Baltimore Jewish Home 6-20-24

Starting on June 14th, Shabbos Parshas Naso, and continuing on Shabbos afternoons through the summer, hosts will set up water stations throughout the area when temperatures reach 85° or higher, providing cold water bottles to pedestrians.

The Baltimore community is still feeling the loss of a unique power couple, Rebbetzin Miriam Lowenbraun, ה″ע, who was nifteres on June 14th, 2014, and Rabbi Yitzchok “Itchie” Lowenbraun, ל″ז, who was niftar on April 29th, 2021.

Amongst the many important roles they played, they served as Regional Directors of NCSY’s Atlantic Seaboard for 18 years, dedicating themselves to the needs of thousands. As pioneers in kiruv, this dynamic duo are inspirational role models whose exceptional hachnosas orchim and Torah lessons still reverberate worldwide.

While this program was initially developed in memory of Rebbetzin Lowenbraun, ה″ע, we have rededicated it to include Rabbi Lowenbraun, ל″ז, as well. The Mei Miriam program is our way of honoring the memory of this special couple.

Hosts needed in the following areas: Menlo, Pickwick, Willow Glen (Green Meadow Parkway), Stevenson and Summit Park.

& To volunteer as a

or

The rules for travel to Israel have changed!

What Is an ETA-IL?

Starting on August 1, 2024, individuals from visaexempt countries will be mandated to obtain an ETA-IL (Electronic Travel Authorization) in order to enter Israel. Travelers without an ETA-IL will be denied boarding.

Note: You do not need to apply for an ETA-IL if you already have a valid visa, are an Israeli citizen, or have an Israeli identity number.

Note: Students planning to study in Israel who do not yet have a student visa will need to get an ETA-IL. The Interior Ministry informed Chaim V’Chessed that even though they intend to study, students must choose 'Visit/Tourism' when applying for an ETA-IL; if 'Study' is selected the ETA-IL application will be denied.

When Will Applications be Accepted?

Applications for the ETA-IL will be accepted starting June 1, 2024, as a pilot program, for passport holders from the United States and Germany only. If you submit an application during the pilot phase, your ETA-IL will be free! The system will open to visitors from all visa-exempt countries on July 1, 2024.

How Long Is My ETA-IL Valid?

Your ETA-IL will be valid for up to 2 years or until the expiration of your current passport – whichever occurs first.

How Long Can I Stay in Israel?

An ETA-IL will allow you to be in Israel for up to 90 days per visit. For longer stays, you will need to apply for the appropriate visa. If you are a student, you will need to get an additional student visa after 90 days, even if you have an ETA-IL. Your school can help you obtain one.

How Much Does It Cost?

Applications are free of charge during the pilot period. On August 1, 2024, the fee will be 25₪ (approximately $7) per application.

How Long Will It Take to

Get My ETA?

In most cases, you will receive your ETA-IL within 72 hours or less.

APPLY HERE!

To complete the application, you will need:

1. An email address

2. A valid passport

3. Your personal information

4. Go to: israel-entry.piba.gov.il, or scan the QR code.

Regardless of travel plans, you can apply for an ETA-IL at any time. To prevent lastminute complications when needing to travel to Israel urgently, be prepared and get your ETA-IL today! It's free until August 1!

For more information about the ETA-IL, please visit israel-entry.piba.gov.il or chaimvchessed.com Special thanks to Dov Lipman

The Chesed Fund Limited is dedicated in memory of Mordechai & Rebecca Kapiloff, ה״ע, Dr. Bernard Kapiloff, ה״ע, and Rabbi Norman & Louise Gerstenfeld, ה״ע. Project Ezra of Greater Baltimore, Inc. is dedicated in memory of M. Leo and Hannah Storch, ה״ע

Dear Readers,

American Jews have always had a profound connection to baseball. Whether it’s playing the game or following Major League Baseball, the sport has a soft spot in the community’s heart. Numerous MLB owners are Jewish, and there are even more Jewish executives within the league. In stadiums located in cities with large Jewish populations, you’ll often see a significant number of fans wearing yarmulkes. It’s common to spot NY hats with long payos, kosher food stands, and even minyanim taking place in the concourse. Many have heard of esteemed Rosh HaYeshivos who, despite their lofty positions, can’t resist glancing at the standings or feeling a quick surge of pride and a smile when the Yankees or Mets are performing well. On Sundays, men and their children often participate in organized baseball or softball leagues, or in pickup games. These same individuals can effortlessly recall stats and information from their youth, sometimes with more fluency than their Torah learning!

Baltimore, in particular, is renowned as a baseball town. From a young age, the kids gravitate towards baseball as their primary sport. Baltimore boys have a legacy of being some of the best baseball players in camps and leagues across the United States. In fact, to preserve this legacy, there is a movement to shift local leagues from playing hardball to focusing on softball. Baltimoreans’ love of baseball also extends to fervently following the Baltimore Orioles. Despite the ups and downs and many lean years, loyalty to the Orioles remains unwavering.

The reasons behind this infatuation with baseball are hard to pinpoint. Perhaps baseball, being a game of strategy, aligns well with the analytical skills honed by studying Gemorah. Debating a manager’s moves can feel similar to debating a Tosfos (lehavdil). More likely, baseball offers one of the few kosher outlets outside the rigors of day-today Jewish life. It’s a calm and serene game with minimal violence (aside from the occasional brawl), providing a setting where families can share quality time in a less intense environment. For many, baseball is a brief “escape” offering a respite for mothers, fathers, children, and even Rebbes.

This Sunday, the Yeshiva of Greater Washington will host a softball tournament at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen. Teams, primarily composed of members from the Baltimore and Greater Washington communities, will compete in this tournament. The event promises a family-friendly environment with delicious food, entertainment, and a fireworks show. It’s a perfect opportunity to enjoy a fun evening and watch talented community baseball players in action. See page 5 for more information. As summer arrives, let’s all find productive ways to relax and recharge. Remember to keep up with your learning and don’t forget to cheer on the O’s!

Wishing everyone a peaceful Shabbos, Aaron Menachem

mazal tovs to

featured in coming editions!

Team Sponsors

Around the Community

Yeshivas Ner Yisroel National Yarchei Kallah 5784

Ner Yisroel hosted its annual national Yarchei Kallah on campus. The sugya d’kalla was Geirus. Those who attended in person or viewed the sessions via livestream enjoyed hearing from Moreinu Rosh Hayeshiva Harav Aharon Feldman, Menahel Ruchani Harav Beryl Weisbord, Menahel Harav Boruch Neuberger, Harav Dovid Rosenbaum as well as Rabbi Duvi Rubin.

Talmidim returned to campus and filled the beis medrash with their kol

haTorah as we prepared together for the upcoming Yom Tov of Shavuos and Kabolas HaTorah. Seeing so many fellow talmidim come back and learn in Yeshiva was truly special.

Once again communities outside of Baltimore set up ”satellite” locations to participate in this year’s Yarchei Kallah via the livestream. In Atlanta, Columbus and Dallas talmidim took the opportunity to come together for a seder of learning and hear shiur from their Rebbeim.

A special thank you to Mr. Bill Goldberg and Chef Daniel Levy for the magnificent meals and snacks throughout the Yarchei Kallah and to Mr. Yitzchok Markowitz and Mr. Dovid Cynamon for arranging the Livestream.

The National Yarchei Kallah held on the Ner Yisroel campus has become a key part of the Yeshiva calendar – a way to reconnect to our unique Makom Torah, to show the chashivus of Torah and create a wonderful Kiddush Hashem. Please feel free to reach out with your feedback and input to improve this and other future events.

Hachnasas Sefer Torah at Shomrei Emunah Honoring their Baalei Kriah

Yedidya Gradon, Aryeh Guttenberg, Yosef Levenbrown, Avrohom Margolis, Stuart Schabes, Ethan Spiegler, Alan Stein, Rabbi Yochanan Stengel, Moshe Wealcatch, and Yosie Zoimen

Photo Credits: Eli Greengart

Bais Medrash of Summit Park Bais Dovid Celebrates Hachnasas Sefer Torah

YOU’RE INVITED!

SUNDAY JUNE 23 RD 7 PM-10 PM

BJSZ SOCIAL HALL

JOINING SHADCHANIM: MRS. CHUMI AZMAN

MRS. SARA ROCHEL BARER MRS. TZIPORA COHEN

MRS. ADINA FEINSTEIN • MRS. SHOSHANA FISHKIND

RABBI DOVID KAPENSTEIN • MRS. RUTHIE KINZER

MRS. SHANI LEIMAN • MRS. ROCHELLE PERLOW

MRS. TOVA RAPPAPORT • MRS. MICHAL SEIDEMANN

MRS. SIMI SOKOLOFF • MRS. RIVKY TENDLER

MRS. KEREN TRAUB • MRS. BINA WEISS

The Jewish Community Softball League (JCSL) by “Your Kitchen Spot” Returns for 6th Season

JCSL by Your Kitchen Spot kicked off their 6th annual season on Sunday, May 26th, with four exciting games played at the Reisterstown Regional – by Web Interactive Solutions fields.

Prior to the opening week, the league’s 108 players were divided between nine different teams via a draft system, ensuring parity in competition. The nine teams are each named for their individual team sponsors: AMP Solutions, Clothier, Donny Ankri Architects, Evergreen Benefits Group, GB Homes, Levin Gann, KD Gold & Coin Exchange, Orshan Legal Group, and PsychCare.

Following the draft, teams were provided with their team jerseys, sponsored by Stutman Chiropractic. Teams also came prepared for opening day by reviewing the league’s highly detailed, Premier Financial League Rules and Regulations.

Teams showed up to the beautifully manicured fields by 9:30 AM (thanks to Y & L Landscaping) and were provided with league equipment to include bases, balls, catcher’s masks, etc. sponsored by Fired Up Promotions. Games have all been expertly officiated by a team of highly experienced umpires, sponsored by I Heart Remodeling.

All nine teams will compete for eight regular season games, with the top four teams facing off in the Mama Leah’s/Taam Thai/Goldberg’s Bagels/The Club postseason. The playoffs winners will then battle each other in the championship for

the right to bring home the coveted Camp Shoresh trophy.

Continue for some of the excitement from the first few weeks of the season.

Week 1

Levin Gann 8

AMP Solutions 4

Levin Gann opened the season by showcasing their determination to bounce back from last season’s championship defeat, with an impressive 8-4 victory over AMP Solutions. The game, characterized by an intense pitching duel and timely hitting, saw Levin Gann take control early on and hold off a late surge from their opponent. Both Yaakov Rappaport and Danny Weissmann (the two starting pitchers) had command of their fastballs and came ready to play.

The game remained scoreless through the first two innings, with both teams locked in a tight battle. However, Levin Gann broke the deadlock in the third, scoring one run, and followed it up with an explosive offensive display in the fourth, adding five more runs to take a commanding 6-0 lead.

Despite their initial struggles, AMP refused to back down and mounted a comeback in the later innings. They managed to break through Levin Gann’s pitching, scoring three runs in the fifth and adding another run in the sixth, narrowing the gap to 6-4. With tensions running high, Levin Gann responded with two critical insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, extending their lead to 8-4.

Throughout the game, Levin Gann’s performance was highlighted by their timely hitting, dominant pitching, and superb defensive plays. Their ability to deliver in crucial moments and shut down AMP’s offense reaffirmed their status as a formidable contender for the national title.

to some stellar pitching by Aharon Adler and timely outs from GB’s defense, GB Homes would take the 9-6 win. GB Homes was led by Ari Bregin’s timely hitting as well as the offense of Aron Meister, Menachem Rubenstein, and Howie Friedman whose bats combined for 8 out the 9 runs.

Weeks 2 and 3

Donny Ankri Architects 20 KD Gold & Coin Exchange

6

Donny Ankri Architects took on KD Gold & Coin Exchange in their first game of the season. DAA started the game strong, scoring 9 unanswered runs thanks to big hits by Yoyo Strauss, Yankie Goldsmith and Levi Akkerman. KD scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd to chip away at the lead, but DAA pulled away, scoring another 11 runs, capping off an impressive 20-6 Opening Day victory.

GB Homes 9 PsychCare 6

After falling behind 2-0 in the first, GB Homes tied the game thanks to a rally started by team owner and perennial All-Star, Ari Bregin who was 3-4 on the day. The rally helped tie the game at 2 a piece going into the bottom of the third. PsychCare responded with 3 more runs to retake the lead and make it a 5-2 game.

GB responded with a sac fly from Shulie Hochman to narrow the lead to 5-3. After a bases loaded inning ending double play on defense, GB Homes took matters into their own hands and didn’t look back. Slugger Howie Friedman hit a bases clearing double to give GB a 6-3 lead. Thanks

Levin Gann 8 Clothier 1

Levin Gann showcased their dominance against Clothier with an 8-1 victory, excelling in all aspects of the game. Clothier managed to score only one run, which came in the final play of the game. LG’s strong defense and well-timed hitting propelled them to another season win.

GB Homes 2 Evergreen Benefits Group 1

In an exciting week 3 matchup, GB Homes took on Evergreen Benefits Group. GB Homes, after shutting down Evergreen in the top of the 1st with a 1-2-3 inning, got to work in the bottom half of the inning. GB loaded the bases for Menachem Rubenstein. Rubenstein did his part, getting GB on the board with a sac fly to deep left field to give GB Homes a 1-0 lead that held up until the 6th inning. In the 6th, Evergreen responded with a run of their own to tie the game. But GB Homes came right back and took a 2-1 lead on another hit by Ari Bregin. With some stellar pitching from Howie Friedman, Evergreen had no answer and GB homes moved to 2-1 on the season.

Jewish Educational Services Pays Tribute to Educators in Jewish Community

Photo Credits: David Stuck

What an amazing night!

Over 200 educators, family members and school administrators joined Jewish Educational Services, a program of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, last week for the 2024 JES Educator Awards Celebration and Annual Meeting, to pay tribute not only to 10 amazing awardees, but to the more than 100 educators who were nominated, and to all the teachers in our community who dedicate their lives to their students and to Jewish education.

The attendees represented most of the Baltimore Jewish Day, Congregational and Early Childhood schools, coming together to celebrate Jewish education as a community. The beautifully arranged desserts, unique table centerpieces and exclusive gifts were all part of JES’ efforts to demonstrate appreciation and gratitude on this incredibly special evening.

The evening began with interactive activities that provided a glimpse into the incredible and wide-ranging services that JES provides in our local schools. A moving JES video followed, featuring members of the community and school leaders who expressed their appreciation for JES’ work.

Aaron Levitt, Executive Director of JES, shared that JES serves 36 Jewish schools, with over 9300 students and 1200 teachers. With new professional development programs this year including the Jewish Education Mental Wellness Summit, Educator Expo, Congregational School Project Bet-A, and Early Childhood Spotlights programs, JES is always looking to innovate and “find more ways we can support our Jewish educational community,” said Aaron Levitt. “We have so much to look forward to as we continue growing.”

In addition to the professional development programs, the Israel Department at JES enhances the academic programming at schools with a shinshinim program and Community Shlicha. The shinshinim are Israeli high school graduates who come to Baltimore to volunteer in the community and serve as informal educators at schools, synagogues, camps and youth movements to teach about Israeli culture and traditions and share their passion for Israel. Then, when they return to Israel, they become informal ambassadors for the American Jewish communities. The community Shlicha provides support for the Community Fund for Israel Experiences grant, facilitates the Shevet Achim school twinning program, which included hosting the Ashkelon delegation in Baltimore this year, and provides Israel educational consultation.

The highlight of the evening was the meaningful presentation of awards, with each recipient acknowledged with a certificate and monetary gift.

The Sam Kahan Distinguished Educator Award went to Rabbi Gershon Riselsheimer, a middle-school Rebbe at Ohr Chadash Academy. This award was established by the family of Sam Kahan to perpetuate Sam’s commitment to Jewish education and to strengthen Baltimore’s Jewish educational institutions.

Erica Allen, a middle-school Judaic teacher at Krieger Schechter Day School and the Rosenbloom Religious School of Chizuk Amuno was chosen to receive the Inspiring Educator Award, which recognizes an educator who inspires students, colleagues and families.

The Jewish Educational Leadership Award, which honors a principal or school director for dedication to

professional growth, commitment to effective school structure and inspirational leadership was awarded to Michelle Gold, longtime Director at the Goldsmith Early Childhood Education Center.

The list of awardees also included Chani Rayman, a teacher at JEWELS who received the Special Education Award. Two Early Childhood teachers, Baily Wolowik from Cheder Chabad and Basya Kadish from Bais Yaakov Preschool received the Early Childhood Teaching Excellence Award Toria Burrow, from Bolton Street Synagogue Religious School, received the Congregational School Educator Award. Sima Eastman, from Talmudical Academy, received the General Studies Educator Award. And finally, the Ahavat Tzion Ivrit Award went to Rochel Vim, an educator at Bais Yaakov Middle School.

The final award conferred was the Robin F. Jacobs Student Achievement Award. This award is given to students benefiting from SHEMESH Student Services who demonstrate a high level of motivation and increased self-advocacy and awareness. From early childhood behavior and education consulting to executive function coaching, speech and language therapy, reading intervention and more, JES provides educational support through SHEMESH Student Services for children with learning differences

OCA Hosts Big Truck Day with New Baltimore Police Dept. Helicopter Showcase

OCA had an epic Big Truck Day today, with representatives from most city agencies participating and the BPD helicopter landing on the soccer field. Thanks to Councilman Schleifer, who, as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, led the effort to acquire a brand-new, state-of-the-art helicopter for the BPD.

to reach their full potential in a Jewish setting. Adina Hackerman, a senior at Bais Yaakov High School, was unanimously chosen by her teachers to receive this award for her positive attitude, hard work, and dedication to maximizing her achievements.

