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21 . vol 2, #8

JUSA and DC Dental Team up to Make a Kiddush Hashem PAGE 12

36

Baltimore’s Northwest Community Leaders Rally in Support of the Men & Women in Blue of the Northwest Police District PAGE 12

Close to 300 Attend Symposium Presented

by Bikur Cholim of Baltimore PAGE 10

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

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This project was supported by Grant No. 2013-CY-AX-K010 awarded by OVW, DOJ. The opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OVW, DOJ.

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME MAY 7, 2015

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CONTENTS

COMMUNITY

Around the Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

JEWISH THOUGHT Lag Ba’omer - The Beauty in Every Jew. . . . . . . . . . 31 30,000 Participate in Historic Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Bechina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Emor – The Greatest Gift of All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 For Whom the Bell Tolls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Parenting Pearls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

HUMOR & ENTERTAINMENT Centerfold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Notable Quotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

COVER STORY Lag Ba’omer - The Yahrtzeit of the Holy Rabbi Moshe Isserles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 To Mother, with Love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

LIFESTYLES 20 Easy and Effective DIY Tricks to Keep Your Home Safe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Snipping with Sophistication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 In The Kitchen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 A Time to Protect. A Time to Build. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Forgotten Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 A Fresh Spring Look for Under $100 . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Mom, We Love you Berry Much. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

NEWS

Dear Readers, This past week on the 14th of Iyar, we marked Pesach Sheni or “the second Pesach” which has one of the most inspirational messages of the Jewish calendar.

The setting is the dessert, first year after we left Egypt. There was a group of Jews who were not able to bring the Korban Pesach due to their being impure. They get this idea that they should demand from Moshe Rabeinu, “Why should we lose out”? We also want to bring the Korban! When Moshe asks Hashem, incredible as it sounds, Hashem agrees that they should get another chance.

Think about it. The law was clear; one who is impure cannot bring the Korban. It’s not a punishment, it’s a fact. One who is impure cannot bring a Korban. So what gave them the idea that asking, “Why should we lose out?” would change anything? That’s like someone who was forced to eat on Yom Kippur asking to fast on Chanukah!

Yet maybe that was exactly it. There was no logic in their question, just a simple longing to connect with their creator through observing his commandment. No plan, no long term goal. Just a simple deep- rooted cry lamenting their loss.

And their request was granted and they were indeed able to make up for the lost opportunity.

They made the sacrifice a full month after Passover. They could accomplish what they missed the first time. And that’s the message.

We all have a list of missed opportunities.

Bad decisions. Sometimes our fault, sometimes not. Regardless, we are granted the opportunity to reach within ourselves bringing about the ful-

fillment of our wish for another chance. Another chance in accomplishing a goal we once had.

Another chance in improving a relationship, and another chance to be the people we want to be.

There is another opportunity. Take advantage of it. But even more than that, turn the once missed opportunity into a springboard so that we can accomplish much more this time around.

An opportune time for this is Lag B’Omer. A unique day with rich spiritual significance. A day of joy and Jewish pride. A day which tells us that deeper than the color of our clothes, the schools we send our children to and the Shuls we frequent, is our being one people with one destiny. Let’s not get distracted by our natural reaction to someone who looks different than us, taking a deeper look and respect the person within. You never know, they might even teach us a thing or two!

In our times, we still have these questions, “Why should we miss out? Why should we be unable to serve our creator with a complete heart?

Why should we have such a hard time infusing our children with our rich spiritual inheritance?

And why should we not be able to connect with our creator through all of the Torah’s commandments?”

We hope that we do not receive a partial answer, solving only some of our challenges. We long for nothing less than our peoples return to their homeland. A world in which the hand of our creator is revealed. And in which justice, goodness and kindness prevail.

Wishing you a most enjoyable Shabbos and a Lag B’Omer Sameach!

Yaakov

Global News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 National News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 That’s Odd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

ISRAEL Israel News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Baltimore Jewish Home is an independent bi-weekly newspaper. Opinions expressed by writers are not neces­sarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Baltimore Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The BJH contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

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Around the

Community

Bnos Yisroel Science Club Visit American Association of Cancer Research Annual Conference in Philadelphia

Bnos Yisroel High School Science Club attendees, Esther Freedman, Chaya Lencz, Tzipy Goldberg, Elisheva Prero, Chana Baila Heyman, Hadassah Schwartz, Leeba Weiss, Rochel Miriam Green, Eliana Berman, Ayelet Goodman, Aliza Ifrah,

Adina Heyman, Raya Israilov, Naomi Gordon, Heelah Gholian, Hodaya Rooshanshad, Yedidah Rooshanshad, Rochella Itzkowitz, Esther Rivka Bernstein, and Sarah Baila Lazar attended the American Association of Cancer Research Annual conference in Philadelphia, PA on April 21st, 2015. The girls heard a number of presentations empowering the girls to realize that they can be the next generation of leaders in finding effective cures for cancer and advocacy in areas of cancer research. The girls were then partnered with mentors involved in cancer research and visited vendor booths that were marketing research and clinical technologies as well as visiting

scientific poster presentations in areas of cancer biology, diagnosis, and treatment. After a brown bag lunch, the Bnos Yisroel Bridge Program (BYBP) interns presented their National Insti-

tutes of Health (NIH) research from 2014 and received awards for their presentations. Many of the girls will be interning at the NIH this summer as part of the 2015 BYBP.

Close to 300 Attend Symposium Presented by Bikur Cholim of Baltimore Close to 300 people filled the main sanctuary of Congregation Shomrei Emunah Sunday morning April 26th to attend a symposium presented by Bikur Cholim of Baltimore on The Importance of a Living Will: the Halachic imperative of every adult above the age of 18 to complete these “must

The symposium was moderated by Dr. Roni Samet, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Maryland Shock Trauma. The expert panel of speakers included: Rabbi Mordechai Shuchatowitz, shlita, Rav of Agudath Israel of Greenspring and Av Beis Din of Baltimore; Dr. Giora Netzer,

chic, and legal issues involved in a halachic Advance Directive in a concise and compelling manner.

Rabbi Zohn, the guest and final speaker, introduced the EMES Card, a simple Emergency Medical and Post-mortem card that fits perfectly with the driver’s license in the event,

soon as possible. The program ended with a brief question and answer period, and volunteers remained to assist in filling out forms on the spot. In addition, Bikur Cholim of Baltimore distributed free Care Journals, developed

by Laure Gutman and Rochelle Goldberg,to assist people in managing their

–have” documents. In response to the many instances of confusion caused by entering the hospital without clear wishes to be treated according to the tenets of Orthodoxy, Bikur Cholim of Baltimore, with the encouragement of Rabbi Ariel Sadwin of Agudath Israel of Maryland, developed this program to encourage the community to be prepared with a Halachic Medical Directive.

assistant professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Attending Physician, Medical Intensive Care Unit of University of Maryland School of Medicine; Mr. Aryeh Guttenberg, Partner at Guttenberg and Franklin, Attorneys at Law, focusing on trusts and estate planning; and Rabbi Elchonon Zohn, founder and director of the National Association of Chevra Kadisha. The symposium covered the medical, hala-

chas v’shalom, of a medical emergency. The simple act of filling out this card and always carrying it in one’s wallet can prevent an autopsy, unauthorized organ donation, and/or cremation to be performed against one’s will. A powerful video presentation with distinguished rabbonim, legal, and medical experts impressed upon everyone present the imperative to fill out a Halachic Medical Directive as

hospital care, EMES wallet cards, and Halachic Living Will forms all found in this valuable booklet.

For more information about Halachic Medical Directives please visit the following link: http://baltimorebikurcholim.org/halachik-living-will-symposium/

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

8

Around the

Community

Goldfeder Travels with Local Hatzalah and Shomrim Leaders to Visit Jewish Community of Baltimore Credit: Yeshivaworld.com

Last week, during some of the protest and unrest that rocked the city of Baltimore, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder travelled with Gilles Gade of Flatbush Shomrim/ RCSP and Eli Rowe of Queens Hatzalah to meet with community leaders and organizations to provide assistance and chizuk. During their visit they met with Ron Rosenbluth, the Senior Operations Coordinator for Baltimore Shomrim, Coordinators for Hatzalah, and toured some of the local Jewish businesses.

Members of Baltimore Jewish Community Feed Hundreds of Law Enforcement Personnel Hot Meals at Scene of Unrest Credit: Yeshivaworld.com

After the schools closed early afternoon on Tuesday, I met up with two former Baltimore County SWAT members, and decided to go to the Mondawmin Mall to the staging area where the various police departments

and National Guard were set up.

I spoke to Ronnie Rosenbluth from Tov Pizza and David Cohen of Kosher Bite, and we coordinated fresh hot food for the hungry officers.

They even had a choice of hotdogs,

hamburgers, or pizza, with of course, lots of bottled water to go around. We fed hundreds of officers.

They were so appreciative that the Jewish community went out of its way during these trying times to give

back for their incredible service to all of Baltimore. And of course, that we were willing to go to an area that had been so volatile on Monday, to show our support.

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LAKEWOOD - CONT.

PROVIDENCE

Rav Reuven Drucker

Rav Dovid Pearl

Rav Refoel Shochet

Agudas Yisroel of Edison; 1131 Raritan Ave. S-Th 7:25-8:00 pm

BALTIMORE

ELIZABETH

Rav Mordechai Frankel

Agudath Israel of Baltimore 6200 Park Heights Avenue S 8:30–9 pm M–Th 8:20–9 pm (Maariv 9:00)

Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kivelevitz JEC Reibel Bais Medrash, Elmora Shul

330 Elmora Ave; S-Th 8:30 pm (followed by Maariv)

Rav Menachem Feifer

Rav Moshe Ravinowitz

Agudas Yisroel of Bayswater; 2422 Bayswater Ave S-Th 9:30-10 pm (Maariv 10:00)

YIWB/Shar Hashamayim; 2716 Healy Ave S-Th 6:15-6:45 pm

BEACHWOOD

FLATBUSH

Rav Shlomo Cynaman

BORO PARK Khal Birkas Avrohom; 1319 50th St S–Th 8:30 pm (Maariv 9:20)

Rav Yehudah Leibish Frand

Bais Medrash Radomsk; 4304 14th Ave. S-Th 9:00 am

Rav Yisroel Moshe Russak

‫ביה”ח ד’ גור זכרון אברהם‬

1401 55th St.; S-Th 9:55 pm (Maariv 9:45)

Rav Avraham Aber Itzkowitz Khal Brisdovitz; 1721 58th Street M-F 8:15-8:40 am

BOSTON

Rav Dovid Bielory

Yeshivas Ohr Yisroel 74 Corey Road; S 9:30 am, M-F 8:40 am

Rav Ephraim Epstein

Rav Zev Smith

Agudas Yisroel Bais Binyomin; 2913 Ave. L S 8:30 pm (Maariv before & after Shiur)

DEAL

Rav Shmuel Choueka

Ohel Simha Congregation; 295 Park Avenue M-F 8-8:30 am

Deal Kollel; 9:15 Chaburos

Congregation Ahavas Achim; 549 E. 2nd St. S-Th 9:30 pm (Maariv 10:00)

The Milwaukee Kollel; 5007 Keefe Avenue S 8:30 pm, M, W, Th 9:00 pm

KEW GARDENS

MONSEY

Rav Elchanan Kasnett Rav Pinchas Garfunkel Rav Binyamin Kaplan Rav Yosef Licht

The New Monsey Night seder Bais Medrash at Bais Medrash Shaarei Tefilla; 29 Parker Blvd.

S-Th 8:55-9:40 pm

Bais Medrash of Westgate (Upstairs) 100 Ropshitz Ct. S-Th 10:00-10:30 pm (Maariv 9:40 & 10:40)

Rav Doniel Neustadt

Congregation Bnei Israel Beth Yehudah 15400 W 10 Mile Road; M-F 6:30 am

Rav Gedaliah Jaffe

Congregation Ahavas Yisrael; 1587 Route 27 M– F 6:00 am

‫ביהמ”ד בית אשר מרדכי‬

27 Neil Road; S-Th 9-9:30 pm (Maariv 9:30)

Rav Pinchas Shapiro

Rav Meir Waxman

Seattle Kollel; 5305 52nd Ave. South S-Th 8:00-8:30 pm (Maariv 9:00)

SILVER SPRING

Rav Eli Reingold

Yeshiva of Greater Washington; 1216 Arcola Ave. M, W, Th 8:00-8:40 pm Young Israel Shomrai Emunah T 8:00-9:00 pm (followed by Maariv)

S - Rav Avraham Sussuman M - Rav Shlomo Katz T - Rav Raphael Mendlowitz W - Rav Mordechai Rhine Th - Rav Joshua Musicante

Ohel Yaakov; 1 Challenger Court; M-F 7:25-7:45 am

Southeast Hebrew Congregation S-Th 9:15-9:45 pm

NEW SQUARE

SKOKIE

Rav Efraim Greenbaum

Bais Medresh Skver; 11 Truman Ave. S-Th 9:00-9:30 pm

Rav Aaron Lauer

Or Torah; 3800 Dempster Street M-F 8:40 am (Shacharis 8:00)

ST. LOUIS

Rav Gidon Nitsun

Cong. Ahavas Torah; 1425 Rhawn Street S, W, Th 8:20 M,T 9:20

Agudas Yisroel of St. Louis; 8202 Delmar Blvd.

S-Th 6:15-6:45 pm

Bais Medrash Govoha - Carey Street S-T-W 9:40 am, M&Th 9:45 am Kollel Ner Avrohom 104 Arbutis Drive; S-Th 8:45 pm (Maariv 8:30)

NORTH WOODMERE

STATEN ISLAND

Rav Boruch Meir Levine

PASSAIC

Kol Aryeh; M-F 7:20-7:45 am

Rav Yisroel Zucker

Lakewood Courtyard Shul; 52 Madison Ave S-Th between Mincha & Maariv (Mincha 15 minutes before shkiah) Rachmastrivka Beis Medrash S-Th 50 min. after Shkia followed by Maariv

Rav Shimon Prag

Zichron Chaim (The Villa’s Shul) 901 East Kennedy Blvd.

M-F 7:20–8:00 am, followed by Shacharis

Rav Moshe Chaim Kahan

Bais Medrash Govoha - Ateres Brocha S-Th 8:45 pm (Maariv 9:15)

EDISON

Rav Nuta Silber

SEATTLE

Rav Dovid Wachs

Rav Moshe Ahron Blum

Kollel Avreichim of Greater Detroit 15120 West Lincoln M-F after 8:30 Shacharis (upstairs)

Rav Yosef Meir Kantor

Rav Yisroel Brodsky

NORTH EAST PHILADELPHIA

Rav Moshe Peretz Schwartz

Rav Eliezer Ralbag

Rabbi Eliyahu Yellin

Machzikei Hadas; 600 Monroe Ave. S-Th 9:30 pm (Maariv 10:00)

Rav Ayson Ganeles

Rav Chaim Weg

Morning Shiur after Shacharis, Evening Shiur after Maariv

MARINE PARK

Rav Avrohom Reit

Toldos Yitzchok; S-Th 9:25-10 pm

Cong. Bnei Brith Jacob (in the chapel) 5444 AberCorn Street

SCRANTON

MILWAUKEE

Rabbi Eliyahu Yellin

DETROIT - OAK PARK

Beth Jacob Congregation; 4855 College Ave For more information: rabbiroth@bjsd.org

Kollel Yechiel Yehudah; 444 N. La Brea Ave Mincha 6:00 pm, followed by a Shiur

KENSINGTON

Bais Medrash Govoha - Forest Ave Limud B’Chavrusah after 7 am Shacharis Shiur Klali - F 8:00-8:30

Yagdil Torah; 17100 West Ten Mile Road M-F after 7:00 Shacharis, S-T 9:55 pm

Rav Yochanan Henig

Cong. Tiferes Avrohom Zidichev; 4017 Ave P M-F 6:30-7:00 am & 8:35-9:05 am

15751 West Lincoln Drive; S-Th 9:30 pm (Maariv 10:10)

Agudas Yisrael Magen Avrohom

Rav Pinny Roth

Country Place Club House; 1400 South Lake Drive S, M, T and Th 7:45 pm; W 6:15 pm

2141 Coney Island Avenue S-Th 8:45-9:30 pm (Maariv 9:30)

Rav Moshe Zev Feldman

Rav Asher Eisenberger

SAN DIEGO

Rav Shlomo Caplan

Rav Yechezkel Eichenstein

Bais Medrash Presidential Estates S-Th 9:00 pm (Maariv 8:45)

DETROIT - SOUTHFIELD

5 minute shiur after Maariv; Limud B’chavrusah before Maariv

Agudas Yisroel Snif Zichron Shmuel

Rav Avrohom Yeshaya Frand

Kollel Ateres Chaim Boruch; 1861 S. Taylor Rd. S-Th 9:30 pm (Maariv 10:00)

Kehilas Ahavas Yisroel; 147-02 73rd Avenue S-Th 9:45–10:15 pm (Maariv 9:30)

Lakeview Shul

Rav Yoni Maccabi

Khal Zichron Yaakov; S-Th 9:15 pm

Rav Boruch Hirschfeld

Rav Moshe Bilitzky

Rav Avrohom Koslowitz

Kollel Los Angeles; 7216 Beverly Blvd (upstairs) S-Th 8:15-9:00 pm (Maariv 9:00)

Rav Shmuel Kestenbaum

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS

QUEENS

Rav Boaz Bar-Dea

M-F 7:25 am (Shacharis 6:45 & 8:00)

Kollel Ahavas Torah; 3115 Devon Avenue S-Th 8:45-9:15 pm

Sons of Israel; 590 Madison Ave; S-Th 8:15 pm

Rav Dovia Halpern

SAVANNAH

LAKEWOOD

Rav Chaim Mordechai Turin

Providence Community Kollel; 671 E. Ave. S 8:30-9 pm, M-Th 9-9:30 pm (Maariv 9:30)

Rav Chaim Trainer

Sons of Israel of Cherry Hill; 720 Cooper Landing Rd.

