is how the Michlalah Chareidit Yerushalayim (MCY) was born.

“Even though it was two weeks before Pesach, I wanted to start classes immediately. There were several dozen young women who needed to take preparatory courses in English and math in order to meet the entrance requirements. The

timing was difficult, but we pulled it off. I brought all the teachers to my father to receive a blessing. In the beginning there wasn’t any campus or even a building. The first makeshift classrooms doubled as a distribution center for thousands of kimcha d’Pischa boxes when classes weren’t in session.

“One of the reasons I wanted to initially focus on social work was the important role it played in Israeli society. In those days, chareidi social workers were few and far between.

It was imperative to create a cadre of observant social workers in courts, hospitals and municipal social services so that our values and hashkafah could be expressed and taken into account. Since that first group, seven more classes have graduated.

That’s almost 200 social workers, many of whom went on to achieve a master’s degree.

“My father took a keen interest

in the nascent college and made it a point to visit and lecture often. He also attended several of our graduation ceremonies. After the school was up and running for four years, he asked me why there weren’t any classes for men, reminding me that he had initially stipulated there be classes for both. I explained to him why I had started with the women’s BA program. With respect to the men’s program, I went on, I was afraid of possible objections from some Ashkenazi rabbis. My father responded with a twinkle, ‘You’re afraid of them, but you’re not afraid of me? I told you to start programs for men as well.’

“Today we have around 300 men studying for bachelor’s degrees in social work, psychology and political science/communication. About 700 women are in programs for social work, psychology, communications disorders (speech therapy),

medical laboratory sciences, social science, computer science and educational administration. Masters degrees are awarded to women in social work, educational counseling, conflict resolution and music therapy. One woman even went on to pursue a doctorate in medical research in another institution.

There are preparatory classes for those who lack high school diplomas (bagrut) and need to take college aptitude exams. Young men who have been in yeshivah and kollel for many years have done extremely well in these courses, often completing the equivalent of several years of high school math and English in just a few months, no doubt due to the honing of study and concentration skills in traditional Jewish learning.”

Rabbanit Adina Bar-Shalom made a huge leap from designing wardrobes to designing an entire college.

But she repeatedly emphasizes that

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L E A D E R

Rav Naim

THE BROTHER REMEMBERS Rav Naim, the Rav’s younger brother, recalls his childhood with the future gadol hador Not long before he passed away, I met with Rav Naim Ovadia, zt”l, the younger brother of Maran Hagaon Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l. Rav Naim was nine years younger than his older brother, and was niftar only two weeks before him. Rav Naim shared vivid memories of their childhood, recalling the great respect that the scholars of Jerusalem had for Maran Ovadia even as a youth, many decades ago.

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Rav Naim began the conversation with a story that illustrates Rav Ovadia’s boundless energy for spreading Torah: “This happened more than fifty years ago. One day I approached my brother Ovadia, and I asked him to give a shiur on Shabbat in my shul. At that point in time, I had been running my shul for four years. I asked him even though I knew that he actually could not come, because every Friday he gave a special shiur in the dining room of the Porat Yosef yeshivah, where hundreds of people would come to hear his drashah. Nevertheless, on that one summer day, I went to him with my request.

He surprised me be responding, ‘Fine, I’ll come.’

He uttered only three words. I was completely taken aback, and thrilled.

“In my shul, Ahdut Israel in the Romema neighborhood, we would daven Minchah and Kabbalat Shabbat early. To make room for the anticipated audience that week, we removed the tables and

benches to create a fairly large space. But despite our preparations, there was standing room only, and I mean that literally. Even the windowsills served as seats for people. The Rav gave an intriguing drashah. There was total silence, and even though his voice was soft, everyone could hear because it was so quiet.

“Afterward, the Rav himself led Maariv, standing before the amud. When he finished the shiur and tefillah, he turned to leave, and I went with him, to escort him part of the way to his home.

After some minutes had passed, he told me that I should go home. The Rav’s eldest son, Yaakov Yosef, zt”l, had gone home earlier to make Kiddush for the rest of the brothers and sisters, but Maran did not go home because he knew that people were now waiting for him at Porat Yosef.

“Rav Binyamin Gorji always spoke on Friday nights at Porat Yosef before Rav Ovadia gave his shiur, and he told the waiting audience that

By Yaakov Amir

Chacham Ovadia would be late. Therefore he, Gorji, started giving the shiur. My brother, the Rav, arrived about a half hour late. Keep in mind, he still had not eaten that Friday night since he had decided to go straight from my shul to give his regular Porat Yosef shiur. He arrived, gave the shiur, and the audience was pleased.

“Then suddenly it happened!

“At approximately 10:20 p.m. the third floor of Porat Yosef collapsed with a thunderous noise. There were clumps of concrete strewn around the yeshivah, along with metal rods and huge beams. But everything fell outside the building while all the people were still inside. What a miracle this was! If the shiur had begun at its regularly scheduled time, the listeners would have left at 10:20 and there would have been a catastrophe with dozens, maybe hundreds of people maimed and killed, chas veshalom. But everyone was still inside, and there wasn’t even a single injury or death.

“Those who had attended the shiur escorted the Rav with song and dance all the way to his home. When he got home, he finally was able to make Kiddush and have his seudah, while his audience waited outside, since it was impossible to invite hundreds of people inside. On Sunday I went to the Rav to express wonder at the miracle that had taken place, and he responded, “My dear brother, tell me: You have been running your shul for four years, and all that time you never once invited me to give a drashah. Why is it that you invited me just this past Shabbat, even though you knew it was almost impossible for me to come? Remember what I said to you, the three words, ‘Fine, I’ll come.’ It was miShamayim that the zechus was via you and me; we both had the merit to prevent a tragedy on Friday night when so many people came to hear words of Torah.”

Chavruta in the Middle of the Night

Naim paused for a moment and then continued to relate more stories: “The main chazzan in the Ohel Rachel synagogue on Rehov David Yellin in Jerusalem was Chacham Abudi from Aleppo, Syria. The Chacham made aliyah from Iraq, just as our family did. One day he came to me and said, ‘Come, let me tell you something gripping.’ I will relate to you what I learned from him.

“When Rav Ovadia was 10 or 11 years old, our father had to travel to Iraq, so he took Ovadia to a yeshivah in Jerusalem, and said to him, ‘My son, from now on you will sit here in the yeshivah and study. There are many books, so take a book and study.’

“One day someone posed a question, a kushiya, to the avreichim in the beit midrash. They were in the 30-to-40-years age bracket. The rav who asked the question was a gadol.

None of the avreichim knew the answer. Little Ovadia was at that time studying a different sefer, and heard the question. Suddenly he answered (in Iraqi Arabic, of course, which

was what we spoke), “K’vod Harav, May I answer the question?” The rav looked to see where the young voice was coming from, and saw this boy, not yet bar mitzvah. The rav humored the boy and said, ‘All right, let’s hear your answer.’

Little Ovadia answered the question. The rav was stunned, and asked, ‘Where did you learn all this?’

Chacham Ovadia, my brother, was mamash like an overflowing fountain, and without any hesitation, he answered, “I have a chavruta every day in the synagogue, and there I learned this material.” At that time Ovadia indeed had a permanent chavruta in the Beer Sheva synagogue, in the BeitEl neighborhood, with Chacham Baruch Chaim Mizrahi. He told his rav that they would sneak into the synagogue daily to learn quietly, and there they would study all night. Even when they went their separate ways, they continued to study nightly. After a night of study, Rav Ovadia would arrive at the Porat Yosef yeshivah. When our father returned from his trip to Iraq, the rav of Porat Yosef insisted that our father agree to allow the boy to continue to sit and learn, so that he would be able to illuminate the people of Israel. The rav and our father shook hands on this, with the rav stipulating, ‘Know that it is absolutely forbidden to send the boy to work. Only Torah study.’ Our father, alav hashalom, gave his word.”

A Gripping Story

“But the story does not end here. Because Chacham Ovadia would study almost the entire night without sleeping, he would doze off a little during the day. His rav called out to him, ‘Ovadia, sit next to me.’ Every time Ovadia would start to doze, the rav would pinch his hand. Of course, the rav was a tzaddik, but he did not know that Ovadia had been studying all night long, and continued squeezing Ovadia’s hand to keep him awake. One day, our mother looked at the hand of her precious bechor, and saw bruises. His whole hand was black and blue. Our mother said to herself, ‘Ovadia doesn’t play marbles, doesn’t play any games. He isn’t interested in having fun, he has no friends except for Baruch Mizrahi. So where did these bruises come from?’ She called our father, and together they asked him who had bruised his hand. By no means would he reveal who it was. Finally, our father threatened him, and in the end Ovadia blurted out that sometimes he doesn’t feel good and he falls asleep in class. So the rav pinches him to wake him up. Our father said, ‘Come with me now to the yeshivah.’ That day, after he closed the grocery store that he ran, our father took Ovadia to the yeshivah. He got to the yeshivah and rebuked the rav for pinching his son’s hand.

“The mashgiach, Chacham Yehuda Hadad came and said, ‘Take your son away, leave the premises.’ My father then had a dilemma. On one hand, he had promised that he would not let his son go to work, but on the other hand, he did need him at the store. When father and son walked out of the yeshivah, they encountered Rav Ephraim Cohen, the lead5 C H E S H VA N 5 7 7 4 / / O C T O B E R 9 , 2 0 1 3 / / A M I M A G A Z I N E

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Rav Naim Ovadia with Rav Yaakov Yosef

ing kabbalist of the Iraqi Jews. They were walking down the steps of Porat Yosef, and Rav Cohen was going up. Rav Cohen asked, ‘Adon Yaakov Yosef, what are you doing here?’ My father explained that they had thrown his son out of the yeshivah.

Rav Cohen could not believe it, and asked them to come immediately with him to Rav Hadad. Rav Cohen gave an ultimatum, and said, ‘You can throw me out of the yeshivah, but you can’t throw this boy out.’ He was a great man, and was responsible for my brother remaining in Porat Yosef, and in the Torah world.”

Three Arrests in Egypt

Rav Naim reminisced about some of the daring raids and arrests that took place during the struggle against the British. Even his brother Rav Ovadia was arrested more than once.

“Chacham Ovadia went to Egypt in the summer of 1947, with two children, Yaakov and Adina, and returned to Israel three years later with four. While in Egypt (1947 to 1950), Chacham Ovadia was arrested three times, and then released

on orders of King Farouk. The King had inherited a tradition from his forefathers to love Jewish clergy, and Jews in general.

“When he left for Egypt, he was going on 26. Rabbi Nahum Effendi was the Chief Rabbi of Egypt, and was a “court rabbi” for the government and a frequent guest in the King’s palace. Each time Rav Ovadia was arrested, Rabbi Effendi would go to King Farouk and complain, ‘They have arrested our Rabbi!’ and the King would immediately have him released. The first time the Egyptian police arrested my brother, they complained that ‘He was wearing a Zionist hat.’ When Chacham Ovadia came before the King, the latter said to him, ‘That type of hat is not customary here, especially since now the Muslims and Jews in Palestine are at war.’ This was at the peak of the War of Independence, in 1947 to ’48. Rav

“Little Ovadia answered the question.

The rav was stunned, and asked, ‘Where did you learn all this?’”

Ovadia promised not to wear that type of hat any more. The King told his servants to bring him a red tarbush, a Turkish-style, brimless, red-felt hat with a silk tassel, the nicest available. He gave it to the Rav. After that, Chacham Ovadia wore only the tarbush when in Egypt.

“The second arrest was made in the wake of a speech in Hebrew. Rabbi Effendi again went to the King, and the King beckoned Rav Ovadia, saying, ‘What is the problem? You are Iraqi and you can speak Arabic. So why do you speak Hebrew?’ My brother’s rejoinder was, ‘My sir, the King, let’s assume your mufti (Muslim religious leader) happens to know French. Does he have to always sermonize in French?

Of course not. Thus, even though I know Arabic, the Mishnah and the Jewish laws are written in Hebrew, the holy tongue, and therefore I have to speak that language.’

“The third arrest stemmed from a request by the government to contribute monetarily to the Egyptian war effort. Rav Ovadia said that at that time Egypt was fighting against his Jewish brothers and he did not agree to contribute. When the Rav said that Hashem would bring peace to the world, they retorted, ‘But now there is war, and you have to help us.’ He responded, ‘How can I give you money for weapons?

To fight my brothers?’ Nevertheless they fined him and forced him to pay. In the end, he pointed to his jacket, and said that there was money in it and if they wanted,

they should take it themselves from his pockets. The Egyptians answered that they were not thieves and would not go into his pockets. They wanted him to hand over the money himself. He refused and was arrested. Again Rabbi Effendi came to the rescue and brought him before the King.

The King asked Chacham Ovadia why he didn’t give the money to the soldiers, and Rav Ovadia answered that he had indeed told them that they could take it from his pockets. But he would not hand it over voluntarily. They released him.”

Rav Naim Ovadia completed a daring raid for the Etzel underground on the day that the eldest daughter of Rav Ovadia Yosef, today Rabbanit Adina, was born. Fearful that he would be caught by the British, his feet carried him to the home of his older brother, Rav Ovadia Yosef. When he got there, he found his sister-in-law, Rav Ovadia’s wife, Rabbanit Margalit, alone and about to give birth. Rav Naim immediately put on Rav Yosef’s clothes and took his sister-in-law to the hospital.

At the checkpoints, when they were stopped by the British, he pointed to Rabbanit Margalit, who was clearly in labor, and they immediately released him so that he could escort her to the hospital. Thus did he escape incarceration and a possible death sentence, while helping Rabbanit Margalit get to the hospital in time.

“A few hours after I took her to the hospital, on Friday, I returned home. But then I had to go afterward again to the hospital in place of my brother, because Chacham Ovadia had his Torah study and teaching. Adina was born four days later, and I myself brought her home from the hospital.”

The love of Torah crowded everything else out of Rav Ovadia’s world.

“My brother, the Rav, would eat while he studied. One day, I pulled a plate full of food away from him while he was eating and studying, and he didn’t even notice. I replaced it with an empty plate. What happened? Rav Ovadia simply thought that he had finished his dinner, and returned to studying…”

Until the last few months when both brothers became ill, the two brothers, Maran Ovadia and Rav Naim enjoyed spending time together.

“When I left the hospital around Cha-

nukah a few years ago, my son Yaakov took me to see my brother, Rav Ovadia.

Although I was going to see my brother, there was another purpose for my visit: A relative of mine had older children with the same severe health problem: When they each reached the age of 17, their eyesight deteriorated. He was afraid that when his two younger children reached the age of 17, the same thing might happen to them. The physicians said that there was no hope, and the other children would develop the same problem due to

the parents’ incompatible blood types. My son and I went to see Rav Ovadia, and he was happy to receive us. He blessed us and blessed the relative that his children would recover.

“When I came to my brother, he was in the middle of his own family gathering: All of Rav Ovadia’s family was present. I didn’t know that I would see them all, since I had come only to ask for a blessing. Baruch Hashem, the blessing bore fruit.”