The evening ended with JES Board President, Avi Greenlinger, asking everyone to raise their glass for a l’chayim to the educators, “As educators, you truly embody the roles of both heroes and role models to your students. Your commitment to fostering environments of curiosity, innovation, and understanding has not only enhanced the lives of your students but has uplifted our entire Jewish community. You are on the front lines and we here at JES are here to support, facilitate and enable you to do your job in the most optimal way.”

At Jewish Educational Services, it is their mission and honor to support educators throughout the year. Through Professional Development, Coaching and Consultations, Teacher HelpLine, and Communities of Practice, they are here to lend a supporting hand. Programs such as Teacher Feature and EC Spotlights bring attention to the amazing educators that are tasked with teaching our community’s children. The Todah Teacher initiative and Educator Awards not only provide monetary prizes but also the recognition they so richly deserve.

TA 8th Grade Mishmar Basketball

League Championship: A Slam Dunk and Chulent Feast

The TA 8th Grade Mishmar Basketball League had their Championship Game this afternoon, and this year’s winners were the “Yellow Team,” sponsored by DC Dental. The 8th-grade boys came to Yeshiva each Thursday night from 7:00-9:00 PM and created a “real Mishmar Matziv!”

The evening included 45 minutes of learning, followed by Maariv, then an organized basketball league (with

professional referees), and concluded with hot, delicious chulent. What a great way to end each week with a fantastic Thursday night of Mishmar!

Today’s game was a thriller, with both teams playing their hearts out. The final score was 46-33. The 8th graders were then treated to an Erev Shabbos Toamehuh lunch of chulent, poppers, potato kugel, fries, soda, and chips to celebrate an amazing year completed!

Yeshivas Toras Simcha Nursery Graduation

At the Yeshivas Toras Simcha nursery graduation, the boys snag beautiful songs and demonstrated their proficiency in the aleph bais. The parents and grandparents who attended were impressed with the wonderful way their moros prepared them. Each boy received his own kriah book and a

certificate acknowledging this special occasion. Rabbi Hillel Shepard also gave each boy a bracha that this should be the beginning of their path to become a talmid chochom.

Shtenders for Shavuos at Yeshivas Toras Simcha

Rabbi Tuvia Tessler’s first grade Yeshivas Toras Simcha students built shtenders for shavuos with their rebbes help. Each shtender has a picture of the student learning chumash. Rabbi Tessler told each student to take home his shtender for yom tov and use it to learn Torah over Shavuos.

Over

100 Kosher Brands Shine at Second JFood Trade Show

Over a hundred kosher brands were represented at the second JFood trade show that took place at the NJ Expo center. In the morning hours, buyers from supermarkets, institutions, and restaurants from far and near to see what new kosher products and ingredients are coming to market soon. From Cholov Yisroel Amish dairy products (that’s a thing!) to robot cotton candy machines, the show had a large variety of innovative products to show. In the evening hours the expo floor was opened to the general public so that the vendors could interact with consumers directly.

Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim/TA 8th Grade

Reception

TA’s Hadran Aloch: “Give It All You’ve Got” Siyum and Concert Celebration

Photo Credits: ShanaB Photo

Photo Credits: Rabbi Elchonon Ciment

Photo Credits: Jeff Cohn Photography

Park Heights SUMMER EDITION

GIRLS

Mondays

Weekly Themed Programming

July 1-August 21 | 4:30-6:30pm

Ages 6-8 years & 8-10 years

Gardening Week

Art Week

Science Week

Create-Your-Own Week

Tie-Dye Week

Culinary Week

Geometric Art Week

Frontier Week

Weinberg Park Heights JCC

BOYS

Wednesdays

FULL PROGRAM: $250 Members | $300 Non-Members

WEEKLY: $35 Members | $40 Non-Members Price includes pizza dinner

Discounted price when registering for all weeks!

Pre-registration Required Space is limited. Guarantee your child’s spot TODAY!

VISIT JCC.ORG/JKIDSPH for more info and registration. Contact: Laura Kurcfeld | 410.500.5907 | lkurcfeld@jcc.org

613 Seconds with Rabbi Chaim Schwartz

BJH: Tell Us About Yourself

Rabbi Chaim Schwartz: I am the son of a congregational rabbi whose positions took our family to different communities growing up. I learned at Yeshivas Ner Israel and settled in our home on Strathmore in the Cheswolde neighborhood with my wife Dvora and our children.

BJH: What is the history of Shomrei Mishmeres Hakodesh?

RCS: Today it is a thriving Kehillah in the heart of Cheswolde. It is the continuation of the original congregation established in 1905 downtown at the Lloyd Street Synagogue building. My grandfather, Hyman Schwartz, was the shul president for over 30

years. As a child, I heard stories from my father Rabbi Albert B. Schwartz z’l (who grew up in the shul and was a Talmid in Yeshivas Ner Israel and Musmach of Harav Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, ZT’L) about my grandfather and the Shul which was the center of frum Yiddishkeit in Baltimore in the early 20th century. It was also the address for Chesed. The Rav and the Kehillah helped many people, especially during the depression years. As people moved out of the neighborhood, membership dwindled and eventually the Shul closed its doors in the late 1950’s.

BJH: How did the Shul find a new home?

RCS: When Dvora and I moved into our house in 2006, we opened the large great room as a Shabbos minyan and reestablished the name of the Shul to continue the tradition of Torah and Chesed. When Covid hit, we purchased a large tent to accommodate more people and began hosting three daily Minyanim, Shiurim, Mishmar, Avos U’Banim, Daf Yomi and other programming. We are a full-time shul with upwards of 200 people walking through our doors on a typical Shabbos or Yom Tov.

BJH: Tell us about the Cheswolde Shul & Mikvah Campaign

RCS: The growth of our Kehilla has created the need for a larger space offering full amenities to our members and guests. And with so many young families moving into the neighborhood, we will also meet the community needs with a Women’s Shabbos & Yom Tov Mikvah attached to the Shul. It will be under the direction of the Baltimore Mikvah.

BJH: How can our readers be part of the campaign?

RCS: We appreciate any contributions that people can make at the campaign website www.CheswoldeShul.org or www.CheswoldeMikvah. org this coming Sunday/Monday June 23-24.

The Week In News

The Week In News

Iran and Sweden Prisoner Swap

On Saturday, a convicted Iranian was exchanged in a prisoner swap for two Swedish men being held in Iran.

Hamid Nouri was arrested by Sweden in 2019 when he traveled to the country as a tourist. Nouri was then convicted of committing war crimes over his part in the 1988 mass execu-

tions in the Islamic Republic and was sentenced to life in prison. The court had identified Nouri as an assistant to the deputy prosecutor at the Gohardasht prison outside the Iranian city of Karaj.

Iranian state television claimed without evidence that Nouri had been “illegally detained.”

In exchange for Nouri’s freedom, Iran released diplomat Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi, both who had been facing a “hell on earth” in Iranian prison, according to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

“Iran has made these Swedes pawns in a cynical negotiation game with the aim of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri released from Sweden,” Kristersson said Saturday. “It has been clear all along that this operation would require difficult decisions; now the government has made those decisions.”

Back on Iranian soil, Nouri said, “I am Hamid Nouri. I am in Iran. G-d makes me free.”

Floderus’ family said he was arrested in April 2022 at the Tehran

airport while returning from a vacation with friends. Floderus had been held for months before his family and others went public with his detention.

Azizi, a dual Iranian-Swedish national, had been sentenced to five years in prison by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security.”

The country of Oman facilitated the prisoner exchange. It has long served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West. The swap comes as the Muslim world celebrates Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage and typically sees prisoners freed.

Saturday’s swap did not free Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian expert on disaster medicine whom a U.N. panel long has described as being arbitrarily detained by Tehran since his arrest in 2016. Djalali faces possible execution after being convicted on charges of “corruption on Earth” in 2017 following what Amnesty International called a “grossly unfair trial” in Revolutionary Court.

Chiquita Held Liable for Deaths

A jury in South Florida has ruled that Chiquita Brands is liable for eight killings carried out by a rightwing paramilitary group that the company helped finance in a fertile banana-growing region of Colombia during the country’s decades-long internal conflict.

The jury on Monday ordered the multinational banana producer to pay $38.3 million to 16 family members of farmers and other civilians who were killed in separate episodes by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia — a right-wing paramilitary group that Chiquita bankrolled from

Greater Washington Weekday Minyanim Guide

6:15 am Young Israel Shomrai Emunah M-F

6:25 am Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua M-F

6:30 am Beth Sholom Congregation M-F

Beit Halevi (Sfardi) M, T

Chabad of Silver Spring M-F

Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah OLNEY M-F

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah S YGW M, Th

6:35 am Ohr Hatorah M, Th

6:40 am YGW S, T, W, F

Magen David Sephardic Congregation M-Th

6:45 am Beit Halevi (Sfardi) S, T, W, F

Kemp Mill Synagogue M, Th

Ohr Hatorah T, W, F

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah M, Th

6:50 am Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah M, Th Silver Spring Jewish Center M-F

Chabad of Upper Montgomery County M-F

6:55 am Young Israel Shomrai Emunah T, W, F

7:00 am Kemp Mill Synagogue T, W, F

Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua S Silver Spring Jewish Center S

Sholom

20852 GAITHERSBURG

[Ari]

Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah T, W, F

Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac T,W,F

7:05 am Kesher Israel M, Th

7:15 am Kemp Mill Synagogue M, Th

Kesher Israel T, W, F

Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah/The National Synagogue M-F

Ohr Hatorah S

7:30 am Chabad of DC M-F

Chabad of Potomac M-F JROC M-F

Kemp Mill Synagogue T, W, F

Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua M-F

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah S Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Sfardi) M-F

7:45 am YGW (Yeshiva Session Only) S-F

8:00 am Beth Sholom Congregation S

Kemp Mill Synagogue S Kesher Israel S

Ohev Shalom Talmud Torah OLNEY S

Southeast Hebrew Cong., Knesset Yehoshua S

8:00 am Chabad of Upper Montgomery County S

Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah S YGW (High School; School-Contingent) S-F

Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac S Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Sfardi) S

8:15 am Ohr Hatorah S Kehilat Pardes / Berman Hebrew Academy S-F

Silver Spring Jewish Center M-F

8:30 am Chabad of DC S Chabad of Potomac S JROC S Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah/The National Synagogue S

Silver Spring Jewish Center S YGW (Summer Only) S-F

8:45 am Young Israel Shomrai Emunah S-F

9:00 am Chabad of Silver Spring S Kemp Mill Synagogue S

mincha/maariv Before Shkiah, S-TH

Beit Halevi (Sfardi)

Beth Sholom Congregation

Chabad of Potomac

Chabad of Silver Spring

Chabad of Upper Montgomery County

JROC

Kemp Mill Synagogue

Kesher Israel

Magen David Sephardic Congregation

Ohev Sholom Talmud Torah/The National Synagogue Ohr Hatorah

Silver Spring Jewish Center

Southeast Hebrew Congregation, Knesset Yehoshua Woodside Synagogue/Ahavas Torah

Young Israel Ezras Israel of Potomac

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Asheknaz)

Young Israel Shomrai Emunah (Sefarhadi) maariv

8:15 pm OSTT (OLNEY) S-Th SHC, Knesset Yehoshua M-Th

8:45 pm YGW

1:50 pm YGW Summer

2:15 pm Silver Spring Jewish Center M-F

2:20 pm YGW School Days

2:45 pm YGW S-Th

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1997 to 2004.

The company has faced hundreds of similar suits in U.S. courts filed by the families of other victims of violence by the paramilitary group in Colombia, but the verdict in Florida represents the first time Chiquita has been found culpable.

The decision, which the company said it planned to appeal, could influence the outcome in other suits, legal experts said.

The verdict in favor of the victims is a rare instance — in Colombia and elsewhere — in which a private corporation is held accountable to victims for its operation in regions with widespread violence or social unrest, legal experts said.

“We’re very happy about the jury’s verdict, but you can’t escape that we’re talking about horrific abuses,” said Marco Simons, a lawyer for EarthRights International, an environmental and human rights group, who represented one family in the legal claim.

Agnieszka Fryszman, another lawyer who represented the plaintiffs, said, “The verdict does not bring back the husbands and sons who were killed, but it sets the record straight and places accountability for funding terrorism where it belongs: at Chiquita’s doorstep.”

The jurors reached their decision after two days of deliberation and six weeks of trial in U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach, in which lawyers argued over the motivation for payments that Chiquita executives admitted making to the paramilitary group.

Lawyers representing the families in the South Florida trial argued that Chiquita’s operations benefited from the company’s relationship with the paramilitary group, which sowed fear across a 7,000-square-mile fertile

farming region connecting Panama and Colombia until it disbanded in 2006.

“The situation in Colombia was tragic for so many,” Chiquita officials said in a statement. “However, that does not change our belief that there is no legal basis for these claims.” (© The New York Times)

Macron Dissolves Parliament

For the first time since 1997, the president of France has dissolved the country’s parliament. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the move and called for a snap election, following exit polls that indicated that his party, the Renaissance Party, would be defeated by the far-right National Rally (RN) party.

According to early polls, RN won 31.5% of the vote, while Renaissance secured 15.2% of the vote. In third place was the Socialist Party, which won 14.3%.

Following the exit poll, Jordan Bardella, the leader of the RN party, encouraged the president to dissolve the parliament and declared that his party’s tentative victory was a “stinging disavowal” for Macron. Less than an hour later, Macron said he would call for parliamentary elections and dissolve the National Assembly, France’s lower house of parliament.

“This unprecedented defeat for the current government marks the end of a cycle and Day 1 of the post-Macron era,” Bardella said during a speech in front of his party’s headquarters.

According to Macron, the first set of elections will take place on June 30, and the second will take place on July 7.

“I have decided to give you back the choice of your parliamentary future by voting. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly this evening,” said Macron. “This decision is serious, heavy. But it is above all, an act of trust. Trust in you, my dear compatriots. In the capacity of the French people to make the most just decision.”

France holds different elections for president and for the lower house of parliament’s 577 members. Presidential elections are expected to take place sometime around 2027. During the parliamentary elections of 2022, the Ensemble coalition, which included Renaissance and other parties, lost their majority by a slim margin, prompting the coalition to seek support from other parties.

Macron’s second term as president began in 2022. Since then, he has, on several occasions, invoked the French constitution’s Article 49.3 to pass legislation without allowing parliament to vote, which has upset many French politicians and citizens.

U.S. Destroys Houthi Radars

Last Wednesday, the Houthis launched an attack on a ship that was Greek owned and controlled and Liberian flagged. The attack caused major damage and flooding to the ship’s engine room, forcing the crew to evacuate from the vessel. Those on board were saved by the USS Philippine Sea and other U.S. and international forces, although one sailor has gone missing.

According to CENTCOM, the attacked vessel was left to drift in the Red Sea and is currently sinking.

Additionally, the U.S. also destroyed a Yemeni uncrewed aerial system and two uncrewed surface vessels.

The M/V Verbena, another cargo vessel, was attacked by the Houthis twice while it was sailing in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday. One mariner was injured in the attack and received medical attention after being evacuated via aircraft. The ship caught on fire, and two days later, the crew sent out a distress signal and left the vessel behind “due to continued fires and an inability to control them,” CENTCOM announced on Saturday. The crew was rescued by a nearby commercial ship. According to CENTCOM, the Iranian frigate IRIN Jamaran was just 8 nautical miles from the attacked vessel but ignored the ship’s distress signal.

Since the tragic day of October 7, the Houthi rebel group has been terrorizing ships in the Red Sea in support of the “Palestinian cause” and to pressure Israel into a ceasefire. Last week, the U.S. eliminated seven radars in locations in Yemen where the Houthis govern, according to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Those radars enabled “Houthis to target maritime vessels and endanger commercial shipping,” CENTCOM noted.

“This continued reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and yet they are targeting and threatening the lives of third-country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza,” CENTCOM stated. “The ongoing threat to international commerce caused by the Houthis makes it harder to deliver badly needed assistance to the people of Yemen as well as Gaza.”

CENTCOM added, “The United States will continue to act with partners to hold the Houthis accountable and degrade their military capabilities.”

Seine Not Safe for Swimming?

The Summer Olympics are set to be held this summer in Paris, France. The River Seine will be the crown jewel of

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the games, staging events such as the triathlon as well as the opening ceremony, which for the first time in Olympic history will not be taking place in a stadium.

Starting at Pont Alexandre III Bridge, the individual triathlon races are set to begin with a 1.5-kilometer swim, followed by a 40K bike race –passing by the Le Grand Palais and Champs-Elysées – before finishing with a 10K run through the heart of the city. A mixed team relay race involving four athletes – two men and two women – will also start at Pont Alexandre III Bridge with each team member com pleting a 300-meter swim, followed by a 5.8K bike ride and 1.8K run.

Seine is not safe for the athletes who

will be competing. Swimming in the French river has been illegal for more than 100 years due to pollution levels. Some swimming has been allowed recently as part of triathlon test events.

Recent testing results show that the Seine is still not safe for swimming as per the standards set by World Triathlon, due to high E. Coli bacteria levels in the water, potentially exposing athletes to serious health risks.

