Five Towns Jewish Home 3.30.23

Dear Readers,

In this week’s issue, Miriam Hendeles, writing in our JWOW! column, talks about the importance of having a “pause” button in life. She writes about how there are times when we need to pause and take the moment to consider our actions or speech before launching into the next phase.

I agree with her that a pause button can be lifechanging, but instead of only using it for deliberation, we should use it to help us enjoy life more fully.

How often do you hear people lamenting the fact that they were so busy during certain stages in life that they forgot to enjoy the beauty of what they were busy with?

When your infant is barely sleeping and you’re juggling other children and myriad other responsibilities, it’s hard to take a step back, inhale deeply, and marvel at the miracle of those who are depending on you.

It’s challenging to focus on the blessing in the busyness of our days. But if we can take a moment to pause and reflect, we will be awed by the beauty and blessing that can be found in the hustle and bustle.

Recently, one of my daughters mentioned to me how excited she was that Shabbos was coming. She was looking forward to that “break” and couldn’t wait for

that time off. The busier life becomes, the more appreciative I am of the G-d-given pause that we are gifted each week. Shabbos reminds us to take that deep breath and contemplate the blessings in our lives. It makes us more present and more grounded. It enjoins us to connect more with our families, with our Creator, with ourselves.

Yomim tovim are also part of that divine package of connection that we experience throughout the year. On Pesach, we feel exalted and exhilarated as we live through our liberation from slavery so many years ago. Looking around the Seder, seeing our families and our friends, hearing the ageold words of the Haggadah, listening to the tunes, practicing the minhagim…there is so much to take in and absorb if we pause and focus on the moment.

Pesach is probably the most labor-intensive of our holidays. But if we can take the time before yom tov to pause for a few moments to reflect and remind ourselves of the splendor found in the holiday and in the beauty of our frum lifestyle, we will enjoy our preparations so much more as we work to get ready for Zman Cheiruseinu.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Friday, March 31

Parshas Tzav

Candle Lighting: 7:00 pm

Shabbos Ends: 8:01 pm

Rabbeinu Tam: 8:32 pm

Shabbos Zemanim

Partly Cloudy

Mostly Sunny Partly Cloudy

Dear Editor,

I was in a clothing store today and overheard an exchange between two high school girls. These girls looked like good, sweet girls, but after hearing them chat, I walked away feeling very queasy.

One girl said to the other, “Oh, I’m here every day. What else am I supposed to do? I’m going to Florida next week, and there’s nothing to do at home. So I just shop and browse every day, even though I already bought all my clothes weeks ago. I’m so bored.”

This girl didn’t say this in a snotty or condescending tone. She was just matter of fact in stating that she has nothing else to do for the two weeks before Pesach, so she just spends her time doing clothing shopping.

I know that our wonderful educators have a reason for giving off substantial amounts of time before Pesach for our teenage girls. The girls work hard all year long, the teachers need time off before yom tov, and some girls actually help out at home.

But the more I hear from other mothers (I don’t yet have a high school girl), the more I hear that Pesach time off for many, many families turns into a shopping fest for their teenagers. Most homes in the Five Towns have cleaning help. Even if mothers can dare ask their teens to clean out a shelf or two or watch the baby for an hour or two, they often feel guilty that their child is the “only one” helping out at home while their friends are shopping and getting iced coffees.

I say this with much respect and ad-

miration for those who run our wonderful girls’ schools who are helping to raise the next generation of Jewish mothers: is it perhaps about time to take a look at the school schedule and contemplate if such a long period of time off before Pesach is necessary – and healthy – for high school girls?

A Reader

Dear Editor,

This letter is addressed especially to music bands of all sizes – whether you play solo keyboard or you are part of a multi-part orchestra. It’s addressed to all the rabbanim of shtiebels and big shuls. It’s addressed to parents with kids from infants to teenagers. And, it’s addressed to all adults, especially the ones who can still hear something.

I recently made a wedding with numerous guests. We had a seven-piece band. I placed a box of earplugs outside the reception hall for people to take. When the band played, not one of my guests wore ear plugs. After the wedding, I asked about 100 guests two simple questions: Was the music too loud? Did you feel that you needed ear plugs? Not one person felt that the music was too loud. Many said that this was the first simcha event they attended in decades where they enjoyed the music because it was not overpoweringly loud.

My affair is clear evidence that one can enjoy simcha music without it needing to be loud. Yes, it is possible. I’ve

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written several articles regarding the dangers of hearing loss caused by loud music. I’ve spoken to several rabbis and parents in the neighborhood about this ongoing problem. Several audiologists have told me that during the past decade or so, they have been seeing a dramatic increase in severe hearing loss among toddlers and teenagers in the Jewish religious community. Much of it is caused by loud music exposure coming from music bands and ear buds and headphones.

I am outraged that local rabbis, many who attend several simchot each week and know how loud the music is, shrug their shoulders and won’t address the problem one iota. I’m outraged that music bands feel that the only way their music can sound good is to make it loud. A few band leaders have said, “This is what the bride and groom / bar mitzvah boy / the parents want.” I’m skeptical that any host specifically came to a band leader to say, “Blast the music until the eardrums break.” Note, incidentally, that many of the band players are wearing headphones. That should indicate something. At my affair, not one band member wore headphones.

We plan to fight this outright negligence, and I hope that this letter is merely the beginning of a major change to educate the community about the immense problems of noise-induced hearing loss. I’m strongly requesting any reader to take immediate action on a massive level. Talk to your local rabbis and other leaders and request them to alert their congregants and band leaders about this problem. There are many web articles that discuss hearing loss. You can also email me at dannyfeldman@yahoo.com to discuss this issue. I’m happy to recommend the band that played at our affair, if you contact me. But, I think any band should accommodate the non-earplug volume if you would request and insist on it.

If everyone makes an effort, we will succeed in making a simcha not just

during the affair, but one that will last a lifetime by preserving your and your family’s hearing.

Daniel Feldman

Dear Editor,

People are never happy whether one talks Positive or Negative. We say something that bothers us, we get a “may this be your biggest worry” or some other dismissive statement which basically tells me that I should have never said anything about it.

I say something positive such as how happy I am with Pesach cleaning and people still hate on me.

I was always a quiet person. The high school forced me to talk for the sake of talking, which had tons of repercussions well into my adult and married years and caused me pain with my parents, nearly got me fired, and made me want to do something drastic to end the pain.

I now doubled down on avoiding talking to people. Life has improved since then.

Society is never happy if someone is positive or negative.

The Quiet One

Dear Editor,

This past week, I forgot to pack my son’s lunch, and when I got the call from the school about it, I was panicked and crushed. It meant my son experienced a sad moment. Despite hearing that the school would work it out, I contacted everyone I knew to see if they could drop something off. In the end, it resolved.

The love we have for our children has no bounds, and we would do anything for them to be content and happy. It wasn’t lost on me that I forgot to bring my work to lunch that day as well. We are interlinked to our children in powerful ways.

Passing on the Pesach tradition to our children is affirming that we want them to be part of our foundations of faith.

Steven Genack

Protests Sweep France

the trip was postponed on Friday.

The French government’s plan to raise the retirement age for most workers by two years was opposed by huge numbers of people. But Macron’s government didn’t back down and rammed the legislation through the National Assembly last week using a constitutional clause that allows the government to bypass a vote.

The country’s generous pension system and early retirement have been a point of pride since they were enacted after World War II. Under the new law, the retirement age for most workers will be 64, still one of the lowest in the industrialized world.

Thursday’s demonstrations come after Macron defended the reforms in an interview on French television on Wednesday, confirming they would be implemented by the end of the year.

More than a million people took to the streets across France on Thursday with protests turning violent in some areas as demonstrators voiced their fury at proposed pension reforms.

Clashes between groups of protesters and police broke out after workers staged a national strike throughout Thursday, with flare-ups in Paris and regional capitals.

According to police, around 1,000 people acted “violently,” setting fires, launching smoke bombs and damaging property. In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, protesters set fire to the entrance of the city hall during ongoing clashes with police.

Police fired tear gas at crowds in northwestern Lorient, while video from Rennes shows authorities using water cannons to disperse protesters.

At least 80 people were arrested and 123 police officers were injured in France on Thursday during the nationwide protests, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

Thursday was the ninth day of strikes in the country and the first of coordinated action since French President Emmanuel Macron’s government pushed a bill to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote last week.

Despite the arrests, it was a mostly peaceful day of strike action with 119,000 people marching across Paris. Still, schools, transport networks and oil refineries were disrupted by the marches. It also affected air traffic, with 30% of flights impacted at Paris Orly airport.

Britain’s King Charles had been due to visit Bordeaux on March 28 during his first foreign state visit as monarch, but

“It’s in the greater interest of the country. Between opinion polls and the national interest, I chose the national interest,” Macron said.

U.S.-Canada Border Deal

U.S. President Joe Biden visited Canada last week to discuss a series of economic, trade and immigration issues with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau. Together, they agreed to a U.S.-Canada border deal aimed at halting the flow of asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings.

Migrants caught crossing anywhere along the 3,145-mile border can now be sent back.

Large numbers of unsanctioned crossings have been recorded entering either country via Roxham Road at the U.S.-Canada border. The new accord closes a loophole that allowed migrants to claim asylum at such unofficial ports of entry.

A record number of migrants – more than 40,000 – crossed into Canada last year, the vast majority of which entered at Roxham Road.

As part of the pact, Canada will also create a new refugee program for 15,000 migrants fleeing persecution and violence in South and Central America

The original 2004 agreement, the Safe Third Country Act (STCA), requires migrants to make an asylum claim in the first “safe” country they reach, whether it is the U.S. or Canada. It allowed either nation to turn migrants away at official points of entry – but not at unofficial crossing points, like Roxham Road. The new deal extends the agreement along the entire border, including internal waterways.