May the memories of both Rav Ovadia and Rav Naim be for blessings.

The levayah

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R E M E M B E R I N G

A

G R E A T

J E W I S H

L E A D E R

Rav Amir Kryspal

THE SECRETARY Rav Amir Kryspal, secretary of Rav Ovadia, describes the Rav’s dedication to the tzibbur HAMAZKIR SHEL HARAV

“I was the Rav’s secretary for 23 years. I was by his side every day—but not anymore.” That is how Rav Amir Kryspal began our interview about his beloved rebbe, Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef, shlita.

Rav Kryspal was the one who would deliver halachic questions to Rav Ovadia and was responsible for delivering the Rav’s answers. Any haskamah on a sefer or statement Rav Ovadia wanted to issue would usually come through Rav Kryspal. Thousands upon thousands of halachic queries were delivered by Rav Kryspal to Rav Ovadia. After learning in Rav Ovadia’s kollel, Chavat Daat, close to 25 years ago, Rav Kryspal was handpicked by the Yosef family to become “hamazkir shel harav”

(the secretary of the Rav). Rav Kryspal, who runs a girls’ seminary and is a talmid chacham of note, received semichah Yoreh Yoreh-Yadin Yadin from Rav Ovadia. Only hours after the passing of his mentor, Rav Kryspal shared with me personal vignettes and stories he witnessed and heard firsthand. He answered the phone despite the late hour because, as he put it, “I always make sure to answer my phone, as perhaps it is someone with an emergency question for Maran.”

TOILING IN TORAH

Rav Kryspal and I discussed Rav Ovadia’s aversion to luxuries. I shared with Rav Kryspal what I had heard from Rav Ovadia when I attended his

By Nesanel Gantz famous Motzaei Shabbos shiurim ten years ago while learning in Yeshivas Mir. Rav Ovadia was discussing the attitudes of today’s generation, and said, “Today, when people get married they believe that they have things coming to them—that it’s their right. They get married and they get a new fancy apartment and everything is covered. They believe this is the normal way. That is not the way one grows in Torah.

I remember when I first got married we lived in an apartment that was four meters (12 feet) by four meters. We had the bed over here, the kitchen over here, my sefarim over here and a table over here. We had nothing and (the Rav said loudly) we were happy! We had no food to eat. I remember every day I used to walk for an hour each way to Yeshivat Porat Yosef, together with Chacham Ben Zion Abba Shaul, zt”l. We walked and it was good for us. I had no breakfast or supper, but for lunch I had two slices of bread and two slices of cheese. That’s how we lived for many years. That is how one can grow in Torah.”

Rav Kryspal proceeded to relate two stories which he heard directly from Chacham Shalom Cohen, shlita, current rosh yeshivah of Porat Yosef, regarding Rav Ovadia’s toil in Torah despite the hardships that he endured. “Rav Ovadia was ten years older than me when we learned together in Porat Yosef,” said Rav Cohen. “When I was ten years old, my chavruta and I decided to learn Masechet Shabbat together during our afternoon recess, and it wasn’t going easily for us. Rav Ovadia told us that he would learn with us. He was always in the otzar [study room] learning. For one year straight, we learned with Rav Ovadia during our break.

He would recite and explain to us the Gemara baal peh (by heart). We learned until daf kuf vav [page 106]. To me the biggest pele [wonder] was that during a whole year straight Rav Ovadia ate the same thing for lunch, a quarter slice of blackened bread with margarine. That’s all he ate and he still learned with full vigor.

“Rav Shalom Cohen’s father, Rav Ephraim Cohen,” continued Rav Kryspal “was a renowned mekubal and rosh yeshivat Porat Yosef. He told Rav Shalom that he had visited Rav Ovadia’s home when the future Rishon LeZion first got married. He attested that he could not enter Rav Ovadia’s small apartment, as there was no room. He also described the terrible condition in which Rav Ovadia lived, with worn and torn mattresses and barely any utensils. The senior Cohen said that although Yerushalayim of those days was poor, Rav Ovadia was the poorest of the poor. And through all of this he learned and he learned.”

CONCRETE CONCENTRATION

“The Rav’s level of concentration when learning was unlike anything I have ever seen,” continued Rav Kryspal. “I will share with you a scenario that occurred often when I was bringing the Rav halachic queries. Many times there were very serious questions that required immediate attention,

yet regardless of what I would do—sing, talk loudly, dance around, wave my arms—it would often take the Rav a long time before he would notice me. Many times I waited and stood near him for up to two or three hours before he looked up from his sefer. I remember many years ago that Shas was trying to join a coalition with Likud, and Yitzchak Shamir and Shimon Peres went to talk to the Rav. They waited for an hour and a half until he realized they were there. Recently, Bibi Netanyahu had to wait 25 minutes while Rav Ovadia was learning. The leftist media wanted to portray this as Rav Ovadia being disrespectful of the prime minister, but it was a great kiddush Hashem! The press was waiting outside for half an hour to come in and take photos, and they were told they had to wait, as Rav Ovadia was learning. That’s a kiddush Hashem!”

Rav Kryspal told a story to illustrate Rav Ovadia’s immense concentration and how Hashem protected him because of it.

“Yeshivat Porat Yosef was originally located in the Old City, until it was destroyed by the Arabs in May of 1948. Rabbanit Yosef told me this story herself about what took place during the attacks. During the height of the attacks, the entire yeshivah, led by their aged rosh yeshivah, Rav Ezra Attiya, made their way to the miklat—the shelter. When they arrived, they realized someone was missing: Rav Ovadia Yosef. Rav Attiya assigned Rav Shalom Cohen and Rav Yehuda Tzadka (both later roshei yeshivah of Porat Yosef) to go look for Rav Ovadia.

To their utter shock, he was still sitting there in his place, engrossed in learning as if nothing was going on around them. Missiles and bombs were falling in the streets, but Rav Ovadia was on another planet, the planet of Abaye and Rava. They got his attention and brought him to the miklat.

Moments later a missile fell on the beit midrash, entirely destroying it.

“Rabbanit Yosef told me the following story about the Rav,” continued Rav Kryspal. “The Rabbanit always called her husband ‘HaRav,’” he added, “never by his first name, due to the great respect she had for him.

“She told me as follows: ‘When we were a young married couple, we were very poor and could barely afford any food. One day I had prepared some porridge for the Rav for supper. I knew he would stay up late learning, and I told him that I left the porridge on the kerosene-heated hot plate.

We had a small home, and the hot plate was near where I washed our laundry. The next morning the Rav told me the supper was great. I went to check and the porridge was still there. It was then that I realized that he had eaten the thick starch I used for the laundry. He ate it happily.’ According to the Rabbanit,” Rav Kryspal said, “it was because he was so involved in learning that he didn’t realize it.”

Rav Ovadia’s hasmadah (diligence) is legendary. I was curious about whether the following oft-told tale is true, that when Rav Ovadia was a teenager he was too poor to afford any new sefarim, yet his soul yearned to learn all of

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With Sanzer Rabbe

As a youngster

the new sefarim that came to market. He had a novel idea and approached the local sefarim-store owner and asked him if he would be allowed to stay all night in the sefarim store so that he could learn the new sefarim. The store owner acquiesced.

Many times, upon arriving to open the store, he found young Ovadia still learning in the same position he had left him, never having gone to sleep.

“It is a true story,” confirmed Rav Kryspal. “I heard this story personally from the son of the store owner, a Jew named Weissberger.”

KOACH D’HETEIRA

Rav Kryspal sat together with Rav Ovadia as Rav Ovadia answered thousands of halachic questions. His shu”t

(responsa) sefarim, Yabia Omer, contain truly remarkable and comprehensive answers, which delve into extreme depths while citing hundreds of sources per question. Rav Ovadia’s position as a posek hador is unquestionable.

“To gain an understanding of Rav Ovadia’s mehalach in psak, you really have to learn though his sefarim, especially his shu”t,” explained Rav Kryspal. “However, Rav Ovadia was entirely in accordance with the shittah of Maran Beis Yosef, and it is visible in all of his psakim. When the Rav paskened, it was with authority, and he often used his koach ha’psak to help people.

“One of the areas where Rav Ovadia became famous was for his work with agunot. During the Yom Kippur War, the

“I was the Rav’s secretary for 23 years.

I was by his side every day—not anymore.”

Rav barely ate or drank for a ten-month period while he worked on finding heterim for agunot. All of the rabbanim relied upon his psak in these areas. He cared about every single Jew and the pain of agunot troubled him terribly.

“After the September 11 attacks, 12 families approached Rav Elyashiv with questions regarding agunot. (As I sit on the board of the Vaad for Shemirat Shabbat as Rav Ovadia’s representative, together with Rav Elyashiv’s representative, I became close to Rav Elyashiv.) Rav Elyashiv referred them to Rav Ovadia, saying, ‘Only Rav Ovadia can answer these questions.’ He was matir [permitted] them all to remarry.”

Rav Kryspal related what Rav Ovadia once told him regarding the difficulty in allowing [being matir] an action to be performed as opposed to issuing a psak of issur [impermissibility]: “Rav Ovadia told me, ‘Kol echad yachol l’hachmir—Everyone can rule stringently.’ Once someone says something is assur, they can sit back and relax. Finding a heter requires responsibility. You have to be able to render a psak and stand behind your psak all the way.”

WITNESS UNTIL THE END

“I will tell you one more story about an agunah, which took place 16 years ago and had a very different ending than you might expect,” said Rav Kryspal. “We received a question about the case of a woman whose

husband ran away. The European beis din wanted to matir her to remarry, for several halachic reasons. In general, Rav Ovadia had other rabbanim to assist him in these matters, and he would oversee the psak and sign off on it once he reviewed it. Rav Ovadia sent the question to one rav so that he should look into it and delve into the matter halachically.

“That rav worked on it for three days and also decided to matir it. I brought the paper from the rav to Rav Ovadia for him to look at and sign off on, and he said ‘Give me until tomorrow to decide.’

“The next day, I received a phone call from a talmid chacham who told me that he didn’t want to get involved in Rav Ovadia’s psak, but that he knew for a certainty that the father of the wife ‘donated’ a million dollars to this beis din to get a ‘heter agunah,’ and that we should look into it.

“I told Rav Ovadia, and he replied to me that he can’t agree to the psak allowing her to marry. Rav Ovadia asked me to track down the husband’s family, and it turned out there was a family dispute. The husband felt he was accused falsely by a brother-in-law of stealing, and that his life was ruined after his brother-in-law called the police on him. He felt he was owed $700,000 and wouldn’t give the get without the money. It was a complicated situation from both sides; no one was clearly innocent, and the bottom line was that it was a complicated matter.

“Rav Ovadia asked me to get the wife’s As a young rav

father on the phone. Rav Ovadia told him, ‘You want your daughter to get married?

I will write a psak that she not be allowed to remarry, as she is an eishet ish. Bring the $700,000, and I will force the husband to give the get. It’s better for you to do that than to give a million dollars to allow her to remarry when she would still really be an eishet ish.’ I can’t tell you the exact sequence of events after that phone call, but I know she received her get.”

“The last teshuvah Rav Ovadia wrote,” Rav Kryspal mentioned, “was regarding hilchot Shabbat. Rav Ovadia had already published five chalakim of Chazon Ovadia on hilchot Shabbat, and he was working on the fifth. The question was: Is one allowed to read general storybooks on Shabbat, and does this fall under the category of shtarei hedyotot? It is assur to read something that might cause someone to write a shtar. Someone wrote this question to him, and he was answering it. There are those who don’t allow reading stories on Shabbos because of shtarei hedyotot, He wrote a lengthy teshuvah to allow it. It was his last teshuvah.

95 YEARS OF CARING

Rav Kryspal commented throughout the interview that all of Rav Ovadia’s 95 years were dedicated to Torah. I mentioned that most media outlets report the Rav’s age as being 93 years old—his birthdate on 12 Tishrei 5681 (1920).

Rav Kryspal responded, “I believe the

Rav was 95 years old, although the family disagrees with me. I have a letter from back when the Rav was vying to become chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, close to 60 years ago. In it he states his birthdate as 12 Tishrei 5679, not 5681. Additionally, I have in my possession Rav Ovadia’s teudat zeut [identification card], and it says there he was born in 5679. Finally, Rav Ovadia’s brother, Rav Naim Ovadia, was born in 5681, and they could not have been born the same year.

“Rav Ovadia felt his tafkid [mission] in life was to help people,” continued Rav Kryspal. “He would do all it took, regardless of the effort involved. When Rav Ovadia was rav harashi [chief rabbi], they had built a new mikvah in Neve Yaakov.

Even though it was a brand new state-ofthe art facility, there was barely anybody who used it. Rav Ovadia, knowing about the situation, asked Rav Kulitz, the chief rabbi of Yerushalayim, to join him as he went on a mission.

“For days on end, they knocked on doors, convincing families—one by one— the importance of taharat hamishpachah.

For days! Door by door! This is when he was rav harashi! Within weeks the mikvah was operating at full force. This was the Rav: Everywhere he could go to spread Torah—and he would go even to the furthest places such as Eilat—he would travel. Rav Ovadia personally went down to Eilat, the tourist attraction famous for not being a place of kedushah, in order to be mechazek the Jews there. Today there With Rav Shach

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With Rav Shmuel Auerbach

are four kollelim and four yeshivot, all under his auspices.

“I will share with you a very personal story involving my sister,” Rav Kryspal said, emotionally. “My sister was not blessed with children for over ten years.

After ten years, my sister asked the Rav whether she and her husband should undergo a specific fertility treatment. Rav Ovadia said that they should not do the treatment. Rather, he suggested that she obtain the etrog that a talmid chacham had recited a brachah over, and eat it.

“Being close to the Rav I brought her Rav Ovadia’s etrog. She ate it and also gave parts of it to three barren women as well. They all gave birth to children that year; my nephew is now 17 years old. The story spread, and the following year there were many, many requests to have a small piece of the Rav’s etrog. In recent years, we would switch the Rav’s etrog daily so that more people could receive a piece. Sadly, this year he was only able to recite the brachah on one etrog.

“He always put other people’s needs before his own,” continued Rav Kryspal, “even when it defied nature. Fourteen

With Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach

years ago, the Rav had a heart attack. After tests were performed, the doctors decided that he needed to have a stent inserted to widen the artery. The Rav said that he needed three hours before the surgery could be performed.

“What did he do? He went home to his study for three hours. After he emerged, he said that he needed to answer a complicated sh’eilah regarding an agunah and that he needed to answer it right away, as time was of the essence.

“The Rav dedicated his whole life for zikui harabim [to strengthen the masses],” Rav Kryspal said. “The Rav wrote in one of his sefarim (Taharat Habayit) that he had been

The Rav barely ate or drank for a ten-month period while he worked on finding heterim for agunos.

considering cutting down on his shiurim to focus a bit more on his writing. Rav Ovadia relates that the Ben Ish Chai came to him in a dream and told him that his sefarim were well accepted in Shamayim. However, even more cherished was the work of zikui harabim that he did. Rav Ovadia felt great inspiration from this dream. The Rav told me many times, ‘Ani lo chai bishvil atzmi—I don’t live for myself.’