Authorities have poured at least $1.55 billion into cleaning up the Seine. Last month, a rainwater storage facility was opened that can hold 20 Olympic swimming pools worth of water to reduce pressure on the sewage network and lower the risk of wastewater being discharged into the Seine.

If pollution levels are not at satisfactory levels, World Triathlon said that the triathlon would have to be downgraded to a duathlon with no swimming. The water quality of the

Durian Demand

Before he started a company 15 years ago selling the world’s smelliest fruit, Eric Chan had a well-paying job writing code for satellites and robots. His family and friends were puzzled when he made the career change.

The fruit, durian, has long been a cherished part of local cultures in Southeast Asia. A single durian is typically the size of a rugby ball and can emit an odor so powerful that it is

rian in a very big way.

Last year, the value of durian exports from Southeast Asia to China was $6.7 billion, a twelvefold increase from $550 million in 2017. China buys virtually all of the world’s exported durians, according to United Nations data. The biggest exporting country by far is Thailand; Malaysia and Vietnam are the other top sellers.

Today, businesses are expanding rapidly — one Thai company is planning an initial public offering this year — and some durian farmers have become millionaires. Chan is one of them. Seven years ago, he sold a controlling share of his company, which specializes in producing durian paste for cookies, ice cream and even pizza, for the equivalent of $4.5 million, nearly 50 times his initial investment.

“Everybody has been making good money,” Chan said of the once-poor durian farmers in Raub, a small city 90 minutes from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. “They rebuilt their houses from wood to brick. And they

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The surge in durian exports is a measure of the power of Chinese consumers in the global economy, even though, by other measures, the mainland economy is struggling. When an increasingly wealthy country of 1.4 billion people gets a taste for something, entire regions of Asia are reshaped to meet the demand.

In Vietnam, state news media reported last month that farmers were cutting down coffee plants to make room for durian. The acreage of durian orchards in Thailand has doubled over the past decade.

China is not only a buyer. Chinese investment has flowed into Thailand’s durian packing and logistics business. Already, Chinese interests control around 70% of the durian wholesale and logistics business, according to Aat Pisanwanich, a Thai expert in international trade. Thailand’s own wholesale durian companies could “disappear in the near future,” he said at a news conference in May. (© The New York Times)

the Galilee, and the Golan Heights. During the Second Lebanon War, he built rockets and held the position of brigade commander. Before his death, he held the Hezbollah-equivalent rank of the IDF’s brigadier general.

As part of a collaborative mission headed by the Northern Command chief, the Intelligence Directorate, and the Air Force, the IDF killed Abdullah with a precise fighter jet, using military intelligence.

According to Professor Amatzia Baram, the reason why Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, has yet to wage a full-scale war against Israel is because he believes that the IDF could easily assassinate him.

“Nasrallah realizes that the IDF has the ability to kill him whenever it wants, and I believe this worries him quite a bit. Contrary to popular belief, Nasrallah is not a suicidal Shiite yearning for death. He understands that he would be next in line to die if a full-scale war breaks out,” said Baram. “This poses a significant danger for him. Additionally, the elimination is a significant success in the psychological warfare against the terrorist organization, as it leads to great concern among the commanders, who know they could be next.

Top Hezbollah Official Killed

After Israel eliminated Sami Taleb Abdullah, a top Hezbollah official, last week, the Lebanese terror group responded by firing roughly 250 rockets into northern Israel, setting off fires in open spaces, with alarms blaring in Tiberias for the first time since October.

The highest-ranked Hezbollah official to be eliminated in the terror group’s war with Israel, Abdullah, for the last twenty years, has been responsible for attacks on Kiryat Shmona,

“From their perspective, starting a war would be a big mistake, as then the U.S. would have legitimacy to join the fight. They still remember Biden’s statement that if Hezbollah initiates a full-scale war against Israel, the U.S. would join the war against them, which the terrorist organization and the Iranians fear,” he added.

Oct. 7 Investigation

In December 2023, Matanyahu Englman, Israel’s state comptroller,

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launched an investigation into the intelligence failures that led up to the October 7 massacre, in hopes of holding responsible parties and individuals in Israel accountable. On Sunday, Israel’s High Court of Justice ordered Englman to suspend his investigation.

In a statement issued by Gila Canfy-Steinitz, who has served as an Israeli Supreme Court justice since 2022, it was announced that she ordered the suspension of Englman’s investigation due to appeals filed against him. The court will consider the petitions in July, after which Englman may or may not be permitted to continue his investigation.

The IDF, the State Attorney’s Office, and other individuals have come out against the investigation, claiming that such matters could interfere with the IDF’s military activities, as Israel wages war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Englman has disagreed with such concerns, arguing that a postponed investigation could very well turn out to be ineffective.

In December of last year, Englman said he would be investigating the “multi-system failures” that led up to the October 7 massacre. He said he would be investigating the “failures on all levels – policy, military and civilian.” The following month, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi requested that Englman postpone the investigation, noting that it would “divert the attention of the commanders from the fighting, will damage operational investigation ability, and will not allow drawing the necessary lessons to achieve the goals of the war.”

The State Attorney’s Office maintained that such an investigation could cause “substantive harm to the operational capability of security services and harm the fighting.”

Canfy-Steinitz said, “In view of the complex security reality, the planned scope of the investigation — which will deal, among other things, with the combat support system and core operational issue — and the preparation required to respond to [the investigation] at the current time, and while giving significant weight to the classified position papers of the security agencies submitted to me, I order the suspension of the investigation procedures in everything that relates to the IDF and Shin Bet.”

So Much Sorrow

On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces announced that two soldiers had been killed in northern Gaza after their tank was bombed by an explosive, bringing the IDF death toll to 311 since the start of Israel’s ground campaign in the Gaza Strip.

The two reservists were named as 28-year-old Jerusalem resident Cpt. (res.) Eitan Koplovich and 49-year-old Psagot resident Warrant Officer (res.) Elon Weiss. Koplovich and Weiss fought in the 8th Reserve Armored Brigade’s 129th Battalion. According to the IDF, two other soldiers were seriously injured in the attack.

Eitan Koplovich was married and had a year-old son. He was called a “humble man” and a natural leader and wanted to become a lawyer.

Rabbi Weiss had seven children. Just a few weeks ago, one of his daughters, Racheli, got married; another one of his daughters, Hodia, is supposed to get married in three weeks.

Rabbi Weiss was a tenth grade teacher at the high school in Ma’ale Adumim and was beloved by his students. Daniel Be’eri, the school’s principal, said about Rabbi Weiss, “Education was the center of his life, and he saw the empowerment of each student as a dream come true. He loved his students very much, and gave his life for them, as he gave his life for the people of Israel.”

Guy Yifrah, the mayor of Ma’ale Adumim, mourned, “The break is great, as Rabbi Elon was the shining face of the school, a man full of love. The heart of the teachers’ room and the coordinator of the system. The blow is painful because we have lost the great heart of an extraordinary educator. All of us are with his dear family and students at such a difficult time.”

On Saturday morning, eight combat engineers were killed in Rafah. The IDF identified the fallen soldiers as: Cpt. Wassem Mahmoud, a 23-year-old from Beit Jann; Sgt. Eliyahu Moshe

Zimbalist, a 21-year-old from Beit Shemesh; Sgt. Itay Amar, a 19-year-old from Kochav Yair; Staff Sgt. Stanislav Kostarev, a 21-year-old from Ashdod; Staff Sgt. Orr Blumovitz, a 21-old from Pardes Hanna-Karkur; Staff Sgt. Oz Yeshaya Gruber, a 20-year-old from Tal Menashe; Sgt. Yakir Ya’akov Levi, a 21-year-old from Hafetz Haim; and Sgt. Shalom Menachem, a 21-year-old Beit El resident.

Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist made aliyah from the United States with his family in 2005. Rabbi Michael Yammer, who heads Shaalvim, where Zimbalist had learned, said that “the one thing he wanted to do in life was to do good for others. And he always did this quietly, humbly, constantly asking, ‘Who can I help next?’”

Rabbi Zechariya Rabinowitz, who taught Zimbalist at Shaalvim, said he had “golden hands, always ready to help. He did everything in simplicity and humility. He loved the yeshiva and was happy there. He always walked around with his head held high and believed in the rightness of his path. He fought until the very end.”

Yakir Levi also studied at Shaalvim together with Zimbalist.

Rabbi Michael Yammer, of Shaalvim, mourned them both. “They have something in common, and that is to do good both for G-d and for those around them, the expansive heart and the desire to do good to each and every one without paying attention to themselves. When I spoke with each of them recently, they told me that they were giving to all of Israel. They were engaged in endless giving and a desire to advance in G-d’s work by giving to the other. They were people of kindness who understood the other. They were people of all in two ways: in fighting for all of the nation and for all people in everyday life, and giving one to another.”

Beit El Council chief Shai Alon said about Shalom Menachem, “Shalom was an introverted person, quiet and modest, who acted with pleasantness towards everyone. He had a light in his eyes and a giant soul, which we will greatly miss.”

Rabbi Zechariya Rabinowitz, one of Shalom’s teachers, said, “Shalom loved serving G-d. he knew that this was the truth and loved the yeshiva and his environment. He was always very connected to helping and advancing matters in the yeshiva. He did

everything naturally, with love, with great simplicity. He was simply lovely, smiling and happy. When he returned from Gaza, he was determined and he had a spirit of bravery.”

The head of the Samaria Council, Yossi Dagan, mourned Oz Gruber. “Oz, a handsome young man, one of the best of our sons, a member of a family with deep roots in Samaria, one of the foundation stones of the Tal Menashe settlement, fell like a hero in the battles against our cursed enemies. He dreamed of serving a meaningful military service, defending the State of Israel, the people and the country. When I sat down last night with his mother Shira, she told me that he was a man of truth, full of heart, a great idealist, and added that she was sure that if he were asked even now if he would enter Gaza again, he would say that he would enter, even though he knew he would be killed.”

Tal Blumovitz, Orr’s younger brother, said about his fallen sibling: “My brother was a great scholar of history, a kind of ‘bookworm.’ He was a hero… He was a quiet, introverted person who didn’t say too much because he knew it was difficult to serve in a combat unit. He really liked his service in the engineering corps.”

Orr had read thousands of books about the Land of Israel and history. Orr’s best friend, Yanon Tamir, was a paratrooper brigade fighter who was killed at the beginning of the war.

Another soldier, 19-year-old Sgt. Yair Roitman was injured earlier that week in a Rafah attack on June 10, which killed four soldiers and injured six. Roitman later passed away from his wounds. He was from Karnei Shomron and served in the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit.

Hamas Hurting in Rafah

On Monday, the IDF said that it had taken out about half of Hamas’

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fighting force in Rafah, with at least 550 terrorists killed.

The IDF’s 162nd Division has been fighting in Rafah for more than 40 days, first taking control of the city’s eastern outskirts and the border crossing with Egypt in early May. In the second stage of the operation, about a week and a half later, the division captured the Brazil neighborhood. The third stage of the Rafah offensive saw the IDF take control of the entire Egypt-Gaza border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, and push into the city’s northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood.

Although the IDF has said that it has killed 550 gunmen, the number of terrorists killed is probably higher, as many more terror operatives were killed in strikes against buildings and tunnels, and those are hard to count. Additionally, an unknown number of terror operatives fled the Rafah area as the military began its offensive there.

Of the four battalions in Hamas’s Rafah Brigade, two — Yabna (South) and East Rafah — are considered to be almost completely dismantled, while the capabilities of the other two — Shaboura (North) and Tel Sultan (West) — are somewhat degraded due to IDF operations.

Along the Philadelphi Corridor, the IDF said it located hundreds of rockets, including dozens of long-range projectiles aimed at central Israel. Also in the border area, more than 200 tunnel shafts have been located, leading to many underground routes.

The IDF said it found at least 25 “long” tunnels that reach the border with Egypt, some of which likely cross into Sinai and had been used by Hamas to smuggle weapons.

Aside from the Philadelphi Corridor, the IDF said it has established “complete operational control” over the Brazil and so-called NPK neighborhoods of Rafah, near the Shaboura and Yabna camps. The latter neighborhood is considered to be a major Hamas stronghold, and the army said troops killed dozens of gunmen inside tunnels there.

The fight against Hamas has been hard on the IDF, as it has lost 22 soldiers in fighting the terror group in Rafah. Eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in a blast in an armored vehicle that came under attack.

Israeli Teens are “Creative Thinkers”

According to a study carried out in 2022 and whose results were published this week, the percentage of Israeli 15-year-olds who excel at “creative thinking” is among the highest in the world.

The study, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 Creative Thinking Assessment, was carried out in 2022 among 63 countries as a supplement to the main PISA study, which examined the mathematics, reading and science abilities of 15-year-olds in 81 countries. PISA studies are conducted every few years by the OECD.

The 2022 Creative Thinking Assessment found that the overall percentage of Israeli students rated as “excellent” in creative thinking was 30 percent, as compared to the OECD average of 27%, putting Israel in 11th place out of the 63 participating countries.

Thirty-five percent of Hebrew speakers were rated “excellent”; only 11% of Arabic speakers were similarly rated.

Forty-four percent of girls in non-religious, Hebrew-speaking schools were rated as “excellent,” followed by 34% of girls in the state-religious system, 24% of girls in the ultra-Orthodox school system, and 13% of girls in Arabic-speaking schools.

For boys, 36% attending non-religious Hebrew-speaking schools were “excellent” in creative thinking, followed by 34% in the state-religious system and 9% in the Arabic schools.

A majority of Arabic-speaking students, 61%, showed “difficulty” in creative thinking, more than four times the 15% of Hebrew speakers in the same category. For Arabic-speaking boys, a full 70% showed difficulty.

Israel was ranked overall 20th out

of 64 countries in the creative thinking study. Comparatively, Israeli students were more successful in tests for “evaluating and improving ideas” and “solving social and science problems” but found more difficulty in tasks requiring “written expression.”

First place was claimed by Singapore, followed by South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Latvia and Belgium.

Social Media Warnings?

On Monday, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require a warning for visitors to social media platforms, similar to those found on tobacco products.

In an op-ed published in The New York Times, Murthy said the mental health crisis among young people is an urgent problem, with social media “an important contributor.”

“A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” he wrote.

Congress mandated warning labels on packs of cigarettes following a landmark report in 1965 from the surgeon general of the time who linked smoking to lung cancer and heart disease. The first warning label said: “Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous to Your Health.”

In the op-ed, Murthy said, “Evidence from tobacco labels shows that surgeon general’s warnings can increase awareness and change behavior.” He acknowledged the limitations and said a label alone wouldn’t make

social media safe, adding that parents and others should be involved to mitigate the risks to children.

He also linked the amount of time spent on social media to the increasing risk that children will experience symptoms of anxiety and depression.

According to the American Psychological Association, teenagers spend nearly five hours every day on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. In a 2019 study, the association found the proportion of young adults with suicidal thoughts or other suicide-related outcomes increased 47% from 2008 to 2017, when social media use among that age group soared.

In January, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about social media’s impact on young people, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologized to parents who said the Meta platform Instagram contributed to their children’s suicides or exploitation.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve all gone through,” Zuckerberg said. “It’s terrible. No one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered.”

A surgeon general’s public health advisory on social media’s mental health published last year cited research finding that among its potential harms are exposure to violent and graphic content and to bullying, harassment and body shaming. Murthy noted that social media use compromises children’s sleep and person-to-person interactions.

MD Pardons

175K Marijuana Convictions

On Monday, those in Maryland who have marijuana convictions rejoiced when Gov. Wes Moore – a Democrat – issued pardons for more than 175,000 marijuana convictions. The pardons by Moore will forgive

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low-level marijuana possession and certain paraphernalia charges for an estimated 100,000 people, the governor’s office said, as it is possible for a person to have more than one conviction pardoned.

“This is about changing how both government and society view those who have been walled off from opportunity because of broken and uneven policies,” Moore, who is Black, said at a signing event Monday, almost two years after Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana for people 21 and older.

The governor described his executive order as “the most sweeping state-level pardon” in the country’s history. The event coincided with the week of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. According to The Washington Post, marijuana convictions affect a disproportionate amount of Black and brown people.

About 25% of the impacted convictions stem from the city of Baltimore.

The pardons will also apply to people who have died. They will not result in people being freed from incarceration, the governor’s office said.

Marylanders approved recreational cannabis for adult use amid a marked change in the way cannabis is viewed by the public. In November 2023, a record 70% of Americans surveyed by Gallup said they supported cannabis legalization. In 2014, the share was 51%.

“We cannot celebrate the benefits of legalization if we do not address the consequences of criminalization,” Moore said.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown noted that there was a “deeply rooted bias in drug related arrests and sentencing,” which he described as a vestige of slavery.

“Cannabis convictions for hundreds of thousands of people here in Maryland were scarlet letters, modern day shackles,” he said. “I can almost hear the clanging of those shackles falling to the floor with your pardon this morning, governor.”

Train Settlement

A federal judge ordered BNSF Railway to pay nearly $400 million to the Swinomish Tribe in Washington State after finding that the company intentionally trespassed when it repeatedly ran 100-car trains carrying crude oil across the tribe’s reservation.

U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik initially ruled last year that the railway deliberately violated the terms of a 1991 easement with the Swinomish Tribe north of Seattle that allows trains to carry no more than 25 cars per day.

The tribe sued in 2015 after BNSF dramatically increased, without the tribe’s consent, the number of cars it was running across the reservation so that it could ship crude oil from

the Bakken Formation in and around North Dakota to a nearby refinery. The route crosses sensitive marine ecosystems along the coast, over water that connects with the Salish Sea, where the tribe has treaty-protected rights to fish.

