Five Towns Jewish Home 10.27.22

for Parshas Noach

hen we enter the month of Tishrei, we know that we have our work cut out for us. It’s a month of growth and introspec tion, which requires us to flex muscles that we perhaps never knew we had. But no one ever thinks of Cheshvan as a month of spiritual exertion. Af ter all, there are no holidays during Cheshvan; we think of that month as a time to finally be able to relax after the busy month of Tishrei.

But perhaps Cheshvan is the month that requires the most energy. You see, it’s so easy to make changes when we’re sitting in shul with a machzor open in front of us or when we’re ensconced in the sukkah for seven days. But the real work starts when we’re taken out of our snug spiritual wombs and told to implement those changes in our “real” lives, when work deadlines are piling up and credit card bills are due and dishes need to be washed. It’s during those times when we need to work extra hard to remind ourselves of those small changes we wanted to incorpo rate into our lives.

Most of us looked at our calendars

after yom tov with a palpable sense of trepidation. So many weeks staring back at us, without a break. After enjoying time spent with our families and friends over yom tov, it’s hard to get back into routine – especially since it’s going to be quite a big chunk of routine. But we can use that predict ability to our advantage.

Changes in our lives can only be come permanent if they become part of our “regularly scheduled programming.” Yes, when we first open our computers after yom tov or go to that first client meeting, it’s hard to remem ber that just a month ago we pledged to conduct our lives in a more elevated way, but if we work on ourselves and exert the effort, then slowly, surely, we can make those changes part of our lives.

It may require some work at the beginning, but with determination and purpose, we can turn the spiritual high of the yomim tovim into our rou tine in the month of Cheshvan.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Dear Editor,

I recently received a community alert from a community requesting people for kaddish, with a given address. I thought it was an important to go and put the ad dress in Google maps. When I appeared at the address, it was the entrance to a cemetery. I was trying to think of my next move. I scanned the cemetery and saw a proceeding taking place by a grave. I went to the office, and they told me that a scheduled service was taking place at the gravesite that I saw. I pulled up and saw a sum total of about twenty non-frum males and females. Some were wearing large, paper-thin black kippahs for the occasion. However, the one leading the service was clearly an Orthodox Jew. He spoke about the deceased and made clear Jewish references. All of a sudden, he said, “And now let us say kaddish.” I couldn’t tell exactly how many males were present, but I knew one thing: I was conforming with the email request to ap pear for kaddish.

As I pulled out of the cemetery, I saw another service taking place with many Orthodox attendants. I realized that was likely the funeral that people were sum moned to. As I left, I realized that we are just blind to what is needed in this world but responding to an eternal summation is of the utmost importance.

Shimon Moshiach

Dear Editor,

With the Yomim Noraim and chagim in our rearview mirror, I’d like to engage with your readers and ask for their help. Sometimes, we run programs and under take initiatives based on what we think the needs of the community or the pop ulation we serve may be. Occasionally, we’re able to ask the people how we can best help them.

The longer we wait, post chagim, the fuzzier the memories will become. So I humbly ask that your readers please seize this moment and put pen to paper/ keystrokes to keyboard and let us know what was missing. How can we do better? How can the helpers of the community, the organizations that work daily to fill the gaps, do a better job?

Are the single moms sufficiently sup ported? Are the children getting their needs met? Does everyone have fresh, current clothing to wear? Is there enough food on the table?

We genuinely hope to be able to fill each need, and we pledge to try our hard est to do better and better.

May we all have an easier, healthier, and more prosperous year than the pre vious one!

Esther Miller Esther@JCCRP.org Project Director

Success Space for Women

Continued on page 10

Dear Editor,

Our national debt has now reached $31.130 trillion and is on a path to grow by trillions more for years to come. To day’s tab averages $93,423 per citizen or $247,325 per taxpayer. (Source: Octo ber 8, 2022 National Debt Clock)

It is time to install a national debt clock with daily updates in both Con gress and the White House. They can see how much they are adding to long term debt every time they pass spending bills dependent upon borrowing to pay the tab.

Who is going to bail out Uncle Sam to pay for this? Government, the pri vate sector, and citizens must make difficult financial decisions on how to use existing resources. Americans prioritize their own family budgets. They make the hard choices in how existing household financial resources will be spent. The President and Congress should do likewise.

The world’s favored currency is our dollar. This could end if Washington will not control annual increases in spend ing and debt. If things continue the way they are, China may surpass us, and the yuan becomes the world’s favored cur rency. Our reign as the #1 superpower will come to an end like all empires. Sincerely, Larry Penner

Dear Editor,

I am sure most reading this have seen the “WEVOTE” lawn signs scattered around our neighborhoods. Great! I am all in favor of get out the vote efforts. The question is, do you vote by rote, i.e. hear an ad touting the so called accomplish ments of a particular candidate or an ad dissing the opposing candidate and vote based on that – a lot of voters seem to go that route – or do you pay attention to the issues involved?

Every election cycle you may hear someone refer to the upcoming election as the most significant election of our time. Don’t accuse me of crying wolf, but this November 8th’s election day IS THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL, in my hum ble opinion.

Let’s quickly review some develop ments in the past 2 years that may have significantly affected you, the reader. Ridiculous Covid emergencies, by the powers that be both in Washington and Albany, kept us from living our lives. The Keystone XL pipeline project was cancelled. Since everything we purchase is moved by truck, eventually higher fuel costs are passed on to the consum

er – can you say inflation? One can find a direct correlation between the abrupt disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The rising crime is a direct result of the defund the police movement. Big tech censoring free speech. The Justice Department sending the FBI after parents protesting critical race theory being thought to their chil dren. Sending the FBI to raid the resi dence of a former president. Sending the FBI to raid the home of pro-life activist Mark Houck, in Philadelphia, with his wife and 7 children at home. Detaining hundreds of January 6th protesters with out bail, and at the same time releasing without bail, all matter of menacing in dividuals to the streets of New York to assault, murder, rob, push in front of subways innocent pedestrians and strap hangers. The wide-open southern bor der, millions of illegal migrants stream ing in unobstructed.

There are many more examples of why our one- party administrations both in Washington and New York must go. I want to focus on one more item that is of great importance to the Jewish com munity: Anti-Semitism. The election of Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and their ilk and their brazen public Anti-Semitism. Without as much a whimper of protest from the “Shomer Yisroel” – for those of you who may not be aware, that would be Chuck Schumer. Despite the left’s at tempt to frame Anti-Semitism as an ex clusively right-wing problem, we know otherwise. We would not have the overt Jew-hatred we are experiencing if it would have been nipped in the bud prior to going mainstream. It is unfathomable that in the New York metropolitan area with its vast Jewish population open Jew-hatred has metastasized in a such a short period of time.

I am intimately acquainted with an indefatigable and fearless fighter against Anti-Semitism, an individual who has been in the forefront and the public face of fighting it at CUNY, for years. My son Professor Jeffrey Lax, a department chair at CUNY who has fought the ad ministration of KBCC and the Chancellor of CUNY, Felix Matos Rodriguez. He is cofounder of SAFE CUNY, a faculty and student group against bigotry.

Now the NY Board of Regents is going after our yeshivas with their ridiculous “Substantial Equivalency.” They want to foist the failed DOE’s standards unto high performing yeshivas. Not to men tion their gender identity and CRT non sense and other hair-brained ideas so in contrast with the moral compass of our yeshivas and communities.

If you have never voted, voted infre quently or have previously voted to perpet uate the 1 party system, the time has come to have your voice heard. Stand up for yourself, your family, your neighbors, com munity and country. For the Never Trump ers out there, in case you haven’t noticed, Donald Trump is not on the ballot.

Tell them you are mad as anything and you are not going to take it anymore. Make sure to vote.

Thomas Lax Woodmere, NY

Dear Editor,

I am utterly stunned that a Jewish, let alone frum, paper would allow or even accept an ad from the Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul. Regard less of where you live in New York or even whether you’re Jewish or not, you have to be living in a cave not to know what is happening to our once great state.

It doesn’t matter how frum you are, if you have a “flip-phone,” a smart phone, a “not so smart” phone or an embedded microchip – there isn’t a single person who cannot see the shocking deteriora tion of our once great State of New York.

It is solely due to the lack of leader ship by Kathy Hochul that I say an extra prayer every work day for my daughter and son-in-law who take the subway to and from Manhattan for work. These very real fears have become the norm –and the crux of the problems we now face in our day to day lives. Why are New Yorkers so willing to accept this state of peril and fear that now exists in New York as the norm? Why is the complete break down and deterioration of our standard of safety and well-being acceptable to ev eryone? Why are we allowing this night mare version of New York to become our new normal?

Voting Kathy Hochul out of office is essential if we ever want to walk to a friend’s house on Shabbos without carry ing some sort of protection on our per son. When did pepper spray and a safe ty alarm attached to a wristband become fashion jewelry for us and our kids?

We need a change, and that change is NOT by voting for Kathy Hochul. She is no friend to New York, and she certainly is no friend of the Jews. Her ad claiming she is “sympathetic to our community’s needs” is laughable considering she has no clue who “we” are. Anti-Semitism is at a level not seen since before the stir rings of the Nazi regime. Kathy Hochul has done nothing – absolutely zero – to stop the rampant antisemitic attacks. How many men have been attacked on the way to and from shul, and for no rea

son other than being Jewish? This is yet another “norm” that has become accept able in New York – “Oh, another Jew was attacked, that’s too bad.” Is that how we feel? Is that the best we can do? Every single Jew is at risk – every single one of our children and ourselves – and to think otherwise is naive and dangerous. Com placency is a quiet form of acceptance.

Kathy Hochul must be voted out on November 8. Vote as if your life depends on it, because frankly, it does.

Disappointed and outright scared for our future, Saralee Miles

North Woodmere, NY

Dear Editor,

I write to address the political ad vert supporting Kathy Hochul Governor, which appeared in The Jewish Home on October 7, 2022, on page 15.

Before I put forward my points, I’d like to review the ad’s format, content, and purpose.

First, format. The ad was light on de tails and heavy on fluff, reading like an inexpertly written resume, with plenty of trite action verbs, such as “restoring,” “combating,” “defending,” and so on.

Next, content. We’re a communi ty that values “leadership” and “com mitment”? What does that even mean? Leadership is necessarily what is provid ed by any leader, and on its own means nothing. Lead us to what? Commit us to what? Freeing criminals into our streets and forcing [a certain] agenda into our precious children’s curriculum? And if they “mandate Holocaust education” in public schools, how do we benefit if they also mandate what our children learn in school? As for “restoring bail eligibility,” who removed it in the first place? Her own party! How can we trust her to fix a mess that she and her fellow Democrats have made?

And lastly, purpose. The ad was de signed to subtly convince the reader to gloss over the important issues and in fluence them to vote with a minimum of thoughtful analysis. “Vote for Kathy Ho chul; she will give us these things,” is how it reads when trimmed down to its essen tial components. It is an ad written and designed for children, not for thoughtful, impartial, and rational adults.

Now to address a few of the bullet points contained in the ad.

Point 1: Kathy Hochul has not been a “reliable ally” to our community. When the issues that count came up, such as independence for yeshivos, to be free of state oversight and direction, where was

she to be found? Nowhere, she dodged the issue and said it’s not in her juris diction, but only a matter for the De partment of Education. And when the “bail reform” law was pushed through by her Democrat Party, freeing criminals to walk the streets and endanger lives, where was she? Did she attempt to revert the law which was passed by her party? No, she did not.

Point 2: Kathy Hochul has not de fended our constitutional rights. Not the right to free speech, nor the right to keep and bear arms, nor the right to be free from an intrusive government. The reverse is true; she has done her best to suppress those rights! And we vote for her Democrat Party, because they reli ably hand out the goodies.

Point 3: Kathy Hochul has indeed increased funding to yeshivos. But she deserves no extra credit for this. Taxpay ers who send their children to yeshivos pay twice; first for public schools, from which they do not benefit, and secondly to yeshivos as direct tuition payments. She is merely returning funds to those from whom it has been taken via taxes (which in NYS are amongst the highest in the country). Despite this, she still sup ports an educational system in which the

dollars follow the school, not the child. Beholden to the teachers’ unions which fund her campaign, she does not and will not support school choice for parents, the basic right to send their child to the school of their own choice, to teach a cur riculum of their own choice.

Point 4: People in our community vote for Democrats on the local level, mostly because Democrats pay for these public programs. Follow the money, in other words. Dems pay, and we vote.

There is no altruism in them, just blatant vote-buying (otherwise known as brib ery) and we’re the ones who are accept ing the bribe. What think you of a king who takes a bribe? In a democracy, the citizen is sovereign, and the voter is king. That means you.

While Democrats force Yeshivos to teach their perfidious agenda on one hand while funding those same Yeshi vos with paltry pennies on the other hand, will we continue to be befuddled and duped by this open double-act? I sincerely hope not. This November the 8, friends, please vote for Lee Zeldin as Governor of New York. Vote Republican. Vote your values. And let not bribery blind our eyes to the truth. Very sincerely yours, Mr. Samuel Ross

Dear Editor, Election Day is rapidly approaching, and New Yorkers have the opportunity of a lifetime. For the first time in 20 years, deep-blue New York has a chance to elect a Republican governor. In recent years, it has been impossible for a conservative to become governor in such a left-wing state. However, it is becoming increas ingly clear that the residents of New York – even Democrats – have reached their tipping point.

Crime is running rampant in our streets like never before, making it dan gerous for anyone to go out at night or take the subway. Violence and vandalism have become an everyday occurrence. But even worse, with the full support of Kathy Hochul, dangerous criminals are quickly set free to hurt more innocent people, due to the disastrous bail reform, which Lee Zeldin has promised to repeal. Additionally, the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, said that he will only prosecute murderers and let all oth er criminals off the hook. Lee Zeldin said that his first action in office will be to fire this district attorney. Aside from this, we as frum Jews have much greater reason to support Zeldin over Hochul.

Here is a number of reasons why she does not deserve a single ounce of Jew ish support: she has allowed the Board of Regents to impose frightening regu lations on our yeshivos, she wants our schools to teach our children to question their gender, she opposes tax credits for private schools, she made a law forbid ding guns to be brought to protect houses of worship, and since she took office An ti-Semitic crime went up by an astound ing 325%!

On the other hand, Lee Zeldin has promised to support our yeshivos and put a stop to these assaults on our way of life, he strongly opposes gender edu cation, supports tax credits for private schools, wants to protect our shuls, and will strongly fight Anti-Semitic crime. When the New York Times published an article dripping with hatred for frum

Jews, Zeldin went out publicly and de nounced them, while Hochul did not say a word. It can’t be more clear who is a better choice for the frum community.

Luckily for us, in recent weeks the race has tightened greatly and polls are now showing that enough Democrats and in dependents plan to vote for Zeldin to give him a solid chance. A poll released just a few days ago showed Zeldin ahead of Ho chul by less than one percent. Two polls released shortly before had Zeldin be hind by only 4% and 6%, and Real Clear Politics now rates this race as a tossup. This is in liberal New York, a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than two to one. Republicans have not even come close in two decades, but now they have a chance. I t is up to us. WE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE! We NEED to come and make our voices heard. If you can’t come to the polls on Election Day, you can vote early, and if you can’t come at all, you can vote by mail. Please just take the time to vote.

If Hochul remains in power, who knows what will be with your children’s chinuch? How many more innocent peo ple will get murdered or beaten up on the streets of New York? Do you want your kids to be taught to question the way Hashem created them? Do you want to feel safe when you go outside or take the subway? Do you want dangerous crimi nals off the streets? Do you want lower taxes?

Please, go out and vote, the race may very well come down to a small few. If we head out to the polls in huge numbers, we will make the difference. Do it for the future of Klal Yisroel, do it for your kids, do it for your family, and do it for your own safety.

Please also encourage all your friends, neighbors, and relatives to vote. There is so much at stake! With Hashem’s help, will turn New York’s future around.

Sincerely, Yaakov Yosef Weiss

Russia and Ukraine Seek Gains on Front Lines

as a Russian retreat from the Kherson re gion looked imminent and as Ukrainian forces fought off Russian attacks in sev eral places over the weekend.

Rocket and artillery fire killed eight people and wounded 19 on Saturday, Ukrainian officials reported. Two died in strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region and six in strikes in Donetsk. Russia also unleashed widespread attacks on pow er plants and heating stations in what Ukraine said were some of the heaviest strikes in weeks.

Small steps that had been made to ward easing the conflict seemed in ques tion this weekend, including the inter nationally brokered agreement to free up tons of desperately needed Ukrainian grain for transport around the world.

With winter about to set in, Russia and Ukraine are locked in heavy ex changes of fire across the front line in in creasingly urgent attempts to make gains big or small while they still can.

Attacks flared in the Sumy region in the north, where rockets and mortars hit at least six settlements Saturday, half a year after Russian forces withdrew from the area. And in Russian-occupied areas of the south, Ukrainian forces struck tar gets, among them a hotel used by Rus sian officials and local collaborators.

Both sides in the south have been striking deep behind each other’s lines, but in recent days, the battlefield posi tions have not appeared to move much. In other parts of the country, Russian cruise missiles and drones struck across Ukrainian territory, as Moscow’s cam paign to cripple Ukraine’s energy sup plies continued.

After months of no contact, the two top American and Russian military of ficials held their second discussion in three days. The phone call Sunday be tween Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Aus tin III and Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu was intended to make clear the red lines that might provoke Russia to launch a nuclear attack in Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the two men spoke but said only that they had discussed the situation in Ukraine. Austin and Shoigu previously spoke Friday at the initiation of the Pen tagon and in May.

The conversation with Austin on Sunday was among a flurry of calls that Shoigu held with his British, French and Turkish counterparts. The calls occurred

On Sunday, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry again accused Russia of delib erately slowing grain exports to stymie the agreement, signed in July, that al lowed Ukrainian agricultural exports by sea to resume over the summer. (© The New York Times)

Smile – Even If You Don’t Mean It

Want to feel happier? Smile.

Yup, curving your lips upwards can make you feel better – even if you’re not really so happy to begin with.

Designed in part by Israeli scientists, a 19-country peer-reviewed research found that people were significantly hap pier when told to smile than if they deter mined their own facial expressions.

The key finding in the study, published in the journal Nature Human Behavior on Thursday, came from telling study participants to either mimic happy ex pressions on photos of actors’ faces or pull their mouth towards their ears using their hands to simulate a smile.

Both groups reported a noticeable in crease in happiness which participants in control groups didn’t have.

The control groups were told to give whatever facial reactions they felt like. Importantly, the control group for those mimicking actors were also shown the faces of the smiling actors, so it received

Dr. Niv Reggev, Ben Gurion Univer sity psychologist and head of the Israe li team, told The Times of Israel, “I had been on the fence, like some others, but now believe if you make people activate the right muscles by smiling, you can actually make them happier. It’s true — when you smile it makes you happier.”

Harvard Tops All Universities

age bracket who had a credential beyond a high school diploma rose from 27% in 2000 to 48% in 2021.

According to U.S. News Best Global Universities rankings, Harvard Universi ty tops schools worldwide.

This year’s general ranking, which re flects the overall scholarly impact of glob al universities across multiple academic disciplines, includes 2,000 schools – 250 more than last year – in 95 countries across the globe.

Following closely behind Harvard on the index are, in the same order as last year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University in Cal ifornia, University of California-Berke ley, and University of Oxford.

However, notable changes occurred slightly down the list. The University of Washington in Seattle rose a notch this year, from No. 7 to No. 6, switching plac es with Columbia University in New York.

which tied for 16th place last year, is now No. 18.

Several other schools rose in the gen eral ranking, including Yale University in Connecticut, which moved from No. 12 to No. 11, and University College London, which went from a tie at No. 16 to No. 12. The University of California-San Di ego rose one spot above its rank last year to join the top 20.

Like last year, the top 20 this year had 15 U.S. schools, four from the U.K., and one from Canada.

Among the countries with ranked global universities in the overall rank ing, China had the most schools – 338 –for the first time surpassing the U.S. The difference between the number of ranked universities in China vs. the U.S. is 58.

First place in Europe goes to the Uni versity of Oxford.

Xi Tightens His Grip on China

In many countries, there has been a marked increase in those obtaining a col lege degree.

Among the 38 nations that are mem bers of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the per centage of individuals in the 25-to-34

The University of California-San Francisco dropped from its perch at No. 11 in the general ranking last year to a tie at No. 16 this year, and the University of Pennsylvania fell two spots from No. 13 to No. 15. The University of Chicago, No. 15 in the general ranking last year, is no longer in the top 20, having fallen to the 22nd spot. The University of Toronto,

The top schools in the regional rank ings for areas outside the U.S. – such as Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Eu rope, Latin America, or Africa – are all the same this year as last year. In the Asia ranking, Tsinghua University of Bei jing is No. 1, while the University of Cape Town claimed that honor for the Africa ranking. The University of Melbourne is the front-runner in the Australia and New Zealand ranking, and the Universi dade de São Paulo leads the Latin Amer ica ranking.

As China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, moved to extend his rule, he pushed out rivals who had been perceived as pro-business. He praised Marxism over markets. He placed security ahead of the economy.

Now, with his grip on China tighter than it has ever been, Xi begins a ground breaking third term this week poised to expand the influence of the Communist Party over the economy.

Xi’s belief in the primacy of the par ty could shift the world’s second-largest economy back toward a more state-led model. Xi’s consolidation of power points

to a new era in China in which national security and ideology would be a higher priority than maintaining robust growth. That could be bad news for an economy that has already been dragged down by official policies such as the stringent “zero COVID” strategy of lockdowns and mass testing.

Financial markets are already signal ing their unease over what Xi’s extend ed rule — and his agenda — portend for China. In Hong Kong, share prices plum meted more than 6% on Monday, reach ing 13-year lows as traders dumped huge numbers of shares to limit their exposure to whatever Xi might do next.

In mainland China, stock markets fell nearly 3% even though the Chinese government puts heavy pressure on in stitutional investors not to sell during politically sensitive moments. And Chi na’s currency, the renminbi, dropped to a 14-year low against the dollar as com panies and affluent families continued to send money out of the country in search of safety and higher interest rates.

The heavy selling in China was par ticularly striking given that the Chi nese government announced stron ger-than-expected data Monday. It showed that the country’s economy grew 3.9% in the three months that ended in

September, from the same period a year earlier.

Under Xi, regulators have clamped down on the tech sector, contributing to widespread layoffs among young em ployees. Dozens of the country’s private property developers have defaulted on debts after Beijing discouraged real es tate speculation. Tycoons have been flee ing the country. Lockdowns in cities and regions across the country to stop out breaks of COVID-19 have taken a heavy toll on economic growth.

Some observers and investors had hoped that Beijing would use the party congress to emphatically reassure pri vate businesses and entrepreneurs that they were still welcome. Instead, the dominant rhetoric emerging from the conclave pointed to more state regula tion. (© The New York Times)

Griner’s Sentence Upheld

This week, a Russian court upheld the nine-year prison sentence against U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, prompting renewed calls from the Unit ed States for Griner’s release.

A Moscow-area court rejected an appeal by Griner, who in August was sentenced to nine years in jail on drug charges, in what the White House called “another sham judicial proceeding.”

Griner is one of two U.S. citizens that Washington has said are unjustifi ably detained in Russia; Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on espionage charges.

On Tuesday, Griner’s lawyers argued in court that the nine-year-sentence she received was excessive.

“The punishment imposed … does not correspond to the gravity of the crime,” Maria Blagovolina said during Griner’s appeal hearing. “Nine years in prison is a sentence that contradicts judicial prac tice.”

Griner, a Women’s National Basket ball Association (WNBA) star and twotime Olympic gold medalist, was arrest ed at a Moscow airport in February with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.

“We are aware of the news out of Rus sia that Brittney Griner will continue to be wrongfully detained under intolerable circumstances after having to undergo another sham judicial proceeding today,” U.S. national security adviser Jake Sulli van said in a statement.

“President Biden has been very clear that Brittney should be released imme diately.”

In previous proceedings, Griner said she did not intend to bring the vape car tridges into Russia, saying that it was an “honest mistake” that they ended up in her bags.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in July that Washington made a “substantial proposal” to Moscow to free Griner and Whelan.

Despite the deteriorating ties be tween Washington and Moscow, Russia in April freed Trevor Reed, a former U.S. marine. In exchange, the U.S. released Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year sentence in the U.S. over drug charges.

Rishi Sunak prevailed in a chaotic three-day race for leader of Britain’s Con servative Party on Monday, a remarkable political comeback that doubled as a his torical milestone, making him the first person of color to become prime minister in British history.

The 42-year-old son of Indian im migrants, whose political career has already had its ups and downs, Sunak won the contest to replace the shortlived prime minister, Liz Truss, when his only remaining opponent, Penny Mor daunt, withdrew after failing to reach the threshold of 100 nominating votes from Conservative lawmakers.

Sunak, a former chancellor of the Ex chequer, is expected to pull Britain back to more mainstream policies after Truss’

failed experiment in trickle-down eco nomics, which rattled financial markets and badly damaged Britain’s fiscal rep utation. He is also likely to offer a stark contrast to the flamboyant style and erratic behavior of Boris Johnson, his former boss and Truss’ discredited pre decessor.

But Sunak will confront the gravest economic crisis in Britain in a genera tion, and he will do so at the helm of a badly fractured Conservative Party.

Johnson’s decision to pull out of the race Sunday night cleared a path for Su nak, who had challenged Truss last sum mer but lost to her in a vote of the party’s rank-and-file members.

It was a head-spinning reversal of fortune for Sunak, whose abrupt resig nation from Johnson’s Cabinet last July set in motion Johnson’s downfall and pitched Britain into upheaval, culminat ing in Truss’ brief, calamitous stint.

Now, he will become Britain’s third prime minister in seven weeks, the youngest in two centuries and the first person of the Hindu faith to achieve its highest elected office.

A former investment banker whose wife is the daughter of an Indian technol ogy billionaire, Sunak will also be one of the wealthiest people ever to occupy No.

10 Downing St.

But if his victory swept away another barrier in British politics — putting Su nak in the same pathbreaking category as Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first fe male prime minister, and Benjamin Dis raeli, its only prime minister of Jewish heritage — it also thrust him into power at a singularly difficult moment.

“There is no doubt we face profound economic challenges,” Sunak said in brief, somewhat stiff, remarks after his victory. “We now need stability and uni ty, and I will make it my utmost priority to bring my party and country together.”

(© The New York Times)

Iran Arrests 10 “Mossad Agents”

Iranian authorities have arrested 10 agents working for Israel in the province of West Azerbaijan, Iranian media re ported on Monday.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that the individuals carried out operations against Iranian security offi cials and were in contact with the Mos sad intelligence agency.

“They set fire to cars and homes of

people affiliated with the security appa ratus and received cash for taking photos which they sent to Mossad agents,” the report said.

Iran occasionally announces the de tention of people it says are spying for foreign countries, including the United States and Israel, without providing ev idence to back up such claims.

Iranian leaders have also recently claimed that popular unrest across the country against the regime’s oppression of women is being orchestrated by Israel and the U.S.

Two weeks ago, Iran claimed to have apprehended a “Zionist spy” disguised as a businessman in the southern Kerman Province. Prosecutors alleged that the spy had planned to “undermine security” in Kerman before being caught by mem bers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The suspect had also planned to

meet an Israeli agent in a nearby country to be given a new mission, he claimed.

In July, Iranian media reported that an alleged Israeli spy network made up of five individuals had been arrested in Iran, the second such group detention announced within a week.

80 Killed in Myanmar Airstrikes

Army (KIA) to mark the 62nd anniver sary of the armed ethnic rebel group’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

KIO General Secretary La Nan said both men and women were among about 80 people killed. Another 54 are injured, many with burns and shrapnel wounds.

The event, which included musical performances, was one of the group’s most significant annual festivities, with “hundreds, if not thousands” in atten dance including artists, businessown ers and elders. Many had traveled from across the state to attend.

“We understand the intention of (the airstrikes) was largely to inflict chaos and massive pain to the public, in a large volume and with as much damage as they could inflict,” La Nan said.

La Nan refuted the junta’s claim, say ing the celebration had been held in the A Nang Pa region – a small area where travelers often stop by a market. It’s “no where close to military installations,” he said.

Though KIO personnel were in atten dance, “they were not there as military personnel but as entertainers,” helping welcome guests and performing.

Since the coup, rights groups and ob servers say freedoms and rights in Myan mar have deteriorated; state executions have returned and the number of docu mented violent attacks by the army on schools has surged.

ever be carried out.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking on national television Sunday evening, said his government would, among other things, establish a permanent anti-cor ruption unit in the national prosecutor’s office, create transparency in the grant ing of public contracts and increase pro tections for whistleblowers.

Dozens of people have reported ly been killed in military airstrikes at a celebratory event in Myanmar’s moun tainous Kachin state on Sunday, drawing international condemnation of the junta that seized power in the country more than a year and a half ago.

Victims had been attending an event organized by the Kachin Independence

The military junta, which overthrew the government in a bloody coup last February, claimed on Monday that reports of civilian deaths from the airstrikes were “fake news.”

It claimed the airstrikes had targeted the KIA’s military base, in response to the group’s earlier raids and attacks on passenger vessels along the Irrawaddy River. It also claimed it had followed in ternational conventions “so as to ensure peace and stability of the region.”

Tackling Corruption in S. Africa

South Africa’s president has intro duced long-anticipated measures to tack le endemic corruption, subjecting even himself and his Cabinet to closer scrutiny of their personal spending and lifestyles. But some analysts question whether re forms that would help the government regain the trust of a fed-up public will

“As a country,” he said, “we are emerg ing from a dark and difficult period.”

But Ramaphosa deferred much of the work to root out corruption to Parliament and other government entities. He also did not say how he would tackle some of the most controversial issues closest to home, including what to do about senior officials within his government who have been accused of corruption.

“It’s so unserious, it’s almost a joke,” William Gumede, a professor of pub lic management at the University of the

Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said of Ramaphosa’s proposals. If he wanted to show that he was serious about dealing with corruption in his orbit, Gumede added, Ramaphosa should have suspend ed the ministers accused of corruption. Ramaphosa’s proposals came in re sponse to hundreds of recommendations by a judicial commission that spent three years hearing evidence from more than

300 witnesses about how officials had gutted public enterprises to enrich them selves and their friends. The commis sion, led by South Africa’s chief justice, Raymond Zondo, focused mostly on the nine years that Ramaphosa’s predeces sor, Jacob Zuma, led the country.

But the current president’s reform ef forts also come at a particularly fraught time, with Ramaphosa facing his own

corruption scandal.

As the country confronts a breakdown in public life, with frequent blackouts be cause of an overwhelmed electricity grid and increasing water outages, several in vestigations are underway into whether the president had sought to cover up the theft of potentially millions of dollars in cash from a game farm he owns.

During a news conference last week,

Zuma said Ramaphosa, his staunch foe, was corrupt, while another former pres ident, Thabo Mbeki, questioned Rama phosa’s future as a leader amid the farm theft inquiry. (© The New York Times)

Italy’s New PM

Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party came out on top in Italy’s Septem ber elections, catapulting the 45-year-old woman into the premiership.

In her rapid rise through Italian poli tics, Meloni has repeatedly shattered the glass ceiling and has now become the first woman premier in the still staunchly patriarchal country.

Some people, though, don’t see Melo ni as an advocate for women, pointing to her staunchly conservative views, includ ing her stance on abortion.

In her first address to parliament on Tuesday, however, Meloni thanked those women who came before her, allowing her “to climb and break the heavy crystal roof placed over our heads.”

“Among the many burdens I feel weighing on my shoulders today, there is also that of being the first woman to head the government in this nation,” she said.

Meloni has broken several barriers in her political career.

In 2008, she became the country’s youngest minister – at age 31 – when she was given the youth portfolio by then-premier Silvio Berlusconi, now one of her coalition allies.

A decade ago, she co-founded Broth ers of Italy, becoming the first woman to lead a major Italian political party.

As premier, she joins a very small group of women who have reached a po sition of political power.

In her 2021 autobiography, Meloni ar gued for more women in decision-mak ing roles that would “lift the moral level and productive effectiveness of our lead ership.”

But she said she won’t rely on gender quotas, mandatory today on corporate boards, saying she “detests” them.

Her new government includes six women among 24 cabinet posts, while

her coalition – which also includes Mat teo Salvini’s far-right League – has fewer women lawmakers than any other bloc in parliament.

Meloni’s discourse on women is near ly exclusively about mothers, with poli cies supporting birth rates and families, like providing free nursery school, pro tecting young mothers in the workplace, or lowering taxes on baby products.

triathlon competition, respectively. They were only the second and third Israeli triathletes ever to participate in the Olympic Games.