CHICAGO

Rav Dovid Bielory

Rav Shmuel Tendler

LOS ANGELES

Rav Teitelbaum’s Shul; 122-31 Metroplitan Ave S-Th 8:40-9:00 pm

CHERRY HILL

Bais Medrash Kol Yehudah (Brookhill Ashkenaz) 1009 Brook Road; S-Th 8:45 pm

K’hal Bnei Torah - Kollel Dirshu 2925 Ave K. (corner Ave. K & Nostrand) M–F 8:30-9 am, S 9:30-10 (Shacharis 7:30) Tehila Ledavid; 1950 E. 21 Street (Bet. R & S) S 7:10-8 am, M-F 6:10-6:50 am

Rav Yitzchok Zalman Gips

Providence Community Kollel; 671 E. Ave. S 8:40 M-F 7:40 am

Rav Hillel Feldman Bais Medrash of Arlington Khal Rayim Ahuvim M-F 8:00-8:30 am

Rav Shmuel Witkin

KBH - 575 Hungry Harbor Road S Following Mincha/Maariv; M-Th 9:15pm (Maariv 9:00)

Rav Chaim Krause

Agudas Yisroel Bircas Yaakov 262 Terhune Avenue M-F 6:40-7:10 am (Shacharis 7:10) BTU Bais Torah U’ Tefilah; 218 Aycrigg Ave S-Th 9:45-10:15 pm (Maariv 10:15)

PHILADELPHIA

Rav Uri Yehudah Greenspan

Rav Gavriel Fried

Khal Agudas Shomrei Hadas; 98 Rupert Ave. S-Th 9:15-9:55 pm

TORONTO

Rav Dovid Hofstedter

Dirshu Bais Medrash; 4576 Yonge St. M-F 8:25-8:55 am

Rav Uri Kaufman

Agudas Yisroel Anshei Kielce; 2941 Bathurst St. S-Th 20 minutes before Mincha

Rav Chesky Weiss

Shovei Mayim; S 6:35-7:00; M-F 6:05-6:30

Rav Shmuel Heller

LMS; 123 Old Lancaster Avenue M-T 10:35-11:15 am, F 11:30 am Philadelphia Community Kollel 364 Montgomery Avenue; S-W 8:15 pm

Viewmount Shul; 1 Viewmount Ave M-F 6:55-7:25 pm

PHOENIX

Yeshiva Gedolah Ateres Shmuel of Waterbury 359 Cooke St.; S-Th 8-8:30pm (Maariv 8:30)

Rav Nosson Ungar

Congregation Ohr Hatorah 6516 North 7th Street Suite 202 M–F 7:30 am (Shacharis 6:45)

PORTLAND

Rav Chanan Spivak

Cong Kesser Israel; 6698 SW Capital Highway S-Th 8:45 pm, followed by Maariv

MAY 7, 2015

FAR ROCKAWAY

Young Israel of Greater Cleveland 2463 South Green Road M-F 7:25 am (Shacharis 6:45 & 7:50), S-T 10:15 pm

Rav Dovid Shanik

Forest Park Shul; S-Th 10:15 pm

BAYSWATER

Rav Naphtali Burnstein

Shemen L’mincha; M-F 6:00 am

WATERBURY

Rav Tzvi Thaler

WICKLIFFE

Rav Chanina Weinberg

Yeshivas Tiferes Avigdor; S–Th 4:00 pm

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

10

Around the TA 4th Grade ScienceCan be Enlightening In science, Miss Bortz’s 4th grade is learning all about electricity and circuits. We have created our own circuits using batteries, wire, and light bulbs. We had fun talking about the flow of electricity through a closed circuit and experimented to discover which of different kinds of circuits

makes the light bulb glow the brightest.

Some boys even asked to stay and continue experimenting with their batteries and bulbs instead of going out to recess! Keep up the great learning!

Community TA Preschool has a Special Visitor Morah Lisa Rock brought in a special visitor for all of the preschool classes: it was Tiki, a green, yellow, orange, and red Pineapple Green Cheek Conure. This fit nicely into our school work as the boys are learning “tzippur” and “W” for “wings”.

Morah Lisa’s son, Noam, came to help show Tiki to all of the children.

The boys loved watching Tiki as he bounced up and down with Morah Lisa, flapped his wings, climbed onto Noam’s shoulder, and gave Noam kisses. The boys had lots of great questions and were amazed that Tiki could climb a ladder and hold his food in his own hand. A few boys even let Tiki perch on their arms.

University Jewish Experience Launches jInternship Baltimore/D.C College students don’t have to choose anymore between an internship and a meaningful summer!

University Jewish Experience has launched jInternship Baltimore/D.C to allow college students from around the country to get the best of both worlds: an opportunity to get a coveted resume building internship on Capitol Hill, at a top notch company, or medical research at a hospital. Not just this, but also an opportunity to explore Jewish identity through meaningful classes, shabbatons, and trips. jInternship is the smart way to develop one’s passion for Judaism and to relieve the What-Do-I-Do-This-Summer anxiety that is common around this time of year.

The jInternship opportunity has internships that will be running in both the Baltimore area and in Washington D.C. The internship placements are

tailored for each individual applicant in order to find the best suited match that will help that particular student gain first-hand knowledge and skill in their professional field. Students will be housed at apartments with scheduled events, inspirational speakers, and exciting trips throughout the duration of the 6 week program. Shabbatons will be held in the Ranchleigh, Park Heights, Owings Mills, and Silver Spring communities, the program will conclude with a week-long jInternship retreat at the beautiful Sinai retreats in the Adirondack mountains.

If you know of a Jewish student who wants to participate in this incredible opportunity, or are a business that “wants in,” contact UJE Director Rabbi Zvi Schwartz at rabbitzvischwartz@gmail.com or simply visit jinternship.com for more information and to apply.

Around the

Community

MAY 7, 2015

When the Baltimore unrest broke out last week, Jewish Uniformed Service Association of Maryland (JUSA) director and Chabad Rabbi Chesky Tenenbaum went straight to work.

Serving Maryland’s Jewish members in Uniform he wanted to offer his services and support to all the Law Enforcement members that were being deployed to Baltimore. While visiting the Maryland State Police Command post set up at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and spending time offering moral support to the officers. He then asked one of the command staff what items they needed most; he responded saying Law Enforcement members are not getting a chance to go home

for 24-48 hours, so most important items needed are hygiene products.

So Rabbi Tenenbaum quickly went into action calling his friend at DC

Dental who quickly agreed to sponsor hundreds of dollars worth of hygiene products. When Rabbi Tenenbaum delivered them to the staging area a

Priority-1 Introduces a Teacher Training Webinar The success of the Yeshiva educational system over the past few decades has been nothing less than amazing. Mechanchim can take great pride in their very impressive accomplishments. However, the challenges that have been increasingly surfacing during the last two decades, have underscored the need for serious additional and specialized training for Torah educators to better reach a growing segment of the student population, who’ve been far from maximizing their Yeshiva experience. Far too many are drifting from Yiddishkeit, with many more developing with minimal commitment and lack of appreciation.

About ten years ago, in a meeting with the leadership of Priority-1, the Gadol Hador, Maran Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Zt”l, stated emphatically that the need for Chinuch training is “pashut u’barur and a matter of pikuach nefesh”. During the past decade, Priority-1 pioneered extensive training programs to help Mechanchim better understand and address the challenges that are faced today in reaching all of our students. Hundreds of educators have benefitted from these programs over the years but it is very clear that the work has merely just begun.

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In a focused effort to reach many more Mechanchim and continue to service educators with advanced and ongoing programs, Priority-1 has begun to develop a series of training webinars, with the interest of providing wider access and greater benefits from these training programs. They will be presented by a wide range of experienced experts in the related fields and available, free of charge, for Torah educators around the world.

The inaugural webinar entitled “Inspiring a Lasting Passion and Commitment to Yiddishkeit in our Students” is presently available, with additional webinars in the works. The current webinar consists of five sessions. The topics are: Relationship with our Students, Understanding our Purpose in Life, Emunah, Relationship with Hashem and Classroom Necessities. Rabbi Shaya Cohen, the Rosh Hayeshiva of Yeshiva Zichron Aryeh and Founder of Priority-1, is the first presenter.

The webinar is available at priority-1.pathwright.com. For further information please call Priority-1 at 516.295.5700 x10.

To access further resources visit www.priority-1.org.

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Around the

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Baltimore’s Northwest Community Leaders Rally in Support of the Men & Women in Blue of the Northwest Police District BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Jeff Cohn

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The Week

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Global N.K. Dictator’s Response to Challenge 15 senior officials in Kim Jong Un’s government were executed this year

for challenging their Great Leader’s authority. According to Shin Kyungmin, a member of South Korea’s intelligence committee, a vice minister for forestry was one of the officials executed for complaining about a state policy.

“Excuses or reasoning doesn’t work for Kim Jong Un. His style of rule is to push through everything, and if there’s any objection, he takes that as a challenge to authority and comes

In News back with execution as a showcase,” Shin said. Shin added four members of the Unhasu Orchestra, where Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, previously performed as a singer, were executed by firing squad in March for espionage, without elaboration or explanation.

In 2013, Kim purged and executed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, once considered the second most powerful man in Pyongyang’s leadership circle. He

was killed for corruption and committing crimes damaging to the economy, along with a group of officials close to him. Kim has also reshuffled close aides and senior officials repeatedly since taking office.

South Korea’s spy agency also expected Kim to travel to Moscow this month to attend an event marking the end of World War II in Europe, although there was no independent confirmation of the plan. The visit would be Kim’s first overseas trip since he took power in 2011 after the death of his father.

Russia has said Kim would attend the May 9 event marking the 70th anniversary of the war’s end in Europe, although officials in Seoul have cautioned that there was no official confirmation from the North. Some analysts have questioned whether Kim, believed to be in his early 30s, would choose for his first overseas visit an event where he would share the stage with several leaders and have less control over proceedings than in a two-way summit.

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The Week wife, Kate. The baby girl, Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, is fourth in line to the British throne. She was born on at St Mary’s Hospital in West London and returned home two days later after brief public appearance on the hospital steps. The newest royal will carry the title Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge A statement from Kensington Palace said grandfather Prince Charles, next in line to the throne, and his wife Camilla had visited the newborn.

Kate Middleton’s parents and sister also traveled to meet the new baby.

Prince Harry, the baby’s uncle, was in Australia and not among the visitors, but he sent a message in the Kensington Palace statement: “She is absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to meet her.”

Russians: Stalin Wasn’t too Bad Joseph Stalin was one of the most murderous dictators in history. His regime of terror caused death and suffering to tens of millions. In fact, Stalin’s name meant “man of steel” and the unflinching Russia leader lived up to it. He oversaw the war machine that helped defeat Nazism and was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century.

There seems to be no question that Stalin was a murderer. But recently, some Russians are seeing the dictator in a more positive, heroic light.

Law student Mikhail Kosyrev used to have a negative view of Stalin but his attitude has drastically changed in recent years, he said, insisting the wartime tyrant meant well.

“Over the past five years I’ve often watched documentary films about Stalin, about that time on television and learnt more about him,” the 29-year-old said. “And now I don’t have any negative feelings towards him. He had good intentions.”

Since President Vladimir Putin took power in 2000, there has been a growing chorus of Russians who take a positive view of the Soviet tyrant’s role in history. Those attitudes

have changed so dramatically on the back of a recent burst of patriotic fervor whipped up by state-controlled media that some analysts speak of a creeping rehabilitation of Stalin.

The palpable change in how Russians perceive the moustachioed despot has particularly come into stark focus in the run-up to Russia’s celebrations of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in WWII.

In News of neighboring states.”

He said officials, who are nostalgic for the superpower status of the USSR, have consciously been promoting Stalin as a tough leader who led the Soviet Union to victory in WWII and presided over the country’s industrialization.

Those sentiments are now shared by many everyday Russians. According to a study by the respected Levada Centre pollster, 45 percent of respondents said in March that sacrifices sustained by people under Stalin were justified by the country’s “great goals,” up from 27 percent in October 2008.

On top of that, the number of those who viewed Stalin negatively fell to 20 percent from 43 percent in April 2001, the poll revealed.

Best Place to be a Mother Banners featuring Stalin whose name is inseparably tied to the history of the 1941-1945 conflict known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War were spotted in Moscow and Magadan, a former transit point in a vast network of Stalinist labor camps.

A poster praising Stalin appeared in a Saint Petersburg high school last month, while Kremlin-backed military enthusiasts are preparing to open a museum dedicated to the Soviet dictator in a village west of Moscow.

In February, Russia unveiled a monument to the watershed 1945 “Big Three” Yalta summit that features Stalin along with U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, despite objections from Crimean Tatars, an ethnic group persecuted under his rule.

“Stalin’s rehabilitation is being steadily implemented,” Nikita Petrov, a historian at Memorial, Russia’s most prominent rights organization, related. “It’s a sign of unlearnt history lessons, a reluctance to look at yourself and honestly admit that we took the wrong path and that our country committed a host of crimes against its own people and the people

This week, in honor of Mother’s Day, Save the Children released its 16th annual Mothers’ Index, which rates 179 countries based on five indicators related to maternal health, education, income levels and the status of women. According to the index, Norway is the world’s best place to be a mother. The United States took the 33rd spot, dropping two places from last year and landing behind Japan, Poland and Croatia.

Somalia is the worst place in the world to be a mother, just below the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

Interestingly, American women have a one in 1,800 risk of maternal death, the worst level of risk of any developed country in the world, according to the report. An American woman is more than 10 times as likely to die in childbirth than a Polish woman.

Year after year, Scandinavian countries have nabbed the top spots in the Mothers’ Index. Last year Finland took the crown. Among the top ten, Australia is the only non-European country, at number nine. France and Britain took the 23rd and 24th spot, below Canada at number 20.

Infant mortality was able measured. Sadly, infants almost don’t stand a chance in countries that came in at the bottom ten on the list. In the top 10 countries on the Mothers’ Index, one mother out of 290 will lose a child before the age of five. In the bottom 10, that rate stands at one in eight.

Save the Children also looked at infant mortality rates in the world’s 24 wealthiest capital cities and found Washington had the highest rate at 7.9 deaths per 1,000. By comparison, Stockholm and Oslo had infant mortality rates at or below 2 deaths per 1,000.

A country’s economic wealth is not the sole factor leading to happy mothers. Countries need to invest in mothers and children in their country so they can live long, happy lives.

Liberland Proclaimed to be World’s Newest Country Liberland, a tiny patch of woodland and fields on the sandy banks of the River Danube, is the world’s newest declared country. The establishment of the pocket-sized nation was declared earlier this month on land wedged between Croatia and Serbia which, its founders argue, was never properly claimed by either country.

Liberland has its own flag, which features an eagle and a sun, a constitution, and a motto – “To live and let live.” Its self-appointed ruler is Vit Jedlicka, a conservative, anti-EU Czech politician. Known officially as the Free Republic of Liberland, the country’s independence was formally declared on April 13.

Some 120 would-be citizens are expected to arrive this week for what has been dubbed the state’s first Liberty Day. Prospective Liberlanders are encouraged to bring food, beer and “all necessary equipment for comfortable survival in nature,” including tents and sleeping bags. As yet, there are no houses or other buildings on the no-man’s-land sliver of territory.

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The Week

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If you’re interested in getting a Liberland passport, know that the first 100 people to turn up to the site, which lies at the end of a dusty road on the west bank of the Danube, will be granted honorary citizenship.

Liberland has not been recognized by any other country, least of all Serbia or Croatia, but that has not stopped 300,000 people around the world from applying for honorary citizenship. Citizenship is open to anyone unless they have “Communist, Nazi or any other extremist past” or have a criminal record, according to the microstate’s constitution.

Its founders insist that the fact that their new country occupies less than three square miles is no impediment to nationhood. Both the Vatican City State and Monaco are smaller. The founders claim that Liberland is neither a stunt nor an elaborate joke but a serious proposition based on the fact that the patch of land is “terra nullius” – unclaimed by any other country.

Liberland is the latest in a long history of micro-nations that have declared independence, generally on dubious legal and constitutional grounds.

The micro-nation of Sealand was established on a Second World War anti-aircraft gun platform off the coast of Suffolk in 1967 by a former British Army major. A grain farmer named Leonard Casley set up the Principality of Hutt River in Western Australia in 1970 after falling-out with the authorities over wheat quotas. The 29-square mile plot of farmland grew into a tourist attraction.

Last year, Jeremiah Heaton from Virginia declared himself the ruler of the Kingdom of North Sudan, an unclaimed patch of desert that he identified between Egypt and Sudan. He wanted to fulfill the dreams of his seven-year-old daughter, who told him she longed to be a princess.

Iran Bans Spiky Haircuts

If you’re a man and like to wear your hair in a spiky hairdo, it’s best that you stay far from Iran.

“Devil worshipping hairstyles are now forbidden,” said Mostafa Govahi, the head of Iran’s Barbers Union, cited by the ISNA news agency.

“Any shop that cuts hair in the devil worshipping style will be harshly dealt with and their license revoked,” he said, noting that if a business cut hair in such a style this will “violate

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In News the Islamic system’s regulations.”

Recently, spiky haircuts have become popular among Iran’s youth but authorities have been divided as some have viewed the style as western and un-Islamic.

Tattoos and eyebrow plucking for men were also placed under the ban.

Rudolf Hoess’ Barber Dies

At 95, Jozef Paczynski, a Polish political prisoner at Auschwitz who became the personal barber to Auschwitz’s camp commander Rudolf Hoess, has died. For much of World War II, Paczynski was led to Hoess’ home and ordered to cut the hair of one of the worst mass murderers in history.

All of his life, Paczynski was repeatedly asked why he didn’t use his sharp tools to kill the man responsible for over a million deaths at Auschwitz.

His answer: It would not have stopped the killing, but would have meant certain death for himself and many others. “I thought about it,” Paczynski said in a speech in January in Krakow.

“But when I realized what the consequences would be I simply could not do it.”

Paczynski is one of the prisoners who survived Auschwitz for the longest amount of time. He was sent to the concentration camp in June 1940 as punishment for trying to flee German-occupied Poland to join the Polish army in France. He was arrested after crossing into Slovakia and was taken in the first transport to Auschwitz, becoming prisoner number 121. He remained in Auschwitz until January 18, 1945. Paczynsk was among a group that the Nazis moved out just days before the Soviet army liberated the camp and was later freed

by American soldiers in Germany.

At the camp, he was assigned to

work in a barber shop where the SS men got their haircuts. One day Hoess showed up and singled out Paczynski from other barbers to come to his family home at the edge of the camp to trim his hair. Paczynski said that he was terrified when he was brought to cut Hoess’ hair. “My voice was shaking, my hands were shaking and my legs were shaking,” he recalled. Yet Hoess was apparently satisfied and had Paczynski return over and over, although he never said a word to him.

Hoess developed and oversaw the implementation of gas chambers where over a million Jews and others were murdered. Hoess was tried by Polish authorities after the war and was sentenced to death by hanging in 1947. The sentence was carried out at Auschwitz next to a crematorium.

World’s Hardest Working Countries

According to rough calculations, a person who has a 9 to 5 job works an average of 1,870 hours a year, including 20 vacation/sick days and eight holidays. But how many people do you know who actually work a simple 9 to 5 job? In this generation it seems that we all feel “we work too hard” but in reality the U.S. is not even close to the hardest working country. And according to respondents in a recent survey, Americas really only work 1,790 hours a year— that’s ten eight-hour days less than the above estimates.

Some might argue that many workers are required to put in many unpaid hours a year for traveling, planning, networking, responding to emails, and other tasks that happen “after hours.”

Those hours are unaccounted for in the following study.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) analyzed the number of hours

The Week

Israel Israel Helps Nepal Restoration Post

Devastating Quake An entire village in Nepal will be rebuilt thanks to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. As part of Israel’s long term relief effort, a village will be chosen and land will be cleared to allow for new infrastructure and houses.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman made the announcement.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s biker gang, the Night Wolves, was rejected from Poland by Polish officials last week. Currently the gang of about 15 is embarked on their “victory ride” to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II. The duration of the whole trip is close to 3,750 miles and includes Poland, Czech Republic, and Autria.

“These people will not cross into Poland,” said Polish border guard spokesman Dariusz Sienicki. “Each of them will receive a separate refusal.”