“Rav Ovadia’s involvement in Shas was also solely for one purpose,” added Rav Kryspal. “Zikui harabim. As you know, in 1982 several Sefardi politicians were unhappy with the way they were being represented within Agudat Yisrael. After some success in the local Yerushalayim elections, they decided to take it to the next level, and Rav Shach directed them to Rav Ovadia, who gave them his approval and became their spiritual leader.

“In the 1984 elections, they received four mandatim—seats in the Knesset—and it was a huge shock. Those four grew to six, then ten, then 17. Shas had great hatzlachah.

“However, Rav Ovadia didn’t need the politics. I once mentioned to him how it bothered me that the secular press talked badly about the Rav and used his photo in inappropriate ways to denigrate him. I asked the Rav why he subjected himself to

With Vizhnitzer Rabbe

With Rav Wosner

such ridicule. He responded to me: ‘Politics don’t interest me. I don’t get a salary.

The only reason I am involved is that if one Jew will say Kriat Shema, or if one more Jew will keep taharat hamishpachah, it’s all worth it.”

Rav Kryspal continued: “In the early ’90s, the government decided to withhold funding for the elementary schools of Shas; 100 classes were missing funds necessary for the schools to open. This bothered Rav Ovadia terribly, and he felt worse as he was suffering from pneumonia at the time. Aryeh Deri brought the then-sar ha’otzar [finance minister] Bayga Shochat to Rav Ovadia’s home. Rav Ovadia told him that he was not asking for funds for himself; he was asking on behalf of the children.

“Shochat hemmed and hawed, and Rav Ovadia was so passionate in his plea that he collapsed. Shochat himself accompanied Rav Ovadia to the hospital and on the way promised Rav Ovadia he would see to it that they would get the funding despite the fierce opposition within the Knesset.

Shochat said later ‘Here is a man who was sick and all he cared about was the children. How could I say no?’”

cult,” concluded Rav Kryspal. “The last time we had a real conversation was Erev Sukkot. I had brought him the very rare ‘hadas Rashi,’ a type of hadasim in which nine hadas leaves grow from each cluster along the branch, as opposed to the standard three, and is recommended by Rashi in masechet Sukkah. He told me he truly appreciated it, as he had never received one in his life. Sadly, it was the first and

last time he used it. Over Sukkot, he was very weak.

“After Yom Tov, when he regained consciousness, he saw me and recognized me, but he was unable to speak. In the beginning, it was because he was hooked up to a respirator. Even after they removed it, it takes time to regain one’s strength. He was able to mouth the words to me ‘Titpalelu alai [Daven for me].’ He was truly suffering.

“This morning the doctors told me to go into his room to say goodbye. It was very difficult for me. I held his hand and begged him for mechilah. His shamash, Reb Tzvi Chakak, told me that yesterday [Sunday, a day before his passing] they put tefillin on Rav Ovadia and he told him ‘Ani lo yachol yoter—I can’t anymore.’ He passed away the next morning. They say there were over a million people at his levayah, people from all walks of life. That was his goal: to reach out to every Jew.” Yehi zichro baruch.

TEARFUL FAREWELL

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Chacham Ovadia at the bar mitzvah of Avi Dwek (Victoria's husband) in 1994

“So Approachable, So Humble, So Warm” These are the words my father-in-law, Rabbi Yitzhak Dwek, kept saying, when I spoke to him about his 39-year relationship with Chacham Ovadia Yosef, zt”l.

I learned how a gadol can also be a father of an entire people.

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“He immediately told me the sefer and perek number, and also told me that his copy of the sefer has a tear on that page.”

One of the Dwek toddlers woke up in the middle of the night and made his way to his parents’ room, like lots of toddlers do. When he got there, though, he saw that the woman in his mother’s bed didn’t look like his mother. So he climbed into his father’s bed and slept the night there.

It wasn’t his father either. But Chacham Ovadia didn’t say anything and didn’t send him away. He just made room for the little boy and let him be comforted.

Between 1974 and 1994, when Rebbetzin Margalit passed away, Chacham Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, visited Deal every year and stayed for a week in my in-laws’ home.

I spoke to my father-in-law about Chacham Ovadia’s visits to Deal, and his visits to Chacham Ovadia in Eretz Yisrael.

“It was a holiday whenever he came…but as great as he was...he was very approachable and humble and had a sense of humor,” my father-in-law, Rabbi Yitzhak Dwek, told me.

“Chacham Ovadia always used to look through my library.

One time, he asked, ‘Why are Rav Moshe Feinstein’s sefarim falling apart, when mine look like new?’ I was embarrassed and didn’t know what to tell him. Years later, I was sitting at his table when I realized the obvious answer and reminded him of the time he asked me that question. I told him, ‘Now I have the answer. I only have one of each of Rav Moshe’s sefarim. But I have 15 of each of yours (because I learn them with a group of people).’ He slapped me across my cheek a couple of times [a sign of endearment] when he heard that and told Yehudit, his daughter-in-law, to get me 15 copies of his latest sefer. At the time, he had just finished the sefer Yamim Noraim.

“Another time, while looking through my library, he saw a sefer he didn’t have. I told him to take it. Then he saw another, and another, and I told him to take whatever he wanted. Soon, the pile of sefarim was 40 or 50 high—too much to shlep. So, I shipped them to him. The next time I was in his home, I saw that he had inscribed in each of the sefarim, ‘I received this sefer from Rabbi Dwek when I visited Deal in 1982.’ His hakarat hatov and appreciation for everything was so proper and so cor-

By Victoria Dwek

From the time he became Rishon LeZion, Chacham Ovadia made sure to frequently visit all Sefardic communities worldwide.

rect and he was so humble. At least once a year, when I visited his home, I would look at the sefarim again and would show my children the inscriptions in his beautiful handwriting. His handwriting was like art.

“During another one of my visits to him, while sitting at his table, I told him I was having trouble finding where the Ben Ish Chai discusses the word “yahrzeit.” He immediately told me the sefer and perek number, and also told me that his copy of the sefer has a tear on that page. He got up, got the sefer, and the chiddush was right before the tear.”

My father-in-law always ate a meal with Chacham Ovadia on every trip to Israel and once stayed overnight. After one such meal, Chacham Ovadia insisted on walking my fatherin-law back to his hotel. At the time, Chacham Ovadia lived at 36 Jabotinsky Street and the Laromme Hotel was a few blocks away. My father-in-law tried to dissuade him, but Chacham Ovadia insisted, saying that a host should accompany his guest. When they got to the hotel, though, my father-in-law insisted on walking him back—because a talmid must accompany his rebbi.

“I was once in his house on Rosh Chodesh Nisan. I was told, ‘The Rabbi is going to do Birkat Ha’ilanot [the blessing of the trees]; would you like to go with him?’ I thought he was going to spend a long time saying the blessing with all different kava-

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Photos, from left to right Chacham Ovadia and Rabbi Dwek in the early 1970s, when the rebbetalmid relationship began One of Chacham Ovadia's earliest visits to the Deal Shul. The famous chazzan, Raphael Yair Elnadav (who passed away in 2011) is at the amud.

Chacham Ovadia with Rabbi Yair Elnadav

not from kabbalah. But he said the brachah for 60 seconds and went right back to learning.

“There was a Lag Ba’Omer celebration in his home, and all the men left at 11:30 p.m., after a long meal. I had forgotten something there, so I went back a few minutes later and saw he was already learning with his chavruta, who was scheduled to come the same minute everyone else had left.

“I spent one month in 1976 learning in his kollel. We would always marvel at how much he knew. During one discussion in the kollel, we wondered why he had said that something was mutar [permitted]. No member of the kollel could figure it out.

When he came to give shiur, we asked him, and he immediately gave us all the sources by heart.

“During one visit to Deal, he asked me why I wasn’t wearing Rabbeinu Tam tefil-

lin. I told him I’d get a pair. When he came back the following year and saw I still didn’t have them, he said he was going to buy them for me. I couldn’t let him do that, so that’s when I finally bought a pair and began to wear them.”

A Visit by Chacham Ovadia

My father-in-law saw the respect that the Ashkenazi gedolim had for Chacham Ovadia, even decades ago.

“Rav Moshe Sherer, zt”l, once spent a Shabbat with us. He told us that in the 1950s, before going on a trip to Israel, Rav Aharon Kotler, zt”l, had told him specifically to go see Chacham Ovadia. In the 1950s, Chacham Ovadia was not yet well known, but Rav Kotler already knew how great he was.

“During his 1974 visit to Deal, we went to Lakewood, and Chacham Ovadia spoke

“Here was the greatest scholar in the world, but yet he was so warm and personable.”

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at BMG. In 1975, when Chacham Ovadia returned again, Rav Shneur Kotler, zt”l, wanted to repay the visit and come see him in Deal. It was before the shloshim for his son Meir, though, and Rav Kotler wasn’t attending any occasions—but he made one exception and came to a melaveh malka in honor of Chacham Ovadia.

“I once took him to the office of Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. Rav Moshe’s office was tiny. Rav Moshe sat on one side, Chacham Ovadia on the other side, and I stood between them. There was no room for more than three people. Afterwards, there was a Chinuch Atzmai dinner at the Hilton, and Rav Moshe, who usually spoke in Yiddish, this time spoke in Hebrew out of respect for Chacham Ovadia.

“One time I was in his home as part of a delegation from Am Echad. I told him that the next stop was the Belzer Rebbe. I told the Belzer Rebbe privately that Chacham Ovadia sends his regards and the Belzer Rebbe made me relate Chacham Ovadia’s message out loud to everyone. When the Belzer Rebbe heard about Chacham Ovadia’s passing, he broke down crying. Chacham Ovadia had attended the wedding of the Belzer Rebbe’s grandson and danced with the Rebbe, while they sang a special song in honor of the Chacham.”

The Gates of Tears

One of Chacham Ovadia’s visits to Deal

fell out right before Rosh Hashanah.

Before returning to Israel, he gave a shiur to the ladies about the power of tears. He spoke in Hebrew, and my father-in-law translated: "There once was a businessman who went to visit his rebbe, the Chozeh of Lublin, every year before Rosh Hashanah and Pesach.

Every year, the Chozeh of Lublin would tell him that he was going to have his best year ever. One year, though, the rebbe was silent. The businessman kept pushing him to say something, until finally he said, ‘What should I tell you?

Everything is black. Everything you touch will go down."

When the businessman heard this, he closed his business. Through Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur he prayed and cried, and kept crying and crying as he davened before the amud. After Yom Kippur, he approached his competitor for a job and told him, “I only want a contract for one month. But I want 10% of the new profit I bring.” The businessman improved production and cut costs. When the second month began, he told his new boss that he wanted another one-month contract, where he would be paid 20% of the new revenue.

He couldn’t wait until Pesach to tell his rebbe. So, at Chanukah time, he went to visit his rebbe to tell him about his recent success. The Chozeh

of Lublin told him, “Your old fate was before there were tears. But with tears, you can do anything.”

My father-in-law told me, about that day, “I didn’t know that Chacham Ovadia kept a diary. I would never do this, but there was one bachur who was taking care of him who looked inside the diary. He saw that Chacham Ovadia wrote, ‘I gave a class about tears, and Rabbi Dwek was crying as he translated my speech.’”

Don’t Drop a Crumb

“In 1983, we went together to The White House to meet President Reagan.

The occasion was the publication of a new edition of the Shulchan Aruch.

Those who worked on it were invited into the Oval Office. It was during this trip that Chacham Ovadia found out that he wouldn’t be allowed to run for another term as Rishon Lezion. It turned out for the best. He went on to become even greater.

“During that trip, when Mr. Raymond Cohen [the barber] trimmed Chacham Ovadia’s beard, he held his hand underneath the scissors so none of the hair would fall on the ground. It reminded me of the Yosef Ometz commentary that told us that when we eat the afikoman on Pesach, it’s the last mitzvah of eating matzah. We should hold our hands so

no crumb of the mitzvah should fall.”

My mother-in-law added that they’d save up their halachic questions from throughout the year for Chacham Ovadia’s visit. “Here was the greatest scholar in the world, but yet he was so warm and personable. All the children had a relationship with him and we felt so at home with him.” Chacham Ovadia would advise the Deal rabbanim on the right way to lead the Sephardic community to growth in Torah and mitzvah observance.

My father-in-law tore kriah right after our conversation. My first grader came home with a ripped shirt and told me that everyone in his class had torn their shirts because we lost Chacham Ovadia.

“He loved the community like a father. My shirt is ripped because he was like a father to me. Everyone felt like he was their personal rabbi.

Anyone from the community who visited Israel each year was always welcomed by him...we all felt tremendous closeness to him because as busy as he was, he took time to see them and would travel here every year to speak to them. He visited Panama, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina...anywhere in the world there was a Sephardic community.”

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Rav Ovadia seen at Hadassah Hospital after he suffered a minor stroke, January 13, 2013

IN THE HOSPITAL WITH RAV OVADIA Rav Moshe Klein of Hadassah Medical Center describes the last few weeks of the posek hador’s life For the past few weeks and months, Rav Moshe Klein, the rabbi of Hadassah Hospital, has been there for the family members and the inner circle of Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt”l. In his position as rabbi of Hadassah, Rav Klein is often at the side of gedolei Yisrael in their most trying times, when they are hospitalized and suffering. In an interview with Ami, Rav Klein described Rav Ovadia’s stay during the last hospitalization of his lifetime.

When Rav Moshe Klein walked with us through the corridors of the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem this last Sunday, he was forced to stop almost every minute. “How’s the Rav doing?” Rav Klein was asked again and again by the many visitors who recognized him as the chief rabbi of the medical center. Rav Klein smiled pleasantly to those who inquired and tried to relax them by reassuring them that the Rav’s condition had improved. He also relayed the latest prognosis.

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It is part of his work as the rabbi of the hospital.

The obligations of a pulpit or community rabbi can’t be compared to those of a hospital chaplain.

Here the questions are not merely about Shabbos, eruv or kashrus. Alongside complicated halachic questions, there are also complex personal questions. A rabbi of a hospital needs to also play the part of a psychologist, in addition to his rabbinic role. Indeed, Rav Klein’s role is far greater than that of a typical rav. He is the address for tens of patients and their visitors on a daily basis, who find in him a source of support regarding the challenges they are facing.

However, in this case we are speaking of an even more demanding situation, a communal concern of all of klal Yisrael. The hospitalization of Rav Ovadia attracted the attention of the entire chareidi community.

One day after our interview, everything

By Chananya Bleich changed. Rav Ovadia’s condition began deteriorating in the early morning. The doctors raised their hands in resignation. A few hours later, a little past 1:00 in the afternoon, Rav Ovadia Yosef returned his soul to its Creator.

