Baltimore Jewish Home - 4-22-21 by Moshe Rubin

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

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CONTENTS COMMUNITY

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

Around the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Community Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Zvi Teichman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

PEOPLE 613 Seconds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

HUMOR & ENTERTAINMENT Centerfold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Notable Quotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

FEATURE Honoring Colonel Larry Franklin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

LIFESTYLES Delving into the Daf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Rev. Irvin Stern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 My Israel Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 World Builders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Parenting Pearls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Forgotten Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 The Wandering Jew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Political Crossfire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Dating Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Mental Health Corner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 In The Kitchen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Gluten Free Recipe Column. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Your Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Life Coach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

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NEWS Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 National. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 That’s Odd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The Baltimore Jewish Home is an independent bi-weekly newspaper. All opinions expressed by the journalists, contributors and/or advertisers printed and/or quoted herein are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME, their

Dear Readers, We all grew up with the story of the two brothers who would each drop a bundle of wheat at the other’s house thinking that it was the other brother who could use it more than he can. In today’s society, this story would occur with opposite results. Each individual would think how they are more entitled than the other, “my brother has kids and I don’t!” “my brother only has 2 mouths to feed and I, 10!” Each of them would go steal a bundle at night until they eventually bump into each other… Secular consumerism has created an atmosphere of 3 gods: Me, Myself and I. This culture actually frowns upon the type of altruism depicted in that story. What we knew in our bones as children to be good is suddenly a weakness. Although this has always been true, it seems to have reached new heights - or rather new lows. Basic manners and being gracious to another have become an accomplishment. It is not by chance or coincidence that the devices many of us spend (or waste) so much time on are called “I” phones, “I” pads, “I” pods. They result in being absorbed in ourselves even when there are others around us to communicate and connect with. Yet the old truths are as strong as ever. The more space we allow for Hashem in our lives, the less we will be consumed by the insatiable I. The essence of this I is a sinkhole that would like to swallow everything in it and self-destruct. This easily explains the extreme behavior going on around us. Understanding this is both frightening and liberating. It shows how low we can sink yet how high we can rise and the tremendous enjoyment this gives our Creator. We can already feel the imminence of Bias Moshiach – the footsteps are getting closer and closer. Let us stay strong as the train pulls into the station. It would be a pity to become lax at the last minute. Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos, Shalom

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

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Around the Community

Bulk Trash Pickup in Baltimore County

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

By: BJLife/Councilman Israel ‘Izzy’ Patoka BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn

ince taking office, one of the things we have been pushing for is the return of bulk trash pickup. The county discontinued this service years ago, but many

residents have asked for this service to be restored. This was especially true during the county’s solid waste work group meetings that took place over the last several months. I am pleased to share that the county executive announced yesterday during his budget message that bulk trash pickup will be reinstated.

As more details become available, we will make sure to keep everyone posted. This is great news. I am confident the return of this convenience will help cut down on illegal dumping and be another tool in

our toolbox to push back against those who take part in this activity. Many thanks to all the advocates who have been pushing for the return of bulk trash pickup and to County Executive Johnny Olszewski for making this a priority.

TA Announces New Lower School Leadership for 2021-2022 By: BJLife Newsroom BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn

ear TA Parents and Friends, It is with great excitement that after a thorough search process which began almost a year and a half ago, we proudly announce the appointment of Rabbi Dovid Sass as Menahel, and our own Rabbi Hillel Hexter as Associate Menahel of TA’s Lower School beginning this coming school year, 2021-2022.

Rabbi Sass is a talmid of Mir Yerushalyim where he learned under Harav Nissan Kaplan, shlit”a, and Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, where he learned and received semichah from Harav Ahron Shechter, shlit”a. For the past 15 years, Rabbi Sass has been based at Menorah Academy in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, first as a rebbi and Vice Principal, and for the last 7 years, serv-

ing as Head of School. He earned a Master’s of Education from Azrieli Institute at Yeshiva University, completed the Art of Leadership Institute at Harvard University, and received certification from the Principal Training Institute of the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools, as well as the New York City Leadership Academy. Rabbi Sass is highly regarded by peers and colleagues, and is wellknown in chinuch circles across North America. We are confident that Rabbi Sass’ natural warmth and friendly personality, together with his professionalism, passion for chinuch, and leadership style, make him an excellent fit to follow in the footsteps of Rabbi Kahana, and assume the mantel of leadership in our Lower School. As you know, Rabbi Hexter has been serving in the capacity of parttime Assistant Menahel of TA’s Lower School for several years, in addition to his role as a second grade rebbi. He has proven himself as a strong administrator whose keen understanding of talmidim, chinuch, school management and programming has added both qualitatively and quantitatively to the success of the Lower School. As full time Associate Menahel, Rabbi Hexter’s role and responsibilities will be expanded and enhanced, working alongside the rest of the leadership team of Rabbi Sass, Mrs. Berzon and Mrs. Rosen. Throughout the search process, almost a dozen experienced and talented candidates from across North America were vetted and interviewed by the search committee. The appointment of Rabbi Sass as Menahel and Rabbi Hexter as Associate Menahel was made with the strong and unanimous recommenda-

tion of both the search committee and the Vaad Hachinuch. We look forward to introducing Rabbi Sass to the parent body in the near future. Rabbi Kahana has been at the helm of our Lower School for over three decades, and his legacy will continue to live on in TA. His love, warmth, and concern for every single talmid under his care is legendary. The thousands of TA students who have passed through his care have been impacted for life, and we, together with the entire TA family are forever grateful. Rabbi Kahana will be available in an advisory and transitional role to ensure that the new administrative team can be as successful as possible. We want to express our deep appreciation to the hard-working search committee members who saw this process through to the end. We would be remiss if we did not mention the contributions of Rebbetzin Dr. Aviva Weisbord, A”H, to the search process. While she was unfortunately not with us to the completion of the search, her wisdom and clarity remained a guiding force for the committee members who often contemplated what she would think and say during their deliberations. We share with you our hopes and tefilos that this next era of TA, which builds upon the decades of success of our Yeshiva, continues to inspire and mold our talmidim into Bnei Torah and Erlicheh Yidden, who will iy”H take their proper place among and make great contributions to Klal Yisrael. May Hashem continue to bless our beloved TA and its leadership, administration, faculty members, students and families with Siyata Dishmaya and may we continue to see nachas from all of our talmidim. Peretz Wertenteil Chairman of the Board Shlomo Spetner Chairman, Vaad Hachinuch

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

New Mask Rule Gets Baltimore Community Business Owner Kicked off Southwest Flight By: BJLife/Michelle Mond BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn

atch out kids -- it’s not just the dentists who are coming for you if caught eating candy in 2021; it is now the stewardesses. Mr. Avi Mandel, a 35 year old local business owner living with his wife and five children in Baltimore, MD, was flying solo en route to Miami when a sudden twisted turn of events stalled his journey. A sticky situation no doubt, his immediate removal from Southwest Airlines flight 2109 from BWI to Miami was for a minor infraction. The reason he was removed? Chewing on a twizzler. It all started after the Southwest Airlines plane shut its doors shortly after 7:30 PM on Sunday April 18th. After an exhausting day, a masked Mr. Mandel who had just spent the previous two hours dutifully masked through a lengthy check-in, security screening, and wait for the flight

to arrive, was finally able to relax. It was then when he remembered he hadn’t eaten all day. Sitting in his aisle seat minding his own business Mr. Mandel took out a book and the only piece of food he had on him -- a twizzler. Carefully lowering his mask to the chin, Mr. Mandel started munching on the twizzler as the plane taxied down toward the runway. A Southwest Airlines stewardess appeared and told Mr. Mandel to put his mask on to which he replied he was eating. The stewardess continued by demanding he lift the mask over his mouth and nose in between bites. Mandel, who is accustomed to flying multiple times monthly during the pandemic mentioned he had never heard about this rule before. After all, the airline does give pretzels out on flights. As Mr. Mandel finished up his candy, a vehement voice broke out on the loudspeaker announcing that those who eat must lift their masks while chewing, in between bites. Witnesses from the flight related to BJL how at this point many passengers gave a chuckle and looked around

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amused, having never heard this peculiar rule on a flight before. Lifting up his mask, Mandel spent the next ten minutes reading as the flight proceeded along the taxiway waiting to take off. About 15 (masked) minutes after he finished eating there was an announcement that the flight was being brought back to the gate. Out of nowhere, the stewardess approached Mr. Mandel, relaying the news: due to non-compliance he must immediately depart the airplane. Flight patrons and frequent flyers from local families to bystanders watched in shock and dismay as the airline insisted that Mr. Mandel depart the airplane due to noncompliance to the “mask between bites” rule 15 minutes prior. Random bystanders started shouting, “This is so wrong!” , “I was here the whole time, he did not do anything wrong!” Not one to cause conflict, Mandel calmly said he would like to understand what exactly he did wrong to solicit this confrontation. The same stewardess continued the “mask between bites” mantra and would not engage in a conversation about it. She then called airport police to physically escort Mandel off the flight, to which he complied calmly out of respect for the others on board who needed to get to their destinations, albeit severely inconveniencing himself. Mandel noted and reassured, this was certainly not an anti-semitic thing, merely an extreme example of what happens when people get drunk on power, and abuse it. BJL contacted Southwest Airlines for their side to the story which was not so far from Mr. Mandel’s. The airline told BJL how their reports indicated the customer was eating without wearing a mask for a more prolonged amount of time, in between bites, having not listened to the stewardess’s numerous requests to pull up his mask while eating. The airline also highlighted the following rule: The following are times when a Customer may need to briefly remove their mask: o While eating, drinking, or taking oral medications. Prolonged periods of

mask removal are not permitted for eating or drinking; the mask must be worn between bites and sips. It’s the responsibility of our Crew to enforce federal regulations. “ BJL followed up inquiring as to whether the “Mask between Bites” was in fact a new rule, to which the airline responded that this was not a unilaterally implemented rule. Rather, as of February 2021 a new Security Directive has been administered as a direct result of President Biden’s Executive Order on the Face Mask Mandate which requires airline patrons to wear facemasks at all times, which includes in between bites. Since Southwest shares the Federal Mandate’s requirements with customers prior to travel - due to Biden’s executive order, it is legally grounds for airline removal. Mandel responded: “It should be a given that people will have to pull their masks down to eat, especially now when so many have thankfully been vaccinated. Pulling down the mask whether for eating a meal, taking a drink, or having a snack, seems frankly less of an infraction than allowing customers to book middle seats, if you ask me.” An eyewitness who was sitting right behind Mandel relayed the following. “We were on the runway about to take off. The stewardess passed his seat, pointed to his seat number, and announced we were heading back to the gate. Mr. Mandel was masked the entire time. An employee approached the seat and told him to leave, however he refused because he was masked and doing absolutely nothing wrong. Mr. Mandel relayed that at least he should be given the decency of a calm conversation or explanation why he, a masked and compliant frequent flyer, is being suddenly kicked off a flight. The employee then said that if he does not disembark immediately the entire flight will have to deplane. It was then that he got off.” The eyewitness continued, “ I’m all for being safe, but when you see things like this it makes you fear for your liberty. If you can fill middle seats because it’s better for you financially, then you can’t all of a sudden act self righteous when someone innocently eats a snack.” As for the ending to Mandel’s story, he was switched to a flight on Monday morning; only this time he will most definitely keep his Twizzlers at home.

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Rabbi Ariel Sadwin Recaps 2021 Maryland Legislative Accomplishments By: Rabbi Ariel Sadwin

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn

ast week, the Maryland General Assembly completed the 2021 legislative session in Annapolis. After COVID cut the 2020 session short, no effort was spared by the executive and legislative branches of our state government to ensure that the 2021 session would go on in a safe and effective manner. While our participation as “distance-lobbyists” certainly had its share of challenges, we watched - day in and day out - the impressive dedication and perseverance that was on constant display from the legislators and their staff. The 2021 session was Agudah Maryland’s fourteenth, but it was one which primarily saw the most intense debate focused on issues where our community does not have an established political philosophy (eg. police reform, sports betting, criminal justice, parole decisions, to name but a few). Our legislative goals were focused on maintaining and expanding the programs that are vital to our community, and ensuring that our way of life is protected State Tuition Assistance-BOOST Precisely five years ago, a new program was created: a nonpublic school scholarship program called BOOST (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today). The initial

allocation was $5 million. In the years since, we’ve struggled in our efforts to expand the funding of the program. Each year, Governor Hogan allocates $10 million to the budget, only to have it cut down by the legislature. This time, however, the Governor pushed a bit harder and was able to secure the full allocation. We look forward to seeing many more students receive their due scholarships as a result of the additional $3 million added to the program. The other private school benefit programs – the textbook/technology program and the aging school facilities grant, were level funded for an additional $9.5 million. Security Grants With school and shul safety a constant concern and priority, we are pleased that three separate state funded security programs once again received their due allocations. The nonpublic school safety improvement grant received $3.5 million, and the two additional security programs for entities considered to be at risk of a hate crime – one which benefits schools and another which also helps shuls and other non-profits – were level funded at $2 million and $3 million respectively. These programs, in addition to the increased funding of the federal NPSG (Non-Profit Security Grant), have provided our institutions and facilities with all of the tools needed to do “their part” towards protecting our people. 529 Tuition Savings Ever since the changes to the fed-

eral tax code in 2017, Maryland’s 529 college investment program has also been a source of great benefit to those who invest in elementary and secondary education. This year the program once again withstood the threat of legislation removing K - 12 students from utilizing the generous benefits of Maryland’s 529 program. However, legislation to modify access to the state contribution portion of the 529 program, known to many as the “Maryland Match”, passed the legislature. Most prominently, the eligibility criteria was changed, and a lifetime cap per account holder was implemented. All of the information on that can be found on our website. Preserving Religious Liberty Perhaps the most important issue for an organization tasked to represent a community such as ours and its institutions, is to ensure that our spiritual identity is preserved and that we can remain true to our religious mission. Agudah Maryland invested extensive time, effort, and resources this session to address potentially harmful legislation that would have effectively erased the unique character of private, reli-

gious schools. The bill attempted to impose uniform admission policies in all Maryland schools - both public and private - without allowing for appropriate safeguards. While efforts to bolster these protections made progress and areas of compromise were found, the legislation ultimately did not come up for a vote on the Senate floor. COVID-19 Relief Bills Throughout the many months of the pandemic, several major federal COVID–relief bills have been enacted to address a host of critical areas of need. We are indeed gratified that the needs of private schools families have not been ignored at such a critical time by congressional leaders of both parties. In Maryland, that has evolved into millions of dollars being allocated for use by our schools. In Agudah Maryland’s dual role representing the Jewish schools and as chair of the private school coalition, we continue to work with our partners and state education officials to ensure that the relief funds made available are allocated in a manner that serves the best interests and most vital needs of our schools. Thank you for your interest in the work of Agudah Maryland, and thank you for being our trusted partner in protecting, advocating, and serving the needs of the community. We wish you and yours continued good health, and a safe and successful completion of the school year! Rabbi Ariel Sadwin Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, Agudath Israel of Maryland

JEWELS / TA Bochurim Finish First Perek of Chumash and are Farhered by Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer Shlita

n yet another impressive milestone reached by the JEWELS Satellite Class at Talmudical Academy, the boys completed the first perek of Lech Lecha. Each Talmid dressed in his white shirt l’kovod the event. Many of them were able to read and translate all of the pesukim. Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer was invited to the siyum and to “farher” them on the material. After listening to the boys read and translate pesukim, they answered questions, and demonstrated a good understanding. Rabbi Hopfer was very impressed! In

the build up to the bechina, the boys did chazarah with their Rebbi and their Morah. They were excited to start the next perek that day! What a nachas it was for all involved to witness such pure simchas hatorah. In fact, the boys sang with the Rav after completing the farher. This was the result and culmination of hard work and determination by the Talmidim and their incredibly talented teachers. The day’s events were planned and orchestrated by their fantastic Rebbi, Rabbi Mordechai Abrahams, and Morah, Mrs. Tali Leshnof.

They deserve a great deal of credit. Many of the Moros who taught the boys for many years came to the siyum. Rabbi Yisroel Fuchs, Executive Director, and Mrs. Shuli Bamberger, School Director, were also present for

this special simcha. The JEWELS Satellite Class at Bais Yaakov also finished the first perek of Lech Lecha before Pesach and had their own special siyum

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Chana Dena Pollak credible group of talented individuals dedicated to helping our community get through this crisis. When vaccines started becoming available, volunteers in NY were working round the clock to find appts for people and I was able to help some individuals in NY get appts. One day, they turned the tables on me and asked her help finding appts in Maryland. And so it began…

What high school did you go to?

nothing short of “Herculean.”

Yeshiva of Greater Washington

What local organizations are you involved with?

What shul do you go to?

JVC, The Associated, Hatzalah & Bikur Cholim

What do you hear more often, how your father is an elite football quarterback or your mothers 24/7 chesed?

How did you get involved with Bikur Cholim? How did you get involved in the communities covid recovery efforts?

Up until recently, it was always about my father’s football playing. Don’t tell him but he’s starting to age a bit.

In December, when my Real Estate Management company wanted me back in our PG County office full time, my daughter’s class was going into quarantine and I didn’t think the timing was right. At the same time MCPI (Maryland Covid Plasma Initiative) was looking for someone to coordinate a few COVID plasma drives from home so I jumped on the opportunity while I was finishing up some projects. Through MCPI’s partners in other cities I got swept into an in-

What do you love most about living in Baltimore? The incredible pool of volunteers and dedicated individuals ready to jump at the chance to make a difference. What I have personally witnessed throughout the pandemic is

Prior to beginning our own Community Clinic, we booked about 1,500 appts and we have just about doubled that number in our own community clinic. We look forward to expanding that number exponentially in the coming weeks. Despite many people’s belief, our community still has a long way to go to reach “Herd Immunity”. How did you get your own vaccine clinic? A lot of support from the community especially from Councilman Yitzy Schleifer, Laura Kurcfeld from The Associated and of course Lifebridge Health. In addition, this clinic could not be possible without the dozens of incredible volunteers daily including Hatzalah. They are truly the heart and soul of this clinic. The immense gratitude that I feel towards each and every one of these volunteers cannot accu-

rately be described. Their dedication is unparalled. How can people join the waiting list to be vaccinated at Ner Tamid? How can local doctors, nurses, EMTs and others volunteer for these efforts? We update www.baltimorebikurcholim.org frequently with links to preregister, to sign up for open clinics, and with each week’s volunteer opportunities. You may also call Bikur Cholim at 410-999-3777 ext. 108 or email Vaccines@baltimorebikurcholim.org for assistance in registering or with any questions. We also offer a separate area upon request for highrisk individuals or sensory free space. How can the community financially contribute to these efforts? Bikur Cholim has proudly supported this massive community undertaking. You can help too by going to www.baltimorebikurcholim.org to contribute to this effort or emailing vaccines@baltimorebikurcholim.org with specific contributions. Anything else you’d like to share with our 10,000+ cover to cover readers? Get out there and get vaccinated. Our best “shot” at getting back to normal begins with you!

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My family attends Ner Tamid

How many people have you helped get vaccine appointments for?

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APRIL 22, 2021

The Week In News

Rocket Retaliation

Israeli warplanes pounded a slew of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip on Friday in retaliation for a rocket barrage a day prior. According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, targets included a Hamas training camp, an air-defense system, and a factory that produced cement for terror tunnels. “The attack was carried out as a response to the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory earlier this evening,” said the IDF. No one was injured in Thursday’s rocket attack, which came in the waning hours of Israel’s 73rd Independence Day. The rockets triggered sirens in Sderot and Nir Amim and landed in an open field. Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire emanating from the Gaza Strip and commonly retaliates by targeting the group’s infrastructure even when the missiles were fired by competing terror organizations. Rocket attacks have grown increasingly rare in recent months as Hamas turns its attention to battling the COVID-19 in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has also reportedly ordered a halt to offensive operations ahead of the imminent Palestinian elections in an effort to soften its international image.