The group zipped through Brest, Belarus and Terespol, Poland, “with five of them saying they had no visas for Poland but were there to wave off their friends.” Belarusan border patrol permitted the ten with visas to pass through, but the Polish guards turned them away.

“I consider the announce-

placed Poland for decades behind the Soviet Iron Curtain.

MAY 7, 2015

Putin’s Gang Denied Entry from Poland

ment of this rally a provocation,” said Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz on a radio interview. “If this is to undermine our security, cause Poles trouble, then the law is there for us to use it.”

The gang and its leader Alexander Zaldostanov denies any accusations of intending to cause unrest, they claim they just want “to commemorate the defeat of German fascism by the Red Army.” However, the victory also

In News

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

clocked by workers around the world in an average year. Mexicans worked the most at 2,226 hours a year, that’s 42.8 hours a week, with no off days.

The hardest working countries in the world are: Mexico – 2,226 hours Korea – 2,090 hours Greece – 2,034 hours Chile – 2,029 hours Russia – 1,982 hours Poland – 1,929 hours Estonia – 1,889 hours Hungary – 1,888 hours Turkey – 1,855 hours Czech Republic – 1,800 hours United States – 1,790 hours Slovakia – 1,785 hours Italy – 1,752 hours Japan – 1,745 hours New Zealand – 1,739 hours

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

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The Week “After consulting with various departments in the Foreign Ministry, we decided to adopt a village in Nepal, to assist with its reconstruction and to do our utmost to help people who have really found themselves in a difficult situation,” Lieberman said in a briefing at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The foreign ministry said it will work with the Nepalese government to select which village will be chosen. ”We, the professional staff, will start to work after the dust has settled and it’ll be possible to talk with Nepali authorities about the location of the village and the matter of the reconstruction,” said the foreign ministry’s director-general, Nissim Ben-Sheetrit.

Dozens of Israelis have been rescued from remote regions of Nepal over the last few days. Meanwhile, Chabad-Lubavitch of Nepal said it prepared 2,000 meals for Nepalis in need on one day alone last week. Additionally, the Chabad emissary in the region, Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, led a helicopter mission to rescue stranded

Israelis.

Nano Bible on Display

We know that Torah is sweet but I don’t think we say that because it can be the size of a sugar grain. The Nano Bible, the world’s smallest Hebrew Bible, which is as small as a grain of sugar, is now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

A new exhibit, which is part of a program celebrating the museum’s 50th anniversary, displays the Bible etched onto a miniscule microchip.

In News The Nano Bible is a silicon chip on which the entire Bible, which consists of 1.2 million letters, was carved with a focused ion beam. A microscope that can magnify by a factor of at least 10,000 is required to read the actual text.

The Nano Bible was created by Prof. Uri Sivan and Dr. Ohad Zohar of the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. The Israel Museum’s exhibit, titled, “And Then There Was Nano,” will be on display until December 31, 2016.

Body of Israeli Found in Nepal Rubble

by the earthquake, to the nearest village on Sunday night. In an emotional meeting at the airport in Kathmandu, Patrick Asraf embraced his son’s friends and thanked them for helping bring Or’s body home.

The Asraf family on Sunday night issued a statement, saying it is mourning “its beloved son, the salt of the earth,” and thanked the Israeli government for the efforts to locate Or. “Patrick and Orit Asraf, Or’s father and mother, promised to bring him home and kept their promise,” the family said.

Asraf, an army veteran injured in last year’s Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, was hiking in the Langtang area north of the capital Kathmandu when the quake struck.

He had opted to walk ahead of the group he was with, unaccompanied, about an hour before the earthquake.

Bomb Blast at Hamas Security HQ

Israeli rescue teams have retrieved the body of a 22-year-old Israeli hiker who was killed in Nepal’s devastating earthquake. Or Asraf’s remains were airlifted from Kathmandu to Israel for burial. A member of the Israeli team that found his remains told Israeli media channels that several European hikers were also killed in the area.

Asraf was the only Israeli fatality from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which flattened villages and killed over 7,000. His body was found on Sunday night by an Israeli rescue team after his father and members of his former Israeli army unit joined the search effort. Several members of Asraf’s family were in Kathmandu to receive his remains and were taking care of burial arrangements in Israel.

Members of the relief team that recovered Asraf’s remains on Sunday included nine of his friends from the IDF Egoz unit. His friends carried him across dangerous terrain, hit hard

Just before dawn on Monday, a bomb exploded at Hamas’s security headquarters in Gaza City after radical Islamists issued a threatening message calling for the release of prisoners.

An online statement just hours before the blast, apparently issued by anti-Hamas radical Islamists, threatened to “act against chosen targets” if jihadist prisoners were not freed within 72 hours.

It was unclear if the statement and the explosion were linked, but radical Islamists in Gaza have issued similar threats in the past.

“Hamas and its security forces have 72 hours from the release of this statement to free all Salafist (jihadist)

The Week

It’s unusual for the UN to admit that Hamas performs murderous acts, but in a recent report, the organization confirmed that Hamas stored mortars and other weapons in at least three UN schools during last summer’s war and fired rockets at Israel from two of them. During the conflict last summer, Israel repeatedly pointed that out to explain why the Israeli army was firing at schools where members of Hamas had taken refuge. Schools were the perfect place to store weapons. The terrorist group has consistently used innocents as human shields. Indeed, the UN deplored Israel’s “shameful” attack on “sleeping children.” Standard UN practice: The UN Human Rights Council mandate setting up the Gaza inquiry criticized Israel 18 times and Hamas not at all.

As it happens, the three schools-turned-arsenals were empty at the time Israel struck — but there’s no suggestion Hamas just took advantage of the students’ absence. In at least one school where weapons were stored, the report found, Hamas unlocked the gate “to allow children access to the schoolyard.”

Israel Third Most Expensive Country in Europe A recent international study concluded that Israel is the third costliest

Even so, Israelis can only envy the workforce in countries such as Denmark, England, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, whose earning capacity is higher, while prices are lower. In seven countries with a lower average salary than Israel – such as Turkey, Hungary, Romania and Poland – the cost of basic goods is proportionately lower.

The authors of the study found that when it comes to the ratio between

MAY 7, 2015

UN: Hamas Stored Weapons in Schools

country in Europe. Only Switzerland and Norway came in more expensive than the Jewish state for items such as food, household essentials and toiletries. But despite the sky-high prices, wages in Israel ranked 13 in Europe.

According to the study, the average cost in Europe for a monthly purchase of essentials is approximately NIS 1,520, while the average in Israel is approximately NIS 1,930 - 22% higher.

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

prisoners,” said the statement from a group calling itself the Supporters of the Islamic State in Jerusalem. “Our soldiers are ready to act against chosen targets at the end of this ultimatum,” it went on.

Last month, Hamas security forces arrested a Salafist leader, alleging that he was a supporter of the Islamic State group (IS). Hamas, which is ideologically aligned with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, has previously cracked down on radical Islamists.

In News

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MAY 7, 2015

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The Week income and expenditure, “Israel is among the worst places.”

The study shows that the average expenditure on groceries in Israel is approximately NIS 1,930, similar to Denmark, but salaries in Denmark are 75% higher, with an average wage of almost NIS 14 thousand per month.

In England, where the average wage is approximately NIS 11,500 a month, the monthly shop costs just NIS 1,600.

National Shooting at Muhammad Cartoon Contest Gunfire erupted this week outside of a cartoon drawing contest of the Prophet Muhammad in Garland, Texas. Two gunmen were killed by return fire after shooting at a security officer outside of the controversial contest.

A bomb squad was also called in to search their vehicle as a precaution, authorities said.

Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi drove up to the Curtis Culwell Center in the Dallas suburb as the contest was scheduled to end and began shooting.

The contest was hosted by the New York-based American Freedom Defense Initiative that would award $10,000 for the best cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Such drawings are deemed insulting to many followers of Islam and have sparked violence around the world. According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad — even a respectful one — is considered blasphemous.

The security officer who was shot worked for the Garland Independent School District, Harn said. He was treated at a local hospital for injuries and had been released Sunday night.

“Texas officials are actively investigating to determine the cause and scope of the senseless attack,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.

After the shooting, about 75 attendees were escorted by authorities to another room in the conference center. A woman held up an American

flag, and the crowd sang, “God Bless America.”

On Tuesday, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and warned of more attacks to come. In a broadcast on its official radio channel, the group said two Al Khilafa soldiers opened fire outside the event in Garland, a Dallas suburb. Al Khilafa is how ISIS refers to its soldiers.

The ISIS radio announcer also referred to Simpson and Soofi as the terror group’s “brothers.” The announcement ended with this warning: “We say to the defenders of the cross, the U.S., that future attacks are going to be harsher and worse. The Islamic State soldiers will inflict harm on you with the grace of G-d. The future is just around the corner.”

In January, 12 people were killed by gunmen in an attack against the Paris office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had lampooned Islam and other religions and used depictions of Muhammad. Another deadly shooting occurred the following month at a free speech event in Copenhagen featuring an artist who had caricatured the prophet.

Food Stamp Recipients More Likely to be Obese

According to new research from the federal government, food stamp recipients are more likely to be obese than the general population.

Americans are not known to be a nation of healthy eaters, but a U.S. Department of Agriculture study delving into National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2007

In News through 2010 found Americans on food stamps were more likely to be obese than other groups – including people who didn’t receive benefits even though they were poor enough to qualify.

Forty percent of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program beneficiaries were obese during those years, the study found, compared with 32 percent of poor people who didn’t get SNAP benefits and 30 percent of higher-income Americans. SNAP does not make people fat, but there is a correlation.

Interestingly, food stamp recipients consumed slightly fewer calories daily than the general population.

But they drank more soda, didn’t eat as many fruits and vegetables, and in general had diets that scored slightly lower on a healthy eating index.

Kevin Concannon, the Agriculture Department’s undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, noted in an interview that people in poorer areas sometimes have a narrower variety of food choices.

The findings come as the debate over how poor people use food stamps has heated up in recent months. Republicans in Congress are considering new reforms to the program, which serves 46 million Americans. Earlier this year, a Republican lawmaker in Missouri proposed banning benefits from being used to buy soda, steak or seafood. This week, lawmakers in Maine and Wisconsin are considering legislation that would restrict SNAP benefits to nutritious food. A key target of the legislation is soda and other sugary drinks.

The USDA released the study on Tuesday alongside two other reports examining the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. The latter report found participating children had diets similar to those of wealthier kids, but that WIC participants consumed fewer empty calories and less sodium.

Recipients of free and reduced-price school lunches had better diets than students with similar incomes who didn’t participate in the program.

Weight Watchers Founder Dies at 91

“Food is not your remedy for problems. Food is not going to change your life. ... If you’re going to lose weight, you have to do it by changing your way of thinking about food. It cannot be the highlight of your life.” That wisdom was delivered by Weight Watchers founder Jean Nidetch.

Nidetch, 91, died last Wednesday in Florida. The cheerful housewife from Little Neck, N.J., started her own weight-loss company in 1963. She had weighed more than 200 pounds and through a balanced diet slimmed down to 142, she told USA Today in 2010. That allowed her to lead a healthier and happier life and a successful international company. The Weight Watchers diet model is sensible, healthy eating plans and a weekly support group meeting for inspiration and encouragement.

Nidetch is credited with changing how people view weight loss, said Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian in Chicago.

“She took weight loss from just a private and personal struggle and turned it into a network of people banding together weekly to support one another with knowledge and inspiration. She helped millions ditch their crash-diet mentality and focus on realistic weight-loss skills and longterm weight maintenance strategies,” Blatner said. “She empowered generations of people to lose weight by providing solid information and creating a robust community of encouragement and support.”

Weight was a struggle for Jean for most of her life. When she married her husband on April 20, 1947, she wore a long navy dress, size 18, that had to be let out. She also attempted to diet; she

The Week Top Cop Defends Policing Policies NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton has taken to the podium to mount a fierce defense of his “Broken Windows” approach to crime-fighting.

During a briefing at the Police Acad-

emy, he revealed a report that shows his policy has drastically reduced crime in the Big Apple and lowered the jail population. “We need it now more than ever,” Bratton stressed.

The top cop, whose proven police strategy is under attack by the City Council, cited an incident last week as the perfect example of why Broken Windows system works. A Brooklyn man was busted for biking on the

sidewalk, and it turned out he had a stolen, loaded gun and an open warrant. Bratton said the arrest was made possible by the quality-of-life policies being targeted in a decriminalization push by council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “That quality-of-life bicycle stop was essential in getting a gun off the street and getting basically a career criminal once again put back in the system,” he said.

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MAY 7, 2015

He’s baaaaack!

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tried all the fad diets like the eggs and grapefruit diet, the cottage cheese and peaches diet, the bananas and milk diet, the steak diet on which she ate nothing but steak..

In 1962, she hit an all-time high and weighed in at 214. She was motivated to get serious about losing weight by an encounter in the market.

“I ran into a neighbor who said, ‘Oh, Jean, you look so good.’ I was feeling very good about the compliment, and then she said, ‘When are you due?’ I didn’t know how to answer her because I wasn’t pregnant. I don’t remember what I said, but I will never forget it.”

At that point, she tried a diet program run by the New York City Board of Health in Manhattan. The diet included fish five times a week, two slices of bread and two glasses of skim milk a day, and fruits and vegetables. Nidetch said of that experience: “I had never bought skim milk.

I never drank milk. I drank soda. I drank everything that was fattening.”

The diet proved to be effective, she lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks. Reveling in her success, she decided to invite some overweight friends to her apartment to share her story. “I am a sharer,” she said. “When you give of yourself, you get back. I had to share it, so I called all my overweight friends. I only had overweight friends.”

By October of 1962, Nidetch reached her goal. She had lost 72 pounds and weighed 142 pounds at 5-foot-7. Just a few months later on May 15, 1963, she officially opened a business she called Weight Watchers in a loft above a movie theater in Little Neck, N.J. She expected no more than 50 people to attend; 400 showed up. She didn’t know what to charge.

“I turned around and there was a cashier’s window at the Little Neck movie theater and it said $2. I said to everybody, ‘It’s $2. Does anybody object?’”

Well, that was the first day of something big, tremendous, in fact.

The business grew and grew and by 1968 the company went public. In 1978 the company was sold to the H.J. Heinz Co. but Jean stayed on to consult for the company for years afterward, traveling around the world, encouraging people to lose weight.

In News

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The Week According to Bratton’s 41-page report, cracking down on low-level offenses has led to a 36 percent decrease in major felonies since 1994 — during Bratton’s first turn as police commissioner. “By applying summonses to violations and arrests to misdemeanor crimes, rather than looking the other way because these offenses are ‘too insignificant,’ officers were correcting conditions early,” the report reveals.

“Arresting someone for a misdemeanor frequently prevents him from graduating to committing felonies, for which severe sanctions like prison may result.”

The report added that less than 1 percent of those arrested for minor crimes are jailed pending a court appearance and that most of those who get locked up have multiple prior arrests, more than half of them for felonies. It also revealed a significant drop in both the city and state jail population in the 20 years of Broken Windows policing.

Working More than 9 to 5

“Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living…” Americans nowadays are looking at the past wistfully as they punch the clock and sit at their

desks for hours on end. No longer are 40-hour workweeks de rigueur. According to a new survey from tax and consulting firm EY, about half of all managers work more than 40 hours a week and 39% report that their hours have increased in the past five years.

Little wonder, then, that one-third of workers say it’s getting more difficult to balance work and life.

The survey raises some questions about the sustainability of the current pace of work, said Karyn Twaronite, who heads up diversity and inclusion efforts for EY and commissioned the study. In general, work responsibilities have increased; wages have plateaued. And company-provided computers and smartphones are convenient, but they tie employees to their job seven days a week.

Fifty-eight percent of managers in the U.S. report working more than 40 hours a week, surpassed only by managers in Mexico, where 61% say they’re working those hours. By comparison, just over a third of U.K. managers and under a fifth of managers in China report working beyond 40 hours.

The reported shift in working hours appears to have hit parents particularly hard. Some 41% of managers who have kids say they’ve seen their hours increase in the last five years, as compared to 37% of managers who do not have children. Working women and parents also rated the task of managing their work and personal lives as slightly more difficult than men and those without children, but respondents of both genders and all generations reported that they’re feeling the crunch.

What’s making it so hard to navigate career and family? Participants blame flat salaries and rising expenses, along with the increased workload.

Managers in the U.S. say they have a hard time getting enough sleep, finding time for themselves and handling more responsibility.

“There really isn’t any downtime any longer where people could sign off for the day and be done,” Twaronite points out.

In News Some companies are trying to remedy the situation by letting workers leave early or take off Fridays, for example. But flex arrangements are a perfect solution, employees grumble.

Some say that they have “suffered a negative consequence as a result of having a flexible work schedule,” such as being passed over for a promotion or losing a job.

Six Officers Charged in Freddie Gray Death

The rioters of Baltimore and the rest of America who are closely following the Freddie Gray story were reassured when the police report of Freddie Gray’s arrest and death was released. Baltimore’s State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Friday morning that Freddie Gray’s death has been ruled a homicide, and that six officers will face criminal charges.

“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man,” she said. “I hope that as we move forward with this case, everyone will respect due process and refrain from doing anything that will jeopardize our ability to seek justice,” Mosby added.

The six officers who were arrested in Gray’s death are Officer Caesar Goodson, Officer William Porter, Lt. Brian Rice, Officer Edward Nero, Officer Garrett Miller and Sgt. Alicia White. The charges vary for each officer but they include second-degree murder, manslaughter, misconduct in office, and false imprisonment.

Goodson, the driver of the van

transporting Freddie Gray, faces the most severe charge of second-degree depraved heart murder, which indicates a “callous disregard for the value of human life.”

The reaction to the news of their arrests on the streets of Baltimore were celebratory and triumphant. In contrast, police union officials condemned the ruling. The local police union called the decision a rush to judgment. “The officers did nothing wrong,” attorney Michael Davey said.

“These injuries did not occur as a result of any action or inaction on the part of these officers.”

The state’s attorney made sure to mention that the allegations against the officers are not an indictment against the entire police department but rather on individuals and their bad decisions that lead to a tragedy. She shared that both of her parents, several of her aunts and uncles and her late grandfather were all cops.

“The actions of these officers will not and should not in any way damage the important working relationships between police and prosecutors,” she said, “as we continue to fight together to reduce crime in Baltimore.”

Although this announcement revealed the details of the case, Mosby warned that the future details and the evidence will be withheld to ensure a “fair and impartial process for all parties involved.”

Billionaire’s Big Bill

Talk about a tough tax bill. Billionaire George Soros may soon be looking at a large bill when the IRS asks him to pay up nearly $7 billion.

Despite Soros having advocated for

The Week

In light of all the recent issues between the public and police, $20 million in grants will be given to local police departments to help buy body cameras for police officers. The U.S. Justice Department made the announcement two days after the Freddy Gray riots began. The grants represent the first portion to be approved

by Congress of a $75 million threeyear body camera funding program requested in December by President Obama.

Demand for the cameras, which clip onto officers’ uniforms to record interactions with citizens, has risen amid a series of deadly altercations between police and unarmed black men, followed by protests in several American cities. Some critics have accused Obama of doing too little to respond to the shootings. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said last week that the United States should make sure every police department has body cameras.