We asked Rav Klein to describe what he had experienced in his role as a rav, at the bedside of Rav Ovadia on the eighth floor of Hadassah Hospital in Yerushalayim.

Rav Klein said: “These are very difficult hours, but it is an exceptionally unique opportunity to be able to witness the lofty behavior of a gadol b’Yisrael when in pain, to see unconquerable faith brimming during such difficult hours, and also to see a gadol’s behavior with his doctors and his limitless thankfulness toward them.” Rav Klein related, “Just yesterday one of the nurses told me that during the orthopedic surgery that was performed on Maran, when he was lying in the bed moments before the operation, every time he was pricked with a needle into his body he immediately thanked the surgeons and said, ‘Thank you very much. You should be blessed from Heaven.’ “‘I never saw,’ the nurse told me, ‘a man in these moments, at a time when he should have been thinking of his pain, who instead was only thinking about showing gratitude!’”

In general it is an experience all for itself, Rav Klein says, to see rabbanim and rebbeim in the hospital even when they are just visiting others.

The Boyaner Rebbe, he relates, entered Rav Ovadia’s hospital room a few days ago. There he davened for the recovery of Rav Ovadia—for the Shechinah is found above the head of the ill person.

“Two weeks ago, during hakafos shniyos [the hakafos celebrated in Eretz Yisrael on Isru Chag Sukkos], I participated as I do every year. I sat with my friends, and when everything was ready, they were only waiting for the entry of the Sanzer Rebbe. The gabbaim approached me and told me that the Rebbe asked that I come into his room. I went in. The Rebbe was wrapped in a tallis, his face was aflame, and his sole request from me was that I should tell him, a few minutes before the hakafos, how Rav Ovadia was feeling.”

“Rav Ovadia was one of the most pleasant and noble people I have ever come across. This is also in regards to his encyclopedic Torah knowledge, which was displayed when I was able to speak to him in his hospital bed, when he felt up to it. At those times, I was able to ask him questions and receive answers and listen to his words of Torah.”

Rav Klein revealed that in the halls of Hadassah the doctors had been saying that Rav Ovadia’s brief recovery, after he had initially been anesthetized and put on a respirator, was above the laws of nature. “The doctor who operated on Rav Yosef, Professor Don Gilon, told me that a person of Rav Ovadia’s age with the diseases he had needs much more siyata di’shmaya than usual. The fact that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us almost a full week longer with this giant personality was a present from Heaven.”

Even during Rav Ovadia’s most recent hospital stay, when

he was very weak, a short time before he was anesthetized and put on a respirator last week, Rav Klein received an additional blessing from him: “Tevorach mi’pi elyon—You should be blessed from the mouth of Hashem.” Rav Ovadia also blessed him with other utterances of gratitude for preparing a special place in the hospital befitting his level of ruchniyus.

“In the days after Maran’s stay, we focused on two things: prayers and supplications for the health of Rav Ovadia, and upon the phenomenal work being done by the hospital staff and its top doctors. You have to understand that the relationship between the doctors in Hadassah and Rav Ovadia was, so to speak, as if he wasn’t Rav Ovadia Yosef. In the area of medical treatments they had to focus purely and solely on the difficult situation at hand—with no emotions. But still, I know that the doctors understood that the leader of klal Yisrael was in their hands, and they knew this was a tremendous responsibility—and a great zechus—that they had been given. To this end, I know the doctors were doing all they could. I also know they do all they can for every single patient they treat on a regular basis.

“The family,” he continued, “was full of optimism from the first moment. All of Rav Ovadia’s sons—led by Rav Yitzchak Yosef—had full trust in the doctors’ treatments. And they had bitachon that Hakadosh Baruch Hu would send a complete recovery to the posek hador. I didn’t see a moment of despair from them. I saw from them only an honest view of the situation—a view without any dependence on statistics or diagnosis, because of their complete faith that the Healer of all flesh can perform wonders. To our great pain, in the end Heaven decided otherwise. But that is the nature of a Father—sometimes he can say, ‘No.’”

Rav Moshe Klein

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JUNEE AND JUNEE JR. JOIN KLAL YISROEL IN MOURNING THE PASSING OF

RABBI OVADIA YOSEF Z”L

MAY HIS MEMORY BE BLESSED.

my word!

A S H E R V. F I N N

Each week, “My Word!”—penned by the esteemed president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to English—highlights often-misused or misspelled phrases or words, common grammatical challenges, unusual expressions or neologisms. Or it just calls attention to curious or interesting locutions.

So if you want to learn some new things about English—or are already expert in the language and want to prove it to yourself—you’ve come to the right place.

Some Idioms I Have Known

H

ave you ever wondered about the expression “a stitch in time saves nine”? Why sure you have!

What it means, of course, is that there are many problems that will only grow worse if one procrastinates rather than addresses them.

Thus, the hem in one’s pants cuff may be beginning to undo, and a single stitch will arrest the undoing; putting off the minor stitching, however, will likely result in having to do a good deal more of it. Ah, but why nine?

Because it rhymes.

Only it doesn’t.

Which might call to mind another odd expression: “neither rhyme nor reason.” Although the phrase is found in several of Shakespeare’s plays, it did not originate, as is often assumed, with the bard, having appeared in literature more than a century before he was born. What, though, does it mean? Well, it seems to be based on the assumption that something can make sense in one of two ways: either by rhyming (as in “a stitch in time saves mime”—although how exactly a stitch might be the salvation of a street performer is unclear) or by being reasonable (as in “a stitch in time saves two). And so, something that makes no sense in any way whatsoever (say, “a stitch in time saves the Word document”) exhibits “neither rhyme nor reason.”

Another common saying whose meaning eludes many people who use it is “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

It’s really quite simple. If you have a piece of cake, you can savor its aroma, enjoy the sight of it, and anticipate eating it

at some point. But, ah, once that point is reached, and the cake is consumed, one has eaten it but alas, no longer has it.

The same thing is true of ptcha, of course, even if some of us prefer to neither have nor eat it.

Speaking of food idioms, do you remember your salad days? No, not the diet you were on back during the first Clinton administration, when, at your spouse’s recommendation, you consumed only things that were green (and became so hungry you paskened that an “olive” crayon made the grade). No, one’s “salad days,” is a reference to one’s youth, particularly if one spent it in a wild or unbridled way. In the United States, the phrase is sometimes used to mean the years when one was at the peak of his abilities, but that isn’t the way Shakespeare—who, here, is indeed the source of the phrase—used it in 1606, in “Antony and Cleopatra.”

Finally, another “days” idiom is “dog days,” referring to the hottest days of the year, which (at least in the Northern hemisphere; sorry, Aussies) coincide with the rising of Sirius, the “dog star,” the brightest one in the constellation Canis Major.

Once, during the dog days of summer, back when young Shayeleh was in his salad days, his mother noticed that the pint of ice cream she had bought had disappeared. “Do you have it?” she asked the lad. “No,” he replied with an air of obviousness, “How could I possibly have it? I ate it!”

How nice were I able to cite here Some clever use of “a stitch in time.”

But there’s no way; and so, sans reason, I leave you, at least, with a rhyme.

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BY YOSSI KRAUSZ

ATTORNEY DEVORA ALLON EXPLAINS WHY THE NYC GOVERNMENT’S PROSECUTION OF CHASIDIC STOREKEEPERS FOR DISCRIMINATION WILL ULTIMATELY FAIL

The fines that had been levied earlier this year on seven Williamsburg stores by the New York City Commission on Human Rights had seemed something of a bizarre joke at the time, another example of overreach by the fine-happy New York City government. (See our cover story in Ami Issue 109 about the case.) But an administrative judge recently gave the commission the go-ahead to begin legal action against the seven stores, making the case even less of a laughing matter. To understand where the case is going now, we spoke to Devora Allon of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis, who is representing the Williamsburg store owners.

Have there been any hearings yet on this case?

Yes. We had a hearing on a motion. Both sides moved for summary judgment [to dispose of the case without trial] but it was denied by Judge Spooner, who ruled that there has to be a trial on the issue of what the average person would think when he saw the sign, meaning if the average person would have felt discriminated against.

When was this decided?

In July.

On what basis did you move for summary judgment, that there is no discrimination?

The burden is on the commission to put forth a showing of discrimination. We argued that they had not met that burden because the signs were neutral—the lan-

guage applied to both men and women—and also that they hadn’t been applied in a discriminatory way. The commission has the burden of showing that the average person would feel discriminated against.

Average man or average woman?

Either. Let’s take the woman first. This would mean that if a woman saw the sign, she would feel targeted not because she wasn’t dressed in accordance with the code it asked for, but only because she’s a woman. [In such a case] it wouldn’t seek to prevent a man who wasn’t dressed in compliance with the code from entering the store.

The same thing would apply to the issue of creed. If a non-Jew saw the sign, he would have to think it was meant to keep him out, as opposed to a Jewish or chasidic person.

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69

This was decided by an administrative judge?

felt discriminated against by that sign?

Yes. [The case] is still in front of the administrative judge in the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. The same judge will be trying the case. The trial is scheduled for January.

There are different ways you can put in evidence of a “reasonable person” standard. The most common is by conducting a survey. You can also have witnesses or experts testify.

Factually, in this case, there was never a person who was denied service based on his religion or gender. Had that happened, the commission could put forth evidence based upon that person who was turned away. But it never happened.

Yes, and that is what we find most troubling.

They acknowledge that restaurants in New York are allowed to have dress codes that distinguish between men and women. At summary motion we put forth all this evidence—for example, that the Supreme Court has a dress code mandating that men have to dress one way and women another way. They accept that that’s permitted. But what they’re saying is the fact that you’re a chasidic-owned store means that if a potential customer saw the sign in the context of that store, what would otherwise be a permissible sign somehow becomes illegal.

So you’re waiting for trial to counter their evidence, but you don’t know what form of evidence they will present, live witnesses or experts?

The court ruled that the sign is illegal if the plaintiff can prove that people feel discriminated against?

We have a deadline in a couple of weeks for witness lists.

After that, I’ll have more information about the type of evidence we think they’ll put up.

Not exactly. There is no ruling against us. The judge just ruled that so far, the commission hasn’t proved its case.

Either way, they have to somehow prove that people

It seems to me that this touches upon the

How do you think the commission will try to prove that an average person would find the sign discriminatory?

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issue of freedom of religion.

private establishments.

Indeed. Their argument is that a sign that’s otherwise permissible becomes impermissible because it’s religiously motivated.

But only if the storeowner only targets certain customers.

But wouldn’t that elicit a defense that because it’s religiously motivated, it’s permitted because of freedom of religion?

We actually argued something similar.

I’ll give you an example we used in court.

If I’m an employer, I can say that you can’t steal because I don’t want you to steal from me. That’s fine according to the law. But if I say you can’t steal because I believe in the Ten Commandments, then the commission would say that’s discrimination.

That’s silly. Everyone would accept that you can tell your employees not to steal.

We argued here that [the sign] is not discriminatory, and it doesn’t matter if it’s religiously motivated.

You’re right that it might be a constitutional claim to the Free Exercise Clause, but this is not the venue where we would necessarily pursue that. But down the line, if there’s an adverse ruling and the commission continues this case, that would be a claim we’d consider.

What is a religious storeowner to do if potential customers violate his religious principles?

The Human Rights Law at issue does govern “accommodations,” or stores. They do have a right to govern discrimination in

That’s exactly the point. We don’t think that the signs discriminate. We all agree that a sign saying that women have to dress one way and men another is not discriminatory. What they’re trying to say is the fact that the sign was put up with a religious motivation is enough to make it discriminatory.

Their argument is that you have to view it in the context. If you had seen a sign in the Four Seasons restaurant saying that men have to wear jackets, you wouldn’t feel discriminated against. But because it’s in Williamsburg, in a store owned by a chasidic person, that context makes the sign discriminatory.

The argument that if you’re motivated by religious belief it’s discriminatory is pretty creative.

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It’s creative, but without legal merit.

It seems like reverse discrimination.

I wouldn’t call it that, but I would say that targeting our stores for prosecution solely because they were motivated by religious belief is discriminatory.

Is there any case law supporting the notion that discrimination is determined by motivation?

There are cases where the court looks at intent. If you intend to discriminate, that

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“As an employer, I can tell you not to steal.

That’s fine. But if I say it’s because I believe in the Ten Commandments, then that’s discrimination.

That’s silly.”

FLAT RATE FARES

“The commission is trying to prove that when the sign said no shorts or going sleeveless, it really meant no women and no non-Jewish people” is very relevant to the court. There’s also a line of cases that says that if you use words that appear neutral but are really “code words,” that’s discriminatory. There was a case in which a Catholic-run camp put up a sign that said “selective clientele only.”

What they meant was that they only wanted counselors who were Catholic. The court ruled that it was discriminatory. In our case, the commission is trying to prove that when the sign said no shorts or going sleeveless, it really meant no women and no non-Jewish people. That’s the heart of their argument.

I don’t think that anyone who puts up a sign like that is trying to drive women or non-Jews away.

Of course not. The purpose of a store is to make money.

They’re businesses. They don’t turn people away, certainly not based on their gender or creed.

Would you say that they are trying to drive away people who don’t dress according to a certain dress code?

No, I’d say that they’re trying to encourage a certain dress code in their stores. The fact is that none of our stores ever turned a customer away based on dress code. That’s in the record.

When we interviewed you a little while ago, you said this case might be settled. How could that happen?

Settlement discussions are confidential, so I can’t really comment other than to say that the commission intends to pursue this—and we say that their case is without merit. So we intend to defend against them.

Judge Spooner’s ruling at trial will not be binding on the commission; it’s more like sort of a recommendation. They can choose to ignore his ruling and continue to prosecute, in which case we’d appeal that decision to a New York State court.

and fine us anyway.

Why are they so adamant about pursuing this case?

You’d have to ask them.

Is it politically motivated? I mean, nobody ever complained.

You’re right that the commission usually investigates only after someone brings a complaint. Here, there’s nobody who said he wasn’t allowed in. They haven’t put forth any witness who said he was ever denied service based on gender or creed.

Do these stores serve women or nonJewish people?

Some do, but it’s a varied customer base. One store sells bekeshes and chasidic clothes. So obviously there aren’t many women or non-Jews shopping there.

The mere fact that non-Jews come into the store and are served should show that they aren’t being discriminated against.

Right. That’s another form of evidence we could put forth.

How much money were your clients fined?

The commission told us the standard minimum fine is $2,500. But if this goes to trial they’re going to ask for $5,000 per store.

Have your clients removed the signs?

I believe they were removed a year ago.

If you win, I assume they’ll feel free to put the signs back up.

Yes. Let me say just one thing. One of the elements of a Free Exercise claim is: Does the government conduct have a chilling effect on the free exercise of religion? We would make the argument that the fact that the store owners felt they had to take these signs down was an effect of the commission’s prosecution.

Is his ruling binding on any of the parties?

So the only thing you can actually ask for is a reversal of their attitude.