While in Canada, the U.S. president

Honduras Establishes Ties with China

spoke of the importance of the deep economic ties and the defense alliances between the two nations, as well as their joint support for Ukraine. The two leaders pledged to stand together against authoritarian regimes – in part by reducing dependence on China for semiconductors and the critical minerals needed to make batteries and electric cars.

The two leaders also discussed the instability going on in Haiti, although they both agreed not to intervene.

The two countries also announced they will lead a new “global coalition” on the opioid crisis. It will look to tackle the issue of drug trafficking not only in North America but across the world.

Over the weekend, Honduras formally established diplomatic ties with China and severed them with Taiwan, ending a decades-long relationship and dealing a blow to the self-ruled island democracy in its struggle for recognition.

“The government of the Republic of Honduras recognizes the existence of one China in the world and that the government of the People’s Republic of China represents China as a whole,” its ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement on Saturday.

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and as of today, the government of Honduras has informed Taiwan about the rupture of diplomatic relations,” it added.

China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory despite never having ruled it, refuses to maintain diplomatic ties with any country that recognizes Taiwan.

Beijing has spent much of the past 40 years attempting to isolate the self-ruled island democracy by chipping away at its diplomatic allies with offers of economic support. Honduras had until now been one of just 14 countries that still diplomatically recognized Taipei over Beijing.

In a video address on Sunday, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said Honduras’ decision was “very regrettable.”

“Suppression and threats will not change the fact that the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other,” Tsai asserted.

“They will also not undermine Taiwanese people’s insistence on freedom and democracy, and the will to be part of the global community,” she continued, adding that Taiwan would work with like-minded countries to promote peace.

China’s Foreign Ministry stated, “There is but one China in the world and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” it added.

Taiwan had 56 diplomatic allies when it lost recognition from the United Nations in 1971. That number had dwindled to just 22 when Tsai took office in 2016 and has continued to fall in the years since.

Most of Taiwan’s remaining allies are now small nations in Latin America and the Pacific, with all of the world’s most powerful economies having switched recognition to Beijing decades ago.

China has been using “dollar diplomacy” to coerce countries to recognize and establish ties with Beijing, offering development funds and a trading partner to those who establish ties.

The United States remains the single biggest guarantor of Taiwan’s safety in the face of a possible invasion by China. The U.S. supplies weapons to Taiwan every year – even without an “official” diplomatic relationship.

Kamala Heads to Africa

In the neon lights of a recording studio, with skateboarders doing tricks a few feet away, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris appeared alongside musicians in the West African nation of Ghana and

pledged to set the American relationship with Africa on a new path, focused on collaboration rather than crises.

tive faces multiple challenges. She must present the United States as an ally while fulfilling President Joe Biden’s commitment to take action against foreign governments that violate human rights and, in particular, pass laws restricting the freedoms of certain people.

China Doling Out Loans to Countries

Harris’ weeklong African tour, which got underway Monday in Ghana’s capital, Accra, is part of an effort to flip the script and demonstrate that the United States views African nations not as problems to be solved or pawns in a superpower contest with China and Russia, but as hubs of opportunity and creativity.

“African ingenuity and innovation, I am certain, will shape the future of the world,” she said at a news briefing.

Harris is the highest-ranking in a recent parade of officials from the Biden administration to visit the continent. She met with President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, commending him for his “democratic principles.” Harris will later fly to Tanzania and Zambia.

But her attempt to change the narra-

Moves to curtail certain people’s rights have been on the rise in several African nations, including Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. The White House said last week that it would consider economic penalties against Uganda after lawmakers there passed legislation that calls for life in prison for those who perform certain acts.

Asked about those restrictions in a news conference with the Ghanaian president, Harris said she had “raised the issue” — although she did not say with whom or in which countries.

The United States is at a disadvantage compared with China, which has in the past few decades invested heavily in many African countries, mined for raw materials and built infrastructure projects through its “Belt and Road” program. China’s involvement, unlike that of the United States, usually comes without expectations about human rights standards, working conditions or environmental protection. (© The New York Times)

Since the end of World War II, the International Monetary Fund and the United States have been the world’s lenders of last resort, each wielding broad influence over the global economy. Now a new heavyweight has emerged in providing emergency loans to debt-ridden countries: China.

New data shows that China is providing ever more emergency loans to countries, including Turkey, Argentina, and Sri Lanka. China has been helping countries that have either geopolitical significance, such as a strategic location, or lots of natural resources. Many of them have been borrowing heavily from Beijing for years to pay for infrastructure or other projects.

While China is not yet equal to the IMF, it is catching up fast, providing $240 billion of emergency financing in recent years. China gave $40.5 billion in such loans to distressed countries in 2021, according to a new study by American and European experts who drew on statistics from AidData, a research institute at William and Mary, a university in Williamsburg, Virginia. China provided $10 billion in 2014 and none in 2010. By comparison, the IMF lent $68.6

billion to countries in financial distress in 2021 — a pace that has stayed fairly steady in recent years except for a jump in 2020, at the start of the pandemic.

In many ways, China has replaced the United States in bailing out indebted lowand middle-income countries. The U.S. Treasury’s last sizable rescue loan to a middle-income country was a $1.5 billion credit to Uruguay in 2002. The Federal Reserve still provides short-term financing to other industrialized countries when they need ex-

tra dollars for a few days or weeks.

China’s emerging position as a lender of last resort reflects its evolving status as an economic superpower at a time of global weakness. Dozens of countries are struggling to pay their debts, as a slowing economy and rising interest rates push many nations to the brink.

Beijing’s new role is also an outgrowth of the decade-old Belt and Road Initiative, the signature project of Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, to develop geopolitical

and diplomatic ties through financial and commercial efforts. China has lent $900 billion to 151 lower-income countries worldwide, mainly for the construction of highways, bridges, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure. (© The New York Times)

Fire in Mexican Detention Center

On Monday, a fire tore through a dormitory at a Mexican immigration detention center in Juarez. Dozens of migrants were left dead in the blaze, in one of the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country.

Juárez is a major crossing point for migrants.

Mexico’s National Immigration Institute reported at least 39 people died and 29 were injured and are in “delicate-serious” condition. There were 68 men from Central and South America held in the facility at the time of the fire.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at his morning news conference in Mexico City said the fire was started by migrants at the center during a protest after learning some of them would be deported.

The migrants stacked mats up against a door and set them on fire not knowing it “would cause this terrible disgrace,” the Mexican leader said.

Tensions between authorities and migrants had apparently been running high in recent weeks in Juárez, where shelters are full of people waiting for opportunities to cross into the U.S. or who have requested asylum there and are waiting out the process.

More than 30 migrant shelters and other advocacy organizations published an open letter on March 9 that complained of a criminalization of migrants and asylum-seekers in the city. It accused authorities of abuse and using excessive force in rounding up migrants, complaining that municipal police were questioning people in the street about their immigration status without cause.

The high level of frustration in

Juárez was evident earlier this month when hundreds of mostly Venezuelan migrants acting on false rumors that the United States would allow them to enter the country tried to force their way across one of the international bridges to El Paso. U.S. authorities blocked their attempts.

In recent years, as Mexico has stepped up efforts to stem the flow migration to the U.S. border under pressure from the U.S., the agency has struggled with overcrowding in its facilities.

A Gesture of Peace Between Taiwan and China

nior Chinese officials while there, but the head of his foundation said last week that Ma will be “at his host’s disposal” if they do arrange such a get-together.

Battling Over Time in Lebanon

This week, Taiwan’s ex-President Ma Ying-jeou became the first sitting or former Taiwanese leader to visit mainland China since the Communist revolution in 1949. The former leader said he hoped to bring about peace and improve relations.

Speaking to reporters before leaving from Taiwan’s main international airport at Taoyuan, Ma, 73, said he was “very happy” to be going on a trip where he will talk to students and pay respects to the graves of his ancestors in China.

Ma was Taiwan’s president from 2008-2016. Tsai Ing-wen is the current president.

The trip comes at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Taipei as China keeps up military and political pressure to try and get democratic Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty.

Taiwan’s ruling DPP criticized Ma for visiting China, saying it was inappropriate given former long-time Taiwan ally Honduras had ended ties with Taipei in favor of Beijing the day before.

Ma is a senior member of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which favors close ties with China although it strongly denies being pro-Beijing. The KMT says outreach to China is needed now more than ever given the tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

China has rebuffed current Taiwanese President Tsai’s repeated calls for talks, believing her to be a separatist. She says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

Ma is not scheduled to meet any se-

When two of Lebanon’s top leaders decided to delay daylight saving time by a month, they were aiming to ensure that Muslims would not have to break their dawn-to-sunset fast an hour later during the holy month of Ramadan.

But the decision last week sent the nation into a tailspin and set off a firestorm of outrage. On Monday, the officials backtracked and said the clock change would go ahead around midweek, just a few days later than originally planned.

Christian clergy and leaders of Christian political parties had rejected the last-minute change, made by two senior Muslim officials — Prime Minister Najib Mikati and House Speaker Nabih Berri — without consulting other religious groups. They vowed that they would abide by daylight saving time regardless of what the officials had decreed. And many other Lebanese found their lives upended, as they were forced to navigate between two time zones.

The country — which is smaller than the state of Connecticut — was already caught up in multiple crises, grappling with severe economic turmoil and political paralysis. And in a nation divided mainly between Muslims and Christians with a long history of violent sectarian and religious conflict, the time change decision immediately aggravated those deep rifts.

“Do the Lebanese people not have enough problems they are going through to add to them the problem of time?” the Greek Orthodox archbishop, Elias Odeh, said in his Sunday sermon, expressing sadness over how the issue had taken on a sectarian overtone.

Lebanon is divided among Sunni and Shiite Muslims, Christians, and smaller religious minorities. Although a 15-year civil war fought mainly between Muslims and Christian militias ended in 1990, the

sectarian scars live on.

The decision to delay the time change was made on Thursday, the same day that Ramadan began.