Helping Our Wounded Soldiers Israel’s Defense Ministry has rolled out a plan to completely re-

vamp its treatment of soldiers wounded during their military service. The plan is being put together by Ziv Shilon, a former IDF company commander who lost an arm during a terror attack and has since become an advocate for disabled veterans. Shilon was appointed the head of a commission directly subordinate to the defense minister and will present a plan with suggestions to the Israeli government within 30 days.

The planned reforms will focus on treating veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and will include a special request for government funding to provide what officials called “a financial shot in the arm.” Upon announcing the initiative, Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Eshel admitted that the current treatment afforded to disabled veterans by the Rehabilitation Division is “incompetent” and “lacking” significant resources. “The quality of service for IDF disabled people is insufficient, and the Rehabilitation Division has failed in its role,” said Eshel. “We are determined to resolve them,” added Eshel, a former IDF general. “We are talking about adding staff for disabled caregivers directly. We will make some changes within the ministry but it will be difficult and complex.” The planned reforms come after disabled IDF veteran Itzik Saiden set himself on fire on Yom HaZikaron outside the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Division headquarters to protest what he said was its frequent neglect and insufficient care of wounded vets. Saiden, who has been battling PTSD since 2014’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, had been recognized as only 25% disabled despite being unable to sleep, hold down a job, or drive. Saiden’s actions sparked an uproar in Israel, a country in which the majority serve in the military. In a series of Facebook posts and then tele-

vision interviews, hundreds of disabled veterans spoke of the rampant neglect and bloated bureaucracy that made it difficult for soldiers to recover after being wounded in action. In one viral video, a prominent Channel 12 journalist shot during an arrest in Nablus recounted how doctors measured his shrapnel wounds with a tape measure to lower his disability claim. Others spoke of a system that assumes that most soldiers are embellishing their injuries in order to enjoy larger monthly compensation payments. On Sunday, hundreds of wounded soldiers blocked traffic in Tel Aviv to raise attention to their plight. Despite causing gridlock that lasted for hours, many drivers waited patiently and even honked their horns to show support for the angry veterans. Meeting with IDF Disabled Veterans Organization officials on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “completely reform” the “terrible injustice” under his watch. “The distress of handicapped and wounded IDF veterans is real. We have not updated the arrangements among them in many years. Both first aid and comprehensive reforms are needed,” Netanyahu said.

Israel-Greece Weapons Deal

Israel and Greece signed a mammoth weapons deal this week that will see the Jewish State build a flight training center for the Hellenic Air Force. The deal was announced by the Defense Ministry on Sunday and is worth $1.65 billion, the largest ever arms procurement package in Israel’s history. As per the terms of the agreement, Israel’s Elbit Systems will build, maintain, and staff the training center in Greece for the next 20 years. Elbit will also supply Greece with ten M-346 training aircraft known in Israel as the “Lavi” and overhaul its

T-6 training jets. The company will also provide the Hellenic Air Force with “simulators, training and logistic support.” The deal was first hammered out in January and received final approval on Friday. The Defense Ministry hailed the mammoth arms package, calling it an example of the flourishing strategic and security ties between Athens and Jerusalem. “In the future, the parties will also consider areas of cooperation between the Israeli flight academy and Hellenic Airforce Academy,” said the Defense Ministry. “This agreement reflects the excellent and developing relations we have with Greece. It is a long-term partnership that will serve the interests of both Israel and Greece, create hundreds of jobs in both countries, and promote stability in the Mediterranean,” added Defense Minister Benny Gantz. “This contract award attests to the leading position we hold in the area of training, providing tested knowhow and proven technologies that improve readiness while reducing costs,” said Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis. The deal comes amid warming bilateral relations between Greece and Israel that span disparate areas such as the economy, military, and the battle against Turkey’s assertiveness in the Mediterranean Sea.

PM Process Proposal A new proposal would see Israelis elect prime ministers via direct election rather than the current parliamentary system. Promoted by Shas leader Aryeh Deri, the proposal attempts to solve Israel’s inextricable political deadlock that has seen the country suffer an unprecedented four elections over the past two years. Unlike the current system, the premier would be elected directly by Israeli citizens as opposed to today’s system, in which he or she is chosen by a minimum of 61 MKs. The proposal would see Israelis heading back to the polls to pick a prime minister. There would not be another election for the Knesset, which would keep the final tally recorded in last month’s election. Following the vote, the prime minister would still

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The Week In News need the requisite 61 Knesset members to form a government. If approved, the change could make it easier to form a government and possibly end the two years of political deadlock. While more unpopular than at any point in his past 13 years as prime minister, Netanyahu would still likely win a direct election. In a Likud faction meeting on Monday, Netanyahu declared his support for the proposal and called it “the only way out of this deadlock.” “We need a direct election. It is absurd for Bennett to be prime minister,” Netanyahu said, referring to his rival’s demand for a rotating premiership despite having only seven seats.

“There is a solution to the political problem and an overwhelming majority of the public supports it,” Netanyahu added. “Instead of establishing an absurd government – for example, with a prime minister who in the elections got just seven seats – there will be direct elections for prime minister. The public will directly choose the prime minister in quick elections, without disbanding the Knesset.” On Sunday, Deri met with Yamina leader Naftali Bennett who promised to support the bill should it reach the Knesset floor in the upcoming days. Deri reportedly views the proposal as the only way to break the political deadlock and the endless cycles of elections. “Netanyahu understands that [Religious Zionist leader] Betzalel Smotrich is stubborn in refusing to go with the Ra’am, and that [Gideon] Saar is stubborn in refusing to go with him, and thus a new initiative for the last 16 days of the mandate is formed,” said Channel 12 political commentator Amit Segel. Israel previously attempted direct elections for prime minister, starting in 1995 and ending in 2001. The initiative was widely thought to be a failure, with the premier often coming from smaller parties that were unable to effectively govern due to being

dwarfed by larger factions in the coalition.

Wave of Arab Violence Rocks Israel Israel was rocked by a wave of Arab violence coinciding with the onset of Ramadan so severe that some security officials are warning that it may deteriorate into a Third Intifada. On Saturday evening, a viral video originally shared on TikTok showed an Arab man slapping two haredi teens on Jerusalem’s light rail. The video was captioned with extreme anti-Semitic tropes and caused a furor throughout the country, with many likening the footage to scenes from Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

ing violence that saw Arab teens attack Jews making their way to the Western Wall. Coming during the first week of Ramadan, the string of violent attacks throughout Israel is leading to fears that a grassroots terror campaign, or “Intifada,” is on the way. Speaking with the Channel 12, a senior security source revealed that the Israel Police and Shin Bet internal security service had lately noticed a flood of incitement on social media. He cautioned, however, that Ramadan commonly results in an uptick of violence and added that it was still too early to say if a full-blown Intifada is on the way. “It’s irregular to see ‘nationalistic’ attacks on Jews in three unrelated locations – Jaffa, Lod, and Jerusalem,” he said. “The dispersed nature of the altercations suggests that we may see an eruption of violence before this month is up,” he added.

Israel Takes Off Masks

On Sunday morning, two Arab men attacked Rabbi Yehoshua Mali, a well-known yeshiva head and educator in Jaffa. The assault occurred in broad daylight and was part of an intimidation campaign by local Arabs to prevent the yeshiva from expanding its campus. A few hours later, a band of Arab teens attacked Jews at a park in Lod’s Ramat Eshkol neighborhood. After police were summoned to protect them, they were bombarded by rocks, firebombs, and even live fire by local Arabs chanting, “Settlers out.” Speaking to the press, Lod Mayor Yair Ravivo contended that the violence in his city was spiraling out of control and threatened to “completely shut down Lod” if police did not send reinforcements. On Sunday evening, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with police at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate. At one point, police declared the fracas a fullblown riot and began dispersing the crowd with stun grenades, rubber bullets, and tear gas. Sunday’s melee at Jerusalem’s Old City followed days of steadily escalat-

Millions of Israelis enjoyed the breeze in their faces for the first time in over a year as the Health Ministry scrapped the outdoor mask mandate. From Sunday onwards, Israelis are no longer required to wear a mask while outdoors. The mask mandate still applies in closed spaces, and the Health Ministry recommends wearing them in places with large crowds. Television stations interviewed bare-faced Israelis at beaches and parks jubilant at being allowed to embark on a stroll without a face covering. In Tel Aviv, a large party complete with a DJ and free beer broke out on the city’s central Rothschild Street to celebrate the end of the mask mandate. “It feels amazing just to feel normal again!” rejoiced Shira, a 25-year-old art student at Tel Aviv University when queried about her feelings by Channel 12. “We waited for this day for so long. I hope we don’t have a relapse.”

First introduced last April, the mask mandate had become the most ubiquitous symbol of the post COVID-19 period. But in recent weeks, enforcement of the mandate had essentially ended as police turned a blind eye to flagrant mask-violators. The decision to end the mask mandate came amid plunging infection rates and rapidly-dropping daily COVID-19 cases resulting from Israel’s world-leading vaccination campaign. As of Monday, 54% of Israelis received both jabs of the Pfizer vaccine while the daily infection count dropped to 100, down from 10,000 in January. On Sunday, Israel’s entire education system also returned to in-class learning for the first time in more than a year. Since the onset of the pandemic, grades 5-9 had studied either on Zoom or in alternating “pods.”

Maxine Waters Stokes Violence in MN Last weekend, Congresswoman Maxine Waters openly urged protesters in Minneapolis to continue their rampant street violence should ex-cop Derek Chauvin go free. Chauvin is currently on trial for manslaughter charges relating to last summer’s death of George Floyd. Upon meeting with protesters in nearby Brooklyn Center on Saturday, Waters urged the crowd to get “confrontational” in the event that Chauvin was found innocent. “We’ve got to stay on the street, and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business,” Waters told a reporter. Urging demonstrators “to remain on the street” and defy the 11 PM curfew, Waters brushed off calls to quiet down the week-long rioting in Brooklyn Center. “I’m going to fight with all of the people who stand for justice,” Waters said. “We’ve got to get justice in this country, and we cannot allow these killings to continue.”

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Brooklyn Center has been the scene of spiraling violence ever since a policewoman mistakenly shot and killed Daunte Smith during a traffic stop last week. The rioting had already destroyed dozens of stores and came as Chauvin’s attorneys made their closing arguments on Monday. The congresswoman was lambasted by GOP lawmakers, who accused her of “fanning the flames” with her “violent rhetoric.” “Telling rioters who have burned buildings, looted stores, and assaulted journalists to get ‘more confrontational’ is incredibly irresponsible. Every House Democrat should condemn Maxine Waters’ call for violence,” said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Berg. “Why is Maxine Waters traveling to a different state trying to incite a riot? What good can come from this?” tweeted Rep. Lauren Boebert. Waters hails from California. In an unsigned editorial, the New York Post called on Congress to “Impeach and remove Maxine Waters” for “pouring fuel on the fire in Minnesota.” The veteran Democrat has a long history of inflammatory statements during her three decades in Congress. In 2018, Waters famously called on her supporters to harass Trump administration officials spotted during everyday activities such as shopping and stopping for gas. “Let’s make sure we show up wherever we have to show up. And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,” she said at the time.

Oldest Living American Dies

Hester Ford was either 115 or 116 at the time of her death on Saturday. While her family maintains she was born in 1905, U.S Census Bureau listings record her birthday in 1904. According to the Gerontology Research Group, which follows the lives of the oldest Americans, Ford’s age was 115 years and 245 days old. Ford had been the oldest living person in the U.S. since June 30 of last year. Born in South Carolina’s Lancaster Country, Ford was married off at the age of 14 to her husband John in order to help support her desperately poor parents. A year later, she gave birth to the first of her 12 children. In 1960, the couple moved to Charlotte, where Ford would live for the rest of her life. After her husband passed away in 1963 at the age of 57, Hester took over raising the family and lived alone in her home without help until badly injuring herself in 2014. In addition to her 12 children, Ford had 48 grandchildren and 108 great-grandchildren. “She was a pillar and stalwart to our family and provided much needed love, support and understanding to us all,” said great-granddaughter Tanisha Patterson-Powe. “She not only represented the advancement of our family but of the Black African American race and culture in our country,” Patterson-Powe continued. “She was a reminder of how far we have come as people on this Earth. She has been celebrated all over the world by local governments, community leaders, social media, foreign dignities and presidents as a cherished jewel of society for holding the honor of being the oldest living person in America.”

U.S. Charges for Lev Tahor Members

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US Federal authorities filed child exploitation and child abduction charges against leaders of the Lev Tahor sect that has been accused of

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forcing girls as young as 12 years old into marriages with much older men within their community. Five leaders of the Lev Tahor group were charged by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and FBI on Monday with crimes related to an alleged forced marriage in 2017 and a 2018 kidnapping. The charges include conspiring to transport a minor with intent to engage in certain inappropriate activity and conspiring to travel with intent to engage in inappropriate conduct. The first charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and maximum of lifetime in prison; the second carries a maximum of 30 years in prison. Nachman Helbrans, one of the men charged on Monday, arranged a marriage in 2017 between his 12-yearold niece and an 18-year-old man, according to the filing. They were married in 2018. According to the Justice Department press release, young brides in the community were expected “to tell people outside Lev Tahor that they were not married, to pretend to be older, and to deliver babies inside their homes instead of at a hospital, partially to conceal from the public the mothers’ young ages.” Later that year, the girl’s mother escaped from the group and fled to the United States with the girl and the girl’s younger brother, arriving in New York in November 2018. According to the Justice Department, in December 2018, the five men charged this week kidnapped the girl – then 14 years old – and her brother in the middle of the night and brought them back to her husband, then 20 years old, in Mexico. The children were returned to New York several weeks later by law enforcement, but the group tried to kidnap them again two more times. Nachman Helbrans is the son of Rabbi Shlomo Helbrans, who founded Lev Tahor in the 1980s, and became the group’s leader in 2017 after the death of his father. The other men charged are Mayer Rosner, Yakov Weingarten, Shmiel Weingarten and Yoel Weingarten. Yakov Weingarten was arrested last month in Guatemala on the first day of Passover. The group had fled

Canada to Guatemala in 2014 after coming under intense scrutiny by Canadian authorities for alleged child abuse and marrying off children. William F. Sweeney Jr., the FBI’s assistant director, thanked Guatemalan law enforcement for their assistance in the Lev Tahor case. “International borders will not stop the FBI from pursuing justice and enforcing violations of our laws, especially when you target children. The behavior alleged today is outrageous, and there is no justification for it whatsoever,” Sweeney said. The group has been described as a cult and as the “Jewish Taliban,” as women and girls older than 3 are required to dress in long black robes covering their entire body, leaving only their faces exposed. The men spend most of their days in prayer and studying only specific Torah portions. Lev Tahor have their own version of kosher laws. For example, members believe that genetic engineering has rendered modern-day chickens non-kosher. Marriages between teenagers or minors and older members are common. According to the Justice Department’s announcement of the charges, Nachman Helbrans and his team “embraced several extreme practices, including strict, invasive monitoring of members, frequent beatings, and forced marriages of minors to adult members. Children in Lev Tahor are often subject to physical…and emotional abuse.” Leaders of the group have been charged with kidnapping before, including in the case authorities charged Helbrans and the others for Monday. In 2019, four group leaders were indicted for the 2018 kidnapping. Guatemalan authorities have been monitoring leaders of Lev Tahor, which is now based in the country, in recent years. Members of the group, which is anti-Zionist, have applied for political asylum in Iran.

1,118 Days in a Church After living in a Utah church for three years to avoid deportation from immigration authorities, Vicky

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The Week In News Chavez emerged outside to a throng of television cameras and well-wishers this week. An illegal immigrant from Honduras, Chavez and her two daughters entered the First Unitarian Church in 2018 to avoid being sent back to her home country. On Monday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notified her that she had been cleared for a stay of removal removing the threat of deportation until at least 2022. Greeting Chavez were hundreds of well-wishers, church members, and immigration advocates, many of whom chanted support and waved homemade signs. “We have been waiting for this day for more than 39 months, and I’m here sharing with everybody that I’m free right now and I can’t believe it,” Chavez exulted. “I have no words to thank them for giving me a safe home for over three years,” Chavez added. “Today I can say that I’m full of love and happy to have arrived here.” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny

Wilson congratulated Chavez and church members for the “compassion” they had demonstrated over the past three years. First arriving in the U.S. in 2014 to escape what she said was an abusive boyfriend, Chavez was arrested and slated to be deported. After exhausting all of her appeals, Chavez had already purchased a plane ticket for the journey home when the First Unitary Church offered sanctuary. Living in a converted Sunday school classroom with a TV and games, Chavez and her two daughters spent the days studying English and reading. What was meant to be a short-term arrangement ended up becoming the family’s home for the next three years until Monday’s tidings allowed Chavez to finally emerge outside after 1,118 days. “Vicky’s life is no longer on hold,” said head minister Rev. Tom Goldsmith. “She leaves this church with a full grasp of the English language, a couple of hundred friends, and the confidence to pursue her dreams.”

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Rwandan Murderer Deported A woman sentenced to a decade in prison for lying about her role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide while immigrating to the United States has been deported to Rwanda. Beatrice Munyenyezi, who played a major role in the massacre of the Tutsis, was flown into the capital of Kigali this week and was escorted by U.S. federal agents. She was immediately arrested upon arrival and remains in custody. Rwanda Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Thierry Murangira said that Munyenyezi faces numerous charges connected to her actions almost three decades ago, including murder, genocide, and complicity in assault of women. “Her deportation means a lot in terms of justice delivery to genocide victims,” said Murangira. Munyenyezi commanded a mili-

tary roadblock that handpicked Tutsis for murder and is allegedly responsible for hundreds of deaths. She later fled Rwanda and received asylum in the United States. Munyenyezi was charged in June 2010 and later convicted in 2013, by a New Hampshire federal jury. The jury determined she obtained her U.S. citizenship unlawfully, after fleeing her home country of Rwanda, by misrepresenting material facts to U.S. immigration authorities. Testimony during the 12-day trial revealed that Munyenyezi concealed her role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, including her involvement in the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (MRND), the political party in power before and during the genocide, and its youth wing, the Interahamwe. The Interahamwe ran a militia that played a key role in the genocide. Evidence at trial demonstrated that Munyenyezi, as a member of the Interahamwe, participated, aided, and abetted in the persecution and murder of Tutsi people during the

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The Week In News 1994 genocide. Munyenyezi appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017, arguing that a recent legal precedent limited the government’s ability to strip citizenship from perpetrators of immigration fraud. Munyenyezi’s long shot bid to prevent her deportation failed when the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier ruling in March by a federal district judge rejecting her petition. The Rwandan genocide was a campaign during the 1994 Civil War by the Hutu party that targeted members of the Tutsi minority. Most academic estimates place the death toll at between 500,000 and 800,000 people.

Former VP Walter Mondale Dies Former Vice President Walter Mondale died on Monday at age 93. Mondale, who was the 1984 Democratic nominee for president and also served as a longtime senator from Minnesota, died “peacefully from natural causes,” his family said. The son of a minister, Mondale, known as Fritz, became one of Minnesota’s most famous political figures in a state known for Democratic politicians. He was selected in 1964 to replace then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a mentor, in the Senate. In his 12 years in the U.S. Senate, Mondale followed in the footsteps of Humphrey, the lead author of the Civil Rights Act, in championing civil rights and other progressive causes. Jimmy Carter, the governor from Georgia who had improbably won the Democratic nomination in 1976, turned to Mondale when he needed a “Northern presence” on the ticket and someone who had a liberal track record. Despite being relatively unknown, the pair narrowly prevailed over President Gerald Ford, who was severely weakened by Watergate and Vietnam. They carried the South along with a few crucial northern states – New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, among others – winning 297 Electoral College votes. Mondale was the first vice president to have an office in the White House and served as a close adviser to Carter. Mondale traveled widely

and was instrumental in the Camp David Accords. But Carter’s presidency was plagued by what he himself referred to as the “crisis of confidence” during a speech that became known as the “malaise speech” that, according to The New York Times, Mondale advised him not to give. Republican challenger Ronald Reagan sailed to the White House in the 1980 election, winning all but four states and Washington, D.C. Mondale was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in 1984. He made history by choosing Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, the first woman ever on a major party ticket. Mondale’s campaign – even with a woman on the ticket – was no match for Reagan’s soaring popularity. At a presidential debate, Reagan smoothly handled questions about his advanced age, quipping, “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” Mondale would later say he thought that was when the campaign ended. Mondale and Ferraro would lose every state but Minnesota and Washington, D.C., in the election.