If he rules against us, we have the right to an appeal to the New York [State] Supreme Court. If he rules that the commission hasn’t demonstrated a violation, they could still ignore that

Well, in the event Judge Spooner rules against us and upholds the prosecution, we’d appeal it and the court would then decide. That would be

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binding on the commission.

So you haven’t brought a counterclaim?

Not at this time. But a Free Exercise claim would be an affirmative counterclaim.

So it’s basically only a claim for them to stop doing what they’re doing?

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Right. Right now we’re just trying to show that the commission hasn’t brought a valid claim, which might later be supported by an affirmative counterclaim, if the administrative judge rules against us.

Were you surprised by the media support for your position? I believe the Daily News had an editorial supporting your clients.

I was happy to see that people recognized the legal merits of our case. It’s true that we’ve gotten very positive feedback. The media attention is nice, but obviously, our clients are our first priority. I don’t mean to disparage it, but we feel very strongly about the legal merits of our case.

Is this what you do for a living?

Not really. I’m a litigator, and I generally do commercial and corporate litigation. Our firm has taken on this case pro bono.

Why?

Because we think that it implicates important constitutional issues and it’s something worth defending. We haven’t brought up the claim of Free Exercise yet, but at the heart of this case is whether or not a person can enforce a policy in his store that is motivated by religious belief.

Have you ever been in front of an administrative judge?

No. Most of these administrative judges don’t really hear serious cases, so this seems unusual.

Most of the time these cases aren’t pursued, because the people charged don’t usually have the legal means to defend their position. These shop owners are in a unique position of not having to worry about their legal fees.

Do you find the case interesting?

Yes. I like what I do every day, but constitutional issues don’t come around very frequently. We at Kirkland & Ellis feel that pro bono work is very important and dedicate a lot of resources to it, but we also feel that this specific matter has truly important implications for religious freedom. 

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by John Loftus

My Hero, Ron MOTLEY

O

The story of the man who fought against Bush’s terrorist friends all the way to the Supreme Court

ne of my heroes is dead.

Ron Motley was arguably one of the best trial lawyers in America. Among other things, Ron spearheaded the litigation that brought the corrupt tobacco industry to its knees. He won a $246 billion dollar settlement. That’s right, a quarter of a trillion dollars. He received a percentage of the verdict. Not a bad payday.

There is a film about him which accurately portrayed the cowardice shown by CBS executives in banning a 60 Minutes broadcast exposing the then secret data proving that tobacco was addictive. The data had been provided by a tobaccochemist-turned-whistleblower named Richard Weygand, one of Ron Motley’s secret sources.

I met Weygand years later at Ron Motley’s oceanfront home on Kiawah Island, near Charleston, South Carolina. We swapped Mike Wallace stories. Weygand and Motley persuaded Mike Wallace to challenge the CBS executives who had banned his broadcast for purely financial reasons. CBS was involved in a corporate takeover whose profits might be affected by the tobacco companies. Mike Wallace told CBS that this was no reason to cancel his exposé of how the tobacco industry lied to Congress about the health dangers of smoking.

I liked Mike Wallace. He was another of my heroes. Mike’s 60 Minutes interview of me won the 1982 Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism. In one of the longest segments in 60 Minutes his-

tory, I exposed how US intelligence hired Nazis during the Cold War. Over the years, I became a story consultant for 60 Minutes and had Mike Wallace’s private cell phone on speed dial. He was a good guy.

Motley’s Pet Cause One of the things I liked most about Ron was that he wanted to do good things with his money, to “take on causes, not just cases,” as his partner put it. I was one of Ron Motley’s causes.

Evan Yegewell, a mutual friend and attorney, told Ron Motley that there was this lawyer in Saint Petersburg, Florida, who had this idea about suing the Saudis on behalf of the victims of 9/11. The next thing I knew, Ron’s office was calling me to set up a place to meet. I suggested they stay at the Vinoy Hotel, a beautifully renovated old classic in the downtown waterfront park.

I arranged for us to have dinner in a private room in Basta’s Restaurant. Before he died, Frank Basta was voted one of the top ten chefs in America by the Chef’s Association. He was my neighbor, and I had helped take care of his kids while he was sick. When he was well, he was a genius.

Even a zillionaire like Ron was impressed with the food.

I wanted him to be happy while I pitched him the Saudi lawsuit. In fairness, he and his fellow attorneys Jody Flowers and Jack Cordray, who flew down with him, were already intrigued with the idea.

Ron pulled out a clipping about the recent Boim decision making it easier to sue financiers of terrorism. No longer did the

victim have to prove that the donor specifically intended for his money to support terrorism, just that he was financing an organization with reckless disregard for whether the money went to terrorists or not. Ron was excited. This decision could be his legal dagger for poking holes in the Saudi moneybags.

But how would they prove the financial link between the House of Saud and terrorism? I had begged three of my intelligence and detective friends to prepare independent charts on how the Saudis had laundered money to al-Qaeda. I passed the charts around the table. All three charts from different sources named the same Saudi banks, charities and front groups.

Saudi intelligence had created a first-class money laundering system. Ron later ended up using the charts at his press conference announcing the lawsuit.

A Story of Betrayal But why would America’s second-best ally in the Middle East betray us like this?

I told Ron the back story. President Bush’s father had made a personal connection with Saudi intelligence back when he was director of the CIA. As Director of Central Intelligence, Bush—with the Saudis—financed the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), one of the first major Islamic banks. In secret, BCCI was bait for terrorist money launderers. The Pakistani bank managers helped us trace terrorists like Carlos the Jackal, Abu Nidal, and a few others. The Pakistanis also looted the bank behind Bush’s back, but that is another story.

When Bush was picked as vice presi-

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75

by John Loftus

dent, he handled intelligence matters for Ronald Reagan. It was George H. W. Bush who revived his father’s and grandfather’s practice of covert money laundering to support bad guys. Prescott Bush’s father-in-law—and George H. W. Bush’s namesake—was Harry (George Herbert) Walker, the “robber baron” who laundered Wall Street money to finance Adolf Hitler.

Good old Harry Walker stuck his son-inlaw Prescott on the boards of the American front companies that traded with the Nazis.

Like his father and grandfather before him, George H. W. Bush became an expert money launderer. Illegal cash to finance the anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua came from Vice President Bush’s arms-forhostages trade with Iran. An often bewildered Reagan said that he did not think he had authorized the Iran-Contra deal, “but I guess I did.” Actually, Vice President Bush authorized it in Reagan’s name.

But the worst Bush backroom deal involved the Muslim Brotherhood. Bush revived the old Arab Nazi network to traverse America and Europe to recruit Muslim freedom fighters to drive the Russians out of Afghanistan. Before there was al-Qaeda there was Mukhtab al Khidmat, Bush’s front group for recruiting the Mujahideen. The old Nazis of the Muslim Brotherhood spread out to the Muslim communities of New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas and California to recruit a new generation of murderous thugs. It was one of those “successful” covert ops that work in the short term, but left us with a long-run disaster.

The Saudis agreed to match American money, covert dollar for covert dollar, in a holy war against the Russians. Congressman Charlie Wilson was instrumental in raising a billion dollars from the House Intelligence Committee to fund the anticommunist forces in Afghanistan. The Saudis set up a series of charities at the same address—555 Grove Street, Herndon, Virginia—to launder the money back to pay the recruiters of the Mukhtab al

Khidmat and finance the passage of the new freedom fighters to Afghanistan.

Bush and the Saudis set up similar charities in Pakistan, run by a Pakistani general, as an intelligence front. The same Pakistani charity later laundered the Saudi money, through Baraka Bank in the United Arab Emirates, to pay for the Florida flight training for the 9/11 hijackers.

The Baraka Bank connection was a bit of an embarrassment because the Florida branch of Baraka Bank was founded by Bush’s Florida campaign manager, Professor Sami Al Arian. Al Arian had promised the Bush family that he would turn out the Arab vote in record numbers in Florida to get his son elected President. It worked.

Bush won a narrow victory over Gore in Florida and the Baraka connection never became public.

At the same time that Al Arian was getting his picture taken with the new president, he was quietly raising funds for al-Qaeda’s “golden chain” of donors. Instead of being prosecuted as a supporter of terrorism, the FBI tried to recruit Al Arian as an informant. No one wanted to embarrass the president. Except me.

Exposing the President’s Man I told Ron Motley over dinner how I donated money to Al Arian’s Florida charity and then sued him because my donations were being used for terrorism. It was mostly a publicity stunt to embarrass the Justice Department into prosecuting Al Arian, but it worked. But it was only the tip of the scandal iceberg. Al Arian got most of his money from the same Saudi charities at 555 Grove Street in Herndon, Virginia, that had funded Bush’s Mukhtab al Khidmat.

The Bush Junior administration went nuts trying to shut down any probe that might embarrass Bush Senior or his relationships with the Saudis. Congressional investigators were horrified to discover that their bosses were trying to censor out 28 pages from the Congressional report of any mention of the Saudi role in financ-

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At the same time that Professor Sami Al Aryan was getting his picture taken with the new president, he was quietly raising funds for AlQaeda’s “golden chain” of donors. ing the 9/11 attack. They compromised, making these pages classified. Ron Motley’s team has played a big part in trying to get the 28 classified pages made public.

As noted in a report from the MotleyRice law firm, representing the organization 911 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism, “To date, many details surrounding the 9/11 attacks remain unanswered. The 9/11 Families maintain that, in their 11-year pursuit of justice, a veil of secrecy through classified documents and redactions descends each time they delve into the investigations of financial and material support for the hijackers. The 28

pages of Part Four of the 107th Congress’ Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001, were initially withheld by the Bush administration for alleged national security reasons, but President Obama assured the 9/11 Families shortly after taking office in 2009 that he would release the pages.”

Obama never did. It remains classified to this day for reasons of national security.

As Ron Motley’s 9/11 survivors’ organization points out, in a recent letter to President Obama, that dog won’t hunt: “Apparently, the decision to withhold these pages was made by President George W. Bush for unspecified reasons of national security. Others who have seen the material have long disagreed with that assessment. They include former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob

Graham (D-FL), who also co-chaired the Joint Inquiry. He has stated publicly that he believes that 95 percent of the material is safe for public consumption and that the pages were kept secret for reasons other than national security. He has further stated that the information had been “misclassified” and that though “the information may be embarrassing or politically damaging, its revelation would not damage national security.”

No matter what Ron Motley and the survivors of 9/11 tried, the door to the Saudi moneymen remained shut. It is not, I suspect, merely a matter of not wanting to offend our biggest oil supplier. It is human nature. No sitting president wants to throw two former presidents under the bus.

Bush Senior partnered with the bin Laden family, which, I explained to Ron

Motley, continued to fund Osama bin Laden even after 9/11. Bush Junior actually arranged to fly one of the Saudi princes out of the country after 9/11 before the FBI could interrogate him. It was later discovered that, apart from raising Kentucky Derby winners at his horse ranch, the prince had coordinated logistics for the 9/11 attack. Nice guy.

The Saudis murdered that prince and two other members of the royal family who were directly responsible for the 9/11 attack. Prince Turki, the Saudi intelligence chief who passed millions to al-Qaeda, was given a post as Ambassador to the UK, so that he would have diplomatic immunity from Ron Motley’s lawsuit. I had told Ron that it was Turki’s account in Deutsche Bank that bought the stock options on 9/10 betting that two airline stocks in particular would crash on 9/11. Another nice

by John Loftus

guy.

The Bush administration was panicked about Ron’s lawsuit against the Saudis, and with good reason. Ron had raised more than ten million dollars in private money to fund the litigation. Ron invited me to a meeting at his home along with more than 40 of the top trial lawyers in America. He asked each of them to contribute, and they did.

Ron explained that each of the lawyers would receive a proportionate share of any victory fund against the Saudis, but that one of us was working for free. That was me. Ron did not identify me to the group.

I was donating my time as an intelligence adviser, which is probably why I am always so poor. I just did not want to take money for helping the victims of 9/11.

Fighting for What’s Right Ron loved me for not caring about the money and doing the right thing. He already had enough money. Ron’s home on Kiawah Island is incredible, perched on a small bluff overlooking a quarter mile of grass-covered sand dunes leading to the ocean.

Ron Motley had everything, all the money and toys a boy could want, but he was severely depressed. Ron grew up dirt poor; his dad ran an Amoco gas station.

But it was never about the money. Ron Motley wanted to do something with his life, something of public service. His best friend, whom he had known since kindergarten, was running as a democrat for the White House. Ron wanted to use his legendary courtroom skills to fight for Justice. I think if his friend had won the Presidency, Ron would have been appointed attorney general. That must have scared the heck out of them.

Just as the legislative branch’s investigation was fixed, the Bush family fixed the judiciary. You don’t think a thing like that would be possible in America, but it happened. Many of the federal judges had been appointed by one Bush or the other.

Gossip has it that the Justice Department sent a national security letter asking the judge to put the case on the back burner for a few years.

It is an old gag. The same thing happened to me back in 1982 when I was exposing Nazis working for US intelligence.

My Congressional testimony was inexplicably postponed for three years. The Justice Department wanted the furor from my 60 Minutes appearance to die down. In Ron’s case, they wanted public anger for 9/11 to cool a bit.

Suddenly, the judge acted and threw out all the Saudi defendants on one legal excuse after another. Ron argued (politely) that some of the excuses were not only thin, but directly contradicted other rulings by the federal courts. He went all the way to the Supreme Court, but it did not matter. The 9/11 victims’ lawsuit against the Saudis was dismissed. I think it broke Ron’s heart.

A bill was introduced to rule out such travesties in the future: “Current law was intended to permit victims of terrorism to bring suit against foreign states and entities that sponsor terrorism in the United States. Unfortunately, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals disallowed claims made by the victims of the 9/11 attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, several Saudi officials and a purported charitable organization under the control of the Kingdom. This decision was rendered despite the acknowledgement by the court that the September 11

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Suddenly, the judge acted and threw out all the Saudi defendants on one legal excuse after another. Ron argued (politely) that some of the excuses were not only thin. plaintiffs’ complaints offered a “wealth of detail… that, if true, reflect close working arrangements between ostensible charities and terrorist networks, including alQaeda.”

Ron and I have done our best to expose this interconnected network of charities and terrorist groups. The Saudis have supposedly promised to mend their ways and rid the Royal Family of the radical princes.

I hope Ron understands that in the long run, he won.

•

Attorney John Loftus, author of America’s Nazi Secret, is a retired Army officer, intelligence analyst, and federal prosecutor. He previously held a Q clearance for nuclear top secrets while working for the US government.

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JOURNEY B Y R A B B I S H OL OM F R I E D M A N N

A W E E K LY L O O K A T T H E K L E I N M A N F A M I LY H O L O C A U S T E D U C A T I O N C E N T E R

A Tale of Two Torahs DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM WHAT UNITES US

Y

ou may have heard of the Pacific Rim Fire that raged in northern California several weeks ago. This massive blaze (you know it’s big when it has its own name) at one point covered an area the size of Chicago. Authorities evacuated several Berkeley campgrounds, including Camp Tawonga, a Jewish camp with about 250 children and staff. As people made their way to safety, counselor Sam Quintana remembered that the sefer Torah was still in the dining hall. With flames licking at the trees nearby, he entered the building and carried the Torah to safety.