But the cameras are expensive for police departments still struggling to regain pre-recession funding levels.

Los Angeles, which plans to deploy 860 cameras this summer, will spend $1.5 million in the first year to cover equipment, maintenance and storage.

The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that body camera usage must be governed by standards that protect the privacy of those being recorded. The federal funding will match local funds and be available only to departments that already have body camera policies in place, the

It’s Getting Pretty Crowded

On Tuesday, Mike Huckabee, the Baptist minister who became Arkansas governor, announced he’ll be running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

“I am a candidate for president of the United States of America,” he said in his hometown of Hope, Arkansas.

This was not a surprise, as Huckabee quit his job hosting Fox News show “Huckabee” in January and began plotting campaign strategy last month.

He’s also not new to the scene of the presidential race as he ran for president in 2008 capturing strong support from evangelical Christians and winning the Iowa caucuses.

The 2016 Republican field is already crowded—and will probably get even more crowded as we head closer to the election year. He will likely face tough competition from Sen. Ted Cruz, who has positioned himself as a tea party favorite. Huckabee said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” last month that he’s confident he can broaden his appeal beyond evangelical Christians and social conservatives to reach working-class Republicans concerned about the economy.

“There’s a real sense in the Re-

MAY 7, 2015

Christie Allies Charged in Court

Federal Funds for Police Body Cams

Justice Department said. It will match funds dedicated to buying cameras and training police on how to use them, but not for storage of the footage they capture, which can often make up the bulk of the cost.

Departments awarded the money will be part of a pilot program, overseen by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, to evaluate the impacts of body cameras.

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

publicly implicated, David Wildstein, an official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, pled guilty to federal conspiracy charges and could face about two years in prison at sentencing on August 6. In court, he said he and two other Christie loyalists closed lanes and engineered the traffic jams as part of a political payback scheme against a Democratic mayor and then worked together to cover it up.

The two people he implicated in court — former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, who was the governor’s top appointee at the Port Authority — were charged in an indictment that was unsealed after Wildstein’s plea. Wildstein gave no indication in court that Christie had any role in the scheme. The Republican governor has insisted all along that he knew nothing about it.

The scandal broke wide open more than a year ago when an email from Kelly to Wildstein was revealed.

It read, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Wildstein’s reply: “Got it.” That exchange was key in the indictment. Wildstein said they orchestrated the lane closings to start on the first day of school to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, a town at the foot of the bridge, for not endorsing Christie’s re-election bid. He said they also agreed to cover it up by claiming the lane closings were part of a traffic study. And he said they agreed to ignore complaints from Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.

Two of the three access lanes to the bridge in Fort Lee were shut down for four mornings in September 2013, causing huge delays. By the time the incriminating email was made public, Wildstein had resigned, as had Baroni.

Bridgegate is the traffic jam that The governor soon after fired Kelly never ends. Three former allies of and cut ties with Bill Stepien, his twoGov. Chris Christie were charged with time campaign manager. conspiracy, fraud, deprivation of civil Questions over whether the lanes rights and other charges last week in were closed for political retribution the George Washington Bridge scan- have been dogging Christie for more dal that has cast a long shadow over than a year. Christie has been gearing Christie’s White House prospects. up for a 2016 presidential campaign One of the accused has already plead but has not announced he is running. guilty.

While Christie himself was never higher taxes on the wealthy, the liberal billionaire reportedly has delayed paying Uncle Sam for years thanks to a loophole in U.S. law.

That loophole was closed by Congress in 2008. But before it was, Soros used it to defer taxes on client fees. Instead, he reinvested them in his own fund, and they grew tax-free.

According to Bloomberg, George Soros has made $13.3 billion in this way. Factoring in the various tax rates that would apply, one tax expert estimated this would leave Soros with a roughly $6.7 billion bill.

While he technically was able to do this for U.S.-based funds, offshore funds were apparently preferred because otherwise clients would face negative tax implications.

Congress closed that loophole in 2008, ordering fund managers to pay up by 2017.

Soros moved assets shortly before the change to Ireland, seen as a possible shelter from the law. But leading tax attorneys say they don’t know of a way for money managers to avoid the bill in 2017.

In News

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The Week publican Party that there’s no one speaking, not only to them, but speaking for them,” Huckabee said then.

“And if someone can capture both the blue-collar, working-class Republicans, the conservatives, many of them even union members, as well as evangelicals, there’s a real pathway to the nomination.”

Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, is a celebrated figure among evangelical Christians. He was the longest-serving Arkansas governor, from 1996 to 2007. He made national headlines for losing more than 110 pounds from 2003 to 2006, and he publicly addressed his struggles with weight. His book, “Quit Digging Your Grave with a Knife and Fork,” became a bestseller and he made obesity a major policy initiative as governor. He wrote in his memoir, “From Hope to Higher Ground,” that his work as a pastor helps him understand how politics and policy affect people.

On Monday, retired surgeon Ben Carson made it official, telling a crowd in his hometown of Detroit that he’s running for president. The former head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins hospital has never run for public office. But he’s a star among some conservatives and will try to parlay his success as an author and speak-

er into a competitive campaign.

He told his rally: “I’m Ben Carson and I’m a candidate for president.” He is the only high-profile African-American to enter the GOP presidential primary race.

Earlier in the day, former technology executive Carly Fiorina declared her intent to run as well. Fiorina climbed the ranks at AT&T and became the CEO at Hewlett-Packard in 1999. She credits her role as a business leaders with preparing her for the decisions required of a world leader.

“The nation is at a pivotal point,” she told Katie Couric. “The gulf between how people feel about their lives and what’s going on in Washington is huge. The disconnect between regular people and the political class is wide and growing.”

Now the second woman in the 2016 presidential race, Fiorina said about Hillary Clinton, “Hillary Clinton is a highly intelligent, very hard-working woman who has dedicated her life to public service. All these things are true. And yet, she doesn’t have a track record of trustworthiness,” pointing to Benghazi, the email snafu and recent allegations regarding foreign donations to the Clinton Global Initiative.

“In the world that I come from, a title’s just a title,” Fiorina said. “Why

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That’s Odd He’s Gonna Live the Dream

Hey, you! Yes, you, the man with the backwards baseball cap driving the truck. Come here—I owe you $74,925 and I want to make sure you get paid.

This week, a lucky winner won a straight flush on a Wild West lottery ticket. When he came to claim his prize, the clerk at the gas station in California handed him $75 and he was on his way.

But wait! $75 is small change for the winner who really won $75,000.

Now, the clerk, realizing his mistake, is trying to track down the Good Luck Chuck to make sure he receives what he’s due.

He better hurry—he has six months to claim the $74,925 that’s owed to him. Don’t let the big one get away.

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A Rapid Ascent Wonder how long it takes to build a 57-story skyscraper? If you’re in

China, it takes just 19 days.

Last week, the Broad Sustainable Building Co. put up the rectangular, glass-and-steel Mini Sky City in the Hunan provincial capital of Changsha using a modular method, assembling three floors per day. The Chinese construction company is claiming to be the world’s fastest builder.

“With the traditional method, they have to build a skyscraper brick by brick, but with our method, we just need to assemble the blocks,” company engineer Chen Xiangqian said.

The busy builders are not stopping there. The company has ambition to build the world’s tallest skyscraper with 220 floors in only three months.

Mini Sky City, which has 19 atriums, 800 apartments and office space for 4,000 people, goes on sale in May. The structure is safe and can withstand earthquakes, Xiao said.

Although the company is boasting that the building took only 19 days to complete, the company spent 4 ½ months putting together the building’s 2,736 modules before construction began. The 19 days of building was also not done consecutively. The first 20 floors were completed last year, and the remaining 37 were built from January 31 to February 17 this year.

No matter how strong they say this building is, I’d stay away. I don’t know how long it’ll last, ‘cuz, you know, it’s made in China.

Flour Power Looking for a million dollars? If you’re living with Fred Morgan, better check in the sack of flour sitting on your kitchen counter.

The postal worker said he couldn’t eat or sleep for three days when he discovered that he had five winning numbers in the April 17 Mega Millions game and realized that he won the cash.

But the windfall was too much for Fred to take in all at once, so he and his wife hid the winning ticket in a container of flour because no one would “check for anything valuable in the flour.”

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Bar Yochai…

Fortunate is the nation that absorbs your teachings!

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Lag B’Omer may be over, but you can still partner with Kollel Chatzos.

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MAY 7, 2015

The Week

After much consideration, the couple finally cashed in their ticket with dusty fingers and will enjoy their lucky dough. I gotta say that this story just takes the cake.

really intended to be comfortable”?

Well, this week, Marc Newson’s Lockheed Lounge was sold for a whopping $3.7 million—an all-time world-record price for an object by a living designer. The purchaser? He decided to remain anonymous, which I can understand considering that he probably paid a bit too much for this chair.

The seat was called the original “blobject” and was once featured in an article called “Furniture without Pity.” When the designer produced a dozen or so of the chairs, he couldn’t get rid of them and they sold in the low four figures in the 1980s.

In News in designing the Apple Watch.

This all sounds like a bunch of hot (ch)air.

What is Happiness?

didn’t think happiness was related to material possessions and wealth.

“The overall impression from the correspondence in 1938 is that happiness factors were rooted in everyday lives at home and within the community,” said McHugh. “In 2014, many comments value family and friends, with good humor and leisure time also ranked highly.”

Happiness is a state of mind.

A Full Facial

Rock ‘n’ Roll Grandma She’s rockin’ and rollin’.

Yvette Vachon, 91, has been making too much noise rocking in her rocking chair. So much noise, that the police were called in and the nonagenarian was fined $148 for disturbing the peace.

Apparently, her downstairs neighbor couldn’t take the ruckus, and police said the Yvette was violating the city’s excessive noise bylaw, which applies to anyone “shouting, swearing or behaving in a way to annoy the neighbors or passersby.”

When news broke out about the absurd fine, many fine citizens raised a ruckus of their own and the charges were dropped against the 91-year-old.

“I am very happy. I wanted this to end,” Yvette related. “I was very worried. Now I’ll be able to sleep peacefully and get some rest,” she added.

She also said that she’ll still be using her recliner, although she’ll be more careful opening and closing the footrest.

Perhaps her neighbors shouldn’t keep their hearing aids on too high.

An Elite Seat Would you ever purchase a chair that its designer concedes “was never

It’s called Lockheed in a nod to its airplane-like riveted cladding, but that wasn’t the original intent. The image Newson had in mind was one liquid “globule of mercury,” he told the BBC two decades after that first groundbreaking work. Though the chair looks industrial, Newson’s process was actually a laborious effort by hand to achieve such curves. It’s made of carved foam sheathed in aluminum plates, with rubber feet.

So why would anyone pay more than a few bucks for this chair?

When you look at it, “you can see where the design has come from and where it’s going in the future,” Alexander Payne, Phillips’ design director, professes. “You can see silhouettes and lines there from anything from the Apple Watch to new cars that are being designed today, jets, television screens and day-to-day objects.” Not entirely coincidentally, Newson was recently hired by Apple and is thought to have had a hand

Think we’re just as happy now as we were years ago?

A psychologist from the University of Bolton in the U.K. has recreated a famous study conducted in the same town almost eight decades ago that sought to find out what made people happy.

In 1938, an advertisement was placed in the local paper asking readers, “What is happiness?” After rating the importance of ten factors from 226 people, researchers found that people believed security, knowledge and religion were the most important aspects of happiness.

But those factors have changed.

Last year, Sandie McHugh and Professor Jerome Carson repeated the social experiment and found that while security was still in the top three, good humor and leisure were important as well. Religion, though, is not as popular as in 1938. It fell to the bottom of the list in the happiness poll conducted last year.

One factor that hasn’t changed, though, is the importance people place on luck – 40% believed good fortune was vital to their happiness both back then and in 2014. And in both eras, most people said they

We know that a lot of people live in China, but where does someone have to go to get a few minutes of relaxation?

Well, you probably should have stayed away from Jinan, China, on Monday if you were looking for a calming facial this week. The Guinness World Records confirmed that a thousand people in a football stadium enjoyed a mass facial that lasted 30 minutes and included “cleansing, masks, moisturizing and massage.”

The crowded beauty treatment broke the record for most people getting facials.

They sure came out with shining faces, although they probably needed a hot cup of tea to calm their nerves after spending so much time with so many people.

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Jewish Thought

89 Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller

W

distinctive approach – simply because he is different than all other people. They were punished with choking – a state where a person cannot take in air. Failing to give proper respect to another person means ceasing

EVERY JEW HAS INFINITE VALUE AND HAS A DISTINCTIVE APPROACH – SIMPLY BECAUSE HE IS DIFFERENT THAN ALL OTHER PEOPLE. to take in ruach – spirit. When a person does not honor another Jew, it shows that he has stopped appreciating that person’s unique spirit.

My son-in-law Yisrael was almost 20 when he joined our family. I will never forget an incident that happened on one of the very first Shabbats that he shared with us. A family friend dropped in. Yisrael noticed my little four-year-old shyly watching the scene.

He had been enjoying getting to know his new big brother-in-law but the entrance of another unknown adult caused him to retreat. Yisrael smiled, held out his hand and introduced him to the visitor. “This is my friend Yehudah,” he said of his young brother-inlaw. Yehudah beamed. He was a person, worthy of acknowledgment.

ith this in mind, we can go back to Meron and get a handle on what it’s all about.

Every Jew deserves respect, especially a talmid chacham – a Torah sage – because his soul is entwined with Torah. Really knowing someone means knowing his thoughts. Learning Torah means knowing G-d’s thoughts and bonding your mind to G-d’s mind. It means inculcating Divine traits and growing close to G-d. So when one gives respect to a Torah scholar, in essence one gives respect to that part of G-d that lives inside every great Jew. Why do we celebrate on Lag B’Omer?

We rejoice that Rabbi Akiva did not succumb to despair after his monumental loss.

We marvel at his exceptional fortitude in gathering five new students and transmitting to them the Oral Tradition we have today. Rabbi Akiva taught, “V’ahavta l’rei’acha kamocha, zeh klal gadol ba’Torah – Love your friend as yourself, this is a prime principle of the Torah.”

Torah takes you to a place where you can find G-d.

The first place where you can find Him is within the heart of every Jew. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was one of the five students of Rabbi Akiva. He revealed the secrets of the Torah – how to find the divine spark within oneself and in other people. Rabbi Shimon said to come to his tomb on the anniversary of his death, Lag B’Omer, and to rejoice.

The Maharal quotes the Zohar which says it is easier to build a connection with a tzaddik after his death, because then he is no longer constrained by physicality. Some aspect of the tzaddik’s spirit remains at his resting place and it wishes to give of itself. However, the degree to which you identify with the tzaddik is the degree to which the tzaddik will identify with you. On Lag B’Omer when we visit Rabbi Shimon’s tomb we are in essence saying, “Rabbi Shimon, you brought inner meaning and reality into the world, we want to see inner meaning and goodness in ourselves and in other people. Please help us do so.”

Wherever you may be this Lag B’Omer, if you take a moment to identify with another’s inner Gdliness, you will absorb the profound message of the day.  This article was reprinted with permission from aish.com.

MAY 7, 2015

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

LAG B’OMER The Beauty in Every Jew oyous! Overwhelmed! Ecstatic!

These words are usually reserved for life’s big ones. Like the time the human resources department called to tell you that you got that dream job. Or when you finally heard the magic words, “It’s a healthy baby.”

Lag B’Omer is that kind of day.

Close to a quarter of a million people are drawn to the tiny northern Israeli village of Meron, Rabbi Shimon bar Yoachai’s final resting place. It is a 24-hour spiritual festival with music, dancing, intense prayers, and a teeming street bazaar where the latest edition of the Zohar (the core text of Jewish mysticism) are raucously hawked alongside pictures of tzaddikim (righteous rabbis), hand-shaped amulets, and colored scarves. Scores of three-year-olds are there for their first haircut, which will take place in the presence of their family and the tens of thousands of Jews of all stripes and colors who throng to Rabbi Shimon.

This all takes place in the midst of Sefirat Ha’omer, the 50-day count up between Passover and Shavuot.

This time period is accompanied by laws that require a degree of mourning. No weddings. No music. The mourning is a reminder of the terrible death of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students who all passed on during this time period.

Then comes Lag B’Omer, like a dazzling diamond in a sea of banal grey. What’s it all about?

The famous reason for the joy of Lag B’Omer is that the students of Rabbi Akiva ceased dying on this day. But the reason they stopped dying was because there were no more students left! Is that a reason to celebrate?

Why were so many Torah scholars struck down by the plague? The Sages say that they did not treat each other with kavod – respect – and therefore they were stricken with a disease that caused them to choke to death. The Hebrew term kavod shares the same letters as the Hebrew word that means “heavy.” This heaviness implies recognizing another person as significant.

It means making him feel that you want to listen to him, and that he has a worthwhile message that only he can convey.

What makes a person unique? Externally, we may share similar characteristics, but internally our souls are vastly different. Rabbi Akiva’s students failed to recognize that every Jew has infinite value and has a

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Lag B’Omer

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

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Yaakov Wasilewicz

LAG B’OMER The Yahrtzeit of the Holy Rabbi Moshe Isserles

On

the 18th day of Iyar, the day of Lag

because each one of those great students didn’t see the

B’Omer, many people travel to Meron

uniqueness of their friend. It’s very hard for us to under-

to pray by the grave of the holy Rab-

stand how Rabbi Akiva’s great students were unable to see

bi Shimon Bar Yochai on the day of his yahrtzeit. Rabbi

that uniqueness in their friends. Yet, we must take that as

Shimon Bar Yochai was one of the five students of Rabbi

a lesson for our everyday life and try to see our friends for

Akiva who stayed alive after the 24,000 students of Rabbi

who they really are and appreciate their uniqueness be-

Akiva passed away. The reason why they passed away was

cause every person truly is unique and special.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was the author of the holy Zohar and after Rabbi Akiva was murdered by the Romans, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, together with his son Rabbi Elazar, went into hiding in a cave in the mountains near Peki’in in the Galilee, where they stayed for 13 years. There, he wrote the Zohar. This body of mystical knowledge was given orally by Hashem to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai. These teachings were lost to most people, until R’ Shimon, fearing a permanent loss of this knowledge, recorded them in the Zohar.

After being hidden for a 1,000 years, the Zohar was rediscovered by Rabbi Moshe de Leon of Spain in the 13th century.

While everybody celebrates the day of Lag B’Omer in celebration of the day when the Rabbi Akiva’s students stopped dying and for the yahrtzeit of the holy Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who before passing away revealed to us the deep secrets of the holy

Zohar, many of us forget about another great personality in Jewish history who greatly impacted our lives, Rav Moshe Isserles, or the ReMa of Krakow, whose yahrtzeit also falls on Lag B’Omer.

R

’ Israel Isserl was one of the most well-known storeowners in Krakow, Poland, during the sixteenth century. He owned a large store that sold many different types of items and was extremely wealthy. Customers would frequent his store not just because of what he sold but also because Israel was known to be an extremely honest man.