In November, Shachar Sagiv is set to compete in the Bermuda World Triathlon Championship Series as part of his effort to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Terrorist Leader Killed in Raid

First Israeli to Compete in Saudi Arabia

Israelis have been feeling the squeeze recently, with terror attacks occurring daily around the country.

This week, the IDF continued with its raids against terrorists hiding out in Pal estinian territories.

Olympian triathlete Shachar Sagiv is set to be the first Israeli to compete in Saudi Arabia, as the countries see pro gressively thawing relations.

Sagiv is slated to participate on Saturday in the fifth round of the Super League Triathlon, a team-based cycling, swimming, and running competition. He ranked the fastest cyclist in the most re cent competition in Toulouse and was the eighth-best competitor overall.

Saudi Arabia, which does not gener ally allow Israelis to enter, has in the past few months begun to issue special visas to Israeli citizens, primarily business people.

“I am very excited to be a trailblazer by being the first Israeli athlete to com pete in Saudi Arabia,” Sagiv told the website Sport1. “This is proof that sports connect peoples and countries.

“I hope to have a good competition, move up in the general ranking at the end of the race and retain first place in the cy cling competition,” he added.

The annual Super League Triathlon offers winning participants up to $1.5 million, with smaller prizes for winners of individual races.

Sagiv and his brother Ran broke Is raeli records in the 2020 Tokyo Olym pics by ranking 20th and 35th in the

On Saturday night, a Lion’s Den fight er, Tamer al-Kilani, was killed in the Old City of Nablus by an “explosion” that is said to have been a bomb remotely acti vated by the Israeli army.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that anyone who hurts Israeli citizens “should know it will end badly,” after troops carried out another raid in the West Bank city, sparking clashes that left five dead including a top leader of the Lion’s Den terror group.

“The terrorist Wadee al-Houh was killed in the exchange of fire,” Lapid told the Kan public broadcaster.

“Israel will never be deterred from acting for its security. Part of this squad are people who hurt Ido Baruch, and the moment they hurt us, IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, they should know it will end badly,” he added, referring to an IDF soldier killed in a shooting attack near Nablus last month.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a Tuesday morning Twitter post, “There aren’t and won’t ever be sanctuary cit ies for terrorists. We will continue to act against anyone who tries to harm the cit izens of Israel, wherever and whenever necessary,” he added.

Meanwhile, the head of the hardline Arab Israeli Balad party, Sami Abou Sha hadeh, condemned the IDF raid on Nab lus as a “war crime and terrorism.”

Israel Defense Forces soldiers de stroyed an explosives workshop in Nab

lus in the early hours of Tuesday, the mil itary said, in an extensive operation that led to the deadly clashes that also left over 20 injured, according to Palestinian health officials.

Blasts and gunshots rang out for over an hour in Nablus after a large convoy of Israel Defense Forces vehicles entered the West Bank city.

Al-Houh was a senior and founding member of Lion’s Den, according to Is

raeli officials and Palestinian media re ports.

Al-Houh, who ostensibly led the group and was allegedly responsible for numerous attacks, was a “main target of the operation.” The terror leader was also responsible for manufacturing explosive devices and procuring weapons for mem bers of the group.

Nablus has been the focus of weeks of operations targeting the Lion’s Den ter

ror group, responsible for a string of at tacks on military positions, settlements, and other targets. The recently formed group made up of members of other terror organizations has claimed a slew of attacks in the weeks since Israel killed senior al-Aqsa Mar tyr’s Brigade member Ibrahim al-Nabulsi in late August.

Tel Aviv Price Records

A new price record for a Tel Aviv luxu ry apartment may just have been set this year at the David Promenade Residences, with the sale of two units for roughly $26 million each.

The two families who purchased them paid NIS 88 million each for 438 square meters of living space and a ter race measuring 145 square meters that can fit a swimming pool, according to Holland Real Estate and Neot Shiran, Tel Aviv, the agencies that closed the sale.

The two-story penthouses are located on the 24th and 25th floors, and feature six-meter-(20 foot)-high living room ceil ings and panoramic sea and city views. They were purchased in shell condition; the families will complete them to their own original specifications.

The total price tag for both units amounted to NIS 176,000,000 ($51,187,000).

The price represents a cost per square meter built of NIS 200,000, exclud ing finishes and purchase costs, which easily tops the previous “normal lux ury price” this year of NIS 130,000 to NIS 140,000 set by The Residences at Mandarin Oriental Tel Aviv, next to the what used to be the Dolphinarium.

The 28-story David Promenade Resi dences on the Tel Aviv coast stands right next to the five-star David Kempinski Hotel, which opened earlier this year, and directly across from the waterfront. Residents can tap into perks provided by the hotel next door, including the restaurants, the spa, and room service to their apartments.

Maritime Deal to Go Through

After weeks of back-and-forth nego tiations and on-again, off-again asser tions, Israel and Lebanon are slated to sign their maritime boundary agreement on Thursday at the United Nations base in the Lebanese border town of Naqoura, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, it was said that Is raeli and Lebanese officials are set to sit in the same room during the signing cer emony, but that may change. Israel and Lebanon are technically at war and have no diplomatic ties.

Once the agreement is inked, Jeru salem and Beirut will send letters to the United Nations laying out the terms of the deal.

ing the Qana gas field, while Israel moves ahead with gas production at Karish.

Herzog Visits the U.S.

friendship between us will continue, whatever the results of the elections in Israel or in the United States. Our bond is strong and unconditional.”

In a meeting with U.S. Jewish leaders, Herzog delivered a similar message with regards to Israel’s upcoming elections.

The signing ceremony will come a day after gas production started at Karish, the offshore field at the center of the deal.

Under the agreement, Israel will re ceive recognition for its buoy-marked boundary five kilometers (3.1 miles) off the coast of the northern town of Rosh Hanikra, which it established in 2000. After that, the boundary will follow the southern edge of the disputed area known as Line 23.

Lebanon will enjoy the economic ben efits of the area north of Line 23, includ

On Tuesday, President Isaac Herzog visited Washington, D.C.

In a meeting with U.S. House Speak er Nancy Pelosi, Herzog stressed that the Israel-US relationship needed to remain above national politics.

“My visit here during this politically sensitive time, both in Israel and in the United States, is intended to underscore that our alliance is above all politics,” Herzog said. “It transcends all gov ernments and political disagreements. That’s how it’s always been and that’s how it shall always remain.”

The President added, “I’m here in or der to reaffirm that the close and deep

“You have elections and midterms; we have elections in Israel next week. I think one thing should transcend both — the friendship and close bond between Israel and the United States is unbreakable and it is a value that we must all cherish and work for. May I also add we must respect each other’s democracies,” Herzog said, adding, “First and foremost, the underly ing rule should be ‘we honor and respect democracy.’”

At least two lawmakers have warned about Benjamin Netanyahu forming an alliance with firebrand Ben Gvir in the upcoming elections.

Netanyahu rejected U.S. criticism of Religious Zionism and Ben Gvir in a radio interview on Tuesday.

“We are a democracy, and we will de cide who will be in the next government,” Netanyahu told Haredi radio station Kol Barama. “I know how to stand up for us. My ability is to not bow my head, and to say ‘no’ when necessary.”

On Tuesday, Herzog also met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and is scheduled to meet U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday at the White House.

During the visit, the two sides have stressed the strength of the Israeli-U.S. relationship, lauded the Lebanon border deal, and highlighted the threat posed by Iran. Blinken expressed concern over recent West Bank violence and urged both sides to de-escalate.

Herzog is presenting evidence to U.S. officials which shows Iranian drones being used by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine.

In math, the results were especially devastating, representing the steepest declines ever recorded on the Nation al Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation’s report card, which tests a broad sampling of fourth and eighth graders and dates to the early 1990s.

U.S. Students’ Scores Plummet

Students across the United States are not doing well. According to an author itative national exam released on Mon day, students in most states and across almost all demographic groups have experienced troubling setbacks in both math and reading.

In the test’s first results since the pandemic began, math scores for eighth graders fell in nearly every state. A mea ger 26 percent of eighth graders were proficient, down from 34 percent in 2019.

Fourth graders fared only slightly better, with declines in 41 states. Just 36 percent of fourth graders were proficient in math, down from 41 percent.

Reading scores also declined in more than half the states, continuing a down ward trend that had begun even before the pandemic. No state showed sizable improvement in reading. And only about one in three students met proficiency standards, a designation that means students have demonstrated competency and are on track for future success.

“I want to be very clear: The results in today’s nation’s report card are appalling and unacceptable,” said Miguel Cardo na, the secretary of education. “This is a moment of truth for education. How we respond to this will determine not only our recovery, but our nation’s standing in the world.”

The exam, which is administered by federal officials and is considered more rigorous than many state tests, sampled nearly 450,000 fourth and eighth grad ers in more than 10,000 schools between January and March. The results are de tailed for each state, as well as more than two dozen large school districts.

Many are pointing to pandemic restric tions as the cause for the bleak results.

For example, in Texas, where many schools opened sooner in the pandemic, students’ scores held steady in reading but showed declines similar to national averages in math.

In California, which stood out for dragging its feet in reopening schools, scores declined slightly less than nation al averages in several categories — about in line with Florida, which was a leader in opening schools sooner.

Hobby Lobby CEO Steps Down

In announcing his decision to give up ownership of Hobby Lobby, CEO and founder David Green attributed the com pany’s success to G-d and cited his religion as the reason he is relinquishing it.

In an op-ed for Fox News, Green claimed that “all my success had come from G-d.”

“As we were blessed by G-d, we saw it as a great privilege to give back. We’ve been able to provide hope through sup porting ministries and planting churches all over the world,” he explained.

Green described thinking deep ly about the future of the compa ny before ultimately deciding to give up ownership. Green said he was inspired by Patagonia’s former owner, Yvon Chouinard, who trans ferred ownership of his company

to a specially designed trust and nonprofit organization.

“I experienced a similar deci sion-making process with my ownership of Hobby Lobby; I chose G-d,” he said.

Like Chouinard said, “Instead of ‘going public,’ you could say we’re ‘going purpose.’

“That bigger mission and purpose helped me realize that I was just a stew ard, a manager of what G-d had entrust ed me,” Green wrote. “G-d was the true owner of my business. When I realized

that I was just a steward, it was easy to give away my ownership.”

He explained that his realization of “stewardship,” rather than ownership, drove him to pay workers $18.50 an hour, close the business on Sundays, and close by 8 p.m. each evening. He said he felt a responsibility to care for his employees in these ways.

Hobby Lobby is a company that owns a chain of 969 arts and crafts stores in 47 states, except in Alaska, Hawaii, and Ver mont. Green is the son of a preacher. On his website, the company declares, “Hon oring the L-rd in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.” All stores are closed on Sundays to “allow employees time for family and worship,” according to signs posted on the front doors of their retail stores.

Trapped Underground

Five people remain trapped 200 feet underground at Arizona’s Grand Canyon Caverns after an elevator broke down on Sunday.

The issue was discovered on Sunday evening when visitors went to leave the popular tourist attraction near Peach Springs, Arizona, about 100 miles west of Flagstaff. Several people were able to walk up the 21 flights of stairs to get out. Five visitors, though, were either unable to safely walk up the stairs or chose to stay behind with those who physically couldn’t.

The rest of the group was provided accommodation and food that night by a small hotel and restaurant adjacent to the dry caverns, which are among the largest in the United States.

Authorities now believe that the issue with the elevator is mechanical in nature, as opposed to being electrical. An exter nal generator was brought in on Monday and did not fix the problem.

A spokesperson said the sheriff’s of fice has sent a search and rescue team with a basket apparatus that can lift peo ple up the elevator shaft one-by-one, in the event that the technicians cannot re pair the elevator quickly.

Yankees’ Season Ends

At one point in early July, halfway through the six-month regular season, the New York Yankees were on pace to set a significant record. The two winningest teams in Major League Baseball history are the 1906 Chicago Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners, both of which won 116 regular-season games. The Yankees were headed toward 119.

Then, their charmed season fell apart. Everything that went right in the first half – health, performance, wins – didn’t in the second. The Yankees recovered in September, won the American League East and finished the regular season in

early October with 99 wins, but heading into the postseason, they simply weren’t the same.

after the game. “It stings.”

The Astros, on the other hand, ended their sixth consecutive trip to the ALCS with a repeat visit to the World Series. After losing it last year to Atlanta, the As tros get a chance to redeem themselves starting Friday in Houston against the Philadelphia Phillies, who toppled the San Diego Padres in the NL champion ship series on Sunday.

fact,” the resolution reads. “We request the Senate Leadership Fund immediately stop the attack ads against Kelly Tshiba ka and discontinue the support of all oth er opposing candidates.”

The resolution passed by a 49-8 vote, according to local news reports.

And in this best-of-seven AL cham pionship series between the league’s top two seeds, the gap between the perenni ally contending Houston Astros and the Yankees was painfully wide and clear.

With a seesawing 6-5 loss in a rain-de layed Game 4 on Sunday that capped a sweep, the Yankees added the coda to a season that began with so much promise but ended the same way as so many oth ers before it.

Despite so much spending and effort, the Yankees have not been to or won a World Series since 2009.

“It’s an awful day, just an awful end ing,” manager Aaron Boone said shortly

Leading 5-4 in the seventh inning thanks to a home run by center fielder Harrison Bader, Yankees second base man Gleyber Torres tossed the ball wide of shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base, allowing Jose Altuve to advance and Jeremy Peña to reach base.

The next batter, Astros slugger Yor dan Alvarez, smacked a game-tying sin gle to right field. The following hitter, As tros third baseman Alex Bregman, sent a pitch from right-handed reliever Clay Holmes into right field to give his team the winning difference.

“The thing about this team is that they don’t panic,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said after the game. “They never panic. They try to find a way.” (© The New York Times)

Alaskan Rep. Party Censures

The Alaska Republican Party also censured Murkowski, a 20-year incum bent, last year after she voted to convict former President Trump in his impeach ment trial for his role in the January 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol.

Tshibaka is endorsed by Trump, who has become a vocal critic of McConnell and has pushed for the Senate leader to step down.

Alaska’s November general election is a ranked-choice process, where a candi date needs more than 50 percent of the vote to win.

Tshibaka and Murkowski are the two front-runners in the race.

A Sad Day in St. Louis

On Monday, Orlando Harris, a 19-year-old former student, opened fire in a St. Louis school, killing two people and injuring several others. The shooter was armed with a long gun and nearly a dozen high-capacity magazines – enough ammunition for a “much worse” situation, police Com missioner Michael Sack said. The mur derer was killed by authorities.

McConnellAuthorities credited locked doors and a quick police response – includ ing by off-duty officers – for prevent ing more killings at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School.

The Alaska Republican Party voted on Monday to censure Senate Minori ty Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for spreading “divisive and misleading state ments” about their endorsed candidate in Alaska’s Senate race.

The party said that McConnell’s fi nancial support for incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) in the Senate race against fellow Republican Kelly Tshiba ka was “in direct contradiction” to the party, according to a copy of the resolu tion posted Monday night on Facebook.

“Much of the financial support from the Senate Leadership Fund has been used for malicious political attack ads targeted at our endorsed candidate, Kel ly Tshibaka, that are gross distortions of

Alexandria Bell, 15, was killed at the scene and a 61-year-old health and physical education teacher, Jean Kuczka, was pronounced dead at a hos pital, Sack said. The gunman died at a hospital after a gun battle with offi cers, he said.

Seven other teenagers were injured, some of them with gunshot or graze wounds, and others with abrasions. One had a fractured ankle. They were

in stable conditions, the commis sioner said.

There have been at least 67 shoot ings on school grounds this year in the United States.

Adidas Cuts Ties with Kanye

they violate the company’s values of di versity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”

It added, “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye imme diately, end production of Yeezy brand ed products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”

The company noted that this would have a short-term negative impact of up to $246 million on net income in 2022 due to high seasonality in the fourth quarter.

It added that it was the “sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways un der the partnership” and would provide more information during third quarter earnings on November 9.

Talent agency CAA confirmed it had dropped Ye as a client Monday, and he was let go by Balenciaga last week.

Twitter and Instagram blocked him over antisemitic remarks.

Adidas began working with Ye in 2013, and in 2016 signed a deal to manufacture and distribute items from his Yeezy clothing line. Their relationship has been rocky. Although, Adidas previously said the partnership has had a “tremendous impact” on its business and is one of the most successful collaborations in the history of its industry, Ye had publicly criticized Adidas, along with some of his other corporate partners such as retailer Gap, in recent months.

played near their webs.

Previously, the researchers had mea sured how a single strand of spider silk moved in response to sounds in the air. They found that “the web silk itself is re ally good at detecting sound,” Miles said. That discovery prompted the question: Could spiders use their webs to hear?

Adidas on Tuesday ended its partnership with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after the musician made a series of offensive and antisemitic comments.

Adidas said in a statement: “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been un acceptable, hateful and dangerous, and

The German sportswear giant had faced pressure from the public and its own employees to cut ties with Ye, who said on a podcast on Oct. 16: “I can say anti-Semitic things, and Adidas can’t drop me. Now what?”

“In the end, Adidas’ action sends a powerful message that antisemitism & bigotry have NO place in society,” the ADL said after Adidas dropped the singer.

Adidas was founded in 1924 by two brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler –hence the name “Adidas,” a combination of “Adi” for Adolf and “Das” for Dassler. The company, based in Weimar-era Ger many, quickly made a name for itself by pioneering some of the earliest spiked shoes – drilled through with nails to help runners on uneven terrain.

On May 1, 1933, with the company’s fortunes on the rise and Hitler having just assumed power in Germany, the Dassler brothers formally joined the Nazi party. Under Nazi rule, the compa ny grew by leaps and bounds.

Rudolf was a more ardent devotee of Nazi ideology than Adi, but both broth ers carried their party membership cards and signed off their letters with “Heil Hitler.”

Can Spiders Hear?

To study hearing in animals, scien tists normally insert electrodes into the animals’ nerves and look for “spikes” that show a nervous system response, Miles said. That’s tough to do in a spider. So instead of using electrodes, researchers placed orb-weaving spiders (the type that spin wheel-shaped webs) in a specially designed quiet room. They tracked how the spiders reacted to different sounds played on a loudspeaker.

“We had to show that the sound was getting to the spider only because of the airborne path, and it wasn’t coming through some vibration,” Miles said.

“And sure enough, the spider respond ed.” Depending on how loud the sound was, spiders crouched, stretched, turned, or raised their forelegs. Researchers no ticed that the spiders turned their bodies toward the sound, suggesting the arach nids knew where the noise originated.

The ability to use a web like a giant extended ear could help spiders detect prey. If an insect is flying nearby, for in stance, “that’s going to cause the web to vibrate because of the sound,” Miles said.

“That kind of gets the spider’s attention.”

Dry Shampoos Recalled

This may not be the most important question you have, but scientists have recently found out that spiders can pick up sounds – and essentially “hear” –through their webs. These busy insects don’t have ears, but they sense vibrations in their webs and, with tiny, sensitive hairs, comprehend sounds that way.

“It’s basically using the web as the ear,” said Ron Miles, a professor of me chanical engineering at Binghamton University who researches acoustics (the study of sound) and vibrations. In a new study, Miles and his co-authors found that spiders responded to sounds

Unilever has recalled certain Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI and TRESemmé aerosol dry shampoos because of the po tential presence of benzene, a chemical that can cause cancer.

The affected products were pro duced prior to October 2021 and were distributed at retailers nationwide.

They include products such as Dove Dry Shampoo Volume and Fullness, Dove Dry Shampoo Fresh Coconut, Nexxus Dry Shampoo Refreshing Mist and Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Refresh and Revive.

Benzene is a human carcinogen. Ex posure to benzene can occur by inhala tion, orally, and through the skin, and it can result in cancers including leukemia and blood cancer, according to Friday’s recall notice.

Last year, Procter & Gamble (PG) re called more than 30 aerosol spray haircare products, including many dry shampoos and dry conditioners, warning that the products could contain benzene. P&G also last year issued a similar re call for more than a dozen Old Spice and Secret-branded aerosol deodorants and sprays, warning that the products could also contain benzene.

Along those lines, cosmetics company L’Oréal, along with multiple other parties, is being sued over claims that its chemical hair straightening products put women at an increased risk of uterine cancer.

Now, the airline is tackling middle seat anxiety head-on by making sitting squished between two other travelers a bit sweeter.

Virgin Australia has just launched the Middle Seat Lottery, a special raf fle worth about $145,000. And it’s only open to those who sit in the middle seat – voluntarily or involuntarily – during a flight.

“Virgin Australia is an airline that’s doing things differently and we are hav ing a lot of fun coming up with exciting innovations to make every part of the travel experience more wonderful,” says Jayne Hrdlicka, the chief executive offi cer of Virgin Australia Group, in a press release.

“Now we’re giving our loyal guests the opportunity to win from a prize pool val ued at over $230,000 for simply sitting in a middle seat.”

From now until April 23, 2023, any Velocity Frequent Flyer member aged 18 years or older who is seated in a middle seat can use the airline’s app to enroll in the lottery.

Playing the Sax During Surgery

counting,” Dr. Christian Brogna, who led the surgery team, said.

Brogna said the surgery was a suc cess.

That’s music to our ears.

Bread Boy

Middle Seat Lottery

Each week, a different prize will be awarded to the winner of a lucky draw.

Among the innovative gifts up for grabs are a full day helicopter pub crawl (in cluding return flights to Darwin) and a two-night holiday in Cairns including flights, accommodation, and a bungee jump.

Doctors in Italy recently shared that a patient remained awake and played the saxophone during delicate brain surgery.

Paideia International Hospital in Rome said in a news release that the 35-year-old patient, identified as G.Z., was kept awake and played his saxo phone during the 9-hour surgery to re move a tumor from his brain.

Doctors said the musical performance allowed the surgeons to map the different functions of his brain as they operated.

“Awake surgery makes it possible to map with extreme precision during sur gery the neuronal networks that underlie the various brain functions such as play ing, speaking, moving, remembering,

A bakery in the San Francisco area is hawking more than just bread. The eat ery now features a 6-foot life-size bread sculpture of “Star Wars” character Han Solo, seemingly frozen in carbonite.

Hannalee Pervan and her mother, Catherine Pervan, co-owners of One House Bakery in Benicia, California, spent weeks molding, baking and assem

Hate sitting in the middle seat while flying? You’re not alone. In fact, only 0.6% of more than 7,500 voters polled prefer – or, perhaps more likely, acciden tally voted for – the middle seat, accord ing to a recent social media poll by Virgin Australia.

For fans of the Australian Football League, there are flights and tickets to the Australian Football League Grand Final as well as exclusive access to the pre-game lunch and after party.

Travelers could also win Virgin’s “Platinum Velocity” frequent flier status for one year – along with one million ex tra Velocity Points – as well as a few re furbished, themed gallery carts.

May the most squeezed person win.

bling the life-sized sculpture using wood and two types of dough, including a type of yeast-less dough with a higher sugar content that will last longer.

The two worked at night, after the day’s business was done. The loving ly crafted details show Han Solo’s an guished face and his hands straining to reach out.

Creating “Pan Solo” was particularly meaningful, Hannalee said, because she contracted covid in January 2021 and lost much of her senses of smell and taste.

“So just to find joy in a different part of food is really important,” she said.

The sculpture is now on display out side of the bakery, located about a halfhour’s drive north of San Francisco. It will be entered into a community-wide scarecrow contest, in which the public will vote on their favorite scary-thing created by local businesses.

The Pervans, who are big science-fic tion and fantasy fans, entered another “Star Wars”-themed creation in 2020 featuring the Mandalorian and Baby Yoda.

Eventually the bread boy will be com posted – and not eaten.

As Yoda wisely said, “Difficult to see; always in motion is the future.”

Giant Gourd

This pumpkin squashed its competi tion.

On Monday, Travis Gienger of Minne sota set a new U.S. record for the heavi est pumpkin after raising a giant gourd weighing 2,560 pounds. With that vast vegetable, he won the annual pump kin-weighing contest in Northern Cali fornia.

Gienger drove the gargantuan gourd for 35 hours to see his hard work pay off at the 49th World Championship Pump kin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

“You think driving in a snowstorm is bad? Try driving one of these things,” he said.

Gienger, who also won the same contest in Northern California in 2020, broke a record set last week in New York where a grower raised a massive pump kin weighing 2,554 pounds.

Despite Gienger’s huge numbers, a grower in Italy holds the world record for the heaviest pumpkin. He grew a 2,702-pound squash in 2021, according to Guinness World Records.

Sounds gourd-ess.

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teams decided to drive to the summit of Umling La Pass, which featured the high est altitude road in the world.

The auto rickshaws traversed the road at an altitude of 19,024 feet, which is now believed to be the highest altitude at which an auto rickshaw has ever been driven.

“The road grade climbing to the sum mit of the pass was so steep that much of the drive could only be done in first gear,” Harris said. “However, the Bajaj auto rickshaws were real workhorses and persistently made their way to the top, a drive usually only accomplished by high er powered motorcycles or cars.”

“Minnesota has a great midyear, but our spring in our parts is really, really tough. So to do it in Minnesota, it just shouldn’t happen,” Gienger said. “It’s like winning the Tour de France on a big wheel. You know, you can only hope, but it worked.”

These people are crazy – in a good way. Greg Harris, Priya Singh, Michele Daryanani and Nevena Lazarevic all participated in the recent auto rickshaw challenge in India. Although the way, the two teams ended up setting a world re cord for the highest altitude drive for the type of vehicle.

The Canadian team, consisting of Harris and Singh, and the Swiss team, composed of Daryanani and Lazarev ic, set the record while participating in the Rickshaw Run (Himalayan Edition).

The groups were challenged to drive auto rickshaws, motorized threewheeled vehicles often used as taxis in India, from the Indian city of Jaisalmer to the Himalayan city of Leh, a distance of about 1,430 miles. But they weren’t given a specific path to travel. The two

Umling La Pass, at a height of 19,024 feet (approximately equivalent to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro), carries a real risk of serious altitude sickness. At such altitude, there is about 50% less ox ygen per volume of breathable air than at sea level, creating breathing difficulties, headaches, dizziness, nausea, as well as more potentially serious or fatal altitude related illnesses such as cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) or pulmonary ede ma (lungs filled with fluid).

Singh noted, “At the summit of the pass, we were breathing air with only half the oxygen found at sea level; so it was both the vehicles and the drivers that were oxygen deprived. Luckily, we had spent time prior to the attempt acclima tizing, so other than some minor discom fort, none of the team members suffered any serious issues.”

Aside from the altitude and the thin ning air, the adverturers were able to sample interesting dishes along the way.

Lazarevic added, “While the world record was our ultimate goal, the entire Rickshaw Run of over 2,300 km from Jaisalmer to Leh, while quite difficult, was adventurous, thrilling and spectacu lar…. That being said – the culinary expe rience was amazing. The dishes changed totally from the desert bean pickles of Rajastan to spicy and aromatic curries around Shimla, until the momos in Leh.”

High excitement!

Around the Community

A Fabulous Family Fun Event

On Friday, Chol Hamoed Sukkos, Reads Lane in Far Rockaway was closed off for a free family fun event organized by

the JCC of the Rockaway Peninsula, RNSP, Pesach Osina, Fraidy Osina of Kesher Bridging Communities, and the NYC Open Street Program.

Thank you to the NYPD 101 st Pre cinct, including CO Captain Timothy Schultz and Detective Lynn Blanch ette, for all their assistance for the

event, which included a rock wall, balloon making, bouncy houses, FDNY activities, chalk drawing, and bubbles!

BY5T Open House

This Sunday, October 30, Bais Yaakov of the Five Towns will have their much anticipated open house event at the Brandeis building: 25 Frost Lane. Our staff and teachers look forward to greeting you!

The BY5T education is an innovative learning experience, applying contempo rary teaching methods while staying true to the bedrocks of Bais Yaakov ideals.

BY5T focuses on developing a love for learning and Yiddishkeit, fosters ac ademic excellence, and places a strong

emphasis on middos and character de velopment.

BY5T is the next generation of chi nuch: student-centered, focusing on de veloping a strong sense of self and a deep pride in being a Bas Yisroel.

We are excited to see you at 10am this Sunday and share our vision and growth!

For more information, please visit by5t.org.

New Course in the Five Towns to Unveil Judaism’s Answers to 25 Questions about G-d

This fall, Rabbi Zalman Wolowik of Chabad of the Five Towns will offer a six-week course produced by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) that unpacks Judaism’s understanding of G-d while providing fresh, profound answers to common questions about G-d.

How did G-d come to be? Is G-d a He, a She, or a They? Does G-d have feelings? If G-d has foreknowledge of all events, do we have free choice? Is there a place in Judaism for doubts about G-d? These are just some of the twenty-five questions ad dressed in My G-d: Defining the Divine. Jewish culture and the Jewish peo ple’s outlook on life are indelibly shaped by the classic Jewish understanding of G-d. My G-d: Defining the Divine is a one-of-a-kind course that brings to light the Jewish understanding of G-d, from which Judaism and Jewish identity inev itably flow.

When the course kicks off on Tues day, November 1 at 8:00 PM, its fastpaced lessons will lead participants to wards a comprehensive understanding of Jewish monotheism. The discussions

will probe philosophical topics, but the course is anchored in real life and offers accessible answers for students of all backgrounds.

“These are questions we hear all the time,” says Rabbi Wolowik. “This course is the first time there’s an address where you can get straight answers to all the big questions you might have about G-d.”

Rabbi Wolowik says this new course is the perfect offering for anyone with sincere questions about G-d or who just seeks an enhanced understanding of Ju daism’s approach to this core topic.

As with other JLI programs, the course is designed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without prior exposure to Jewish learn ing. All JLI courses are open to the pub lic, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue, temple, or house of worship.

Interested students may call 516-2952478 or visit chabadfivetowns.com/jli to register or to access other course-related information. JLI courses are presented in the Five Towns in conjunction with Chabad of the Five Towns.

Celebrating Sukkot in Plainview

The Plainview community was full of children preparing for the holi day of Sukkot in so many different ways! While many of the high school and college students teamed up to help build sukkot for the families who needed as sistance, the elementary students joined together to decorate the Young Israel of Plainview’s sukkah under the guidance of youth director Eitan Bedziner. He also helped the children get into the spirit by making edible sukkot and challenged them to make sure they were “kosher”! The fourth graders who attended were the leaders of that event because they had recreated kosher sukkot made out of shoeboxes in their classroom at Mer caz Academy, while the sixth graders

made lulav rings for their own (or their parent’s) lulavim. This special hands-on experience was led by Mercaz Academy grandparent Rabbi Dr. Elliot Grossman, who was excited to tie up the class for sukkot preparation!

As our children filled the shul over Yom Tov, it was easy to see that it was truly “z’man simchateinu” in Plainview.

Talmidim of Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s Harriet Keilson Early Childhood Center interacted with the petting zoo animals that came to visit in honor of Parshas Noach

At the Aish Kodesh & K’Hal Mevakshei Hashem Simchas Beis

Photos by Ira Thomas

YU Book Talk

Join Yeshiva University Libraries online book talk with Rabbi Shmuel Reichman, Executive Coach and Founder, Self-Mastery Academy, and author of The Journey to Your Ultimate Self. He will explore the purpose of life, striving for truth, and highly mis understood concepts in Jewish thought, with Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman, Assistant Professor, Azrieli Graduate School. For link: yu.edu/journeybooktalk. About the book and 10% off: mosaicapress.com, promo code: 3VHWWM36.

Scenes from this year’s Chol Hamoed Avos U’bunim and chavrusa learning

Harav Elisha Sandler, shlita, giving d’vrei pesicha at the beginning of winter zman in Yeshiva Kol Torah

Haschalas Aleph-Beis at

Mazal tov to the amazing kindergarten class of Bais Yaakov of the Five Towns! As a celebra tion of their haschalas aleph-beis, our ador able girls proudly wore white shirts and crowns as they paraded through a balloon archway and then danced with the rest of the school. After the dancing, the girls all made a train and marched back to their classes to receive delicious treats.

Every day is an exciting one at Bais Yaakov of the Five Towns!

Rav Tani Goldbaum’s fifth grade talmidim at Yeshiva Darchei Torah reviewed the first amud of Perek Eilu Metzios in the main beis hamedrash and each received a cold can of soda in honor of the occasion

Sukkos in with the Nikolsburg Rebbe in Woodbourne, NY

HALB’s 7th grade Zionism class enjoyed a special live call from Israel with Nefesh B’Nefesh

5 Towns Flag Football

This past Friday was week 6 of FM Home Loans 5 Towns Flag Foot ball. It was Swag Day where ev ery single participant received a flag foot ball/ Fm Home Loans Nike hat as well as a Maidenbaum Tax Consultants bag. We, of course, had another great week of in tense, fun, and competitive games.