As it turns out, it was not the first time that this Torah had escaped destruction.

During World War II, it was taken from Vodnany, a small village in the Czech Republic. All of the town’s 450 Jews were killed by the Nazis, ym”s. The Torah was numbered and warehoused in Prague with other religious objects to be displayed as “remnants of a vanquished nation.” After the war, it was taken to England, and then

donated to the camp. The German archive numbers are still clearly visible on the wooden atzei chayim.

Recognizing the interest it would generate, this story of the brave counselor was picked up by local and national news media. But that in itself raises the question: Why do we read stories like this one? Most likely, because it makes us feel good when we hear that someone had the courage to do the right thing, and that he succeeded. Many true stories don’t have a happy ending, so it’s nice when reality reads like fiction.

But there may be another element here, something readers might not even realize. When we learn of a person risking his health or even his life for a mitzvah, it inspires us and gives us chizzuk to make tough decisions in our own lives.

Our neshamos can use these energy bursts every now and then, just as our bodies need physical nourishment. It is possible that we are naturally drawn to such stories because they provide spiritual sustenance,

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just as studies have shown that animals instinctively eat foods with the nutrients they need.

Countless news outlets, both local and national, featured this story. I’m sure many people finished reading and felt proud of what this young Jew had done. But the truth is that there are so many other stories, very often in our own families, that we can be proud of. These stories never made it to the news, but most of us have some relative, maybe even a parent or grandparent, who did something heroic during the Holocaust. The very fact that so many remained religious in the face of unbelievable suffering and loss is a great accomplishment.

We still have many such individuals around, but they don’t seek publicity or fame. If we don’t seek them out, their stories will soon disappear. The Kleinman Family Holocaust Education Center has helped shoulder the responsibility to ensure that the stories of survivors, as well as those who were killed al kiddush

US Army Chaplain Samuel Blinder in 1945 examining Sifrei Torah that the Nazis had looted and stored in the basement of the Institut zur Erforschung der Judenfrage (Institute for Research into the Jewish Question) in Frankfurt, Germany

Although Tawonga is not a religious camp, they realize that what their counselor did is what Jews have done for generations: putting the Torah before their own lives.

Hashem, are made available to the public.

When the Center is complete, visitors will have access to such information in the Library, as well as watching interviews from archives or recorded in our own studio.

A short while ago, someone donated a sefer Torah to KFHEC. Unlike the Camp Tawonga sefer Torah, this one did not make it through the war intact. In fact, this one was pieced together using sections of

many sifrei Torah that were damaged by the Nazis. Although it is not usable, this sefer Torah has tremendous significance. We know that the Torah has 600,000 letters, which correspond to the original number of the B’nei Yisrael. We are all represented in the Torah, and this is what unites us as a nation. And even though this particular Torah was torn apart and stepped on, it is now stitched together as one. Although Tawonga is not a religious camp, they real-

ize that what their counselor did is what Jews have done for generations: putting the Torah before their own lives.

Baruch Hashem, we are not living through those horrible years, but we must never view the suffering of our people as that of some foreign nation overseas.

These were Yidden, our brothers and sisters, with families just like ours. We were not around to try to save their lives, but we are here to preserve their memories.

Yehi zichram baruch.

•

Rabbi Sholom Friedmann is the Director of the Kleinman Family Holocaust Education Center, located in Brooklyn, NY. To learn more, visit kfhec.org. You can also contact the Center at kfhec@kfhec.org or 718-7596200.

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Had Enough of Debating My Husband Dear Rabbi Taub: I want to start by saying that my husband is a wonderful person whom I like very much. That said, I do not like talking to him. I find it very tiring. He has a habit of disagreeing with almost everything I say. It’s not done in a fighting way. It’s all very pleasant (to him). He enjoys debating and he’s very good at it. He wears me out till I either agree with him or get frustrated. I save myself the hassle by just saying, “Okay, we’ll agree to disagree,” immediately. He’s a good person; he’ll agree to do things the way I’ve asked him to. He’s not a “my way or the highway” person. This is just his way of communicating. If I want to discuss a topic, I’ll talk about it to my friends. I enjoy talking to my friends, but I find it sad that I cannot enjoy conversation with my own husband. Also, I find myself getting frustrated minutes into conversation with my husband because I know where it’s going.

This pattern is with everything. I know he disagrees for the sake of disagreeing, because I can choose a position he usually takes and then find he’ll choose the one I usually take.

Done with Debating

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D

ear Done with Debating: Before I address your specific problem, I would like to tell you that I find it interesting that you open your letter by saying that your husband is “a wonderful person” whom you “like very much.” Those are two very different statements. You can think someone is wonderful and still not like him. Indeed, you can even love someone, and still not like him.

I think I should explain this. What is “love,” and what is “like”? Let’s look at these ideas in the Holy Tongue, the language with which Hashem speaks the world into being. Love is ahavah, which contains the root hav meaning “to give.” A lot of people say, “I love chocolate,” but they don’t mean that.

They don’t give anything to chocolate. They take from chocolate. To wit, I bet you’ve never seen somebody jump into a raging river to save a bar of chocolate. Nobody does anything for chocolate.

(Sure, they do things in order to get chocolate, but that’s exactly my point. That’s for themselves, not for the chocolate’s sake.) Love is when you give your child the last piece of chocolate (and not because you’re on a diet) and you are actually happier to watch him eat it than to eat it yourself. That’s love. Love is wanting someone to have everything that you have. If you really love someone, you want him or her to have even more than you have. But that doesn’t mean you necessarily like him.

So what’s “like”? I’ve actually thought about this a lot for many years. Is there a translation of “like” in lashon hakodesh? In Modern Hebrew people takke say “Ani ohev shokolad” but that’s a misnomer. Like I just explained, they don’t love chocolate. They like it. So how do you say like in lashon hakodesh?

Well, in order to figure that out, let’s figure out what “like” really means. When we say that something is “to my liking,” it means it is pleasing to me. So if I like something, what I mean is that it pleases me. I implied before that liking something is an act of taking. I am receiving pleasure.

If I like something, I don’t please it. To the contrary, it pleases me. (In fact, many centuries ago, the normal syntax for the word “like” was to say “chocolate likes me” instead of “I like chocolate” but I will leave further exploration of this subject

to Asher Finn of the My Word column.)

So when we say we like someone or something, what we really mean is that it is pleasant to us. In that case, perhaps the word in lashon hakodesh is nechmad or na’im. So, for instance, a person may find his neighbor’s kid to be a lot more pleasant than his own kid. But at the end of the day, he loves his child. He doesn’t love his neighbor’s child. If he had his druthers whom to bring on a long car trip, he might secretly prefer the neighbor’s kid, because the neighbor’s kid is more pleasant to be around. That’s whom he likes more. But if he has to decide which kid he is going to feed, clothe, and give shelter to, that’s his own kid, because that’s whom he loves more.

This distinction can be seen in the universal truism that, generally speaking, people love their family and they like their friends.

Liking the people you love is great when it happens, but it’s not always the case.

Now let’s get back to your issue. You open your letter by writing: I want to start by saying that my husband is a wonderful person whom I like very much.

That said, I do not like talking to him.

If you don’t like talking to him, what do you like doing with him? Talking is a pretty big part of human interaction. If we like someone, we usual enjoy talking with him.

For instance, we like our friends. Could you imagine someone saying, “So-and-so is my dear friend, I like him so much, but I can’t stand talking to him”? That makes no sense. Someone might say, “So-and-so is my beloved relative, I love her with all my heart, but I can’t stand talking to her.” That would make sense, because as we said, like is not love and love is not like.

So forgive me for casting aspersions or for nitpicking on your word choice, but I do not think it sounds as if you are liking your husband very much right now. I believe you when you say that you think he is a wonderful person. That means you admire him. I also would believe you if you were to

say that you love him. But I don’t think that you like him—at least not right now.

Now—don’t get me wrong—admiring one’s spouse and loving one’s spouse can be enough to sustain a marriage. You don’t have to ever like your spouse. But the ideal situation is that you should like your spouse.

Here is what I suggest.

Concerning your husband’s debating, you said, “It’s not done in a fighting way.

It’s all very pleasant (to him). He enjoys debating and he’s very good at it.” This is precisely the point. Debating is pleasant for him. It is enjoyable for him. In other words, he likes debating. And why shouldn’t he?

As you say, he’s good at it! People always

From your letter, I don’t believe that your husband is a pathological debater and I don’t think that he will persist in spite of himself. I don’t get the impression at all that he is using his debate tactics to oppress you or to gain the emotional upper hand. He just thinks it’s all fun and games right now.

If he finds out, though, that it has affected your relationship, then that will

LIKING THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE IS GREAT WHEN IT HAPPENS, BUT IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. enjoy things they are good at. Or rather, I should say, people always enjoy being good at things. So your husband loves you and he likes debating.

I think it may be to your benefit to explain this to him. And since you say that he automatically slips into a contrary mode when you talk, perhaps just show him this column. Your message (if you agree to it) should be this: Dear Husband, I am not enjoying the debating. I don’t like it. And since you do it all the time, I am having a hard time liking you.

I am sure you can find some other outlet for your amazing debating skills. When you talk to me, though, please don’t do it at all, ever. It is not fun for me. I don’t enjoy it in the slightest. There are many things that I would enjoy doing with you if our verbal interactions would be more pleasant.

probably take the fun right out of it and he will gladly stop. As you said, “he’s a good person; he’ll agree to do things the way I’ve asked him to…” Since I am sure that is an accurate description of your husband, that’s why I believe it will be fairly easy for you to explain all of the above to him, and that the explanation will be accepted by him.

Thanks for writing, and enjoy your marriage.

•

With blessing, RST Rabbi Shais Taub is a noted expert on Jewish spirituality and addiction. He is the author of the best-selling G-d of Our Understanding: Jewish Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction. Questions to Rabbi Shais Taub should be sent to ask@amimagazine.org.

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E-Mailing the Past and Future RABBI TAUB WEIGHS IN ON THE DECLINE OF JUDAISM IN AMERICA

T

he October 1 edition of The New York Times published a Pew Research Poll regarding the state of Judaism in America, and the numbers are a sorry sight. Intermarriage has surged, synagogue attendance has declined, and a large number of American Jews (32 percent) define themselves as “having no religion.”

The only growth and stability found in this poll was among the Orthodox.

As we would imagine, this article has caused quite a stir, especially among the non-Orthodox, who have been struggling for some time with how to deal with this visible and precipitous decline.

What follows is a series of e-mail exchanges between members of my community and me on how to deal with these statistics, as well as their cause(s). While names, other than mine, have been left out, permission has been received from the others to print their e-mails.

On Oct 1, 2013, at 1:13 PM, X wrote: To: Rabbi Taub CC: Y You may have seen this article, but I thought I would pass it on. It is sad that less than 70 years after the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel, Jews, by sheer indifference, begin to disappear.

After spending 100 hours in shul in the last month, it is hard to imagine that most Jews didn’t go at all! Not fair!

On October 1, 2013, at 4:10 PM, Moshe Taub wrote: Yes, very sad; even sadder that I am not surprised.

Based on these statistics, in two generations, the Orthodox will be the majority, based both on its fast-growing numbers and due to the continuing cultural suicide of the other movements.

Every few years a poll like this gets picked up and the Reform, et al., have serious discussions as to what they can do to fix the problem. Ironically, up until the late '70s, the Orthodox were seen as a disappearing relic, and the other movements thought they had a monopoly on the future.

“Chacham einav b’rosho”: The wise man sees far, far ahead. In the '40s and '50s, while many chose to bend to the will and desires of their congregants, great pioneers ignored them while simultaneously planting seeds for the next generation.

Thankfully, these men planted on these shores an ilan chazak. And like Choni Ham’agel, 70 years later we wake up and see the fruits of their tireless labor.

The saddest part of all this is witnessing

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the decline of Conservative Judaism, both in numbers and in policy. They will feel the brunt of this more so than Reform, etc.

Moshe Taub On Oct 2, 2013, at 9:48 AM, Y wrote: Dear Rabbi Taub: I don’t disagree with your assessment. But there are other matters, perhaps ones that you broach indirectly in mentioning that the saddest part of all this is the decline of Conservative Judaism. Granted the wisdom of Orthodoxy hoeing its own garden, rather than worrying so much about “outreach.” Must not Orthodoxy ask itself if the alienation of so many Jews from Orthodoxy, expressed by the very formation of the Conservative and Reform movements, does not have something— at least something, if not everything—to do with the way in which Orthodoxy, in its various institutions and functionaries, conceives of

BY RABBI MOSHE TAUB

itself? When Conservative and Reform disappear, are we confident that new break-offs will not arise, and that those who break off will not do so because they are repelled by Orthodox behaviors, attitudes, ways of doing things?

And as for Orthodoxy itself, it is not good that it should be monolithic: not good, because sages, wise as they are, have an inherent tendency toward arrogance about their wisdom (I think of kin’as sofrim) and, if not arrogance, at least complacency. The sin of the people of Babel is that they were all one people speaking one language, and this was equivalent to building a tower to Heaven and replacing God with themselves. God multiplied their languages— not, by my sights, a klallah, but a brachah.

Y On Oct 2, 2013, at 11:24 AM, Moshe Taub wrote: I hope you won’t be angry if I am very honest....

• Imagine that there was a breakdown in academia. Schools were closing one after the next, and people were no longer interested in any studies unless they were vocational. Harvard shuts down its Humanities Dept., etc.

In the entire country of three hundred million there are no more than 1000 people left who know how to read Shakespeare, who have even heard of Plato, or who have ever seen a poem.

After meditating on that new reality for a minute....

As a passionate student and teacher of such subjects, how would your plan for fixing this differ from Rav Moshe’s? Would your main focus be to get the 40-year-olds back to school? Is that where you would spend your energy?

I hope not.

Rather, the smarter bet is to first make sure that these studies can live on authentically.

Second, you would work on the upcoming college-age kids, while not ignoring the already lost, and certainly composing books geared toward them.

Infrastructure for the future, preserving an

authentic rendering of whichever subject or school, must come first.

• Would the above be seen as arrogant?

Probably. But to define it as “hoeing one’s own” would, I contend, also be false.

• As for outreach, Orthodoxy has not failed.

Many more people have flocked to Orthodoxy on serious religious grounds than any of the other movements, which have acted, all too often, as way stations, as one’s family and history exits the nation—sadly. The other movements cannot hold a candle to the energy that the Orthodox have devoted in outreach toward other Jews.

But perhaps your point is not that we do not reach out to others, but that we reject the other paths, and they notice this. Which leads to my next point...