Every Friday, exactly at noon, R’ Israel would close his store and go home to prepare for the holy Shabbos. When the clock would show the 12th hour, he would nicely ask his clients to leave the store. One Friday, very close to the noon, a customer came to his store. This was no ordinary patron; he

was a very famous buyer who would buy and sell tailor equipment. The customer announced that he would be making a large purchase and started to look at the shelves around the store for things to buy. Slowly, he took things down from the shelves and put them down on the floor; those things that he was planning on buying he would put on aside. When the clock showed the 12th hour, R’ Israel went over to the buyer and said, “I’m really sorry but I have to close the store now. Come after Shabbos to complete your purchase.”

The buyer replied, “It’s only a noon.

We still have a few hours before Shabbos starts. Don’t worry; we’ll for sure finish our transaction before the holy day begins. I was given a big job to purchase all different things for many tailors who must make dresses for the people in the king’s palace.

I would like to buy half of your store, and this is not the last purchase in this store that

Jews visiting the grave of the ReMa on Lag B’Omer, the yahrtzeit of his passing

A

ccording to one source, Moshe was born in the year between 1520 and 1525; other sources say he was born in 1539. He studied in Lublin in the yeshiva of Rabbi Shalom Shachne, who was the student of Rabbi Jakub Polak. His first wife was the daughter of his teacher.

When he returned to Krakow, he was chosen to be the Chief Rabbi of Krakow. It has been said that he was not going to be accepted for this position, but Hashem made a miracle and overnight his beard turned white. Using family funds, R’ Moshe established a yeshiva in Krakow, which soon after became famous in the whole Jewish world. The students not only came from around Poland but also those from Central and Eastern Europe would attend the yeshiva in Krakow.

travel from one country to the next one, collecting money for the Jewish community of that city. Filled with dust after a long journey, looking very unusual, he knocked to the door of Rav Moshe Isserles. Rav Moshe was very happy to see such a guest and invited him inside to his house and gave him something to eat. After eating a big meal, the messenger from Eretz Israel told Rav Moshe, “You gave me the set table, and so I will also give you the set table.” He took out a sefer from his bag and gave it to Rav Moshe. It was the Shulchan Aruch, the freshly printed work of Rabbi Yossef Karo from Tzfat.

Rav Moshe Isserles looked inside the sefer and became very sad. He also wrote a book which was identical to the one that the messenger just gave him, but his book

J

ews from all over the world still visit the grave of the ReMa in the old Jewish cemetery in Krakow, especially on Lag B’Omer, the day of his passing. “Mi’Moshe v’ad Moshe, lo kam k’Moshe b’Israel” is written on his gravestone, alluding to the special love Polish Jews had for their great leader. His ideas are alive today as we learn from his words and we delve into the seforim that he authored.

Yaakov welcomes your questions and comments. He can be reached at jakubwasilewicz@tlen.pl.

938933

MAY 7, 2015

O

ne day, a messenger came to Krakow from the holy city of Tzfat in Eretz Israel where at that time lived many great rabbis. This messenger would

was a little bigger and richer. Besides for all the halachos, his book contained all different opinions of the Ashkenazy rabbis and Ashkenazy traditions. Rav Moshe understood that most of his work was a waste of time.

He decided to publish only those parts of the book that he wrote that had to do with the opinions of the Ashkenazy rabbis, and the traditions of the Ashkenazy Jews.

The handwritThe famous tree that protected the ReMa’s grave ten work that was the same as the book of Rabbi Yosef Karo he buried at night on the cemetery.

In the place where he buried those papers grew a tree. And when a few years later, on Lag B’Omer, 18th day of Iyar, 5332 (May 2, 1572) Rabbi Moshe Isserles left this world, they buried him under this tree, which surrounds his grave.

The tree bothered the chassidim who would come to the grave of the holy Rabbi Moshe Isserles, since they couldn’t visit the grave from all the sides; they wanted to get rid of it. But when the axe touched the tree, a storm broke out, thunder and lightning pierced the air, an abrupt sound on a day filled with clear blue skies. The scared chassidim ran away and no one has tried to remove the tree since then.

During WWII, when the Germans were occupying the city of Krakow, they wanted to destroy the grave of the ReMa. But the tree’s branches were filled with leaves that covered the grave, hiding it from the rabid Nazis. After the war, when Jews came back to Krakow, they found the cemetery to be totally devastated. The only grave that was standing, untouched, was the grave of the holy Rabbi Moshe Isserles.

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

Rabbi Moshe Isserles was considered to be the posek of the generation. People from all over the world would ask him questions. Even though he lived a short life, Rabbi Moshe Isserles was an author of many great works. One of such works is “Mechir Yayin” – a commentary to the Book of Esther written in Szydlow, Poland, in 1556. The title means “the worth of the wine.” He wrote this book instead of getting drunk on Purim that year, since there was not enough of wine in the city, and it was impossible to fulfill that mitzvah. He gave the sefer to his father as a present on Purim instead of wine. R’ Moshe also wrote Toras HaOla, which talks about the symbolism of the Bais Hamikdash and the way of bringing the korbanos. It also contains opinions on the topic of philosophy, astronomy, and kabbalah, since the Bais Hamikdash is a miniature of the whole world.

Next to the synagogue, which R’ Israel Isserl build for his family, is an old Jewish cemetery. In this cemetery, the bodies of the greatest and most famous rabbis that lived in Poland in the sixteenth and seventeenth century rest. Some of the headstones in the cemetery were destroyed during the war.

But the gravestone of Rav Moshe Isserles, one of the greatest of the Polish rabbis, was never destroyed and is standing until today.

T H E J E W I S H H O M E n M AY 2 4 , 2012 T H E J E W I S H H O M E n M AY 1 5 , 2014

I’m planning on making. If I will be able to get them the necessary items, I will become their main, favored delivery person for the king’s tailors.” He continued, “And if I purchase by you now, from now on I will only buy things by you. If you throw me out, now that I already selected the things that I want to buy, I will not have enough time to look for them and purchase them anywhere else before Shabbos—and later it’s going to be too late. I will not deliver what I was asked to, and I will lose the opportunity to be the main delivery person in the king’s palace!

You can be sure that if that happens, I will never buy anything by you, and I will tell all the different buyers not to purchase anything in your store,” the buyer threatened.

“I’m really sorry,” said R’ Israel. “This is my tradition, and I will not change that for any riches of this world!

“If that’s so, from now on I will be buying somewhere else.”

R’ Israel sighed, “That’s OK. I have to close my store now so I can rush home for Shabbos.” Summarily, he left all the items on the store that the buyer selected, turned and walked out of the store along with the customer, and locked up his shop.

It was a really big loss. R’ Israel could have sold half of his store! Besides that, the buyer never came to his store again. He therefore lost a very good customer. Nevertheless, he was paid back in spades when nine months later his wife gave birth to a son, who they named Moshe.

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

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TJH CENTERFOLD

• TJH CENTERFOLD

• TJH CENTERFOLD

Kidding!

Riddle!

You Gotta be

It was the first week after Lag B’Omer and the wedding hall was set for a busy week. They had a wedding scheduled on each night for five nights in a row. However, due to a clerical error, the wedding hall had no idea which couple was getting married on each night. On their information sheet, each name was in the correct column, but only 1 of the names within each column actually appeared in the correct row.

A young Jewish mother walks her son to the school bus stop corner on his first day of kindergarten.

“Behave, my tattaleh,” she says. “Take good care of yourself and think about your mother, zeeskeit!”

“And come right back home on the bus, schein kint.”

“Your Mommy loves you a lot, my tzatzkele!”

At the end of the school day, the bus comes back and she runs to her son and hugs him.

“So what did mein kint learn on his first day of school?”

The boy replies, “I learned that my name is Yossie.”

Chosson

Kallah

Last Name

Avi

Aviva

Kent

Yosef

Elonna

Goodman

Dovid

Shira

Adams

Baruch

Yocheved

Moss

Shimon

Chani

Small

Using the clues below, match the grooms, the brides, and the last names, then place each couple in its proper order.

1) Shimon is 1 place after Yocheved.

2) Chani is 1 place before the Mosses.

3) Dovid is not marrying Yocheved nor is he a Moss.

4) The Kents are 1 place before Shira, who is 2 places after Dovid.

5) Avi is 2 places before the Smalls.

Things Mom Would Never Say 

“Homework can wait; why don’t you play a couple of more videogames first?”



“That’s fine, I used to skip school a lot, too.”



“If you need more sugar and caffeine I’ll get you that 46 oz.

Coke.”



“Just leave all the lights on … it makes the house look more cheery.”



“Let me smell that shirt – yeah, that’s good for another week.”



“Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I’ll be glad to feed and walk him every day.”



“Well, if Dave says it’s OK, then it’s good enough for me.”



“The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It’s not like I’m running a prison around here.”



“Please take that jacket off; the wind chill is bound to improve.”



“No, I don’t have a tissue. Oh, well, just use your sleeve.”

See answer below

TJH CENTERFOLD

• TJH CENTERFOLD

• TJH CENTERFOLD

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

What Mom Probably Said

MAY 7, 2015

 MONA LISA’S MOTHER: “After all that money your father and I spent on braces, that’s the biggest smile you can give us?”  COLUMBUS’ MOTHER: “I don’t care what you’ve discovered, you still could have written!”  MICHELANGELO’S MOTHER: “Can’t you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?”

 ALBERT EINSTEIN’S MOTHER: “But it’s your senior picture.

Can’t you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something...?”

 ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S MOTHER: “Again with the stovepipe hat? Can’t you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?”

 GEORGE WASHINGTON’S MOTHER: “The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!”

 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL: “You have school tomorrow; hang up the phone!”

 THOMAS EDISON’S MOTHER: “Of course I’m proud that you invented the electric lightbulb. Now turn it off and get to bed!”

 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: “Benny, get inside! What do you want? To be hit by lightning?”  MARY’S MOTHER: “I’m not upset that your lamb followed you to school, but I would like to know how he got a better grade than you.”

79 35

 PAUL REVERE’S MOTHER: “I don’t care where you think you have to go, young man, midnight is past your curfew.”  LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN’S MOTHER: “Stop playing that music so loud!”

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Chani

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Avi Dovid Chosson ANSWER TO RIDDLE:

Moss Smalls Adams

Elonna Kallah

Kent Goodman Last Name

EW S HH OH M OM M AY 2014 T HTEH EJ EJW I SI H E En nM AY 2 48, ,2012

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MAY 7, 2015

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Cover Story

Susan Schwamm

To Mother, With Love HOW MOTHER’S DAY CAME TO BE

THE SECOND SUNDAY IN MAY IS A BUSY DAY FOR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN IN AMERICA. IT’S A DAY WHEN THE PHONE LINES ARE LIT UP, BOXES OF CHOCOLATES ARE SNATCHED OFF SUPERMARKET SHELVES, AND 1-800-FLOWERS SENDS OUT THOUSANDS OF BOUQUETS. IN FACT, MOTHER’S DAY ACCOUNTS FOR 24% OF ANNUAL FLOWER SALES IN THE COUNTRY—THAT’S A LOT OF ROSES SHOWING UP ON MOM’S DOORSTEP IN JUST ONE DAY! SO, WHAT MAKES MOTHER’S DAY SO IMPORTANT—AND WHO MADE IT THE HOLIDAY IT IS TODAY?

the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Some have even referred to Hering as “the father of Mothers’ Day.”

YOUR MOTHER – AS A SON OR A DAUGHTER.”

There are many ways to say mother; every language has its own word for the one who cares for you best. Around the world, different countries celebrate Mother’s Day in their own way.

In Thailand, Mother’s Day is celebrated in August, on the birthday of the current queen, Sirikit, who is considered by many to be the mother of all Thais. In the fall, families in Ethiopia can be founds singing songs and eating large feasts as part of Antrosht, a multi-day celebration in honor of motherhood.

In much of the Arab world, Mother’s Day is on March 21, around the start of spring. In Panama the day is celebrated on December 8, a day set by the Catholic Church. Britain’s centuries-old Mothering Sunday was also set up on that day in the spring for religious reasons. Families would travel to special churches on that day, which would lead to gatherings for families.

soldiers on both sides of the fight.

In 1868, Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation. Picnics and other events were organized as pacifist events and to unite the former soldiers of the blue and the gray.

The composer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” Julia Ward Howe, issued a widely-read “Mother’s Day Proclamation” in 1870, calling for women to actively take a part in promoting peace. Three years later, in 1873, Howe campaigned for a “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated annually on June 2. Interestingly, there were others who also advocated for a special day for mothers. Juliet Calhoun Blakely, a temperance activist, inspired a local Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the 1870s. Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Hering both worked to organize a Mothers’ Day in

whole life—resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Anna felt that most national holidays were biased towards male achievements. As such, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood. By 1912, the phenomenon caught on. Many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, and Jarvis had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. Finally, in 1914, Anna’s persistence paid off when President Wooderow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Interestingly, Anna’s vision for a Mother’s Day was a far cry from what we have today. She yearned for an intimate, personal celebration between mothers and their families. Anna suggested wearing a white carnation as a badge on that day and visiting one’s

mother or attending religious services.

Katharine Antolini, who wrote “Memorializing Motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the Defense of her Mother’s Day,” noted, “For Jarvis it was a day where you’d go home to spend time with your mother and thank her for all that she did. It wasn’t to celebrate all mothers. It was to celebrate the best mother you’ve ever known—your mother—as a son or a daughter.” That’s why Jarvis stressed the singular “Mother’s Day,” rather than the plural “Mothers’ Day,” Antolini explained.

But soon the holiday turned into a flamboyant, flimsy event.

Initially, Anna worked with the floral industry to help promote Mother’s Day. But after a few years, Anna saw that the commercialization of the day overshadowed the message she wanted to impart

to children and mothers across America.

By 1920 she had become disgusted with how the holiday had become a lure for businesses. She outwardly denounced the transformation and urged people to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards and candies. She began an open campaign against Mother’s Day profiteers, speaking out against confectioners, florists and even charities. Anna also launched countless lawsuits against groups that had used the name “Mother’s Day,” eventually spending most of her personal wealth in legal fees. Sadly, by the time of her death in 1948 Jarvis had disowned the holiday altogether, and even actively lobbied the government to see it removed from the American calendar.

Anna Jarvis died at the age of 84 in Philadelphia’s Marshall Square Sanitarium.

DID YOU KNOW?

lion adults will do just that this Sunday.

• More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with mom often cause phone traffic to spike by • An average adult spends $126.90 on gifts for their mother—don’t cheap as much as 37%. out!

• 66% of Americans celebrating Mother’s Day will treat their sweet moth- • A total of $14.6 billion will be spent in total in America for mothers on ers to flowers, 30% will treat their mom to a gift of jewelry.

Mother’s Day. • In the 1920s, Hallmark sold its first Mother’s Day cards. It is now the • 13% of flowers bought on Mother’s Day are bought by moms for themnumber three biggest day for card giving. $671 million is spent on cards selves. Shame, shame on you kids! on Mother’s Day. • 94% of dads think that small gestures are more important than buying • Mother’s Day is the most popular day to dine out. Approximately 75 militems on Mother’s Day. What cheapskates!

MAY 7, 2015

“IT WAS TO CELEBRATE THE BEST MOTHER YOU’VE EVER KNOWN –

Mother’s Day around the World

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

T

he official Mother’s Day we know today came about as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, Ann Reeves Jarvis’ daughter. When her mother passed away in 1905, Anna felt compelled to create a Mother’s Day as a symbolic way to honor the sacrifices mothers continuously make for their children.

After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner, she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia, in May 1908. It wasn’t just a singular event. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day program at a retail store in Philadelphia.

Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis—who ironically remained unmarried and childless her

81 37 89 T H E J E W I S H H O M E n MMAYAY 284,, 2014 2012

Considering that there are 4.3 babies born every second—with approximately 2 billion mothers in the world—there’s a lot to be thankful for.

Today, though, Mother’s Day has become a day filled with brunches and trinkets and lots of greeting cards.

But believe it or not, Mother’s Day was not intended to be a day filled with wrapping paper and cellophane.

It was meant to be a day filled with ideals and with the concept of giving back.

It’s possible that the roots of the day can be traced back almost 150 years. In the years before the Civil War, in the 1850s, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children by improving sanitary conditions and fighting diseases. During the Civil War, the groups worked towards healing by tending to wounded

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Dirshu Gedolei Yisrael Address Record Crowds at Major Locations in Eretz Yisrael, Across North America, as well as sites in Europe, South Africa, South America, Russia and Australia

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MAY 7, 2015

30,000 Participate in Historic Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Bechina

By Chaim Gold

DHYB 4-24-15 test, Belz Hall, Yerushalayim

How is it possible to describe a kiddush Hashem of such magnitude, a kiddush Hashem that simply had to invoke rachmei shamayim, Divine Mercy. Approximately 30,000 people throughout the world - yes, tens of thousands! - took Dirshu tests this past Friday and Sunday. Think for a second. Many tens of thousands of Yidden have joined the ranks of being shoneh halachos b’chol yom by participating in Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program and taking the first test in the Machzor Sheini that began at the beginning of this past month of Nissan.

Tens of thousands of bnei Olam Haba learned a daily daf of Mishnah Berurah this past month and reviewed to the extent that they could take a test. If that is not a colossal kiddush Hashem that has the power to invoke rachmei shamayim and immeasurably enrich Klal Yisrael, what is?

“I walked in and what I saw was a davar niflah, a wondrous occurrence.

Such a rabbim, so many people, taking tests on halacha! It is not a simple zechus. We are living in the time of geulah. The Gemara says that Ben Dovid, Moshiach will come on Sheviis or Motzaei Sheviis, in a Shmittah year or right after a Shmittah year.” These were the heartfelt words of HaGaon HaRav Dovid Schustal, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood, upon seeing legions of lomdei Dirshu taking tests at the Dirshu testing site in Lakewood, NJ. Converging on the Worldwide Testing Sites in Droves In Eretz Yisrael, where tens of thousands have joined the family of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha, the extent of the way that Klal Yisrael has embraced Daf HaYomi B’Halacha is clearly visible.

In Bnei Brak as one came close to the hall were filled with an ocean of Bnei Torah surging towards the Dirshu testing center the Armanot Chen Hall. The cavernous room was rapidly filling up with a never ending stream of people taking their seats around the tables, test papers before them.

Thousands of people were assiduously filling out their tests as the air buzzed

with the quiet hum of knowledge being transferred from mind to paper.

HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shaul Klein, shlita, a close talmid of Rav Wosner addressed the assembled, after which Rav Dovid Hofstedter rose to speak.

In Kiryat Sefer the HaGaon HaRav Aryeh Finkel, shlita attended.

In Yerushalayim many thousands gathered at the cavernous Belzer Hall in Kiryat Belz, and at the Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Beis Medrash where HaGaon HaRav Tuvia Weiss addressed the assemblage. On the surface, Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok was a replay of the other sites, except that the men wore the striped kaftan of the Yerushalmi Yid and conversed animatedly in Yiddish. Outwardly different in appearance, there was nothing different about their obvious appreciation for Dirshu’s style of learning and the place of prominence it occupied in their lives.

One thing was obvious.

Dirshu knows no borders.