In the Pre-1A division, under the di rection of Rabbi Jeremy Fine, the boys practiced their rushing and defensive skills. Their progress is truly amazing, and these boys are on the road to being football champions.

In the 1st grade division, the Bron cos defeated the Patriots. And the Jets defeated the Giants with Mordechai Kirschner’s excellent interceptions.

In the 2nd grade division, the Patriots defeated the Eagles. The Broncos defeat ed the Giants with Abie Shapiro’s con sistent catches and communication. And the Vikings defeated the Jets.

In the 3rd and 4th grade division, the Panthers defeated the Jets. The Se ahawks defeated the Packers with Dan iel Hertz’s picks and catches. The Giants defeated the Steelers. The Falcons de feated the Saints with Joey Mosberg’s game winning touchdown. The Vikings tied with the Texans. The Commanders defeated the Patriots. The Broncos tied with the Eagles. The Raiders defeated the Dolphins.

In the 5th and 6th grade division,

the Steelers defeated the Broncos with Yitzy Fine’s touchdowns and short catch es. The Saints defeated the Vikings. The Dolphins defeated the Seahawks. The Raiders defeated the Patriots. The Ea gles defeated the Falcons with Shlomo Davidson’s insane TDP. And the Packers defeated the Giants. And the Jets defeat ed the Panthers.

In the 7th and 8th grade division, the Eagles defeated the Vikings with Isac Weisfeld’s perfect catching and defense. The Texans defeated the Jets. The Giants defeated the Broncos. And the Com manders and Patriots tied with Gedali ah Brill’s consistent flag pulls and short catches.

We are getting ready for the playoffs which are right around the corner. Can’t wait!

A Welcoming Erev Shabbat at SKA

After observing the Yomim Noraim and celebrating Sukkot, SKA stu dents welcomed erev Shabbat with hearty plates of delicious kugel outside on

the lovely grounds of the school. You can tell by the delighted faces in the photos how happy everyone was to be together once again with their fellow classmates!

Gittel Siegel is a junior at Hewlett High School who has cerebral palsy. On October 6, World Cerebral Palsy Day, Gittel spoke to students and educated them about this challenging chronic illness. Gittel gave out awareness bracelets to staff and students, who happily showed their support.

Lev Chana has officially kicked off this year’s use of STMath and Lexia, computer programs used in HALB’s Blended Learning program

Names, Not Numbers at HANC

On Friday, October 21, the eighth grade at HANC began a project called Names Not Numbers. In the program, students interview Holocaust survivors and edit the interviews, which are in turn made into a documentary.

The program began with powerful words from Rabbi Hecht, Middle School Principal, who spoke about the magnitude of a project like this. He explained that it is so crucial for the students to participate

and internalize the stories so that they can pass them on to the future generations. He explained that some things you need to forget in order to move on. On the oth er hand, something like the Holocaust can never be forgotten.

The next speaker was Mrs. Tova Rosen berg, the creator of Names, Not Num bers©. Mrs. Rosenberg gave an inspira tional speech about how important this project is and how lucky we are to get the

chance to participate in this program. Af ter Mrs. Rosenberg, the students watched a 20-minute clip of an interview with Dr. Moshe Avital, z”l. The students sat spell bound watching his story. It is something which I am sure will stay in their memory for a very long time.

Next, there was a presentation from Mrs. Shoshana Soroka, editor of the Five Towns Jewish Home. Mrs. Soroka gave us tips on how to talk and interview Ho

locaust survivors. She went through the interview process and explained how there would be questions posed to sur vivors about their experience before the war, during the war and after the war. Mrs. Soroka explained what types of questions would be best. She talked about what happens if the survivor cries or is si lent for a bit.

The grade is looking forward to partic ipating in this project.

Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato had a great day knocking on doors in Far Rockaway on Sunday with her volunteers reminding everyone about early voting.

She thanks everyone for the warm reception and support

A Night of Inspiration

Monday night, October 3 proved to be truly a Night of Inspiration at TAG. Despite the continual rain, a record number of Junior High talmidos and their “guests” came to elevate themselves before Yom Kippur! It was obvious that nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of this crowd which really left an impression on the many attendees.

Rabbi Meyer Weitman, the Dean of Torah Academy for Girls welcomed the gathering. A moving video about Tefilas Aleinu was viewed. Our eighth graders presented a beautiful Aleinu choir. Thanks to Morah Schick, Morah

Sebrow and Morah Kuritsky for playing the piano. The girls and their guests (bubbies, mothers, big sisters) then learned the tefila “b’chavrusah.” En closed in each folder was a laminated Aleinu card (l’zecher nishmas R’ Nafta li Rhodes A”H). The evening concluded with meaningful stories of how dav ening Aleinu has brought about many zechusim in peoples’ lives.

Working together towards the goal of providing inspiration before Yom Kippur was inspiring in itself and TAG is grateful to all those who made this uplifting evening a reality.

Rabbi Shmuel Witkin gave a shiur on hilchos lulav and esrog for fathers and sons before Sukkos

SKA students visited Lev Chana during their Club period to do projects with the preschool children

MTA Alumni & Rebbeim Celebrate Sukkos in Israel

Torah L’Kulanu

Although they have already grad uated and are now learning in various yeshivas in Israel, MTA alumni reunited with their friends and rebbeim over Sukkos. Rabbi Netanel Danto hosted a simchas beis hashoe va for MTA alumni in Jerusalem. The event was filled with simchas yom tov as friends caught up and shared reflec

tions on Elul zman and the beginning of the yeshiva year. Rabbi Dov Emer son, while attending Eitan Katz’s Live In Jerusalem 3 concert, had the oppor tunity to see many former talmidim. The group gathered before the show for pictures and reminiscing and then danced the night away together, enjoy ing a special evening.

YOSS ECC Bereishis Exploration

TLK students had an exciting lead-up to the holiday of Sukkot.

On Monday, October 3, we were thrilled to host Shulamith’s 10th grade girls, who made sukkah decorations with many of our students. On Thursday, Octo ber 6, our high school classes participated in an exciting Bamboozle Sukkot game and joined Shulamith’s Middle School students in making Sukkot projects.

When we returned from our beau tiful chag, TLK students started a Shul Integration Project! Several TLK Middle School students participated in YIW’s Mincha minyan, while others explored the sanctuary and all of the kadosh and important parts within it. We plan to continue this program, exposing our students to the beauty of Jewish life and their community!

The preschool boys at YOSS ECC enjoyed fun-filled days of explor ing Hashem’s amazing creation in

our Imaginarium. The explorations took place at the light table, water table, gar den, and rock wall (where they climbed

to touch the sun moon and stars). These activities were followed by a Bereishis Snack Shabbos Party, and each child

created his own Bereishis game to take home! The fun was “out of this world.”

A Place Where Every Jew Rejoices with the Torah

By Menachem Segal

Had you been at Brooklyn Jewish Xperience (BJX) on Simchas Torah, it probably would have melted your heart. “It was a deeply spir itual experience. It was incredible to see all types of Jews exhibit real joy,” said Bernie Garfinkel.

Many regular Flatbush people left their own shuls to join BJX for one rea son: they knew that they would witness something special. And they did. Can you imagine a Simchas Torah in Flatbush in which a 6’4” burly young man wearing a necklace, t-shirt and jeans and jumping up and down screaming, “Moshe emes v’Torahso emes” or another man, arms covered in tattoos, embracing the Torah with such intense emotion and feeling? Can you imagine many fellow Jews who never heard of Simchas Torah celebrating together with their frum brothers with such enthusiasm and love for the Torah?

“It was incredible to be there and see this!” said AC Kramer.

“The unconditional love for our fellow Jews that radiates from BJX is definitely generating a lot of kedusha and bracha for Klal Yisrael. I was amazed at how par

ticipants of so many varied backgrounds rejoiced, danced and sang together with such joy,” enthused Rabbi Uri Deblinger. One fellow said that he waited 41 years for the moment to be called up for a hakafah!

“BJX is a warm, welcoming and filled with joy and love. I keep coming back because of the loving community, close relationships that I’ve formed with our people. But of course, most importantly, the wonderful rabbis,” shared Josh Ein horn, a young professional. Sam, a local college student, said, “I felt euphoric as myself and other fellow Jews basked in the glory and pride of being a Jew.” An other college student, Rudy, said, “I had an outstanding time! I was treated as if I was at home by the rabbis. The sense of community was truly heartwarming.”

BJX was packed with Yidden of all stripes rejoicing together. A miracle is happening in our own backyard – the miracle of unity and Ahavas Yisroel. “I absolutely loved it. The kedushah and en ergy was palpable. Truly a spiritually up lifting experience. No one is doing what BJX does,” said Michael Katz.

“Miracles surely happen at BJX,” said Joyce Goldberg. Let’s hope this brings Moshiach one step closer.

Toys for Tots Program in the Five Towns

With the holidays just around the corner, Assemblyman Ari Brown, the U.S. Marines, Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Retired U.S. Marine Major Chuck Kilbride and the Toys for Tots Program brought some joy to the youngsters at the Five Towns Early Learning Center in Inwood along with the children of the Leon Mayer Fund and Kosher Response. The early holiday toy delivery featured approxi mately 90 high-end Lego brand plastic construction toys. The toys, which were delivered to the Center, carry a value of $100 to $400 each, and approximately 90 total toys were delivered. Also at the toy donation event were the children of the Five Towns Early Learning Center, the Center’s Executive Director, Paula S. Robinson. In addition, the children of the Leon Mayer Fund and Kosher Re sponse, represented by Nechama Gold fedder, attended the event.

“We are about to embark upon the holidays, and every child wants and de serves a toy to make the season feel spe cial,” said Brown. “I want to thank Major Chuck Kilbride of the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Program for making the holidays brighter for lots of young people.”

“I am excited to be part of the Toys for Tots effort to make the season joyous and exciting for a group of young people in our communities,” said Canzoneri-Fitz patrick. “This is one of the most reward ing experiences for the folks who are giv ing the toys, and the children seem to be having fun too.”

“As the head of the Toys for Tots Pro gram, I am committed to ensuring that every child has a great toy during the holiday season,” said Kilbride. “With the help of the U.S. Marines, Assemblyman Ari Brown, Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpat rick and a host of volunteers and donors, we are going to make this the best year ever.”

“The Toys for Tots initiative is a great undertaking with a wonderful goal of making the holidays more joyous for young people,” said Robinson. “I want to thank everyone involved in spreading some holiday cheer at the Five Towns Early Learning Center.”

At the event, the U.S. Marines, Major Kilbride, Assemblyman Brown, and Ms. Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick distributed the toys to students and youngsters and ex changed holiday greetings.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) arranged for the Biden administration’s new liaison to the American Jewish community, Shelley Greenspan, to visit her congressional district in Queens last week

Annette Kaufman, Sheri Hammer, and Stacey Zrihen were awarded Women of Distinction awards by Assemblyman Ari Brown for their impact and leadership on behalf of i-Shine Five Towns, Chai Lifeline’s afterschool program for children with illness or loss in their families.

Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Chairman, Eretz Hakodesh, dancing with Rav Samuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites in Israel, at the Kosel during Hakafos Shniyos, motzei yom tov in Israel. Rav Rabinowitz welcomed Rabbi Lerner and thanked Eretz Hakodesh for all they do to maintain the kedusha and mesorah at the Kosel

Moshava Ba’ir Announces Long Island Location

Moshava Ba’ir is bringing its magic to the Long Island and Queens community. The pop ular day camp recently announced the opening of its sixth day camp, conve niently located at the HANC Uniondale Campus. Run by Bnei Akiva of the U.S. and Canada, the Moshava Ba’ir day camp initiative is now in its fourteenth year of operation, touting vibrant programs in Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago, and two in New Jersey.

Malka Fleischmann has been ap pointed Camp Director of the new Moshava Ba’ir Long Island (MBLI). Throughout her career, Malka has served in several roles in the worlds of education and writing. Before joining Bnei Akiva, she was the Director of Knowledge and Ideas at the Jewish Education Project, a Hebrew School Director (Tribeca Torah), Rosh Mashava (Camp Stone), Director of Faith-Based Programming and Uni versity President’s Speechwriter (Touro University), and Judaic Studies educa tor (SAR and Ramaz Middle Schools).

A Wexner Fellow-Davidson Scholar and

YCQ Remembers 9/11

Twenty-one years. The number of years since that dreadful day that has forever tainted the date of September 11. Twenty-one, the num ber of years since our world was shaken and our feeling of security forever taken away. Our children have been growing up in a world with lockdown and safety drills. However, they do not remember that day or the societal changes. They were not born, most of their parents just children themselves. As we have learned that when we do not learn from history, it repeats, making it impera

tive for us to teach our children about that day. Following the 21 st anniversa ry of 9/11, and just after Yom Kippur, our holiday to remember and strive to work on being better people, the eighth grade Yeshiva of Central Queens stu dents headed out for their yearly trip to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Students learned about this day in their social studies class with their teach er Mrs. Melissa Meisel. They each chose a name of a person who lost their life when the Towers collapsed and traced

M2 fellow, Malka is a graduate of the Uni versity of Pennsylvania and Harvard Di vinity School and has roots firmly plant ed in Camp Stone.

The framework for Long island fol lows the same model of excellence as its counterparts, providing a safe, caring and ruach-filled environment. Campers in grades entering K-7 will enjoy a robust program that includes woodworking, mad science, dance, sports, gardening, swimming and an immersive chinuch program rooted in Torah values and ed ucation.

According to Rav Shaul Feldman, Ex ecutive Director of Bnei Akiva of the U.S. & Canada, Moshava Ba’ir was designed to fill a void in the world of day camps. By offering campers a well-rounded pro gram that fosters a sense of community and a love of Israel while at the same time creating meaningful friendships and de veloping individual skills, talents, and abilities, Bnei Akiva has created an en vironment that far surpasses the typical day camp experience.

The location is ideal for the ultimate

camp experience. Situated on a beautiful campus with a large air-conditioned in door space, the camp also has 3 outdoor swimming pools, a softball field, soccer field, and a huge gymnasium. The cam pus is also set up for specialties includ ing: STEM, engineering and technology, science and nature, orienteering, dance, fitness, arts and crafts, and even a kiln for ceramics. Specialty staff are all highly trained in their individual fields, giving campers an opportunity to learn from the very best.

As with all Bnei Akiva programs, Moshava Ba’ir Long Island will encapsu late a love of Israel throughout the pro gram. Whether it be through song, art, or any number of activities, campers, staff, and parents can expect a strong Israel influence that distinctively shouts Am Yisrael Chai.

Enrollment for Kayitz 2023 is current ly underway with early bird incentives through November. For more informa tion about Moshava Ba’ir Long Island, please visit mbli.moshavabair.org or call 212.465.9536.

their names that are etched into the par apets surrounding the memorial pools, to help them make a personal connec tion. They then entered the memorial where they saw through various forms of media as well as artifacts that survived, that helped those in attendance under stand the fear, the pain and most import ant, see the unity and support that came following the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil ever.

The students saw videos of people watching the Towers fall, read and lis tened to personal stories and saw burnt

our fire trucks and steal beams from the actual Twin Towers. Every room brought new meaning and a deeper un derstanding.

When most students think about a school field trip, the first thing that comes to mind is hanging out with friends and having fun. It was nice to see that in side the walls of the memorial, students remained solemn and serious, but when outside staring out over the water, with bridges and the Statue of Liberty staring back, they could laugh and enjoy their time with friends, just being kids.

NCSY

The Sukkah Spirit

New York NCSY spearheaded a unique outreach operation to in spire Jews who have never had a sukkah of their own to experience the im mersive mitzva of Sukkot. Now in its third year, The Sukkah Project gifts sukkahs to families across New York who are com mitted to eating meals in their sukkah and hosting other Jewish friends and family.

This year, NCSY provided 67 Jewish homes with a sukkah, and with these families averaging 20 guests over the chag, over 1,300 unaffiliated Jews expe rienced Sukkos in a way they never had before. In addition to providing the phys ical structure, NCSY also arranged for Zoom classes to teach participants about the spiritual themes of the chag and set each family up with teen volunteers from local yeshiva day schools to help them build their Sukkah.

“Building a sukkah adjacent to your home for eight days is a significant com mitment for people who don’t live in a frum community and do not identify as fully observant,” said Rabbi Gideon Black, CEO of New York NCSY. “I find their willingness to step out of their com fort zone to be incredibly impressive.”

The families who made the commit ment found it to be really uplifting and hope to encourage their friends to take part in the Sukkah Project next year. “This is a remarkable journey and a true blessing it has been to have shared our

ly,” said Lori Levine from Bellmore, NY. “Never would I have thought that by hav ing our new sukkah I would feel even more connected to Judaism, NCSY, and new friendships than I have by sharing in this experience.”

Brooklyn mom R Vays added, “The family quality time that we got from this experience is completely priceless. We had such a good time putting the sukkah together and building it, decorating it, and most importantly inviting the grand parents to join us for a meal. It was like ‘eating in our little clubhouse.’ It taught us so much to appreciate family while en joying the holiday.”

K ayla Paul, a sophomore in SKA, one of the teens who volunteered to help build for the Sukkah Project during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva, reflected, “Building suk kahs with my friends was so meaningful. We’ve never built a sukkah before, so we were a bit nervous and unsure what to expect. But…it was an awesome bonding experience! It was so crazy to think that this family may have not even had a suk kah if we didn’t come to help.”

The Sukkah Project is a fantastic example of the inspirational year-round program ming that New York NCSY does to inspire Jewish teens and their families to grow in their Judaism. Forty generous donors funded The Sukkah Project. To support upcoming outreach initiatives that NCSY is coordinating, please reach out to Rabbi

The talmidos of the Ganger Early Childhood Center at TAG were so excited to wear the beautiful Rosh Chodesh necklaces that their parents made for them at orientation

Beginnings at Central

The beginning of the fall semester is an exciting time at Central, a period of introduction during which students form new friendships and cultivate new interests. It’s also a period of introduction in the classroom, when teachers set the tone for the year with activities that will inspire.

The month of September brought thought-provoking units from all fronts at Central. In Mrs. April McNally’s Health class, students addressed crucial issues of mental health. “As a class, we

learned that there should be more aware ness and education around these topics,”

Mrs. McNally said.

Junior Arielle Bronstein discussed some of the media that was incorporated into the lesson: “We watched a Ted Talk about teen depression and talked about the stigmas surrounding discussions on mental health,” she said. “It was worth while.”

In the Science Department, the ju niors of Mr. Sabyasachi Rath’s Physics class made the Central gym their lab, as

Internships Resume at Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim

they learned about the concept of veloc ity by using toy cars, meter sticks, and stopwatches. They recorded the distance traveled by cars at different times, then graphed the data and analyzed their graphs to find the velocity of the toy cars.

And in Ms. Kayla Whitaker’s Amer ican Literature classes, juniors were charged with writing literary journal ism essays as their first major writing assignment of the year after having read Dave Eggers’ 2009 nonfiction work Zeitoun, which covers one man’s experi

ence during Hurricane Katrina. Essays ranged from first-hand accounts of sta dium concerts and summer work experi ences to interviews with family members and friends about political and social events. Junior Ora Nakhon praised the experience: “The literary journalism as signment was very interesting, fun, and enjoyable to write,” she said, “because I got to interview another individual and write about their experience as an en gaging story, while also adding my own perspective.”

Internships have resumed for the talmidim of Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim. Students spend time intern ing at businesses in different industries. Their work not only gives them an op portunity to build their resume but is a

hands-on approach to learn how a busi ness operates, as well as broadening their network of contacts. Some of the busi nesses that talmidim intern at are Wolf Phone Repairs, Warren Levi Martial Arts & Fitness, MOD Vascular, and CoJDS.

Over 200 girls from grades 1-8 at Shulamith came to Mrs. Farb man’s sukkah for a Simchat Beit Hashoeva. The girls were treated to Ri

ta’s ices, a personalized cookie, and got to fill their own bags at a candy bar. It was such a beautiful way to add simcha to the chag!

Eretz Hakodesh sponsored a sukkah and kiddush at the Rova, Jewish Quarter of Old City of Jerusalem, during the first two days of yom tov, welcoming all guests on their way back from davening at the Kosel

Shulamith Simchat Beit Hashoeva

Hershey Park Chol Hamoed Fun Assemblyman Ari Brown’s Listening Tour

Assemblyman Ari Brown (R -Ce darhurst) has just concluded his “Around Town with Assem blyman Ari Brown” listening tour. The assemblyman held office hours in Point Lookout, Island Park, Long Beach, Hewl ett, Oceanside, and Cedarhurst. His goal was to connect with constituents on a one-on-one basis, offer help from his of fice and discuss legislative initiatives and other important local issues.

“I have enjoyed every stop on the listening tour, and I have learned a great deal from the people who care about our community and that we have some important work ahead. It has been rewarding to meet one-on-one with my constituents to help resolve their issues,” said Brown. “Thank you to everyone who came to sit down with me and share their opinions and ideas. Although this tour has concluded for this year, I encourage residents to reach out any time to my office. My staff and I are eager to help.”

Brown would also like to thank the gracious host venues for the district tour: Point Lookout Deli Café, Central Perk Café in Cedarhurst, and the public libraries of Island Park, Long Beach, Hewlett-Woodmere and Oceanside. Constituents are welcome to contact Brown by emailing browna@ nyassembly.gov, calling 516-431-0500, or writing 525 Chestnut Street, Suite 103, Cedarhurst, NY 11516.

On October 13, over 600 Chai Lifeline children and families from across the New York, New Jersey/Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlan tic regions had a blast at a special Chol Hamoed Hershey Park event.

“A s a mom of a sick child who is regu larly in and out of the hospital and med ical appointments, family time can be a rarity,” said Sarah, a Chai Lifeline mom. “To have an exciting day at the park with a dedicated medical team onsite, meant my family and I could really enjoy Chol Hamoed in a way we usually cannot.”

In addition to all the usual rides and attractions, Chai Lifeline set up special surprise stations for families throughout the park. Each station was manned by volunteers who distributed gifts ranging

from cotton candy and snacks to ted dy bears and custom Chai Lifeline gear. Kids and adults alike had a great time exploring the park, collecting their sur prises, and meeting other Chai Lifeline families.

“It was really amazing to watch fam ilies spend time together and connect with one another,” said Faige Yudkovsky, Chai Lifeline director of volunteer ser vices. “These events provide a vital op portunity to bond in such a relaxed and supportive environment.”

Chai Lifeline is an international chil dren’s health support network providing social, emotional, and financial assis tance to children with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses and their families. To learn more, visit www.chailifeline.org.

In honor of Parshas Noach, the Gesher students were treated to an exciting reptile show with snakes, turtles, lizards, and more! The children had an opportunity to interact with all the reptiles and even hold them.

The children in HANC ECC were excited to learn about Parshat Noach. Not only did the yeladim create their own beautiful teivahs out of so many different mediums, they were treated to an exciting petting zoo and enjoyed yummy animal crackers.

Little Friends Gan of North Woodmere enjoyed a petting zoo for Parshas Noach

Rabbi Tzvi Krigsman, Menahel Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island, at a recent Kesivas Osiyos for a Hachnasas Sefer Torah in Lawrence

Around

JSL Juniors

This past Sunday, the boys contin ued to develop their skills in the JSL’s Juniors division and are showing tremendous improvement from the start of the season! In K/P Hockey, Yehuda Schwartz scored 2 goals and Ben ji Blumenthal made some amazing saves as goalie. In 1st Hockey, Yossi Efroymson of Built By Nate made 6 incredible saves in goal and Akiva Greenspan made some excellent defensive plays. In K/P Soccer, Aryeh Schwerd scored 2 goals for Simcha Day Camp in their victory over Gourmet Glatt. In 1st/2nd Football, KolSave and ARG played a very competitive, tight game. On the final drive, Shua Heimow itz caught the game-winning Touchdown to give KolSave the win! Avi Krigsman played an incredible game for WestWood Realty.

JSL Basketball League

3rd Grade: Solly Schattner of Maiden baum scored from 25 feet away. Eli Ali shayev and Game MVP Aharon Resnick led ARG to an 18-11 win, highlighted by an amazing fade-away jumper by Eli Al ishayev.

4th/5th Grade: Alpert Financial held off Carving Block 15-13 in an exciting game to the end. Max Edery hit 4 Free

Throws to seal the deal. Dovi Mlynsky played an excellent game for 925 Sterling.

6th-8th Grade: Wieder Orthodontics & 5 Towns Pediatric Dentistry put on an offensive show - scoring a combined 96 points! Wieder Orthodontics, led by Game MVP Yoni Schaffran, took home the win, 52-44. Paradigm defeated Five Towns Orthodontics 44-33.

JSL Hockey League

2nd/3rd Grade: JNT and Paradigm were locked up at 2-2 when Paradigm unleashed a scoring clinic, scoring 3 straight goals to win 5-2! Gavriel Levine put on a scoring clinic by himself for Posh Home + Bath, scoring 9 goals in a 9-6 victory!

4th/5th: Yosef Bryks was the hero for Town Appliance, scoring the winning goal in a shootout over Meat + Board in what was a great defensive game! Alp ert Financial defeated 5 Towns Pediatric Dentistry 6-2

6th-8th: Wieder Orthodontics shut out JNT 12-0 behind 25 saves from goal ie Ikey Fragin. Posh narrowly defeated Five Towns Central 2-1. Five Towns Or thodontics escaped with a 5-4 victory over BayRock Insurance.

JSL Men’s Basketball Game

of the Week

The Fall 2022 Men’s Basketball season held its season opener this past Sunday. Team Pip Printing led by Captain Effie Hoffman and 3-time MVP Yitzi Wieder are looking to win their 4th straight JSL Championship! John’s Auto played tough against the 3 time Champs, but PIP was able to hold on led by a great offensive performance from Zev Teitelbaum.

Game of the Week

Team Elegant Lawns was down 4-2 to Sharona Beck but scored 2 goals to tie it up at 4. The teams played exceptional defense for the remainder of the game

Aquarium Is a Labor of Love at Mercaz Academy

The fish are weaving dreamily among waving green fronds in the Mercaz Academy freshwater aquarium as Avinoam Biderman of Fish Tank Love cleans the tank. Three young students are watching him work with interest. These children are waiting for parents who are running late, but no one feels anxious or upset. They are calm, centered, patient.

“Molly and Roee Mordechai, who have three children enrolled at Mercaz Academy, contacted me last year to ask if we’d like a freshwater aquarium,” said Mercaz Academy principal Rabbi Kal man Fogel. “I said, ‘Of course!’ Aquar iums are an amazing educational tool, and I was excited to have one here, for so many reasons. They have been proven to lower anxiety; they’re very relaxing.”

Once the donation was made, Rabbi Fogel needed a metal stand that could support a 125-gallon tank.

“I thought of Lior Levi, a Mercaz par ent who is a master metalsmith and does

custom work. He immediately agreed and donated his time and materials to make us a beautiful custom stand,” said Rabbi Fogel. “Then the Mordechais put me in touch with Avinoam Biderman of Fish Tank Love.” Mr. Biderman, who lives in Plainview, performs all the professional maintenance a large tank like this one needs as a gift to Mercaz Academy.

The aquarium is frequently used by teachers. STEM teacher Liz Gonza les-Spagnuolo uses it for several different projects; last year, one of her classes de signed a planet for specific fish-based life forms, gathering inspiration by study ing the tank. Elizabeth Danziger, the art teacher, uses it to teach drawing from observation and distorted perspectives.

Esther Vaknin’s Nursery Alef students always come down for a visit when they feel overwhelmed during the school day, and never fail to return to class centered and smiling.

“Everyone loves the aquarium,” said Rabbi Fogel. “I sometimes come over

here myself. It’s very peaceful.”

Another little face pressed up against the glass. She’s been having a rough day, but now, as she chats about her favorite

Swag Alert

All Hockey participants received JSL sweatshirts courtesy of FM Home Loans. There were also sweat towels from Is land Roofing and water bottles from Five Towns Orthodontics. Lastly, the coaches received gift certificates and sweatshirts in appreciation for coaching their sons’ teams!

For more info about the league or to reg ister for Winter, check out 5tjsl.com.

fish and watches the bubbles at the top of the tank, you wouldn’t know. She is calm and engaged, ready to return to class for a new beginning.

and headed to a shootout. Shmuel Sitzer was the hero for Elegant Lawns, scoring in the shootout, which was his 3rd goal of the game!

SHS Sophomores Rocking It

By Libby Regensberg and Mia Kaplowitz

This past Motzei Shabbos, Shu lamith’s 10th grade rocked our rock climbing Melava Malka trip. As we reenter routine life and have a full sched ule of classes after the Tishrei marathon, it’s extra fun to share good times with friends outside of the classroom. On this unifying grade trip, students had the op portunity to be b’yachad outside of school in an exciting environment. Throughout the trip, you could hear students cheer ing on fellow classmates while they faced their fears, encouraging friends who are a little afraid of heights to climb higher than

they thought they would!

This fun-filled trip promoted student connection and gave us the chance to en joy a nice time away from our work.

YOSS Boys Work Together During STEM

Freddy the worm needed help, and Mrs. Lloyd’s fourth grade boys were there to rescue him! Freddy’s boat capsized, and the students had to work collaboratively to figure out how to save him. The students used their STEM skills to save Freddy. Some groups creat ed a life preserver using paper clips and candy mentos and were able to pull Fred dy out just in time! To make the project a bit more challenging, the students were not allowed to touch the worm or the life preserver. This challenge did not deter them from accomplishing the task.

All the boys know that a big part of working together is listening and re specting others’ ideas and opinions. We

are so proud of the boys for working to gether and saving Freddy. The boys are looking forward to solving more chal lenges in STEM.

MTA Back in Full Swing

Following the yom tov break, MTA is back in full swing. On Sunday morning, freshmen talmidim and their families attended the annual fresh men family breakfast. After a delicious breakfast buffet, families competed in an exciting panoply game that tested the knowledge of participants on a wide range of topics.

On Monday morning, seniors par ticipating in the Names Not Numbers program had the privilege of hearing from Mr. Jonah Kaplan, WCCO and CBS News Minnesota’s investigative report er, who has built a strong reputation for his balanced and in-depth coverage of high-impact issues including the econo my, immigration, education, public safe ty, and the military, among others. Jonah actually started in sports working behind the scenes with TV crews at YES Network and ESPN, but later made the switch to news in part to watch the games instead of work them! His work on-air has since appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN and MSNBC. Jonah is a two-time winner of the TV News Reporter of the Year award

from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) of the Carolinas, as well as a four-time Emmy nominee. He has conducted exclusive interviews with President Joe Biden, Vice Presi dent Kamala Harris, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and governors of several states, among others.

Mr. Kaplan gave the senior talmidim invaluable advice on interviewing as they prepare to interview Holocaust survi vors, and he reiterated the critical impor tance of this project.

Assemblymember Rosenthal Delivers Additional NYPD Vans for the

Assemblymember Daniel Rosen thal joined officers from the 107th Precinct this week for an unveiling of a brand-new police van for the New York Police Department ob tained through capital funding that As semblymember Rosenthal was able to secure has hit the streets to serve and protect the Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok and Fresh Meadows communities.

The $125,000 funding for new po lice vehicles, which Rosenthal secured within the State and Municipal Facilities (SAM) grant program, will help to alle viate the growing logistical demand for

the New York Police Department amid an alarming rise in crime to transport officers around the 107’s area of respon sibility.

“Precincts around the city are stretched to their operational limits,” said Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal (D-Kew Gardens Hills), “both in man power and logistically. While the brave men and women of the NYPD confront the crime epidemic that continues to af flict our city, I am proud to deliver this essential equipment for the 107 and its officers to better keep our families and communities safe.”

Parsha at Shulamith ECC

As Jews throughout the world roll the Torah back to the beginning, the children at Shulamith ECC are excited to learn Parashat Hashavua and explore and internalize all the beau tiful messages and information that each parsha contains. The Morot at Shulamith are experts at integrating Torah messag es throughout the day, not only at parsha time but as the children learn math and science and literacy as well.

Parashat Noach is the perfect time for an in-depth study of the amazing crea tures Hashem created. Beginning with the visit of a petting zoo, our young sci entists have the opportunity to examine real animals up close and personal. They feed, pet, count, groom, and even ride the animals as they ask the farmers myriad

questions. Back in the classroom, they peruse books about animals, sing about animals, and write books about animals. The children invite pets to visit and take the opportunity to find out more about the animal visitors to the classroom. The Pre-1A children conduct a research study to find out more about animals as they classify, graph, create representations of animals, and read and write about ani mals. Studying animals is a perfect way to target foundational skills in all the im portant curriculum areas.