Bakken oil is easier to refine into the fuels sold at the gas pump and ignites more easily. Last year, two BNSF engines derailed on Swinomish land, leaking an estimated 3,100 gallons of diesel fuel near Padilla Bay.

The 1991 easement limited rail traffic to one train of 25 cars per day in each direction. It required BNSF to tell the tribe about the “nature and identity of all cargo” transported across the reservation, and it said the tribe would not arbitrarily withhold permission to increase the number of trains or cars.

“BNSF failed to update the Tribe regarding the nature of the cargo that was crossing the Reservation and unilaterally increased the number of trains and the number of cars without the Tribe’s written agreement, thereby violating the conditions placed on BNSF’s permission to enter the property,” Lasnik said.

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WITHIN ERUV

Torah Thought

By Rabbi Zvi Teichman

Eachtime we remove the Sefer Torah from the Ark/Aron in preparation to read from it, we recite the verse: עוסנב יהיו — When the Ark would travel, Moshe would say, ‘Arise, Hashem, and let your foes be scattered, let those who hate You flee from you.’

This custom is first recorded by the 13th century sage Rav Yehuda Bar Nosson in his book Machkim

This sentiment was first expressed by Moshe as the Aron traveled for the first time ahead of the nation, praying to G-d to thwart their enemies.

What relevance does this have to the removing of the Sefer Torah from the ark to read from it?

Is this our mantra as we embrace the focus of our life — the Torah, to call out for the decimation of our foes?

Rashi here offers an enlightening aspect to the story. Apparently, the nation had become restless and impatiently fled a bit too quickly from Mount Sinai, where they had just received the Torah, in their quest to journey towards the holy land. The Talmud likens their eagerness to ‘a child fleeing from school’ towards his next endeavor. The Maharsha adds

that in the spirit of the adage, ‘if you forsake me for a day, I will abandon you for two’, G-d traveled equally away from them. Upon observing this distancing from the people, Moshe appealed to G-d, !' ד המוק’ — G-d, wait!’, don’t go further, let us catch up. (םש א"שרהמבו :וטק

Rashi also teaches that the Ark that led them was the one Moshe had fashioned that was designated to house the broken tablets specifically.

Were it not for the sin of the Golden Calf and the consequent breaking of the Two Tablets, we would have returned to an idyllic existence like Adam prior to his sin. With our failure we were destined to struggle against the forces of confusion, darkness and doubt in peering through these clouds in discovering G-d.

Moshe knew of their frailties and asked from G-d that he never forsake them, holding out hope that in their true desire for connection G-d would always wait longingly.

There is a masoretic tradition that this verse and its companion, רמאי החנבו — And when it rested, he would say, ‘Reside tranquilly, O Hashem, among the myriad thousands of Israel’, which is recited when we return the Torah to the ark, is sandwiched by two inverted נ’s.

The Holy Zohar indicates that the symbol is not an inverted nun but rather a reversed one -׆.

Instead of naturally facing ‘forward’, it turns its face backward to symbolize that G-d, so to speak, beckoningly turns His face towards us even when we lag far behind.

Perhaps Moshe’s request to scatter our foes and cause the haters to flee refers to our internal enemies. ביוא — foe, and אנוש — hater, correspond to Yishmael and Esav respectively. These two enemies represent the ינוואת and ינסעכ, lust and anger, the associated traits of these two rouges.

often paralyze our healthy ambitions, that gestates when we don’t achieve immediate success, often turning accusingly against G-d. This is indicated in the piel form ךיאנשמ, not simply hatred but those who persecute and place blame. To conquer that inner challenge, we need merely to reiterate our faith, because the moment we accept that higher calling, resentment naturally dissipates and flees.

There is an opinion in the Talmud that says that these two verses are a רפס, a book unto itself.

The Chida quotes in the name of the Mekubalim, the mystics, that this ‘book’ will be fully revealed one day and consist of a size equal to the others.

I had heard in the name of Rav Moshe Shapiro, that it is the life and times of the struggles of all the generations that succeeded against all odds to survive and transmit the message of Sinai, that will fill the chapters of this book.

Did you know that in Auschwitz there was a Sefer Torah that was read from regularly?

After the war a secular Jewish journalist from Lodz described how when the Jews from Hungary arrived in Auschwitz, they brought a passion for their yiddishkeit that was evident in their fervent prayers, their spirited niggunim and in the warmth they embraced a heretic like him, that he was so swept up in their faith under the darkest of conditions, that he too sensed the presence of G-d.

In that ‘shtiebel’ in Auschwitz they read from a Torah as well.

Yaakov Meor, talks about his grandfather’s grandfather, a wealthy merchant who traveled widely and commissioned the writing of a miniature Sefer Torah on expensive deer hide. It enabled him to not only read from it during his travels but inspired him to remain steadfast against the challenges of the alien influences that enticed one in foreign lands.

When we quench those forces, we merit overcoming our enemies. Perhaps that is why we pray not for their eradication, but for them to scatter and flee, calming and stifling them. These emotions are only overwhelming when we unleash them unrestrictedly.

The אנוש, the hater within us is the feeling of angst and frustration that

His grandson Reb Yaakov Meir Helman of Munkatch eventually inherited this treasure. As the dark clouds descended upon Europe, he committed to never letting it leave his grasp. He tailored a secret pocket within his garment so that he would be able to conceal it in. The day came when he was transported to Auschwitz and was forced to disrobe completely and toss

FIT A BIT OF TORAH INTO YOUR LIFE.

his treasure in a heap of prisoners’ discarded clothes.

Torah Thought Summer

Breeze

Determined, he discovered the attendant who oversaw these piles of schmattes and begged him to retrieve his holy possession. He succeeded. Yaakov Meir made sure to sequester his prize from the eyes of his captors. They continued throughout their internment to read from the Torah regularly in their clandestine improvised shteibel.

They had just read from the portion of Tazria and were suddenly commanded to gather and join in a notorious death march. Those who faltered were shot on sight, and despite Yaakov Meir’s heroic efforts a bullet fell him, and he and his Torah collapsed to the ground.

For many years this is all the family knew about the tragic fate of Yaakov Meir and his Torah.

although most Atzei Chaim are made of wood, the Torah rollers on his was made of metal. In fact, she remembers how the rust that developed impaired some of the parchment and written words. To his astonishment this scroll had metal rollers and upon rolling the scroll to the beginning he observed the discolored parchment.

With tears and emotions overflowing he repeated a family tradition that his grandfather was shot after Shabbos of Parshas Tazria. He suggested rolling it to that portion. The drama intensified as they shockingly discovered blood stains splattered over that segment, clearly the blood from Yaakov Meir Helman’s bullet riddled holy body.

Yaakov Meir’s grandson, Yaakov Meor, lived in Israel and worked as a writer for a prominent business journal. In 1976 he attended an international business conference in Vienna in his professional capacity. While there he frequented the local Jewish community for Shabbos where he was asked to describe life in Israel and the boom it was experiencing. He regaled them with the fast pace of development the land was undergoing. The people were inspired and desired to be part of this growth. He said he would inquire from various officials in Israel for the best way they could help. He reported back that due to the many new towns and moshavim being founded there was a need for Sifrei Torah, Torah Scrolls. Their faces lit up informing Yaakov that in the cellar of the Shul there were hundreds of unclaimed religious artifacts from the Holocaust, among them many Torah scrolls that he was free to secure for this noble cause. As he descended to the dimly lit cellar, the many Sifrei Torah seemed to peer out at him like those images of the living corpses crowded in their barracks, longing for salvation. He collected what seemed to be usable and was satisfied with this remarkable sign of providence. As he was about to exit, his guide mentioned to him that he might be interested in a most unusual scroll, a miniature Torah written on deer hide.

Could it be this was his grandfather’s Torah? He suddenly recalled that his mother had mentioned that

The blood was carefully removed affording a semblance of a burial for this pure soul, and the Torah was restored to the family in Israel, being stored at various family members and finding its current location in the home of his grandson, Yaakov Meor, in the town of Chemed.

A mantel, a covering, was designed for this special Torah and has embroidered on it the following words:

(HaMevaser - Shavuos Edition Zev Eisenstein)

It was the fearsome dedication to the faith of the patriarch of the family embodied in the Sefer Torah he commissioned that preserved his legacy until today. It will no doubt fill many verses in the expanded ‘Sefer’ in the days of Moshiach.

As we bear the ‘Aron’ in our journey of life may we echo in our lives the charge of Moshe to ward off our inner foes in conquering our enemies by the power of the living Torah that shines forth in all our choices in life.

G-d is waiting, directing His gaze lovingly towards us, longing for us to finally arrive.

You may reach the author at: Ravzt@ohelmoshebaltimore.com

Shacharis

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6:10 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore M, Th

6:15 AM Kol Torah M, TH

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6:25 AM The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei IsraelT, W, F

6:30 AM Agudah of Greenspring T, W, F

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6:50 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore M, TH

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Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh M, TH

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6:55 AM Beth Abraham T, W, F

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7:00 AM Aish Kodesh (upstairs Minyan) M-F

Agudath Israel of Baltimore S, T, W, F

Ahavat Shalom [Sefaradi] T, W, F

Arugas HaBosem (Rabbi Taub's)S

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Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh T, W, F Greenspring Sephardic Synagogue S

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Kol Torah T, W, F

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Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah M-F

Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] S, T, W, F

Shearith Israel Congregation S, M, TH

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Shomrei Mishmeres Hakodesh M-F

The Shul at the Lubavitch CenterT, W, F

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The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei IsraelS

Tzeirei Anash M-F

7:20 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore M, TH

Beth Tfiloh Congregation M-F

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Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] M, TH

Shomrei Emunah CongregationM, TH

7:30 AM Agudah of Greenspring S

Agudath Israel of Baltimore S, T, W, F

Ahavat Shalom [Sefaradi] S

Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim S-F

Bais Hamedrash and Mesivta of Baltimore S-F

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Khal Bais Nosson S

Ner Israel Rabbinical College (Mechina) S-F

Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah S-F

Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi] S, T, W, F

Shomrei Emunah CongregationT, W, F

7:45 AM Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation M-F

Talmudical Academy S-F

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Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah S-F

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8:00 AM Agudath Israel of Baltimore S-F

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1:00 PM 10055 Red Run Blvd Suite 295

Milk & Honey Bistro 1777 Reisterstown RD

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Big Al @ The Knish Shop Party Room

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2:15 PM Pikesville Beis Medrash - 15 Walker Ave

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Tov Pizza Mincha Minyan

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5:30 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-Th)

Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

6:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-F)

Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

Shearith Israel Congregation (S-Th)

6:30 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-Th)

Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

7:00 PM Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-Th)

7:30 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore (S-Th)

14 Min Before ShkiAh Kol Torah

Mincha/Maariv Plag

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Shomrei Emunah Congregation

Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim

Mincha/Maariv Before Shkiah

Aish Kodesh

Agudath Israel of Baltimore

Agudah of Greenspring

Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim

Beth Abraham

Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation

Darchei Tzedek

Kehillas Meor HaTorah

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Machzikei Torah (Sternhill’s)

Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

Ner Tamid

Ohel Moshe

Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi]

Ohr Yisroel

Pikesville Jewish Congregation

Shearith Israel Congregation

Shomrei Emunah Congregation

Shomrei Mishmeres

Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim

The Adas: Chofetz Chaim Adas Bnei Israel

The Shul at the Lubavitch Center

Tiferes Yisroel

Maariv

8:30 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore

Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

8:45 PM Darchei Tzedek

Ner Israel Rabbinical College (Mechina)

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

Ohr Yisroel

8:50 PM Mesivta Shaarei Chaim (Etz Chaim Building)

8:55 PM Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh

9:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore

Arugas Habosem

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

Shomrei Emunah Congregation

Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim

9:15 PM Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

9:20 PM Kol Torah

9:30 PM Agudah of Greenspring

Agudath Israel of Baltimore

Kedushas Yisrael

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

9:40 PM Ahavat Shalom [Sefaradi]

9:45 PM Bais Haknesses Ohr HaChaim

Kollel Erev Birchas Yitzchok (Luries)

Kollel of Greenspring

Machzikei Torah (Sternhill's)

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

Ohr Hamizrach [Sefaradi]

Yeshiva Tiferes Hatorah

9:50 PM Aish Kodesh

Community Kollel Tiferes Moshe Aryeh

Ohel Moshe

10:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore

Darchei Tzedek

Kehilath B'nai Torah

Khal Ahavas Yisroel/ Tzemach Tzedek

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

Shearith Israel Congregation

Shomrei Emunah Congregation

10:05 PM Kol Torah

10:10 PM Ner Israel Rabbinical College

10:15 PM Derech Chaim

Khal Bais Nosson

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

10:30 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

10:45 PM Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

11:00 PM Agudath Israel of Baltimore

Mercaz Torah U'Tefillah

11:30 PM Mercaz Torah U’Tefillah

Agudah of Greenspring - 6107 Greenspring Ave Agudath Israel of Baltimore - 6200 Park Heights Ave Ahavat Shalom - 3009 Northbrook Rd Aish Kodesh - 6207 Ivymount Rd

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Tens of Thousands are Mekabel Shabbos at Dirshu Kinnus Olam HaTorah in Prudential Center

Gedolei Yisrael Lead the Charge Urging Klal Yisrael to Accept Upon Themselves the Limud of Daily Hilchos Shabbos

By Chaim Gold

It was surreal, a scene that will never be forgotten by the thousands who merited to be in the Prudential Center Arena on Sunday night before Shavuos. The Gaon and Tzaddik, HaRav Shimon Galei, shlita, who had come especially from Eretz Yisrael to address the Dirshu Kinnus Olam HaTorah Kabbolas Shabbos maamad, was about to complete his inspiring drasha… when he suddenly changed tones. Instead of ending the drasha with the traditional, “May we be zocheh to the coming of Moshiach,” he began singing!

Yes, Rav Shimon Galei stood there, a beatific smile on his face, microphone in hand, enthusiastically singing the famous song, “Shaarei shomyaim pesach.” He was calling on Hashem to open the gates of Heaven and open His treasure trove for us…

He then explained, “I feel that at this moment is a tremendous eis ratzon, an opportune time when the gates of Heaven are wide open and we can beg Hashem for all our needs, for all Klal Yisrael’s needs!”

He then began singing the niggun again, unshed tears glistening in his eyes as the nearly 15,000 people filling the stadium joined in a thunderous outpouring of emotion. The entire stadium was on their feet singing “Shaarei shomyaim pesach.”!

Watching Rav Shimon singing, you could see how the worry lines and wrinkles on his face temporarily disappeared. He glowed with simcha , leading the assemblage in song and explaining to them how the zechus of Shabbos itself was opening the gates of Heaven; how Shabbos has the power to save Klal Yisrael from its enemies from within and without; and how this wonderful assemblage that gathered to strengthen themselves in shemiras Shabbos by undertaking to learn hilchos Shabbos daily and comprehensively, was the conduit for rachmei shomayim to permeate the entire Klal Yisrael.

The climax of Rav Shimon Galei’s drasha was one of the main highlights and emotional highpoints of a unique, remarkable event experienced by Klal

Yisrael this past Sunday, the first day of the Sheloshes Yemei Hagbalah, when Dirshu held its massive Kinnus Olam HaTorah Kabbolas Shabbos event at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

Traditionally, Dirshu’s large stadium events have been held to mark milestone siyumim. This event, however, was unique in that it was made to celebrate not a siyum, but a kabbalah, a kabbalah of hundreds of thousands of lomdim the world over accepting upon themselves to learn hilchos Shabbos in Dirshu’s popular Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program that will embark on Chelek Gimel of hilchos Shabbos on Erev Shavuos. It is certainly not coincidental that this kabbalah to learn hilchos Shabbos coincides with the Yom Tov of Kabbolas HaTorah as Chazal teach us that shemiras Shabbos is equivalent to keeping the entire Torah!

It is also not coincidental that the very popular Dirshu Amud HaYomi program is also currently in the middle of learning Masechta Shabbos. Those who participate in both programs thus have the unique opportunity to learn the sugyos in the masechta followed by the practical halacha that emanates from these sugyos

The Kabbolas Shabbos event was attended by numerous prominent Roshei Yeshiva, Poskim, Admorim and Rabbanim aside from those who addressed the crowd including Hagaonim HaRav Malkiel Kotler, shlita, HaRav Dovid Schustal, shlita, HaRav Reuven Feinstein, shlita, Harav Hillel David, shlita, HaRav Yaakov Horowitz, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Beis Meir, HaRav Shlomo Feivel Schustal, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Tiferes Yerachmiel, Rav Osher Dovid May, shlita, Rosh Kollel of the Passaic Yeshiva, Kollel, HaRav Yerachmiel Ungarischer, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Beis Medrash Elyon of Bnei Brak, the Verdaner Rebbe, shlita,, Rav Meir Meyers, shlita, Belzer Dayan in Boro Park, Rav Shlomo Leizer, shlita, Sanzer Dayan, Rav Avrohom Spitzer, shlita, Skverer Dayan of Lakewood, Rav Shmuel Lichtenstein, shlita, Krasna, Dayan, Rav Yitzchok Zalman Gips, shlita, Rav of Khal Birkas Avrohom HaRav Moshe

Chaim Kahan, shlita, Dayan, Beis

Medrash Govoha, Lakewood, HaRav Moshe Zev Feldman, shlita Dayan, Beis Medrash Govoha, Lakewood.