Exponential Rise in Participants World Wide Similarly, in America and Europe as well, Dirshu has seen an exponential rise in Daf HaYomi B’Halacha learners and test takers. Nearly 500 tests were taken at that Boro Park site

DHYB 4-26-15 test, Odessa

39

Dirshu

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME MAY 7, 2015

alone!

Monsey, Williamsburg, Flatbush, England, France, South America, South Africa, Russia and Ukraine, similarly experienced tripling, quadrupling and often more of test takers as Daf HaYomi B’Halacha began its Machzor Sheini - embraced by all of Klal Yisrael in its diversity with tremendous love and dedication.

“Daf HaYomi B’Halacha is a Constant Companion a Constant Connection to Hashem” In Boro Park, when the test was at its peak, the test takers merited a visit

by Dirshu’s Nasi, Rav Dovid Hofstedter who delivered short words of Torah and brachah.

In his words, Rav Hofstedter hailed the beauty inherent in the fact that Daf HaYomi B’Halacha is something that lomdim constantly have on their minds. They learn it in every spare minute, before davening and after davening, bein hasedorim and during lunch break at work, at night, before supper, after supper. “It is a constant companion, a constant connection and gift to Hashem,” Rav Hofstedter said.

Rav Hofstedter also visited the Flatbush site in the Mirrer Yeshiva on Ocean Parkway. Rabbi Dubin, a veteran test taker, related that in his many years of taking tests he had never seen such numbers and so many new people flocking to a Dirshu test.

“This Can Bring the Geulah Closer” The Lakewood testing site was truly unique. In his public remarks, HaGaon HaRav Dovid Schustal, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha, said, “The people taking the test are talmidei chachamim muflagim!”

Rav Schustal said that Dirshu and Rav Hofstedter have merited a zechus that few have merited. First they enhanced the learning of Talmud Bavli in a wonderful way with their Daf HaYomi programs and now they have gone a step further by strengthening the learning of Shulchan Aruch, Mishnah Berurah and so many important additions [in the Biurim and Musafim in the Dirshu Mishnah Berurah]. The fact that there is a program and a framework to properly learn practical halacha is something that can bring the geulah closer,”

Dirshu Hanahala at Kosel

In Williamsburg too, at the Dirshu testing a massive crowd came to take the test. In the middle of the test, the lomdim merited a visit from the distinguished Vienner Rav, HaGaon HaRav Asher Anshel Katz, shlita.

Rabbi Chaim Shloime Adler related that, “The Rav was clearly moved as he observed the unusually large crowd quietly taking the test.”

The unprecedented numbers of people at the testing site in Shikun Skver merited hearing words of bra-

cha from the Skverer Dayan, HaGaon HaRav Yosef Yisroel Eisenberg, shlita.

The Quietest Revolution Rabbi Gobioff concluded, “It was the quietest revolution that one could find. In every city, Lakewood, Brooklyn, Monsey, Houston, Texas and of course Yerushalayim, Bnei Brak, London, Paris, Johannesburg and so many others, thousands upon thousands were sitting with their pens, brows furrowed, quietly writing answers to the

questions on halacha and mussar that they learned over the past month. Who knows, it is very likely that when we will finally be zoche to that ultimate day for which we are all waiting, those tens of thousands of quiet test takers and the aggregate millions of halachos learned, implemented and practiced will have had an instrumental role in finally bringing the geulah!”

HaRav Dovid Schustal addressing the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha bechina in Lakewood

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

40 90

Notable Quotes Notable

Quotes

Compiled by Nate Davis

Compiled by Nate Davis

“Say“Say What?” What?”

Congrats to Prince William and Kate Middleton, who welcomed a baby girl on Saturday. The royal baby weighed eight pounds — or around 12 American dollars.

- Jimmy Fallon

Oh, yeah. I’ve got to pay our bills.

- Bill Clinton, when asked by NBC whether he will continue to get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for speeches now that his wife is running for president

Back home in the Philippines, Manny Pacquiao is a congressman — which may explain why he didn’t do much of anything the other night.

- Conan O’Brien

I asked Hillary about this.

She said, “No one’s ever tried to influence me by helping you.”

- Bill Clinton, in an interview with NBC, definitively laying to rest all concerns raised by the blockbuster book Clinton Cash, which alleges that hundreds of millions of dollars was given to Bill Clinton to influence Hillary while she was secretary of state

I would have definitely paid $100 to watch someone beat up my congressman.

– Ibid.

I had my credit card, my license, my grandchildren’s pictures in there and all sorts of stuff it would have been wicked for me to replace.

- 95-year-old World War II veteran Arthur Kamberis of New Hampshire explaining why he beat a mugger with his cane rather than hand over his wallet

His iconic big red shoes will remain the same.

- Statement from McDonald’s explaining that Ronald McDonald has gone through a fashion makeover in preparation for a greater social media role

I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person.

- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a recent Q&A session

Blackberry is being criticized after it misspelled the word “won” in an ad celebrating a design award. Instead of w-o-n they put o-n-e.

Blackberry apologized for the spelling mistake and promised the person responsible has been fried.

– Jimmy Fallon

I’m saying to people around this nation right now: Stop being loyal to a party or to a man and use your brain to think for yourself.

That is really the key to us as a nation becoming successful again.

- Neurosurgeon Ben Carson in his announcement that he is running in the Republican primaries

Prince William’s pregnant wife, Kate Middleton, is past her due date. Doctors may have to induce labor. To speed up the birth, doctors have been telling the baby, “Come on out. You will never have to work a day in your life.”

– Conan O’Brien

Donald Trump is talking about running for president.

He hasn’t made an announcement, but I want to tell you something. The fake suspense is killing me.

– David Letterman

A 91-year-old woman in the U.K. recently got engaged to her 102-year-old boyfriend, which would make them the oldest newlyweds in the world. They’re really happy and said they can’t wait to spend the rest of their week together.

– Jimmy Fallon

There is no doubt in my mind that we have never done anything knowingly inappropriate in terms of taking money to influence any kind of American government policy.

– Ibid.

I love the phrase knowingly inappropriate. Do you know any normal person who says that? I didn’t do anything knowingly inappropriate.

You say I didn’t do anything inappropriate. This is classic Clinton speech. Somebody ought to make a dictionary.

We have a dictionary of Klingon; we ought to have a dictionary of Clintonism.

This is how they parse, this is how they dodge. And then he says there’s a limited attempt to take us down.

No facts not known now that were not known in ‘08?

That’s absolutely untrue. The allegations are about what happened since ‘08 when she was secretary of state.

- Charles Krauthammer

“Say What?”

– Jimmy Fallon

President Obama at the White House Correspondence Dinner

In countries in Scandinavia like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, they Anyway, being president is never easy.

I still have to higher fix a broken are very democratic countries.

Voter turnout is a lot than immigration system, issue veto threats, negotiate with Iran—all it is in the United States. In those countries, healthcare is the while finding time to pray five times aand day.graduate school is free; right of all people; college education

retirement benefits, child care are stronger than the United States It is no wonder that people keep pointing out how the presidency of America.

In those countries by and large government works has aged me. I look so old, John Boehner has already invited for ordinary people andat the middle class, rather than, as is the case Netanyahu to speak my funeral. right now in our country, for the billionaire class.

A few weeks ago, Dick (I-VT), Cheney says he thinks I’m the worst - Senator Bernie Sanders who recently announced that he is running for president, News Which is interesting, because I think Dick president of on hisABC lifetime.

Cheney is the worst president of my lifetime.

I’ve got to stay focused on my job, because for many Americans, North Korean dictator Kim I think you’ve sort of covered this is still a time of deep uncertainty. For example, I have one Jong Un reportedly has everything about that friend—just a few weeks ago, she was making millions of dollars a had 15 of his top officials question. year. And she’s now living out of a van in Iowa. executed. So the lesson here – A middle school student who President is when JongCoast, Un comes Here on Kim the East one big storywas wasinterviewing the brutal winter.

Obama, cutting the president to work with a new haircut, The polar vortex caused so many record lows, they renamed it off when he was going on and on you tell him, “Looking good, “MSNBC.” about his affection for reading Un.” It turns out Jeb Bush identified himself as “Hispanic” back in – Conan O’Brien 2009. Which you know what, look, I understand. It’s an innocent Ford just recalled almost mistake. Reminds me of when I identified myself as “American” back in 1961.

1 million cars for steering Let’s get something straight problems and because the so we don’t kidthings each other.

Hillary kicked off by going completely at a doors fly unrecognized open. This explains They already a Martin O’Malley kicked things off by Chipotle.

Not have to bepaved outdone, Chevrolet’s new slogan: path tocompletely a bomb’s worth of going unrecognized at a Martin O’Malley campaign “Ford just recalled almost material. Iran could get there event.

1 million cars for steering now if they walked away in problems and because the two to three months without doors fly open.” a deal.

– Conan O’Brien – Vice President Joe Biden at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy The Kentucky Derby is a race that lets rich people throw money at a bunch of weird Starbucks will now offer sounding names — which is cookie straws. And they another way of describing come in a variety of flavors, the presidential race so far. like type 1 and type 2.

Do I want to bet on Jeb? – Seth Myers Rand?

– Jimmy Fallon

I don’t see smiles on the faces of people at Whole Foods. you can, call at me.

-IfWarren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway’s annualon meeting - Words scrawled a mango explaining whythrew Berkshire that a woman at continues to hold stakesNicolas in CocaVenezuela’s President Maduro, along withsugary-treat a phone Cola Co. and other number for him to call as she companies needed a new home

Scientists It’s an easyhave linediscovered to say, that Tyrannosaurus Rex “Haven’t we had enough may have had a vegetarian Bushes?”…That’s why you cousin.

Man, must [stink] won’t see meitout there, and to have a vegetarian in the he doesn’t need to defend family when arms are me, and he’s your totally different too short to cover your ears.is from me. The role of family –not Seth Myers to be a political adviser or a policy adviser — there are plenty of those around — We in I the will rolehave is to inspectors say, “Hey man, there every single day. There love you.” is a lot ofW.hysteria this - George Bush, at about a conference discussing his brother’s 2016 run deal. president -for Secretary of State John Kerry speaking to Israel’s Channel 10 television about the Iran deal I didn’t get down on one knee, because I don’t think I would have been able to get Miami Dolphins lineman A.J. back up.

Francis just tweeted that he - George Kirby, ofan Britain, has signed up 102, to be Uber discussing his recent proposal to driver during the offseason. his fiancée Doreen Luckie, who But is 91since he’s with the Dolphins he can only drive 15 yards before he has to punt.

– Jimmy Fallon A rare and beautiful thing was seen today — a quadruple rainbow. That’s four rainbows. They were seen by all seven of the people who looked up from their phones today.

– Jimmy Kimmel

91 41

MAY 7, 2015

BMW’s new Deluxe 7 Series will allow drivers to simply press a button on their key fob to make the car park itself. And because it’s an expensive BMW it’ll park itself across two spaces.

– Jimmy Fallon

According to a new survey, During a recent press almost half of the voters conference, former President in Ohio, Florida, Jimmy Carter saidand he could Pennsylvania say that they never run for president today do not trust Hillary have Clinton. because he doesn’t a lot Republicans immediately got of money. Well, that and the together andthe said, “OK, this fact that he’s famously is a huge opportunity for us. bad President Jimmy Carter.

How are we going to [mess] - Jimmy Fallon it up?”

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[I’ll subjected to all kinds Thebe] new Apple Watch of distractions and officially launched attacks, today. and I’m ready that.

There’s a new for trend —I know that comes, unfortunately, people cutting actual apples with the territory. and strapping them to their -wrists Hillary in Clinton when asked celebration of the about new book, Applethe Watch.

And ifClinton you shop Cash, which discloses highly at Whole Foods, it actually shady dealings by the Clintons endsthe uppast costing as much as over few years the real thing.

– Jimmyhow Fallon Clever she casts herself as the victim of a book she hasn’t read and of questions she hasstudy yet toreveals answer.

A new that -one-third Liberal columnist Ronin Fornier, of babies the reflecting on Hillary’s response U.S. have used a smartphone.

Yeah, and one-third of babies in China have made a A U.N. study claims the smartphone. happiest country in the – Conan O’Brien world is Switzerland. When asked why they’re so happy, Swiss people couldn’t Hillary Clinton Opanswer becausewrote their an hands Ed forcounting a paper in Iowa and about were money her plans to help their mouths werethe fullmiddle of chocolate. class. Middle class Americans “Why didn’t you just –said, Conan O’Brien say that in a speech?” and she said, “Because I charge $200,000 for a speech.”

New Russia.

Jimmy Fallon -–Czarist-era term used repeatedly by Russian President Vladimir Putin to refer to eastern Ukraine, where armed To the people of Baltimore pro-Russian bands have stirred and the demonstrators unrest across America: I heard your call for “No justice, no peace.”

They created the myth - Baltimore state’s attorney of nuclear weapons so Marilyn Mosby announcing they could say the Islamic charges against six police officers Republic a source of threat. involved inisFreddie Gray’s death No, the source of threat is America itself.to file charges The decision -was Iranian Supreme Leader made not based on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a considerations of justice, but televised address to Iranian on considerations military commandersof crowd control.

- Alan Dershowitz, talking about Mosby’s charging of the police officers

42

A Parsha Thought Emor – The Greatest Gift of All

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

Rabbi Shmuel Silber

“And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. You shall count until the day after the seventh week, [namely,] the fiftieth day, [on which] you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord (Vayikra 23:15-16).”

God commanded us to count the days from Pesach leading up to Shavuos. A seemingly simple commandment aimed at linking these two experiences. We are taught that exodus was not an ends; it was a means to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. We were not taken out of Egypt simply to be free and without a human master.

We were emancipated because we had

(and have) something to contribute.

Our nation has the ability to be a light unto the nations. But in order for the light to burn and illuminate there must be fuel. The Torah is our fuel, the commandments are the oil for our national wick allowing us to burn bright and dispel the darkness. We count the days from Pesach to Shavuos to remind ourselves that our freedom must be used for spiritual accomplishment.

We count the days of Omer to remind ourselves of our national mandate to make this world a better place.

There is something very interesting about the verbiage used in the verse quoted above. The Torah does not simply tell us “to count,” rather, God instructs us, “And you shall count for yourselves, U’Sfartem Lachem.”

What is the meaning of this phrase “Lachem, for you”?

It is intriguing that a number of our initial commandments and mitzvos share a common theme – time. The first national mitzvah was Kiddush HaChodesh, sanctification of the new moon. God told Moshe, “HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem Rosh Chodashim, this month is for you the first of all months (Shemos 12:2).” Again, we see this same word “Lachem, for you.” Two of our initial commandments – both focused on time. Perhaps, God was trying to convey to us an all-important lesson for meaningful living. Kiddush HaChodesh (sanctification of the new month) reminds us that we control our months and Sefiras HaOmer (the counting of the days between Pesach

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and Shavuos) reminds us that we control our days and our weeks. We control our time.

Time humbles all men. Influence, power and connections can get you many things. But the one thing that no amount of “protexia” can procure and acquire for you – is time. Time is a finite, non-renewable resource. No matter how much you yearn for more – you simply can’t create it. However, although we can’t generate additional quantities of time – we can most definitely control what we have been given. Time is the greatest treasure God bestowed upon us as a free nation. It is the currency of accomplishment and self-advancement. Without it you can do nothing, go nowhere; with it, the sky is the limit. People often say “if only I had more time - there are so many things I would like to do.”

These mitzvos remind us that we have complete autonomy over how we use our time. It is true – there may not be enough time to accomplish everything you want to accomplish – so choose carefully. Decide what is important and focus your energies. We are limited in the duration of our time in this world, but have sole discretion as to how to use the time we are given. Time is the start-up capital for our greatest initiative – life. Invest it wisely.

Perhaps, this why the Torah uses the word “Lachem, for you” by both of the aforementioned commandments.

God is not simply telling us to count.

He is instructing us to “make it count for your selves.” The month is yours – decide what you are going to accomplish. The week is yours – decide what needs to get done. The day is yours – contemplate how to maximize and squeeze precious meaning and productivity from every holy moment.

As we bask in the after-glow of Pesach and feel the anticipatory excitement of Shavuos let us find the courage and strength to maximize our weeks, find the meaning in each day and take advantage of every moment.

43

Kollel Chatzos

yeshuos and Lag B’Omer at the Kever of the holy Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai has long been revered as a source of powerful potential bracha. But for anyone with a true understanding of the immense tzidkus of Rabbi Shimon, and the brilliant light of Torah he brought to the world, there can be no greater way to mark his yarzheit than by immersing in Torah learning.

Rabbi Shimon Halperin, Rosh Kollel of Kollel Chatzos Meron, expounds.

“People come to Meron from across the country and across the world. At the kever there is a huge commotion with dancing, davening, tehillim, singing and upsherin going on. The Kollel Chatzos talmidei chachomim, who are sitting quietly and learning the entire night, they are truly connected with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, fulfilling his holy will.”

As more and more people across the globe reach out to support the nighttime Torah learning of Kollel Chatzos, the recognition is growing of the enormous bracha inherent in supporting continuous, 24 hour a day, Torah learning. Kollel Chatzos partners continuously share their amazing stories of yeshuos, refuos and besuros tovos that came to fruition after they began supporting the nighttime Torah learning of the Kollel.

“When people hear the power and zechus of supporting Kollel Chatzos, and the yeshuos it brings, they realize that there is definitely a koach to supporting Torah being learned b’chatzos halailah,” shares Rabbi Hoffman.

You can reach the ultimate level of bracha this Lag B’Omer and throughout the year by supporting the nighttime learning of Kollel Chatzos in Meron as well as Brooklyn, Monsey and Monroe.

Contact Kollel Chatzos today for special Lag B’Omer partnership options. 1-855-CHATZOS (242-8967) or 1-718-887-9114 mail@kollelchatzos. com, 46 main st. #104 Monsey NY 10952, www1855chatzos.org

MAY 7, 2015

As Lag B’Omer approaches, hundreds of thousands of people are preparing to gather in the storied hills of ancient Meron to celebrate the yarzheit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. There they will dance, sing, light fires and cut little boys’ hair; partaking in the joyous and uplifting traditions of the day.

Tucked away on a quiet street, entrance #9, in house #56, in the shul of Rabbi Naftali Friedman (special Lag B’Omer location), the talmidei chachomim of Kollel Chatzos, Meron will be celebrating Lag B’Omer with the ultimate fulfillment of the essence of Rabbi Shimon: Torah learning throughout the night.

Unlike the thousands who have traveled to the kever of Rabbi Shimon for just this one night, the members of Kollel Chatzos gather every midnight throughout the year at the kever in Meron (as well as in three locations in the United States). As the rest of the world sleeps, they immerse themselves in vibrant torah learning, bringing zechusim and yeshuos to klal yisroel.

“In the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai states over and over, more than 130 times, that chatzos halaila is such a special time to learn,” explains Rabbi Nechemye Hoffman, Founder and Director of Kollel Chatzos. “Between the Kollel Chatzos locations in the United States and the one in Meron, Torah is being learned 24 hours a day.”