Of course, the most important mes sage the Morot convey to their young charges as they teach Parashat Noach is that the keshet reassures us that Hash em always takes care of us and loves us so much.

Novominsk on Chumash

By Rabbi Yecheskel Ostreicher

Without the Torah, the world is an icy, cold, and threatening place. It is the Torah — the unique possession of Klal Yisrael — and the Divine message that it contains that melts the ice. The Torah warms the en tire atmosphere, the person who learns Torah, his family, and his home, and it sustains our lives with meaning and pur pose.

- From the Novominsker Rebbe’s ad dress at the Tenth Siyum HaShas of Daf HaYomi

Yes, thousands warmed themselves with the Torah of Rav Yaakov Perlow zt”l, the Novominsker Rebbe. He was a rebbe and rosh yeshivah. A leader of the world wide Torah community. A brilliant think er, gifted speaker and writer, a compas sionate guide and advisor to thousands, and, of course, an outstanding talmid chacham and gadol.

In a brand new volume, Novom insk on Chumash Vol. 1, published by ArtScroll/Mesorah, Rabbi Yecheskel Os treicher, a close talmid of Rav Perlow, has drawn upon the rebbe’s shiurim, speech es and writings to give us a rich and re warding understanding of the Torah the rebbe loved so much. In these pages, we find fascinating explanations of the words of Sefer Bereishis and Sefer She mos, inspiring vignettes about the reb be’s total devotion to Torah study and to every single Jew, as well as a selection of divrei Torah from geonim and gedolim of previous generations that the rebbe used to quote.

In these penetrating yet easy-to-read

explanations, we learn to better under stand the holy words of Torah – and, indeed, we will also better understand ourselves and our mission in life.

• • • • •

The following is an excerpt of a thought from the rebbe on Parashas No ach

Hashem smelled the pleasant aro ma... “I will not continue to curse again the ground because of man, since the imagery of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (8:21).

Rashi says in Parashas Vayikra (1:9) that “rei’ach nichoach” in reference to korbanos means nachas ruach, con tentment, for Hashem that His will was carried out. Interestingly, Rashi does not explain these words here. Why is that?

Furthermore, the second half of the pasuk , which describes man as evil from his youth, is puzzling. Why is the fact that man has evil in him from when he is born a reason that Hashem will not destroy the world? Shouldn’t that be a reason why man should be con demned?

The answer, says the Ramban, is that Hashem had found a justification for man’s evil behavior. The korban that No ach brought had an immense impact in Heaven, awakening rachmanus, mercy, on man. The korban demonstrated that although man sins often, there is still reason to allow him to exist. Even with all the problems of man, there is a “silver lining.”

Prior to the Mabul, Hashem said of the inhabitants of the world that they were rak ra kol hayom, [nothing] but evil always (Bereishis 6:5). However, when

Noach brought the korban, he caused a change in Shamayim. He caused Hash em to say that the world is in truth re deemable, despite all the evil that people do. Noach’s korban served not as a source of contentment, like a regular korban, but as appeasement for the evil actions of mankind. That is why Rashi does not explain the meaning of rei’ach nichoach in this parashah.

The Baal HaTurim cites a mesorah that the phrase vayorach es rei’ach ap pears in two places: here, and again when Yaakov came to receive Yitzchak’s bless ing: Vayorach es reiach bekadav, He smelled the fragrance of his garments (Bereishis 27:27). The Baal HaTurim adds that Chazal (Sanhedrin 37a) read this pasuk as rei’ach bogdov, the fra grance of His betrayers; Yitzchak smelled the fragrance of those who would betray Him. This teaches that even the evil sin ners of Klal Yisrael have some good in them, which brings contentment to Hashem.

Why is this remez written specifically here? It is because just as the korban of

Noach brought Hashem happiness, so to speak, despite all the sin and destruction that had just taken place, so are the sin ners of Klal Yisrael redeemable through their positive actions, even if few and far between.

Voice N tes

10 Years Since Hurricane Sandy One Community, Still United

By Boruch Ber Bender

It is both fascinating and humbling to reflect on the ten-year anniversa ry of Hurricane Sandy. What a scary, overwhelming, and surreal period of time which many of us will never forget.

First and foremost, I must recognize the most selfless group of colleagues whom I have been incredibly lucky to work with. The Achiezer team, volunteers and board of Directors – you worked days and nights, Shabbos and weekday. You walked through floodwaters and debris. You gave up your Shabbosim, your time and your families. You answered thousands of calls and carried huge responsibility upon your shoulders. Our community was and is for ever in your debt.

I’d like to mention something which I think many people aren’t aware of. Peo ple often ask, “How did Achiezer mobilize so quickly? How did you have this many volunteers? Where did you come from? Wasn’t Achiezer created after Sandy?”

I want to humbly suggest that Achiezer was a “refuah lifnei hama’akah.” Achiezer Community Resource Center was formed in 2008 after a group of community mem bers felt it prudent that there be a single point of contact in times of crisis for our community. This was four years before Hurricane Sandy hit. Little did we know that the test of our lifetimes was lurking

just a few short years later. Little did we know that the Achiezer mission would end up serving as a beacon of hope, life, support and relief to so many suffering community members.

The dedication, sacrifice, sweat, sleep less nights and pure sense of giving that permeated our community ten years ago was simply something that was “other worldly.” I will probably leave someone out so I ask forgiveness from anyone in advertently omitted, but there were sever al groups and individuals without whom we would not have survived this difficult time: Rabbi Yehiel Kalish who has become a lifelong friend and remains an active participant of the Achiezer Board. Mr. Phil Goldfeder who truly rose to the occasion during our dark hour. Rabbi Dovid Green

blatt and the CAF Board. Asher and Ettie Schoor and Nivneh. The heroic Chevra of my fellow Hatzalah members. Chasdei Lev. Sh’or Yoshuv, the White Shul, Chabad, and the Young Israel of Woodmere. The JCCRP and RNSP. The selfless men and women of both the NYPD and the NCPD. Each and every one of you played a pivotal role and were a critical partner in ensuring that we were all there for as many commu nity members as possible.

it together – both sides of the 878, frum or not frum, wealthy or no means at all. In a way, Sandy was a wakeup call of what life is about – a reminder that we are no better and no different than the guy next to us, in front of us or behind us.

So many lessons were learned, and we carry those lessons with us until this very day. Collaboration, teamwork, comradery and a true sense of caring about others are all lessons that have stayed with us. Hurri cane Sandy floodwaters did not discrimi nate. They didn’t choose one house or one person over another. We all went through

There is one particular moment that is engrained in our minds forever. It was an Erev Shabbos in the early aftermath, when the power was still out. The town was dark, and the mood even darker. Resources were scarce, and everything and everyone was tapped out. People were preparing to head to shul in the total darkness. Generators, gas and light towers were all out. Achiezer reached out in desperation to the Depart ment of Homeland Security with the help of the venerable Matis Melnicke. Within less than an hour, a large, 18-wheeler truck came rattling through town, schlepping large “glamorous” light towers. Literally, a beacon of light in the darkness. Critical intersections were suddenly flooded with light. A glimmer of hope. A glimmer of Shabbos.

We are ten years post-Sandy, but the hope, dream, and vision that we stay unit ed continues to burn bright. Let us dav en that we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder, helping one another. We must never forget that our nation is one and our community is second to none.

In a way, Sandy was a wakeup call of what life is about – a reminder that we are no better and no different than the guy next to us, in front of us or behind us.

TJH Centerfold

Philadelphia: Many Firsts and a Second

If the Liberty Bell rang, it would be in E-flat. (Sorry every Jewish guitar player only knows A-minor and E-minor)

On the Liberty Bell, Pennsylvania is spelled with only one “n.” When the bell was create,d this was an acceptable form of spelling Pennsylvania. (The bell is also cracked and plays in E-flat…would never get a shidduch in the real world!)

The first American piano was built and kept in Philadelphia, in 1775. (Strange because my grand mother’s piano definitely looks older than that, es pecially with the sewing needle tomato jabby thing prominently placed on top of it.)

Philadelphia is said to be the most haunted city in the U.S. with the highest density of haunted hous es. (I guess that’s another reason to be scared of Philly.)

25% of the U.S. population lives within 5 hours of Philadelphia. (That means that at least 75% of the

population doesn’t have to put up with Phillies fans!)

In 1988, the largest cheesesteak was made in Phil adelphia; it was the length of a football field. (Not sure what the big deal is…that’s such a big sand wich?!)

Founded in 1809, the Walnut Street Theatre is America’s oldest theater. It was once owned by Ed win Booth, John Wilkes Booth’s brother. (Sounds like a lovely place to take in a show…if you have a bulletproof vest.)

Philadelphia is home to the first flag, bank, library, stock exchange, U.S. Mint, library, stock exchange, volunteer fire station, the world’s first pizza muse um, and the first soft pretzel. (This list was written in reverse order of importance.)

Of the 100 questions on the U.S. citizenship test study guide, half of the answers can be found in Philadelphia. (And 100% of them can be found on Google!)

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

Two Phillies fans are in Houston for the World Series. They are walking down the street and see a sign on a store that says, “Suits $5.99 each, shirts $1.99 each, trousers $2.49 each.”

They are amazed at the low prices in Texas and decide to buy out the place and sell the items to their buddies in Philadelphia. Since they don’t want the storeowner to know they are Philly fans, they put on their best Texas drawl and walk into the store.

“I’ll take 50 of them suits at $5.99,” one of the guys

says. “100 of them there shirts at $1.99, 50 pairs of them there trousers at $2.39. I’ll back up my pickup and....”

The owner of the shop interrupts, “Y’all from Philly, ain’t ya?”

“Well...yeah,” replies the surprised Phillies fan. “How come y’all knowed that?”

The store owner replies, “Because this is a dry cleaners.”

Houston Astros Trivia

The Astros are making their sixth World Series appearance this year against the Phillies. (Go Astros! Wait, I don’t like them. Go Phillies! Wait, I don’t like them! Go really long blackouts in both stadiums!)

1. How many times have they won the Championship (not including this year)?

a. 1

2

4

2. What was the first name of the Houston Astros?

a. Texas Boots

Houston Slickers

Colt .45s

Houston Astros

3. How tall is Houston 2nd baseman Jose Altuve?

a. 5’ 6”

5’ 10”

6’ 2”

6’ 6”

4. Where do the Houston Astros play?

a. Astrodome

Minute Maid Park

AT&T Stadium

Tootsie Roll Arena

5. During the 2017 and 2018 season, the Houston Astros had a system in which they would steal the signs of opposing teams, meaning they figured out what type of pitch the opposing pitcher was about to throw and notified the batter at the plate. After a widespread investigation by the MLB, what was one of

the methods that was used to let the batter know what pitch he was about to get?

a. The scoreboard would light up with fake fireworks

b. Someone would bang on a garbage can

c. The PC Richards whistle would be blasted in the stadium

d. The PA system would play a specific song

6. Houston Astro Bob Watson scored the 1,000,000th run in MLB history, on May 4, 1975. Aside for $10,000, what else did he get for it?

a. $1,000,000

b. A trip to Disney World

c. A signed Babe Ruth jersey d. 1,000,000 Tootsie Rolls

Answers:

D - Recalling that moment, Watson later said that everyone knew going into the game that the MLB was 10 runs shy of 1 million runs. By the time the game was in the second inning, the scoreboard showed that

the MLB was now only 3 runs shy. Watson got on base. A few minutes later, his teammate Milt May hit a home run. Watson was casually jogging toward third base when his teammates in the dugout began frantically yelling, “Run! Run! Run!” He charged to home plate, and he became the millionth run in MLB history. He had not realized that in other games two more runs had scored and that at the very same time that he was jogging towards home plate, Dave Concepcion of the Cincinnati Reds hit a home run and was racing around the bases to try and be the millionth run as well. Watson beat Concepcion by 1½ seconds. As a result, he was awarded $10,000 in pennies (one million pennies) and 1,000,000 Tootsie Rolls, which he donated – half to the Boy Scouts and half to the Girl Scouts.

Wisdom Key:

5-6 correct: Amazing! I’d give you my 300,000 Tootsie Rolls that I bought on eBay from the Scouts of America, but I just can’t live without them.

2-4 correct: Not bad; now try this trivia again with someone banging on a garbage can in your ear – maybe it will help you get some more hits.

1-0 correct: You ate one too many Tootsie Rolls.

Torah Thought

Parshas Noach

By Rabbi Berel Wein

The greater a person is or believes he or she is, the smaller the room for error in one’s life decisions. Had Noach been merely Mr. Noach, his choice of beginning the world again with a vineyard and wine would have been ac ceptable and even understandable. After all, the trauma of the destruction of so

many human beings in the waters of the Great Flood required some sort of release of tension and an escape mechanism. But he was not just plain Noach when the L-rd commanded him to build his ark and re start humanity.

He was Noach, the righteous man of his generation, the person who repre

sented goodness and service to G-d and humanity. He was special, an exalted person who overcame the influences of a wicked and dissolute society and with stood its ridicule and insults. A person of such noble character and pious nature should not begin the rebuilding of human society with vineyards and wine. It sent the wrong message to his progeny and through them to all later generations as well.

Holy people are to be held to holy

should not be found drunk and dishev eled in his tent, an inviting figure for the debauchery of his own offspring. The fail ure of greatness is depressing. As King Solomon put it: “If the flame has con sumed the great cedars, then what else can be the fate of the hyssop of the wall?”

Greatness carries with it enormous burdens and fateful consequences. As we pride ourselves on being the “chosen people,” we are held by Heaven to behave and live our lives as being a chosen peo

standards of behavior and endeavor. There are no one-size-fits-all in ethical and moral standards of behavior. The rabbis of Midrash taught us that with a greater human capacity for holiness, there is a commensurate capacity for dis solute behavior as well.

The Talmud states that it is the schol arly righteous who have the strongest evil inclination within them. The responsibil ity for spiritual greatness is commensu rate with the capacity for the holy great ness of each individual person. This is why Noach finds himself criticized by Midrash, and later Jewish biblical com mentators, in spite of the Torah’s glowing compliments paid to him in its initial de scription.

A person of the stature of Noach

ple. Wine and drunkenness will not suf fice for a nation that is destined to be a be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, a special people.

Burdened by this greatness the Jew ish people have fallen short of the mark numerous times in our history. But we have always risen again to attempt to fulfill our destiny and realize our poten tial. It is this characteristic of resilience, inherited from our father Abraham, that has been the key to our survival. We have constantly dealt with great ideas and is sues. Drunkenness, whether physical or spiritual, has never been a trait of Jewish society. We are aware of the story and fate of Noach, but we pursue the greatness of Abraham as our goal in life.

Shabbat shalom.

Greatness carries with it enormous burdens and fateful consequences.

From the Fire

Parshas Noach

Surviving This Year’s Flood

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

As we journey through the months of the year, we find mitzvos that are connected to each month and each holiday. The month of Mar Chesh van seems to be an exception. There is very little mentioned about this month in the seforim. What, then, is the unique spiritual service of this month?

The Zohar HaKadosh comments that there is one specific mitzvah that appears to be a passing event in Parshas Noach, but, in reality, is a mitzvah for all gen erations. This mitzvah is found in when Hashem told Noach, “Come into the tai va [ark], you and all of your household” (Bereishis 7:1).

According to one widely accept ed opinion among the Kabbalists, the month of Mar Cheshvan is a time desig nated for flooding, and the most intense flooding in Noach’s time occurred during this month.

I, myself, prefer air travel to arks or boats. Aside from occasional row-boat ing on the lake with my family, I prefer

to avoid these types of activities. Never theless, it behooves us to explore how we can perform the mitzvah of “come into the taiva, you and all of your household” in the times we live in now.

Our rabbis teach us that the mitz vah of “teshuva (repentance) preceded the creation of the world” (Midrash Te hillim Ch. 90). The Rashbah (Siman 9) and other commentaries have difficulty accepting this statement at face value.

How can one discuss chronology before the creation of time itself which began with the word “Bereishis”?

There are other similar comments in the Gemara that refer to creations that occurred before the creation of the world. For example, the Gemara states, “The To rah was hidden away 974 generations… before the world was created” (Shabbos 88b). The usual explanation offered in mussar seforim for this phenomenon is based on the Gemara (and other sources) which states, “Reish Lakish said: Hashem does not afflict Yisroel unless He creates

the cure first” (Megilla 13b). If we apply this principle to the statement regarding teshuva, one could posit that Hashem knew that the world would begin coming apart when people sin. He therefore pre empted this by creating the teshuva pro cess. This explanation does not adequate ly answer the question, and I believe our sages never used this explanation with regard to teshuva.

A deeper explanation involves rede fining the meaning of the word teshuva. While it is conventionally translated as repentance, this definition is just a small portion of the totality of teshuva. When the Gemara uses the term “preceded” to describe teshuva, it is not simply de scribing a chronological event but refers to the purpose and goal of creation. In other words, teshuva is the objective and purpose of Creation. How can understand this more clearly?

When the world was created, there was a separation between Hashem and His creations. The soul was separated

from its source and implanted into a body. The purpose of teshuva is to return the creations to Hashem and to a state of “closeness to G-d is my good” (Tehillim 73:28).

It is understood that a natural conse quence of returning to Hashem involves removing obstructions that are in the way, including sin. If a husband was, G-d forbid, unfaithful to his wife and she is willing to give him a second chance, he must change his lifestyle and stop do ing the destructive actions that were an obstruction to his relationship with his wife. The goal is to return to his wife and the means to this end is entering into a “clean” reality. Similarly, regarding te shuva, the inner meaning is to return. In the process of returning, we remove the obstructions of sin and enter a clean reality.

Let us return to the taiva of Noach. The Ramban points out that any boat maker knows that the dimensions and shape of the taiva do not describe a sea

worthy vessel. The Torah delves into the details of its dimensions, in an unusual way, similar only to the descriptions of the dimensions of the Mishkan and Bais Hamikdash. Superficially, it seems that the purpose of the taiva was to rescue a family from a flood. But there are many other ways Hashem could have saved them. The taiva was certainly a means to save a family from a flood but this was not its main goal and purpose.

To understand the ultimate purpose of the taiva, we must know more about the flood in the time of Noach. The Zohar HaKadosh tells us that the flood that ap peared as water but was actually a flood of impurity. The pasuk states, “And it [the Flood] blotted out all beings that were upon the face of the earth” (Bere ishis 7:23), meaning, a torrential down pour of impurity was unleashed into the world and it destroyed all of creation, except for those who found refuge in the taiva.

Ramchal explains that Hashem re vealed something Noach called “the taiva of Noach” that would serve as a barrier between the impurity that was destroying the world and Noach and his family. We do not understand how this physical structure served as a protection, just as we cannot understand all of the benefits the Bais Hamikdash brought to the world.

The taiva was clean reality and “Hashem shut him in” (Bereishis 7:16). Hashem closed and locked Noach and his family inside the taiva so that they would remain untouched by impurity.

When the Zohar tells us that the mitzvah of “come into the taiva , you and all of your household” is a mitzvah for every generation, it does not mean physically entering a boat. Even with regard to Noach, his physical protec tion was simply a natural consequence of being sealed in the spiritual world of the taiva. This bears a great similarity to entering the world of teshuva. Once one enters this world and establishes a true and deep relationship with Hashem, sin naturally becomes irrelevant. So how does the mitzvah of “come into the taiva, you and all of your household” apply for all generations?

There is a custom in German Jew ish communities that when reciting the blessing for the new month, they use a melody that is relevant to the holidays contained in that month. For example, they sing the blessing during the month of Adar to the tune of Megillas Esther and they sing the blessing for the month of Av to the tune of the lamentation

“Mourners of Zion.” What tune is used for the month of Mar Cheshvan? The niggun (tune) that is used while study ing the Gemara.

Surviving the Flood

The Baal Shem Tov teaches that the word “ark – taiva” can also be translated as “word,” referring to a Jew’s words of Torah and prayer. Based on the pasuk , “In the six hundredth year in the life of Noach…all the wellsprings of the great deep burst open, and the windows of Heaven were opened” (Bereishis 7:11), the Zohar states, “In the 600 th year of the sixth millennium, the gates of su pernal wisdom will be opened as will the springs of earthly wisdom” (I Zo

he is causing to the chair, how could he approach Torah in this manner? Similar ly, I have observed people walking with their hands in their pockets during dav ening or sitting with their feet crossed as if reading the Wall Street Journal . While we may have lost some of our sen sitivities over time, we must realize the importance of entering into the spiritual taiva with our entire being.

This applies whether one is studying Torah full-time or working. If a person is living in the world of the taiva, it will not occur to him to bring a phone into the beis midrash. He does not refrain from doing so because of fear that his teacher will penalize him but because he exists in a place of purity. To avoid drowning, a

of Shabbos. But the messengers report ed back the unfortunate news that the wagon driver had also died, most likely as a result of the strenuous journey. The Chiddushei HaRim was distraught and did not conduct himself regularly the en tire Shabbos. At the conclusion of Shab bos, he locked himself in a room, and the chassidim could hear him screaming and crying. Finally, he emerged with a smile on his face. He offered the following ex planation:

har 117a). Indeed, the 56th century from Creation corresponds with the peri od beginning in the mid-1700’s in the secular calendar. During these years, a confusing flood of information, both pure and impure, entered the world. To counteract the flood of impurity, Hashem revealed more openly the wisdom of the inner world of Torah, as personified by the Baal Shem Tov, the Vilna Gaon, and others.

We are living in a time of great flooding. If one disagrees with this, it is probably because he or she has already drowned. If one care about holiness, he realizes how we must struggle to keep our heads above the water of impurities that surround us. A person who desires sanctity must enter into the taiva , the words of Torah and prayer, with every fiber of his being. This translates into coming to study Torah on time and put ting one’s soul into the learning. At the end of time, the only way that we can hope to achieve “closeness to G-d is my good” is by sealing our hearts, minds, and souls into the taiva.

My Rebbe, Rav Dovid Lifschitz zt”l, was one of the happiest and most loving people I have ever met, but there were certain things he could not tolerate. He could not understand how a person could lean back and tilt his chair while studying Torah, as if he were watching a baseball game. Putting aside the damage

person must delve deeply into the inner Torah. If he sticks his head out of the tai va for a minute, he is finished.

The World of Illusion

One wintry Friday, the Chiddushei HaRim (Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, founder of the Gerrer Chassidic dynas ty, zy”a) once had a tremendous desire to go to Kotzk to be with the Kotzker Rebbe for Shabbos. After much effort, he found a simple Jewish wagon driver (who was not particularly mitzvah-observant) willing to take him, but the wagon driver did not appear healthy, and neither did his horses. They began the difficult jour ney and soon a heavy snow began to fall. The Chiddushei HaRim tried to dissuade the driver from continuing, offering to stop in a nearby town for Shabbos. The wagon driver refused to be deterred, and he pushed his horses to go even faster. Suddenly, one of the horses collapsed and died.

The wagon driver persisted in con tinuing the journey to Kotzk despite the Chiddushei HaRim’s protestations. They arrived in Kotzk just before candle-light ing, and immediately the other horse col lapsed and died. The Chiddushei HaRim gave the wagon driver a hug, thanked him, and ran to the mikvah and to pray. He sent a group of chassidim to assure the wagon driver that he would purchase two new horses for him at the conclusion

When the wagon driver passed on to the Next World, there was a judgement against him in the Heavens because of his many sins, stating that he was de serving of Gehinom. At that moment, a great defending angel stood up and pro claimed, “How can we allow this Jew to go to Gehinom when he gave up his life to bring a tzaddik to Kotzk?” There was a big tumult in heaven and finally it was decided not to send him to Gehinom However, because of his sins, he could not be allowed into Gan Eden either. Instead. he was relegated to the “World of Illusion” where he would continuous ly imagine himself as a wagon driver in Poland, driving his customers on a beau tiful sunny day, in a handsome wagon, with four fine horses. This scene would continue for eternity, and he would not realize that he was in the World of Illu sion. The Chiddushei HaRim could not leave this Jew in such a sorry state for all eternity, and he stormed the Heav ens on his behalf until the man realized the false nature of the world in which he found himself and begged for whatever atonement would be necessary to bring him into Gan Eden

Entering into the taiva is the only way to avoid the World Illusion that exists in our day. These delusions and fantasies may present as driving a nice car, elaborate vacations etc., popular en tertainment, professional prestige and success, or an infinite number of varia tions on the wagon driver’s smooth Pol ish highway. The average Jew does not understand his purpose in this world. Closeness and attachment to Hashem is our purpose and anything that prevents this is “the Flood.”

May each of be blessed to sing the niggun of Torah and prayer, not only in the month of Mar Chesh van, but throughout our lives.

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the found ing Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Ko desh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.

Entering into the taiva is the only way to avoid the World Illusion that exists in our day.

Self-Mastery Academy

The Deeper Purpose of Torah Wisdom

By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

As we begin the new Torah cycle, let’s take a moment to contem plate the deeper purpose of To rah. Some may refer to the Torah as a history book; others may think of it as a book of law or a source of Jewish wis dom. While these are all true, they only scratch the surface of the Torah’s true nature. Torah is not simply a guide to living a life of truth within this world; it is the blueprint and DNA of the world itself. Our physical world is a projection and emanation of the deep spiritual re ality described in the Torah. This is the meaning behind the famous Midrash, “Istakel b’Oraisa u’bara alma – [Hash em] looked into the Torah and used it to create the world.” (Bereishis Rabbah 1:1). Torah is the spiritual root of existence; the physical world is its expression. Imagine a projector: the image that you see on the screen emanates from

the film in the projector so that every thing you see on the screen is simply an expression of what’s contained within the film. So too, every single thing that we see and experience in the physical world stems from the spiritual root — the transcendent dimension of Torah.

To illustrate further, the trees you see outside originally stemmed from a sin gle seed. Similarly, each and every one of us originated from a zygote, half a male and half a female genetic code.

From that single cell ultimately mani fested a fully developed and expressed human being. You are the expression of your original seed, just like the world is the expression of its original seed and root — the Torah. Thus, the world in which we live is an avenue to the spiri tual; we can access the spiritual, tran scendent world through the physical world because the two are intimately

and intrinsically connected.

To relate to this concept, think of the way in which other human beings expe rience and understand you. All they can see of you is your physical body. They cannot see your thoughts, your con sciousness, your emotions, or your soul. All they can see are your actions, words, facial expressions, and body language, i.e., the ways in which you express your self within the world. They cannot see your inner world, but they can access it through the outer expressions that you project. The same is true regard ing human beings trying to experience Hashem and the spiritual. We cannot see the spiritual; we cannot see what is ethereal and transcendent, only that which is physical. However, we can use the physical to access the spiritual; we can study the Torah’s expression in this world to understand its spiritual root.

To fully grasp the depth of this con cept, we must understand the nature and purpose of a mashal. A mashal is an analogy, an example one gives in order to explain an abstract, conceptual idea to one who does not yet understand it. If a teacher wants to share a deep princi ple with his or her students, they might share a story or analogy that depicts the idea through a more relatable medium. While the mashal does not fully convey the idea itself, it leads the listener to ward it, aiding him or her in the process of understanding. Deep ideas cannot be taught, as they are beyond words. They can only be hinted to and talked about The job of the teacher is to guide the student toward the idea until the idea falls into the student’s mind with clear understanding. A mashal serves as a guiding force in this process, leading the student toward an understanding

of that which defies simple explanation.

This process itself can be understood through a mashal . You cannot teach someone how to ride a bike. You can only help them, holding on while they practice, and perhaps showing them an example of how it is done. Ultimately, though, you must let go, and the stu dent will have to learn how to ride in dependently. (This is a mashal to help explain the concept of a mashal. Think about that.) Once you learn how to ride a bike, it’s hard to imagine not being able to ride one. We often can’t understand what took us so long to learn. Yet, de spite the fact that we now know how to ride a bike, we will not be able to explain how to ride a bike to someone else. It is simply beyond words.

A mashal is the only tool a teacher can use to teach spiritual truths; the learning and understanding must be done within the inner mind of the stu dent. If this is true, how can we relate to and understand the spiritual world? We cannot see, touch, or feel the spiritual. Thus, if all learning occurs through the use of analogy, what mashal did Hashem give us to help us access spiritual truths?

The ultimate mashal is the world itself. The physical world guides us

toward deeper, spiritual truths. Ev erything in this world is a mashal — a tool guiding us toward a deeper reality. Every physical object, every emotional phenomenon, every experience in this world is part of a grand mashal leading us toward the root of all existence. With

as an accessible and inspiring gateway into deeper Jewish wisdom, living a life of higher truth, and achieving your ul timate purpose. It is organized accord ing to the weekly parsha, providing a consistent for learning and spiritual growth. The ideas in this sefer are root

and action. I can’t wait to embark on this journey with you as we continue journeying to our ultimate selves!

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman is the author of the bestselling book, “The Journey to Your Ul timate Self,” which serves as an inspiring gateway into deeper Jewish thought. He is an educator and speaker who has lectured internationally on topics of Torah thought, Jewish medical ethics, psychology, and leadership. He is also the founder and CEO of Self-Mastery Academy, the transforma tive online self-development course based on the principles of high-performance psychol ogy and Torah.

the Torah as our guide and teacher, we can navigate the physical world and un derstand how to trace ourselves back to our ultimate Source, Hashem.

And as we begin the new parsha cycle, I invite you to get a copy of my parsha sefer, “The Journey to Your Ul timate Self,” and take this journey with me into the deepest and most inspiring ideas of Torah thought. This sefer serves

ed in the full range of Torah wisdom, spanning Tanach, Gemara, Midrashim, and the writings of classical Jewish thinkers, including the Maharal, Ram chal, Nefesh Ha’Chaim, R’ Tzadok, and Sfas Emes. And each chapter concludes with a summary to help you remember the main concepts and ideas, as well as action points and discussion questions to help close the gap between intellect

After obtaining his BA from Yeshiva Uni versity, he received Semicha from Yeshiva University’s RIETS, a master’s degree in ed ucation from Azrieli Graduate School, and a master’s degree in Jewish Thought from Bernard Revel Graduate School. He then spent a year studying at Harvard as an Ivy Plus Scholar. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife and son where he is pursuing a PhD at the University of Chicago.

To invite Rabbi Reichman to speak in your community or to enjoy more of his deep and inspiring content, visit his web site: ShmuelReichman.com.

With the Torah as our guide and teacher, we can navigate the physical world and understand how to trace ourselves back to our ultimate Source, Hashem.

Delving into the Daf Can a Kohen Go to a Tzaddik’s Funeral?

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

The great Rishon Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen once remarked that had he already been born when Rab beinu Tam passed away, he would have become tamei and gone to his funeral. (Kesubos 103b, Tosfos D”H Oso) Granted, Rabbeinu Tam was a great tzaddik and talmid chacham, but Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen was, in fact, a kohen. How could he come in close proximity to a meis? Ko hanim are enjoined against becoming ta mei even nowadays.

Apparently, Rabbeinu Chaim HaKo hen felt that since Rabbeinu Tam was the greatest sage of his generation, kohanim could attend his funeral. Still, the exact reasoning needs explanation.

As an aside, it is interesting to note that Rabbeinu Tam’s piety is universally recognized by his very name. Most Ris honim are referred to by their first name with the honorific Rabbeinu appended to it. Other Rishonim are known by their acronyms. Rabbeinu Yaakov, on the oth er hand, is referred to as Rabbeinu Tam. The Torah describes Yaakov Avinu as “Ish tam,” and that title was applied by the populace to Rabbeinu Yaakov, who for generations has been called Rabbe inu Tam.

Rav Yaakov Dov Biederman of Viseg rad, in his commentary to the Toras Kohanim, writes that it was revealed to him in a dream that there is another rea son why Rabbeinu Yaakov ben Meir, the grandson of Rashi, was destined to be known as “Rabbeinu Tam.” He institut ed that a bride’s dowry should return to the father if the daughter dies within the first year of marriage. Consequently, the curse of “v’tam la’rik kochachem – your strength will be used up in vain” no lon ger applied. The Toras Kohanim explains that this curse – that a man will marry off his daughter with a very large dowry and his daughter will die even before the end of the sheva brachos – means that a

father would then be totally bereft – of his daughter and his funds. But after Rabbe inu Tam’s ruling, if a kallah died during sheva brachos, her dowry would go back to her father and he could attempt to piece his life back together. Since Rabbe inu Yaakov’s enactment voided the curse of “v’tam la’rik kochachem” he was des tined to be called “Rabbeinu Tam.”