Inspiration in Harmony

In addition to being an evening of kabbalos, the evening was also suffused with niggunim of chizuk and hisorerus beginning with a new niggun “Boi Besholom” sung by the Shira choir. Some of the most talented baalei menagnim inspired the crowd to greater heights in ahavas Torah and shemiras Shabbos. Whether it was R’ Baruch Levine singing the words of the beautiful tefillah said by every woman before lighting the candles when she begs Hashem to grant her children who will illuminate the world with their Torah, mitzvos and maasim tovim, or R’ Hershy Weinberger together with a wunderkind soloist singing the new song “Tanu Rabbanan,” full of ahavas haTorah

Whether it was R’ Zanvil Weinberger singing the words of the Mishnah that, “He who engages in Torah is zocheh to so many things,” or the heartfelt singing of R’ Naftali Kempeh as he sang the famed moving Shavuos song, “Kad Yasvin” that describes how Hashem revels in seeing his beloved Nation forgetting about the difficulties in their own lives, and instead deeply engaging in toiling in Torah. The evening was one of chizuk, inspiration and most importantly, “kabbalah,” about truly making an unbreakable kabbalah to learn hilchos Shabbos and in general upgrade all matters related to Shabbos.

Rav David Ozeri: “The Only Way

to Win This War is Spiritually!”

One of the most powerful drashos of the evening was the drasha given by HaRav David Ozeri, shlita, Rav of the Yad Yosef Torah Center of Brooklyn. Rav Ozeri cited the words of the Mishnah Berurah in his introduction to hilchos Shabbos, where the Chofetz Chaim calls on every community to establish chaburos, groups of people learning hilchos Shabbos. The Chofetz Chaim adds that making groups and shiurim of people dedicated to learning hilchos Shabbos will bring the geulah closer!

“Dirshu,” Rav Ozeri said, “is therefore actually engaged in bringing the geulah closer by ensuring that so many shiurim and so many groups of lomdim are getting together daily to learn hilchos Shabbos. This gathering here today is certainly a gathering that is bringing the geulah closer!”

Rav Yechiel Mechel Steinmetz: “We Are All Here to Collectively Say, ‘Naaseh V’Nishma!’”

Rav Yechiel Mechel Steinmetz, Skverer Dayan of Boro Park and one of the senior Poskim of America, brought out the tremendous quality of achdus that he observed in the crowd.

“We see here,” he said, “G-d fearing Yidden from all walks of life who have come together - Chassidim, Litivishe Yidden, Sefardic Jews, kollel yungeleit, baalei battim, a complete microcosm of Har Sinai about which Chazal teach, ‘The entire Klal Yisrael camped next to the mountain as one man with one

heart, with remarkable achdus,’ to do what? To strengthen ourselves in hilchos Shabbos. I feel that today we are all here to collectively say, ‘Naaseh V’Nishma!

The Call to Action by the Nasi of Dirshu

“Tayere Heiligeh Mishpachas Dirshu, shlita,” was the way, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, Nasi of Dirshu, began his remarks. One could feel the profound ahavah suffusing those words. It was clear that this was not some figurehead of an organization, detached from the people, addressing his constituents. Rather, he was a yedid, a father figure, and more importantly a family member addressing his wider family with ahavah. Every person in the cavernous Prudential Center could feel the love emanating from the words, “Tayere Heiligeh Mishpachas Dirshu, shlita.”

The seminal drasha that Rav Hofstedter delivered was not only a rousing speech, but it was also an earnest conversation among friends. It was a very serious, important drasha with a practical message that was delivered with pain and concern over the difficult situation in today’s world.

Rav Hofstedter said, “On the one hand, look at this dor! It is such a beautiful generation! Perhaps in the history of our galus there has never been a generation where so much Torah is being learned. Torah is being learned across the entire world - In Eretz Yisrael from Dan until Be’er Sheva and outside of Eretz Yisrael, in cities and towns literally where until more recently the kol Torah has not been heard, there are kollelim There are yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs in communities the world over, with tens and tens of thousands of talmidim

“All areas of Torah are being learned. In our entire history, there was never so much Talmud Yerushalmi being learned as today. Our generation is producing comprehensive sefarim covering virtually every area of Torah at the highest levels. It is absolutely wonderful! A blessed generation!

“On the other hand… look at the terrible tzaros that we have experienced most recently. We are experiencing a difficult tekufah of hester panim. Is it possible that the tremendous shefah, the tremendous bounty that Hashem has bestowed upon us has distracted us from our ultimate mission in life? Is it possible that with all the Torah being learned and with all the wonderful, spiritual developments in our time, that we are missing something?”

With great passion and pathos, Rav

Hofstedter exclaimed, “Our generation is such a generation of opportunity! There is so much Torah being learned, so much ruchnyius, so much good! We have the opportunity to soar in ruchniyus. Yet, there are serious challenges.

“Let us not look back at our lives with regret. Let us not one day regretfully look at the missed, unfulfilled potential! Let us not say we could have been bekiim in hilchos Shabbos, we could have kept Shabbos properly without inadvertently transgressing… but we didn’t avail ourselves of the opportunity. Let us not one day have the anguish and regret that ‘I could have been a Shas Yid…’ Let us not one day look back and say, ‘I COULD have brought the geulah, I missed the opportunity…’ Let us not r”l, be the generation that had so many tzaros and will one day have to answer the question, ‘Where were you? What were you doing when my children were being slaughtered? Where were you when so many children were being lost to Klal Yisrael? Were you too busy enjoying life when the umos ha’olam were disgracing My Torah?”

With a fiery spark of hope in his eyes, Rav Dovid continued, “Let us rather be the generation of Kinyan Torah! The generation of Kinyan Halacha, of Kinyan Shas, of Kinyan Yerushalmi, of Amud HaYomi and of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha!!

“Let us be the generation whose Father welcomes His children with open arms! Let us be the generation that will finally witness yeshuas Yisrael and welcome the Goel Tzedek!”

“Tattele Kum Shoin Aheim!”

With that rousing ending, Rav Hofstedter was about to step down…

Until something stopped him. What happened next swept the whole crowd into electrified dveikus. Rav Simon Galei quickly stepped up the podium next to Rav Dovid and, as an appropriate bookend to the entire theme of Rav Dovid’s drasha, grasped Rav Dovid’s hand and began to sing the famous words of the song composed by Rav Don Segal, begging Hashem to come back home to His children, “Tattele kum shoin aheim! Tattele kum shoin aheim!”

It seemed as if the roof was going to blow off of the stadium as the entire khal rose to their feet as one, singing with tangible emotion, “Tattele kum shoin aheim! Our Dear Father, PLEASE COME HOME!”

Rav Yitzchok Sorotzkin: “Connecting with Masechta Shabbos

and Hilchos Shabbos Can Save Klal Yisrael”

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Sorotzkin, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe and Mesivta of Lakewood, pointed out that in our times, when Klal Yisrael faces a tzarah we are often told that we need to strengthen ourselves in matters of shemiras halashon. “While there is no doubt that we should always be vigilant about shemiras halashon, Rav Mattisyohu Salomon commented that if you look at the letters written by the Chofetz Chaim during difficult times for Klal Yisrael during his lifetime, he almost always attributed the difficult times to deficiencies in shemiras Shabbos and in slacking off in limud haTorah. Certainly, in our times when Klal Yisrael is assailed from within and without by great difficulties, it is time to strengthen ourselves in Shabbos and Torah.

Another highlight of the event were the video recordings of the Gedolei Eretz Yisrael and Gedolei America, urging Klal Yisrael to undertake learning hilchos Shabbos. A powerful message resonated from Eretz Yisrael during the recent nesius meeting of the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program with the Gedolei Yisrael of the Yeshiva, Chasssidic and Sefardic communities in Bnei Brak.

“Shabbos Encompasses ALL the Mitzvos!”

Another powerful speaker was the well-known Maggid, HaRav Shimon Spitzer, shlita, who cited the famous Gemara wherein a convert asked Hillel to teach him the entire Torah on one foot. Hillel’s answer was, “What you don’t want someone to do to you, don’t do to another.”

“The question,” Rav Spitzer then asked, “is this the entire Torah?” He then explained, “There are foundational mitzvos that serve as conduits for all the mitzvos. This foundational mitzvah will lead to the others. The same applies to Shabbos. Shabbos is a mitzvah that encompasses ALL the other mitzvos. That is why a person who keeps Shabbos is considered as if he

kept the entire Torah while a mechallel Shabbos, r”l, is considered a person who doesn’t believe in anything.”

Rav Spitzer similarly urged the assemblage to feel the taam of Shabbos, to feel the spiritual taanug that Shabbos brings, saying, “This taanug can be felt when someone devotes time to learning hilchos Shabbos.”

Skulener Rebbe and Stutchiner Rebbe Lead Kabbolas Ol Malchus Shomayim

Another climax was at the very end of the maamad with the arrival of the venerated Skulener Rebbe of Boro Park, Rav Yeshaya Yaakov Portugal, shlita, and the Rebbe of Toldos Yehuda Stutchin, Rav Mordechai Zilber, shlita When the Skulener Rebbe said, “Shema Yisrael,” being mekabel ol malchus shomayim, as the Stutchiner Rebbe looked on, the entire assemblage thundered after him, in a roaring acceptance of ol malchus shomayim. He then said, “Hashem Hu Elokim” seven times, declaring our emunah in Hashem. What an appropriate culmination to a night that was completely devoted to Shabbos, the foundation of our emunah!

To join Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and/or Amud HaYomi, please contact Dirshu at info@dirshunj.org or at 1-888-5Dirshu.

Academia Hebrea De Panama | Ateres Bais Yaakov | Atlanta Jewish Academy | Bais Chana | Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam | Bais Yaakov Detroit | Bais Yaakov D’Rav

Hirsh | Bais Yaakov Machon Ora | Bais Yaakov of Boston | Bais Yaakov of Miami

| Bais Yaakov Maryland | Berman Hebrew Academy | Beth Rivkah | Beth Tfiloh

Dahan | Bialik | Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy of Connecticut | Bnos Menachem |

Bruriah | Charles E. Smith Day School | Columbus Torah Academy | David Posnack

Hebrew Day School | Derech Emunah | Donna Klein Jewish Academy | DRS |

Ecole Normale Hebraique Casablanca | Ezra Academy | Farber Hebrew Day School

| Fasman | Fuchs Mizrahi | Gann Academy | Great Neck North | Hadar HS |

HAFTR | HANC | Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov | Harkham-Gaon Academy | Hasmonean

| Hebrew Academy of Montreal | Heichal HaTorah | Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh

| Hillel Yeshiva HS | Ida Crown | Ilan HS | Immanuel College | JEC | Jewish Institute of Queens | Katz Yeshiva HS | Kohelet | Kosloff Torah Academy |

Kushner | Lev Bais Yaakov | Lubavitch Educational Center | Ma’ayanot | Machon

Los Angeles | Magen David | Maimonides School (Chile) | Maimonides School (Massachusetts) | Maimonides School (Paris) | Manhattan HS | Margolin Hebrew Academy | Mechina HS Ner Israel | Melamed Academy | Meoros Girls HS | Mesifta Hagadol | Mesivta Ateres Yaakov | Mesivta Chaim Shlomo | Mesivta High School of Greater Philadelphia | Mesivta Yesodei Yeshurun | Naaleh | New England

Jewish HS | North Shore Hebrew Academy | Northwest Yeshiva HS | Ohr HaTorah Yeshiva HS | Or Chaim | Ottawa Torah Institute | Pe’er Bais Yaakov | Prospect

Park | RASG | Ramaz | Rambam | Robert M. Beren Academy | SAR | Scheck Hillel | Shaarei Bina | Shalhevet | Shearim Torah HS | Shevach | Shulamith Cedarhurst | Solomon Schechter | SKA | TABC | Talmudical Academy of Baltimore | Tanenbaum

CHAT | Texas Torah Institute Dallas | The Shalem School | Torah Academy of Milwaukee | Torah Girls Academy of Texas | Torah High School of San Diego | Torah Ohr Hebrew Academy | Ulpanat Orot | Valley Torah | Westchester Hebrew HS | Yavne HS | Yavneh Academy of Dallas | Yeshiva Darche Eres | Yeshiva Darchei Torah of Toronto | Yeshiva Gedolah | Yeshiva Girls School Pittsburgh | Yeshiva of Greater Washington | Yeshiva of Minneapolis | Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad | Yeshiva Ohr Israel of Boston | Yeshiva Shaar Hatorah | Yeshiva Tiferes Torah of Boca Raton | Yeshiva Toras Chaim | Yeshivah of Flatbush | Yeshivas Ohavei Torah | Yeshivat Kadimah | Yeshivat

Frisch | Yeshurun Torah | YUHSB-MTA | YUHSG-Central | YULA Boys | YULA Girls

Yeshiva University’s

Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) Celebrates Ordination of 150 Rabbis at First Chag HaSemikhah

Introduces $1 million matching grant in honor of Rabbi Zevulun Charlop to support elite Torah scholars

In a moving ceremony filled with joy, meaning and hope for the future, about 4,000 people from around the globe came together to celebrate 150 newly ordained YU RIETS rabbis — the next generation of outstanding rabbinic leaders.

The triannual event, held on June 16 at the Nathan Lamport Auditorium at Zysman Hall, included nearly 1,000 proud parents, spouses, Roshei Yeshiva, and alumni, along with thousands of celebrants who joined via live-stream. As it has since 1903, the ceremony was a testament to YU’s commitment to the future of the Jewish people, as it educates the stellar rabbinic leaders of tomorrow.

The new rabbis join more than 3,500 RIETS graduates who have gone on to become distinguished rabbis, scholars, educators and leaders worldwide. Many of this year’s honorees were children or grandchildren of RIETS alumni.

“As we welcome, with great joy, our newest cohort of rabbis, we publicly celebrate their impressive achievements and what they represent to the future of the Jewish people,” said Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, President and Rosh Yeshiva of YU. “After years of study and dedication, our graduates are prepared to lead with vision, clarity and a profound sense of purpose. Especially today, with so many challenges facing the Jewish people throughout this country and beyond, we need rabbis who are deeply rooted in their Torah knowledge, able to engage their communities and students with empathy and compassion, and are articulate ambassadors of our values and defenders of the Jewish people to the world. It is from here that the future of the Jewish community stands.”

Rabbi Ronald Schwarzberg, director of Morris and Gertrude Bienenfeld Department of Jewish Career Development and Placement in RIETS, began the ceremony serving as herald, ushering in the rabbinic faculty, administration and honorees. Following the procession, Cantor Eric Freeman, Associate Director of the Philip and

Sarah Belz School of Jewish Music, led the National Anthem.

Next, Rabbi Berman announced the new Rabbi Zevulan Charlop Metzuyanim Fund, a $1 million grant created in memory of beloved, long-time RIETS dean Rabbi Zevulun Charlop zt”l. The fund will strengthen Torah study in the Yeshiva by supporting promising students and budding talmidei chachamim Its initial project will be establishing a cohort of elite students in the Marcos and Adina Katz Kollel who will be the Rabbi Zevulun Charlop Metzuyanim Scholars. These students will study under the tutelage of YU Rosh Yeshiva and Rosh Kollel Rabbi Hershel Schachter, one of the world’s leading rabbinical scholars and legal authorities; students will also enjoy an enhanced curriculum and extra monthly stipend.

Donations of up to $1 million will be matched, offering the opportunity for donors to double their impact to support these RIETS scholars. Donate at yu.edu/MetzuyanimFund.

Rabbi Berman and Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger, Rosh Yeshiva of RIETS and Rabbi Charlop’s son-in-law, also presented a special memorial video highlighting Rabbi Charlop’s passionate commitment to Torah, RIETS, and the countless students (who he called “metzuyanim”) he shepherded on the path to becoming Rabbis.

Speaking with great emotion, Rabbi Berman presented the inaugural Torat Tziyon Award to Rabbi Doron Perez, Executive Chairman of the Mizrachi World Movement, for being a voice of emunah and courage for our community. Originally from South Africa, Rabbi Perez made Aliyah as a teenager and served in the IDF before raising a family committed to the ideals of Zionism. On Oct. 7, his two sons, both officers, fought to defend Kibbutz Nahal Oz; Yonatan was injured and has recovered. After fighting valiantly for over two hours, Daniel, 22, commander of his tank crew, was murdered, his body taken hostage, where it remains. Amid his

since Oct. 7

Congratulations to the newly ordained YU RIETS rabbis from Maryland, from left, Danny Lew, Yoni Broth, Barak Bader, Yoni Olson, Tuvy Miller, Yonatan Sonnenschein and Ben Kean.

family’s uncertainty and pain, Rabbi Perez has given strength to thousands, constantly stressing the connection between Torah, Jewish peoplehood and the Land of Israel.

Rabbi Perez addressed the crowd with words of conviction, inspiration, and an appeal for action, stressing the importance today’s musmachim play in the future of the Jewish people.

“Never before have I seen a need for leadership, specifically rabbinic leadership, to help navigate the critical issues the Jewish people in Israel and around the world face,” he said. “What is needed today are those who will stand up for Truth as it applies to the world and its challenges.” YU, he said, has been a beacon of truth and moral clarity in a world of moral confusion. “Yeshiva University is a safe place for Jews to grow and to be deeply Zionistic, an institution that stands for a strong moral code, that stands for the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.”

Following his son Daniel’s death, Rabbi Perez was given Daniel’s diary. In it, the young man reflected on his high school trip to the death camps in Poland, and the price the Jews paid for not having a state and the capacity to defend themselves. Daniel considered it his purpose, privilege and responsibility to protect his people and his family. “What is my role as a

soldier and an officer?” he wrote. “I have the ability to defend. And if not me, then who?”