After the outrage spilled into the new week, Mikati met with Cabinet members on Monday afternoon — something he did not do before announcing the initial change — and announced that Lebanon would, indeed, switch to daylight saving time overnight between Wednesday and Thursday.

The national airline, Middle East Airlines, announced that flight departure times from Beirut’s international airport would be adjusted by an hour, in line with daylight saving time. A widely shared video from the airport showed a board with two different times on either side: one for flights and the other for taxis. (© The New York Times)

Chometz Law

create religious coercion in order to solve a problem that does not exist,” according to a Channel 12 report.

The charedi United Torah Judaism party sponsored the bill, outraged after a 2020 High Court of Justice ruling blocked hospitals from searching bags to check for chometz in response to petitions decrying the searches as invasive and religiously intrusive.

Israeli Released from UAE

This week, the Knesset enacted legislation that enables hospitals to ban the entry of chometz on Pesach.

This law is a softened version of what was proposed. It allows hospital administrators to set a policy against bringing in chometz and to post it on their website or with signage at entrances, but does not explicitly allow security guards to search patients’ or visitors’ bags to enforce the policy.

Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid denounced the legislation, telling the Knesset plenum it would cause pushback against what many feel is religious coercion.

“You will cause there to be much less Passover [observance] and fewer people” refraining from eating leavened products in general, he warned.

The Israel Hofsheet organization, which advocates for “religious freedom” in Israel, slammed the legislation, saying it “sends the hospital administrators to

Fida Kiwan, an Israeli woman from Haifa who was jailed for drug trafficking last year and had originally faced execution in the United Arab Emirates, has been pardoned and released by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in honor of Ramadan.

“I can’t believe my daughter is back,” Kewan’s mother, Sabah, told Walla news.

Fida Kewan was arrested in Abu Dhabi in March of last year, accused of drug trafficking and sentenced to death. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment by the court in the United Arab Emirates.

In the past year, her family members, including her mother, brother and sister, have been in contact with the office of President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, claiming that she fell victim to a ruse and working to secure her release.

Herzog submitted a personal humanitarian appeal to UAE’s president a few weeks ago, and in recent days, the President’s Office and the Israeli embassy in the UAE led by Ambassador Amir Hayek have been working with authorities in the Gulf nation on the technical aspects of Kiwan’s release and return to Israel.

Kiwan’s attorneys said in a statement, “We thank the president of the country for his commitment to the operation. We also thank Sheikh bin Zayed, the prince of the Emirates, for the pardon on the occasion of Ramadan.” (JNS)

No Tax on Sweetened Drinks

while Israel’s doctors’ union slammed it as “irresponsible” and damaging to public health.

Smotrich noted that many families purchase sodas and other sugary drinks for the upcoming holiday and that the cancellation of the tax would help lessen their bottom line at the checkout counter.

pointed the new government’s finance minister was to instruct ministry officials in January to roll back the tax hikes. He faced a backlash after doing so, with even those from around the world expressing their concerns.

al guard will be established. The budget that I demanded for the National Security Ministry will pass in full,” Ben Gvir tweeted on Monday evening. “Nobody will scare us. Nobody will succeed in changing the decision of the people.”

This week, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed a directive to cancel a tax on sweetened drinks that the previous government had introduced as part of a drive to reduce the consumption of unhealthy beverages.

Removal of the tax was a key coalition demand of the charedi parties, which argued that it had been introduced deliberately to target their communities.

In an effort to ensure that the nation’s health wasn’t impacted by the removal of the tax, Smotrich said he had ordered a team to work with the Health Ministry on promoting healthy eating habits and reducing sugar use.

MK Aryeh Deri, leader of the charedi Shas party, welcomed the development,

The tax was put in place by Smotrich’s predecessor, Avigdor Liberman, now leader of the opposition Yisrael Beytenu party, which champions secular rights. It had been accompanied by a tax on single-use plastic utensils, aimed at preventing damage to the environment, which is also being canceled after the charedi parties noted that many charedi families are impacted by it.

Deri said, “The political tax imposed by Liberman on sweet drinks has been canceled!”

He added, “We don’t educate the public by hitting its pocket, but by smart and effective information, and that’s how we operate.”

The Israel Medical Association panned Smotrich’s directive, expressing in a statement its “disgust at the lack of responsibility” for public health and economics.

“Drink water,” the IMA advised.

Smotrich’s first act after being ap-

Ben Gvir’s National Guard

Labor MK Gilad Kariv criticized Netanyahu’s promise to Ben Gvir, tweeting: “The national guard must be under the police, rather than under the control of far-right group Lehava and the rest of the Kahanists” — a reference to followers of Rabbi Meir Kahane.

Supposedly, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had threatened to leave the Netanyahu government should there be a halt to the judicial reform plan. Now, the minister is reportedly staying on after the prime minister agreed to raise the issue of forming a national guard within the National Security Ministry in the upcoming cabinet meeting this Sunday.

“The reform will pass. The nation-

Former Israel Police chief Moshe Karadi said Ben Gvir would be forming “a private militia for his political needs” and would “recruit the Hilltop Youth” settler extremists to its ranks. “He’s dismantling Israeli democracy.” Karadi called legislation to this effect “dangerous and a distinct characteristic of turning Israel into a dictatorship.”

He added that it was unthinkable to establish a force that would report directly to the minister. “You cannot have an operational force that doesn’t report to the police commissioner,” he said.

Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh tweeted that “in the right-wing government, criminals appoint judges and terrorists run a private army. Every democrat must fight against this insanity at any price!”

Ben Gvir has said that he seeks to establish a volunteer national guard that would be deployed in times of ethnic unrest, such as the May 2021 Jewish-Arab race riots that took place in some Israeli cities, against a background of war with the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.

The Border Police is formally a part of the police and ultimately reports to the police commissioner, although parts of it fall under the military’s operational command.

Ben Gvir in January presented a framework for the national guard, which had some similar characteristics to an arrangement proposed by his predecessor, former public security minister Omer Barlev, and then-prime minister Naftali Bennett. However, the earlier plan saw the Border Police operating alongside the national guard, rather than as part of it.

Judicial Reform on Hold

On Monday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to announce the freezing of the government’s judicial reform effort until May, when the Knesset reconvenes after its up-

coming recess for Pesach.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir revealed the prospective move on Monday evening and said that his Otzma Yehudit Party had agreed to the pause, seemingly preventing a collapse of the government.

dress the country at 10 a.m. local time but delayed the speech after members of his coalition threatened to bring down the government.

The standoff over the reform package reached a critical juncture earlier in the day with the announcement of a worker walkout by the Histadrut labor federation, which set off a cascade of similar announcements, including the grounding of planes at Ben Gurion International Airport.

Netanyahu on Monday afternoon called for calm ahead of opposing protests in Jerusalem over the reform initiative.

“I agreed to remove my veto on the postponement of the legislation in exchange for a commitment [from Netanyahu] that the bills be brought to the Knesset for approval in the next session if no agreements are reached during the recess,” said Ben Gvir in a statement.

He added that the coalition would attempt to engage in negotiations before attempting to pass the reforms.

For his part, Netanyahu also agreed to green-light the formation of a civilian national guard under Ben Gvir’s authority during the next cabinet meeting.

Netanyahu was scheduled to ad-

A large demonstration was taking place outside of the Knesset in the afternoon featuring opponents of the ruling coalition and its reform proposals, while a pro-reform gathering was planned for the evening.

“I call on all the demonstrators in Jerusalem, on the right and the left, to behave responsibly and not to act violently. We are brothers,” Netanyahu posted on his Twitter account. (JNS)

Despite being dismissed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days ago, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was still serving in his role on Tuesday, two days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed him for publicly urging a halt to the government’s judicial overhaul legislation.

Gallant addressed the nation publicly on Saturday and urged a halt to the judicial reform legislation. He was summarily fired by Netanyahu in a statement on Sunday. By Monday evening, Netanyahu, under intense public pressure, had halted the legislation as Gallant had sought. But the premier has not yet commented on Gallant’s future.

According to Hebrew media, there has been a push from within the coalition,

including by former Minister Aryeh Deri, to have Gallant reinstated. For now, the defense minister is fulfilling his duties, with no official notice of termination yet handed to him.

Gallant attended a planned security-related meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon. The meeting was the first encounter between Netanyahu and Gallant since the defense minister’s Saturday night speech.

The premier has reportedly held talks with Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, a former Shin Bet chief who is seen as the favorite to replace Gallant if Netanyahu finalizes the decision to fire him.

After Netanyahu’s announcement on Monday that he was pausing the overhaul, Gallant said he welcomed the decision in order to hold talks with opponents of the legislation, his office said.

Did you know?

Chemical Spill in PA

drinking water was safe.

“Based on updated water sampling results received overnight, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) remains confident that tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant remains safe to drink and use at least through 11:59 p.m., Wednesday,” a Tuesday news release from Mayor Jim Kenney’s office said.

At least one of the leaked chemicals, butyl acrylate, is among the contaminants of concern identified in last month’s derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio.

that residents should have three days of water on hand as a precautionary measure in case contaminants are discovered in the city’s supply. The mayor recommended filling bottles and pitchers with tap water.

Not all Philadelphia residents receive water from the Baxter plant. The city’s two other treatment facilities are fed by the Schuylkill River, which the city says was not impacted by the spill.

Terror in Nashville

Approximately 8,100 gallons of water-soluble acrylic polymer solution was released into the Delaware River on Friday night as a result of an “equipment failure” at a plant that makes acrylic resins.

The spills occurred just a few miles upstream from a key water intake for Philadelphia’s Baxter Water Treatment Plant.

Immediately after the spill, authorities rushed to assure the public that the

Still, the city maintains that no contaminants have been found in any of Philadelphia’s water after Friday’s chemical spill. The Philadelphia Water Department expects there will no longer be contamination in the river by Wednesday or Thursday.