As a bochur learning in Eretz Yisroel, Rabbi Hoffman visited Meron on Lag B’Omer and left with a small set of Zohar. The numerous references to the tremendous gadlus of learning torah through the night kindled something within him and he began waking at midnight to study Torah. Once back in the United States, he married and settled in upstate New York with a regular day kollel schedule. Yet he sorely missed his nighttime learning, and with the support and encouragement of his wife, he founded the first Kollel Chatzos. Four years later, each location has a waiting list.

There have always been those who feel a deep connection to segulos and

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

The Power of Lag B’Omer – Kollel Chatzos Night-time Learning Captures the True Essence of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

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Real Estate 20 Easy and Effective DIY Tricks to Keep Your Home Safe Submitted by: Ben Schwartz | Founder VacancyFillers.com

Home security systems have grown in popularity over the years but the simple truth is that there are ways you can ensure your home security aside from using a security system. While having a system is a good idea, it is not the only idea. There are things that you have to do to ensure your family’s safety and the safety of your home and many of these things will cost you nothing.

From remembering to lock the doors when you leave to always keeping your windows locked, some security steps are not expensive nor are they time-consuming.

Whether you are leaving on vacation, going to work or even staying at home, you want to know that your home, family and possessions are safe and secure. We have put together a list of things that you can do to better protect your home and family.

You can try one of these tips or try them all. You simply can never be too safe. These tips are effective, easy to initiate and best of all, many of them are completely free.

1. Keep Ladders Put Away If you have a ladder just sitting up against your house, you can bet that a burglar is going to use it to enter your upstairs windows. Most won’t bring their own ladders and you certainly do not want to make their jobs easier. Put ladders away in the garage or work shed when they are not in use.

2. Reinforce Door Jambs If your door jambs or frames are weak, you want to reinforce them so that they are not easy to kick in. When burglars cannot jar the locks, they may resort to kicking in the doors and if you reinforce those doors, you make their jobs much harder. Most burglars will give up when they cannot easily enter a home.

3. Invest in Tougher Windows While this is not a free security tip, it is an important one. Even if you do everything else right to deter burglars, if your windows are easy to break then someone is likely to intrude your home. You can get double-glazed windows that are much tougher to break so that burglars are not as likely to come inside.

4. Close the Garage Door When you are gone you should always keep the garage door closed. If you forget to close it regularly, a timer may be a good idea. You can simply set the timer to close the door for you after a specific amount of time has elapsed so that burglars can’t get inside. The sensors are easy to install and relatively cheap considering the alternative.

5. Check Your Door Locks If the only locks on your doors are knob locks, you need better locks. You should never rely on knob locks as your only form of security. Top locks make your home much more secure and are relatively easy to install. Deadbolts along with knob locks make it twice as difficult to pry the door open and enter.

6. Set Up a Neighborhood Watch This is a completely free tip that will help you to protect your home and the homes of your neighbors. If you don’t already have some sort of neighborhood watch in place, you may want to talk with your neighbors and set one up. Studies have shown that you can reduce the level of crime in your neighborhood by as much as 26 percent when you have a neighborhood watch program in place.

7. Get a Safe Safes are really inexpensive and great for keeping things safe from burglars as well as fires. You can find many different kinds of safes so it is completely possible to get the perfect one for your needs. Whether you want something that you can hide in the wall or just something that you can shove under the bed, important documents, expensive jewelry and other valuables should always be protected by a safe.

8. Motion Sensors Are Essential Motion sensors are not terribly expensive and come in very handy when protecting your home. Most home security systems today offer these sensors and you have the choice of a low monthly fee or a low upfront cost. You can install the sensors yourself, saving you a lot of money over professional installation.

9. Install a Peephole If your main door does not have a peephole, you should install one. You want to always be able to tell who is at your door before you open it. It takes just a little time to install the peephole and it can be a great addition to your home security lineup. No matter what type of door you have, there is a way to install a peephole.

10. Build a Hiding Place for Valuables If you have valuable jewelry, cash or other items that you really want to keep hidden, you can build your own hiding place.

Burglars have gotten smart enough to check under the matters and in the freezer but there are numerous other places in your home that will work for a hiding place that they would never think to check.

11. Use Alarm System Decals – Even

If You Don’t Have An Alarm You can buy fake alarm system decals that will deter would-be burglars. eBay sells them or you can pick them up in yard sales and other places. Although you will know that you don’t really have an alarm system in your home, burglars will certainly think twice about trying to enter when they see the decals that say your home is protected.

12. Keep Your Landscaping Neat Criminals love places to hide so if you have untrimmed bushes near your windows, this is virtually like inviting them to enter your home. If you are going to be away from home for some time, it is particularly important that you keep your lawn mowed and bushes trimmed to give the impression that you are still at home.

13. Get a Dog You don’t actually have to get a dog, but studies have shown that barking dogs deter burglars. If you don’t have a dog and don’t really want one, there are alarm systems that sound like barking dogs when they are triggered. Would-be burglars will worry about confronting your canine friends and will be gone before they can do any damage.

14. Keep Your Mail Picked Up If you are planning to be gone on vacation, ask a neighbor to pick up your mail every day while you are away. You could also ask the post office to hold your mail and cancel newspaper subscriptions until you return. A mailbox filled with uncollected mail is the first indication to a burglar that no one is at home.

15. Keep Electronics Boxes Out of Sight Leaving boxes from major electronics on the curb or on your porch lets criminals know that you have these things in your house. Security experts recommend you tear down the boxes or haul them to the dump right away. If needed, you can just cut them up into smaller pieces and hide them in your trash can.

16. Buy Light Timers Keeping your indoor and outdoor lights on timers is an excellent way to give burglars the impression that you are at home, even when you are not. Timers are inexpen-

sive and will turn on your lights at a certain time every evening. This is also a good idea for when you arrive home late at night. You won’t have to worry with forgetting to turn on lights when the timer does it for you.

17. Don’t Broadcast Your Plans If you are going to be on vacation, you shouldn’t really broadcast the fact that you will be away. While you may want to hit Facebook and alert all of your friends that you are heading to Maui, it is best to wait until you return home and then let them know what a good time you had. A broadcast that you are going to be away from home could fall into the wrong hands.

18. Install Dummy Surveillance Cameras You don’t need to purchase expensive surveillance cameras. You can actually trick burglars by installing cameras that seem like they are watching your home, even if they really aren’t. There are some great ways that you can install webcams and turn those cameras into security cameras that allow you to keep an eye on your home no matter where you are.

19. Bar Doors and Windows Sliding doors and windows give burglars good opportunities to enter your home.

By simply placing wooden dowels or metal bars on these areas, you can secure them so that burglars can’t open them. You just cut the dowels so that they fit into the tracks whenever the doors and windows are closed.

20. Leave Tracks in the Snow If you are going to be gone during winter, burglars will actually look for tracks around your home in the snow. Have a neighbor come to your house and track up your yard so that it looks as if you are home.

Untouched snow is a certain indicator to burglars that you are gone, particularly if it remains untouched for a couple of days.

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Meat

EWISH T hTeHEJ eJw i s h h oHOME m e n n aMAY p r i l2245, ,2012 2013

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

46 70 86

Lag B’Omer

Esther Ottensoser

Snipping with Sophistication

Ideas to Grace your Upsherin Table

Few things can compare with the excitement of a three-year-old as he awaits his Upsherin (at least until he sees the scissors!). With the big “Upsherin Day” just around the corner, here are a couple of fun and easy ideas that will add to this memorable occasion.

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Yarmulke cupcake template

MAY 7, 2015

Directions Copy template (right) onto hard stock paper. (The template given is for a mini cupcake.) Wrap the cupcake wrapper around the cupcake. Secure with scotch tape.

Cover the top of the cupcake with the melted candy melts/icing. Dip a toothpick into the candy melts/ icing and draw the payos.

Make a yarmulke out of the fondant and place on top of the cupcake. Use some of the icing as “glue.”

Using a knife, make a mark on the yarmulka in both directions to create four sections. Draw an initial on the yarmulka using a toothpick dipped in the candy melts/icing.

Arrange on a tray to be used as a centerpiece for your upsherin table.

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

Supplies Mini white cupcakes Yellow candy melts or icing Black fondant Cupcake wrappers

TThHE e JJeEWISH w i s h hHOME o m e nn MAY a p r i2l 42, 52012 , 2013

Yarmulka Cupcakes

Scissor Cookies

Supplies Cookie dough Scissor cookie cutter Edible silver spray (I used the one by Chefmaster) available at baking supply stores Candy melts Directions Roll out your cookie dough. Use your scissor cookie cutter to cut out the “scissors.” Use a straw to cut a hole in both scissor handles. Bake the cookies according to your recipe directions.

Once cooled, place cookies on a piece of parchment paper and spray the cookies. Melt the candy melts according to the package directions and dip the handles into the candy melts.

Once the scissors are dry, they can be arranged on a tray, scattered across the table, hung from the branches as an extra centerpiece.

Sweet Torah Treats Though this isn’t the most sophisticated idea, this simple, neat treat can be color coordinated and easily fill that extra cookie jar on your sweet table. Simply wrap a 2 ½”x2 ¾” piece of scrapbooking paper around two packages of winkies and tie with a ribbon.

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In The Kitchen

The Sweetness of Mother's Day

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

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Jamie Geller

Rum Raisin Bread Pudding My love of all things bread pudding comes from my mom. And my mom’s love comes from her mom.

You can say it’s in our DNA and we didn’t really have a choice. My grandmother a”h, on occasion, would even go so far as to eat a piece of fresh, crusty, Italian bread for dessert. So this Rum Raisin Bread Pudding, a “slight” upgrade on a simple slice of bread to end the meal, is for my mom (and grandmom). Don’t have day-old bread? Place bread cubes on a baking sheet in the oven at 350°F for 5 minutes to dry out.

Happy Mother’s Day! Ingredients 1 tablespoon margarine 6 cups cubed day-old bread 3 cups soy milk 2 large eggs 1 cup packed light brown sugar 2 tablespoons rum

1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch ground nutmeg ½ cup raisins Nondairy whipped topping Directions Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with margarine.

Place bread cubes in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl, beat soy milk, eggs, brown sugar, rum, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins. Pour over the bread and mix thoroughly. Spoon bread mixture into the prepared baking dish. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with whipped topping on the side.

PB&B Smoothie Peanut butter and banana not only make the best sandwich, but they make a fantastically delicious smoothie, creamy and utterly decadent and full of protein.

Ingredients 4 bananas, peeled and broken into pieces 3 cups vanilla yogurt 1 cup creamy peanut butter 2/3 cup milk 2 cups ice Directions Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend for about 5 minutes or until completely smooth. Divide between 4 glasses and serve immediately.

Jamie Geller is one of the most sought-after Jewish food personalities worldwide. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of NYU, Jamie developed an outstanding media career as an award-winning TV producer and marketing executive at CNN, HBO and The Food Network. Ever since her first cookbook, Quick & Kosher: Recipes from the Bride Who K new Nothing (Feldheim, 2007), became a Jewish cookbook classic she has been at the helm of a rapidly growing media empire. The savvy bestselling author founded Kosher Media Network (KMN), an integrated media and marketing company along with Chairman Henry Kauftheil and spearheaded by Grey Advertising veteran Milt Weinstock. KMN is organized into four business segments: Publishing, Broadcasting, Digital, and Live.

In the spring of 2010, KMN, unveiled its Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller consumer brand, with the simultaneous launch of JoyofKosher.com – the first and #1 social networking community for the kosher foodie – and the awardwinning magazine, Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller.

The Observant Jew

81 Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

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make sure they’re on straight. I do this for two reasons: 1) If he sees me and subliminally thinks to check his own, I’ve avoided the uncomfortable task of telling him that they aren’t on straight.

intersection were blocking the entrance.

There was a car ahead of me with its blinker on and I noticed that a car going the other way had enough space in front of him that if he moved up, we could

2) I recognize that if I’ve seen it on someone else, my first task is to look at myself and make sure I’m OK before I try to correct him.

until he finally rolled down his window as the light changed and yelled angrily that he had been waiting for the light.

Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. You can find him at www.facebook.com/RabbiGewirtz and follow him on Twitter @RabbiJGewirtz.

He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion.

Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@ JewishSpeechWriter.com and put Subscribe in the subject. © 2015 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

Voice Lessons

with Cantor Allan Berman

All Baalei Tefiloh, Singers, Teachers, Rebbeim...

Trouble with high notes? Hoarse?

Graphics by Leah Mostofsky

There’s a great saying that goes: Some people learn from other people’s mistakes. The rest of us are the other people. When you see someone doing something wrong, your first response should be to learn a lesson. Did someone look really foolish when they lost their temper over something silly?

Well, hopefully that will teach us not to act just as foolishly.

Someone drove on the shoulder or refused to pull over when an ambulance was bearing down on him? It helps you see how awful it is. Just today, I was trying to pull into a store and I had my daughter in the car. Now, since I’ve mentioned her, you undoubtedly realized the store was 7-Eleven and we needed to get a Slurpee.

So there we were, trying to make the left turn into the parking lot but the oncoming cars waiting for the light at that

both make the left turn. I rolled down my window and gently motioned that he should move up. Through his tinted windows, I couldn’t see if he saw me

Learn to speak, sing , and daven correctly and with the correct Nusach and melodies!

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Some people learn from other people’s mistakes.

The rest of us are the other people.

He clearly missed the point of what I was asking. I knew he was waiting for the light, but if he’d thought of someone else he’d have made room behind him for others to go.

When the traffic finally passed, we still couldn’t make the left turn. Why not? Because there was a car coming out of the 7-Eleven parking lot and instead of being all the way over in the right lane, he came out in the middle of the driveway, straddling both lanes, effectively preventing the car ahead of me from turning in. As he passed, I saw the yarmulka and told myself, “I don’t want to be the one to do that and look so selfish!”

I didn’t condemn him, though he was truly careless. Instead, I took it as a message and a lesson for me to learn what not to do by watching the mistakes of others. It’s the same as with our friend with the cellphone.

I ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for me.

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

For Whom the Bell Tolls here you are at a place where silence is imperative.

You could be at a synagogue, or a wedding, or a funeral. It doesn’t matter where, but the crowd is hushed, and then, suddenly, the stillness is broken by the ringing of someone’s cell phone.

Your first thought is: “Why didn’t that idiot turn off his cell phone ringer?”

Your second thought, if you’re like me, is: “Wait a minute…am I that idiot?”

Whenever that happens, I instinctively reach for my phone to make sure it isn’t.

You all know the drill. If it’s a woman, the phone will be deep in her Mary Poppins or Savta Simcha-esque bag, and it will keep ringing as she digs under her wallet, checkbook, keys, makeup, tissues, Tehillim, school report card from 1994, expired coupons from Bed, Bath and Beyond (but they still honor them!), and maybe a pack of chewing gum. Then, when she finally gets it out, she will say, in a stage whisper loud enough to be heard by the guy in the casket, “I can’t talk now. I have to call you back later. Yes, of course I will, OK, buh-bye.”

She will then throw her phone back into her bag where it will remain silent…until the next phone call because she forgot to turn it off, or at least move the ringer to vibrate or silent. Hopefully, when it happens again, she will decide to turn it off so the eulogy can continue uninterrupted.

If it’s a guy, he’s usually davening Shemona Esrai and will clamp his eyes shut tightly so as not to interrupt his tefilla. Of course, he has no right to disrupt everyone else’s, but let’s leave that for a moment. Eventually it stops ringing or he turns it off, and you get back to the prayer.

So, at that moment, what should you be thinking? Should you be thinking how inconsiderate they are? Should you be wondering how they manage to tie their shoes in the morning without sustaining severe brain injury? Not at all.

What you should be thinking is, “Did I turn off my phone?” And you should check right then to make sure you don’t become the next person to disrupt the solemnity of the occasion.

When I am in shul and see someone whose Tefillin are on crooked, the first thing I do is adjust my own Tefillin and

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One Israel Fund

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

A Time to Protect. A Time to Build.

By Mordechai Kastelbaum Life in Israel is like a rollercoaster ride.

Last summer we experienced Operation Protective Edge and all of the international attention that it brought to Israel. It was followed by a flurry of diplomatic activity regarding the so-called “Two State Solution,” the ongoing Iranian nuclear threat, and, of course, the high-profile elections in March.

We go from one crisis to another, with barely a moment’s rest in between. We’re the center of attention for news outlets around the world and a magnet for undue attention and, more often, self-righteous condemnations.

In the midst of all the hullabaloo, it’s easy to forget that Israel needs to continue to function as a country. Kids need to go to school, adults need to work, the economy needs to grow… life needs to go on, no matter what today’s headlines in the newspapers are screaming. That is one of the characteristics that makes Israel unique. Despite all that is going on around us and within us, with G-d’s help we continue to prosper and flourish even under the most trying conditions.

It is rare to find a person in the Diaspora who fully appreciates this remarkable resilience of Israeli citizens.

Israeli’s do not allow the constant threat of terror to disrupt daily life, nor do they question their steadfast commitment to the land in the face of harsh criticism. On the contrary, they redouble the efforts on behalf of Eretz Yisrael and reaffirm their belief in One Israel for one Jewish people.

Yet, there is an organization that uniquely understands, more than most, the true needs of Israel’s most idealistic Jews and tailors programs to bolster their lives in any way possible.

One Israel Fund has been at the forefront of the growing effort to support those among Israel’s most vulnerable residents in Judea and Samaria, both in good times and those more trying.

Many funds popped up during

Operation Protective Edge to provide supplies and support to communities in the south of Israel, but One Israel Fund was there before the violence erupted, and One Israel remains there after the fighting has calmed. Now, efforts have expanded from emergency supplies to infrastructure needs, both in the south as well as our vulnerable heartland. One Israel Fund is building the resources to make the communities of YESHA (the Hebrew acronym for Judea and Samaria) in Israel’s Heartland a more attractive place to live and raise a family while simultaneously working to protect those living in the south.

To that end, One Israel Fund has recently completed several community-based projects to bolster local neighborhoods, like a new children’s library, playgrounds and a fitness cen-

tribution of security equipment to atrisk communities. Most recently, the organization launched a campaign to arm every Security Chief with newly designed bulletproof vests down south, in Judea and Samaria as well as along the northern borders with Lebanon and Syria.

Looking back at the past 21 years, one can easily discern the impact these efforts have had on Israel’s heartland.

In 1993, barely 75,000 Jews were scattered in small villages and towns throughout the area. They were hopeful but realized they couldn’t do it alone. Thus, One Israel Fund was created to partner with these fledgling communities and to bring much-needed financial support.

Today, in 2015, YESHA boasts a growing population of nearly 400,000, with major cities and towns. It is lit-

Dubin Playground Plaque

ter, as well as other improvements to develop community life. Additionally, there are numerous new projects that are waiting for funding in the pipeline which will contribute greatly to the quality of life in countless towns and cities.

At the same time, One Israel Fund continues its mission to protect these vulnerable areas by expanding its dis-

erally and figuratively “on the map” and, with continued support, could top 1,000,000 residents in just a few short years.

Just think of the effect this massive growth will have on the future of negotiations with our Arab neighbors! YESHA is no longer a region of disjointed villages - it is a force to be reckoned with on the international

Kfar Darom - Shomria Playground

stage! It is growing exponentially in population, agriculture and industry.