DeSantis Signs “Riot Act” into Law

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law an “anti-riot” bill allowing citizens to take greater action to protect themselves and their property from damage. The bill had passed the Senate by a margin of 23-17 along party lines last Thursday after sailing through the House 76-39 on March 26. The act dramatically expands the ability Floridians have to defend their property from rioters and looters and increases penalties for a slew of crimes, including assault, battery, burglary and theft, and battery against a law enforcement officer. In addition, Floridians are now allowed to take legal action against

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radical left by criminalizing doxing and requiring restitution for damaging memorials and monuments by rioters,” he added. The legislation comes after George Floyd’s death at the hands of former police officer Derek Chauvin last summer touched off a wave of nationwide rioting that resulted in more than $2 billion in damages. A series of additional riots soon followed in cities such as Rochester, Kenosha, and Philadelphia. Often, elected officials ordered law enforcement to stand down and prevented officers from more effectively ending the riots.

Walking Here and Bear A teddy bear is on a quest to walk

more than 400 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Jesse Larios is 33 years old. When he dons the life-size teddy bear costume, he uses the moniker “Bearsun.” His journey was not intentional; it was just something that Lasios decided to do. “I’m like a puppy, I guess. I just see something, and I chase after it,” Larios said. He said the walk sounded like a fun adventure. But his walk has not only been barrels of honey. Last week, he was approached by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “This was a bear-y unique situation. You may have seen a large teddy bear walking through town. One of our deputies got to meet the individual inside the bear & learned his goal is to complete a walk from Los Angeles to San Francisco. We wish him the best of luck on his adventure,” the sheriff’s office tweeted. Larios said the deputy only wanted to make sure he was safe and hydrated. Other obstacles, such as road clo-

sures and unexpectedly difficult terrain, have caused delays that pushed his expected arrival date in San Francisco back from April 17 to April 21. When Larios needs to rest for the night, he camps out on the side of the road. His GoFundMe page is set up so supporters can help him with food and other costs. And, if there’s extra money at the end, the funds will go towards an upgraded Bearsun suit. The costume is there for Larios to spread joy. “This is what I want to do. I just want to run marathons in my bear suit,” he said. “It makes other people happy, too, and I’m all about laughter and smiles.” Bear-y nice.

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The Week In News city, is now home to the highest outdoor infinity pool. The pool broke the Guinness World Record by soaring over the city 964 feet, 2 inches high. Seventy-seven floors up, the surface area of the infinity pool is a whopping 6,000 square feet. It’s around 4 feet deep at its deepest point. The building was also awarded a record for the highest occupiable skybridge floor, which is 965 feet, 8.4 inches over the ground.

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Consumers need to get a hamburger tattoo bearing the eatery’s name in order to get the free grub. The restaurant has teamed up with two tattoo shops – one in California and on in Las Vegas – for those who want sandwiches inked onto their bodies for forever. There are three tattoo designs to choose from; all three have the word “Farmer Boys” on the design. One design features a pickup truck with a huge burger in the back. The other designs feature large hamburgers. Farmer Boys said the promotion celebrates the chain’s 40th anniversary. We’re going to pass on this deal, if that’s OK with you.

Looking for a fun and delicious job for your favorite canine? Anheuser-Busch is searching for a chief tasting officer for Dog Brew, a “beer” made for dogs.

The beverage is actually made from bone broth and is non-alcoholic. When it was sold by the company last year, it sold out within 24 hours. Now, the company is looking for a canine “chief tasting officer” to help expand the line of offerings.

The chosen candidate will be paid handsomely for the position – a tail-wagging $20,000. He or she will be responsible for “taste-testing, quality control, and fulfilling duties as an ambassador for the product.” The dog will also become a “featured creator” for Busch’s social media channels. Oh, and they’ll also get pet insurance and a free supply of Dog Brew. “The reaction to Busch Dog Brew’s

release last year was so overwhelmingly positive that we knew we had a big challenge in Year 2 to keep the momentum going. So to expand the brand this year, we needed a true expert in the space on our team,” said Daniel Blake, vice president of value brands at Anheuser-Busch. “We’re excited to give one qualified canine a real, paying job and to tap into their insider knowledge of our target consumer to expand Busch Dog Brew in 2021.” Here’s to wondering how the canines will be able to fill out the surveys at the end of their taste-testing sessions.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow In honor of Lag B’Omer – well, not really – an Indian woman cut her hair for the first time in 12 years. Nilanshi Patel stopped cutting her hair when she was six years old. Last week, the eighteen-year-old chopped

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The Week In News off her long locks and donated the tresses for display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. Patel’s hair set records two years ago, when Guinness World Records declared it the world’s longest at

5-feet, 7-inches. This year, Patel’s hair was measured just days before her 18th birthday and she broke her own record for the second time with hair measuring 6

feet, 6.7 inches long. “My hair gave me a lot – because of my hair I am known as the ‘real-life Rapunzel.’ Now it’s time to give back,” Patel said. The Indian girl had considered donating her hair to make wigs for children with cancer, but her mother convinced her that it should go on display to inspire others. Her mother, Kaminiben Patel, is going to donate her own hair for wig for those suffering from cancer. Now, Patel is sporting a new look, with her hair reaching her chin. “I love my new hairstyle. I feel proud that I’m going to send my hair to the U.S. museum-- people will see and be inspired by my hair,” Patel said.

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brand teased its limited-edition home fragrance in a tweet that celebrated National Grilled Cheese Day on Tuesday, April 13. Fans of the American cheese line have a chance to win a pack of these incense from Kraft’s “Breathe Cheesy Sweepstakes.” One-thousand lucky winners will win the smelly scent. While Kraft has opted to create a home fragrance with aromatic incense sticks, other food and beverage companies have made scented candles to entice fans. KFC, McDonald’s, Chili’s, and Miller Lite are just a few companies that have manufactured candles based on signature menu items in recent years. Makes you want to stop and smell the roses.

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Disconnect! By Rabbi Zvi Teichman

There is a common misconception that is oft quoted. Knowledge is power. If we possess just the right data we can attain financial success. If we access accurate news on a constant basis we can stay safe, remain healthy and travel with confidence and never be caught holding an umbrella on a sunny day. Our hunger for information is driven by a primal need for control and stability in our lives. But it can only provide us with a false sense of security. Knowledge may be a vital tool for life but it can never guarantee success let alone happiness. Surely we all strive to live life without doubt and uncertainty but if we never embrace the challenge of the unknown we will never experience the thrill of discovery nor sense the divine hand that accompanies us in all our achievements. In an unusual repetition, the Torah forewarns three times within this week’s portion alone how we are to refrain from engaging in the practices of the Ov and Yidoni. These are oracles who when manipulated by those proficient in the ways of the occult can communicate with the dead and be privy to details of our life and vital information that can only be accessed by spirits who inhabit the netherworld. Evidently even in days of yore the hunger to know what is happening; what is forecast; getting a step ahead of the pack by wielding information no one has, was already a desperate and ancient pastime. It wasn’t just the false sense of security it provided that was so poisonous but more so the delusional attitude upon receiving messages of gloom and doom that prodded the masses to

accept the ‘inevitable’ despairing from intervening with hopeful prayer. When society becomes obsessed with the constant need for privileged information, the path towards idolatry and the abandoning of belief in a G-d that controls our destiny despite the direst prognostications, is quick in coming. The Torah wedges the first reference of this sin between the command to observe Shabbos and revere the Temple preceding it, and the requirement to respect a learned sage as well as to honor the elderly, immediately following it.)‫לב‬-‫(ויקרא יט ל‬ The Paneach Raza, one of the illustrious Rishonim, teaches that the juxtaposition of this law to Shabbos reflects on the fact that the spirits couldn’t be conjured on the Shabbos day. The proximity to the directive to respect sages and the elderly alludes to the unfortunate episode at the end of the life of Shaul when he was facing the enemy and didn’t know how to proceed since he was unsuccessful in receiving messages from above through the agency of prophecy or the Urim v’Tumim. Shaul in desperation resorted to enlisting the help of a Baalas Ov, a woman practitioner of Ov, to raise the spirit of the great sage and prophet Shmuel, in order to get his guidance. The notion of the inability of these oracles to communicate on Shabbos is a testament to the fact that the very day which heralds Hashem’s absolute dominion on earth denies the fatalistic attitude of those who seek power in knowledge. The idea that we respect a sage and

even the elderly who may be ignorant in Torah but is to be appreciated for the wealth of life experiences and its lessons he embodies, is in stark counterpoint to the shallow philosophy of those who see power in knowledge alone. It is those who have courageously lived through life braving the unknown, traveling unchartered paths, that have observed patterns in human experience that identify a benevolent creator who guides us lovingly through the many twists and turns on the courses of life, that negate a belief of a fatalism bereft of hope. In fact, the Midrash states regarding this very encounter between Shmuel and Shaul, where Shmuel eventually informs Shaul of his impending death as Shmuel portends that he is slated to die in battle: “one who relies on the words the prophets relate, is equivalent to one who stabs himself with a sword in his gut”. The Midrash goes on to describe how Shaul accepted the inevitability of the message that he was to die and therefore refrained from praying for his rescue. If he were to have petitioned Hashem, he would have rescinded the decree. )‫(דברים רבה [הוצאת ליברמן] ואתחנן‬ Shaul succumbed to this powerful influence of Ov and Yidoni in accepting his fate blindly. The more we live our lives immersed in an endless assault of information and news, the modern day version of Ov and Yidoni, we endanger our special relationship with Hashem and are liable to fall into the pits of despair and hopelessness. There is a fascinating theory on the nature of the oracle Yidoni. The method by which one communicates with the dead is by securing a bone from an animal that is known as ‫ידוע‬, Yadua, and placing it in the conjurer’s mouth. It then begins to speak with the voice

of the dead spirit being summoned. Rabbi Meir the son of Klonomus from Spiers goes on to describe the characteristics of this animal. It has an umbilical cord that attaches to the ground, from where he is rooted and stems. He has a human form, with a face, hands and legs. It will kill and rip apart any creature that enters its circumference. It is immediately killed by shooting an arrow at its cord and severing it from its life force.‫(פי' הר"ש‬ )‫והרע"ב כלאים פ"ח מ"ה‬ Have you ever tried to disrupt someone ‘plugged’ in to his computer while he is engaged in surfing the net or deeply involved in some game or other mindless pursuit? Only when the ‘cable’ is cut can one regain consciousness to reality! It has been cleverly suggested the following interpretation of our verse: ‫‘ —אל תפנו‬Do not turn, ‫אבֹת‬ ֹ ‫אל ה‬ — to the ‫אבֹת‬ ֹ ’, rooted in the word ‫אבה‬, meaning urges, implying the easy instinct to look for comforting distractions and easy solutions... ‫ואל הי ְִד ֹענִים‬, ‘and to the ‫י ְִד ֹענִים‬, rooted in the word ‫ידע‬, signifying knowledge and information, becoming entranced and misled by ‘facts’ and ‘news’ that offer ‘clear’ guidance in life... ‫‘ — אל תבקשו‬do not seek’ these false solutions and seductive conclusions, ‫‘ — לטמאה בהם‬to become contaminated in them’ and their fatalistic attitudes... ‫אני ד' אלקיכם‬, ‘I am Hashem, your G-d,’ and will always be there to retrieve you from that which may seem to human perception as the inevitable! )‫(אבני חפץ‬ You may reach the author at: Ravzt@ohelmoshebaltimore.com

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Delving into the Daf

Is eBay For-Bid-Den? By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

f you had asked someone 2,000 years ago what “eBay” means, he would have told you “it’s fruit.” Onkelos uses the word “ebay” many times in his translation of Bereishis. Nowadays, eBay is an Internet success story. A question that has frequently been asked is whether one is allowed to bid on an item where the bidding for the item ends on Shabbos. To try to shed some light on this issue, we will examine how a certain problem was resolved 2,000 years ago in the Beis HaMikdash. The first mishnah in Yoma records the requirement that the Kohen Gadol should be a married man while performing the Yom Kippur avodah. Rebbe Yehuda maintains that a backup wife was prepared in case his original wife died before the Yom Kippur avodah. Tosfos (13b) explains that there is a difference of opinion between the Bavli and the Yerushalmi. The Bavli maintains that Rebbe Yehuda held that the Kohen Gadol actually married a second wife before Yom Kippur. This creates a whole new problem, as the Kohen Gadol can only be married to one wife while performing the Yom Kippur avodah. The Gemara discusses the solution to this new issue at length. The Yerushalmi understands that Rebbe Yehuda simply mandated that a second wife be available for the Kohen Gadol. If the need arose, the Kohen Gadol would marry her on Yom Kippur itself. This understanding has a problem of its own. The Sages restricted marriage and other transactions from being performed on Shabbos and, by extension, Yom Kippur. Why then would the Kohen Gadol be allowed to marry a new wife on Yom Kippur? The Yerushalmi answers with the dictum “Ein shevus b’Mikdash.” Often the Sages decreed that their restrictions not be in effect in the Beis HaMikdash.

So, while other people would not be allowed to marry on Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol is permitted to do so. Rebbe Akiva Eiger wonders why the Kohen Gadol didn’t simply marry the second wife on erev Yom Kippur with the stipulation that, if his first wife died, the marriage would take effect on Yom Kippur. The benefit would be that the rabbinic decree of not marrying on Yom Kippur could still be fulfilled. Rebbe Akiva Eiger therefore concludes that even if there was no action performed on Yom Kippur itself, if the marriage is completed on Yom Kippur, the rabbinic decree would still be violated. Therefore, there is no advantage to performing the kiddushin ceremony on erev Yom Kippur. If the need arises, the Kohen Gadol will marry on Yom Kippur itself and rely on the fact that rabbinic decrees were relaxed in the Beis HaMikdash. Rebbe Akiva Eiger’s conclusion has ramifications beyond Yom Kippur. Would one be allowed to purchase an item before Shabbos and stipulate that the sale only take effect on Shabbos? According to Rebbe Akiva Eiger, this would be forbidden. Rebbe Akiva Eiger himself proves an opposing point of view from the Terumas HaDeshen. There is a mitzvah to redeem one’s firstborn son by giving a kohein the equivalent of five silver coins. We do not perform this mitzvah of pidyon ha’ben on Shabbos because of the aforementioned restriction against transactions being completed on Shabbos. Can a father give a kohein five coins to redeem his firstborn on Friday with the stipulation that the kohein only acquire them on Shabbos? The Terumas HaDeshen opines that technically this would be effective and permitted. However, the father would lose out on the bracha of pidyon ha’ben. He couldn’t make the bracha on Fri-

day because the mitzvah wouldn’t be completed until the following day. He couldn’t recite the bracha on Shabbos because he wouldn’t actually be performing any action on Shabbos upon which to recite a bracha. Practically speaking, then, one should not employ this trick to redeem one’s firstborn on Shabbos and lose the opportunity to recite the appropriate bracha. However, it seems from the Terumas HaDeshen that theoretically this method would alleviate the concern of making transactions on Shabbos. Since the redemption transaction started on Friday, and no action was performed when it was completed on Shabbos, it would escape the rabbinic injunction. On the other hand, Rebbe Akiva Eiger would hold that this is forbidden. This dispute has relevance to the question raised earlier. Is there a problem of bidding on an item where the bidding concludes on Shabbos? When you have the winning bid, eBay sends you an e-mail saying, “Congratulations, you won!” or “Congratulations, it’s all yours!” Granted, no action was performed on Shabbos, but perhaps this is considered completing a transaction on Shabbos, which is forbidden. The bidder did not pay for the item yet, but the very fact that the seller and buyer cannot readily retract might qualify it as a restricted transaction that may not be completed on Shabbos. If the item went up in value after the bidding ended, the bidder would be the recipient of that benefit. In some regards, it does belong to the bidder. On the other hand, one could argue that this is worse than the situations mentioned above. There, the coins would have been given to the potential wife and the kohein during the week, with the stipulation

that the transaction take place on Yom Kippur or Shabbos. In the case of the eBay sale, the transaction didn’t really start before Shabbos at all. One well-regarded posek in Brooklyn said that, according to the Terumas HaDeshen cited above, it would certainly be permitted. The Terumas HaDeshen permits a transaction to be concluded on Shabbos if no action is performed on Shabbos itself. The Mishnah Berurah paskens like the Terumas HaDeshen. Even according to Rebbe Akiva Eiger, he argued, perhaps since payment wasn’t made yet, it doesn’t qualify as a restricted transaction. He therefore concluded that one may be lenient. However, another contemporary posek disagreed and said that one should not bid on an item if he knows the bidding will end on Shabbos. (A local rav cited support for this ruling by noting that Rashi, in a few places, refers to the fact that the buyer and seller cannot retract as constituting a bona fide transaction) The sefer “Internet B’halacha” was written by Rav Lichtenstein and was distributed at the internet asifah in Citi Field years ago. The author leans to the opinion that one should be stringent in this regard. In contrast, when the question was asked on Revach.net, Rav Peretz -Moncharsh responded simply with “Yes, it is permitted.” Until next week, I bid you good Shabbos. Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow is a rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. In addition, Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, NY. He can be contacted at ASebrow@gmail.com.

M E M O R Y

Rev. Irvin (Isaac) Stern, Yitzchak Aryeh ben Yisrael Dov z’l, of Baltimore, passed away on March 14, 2021 in Highland Park, NJ.

Rev. Irvin (Isaac) Stern

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I N

APRIL 22, 2021

By: BJLife/Rabbi Elchonon Oberstein BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn

dishes and they gave it to us also. There was a rabbi who helped the survivors, Rabbi Wolf Jacobson, and he encouraged us to resume learning again. Rabbi Jacobson had a son in Ner Israel, and he asked us if we would like to also attend the yeshiva in Baltimore. He wrote to Rabbi Herman Neuberger who responded by sending us 30 affidavits. Thus began the new chapter in our lives. We arrived in New York on December 16,1946 and proceeded to Baltimore. We had never seen a yeshiva

in Europe like Ner Israel. First of all, the boys were different, they were Americans and not all of them even spoke Yiddish well. Secondly the yeshiva was “golden’ to us; who ever heard of a yeshiva that provides breakfast, lunch and dinner and a dormitory, we were overwhelmed. Not only did the yeshiva take care of all of our needs, but they gave us $5 a week pocket money. The whole yeshiva in those days numbered maybe 130 boys and we were welcomed and made to feel a part of the family. As kind as the yeshiva was to us, I would be remiss if I did not mention the warmth and care that was showered on us by Rabbi and Rebbetzin Herzberg. All of the survivors found a home with them. They understood us and helped us overcome what we had experienced. While in the yeshiva, I studied shechita. I was married in 1948 and have lived in Baltimore ever since. Boruch Hashem, we have three daughters, nine grandchildren and many great grandchildren. Those of us who came to the yeshiva on that ship from Europe will always feel a strong bond to Ner Israel, which opened its arms to us and helped us build new lives of Torah and Yiras Shamayim.