Why did Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen feel it would have been permitted for him to attend Rabbeinu Tam’s funeral and become tamei meis? The Gemara says that on the day that Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi passed away, kedushah was an nulled. Tosfos understand it to mean that Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi distanced himself from promiscuity to a degree that no one who lives after him will achieve. Howev er, Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen says that a precise reading of the Gemara leads to a different interpretation. Why does the Gemara say “on that day” sanctity was annulled? The Gemara should instead say “from that day on” sanctity was annulled. It must be that there was something spe cial about the particular day that Rebbe

died. What was it? On that day, the rabbis permitted kohanim to attend the funeral of Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi.

Why would there be a permit to attend the funeral of a leader? One possible idea offered is that tzaddikim don’t generate tumah after they die. That would also ex plain how Eliyahu HaNavi, a kohen, was able to bury Rebbe Akiva. However, Reb be Shlomo Kluger disagrees with this the ory. Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen based his novel interpretation on the fact that it was only on that particular day that sanctity was annulled. If it was true that tzaddi kim don’t generate tumah after they die, it would be permitted for a kohen to visit the grave of a tzaddik forever and not only on that day. Hence, the allowance would be forever. Therefore, there must be a different reason for the permission for a kohen to attend the funeral of a tzaddik. The Ran suggests that it is based on the permit for a kohen to defile himself to bury a meis mitzvah, a person who has no one to bury him.

In fact, that is why Eliyahu HaNa vi was permitted to bury Rebbe Akiva.

Since Rebbe Akiva was killed by the Ro man government, the populace thought it would be deemed an act of rebellion to bury him. Hence, no one wanted to bury him. It was a bona fide situation of meis mitzvah. So too, the Ran argues, a tzaddik can never have enough people attending his funeral. Everyone should attend. So for every kohen, the tzaddik is considered a meis mitzvah, since ev ery attendee performs a unique function and is required to attend; no one else can substitute and do that person’s mitzvah. However, as mentioned earlier, Tosfos disagree and say that kohanim may not defile themselves to attend a funeral of a tzaddik. Although, Rabbeinu Yitzchak opines that the Talmud Yerushalmi did permit kohanim to defile themselves with Rabbinic forms of impurity on the day that Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi died. (An example of a rabbinic form of impurity is walking through a beis haperas, a field that once contained a grave.)

The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch writes, “There are those ignorant kohanim who are accustomed to visit the graves of tzad dikim. It is a mistake, and one needs to adjure them not to.” Likewise, the Divrei Yoel, while he was visiting Meron, would tell kohanim not to enter the building where Rebbe Shimon and his son are buried. Similarly, it seems from Rabbeinu Chaim HaKohen’s statement that he never actually used the permit he promulgated. He was just discussing a hypothetical sit uation if Rabbeinu Tam had lived in his lifetime.

Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow is a rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. In addition, Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hemp stead, NY. He can be contacted at ASebrow@ gmail.com.

Jewish History

Nimrod’s Place in History

By Eliyahu Rayvych

The Torah mentions Nimrod in Bere ishit 10:8-12. He is described as the descendent of Cush, as “a first mighty one in the land” and “a mighty con queror before Hashem.” Based just on this information, it would be almost impossible to identify Nimrod as a historical figure. But then, the Torah gives us some histori cal context which makes this task possible:

“The beginning of his [Nimrod’s] king dom was Babel, and Erech, and Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land, [he] went forth [to] Assyria, and built Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.” (Bereishit 10:10-12)

Ramban writes in his commentary that Nimrod was the first monarch to rule over other people by force, and he vanquished the people of Babylon until he reigned over them. And after this he went forth to As syria, building fortified cities there through his power and might. Therefore, the land of Assyria is sometimes called “the land of Nimrod,” as it is said, “And they will pound the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its gateways.” (Micah 5:5). The land of Nimrod refers to Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir and Calah and Resen, the cit ies that Nimrod built in Assyria.

Interestingly enough, the modern name of the ancient Assyrian city Kalhu/Calah in Iraq is Nimrud. However, no king named Nimrod or with a similar name appears anywhere on any pre-biblical Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, or Babylonian king list, nor does the name Nimrod appear in any other writings from Mesopotamia itself in any context. So, who was then a histor ical Nimrod?

While many cities on Nimrod’s list had histories spanning literally thousands of years, the royal city of Akkad is unique. It had a very short known history of about 200 years. It was first attested to around 2350 BCE. Then it became a glorious cap ital of the Akkadian Empire (2334 - 2154 BCE), only to be utterly destroyed by the barbaric Gutians. Its ruins were never found.

In fact, before the decipherment of cu neiform in the 19th century, Akkad was known only from a single reference in … the Torah. Currently, there are 160 known mentions of Akkad in the extant cuneiform corpus. Based on these facts, we can nar row down our search to the rise and fall of the first known empire in world history, the Akkadian Empire, and its legendary found er, Sargon of Akkad.

Sumerians and the Land of Shinar Sumer (Shumeru in Akkadian) is the earliest known civilization in the histori cal region of southern Mesopotamia (now southern Iraq). It is also one of the first civilizations in the world, along with an cient Egypt, the Indus Valley civilization, the Minoan civilization, and ancient China.

Living along the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, Sumerian farmers grew an abundance of grain and other crops, the surplus from which enabled them to form urban settlements. Proto-writing dates back before 3000 BCE. The term “Sumer” is the name given to the language spoken by the “Sumerians,” the ancient non-Se mitic-speaking inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia, by their successors the East Semitic-speaking Akkadians. The Sume rians themselves referred to their land as Kengir, the “Country of the Noble Lords” as seen in their inscriptions.

The origin of the Sumerians is not known, but the people of Sumer referred to themselves as “Black Headed Ones” or “Black-Headed People.” For example, the Sumerian king Shulgi described himself as “the king of the four quarters, the pastor of the black-headed people.” The Akkadians also called the Sumerians “black-headed people,” or salmat-qaqqadi, in the Semitic Akkadian language.

The most important archeological dis coveries in Sumer are many clay tablets

written in cuneiform script. Sumerian writ ing is a great milestone in the development of humanity’s ability to not only create his torical records but also in creating pieces of literature, both in the form of poetic epics and stories as well as prayers and laws. The Sumerian language is generally regarded as a language isolate in linguistics because it belongs to no known language family.

Trian gular or wedgeshaped reeds were used to write on moist clay.

A large body of hundreds of thou sands of texts in the Sumerian language have survived, including personal and business letters, receipts, lexical lists, laws, hymns, prayers, stories, and daily records.

Full libraries of clay tablets have been found. Monumental inscriptions and texts on different objects, like statues or bricks, are also very common. Many texts survive in multiple copies because they were re peatedly transcribed by scribes in training. Sumerian continued to be the language of religion and law in Mesopotamia long after Semitic speakers had become dominant.

In the late 4th millennium BCE, Sumer was divided into many independent city-

Standard of Ur. Sumerians at peace ca. 2600 BCE

states, which were divided by canals and boundary stones. Each was centered on a temple dedicated to the specific patron god or goddess of the city and ruled over by a priestly governor (ensi) or by a king (lugal) who was intimately tied to the city’s reli gious rites.

The dynastic period begins c. 2900 BCE and was associated with a shift from the temple establishment headed by council of elders led by a priestly “En” towards a more secular Lugal (Lu = man, Gal = great). This period was associated with increased war. Cities became walled and increased in size as undefended villages in southern Meso potamia disappeared.

According to the Sumerian king list, the five “first” cities, said to have exercised pre-dynastic kingship “before the Flood” were: Eridu, Bad-tibira, Larak, Sippar and Shuruppak. The first city to exercise the kingship “after the Flood” was Kish. Oth er cities were: Uruk, Nippur, Ur, Lagash, Umma, Isin and Larsa.

Semitic Akkadians

The Torah tells us that descendants of Arpachshad, the son of Shem, dwelled “af ter the Flood” from Mesha going toward Sephar, the mountain of the east (Bereishit 10:30). After a while, they migrated from there and found a valley in the land of Shi nar and settled there (Bereishit 11:2).

Semitic Akkadians migrated to the northern part of Lower Mesopotamia, the land of Shinar (Sumer), in the 25th cen tury BCE. They derived their name from their ancestor, biblical Arpachshad, and as such, they were ancestors of our forefather Abraham and his family. Later on in history they will be also known as the Kasdim (also from Arpachshad) and the Babylonians. Their close cousins, the Assyrians, who had spoken practically the same language,

settled in Upper Mesopotamia on Tigris, founding the city of Ashur, their ancestor and chief deity.

During the 3rd millennium BCE, a very intimate cultural symbiosis developed be tween the Sumerians and the Akkadians throughout Mesopotamia, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian (a language isolate) on Akkadi an, and vice versa, is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonolog ical convergence.

Akkadian gradually replaced Sumeri an as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere after the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BCE, although Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremoni al, literary and scientific language in Meso potamia until the 1st century CE, as did use of the Akkadian cuneiform.

“It is now generally recognized that the two races which inhabited Sumer and Ak kad during the early historical periods were sharply divided from one another not only by their speech but also by their physical characteristics.” (A History of Sumer and Akkad, by Leonard King).

The “black-headed,” light skinned

Sumerians invariably shaved their heads and faces, while long hair and beards adorned Semitic Akkadians. Interestingly, the two deities adopted from the Akkadi an triad of gods, Ea, known as Enki to the Sumerians, and Enlil, common to both, are shown even in Sumerian depictions in Ak kadian hair style and dress. I hope that the reader will appreciate the hat style of our ancestors from more than 4,000 years ago.

Sargon of Akkad

The middle of the 3rd millennium BCE was tumultuous in war-ravaged Sumer. Fortress city-states fought for supremacy against each other, gaining control, only to lose it again in yet another battle. Umma and Lagash were two city-states locked in the power struggle for Gu-Edin (Gu’edena or perhaps, “Gan Eden”?), literally, “the fertile plain,” between these two cities. Around 2450 BCE, King Eannatum of La gash prevailed over the Ummans. Decades later, Lugal-zage-si of Umma exacted re venge and sacked the city of Lagash. Fol lowing up on this success, he then united Sumer briefly as a single kingdom. The victory was not to endure as the forces of Lugal-zage-si were crushed at Nippur by Sargon the Great, bringing to power a new ruler, a Semite, over Sumer and Akkad.

“In Akkad, Sargon, whose father was a gardener, the cupbearer of Ur-Zababa [king of Kish], became king, the king of Akkad, who built Akkad; he ruled for 56 years.” (Sumerian King List)

Sargon’s origins are surrounded in in trigue. Legend has it that a Semite woman found herself pregnant with a child. After birth, baby Sargon was placed in a reed bas ket waterproofed with pitch and set adrift upon the headwaters of the Euphrates. The basket drifted downstream and was found by a Sumerian farmer irrigating his fields who later reared little Sargon in his home. Starting his career as cupbearer to

Ur-Zababa, king of Kish, Sargon launched an effective military campaign. After crushing Lugal-zage-si’s army at Nippur (biblical Calneh), Sargon quickly defeated and captured Lugal-zage-si in the Battle of Uruk (biblical Erech). He then conquered the rest of Sumer, founding the Akkadian Empire (2334 - 2154 BCE), the first known empire in world history.

The earliest records in the Akkadian language date to the time of Sargon. Sar gon was claimed to be the son of La’ibum, a humble gardener, and possibly a hierodule, or priestess to Ishtar or Inanna. One legend related to Sargon in Assyrian cuneiform tablet says the following:

“My mother was a lowly, my father I knew not. My lowly mother conceived me; in secret she bore me. She set me in a bas ket of rushes, with bitumen she sealed my lid. She cast me into the river which rose not over me. The river bore me up and car ried me to Akki, the drawer of water. Akki, the drawer of water, took me as his son and reared me. Akki, the drawer of water, ap pointed me as his gardener.”

Later claims made on behalf of Sargon were that his mother was an “entu” priest ess (high priestess). The claims might have been made to ensure a pedigree of nobili ty, since only a highly placed family could achieve such a position.

After becoming the king of Akkad, Kish and Sumer, Sargon entered upon a career of foreign conquest. Four times he invad ed Syria and Canaan, and he spent three years thoroughly subduing the countries of “the west” to unite them with Mesopotamia “into a single empire.” Then he took this process further, conquering many of the surrounding regions to create an empire that reached westward as far as the Med iterranean Sea and perhaps Cyprus (Kap tara); northward as far as the mountains well into Anatolia; eastward over Elam; and as far south as Magan (Oman). He con

The Akkadian Empire ca 2300 BCE

solidated his dominion over his territories by replacing the earlier opposing rulers with noble citizens of Akkad, his native city where loyalty would thus be ensured.

As Sargon extended his conquest from the “Lower Sea” (Persian Gulf) to the “Up per Sea” (Mediterranean), it was felt that he ruled “the totality of the lands under heav en,” or “from sunrise to sunset,” as contem porary texts put it. Trade extended from the silver mines of Anatolia to the lapis lazuli mines in modern Afghanistan, the cedars of Lebanon and the copper of Magan. This consolidation of the city-states of Sumer and Akkad reflected the growing economic and political power of Mesopotamia.

The empire’s breadbasket was the rainfed agricultural system of Assyria and a chain of fortresses was built to control the imperial wheat production.

Images of Sargon were erected on the shores of the Mediterranean, in token of his victories, and cities and palaces were built at home with the spoils of the con quered lands. Elam and the northern part of Mesopotamia (Assyria/Subartu) were also subjugated, and rebellions in Sumer were put down. Contract tablets have been found dated in the years of the campaigns against Canaan and against Sarlak, king of Gutium. He also boasted of having sub

jugated the “four-quarters” — the lands surrounding Akkad to the north (Assyria), the south (Sumer), the east (Elam), and the west (Martu).

Sargon ruled from Akkad between 2334 and 2279 BCE. Some of the earliest historiographic texts (ABC 19, 20) suggest he founded or built the city of Babylon (Bab-ilu in Akkadian, meaning “Gate of G-d”) in its new location near Akkad. The so-called Weidner Chronicle (also known as ABC 19) states that Sargon had built Bab ylon c. 2300 BCE “in front of Akkad” (ABC 19:51). A later chronicle states that Sargon “dug up the dirt of the pit of Babylon and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Ak kad” (ABC 20:18–19).

Sargon of Akkad is identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire (in the sense of the central govern ment of a multi-ethnic territory). His rule also heralds the history of Semitic empires in the Ancient Near East, which, following the Neo-Sumerian interruption, lasted for close to fifteen centuries until the Persian conquest following the 539 BCE Battle of Opis.

Sargon was regarded as a model by Mesopotamian kings for some two millen nia after his death. The Assyrian and Bab ylonian kings who based their empires in

Mesopotamia saw themselves as the heirs of Sargon’s empire. Sargon may indeed have introduced the notion of “empire” as understood in the later Assyrian period.

The Neo-Assyrian Sargon text, written in the first person, has Sargon challenging later rulers to “govern the black-headed people” (i.e., the indigenous population of Mesopotamia) as he did.

Naram-Sin of Akkad Naram-Sin (meaning “Beloved of [the moon god] Sin”), who reigned c. 2254–2218 BCE, was the third suc cessor and the most important ruler of the Akka dian Em pire, after its founder (and his grandfather) Sargon the Great.

Under Naram-Sin the empire reached its maximum strength, expanding up to the Mediterranean Sea and Armenia. He was the first Mesopotamian king known to have claimed divinity for himself, arrogantly taking the title “G-d of Akkad” and the first to claim the title “King of the Four Corners of the World, King of the Universe.” As we are going to see, this did not go unnoticed.

The Curse of Agade is a Sumerian story dated to the Ur III Period of Mesopotamia (c. 2112 – 2004 BCE) though thought to be somewhat older in origin. It tells the story of the Akkadian king Naram-Sin and his confrontation with the assembly of gods, particularly the chief god Enlil, whose zig gurat temple he stormed, and which led to the eventual disintegration of the Akkadian Empire. This tale is reminiscent of the story of the dispersion recorded in the Torah.

Sargon the Great and Naram-Sin be came the subject of many tales and legends down through the centuries and their sto ries were among the most popular through out Mesopotamia.

Based on the Torah description, tradi tional sources, history, and archeology, it appears that Sargon of Akkad is the prima ry candidate for historical Nimrod:

• He was the founder of the Akkadian Empire and the one who built the Akkadian cities of Akkad and Babylon (Babel). Early in his reign, he conquered the Sumerian cities of Nippur (Calneh), Uruk (Erech) and the rest of Sumer (Shinar).

• Sargon of Akkad is identified as the

first person in recorded history to rule over an empire. The empire’s breadbasket was the rain-fed agricultural system of Assyria and a chain of fortresses was built to con trol the imperial wheat production.

• The name Sargon (Sharru-ken in Akkadian, meaning “True King”) was his throne name. Sargon’s grandson and most powerful king of the Akkadian Empire was Naram-Sin and there is an indication that Sargon’s other name was also Naram (“Be loved”), as he was called “Beloved of [the goddess] Ishtar.” The name Naram [NRM] is linguistically close to Nimrod [NMR].

• Some authors suggest that biblical Nimrod is a combined image of the two his torical personalities: Sargon of Akkad and Naram-Sin. The Torah might have chosen the name Nimrod to convey an arrogant and rebellious character of these kings.

• Sargon the Great and Naram-Sin be came the subject of many tales and legends down through the centuries: “Therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty conqueror before Hashem.’”

If the above identification is correct, we have to address the following questions: (1) The Torah tells us that Nimrod descended from Cush [the son of Ham], which would be strange for Sargon, because the Akkadi ans were descendants of Arpachshad [the son of Shem]; (2) the city of Kish, where Sargon started his career and which also was the principal city of his empire, was not mentioned on the Nimrod’s list.

While it is easy to find simple answers to these questions, some scholars suggest that Cush in the story of Nimrod was not a person but a geographical location in Mesopotamia. Incredibly, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s “The Living Torah” commentary opines that it could be an ancient city of Kish located eight miles east of Babylon. If this is the case, the Torah meant to say that Nimrod “emerged” from Kish or that Kish “produced” Nimrod: “And Kish produced Nimrod; he began to be a first mighty one in the land.”

Historically, the story of Nimrod/Sar gon belongs somewhere between the Akka dian settlement in Sumer and the story of the dispersion in Bereishit 11. This raises an interesting question whether the passage of Nimrod had “migrated” to its current place in Bereishit 10, where it noticeably inter rupts the flow of the descendants of Ham, after the tradition about Mesopotamian Cush (city of Kish) became forgotten.

Eliyahu Rayvych is an enthusiast of biblical his tory and archeology. He welcomes your com ments at historicalchilazon@gmail.com.

Today

What I Love About Israel

By Rafi Sackville

There inevitably comes a time for every new Oleh when the dazzle of having made Aliyah wears off; life assumes a routine that has nothing to do with rose gardens or dreamy visions of being a pioneer. Daily life with its un adorned challenges is far removed from the dreams of living in the Holy Land. However diminished it may be, the aura of those dreams remains in a hidden drawer that we occasionally open – to ponder, to reminisce, to sigh over.

I recently contacted a large group of friends who have been living in Israel for many years to ask them why they love liv ing here. Their answers ranged from the spiritual, the sublime to the practical.

I present them to you here in no par ticular order:

• “How on Shabbat our neighbors place a table covered with different spic es outside their front gate so that passers by can make brachot. I’ve watched total strangers walk into their house during the Shabbat meal to thank them for their effort.”

• “At a young age, I was taught that Hashem gave us this land.”

• “Surrounded by Jews is a great feel ing; how good is it when the news read er wishes everyone Shabbat Shalom and then plays songs that resonate.”

• “It’s great to be protected by my own Jewish army.”

• “We have a Jewish government and have even had a PM who wears a kippah.”

• “I never feel strange sleeping in a sukkah.”

• “keeping one day Chag and not hav ing to cook so many meals.”

• “Antisemitism doesn’t exist here. In France, I was reminded that I was a Jew every day.”

• “The natural and spiritual history of Israel is akin to living in a magical king dom.”

• “I have a fetish for taxes and bu reaucracy.”

• “In Israel, I feel that I am partic ipating on the stage of history. Outside Israel, one is in the audience.”

• “Education is far cheaper than chutz la’aretz.”

• “Hashem is always looking at Israel. It has a heightened spirituality.”

• “Living here gives me the opportu nity to do favors for fellow Jews. The Fe dEx guy who won’t come out of his truck when it’s raining. I’ll run out to him with something to drink.”

• “I love feeling that I am at home and not a member of a tolerated minority.”

• “I love that I can be anywhere in the country and be able to go into almost any grocery store and everything is kosher.”

• “I don’t feel defensive when I read things anti Israeli in the foreign press.”

• “Better to be part of the majority than not.”

• “I love the constant roller coaster ride in politics, security and co existence. ”

• “Family and friends from all over the world come to visit you.”

• “The proximity to Europe.”

• “It’s home.”

• “I love the fact I can keep Shabbos and holidays without it being awkward, because mostly everyone is keeping or recognizing them.”

• “When new Olim are learning He brew, the first word they learn really quick is ‘mah, mah.’”

• “To constantly experience the knowledge that wherever we are in the country we are walking on holy ground.”

• “That despite the political divide Is raeli society functions, for the most part, respectfully and congenially.”

• “Despite its growing affluence, life is easier than in America.”

• “I‘m comfortable, and I love being home.”

• “Being in the land my ancestors dreamed of for 2,000 years.”

• “Being part of Jewish history in the making.”

• “The chag sameach signs on the buses.”

• “The energy, madness, frustration and inspiration I experience daily.”

• “Bringing my family back to be an active part of an amazing Jewish histori cal adventure.”

• And then there’s this: one friend told me that within a three minute period he experienced the many faces of Israel. He was on the beach when the lifeguards left at the end of the day. He noticed that, except for a large group of elderly Russian men and women, most of the Israelis left the beach when the lifeguards finished work at the end of the day.

He decided to take a walk south to wards the mechitza, the area designated for religious bathers. Behind it, he dis covered a large group of Chareidi men dressed totally in black from head to toe, listening to a shiur by their rav who was standing before them lecturing from a shtender.

As he was talking, a unit of soldiers do ing a stretcher march walked into view, trudging along the sand in formation.

All this occurred within a few meters and all within moments.

Only one respondent had a negative take on her almost-30 years here. She caught me off-guard when she wrote, “If I had the chance, I’d leave.” She is an anomaly among the dozens I contacted.

There were also more than a few who didn’t answer me. One reply to my persistence was curt; she was too busy. Another friend completely ignored my request.

What I did find interesting was the fact that so many of my friends took a while to respond. When I asked them why, they admitted they were not accustomed to having to respond to such a question. There tended to be a need to think about the question.

Taken together, these responses do not help us understand Israel any better. They prove nothing statistically. And yet they do say something about the nature of those who have made Israel home. One can detect an undercurrent of mild sur prise, of delight and honor in being Israeli citizens.

No, we were never offered a rose gar den, but one thing is certain: many of us have planted our own flower beds and still revel in having made the choice when we were young to leave family and friends behind and carve out a life for ourselves here.

If given the chance, I’m sure all of them would try to convince you to make Aliyah. I certainly would.

So what are you waiting for?

Rafi Sackville, formerly of Cedarhurst, teaches in Ort Maalot in Western Galil.

Is Israel Stuck?

A Look into the Era of Endless Elections

By Aron White

Inthe classic movie Groundhog Day, Phil Con nors gets stuck in a time loop where he keeps waking up to repeat the same day again and again. In Israel, it seems Election Day is becom ing the national equivalent of that; Israelis will wake up this Tuesday to vote for the Knesset for the fifth time since 2019. To put that into perspective, five presidential elections ago, Americans were choosing between George Bush and John Kerry and the current high school seniors were being born. Israel’s political sys tem has confused outsiders for many years, but even by Israel’s standards, what is happening is unprecedented.

To understand the 2022 election, we have to under stand how we got here and answer some big picture, systemic questions: Why are we having elections again? What is going wrong in Israel’s political system? Is there any chance that this election will change things?

Why Can’t Israeli Elections

Be More Like the U.S.?

To begin understanding what is going on in Israel, it is helpful to compare elections in Israel to elections in the U.S.

In America, elections are straightforward. There are two main parties, Republicans and Democrats. There are elections at fixed, predictable times. We go and vote, someone wins, and then we repeat it in a few years’ time. So why isn’t Israel’s system like this?

Actually, on paper, Israel’s system should be simpler and require fewer elections than in the U.S. In the United States, there are separate elections for the legislature –the Senate and Congress who make the laws – and the executive, the president who runs the country. In 2022, Americans are voting for senators and congressman, and in 2024, Americans will vote in a different election for the President.

In Israel, there is a parliament rather than a presi dent, so things work differently. Israelis only vote for the legislature, the Knesset, and whichever party wins that election also gets to form the government. If Israel would vote, and the Likud party would win 65 out of the 120 Knesset seats, the Likud party would control the legis lature, the Knesset, and would get to form the next gov ernment, picking who will be the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and all other government positions. Israel has just one election, and whoever wins the vote for the Knes set automatically gets to make the government as well.

In theory, this is simple, but in practice it has always been more complicated. The reason for this is actually remarkable; in 74 years of history and 24 elections, no party in Israeli history has ever won a majority of seats in the Knesset. From the very first election, there have always been lots of parties running in Israel, rather than just a two-party system, and with so many parties run ning, no one is able to get an absolutely majority of over 60 seats. Ben Gurion’s Mapai party never won more than 50 seats, and the highest Bibi Netanyahu has won leading the Likud party is 36 seats. The closest anyone ever got to a majority was the Maarach lead by Golda Meir who won 56 seats in 1969.

Why is it like this? Why are there usually over ten parties represented in the Knesset, rather than just the two in the U.S. Senate and Congress?

There is a sociological answer to this question: two Jews, three opinions. Israel has so many different group ings of people – right-wing and left-wing, Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, Russian and Ethiopian, Dati Leumi and Chareidi – that all of these groups would be hard to represent in just two par ties. However, while this is true, it is not sufficient as a complete explanation. The United States is a country of hundreds of millions of people, with different ethnicities,

religions, races, political leanings and more, yet still only has two parties.

The deeper reason for why Israel has multiple parties is because of how voting works in each country. In the U.S., each election is actually 50 mini elections as each state votes separately. Let’s suppose I created a new po litical party, and won 10% of the vote across America, winning 10% in every single state. I would have amassed millions of votes but get absolutely nothing from it – I would have lost in every state, so I would end up with no senators, congressmen or electoral college votes. When there is a system like this, which is known as First Past the Post, it usually leads to a two-party system, as it’s very hard for a small party to break in and get mean ingful results.

In Israel, when there is an election, there is one elec tion for the whole country. If my party would win 10% of the vote, it would win 10% of the seats in the Knesset. When there is a system like Israel’s, which is known as Proportional Representation, it makes it easier for small parties to compete, leading to multiple parties winning seats. (In political science, this effect of voting systems on the number of parties is called Duverger’s Law.) Isra el is a country of almost 10 million people, and you just need 140,000 votes or so in order to get into the Knes set, making it much easier for small and new parties to reach the Knesset. Since 1948, countless small parties have formed, grown, shrunk, and disappeared, and with very low barriers to entry, this process will continue. Is raelis choose between numerous parties that get into the Knesset, and with the pie split between so many players, it is no wonder that no party has ever managed to win a majority of the seats.

When No One Wins

So what happens when no party wins 61 seats in the

Knesset? If the largest party only wins 35 seats, who becomes prime minister and forms the government? In order to form a government, a group of parties have to join together to form a coalition – this is a group of different political parties from the Knesset who have a combination of a majority of seats who sign agreements to form a government together.

To take an example from a few years ago: In the 2015 Israeli election, ten parties won seats in the Knesset. Because Likud led by Bibi Netanyahu had the most seats with 30, President Ruvi Rivlin tasked Bibi Netanyahu with trying to form a coalition. He negotiated with dif ferent parties and came up with the following coalition: Likud joined with Kulanu (a party focused mainly on economics), Jewish Home (Religious Zionists), United Torah Judaism (Ashkenazi Charedim) and Shas (Sep hardi Charedim) to form a coalition. Likud had 30 seats in Knesset, Kulanu had 10, Jewish Home 8, Shas had 7, and United Torah Judaism 6, so in total the coalition had 61 seats, a majority of the 120 in Knesset, allowing them to form a government together. The government positions were split up between these parties as part of the coalition agreements – Bibi Netanyahu of Likud was the Prime Minister, Aryeh Deri of Shas was the Minister for the Economy, Ayelet Shaked of Bayit Yehudi was the Justice Minister, etc. Naturally, the process of building a coalition takes a while, as all the parties want to feel they are getting their fair share. The above coalition in 2015 took around two months to form, but ultimately the agreements were signed, the government was con firmed by the Knesset, and the country moved on.

This is the basic dynamic of how a government is formed in Israel – no one wins the election outright and parties have to negotiate who will join together to form a coalition government. This system is complicated, it looks very different from the system in America, but ultimately it has worked for Israel – until 2019.

2019: From Complicated to Dysfunctional

In April of 2019, Israel went to elections for the 21st time. After the results came in, the parties began the usual cycle of trying to join together to form a coalition but were unsuccessful; there was no grouping of parties who could agree to join together to be a coalition. Be cause of this, new elections were called to try again, but the same thing happened – the parties after the elec tion couldn’t agree to form a coalition. Elections were called for a third time, and in May 2020 a weak coali tion formed led by Bibi Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, but it only lasted six months. Because they couldn’t pass a budget, new elections were called, Israel’s fourth in two years, and again these did not seem to lead to a coalition. However, a government was formed, but in the most surprising of ways: Naftali Bennett joined with Yair Lapid’s coalition of the center, left and Arabs, even though he had explicitly told voters he wouldn’t do that. He had “crossed the aisle,” a right-wing party joining with the center and left, in a move he claimed was to save Israel from the endless cycle of elections.

The Bennett government lasted for a year, but it gradually started to weaken, with members of Bennett’s own party jumping ship and refusing to vote in line with the coalition. As the situation became untenable, new elections were called, and so on Tuesday Israel will vote

for the fifth election in this never-ending chapter.

Why is it that until 2019, the coalition system, even if it was messy, still worked, but since 2019 it hasn’t seemed to produce a stable government? There are two main causes for this.

Firstly, the great weakness of Israel’s system is that nothing ensures that a coalition will be able to be formed. If a party wins a majority, then it automatically makes a government itself. Once you are dealing with

2009, this coalition has been his core support. Howev er, this right-wing coalition split in 2019 when Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, abruptly left the coalition. At first, he left because he felt Netanyahu was too weak in his response to Hamas, he then wouldn’t join the coalition because he wouldn’t compromise with chareidim about army service for yeshiva students, and now he says he won’t join any government led by Net anyahu, accusing Bibi of putting his own interest above that of the country. Other right-wing figures such as Gideon Saar also joined this contention of being un willing to join with Netanyahu because Netanyahu is on trial. And so, the right-wing camp has essentially split into two parts that wouldn’t work with each other, crushing the right-wing coalition that had existed.

This issue still exists today –Leiberman, Saar, and other right-wing figures won’t sit in a government led by Netanyahu. Along with the religious, social, and ethnic divides that already split the parties, now there is the question of “Yes Bibi” or “No Bibi.” This created more splits, making it harder for a coalition of parties to form a government.

multiple parties having to work together, there is noth ing that ensures there will be enough parties willing to work together to form a government. Theoretically, if every party was unwilling to negotiate anything, and refused on principle to work with any party that was different than itself, then Israel would be stuck from the get-go. This is an extreme scenario that doesn’t happen, but it serves to illustrate the weakness – Israel relies on enough parties making enough compromises with each other to be able to form a majority and a government. Each party has their principles, items they are willing to negotiate on, and features that are red lines it won’t cross. If too many parties have too many red lines, then the system can simply become dysfunctional.

Over the past few decades, a coalition formed be tween secular right-wing parties and the religious parties that came to be seen as a natural partnership. Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, Mafdal/Bayit Yehudi and United Torah Judaism all agreed to work together, and this became a natural coalition that often had a major ity. This camp has come to be known by a number of names in Israel like the right-wing bloc, the nationalist camp, or the believing camp, based on the fact that most of its voters are either religious or traditional. From when Bibi Netanyahu came back as Prime Minister in

Another factor that has caused the instability was re cently noted by Haviv Rettig Gur of the Times of Israel. Israel made a change to its voting system in 2014 that has possibly had unintended consequences. There is a minimum threshold of votes a party needs to receive to get into the Knesset, a rule that many countries around the world have. This basically discourages small parties from running. If you didn’t have this, you could theoret ically have loads of tiny parties, each with one seat in the Knesset which just becomes impossible to manage. Until 2014, a party had to get 2% of the vote to get into the Knesset, but in 2014, this threshold was raised to 3.25%. In the election in March 2019, Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked led a party called HaYamin HeCha dash who received...3.24% of the votes, 1,500 votes un der the threshold. If they had gotten 1,500 more votes, they would have passed the threshold to enter Knesset, would have had about four seats, and Netanyahu would have had a coalition and formed a government. Because they just missed the threshold, Israel had to go to an other election, and we are where we are today. Raising the threshold was meant to give Israel more stability, but it has actually contributed to more electoral chaos.