Later, philanthropist Irwin Shapiro z”l posthumously received the Etz Chaim award — the highest honor given to a lay leader. Mr. Shapiro was an active member of the YU and RIETS Board, and an extraordinarily devoted student of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l. In addition, Rabbi Chaim Bronstein, a beloved RIETS administrator for 42 years, received the Amud HaYeshiva award for his devotion to our Yeshiva.

For 121 years and over 40 graduating classes of world-class rabbis, Yeshiva University has been building Jewish leaders — leaders who have guided and changed the world, and who will continue to guide and change the world through their commitment to Torah values, their moral clarity, and their vision.

Donations can be made to the Rabbi Zevulun Charlop Metzuyanim Fund at y u.edu/MetzuyanimFund .

COLUMBIA GROUP PRESENTS:

לזמ

OUR 150 NEWEST MUSMAKHIM

Mental Health Corner The Midweek Blues

By Rabbi Azriel Hauptman

Are you one of those people who habitually suffer from midweek blues? What is it about the middle of the week that is so burnout-inducing? The answer to that question lies in understanding the factors that determine job satisfaction.

Researchers have studied the factors that determine workplace satisfaction and as a result they developed the “Areas of Worklife Scale”, which is a scientifically validated model that has identified six specific areas that may determine whether one will be excited about work or be disinterested and prone to burnout. A brief outline of these six factors may provide us with some insight into the psychology of job burnout.

Workload: When your workload is more than you can handle, it is very difficult to feel satisfied with your job. The constant stress of meeting unrealistic deadlines can really wear one down. Therefore, having time at work to complete the job is critical in feeling happy at work.

Control/Autonomy: Human beings have a natural tendency to strive for freedom and independence. Even if you are merely an employee in a large company, you still might be granted autonomy in making decisions in your personal job. When one has no control over his or her work, then one starts to feel like a slave. When the employer empowers the employees, the sense of independence goes a long way to feeling satisfied at work.

Reward: Reward does not merely mean bringing home a paycheck. It means that your work is appreciated. Words of gratitude for a job well down is nourishment for the soul and vital in warding off burnout.

Community: Human beings are social creatures. If your workplace fosters an environment of teams working together and supporting each other, then you will actually look forward to going to work. But, if there is a sense of isolation in the workplace, burnout

might be around the corner.

Fairness: Unfortunately, not every workplace is a meritocracy. Employers might favor some employees for reasons that create a feeling of unfairness amongst the employees. The poisonous environment that this creates is definitely not conducive to workplace satisfaction.

Values: A job can be very meaningful if you are providing a service that benefits the community. Imagine how you would feel if your job actually works against values that you hold dear. The pay might be excellent, but eventually you might lose heart.

If you are one of the lucky ones that can check off all these boxes, then you probably have no idea of what job burnout feels like. But, if your job is lacking in one or more of these areas, you might be having a hard time feeling excited about your job. What keeps you going? For many people, it is the weekends.

As the week winds down, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. At the beginning of the week, you might still be buoyed by your weekend. But by midweek, the daily grind is getting to you, and the weekend is still too far away to give you hope. Hence, the midweek blues.

As with many areas in life, emotions should not be ignored. If one does indeed feel consistently unhappy with a job, it might be time for soul searching. Although not everyone has the liberty to switch jobs at will, there still might be ways to change your present job to make it more fulfilling. Because when you are making a living, don’t forget that you also have to live.

This is a service of Relief Resources. Relief is an organization that provides mental health referrals, education, and support to the frum community. Rabbi Yisrael Slansky is director of the Baltimore branch of Relief. He can be contacted at 410-4488356 or at yslansky@reliefhelp.org

To Raise a Laugh

Surprise Supplies!

It’s that time of the year again – time to think about school supplies. And I know what you’re wondering. You’re wondering, “Mordechai, it’s June!” But watch; your kids are about to start coming home with school supplies. Well, parts of them. And not necessarily the ones you sent.

It hardly seems fair. You went hunting to several stores looking for exactly what the teachers asked for. Your kids are bringing you whatever’s left. No one asked for this. You didn’t send a list to the teacher that said, “a half of a set of markers, a sefer that’s seen better days, a pencil I don’t recognize as ever coming from my house…” It’s one thing if they were items you can save for this coming September, but usually, they are not.

Things they come home with:

- Three pencils with broken points and no erasers.

- One giant dirty eraser block with pencil-point holes in it.

- Broken crayons that are either black or blue or indigo or dark purple or brown.

- A sefer that you’re no longer halachically allowed to open on Shabbos.

- A bottle of glue that is glued shut.

- One half-full glue stick. (“Look, it’s half full!” “I sent you with 12.”)

- Most of a ruler.

- That bag of spare clothes you had to send with your kindergartener that he outgrew so long ago that it missed going into the appropriate “too small” box in the attic.

- A binder whose rings don’t quite line up anymore.

- A folder with a cookie in the pockets. No bag, just a cookie.

- Two markers that still work, from a set

of 12. (I have a drawer at home with 26 grey markers in it.)

- A book sock that smells like an actual sock. What did he do to get it to this point? I can’t imagine this protected the book.

Basically, all the nice, shiny stuff you worked so hard to get for your kids at the beginning of the year comes home in June in pieces that look like no matter what happened over the ten months of school, they kept all their supplies outdoors. And these pieces are useless for next year or the next kid, yet you have to find a place to store it all for the summer so you can decide this together in September.

And why does everything in the pencil box smell that way? You open the box and you get hit in the face with this supplies cholent that’s been festering all year.

“SUPPLIES!”

I was bringing my third grader to school on the last Monday of school a couple of years ago, and he’s about to get out of the car, and he says, “Should I take my bath mat out of my knapsack?” And I said, “Goodbye. Wait, what? Why do you have a bath mat? No, never mind. Go to school!”

“Should I tell you what it was for?”

“No! Get out of the car! You’ve been home all weekend with a bath mat in your knapsack and you’re waking up now?”

And then I drove away, and I was wondering, “Why does he have a bath mat?” And then I vaguely remembered that back in September, his teacher had said at orientation that everyone in the class needed to bring in a carpet for reading time. Because they sit down on the floor to read, like no adult does ever. And he gave us some dimensions – about 2 feet by 3 feet – so kids wouldn’t show up with, say, a living room rug. And we were like, “Who has a carpet of those dimensions just lying around, just in case? Do we have to go to a carpet store for this?”

By Mordechai Schmutter

So we bought him a bath mat that matches absolutely nothing in our house. We didn’t even get the matching toilet mat. Even though that’s the kind of mat that I read on. And now he’s bringing it home, apparently, which is something we never considered he’d do, so now we have to store a random bath mat. And it’s not like he needs it for school any other year!

I’m not sure what to do about the seforim either. Every year, your kid comes home with a Chumash, and you’re like, “This goes right in sheimos. It’s disrespectful to even keep it around. Where’s the cover?” The Chumash has been whittled down to the two middle parshios. And the siddur is the same way -- the entire Birchos Hashachar is missing. I asked my son, “How do you say brachos in the morning?” and he said, “I say it by heart.” Or he comes late, because he’s in the car with me, arguing about bath mats.

Those are the things I get back. But what happened to all the Ziploc bags I sent? Every parent sent an entire box of sandwich bags, and a not a single one came home at any point of the year. Is the teacher just using us to do her shopping? When I send my kid with a snack in the morning, I’m already sending it in a bag. What else do you need the bags for? And what’s happening to the bags I keep sending, that the snacks I send end up at the bottom of the knapsack without them? Someone’s walking away with bags here.

Maybe if we collect whatever’s left over from all our kids, we’ll have enough supplies to send one of them back to school. Just pick whichever one we love the least, and send him with all the old supplies and an entire wipes box of all grey markers. I’m thinking one of our high school kids. He’s going to have the only dorm room with a bath mat.

Mordechai Schmutter is a freelance writer and a humor columnist for Hamodia and other magazines. He has also published eight books and does stand-up comedy. You can contact him at MSchmutter@gmail.com.

PARSHA

OVERVIEW

Aharon is instructed how to kindle the Menorah in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). The Jewish people prepare for their departure from Sinai and their first stops in the desert.

The Jewish people complain a few times and are ultimately rebuked. Miriam criticizes Moshe and she gets punished. Moshe prays and she gets healed.

Quotable Quote “ ”

Holiness is the space we make for G-d.

- Rabbi Lord J. Sacks zt”l

GEMATRIA

Parshas Bahaloscha is the 36th Parshah of the Torah. This is incredible because Bahaloscha begins with the discussion of the lighting of the Menorah!

We know that the total number of candles that we light over the holiday of Chanukah is 36!

Rabbi Ori Strum is the author of Ready. Set. Grow. (Mosaica Press).

His shiurim and other Jewish content can be found on Torah Anytime and Meaningful Minute. He also likes your feedback: rabbistrumo@gmail.com

TSorahparks

PARSHA STATS

Pesukim - 136

Words - 1,840

Letters - 7,056

Mitzvos - 5

QUICK VORT Chassidus

Prior to kindling the flames of the Menorah, the Kohen was required to climb the steps that was positioned in front of the Menorah.

there is an important message here. In order to kindle something else - someone else - you must first be “kindled” yourself.

to teach confidence, you must breathe confidence. To teach passion, you must live with passion. To teach joy, you must experience joy. And so on!

As such, the Kohen FIRST had to CLIMB UP (walk up the steps) in order, perhaps, to feel elevated and lofty; to feel internally chashuv!

Then, and only then, can he go ahead and light the Menorah.

We all want to influence others and be a good role model. The best and most effective way to do this is to lead by example.

Have an amazing Shabbos!

The Shla’h Hakadosh learns from the verses לעו

יפ an allusion to the concept of saying “Im Yirtza HaShem” and “Be’ezras HaShem.”

We should make it a practice to say these things so as to incorporate HaShem into every single facet of our lives.

Try it! You’ll see, it will start to make a big positive impact on your outlook on life!

Thoughts in Points to

Ponder

The height of the Menorah was about 18 tefachim high.

According to all opinions, 18 tefachim is less than 5.6 feet high.

The average person is taller than this, so why did the Menorah need steps!?

Inspiration Everywhere

Parshas Bahaloscha on

TJH Centerfold

Who Said It?

1. “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”

2. “[Teaching Fathers how to Diaper a Baby]: Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at bat. Then, fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher’s mound. Put first base and third together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again.”

3. “When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.”

4. “My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet.”

5. “A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.”

6. “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.”

7. “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”

8. “[My father] was a great father before politics, a great father during politics, and a great father after politics.”

9. “Father, I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my little hatchet.”

Riddle Me This

As Dad does every Sunday, he is puttering around the house, fixing everything that you and your siblings

A. William Shakespeare

B. Frank A. Clark

C. Charles Wadsworth

D. Jimmy Piersa

E. Sigmund Freud

F. Mark Twain

G. George Washington

H. George W. Bush

I. Rodney Dangerfield

broke over the last week. At some point, he realizes that he needs something, so he goes to a hardware store and asks for help in finding what he needs. The clerk shows him where the objects are and tells him that they cost $1 each.

Dad says, “I’m taking 600, so here’s $3.” What did he buy?

Answer: Three home address numbers consisting of a six and 2 zeros.

Stanley Cup Trivia

1. Which NHL team has the most Stanley Cup championships?

a. Detroit Red Wings

b. Montreal Canadians

c. Toronto Maple Leafs

d. NY Rangers

2. Who is the only player who was the captain of two different NHL teams and led them both to championships?

a. Mark Messier

b. Wayne Gretzky

c. Jacques Lemaire

d. Jaromír Jágr

3. Phil Housley played in the NHL from 1982 to 2003. How many Stanley Cup championships did he win?

a. 14

b. 11

c. 7

d. 6

e. 5

f. 4

g. 3

h. 2

i. 1

j. 0

4. Which NHL player has the most Stanley Cups?

a. Yvan Cournoyer

b. Claude Provost

c. Henri Richard

d. Red Kelly

5. The NY Islanders won a total of 4 Stanley Cups. Over how many years did they win those Cups?

a. 23

b. 8

c. 6

d. 4

6. Who scored the doubleovertime goal in Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, to send the Rangers to the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1940?

a. Adam Graves

b. Stephane Matteau

c. Mark Messier

d. Brian Leetch

Answers:

1. B- The Montreal Canadians have 23 Stanley Cup championships (plus one before the league was known as the NHL)

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

David has just received his brand new driver’s license. The family parades out to the driveway and climbs in the car, where he is going to take them for a ride for the first time. Dad immediately heads for the backseat, directly behind the newly minted driver.

2. A- Of Messier’s six Stanley Cup champions, he was the captain of the Oilers in 1990 and the Rangers in 1994.

3. J- Poor Phil Housley played for 21 years, and all of those broken teeth later, he never got to drink out of the Cup.

4. C- From 1956 to 1974, Richard won 11 Cups with the Montreal Canadians.

5. D- The Islanders won all of their Cups from the 1980 season through the 1983 season.

6. C- “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!” Perhaps the most memorable play-by-play call in sports history took place when Stephane Matteau scored in double-overtime of game 7, earning the Rangers a trip to the Stanley Cup. The call was made by Howie Rose.

Scorecard:

5-6 correct: If it was up to me, your name would be engraved in the Cup!

3-4 correct: Not bad; I guess you got a Hat Trick.

0-2 correct: Took a hockey puck to the head?

“I’ll bet you’re back there to get a change of scenery after all those months of sitting in the front passenger seat teaching me how to drive,” says the beaming boy to his father.

“Nope,” comes Dad’s reply. “I’m gonna sit here and kick the back of your seat as you drive, just like you’ve been doing to me all these years.”

Notable Quotes

“Say What?!”

We have a genius, ladies and gentlemen – he solved the Middle East!

-Jerry Seinfeld’s response to a heckler at a comedy gig in Australia

You’re really influencing everyone here; we’re all on your side now, because you’ve made your point so well, and in the right venue. You’ve come to the right place for a political conversation.

- Ibid.

Tomorrow we will read in the paper: Middle East 100 percent solved thanks to man at the Qudos Arena stopping Jewish comedian…You have to go 20,000 miles from the problem and [heckle]a comedian, that is how you solve world issues.

- Ibid.

President Trump, I’m so humbled that you would be here. President Obama never came to the hood.

- Detroit pastor to Donald Trump at a roundtable with Detroit community leaders

We are looking at a historic moment right now where Black voters under the age of 50, which have historically been such a big part of the Democratic coalition, are leaving it in droves.

-CNN journalist Harry Enten

They are cheap fakes video, they are done in bad faith and, and some of your news organizations have been very clear, have stressed that these right-wing, the right-wing critics of the president have a credibility problem because of the factcheckers have repeatedly caught them pushing misinformation, disinformation.

- White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responding to a real and complete video, seen by millions, in which Barack Obama is seen leading an apparently unaware Pres. Biden off of a stage at a fundraiser last week

Exchange at the aforementioned fundraiser:

PRESIDENT BIDEN: You know, my — my son says, “You ought to have a — you know, we all have various short-term descriptions for your jobs — for your — what — what you accomplished. And you should say, ‘Joe jobs,’ because it’s about jobs, about giving people a shot. You give them a shot, they never let you down.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA: There you go…

If you cheat in an election, we’ll find you. We will track you down. We will prosecute you.

- Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Lara Trump, in a recent interview, asserting that the RNC is geared up to make sure that there is no cheating in the 2024 election

Obama Panics As His Biden Remote Control Loses Connection

- The Babylonian Bee headline

“I Thought I Invited Comedians,” Says Confused Pope After Stephen Colbert Shows Up

- Ibid.

G7 Officially Changed To G6 After Biden Wanders Off Again

- Ibid.

It’s hard to explain, but after what happened, it became clearer to me how much I love Israel. Before October 7, I was entrenched in my own camp; I knew only people like me, who think like me, who talk like me, who look like me. I didn’t know most Israelis… Then my boy was kidnapped into Gaza and all of Israel stood up to help us.

- Iris Haim, the mother of one of the hostages tragically accidentally killed by the IDF on December 15, in an interview with the Times of Israel

Something had opened up inside me. I can see the humanity in everyone; the good intentions of every person. I’m done with generalizations like, “The Orthodox Jews are taking my money, their religious seminaries are pointless.” I used to talk like that, but not anymore. Now I see everyone’s contribution.

- Ibid.

What are they trying to hide? If there was no treason, why are they so afraid for external and independent parties to check what happened.

- Yair Netanyahu writing on social media about the Israeli deepstate blocking an investigation into the pre-October 7 intelligence failures, which included the army chief of staff ignoring a warning the night before the massacre

To this day, no answer has been given for why they didn’t update the prime minister about the discussion held the night before 10/7.

– Ibid.

Growing up on Long Island, New York, of course, I’ve always had many friends who voted Democrat, but they don’t even recognize the Democrat Party today. The radical left, they want to fund terrorists, they want to persecute our police, they want to release violent criminals back on our streets, they want to kill unborn babies, they want to teach our children to hate America and they want to make our children believe that their G-d-given gender was a mistake. Joe Biden and the radical left have done such a good job destroying everything that our forefathers have built, that China doesn’t even need to invade our shores.

- Rebecca Weber, during her speech at the Turning Point Action convention in Detroit

There is a mistaken belief that meritocracy somehow conflicts with diversity. I strongly disagree. No group has a monopoly on excellence. A hiring process based on merit will naturally yield a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas. Achieving this requires casting a wide net for talent and then objectively selecting the best, without bias in any direction. We will not pick winners and losers based on someone being the “right” or “wrong” race, gender, and so on. It should be needless to say, and yet it needs saying: doing so would be racist and sexist, not to mention illegal.