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“I Arrived In Auschwitz 70 Years Ago” A Conversation With Reb Yitzchok Aryeh Stern An interview in 2014 with Rabbi Elchonon Oberstein Since its founding in 1933, Ner Israel has opened its doors to students from all over the world. In 1946, a group of Holocaust survivors arrived on student visas from the yeshiva to rebuild their lives. One of them is retired Baltimore shochet, Reb Yitzchok Stern, and we share with you his recollections of that tumultuous period. “In 1939, my hometown in Romania was transferred to Hungary. Until 1944, I was able to study in a yeshiva under Rabbi Mendel Hagar of the Vishnitz dynasty. In 1944, the Nazis came into Hungary and we were put into a ghetto. After about 5 weeks, we were made to walk over the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania to the train tracks on the other side of the mountain. We arrived at Birkenau on the 26th of Iyar, I was about 16. My father and I were chosen by Mengele to work and the rest of the family went to the other side. My father and I were in various camps until we were sent to Dora to dig tunnels for the Werner von Braun’s V2 rocket program. It is inconceivable that we weak and starving inmates dug a tunnel of 125 kilometers

by hand, but I survived. I was a stubborn boy. I was in a number of camps. Towards the end of the war, we were evacuated to Bergen Belsen, from which I was liberated by the British on April 15,1945. About 10 years ago, my grandson, Michael Diamond wanted to see these places and we went to Europe. I took him to Dora and some of the other camps. I did not have to take him to Auschwitz because he had already gone there on another visit with his grandmother, Mrs. Sonia Diamond. The Germans kept records of everything. I had known that my father was born in 1895 and died in Buchenwald but did not know his actual birth date. When we entered Buchenwald, each inmate had to fill out a form and my grandson found this form on a computer there. His grandfather was born on January 4 which is Michael’s birthday also and he is named for him. After the war, Sweden was taking in sick survivors and, since I weighed 75 pounds, I qualified. We spent a year and a half in Sweden. A group of 350 of us asked the Swedes for a kosher kitchen and they agreed. When we explained that we needed two sets of dishes, they thought we were out of our minds, but accommodated us. Then Pesach came, and we told them that we needed another two sets of

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

By Gedaliah Borvick

n a tour of the Southern Wall of the Second Temple, I walked along Ma’alot Harav Shlomo Goren. It makes good sense that Rabbi Goren was memorialized with a street named after him in Jerusalem’s Old City. As the chief rabbi of the IDF, Rabbi Goren was a passionate supporter of the liberation of the Old City. Indeed, one of the most iconic photos of the 1967 Six Day War was of Rabbi Goren holding a Torah scroll and blowing the shofar at the Western Wall. Born in Poland in 1917 and emigrating to Palestine at the age of eight, Rabbi Goren was a brilliant, colorful, and sometimes controversial, Talmudist and halachist. Young Shlomo Goren was a prodigy: at the tender age of twelve, he began his formal Talmud studies as the youngest student ever at Jerusalem’s Hebron Yeshiva, and he published the first of many books when he was just seventeen years old. During the War of Independence, Rabbi Goren was a sniper on the front lines in Jerusalem and also was often called upon to resolve questions concerning religious observance under wartime conditions. Word spread about his halachic expertise, and, in 1948, Rabbi Goren was appointed the first chief rabbi of the army, a role that he served with distinction for over two decades. In 1973, he was elected Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, serving until 1983. As the IDF’s first chief rabbi, Rabbi Goren established religious observance guidelines for the armed forces, such as arranging for the provision of kosher food and for training exercises to be minimized on the Sabbath and festivals. In addition, he wrote many responsa concerning observance of Jewish law

Rabbi Goren blowing the shofar at the Kotel upon the liberation of the Old City (David Rubinger GPO)

in the military. Interestingly, David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister and defense minister, though anti-religious, was one of Rabbi Goren’s staunchest supporters, as

Rabbi Goren is often noted for his bravery in accompanying troops to the front lines during wars and in risking his life to retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers from behind enemy

Rabbi Goren is often noted for his bravery in accompanying troops to the front lines during wars and in risking his life to retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers from behind enemy lines.

his state-centered outlook dictated that the military be a melting pot that eliminated communal, religious, and ethnic allegiances. For Rabbi Goren, a completely kosher army was a goal in itself; for Ben-Gurion, it was the price to pay for a unified Jewish army.

lines. Beyond respect for the dead, these activities were given top priority by Rabbi Goren to ease the plight of agunot, women whose missing husbands’ deaths could not be confirmed, who were only permitted to remarry once proof of death was established.

One vignette from Rabbi Goren’s autobiography, “With Might and Strength,” underscores his courage and the sacred value that he placed on these operations. After the War of Independence, in order to collect approximately fifty bodies from Gush Etzion, Rabbi Goren crossed the ceasefire lines into Jordanian territory. Rabbi Goren was required to walk through 100 yards of no-man’s-land, which each army had mined in order to prevent the other side from crossing. He chronicled this perilous 45-minute hike, in which he hopped from rock to rock, reckoning that the mines would probably be placed under the dirt between the rocks. “After three quarters of an hour, I reached the other side. The Arabs stood with their eyes wide in astonishment and could not believe I had made it… By the time I had finished crossing the no-man’s-land, a few dozen Arabs had gathered to watch me, and they started applauding.” Rabbi Goren was a strong-willed man who wouldn’t let anything prevent him from completing his holy mission. To paraphrase the editor’s preface in “With Might and Strength,” the combination of Rabbi Goren’s personality and erudition, the time period in which he lived, and the posts that he held positioned him as one of the most influential figures of the Jewish people in the twentieth century.

Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@ gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

World

Builders

asson Dabul is a mini-bus driver who lives in Ramat HaSharon and works all over the country. In his spare time, he volunteers as an EMT with United Hatzalah, which means that he is always on call, even when he is driving his passengers to where they need to go. Passionate about lifesaving, Sasson is a very active volunteer, and he recently received one of the organization’s new ambucycles. “The ambucycle is critical in my volunteer work,” stressed Sasson. “Whenever I am with my ambucycle

and after checking the patient for a pulse and finding none, he initiated CPR. The experienced EMT performed chest compressions, administered ventilations, and attached a defibrillator. The device soon advised a shock, which Sasson delivered, which was followed by two more. Each time, Sasson stood back, delivered the jolt of electricity, and then immediately restarted compressions. An intensive care crew arrived a few minutes after Sasson had begun CPR and joined Sasson to assist in resuscitation efforts. During treatment,

and emergencies occur in my vicinity, I am almost always the first responder at the scene. I’ve responded to several very serious road accidents, and it was only due to the ambucycle that I was able to get through the traffic to treat the victims. There’s no question as to what a difference it makes to my response time.” This held true a few weeks ago when a 56-year-old man suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed at his home in Ramat HaSharon. Sasson was quickly at the man’s side,

the man received an additional three shocks from the defibrillator. After a lengthy CPR procedure, the man’s pulse came back, and he was transported to the hospital with a steady pulse. Thanks to the rapid treatment provided by Sasson and the other volunteers who responded, the man survived. “Four days later, the man was discharged from the hospital without any neurological damage,” recounted Sasson. “I was able to visit with him in the hospital and he thanked me

irreparably harmed from the lack of oxygen. Now this man is alive and well, back home with his family, and is recuperating. After he heals completely, he will be able to carry on with his life as if nothing had happened.”

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profusely for helping him and playing my part in saving his life. The feeling I had could not be described in words – it was simply amazing. “All of this came about because I was able to arrive quickly and begin CPR before the man’s brain became

APRIL 22, 2021

(PHOTO CREDIT: UNITED HATZALAH)

By Raphael Poch

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From Minibus to Ambucycle

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Parenting Pearls

APRIL 22, 2021

Keeping the Count Meaningful THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M

e’ve recently begun the unique time period of sefiras haomer. It’s quite a combination of events. We have the excitement of counting up to receiving the Torah while simultaneously mourning the loss of Rabbi Akiva’s students. To add to the intrigue, there are multiple customs for when we observe this mourning period. It’s actually rather confusing for kids to hear that we don’t have weddings during this period but that their parent is attending a wedding that evening.

dren a prize or special treat if they remind their adult to count each night. This helps the adults to make sure they count each night. Upon completing the counting of sefira, just before Shavuos, the child receives their agreed-upon treat. I’ve successfully used this method, and it’s a great incentive to keep kids motivated and excited throughout those seven weeks. It also helps younger kids gain a greater, practical awareness of this once-a-year mitzvah.

The Count

During this time period, we have a greater focus on improving various parts of our behavior. Learning Pirkei Avos is one of the tools we traditionally use. Pirkei Avos is very unique for many reasons, including that the focus is on practical middos improvement. It’s more universally taught. Even women who shy away from other Talmudic learning will routinely study Pirkei Avos. Another unique characteristic to Pirkei Avos is that even young children can readily understand some of the lessons. There are various child-friendly editions of Pirkei Avos that include easy-to-understand translations and wonderful pictures. Whether you

Children can often understand the idea of being excited for something and counting up to a big event. Take advantage of that natural tendency and use it to help them to understand that we are excited about receiving the Torah again. While those who attend shul have automatic reminders after Maariv, those who don’t attend Maariv in shul can easily forget to count. Giving children the job of reminding or counting with a parent each evening is a great way to involve them in a meaningful way. Counting is normally done when kids aren’t in school anyway. I don’t know where I originally heard about the idea of giving chil-

Pirkei Avos

read with a child from the beginning or pick out a Mishna of interest, Pirkei Avos is a wonderful way to introduce even the youngest of budding scholars to some of our Sages’ teachings. There are so many practical lessons that children can understand and learn straight from the text. The basic text can easily become a springboard for more in-depth lessons. Teens, as well, will enjoy the many discussions and lessons in human nature that come straight from our Sages. For example, even young children can benefit from hearing that they should think positively of themselves and not judge themselves negatively (Avos 2:18), the importance of good friends (Avos 1:6), and of avoiding bad influences (Avos 1:7). Many parts of Avos are easily relevant to each of our lives.

Middos by Example During this time perio,d we often focus on improving our middos and interactions with others. This section is something we all know but can, at times, benefit from a reminder. Kids learn from what we do more than what we say. If we want our children to have good middos, then we need to display good middos. It’s rather frightening to sometimes see what

kids pick up from the adults around them. It’s easy to lecture kids and tell them how to behave. It’s a lot harder, but far more effective, to demonstrate it ourselves. It’s easy for a parent to tell a child to not talk during davening but a lot harder to keep oneself quiet for the entire duration. It’s easy to say, “No speaking lashon hara, kids” but a lot harder to remember to watch our speech on the phone. We can lecture day and night about honoring a parent but we will give the lesson over that much more profoundly by honoring our own parents, in-laws, or grandparents in our child’s presence. Getting a Shabbos afternoon drink for a parent while briefly saying that you’re fulfilling the mitzva of kibbud av v’eim is more to the point than a lecture your child is going to ignore anyway. When you say “thank you” to your child, spouse, or the cashier you are, through personal example, teaching your child gratitude. Your interactions with your children, relatives, and the other adults in your life are a natural lesson for your child in the behaviors you want them to learn. Think of what you’d like your child to improve on and see how you can show them the lessons in real life. It’s

41 greater the impact your actions will have on them. When a child sees their parents value davening and don’t speak in shul, it makes an impact on them, far more than yelling “shush” at them

Your interactions with your children, relatives, and the other adults in your life are a natural lesson for your child in the behaviors you want them to learn.

Middos by Connection

during the tefillos. If they feel a strong level of respect for that parent and want to emulate them, then you have a child that will hopefully become motivated to daven seriously as they get older. A child who sees that their par-

when their adult isn’t present. Sadly, a child who wants to spite their parent may use that same knowledge as a weapon and intentionally use inappropriate language to hurt them. Our connection to our children and the bond we have with them is

far more important than we realize in our daily interactions. It may take time to see the effect of our positive example on our children, but mature behavior can only be expected from more mature children. Be patient with them. Recognize that we are far older than they are, and we are not perfect ourselves. It helps to remember that we’re not expected to complete the job, even for ourselves, but we can’t give up and must continue to try to make meaningful changes (Avos 3:21). Enjoy this time period as we go from the lowest depths of slavery to the ultimate freedom of receiving the Torah. May we use this time appropriately and prepare ourselves, along with our children, for the ultimate gift of Matan Torah.

Sara Rayvych, MSEd, has her master’s in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 10 years in Far Rockaway. She can be contacted at RayvychHomeschool@gmail.com.

APRIL 22, 2021

This is my personal thoughts on children following in the ways of their parents, rebbeim, or mentors. Naturally, children are affected by those around them, hopefully for the good. It is my personal and humble opinion that children will be more ready to learn from adults that they feel connected to. With this in mind, if you want a child to follow your example, then you have to be someone they want to follow. The more your child loves you and feels close to you, the

ent doesn’t curse will learn that such speech isn’t appropriate in their home. A child who wants to be close to that parent will quickly recognize that such speech is hurtful and unacceptable and will hopefully not use it even

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OK if you’re struggling; I personally see nothing wrong with kids learning that change is hard and that parents work on themselves, too. Often, just reading a book geared towards improving oneself in a certain area will yield benefit. It’s naturally harder to speak lashon hara if you’re reading a daily lesson on it. Let your child see that you care and are working on yourself – it’s an excellent lesson for them.

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APRIL 22, 2021

Forgotten Her es

Frogmen Throughout the Years By Avi Heiligman

ilitaries for centuries have trained men as swimmers for a variety of operations including sabotage and reconnaissance. Ancient Greek divers were used to carry supplies to besieged sailors during the Peloponnesian War, while others were used to plant underwater obstacles to stop enemy warships. Modern underwater swimmers include remarkable units such as U.S. Navy SEALs and Israeli Shayetet 13. For over a century, frogmen have been essential parts of military powers. SEALs use the unofficial nickname “frogmen.” Frogmen are people trained in underwater military or police operations and are utilized worldwide. Italian frogmen during World War I sunk an Austro-Hungarian ship in the war’s final days. During World War II, they had a fully functioning frogman unit that sank several Allied ships before their disbandment after Italy surrendered. Several frogmen then joined the Allied cause and went on operations targeting German assets. The history of American frogmen begins with the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) and the Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDU) which came into existence during World War II. As the U.S. entered the war, an amphibious school was set up in Fort Pierce, Florida, but it took a disaster to get large units operational. After the bloody invasion of Tarawa in

the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, American planners included frogmen in future amphibious operations. Planners thought the reefs at Tarawa were deep enough to allow landing craft and boats to float over them without getting stuck. This mistake proved to be deadly as the reefs were much shallower than the aerial photos showed, and the boats were caught on the reefs. Intense Japanese gunfire caught the marines in a deadly firestorm. About 1,000 marines were killed in the threeday operation, with most of the casualties occurring on the beaches and reefs.

subsequent waves of soldiers. By the end of the day, their casualties were high, and only some of the approaches were clear. NDCUs on Utah Beach fared a lot better and cleared most of their obstacles, making way for men and supplies to come ashore. The Underwater Demolition Teams were personnel taken from NDCUs, Seabees (naval construction battalions), and scout teams. They were trained at Waimanalo, Hawaii, and went through a grueling week of training that became a tradition known as Hell Week. At first, they were trained

With the two explosive boats hitting the Emir Farouk, she sank within five minutes

American frogmen in the form of naval scouts and raiders were present, performing missions during the North African landings in late 1942. NCDUs were trained to clear beach obstacles and were involved in the Normandy and several Pacific amphibious assaults. Sixteen teams were sent into Omaha Beach on D-Day and had the mission to clear wide paths through obstacles on the approaches. Intense fire allowed them to only open five channels, but this was enough to land

only in shallow water demolitions and hydrography, the charting of the underwater coastline, and the deep-water demolitions were left to the army. During the pre-landing reconnaissance before the landing on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, two frogmen, wearing only shorts, jumped into the water and swam towards the island. After landing and scouting out the island, they came back with sketches that detailed the enemy defenses. This changed the way the navy trained

frogmen, as now they would become combat swimmers due to the success of those two sailors. The main difference between UDTs and NCDUs were the size of the units, as the UDTs operated in large groups of dozens of men while each NCDU had just six frogmen. The end of the war signaled the end for most of the teams as they were not needed in huge numbers, and only UDTs remained operational. Still, they trained new members, and kept on adding new skills to their operational abilities. These included learning how to use SCUBA gear, enter and exit submarines, and use the Fulton Skyhook, a long rope attached to the end of a plane or helicopter that would be used in extracting the men from a combat zone. During the Korean War, the UDTs kept a low profile but contributed greatly towards the war effort. They cleared the way for the amphibious landings and spent much of their time cutting Korean fishing nets. They also experimented and tried new tactics that broadened the scope of their capabilities. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, some inside the UDTs saw the need for the frogmen to learn how to operate on land. The UDTs would still be around and continue to do their jobs, but some frogmen would join a new team. This was the beginning of the Navy SEALs. By 1983, all remain-

be aimed at a target while the operator leaped into the water to be picked up by a rescue craft. On October 22, the Egyptian flagship, Emir Farouk, and an escorting minesweeper were spotted off the coast of Gaza, and the go-ahead for the mission was given to hit the tanker. It was right before the ceasefire, and the Egyptian sailors aboard were relaxed. The main Israeli ship was the Moaz and released the five small boats. Two of the boats were to head straight to the target, and Bin-Nun would stand

Members of a Naval Combat Demolition Unit hit the beach during training

by if a reserve boat was needed. Yaakov Vardi was to attack the minesweeper but in the confusion attacked the Emir Farouk instead. With the two explosive boats hitting the Emir Farouk, she sank within five minutes. Bin-Nun saw the mistake that occurred, and he attacked the minesweeper, which sustained significant damage. Today, frogmen play an integral role in naval operations. Their range of capabilities extends from surveying underwater coastlines to sabotage. They also survey ships underwater for

damage as well as look for missing objects and recovery operations. Frogmen’s work rarely gets publicized but their professionalism and dedication throughout the past century earned them high grades within the military community.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

APRIL 22, 2021

ing UDTs were absorbed by the SEALs. Israeli frogmen got their start in the naval branch of the pre-state military called the Palyam. In March 1948, many Palyam veterans joined the unit when they were transferred to the Israeli Naval Service. Yochai Ben-Nun created Shayetet 13 (Flotilla 13) a year later from members who specialized in maritime sabotage. He led the team on an attack of the Egyptian flagship after acquiring small boats that could be outfitted with explosives. These one-man boats could

Members of Israel’s Shayetet 13

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The Wandering

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Siyum in Lublin

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APRIL 22, 2021

Part II

In the ohel of the Rebbe Rav Meilech in Lizensk

L-R: Rabbis Yaakov Finkelstein, Yitzchok Aron Fischer, The kevorim of the Megale Amukos and family in Krakow Chaskel Besser, Michael Schudrich, and Yossel Schiff surrounding the baal bris

erary. We arrived in Warsaw, davened at the kivrei tzaddikim at the bais olam, heard a lecture at the Jewish museum, went to the Umshlagplatz and the Ghetto Memorial, and visited the Nozyk Shul. We traveled to Gura Kalwaria, davened in the Gerrer Bais Medrash, and visited the ohel of the first two Gerrer Rebbes. The next morning, we walked through the old bais hachaim of Lublin and were exposed to the horrors of Treblinka. The main feature and purpose of our trip was to bring our group of twenty esteemed guests to the Siyum HaDaf at the Yeshiva of Lublin. This event was the true highlight of the first thirty hours. The siyum, the speeches, the singing and dancing of about one hundred Yidden – mostly locals –gave proof that the “pintele Yid” was still alive, even in Poland. It was evidence that Rabbi Meyer Shapiro’s dream had an effect on so many Jews worldwide. Late Wednesday afternoon, our guests boarded the coach bus, and we continued our journey. Our

next destination was Lizensk to be mispallel at the kever of the Rebbe, Reb Meilech. Thousands of Yidden make this pilgrimage for the Rebbe’s yahrtzeit on the 21st of Adar, and we were very inspired to say Tehillim and leave kvitlech by his kever. From there, I took our group to see a most unusual synagogue in the town of Lancut. The multicolored walls, ceilings, bimah, and aron kodesh are a feast for one’s eyes. I was also instrumental many years earlier to help with the restoration work of the over-forty panels of tefillos and kapitlach Tehillim that grace all the walls. We also went to kever of the Ropshitzer Rebbe, which is at the town’s edge. From there, we traveled to Rzeszow (Reisha), where we said tefillos by the kevorim of the Bluzhever Rebbes. I told them the story how my friend Itchie Friedman and I merited to build the ohel over their graves. Then we settled back for the two-hour ride to Krakow. When we arrived, we davened Maariv in the pitch dark Izaac Yekeles Shul, where I related the history of the magnificent building and the circumstances that led to its construction. We had dinner in the brand new Nissenbaum Kosher Restaurant