Despite assurances, many residents have scrambled to buy bottled water from grocery store shelves that quickly sold out. Many have expressed concerns about potential hazards as well as frustration and confusion over officials’ repeated statements that the city’s water is safe after initially asking residents to drink bottled water as a precaution.

On Monday, officials reiterated advice

Six people were killed at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday in a mass murder perpetrated by Audrey Hale, 28, a former student at the school.

Three of those killed were children. One of them was 9-year-old Hallie

Frogs don’t drink water; they absorb it through their skin.

Scruggs, the daughter of the pastor whose church runs The Covenant School. Evelyn Dieckhaus and William Kinney were also nine years old.

Hale also slaughtered Head of School Katherine Koonce; Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; and Mike Hill, 61, a custodian.

The Covenant School in Nashville has about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade, as well as roughly 50 staff members.

Biden Approval Slipping

Koonce, the head of school who was killed, wrote on the school's website that it has “a unique challenge — to educate twenty-first-century children in a way that prepares them to impact their culture and think in accordance with timeless Truth.

“Never before have we known more about the skills and experiences students need to be successful and develop skills. But, we must be about more.”

Hale had no previous criminal record

but had planned the massacre carefully with detailed maps and surveillance, police said. Still, authorities say that they can’t confirm that certain people were targeted.

Hale came to the school on Monday with two AR-style weapons and a handgun. Two of those three weapons were legally obtained in the Nashville area.

She was confronted by five officers and two of them opened fire, killing her.

People are becoming weary of President Joe Biden’s job at the White House. In a poll published on Tuesday, only 40 percent of respondents approved of the job Biden is doing as president –down from 42 percent in a poll taken last month.

Biden’s approval also dropped on key issues like the economy and foreign policy. On the economy, 32 percent of respondents approve of the job the president has done, compared to 34 percent in February and 31 percent in August last year.

The Gallup poll was taken between March 1-23, a period in which the Biden administration scrambled to contain the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the largest banking failure since the subprime mortgage crisis that helped spur the 2008 financial crisis.

Biden has also continued to face pressure over rising inflation and the Federal Reserve’s ongoing interest rate hikes. On foreign affairs, 38 percent of respondents approved of the job the president has done, down from 41 percent last month.

The United States is playing a major role in the conflict in Ukraine. Additionally, China is on the radar, with news of a Chinese spy balloon floating over the United States before being shot down off the East Coast dominating headlines last month.

On energy and the environment, 43 percent of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of environmental issues, while 38 percent approved of the job the president has done on energy policy.

Looking forward to Biden ’24? On Monday, a Monmouth University poll found 25 percent of Democrat respondents said they want Biden to run for reelection in 2024, while 44 percent of Democrats surveyed believe that Biden should step aside.

Disney to Cut Jobs

At least 7,000 people will be losing their jobs at Disney over the coming months. On Monday, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that his company will begin laying off staff starting this week, the first of three rounds of expected cuts following his announcement in February that the company would axe 7,000 jobs.

The cuts to Disney’s global workforce are part of a multibillion-dollar costcutting initiative aimed at streamlining the company’s operations in a period of media industry turmoil.

The first round of layoffs will begin this week, and managers will soon start to notify affected employees. A second, larger round of layoffs will take place in April, Iger said, with several thousand staffers let go. A third round of layoffs will then occur “before the beginning of the summer” to reach the company’s planned goal of eliminating 7,000 jobs.

“The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly,” Iger acknowleged in the memo. “In tough moments, we must always do what is required to ensure Disney can continue delivering exceptional entertainment to audiences and guests around the world – now, and long into the future.”

Disney had about 220,000 workers as of October 1, of which approximately 166,000 were employed in the United States. A cut of 7,000 jobs represents about 3% of its global workforce.

Iger returned to lead Disney in November after the company’s board axed Bob Chapek as its leader.

Will CA Ban Red Dye in Candy?

Some chemicals linked to health issues have been banned in food products in the European Union. The United States, though, has lagged behind. A bill recently introduced in the California State Assembly could start to change that.

Assembly Bill 418, or AB 418, seeks to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distri-

bution of food products in California containing red dye No. 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil or propylparaben, according to a news release from the Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel’s office, who introduced the bill with fellow Democratic lawmaker Buffy Wicks. If passed, the bill would go into effect January 1, 2025.

Titanium dioxide is a powder used as a white colorant or to give a smooth texture in candies and other processed foods. Po-

tassium bromate is added to baked goods to help dough strengthen and rise higher. In some beverages, brominated vegetable oil keeps citrus flavoring from floating to the top. Propylparabens are used for antimicrobial food preservation

In the EU, these chemicals are banned “due to scientific studies that have demonstrated significant public health harms, including increased risk of cancer, behavioral issues in children, harm to the reproductive system, and damage to the immune sys-

tem,” Gabriel’s news release says.

A search of the Environmental Working Group’s Eat Well Guide turns up nearly 3,000 products that use red dye No. 3 as an ingredient, including popular candies such as Skittles, Nerds candies and Trolli gummies; protein shakes; instant rice and potato products; and boxed cake mixes.

California’s bill has engendered pushback from those in the food industry.

The National Confectioners Associa-

tion, a trade organization based in Washington, D.C., released a statement on March 23 in response to the bill’s introduction: “Chocolate and candy are safe to enjoy, as they have been for centuries. We strongly oppose AB 418 because there is no evidence to support banning the ingredients listed in the bill. The ingredients that would be banned under this proposal have all been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food safety is the number one priority for U.S. confectionery companies, and we do not use any ingredients in our products that do not comply with the FDA’s strictest safety standards.”

7,000 employees in the U.S. today,” he said in his opening remarks.

“Still, we have heard important concerns about the potential for unwanted foreign access to U.S. data and potential manipulation of the TikTok U.S. ecosystem,” Chew said. “Our approach has never been to dismiss or trivialize any of these concerns. We have addressed them with real action.”

TikTok doesn’t operate in China. But since the Chinese government enjoys significant leverage over businesses under its jurisdiction, the theory goes that ByteDance, and thus indirectly, TikTok, could be forced to cooperate with a broad range of security activities, including possibly the transfer of TikTok data.

But Chew’s assurances didn’t seem to help any legislators feel any more comfortable with the app.

“To the American people watching today, hear this: TikTok is a weapon by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on you, manipulate what you see and exploit for future generations,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers.

the challenge in the video.

Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida also said there is a lack of adequate content moderation, which leaves room for kids to be exposed to content that promotes self-harm.

“Your technology is literally leading to death,” Bilirakis said to Chew.

Outside of Congress, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said TikTok should be “ended one way or another,” but noted “there are different ways of doing that.”

In a separate statement on Thursday that did not address or name TikTok specifically, the U.S. Treasury Department — the agency that chairs the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) — warned that it “will not clear any transaction unless it determines there are no unresolved national security concerns.”

For more than two years, CFIUS and TikTok have been negotiating on a possible deal that might address U.S. security concerns and allow the app to continue operating in the United States.

into the leak, and executives handling the matter have surmised that whoever was responsible left the San Francisco-based company last year, two people briefed on the internal investigation said. Since Musk bought Twitter in October for $44 billion, about 75% of the company’s 7,500 employees have been laid off or resigned.

Executives were only recently made aware of the source code leak, people briefed on the internal investigation said.

One concern is that the code includes security vulnerabilities that could give hackers or other motivated parties the means to extract user data or take down the site, they said.

The FDA requires manufacturers to list red dye No. 3 as an ingredient on food labels. Red dye No. 3 is listed as “FD&C Red #3.”

TikTok CEO Testifies

In an exchange with California Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo, Chew talked up TikTok’s ongoing efforts to protect U.S. user data and said he has “seen no evidence that the Chinese government has access to that data; they have never asked us, we have not provided it.”

“I find that actually preposterous,” Eshoo fired back.

“I have looked in — and I have seen no evidence of this happening,” Chew responded. “Our commitment is to move their data into the United States, to be stored on American soil by an American company, overseen by American personnel. So the risk would be similar to any government going to an American company, asking for data.”

Twitter Source Code Leaked

For Twitter, the leak also comes on top of mounting structural and financial challenges. Musk has been trying to turn around the social network over the past few months by slashing costs, trying out new features and welcoming back previously banned users. But outages of the service have increased, while advertisers — the main source of revenue for the company — have been skittish about running ads on the site.

The turmoil has caused financial damage. On Friday, Musk told employees in an email that Twitter was worth roughly $20 billion, down more than 50% from what he paid for it. (© The New York Times)

Fatal Explosion at Candy Factory

On Thursday, TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified in front of Congress hoping to assuage concerns that lawmakers have about the popular app which boasts more than 150 million active users.

The hearing, which lasted for more than five hours, kicked off with calls from a lawmaker to ban the app in the United States and remained combative throughout. Washington Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, opened Thursday’s hearing by telling Shou: “Your platform should be banned.”

Chew used his testimony to stress TikTok’s independence from China and play up its U.S. ties.

“TikTok itself is not available in mainland China, we’re headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, and we have

Chew also added that the data collected by TikTok is similar to what other companies collect about their users.

“I don’t believe what we collect is more than most players in the industry,” he said.

New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone, ranking member of the committee, addressed people’s concern about the dangers of TikTok on teens and children. “Research has found that TikTok’s algorithms recommend videos to teens that create and exacerbate feelings of emotional distress, including videos promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders,” he said.

Similarly, Rep. Bob Latta, a Republican from Ohio, accused TikTok of promoting a video on the so-called “blackout challenge” or choking challenge to the feed of a 10-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, who later died after trying to mimic

Parts of Twitter’s source code, the underlying computer code on which the social network runs, were leaked online, according to a legal filing, a rare and major exposure of intellectual property as the company struggles to reduce technical issues and reverse its business fortunes under Elon Musk.

Twitter moved Friday to have the leaked code taken down by sending a copyright infringement notice to GitHub, an online collaboration platform for software developers where the code was posted, according to the filing. GitHub complied and took down the code that day. It was unclear how long the leaked code had been online, but it appeared to have been public for at least several months.