To mark its 21 years of achievements, One Israel Fund will honor a group of talented and devoted friends of Israel at its upcoming annual dinner.

Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon is well known throughout Israel and the English Speaking World. Rav Rimon. a leading authority on halacha (Jewish law), brilliant educator, prolific author and favored lecturer, has a golden heart. The combination of his profound intellect and deep compassion for others has resulted in successful employment initiatives that transformed the lives of countless individuals who had thought their situations hopeless. He is the founder of JobKatif, an organization which has helped more than 2,400 families, expelled from Gush Katif back in 2005, find gainful employment. Rav Rimon will receive the Hakarat Hatov Award as a small token of the appreciation One Israel Fund has for all of his efforts.

Receiving the Aishet Chayil award is Suzie Schwartzstein. Suzie, a prominent board member of One Israel Fund, never shies away from helping One Israel Fund’s campaigns. This past summer, in the midst of Operation Protective Edge, Suzie leapt into ac-

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One Israel Fund consisting of David Berman, Alex Cerrano, Charles Dantone and Carol Szumski. Since becoming the bank of choice for One Israel Fund, Michael and his team have consistently gone above and beyond to help ensure that the organization gets the most personalized service anyone could imagine. They are available 24/7 and have worked tirelessly to provide incredible service for One Israel Fund.

Always one of the highlights of the annual dinner are the young pro-

note Speaker. And Eve Harow, one of the most sought after tour guides and a leading radio host in Israel on Voice of Israel Radio – and the Director of Tourism for One Israel Fund – will be serving as the Master of Ceremonies.

Take part in the movement that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with YESHA for over two decades, by participating in the One Israel Fund Anniversary Dinner on May 18th at Three-Sixty in Manhattan. Reservations can be placed at OneIsraelFund. org. And if you cannot attend, please consider placing an ad or just sending in a donation to help further the work of One Israel Fund.

Don’t forget that One Israel Fund has been ranked as a 4-Star charity by Charity Navigator for the past three years, its highest rating, so while supporting Israel you can rest assured that your contribution will make a lasting impact by the most efficient means possible.

YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD MORTGAGE LENDER Aaron Hirsch NMLS#176061

600 Reisterstown Rd. • Suite 601 • Baltimore, MD 21208 410-486-0774 • 877-486-0774 aaron.hirsch@supremelending.com • www.directhouseloan.com Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Commissioner of Financial Regulation

MAY 7, 2015

fessionals and future leaders in attendance. One Israel Fund prides itself on the events spearheaded for this demographic. As in past years, this year’s Manhigut Tze’erim Awards will be presented to two individuals who have shown enormous devotion to One Israel Fund and, more importantly, those it supports. Josh Hoffman was one of the founding Young Professional Committee members and has been involved in each and every young professional event since its inception a few years ago. Elisha Aryeh is one of the newest to get involved but has already demonstrated his willingness to roll up his sleeves and do whatever it takes to ensure the success of this division.

Finally, this year’s dinner will feature two other personalities who are well known throughout the country. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who has become a mainstay on CNN and MSNBC in eloquently speaking out on behalf of Israel, will be our Key-

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

tion, spearheading campaigns at her beloved Beaver Lake, to raise funds for the south. This was but one, in a long line of efforts on behalf of her brothers and sisters in Israel.

This year’s Community Service Award will be presented to Michael Page and his Signature Bank Team

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Forgotten Heroes

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

Avi Heiligman

The Jewish Heroes of the Vietnam War

M

any battles are controver- assignments this meant they had to sial and have been debated learn the local languages and customs by soldiers and historians to gain the trust of the men they were if they were necessary at all. For ex- training. Men in the Special Force are ample, the Battle of New Orleans trained to respond to every potential during the War of 1812 was fought situation while deployed. Many solafter a treaty had been signed and diers “wash out” during training and the Battle of Peleonly the best are acliu was so costly in cepted.

Marine lives and the strategic value was so small that many think it should have ne of the been isolated and not legends of attacked. However, the Green these were in wars Berets is Holocaust that were fought besurvivor Sidney cause America was Shachnow. He was attacked. The Vietborn in Lithuania and nam War was a difspent three horrorferent kind of war in filled years in the that the government Kovno concentration became involved to camp before escapSidney Shachnow served with the Green Berets for 32 years prevent the proliferaing when he was only tion of Communism seven years old. After around the world. This made the war the Nazis were defeated he had anothvery unpopular on the home front but er harrowing journey that took him to that still did not stop the brave soldiers Germany to escape the Communists. from fighting. The war was lost not as Finally, Shachnow was able to secure a result of a lack of heroism or will- a visa to the U.S. when he was only power but because of bureaucrats who sixteen. He joined the army, became insisted the war be fought in a certain an officer and in 1962 passed Special manner.

Forces training. After being sent to As in all American wars, many Vietnam for duty as a detachJewish soldiers took part in the fight- ment commander he was awarding that ended 40 years ago. The war ed several medals including two effort in Vietnam was a multinational Silver Stars for gallantry in acforce that was started when the French tion and two Purple Hearts for left their protectorate in 1954. Ameri- being wounded twice. After the ca sent in ground troops in 1965 and war, Shachnow was assigned to left in 1973. About 30,000 Jewish ser- many commands including the vice members were sent to the region Berlin Brigade when the Wall and 269 died in action. They served in was torn down in 1989. When all branches of the military and many he retired he was a major genwere in Special Forces units such as eral and had served with the the Navy SEALs and Green Berets.

Green Berets for 32 years.

U.S. Army Special Forces, otherMany commands have a wise known as the Green Berets, have song that illustrates their dutheir origins in WWII and were offi- ties and commitment to their country. cial activated in 1952. In 1957, they “The Ballad of the Green Berets” sung were sent to Vietnam to train South by Barry Sadler, himself a Green BeVietnamese commandos. Their main ret, was made famous by Gerry Gitell. objectives include unconventional Gerry was born in Boston to a Jewwarfare and counter-terrorism among ish family and was a public informatheir many duties. One of their main tion officer when he heard the song missions is to act as “force multipli- from Sadler in 1965. Gerry was iners,” meaning that they train friendly strumental in promoting it and even forces to fight the enemy. For many had Sadler sing it on the Ed Sulli-

O

van Show. The lyrics portray exactly what the Green Berets are up against in battle: “Fighting soldiers from the sky; Fearless men who jump and die; Men who mean just what they say; the brave men of the Green Beret.”

Gitell went on to serve in Vietnam and trained many South Vietnamese forces to fight the Communists. He viewed his work as helping the local tribesmen defend their own land and was disturbed when people after the war called Vietnam War veterans “baby killers.” Many years later he was thanked by Vietnamese civilians for helping them train to defend their own country.

Special Forces operators are often given nicknames based on personalities, appearances, an event or their background. For Lawrence “Larry” Freedman, the name “Super Jew” meant a lot to him as he was deeply spiritual (which is unusual for a Green Beret). He served for a total of two years in Vietnam and eventually joined Delta Force – the army’s secretive counter-terror unit. He was on the unsuccessful mission to rescue the Americans held captive in Iran in 1980. Every Green Beret has a unique position on the team and for Freedman it was as his detachment’s medic. He

Larry Freedman with Vietnamese digging trenches

was always in the middle of the action and was involved in many actions including Libya and collecting intelligence in the Falklands.

Trained as a sniper and known for his excellent marksmanship, Freedman was known as the best shot in the Delta Force. He was the first American to be killed during the relief effort in Somalia that started in 1992. His ve-

hicle struck a mine, and his body was brought back to the U.S. to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His wife received a rare condolence call from President George H. W. Bush.

The three men described in this article were members of the Green Berets which, like many Special Force units, still have most of their missions classified. We may never know the true extent of their bravery, but just the fact that they were all highly decorated for combat heroism is a testament to their service. Vietnam was an ugly war both overseas and at home but the Green Berets, especially the Jewish soldiers in their ranks, should make us all proud to be Americans.

Author’s note: In last week’s article, we mentioned that Col. Doolittle’s raiders over Tokyo in 1942 had picked out specific military targets.

These targets were actually identified from the only film that the U.S. had of downtown Tokyo. It was taken in 1934 by a most remarkable spy. While I couldn’t identify any of the raiders as being Jewish, Moe Berg certainly was one of the tribe. Berg was a catcher for the Boston Red Sox when he was asked to join Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other All-Stars on a barnstorming tour of Japan. Berg was a given a special mission by the Secretary of State and before the fifth game he slipped away to a hospital in Japan. Giving the excuse that he was visiting a relative, he made his way to the roof wearing a Japanese kimono. Underneath he had a video camera from which he filmed the city. Later, during the war, the Princeton grad and master of sixteen languages became a spy for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) and reported back to the U.S. the vital information that Germany wasn’t close to building an atomic bomb.

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.

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THE JEWISH HOME

53

Your Home

Margaret Ely

Bank on It

A Fresh Spring Look for Under $100

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various heights.

“You can also cluster them on a tray and plop that on the kitchen table or coffee table,” Tydings says. “It instantly creates a focal point.”

Update your paint A simple way to stretch $100 is to spend it on a paint project. “A gallon of paint and a good paintbrush or roller brush can work wonders to instantly freshen a room,” interior designer Dana Tydings says.

Consider a warm white, she suggests, because it goes with everything. “If you walk into a museum, they have constantly rotating exhibits, yet the backdrop is always a beautiful, warm white.”

If you want a fresh shade other than white, interior designer Zoe Feldman recommends painting the ceiling.

“A light blue or a light gray makes it feel like there isn’t a ceiling,” Feldman says. “It’s cheaper, too, because you need less paint.”

Wash your windows Window washing isn’t the most exciting task, but you’ll be glad you did it. “It really makes the house look different,” Arlington-based, Va., interior designer Suzanne Manlove says.

Tydings agrees: “It’s the greatest thing I’ve ever done. They just they sparkle. Everything looks better.”

If you take on the job yourself, the supplies will be fairly inexpensive. Hiring a professional will obviously cost more but might be worth it for hard-toaccess windows.

It also couldn’t hurt to extend the spring cleaning to other parts of your house, Manlove points out. “Get rid of clutter and things that don’t spark joy.”

Replace your curtains Let light in by taking down any

Bring nature indoors Plants are finally blooming outside. There’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy a little color inside as well.

“Put things at your entry so that you are reminded of spring when you first walk in the door,” Manlove suggests.

Succulents and colorful spring flowers can be put in inexpensive planters. Or try a few birch logs or plants in your cleanedout fireplace.

Feldman says spring is the time to fill vases with blooming branches, which are only around for the season outdoors but have longevity inside.

“Also, switch out your flowers whenever you head to a farmers market, which adds new color into your home.” heavy drapes and swapping them with simple curtain panels. Try a plain white cotton drapery panel, Manlove says.

She likes Target, West Elm and Ikea for affordable options.

Dress up a drab couch Slipcovers can be as expensive as fully reupholstering, so try this inexpensive trick from Tydings instead: Buy one or two cotton throws or foutas (thin Turkish towels) in solid colors. Tydings likes to use foutas as table runners or throws them on the back of a sofa.

“You can take a tired brown sofa and add a creamy white or pale yellow or aqua fouta,” she says. “Lay it across an arm or third of the couch. You won’t see that big ugly brown couch.”

Hang a mirror Try positioning a mirror or collection of mirrors across from a window, Manlove suggests, to brighten a space.

“It reflects light and is something happy for a room.”

Already have a mirror? If it’s framed in a heavy antique metal or dark color,

Feldman recommends spray-painting it white or a lighter color. And you can change it up whenever you want.

Try new pillows or covers Give existing pillows a fresh start by replacing the covers with affordable, colorful options, Tydings says. Her firm’s go-to is Etsy.com.

“We always find some great stuff on Etsy,” Tydings relates.

Think about the color palette of what’s permanently in place, interior designer Jessica Bonness says, and limit the new colors to one or two. “People can get carried away. They buy a pillow that has 40,000 colors in it. You can never go wrong with a solid.”

Pick one or two new spring shades — navy blue, aqua, apple green or white — then build around that.

Decorate with candles Pillar candles, even the battery-operated kind, offer great ambiance and warmth for the price. Clean out the fireplace and replace leftover coals and wood logs with four to five candles in

Dress up your patio or balcony You don’t need a major or expensive landscaping overhaul to freshen up an outdoor space. A dreary deck or patio can be brought to life with colorful herbs, annuals and perennials grown in pots, Bruce Allentuck of Allentuck Landscaping in Clarksburg, Md, points out.

Sweep up any leaves or debris left over from winter, then “find a nice piece of pottery and plant something that will last all season until the next frost,” he says. “That’s the easiest thing to do and will give the best impact.”

For sunny spaces, consider petunias, bacopa or sweet potato vines. For shadier spots, begonias, impatiens or heuchera will grow if well potted. Try growing basil inside the same pots, Allentuck suggests. You can pick it for fresh herbs to use when you’re cooking dinner. (c) 2015, The Washington Post

MAY 7, 2015

ow that spring is here, you might be looking to freshen up your home. But don’t fret if you don’t have the budget for an overhaul. If you want a new look, there is plenty you can do with a small amount of cash.

We asked designers for some creative ways to welcome spring into the home for less than $100. Here are their tips:

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APRIL 30, 2015

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THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

MAY 7, 2015

54

Parenting Pearls

77 Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW

Bedtime Blues - Part I It’s a nightly struggle to get each of my children into bed every night.

What’s even more frustrating is that within minutes after they are finally in bed they begin re-emerging one at a time. One wants a drink, the other’s foot is hurting, and the other just remembered that she has a major test tomorrow. By that point I have had it. I usually end up yelling. Then I end up giving them what they want just so they get back into bed. It’s a pathetic scene that repeats itself every night. Am I doomed to this frustrating scenario each night until they get married and move out?

Rabbi Staum Responds: The struggles of bedtime; all parents endure them although they manifest in different ways! For me my biggest struggle is that when I lie down in bed to put one of my children to sleep, I am very successful in getting someone to sleep, albeit not the person who is supposed to be going to sleep at that time.

At least I know I’m not a complete failure.

Although many of the points listed here can be adapted appropriately for older children as well, this particular

article is more geared toward younger children (under ten years old).

One of the most important things we can give our children is a sense of consistency and routine. There will, of course, be many situations when their schedule and routine will have to change for any variety of reasons, but the more we are able to implement a set routine the better off they will be, and, consequentially, the better off we will be.

The hardest part is setting the rou-

tine into play. The good news is that once that battle has been waged it becomes far easier to maintain the routine as long as you are consistent.

Some of the points I am making

Electronics cause brain activity to increase and neurons to race, the opposite of what needs to occur in order to fall sleep. The glow of electronics also has an effect, delaying the release of sleep-

One of the most important things we can give our children is a sense of consistency and routine. may be obvious to some, nevertheless they bear repetition.

A child should have a set bedtime based on their age.

Sometime before the actual bedtime (perhaps 20-30 minutes) the child can be told to get ready for bed, which may include a bath on certain nights. The child can be told that he has another half hour until bedtime so the quicker everything is done the more time he will have to play before bedtime.

For some younger children it may be helpful to make a list together of the things that need to be done before bedtime. This may include brushing teeth, getting a drink, preparing morning lunch and knapsack with all necessary signed papers and tests, etc.

For our younger children my wife took pictures of them doing their required tasks and taped it to a chart where they could see it.

About ten minutes before the child’s bedtime it is a good idea to remind the child that he/she has ten more minutes until it’s time to go to bed. The parent can say to the child “Would you like to go to bed now or would you like another ten minutes?” When the child inevitably says that he wants to stay up for another ten minutes, in his mind he is being privileged.

During those ten minutes the child can play a quiet game, read, draw, etc.

But there ideally shouldn’t be any active play, so that the child can wind down.

It’s important to also note that studies of brain patterns show that using electronics before bedtime affects their ability to go to sleep afterwards.

inducing hormone melatonin. Children (and adults) should not use electronics for a half-hour before going to sleep.

When bedtime arrives the child can be asked how she wants to go to bed: “Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you? Do you want me to lie down next to you for a few minutes

or not?”

If the child does not head upstairs within a minute or two after being told, then the following evening his bedtime is earlier to make up that time.

The question of how to respond if the child refuses to comply, or when the child comes out of bed repeatedly will be dealt with in part II of this article.

Rabbi Dani Staum, LMSW, is the Rabbi of Kehillat New Hempstead. He is also fifth grade Rebbe and Guidance Counselor in ASHAR in Monsey, and Principal of Mesivta Ohr Naftoli of New Windsor, NY, and a division head at Camp Dora Golding. Rabbi Staum offers parenting classes based on the acclaimed Love & Logic Program. He can be reached at stamtorah@gmail.com. His website is www.stamtorah.info.

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In the Kitchen

Mom, We Love you Berry Much

Ingredients 1 medium ripe banana, frozen 3 strawberries, frozen ¼ cup low fat vanilla yogurt Ice cubes Cold water Preparation Crush ice cubes in a blender Add a few tablespoons of cold water. Add banana, strawberries and yogurt into the blender.

Blend until smooth; add more water for a thinner consistency. If you want a sweeter taste, add a few drops of vanilla extract while blending.

Spinach and Strawberry Salad Ingredients 1 bunch fresh spinach 2 pints fresh strawberries, sliced 1 can mandarin oranges, drained 1 kiwi, sliced 1 avocado, cubed ½ cup slivered almonds, toasted ½ red onion, sliced thinly Dressing 1/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup oil 1/3 cup vinegar 2 tablespoons poppy seeds ¼ tsp paprika ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce ¼ tsp salt Preparation Combine all dressing ingredients and mix well to combine. Refrigerate until using.

Toss spinach and fruit in a bowl and then dress right before serving.

MAY 7, 2015

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Delectable French Crepes

THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME

EW S HH OH M OM M AY 2014 T HT EH EJ EJW I SI H E En nM AY 2 48, ,2012

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Ingredients 2 cups flour 2 cups milk ½ cup water 6 TBS butter, melted 3 eggs 3 TBS sugar ¼ teaspoon salt Preparation Process the flour, milk, water, butter, sugar, eggs and salt in a blender until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk 1/3 cup at a time, until the batter is a liquid consistency. Set batter aside for 20 minutes.

Melt a little butter in a crepe pan or large skillet over low-medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of batter to the pan and swirl until the bottom of the pan is covered with batter. Cook for 1 minute, or until the crepe is slightly moist on top and golden underneath. Loosen the edges of the crepe, slide the spatula under it, and then gently flip it upside down into the pan. Cook for 1 minute and transfer the cooked crepe to a plate to keep warm.

Crepes can be filled with numerous sweet and savory fillings. For sweet fillings, try Nutella and banana; peanut butter and chocolate sauce; jam; fresh cut fruit; roasted chopped nuts; or ricotta cheese. For a more savory dish, enjoy crepes filled with sautéed vegetables like mushrooms, onions or peppers.

Strawberry Mango Salsa Ingredients ¾ cup strawberries, diced ¾ cup mango, diced 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced 2 TBS diced red onion 2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro leaves 2 TBS honey, to taste Juice 1 lime Preparation Combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve immediately with tortilla chips and pita chips.