A magnificent synagogue in Lancut

In the Remah Synagogue in Krakow

ur arrival in Poland in the summer of 1995 was only thirty hours ago, and yet we accomplished so much of our intended itin-

with an excellent hashgacha. We could barely keep our eyes open as we headed to our rooms at the Hotel Forum on the Wisla River. It was an extremely long day, and tomorrow would be even longer. Thursday early in the morning, we were privileged to attend two brissim which took place at the youth club. One was for a young man going through geirus and the other bris was for a Jewish baby. Then we rushed over to daven in the Remah Shul and toured the Old Bais HaChaim behind the Shul. The kevorim of some our greatest rabbis are located here. Besides the Remah and his family, the Bach, the Rebbe Rav Heschel, the Megaleh Amukos, Maginei Shlomo and the Tosvos Yom Tov are some of the more noted personalities interred in this holy place. Then we walked around the streets of Kazimierz, the Jewish sector of Krakow, and visited some of remaining shuls which are now tourist attractions. Walking in the footsteps of our gedolim was a major draw for our esteemed group who appreciated the historical significance of this neighborhood. From this special high, we descended to the lowest moment of our recent history as we entered Auschwitz. Our guide brought to life what happened in

The 500-year-old Old Synagogue in Krakow

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At the kevorim of the Bluzhever Rebbes in Rzeszow

An underground chamber with crystal salt chandelier in Wieliczka

citing and colorful, and for Americans, the prices were very cheap. We rushed back to the hotel where we reserved the entire pool for our Erev Shabbos mikvah. We davened and had our inspiring Shabbos seuda at the hotel with zemiros and divrei Torah and stories relating to Krakow. Shabbos morning, we walked together and davened at the Remah Shul. Our seudah was in the kosher restaurant after which Henryk walked the group over to see the building of Sarah Schenirer’s first Bais Yaakov school. The rest of Shabbos we spent at the hotel davening and eating shalosh seudos together. The final meal of Shabbos always has a certain melancholy feeling to it. The end of Shabbos leaves us with a sadness and a yearning for it to continue. Saying our goodbyes to our fellow travel-mates left us with the same feelings. The last six days we were one and we were united, and now we would become separated and everyone will be on their own. The only thing that will still unify us, we understood, will be our collective memories of this beautiful journey. Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

Wieliczka salt mine chandelier made of salt

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Shabbos would not begin until after 7 PM. I felt that our visitors would be interested in seeing something out of the ordinary. So, I scheduled a trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mines, less than an hour drive from Krakow. When we descended nine flights of stairs to the heart of a cavity created through the extraction of salt, we entered into an underground art museum. All the artistic wall murals, statues, and reliefs were made of salt. Salt was an important commodity, especially at a time that it served as a preservative of foodstuffs like meat, fish, and vegetables, when there was no refrigeration. After extracting salt for usage, artisans would form the layers of remaining salt on the walls into unbelievable works of art. Knowing from prior visits that many of the objects de art were religious in nature, I arranged with our guide that he would only stop and give a commentary at artworks that were not religious in nature. On our way out, we passed an enormous chamber with a huge chandelier made out of salt crystal. It was a stunning finale to our tour. I was criticized by one person about the fact that the chamber was, in fact, a chapel and he was uncomfortable having to pass through it. I explained that we were in the rear of the room and there was no way to exit other than through that room. Despite my explanation, he was still upset. Friday afternoon was free time. Some people went to Nowy Sanz to the kever of the Sanzer Rebbe, the Divrei Chaim. Others joined Pesi and me, as we headed to the Sukenica, the famed Renaissance-era Cloth Hall which had dozens of vendors indoors, selling Polish handicrafts, jewelry, tablecloths, and other tourist souvenirs. It is very ex-

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this work camp and contrasted it to what happened in the neighboring death camp pf Birkenau. We saw the bunkers, the gas chambers, and the crematoria and were physically and mentally broken at the horror that met our eyes. We walked from building to building silently in utter shock. With the exception of the heartfelt Kaddish that was recited, we could not utter a word. What is there to say? From this low point, we ascended to a glimmer of hope for the future. We drove over two hours to join the participants of the Ronald Lauder retreat in the Beskid mountains of Southern Poland under the leadership of Rabbi Michael Schudrich. There, we joined over one hundred Polish Jews who were rediscovering their history and heritage. Our group met the participants at the retreat where Pesi and I went every summer to give lectures and to demonstrate the vitality and beauty of Yiddishkeit. The singing at the tables and all the voices that joined in Birchas Hamazon were evidence that “Netzach Yisroel lo yeshaker.” There were speeches to introduce the guests to the retreat and its goals. There were music and dancing, which lifted our spirits after the destruction that we witnessed. We returned to Krakow near midnight, incredibly tired but on an enormous high. On Friday, we began our day with a tour of the new bais hachaim led by Henryk Halkowski. I met Henryk in the late ‘70s and was always impressed with his knowledge of both Jewish tradition and history. Krakow, his hometown, was his specialty, and this tour added so many dimensions to our visit to the kivrei tzaddikim and even secular personalities at that cemetery. Although it was Friday, it was summer, and

In the Ohel of the Rebbe Rav Meilech in Lizensk

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Auschwitz

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

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HONORING

Colonel Larry Franklin An Unsung American Patriot & Friend to the Jewish People BY MICHELLE ZIMMERMAN

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n 1950s New York, a young boy is encouraged by his mother to memorize the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. The opening stanza would ultimately symbolize his life and provide strength in times of despair:

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating… That boy is Colonel Lawrence Franklin, a “Righteous Gentile” of this generation. This is his story.

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headline or Wikipedia entry. For the average person, Larry Franklin’s career as an intelligence analyst mystifies imagination. The shattering fallout of his case defies reason. In reality, his is an inherently relatable story of honesty, loyalty, and hard work. Larry is a devoted family man of strong moral and religious values. He is a highly educated, cultured and accomplished intelligence expert who is a true American patriot. Most importantly, he is a courageous friend to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Larry, back row, with his parents and siblings

his physical strength and enabled him to “take a kick later in life.” In 1969, Larry was studying at Yale when he got word that two of his fellow “hitchhikers” were killed the same weekend in Vietnam. “I knew it was time to put down the books, and I immediately enlisted,” he says. A Mother’s Prayer With the lure of combat, Larry had dreams of joining the U.S. Army Special forces or “Green Berets.” His mother wanted him to pursue something tamer in intelligence. Larry compromised and was assigned to the intelligence unit of Green Beret headquarters in Vietnam. Fate intervened. “I didn’t know it, but as soon as I got my orders to ship out, my mother went to Mass every day to pray that I wouldn’t go,” he shares. “Her prayers were answered, but probably not the way she intended.” While training rigorously, Larry collapsed in his barracks. Instead of Vietnam, he was shipped to Walter Reed Medical Center where a previously undetected cardiovascular problem necessitated multiple life-saving surgeries. A silver lining of the experience

was that he met his future wife Patricia (née Taggart), who was a hospital volunteer. This is one of many times that Larry has felt that G-d shifted the course of his life. He quotes a Portuguese proverb when he recalls the incident: “G-d writes straight with crooked lines.” Intelligence Training on NYC Streets When describing the appeal of the intelligence arena, Larry says that, for him, it was a “Walter Mitty moment,” referencing the James Thurber short story about a man with heroic daydreams. These dreams began in earnest in Larry’s old New York City stomping grounds. After serving in the army infantry was ruled out, he joined a strategic intelligence unit that supported the Army War College. This, in turn, led to a critical stint with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Chinatown from 1973-1977. “My time with the DEA, was my useful training,” he remembers. “I was part of a unit that went after Asian drug trafficking organizations. I worked with state and local police as well as federal drug agents. I was conversant in Mandarin and was able to interact with people on the

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An Education in Resilience By the time Larry finished high school, the family moved to the Bronx as construction of Lincoln Center changed the dynamic of the neighborhood. Larry won a scholarship to the honors program at Iona College in New Rochelle, where he regularly hitchhiked the 23 miles with two friends. “I graduated as the only remaining member of the honors program,” he recalls. “It was extremely hard, and a lot of students quit. But I learned early to never quit something that was worth it. That type of ‘stick-to-itiveness’ served me well. It built an iron rod up my spine and made me determined.” Larry was eager for education. He took extra credits studying the Russian language and German history at the nearby women’s College of New Rochelle. He won a New York State Regents Scholarship to NYU, where he received his Master’s in History with a concentration in Russian history and Southeast Asian history. While tackling the books, Larry strengthened his skills in martial arts – which honed

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Childhood Lessons of Respect & Tolerance Born in New York City in 1946 to Josephine and Dominic Franklin, Larry remembers a happy childhood. As a World War II veteran, his father was entitled to housing in an apartment project on Amsterdam Avenue and 62nd Street. The Franklins were one of only six white families out of 92 in the building, and this shaped Larry’s perspective on race. “My parents were simple, and they were intrinsically good without hate in their hearts,” Larry recalls. “They taught us to respect and look at others equally. My upbringing wasn’t about black vs. white – it was about good vs. evil.” Religion played an integral role in Larry’s upcoming; the family was devout Irish Catholic. For Larry, his brother, and two sisters, life revolved around attending their neighborhood church and parochial school. Larry saw the example of hard work from his father, who drove a truck. His mother was a calming presence who called him “energetic” and made sure to keep him busy as a choir boy, altar boy, and

cub scout. She nurtured his appreciation for reading and insisted he memorize poetry. Larry gained an early perspective on the Jewish people from his “favorite” Uncle Albert Whalen and his Aunt Heni. Albert helped to liberate Mauthausen concentration camp. “His stories of the atrocities he saw at the camp really made an impression on me. I learned about genocide and the dangers of religious intolerance,” Larry says. Heni, who had a Jewish background, fostered Larry’s love of music by gifting him his first classical records.

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January 19, 2021, President Donald Trump issued 73 pardons amid the final fanfare of his term in office. Among those hoping for clemency, was Col. Lawrence Franklin of West Virginia. The petition for a pardon was the latest attempt to secure justice for a man whose 35-year career of service to our country disintegrated in the wake of false accusations of passing classified information and spying for Israel. After dedicating his life to preserving national security and protecting the lives of U.S. servicemen, Col. Franklin suffered the loss of his military and civilian pensions. He was relegated to menial labor and endured daily hardship to survive and provide for his family. Franklin was backed by a formidable group of supporters from all echelons of government, the military, and advocacy organizations as well as journalists, attorneys and rabbis. The pardon process was led by Larry’s friend and international lawyer Allen Lowy and his wife Kika. Noted legal experts Alan Dershowitz and Gary Apfel submitted a letter of endorsement to President Trump. There were months of correspondence, countless networking meetings, and the involvement of many dedicated individuals. All indications from the President’s inner circle pointed to clemency, but in a shocking, last-minute twist, the pardon was not granted. Rather than reel from the blow, Col. Franklin’s team of tireless supporters continue to herald his heroism and advocate to restore his quality of life. Now is a new beginning. The time has come to shift the narrative away from a sensationalized case that has been consigned to an occasional

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Larry with Ezer Weizman

streets at all levels.” At the same time as he was honing his street skills, Larry was sharpening his research skills by authoring pamphlets on how China and Russia were attempting to exploit mineral resources from several African countries. He also went on to receive his PhD in Asian studies from St. John’s University in 1978. “I didn’t want to be one-dimensional, just sitting at a desk,” he explains, adding, “My early experience made me appealing to the intelligence agencies.” Welcome to The Pentagon In 1979, Larry began his career in the Pentagon at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He was initially tapped to work on the East Africa desk but was then traded to the Soviet/Warsaw Pact in 1982. The Cold War had been a fascination of Larry’s since he was a child, and he was soon in the thick of it. As the military political analyst for Soviet affairs under President Reagan, his job was to support the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense. This meant briefing Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and General Colin Powell. “My time in this position was most gratifying, and it accelerated my career,” he says.

“Reagan really challenged the Soviets, which meant that we dealt with a lot of crisis situations. I learned to be in control of my emotions when briefing and presenting my arguments.” During this time, Larry gained tremendous respect for Natan Sharansky, for his heroic activism in the refusenik plight and his fight against the totalitarian Soviet regime. He kept Sharansky’s picture on his desk throughout his career. Rising Through the Ranks After the fall of the Soviet Union, Larry felt his services would be best suited in combating the growing threat of Iran. In 1992, he became a Central Asia specialist and then a key Iran analyst for the DIA. He learned Farsi and cultivated a network of Iranian contacts and sources. Since Larry’s PhD was in Asian studies, it aided his understanding of the Iranian culture. “I constantly studied maps of each neighborhood in Iran. It was about more than recognizing the streets or alleyways. You had to know about the people in each area and the local politics,” he relates. A 2013 letter on Larry’s behalf to President Obama from former CIA director R.

James Woolsey attests that “in no time, he became one of the intelligence community’s premier analysts on Iran, Islam and terrorism.” Larry recalls that his initial years in this position were “intense and invigorating, which readied me to become the Secretary of Defense’s Iran Desk officer. There were times I was so busy at the Pentagon that I would literally be on the phone 5-6 hours a day.” The more his analysis was proving to be correct, the more he was sought out by other friendly intelligence agencies like Israel. Larry became so respected in Israeli intelligence circles that he was asked to brief Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran in 1999 as well as the Mossad and the chiefs of Israel’s Directorate of Military Intelligence. Balancing Work & Family While Larry was sowing the seeds of his career, he was also building a family with Patricia, whom he married in 1974. The couple went on to have five children – Christa, Raymond, Anna, Pierce and Fionan. They settled in West Virginia and put down roots in a house on a hill – where they still live today. When each child was born, Larry was inspired to write them a song, which would be sung at bedtime while they said their prayers. “My family was my greatest treasure,” he says. “It set me apart from my colleagues, several of whom were single or divorced and chained to their desks.” Larry’s devotion to his family would later become his greatest vulnerability. In order to be there for his family and on top of his game at work, Larry kept an unrelenting schedule. “I made it a point to be the

first in the office in the morning. That meant waking up by 3 a.m. and driving 26 miles to catch a series of trains for a two-hour commute,” he said. “I was extremely focused on the job and didn’t waste any time so I could get home to my family almost every night.” After a long week, Friday nights were reserved for family-time where he would enjoy a steak with Patricia and catch up with the children. “Those were happy days. I couldn’t have been more satisfied. I knew that I was beginning to make a difference with how Iran was perceived by our allies and by analysts in other agencies. I had a job that allowed me to live a dream of helping the United States against an evil, totalitarian regime,” he says. “I had a family I adored. I felt like I had it all and that G-d answered my prayers.” Building Intelligence Relationships Larry explains that the hallmark of a successful, operations-oriented intelligence analyst is building relationships and cultivating contacts. “You are in the business of sharing sensitive information with allies about common enemies. The key is communication and trust,” he shares. “You have to tell the truth to an ally. If you omit information, and lives are lost, the relationship is irrevocably damaged.” To be clear, the exchange of information is not “spying” or “playing I got a secret.” It is an integral aspect of international relations. Larry points out that the U.S. and Israel had a military intelligence agreement with the code name “Monarch Gate” that specified that they would share all information on Iran, Iraq and Libya.

Hearing Larry describe these intelligence meetings is even a bit reminiscent of the dramatic portrayals in movies or bestselling novels. “With the Israelis, we could meet in a restaurant or a military base. Iranian sources could be outside a church at midnight in Rome. Arabs could be in a luxurious tent on the banks of the Persian Gulf,” he reveals. These meetings would be followed up with reports and briefings to his superiors. The way Larry cultivated relationships was definitely a testament to how he was raised to see people as people. “I naturally became close with my contacts and could understand what people’s ultimate concerns were,” he says. “When I was under investigation, the FBI couldn’t understand why I had so many close Jewish contacts. They assumed something wasn’t right, and this aroused suspicion. They didn’t give me credit for just doing my job.” Larry offers an example of the strength of his contacts in a critical moment. “When the Palestinians invaded the Church of the Nativity in 2002, I was able to get on the phone through my Israeli contacts to the commander of the Israeli unit who had orders to strike, at his discretion. I convinced him and his superiors not to clean the Palestinians out because it would have swayed many of the world’s Christians against Israel, which the Palestinians wanted. “That is the type of personal trust that I had.” An Out-of-the-Box Thinker Dr. Harold Rhode, an acclaimed Middle East specialist and a former colleague of Larry’s in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD),

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many of the bureaucrats at the Pentagon. “The bureaucracy thought about Larry the same way they thought about me – as a threat. But, senior officials in both Republican and Democratic administrations did appreciate our approach. They often asked us questions directly, outside of the accepted chain of command, which displeased the mid-level bureaucrats. By having direct access to the top decision-makers, we were eliminating the mid-level bureaucrats’ control over the flow of information up the chain and jeopardizing their agenda. In reality, many of these mid-level bureaucrats had tenure and couldn’t be fired. Senior officials often went around them, going straight to those ‘out-of-the-box thinkers’ who very often possessed the more interesting and critical information which these senior officials wanted.” Meeting a “Soul Brother” In Israel In addition to serving on the Iran desk, in the ‘90s Lar-

approach, Larry and Harold often served as each other’s sounding boards. “Larry was like a brother to me,” Harold says. “I would regularly drive him to the train and we had extremely lively conversations. It was like a chavruta studying Talmud. You go back and forth

very experienced in Iran or Iranians themselves. Larry and I knew that the only way to understand a culture is to spend time living with and talking to average people in their own language – which is exactly what we did.» This “out-of-the-box” approach did not sit well with

ry became the U.S. Air Force Reserve attaché to the Amercican embassy in Israel, which meant frequent trips. “I was emotionally in sync not only with the Israeli position but also with Jewish history,” he explains. As part of understanding Israeli national mindsets,

Allen Lowy, Larry Franklin, and Alan Dershowitz

Larry wanted to get to know the Jewish spiritual side. Harold Rhode introduced him to Rabbi Moshe Weiss, who frequently hosted people serving in Israel for Shabbos dinner. That first dinner was literally a meeting of the minds, and an enduring 30-year friendship was born. Rabbi Weiss reflects on what it was like to have Larry as a Shabbos guest. “Imagine our table brimming with people. In the place of honor was my mother Rivka, a 90-year-old Auschwitz survivor. She took pride in preparing her chicken soup, kugel and gefilte fish and watched over our guests to make sure each person had enough to eat. There was my wife Sarah and our 10 young children. We always were fortunate to have many special guests, and Larry fit right in.” The Weiss home was a place to put politics and work aside and to experience the simple beauty of Shabbos. Larry remembers, “When I would sit around Moshe’s table, I felt pure joy. I got to know the whole family and really connected with Moshe’s mother. It was an honor for me to be in the presence of a woman who overcame the horrors of the Holocaust and created a wonderful family

with such faith in G-d. It made me more committed to fight against evil.” “It was a real experience for my Chassidic children to meet someone who was not Jewish but who shared so much in common with them,” Rabbi Weiss said. “I could see that Larry was in awe when the children recited the parsha since he has a vast Biblical knowledge, and he was moved when we sang zemirot. My family home became a place for him to come when he was missing his family.” The relationship even extended to their children – two of Larry’s kids visited the Weiss’s as well. Listening to Rabbi Weiss and Larry separately recount the same stories, it’s obvious why they refer to each other as “soul brothers.” “I’ve had so many profound discussions with Larry about overcoming challenges. We share a similar outlook on mutual respect and tolerance,” Rabbi Weiss says. “We have a real friendship. It shows that when people of different religions come together and find common ground there is something powerful and validating. Larry is a righteous and decent man, and my family has gained so much from the relationship.”