Twitter also asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to order GitHub to identify the person who shared the code and any other individuals who downloaded it, according to the filing.

Twitter launched an investigation

At least seven people lost their lives in an explosion at an eastern Pennsylvania candy factory on Friday evening which leveled the R.M. Palmer Co. facility in West Reading.

Search and rescue teams raced against time over the weekend as they looked for missing people, using drones and heat imaging devices before turning to heavy equipment to “methodically” remove rubble.

One woman was rescued alive among the rubble on Saturday morning.

At least eight people were hospitalized at the Reading Hospital following the blast.

R.M. Palmer said in a statement the

explosion has had a “profound impact” on its company.

“We appreciate the outpouring of support as all of us continue to deal with the loss of our friends and co-workers. We offer our heartfelt condolences to those families who have lost loved ones and hope those injured will recover quickly,” said the statement posted on the company’s Facebook page.

In the days following Friday’s explosion, West Reading has seen “the absolute best that our tight-knit community has to offer,” Borough Council President Ryan Lineaweaver said on Sunday.

“We’ve heard stories of neighbors running out of their homes to help before the first responders even arrived on the scene,” he said. “We’ve seen our neighbors, businesses, community partners, provide food, water – anything that’s needed – to first responders.”

R.M. Palmer has long been a fixture in the local community. The company has operated in the West Reading facility since 1959.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro visited the explosion site on Saturday and was briefed by local leaders.

“Our hearts break for the families of those who didn’t come home,” Shapiro said.

Passport Delays

“We’ve hired staff to increase the adjudicative capacity to make sure that … we’ve got the customer service, phone lines manned, we have more people in the pipeline and that’s also reflected in the budget. It’s hugely important,” he said.

The top U.S. diplomat said he has “a task force established at headquarters to marshal all of these efforts so that we’re really digging in on this.”

The United States is hoping to finetune an online renewal platform so Americans can renew their passports online. Once that is working, approximately 65% of renewal customers will be able to update their passports online.

There have also been delays in obtaining visas. Blinken said that priority is given for categories “for students, for temporary workers, for business travelers, maritime crews,” he said, noting, “we’ve tried to make sure that they are served and we are at pre-pandemic levels or better in those categories.”

He added, “For visitor visas, the median global interview appointment wait time is two months, half of what it was a year ago,” he said, but added that the wait times are lower “in most places.”

“The immigrant visas are a whole other issue. We’re doing a lot of work on that,” Blinken said.

SBF Charged with Bribery

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that the State Department is facing an “unprecedented demand” for passports and said that it has increased staffing and resources to deal with it.

For now, the current wait time for a regular passport is “about ten to thirteen weeks, and for an expedited passport about seven to nine weeks.”

The State Department is “getting 500,000 applications a week for passports,” which is 30 to 40% more applicants this year than last year, Blinken told a House Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing.

“Historically, the demand’s been cyclical, the busy season is kind of March to late summer. Basically it’s full time now,” he said.

Federal prosecutors added a foreign bribery charge to the growing list of crimes already pending against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, according to a new indictment filed in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors said that in 2021, Bankman-Fried instructed those working for him to pay a bribe of $40 million to one or more Chinese officials to help unfreeze trading accounts maintained by Alameda Research, FTX’s sister company, that held about $1 billion in cryptocurrencies.

The bribe money was paid to the Chinese officials in cryptocurrency, the document said. The indictment said the effort to pay off the unnamed Chinese officials

was successful in getting the trading accounts unfrozen.

The bribery charge was brought under the Foreign Corrupt Business Practices Act, a federal law used by authorities to go after big corporations for paying bribes to operate in other countries.

Federal prosecutors have now charged Bankman-Fried with 13 criminal counts, including securities fraud, money laundering and violating campaign finance laws. The mounting charges against Bankman-Fried, 31, not only add years to the potential prison time he faces if convicted but also could put more pressure on him to take a guilty plea.

Bankman-Fried was freed after posting bail but is confined to his parents’ home in Palo Alto, California.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed the first set of criminal charges against Bankman-Fried in December, a month after the big cryptocurrency exchange collapsed into bankruptcy. The top charge facing Bankman-Fried is that he misappropriated billions of dollars in customer deposits for his own personal use and to make up for hefty losses incurred by Alameda.

The indictment filed by prosecutors said the bribe money was paid to unfreeze trading accounts maintained by Alameda.

Authorities said that in early 2021, Chinese officials froze the money in those accounts, which were held in two of China’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The accounts had been frozen in connection with an investigation into one of Alameda’s trading partners.

Bankman-Fried came up with the plan to pay bribes, prosecutors said, after other efforts to unfreeze the money were unsuccessful, including hiring lawyers to lobby Chinese officials and creating fraudulent accounts in an attempt to deceive Chinese authorities. (© The New York Times)

Old But Good

They thought it was just an old, dusty painting taking up space in their attic. This week, they are going to discover that this piece of art is worth way more than a piece of junk.

A family had asked Malo de Lussac of a prestigious auctioneer company to estimate the value of their house a few years

ago. While walking through the home, he spotted a masterpiece.

From Alaska to Argentina – On a Bike

“I found this painting (in the house), behind a door in the television room,” de Lussac told Reuters, calling it one of the biggest surprises in his career.

“I started estimating this room and when I turned back, I saw this painting. It was a very good surprise for me.”

The painting “L’Avocat du village (the Village Lawyer)” was made by Pieter Brueghel the Younger and is one of artist’s largest known works, measuring 112 centimeters (44 inches) high and 184 centimeters (72 inches) wide. It is estimated that the artwork was painted between 1615 and 1617.

The family had owned it since the 1900s but had thought it was fake.

Now, the painting is up for auction and is expected to fetch 600,000 to 800,000 euros ($649,000 to $865,000).

That’s mighty fine art.

Liam Garner loves to bike. And that’s good because the teenager has now biked through 14 countries using his two feet. His adventure started after high school. Garner set off when he was 17 years old with his mountain bike, a tent, a sleeping bag, a day’s worth of food and water, some batteries, and some extra bike parts. Oh, and a few hundred dollars.

Garner was an experienced cyclist who had ridden from Los Angeles to San Francisco previously. After reading a book by adventurer Jedidiah Jenkins, who biked from Oregon to Argentina, Garner decided that he would cycle from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States accessible by road, to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost point

He began his journey across the Pan-American Highway, a network of roads extending across the Americas, on August 1, 2021.

So far, he has cycled through 14 countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina.

“There’s an official route, and then there’s unofficial routes,” he explains. “I basically made my own [route] as I went along. As long as I was going south every day, I knew I was going in the right direction.”

His parents weren’t too keen on his adventure. In fact, he didn’t tell his father (his parents are separated) until he reached Alaska. Now, they are both his biggest supporters.

Of the many countries he cycled through, he was particularly surprised by El Salvador, which he describes as “one of the most peaceful, nicest, quietest countries.”

Still, not every part of Garner’s journey was easy street. He was robbed at least five times and had to spend a month in the hospital after coming off his bike in Colombia and landing on his head.

“The idea that you might get hurt, and something really awful might happen is in your mind traveling so much,” Garner

said, before explaining that he received around 40 stitches and had to have plastic surgery to repair his ear and stitch it back together.

“But it wasn’t really a reality until I got hurt in Colombia. I was blacked out for about 15 minutes, and it took me a few hours to even be able to speak again.”

There were times when the heat was so intense that he couldn’t bike for more than just a few minutes each day. “There’s no point in torturing ourselves,” he recalls saying at the time. “This is not fun.”

Garner finally arrived in Ushuaia on January 10 after cycling almost 20,000 miles over the course of 527 days.

He’s now 19 years old.

Garner reflects on his journey, “If I had stayed home, and I had gone to community college, or something along those lines, would I have really been a better person than I am now?

“Would I really be as open minded as I am now? I strongly think that I wouldn’t be. That’s why I think this was the most competent decision I’ve ever made in my life. I’ve never been more sure about something I’ve done.”

Ride on.

Great Dane!

Namine is two years old, but she’s one amazing mom.

The Great Dane birthed 21 puppies in the course of 27 hours last week.

The big dog belongs to Tanya Dubbs of Pocahontas, Virginia. It took a grand 27 hours for Namine to finish bringing a total of 21 puppies into the world, although two sadly died shortly after birth.

Almost all the puppies weighed over a pound, Dubbs noted.

The proud dog owner said she was surprised by the number of puppies born, expecting Namine would bear 13-14 pups.

“So we got up to 16 and then she had another one,” said Dubbs, according to WVVA. “I was sitting on the bed, and she was on the bed with me and I was talking to a friend of mine and I heard a gush of fluid and I looked over and I said, “We have another puppy.”

That’s a lot of dogs to have around the house. Dubbs said that once the puppies are weaned from their mother she hopes to sell them.

Great Danes are one of the largest domestic dog breeds, often standing at 2.5 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing more than 100 pounds. Average dog litters range in size from 1 to 12 puppies.

Namine may have a large litter but she’s not the dog with the biggest brood. A Neapolitan mastiff named Tia currently holds the Guinness World Record for largest litter, with 24 pups born in 2004. Woof!

Nathan Firesheets really loves Disney.

The 34-year-old from Atlanta, Disney, took on the Disney Global Ride Challenge and managed to visit all 12 Disney parks in 12 days.

Aside from the head-spinning journey to the many lands of Mickey and Minnie, Firesheets also went on all 216 operating rides.

He began his whirlwind trip on March 8 at Disneyland Paris and completed his final ride at Florida’s Magic Kingdom last Sunday.

“It was a lot,” the park enthusiast admitted. “Looking back on it, I’m like ‘I can’t believe I just did that.’ It’s just so insane. So much travel, so much park stuff, but it was really an incredible experience. Tons of fun.”