• Your proof from Babel is, in my judgment, misplaced. Again, imagine that we are talking about your acceptance of how yeshivos edit Shakespeare. Do you accept that, and if not, what of alienation? And then what do you do if colleges begin having a Puritan streak, and begin doing the same: rejecting, say, Romeo and Juliet? Do you go silent? Would you worry about alienation above authenticity? We mustn’t have separate rules governing modes of protection for authentic Torah vs. protecting the things outside of faith that we most passionately pursue.

• Yes, G-d allows each of us to find his own emes (see Bereishis Rabah, where G-d threw emes to the earth and it shattered into many pieces). But there are limits, as any system must have.

Where are those goalposts? That is a question that we all must ponder before discussing inclusiveness, not after. Otherwise, one runs the risk of falling into the trap that Aharon fell into—a much better illustration in my view.

So, yes, diversity exists within Torah, as it does within academia. In both, there are limits.

You alienate a nice chunk of people who call you elitist, as I, too, am viewed bleakly by many. And we both sleep unwell at night, yet confident that we have preserved what we need to preserve.

A few final points: • Considering my example, you know that

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While some would argue that the number of people enrolled in yeshivah is not the best yardstick, this last poll proves that it is. if you would allow for the “Disney-fication” of academics, if Reader’s-Digest-like critiquing is respected, and if you allow those teachers to join you as equals at the table, over time it would influence the authentic teachers far more so than the inauthentic teachers. A broom gets dirty as it cleans up (See introduction to Shu”t Chasam Sofer, where he admits this point but still contends that we must sometimes lower our own growth for the sake of others, so long as it does not lead to actual sin).

• Your disappointment would be better directed at the founders of the failed and inauthentic movements, not those who, whether true or not, did not do enough to clean up their mess. The NYT article was about their failure, not ours.

• Lakewood has 6500 students currently enrolled; this is not including the many Lakewood-affiliated yeshivos and kollelim throughout the world. Surely you are aware that not all of their students’ grandparents were frum. Compare this number to any of the other schools of higher Jewish learning, even high schools. Lakewood did not succeed alone, but with the help of the many other yeshivos and derachim that helped either turn on those students’ families to Yiddishkeit, or that produced the rabbanim who inspired them toward change. Remarkable, for had we asked any branch of Judaism in 1950: “Considering that each of you claims a monopoly in saving the future of Jewish America, venture a guess as to the enrollment of all of your branch’s yeshi-

vos, rabbinical schools, and high schools in 60 years (2013)”—no one, aside from Rav Aharon [Kotler], would have guessed this result (and the design for a 3000-student yeshivah found in his notes following his petirah—at a time when the yeshivah numbered in the low hundreds—is testimony to his confidence in his approach’s future success).

While some would argue that the number of people enrolled in yeshivah is not the best yardstick, this last poll proves that this is the only yardstick to know what will be 60 years from now, in 2073.

• One must be careful regarding inclusiveness. We need a demarcation between the beauty of outreach and the enticement for overreach. Judaism mustn’t turn into a pyramid scheme. The objective mustn’t be to inspire so that those people can then inspire people so that now those people can inspire people, etc., for people do and say silly things just to get new clients, a la Glengarry Glen Ross. Rather, there must be a clear and true personal end-goal, other than selling the faith to others.

The man alone in the beis midrash learning a Ketzos must be seen as the preserver, not the ignorer. Otherwise, we become Amway.

Lakewood knows this. Yeshiva University knows this. Chabad knows this.

When a retired conservative rabbi began to daven in our shul, he remarked that in his movement the rabbi is seen as the frum one,

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the knowledgeable one, on behalf of all others.

“He keeps Shabbos so I don’t have to.” He was amazed to see a shul where the ba’alei batim know enough to challenge a rav during a shiur, and even to give a shiur of their own.

Not having a membership devoted to the faith is what happens if policy is directed mainly by a desire for numbers.

Finally, and to sum up, I defy anyone to discover any other cause within Yiddishkeit, other than Torah study, that could fill 100,000 seats in Giants’ [MetLife] Stadium. No other branch of Judaism could do it, and even the Orthodox would struggle unless it is a celebration of each Jew’s personal growth and relationship with Hashem through countless hours of authentic Torah study.

The authenticity of Torah and its study, and our preservation of it, must always remain focus number one, for it is the elixir that has always saved us from withering on the vine.

M

P.S. I would be remiss if I did not mention that the entire enterprise of outreach has been compromised of late, due to the high intermarriage rate. Many temples have a higher percentage of halachic gentiles among their memberships now (especially the children) than of halachic Jews.

P.P.S. As to who gets to decide what is authentic Torah study, ahhhh, well, that is an e-mail exchange for another time…

•

Rabbi Moshe Taub has served as the rabbi of the Young Israel of Greater Buffalo since September 2003, and also serves as the rav hamachshir of the Buffalo Vaad Hakashrus.

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BRAIN STORM YITZY YABOK is the pen name of a young man who shares his life-altering experience in Ami’s exclusive serial. His story, which began almost 12 years ago and traverses several continents, has touched the hearts of people all over the world and been an inspiration to many who face challenges. He has lectured before all kinds of audiences, from medical doctors to kollel yungeleit, about his

nisyonos and salvation. He is currently a rebbe in the Midwest and a candidate for a license in clinical mental health counseling. With the blessings of gedolei Torah and tzaddikei Yisrael, he now shares the chasdei Hashem that were bestowed upon him, as both chizzuk and guidance for all those who may be dealing with traumatic illness.

CHAPTER L

So there I was lying, strapped

down by my head onto the 36-inch-wide gurney/bed/table—whatever you want to call it—hoping against all hope that my technician would not abandon me behind the thick steel and cement-filled door, once the machines started operating. I thought I would be able to see something, or maybe hear something.

But no: The radiation process is totally invisible and inaudible, although it is devastating to whatever gets in its way.

It is a true silent killer and totally flies in the face of that famous expression, “What you cannot see, cannot hurt you.”

The machines, round at the end, were almost saucer-like and had the ability to move in any which way possible; it was something like a pilot project out of a pre-space-age era. In some ways, the movements defied logical explanation.

The contorting twists and almost inverse bending turns that they made were truly mind-boggling. And it all was so scary to me. It seemed that I was stuck in some sci-fi novel, playing the role of a character in some villain’s evil plot to zap his

victim’s beleaguered brain into oblivion.

They had given me all these predictions that sounded like doom-and-gloom and everything in-between. And the terrifying part was that it did not even hurt. As a matter of fact, nothing happened for the first two weeks of treatment.

One of the side effects that they told me would occur was that I would experience short-term memory loss and some loss of executive function skills. In order to gauge the severity of these losses, I was ordered to undergo a baseline brain function test. So finally, after pushing it off for about two weeks after the start of radiation, I found myself in the office of Dr. Judith Carroll, a neuropsychologist. She administered the Brief Neuropsychological Cognitive Examination (BNCE).

She was actually recommended to us by the radiation oncology staff at SloanKettering, and it did not hurt that she lived literally 35 seconds away from my parents’ house. And her practice was also based out of her house. The test was really mentally stressful. I came

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out of it physically tired. I thought that it was amazing that a test that exercises the brain would be physically taxing, so much so that I needed a nap after it.

One particularly grueling exercise was facilitated through a tape-recorded message of a man just saying numbers every two seconds. For instance, “six … two …” after which I would have to say the sum, which is eight. However, the tape had not stopped for me to say my answer. So while I said “Eight,” it continued with more numbers like “one …” after which I would have to say—you guessed it—“three.” So even though the last number that I had in my brain was eight, I had to access the other section of my brain, and since the last number that the message played was two, I had to answer three. But as the tape continued faster and faster, I had to continue switching sides of my brain, and it got so tough for me that I flat-out stopped. And I was a bachur who, merely weeks earlier, was sitting and horeving over R’ Chaim’s and R’ Boruch Ber’s.

But as I now know, any body part—

A PERSONAL JOURNAL BY YITZY YABOK

even an internal organ such as the brain—that gets worked to its maximum ability will cause extreme physical fatigue and just stop functioning.

The test was extremely mentally draining, and from that day on through the rest of my radiation treatments, I always found myself needing to sleep. That’s literally all I thought about. I am not sure if it was a residual effect from that executive function/memory test, or from the constant barrage of the silent but potent radiation that was finally taking its heavy toll.

Right about that time, about two weeks into my treatments, the area on the top of my forehead, where the radiation was aimed, started to itch. I’ve never experienced a skin infection, but I would imagine that if I did, it would not be much worse than what I started feeling on top of my forehead. It was like I had contracted poison ivy, sumac and oak combined. The next day, the itching spread to the area right next to both of my temples, above the tops of my ears.

Earlier, they had given me Aquaphor®.

Now I knew what it was for. However, it did not help even one iota. I knew that the moment I scratched I would make my scalp even more raw, and my hair would come out faster than a bullet out of a shotgun.

I tried to delay the inevitable. But alas, I could not withstand it. I tried holding my head in water to relieve some of the burning sensation, but for some reason that did not work either. Then I just got over it. So what? I would not have hair there. Later, I would find out that unlike chemotherapy, the hair loss from radiation would be permanent, and my heart fluttered. But, I guess in the grand scheme of things, I’d rather have my brain than my hair. As the technician

I could still remember the time I was at a store and someone asked me where I had taken my haircut. commented, “At least you wear a keepon.” I could not keep myself from smiling. Obviously he meant kippah. That was better than what I once heard at Duke, “your-mokee.”

It was a struggle for me, both physically and emotionally. Physically, I tried to limit the hair loss by limiting the scratching, but that was a losing battle. I could not control what I did in my sleep,

and every morning I’d wake up with hair on my pillow.

Frankly, I looked really strange. If I was totally bald, it would not have been so bad. But now, I was bald in patches. The only hair that came out was the hair that grew where the radiation was targeted.

It was comforting to know, though, that the radiation was working. I hoped that besides killing my hair follicles, it was killing the tumor particles.

Emotionally I was also a wreck. It was very hard for me to be seen in a state of partial baldness. I felt like the world was staring at me.

I could still remember the time I was at a store with my mother (yes, at 19 I still went out with my mother on occasion) and someone asked me where I had taken my haircut. I am not sure whether the person was sincere or not, but I felt embarrassed and angry. I snarled out my reply: “At the hospital. I got the cancer cut special.” I will never forget how I felt when that person asked me that question, and I’m glad I made that person feel small. It is one of those types of things that belong in the category of “Don’t go there.”

I will always remember the things that people, because of their curiosity, said to put their feet in their mouth, like the time someone said “Oh, a brain tumor, my uncle had that.” When my mother asked for his contact info so she could get in touch with him, she replied, “Oh, he died.”

Eventually, about two weeks later, four weeks after the start of the radiation, I felt much better. No more hair was left to fall out. I started to adjust emotionally, and I got used to the fatigue. I felt normal again.  To be continued...

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An Artist’s Testimony TIBOR SPITZ FOUND HEALING BY PAINTING HIS EXPERIENCES

H

igh up in the mountains of northern Czechoslovakia, the six members of the Spitz family were being lined up to be executed by partisans.

It was February 1945, and the Spitz family, having successfully evaded deportation to Auschwitz, now hiding in the forest for the previous five months, seemed to be at the end of their luck.

“I can sneak up behind him and split his head open with my hatchet,” whispered 14-year-old Tibor to his mother from the corner of his mouth. “Then I’ll take his gun and shoot the rest of them.”

“Do you know how to shoot?” she whispered back.

“No,” came young Tibor’s reply, “but I’ll figure it out.”

Tibor (Simcha Bunim) Spitz and his family survived that day, and lived to see the Soviet Army liberate Czechoslovakia two months later. But Tibor’s story does not end there. For the next 20 years Tibor labored as an engineer in oppressive communist Czechoslovakia before making a daring escape during an airplane refueling stop in Gander, Newfoundland in Canada.

Today, almost 70 years after the Holocaust and 45 years after escaping the clutches of totalitarian rule, 84-year-old Tibor is an artist living in Kingston, New York who tells his story through his artwork and Holocaust presentations.

In truth, though, it’s not just a story he tells. It is his testimony. And that testimony, in turn, is his way of coping with the memories.

A LITTLE TOWN CALLED DOLNY KUBIN

Tibor Spitz was born in 1929 in the quiet Czechoslovakian town of Dolny Kubin. Tibor’s father, Reb Yosef Tzvi, was employed by the Jewish community as their shochet and chazzan, and his mother Raizel was a public school teacher.

“My parents were both from Trnava.

They were among the first settlers of Bnei Brak, when it was still Palestine,” explains Tibor. “They were married there in 1924, and their first child, Esther, passed away in Palestine. My father couldn’t handle the climate and came down with malaria and other tropical diseases. Then he was shot

by Arab snipers and the wound became infected. The doctors told him that if he

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didn’t go back to Europe he wouldn’t live another two weeks.”

The couple returned to Czechoslovakia in 1927 and Reb Yosef Tzvi accepted the position in Dolny Kubin. “It was a very small community, of only about 100 families, 93 of which were taken to Auschwitz.”

In 1939 Slovakia became an independent fascist protectorate of Nazi Germany, with a Catholic priest named Jozef Tiso at its helm. Two years later it enacted the Jewish Codex, 270 laws denying Jews of their rights as citizens.

With the enactment of the Jewish Codex, Jewish businesses were seized. The country, however, was severely underdeveloped and uneducated, and the Slovaks

BY DOVID MARGOLIN

did not know how to run many of their newly-acquired, formerly Jewish businesses. This forced them to delay the deportation of Jews, who had owned these essential industries, so they could train their new managers.

“The Slovakian Jews were the first to be deported. Tiso paid 500 Deutschmarks to the German government for each one who was deported, on condition that they never return. The Nazis tested out and perfected the gas chambers on Slovakian Jewry. By the spring of 1942 they were almost all wiped out.

“A Catholic priest or Lutheran minister would never stoop to burying a Jew, so the government decided to temporarily halt the deportation of some Jewish clergy in charge of burials, and my father fell under this category. At the same time, the government didn’t want Jewish children running around, so my mother was saved because she was a teacher. That’s how we managed to survive 1942.”

DISCOVERING THE TRUTH

“When the first deportations began, people in our town started to get postcards from family members who had already left, saying how nice their accommodations were. These messages were written in Slovak. But on one postcard there was something that no one could decipher.

They called my father over to look at it, and between the lines were the Hebrew words ‘lo tov’: ‘not good.’

“My grandfather lived in Trnava, and was out of town when the deportations started there. He came back to discover that seven of his children—my father was the eighth—had been sent away, ‘resettled’ as they called it, and his apartment had been sealed up, its contents to be auctioned off. He had nowhere to go so he came to us. He stayed with us for the duration of the war and survived, but when he found out what really happened to his children he lost his will to live. He passed away three months after the war ended.”

By 1942, with the Jewish community disbanded, Reb Yosef Tzvi no longer had any income. From that point on he and his children—Ernest, Tibor and the youngest, Eva—scrounged around, doing odd jobs in exchange for a little bit of butter or a few eggs. Going out at night to a creek fed by melting snow, Tibor would catch trout with his hands as they huddled between the rocks.