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Larry became so respected in Israeli intelligence circles that he was asked to brief Benjamin Netanyahu on Iran in 1999 as well as the Mossad and the chiefs of Israel’s Directorate of Military Intelligence.

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and argue to get to the essence of the matter.” Larry says simply of Harold, “I was, and still remain, his student.” Harold also points out that besides for his love for America, Larry had a natural affinity for Jews. “He intuitively understood how we think about the world, and he respected it deeply. Most bureaucrats don’t understand this, and Larry’s Jewish friendships baffled – and at times, even concerned – them.” He adds, “Larry and I agreed that there could be no negotiating with Iran, because the Iranian bizarre mentality could run circles around us. A lot of senior officials didn’t, and still don’t, want to hear such things. “ We a l so realized that much of the classified information we acquired did not help us understand the Iranian mentality, and how to use that mentality to support the policies advocated by our superiors. So, over the years, Larry and I developed our own sources who were

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sheds light on Larry’s work style and the environment at the Pentagon. “I worked as a cultural specialist on the Islamic world in the office of the Secretary of Defense. When I got to know Larry, I was deeply impressed by his analytical abilities,” Harold says. “Larry recognized the importance of Iran and wanted to study Persian. I recommended that his superiors give him the opportunity to learn the language, which they did.” Harold discloses a key aspect of how Larry assessed information. “Like me, Larry would think out-of-the box. This is essential, because it meant that he was willing to entertain ideas that most people who work for bureaucracies don’t want to consider. During my 28 years at the Pentagon, I saw that the most fascinating people in government – those who do things for the good of America and mankind – are a little different from the norm. Larry was like that.” Since they had a shared

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On a reconnaissance mission flying over Afghanistan

The friendship also allowed Larry to fulfill a longheld dream of meeting Natan Sharansky. Rabbi Weiss was a senior advisor to Yuli Edelstein and Sharansky in the Ministry of Absorption. “When I met Sharansky we were able to communicate very quickly,” Larry says. “As a Soviet analyst, I understood what he went through. To me, Sharansky represented the epitome of moral courage.” Through Larry’s travails, their friendship has remained strong. “During the toughest times, I made sure we still stayed in touch via email. I wanted Larry to know that I would always be there for him,” Rabbi Weiss says. One of the treasured gifts that Rabbi and Mrs. Weiss gave the Franklins when they visited West Virginia is a Hebrew/English book of Tehillim. “Patricia and I say the Psalms every evening, and it gives us strength,” Larry shares. 9/11 and Its Aftermath Larry was at work in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. “As soon as the first plane hit the World Trade Center, I knew it was Osama bin Laden,” he says. It was a day that Larry considers “our Pearl Harbor.” The events enabled him to

trust his instincts at work and make sure the information he gathered was not ignored. “I was already questioning the effectiveness of how the government was allowing me to do my job. This was the turning point when I decided that I was not going to follow the ‘norm’ or go along with any ridiculous bureaucratic regulations. I was going to act on any intelligence that could save American lives or the lives of our allies.” This decision for Larry proved to be problematic when it came to the government’s plan to invade Iraq. He couldn’t afford to lose his job by angering his bosses. “I had to balance my courage to tell Douglas Feith, Under-Secretary of Defense, and Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense, who hired me and had confidence in me, that their plan to invade Iraq would lead to Americans coming home in body bags. I knew Iran was the real threat. I had to figure out the best way to sound the alarm about Iran without losing my job. I’d seen it happen to other analysts earlier in my career who did not toe the line.” This mindset would influence the choices Larry made later on when a seemingly viable opportunity presented itself.

In the interim, Larry volunteered for the mission to go to Afghanistan that November. “Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld was getting pressure from the White House to get things going and remove the Taliban from power,” he explains. “I was sent to tell Colonel John Mulholland, the head of the Green Berets, that Rumsfeld wanted him to hurry.” While in Afghanistan, Larry experienced what he calls “the pinnacle of my career.” He was given the chance to express the gratitude of the American people to a few hundred members of the CIA and Green Beret troops. “It was the biggest honor for me, a kid from the NYC projects, to address these warriors whose lives were at risk to protect our nation.” Larry’s relationship with Mulholland would take on greater importance two years later when he became aware from an Iranian source in Rome of a threat to Green Berets in Afghanistan. “I called Mulholland myself, and they were able to stop

“I would update his top aide daily, but President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Paul Wolfowitz had made their decision.” Then, in February 2003, Larry saw a chance to act. He was asked by a colleague to call Steve Rosen, a lobbyist from AIPAC. Rosen had been looking to connect with an expert on Iran. As part of his vast network of contacts, it was not unusual for Larry to speak with civilian lobbyists. “Rosen would drop a lot of names and claimed he had connections with members of the National Security Council,” Larry recalls. “I thought I could use his channels to get my message on Iran across and hopefully change U.S. policy before we invaded Iraq.” Unbeknownst to Larry, Rosen was already under surveillance by the FBI, and by speaking with him, Larry came under suspicion, too. Larry explains that he discussed two items with Rosen and his colleague Keith Weissman – that were not secrets or classified. “I shared the conflict in

was classified, but I shared facts I received from an open source of mine.” Larry’s attempt to save lives by sounding the alarm on Iran, albeit using alternative channels, would mark the beginning of the end of his career. The Investigation: A Hunt for Jewish Spies Viewed from the lens of 2021, when government schemes are more apparent, it should not be shocking that Larry soon found himself in the middle of a punitive, anti-Semitic agenda. His meetings with AIPAC made him a person of interest in an FBI investigation. Led by David Szady, assistant director of counterintelligence and an alleged anti-Semite, the aim was to uncover Jewish spies in the Pentagon. Prior to this case, Szady had another botched espionage investigation under his belt. In the search for Soviet spy Robert Hanssen, his team had mistakenly targeted the wrong man and almost ruined his career. Larry was not so lucky.

“The government spent a lot of money on me to create someone who was a human weapon against terrorists, against the Republic of Iran. I could have saved more lives.” an attack,” Larry recalls. Lives were saved, but Larry got a message from his boss at the Pentagon that the CIA wanted him to “knock it off” since he didn’t abide by their communication channels. Under Surveillance As the United States was moving closer to invading Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld became more interested in Iran.

ideology between various factions of the Bush administration on how to deal with Iran. This had already been written about by journalists, but my saying it gave it credibility. I also specified a list of three Americans who were murdered in Karachi in 1988 by a pro-Iranian hit squad. When I was on trial, the CIA claimed that the Karachi information

In the aftermath of the Jonathan Pollard case, there was an unfounded belief that Pollard had an accomplice who was still at large. “There was definitely suspicion around all Jewish employees and people who were deemed ‘too friendly’ with Jews that we could be spying for Israel,” Larry shares. “Over the years, colleagues

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

for work and still be there for his family. He’d known others who did it as well, with maybe a slight reprimand. By this time, Patricia was suffering from a debilitating chronic condition that was requiring more of his attention. Larry handed over these borrowedfrom-work documents, and then the FBI used them to force Larry to cooperate in the AIPAC investigation. Eventually, Larry was charged with “spying for Israel,” along with the two AIPAC officials.

Larry and Rabbi Moshe Weiss

me out when I could have helped,” he laments. “I was trained linguistically, culturally, militarily, and in intelligence. The government spent a lot of money on me to create someone who was a human weapon against terrorists, against the Republic of Iran. I could have saved more lives. But that opportunity was lost, just because a few guys were driven by hate or crazy conspiratorial ideas.” Larry is also haunted by the fact that his father, Dominic, died in 2005 at the height of the scandal. “My father died confused. One minute I’m a hero to him, and the next minute I’m being called an American traitor on the news.” Enduring Faith & Gratitude After all his years of service, Larry should be enjoying a comfortable retirement with Patricia. At 74, he is dignified, sharp and charming. He’s the type of person who could talk to anyone about anything. A man with his education and experience could be a consultant on a variety of topics. He could be teaching history at a university. He could easily captivate a crowd on a speaker’s circuit. Instead, he is left struggling to keep his family afloat on a daily basis.

Larry doesn’t complain; he accepts his responsibility to take care of his loved ones. As a “felon” and the primary caretaker of Patricia, his employment options are limited. He sees no job as beneath him and has done everything from washing dishes, to parking cars, and even cleaning manure from septic tanks. The Franklins experienced such unfathomable poverty that their house fell into disrepair, and they lived without running water. They have been unable to take care of their basic needs and stay on top of certain medical and dental care. But, there is so much more to Larry than his current circumstances. Despite not getting the pardon, Larry feels gratitude. “Like I’ve done so many times in my life, I went to church and prayed for guidance as I waited for the news,” he recalls. “When I didn’t get the pardon, I understood that this was G-d’s answer. I feel so grateful for all the people who have gone out of their way to fight for me and help our family. They are old friends, new friends, and people who have never met me. They keep my faith strong.” Larry recognizes that, in recent years, it has been mostly Jews who have committed

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A Son’s Regrets One of Larry’s strongest regrets is the loss of his potential to help in the war on terrorism. “What a waste. They took

APRIL 22, 2021

Love Burdened Even though Larry wanted to fight back against the trumped-up charges, he felt that he should take the path of least resistance because his family needed him. “I was love burdened,” he discloses. “My family was my life, and they came before everything else. In addition to my wife and kids, I was supporting my elderly father and mother-in-law. I weighed the years of hard work and sacrifice to build my career and good name, versus protecting my family. There was no choice.” Larry was provided with a government attorney and was set to sign a plea agreement that would have sent him to jail for years. Then he saw “G-d’s hand” again. “I went to church at 2 a.m. and prayed to G-d to give me a sign that He had not abandoned me. I felt hopeless. The next morning, I received phone calls that restored my faith.” Rabbi Weiss and Michael Ledeen, a trusted colleague and former key anti-Soviet policymaker for President Reagan, called to urge him not to accept the plea. Plato Cacheris, a premier Washington defense lawyer, took the case

pro-bono. The prosecutors charged Larry with the felony of mishandling classified documents. This is staggering in light of the consequence-free Hillary Clinton email scandal (among others) and the fact that government employees do the same all the time. In 2006, Larry pled guilty to taking classified documents home and sharing information with the AIPAC officials on a “classified subject,” even though nothing was classified. Sadly, when Larry subsequently told Cacheris about the “Monarch Gate” intelligence agreement with Israel, he said he could have gotten him off on all the charges. The charges against the AIPAC officials were dismissed in 2009, but Larry’s punishment would continue. Prosecutors were gunning for a 12-year prison sentence, but the judge sentenced him to 10 months in a halfway house so he could work and take care of his wife. The judge was impressed with Larry’s intrepid, unarmed investigation of a major drug ring in West Virginia and his gathering of information on an automatic weapons distribution net in Washington, D.C., which had Islamic terrorist connectivity. Nevertheless, with a felony conviction, Larry was stripped of his military benefits and pensions. He was left bankrupt after years of legal limbo and medical expenses. “I was made an example of to send a larger message and deter government officials from supporting Israel,” he says.

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would even call the validity of my analysis into question. They were bewildered that as an Irish Catholic I had such strong Jewish relationships. Connecting with people made me better at my job, but they felt that I couldn’t possibly be objective on Israel.” In the spring of 2003, Larry initially participated with FBI agents in what seemed like friendly, periodic conversations about Hezbollah and Iranian activities in the U.S. However, in a late June meeting, the FBI agents confronted Larry with a CIA report which alleged that an Iranian terrorist team was assigned the mission to assassinate Israeli agents in northern Iraq along with Kurdish collaborators. Larry admitted that he had warned his Israeli contacts about this Iranian plot without going through channel, because he believed the report was accurate and “you do not wait on time-consuming procedures when lives are at stake.” He cooperated fully and didn’t seek legal counsel while speaking with the FBI because he didn’t feel he had anything to hide. Larry soon realized, though, that the investigators did not have pure intentions when most of their questions were about Jews in the Pentagon – including his bosses Feith and Wolfowitz. After Larry called them out on their anti-Semitism and stopped cooperating, they raised the stakes and opened an espionage case against him. When as many as 20 FBI agents searched the Franklin home and interrogated his family, “they knew that threatening my family was my weakness,” Larry recalls. It was open knowledge that Larry brought copies of documents home to review at night, so he could prepare

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

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APRIL 22, 2021

Larry with his son Pierce and his grandson Dominic

to improve his life. This includes an Orthodox donor who gave over $100,000, along with other donors, to make his home habitable. In the past few weeks, money was raised to gift him with a wheelchair accessible van to transport Patricia. More is possible, and a fundraising campaign is now underway to create an annuity to replace Larry’s lost pensions. Honoring a Man & Preserving a Legacy There is a core group of individuals who have been rallying to help Larry. Including Rabbi Weiss and Harold Rhode, it’s a highly accomplished and fascinating group in their own right. They are individuals who are not looking for attention or praise but who are eager and insistent on discussing Larry. At the forefront are Kika and Allen Lowy, a Manhattan couple who have picked up the mantle and become close friends. Allen spearheaded all legal efforts for Larry in the past eight years. His relationship with Larry is an example of life coming full circle. As fate would have it, Allen’s mother was a child survivor of Mauthausen – the camp Larry’s Uncle Albert liberated. When

Allen calls Larry a “Righteous Gentile,” the term coined to honor non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, he means it. Kika, who is Israeli, has taken care of the family’s personal and household needs to bring comfort back into their daily lives. Larry calls the Lowys “my guardian angels.” “They have raised my spirits at a particularly low point in my internal exile. Nothing would have happened to me for the better without Kika and Allen, who opened their home and hearts to my entire family.” Allen shares his perspective on the pardon not being granted. “After being upset, something hit me. This was from G-d. If Larry had gotten the pardon, the legal battle to restore his benefits and pensions would have first begun and could take years. Everyone would wrongly assume that justice was served and that Larry’s financial struggles were over. “Also, a pardon is a piece of paper,” Allen says. “But the movement we started has raised awareness and support for Larry from around the world. Larry’s self-esteem is restored almost daily by re-

ceiving an outpouring of affection and admiration from thousands of people who had never heard of him before and are in awe of what he has done for the world and the Jewish people. “One hundred pardons could never achieve that.” Kika makes a resounding statement, “As Jewish people, it is in our DNA to help. It is not an option to look away and do nothing. We are not the bystanders; we are the doers. We are the kind that will learn about a hero like Larry Franklin. We are the kind that will make dozens of phone calls to recruit others. We are the kind that will reach into our pockets, our closets, our food pantries to help. We are the kind that wants an American hero and righteous person like Larry to go to sleep with a hot meal in a warm bed. It is our zechus to make him whole and demonstrate what we stand for as Jews.” Joining the Lowys in supporting Larry is Gary Apfel, who is no stranger to fighting legal injustice. As Sholom

would not be granted. Larry wrote: “No pardon, but no sweat. I am vindicated by the character of the people on my side, like you Gary.” Gary underscores a critical point about Larry’s character. “Something that I admire about Larry is his dignity and determination to work any job to provide for his family. He is a highly intelligent person who held sophisticated government positions, yet I’ve never once heard Larry complain about his circumstances.” As to why people should help, Gary quotes Hillel, “’Im ein ani li, mi li’ – If I am not for myself, who will be for me? Larry is one of us.” Then there is Rabbi Chesky Rothman, the spiritual leader and executive director of the Chabad Community Center in Rockford, Illinois. Rabbi Rothman came to know Larry through L’taken Olam, a nonprofit organization he founded to save the lives of Jews trapped in precarious situations around the world. L’taken also assists those who suffer because of their sup-

life back.” In addition to helping people like Larry, and preventing this kind of situation from happening again, L’taken Olam is looking to the future. “Our mission at L’taken is to tell future heroes: do what is right, just and legal! Have the courage to help the Jewish people, and you will not be left behind,” Rabbi Rothman expounds. Finally, Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Chairman of the Coalition for Jewish Values and Jonathan Pollard’s longtime rabbi and advocate, has a message for anyone, like himself, who is just learning about Larry Franklin’s plight. “We have a moral responsibility to say thank you and show Larry that the Jewish people never forget,” Rabbi Lerner says. “He is in this situation because he cared about the Jewish people and the Jewish State. It’s our turn to take care of him.” L’Taken is coordinating the fundraising campaign to ensure that Larry and his family have the financial se-

“We are the kind that wants an American hero and righteous person like Larry to go to sleep with a hot meal in a warm bed. It is our zechus to make him whole and demonstrate what we stand for as Jews.” Mordechai Rubashkin’s lead pro-bono attorney, he was successful in getting the 27-year prison sentence commuted by President Trump, after eight years served . “Larry is a genuinely fine, decent and humble human being. He’s a real hero,” Gary says. He shares an email he received from Larry the night they heard that the pardon

port of the Jewish people and Israel. “I met Larry when I was involved in the first phase of helping him, which was remodeling his home. He is a very special person, a ‘real tzaddik,’” Rabbi Rothman explains. “Now we need to help him move forward, not just financially, but by restoring his spirit and giving him his

curity to live with dignity. In addition to providing for the family’s immediate needs, an annuity will be created to fund a monthly distribution for ongoing expenses. For further information and to contribute to the campaign, visit Ltaken.org/Larry. All donations will be matched and doubled by generous supporters.

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

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France is Allowing the State-Sanctioned Murder of Jews By Zach Schapira

stance when prosecuting crimes. For example, all else equal, it is well-established that drivers with more than the legal limit of THC in their bloodstream who cause fatal accidents will face harsher penalties than those imposed on sober drivers. The degree of their high is not a consideration. In this case, though, the court’s decision was essentially to treat what is normally an aggravating circumstance as a disqualifying circumstance. The legal gymnastics necessary to reach such a conclusion are a disgrace to the rule of law. One might interject here that it’s alarmist to cry foul; the ruling merely hinged on a lax definition of temporary insanity, rather than on the victim’s identity. But in a chillingly parallel case last year in Marseilles, a man who was both drunk and high on cocaine forced his way into his neighbor’s apartment. In a fit of anger, he threw the neighbor’s dog out of the fourth-floor window, killing the animal. The man, who afterward claimed he had no memory of the event, was not acquitted due to temporary insanity; he was sentenced to two years in prison. Can you spot the difference? Article 132-76 of the French criminal code states that penalties are increased when the victim’s religious or ethnic identity are a factor in crimes. But reflective of the pervasive denialism of rising anti-Jewish sentiment in France, it took the prosecutor nearly a year to add anti-Semitism to the charges of the Halimi case. Once it was, the anti-Semitic nature of Halimi’s murder should have been another aggravating circumstance. Yet in the end, this detail proved immaterial.

A man with no history of mental illness, who had been smoking and dealing marijuana since he was 15, who had previously been imprisoned for other violent crimes, whom the court determined had a history of animus toward Jews, and who even admitted that this animus motivated the murder, was not suffering from temporary insanity due to marijuana. He was suffering from a different ailment. It’s called anti-Semitism. To those who authorized Traoré’s transfer to a mental institution, who waited three months to interrogate him, who dragged their feet to classify the crime as anti-Semitic, who twice upheld this verdict under an international spotlight, who contorted the law to find Traoré the victim of a psychotic fit, knowing that this determination would nullify the crime and who paved the way for other wouldbe anti-Semitic murderers to escape justice, I say, J’accuse! Like those complicit in the infamous wrongful conviction of the French Jewish army captain Alfred Dreyfus more than a century ago, you are the new building blocks of systemic Jew-hatred in 21st-century France. Shame on you for robbing Sarah Halimi’s family of justice, for sacrificing the safety of France’s Jewish community rather than face down the problem of Islamist anti-Semitism in your midst, and for forcing us Jews to relive the collective trauma and fear of state-sanctioned murder. Zach Schapira is executive director of the J’accuse Coalition for Justice. The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

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here are moments in history when people of good conscience are called upon to speak out in the face of extreme injustice. And rarely are cases of injustice so stark, and their remedy so clear, as when they are perpetrated against a vulnerable minority by the very system meant to protect them. Last week, in passing a ruling which ended a nearly four-year legal saga, the French Republic carried out such a travesty. In 2017, a 27-year-old man named Kobili Traoré broke into the Paris apartment of his neighbor, a 65-year-old retired physician and kindergarten teacher named Sarah Halimi. Traoré had in the past taunted Halimi, who was the only Jewish resident in her building. On this night, Traoré, who was high on marijuana, beat and stabbed Halimi for over an hour. Witnesses reported that he called her a dirty Jew, called her Satan, chanted Quranic verses, and repeatedly shouted Allahu akbar. The torture ended in murder when he shoved her mangled body off the balcony of her third-floor apartment. When he was questioned for the first time by investigators three months later, Traoré recalled his motive: “I felt persecuted. When I saw the Torah and a chandelier [menorah] in her home, I felt oppressed. I saw her face transforming.” These facts are not in dispute. But last week, the French supreme court upheld a decision that Traoré could not be held criminally responsible and therefore could not even be tried.