- Tech CEO Alexandr Wang, who founded Scale AI in 2016,announcing on social media that his company will replace DEI with MEI – merit, excellence and intelligence

I think Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived. Every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion!

– Trump at Turning Points

From October 8, I put on tefillin daily. My neighbor on one side, who is 80, still drives his tractor every Shabbat morning, and on the other side I have a shul. I am in that shul every Shabbat.

- Israeli singer Dani “Mooki” Niv, in a recent interview

Every morning when I open my eyes, I say

Walking the streets of Jerusalem is therapeutic. A week doesn’t go by without me following an untracked city road or meandering alleys and side streets, only to find myself surprised when I surface in another nook of Jerusalem I have previously not visited. Gregarious by nature, I stop to talk with shopkeepers, passersby, and travelers on buses. I am curious to discover the stories of the Everyman. Celebrities have stories they want the public to know. In stark distinction, regular folk have stories that people outside their immediate circles rarely ask. It takes no longer than a few minutes of banter before people begin revealing the gems that are their life stories.

For example, my chavrusa Moshe is a quiet, solid citizen. He’s worked as an industrial chemist for over 50 years. He told me he wouldn’t be able to learn with me on Yom Yerushalayim. When I asked him why, he laconically replied that he’d been one of the foot soldiers that entered the Old City during the Six Day War. “I’ve been going there every year since.” As a side remark, he mentioned that a documentary had been made about his platoon. Titled “Drums over the Gates of Yerushalayim – Tupim al Chomos Yerushalayim,” I was spellbound by the down-to-earth nature of the soldiers Moshe fought with; they aren’t famous, nor were they looking to become so. It is stories like theirs that I crave to hear.

That is why I have filled the columns I write for The Jewish Home with stories of people of Israel; why Avi Badichi, the owner of the store where I first ate falafel in 1976, is so compelling to me, or Meir Abuchazeira, a restaurant owner in Shuk Mahane Yehuda, or Avraham Binyamin, a corner store shopkeeper who hasn’t changed the shelves in 64 years, or my new found friend, Yosef, who checks receipts as customers leave the super -

Israel Today Walking the Streets of Yerushalayim

By Rafi Sackville

market where he works. They all share a common universality of the man on the street. They all have stories to tell. Oftentimes, they’re not aware of the significance of what they’re telling me. For me, the icing on the cake is when I show interest in their stories and see the recognition in their eyes.

Curiosity oftentimes finds me asking questions of people at work doing jobs most of us would never consider doing. Take Amir, for example. I meet him most mornings at 4:45 a.m. while I’m on my way to shul.

At that hour, the streets of Katamon lie mostly dormant; the delivery trucks carrying their day’s produce are yet to rattle open their sliding doors; buses are yet to begin shuttling commuters across town; construction work is two hours away. It’s a wonderful time to embrace the quiet that is soon to be shattered by the noise of a busy city.

It’s during the last of the nighttime lull that I run into Amir. He’s a 30-yearold sanitation engineer, or garbage man, if you will. He never fails to exchange

pleasantries with me. He’s a burly, jovial fellow, whom I usually find sitting on a bench with his workmates awaiting the arrival of the garbage truck.

Since I was a boy, I’ve wondered what it would be like to collect the refuse of others. How long would it take me to become accustomed to the smell, not only of the garbage, but the residual stench of my clothes? Whose family would allow one into a house smelling like someone who’s been foraging in a public dump? Then I’d want to know about the dangers of the work; I remember Butch, our sanitation worker in Cedarhurst. More than once, I noticed the bruises and cuts across his arms. Finally, I’d want to know what the city was providing by way of benefits for such work.

Amir didn’t hesitate when asked what his work was like. “It’s good. I like it,” he replied with a smile. And the smell. The danger? “Firstly, I take a shower when I get home after work. As for the work itself, yes, it can be dangerous. You might be riding on the back of the truck when it suddenly stops. With all the garbage fly-

ing around, you’re bound to be hit every now and again either by refuse or other objects. I’ve got bruises up and down my arms and legs. But that’s okay. My hours are good. I work from 5 a.m. till about 7:30. I have the remainder of the day off. It’s perfect for me. I have a good pension plan and a savings fund.”

When asked if he is employed elsewhere, he says no, but points to his friend Dror, who is kneeling by the curb drinking coffee. “He has a side business selling farm eggs. I don’t know how many days he works, but it’s not out of the ordinary for people doing our kind of work to have a second job. I could do other things, but to be honest, I’m still single and without the responsibilities of a husband and father.”

There was a time when I’d wince when passing within close proximity to sanitation workers. Nowadays, I think twice. When I finish exchanging pleasantries with Amir, I enter the makeshift shul in the old age home close to our apartment and sit down to learn. Not a morning goes by without my 78-year-old chavrusa Moshe briskly approaching my table with the spring of a teenager. On Fridays, he is the first to organize the shul for Shabbat. On Motzei Shabbat, he is the first to clean up.

It’s a wonderful way to start each day. By the time I’ve finished davening, I’ve had the opportunity to have met with Amir and Moshe, who both inspire me forward into another day of life, both in their own inimitable ways.

Moshe doesn’t see himself as special. Neither does Amir. In my eyes, their specialness lies in their simple approach to life. I’ve learnt a lot from them both.

Rafi Sackville, formerly from Cedarhurst, teaches in Yeshivat Horev in Yerushalayim.

Dating Dialogue What Would You Do If…

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

My son Dov* is dating a nice girl. They have dated for two months, and things are serious. He brought Sara* over for a Shabbos. She stayed at neighbors and came for all the meals. My husband and I are concerned about her eating habits. One of our daughters struggled with an eating disorder so we know exactly what to look for, all the signs. Our daughter struggled for years and went to a facility and B”H has been on the mend for three years.

The thing is, because we have all of this knowledge, we are TOO attuned to the signs making it somewhat obvious that she has an eating disorder. We have no clue where to go from here. We need to know the truth about this young woman, and I know that it is common practice for references and friends not to divulge any “negative information.” This, however, is something we would need to know and are concerned about. We also don’t want to ruin her reputation by talking to people who DON’T know this already about her.

Any advice you all have would be helpful, and thank you for taking the time to answer my question.

Chani*

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

The Panel

The Nutritionist

Yael Shapiro

Dear Chani, It’s understandable that you’re feeling apprehensive about the girl’s eating habits, especially given your past experience with your daughter’s eating disorder. It’s commendable that you’re being proactive and cautious.

Approaching this delicate situation requires sensitivity and respect for privacy. Here are some steps you might want to take.

Continue observing her behaviors during future interactions. Look for patterns of disordered eating in multiple environments rather than isolated incidents. Consider having a private, compassionate conversation with your son about your concerns. Approach it from

a place of care and support, expressing your worries without accusations. You and your daughter can ask him questions about his experience on dates with her to delve deeper into if it truly is disordered eating behavior, or if she was simply just nervous. Perhaps he can also have an open, respectful conversation with her on a future date to dive deeper into her mentality about food and weight. If your concerns persist, seek advice from a professional such as a therapist or dietitian who specializes in eating disorders. They can offer insights on how to approach the situation delicately and provide guidance on next steps.

Remember, jumping to conclusions could strain their relationship and potentially harm her mentally. If need be, your son can discuss his concerns with her in a way that prioritizes understanding and support, and she will hopefully reciprocate with honesty and openness.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

Thank you so much for bringing this topic to the panel. I’m so sorry for what your daughter has been through. You are such an amazing mom!

The first thing my husband said when I read him your question is, “When you give someone a hammer, everything becomes a nail.” We have to make sure that you are not just being super cautious and overreacting. Since you do not give specific details, it is very hard to tell you what I think. On one hand, Sara could just be a normal, nervous girl going to the parents of a guy she’s dating for a meal. It would be very rare for a girl in Sara’s position to simply be super comfortable eating a lot – or even normally – in a situation that is incredibly nerve-wracking.

Sara could just be a normal, nervous girl going to the parents of a guy she’s dating for a meal.

I think that you need to turn to the Torah for guidance on this one. There is the concept in the Torah of a chazaka, a halachic burden of proof. Before talking to anyone about this, even your son, have Dov and Sara over to your house a few more times. See if there are changed behaviors the second or third time, as she gets comfortable. If, after three times, your opinion remains unchanged, you must speak to your son about this. It is unlikely he knows much about the topic and how serious it could be to be in a rela-

tionship with someone going through this type of challenge. You can then sit down with him and a rebbi to discuss the next steps and where to go from there.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

One of the frustrations about writing this column is that we do not get an opportunity to ask letter-writers for additional information.

For example, in this case, what type of eating disorder does the letter-writer suspect? Is it anorexia, bulimia, or a binge-eating disorder? What behaviors raised their suspicions?

In any event, eating disorders are potentially very serious, life-threatening conditions. They can be treatable, sometimes relatively easily but sometimes only with great difficulty; some patients are fully cured and experience happy, healthy lives, but some patients never recover.

Here are some thoughts for you to consider:

First, you need to really be sure about your “diagnosis.” Perhaps Sara was simply very nervous when meeting her boyfriend’s parents for the first time and behaved oddly. Perhaps, like many young women, she is simply dieting very aggressively, because she has been led to believe that boys are attracted to girls who are very skinny.

Consider spending another Shabbos together where you can, once again, discretely observe her eating habits. Or, invite the

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Dear Chani,

Thank you for your email. Your situation gives me a lot of pause. There is so much to consider. In no particular order...

So many families see their children down the aisle, only to feel “duped” weeks or months later due to something of huge significance not having been revealed before the wedding. Some couples can work through this, and others, for their very valid reasons, cannot.

On this note, I’d like to use this response to make what I think is a very important PSA (Public Service Announcement.) All mental health issues need to be spoken about during dating. First and foremost, what kind of message are we sending to our children when we urge them to keep something private? Are we

telling them they aren’t worthy of love because of a men- tal health struggle? True in- timacy cannot take place with lies and omissions. Learning that something important was omitted during dating can leave a spouse with feelings of betrayal and an inability to trust moving forward. Part of why families withhold information is because they are legitimately afraid of not finding a shidduch, due to the nature of a very flawed system that encourages lies and duplicity and a betrayal and shaming of our own humanity. Other people are in denial and never addressed the issues and aren’t lying or omitting anything, intentionally. They simply are not capable of or refuse to acknowledge what is right in front of them.

couple to dinner at a restaurant.

Second, you must aggressively do your homework and check references. While it is true that friends, references, and teachers are reluctant to volunteer negative information, most will not outright lie when asked a direct question. You can avoid accidentally ruining the girl’s reputation and inadvertently starting a rumor that she has an eating disorder by asking your real question in the middle of a series of questions.

For example, ask: “Does Sara have any history of drug addiction? Any history of mood disorders? Any history of eating disorders? Any history of alcohol abuse? Any history of negative behaviors such as shoplifting?”

Third, inasmuch as your own daughter went through a very difficult, similar condition, perhaps you can find it in your heart to feel some compassion for what your son’s girlfriend might be going through.

Perhaps she can be helped fairly easily?

Certainly, someone suffering with an eating disorder should not be forever “punished” and shunned.

Everyone deserves to find a partner who will love us for exactly who we are, including the road ahead.

With this being said, this leads me into the next consideration....

When someone has an active mental health issue that is impairing daily functioning, that is not yet being acknowledged, dealt with or treated, it may not be wise to begin dating. Yes, we heal in relationships, and no, we do not have to be perfect beings with all issues and struggles in the rearview mirror in order to date. What we do need is an ability to speak openly and honestly about our struggle. We need to be able to express to a partner our understanding of our struggle and our awareness that it may impact our partner. We need to be able to create a plan of action and open communication, welcoming our partner to express their concerns and feelings to us. If we cannot do any of these things, in my opinion, we are not ready to get married.

I cannot advise you as to how to best

Learning that something important was omitted during dating can leave a spouse with feelings of betrayal and an inability to trust.

Finally, many potential marriage partners come with problems that we’d generously label as “baggage.” While it is relatively simple to “reject” a first date with someone who comes with baggage, it is much more complicated to “reject” someone after singles have already been dating for a while and have already developed strong feelings for each other.

May Hashem guide you and your son in these very difficult decisions.

handle this situation as I am sure it is layered and complex and goes beyond what a column can or should offer. I suggest seeking out a mentor, the help of the shadchan, rabbi or professional who can sit with you face to face (or Zoom to Zoom, as the case may be). I can offer the following. I would suggest bringing up this issue with your son. Be direct with him and share your love for him and concerns about the woman he is dating. The best thing you can do is to arm your child with information so that he can make the best decision for himself. Dov needs to be able to bring this up to Sara. See where he is holding and how he views the situation. The way he responds will provide you with next steps.

I admire how you are handling this with such sensitivity. Ultimately, you need to do what you need to do for your son, while balancing respect for his boundaries. Go with your instinct.

Sincerely, Jennifer

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

Jewish History

They Criticized the Entebbe Rescue, Too

By Rafael Medoff

It may seem perplexing that anybody would criticize Israel’s rescue of four hostages from Gaza. But in 1976, there was criticism of Israel’s rescue of hostages from Entebbe, too.

While Israelis celebrated the June 8 rescue of hostages held by Arab terrorists and civilians in Gaza, United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese accused the Israeli commandos of “perfidiously hiding in an aid truck” in order to enter the neighborhood where the hostages were imprisoned.

MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin asserted that the rescuers’ tactics “raise(d) moral and ethical questions,” while former MSNBC host Krystal Ball denounced celebrations of the rescue as “depraved.”

In June 1976, Palestinian Arab terrorists hijacked a French plane on its way to Israel and forced it to fly to the Entebbe airport in Uganda. There they released the non-Jewish passengers and held the remaining 106 passengers and crew hostage, demanding the release of terrorists who were imprisoned in Israel. Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was deeply sympathetic to the terrorists, and Ugandan soldiers helped the hijackers guard the hostages.

On July 4, Israeli commandos raided the airport and freed the hostages. All seven terrorists, and several dozen Ugandan soldiers, were killed. The only rescuer killed was the raid’s leader, Yonatan Netanyahu, brother of Israel’s current prime minister. Mrs. Dora Bloch, an elderly passenger who had been taken to a local hospital, was murdered there by Ugandan soldiers.

Most of the world celebrated the rescue raid on Entebbe. But not everybody.

The Organization of African Unity, consisting of several dozen African countries, accused Israel of “wanton ag-

gression” and demanded reparations for damage to the airport. The Soviet and Chinese governments denounced what they called “the Zionist aggression.”

United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim charged that Israel had committed a “serious violation of the sovereignty” of Uganda. A few years later, Waldheim’s past as a Nazi war criminal was exposed. (However, that did not prevent his election as president of Austria in 1986.)

The Mexican government criticized Israel’s “flagrant violation” of Ugandan sovereignty and declared its “firm rejection of the use of armed force by any state as a means of trying to solve conflicts.”

The Mexican position was especially surprising because just months earlier, it had explicitly promised to refrain from anti-Israel policies. That promise was made in order to secure an end to the boycott of Mexico announced by Jewish organizations following its support of the infamous Zionism-is-racism

resolution at the UN in 1975.

The French government’s response to the Entebbe rescue was particularly troubling, given the fact that it was a French plane that was hijacked, and French crew members who were held hostage. The French Foreign Ministry issued a brief statement which expressed satisfaction at the rescue, but emphasized its condemnation of the casualties, almost all of whom were the terrorists or the soldiers who assisted them.

A spokesperson for the Air France crew read a statement hailing President Amin for his “constant care to ensure our safety, our material comfort and even our health.” The statement appeared to have been dictated by French officials.

The U.S. government publicly praised the Israeli rescue mission, but it also introduced an “even-handed” resolution at the UN Security Council. While condemning the hijacking, the resolution also affirmed “the need to

respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States.” The resolution did not secure enough votes to pass, so it was withdrawn.

At the same time—according to declassified documents—Secretary of State Henry Kissinger informed Israel’s ambassador in Washington that because the Israelis had used U.S. equipment in the raid, “we will have to put a temporary freeze on military shipments.”

Ambassador Simcha Dinitz replied: “You are kidding me.”

Kissinger was not kidding. “You know you have no right to do this without prior consultation,” he admonished the ambassador.

Dinitz argued that the relevant U.S. law applied to “only weaponry, not equipment.” But Kissinger insisted that the U.S.-made C-130 transport planes were a “military version” of that aircraft and therefore could not be used outside Israel’s borders. Kissinger could have looked the other way; instead, his response was to penalize Israel following its miraculous rescue of the hostages.

Israel’s prime minister in those days was Yitzhak Rabin, and the government was ruled by the Labor Party—a reminder that whether Israel’s government is from the political left or the right, and whether its leader is named Rabin or Netanyahu, there will always be those who complain when Israel takes action to defend the lives of its citizens.

Dr. Medoff is founding director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies and author of more than 20 books about Jewish history and the Holocaust. His latest is America and the Holocaust: A Documentary History, published by the Jewish Publication Society & University of Nebraska Press.

Preparing for the Entebbe rescue

Health & F tness What Comes Next? Preparing to Launch After Graduation

By Yeshaya Kraus, LCSW

It’s that time of year when a new generation of young adults takes off their graduation hats, puts their textbooks on the shelf to gather dust, and says, “Oh my gosh, what am I going to do now? I’m unemployed/have no structure/don’t know how to move forward with my life!”