What Will Happen Next Week?

On Tuesday, Israeli voters will choose their parties, after which the big question will be: can a coalition be formed? There are a few possible coalitions that theo

If too many parties have too many red lines, then the system can simply become dysfunctional.

retically could form: a right-wing coalition, a left-wing coalition, or something in the middle.

1. A right-wing government - The Likud, Re ligious Zionist, Shas, and United Torah Judaism could theoretically get 61 seats and form a coalition together. Whether they will get this number will come down to fine margins – at the moment, some polls say they will get 59 seats, some say 61, so it is very close, but there certainly is a realistic possibility of them forming a coalition.

Two things could help the right-wing coalition bounce over the threshold of 61. If the Bayit Yehudi party, an other Religious Zionist party led by Ayelet Shaked, could get into the Knesset with four seats, they could join this coalition, helping it reach 61 seats. The issue there is that Bayit Yehudi is currently polling at 1.9% of the vote at the time of this writing and would need to pass the threshold of 3.25% in order to get into the Knesset.

Another possibility that could help the right-wing coalition is if one or more of the left parties don’t pass the threshold. In some polls, no less than four left-wing parties are above the threshold but are very close to the margins. If one or two of Labor, Meretz, Ra’am or Cha dash-Ta’al don’t pass the threshold, then that will trans late into more seats for the other parties, which could help the right-wing parties to reach the desired 61 seats.

2. A left-wing government - Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, Benny Gantz’s Machane Mamlachti, Labor, Meretz, and the Arab parties could theoretically get over 61 seats and form a government, but this seems unlikely. At the moment, they are polling at around 56 seats, and even if they would get 61 seats, it is not clear whether the Arab parties would be invited into this coalition. Ra’am, one of the Arab parties, was in the most recent coalition so it could be invited back, but Chadash-Ta’al are so extreme that it is hard to imagine a government with them –some of their Members of Knesset openly celebrate Pal estinian murderers, support BDS, and celebrate violence against Israeli Jews.

3. Something in the middle – If, once again, there is no right-wing or left-wing coalition formed, something unexpected could happen to form some hy brid government. This is unlikely but is what happened last time – Naftali Bennett decided to break his campaign promises and joined a Lapid-led coalition in order to form a government. For this to happen, someone would have

to cross one of their red lines. Would Bibi go back on his word and join a gov ernment with Benny Gantz? Could Shas or UTJ decide that they will join with the left-wing par ties to become part of their coalition?

Could Yisrael Beit einu led by Avigdor Lieberman revoke their promises and join a coalition with all the Arab parties or the chareidim?

Another pos

sible route to a coalition would be if Bibi Netanyahu stepped down as the leader of Likud. Avigdor Lieberman, and even potentially some center and left-wing parties, might join in a coalition with Likud, but not if it is led by Bibi. Were Bibi to step aside, there could be a coali tion; however, the Likud voters are voting for Bibi and giving him significant support, and since he claims he is innocent in his trial, he will see stepping down as a capitulation to those who think he is guilty, so is unlikely to do so. Nonetheless, there are reports that some figures even within his own party would want this to happen so the country can move forward.

ly being in election cycles is tiring and frustrating for the country, and the deadlock has delayed important projects, even ones that have a complete consensus. A great example is the Tel Aviv Metro, one of the biggest infrastructure projects Israel has ever undertaken. Over 4 million people live in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, and the area is the economic heart of Israel. Even though the first light rail lines will (hopefully!) open next year, in the long-term that won’t be enough, and the Tel Aviv region needs a metro system. The planning for this was started by the Likud party in 2015, and plans have been drawn up, budgets have been proposed, and architects assigned. For such a massive project (the current cost is $50 billion), a law needs to be passed through the Knes set to be able to properly regulate numerous aspects of this complex project. Before the Knesset disbanded in May, the Bennett-Lapid government tried to get this law passed in the Knesset, but the Likud wouldn’t vote for it as it would give Lapid and Bennett political points for moving the metro forward – even though the Likud are the ones who initially started this process! There is no debate between right and left, Jew and Arab, religious and secular about the need for the metro system, but the only reason it hasn’t moved forward is the political deadlock.

Another infrastructure project Israel really needs is a new airport. Ben Gurion has over 20 million passengers passing through a year and is reaching full capacity. This has been discussed in Israel for years, and one of the strongest candidates is an airfield near Haifa called Ra mat David. Mysteriously, a few weeks ago, Benny Gantz reversed the Ministry of Defense position on this and vetoed that location. One of the most plausible expla nations for this is that the residents of the Emek Yizrael area near Ramat David are potential voters for Gantz, and they are against the airport plans; Gantz didn’t want to approve something that residents wouldn’t like a few months before the election. The wait for Israel’s new air port will go on for months and years more, possibly just because of local party interests in yet another election.

Where is Israel Headed?

One good thing about Israel’s elections is that they give a very accurate view of what Israelis are thinking and feeling. Even small groups can be represented by their own party, there are very few wasted votes, so what happens in the Knesset is a pretty good reflection of Is raeli society. If the Knesset is deadlocked between all the different parties, it represents that Israeli society is caught between these different groups, all wrestling for power and influence, but none able to fully achieve that.

All of the above are unlikely scenarios, but few peo ple predicted that after the last election Bennett would join the center and left-wing to form a coalition. At a time of political chaos, never say never.

If the last five elections have taught us anything, it’s that we are in unchartered territory, so nothing can be ruled out.

What is the Impact of the Instability?

Israeli politics has become more unstable since 2019, and it is unclear whether this latest election will do anything to help stem the chaos. The biggest losers of this situation are actually the Israeli public. Constant

Taking a step back and looking at Israel’s history, the country has shifted from being dominated by a secu lar-socialist majority, to one in which there are lots of interest groups, none of whom are able to dominate and govern the overall tone of the country. No party is getting much more than a quarter of the seats in the Knesset.

What will this mean for the future of Israel as it pre pares to celebrate its 75th anniversary? Will it be some fine margin that swings the balance of political power, or will a new group or political movement form that will be able to change the deadlock? Perhaps on Tuesday we will get some answers, or perhaps we will have to continue to work towards more tenable, stable solutions.

Dating Dialogue What Would You Do If…

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

I met a guy (I’ll call him Moshe here for clarity) at a shidduch dating event, and we started dating shortly after. We have been dating for five weeks and hopefully things will continue going well... This guy is amazing and I’m very appreciative of the women who put this event together.

Moshe wants to bring in a shadchan who was part of the event to “keep her in the loop” – he feels we owe it to her because we met at her event. Personally, I don’t want any outside people included in our relationship. Not only will this woman probably try to pry and give advice but also will probably claim we owe her shadchanus if it works out when we really met organically. This has become a point of contention between me and Moshe, but I feel he’s just being pressured by the shadchan. How can I help him understand where I am coming from?

Disclaimer:

The Panel

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

This seems to be more than a commu nication issue with Moshe. It seems that you have expressed your fears to Moshe about her inserting herself into the relationship. He still feels that the woman who facilitated your meeting at the event had a role in setting you two up and should be given the courtesy of an update.

You say you appreciate the women who set up the event. Yet you are also seeking to avoid the hakaras hatov of giving her something as shadchanus should the shidduch develop.

He recognizes that there was effort involved from the get-go and your de veloping a relationship with him is a byproduct of that event. And he wants to acknowledge that effort by telling the woman that you are dating for a few weeks already.

Recognize the effort involved. Rec ognize Moshe’s menchlechkeit and awareness of the difficulty of setting up events and shidduchim. Recognize his middos tovos.

At the same time, look at yourself in the mirror. Why are you afraid of bring ing someone else into the know? Why are you afraid of giving credit where credit is due whether or not this devel ops into a shidduch? Your attitudes and appreciation need work.

the table and all comment on the won derful Shabbos seudah. Moshe responds with a “thank you!” taking responsibil ity for the meal. He does not mention your part in the seudah at all. He does not thank you for the wonderful spread. How does this make you feel?

Your relationship at its core is the ingredients which the two of you are working together with Hashem’s help to build a lifelong relationship. The chopping, cooking, baking and the stuff behind closed doors to make the meal happen were the women who curated, invited, planned, set up, and organized this shidduch event.

Your attitude claiming a disinterest in giving shadchanus if this shidduch transpires correlates to the “Moshe” in the story who refuses to recognize his wife’s immeasurable efforts to make the seudah delicious and beautiful.

Do you know what shadchanim go through day-in and day-out for the sake of the single population? Do you know how many hours it takes to plan and cu rate a successful shidduch event (which, judging by your and Moshe’s interest in each other, it sounds as if it was)? Before even discussing your issue with the mat ter, I am pointing out a middah which can make or break a marriage. This is a middah which it seems Moshe has got ten right, and you have got all wrong. Yes, you should keep the shadchan who organized the event in the loop, and yes, she deserves shadchanus, a gift of your and Moshe’s gratitude, if you iy”H get engaged.

The Single

Tzipora Grodko

Istrongly support your decision. Con sider expressing to Moshe that you don’t want to do anything that can po tentially compromise or interfere with the development of your relationship. A shadchan is supposed to make things easier, assist with communication, guidance, and formalities in place to limit painful experiences. Based on your description, it doesn’t sound like those are areas that you and Moshe need as sistance in right now.

If he feels like he “owes” her some involvement, he can write a thank you card or simply give her a thank you call as well. Both actions reflect gratitude and appreciation, which I think is his underlying motive for trying to involve her.

How exciting, and much hatzlacha!

Yeshiva A or Yeshiva B?

Your question seems like one that is amenable to compromise.

On the one hand, you’re at that point in your relationship where the couple would usually “drop” the shadchan; on the other hand, your boyfriend sounds like a very ethical and proper gentlemen who feels a moral obligation to involve the shadchan .

Why not compromise here? You can keep the shadchan “in the loop” by Moshe sending an appreciative text, ev ery few weeks, reporting that things are going nicely. At the same time, the two of you can politely but firmly inform her that you wish to keep the relationship private and prefer to not have a go-be tween.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

Welcome to the wonderful world of boy/girl relationships and dis agreements. Let us attempt to classify he/she disputes as follows:

Now, please step back for a moment, and keep in mind that when folks volun teer to run a singles event, they, at best, break even financially. No one makes money on these events. They do it out of a sincere desire to help people.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

I magine the following scenario:

You’re married to Moshe, and on Shabbos you host a beautiful Shabbos meal. Moshe did the shopping for all the ingredients for the delectable seudah. With all of the ingredients he bought, you prepare dips, chop salads, blend soups, whip cream, check strawberries, and fry chicken. The guests sit around

I know I am answering a question you did not ask, but as a shadchan on the other end of your predicament, I can’t not respond to it.

One more thing: Check in with Moshe about communication in gen eral. It sounds like he’s the type of guy who will want to check in with mentors about issues that arise. You, however, sound like a person who wants to figure everything out by yourself. This imbal ance can cause many shalom bayis is sues in the future, if it is not worked out now. Discuss the topic and figure out if you’re both on the same page.

Hatzlacha!

Category #1 are issues that don’t really matter. For example, she might like Raisin Bran, the Mets, and Demo crats, while he might like Cheerios, the Yankees, and Republicans, but they can agree to disagree and live happily ever after.

Category #2 are issues that are amenable to compromise. For example, they can spend one Pesach with her par ents and the next Pesach with his par ents; they can go on a Disney vacation one year and a tour of Spain the next year.

Category #3 are disputes that need to be decided one way or the other. For example, should we live in the 5 Towns or in Teaneck? Do we send the kids to

So, giving hakaros hatov to the shad chan who helped organize the event and recruit singles to attend the event would certainly seem like the proper thing to do. Providing positive reinforcement for her efforts might encourage her to orga nize future events and help more folks like yourselves.

I don’t really know if you will “owe” a shadchanus fee, but consider what a local shadchan told me: “There is room for generosity of heart and spirit if this relationship culminates in an engage ment. Why not reward the organizer with a token of appreciation? Hakaras hatov brings about bracha. And, if your relatively small act of gratitude encour ages the shadchan to plan more events, you and Moshe will have a part in future shidduchim as well! What a bracha for a new couple.”

The healthiest relationships will have disagreements.

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Thank you for writing into our column! I don’t feel it’s my place to comment on the appropriateness of inviting the shadchan into your relation ship at this time, as I am not a shadchan and don’t understand “the rules” as to how this works. I am curious about why Moshe wants the shadchan’s involvement now. Why now? Is there something he is feeling uncertain about? Have you asked him about this? Did she reach out to him? This may be of utmost importance!

What I am going to comment on is the importance of being able to communicate with your partner and the ability for you two to hear each other, validate each oth er’s needs and concerns, and reach a con clusion together, as an intact couple who is stronger due to the intimacy created having learned about each other’s needs.

The first piece to examine is the way you communicated your needs to Moshe. Were you direct or indirect? Aside from the shadchanus issue, did you communi cate to Moshe exactly what your concerns are about having a shadchan involved? “I am scared she will pry or offer advice that could ultimately hurt us, as I’ve seen hap pen so many times.” If you are certain you have been lovingly direct with Moshe, and have expressed yourself clearly and vulnerably, then the fact that this has be come a “point of contention” may be of concern. It’s not always the content that two people are arguing about, it is the inability to hear each other, and possibly not really caring about what is important to the other. In a securely attached, emo tionally safe relationship, both parties feel understood and important. In my re lationship, my needs matter to my part ner. I am wondering if you and Moshe feel this way in your relationship. In the lifetime of a relationship, five weeks is a blip and not enough time to have devel oped a securely attached relationship. It is enough time to begin to get a sense of your emotional safety and ability to work together as a couple Perhaps this is your first disagreement. Disagreements are

go ing to happen! Oh boy, are they going to happen! The healthiest rela tionships will have disagreements. Both you and Moshe are entitled to your feelings about the shadchan’s involvement. And the goal is to listen to the needs of the other and make the other feel that his/her needs are of utmost importance! When we don’t feel heard or cared for in our disagree ments is when “points of contention” de velop.

So, bring this up again to Moshe. Calmly and lovingly ask him to share his feelings about the shadchan with you. It is my hope that he will do the same for you. If he shows no concern or regard for how you feel (or vice versa), and a deeper, more intimate conversation doesn’t take place, that is worth examining. A true partner in life is going to care more about his/her spouse’s feelings than disappoint ing a shadchan.

If you truly get stuck in this area, it is most definitely worth seeing a therapist together to help navigate this disagree ment. Moshe may be Mr. Right, and you guys may need a little help in the com munication department. Don’t avoid this issue and don’t “agree to disagree” if one party is going to have resentment. Re member, couples argue. It is not about the content as much as it is about the way you handle disagreements and the way you care for each other during dis agreements. One person cannot do all the emotional labor. The labor of a re lationship should be an absolute labor of love for each of you.

All the best, Jennifer P.S. Without a fuller picture, I don’t feel I know enough about what is going on to say the following, however this is my urging to anyone dating: discuss every thing before getting married! Discuss your visions for involvement from others

– whether its family, a doctor, a thera pist or a rabbi. Discuss the boundaries you each envision around your relation ship. From how much time you want to spend with family to financial decisions and how much money you invest in en tertainment and how much money you feel comfortable having in the bank be fore you buy your first home. How are we going to resolve conflicts? While peo ple grow and evolve and circumstances change, it is important to address it all before you get married. A couple is a team who wants to win together. In or der to do that, you need a shared vision

that you both believe in. You need to find out if you’re playing for the same team.

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. She also teaches a psychology course at Touro College. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 718-908-0512. Visit www. thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email JenniferMannLCSW@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

Do you know what shadchanim go through day-in and day-out for the sake of the single population?

School of Thought

Praise Precisely

By Etti Siegel

Precise praise is so important. No one likes an in sincere accolade.

I remember telling a relative of mine that he should not tell his son he was such a great kid, that in stead he should be specific and tell him what action he did that made him proud. I laughed when I got a call later from this relative’s wife. ”Thanks,” she said. ”He is such a good person, but it can be so frustrating to be around his compliments! When he comes home from work and tells me what a great wife I am, all I can think of is how I lost my temper with the kids, how I didn’t iron his shirts yet, and how awful I felt about not having orange juice when I know that is what he likes. Yet, when he is at supper and says, ‘What a delicious meal,’ I accept the sincere praise and feel good inside. I know supper was great.”

Carol Dweck, in her article Praise Can be Dead ly (American Educator, 1999) writes how “the selfesteem movement” has failed. Research shows that there is a big difference between praising a child for working hard and praising a child for being smart. A child praised for working hard will want to continue to work hard and develops perseverance, the ability to take risks, as they feel in control and know they can choose to work hard again. Children praised being smart become averse to trying new things, as they are worried about not appear ing smart again.

There is a famous study conducted by Carol Dweck and Claudia Miller that really brings home the impor tance of appropriate praise. They divided a group of children into three and gave them all challenging but age-appropriate puzzles to do. When the groups were done, they complimented two. The first group was praised on their intelligence. “You must be really good at this!” The second group was praised for effort. “You guys really worked hard!” The third group was not praised

at all. When the groups were offered a second task, the first group chose a task that was relatively easy, so they could keep their status as smart. The second group eagerly chose a hard task. (The third group was random and is not important to the study.) The results were even more interesting. Even though the first group chose an easier task, they struggled to complete it and did not do well. Meanwhile, the second group with the harder task scored very high! This study was done with a total of 400 children of the same age but of different genders and race from all over the country, and the results were the same each time.

In other studies she conducted, 85% of parents sur veyed thought they had to praise children to show they were smart. What really happens, though, is children be gin to rely on outside, external motivators, rather than trust themselves and their instincts. They begin to doubt their abilities and rely more and more on validation for everything they attempt to do. They become more needy, not more resilient.

We can all relate. Think of little children in preschool or first grade. “Is this pretty?” they ask the adult in the room as they show their drawing. If the adult answers, “It is!” or “How beautiful!” he or she is now surround ed by various other children clamoring for the same response. Yet if the adult would answer, with a smile, “What do you think?” or “Can you tell me about your picture?” the child will light up and begin to share. Oth

er children will learn that it is for them to decide if a picture they made has worth.

It is not just children who suffer from insecu rity. Listen when a group of women gather and hear how many compliments are given and deflected. “This old thing?” “Oh, I got it on sale.” Rarely a warm appreciative smile with a “thank you” is heard.

Sincere and precise praise is a wonderful thing. When used correctly, precise praise can encourage children to use the gifts they have to the fullest. Precise praise makes a person on the receiving end feel noticed and appreciated.

Parents and educators must be careful, though. Praise cannot used to manipulate or demand. Children sense insincere praise and learn to distrust its giver.

Be careful, though. Praise as specifically as is possi ble, on a behavior that shows effort or thought. A person cannot decide to be smart but can decide to work hard or be thoughtful.

Also, praise must be real to be believed. If a child is being praised just to get his seatmate to behave, that is insincere praise and will not accomplish anything for the child being mentioned. Praise should not be offered for something expected – “good job; you came to class on time” – but for matters reflective of talent and persever ance – “you are really working hard to get your letters to match the book’s example” or “you really worked hard to get your closet organized.”

Mrs. Etti Siegel holds an MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and brings sound teaching advice to her audiences culled from her over 35 years of teaching and administrative experience. She is an Adjunct at the College of Mount Saint Vincent/Sara Shenirer. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning, is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country, and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher-mentoring program), Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She is a frequent contributor to Hamechanech Magazine and The Journal for Jewish Day School leaders. She will be answering your education-based questions and writing articles weekly for The Jewish Home. Mrs. Siegel can be reached at ettisiegel@gmail.com.

A person cannot decide to be smart but can decide to work hard or be thoughtful.

Parenting Pearls

Prioritizing Your Home Over Your Phone

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

When I was a kallah, the mes sage we were often told was “get off the phone when your husband comes in.” In those days, the phone was really just a phone, but it was still a potential distraction from those closest to us. Ignoring your spouse to speak to a friend was not properly pri oritizing this special relationship.

Most phones today are cordless. I don’t know if the modern-day child realizes that phones ever had a cord in the first place. A short cord meant you were standing close to the wall, while a long one meant your siblings could jump rope over it as they passed.

Today, our phones are a home office where you can communicate simultane ously with everybody and nobody. Rath er than competing for attention with our other family members, our children are finding social media, news sites, text messages, emails and anything and everything taking away our atten tion. We’ve gone from “just one minute sweetie, I’m speaking to Bubby” to “just one minute, I’m checking Instagram.”

Technology has brought much good along with the challenges. I am not de bating the pros and cons of any given device. I just want to take a few para graphs to focus on two points about the use of technology and parenting: keep ing our children prioritized and the ex ample we’re setting.

Throughout this article the assump tion is that every website, contact, and text is 100% kosher. I will not be discuss ing the inherent dangers of inappropri ate content. Such a complex topic is be yond the scope of this article. There are many organizations and professionals available for those finding themselves experiencing difficulties in this area. I urge all those who need assistance in this to overcome any embarrassment or shame and get the appropriate help.

I am not here to tell our chashuve readers how they should or shouldn’t use their devices, nor how much time is appropriate for electronics on any given day. This is up to each person to deter mine for themselves, and it would be completely inappropriate for me to even suggest I know best – what is necessary for one person may be unnecessary for others.

The Challenge

I recently read a Jewish weekly publication that challenged a group of women to read a particular book on the science behind the addictiveness of cell phones along with a systematic program to drastically reduce their us age. I think the book is called How To Break Up With Your Phone by Cather ine Price; unfortunately, I don’t know for sure since I eventually threw out the article and never read the book. The ar ticle consisted of these women sharing

their experiences and thoughts after this challenge.

It was interesting to read the wom en’s responses in this article. These were frum women who were clearly focused on their family and avodas Hashem yet they still were finding themselves exces sively drawn to their cellphones. They described many of the techniques they used to successfully bring down their screen time usage, all while keeping their phone as a functional device.

I’ll give just a few of the many ex amples. What I found helpful was that it wasn’t just “throw it out” or “drop everything.” Some women felt they still needed social media for business purposes. With this in mind, they cre ated set times they used it or set other parameters to keep it controlled. Many charged it away from their sleeping ar eas, turned off alerts or kept it on silent. Checking their time usage gave them a clear indication of how they were doing.

Many of us have taken the time to contemplate the role modern-day tech nology plays in our lives. I’ve long debat ed back and forth over bringing up this topic in an article but have been very hesitant. Seeing the benefits these wom en and I have experienced from reining in the technology in our lives, I finally decided to humbly begin just a small portion of the discussion that is at the forefront of our generation’s challenges.

Feeling Special

As adults and parents, there are so many things we need to do each day, most of which our children fail to ap preciate. On any given day, our “to-do list” may feel more like a “wish list.” Particularly with the yomim tovim in our rearview mirror, many of those rou tine tasks had to be put aside to prepare for the Days of Awe; now we are playing catch-up.

Our children, despite our many re quired roles and tasks, still want to feel like the center of our universe. Even if those many items on our to-do list re volve around them, our little ones often fail to realize that we’re only doing those things for them. We pay the mortgage to have a house to raise them, tuition is for their education, healthcare for their many pediatric visits, and the grocery bill is so high because they’re continu ously hungry.

With the many obligations we have it’s crucial that our children still feel they’re important to us and central to our day. We need to carefully priori tize our time. It’s hard enough to make a child feel special as we go about our daily day and those necessary tasks; it’s even harder to accomplish this goal if our children are fighting for our atten tion with a tiny screen playing a funny video, frequent text messages, or social media.

Attention Competition

It’s a fallacy to think we can divide our attention limitlessly. While the reality is that we often have to multitask, there’s a clear difference between our child talking to us as we stir the pot as opposed to when we’re staring at a screen while trying to type a coherent message. (Sadly, text messaging has de stroyed spelling, grammar, and punctu ation, but that’s another topic.)

Many of the jobs we do simultane ously require minimal focus, and our loved ones don’t feel it detracts from our ability to concentrate on them. In contrast, using our phones or tablets creates a competition between our child and an electronic screen. How sad for a child to feel their parents find the device more interesting than their child.

There are definitely times that we need the information on the screen, and these items can be very useful. There is incredible convenience in doing your banking, finding a recipe, or being able to make a phone call from wherever you are. Many of our readers may remember the days before cellphones when you al ways kept a quarter in your pocket and had to search for a pay phone – some thing our children can’t even fathom.

We just need to keep our priorities pri oritized and our children feeling like the priceless gems they are.

Living By Example

Our children are growing up in a world very different from ours when we were young. They’ve never experienced a time without the constant bombard ment of high-tech. It’s a tremendous

ample we expect from them.

If we prioritize our loved ones over the phone, hopefully they will, too. We want them to have healthy relation ships, and too many of our youth are relying on electronic relationships over in-person ones.

We want our children to use their time wisely. We want them to do their schoolwork, learn Torah and focus on

crossing streets on the red while typing, unaware of the passing vehicles. At a simcha, I saw the family members of the baalei simcha all typing on their phones and ignoring each other. The endless list of examples are all an indication that perhaps we’re not setting the example we’d like our children to follow.

Each individual, knowing their own needs, can take the time to assess what role technology should play in their lives. Our children’s needs and the ex ample we are setting for them should be among the criteria we take into con sideration. As we wade through the new terrain technology presents us, we can pave a path for the next generation to follow. May Hashem help us in our goals.

And if you text me but I don’t see it right away, please be understanding; I’m trying to follow my own advice.

challenge for us to learn how to balance our time and avoid the addiction (yes, many professionals acknowledge the addictive properties) of these devices while maintaining their usefulness. It’s nearly impossible for our children to do so. We can teach them by living the ex

their inner self – sports, hobbies and arts are all fun, too. Do we want them to spend their day with their eyes glued to a small screen? We can only expect our children to enjoy themselves sans tech nology if we set that example ourselves.

Sadly, I’ve seen too many adults

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

There’s a clear difference between our child talking to us as we stir the pot as opposed to when we’re staring at a screen while trying to type a coherent message.

In Praise of Community: Ten Years Since Hurricane Sandy

By Hylton I Lightman, MD DCH (SA) FAAP

Ten years.

It’s been 10 years since Hur ricane Sandy blew into our lives, leaving in its wake destruction, devasta tion and desolation, including my med ical office. Ten is a good round number as well as a milestone, so a trip down Memory Lane and a review of the les sons learned is in order.

Preparation, preparation, and prepa ration. Every day, and especially on the eve of a hurricane, our homes (and of fices) should be ready with flashlights (with batteries that work), bottled water, canned food, and other nonperishable foods. The sprinkler system for yards should be turned off; don’t rely on the rain sensor. Property should be se cured so there are no potential flying objects. Windows should be taped at a minimum, or boarded up if necessary. Furniture and other objects should be removed from window areas and moved into the center of rooms. Make sure laundry is up to date. If blessed with a full generator for a property, ensure that it has “exercised” regularly and will kick in, should power fail. Fully charge all cellphones and laptops.

Location, location, location. De pending on where your property is can make all the difference with a storm. Is your property prone to flooding or water damage? Put all computers on higher floors or desks to minimize damage. Make sure that your work is always backed up and is easily retriev able. Not long after Hurricane Sandy, I was interviewed for a conference of healthcare professionals on the proac tive steps we took to secure our patients important health data. The silence in the room while I presented was deaf ening because few of those present had never thought about this.

In addition to your workplace, walk

through your homes in advance of the storm, viewing your home through the lenses of lost power. Are paths clear? Can you navigate stairs with minimal or no light? Assign a place on each floor of your home for key items like flashlights and candles so you can access them eas ily, with minimal fuss.

Partner with your insurance broker in advance in reviewing your insurance policies. What does your policy cover and not cover? Do you have flood in surance? You may not live in a desig nated flood zone, but you never know.

Are your air conditioner compressors covered if they’re damaged by water? If you have a full generator, it is not nec essarily covered under your homeown er’s policy but requires a separate rider. Question your broker until you’re clear

and he has obtained the facts in writing for you.

Also, photograph your home and office and all contents. Perhaps cell phones with cameras were invented for this reason only. It’s always good to have this in any event but especially when completing the voluminous paper work in the aftermath of a catastrophic event. In other words, don’t wait for the event to happen. Also, list the con tents of your home and/or office. Invest the time – even without a superstorm looming – to systematically inventory computer and other equipment, artwork and other valuables, and in the case of my medical office, medical equipment and supplies. Make sure you backup this information to a cloud.

As we approach the end of the cal

endar year, this is a good time to review your insurance policies. There is no cost in having your agent review your limits and coverages. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Also, this is the perfect time of year with daylight savings time commencing on Sunday, November 6, 2022, to check the batteries in your fire alarm system and your carbon monoxide detectors. Many still operate on batteries, unless you have a new home and they are hard wired into the electric system. None theless, it’s a great time to test these monitors to be proactive.

Interesting fact we learned when wading through that awful afore mentioned paperwork: if, G-d forbid, there’s be a terrorist attack, your poli cy wouldn’t cover damage. You need a rider for it.

Let’s say these preparations are done and you’re staying put during an Act of G-d situation. Do you have an adequate supply of water? Clean laundry? Food? Medications? Do you have highlights of your medical records in case they are needed? If you are the parent or a fam ily member of a person with disabilities who needs access to electricity and oth er amenities, there is no question here. Evacuate. Evacuate to a place where the person’s needs can be met and guar anteed. Uncomfortable thoughts and questions but it’s best practice to think them through calmly when things are calm and you have a plan. The plan can always be adjusted and/or modified.

Specific to a medical office, we re viewed in advance of Hurricane Sandy our chronic needs patients, contacting and urging those we believed would be best served by not being in the area during Sandy. We accessed medical and pharmaceutical information for all patients so there were no gaps in care.

We worked with the local pharmacists to make sure medicinal needs were met.

Most medical practices have patient portals. I urge you to access your chil dren’s records and make sure that you have on your phones an updated immu nization record at all times. You never know when you might need it. What if you don’t yet have an active patient por tal account? Then contact your doctor’s office. They’ll be happy to help you.

Once you and your loved ones are secured, please think of others. Speak to your friends and neighbors prior to the storm to ascertain who is home and who might need help. During Hurri cane Irma in 2017, the Young Israel of Hollywood, Florida, set up a system to account for every shul member. Mi k’amcha Yisrael.

Stay home and indoors during the storm. Wishing to watch the tidal surge and other parts of a storm may appeal to your wild side, but don’t venture out side. It’s not the responsibility of the police, Hatzalah or other first respond ers to rescue such people from stupidity.

Social media can be helpful in con veying timely information. Messages of help across different platforms were launched during Sandy. Used correctly,

social media is not an evil, Satanic force but is a powerhouse to move people along a continuum of survival and good.

There have been other hurricanes in this country since Hurricane Sandy. Government officials have tried alerting workers to the “speed of action, scale of aid, and interagency coordination that can set a strong foundation for helping

It’s here that I sing praise for the power of community. The Jewish community near and far helped us. We will always remember the tractor trailer trucks filled by Frank Storch and his fel low Baltimoreans that brought much re lief to this part of the world. There were the tireless efforts of the Davis Memo rial Fund, Tomchei Shabbos, Achiezer,

hospitals to see how disaster planning, combined with community support, can affect a win-win for all.

Ten years since Hurricane Sandy and so much water under the bridge. And may the water stay where it is supposed to stay.

Ten is a big number in Judaism. There are the Ten Commandments. G-d required 10 righteous individuals in Sodom to avert Divine punishment. And 10 men constitute our minyan, our quorum for prayer. Ten constitutes one of our spiritual communities.

It’s ten years after Sandy, and truth be told, we should live each day to the fullest, appreciating G-d’s blessings. By knowing and recognizing G-d’s bless ings, we are well on our way to being prepared for anything in life.

As always, daven

people and communities restore their lives and activities.”

These are nice words but based on our experiences, that’s all they are. Nice words. I’m not sure anyone can ever measure the overall stress and displacement and their effects on phys ical health. Never mind the exposure to mold. And this was before the pan demic.

and key individuals who prefer not to be named. And many more.