Along the way, Firesheets visited Walt Disney Studios, Shanghai Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Tokyo DisneySea, Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

“It was pretty awesome and kind of surreal,” Firesheets told KTLA-TV. “I still can’t quite believe I did it.”

In order to complete the trip, Firesheets slept on average four to six hours a night.

So which park is the best that Disney has to offer?

“I am a classic Disneyland fan,” the fan said. “It’s got the most history. It’s the only park that Walt actually walked in. It still has 11 opening day attractions. There’s so much history, nostalgia. It’s not super spread out, and it’s got another park a couple hundred feet away.”

Sounds magical.

Around the Community

Shloshim L’Koach: Aish Kodesh Celebrates 30 Incredible Years

Thirty years of a most unique makom tefillah, a shul where Yiddishkeit comes alive for man, woman and child. A shul whose focus is not only on talmud Torah and limud haTorah, but a special place where Yidden can connect with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, their rabbanim, and, of course, to one another. Led by their legendary Mara D’asra Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlit”a, and Rebbetzin Myrna Weinberger, Aish Kodesh has just completed their third decade b’koach – with great strength.

The strength of youth combines with the wisdom of experience – and Aish Kodesh starts their fourth decade with the fire burning strong and bright as ever. This year’s honorees are a tremendous representation of the shuls thirty-year legacy, starting with the guests of honor, Rabbi & Rebbetzin Yoni Levin. Rabbi Levin is the Assistant Rabbi as well as the Rosh Yeshiva of the inaugural Yeshiva of South Florida. Rabbi Levin also capped this most special evening with his annual Siyum Hashas on all of Talmud Bavli.

The Kesser Shem Tov awardees, Chaim & Rebecca Schreck, were acknowledged and appreciated for their consistency in their avodas Hashem. The Schrecks are everything an Aish Kodesh family thrives to be, as they are pillars in the community, representing beautifully the three pillars of Yiddishkeit: Torah, avodah, and gemilus chassadim. The Nahum Gordon, a”h, Community Service Award, an honor given out annually to recognize specific service above and beyond to the shul and to the klal, was awarded to Josh & Allison

Richman. Josh and Allison are beloved by the entire kehilla, and the kehilla was happy to honor them. Their commitment to the shul was evident by the deep appreciation to the Richmans and hakaras hatov as well to the Schrecks and Levins. Aish Kodesh thanks all those involved in this beautiful dinner, and they look forward to continuing on to the next milestone in Yerushalayim, b’shana ha’bah!

Taste Tests for Pesach at YOSS Hollander ECC

“L’chaim,” said the kindergarten children at Yeshiva of South Shore’s Hollander ECC as they taste-tested different grape juices, as they began to learn all about the different parts of the Seder.

They all tasted 3 types of grape juice, 3 choices of karpas and different types of foods that are Hamotzi. They have confirmed that saltwater tastes like tears and have been acting out the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

Third-year bachurim in Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid who are going to yeshivos in Eretz Yisrael after Pesach gathered for a seudas preidah at the home of the Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Yaakov Bender

First graders at Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island enjoy reading in the expansive school library

The talmidos of the Ganger Early Childhood Center at TAG were treated to an amazing Pesach-themed bubble show on Rosh Chodesh Nissan

Shredding Day Event

The magnificent weather on Sunday morning, March 26, provided a perfect backdrop for the nearly 500 Five Towns residents who participated in the Sanitary District No. 1 Shredding Day Event at district headquarters on Bay Blvd in Lawrence. The total volume of financial and other personal documents residents were able to securely shred and dispose of during the event exceeded 15 tons.

District Commissioner Avi Fertig, who was on-site managing the event, said, “My fellow commissioners, District Superintendent George Pappas, and the dedicated, hard-working employees of Sanitary District No. 1 were delighted by the massive turnout, and gratified by the community’s appreciation for this important service. Shredding Day was scheduled to coincide with Pesach and

Children’s Author Meish Goldish Visits Mercaz Academy

spring cleaning. Considering the huge success and obvious need, we’re already considering having another Shredding Day event later this year.”

SKA’s Antisemitism Program

Witnessing the rising rate of hate crimes directed at Jews across the country and throughout the world, SKA organized a special event on Tuesday, March 21, to openly discuss antisemitism with our students, exploring anti-Judaism and anti-Zionism from several perspectives.

Popular social media influencer and food blogger Mrs. Melinda Strauss (@ therealmelindastrauss) shared encouraging words with the entire student body about understanding and combating an-

tisemitism. She described how she began to explain Judaism and Orthodoxy to her followers after receiving numerous questions about her online posts. Many people, Ms. Strauss found, had no idea what Jews practice or what Orthodoxy was and she receives many queries each day. She explained how she deals with haters on her accounts and spoke about confronting antisemitism in person and online. Emphasizing how proud and passionate she is of her faith, Ms. Strauss was a real inspiration to the students!

Mercaz Academy students were delighted to welcome children’s author Meish Goldish to their school in Plainview last week. Mr. Goldish, who has written over 500 children’s books during his career, spent the day at Mercaz with students from Nursery Aleph through fourth grade. The children loved listening to Mr. Goldish read some of his books aloud, but they were also kept in stitches listening to him sing his amusing original songs while accompanying himself on the guitar. And, as if that was not enough to impress the Mercaz students, Mr. Goldish told wonderful jokes like, “What cheese do we eat on Pesach? Matzah-rella!”

Mercaz students had many questions for Mr. Goldish about the writing process, such as whether he does his own illustrations (no, which he assured them was a good thing) and how he became

a writer (an overactive imagination as a child was a great start). Mr. Goldish writes fiction, poetry, and jokebooks, but he also writes nonfiction, and he explained to his eager audience that a great deal of research goes into his nonfiction titles. He explained this process, focusing on the need to see things for oneself and consult experts. Mr. Goldish said that, while the internet is convenient for research, there is a great deal of unverified and incorrect information there, so it’s best to use it sparingly.

Mercaz Academy students felt that meeting a real author was a wonderful capstone to National Reading Month and are so grateful to Mr. Goldish for coming to see them–as well as to the Mercaz school librarian Francie Goldberg and executive director Rabbi Josh Kupchik for arranging the educational and entertaining visit.

Following Ms. Strauss’ presentation, SKA students attended interactive workshops on understanding what antisemitism is, how we can combat it, the Torah view, and dealing with antisemitism from the social emotional approach. There was much discussion and reflection among the students on the themes that were presented.

Thanks go to SKA faculty member Mrs. Kayla Bach for organizing this important program.

Mr. Jay Singh, founder and owner of the Singh Hardwood Company, visited Mesivta Chaim Shlomo’s Weiss Vocational Center this week and addressed the students. Mr. Singh is seen here with Rabbi Shimon Dachs, director; Mr. Yehoshua Pineles, instructor; and students.

Sanitation District No. 1 Commissioner Avi Fertig, right, with community residents

Embrace the Excitement of Mechiras Chametz with the Yorucha Program’s New Curriculum Far Rockaway and Five Towns Shuls Join the Program

The Yorucha Business Halacha Program, a groundbreaking initiative by the Bais Havaad Halacha Center, is thrilled to welcome the Far Rockaway, Five Towns, and Woodmere communities to participate in its latest “seasonal” topic focused on Mechiras Chametz. This timely and engaging curriculum is perfect for Pesach preparations, offering invaluable halachic insights to learners of all levels.

The Far Rockaway shuls, including Khal Zichron Moshe Dov led by Rabbi Ahron Stein, Sulitzer Bais Medrash led by Rabbi Avrohom Hartman, and Cong Kneseth Israel (White Shul) led by Rabbi Motti Neuburger and R’ Ahron Richman, have joined the Yorucha Program to participate in this engaging and informative curriculum.

In addition, the Greater Five Towns Chaburah (in formation), along with Yeshiva Gedolah Ateres Yaakov led by Rabbi Yisroel Gold, and Aish Kodesh led by Rabbi Yoni Levin, and Kehillas Bnai Hayeshivos led by Rabbi Shmuel Witkin from Woodmere have also joined the program.

The Yorucha Program’s Mechiras Chametz curriculum explores the halachic principles, legal intricacies, and practical applications of the sale of chametz. Participants will delve into topics such as the halachic basis for Mechiras Chametz, the process and requirements for a valid

Met Council Distribution

sale, and the role of a rav or community leader. They will also learn how to handle contemporary issues, such as selling chametz online, managing chametz in rental properties, dealing with unintentional chametz found during Pesach, and handling chametz brought into a business by non-Jewish employees.

Participant Dovid Greenberg, who is a member of the Yorucha Program, shared his enthusiasm for the curriculum, saying, “The Yorucha Program has transformed my Pesach preparations. The in-depth and engaging curriculum on Mechiras Chametz has given me the confidence to navigate this essential practice with ease. I am excited to share my newfound knowledge with my family and community.”

The Yorucha Program’s focus on Mechiras Chametz creates an inclusive and accessible learning environment. With resources tailored to learners of all backgrounds and levels, the program seeks to empower individuals with the tools and knowledge to confidently prepare for Pesach.

Join the Yorucha Program today and embark on an exciting journey into the world of Mechiras Chametz. Visit the Yorucha Program website at baishavaad. org/yorucha to access the Mechiras Chametz materials and resources and experience a chag kasher v’sameach with newfound confidence.

In a year marked by severe inflation, including a near 68-percent increase in the costs of fresh proteins like chicken, fish and eggs, Met Council has launched an emergency fundraising appeal to ensure the organization can provide free food to the more than 325,000 Jewish New Yorkers who rely on the organization’s free food distributions for Passover.

More than 200 distribution points across the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut, the Capital Region (Albany) and New Jersey, sup -

ported by more than 1,237 volunteers, have been set up to help distribute close to 2,800,000 pounds of food to Jews suffering from food insecurity this Passover.