One night Tibor heard someone calling out in Polish and Yiddish from the town jail behind the creek. “I walked over and saw a man sticking his hand through the bars; he was holding a gold coin. He told me, ‘If you get us out of here, I’ll give you a fist full of them.’

“I ran home and told my parents what I had discovered. The Jewish owner of

German farmers.”

“Can you imagine what it was like for my parents? All of their siblings and families—gone. I remember my father, devastated; my mother, screaming. We children had to calm them down. My parents interrogated the men, asking again and again if they were exaggerating. But they weren’t.”

INTO THE MOUNTAINS

When the tide began to shift against Nazi Germany in 1943, the early enthusiasm of many Slovakian collaborators began to wane. It slowly dawned on them that Hitler’s victory was not as inevitable as they had once believed.

“The Slovaks started thinking that they might be the ones to go to the gallows, so the deportations halted. Then in

“These men were doctors who had worked on biological warfare for the Germans before managing to escape. the Slivovitz distillery had not yet been deported and he knew everyone in town; it was a country of alcoholics who would do anything for a bottle. He bribed the prison guards and we snuck these Jewish prisoners out and brought them to our house. Our neighbors had already been deported and their apartment sealed, so we hid them there for ten days until the guards stopped searching for them.

“These men were doctors who had worked on biological warfare for the Germans before managing to escape. They told us what was going on, how they were luring Jews into the gas chambers by making them think they were taking a shower. By then they were killing 2,000 Jews every two hours. Their bodies would then be thrown into the crematoria. Their ashes became fertilizer that was used by

1944 there was an uprising, and the Germans came in with heavy artillery to end it. Everyone, Jewish and non-Jewish, was running to the mountains, so we just took off our yellow stars and ran too.

“After the Nazis had crushed the rebellion they told everyone it was safe to return home. But we stayed in the forest.

Whoever went back was deported.

“During the uprising, the old rabbi of Dolny Kubin was with us in the forest. We told him to stay with us, but he said he was too old and went back to town. He was deported to Sachsenhausen.”

In the forest, the Spitz family, including Tibor’s grandfather, lived in a tiny underground hideaway which had been brilliantly designed by Tibor’s older brother Ernest. “My brother was a genius. He had designed our hiding place before we left

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town, and had figured it out exactly. It was built on a very steep incline near a stream, a place where horses wouldn’t go. Still, there were foot patrols in the forest; we could have been discovered at any time.”

BRUSH WITH DEATH

In February of 1945 the family was discovered by a group of partisans who identified themselves as followers of the Ukrainian Stepan Bandera, a group that had collaborated with the Nazis for much of the war. Seeing that they had stumbled upon easy prey, the partisans took their time before executing them, first ransacking their tiny underground hideaway.

“When I asked my mother if I should attack the guy with my hatchet she said no, because he might turn around and see me. A few minutes later the rest of them emerged and lined us up to be killed. They asked us if we had any last wishes, and my father and grandfather asked to put on tefillin and pray, and they allowed them to.

“When he finished my father said, ‘We are ready. Shoot.’ My mother started yelling, ‘No, why would you kill us? What did we do to you? What have my children done to you?’ And again my father said, ‘Get it over with,’ and my mother yelled, ‘No!’ This went back and forth.”

Amidst the confusion Tibor took off, zigzagging down the mountain as bullets whizzed by him. Running to a nearby village, Tibor relayed what happened to his family to a Slovak partisan whom he knew.

From the man’s reaction he understood that the people who attacked his family were not Ukrainians but Red Army partisans, Soviet irregulars dropped behind enemy lines to sabotage the Nazis with whom the Slovak partisans were allied.

Fearing that the Slovak would now kill him in order to shut him up, Tibor quietly made his way back to the mountain to bury his family.

“I discovered my family alive, but with no provisions. The partisans had taken my grandfather’s, father’s and brother’s outer clothing and left them with nothing. They decided that we would all either freeze, starve or get caught by patrols anyway.

“That night a hot mineral spring opened up under our hideaway, and although it stank like rotten eggs, it warmed us up.”

By the time the Red Army arrived in April the Spitz family had been in hiding for seven months. Broken and sick—Tibor had tuberculosis—the family had to be convinced by locals that the war was actually over before they finally felt safe enough to leave their hiding place.

THE IRON CURTAIN DESCENDS

With the war finally over, Czechoslovakia found itself under the political sphere

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of influence of its liberator, the Soviet Union. Despite joining three Zionist training camps and making plans to leave Europe once and for all, Tibor was held back by his father’s health issues. When the Iron Curtain descended in 1948, it was too late to get out. Tibor Spitz and his family were once again trapped.

Despite having missed five years of schooling, Tibor graduated from high school with honors in 1949. Tibor’s brother Ernest was an artist, and Tibor wanted to become a sculptor. Instead, the communist government compelled him

to become a chemical engineer, believing chemistry would be the tool to win the war against capitalism and the West.

“As a young researcher, the factory once presented me with a task. The Soviets needed a very large piece of a glass, about one-inch thick, that was optically perfect and wouldn’t turn brown if you put it in a radioactive field. Usually, glass that is exposed to radioactivity will turn as brown as a piece of wood.

Staying in the factory for weeks on end, where he was given an unlimited budget Tibor finally came up with a solution. “I was given a few projects like that every year—for 20 years! It took physical and mental strength and a lot of chutzpah. But I made it.”

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Ernest Spitz went on to become a celebrated artist who fought for freedom of artistic expression. Because of this he was a target of the Czechoslovakian secret police, who finally killed him in 1960 by exposing him to a fatal dose of radiation.

Tibor’s grieving father, who had continued to serve the Jewish community after the war, died two years later.

The late 1960s saw the arrival of the liberal Dubcek period, and with it, a political thaw. In 1967 Tibor married Noemi Eichler, a Holocaust survivor 14 years his junior. Due to Czechoslovakia’s more relaxed atmosphere, Tibor and Noemi had a public chuppah, something that hadn’t been tolerated in the country for decades.

Shortly afterward, the couple was sent to Cuba, where Tibor would be responsible for overhauling three glass factories.

Dubcek’s liberalization proved too much for the Soviets, and in August 1968 Russian tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia to force them to adopt a harder line. “They called Dubcek’s era ‘Communism with a human face.’ But the Russians didn’t like it, and put the beast’s face back on.”

After nine months in Cuba the Spitzes returned to Czechoslovakia for a short visit. On their way back to Fidel Castro’s paradise, the ancient Cuban airplane stopped to refuel in Shannon, Ireland and then a second time in Gander, Newfound-

land, where it needed another four hours of repairs.

“I already had a plan in my head. I was 37 but my wife was only 24, and I was worried that she was so honest she would reveal it on her face, so I didn’t tell her.

“We were sitting in the visa-free zone in Gander, a big waiting room.

“In the corner I spotted a Canadian immigration officer in a tiny cubicle sitting at a typewriter. When the Cubans started boarding I didn’t even put on my jacket.

I didn’t want them to become suspicious so I kept my passport in my pocket. As we walked toward the gate I kept telling Noemi to slow down. When we were the

“I had a stressful life as an engineer and never had time to recover after the war. I had nightmares. Painting was a way of getting rid of those memories. When I paint, I am liberated of them.

“In 1985 I took a huge piece of paper and on the left-hand side painted a frustrated face in acrylics; on the right-hand side I wrote with a marker an account of the last 45 years of my life, sort of like an autobiography. I wrote that a lot of people had asked me to forgive and forget.

“When I do these paintings—standing in line to be shot or sitting in a hole in the forest—I try to express the uncertainty we felt. Hearing someone else’s story can be

“I had a stressful life and never had time to recover after the war.

Painting was a way of getting rid of those memories.” last ones left I told her to follow me, and we ran into that room and handed the man our passports. He looked up at us and said ‘What took you so long?’

Tibor and his wife spent three months in Halifax, first in detention and then learning English and French while the Canadians ascertained whether or not they were spies, before settling in Montreal. Meanwhile, the Spitzes were tried in absentia in Czechoslovakia and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

RELIVING MEMORIES

In Canada, Tibor continued working as a glass engineer.

In the mid-1980s, while living in Philadelphia, Tibor rekindled his childhood love (and aptitude) for sculpting and painting. When he eventually retired at the age of 68 in Kingston, New York he became a full-time artist. To date, his art has been bought by many collectors, displayed in prestigious galleries around the world and been reproduced in numerous books.

scary, but it’s not your story; you can still feel the chair you’re sitting on and can return to your surroundings. The feeling of being a few seconds from death is a very unique feeling, and cannot be reproduced easily. We were in that hole for seven months, when at any moment someone could have stuck his gun inside and that would be the end. Whenever we heard branches falling or a deer walking outside, for us it was someone with a gun.”

But for Tibor, his art is not only a way to heal from painful memories but to focus on the Jewish future. He is an active member of the Chabad House in Kingston, and shares his message to the world through presentations there and elsewhere.

“Bearing witness involves more than being passive. We can never forget our past, and must always be prepared for the future.”

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It’s a Trip WHEREVER YOU END UP, AND HOWEVER YOU GET THERE, THAT’S WHERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE

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n Yiddish they say, “A mentch tracht, un G-t lacht—A man plans and G-d laughs.”

Many think the adage refers to man’s great plans and ideas that are totally disrupted, nullified, skewed and sent to oblivion with the slightest celestial sneeze. And it does. But it also refers to the smallest of plans, a business idea, a recipe, changing a light bulb, trying to fix a leak, or taking a simple trip. G-d is always “laughing” and sends the winds of change to alter and perhaps influence, the greatest of missions, from discovering the New World to a simple Chol Hamoed trip.

In an era of Lipa and Benny Chol Hamoed extravaganzas, kosher circuses, and transformed water parks religiously rehabilitated to accommodate the frum crowd with a sukkah the size of New Jersey, I thought that a Chol Hamoed trip to Central Park could be abysmally lame. But I felt I could make the excursion stimulating; after all, it’s hard for me to walk to a local grocery store without my doing something or interacting with someone that does not prompt one of my kids to scream, “Streets of Life!” Surely a trip to the city would evoke enough episodes at intermittent opportunities for the inspirational moments that will help me establish myself as the George Will of Ami Magazine.

In a time when everyone is one-upping the other in his or her Chol Hamoed creativity within the ghetto of our entertainment theater, I set out for simplicity.

Indeed, as one generation grows up and has

children of its own, and another generation moves in, I think Chol Hamoed trips, like kids and their toys, do indeed change.

And so I decided not to be so extravagant and retrofit our trip, and while my rebbetzin geared up in the kitchen for the Hoshana Rabbah/Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah Hotel Retreat for Wave Number Two of kids, grandkids and tzi-gekimminers, I collaborated by declaring that I would lead the younger and still-single set on a simpler excursion: bike riding in Central Park.

Our excursion began with my team and

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me inquiring about the various rent-a-bike kiosks and amenities available, finding out that a reserved-in-advance reservation would lower the cost of bike rentals by 50%. I felt pretty good about this trip. Not only did I think it would be a “green” trip, I thought that for the first time in many a Chol Hamoed trip I would save some green too. I thought that this trip would save us more money than the typical Chol Hamoed excursion to a museum, arcade or one of the various yeshivah-rented amusement centers. And to save on gas and parking in

RABBI MORDECHAI KAMENETZKY

the city, I decided that we would all take the Long Island Rail Road from Long Island to the City, hop a subway to Central Park, and then ride our newly rented bikes.

Enter surprise number one.

Despite their appearance, all my kids were over the full-fare age, and I soon discovered that the Long Island Rail Road costs way more for six roundtrip tickets than driving and parking in Manhattan. So much for being inexpensive.

I also forgot about the re-arranged Chol Hamoed breakfast, trip, lunch, davening schedule before we left, and it was not long before we got to the City that I soon began to hear the hunger pangs of my flesh and blood. I was scared to hold back on feeding them until we “bike around the circumference of Central Park.” I had images of Hatzalah of Manhattan reviving a half dozen famished teens lying exhausted on a bike trail. So the trip now morphed, or at least detoured, into finding a place to eat a few blocks from Penn Station, with a kosher sukkah.

Cha-Ching! Cha-ching! Surprise number two.

By now, I had already shifted our itinerary, and had no idea where the subway to Central Park was. “Let’s take a taxi!” they pleaded. I reaffirmed the well-known veracity about the difficulty of hailing a cab in Manhattan, especially one that could fit six inside.

And so, about 20 blocks from the park, we meandered through the streets of life until we found a subway station.

Very soon we also found out something I had never known. You can’t swipe a $25 MetroCard (filled with enough money for six round trips) more than twice before the turnstile locks and an electronic message displays the words in that cold neon LED language: “TOO MANY XFERS,” whatever that means. (I thought the holiday of Xfers

was two months away!)

With a few kids locked away on one side of a dark Manhattan subway turnstile, and few on the other, I had no idea what to do. Should the hostages slip under the turnstile while I destroyed the card and its remaining value on the Altar of the Third Rail, so as not to be suspected of stealing?

Suddenly, images of MTA cops swarm-

no matter where you’re headed, there are always stops and detours along the way.

Getting there is half the fun.

Finally we emerged from the belly of the Manhattan beast and walked outside onto the large circle at 59th and Central Park West, where we all looked up at the large, imposing column and pedestal. And there we saw him—our very own, adopted-

Then I thought, how would it look if a bearded rabbi were caught slipping under the turnstile before the eyes of New York City? ing over my family and me were now added to the prior images of Hatzalah members doing the same! And then I thought, how would it look if a bearded rabbi were caught slipping under the turnstile before the eyes of New York City? So I had the oldest watch the other kids while I banged away at a touch screen, buying MetroCards for myself and the other four stranded behind the turnstiles of terminated technology.

More money.

And then the subway came. The crowded, standing-room-only, shaky, noisy, un-air-conditioned subway was not what the kids expected. For some of my children who, like many American Indians, are Long Island natives, this was just another surprise. They had never been on a subway before. And the four-stop interaction is an article in itself.

I know that nothing that happened between 34th Street and Seventh Avenue was a life-altering, or even trip-altering experience. But it was a reminder that

maybe-really-a-Jew-turned-Marrano, Christopher Columbus.

Christopher Columbus. The man who had set out to travel to one place and ended up somewhere poles apart. Christopher Columbus. The man who sought a passage to India and instead found the gateway to Boro Park. Indeed, we were in his shadow in Columbus Circle, finding out that planned trips may take a different course, and that there’s no straight path to anywhere in life. Somehow, wherever we end up, it’s a trip.

But it only took a few steps onto the sidewalks of the city to really realize that, once again, no matter where we walk, we never walk alone. 

To be continued...

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky is the rosh yeshivah of Yeshiva Toras Chaim at South Shore, a weekly columnist in Yated Ne’eman, and the author of the Parsha Parable series. He can share your story through the “Streets of Life,” and can be reached at editorial@amimagazine.org.

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