The ruling hinged on the determination by a court-appointed panel of psychiatrists that a marijuana-induced psychosis had “destroyed” rather than merely “impaired” Traoré’s ability to control his own actions. This distinction is significant because Article 122-1 of the French criminal code states: “A person is not criminally liable who, when the act was committed, was suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder which destroyed his discernment or his ability to control his actions.” The exception this statute provides for the mentally ill makes sense. For instance, a schizophrenic individual who inadvertently causes harm ought to receive medical treatment and institutional support, not jail time. But then 122-1 goes on to clarify the rule: “A person who, at the time he acted, was suffering from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder which reduced his discernment or impeded his ability to control his actions, remains punishable.” So people suffering from anything less than a completely debilitating psychological disorder can still be responsible for crimes they commit. On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested the minister of justice should “submit a change in the law as soon as possible.” But the problem was not the law; it was its prejudicial application. The consequences of voluntary intoxication are not a “disorder.” And regardless, the court had the capacity to rule that such an episode only caused reduced discernment. Moreover, French law actually treats intoxication as an aggravating circum-

APRIL 22, 2021

This article was originally published in Newsweek and is reprinted with permission.

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

TJH

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APRIL 22, 2021

Centerfold

Take That, Jelly Bean April 22nd is National Jelly Bean Day. Jelly Belly makes 1,680 jelly beans per second.

Most jelly bean assortments include eight flavors. The reason jelly beans tend to be kidney shaped is because the American diet was dominated by beans

Jelly Bellys have 32 ingredients and take 7 to 14 days to make. In the early 20th century, “jelly bean” was a slang term for a man

in the 1800s, when they were invented and candies back then were made to look like vegetables. Red is the most preferred candy color by consumers, and Mike & Ikes makes more than 10

who put forth great effort to dress

shades of red because it is by far the most popular

stylishly.

color jelly bean. (Yes, Mike & Ikes are jelly beans… sorry to bust the debate!)

Jelly Belly’s blueberry flavor was

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created for Ronald Reagan’s presidential

Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans makes some

inauguration in 1981 when over three tons of Jelly Belly

choice flavors, including Black Pepper, Dirt, Earwax,

beans were consumed during the festivities.

Rotten Egg, Stinky Socks, and Earthworm.

You Gotta be Kidding Me! One day, a man goes to a pet shop to buy a parrot. The assistant takes the man to the parrot section and asks him to choose one. The man asks, “How much is the yellow one?” The assistant replies that it costs $2,000. The man is shocked and asks the assistant why it’s so expensive. “This parrot is a very special one. He can type really fast.”

“What about the green one?” the man asks. “He costs $5,000 because he can type, answer incoming phone calls and takes notes.” “What about the red one?” the man asks. The assistant says, “That one’s $10,000.” Curious, the man asks, “What does he do?” The assistant says, “I don’t know, but the other two call him boss.”

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

See what you know about one of the U.S.’s lesser-known wars, on the April 21st anniversary of the start of that war

4. Who led the Rough Riders to victory at the Battle of San Juan Hill? a. William Taft b. Theodore Roosevelt c. George Dewey d. George Patton

2. With whom did the U.S. fight in the Spanish American War? a. Spain b. Mexico c. Cuba d. Venezuela

5. What country was the Spanish American War fought over? a. Cuba b. Spain c. Greece d. Mexico

3. How long did the war— in which the U.S. suffered 3,289 deaths— last for? a. 2 weeks b. 8 months c. 3 years d. 22 years

6. Who was the president of the United States during the Spanish American War? a. Grover Cleveland b. William McKinley c. William Taft d. Benjamin Harrison

A prisoner is told: “If you tell a lie, we will hang you, and if you tell the truth, we will shoot you.” What did the prisoner say to save himself? Answer below

7. What did then-Secretary of State John Hay call the Spanish American War? a. A necessary conflict between unnecessary rivals b. War for the soul of the world c. A splendid little war d. Century-ending tragedy

Answers: 1. D 3. B 5. A 7. C

2. A 4. B 6. B

Wisdom Key: 6-7 correct: You are a history buff! 2-5 correct: Not bad. Tell your parents how many you got right; they will be surprised that you paid so much attention in history class. 0-1 correct: You are a splendid little ignoramus.

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Riddle me This?

APRIL 22, 2021

1. In what year did the Spanish American War take place? a. 1723 b. 1776 c. 1823 d. 1898

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Spanish American War Trivia

Answer to riddle: “You will hang me”

100 26 26

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Notable Quotes

APRIL 22, 2021

Whatever happened to your ideas, your thoughts, your beliefs being yours and not wrong? That seems a distant past.

– Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre bemoaning the state of woke culture today

“Say What?!”

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The Queen, as you would expect, is an incredibly stoic person. And she described his passing as a miracle. And she’s contemplating ... She described it as having left a huge void in her life. - Britain’s Prince Andrew, describing how his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, is faring following the death of her husband Prince Philip last week.

I’ve a lot scientific of dealings with Robchallenge Manfred Thehad existing evidences back in myand playing days,ofand I never liked the safety efficacy wearing facemask the guy. I thought he was afor bitCOVID-19. odd. He as preventive intervention never understood anything. The data suggest that both medical and - Two-time World Series winning pitcher David Wells non-medical facemasks are ineffective to blasting MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s decision to block of move thishuman-to-human summer’s All-Star Game transmission to Denver from Atlanta

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viral and infectious disease such SARSICoV-2 don’t watch baseball anymore, Brian. I and COVID-19, supporting against refuse to watch it because of this. I don’t the usage of facemasks. You can’t be anti-racist if you’re anti-student want part and this was my life.... For – Fromno a study byof theit, National Center for Biotechnological debt cancellation. It wasn’t an accident. Policing inme ournot country is inherently & Information, a branch of the National Institute for Health to want to go to a baseball game or - Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) intentionally racist. Daunte Wright was met aggression & I don’t put even watch,with it kills me, because Wearing facemasks has been demonstrated violence. I am done with those who condone government funded up with that kind of [garbage], and I don’t to have substantial adverse physiological murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t condone it. Where are Tucker and Sean Hannity and and psychological effects. These include be reformed. – Ibid. Laura Ingraham? Where’s Ainsely Earhardt hypoxia, hypercapnia, shortness of –Tweet by Rep Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade? breath, increased acidity and toxicity, The decision by Mr. Rob Manfred, the Where are the biggest stars on Fox getting activation of fear and stress response, riseto commissioner of Major League Baseball, vaccinated? If you hate cops just because they are cops, you don’t know a thing in stress hormones, immunosuppression, turn baseball into a blue sport, it just really - CNN’s Brian criticizing Fox vaccinated News personalities for It’sStelter still not OK for Americans to eat and drink indoors. about them. The next time you get in trouble, call a crackhead. fatigue, headaches, decline cognitive not postingThank vaccine selfiesGeorge Floyd for sacrificing your life for justice! makes me want to heave…. Iin think he needs - Dr. Fauciyou on MSNBC – Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Fox News performance, predisposition for viral and to go to Amazon, buy a spine online and… - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd infectious illnesses, stress, who anxiety explain why millionschronic of Americans Fauci continues to ignore 100 years of vaccine science. His only real With or without my nails, I will still be the and depression. Long-term consequences support election integrity racist. theme is “do what I say” even when it makes sense. you’vehave enough Howno does MikeIfPence material to write two are books? queen. My nails don’t make me. I make my of wearing facemask can cause health – Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Fox News recovered or to been vaccinated – go about yourIlike life.I can Eat, drink, work,his entire life in two sentences. One, he I feel summarize Not wishing be left behind by Hank Azaria, would like to nails! deterioration, developing and progression open the schools. Enough withPython the petty tyrants! was vice president. Two, a fly landed on his head. apologize on behalf on Monty for all the many sketches we - Ayanna Williams, who has the Guinness World Record for of chronic diseases and premature death - Sen.nails, Randupon Paul (R-KY) is a medical doctor — James Corden world’s longest cutting her nails last week for did making fun ofwho white English people. We’re sorry for any distress - Ibid. leave is infrastructure. Child care is Paid the first time in 30 years we may have caused. infrastructure. Caregiving is infrastructure. – Tweet by comedian John Cleese, who was in Monty Python sketches, mocking “The - Tweet by Sen.Texas KirstenRangers Gillibrand shedding light on how The narratives being spread about Patrisse have been generated Despite warnings from health experts, the had a full Simpsons” actor Hank Azaria’s recent apology for voicing an Indian-American character Apu Democrats see Pres. Biden’s $2.5 trillionto “infrastructure bill” Shootings, gun laws, access weapons People are radicalizedforces into the QAnon Nahasapeemapetilon on the show since by right-wing intent on 1989 reducing the support and than influence crowd of more 38,000 people for their home opener…. Many – oh, I know when they’ll change: [When] conspiracy in much samethan way any one of atheory movement that the is larger right- maskless. I like that adult men will go to oforganization. the fans wereThis defiantly your kids start getting killed, white people’s as thosewing whooffensive joined upnot with theputs Islamic only Patrisse, herachild and stadium her lovedand wear a glove the whole game, for the one baseball kids start getting killed. Oncein a harm’s year (ISIS), ends, then there another. So I hope to keep on going State militant group tois an ones way,according it also continues a tradition of terror by they white in 98,000 chance might catch a foul ball. But a mask? No way, - CNN’s Chris Cuomo like that. extremist expert. supremacists against Black activists. out of the question! - Yasuko Tamaki,internet a 90-year-old Japanese who has worked for the same company - Newsweek, comparing conspiracy groupwoman to response - From a press an release by Black Lives Matter in toJimmy the news that the organization’s — Kimmel since 1956, upon earning a that Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest office manager a radical Muslim terrorist organization chops people’s founder recently purchased several homes at a cost of over $3.2 million, even though she heads off for notnot complying their edicts does have anywith other known business enterprises and claims to support socialism

MORE QUOTES

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APRIL 22, 2021

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APRIL 22, 2021

Our democracy is in jeopardy today because the Supreme Court standing is sorely damaged. The way we repair it is straightforward. We can undo the damage that the Republicans have done by restoring balance. And we do it by adding four seats to the Court to create a 13-member Supreme Court. - Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), “ justifying” the Democrats’ plan to pack the Supreme Court from nine justices to 13

Some people will say we’re packing the Court. We’re not packing the Court; we’re unpacking it. - Rep. Jerry Nadler (D- Brooklyn), “ justifying” the Democrats’ plan to add four justices to the Supreme Court

We’re a special place, and there are millions and millions of people who like to come here. And quite frankly, we like to have them here. So we only want to share one thing as you move in hundreds a day: Welcome to Florida. But don’t register to vote and vote the stupid way you did up north. You’ll get what they got.

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- Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, standing beside Governor Ron DeSantis during a press conference

There’s a reason that this place is fun. There’s a reason why we have a 49-yearlow crime rate. And the same people that don’t think we should have an anti-rioting bill or a rioting bill are the same ones that think we ought to let more people out of prison. And where they’re doing that, as the governor and our speakers have alluded to, crime goes up, but it’s not just crime that goes up, victimization goes up. – Ibid.

I blame the second Johnson. He never graduated high school. — Jimmy Kimmel, referring to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine

When reached for comment, Johnson said it was Johnson’s fault, but Johnson pointed the finger at Johnson. — Stephen Colbert

The insurrectionists killed a Capitol Police officer by striking him in the head with a fire extinguisher. - The New York Times reporting on January 7 that Police Officer Brian Sicknick was killed by rioters on January 6. (They have not yet retracted that report despite the medical examiner’s recent conclusion that he died of natural causes (a stroke) the day after the event and did not exhibit any signs of internal or external injuries and did not exhibit any signs of a negative reaction to tear gas or any other chemicals that may have been used on January 6)

This is what is so repulsive is [the media] completely exploited this person, this young police officer who they obviously didn’t care anything about. They saw him as a toy to exploit his death for purely political ends in ways that we now know were a complete and utter lie. - Glenn Greenwald, Fox News, talking about how the media lied about Capitol Hill Police Officer Brian Sicknick being killed on January 6

MORE QUOTES

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

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Let’s be clear about reparations— the theory is that we have to pay great-greatgreat-great-great-great-great grandsons and granddaughters, eight generations of people who were enslaved 150, 160 years ago, and I believe we’ve paid those reparations. I think 330,000 white Union soldiers were killed in the Civil War and another 30,000 Blacks. Those were pretty strong reparations. – Dick Morris, Newsmax

– Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla)

- Ibid., Fox News

115% of mothers with young children left their jobs in 2020 because of childcare responsibilities. - Tweet by Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers

We’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business. - Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) inciting violence at a Minnesota protest before one of the protestors fired shots at National Guard troops nearby

We have got to fight for justice. I am very hopeful, and I hope that we are going to get a verdict that will say guilty, guilty, guilty. I don’t know whether it’s in the first degree, but as far as I’m concerned it’s first degree. - Ibid.

I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned. - The judge presiding over the Derek Chauvin trial, responding to the defense team’s request for a mistrial based on Rep. Waters’ threats

The irony of what Congresswoman Waters did, she borrowed the playbook of the Ku Klux Klan from the 192os, the 1930s. They would stand outside of courtrooms and they would threaten violence if any juror would ever acquit a black person or convict a white person. Now we’re seeing exactly the opposite –we are seeing mobs outside the courthouse and we’re seeing members of Congress just like the Klan had governors and senators and very prominent public officials demanding verdicts in particular cases, and now we have a member of Congress demanding a verdict in the case. - Attorney Alan Dershowitz on Newsmax

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It took me a few weeks, March and into April, to get enough data to say OK, you know, we’re not doing Fauciism. We’re gonna make sure our state’s open. We’re gonna get the kids back into school, and we’ll just focus our protection on elderly people.

APRIL 22, 2021

The messaging on this has been horrific. The message should be “get a vaccine because it’s good for you to do it. It works. You’re not going to have to be doing anything like, abnormally. You can live your life.” I mean that has got to be what the message is. Unfortunately, I think the message has been very muddled. When you tell people, “Oh yeah, yeah, this important. Go get the vaccine,” but then you’ve still got to social distance, you can’t do this, you can’t do that, you can’t eat in a restaurant. Some of the people are still saying that kind of stuff…. My view is, if you get a vaccine – vaccines are effective – you’re immune, so act immune.

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APRIL 22, 2021

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

I would like to discuss a topic that might be difficult for people to read, but nonetheless is an important one for both singles and married people alike.

Recently, there has been a lot of buzz about smoking weed (marijuana) in the frum community. Many rabbonim are trying to stop it from happening at shuls and kiddushim. In some communities,

B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M

there are even massive ads and lots of money being poured into prevention. I, for one, have been at many a L’chaim where men are doing weed, both singles and married men, fathers. This concerns me in a deep way as I have a close relative who died at a very young age due to overdose but it all started with drinking. Many advise singles to ask the question, “Does he smoke” to references, but nobody addresses drinking, which is usually the way guys get into these things to begin with. Wine and hard liquor are given out by ba’alei simcha like a candyman gives out candy. Why are people addressing the weed problem but not addressing the drinking problem? And how is a guy who drinks on Shabbos any better than someone who does weed? Alex

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions. Our intention is not to offer any definitive conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

APRIL 22, 2021

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APRIL 22, 2021

The Panel The Rebbetzin

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Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

hank you, Alex, for bringing up these two communal issues in the Dating Dialogue. Drinking and use of marijuana do impact dating but they are much broader and deeper problems in the Orthodox Jewish world. I will, therefore, limit myself to a few remarks. Both drinking and the use of weed are being addressed in the community and in schools for quite some time. It may not be visible to all, however. High school and post-high school institutions of learning for young men across the religious spectrum are talking about it, bringing in trained professionals, and holding formal and informal sessions to address the issue of substance abuse and addictive behaviors. Family members and addicted people of all ages and stages access 12-step programs and individual therapy privately. Frum people disappear for a while and go into in-patient rehab centers. Some come back and talk about it in special environments. Sometimes, young people are given “shock treatment,” so to speak, after someone in their circle has died from an overdose. This can take the form of actually viewing the person who passed away, learning the facts about alcohol poisoning, and watching someone suffer in the throes of the withdrawal stage. All forms of popular Jewish media feature real life stories of addiction and its familial and health destruction. Addressing the source of the pain of the individual is seeking to alleviate with addictive substances for short term pleasure is a big challenge, however. S/he needs to confront himself or herself and seek help. That is not easy to do. It’s easy to fall into the trap of self-medication, especially when there is socializa-

tion and availability. Just saying no won’t do it. There is a lot of work to do; therapy and spirituality are the recommended antidotes to personal pain. They take a lot of work, not to mention time. It’s hard for everyone, especially young people. Committing is not as easy as self-medicating with available substances. Availability is not a challenge. Recreational use of cannabis is now legal in at least 15 states, including New York State which legalized the substance at the end of March. High end liquor is also a status symbol in frum communities. You are right. We are going to have to rise to personal and community challenges of substance abuse in a more systemic and public fashion.

Shabbos and kiddush wine). This is why people do not ask on shidduch calls, “Does he drink a l’chaim on Shabbos?” A more appropriate question to ask is, “Does he get drunk?” Both drugs and getting drunk are done to numb the pain of living a reality that is too painful for a person to live with. One might start socially or because of peer pressure, but over time, it becomes a way to escape reality. It becomes a way to avoid working on oneself, talking to a doctor about mental health issues, or dealing with life head-on. Marijuana has recently become legal in many states and is being used by young men and women as habitual social behavior to escape reality and numb the pain of living real life.

The Shadchan Michelle Mond

ou are asking a fantastic question and, unfortunately, a very relevant one. I believe unequivocally that any guy or girl who smokes weed is not a mature candidate for marriage. Nor do I believe that any guy or girl who habitually gets drunk is a candidate for marriage. Note that I used the term, “gets drunk,” because the mere act of drinking wine is not inherently an escape behavior. Drinking wine with caution is part of our tradition as frum Yidden. Obviously, this is only if one does not have a disposition to addictions in general. In those cases, one would be advised to drink grape juice and not touch alcohol at all. This is especially true regarding someone who has a genetic predisposition to addictions. One cannot compare a typical person who has a l’chaim once a week and kiddush wine on Shabbos to smoking weed once or twice a week, and here is why. Doing drugs is escape behavior and so is getting drunk (unlike having one l’chaim on

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Alcoholism is a disease.