Rav Menachem Feifer (right), maggid shiur at Mesivta Chaim Shlomo and the rav of Agudas Yisroel of Bayswater, made a presentation to the eighth grade talmidim of Rav Zvi Soroka (left) in Yeshiva Darchei Torah about mechiras chometz

Kollel of Yeshiva Darchei Torah Marks Completion of First Year of Adopta-Kollel Partnership

Kollel Tirtzah Devora of Yeshiva Darchei Torah is a unique Adopta-Kollel partnership. It is a partnership where a kollel in America has adopted a kollel in Eretz Yisroel. Although kollel yungeleit in America are also on a

budget, they have an enhanced understanding of the unique koach haTorah and zechusim that Torah learning brings. The yungeleit therefore chose to join Adopt-a-Kollel and they partnered with Kollel Ohr HaTorah in Eretz Yisroel, led

by Rosh Kollel, Rav Moshe Ostreicher, and they send monthly stipends to their kollel. On Monday, 27 Adar/ March 20, the kollel celebrated the completion of its first year of partnership with its partner

kollel. The event was addressed by Rav Dovid Bender, Rosh Kollel, Adopt-a-Kollel National Director, Rabbi Yaakov Bernfeld, and by Adopt-a-Kollel New York Regional Coordinator, Rabbi Chaim Heller.

Donations to the Charoset Drive are Critical for Masbia to Be Able to Meet the Pressing Need

By Laura Alan

When it comes to the weeks before Passover, three words are most important to Masbia’s Executive Director. They are: logistics, logistics, logistics. But this year, there’s something even more critical: sponsors, sponsors, sponsors. The Charoset Drive is what Masbia calls those weeks leading up to Passover.

Throughout the last year, Masbia has been able to eliminate a lot of the stigma of the breadline by using DoorDash delivery service to feed families in need.

Masbia has since seen a large uptick in religious families in-need signing up for emergency food. That cumulative monthly increase is now an enormous challenge. It is not only the logistics; it is actually the supply.

With the cost of food still at a historical high, in addition to logistics, it is also about finding more sponsors and driving a hard bargain with vendors who want to supply food. That’s why Masbia’s Executive Director traveled all the way to Pennsylvania to a kosher slaughterhouse that is under new ownership.

Just when Masbia had almost giv-

en up on including kosher-for-Passover chicken in this year’s distribution, the Mesorah Farm poultry slaughterhouse offered chicken at a very reasonable price.

“It is my duty and commitment to all Masbia donors that I will take their dollar and stretch it as far as possible. At the same time, I want to make sure that whatever we end up buying with those charity dollars is extremely appreciated by the recipient. Therefore, I felt an obligation to visit the Mesorah Farms plant that is recently under new ownership before placing a gigantic order with them.

I wanted to get a feel of their level of kashrus. I wanted to get a good sense of the quality and an exact understanding of the packaging, since most of it will be delivered on motorcycles via DoorDash,” said Alexander Rapaport, Executive Director of Masbia Soup Kitchen Network. “At the end of the visit, we placed an order

for three trailers of poultry products.” He added, “I was extremely impressed with what I saw. The plant is certified kosher under the CRC (Brooklyn), also known as Hisachdas and the OU. The new owners brought a spirit of improvement to the plant with both the level of quality and kashrus. I met with the rabbinical staff, the slaughterers and butchers, and was very impressed with everything.”

The chicken is only a fraction of what’s needed to make the Charoset Drive a success. Masbia needs help in making sure that thousands of families get fresh produce, eggs, and dairy products as well. The Masbia Charoset Drive has a crowdfunding campaign set up with a goal to raise $1,494,000 that will enable them to serve about 10,000 families ahead of Passover. You can check it out here.

Rabbi Chaim Heller addressing the event.

Left is Rabbi Yaakov Bernfeld and right is Rav Dovid Bender, Rosh Kollel

Rav Dovid Bender, Reb Moshe Chaim Horowitz, Adopt-a-Kollel Gabbai, Rabbi Yaakov Bernfeld, and Rabbi Chaim Heller

Helping Hands at JCCRP

Thank you to the students of HAFTR High School and Yeshiva Netzach HaTorah for assisting with the JCCRP Holocaust Survivor Senior Food Distribution. The students enthusiastically packed individual boxes with Pesach food items for to 220 Holocaust survivors. The HAFTR students bagged produce and boxed dry goods and personally delivered the food, including chicken and meats, to each senior.

Executive Director Allison Deal said, “This is a great way for young students to connect to our Holocaust survivors and see the need of many in our community firsthand.”

We look forward to many more volunteer opportunities for the community to participate in. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer with JCCRP, please email info@jccrp.org

Chabad of the Five Towns Invites the Community to Enjoy a Spiritual Staycation

The stores have brought out the white shelf liners and the cars are lined up at the car wash even on rainy days. The Five Towns Community is getting ready to celebrate Passover, the Festival of Freedom. While some travel to the far corners of the earth to uphold the traditions in opulent style, Five Towns residents know they can still enjoy all the amenities and spiritual growth at home with Chabad of the Five Towns.

Chabad’s Itinerary: Mechirat Chametz, Gift of Matzah, Maot Chittim, Community Seder, Moshiach Seudah.

No luggage check needed. It is traditional not only to put your leavened products out of sight during Passover but also to sell them through a rabbi to a non-Jew. This is done in order to fulfill the commandment of no owning any chametz. You can sell your chametz on-

line: ChabadFiveTowns.com/MechiratChametz

No airplane food here. Order your free box of three shemurah matzah matzos for you or a friend or neighbor to fulfill the mitzvah of eating handmade matzah at the Seder. ChabadFiveTowns. com/Matzah.

No extra fees: Help others instead.

Maot Chittim: Gift to the Poor. In the weeks preceding Passover, it is customary to assist needy families by providing them with monetary aid, enabling them to purchase all the Holiday necessities.

Rabbi Wolowik can represent you in your acts of charity and distribute funds to unfortunate families in the community.

ChabadFiveTowns.com/MaotChittim

Finally, we’ve arrived at our destination: the Seder. Chabad of the Five Towns invites anyone to participate in their

Seder in the Grand Tent at 74 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst, on Wednesday, April 5, featuring a warm and inviting atmosphere with gourmet Passover cuisine. Adults $60, children $40. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. Sponsorship available. ChabadFiveTowns. com/Seder.

To fulfill the mitzvos of a Chabad Seder in your own home, Seder To Go Kits are available. $36 per kit. One needed per household. ChabadFiveTowns.com/ SederToGo.

After 7 days of refining our nutritional and spiritual diets, the last day of Pesach is celebrated by eating a special, festive banquet called Moshiach’s seudah, a custom initiated by the Baal Shem Tov. The Tzemach Tzedek explained, “The last day of Pesach is the conclusion of that which began on the first night of Pesach. The

first night of Pesach is our festival commemorating our redemption from Egypt by the Holy One, Blessed be He. It was the first redemption, carried out through Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the first redeemer; it was the beginning. The last day of Pesach is our festival commemorating the final redemption, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, will redeem us from the last exile through our righteous Moshiach, who is the final redeemer. The first day of Pesach is Moshe Rabbeinu’s festival; the last day of Pesach is Moshiach’s festival.” The meal will be taking place at Chabad on Thursday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m.

Drop your baggage and join Chabad on this special journey. Visit chabadfivetowns.com/pesach or call 516-295-2478 for questions.

Shoppers enjoying the brand-new Pesach store at KolSave

The Gan Chamesh Yetzias Mitzrayim Experience

Children were transported back to the time of Yetzias Mitzrayim through this realistic dramatization. They actually felt like they were there, experiencing Hashem’s wondrous miracles. It was hands-on experiential learning at its best!

Gesher Prepares for Pesach

Did you know?

Here at Gesher we are very busy preparing for Pesach! The children had a wonderful time making their very own matzahs from start to finish with the Model Matzah Bakery. Each child had the opportunity to do all the tasks necessary to create flour including threshing, winnowing, selecting, and grinding the wheat. Once the flour was prepared, they sifted it, added water, and kneaded the dough. The children then baked their matzos in special matzah ovens. They can’t wait to bring them home and enjoy them!

The wood frog can live north of the Arctic Circle, surviving for weeks with 65% of its body frozen.

Yeshiva Nishmas Hatorah Annual Retreat

Yeshiva Nishmas Hatorah recently held a Shabbos retreat at the Hilton in Stamford, Connecticut. It was an unforgettable experience for

all who attended. This annual event is eagerly anticipated by the yeshiva’s students and faculty, and this year’s retreat was no exception. The weekend was filled

with inspiring shuirim, uplifting tefillos, delicious seudos, lively discussions, guest speakers, entertainment, and plenty of time for fun, camaraderie and relaxation.

Thank you to all those who went above and beyond to make this special Shabbos a Shabbos to remember!

Rav Yitzchok Kolodetzky visited Yeshiva Nishmas Hatorah

5TLL Preseason Recap

The 5TLL has officially kicked off its highly anticipated spring 2023 season with a bang! This past Sunday, players, coaches, and fans alike were fired up and ready for the action to begin. A special thank you to our incredible sponsors, including our incredible league sponsor FM Home Loans, our Premium Sponsor, Maidenbaum, and Home Run sponsors, Town Appliance, Island Roofing, and Alpert Financial & Associates. This season promises to be bigger and better than ever before!

With nine baseball divisions ranging from Kindergarten to 8th grade and two soccer divisions from Kindergarten to 2nd grade, there’s something for everyone in the 5TLL. This Sunday, over 750 players took to the field for a thrilling practice and preseason game, leaving spectators on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the regular season opener next week. The boys looked absolutely phenomenal in their preseason games, showcasing their skills. Players also received their team shirts and baseball caps.

As part of this Opening Day event, all 5TLL players were entitled to go to the Batting Cages and enjoy some free swings from the league!

Leading the charge this season is our commissioner, Donny Rudansky, along

with our assistant commissioners, Rabbi Drebin and Yosef Rudansky, head umpire Eli Jaroslawicz, and head of media, Ari Rudansky. Together, they’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that everything is all set and ready to go, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s in store. So gear up, grab your snacks, and get ready for the best season yet! The 5TLL is back, and it’s time to play ball!