On a personal note, thank you ad in finitum to The White Shul which provid ed me with space to see patients while the office was rebuilt. Our temporary clinic, replete with Costco tables as ex amination tables and office dividers to construct cubicles, drew visits of top of ficials from three major New York area

Dr. Hylton I. Lightman is a pediatrician and Medical Director of Total Family Care of the 5 Towns and Rockaway PC. He can be reached at drlightman@totalfamilycaremd. com, on Instagram at Dr.Lightman or visit him on Facebook.

Ten years since Hurricane Sandy and so much water under the bridge.

Health & F tness

Reasons Not to Return to Therapy

By Yeshaya Kraus, LCSW

I’m pretty sure we’ve all seen articles that dance around the idea of “Why You Should Find a Therapist” or “How Therapy Can Help.” It’s true, many people can benefit from therapy, and many peo ple should find a good therapist. The rea sons people have for not going that route don’t get as much attention, though, and they deserve it.

Here are a few reasons that those same people who might be helped use for not going back to therapy. These are all really good reasons, by the way. I’m spe cifically speaking to those who have been and either feel they finished or had an in complete experience in their journey.

1. “I’m fine. I don’t need to go back to therapy, I’m doing just fine. I’m OK, real ly”: If you feel that you’re going through your day with a reasonable amount of sat isfaction, balance, and fulfillment, then it’s more than likely that this is complete ly true. There are many roles that you play in life, such as professional, spouse, in dividual, parent. If you can honestly tell yourself that you’re happy with where you are in all of them, going back to therapy is probably not for you.

2. “I don’t want to have to spill my guts again. I did that once (or twice, or several times), and it was heart-wrench ing. I don’t want to face that again”: Therapy is hard! No one ever said that it would be fun, or comfortable. I’ve heard it said that the ideal of therapy is to have a safe place to be uncomfortable. There’s something powerful about that descrip tion and about having a safe place to ex perience the feelings that have caused you so much trouble. Especially if you’ve had some experience in therapy, and you know how much work it may be for you personally, you may decide that the cost of re-opening a conversation isn’t worth the potential benefit of coming out the other side. Depending on your situation, it may be perfectly fine to sit with the feelings and not go back to take care of them. It all comes back to the foundation of reason #1: If you’re OK enough with where you are in life, there’s no need to start up again.

3. “There are too many choices. How do I know who’s good and who’s just not for me?”: I call this “Expensive Restau rant Menu Syndrome.” OK, I really don’t call it that, but it’s the same idea. Unless you’re comfortable with the therapist you were seeing previously, starting up again means that you’ve got to find someone new. How are you supposed to judge? You

therapists don’t seem to take insurance. In some cases, change can be expected within a few months, but that’s a few months of weekly sessions. And this is aside from the emotional experience ref erenced above. You need to balance the need for change with how comfortable you are with taking the time to make that change start and stick.

possible that the talk will cause a shift, whether in your thinking or about your brain. The feeling that it won’t help is a very powerful one, though. You may feel it’s not worth challenging it.

6. “I stopped going to therapy for a reason. I wasn’t seeing any change, and quite frankly, I don’t think anyone can help me. I’m just going to have to live with my depression/anxiety/marriage etc. There’s nothing anyone can do”: Hav ing stopped before, you had a reason for it. You determined at the time that what ever was going on in your life wasn’t be ing addressed in the way that would have made you feel better, and you decided that you’d live with it as is. It’s that cost ben efit analysis. Sometimes the conviction that no one can help can be helpful too, as it helps you to justify not addressing the issue fully, or even partially, and ac cept that things are what they are. That’s completely OK, as long as it works for you.

7. “If I see a therapist who lives in my community, someone will know what’s really going on. That’s too much for me to deal with”: Confidentiality rules aside, people get really nervous about this. The idea of “Someone” in the community knowing what you’re going through, even if they’ll never share it with anyone be sides possibly a supervisor or consultant, can be daunting and even overwhelming. Even though it may be much easier to deal with once you’ve actually shared your sto ry, many people find it easier to just keep their silence.

can certainly go by letters after the name. Certifications and trainings certainly show that a person values their profes sional competence. They don’t mean that the person will necessarily be a good fit for you personally, though. Same deal with which modalities or approaches they use. It can be overwhelming.

4. “Shoot, therapy is expensive! And it takes a lot of time. Who can re ally commit to that?”: It does take time. Time is money, especially when so many

5. “If I hear someone ask me how it feels, I’m going to flip out. I know how I feel, and talking about it isn’t going to help any”: Alas, this is a cornerstone of many psychotherapies. Yes, there are some that focus on physical sensations too or with how you’re thinking about different parts of yourself. At the end of the day, though, it’s likely to get back to emotions and feelings. The feeling that talking about your feelings may not help much is also potentially true. It’s always

What it all boils down to is where you’re up to in life and how the challeng es you face are affecting you. If you’ve concluded that the downsides of starting up again outweigh the potential benefits, then there’s really no push to go back. The important thing is to be honest with your self and give yourself the chance to really think it through in a way that works for you.

Yeshaya Kraus, LCSW, is a therapist in pri vate practice in Far Rockaway, NY, special izing in relationship issues. He can be reached at yykraus@gmail.com.

Marked by a Book

By Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz

Bookmarks used to be thing you made for Mother’s Day back in the day. Bookmarks used to be a day camp crafts staple, fast, easy, and cheap. Bookmarks were not for real people, I thought, because I didn’t see anyone in my life using them. They were items sold in museum gift stores and in Barnes and Nobles for people living the genteel life described in novels. I associated them with fireside reading, cozy afghans, and overstuffed armchairs.

Potato-peeling people didn’t use book marks. People who ran to catch public transportation didn’t use bookmarks. People who gobbled several books a week and couldn’t get enough of them didn’t use bookmarks. They were in too much of a rush.

Dog-earing books to save the place was verboten, not for menschen. You just finished the chapter and hoped for the best when you went to sleep. Part of the delight was figuring out where you were and rereading whole passages the next time. You eased out of your own worka day prosaic life and sank into familiar rich chocolaty thick slice of cake when you re read those pages. Aaah. That was great! Now the anticipation of what comes next in the story.

Sometimes you were smart and plucked something nearby like a tissue or an envelope as a placeholder. But during the busy years, migrating facial wipes and paper were the enemy; they were quickly deposited into the dustbin lest housekeep ing be lax. It was easier to control the clut ter and mail detritus than the kids. Books were treats then, escapes from grinding busyness, mom’s night out inside. And cheap therapy for life’s stressors.

For the kids, they were bridges to other worlds, adventures, and fantasy. Books were important and vital, in any shape, state or form. One of my son’s first words was spoken when we passed 60th Street and 17 th Avenue. “Books! Books!” he shouted, seeking the wonders of the library. The kids loved books even when I did the choosing. There was a period when I was the one with the time and the

means to get a new stash quickly (read: Mommy-the-driver who could get to the source before six o’clock closing time of the children’s room).

I was both dismayed and proud when one daughter had a severe response when her friend returned a National Geograph ic volume that we had purchased. It came back to 1718 46th Street with staples mark ing the dog ears. Said daughter turned

important. Memoirs held my interest. I stalked new books by authors I liked be cause I felt comfortable with the familiar foibles, psyches, and speech patterns of their characters from earlier volumes. And then, when I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands, I started a writing group to force myself to write.

It was not long afterwards that I re ceived an arty bookmark as a gift from

for Mary Oliver’s spare trills on the nat ural world? Did she think I marked my books with a proper bookmark? What was she thinking? That I was truly a lit erary type?

At least the bookmark might be useful, I concluded after perusing the books and putting them on the shelf. And it was. For a short while. Until it disappeared into the cavern under my bed, never to be sighted again. But I had had a taste of civilized reading, of marking a pause, and picking up again at the end of the day with calm and without skimming to find the place. And it was nice. And I felt like a grownup.

Other bookmarks could do the job, thought I, picking up free promotion al cardboard rectangles at events and stores. They did, and they didn’t. They didn’t enhance the experience of reading like a beautifully rendered art master piece under thick plastic with a silk tassel at the end.

End of the bookmark period. I am now a real grandmother, and like all ancients I save things and use them for practical purposes. I won’t say “hoard” lest I sound hoary and crone-like. These days, wide ordinary rubber bands hold my place in a book. They are free and plentiful in the neighborhood where they arrive dai ly along with the morning post. Where else do you see plain gummy beige rubber bands these days?

very serious and had some choice things to say to the young lady neighbor. My daughter respected books! Oh, be joyful, young mother, thought I. Nachas!

Then my taste changed – or was it me? Social science books no longer held appeal. Historical novels were simply his tory. A strong sense of place became very

one of the occasional members of the writ ing group. Accompanied by two slim vol umes of poetry by her favorite poetess, the gift’s function was a token of thanks for hosting her daughter’s vort in my house.

I was underwhelmed. Bookmark? Me? Not my lifestyle!

Did she think I had the peace of mind

I prefer to call this a sign of cool bob byhood, repurposing rubber, a natural re source. It’s a green habit! It’s upscaling! It’s good for humanity! After all, book marks are now digital items, holding your place in the document, the net, the cloud, whatever you call it. When books become Kindled and bookmarks fancy cursors, why shouldn’t someone with a sense of herstory pause her place with a soon-to-be artifact, the amazing, expanding literary rubber band?

JWOW! is a community for midlife Jew ish women which can be accessed at www.jewishwomanofwisdom.org for conversation, articles, Zoom events, and more.

Fd for Thought Carbon Comes to Crown Heights

By Nati Burnside

As you approach Carbon Charcoal Bar & Grill, it’s easy to smell the charcoal from a good 50 yards away. Something about that smell helps add to a sense of anticipation before you even walk in the door.

Walking inside, you’ll see a sleek space with a bar on the right side. Just past the bar, there are a few kiosks for you to place your order. This continues the grow ing trend of allowing customers to really browse the menu and customize their items. In case selecting from a giant touch screen isn’t exactly your thing, Carbon has staff on hand to help you make your choices or offer suggestions.

The space isn’t that large (about 50 seats), but the vibe certainly is. The over head lighting structure is a string of hexa gons, a shape you’ll find in a few places throughout the restaurant and one which is sometimes used to symbolize the sixth element on the Periodic Table of Elements, carbon.

But how do you pronounce the name of the restaurant? Let’s just say that’s up to you. It’s spelled like the element (carbon), but it’s a charcoal grill (carbón means char coal in Spanish), but the logo on the glass has a “kuf ” in it (which given the nature of the restaurant might indicate it’s pro nounced like the Hebrew word for sacrifice, “korban”).

However you choose to pronounce it, you’ll likely choose to come back for more.

I was invited to check out this amaz ing new concept by Gabe Don and “Bosh” Boshnack. Gabe always wanted to own a restaurant, and Bosh is the guy he want ed in the kitchen. Together they’ve creat ed a welcoming atmosphere with a bunch of cool finishings (carbon fiber tables and a wall of license plates in the bathroom). Making sure people feel at home is just as important to their mission as the food. That said, they’ve put together a really interest ing menu for patrons to order from.

If you’re looking for appetizers, there are a few that are out of this world. First,

the XL Loaded Fries are a must. The fries are homemade, disk-shaped, crinkle-cut, and still crispy even after they get a bunch of stuff dumped on them. They come with pieces of veal bacon mixed in and pico de gallo and guacamole on top. The portion size is rather large and could easily be split by six people.

Another appetizer I would advise you not to skip would be the Empanadas. These are on the larger side, and each one is likely to be six bites at least. The first thing you’ll notice is that the dough is perfect. After be ing open for only a week, their empanadas became so popular that they had to buy a pasta sheeter in order to make enough dough efficiently. This isn’t to say that the filling should be overlooked, as the beef is seasoned well and provides a hearty center.

My last recommendation here is to get the Pit Beans. I know…you might not be a beans person. Neither am I. But these were the best beans I’ve ever tasted. The secret at Carbon is that they cook the beans with the leftover scraps of meat from the day before. The result is a really deep flavor and a great consistency. If these beans ever get entered into a cholent contest, everyone else can take their crockpots and go home.

Charcoal chicken restaurants are be coming more common these days, and for good reason. The rotating nature of the machines makes sure that the inside of the chicken keeps its moisture, while the char coal below offers a great smell and texture to the outside. The result is a great combi nation of flavor, feel, and fragrance that is almost unmatchable.

What makes Carbon stand out in the expanding group of charcoal chicken plac es? They make their own sausages. These are not similar to what you will find in the store. These are ground and seasoned inhouse using different meats and spices to make four varieties. If you like sausages, you may have trouble picking just one.

If you are looking for a sandwich, I can’t recommend the Carbon Roast Beef enough. The bread is a ciabatta roll that possesses

the appropriate sturdiness to support the weight of the ample roast beef by having a slightly rustic outer crust, while the inside is soft enough to soak up the moisture of the meat, garlic aioli, and ruffage. Fresh to matoes, sauteed red pepper, and caramel ized onions all come together to finish one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in a while.

To accompany your meal, Carbon has made some interesting sauce choices for you to choose from. The Cumbre is a kind of salsa mayo that provides some good acidity, and it might be good on those loaded fries; the Golf is a sweet and spicy sauce that would pair well with their perfectly crispy fried chicken wings; and the Portuguese Pepper is a pureed sauce that was decadent when mixed into a sausage burnt rice bowl.

While there are many desserts on the menu, the Grilled Pineapple is the real must-have item. The high heat makes the

core edible, the char on the outside pro vides a unique flavor, and it’s something you likely can’t replicate at home.

A key feature for Carbon will likely be their spacious backyard (about 75 seats). The decor is clean and minimalist and makes you feel at home. The post-Covid diner may more comfortable eating outside, and the space will also be well-utilized for larger events like sheva brachos.

Speaking of the future, their liquor li cense will be finalized in the coming days and, given the proposed hours for the fu ture, Carbon will likely become the neigh borhood’s top late night spot.

So, if you’re in Crown Heights, or near it, or really anywhere, make sure to stop by Carbon. The prices are reasonable, the vibe is great, the portion sizes are large, the food is fresh, and at the very least you’ll be able to have a conversation about how to pronounce the name of this eatery while you wait for your food.

Carbon Charcoal Grill & Bar Meat - Pan-American Grill - Counter Service Sun. - Weds. 11am-12am, Thurs. 11am-2am, Sat. until 2am (347)-221-1337 • CarbonBK.com 262 Kingston Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11213 Beis Din of Crown Heights Vaad Hakashrus (CHK)

In The K tchen

Chicken and Cabbage Bake

By Naomi Nachman

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F.

cabbage on the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Season with some salt and pepper.

the chicken legs with

Place the chicken on top of the cabbage.

salt and then rub with oil on both sides.

Cover and bake for an hour, then uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.

with rice or roasted potatoes.

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.

Better Business Elon Musk: A Unique Visionary

By Chaim Homnick MA MBA

Elon Musk is the world’s wealthiest man and one of its most re markable. He founded and owns Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company and Neuralink and is on the cusp of closing a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter, the platform that he also regularly goes viral on.

Elon Musk provides a fascinating case study of entrepreneur ialism, innovation, and persistence. But he is also a fun-loving, meme-posting, singular thinker with diehard fans and vocal critics. Below is an outline of the polarizing genius who has changed the course of history in numerous ways while accumulating a net worth of approximately $200 billion.

His Origin Story

Elon Musk was born in South Afri ca in 1971. As a child, he read for hours each day, and he even wrote the code for a computer game when he was just 12 years old.

While in college, he saw the potential of the nascent technology called the in ternet, so he dropped out of his Stanford doctoral program in physics to focus on his first company, Zip2. He sold it, pock eting $22 million, and then reinvested most of those proceeds into X.com, his attempt to establish an online bank. Online banking was complicated and wasn’t working as he hoped, but the ability to send payments virtually via the internet was a huge hit with inves tors and users alike. X.com merged with Peter Thiel’s PayPal, with Musk becom ing the largest shareholder. He earned about $250 million in the $1.5 billion sale of PayPal to eBay in 2003.

Musk then threw those profits into launching SpaceX and co-founding Tesla.

Tesla

After making two fortunes in the early days of the internet, Musk turned his attention to the goal of creating a

sustainable electric vehicle. Tesla’s web site states that the company “was found ed in 2003 by a group of engineers in Silicon Valley who wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than gas oline-powered cars.” GM had made an electric vehicle in the early 2000s but

the ultimate vehicle in terms of driving experience, safety, and fun. Tesla and Ford are the only American car com panies that have never gone bankrupt, although Musk admits that Tesla came close several times. As Musk explains, “It is easy to design an EV or even to

ica are Teslas. In fact, the demand for Teslas is so high that there is a 6 month wait list for some models, and as a result used Teslas are currently selling for as much as new Teslas.

SpaceX

Musk felt strongly that mankind should be expending more efforts at space exploration and reaching Mars, so he did something about it.

He first traveled to Russia in 2001 to meet with government officials and to attempt to purchase two or three in tercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that he could use as rockets. When he found their price too steep, he decided that he could build them for less money.

recalled them all in 2003 and destroyed them. Musk felt compelled to pursue an EV company, even if it was likely to fail and highly unlikely to ever earn enough money to justify his investment.

From the beginning, Tesla was ob sessed with making a car that would be

make a prototype. The challenge is manufacturing it at scale.”

Ultimately, Tesla accomplished that and more. It is now the EV leader by a huge margin, and its gigafactories are an incredible testament to human in genuity. 80% of all EVs sold in Amer

SpaceX struggled early on, but its persistence paid off. Now, SpaceX is making better rockets than anyone else, that can carry a bigger load, for far less than it would cost NASA or another company. SpaceX is also making rock ets that can be reused, something others had considered impossible.

His Unique Intelligence Musk thinks differently than the av erage human. As a result, he has man

When Tesla was on the brink as it strove to go from a compelling concept to a manufacturing juggernaut, Musk spent three years sleeping in his own Tesla factory.

aged to build the world’s best EV, to construct rockets for a tenth of the cost of NASA, and to become the wealthiest man on the planet.

His other companies also demon strate his willingness to think outside of the box. The Boring Company seeks to reinvent transportation with the Hy perloop and with a network of under ground tunnels for cars. (Musk asserts that skyscrapers are three-dimensional while city streets are two-dimensional, thus leading to an impossible traffic congestion. Flying cars are impracti cal. But Musk contends that a network of car tunnels can rectify that problem and ameliorate the brutal urban traffic ubiquitous in LA or NYC.)

Meanwhile, Neuralink is a gadget that Musk hopes will one day connect human brains to computers. This would likely first be used to aid stroke victims and other people who cannot commu nicate verbally. Long-term, it may have wider applications that today seem en tirely out of a science fiction novel.

Musk thinks and strategizes differ ently than most people and his prod ucts prove it. EVs used to be tiny cars with inefficient range and a dangerous propensity to be crushed in case of a collision (picture a tiny Prius). From day one, Tesla was obsessed with safe ty, quality, and experience. To this day, a Chevy Bolt loses 20-50% of its range in cold weather, while a Tesla is near ly unaffected. Last year, Biden praised Chevy for their EV efforts. In 2021, they delivered a total of 26 EV cars. Tesla de livered over 1 million cars.

Tesla also has no dealerships and spends zero on advertising. Musk be lieves that a company’s mission, and its entire raison d’etre, is to provide the best product it can, and every resource should be expended on that pursuit alone. You won’t see a Tesla Super Bowl ad, because every available dollar is spent making better cars and a better company.

Tesla is now a car company, a mer chandise brand, an insurance company, a manufacturer, a battery company, the number one solar panel company, and so much more. Other car companies design cars and source supplies. They simply don’t compare to what Musk has built and continues to build with Tesla. When it comes to both creating EVs and building rockets, Elon Musk didn’t accept the consensus opinions on what something should cost or how it should be made.

There are numerous interviews and

speeches that can be viewed online where Musk shares a unique mindset and a visionary’s imagination. For ex ample, Musk correctly contends that population decline is a bigger threat to humanity than overpopulation.

His Unusual Dedication

Musk isn’t just a visionary. He also has a legendary work ethic to match his brilliance. In the early days of Zip2 and X.com, he often worked 20-hour days. When Tesla was on the brink as it strove to go from a compelling con cept to a manufacturing juggernaut, Musk spent three years sleeping in his own Tesla factory. He said he wanted to show his employees that he was willing to suffer more than any of them while they faced production challenges with the mass-market Model 3.

His Irreverence

Musk also has a sense of humor –something other billionaires don’t al ways seem to display. Musk retweets memes, supports dogecoin as the “peo ple’s crypto,” and may have started the process to buy Twitter because he was upset that the satirical site The Baby lon Bee was suspended on Twitter for an anti-woke joke.

Tesla has embodied this ethos, and as a result, it has customers who are true fanatics. Tesla drops limited-re lease items on their website that quick ly sell out, like the Tesla Cyberquad, an $1,800 electric ATV for kids that sold out in under 48 hours. Musk’s humor can land him in trouble upon occasion, as can his quick-trigger tweets, but it is a beloved part of his persona that en dears him to his myriad fans.

Elon Musk is a generational fig ure. Part Einstein, part Rockefeller. Is he flawed like anyone else? Sure. But he makes for a fascinating case study in entrepreneurial excellence, and his unique combination of perspicacity and fortitude and impeccable timing have helped him shape the world we live in in numerous ways. The next chapter in the Musk saga promises to be just as in triguing.

ELON MUSK FUN FACTS

- This year, the Tesla Model Y will surpass the Toyota Corolla to become the number one car model in annual sales (over 1 million model Y’s sold annually).

- The Tesla Model Y is the safest car ever created, with the highest safety rating scores on the Euro NCAP.

- The Tesla Model 3 was supposed to be the Model E, but Ford sued to block the name, claiming it sounded too much like the famed Model T. So Musk went with the name “Model 3.”

- The Boring Company sold out of 10,000 flamethrowers they made as a gag. Several states do not allow flamethrowers to be mailed, and these “flamethrowers” were really blowtorches shaped like a gun, so Musk had them shipped in boxes that said, “Not a Flame Thrower.”

- When the “Falcon 1” rocket reached orbit in September 2008, SpaceX became the first private space company to achieve this.

- The “Falcon Heavy” can carry 70 short tons of payload into space. That’s twice as much as its most powerful competitor, but at a third of the cost.

Chaim Homnick is a serial entrepreneur who owns several businesses. He also men tors small business owners. If you have questions you would like to see answered in a future column, or other feedback, email chomnick@gmail.com.

Y ur Business

John Giordano on Cash Flow, Inventory, and Integrity

This column features business insights from a recent “Mind Your Business with Yitzchok Saftlas” radio show. The weekly “Mind Your Business” show –broadcasting since 2015 – features interviews with Fortune 500 executives, business leaders and marketing gurus. Prominent guests include John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi; Dick Schulze, founder and Chairman Emeritus of Best Buy; and Beth Comstock, former Vice Chair of GE; among over 400+ senior-level executives and business celebrities. Yitzchok Saftlas, president of Bottom Line Marketing Group, hosts the weekly “Mind Your Business” show, which airs at 10pm every Sunday night on 710 WOR and throughout America on the iHeartRadio Network.

On a recent 710 WOR “Mind Your Business” broadcast, Yitzchok Saftlas (YS) spoke with guest John Giordano (JG), partner at Citrin Cooperman.

* * *

YS: Could you share a little bit about Citrin Cooperman?

JG: One interesting piece of trivia we always share is that the company was actually founded on seed money from a major rock band. Our co-founding part ners used to work at a firm and served said client. When they decided to go out on their own, this rock band staked them the money to do so. So that’s a little tidbit that we like to throw out there. But now, we’re a top-20 firm. We have offices along both coasts. On the East Coast, we’re ser vicing Boston Metro all the way down to DC Metro. We have a handful of offices throughout the LA area, which mostly services our entertainment practice and is growing in all different types of indus

tries.

We offer our clients a full suite of services – not just your core tax and ac counting, but a multitude of other service offerings that we have that rival some of the larger firms. We go to market by in dustry. So, we have a lot of different in dustry specializations like manufacturing and distribution. We also have real estate, construction, franchising, and a slew of other healthcare advisories. We also en tered into a private equity transaction in 2021, which was really exciting for us. We are very excited about our path forward following that transaction.

on a one-off occasion, but in our industry, we feel that we need to be respected by our clients and to respect our clients as well. When you build up a reputation as somebody that respects others, it opens a whole magnitude of things in how you can grow your business. Especially me, as a young professional (at least I like to think I am), we’re in it for the long haul.

Can you explain how the virtue of re spect has resonated with you and led you to where you are today?

Without integrity and respect, it’s very tough to do business. It’s very easy to see through certain people. And once you see through them, you really don’t have the same respect for them. Are you going to do business with that person? You might

I’ve always rode off this background from my parents to be respectful, whatev er it may take. If somebody’s disrespect ful to you, you don’t come back at it. It’s not an eye for an eye game. Show respect. That’s how you gain respect overall. I hate to say, but it’s almost like a lost art today in some regards. I think we all can show a little bit more respect for each other, and I think it would go a long way.

staff, our clients (and their accounting staff) around it. We develop certain cli ent service offerings around it, things we think cater more to M&D companies and new relationship development. I like the fact of a tangible product. Something that you can go out and see being made. Something that’s brought to market that involves branding, marketing, differentia tion, product innovation, things like that.

I remember going on inventory ob servation my first day. New Year’s Eve, walking through an inventory warehouse, going up on those forklifts, but I enjoyed it because it’s a tangible product. It’s so important because there’s a lot that goes into it. From thought development of a product all the way into marketing and ultimately, getting on the shelf and into the customer’s hands. So that’s obviously the business side of it.

Can you explain M&D (manufacturing and distribution) and your role at Ci trin Cooperman?

I co-lead our M&D practice. Anything from thought leadership, educating our

But there’s also accounting aspects to consider. Everything is driven by cost these days. Going to market customers, they could easily shop anywhere. Espe cially with Amazon and online pricing,

it’s very easy to go in there and cost com pare. Whereas, back in the old days, if you wanted to cost compare, you’d have to go to 4-5 different stores. So, pricing really matters today. Product availability, inno vation, differentiating your products, all those types of things are prevalent today.

the larger firms. And for us, as partners and owners of accounting firms, we found that very attractive, because it’s a way to bring in a lot of capital to grow.

Could you further explain the main services you provide?

Our core services have always been assurance and tax compliance. That’s what a lot of our clients need. That’s re ally our intro for clients, whether they are lenders, investors that need financial statements published, whether they are audited, reviewed, or just compiled. Then we have tax compliance work, which is for taxing authorities depending on where they do business, federal returns, and all the different state jurisdictions. Our state and local tax departments are al ways busy.

Now, with the Wayfair ruling, a lot of manufacturers and distributors do busi ness all over with e-commerce. So that’s an area that we’ve seen an increase. It’s through those services that we really build our client relationships and can become trusted advisors, because when you’re doing an audit, you’re doing a re view, you’re really diving in and under standing the business. We lead by indus try. A lot of the people that we staff on these engagements have that background and understanding of how an M&D com pany operates. You learn about the com pany and how they do business. That’s how we really started to build our rela tionships. Those are the core services that we provide, the assurance work and the tax compliance.

In the accounting industry today, there’s a great deal of consolidation. There’s a lot of succession planning going on, in terms of people retiring and what they do with their practices. We wanted the capital to grow. We’re a firm that has always grown through mergers and ac quisitions, looking to find firms that fit our culture.

to stack that against all my outflows. If those trade terms differ from my custom er trade terms, I have to balance all that out, plus my employee salaries and bene fits. So, that’s why turning receivables is so important.

Could you talk about how private eq uity firms are now investing and part nering with accounting firms?

I know it might seem crazy, but it kind of makes sense when you look at what pri vate equity is looking for. From my un derstanding, they’ve been looking to enter for a while, it just never quite clicked. But for the accounting industry, it’s attractive – the resiliency of the industry, the recur ring work. I think that’s drawn them in. A lot of them have other portfolio com panies in the professional services space that might look to bolt onto an account ing service. Even prior to us finalizing our dealings (it was another large firm that announced it), they brought in pri vate equity as well. There are rumors that there are a lot more to follow in some of

Could you explain the concept of turning receivables into cash?

It’s a concept that’s always been looked at, especially for M&D clients. When you deal in wholesale distribution,

During the pandemic, we saw a lot of clients that were fortunate enough to get some government assistance that was significantly needed, whether it be the Payroll Protection Program loan or employee retention credits. But as those government programs start to subside, it becomes more prevalent to turn those receivables. You have to make sure that you’re getting those cash payments in. Hopefully, that incubator of those govern ment programs helps stabilize and keep our clients’ customers solvent enough to make payments and all that. But it’s a

ceivable yet. So, there’s a lot to manage in terms of not only inventory, but the cash flow as well. It’s a cycle that, we found, those that managed it were able to suc ceed. Just being agile and being able to forecast and project. We helped a lot of clients out with cash flow projections. There were so many different variables to go into there, because a lot of things weren’t run like how they’ve historically been running.

What are some examples of cyberse curity threats as it relates to M&D?

M&D clients are a target. Many of them don’t think they are. “What would they want from my data?” But hackers know the importance of those compa nies and how their supply chain is their lifeline. If you hold that up for a minute, they’re typically going to pay to get that back to prevent any delay in their process.

it’s not like retail, where I buy something, and you get paid right away. Whenever I distribute wholesale, it’s typically on a trade receivable. A lot of our clients do credit checks and offer treatment. So, trade credit goes out there, and they’ll sell product to them, and then they’ll have to wait on that receivable. It could be 30-90 days to get paid on that. While turning receivables isn’t a new additive to the accounting industry, it’s been so im portant over the last couple years because of where we’ve been, a lot of it has been stretched out…customers going through a tough time, having receivables outstand ing, having to worry about customers go ing out of business.

The cons of turning receivables into cash are important, especially when pro jecting cash flows. I always like to boil it down to inflows and outflows. When you sell a product in wholesale distribution, you’re not getting paid on the spot nor mally. A typical sale is I sell you a prod uct, you agree to pay me $30-60. I have to wait for that cash flow. I have to man age that. That’s my inflow. Then I need

game of inflows and outflows, so turning that cash is important in stabilizing the business.

The other thing that we’re seeing now, which is even crazier, is they’ll find ways into a system and just sit there and wait. They’ll just monitor email activity, to see how people converse. How do you trans act business? Who are the key points of contact? How does the CEO speak when he writes an email? They’ll monitor that data and find the perfect opportunity to construct an email that looks the same as a regular email from the CEO saying, “Hey, it’s me, I’m on vacation. I need $50,000 overnight.” That’s the way they’ll attack some of these companies, which is absolutely crazy.

What are the Do’s and Don’ts of inven tory management?

One of the biggest things is asking: Where are those products sourced? If it’s overseas, you have to deal with lag time. It could be 120 days of “on the water” time. During the pandemic, when you had that global supply chain crunch, it was easy to forecast sales and what they thought they were going to sell. But it’s really, “When do I bring that product in?” You don’t want to lose customers. You don’t want to have stockouts. That’s the biggest concern. People were taking on more and more inventory to have on hand, which leads to warehousing costs, handling costs, etc. Plus, everything com pounds, so if my AR is turning slower, I have to take on more debt. I have to draw off my working line of capital loan to have that cash flow because I’m not even able to sell that inventory to turn it into a re

“They’ll monitor that data and find the perfect opportunity to construct an email that looks the same as a regular email from the CEO saying, ‘Hey, it’s me, I’m on vacation. I need $50,000 overnight.’”

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

We are in a climate catastrophe. And all you are afraid of is tomato soup or mashed potatoes on a painting. Does it take mashed potatoes on a painting to make you listen? This painting is not going to be worth anything if we have to fight over food.

– One of the two protesters who threw mashed potatoes at a $110 million Claude Monet painting in a German museum this week

I don’t think it’s a big deal.... We don’t look at color.… I think the minute you guys stop making a big deal about it, everybody else will as well.

- Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, who is black, responding to questions about facing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, another black coach

Having children is why you’re worried about your price for gas.

- Georgia’s Democrat governor candidate Stacey Abrams when asked on MSNBC about high prices due to inflation

Anyone watching weekend football has seen Hochul ads about abortion. That’s because she wants the party faithful to keep talking about the non-issue of abortion and not thinking about the fact that nine New Yorkers were murdered in the subway this year.

- Democratic congressional candidate Maud Maron writing in the NY Post

Yes. We have to be on brand at all times. Very important ... it was a way to tweak the media as a final goodbye from Rush, which we know he certainly would have loved.

- Rush Limbaugh’s widow in an interview with Glenn Beck confirming that his occupation on his death certificate stated “Radio’s Greatest of All Time”

I have disagreed more with him than with any other justice. Which means we don’t come together on many cases. And yet I can tell you that I spend time with him, understanding that he is one of the few justices who knows practically everybody in our building. He knows their name, he knows the things about their life, what their family is suffering.... There’s no other justice who does that. I try, but he does it better. He cares about people.

– Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor talking about Justice Clarence Thomas

I turn to all the Chareidi Ashkenazim that don’t want to vote for various reasons. Please, go out to vote for Yahadus HaTorah (Gimmel). You need a Jewish state. I’m relying on you. I love you very much.

-Saudi blogger Mohammed Saud, who is a fan of Israel, in a video to chareidim

James Corden is a hugely gifted comedian, but a tiny cretin of a man, and the most abusive customer to my Balthazar servers since the restaurant opened 25 years ago. I don’t often 86 [throw out] a customer. Today, I 86’d Corden. It did not make me laugh.

-Balthazar restaurant owner Keith McInally revealing he banned comedian James Corden from his restaurant for Corden’s abhorrent behavior to staff

When you see our kids, and I truly believe that they are our children, they are the children of our country, of our communities. I mean, our future is really bright if we prioritize them, and therefore prioritize the climate crisis.

- Vice President Kamala Harris while on “Late Night with Seth Meyers”

He eats a lot of ice cream.

– Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker when asked if he agrees with anything that Joe Biden has done as president

They’d say the secret to a happy marriage and reaching 100 is to have a row every day. They are like that, nothing serious, just a bicker.

- The son of Josephine and Alfred Waterfield — who are both 100 years old and who recently celebrated their 75th anniversary – talking about the key to their lovely, long marriage

Isn’t it time for your state to choose who you are with? Is it with the democratic world, which is fighting side by side against the existential threat to its existence? Or with those who turn a blind eye to Russian terror, even when the cost of continued terror is the complete destruction of global security?

- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaking about Israel to a conference organized by Haaretz Daily

Every time we in Ukraine, at the meetings of the staff of the supreme commander-in-chief, discuss Russian missile and drone terror, we also talk about our partners who already help or can help protect the sky. Unfortunately, the words – Israel, Israeli – do not sound at that moment. Of course, this is the decision of your state, your governments.

- Ibid.

Zelensky doesn’t do himself any favors when he makes these types of hyperbolic accusations. They feed into allies’ misgivings about increasing their support for Ukraine. Going forward, the indelicate leader may want to try a new tactic when wooing potential partners. There’s a reason the charm offensive has remained a mainstay of diplomacy for thousands of years.

– Bobby Miller, National Review

I just want to make things very, very clear. The only worn-out old donkey I’m looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.

- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when his gubernatorial opponent accused him of planning to run for president in 2024

I almost look at a football season like I’m going away on deployment for the military. And it’s like, “Man, here I go again.”

- Tom Brady

I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.

-Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announcing that she is leaving the Democratic Party

How is it controversial to define what a woman is? It is the height of hypocrisy for those who claim to be feminists, who claim to be champions for women over decades … to deny that there is such a thing as a woman.

- Ibid.

This governor still has not talked about locking up people committing any crimes.

- NY Republican Gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin to Gov. Kathy Hochul at their debate

I don’t know why that’s so important to you.

– Gov. Hochul in response

Happy Birthday to a great president!

- President Joe Biden on Monday wishing Vice President Kamala Harris a happy birthday

Right wing extremists already have a plan to literally steal the next presidential election, and they’re not making a secret of it.

- Hillary Clinton in a recorded message on behalf of a leftwing grassroots organization

Claiming 2024 is being stolen is easier than coming up with a plan to fight inflation.

- Fox’s Jesse Watters in response

I know y’all think it’s funny up here when he talks about Popeyes and all that [stuff]. That doesn’t make me happy to hear. We’re high-level athletes.

– Minnesota Timberwolves basketball star Karl-Anthony Towns talking about his teammate Anthony Edwards

Political Crossfire

Xi to the World: Full Speed Ahead

By David Ignatius

As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared for his coronation this week as China’s 21st-century em peror, he trumpeted the success of his hardline policies over the past five years – and, in the process, offered an ominous warning of what’s to come.

Xi’s self-celebration came in the “work report” he delivered last Sunday to the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party that’s meeting in Bei jing. It was an unyielding official affirma tion of the leftward turn he has adopted – without any sign that he recognizes the damage these policies have caused for China’s economy or reputation abroad.

The congress will conclude this weekend by granting Xi an unprece dented third term as China’s leader and installing a new generation of reliable Xi supporters to the ruling Politburo. Most telling in this festival of personal celebra tion: Xi’s utter lack of self-criticism.

Outside the echo chamber of Chinese propaganda, there’s growing evidence that Xi is making mistakes. China’s eco nomic growth is slowing, to what many expect could be under 3 percent this year, and the party was evidently so nervous about this issue that it delayed this week’s scheduled release of third-quarter gross domestic product numbers. China’s busi ness elite, meanwhile, are struggling to cope with Xi’s emphasis on inefficient state-run companies rather than Chinese innovators. And Chinese citizens have suf fered under an oppressive “zero covid” lockdown.

Some analysts expected he might offer some modest concessions to his critics at home and abroad – scaling back the ze ro-covid policy, for example, or promot ing officials who might provide more of the checks and balances that had existed among the Chinese collective leadership until Xi took power in 2012 and began a

ruthless consolidation.

But Xi offered no apologies for China’s recent course, only praise for his policies and pointed insults for his critics. The setting of the party congress gave his self-assessment special importance. The bottom line: If Xi has been moving in the wrong direction in recent years, as many Chinese and foreign analysts believe, he is now promising to run even faster in that direction in the future.

Xi’s speech was encyclopedic. The of ficial translation ran to 60 pages, single spaced. It’s anodyne-sounding theme was “socialism for the new era,” and Xi men tioned this “new era” – the Age of Xi, we might call it – more than 40 times. The speech had 80 mentions of security, 45 of socialism, 23 of technology. It mentioned freedom once.

Xi’s tone toward the United States was not bellicose, but he signaled that China is hunkering down for a period of intense competition with what he suggested was a bullying America: “Confronted with

drastic changes in the international landscape, especially external attempts to blackmail, contain, blockade, and ex ert maximum pressure on China, we have put our national interests first, focused on internal political concerns, and main tained firm strategic resolve,” he said.

Xi’s most intriguing comments were his attacks on domestic critics, who have grumbled about the Communist Party’s ever-tightening control of all sectors of Chinese life. Xi ripped these naysayers: “Inside the Party, there were many issues with respect to upholding the Party’s leadership, including a lack of clear un derstanding and effective action as well as a slide toward weak, hollow, and wa tered-down Party leadership in practice.”

The Chinese leader continued: “Some Party members and officials were waver ing in their political conviction. Despite repeated warnings, pointless formalities, bureaucratism, hedonism, and extrava gance persisted in some localities and departments. Privilege-seeking mindsets

and practices posed a serious problem, and some deeply shocking cases of cor ruption had been uncovered.”

On his police-state covid lockdowns, Xi said he had launched “an all-out peo ple’s war to stop the spread of the virus,” and he made no mention of the human costs of these policies. With the coronavi rus, China truly has been caught between the health risks for an aging population and the costs of strangling commerce and social interaction.

As for the economy, Xi defended his neo-Maoist emphasis on state-run firms, and the consequent throttling of entre preneurs. He attacked “money worship, hedonism, egocentricity, and historical nihilism” and said of the once-vibrant Chinese internet sector, “online discourse was rife with disorder.” Chinese business leaders were already intimidated by Xi’s attacks; now they are likely to retreat from any Western business contacts that might be dangerous.

Taiwan is the issue that most con cerns many Western analysts. They will hardly be reassured that Xi got loud applause when, after saying he wanted peaceful reunification, that “we will nev er promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.” He blamed “inter ference by outside forces” (meaning the United States) and a “few separatists seeking ‘Taiwan independence,’” for any troubles.

Xi spoke like the modern-day emper or he has now become. As we read his strident work report, we should remem ber that its author will be the most pow erful Chinese leader in history – whose response to China’s sagging economy and international isolation is full speed ahead.

Political Crossfire

The Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis are Lost on Putin

By David Ignatius

Sixty years after the Cuban mis sile crisis, it’s striking to contrast how two Russian leaders – Nikita Khrushchev and Vladimir Putin – have spoken about nuclear weapons. Simply put, one has shown a moral compass, and the other hasn’t.

Khrushchev spoke vividly of the “ca tastrophe” of nuclear war in his private messages to President John F. Kennedy at the height of the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 and sought to de-escalate the standoff. Putin, in contrast, has talked about his willingness to use “all weapon systems available to us,” adding a bit of gangster talk in his Sept. 21 mobilization announcement: “This is not a bluff.”

The two leaders’ radically different approaches to nuclear crises were high lighted Monday night at a Harvard forum commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Cuba confrontation. The discussion was hosted by Graham Allison, whose 1971 study, “Essence of Decision: Explain ing the Cuban Missile Crisis,” was a path breaking analysis of those events. Joining him were Nina Khrushchev, granddaugh ter of the Soviet leader, and me.

Nikita Khrushchev provoked the cri sis by secretly installing nuclear-capa ble missiles in Cuba. But after Kennedy blockaded Cuba and demanded the mis siles’ removal, Khrushchev looked for an opportunity to retreat. On Oct. 26, as the confrontation neared a flash point, he wrote an emotional letter to Kenne dy, warning that “armaments bring only disasters” and urging “statesmanlike wisdom.”

A passage in that Oct. 26 letter makes for haunting reading now, against Putin’s threats of escalation in Ukraine: “Mr. President, we and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull,

the tighter that knot will be tied. And a moment may come when that knot will be tied so tight that even he who tied it will not have the strength to untie it, and then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you.”

In that letter, the Russian leader opened the door to a resolution. He wrote that if Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba and called off the blockade, “then the question of armaments would disap pear,” implying that he would withdraw the missiles.

Contrast this creative Russian diplo macy with Putin’s response in Ukraine. At each decision point, he has pulled the knot tighter – mobilizing the Russian military, annexing occupied Ukrainian territories, and launching Iranian drones against Ukrainian cities. As Putin tight ens the knot, to use Khrushchev’s meta phor, he also threatens to cut it – by using nuclear weapons if defeat should loom.

At Harvard, Khrushchev’s grand daughter derided Putin as a small-minded

KGB lieutenant colonel who had learned “zero lessons” from the Cuban history.

Studying the Cuba drama also offers some lessons about how such a crisis can be resolved – in secret. A day after his passionate letter hinting at a compro mise, Khrushchev added a condition: he would remove the missiles from Cuba if Kennedy dismantled American nuclear missiles in Turkey. That upset Kennedy’s hawkish advisers, who feared that a re ciprocal process would make the United States look weak.

Famously, Kennedy decided to answer the first letter and affirm its simpler deal. But Kennedy also sent his brother Robert, the attorney general, to convey a private offer to Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Do brynin. The United States would indeed withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey with in six months – if the Soviets kept quiet about it.

When Dobrynin several days later de livered a written summary of the deal, the attorney general flung it back. “You have my word on this and that is sufficient…;

if you should publish any document indi cating a deal, then it is off.” The Soviets kept silent.

In the months after the crisis ebbed, Khrushchev and the president continued to exchange secret letters about deepen ing trust and cooperation. In May 1963, Khrushchev endorsed Kennedy’s pro posal to ban nuclear tests. In June, Ken nedy delivered his celebrated American University speech, affirming that “total war makes no sense” in the nuclear era and that nations should avoid forcing “a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war.”

Putin appears to lack the qualities of trust and empathy that animated Khrush chev. His comments about the United States have only grown more strident as the Ukraine crisis has progressed – with wild claims that the West seeks “to weak en, divide and ultimately destroy our country.”

Perhaps the most moving account of Khrushchev’s decency came from Jac queline Kennedy. After her husband’s assassination, she wrote a letter thank ing the Soviet leader for sending a spe cial emissary to the funeral. “You and he were adversaries, but you were allied in a determination that the world should not be blown up,” she said.

Kennedy concluded her note with a comment that seems almost to have been written about Putin: “The danger which troubled my husband was that war might be started not so much by the big men as by the little ones. While big men know the needs for self-control and restraint – little men are sometimes moved more by fear and pride.”

Khrushchev was a big man, in mind, body and heart. Putin, in this crisis, has been a very small man indeed.

Political Crossfire

The “Red State Murder Problem”? That’s Just a Democratic-Driven Myth

By Marc A. Thiessen

With Republicans hammering them over rising murder rates, Democrats have come up with a new line of defense: Republicans, they claim, are the ones really responsible for the surge in homicides. The United States, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) re cently declared, has a “red state murder problem.”

No, it doesn’t. The bogus claim comes from a March study by the Democratic think tank Third Way, which purports to show that, contrary to “the right-wing obsession over homicides in Democrat ic cities: murder rates are far higher in Trump-voting red states than Biden-vot ing blue states.” According to Third Way, of the top 10 states with the highest per-capita murder rates in 2020, eight (Missouri, Louisiana, Kentucky, Ala bama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mis sissippi and Arkansas) voted for Donald Trump, while just two (New Mexico and Georgia) voted for Joe Biden. “Repub licans seem to do a much better job of talking about stopping crime than stop ping crime,” Jim Kessler, an author of the report, told Axios.

One problem with that: In most of these red states, the high murder rates are driven by the lethal violence in their blue cities.

Take Missouri. Yes, it voted for Trump. But it is also home to two of the most dangerous U.S. cities – St. Lou is and Kansas City – both of which are run by Democrats. Earlier this year, CBS News did an analysis of the “deadliest U.S. cities” using the latest FBI and other crime data. In 2019, it found, St. Louis had the highest murder rate in the nation, with 64.54 murders per 100,000 resi dents. Kansas City, meanwhile, had the eighth-highest murder rate, with 29.88 murders per 100,000. According to the

FBI, the state had about 520 murders in major metropolitan areas that year, 20 in cities outside metropolitan areas, and 28 in nonmetropolitan counties. So, the vast majority of Missouri’s homicides took place in its Democrat-run cities.

The same is true for Louisiana, which has two of the most lethal Democrat ic-run cities in the country: Baton Rouge, which in 2019 had the sixth-highest mur der rate in the nation with 31.72 murders per 100,000 residents, and New Orleans, which had the seventh-highest rate with 30.67 murders per 100,000. Without those cities, the state’s murder rate would significantly drop.

That’s not all. Tennessee’s homi cide rate was driven up by Democrat ic-run Memphis, which ranked ninth in the country with 29.21 homicides per 100,000 residents. Also powering the state’s murder rate: then-Democratic-led Chattanooga (No. 29) with 18.15 murders per 100,000 in 2019 (note: the city elect ed an independent in 2021); Democrat ic-run Nashville (No. 59) with 12.08 per 100,000; and Democratic-run Knoxville

(No. 62) with 11.66 per 100,000.

The same goes for other red states: In Alabama, Democratic-run Birmingham, which ranked third with 50.62 murders per 100,000 citizens, drove up the state murder rate, as did Democratic-run Tus caloosa (No. 21) with 20.77 per 100,000. Kentucky’s murder rate was run up by its largest city, Democratic-run Louis ville, which had the 46th-highest mur der rate in 2019, with 13.92 homicides per 100,000 residents. Arkansas’s rate was driven up by Democratic-run Little Rock, the capital and largest city, which had the 24th-highest murder rate with 19.15 homicides per 100,000 residents. Mississippi’s was driven up by the homi cides in its Democratic-run capital Jack son, which had a murder rate of 46.5 per 100,000 in 2019.

See a pattern here?

Third Way also claims that 3 of the 5 states with the largest increase in murder rate between 2019 and 2021 were “decid edly rural” red states – “Trump-voting Wyoming at 91.7%, South Dakota at 69%, and Nebraska at 59.1%.” Sounds terrible.

Here’s what they left out: According to FBI data, Wyoming had a grand total of 13 murders in 2019, or 2.2 per 100,000 residents, while South Dakota had 17 and Nebraska had 45. So even if Wyoming’s murder rate nearly doubled, it still saw fewer than 30 murders in 2021. What else are these red states missing besides large murder numbers? Large, crime-ridden, Democratic-run cities.

Third Way does not provide city-bycity data for 2020 in its report, perhaps because this would undermine its red state murder narrative. But the Manhat tan Institute’s Rafael Mangual gathered data on the 2020 murder rates in the 50 largest U.S. cities – 34 of which had Dem ocratic mayors, while 14 were led by Re publicans (two were led by independents).

“The homicide rate in the blue cities was 15.8 per 100,000, compared to 9.4 per 100,000 in the red cities,” he found.

And in a May report, his Manhattan Institute colleagues Robert VerBruggen and Christos Makridis examined the growth in the homicide rate per capita in the largest U.S. counties between 2019 and 2020 – and then compared the rates in GOP-leaning and Democratic-leaning counties. They found that “counties with higher shares of GOP voters have a much lower homicide death rate and a lower number of deaths in 2020” and “also a lower growth in homicide rates.”

To argue, as Third Way does, that “murder rates are actually higher in Re publican, Trump-voting states” – without pointing out that those rates are driven by the slaughter taking place in Demo cratic-voting blue cities – is intentionally misleading.

The fact is, the red state murder prob lem is really a red state murder myth.

America’s New-Car Shortage Has That Old-Time Soviet Feeling P

resident Ronald Reagan loved to tell jokes about the inefficiencies of Soviet communism. One of his favorites was the one about the man in the U.S.S.R. who went to an automobile dealership to buy a car. “There’s a 10year delay in the Soviet Union of deliv ery of an automobile,” Reagan said. “So, this man laid down his money, and then the fella who was in charge said: ‘OK, come back in 10 years and get your car.’”

The man asked: “Morning or after noon?”

The dealer replied: “Ten years from now, what difference does it make?”

The man said: “Well, the plumber is coming in the morning.”

I was reminded of this story when I saw reports that the United States is ex periencing a Soviet-style new-car short age. In the first half of the year, deal ers received millions fewer cars from carmakers than anticipated thanks to a host of problems – including the his toric inflation the Biden administration unleashed that is dramatically raising supply costs, a record labor shortage that has left auto manufacturers strug gling to find workers, supply chain dis ruptions that have left tens of thousands of unfinished cars sitting around in fac tory lots waiting for parts, as well as an ongoing chip shortage that is holding up automobile production.

The result? Wait times ranging from several months to two years. According to the auto-sales website YAA, the wait time for a new Subaru is 3-5 months, the wait time for new Honda vehicles is four to six months, and the wait time for a Hyundai IONIQ 5 is eight to 12 months. Ford’s combustion-engine ve hicles are seeing wait times of four to six months, but you’ll have to wait be

By Marc A. Thiessen

tween six and eight months for an elec tric Ford Mustang Mach-E and at least one year for the Ford F-150 Lightning.

Wait times for the Toyota RAV4 Prime and Prius Prime, as well as many KIA

cording to automotive consultant J.D. Power. (Owners of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles cited more problems than owners of internal combustion engine models.) Moreover, thanks to

start technology. So don’t be surprised when your new car drives a little more like the Soviet Lada or Volga the man was buying in Reagan’s story.

As supply shrinks, prices skyrock et. The average price of a new vehicle reached $48,043 in June, the highest on record. And because of the shortage, customers are paying well over list price for new vehicles. The average sales price of a new vehicle is averaging 10% above manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). So, not only will you wait for months or years for your new car, you’re going to pay record-high prices for the privilege.

And when you finally get your new car, be sure to check for rodent dam age. Some manufacturers have left unfinished vehicles sitting around for months at a time in open fields waiting for parts – perfect conditions for rats and mice, who like to climb inside and gnaw on the internal wiring. (They seem to be especially attracted to soy-based wiring insulation that has replaced pe troleum-based products.) So don’t be surprised if your “check engine” light comes on soon after leaving the lot.

Incidentally, Americans are also experiencing a shortage of home appli ances, with long wait times for delivery and installation of items such as dish washers.

electric vehicles, are between 18 months and two years.

Not only are manufacturers facing production delays, they are also ex periencing quality control issues. The quality of vehicles sold in the United States fell to a 36-year low this year, ac

the chip shortage, many new cars are being built without such advanced fea tures as touch screens, hands-free driv er assistance technology, rear access systems, wireless charging, HD radio, navigation systems, heated seats and steering wheels, and fuel-saving stop-

So, when you go to buy a new car in Joe Biden’s America, and the dealer tells you to come back in one or two years to pick it up, don’t forget to ask: Morning or afternoon?

Because the plumber could be com ing in the morning.

So don’t be surprised when your new car drives a little more like the Soviet Lada or Volga the man was buying in Reagan’s story.

Forgotten Her es Captain Herbert Mandel Fighting Underwater

By Avi Heiligman

Known as the silent service, life on an American World War II sub marine was anything but luxuri ous. Over 60 sailors were crammed into an underwater metal tube that lacked sunlight and fresh air. Submarines would go on patrol for weeks or months at a time looking for targets of opportu nity. They faced many threats including enemy submarine chasers that would release deadly depth charges, enemy aircraft, mines, and even their own de fective torpedoes. Fifty-two American submarines never returned from patrol and at least two submarines were sunk when their own torpedoes that made a circular run.

It took a special type of sailor to serve on a submarine, and the officers who caused a massive decline in vital Japa nese shipping are often overlooked. Many of these officers deserve mention with at least one Jewish commanding officer of a submarine during World War II.

As the commander of the USS Fin back (SS-178), Captain Herbert Irving Mandel was the only submarine com mander during World War II that this author could confirm was Jewish. Man del hailed from Brooklyn and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annap olis in 1938. Graduates of the academy were usually assigned to a capital ship, and Mandel served on the carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) and later on the USS Wasp (CV-7). He later took the subma rine course at New London, Connecti cut, and first served on the submarine R-13 (SS-90 and built in 1919) as the third officer.

In 1942, Mandel was transferred

to the USS Finback (SS-230) as the torpedo and gunnery officer. While on the Finback, he earned the Silver Star for his performance while the subma rine was under attack during three war patrols. On a patrol in the waters off the Aleutian Islands, the Finback was tracked and then attacked two Japa nese destroyers. She sent a spread of torpedoes at the destroyers and barely missed getting hit by eighteen depth charges when one of the enemy ships came looking for the submarine. The sailors on the Finback heard an explo

causing large explosions. Soon it settled into the ocean by the stern.

Mandel’s experience and thorough knowledge paid off while directing the torpedo attacks in the sinking of these important ships. For his efforts on this patrol, he was awarded his second Sil ver Star while the entire crew earned a Navy Unit Commendation.

On the Croaker ’s second war patrol in the East China Sea, she sank three freighters and damaged another one with her last torpedo. Mandel received a Gold Star medal instead of his third

After the war, Mandel was appointed to second in command while achieving the rank of captain. In 1953, he was the operations officer that planned a large-scale, five nation naval exercise in the Mediterranean and in 1954 was appointed as commanding officer of the destroyer USS Douglas H. Fox (DD779). Captain Herbert Mandel passed away in 2016 at the age of 99 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Several submarine officers during World War II may have had Jewish sounding names but either weren’t Jewish or there wasn’t enough conclu sive evidence that they were. Abraham Leichtman was almost certainly Jewish, but he commanded the USS Picuda (SS382) a year after the war ended.

sion, and there was evidence of one of the destroyers being sunk. However, the Finback did not get credit for the sink ing as it wasn’t seen going down.

In July 1944, Mandel was appoint ed as executive officer of the submarine USS Croaker (SS-246). On the subma rine’s first war patrol in July 1944, she sank the Japanese cruiser Nagara , a minesweeper, and two freighters. While attacking the Nagara, the Croaker sent four torpedoes at a range of a thousand yards. The enemy ship was zig-zagging wildly, and the fourth torpedo slammed into the ship’s ammunition storage

Silver Star on this patrol for his excel lent leadership in leading the attacks that sank over 15,000 tons of enemy shipping. Another small Japanese ship was sunk using the Croaker ’s deck gun. As executive officer of the submarine, his outstanding math skills translated well into the attacks of the enemy ships.

In December 1944, he was appointed as commanding officer of the USS Per mit (SS-178). The Permit had been on 12 patrols before Mandel took command and soon it was used as a school ship. Mandel did not have the chance to take the ship on a war patrol.

A submarine can strike without no tice and can quickly change the course of a battle. Submarines played a vital role in grinding the Japanese war ma chine to a halt. For sailors onboard, it was considered an honor to serve but was dangerous as well. The names of most submarines’ captains and their sailors are rarely mentioned in the media but these Forgotten Heroes are to be remembered for their dedication and duty under extremely difficult con ditions during World War II.

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

Mandel’s experience and thorough knowledge paid off while directing the torpedo attacks in the sinking of these important ships.

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Seeking men and women ABA providers for after school hours in Queens, Far Rockaway, Woodmere, West Hempstead. talent@encoresupport.org 718-304-9977 ext 126

THE STOP AND ROLL FAMILY Is looking to expand our customer service staff!

NEWSPAPER LOOKING FOR someone with a Minivan or SUV who can work late Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning on a weekly basis throughout the year, delivering newspapers in Brooklyn. Please email gabe@fivetownsjewishhome.com or call (917) 299-8082

Perfect for someone looking for a flexible job or a second income. *Please send me a text or whatsapp if you are interested in setting up an interview. *

Contact: Benjy Schreier 13479929241

BOOKKEEPER

Excellent growth potential

Frum environment

Excellent salary & benefits

Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com

5 TOWNS BOYS YESHIVA

SEEKING ELEM GEN ED TEACHERS

Excellent working environment and pay. Only lic/exp need apply. Email resume to yeshivalooking@gmail.com

LOOKING FOR A DRIVER

Business looking for someone that has a large van or sprinter that can work a full day on Wednesdays on a weekly basis throughout the year in Brooklyn. Please do not call if you do not have a large van or a sprinter 347.992.7411

Classifieds

WANTED

PART TIME SECRETARY POSITION

Chareidi Yeshiva Administrative Office 5 Towns Area Detail Oriented & Computer Savvy Phones, messages, faxing, emailing, filing. Shipping and other general office tasks. 5 hours a day/possibly more. Good pay yofficesearch@gmail.com

PARAS & TEACHERS ASSISTANTS

Wanted: IVDU 5 Towns in North Woodmere needs teachers assistants and paras for the 22-23 school year. Besides having a competitive salary + benefits, you’ll have access to excellent workplace culture and professional development. Attn: graduate students obtain hours for BCBA and Special ed fieldwork requirements. Send a copy of your resume to seplowitzs@ou.org

MISC.

PECIAL EDUCATION SCHOOL

IVDU 5 Towns in North Woodmere has openings for a social work/ psychology internship. Our warm and professional environment will allow you to gain experience and hands-on training. You’ll have the opportunity to train in social skills, play therapy, provide counseling, and conduct research. The internship meets the requirements for graduate students in mental health programs for fieldwork, practicums, and internships. Email resume to seplowitzs@ou.org.

GEMACH ZICHRON YEHUDA

In memory of R’ Yehuda Aryeh Leib ben R’ Yisroel Dov. We have a library of books on the subjects of loss, aveilus, grief, & kaddish. We have sets of ArtScroll Mishnayos to assist with finishing Shisha Sidrei Mishna for Shloshim or yahrtzeit. Locations in Brooklyn, Far Rockaway, & Lakewood. Email: zichronyehuda@yahoo.com

Your Money Falling for Taxes

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

October is here, and Sunscreen Summer has faded into Pump kin Spice Fall. Leaves are turning yellow, temperatures are turn ing cool, and shirts are turning plaid. Children are dreaming of costumes and candy corn. (It’s OK, they’ll outgrow the candy corn part.) We’re all celebrating with bonfires, hayrides, cheerful pump kins, and more. And every town seems to have its own favorite fall tradition.

Cincinnati is one of those “flyover” cities that coastal elites don’t think about until the Bengals take the field. But Queen City natives are fierce ly proud of their town and traditions. They hate when you confuse it with Cleveland. They cringe when you mock their trademark Skyline chili. (You wouldn’t visit Philadelphia and make fun of cheesesteaks, would you?) And Cincinnati’s deep German heritage in spires residents to welcome fall with the world’s largest Oktoberfest outside of Munich.

As you would expect, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati features plenty of beer, schnitzel, lederhosen, and even the World’s Largest Chicken Dance. (Re ally.) And there’s one more adorably unforgettable tradition that kicks off

the entire event: the Running of the Wieners. One hundred dachshunds, all dressed in hot dog bun costumes, line up at the start to race in 10 heats of 10 dogs each. The wieners of each heat –excuse me, the winners – race one final time to crown the fastest dog in town. This year, “Leo” covered the 75 yard course in just over 3 seconds to bring home the bacon.

Frankly, we can assume the owners keep the beer for themselves.

So. Taxable income. Who pays? Ob viously, the owners, if they choose to re port it. (Dachshunds don’t have social security numbers.) None of the prizes are large enough that festival organiz ers issue 1099s. On the flip side, rac ing-dachshund owners can deduct the cost of buying, raising, and training

entry for dachshund racing.

Except . . . this year’s winner Leo also won last year’s race. Do we have a professional on our hands? If so, then Leo’s owners could deduct any losses from racing him against outside income. Here’s the key: are they racing him with a bona fide intent to make money?

Sadly, as Leo’s owner told local news, “We don’t really do anything special to train him. We let him dig in the yard and we play fetch a lot.” While both of those sound delightful for everyone involved, it means the hobby loss rule applies, and Leo’s owner is barking up the wrong tree if he wants his pooch to fetch tax breaks.

By now, you’re surely wondering what any of this has to do with taxes.

It turns out the dogs aren’t racing just for pride. They’re racing for prizes! The third-place winner walks away (on a stylish leash, hopefully) with a 25 $ gift certificate to Petsmart. Second place wins $50. And the first-place finisher wins $75 plus a case of Samuel Adams Octoberfest beer. (Sam Adams founder Jim Koch is a Cincinnati native.)

their funny-looking critters. But, since dachshund racing is just a hobby, the “hobby loss” rule prevents owners from deducting actual losses against outside income. It’s safe to assume that none of this year’s racers will be filing returns for their activity. The North American Activity Industry Classification System, which slices and dices business and in dustry activities into categories with six-digit codes, doesn’t even have an

The American Pet Products Associ ation reports that there are 90 million dogs in America. Almost all of them are winners to some lucky owner. For tunately for them, Fido doesn’t have to outrun the tax man.

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.

Life C ach I’m Confused!

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

A-“Just put them in the cor ner!”

B- “And you think that’s a good way to deal with them?”

A- “Okay, just get them to the sides. Push them out of the center.”

B-“Really? This is the right thing to do? “

A-“Okay, do this instead. Put similar seeming ones together!”

B- “Isn’t that a bit biased?”

A-“That’s the way it’s done!”

B-“Really?! That doesn’t make it right, though. It seems prejudiced and exclusive.”

A- “If you want to be successful that’s the way you need to do it.”

B-“Well, then, can’t we do something else?”

A- “Sure, but, I’m not sure why you’re getting so upset. Haven’t you ever done a jigsaw puzzle before?!”

Aha! See, it’s the topic you’re dis cussing that counts! Because mere words can be so misleading.

After all, puzzles do usually work best if corners and end pieces are done first. And then like pieces are put to

gether. This behavior of relegating things to corners or isolating things or people can be wrong. But it works really well in jigsaw puzzles.

Honestly, one can learn a lot about life from a jigsaw puzzle, especially, the multi-piece ones.

For instance: That sometimes we are only seeing half the picture.

efits to doing them, too. Though, even the benefits have downsides. Whoops! There goes another life lesson.

A puzzle can help a slow day go by. Though, often slowly! Because, it does kind of unfold in slow motion. So there are benefits and drawbacks to it.

It certainly gets people working to gether. Yet, it can become competitive with everyone focusing on their own

tion, they better hand it over to the one working on it. That is, if they actually value their lives!

If you find all this puzzling, you may not be a big puzzle person. But if you are, you kind of know exactly what I’m talking about.

Ultimately, as in all things, the idea is to come together and make “piece,” not war.

We are all working for a common conclusion in a puzzle – and therefore we should work together with respect, and we shouldn’t forget that.

Just as we shouldn’t forget that in life in general!

Or, there’s more to a story than we recognize.

Or, sometimes you’re just seeing things from the wrong angle.

Or, trying to focus on the big picture …. really does help a lot in life.

Besides learning life philosophies from a mere puzzle, there are other ben

section. Which leads to a kind of pos sessiveness, so if someone else finds your piece, they better be smart enough to hand it over rather than attempt to put it in because it has become your do main.

And certainly, if someone finds someone else’s finishing piece for a sec

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relation ship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or at rivkiros enwald@gmail.com.

Ultimately, as in all things, the idea is to come together and make “piece,” not war.