There’s a shock that comes along with that realization. The whole transition from student to not-a-student may be shocking. There’s a certain culture to being a student, regardless of what stage of the educational system you’re in. It’s true pretty much from the beginning of ele -

mentary school on up. You go to class, you learn material, you take tests. Those tests determine whether your performance is considered “doing well” or not. If you do well, you move forward to the next round of success indicators, and if you don’t, you try to find another group of indicators to make up for it. It leads you to a final goal of being “done.” Regardless of how confident you feel with the material itself, once you pass the course, you’re done with it. You’re successful, because that’s what the

There’s a clear-cut beginning and end, easily measurable goals, and very obvious indicators of success or failure. An added benefit is that if you’re taking your studies seriously, you probably won’t find yourself in a situation where there’s nothing to do for any significant period of time. You won’t be bored – possibly stressed,

There’s also a sense of meaning someone connects to when they’re in school. Meaning is a natural part of working towards a goal. Whether the goal is personal or defined by others is irrelevant; as long as you’re pushing for it, it gives you a sense of purpose. It’s also a convenient answer to “What are you up to these days?” Being able to give a clear-cut and simple answer is an easy way to feel con-

You also may have had access to a built-in peer group working towards a lot of the same goals. There’s a sense of camaraderie, of social support. It’s much easier to pursue a goal when others are doing it with you. You’ve also got people actively cheering you on or advising you

on how to achieve your goals (office hours, anyone?). There’s also the potential for healthy competition, which motivates you to do your best. It’s natural to want to excel when others are doing the same thing you are. We want to make ourselves stand out.

And then it ends.

Even if you’re the kind of person who hasn’t relied entirely on your educational endeavors for your sense of purpose, socialization, and emotional wellbeing, it’s the end of an era and the beginning of something new. It’s an unknown. We’re wired to be at least wary of the unknown, if not downright frightened of it. What makes this particular unknown so challenging is that the end is very definite, takes away the immediate availability of a lot of the perks we mentioned above, and replaces it with a potentially difficult and ambiguous transition from super-star student to struggling, unemployed bottom of the societal totem pole. That feeling can really pull the rug out from under you. It feels unstable and uncertain, which is not a very comfortable place to be. Fortunately, the nature of the challenges suggests how to successfully navigate it. That’s usually the way these things work. The problem dictates the solution.

To begin with, let’s talk about something that really should be in mind from the beginning of your school career. Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket. If someone notices that they’ve relied completely on school connections, or any one aspect of their life, for their sense of purpose, social needs, and structure, it’s time to take a step back and figure out how that came

to be. As with any investment, we need to diversify, especially when we know that the endeavor in question is short-term. Have private projects that keep your interest and provide stable involvement. Keep up with friends who aren’t related to school, and do what you can to forge connections that aren’t dependent on going for a degree. Doing this accustoms you to independently charting your own path. It’s a skill that will work for you for the rest of your life.

You might expect an article like this to suggest skills such as building structure and making connections. These are all important. More important, though, is making time to touch base with yourself. Give yourself permission to not overschedule your time. There’s no reason to have every minute of every day accounted for and slotted for some officially productive task. Building a life of fulfillment and productivity means knowing what’s important to you personally, based on who you are. You’ll need to give yourself time to be aware of what you want and what your dreams are. What are your values, and how do they impact the way you want to live? Before deciding when to do what you’re going to do, make time to connect

and check in with yourself on a regular basis. This can be done either by yourself, with a friend, or with a mentor. If you want to build a life for yourself beyond school, this is a must. Be in touch with yourself. Build a relationship with yourself, and use what you already know

act to those answers. There may be some ideas that you discount out of hand; ask yourself why that happens. Even if you don’t follow through on them, they may inform how you understand your underlying, foundational interests. Make a list. Once you have your list, divide it up by

Building a life of fulfillment and productivity means knowing what’s important to you personally, based on who you are.

about yourself to pinpoint the choices you want to see yourself making.

Part of this process is asking yourself questions. Ask yourself, “What do I want to see myself accomplishing?” These accomplishments might be career, social, religious, or personal. Some will be short term, some longer. Notice the answers that pop into your head as you ask the question and notice how you re -

priority and immediate need. Some items on your list (I’m assuming getting a job might be one) will be more pressing than others. How do you want to set yourself up to address the higher priority items, while making sure you give yourself time to pursue your less-urgent-but-still-important goals? Make sure you do. One of the biggest causes of burnout is not giving yourself access to personal projects that

help you recharge. Even if you push the less urgent things off for a while, knowing you have a plan to address them can make the wait more manageable. You’ll know you’re taking care of yourself properly, so you can afford to be patient.

Going through this process on an ongoing basis allows you to connect with and define your personal version of value-driven success. That’s important. If you want life to be something that works for you, that makes you feel good about yourself even while presenting you with challenges, it has to be personal. You want to feel happy and fulfilled as you move down your path in life, and you may as well wear your own shoes to do it.

Yeshaya Kraus, LCSW, is a therapist in private practice in Far Rockaway. He specializes in men’s mental health, parenting, relationships, and dating. He is also the creator of the Building Together workshop for engaged and newly married couples and speaks publicly on a variety of topics, including dating and marriage. For inquiries or to register for the Building Together workshop, email him at yykraus@gmail.com or WhatsApp at 917-412-5824.

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Marc Osian & Racheli Pasternak

Kasriel Yavne & Miriam Rosenberg

David Korobkin (Baltimore) & Naomi Satloff (Los Angeles)

Chaim Lejtman (Baltimore) & Miriam Iskowitz (Edison, NJ)

Yonah Lerner (Baltimore, MD) & Temima Gabay (Monsey, NY)

Isaac First (Israel) & Chaya Sternbach (Baltimore)

Want to see your simcha here? Email mazeltov@baltimorejewishhome.com or text 443-675-6507 to submit your simcha!

Forgotten Her es Inhibiting the Flow of Weapons

By Avi Heiligman

Terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah produce and manufacture very little of the weapons and gear that is used in their terrorist activities. Instead, they rely on shipments from foreign entities. Iran has been identified as the source for much of this material. Israel has placed a blockade to prevent ships carrying weapons from reaching the terrorists, but that hasn’t stopped Hamas or Hezbollah from trying to receive these weapons. Several times during the 21st century Israeli naval units have intercepted arms shipments in daring operations.

In 2001, Israeli intelligence picked up an unusual sale of a ship that was to be transferred to Palestinian entities. Called the Karine A , the Palestinians paid way too much for the old ship, and intelligence began tracking its movements. It sailed from Lebanon to Sudan to an Iranian port, where it was loaded with eighty containers filled with weapons including rockets, mortars, anti tank missiles, rifles, ammunition, explosives and mines. The ship was headed to the waters off of Gaza where the specialized containers would be offloaded into the water where they would sink. A diver would then turn a switch that would allow a compartment to fill with air, and it would float to the surface. Small boats would then be dis -

patched to collect the containers, and the weapons would soon be in the hands of terrorists.

IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz decided to send Shayetet 13 commandos to intercept the ship. The mission was dangerous as the naval commandos needed to rappel from helicopters while others would be approaching from patrol craft.

Bush that they had no involvement in the purchase of the weapons, but Israel provided evidence to the contrary. Bush later said, “Arafat had lied to me. I never trusted him again. In fact, I never spoke to him again.”

This wasn’t the only attempt by Iran to smuggle weapons into the region. In November 2009, the MV Francop, fly-

The mission was dangerous as the naval commandos needed to rappel from helicopters while others would be approaching from patrol craft.

The mission commenced in the early hours of January 3, 2002, after the Karine A was positively identified. Shayetet 13 operators boarded the ship from the sea and from the air and caught most of the ten-man crew sleeping. No armed resistance came from the crew, and the ship was taken to Eilat where the illegal arms were discovered in the sealed containers. The Palestinian Authority under Arafat told President George

ing the flag of Antigua, was headed towards the Syrian port of Latakia. Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the ship near Cyprus after the Israeli missile boat, INS Eilat, ordered the merchant ship to stop. Again, there was no armed resistance, and the IDF was acting on intelligence reports of illegal arms heading to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The crew claimed they had no idea weapons were on board, but the Israelis found

containers filled with weapons. Now under the command of the IDF, the ship sailed to the port of Ashdod where they uncovered massive amounts of arms that were intended for the terrorists. The shipment included 9,000 mortar shells, over 2,000 Katyusha rockets, 21,000 grenades, and more than half a million AK-47 rounds. Of course, Iran, Syria and Hezbollah denied any connection to the ship, but Shimon Peres said of the seizure of weapons, “Today the whole world can see the large gap between Syria and Iran’s statements and their actual activities. The ship’s arrest is not only of critical military importance, but also of political importance. Facts cannot be argued with.”

On March 15, 2011, Shayetet 13 intercepted another ship loaded with Iranian weapons headed towards Gaza. The Liberian flagged merchant ship, Victoria, was on its way to an Egyptian port to avoid the Israeli naval blockade. Israeli missile boats sent orders to the smuggling ship to stop for an inspection as there was suspicion of illegal cargo on board. The captain complied with the orders, and the commandos approached from speedboats. They boarded the ship without resistance. Crewmembers said they had no idea that they were smuggling anything illegal, but 50 tons of weapons were discovered when the ship

Iranian arms seized on the MV Francop

Some of the weapons and ammunition found on the Karine A

was taken to Ashdod. Among the contraband that was seized by the Israelis included anti-ship missiles, thousands of mortar shells, rocket launchers, and two British-built radar systems. This time, the Israelis discovered operating instructions written in Farsi signed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said of the operation, “The IDF and navy fighters prevented the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip which were intended to be used against the residents of Israel.”

Iranian proxies tried several other times to bring in illegal weapons to Hamas including on the Panamanian flagged Klos C . Israeli intelligence followed the movements of the ship when it left Iran on its way to Sudan via Iraq. Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the go ahead for the interception mission to take control of the ship. On March 5, 2014, Shayetet 13 commandos with the help of two Israeli missile ships boarded the ship in the Red Sea. There was no resistance, and it was taken to Ei-

lat for inspection. Long range missiles, mortars, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition were found on board. The missiles may have been headed towards Sinai, according to American intelligence officials, as bringing them into Gaza was not practical. Stemming the illegal flow of weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations has been a priority for the IDF. The missions for the Israeli ships and commandos are fraught with danger as tensions can in-

flame at any point. The cargo on these ships mentioned above was headed towards terrorists, and the seizure of these weapons reduced the capabilities of the terrorist organizations to operate against Israel.

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.

Netanyahu inspecting anti-ship missiles found on the Victoria

Israeli naval commandos preparing for an operation

Your Money Deep Thoughts About Taxes

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

Years ago, the Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium and his followers gathered in Athens on a Stoa Poikile—a “painted porch”—to discuss how to live a virtuous life built around wisdom, temperance, justice, and courage. (I realize this isn’t what you expect from your favorite weekly tax column. Stick with me.) Zeno went on to influence future philosophers like Seneca, Epictetus, and perhaps most notably, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Together, they became known as the Stoics, and their lessons are enjoying a renaissance today.

Most people understand the word “stoic” to mean repressing one’s emotions or simply enduring patiently. However, at its core, stoicism boils down to the notion that it’s not events that upset us so much as our reaction to those events. Stoics look at what happens around them and ask, “Can we control this?” If so, they fight the good fight. If not, they don’t waste time, energy, or emotional balance fighting a battle they can’t win. No amount of yelling at the airline representative is going to stop a summer storm that parks itself over O’Hare!

That same philosophy can help manage the infuriating gauntlet we laughingly

refer to as “the tax system.” Former President Jimmy Carter campaigned against it as “a disgrace to the human race,” and 50 years later, his attack still holds true. There’s not a single sitting senator or representative who would defend the Internal Revenue Code as it currently stands. But sadly, today’s dysfunctional Congress would struggle just to pass a resolution

(Seriously, can you imagine Marcus Aurelius meditating on the Augusta Rule?)

The next couple of years will be especially challenging for stoics looking to accept battles they can’t win. That’s because the current framework, enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, turns into a pumpkin just like Cinderella’s carriage at midnight on December 31, 2025.

As Mark Twain once said, “No American is safe when Congress is in session.”

declaring that ice cream tastes good, let alone craft a tax system that meets the needs of our modern economy. “Fixing” the tax code appears as likely as fixing that storm over O’Hare.

So, what do stoics do? They accept the tax code as it is, warts and all. Then, they work to control outcomes within that flawed system. That means planning to take advantage of the sometimes hidden, sometimes silly ways to legally pay less.

At that moment, if Congress hasn’t acted, standard deductions, rates, and a host of other factors revert to their 2017 levels. That will mean trillions in higher taxes for most Americans. Now, there’s broad bipartisan agreement to extend most of the current rules, especially for individuals making under $400,000 per year. But who knows what might happen? As Mark Twain once said, “No American is safe when Congress is in session.”

What’s worse, we probably won’t have time to do much planning before whatever new rules Washington passes become law. In 2017, it took Congress until December 20 to send the White House a bill to sign. That meant planners had just 12 days’ notice before the 2018 rules and rates took effect. That’s actually a luxury compared to previous Congressional efforts. In 2012, Congress was faced with the challenge of extending rates from the 2010 Tax Relief Act that expired at midnight that year. They finally got the job done 11 hours after the deadline passed on New Year’s Day.

Most Americans who make enough money to benefit from professional tax services can expect a bumpy ride over the next couple of years. Don’t worry— we’ll be here to guide you through the things you can control to pay less, no matter who wins the election and what the rules look like.

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

Ariella Marizan, 3

Note:

Yardena Markowitz, 5

Akiva Dinner, 4

Ahuva Bracha M, 3

C. R. Hill

Ariella, 6

Charlie Marizan, 6

Abie Schwartz 3

Akiva Cox

Aylee Z, 11

Alex Freedman, 8

Aharon Tzvi, 7

Note: Not all submission have been published. Keep sending in your artwork for another chance to be featured!

Sorala Cook, 7

Shayna Bracha Cook, 5

Yehuda Schwartz, 6

Rena F., 4

Yair Rubinov, 10

Lily K., 8

Zecharya Horowitz, 9

Bracha Paige, 9

Leah Levinger, 8

Shifra Brody, 6

Nati Coleman, 5

Menachem S.

Ayelet S.

Tzipora F. Moshe, 9

Tzipora, 4

Miri Gross, 10

Zev Brody, 6

Leba, 11

Moshe, 5 Bracha, 6

Rachel Hadassah, 3

Emmie, 4

Chananel Maron, 5; Tzion Maron, 8; Tzvi Maron, 12

Devorah Kahn, 7

In The K tchen

Chicken Paprikash

By Naomi Nachman

I recently did a cooking show with my friend Agi Schwartz from Budapest, Hungary (now Brooklyn). I invited her to cook with me on my show Sunny Side Up on Kosher.com. I told her I was recently in Hungary and loved the food and wanted to learn authentic Hungarian Chicken Paprikash. We had so much fun together and I loved the dish and I so excited to learn how to make real nokedli. To watch us make this, check out my show on Kosher.com.

Ingredients

Chicken Paprikash

◦ 8 chicken thighs

◦ Kosher salt

◦ ¼ cup oil

◦ 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced

◦ 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

◦ 2 cloves crushed garlic or 2 cubes frozen garlic

◦ Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

◦ 2 TBS Hungarian sweet paprika

◦ 1 tsp hot paprika or cayenne pepper (optional)

◦ 1 TBS tomato paste

◦ 1½ cups chicken broth (or water)

Nokedli

◦ 2 eggs

◦ ¼ tsp salt

◦ ¾ cup seltzer

◦ 2-2¼ cups flour

◦ Salt, for the cooking water

Preparation

Prepare the Chicken Paprikash

1. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towel and place them skin side down into the pan. Let the chicken pieces cook three to four minutes on one side, until well browned, then turn them over and let them cook two to three minutes on the other side. (Careful when turning so as not to tear the chicken skin if any is sticking to the pan.)

3. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan to a plate; set aside. Add onions, peppers, and garlic and sauté on low heat for seven to eight minutes, stirring them occasionally until onions are lightly browned. Add paprika and tomato paste and stir well to combine. Add broth to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the browned bits from your chicken. Nestle in all your chicken pieces into the pan. Cover pan and cook on low flame for 35 to 40 minutes or until chicken is fork tender (depending on the size of your chicken pieces).

Prepare the Nokedli

1. Bring to boil a large pot filled with salted water. In a

small bowl, mix eggs, salt, and seltzer, beating well with whisk (or fork). Add flour slowly, mixing continually. Add only enough flour to make a soft, sticky dough (thicker than pancake batter). Let mixture rest for 10 minutes in the refrigerator. Beat mixture again before forming nokedlis.

2. If using a spaetzle maker (for smaller nokedli), place spaetzle maker over the pot of boiling (salted) water. Pour part of the dough on top of the tray. Slowly scrape on top so the dough drops into the water through the holes.

3. For “freeform” nokedli: Using the side of a teaspoon, spoon a small amount of dough into the boiling water (Tip: dipping the spoon in the hot water will remove the dough from the spoon.)

4.The dumplings are done when they float to the top. Remove from water with a large slotted spoon and place in a colander. If not served immediately, add few drops of oil to the strained nokedlis so they don’t stick to one another.

Note: With both methods, you should make nokedlis in batches so they don’t overcook and each piece has enough room to rise to the surface. For best flavor, mix nokedlis into the chicken paprikash sauce to soak up all the flavors.

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