When I was a kid, there was a commercial that illustrated a man cracking an egg into a frying pan. He held up the egg and compared it to a person’s brain. He then cracked the egg and fried it and exclaimed that this is what happens to your brain when you do drugs. On the bottom of the screen it said, “Think twice before you do marijuana or heroin.” I tried googling this commercial 1,000 different ways, and it seems to be the only thing ever in the media that is not on YouTube (I wonder why?). But

Rivka Weinberg ’m sorry to hear that a close relative of yours passed away due to overdose. I agree with you that, unfortunately, alcohol and drugs are severe issues in our community that must be taken seriously. I’m not belittling your concern; however, I disagree with you that “nobody addresses drinking.” Baruch Hashem, there are various wonderful organizations in the community that work tirelessly to tackle this issue, including Amudim and JACS. It’s important that we show our hakaras hatov to these programs that create events and fundraisers to raise awareness and help those who are struggling in our community. I would also like to point out that a guy who drinks on

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler

our letter touches on several interesting topics. What is legal? Government has re-discovered the truth codified in the Talmud 2,000 years ago: “Do not make laws that the people will not obey.” The United States recognized this truism in the 1930s when they repealed laws outlawing the sale of alcohol. More recently, many states are now legalizing marijuana, after realizing that it is fruitless to criminalize a product that is so widely available and used. And legislators now have dreams of collecting huge tax revenues from the legal sale of marijuana. What is acceptable? We must remember that in our religion, drinking wine (or alcohol) is not only allowed but is even required for making kiddush, or performing the Pesach seder, a bris, or the blessings under the chuppah. Rashi was a wine merchant. The Talmudic Rav Pappa was a beer manufacturer. Libations of wine were essential to services in the Temple. Of course, it is clear that individuals have different reactions to wine and alcohol. Accordingly, some folks prefer grape juice over wine on Friday night; and, while some rabbis in the Talmud prohibited drinking wine before rendering halachic decisions, others remarked that a little wine helped sharpen their minds before rendering halachic decisions. Clearly, overindulging is reprehensible. Driving while impaired is illegal. Intoxication is not only morally repugnant but is also halachically unacceptable. For example, Temple Kohanim and Beis Din judges are prohibited from serving while intoxicated. In light of all this, I am absolutely astonished when I hear some rabbis claim that it is a halachic require-

Who decided that on Shabbos after shul, or even sometimes during laining, men must consume alcohol weekly in front of their wives and children?

ment to get drunk on Purim! Note that medical marijuana is a godsend and absolutely essential for the well-being of many ill individuals. It remains to be seen whether legal, recreational marijuana will now cause problems similar to alcohol intoxication. Note that marijuana is usually taken via smoking, and, thankfully, smoking has already been properly stigmatized in our community. But, marijuana can also be ingested. I would hate to see marijuana-laced cookies served along with alcohol at a kiddush. What should we do? In our schools, media outlets, and pulpits, we must, of course, discourage and condemn substance abuse. Singles should watch out for warning signs. Consider it a serious red flag if your date: *Suggests ordering alcoholic cocktails instead of coffee or Diet Coke in a hotel lobby. *Knows which martinis produce the “best buzz.” *Orders a few beers at a baseball game. *Discusses which brand of marijuana is the most potent. *Has a family history of alcohol abuse or drug addiction. Thank you for writing to us with interesting questions. Notice that I do not offer to salute you with a highly inappropriate l’chaim.

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of the potential impact it has on a family.

APRIL 22, 2021

The Single

Shabbos is not any better than someone who does weed, so I’m not entirely sure who determined that and what leads you to believe it. I grew up in a home where alcohol was just seen on Pesach, so my only other exposure was in shul. Now, this leads me to kiddush clubs: the great Jewish phenomenon. Who decided that on Shabbos after shul, or even sometimes during laining, men must consume alcohol weekly in front of their wives and children? We wonder why we have these problems in our community, but we frequently forget that from a young age many kids are introduced to these substances in the very same place we tell them to go to speak to Hashem. We are setting our children up for failure by turning a makom kadosh into a drinking fest. I’ve always wondered why people display their alcohol proudly in their dining rooms, while their sefarim and gedolim pictures are hidden away in the study. What kind of message is that sending to our impressionable young ones? Now, I know, some people will argue and say, “But there’s so much kedusha that can come from alcohol, don’t you know how leibidig a person can become?” To that, I respond, yes, there is a time and place for everything, and as my father always says, everything in moderation. As Jews, we believe in elevating the mundane, and if used appropriately, that can be done with alcohol as well. However, it’s too late for that. As a community, we have already set the wrong tone around alcohol which has unfortunately trickled into drugs, too. Personally, I don’t know enough about the weed problem, but if I had to guess, the higher emphasis placed on it is due to the fact that it’s newer. Regardless of what the reason is, it’s important to stress that a girl should not date a boy who is associated with these substances if she is uncomfortable with them. She should not assume that he will merely stop or change, because that’s not as simple as it sounds. To clarify – I am not condoning such behavior, in fact, I think it’s disgusting and irresponsible. If this is an issue that girls face in shidduchim, it’s vital for them to be aware

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I promise, this was a regular commercial on TV when I was growing up in the ‘90s. I recall as a child being confused. Drugs? Like Tylenol or Advil? Quickly writing down that strange word “marijuana,” which I had pronounced as it was spelled, I went to my parents asking what it meant, and they told me. It was described as a dangerous substance that people use to escape reality which kills the brain cells, distorts the brains of youth who try it, and stunts brain growth especially in adolescents and youth in a very substantial way. Unfortunately, these drugs are becoming more and more common, albeit not as common (yet) as drinking. Which brings me to your last question: why are people making more of a big deal about weed than drinking? The answer, in my opinion, is the following. Unfortunately, as you have illustrated, excessive drinking is commonplace in the frum world. Weed has not gotten to that extreme yet; which is why people in the frum world are moving mountains to try and prevent it from becoming another “frum pandemic.” Thanks for asking a great question. Never stop asking!

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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APRIL 22, 2021

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters

dren sends the message that Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists it is OK for the children to do so. It can be incredibly harmful and damaging for children to be exposed. ear Alex, Grownups often bemarijuana abuse. When Thank you for writing into come sloppy and messy, and this alcohol or marijuana are our column! You are raising a very can be scary for a child. Unless taken in larger amounts and important issue impacting so many there is an adults-only shul, I just for longer periods of time than people across all races and cultures, don’t think its OK to get sloppy or originally intended, a persistent and we are not the exception. Alcohigh in shul. Oftentimes, addicts stop desire but inability to cut down, conhol and drug abuse is rampant, and taking their children to shul, because siderable time spent try to obtain althe emotional impact of Covid-19 had they don’t want the responsibility of cohol or marijuana, cravings, failure even more people turning to the botthe children. Adults can do as they to function in daily life, and a develtle (both alcohol and pill) as well as please. My concern is the children. oping tolerance are some of the tellmarijuana. Though I do not have an Alcoholism is a disease. The peotale signs of an abuse disorder. Along expertise in addiction, I have seen the ple who have this disease are not bad with the use of alcohol and/or weed devastating impact of drug and alcopeople. They are not weak or lazy or come some very unsettling behaviors hol abuse on individuals and their any other negative label associated such as denial and rationalization. A families. I have seen it ravage marwith it. People who abuse alcohol or person will deny having a problem riages. And when men come stummarijuana for that matter are often until the cows come home and then bling home, drunk and/or high from some of the most beautiful, sensiturn the tables on loved ones and proshul or their house-to-house kiddush tive, and wonderful people who are vide rationalizations and excuses for hopping, they are often met by dishighly empathic and feel everything. their substance abuse. Being a family appointed, hurt and angry wives as Sometimes, we go through painmember of an addict is, oh, so very they try to keep the family happily ful life events or are living in active painful and lonely and devastating. waiting for Daddy. I know firsthand trauma or recovering from trauma, A vast majority of the men that how this affects couples in our Jewish and people turn to alcohol or drugs you refer to in your email most likely community. because they work. They provide an do not have a substance use disorder. Firstly, I believe that the alcohol escape. Some of the most beautiful They are making a l’chaim and enjoyproblem is being addressed. Many people I have ever met are recovering ing hanging with the guys after a hard shuls have gone completely dry. addicts. Not only are they sensitive week. However, handfuls of these There might be “weed buzz” now besouls, they have taken ownership and men in every shul do. (P.S. This is not cause marijuana has been legalized responsibility for their lives and are just a problem for men. Women are in many states and will now be even typically committed to their personmore likely to drink and smoke marmore accessible and acceptable to al growth. No excuses. They are a ijuana in the privacy of their homes everyone. Perhaps the community breath of fresh air. and, due to the stigma and shame of is trying to get in front of it as preIt will be interesting to watch the a Jewish woman not engaging in such vention. The legalization of alcohol legalization of marijuana unfold. activities, are probably less likely to is very old news…. People who want to smoke have alget help.) Everyone will have a different ways found a way to smoke. There I do have a strong opinion about opinion about what is “acceptable,” are people who are capable of enjoyadults losing control with substances and I certainly don’t want to start or ing alcohol or marijuana in moderin front of children, and I will speak engage in a debate by giving a peration, and there are people who are up about that. Smoking weed or sonal opinion. What I am certain not. If you, the reader, think you may drinking excessively in front of chilof is the definition of alcohol and

have a problem with alcohol or drugs, there are many wonderful resources for you. My second year internship at Adelphi School of Social Work was at Tempo Group, an outpatient rehab for addicted individuals and their families right here in Woodmere, NY. They provide a thorough assessment of the individual and his/her family members and then offer one on one and group therapy for the individual and the family. You are not alone! And there is help! And you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about! When it comes to dating, I would say the following. If you abhor or detest alcohol or marijuana, do not marry someone who uses it. If it makes you uncomfortable, stay away. This is because you can never change your partner. If a person is going to stop, it is going to be because he or she wants to. You can cry, beg, plead, spill the alcohol out of the bottles and offer them all the help in the world. As with everything when it comes to dating, make sure you fully accept everything before you walk down the aisle. People make changes when they are ready, and when a loved one can’t stop, it doesn’t mean he/she doesn’t love you or is choosing the substance over you. It means he has an addiction. This is a very touchy subject and a family paper, so I have chosen to leave out some information about legal usage of alcohol and marijuana in moderation on purpose. Please understand that I have done the best I could to answer this question, taking into account sensitivity to the readership and the paper. Again, thank you, Alex for this important question. Sincerely, Jennifer

Jennifer Mann, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and dating and relationship coach working with individuals, couples, and families in private practice at 123 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst, NY. She also teaches a psychology course at Touro College. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 718-908-0512. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email JenniferMannLCSW@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

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APRIL 22, 2021

Commitment Phobia By Rabbi Azriel Hauptman

As with all matters of life, marriage has many rewards that you can only achieve through a lifetime of focus and attention. It also requires a commitment. If you have a fear of commitment, a suitable spouse might come your way and you will turn him or her down. Many years can go by before you realize that you are deal-

ing with what is colloquially known as commitment phobia. Not everyone who has not found the right one suffers from an aversion to commitment, but if you are dealing with this marital obstacle, the path to the Chupah can be virtually blocked. Here are some of the possible causes of commitment phobia.

Excitement anxiety – Some people are very sensitive to anxious feelings. This can be problematic as the physical feeling of excitement is very similar to what you feel in your body when you have anxiety. As the prospect of a new relationship develops, one will start feeling excited. If your brain confuses this feeling with anxiety, you will start feeling fear and dread. If your body sends you those signals, you will have a hard time committing due to the gut feeling you have that this is a bad choice, even though in reality it is only a false alarm. Low self-worth – For a variety of reasons, some people suffer from low self-worth. In order to get married, both parties need to be interested in spending their life with the other person. If you have low self-worth, you will have a hard time believing that someone out there is interested in you. You will think to yourself, “Why should I bother trying to connect with someone who will surely not reciprocate?” Choice overload –Choice overload is the difficulty making a decision when faced with other options. Similarly, in regards to marriage, it can be very hard to marry someone if you have a gnawing thought that maybe you will find something better. Even if you rationally understand that this kind of fear is foolish and counterproductive, the subconscious irrational brain can still consume you with feelings of dread. Fear of trusting – A marriage can only be fulfilling if husband and wife trust each other. If you have experi-

enced a betrayal of trust, you might have a very hard time committing to marriage out of fear that your trust will be betrayed again. As you grow up, there are people who you assume that you can trust, such as your parents, siblings, relatives, friends, and mentors. When an adult who should have been trustworthy betrays that trust through abuse or neglect, your ability to trust becomes greatly affected. Enmeshment with a parent – In a healthy parent-child relationship, the goal of the parents is to mold children into emotionally independent adults. When an adult child achieves emotional independence from his or her parents, the child can now build emotional interdependence with their spouse. When a parent has emotional needs that are not met, that parent might keep the child emotionally connected to the degree that the child feels guilty abandoning the parent by getting married.

If you are faced with commitment phobia, an experienced therapist can be an invaluable to resource to help you understand the root of your issue and how to “take the plunge” into a healthy, fulfilling, and committed relationship

This is a service of Relief Resources. Relief is an organization that provides mental health referrals, education, and support to the frum community. Rabbi Yisrael Slansky is director of the Baltimore branch of Relief. He can be contacted at 410-448-8356 or at yslansky@reliefhelp.org

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

In The K

tchen

Pareve / Yields 12-14 servings per side

By Naomi Nachman

dish for every special holiday. Now it has become a favorite in my house as well � some of my friends will come over only if I promise to serve it! Make sure to plan ahead, because it needs two days to cure in the fridge.

Ingredients

b2 (2-lb) whole sides salmon b1 package Gefen beets, shredded b4 tablespoons salt b4 tablespoons sugar b2 tablespoon white pepper b1 large bunch dill

Place the two sides of salmon, skin side down, onto a large baking sheet.

turn the salmon over; return to the fridge for an additional 24 hours. 7. Remove dill; thinly slice salmon before serving. Serve with Dill Dip, below, if desired. Prepare ahead: Remove dill after the 48 hours. At that point, wrap the salmon well and freeze it. Slice just before serving. Cook’s Tip: It’s easiest to slice the salmon while slightly frozen; you’ll be able to get thinner slices that way. Cook’s Note: I like to serve this with a late harvest Riesling.

DILL DIP

2. In a small bowl, mix together salt, sugar, and pepper. Sprinkle over salmon, making sure there is thick coating over the entire surface.

Ingredients

3. Place dill over spices, covering the salmon, and then top with shredded beets.

b½ cup dill

Place ﬁsh sides, one on top of the other, skin side out, so the ﬂesh sides touch.

5. Tightly wrap the entire salmon in heavy-duty foil. Return salmon to the baking sheet; place heavy weights, such as cans of vegetables, on the salmon to weigh it down. 6. Place baking sheet with the cans into the refrigerator. After 24 hours,

b1 cup mayonnaise

b2 tablespoons lemon juice b¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation 1.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well to combine. Serve alongside gravlax.

Naomi Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, caters weekly and Shabbat/ Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website, www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669.

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Preparation

APRIL 22, 2021

When I was a child, my dad made this Norwegian salmon

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Beet Dill Gravlax

Gluten Free Recipe Column Everyone’s favorite dessert in our house!

Tiramisu

What You Will Need for the Cake: 6 eggs- separated 6 Tbl. sugar 6 Tbl. potato 1 Tbl. Vanilla starch sugar Preparation: 1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add sugar slowly until whites are stiff. Into same bowl, gently fold in egg yolks, potato starch ,and vanilla sugar. Spread batter onto parchment-lined large cookie sheet (17 “ x 13”) 2. Bake for 22 minutes or until sponge cake is light brown. Cool. Cut sponge cake into 2 equal rectangles- about 9x13 each. Remove from parchment.

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APRIL 22, 2021

by Mrs. Elaine Bodenheimer

GlutenFree@BaltimoreJewishHome.com

What You Will Need for the Filling:

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8 oz. pkg. Tofutti cream cheese ¼ cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 oz. pkg instant vanilla pudding 16 oz. pareve whipping creamdefrosted

½ cup seedless raspberry or blackberry preserves- plus 3 Tbl. 1 quart fresh strawberries, cleaned and sliced – or 1 lb frozen stra berries, defrosted and drained o water

Preparation: 1. Combine Tofutti, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat with electric mixture on high until smooth; set aside. 2. Combine water and pudding in small bowl until pudding is dissolved. Cool. 3. Add pudding mixture to Tofutti mixture. Add whipped topping; beat one or two minutes, scraping sides of bowl. Set aside. 4. Whisk preserves and spread evenly over bottom of 11 x 7 inch glass baking dish, which has been sprayed with cooking spray. 5. Place one piece of sponge cake in pan, cutting around edges to fit the pan. Spread ½ of Tofutti mixture evenly over spongecake. Spread strawberries in one layer over the cream. Top with second piece of spongecake. Spread remaining Tofutti mixture on top of spongecake. To Decorate the Top: 6. Place 3 Tbl. of seedless preserves into corner of a plastic sandwich bag. Cut small hole in bag where the preserves are . Squeeze preserves in stripe pattern over the cream. With a toothpick, pull toothpick through preserve stripes, alternating up and down with toothpick, to make a pretty design on top of cake. 7. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. 8. Enjoy!

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

APRIL 22, 2021

Your

Money

Shakespeare the Tax Cheat A Drama in Two Sonnets By Allan Rolnick, CPA

One April day, in 1564

Today we think of Shakespeare’s clever quatrains. Yet he was so much more than just a scrivener.

(We know the month, but sadly not the date)

His businesses included trading grains

The Bard the world would someday all adore Was born to write the plays we’d see as great.

And storing them for buyers making dinner. But sometimes business prompts a hard discussion: What separates a trader from a hoarder? How much to charge with no ill repercussion? It seems he charged too much for law and order.

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And so, it came in 1598 He faced tax prosecution from the state. To cheat, or not to cheat, that is the question: We all know no one likes to pay their taxes. But sadly, taxes aren’t a mere suggestion And Shakespeare put himself above the masses. The verdict? Well, today, we’re left without one. The answer, “free” or “guilty,” lost to mystery. It’s safe to think that penalties were none — Or else we’d see the stain on Shakespeare’s history. So, how are we to think about this Bard? The artist, now revealed as merely human. We still revere his words with high regard, Accompanied by moneywise acumen. And no, we can’t resent his pain at paying. We sympathize with seeing him disobeying!

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Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 years in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at allanjrcpa@aol.com.

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Life C ach

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

Goodbye CO2 By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

we are starting to act like the fruits they are meant to bear. Sour like lemons. Feeling squeezed like an orange. Losing appeal like a skinned apple. Basically, somewhat nutty. As the summer tries to turn the

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Sour like lemons. Feeling squeezed like an orange. Losing appeal like a skinned apple.

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So, it kind of makes sense that you don’t want to go back to the boring life of just seeing everyone’s face straight on. No mystery, no opportunity! But there are benefits we’ve forgotten about how great it can be to have our faces front and center. Sure, you may need to put more effort in. You may need to start putting on face makeup again. Or you made need to smile a lot more often. But imagine how great it would be not having your ears dragged

stares and suddenly responds, “Oh, it’s you?” Ding! ding! ding! You’ve won the refrigerator on the stage or the living room set just revealed behind the curtain. Hooray. What unexpected fun and excitement! In the less successful cases, there’s no eye recognition and a squinted, “Who are you? I don’t recognize you with your mask.” Gong! You’re out. You’ve lost the big prize! But, luckily, all the time that you are out and about, there’s always the possibility of another opportunity to win the big prize.

down from the sides of your head. Imagine what it would be like to wear a necklace again that didn’t have a shmata hanging from it. Imagine what it would be like to just breathe in and out and not reabsorb your own CO2. I’m ready for it. How about you?

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-7052004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com.

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ANTS

corner and bring warm weather back into our lives, perhaps it’s time to make sure once again we get outdoors and start “giving back” – that is – the CO2 to the atmosphere. I mean, I get it. Life can be more fun being less facially exposed. Every day’s a game show: “Name those eyes!” It goes sort of like this: Someone has a moment of recognition and comes up to you and says, “Hello, how are you doing?” You – the sudden contestant –

APRIL 22, 2021

ring it on. We are more than ready. After a year of breathing in our own CO2 can anyone blame us for the crazy things we do?! Trees are supposed to be breathing in this stuff, not us! It seems we’re denying them their food and

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