Swag Alert: Each player received a magnetic Mets/Yankees schedule from 5 Towns Batting cages. Each volunteer coach received a special 5TLL “#1 Fan” foldable chair this past Sunday so their wives can watch the games in style! And next Sunday, each boy will be getting another swag item, courtesy of Wieder Orthodontics!

Yeshiva Darchei Torah fourth grade students in Rabbi Sudwerts’s class making light bulbs in the CIJE Science Laboratory on the yeshiva’s campus

Chaverim Appreciation Dinner

On Thursday, March 23, over 100 volunteers and dispatchers of Chaverim of the Five Towns and Rockaways gathered at their 14th annual Membership Appreciation Dinner. The dinner, which was held at Congregation Beth Sholom, celebrates the Chaverim members who give hours of their time to help people in need.

Chaverim was honored by the attendance of New York State Assemblyman and Deputy Mayor of Cedarhurst Ari Brown, as well as Cedarhurst Village Trustees Israel Wasser and Daniel Plaut, who all came out to show their support for Chaverim.

2022 was a very busy and successful

year for Chaverim. We received over 6,000 calls – a record for Chaverim, with amazing response time. There were a few members who covered over 400 calls this past year!

A special mention of appreciation to Rabbi Yair Hoffman, noted author and teacher, who gave an inspiring Dvar Torah to the members about the importance of the work they do for our community.

Following the awards and certificates, the members were treated to a show featuring magician Ben Cohen. He performed some mind-boggling mentalism and illusions which left everyone in laughter and amazement. Most importantly, the members came away inspired knowing that what they do

makes a real difference in the community and is greatly appreciated.

We also run Defensive Driving Class programs (see details below) and carseat safety inspection events throughout the year. Chaverim is also planning to continue their program to teach many basic car functionalities to new drivers in high schools throughout the community. Please stay tuned for new developments by following us on social media and our website.

Chaverim is a 501c3, 100% volunteer organization. Please help support us by donating on our website (https:// chaverim5t.org) so that we can continue to help you in your time of need!

Upcoming Defensive Driving Class:

Sunday, April 30, 2023, 10:00 AM or Monday, May 1 7 PM at Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi. For more information, please go to https://www.chaverim5t. org/book-online or send an email to info@chaverim5t.org or call us at (516) 331-1460.

Chaverim Emergency Help Line: (718) 337-1800 or send us a Twitter direct message “@Chaverim5t” with your name, location, problem and phone number, and a dispatcher will get back to you ASAP. Chaverim Info Line: (516) 331-1460, P.O. Box 701, Lawrence, NY 11559.

Kehillas Aish Kodesh baked matzos together before yom tov

Assemblyman and Deputy Mayor Ari Brown, Chaverim member Naftali Feitman, and Village of Cedarhurst Trustee Dan Plaut

Rabbi Moshe Hamel, Rabbi Yaakov Feitman, and Rabbi Mayer Kramer

The Living Torah

Rabbi Adler’s and Rabbi Scharhon’s 5th grade classes at Yeshiva of South Shore visited the Living Torah Museum in Brooklyn this past week. The boys had an amazing time learning and experiencing Torah brought to life like never before! They handled artifacts thousands of years old and gained understanding otherwise impossible. It was a truly fascinating trip!

Gural JCC Prepares for Pesach

The Marion and Aaron Gural JCC supports and services clients on a myriad of levels all year long.

In the weeks leading up to Pesach, however, we are particularly sensitive to the overwhelming needs of those who are facing the holiday without family, unwell, homebound or in financial crisis. We provide for these struggling community members with a holistic approach and with compassion and professionalism.

Every month, clients who benefit from our food pantry, The SHOP, receive a box of groceries tailored to their family’s size and need. This month, the box is carefully customized to their Pesach requirements. Our vibrant group of dedicated volunteers have been stocking the SHOP shelves, packing up food orders and delivering boxes

to hundreds of clients. The Gural JCC will also be delivering a Seder-inthe-Box, to those without resources or the ability to organize their own seder meals. Once again, the family of our beloved friend and greatly missed sponsor,

Mark Ramer a”h, remembers our Holocaust survivors and single parents, sending them holiday starter boxes with a wide array of essential Pesach items, via the JCC.

Last Sunday, the JCC partnered with Kosher Response/Leon Mayer Fund/ Mark Ramer Chesed Center/JCCRP and invited clients to a girls’ and teens clothing event at our Grove Avenue premises. Hundreds of women came out to “shop” and left with smiles, gratitude and bags of Yom Tov clothing. Many also left with a brand-new mixer for Pesach and bedding.

The offices at the Gural JCC are bustling this week with staff and volunteers working non-stop to help our clients greet the holiday with dignity and calm. Counseling sessions, intakes and calls for assistance have escalated and we are here to answer them with assurance, guidance and support. If you know anyone in need of the JCC services, please call (516)569-6733.

Wishing all a chag kasher v’sameach!

Shulamith Elementary students are getting ready for Pesach

Shulamith ECC Learns about Simanei Haseder Experientially

Junior Events at Central

Junior year is a challenging, exhilarating time: the prospect of college has never been closer, and tests, AP courses, and extracurriculars are prominent on many schedules. At the same time, upperclassman status at Central brings its own privileges, and the class of 2024 is preparing to step up as next year’s leaders.

The week of March 13 was a significant one for current juniors: on Wednesday, March 15, the entire junior class took a field trip to Stern College for Women in midtown Manhattan. The day included a campus tour, a sample Stern class taught by Dr. Alyssa Schuck, Clinical Assistant Professor of Biology (and mother of junior Meira Schuck), and a Cen-

tral alumnae panel.

Another big spring event: the junior spring Shabbaton, which was hosted by our Woodmere community last weekend. Sessions included “Freedom in the Eyes of the Sages” and “Freedom in the Eyes of Society,” a faculty panel, a pizza party, and a chesed project with 4G NCSY. Students gave incredible divrei Torah and enjoyed a meaningful meal and kumzitz with many of their teachers. It was an opportunity for the class to come together

as a unit in preparation for the rest of the school year – and, of course, senior year.

“Shabbatons are a time to bond together as a grade,” says junior Debra Burger. “We daven together, eat together, spend time together. They’re very fun, especially when there’s an organized schedule with activities so we do not get bored!”

It was a high-energy weekend. “I am always sad when Shabbaton is over,” said junior Tiferet Tuchman, “but I also have the soundest sleep that Saturday night.”

Kindergarten children at Shulamith ECC graph their grape juice preferences. Which one do you like best? Concord or Blush?

Parsha Comes to Life at Lev Chana!

Gedolim Recite Birkas Illanos in Bnei Brak on Trees from

KKL-Owned Land

School is buzzing with excitement as students at HALB’s Lev Chana reenact the story of Pesach, create beautiful projects, and learn songs for the Seder. Lev Chana students can’t wait to share everything they learned at the Seder table!

In a unique and moving event arranged by Eretz Hakodesh, gedolei Yisroel shlit”a recited Birkas Illanos on trees from the fields of Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael/the Jewish National Fund for Israel (KKL) that had been maintained according to the laws of Shmittah. For the first time in history, this past year, KKL observed the laws of Shmittah on all the lands under its jurisdiction. In practical terms, this meant that, thanks to the orchestration of Eretz HaKodesh, KKL did not rely on a heter mechirah (selling the land) but allowed all its land to remain fallow for the recent Shmittah year. In keeping with these halachos, the fruits were distributed for free to the public. Trees from these very fields were brought to Bnei Brak for the recital of Birkas Illanos. The gedolim who joined expressed their admiration for the monumental accomplishment to ensure Shmittah compliance on thousands of dunams of land. Gedolim shlit”a who participated included Rav Berel Povarsky, Rav Boruch Mor-

dechai Ezrachi, Rav Shimon Galei, Rav Shlomo Kanievsky, Rav Shraga Shteinman, Rav Chaim Peretz Berman, Rav Issamar Garbuz, and Rav Amram Fried. The gedolim, in addition to reciting Birkas Illanos, gave heartfelt brachos to the farmers who kept Shmittah with these trees, wishing them bracha and hatzla-

cha in their future endeavors. They also gave a bracha to the askanim of Eretz HaKodesh for making this possible. The undertakings to ensure Shmittah observance were the latest in a concerted effort of Eretz HaKodesh to ensure and protect kedushas ha’aretz in Eretz Yisroel.

YCQ Debate Team Wins Big

The YCQ Debate Team emerged with multiple awards after a day of competition at HANC last week. Out of the individual debaters from all the participating schools, Mikey Fried was awarded the 2nd Place Speaker, and Elianah Aminova received the 3rd Place Speaker award. Elianah and Adam Kaykov were also named the 3rd Place team out of 24. The YCQ team as a whole was awarded 3rd Place School at the meet.

Thank you to Coach Miles Ehrenkranz for leading the team in another successful outing.

Rosh Chodesh Treats for HALB Staff

The HALB PTA treated the staff to delicious flavored coffees from The Cheese Store to celebrate Rosh Chodesh and thank them for everything they do for the school every day. The PTA sponsors Rosh Chodesh treats every month, reminding HALB teachers and staff that they are appreciated!

MTA Talmidim Prepare for Pesach

YOSS Talmidim Connecting To Their Roots

MTA talmidim have been preparing for the upcoming yom tov with learning opportunities unique to the MTA experience. First, talmidim had the opportunity to hear a chabura from YU Kollel Elyon fellow Rabbi Josh Kaufman. Then, talmidim in Rabbi Kerner’s shiur had the opportunity to hear a sichas mussar from YU Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen in preparation for Pesach. Since Rosh Chodesh Nissan, there has been an air of excitement in the halls of MTA, and the talmidim are excited to bring their learning home with them for Pesach.

This past week, Klal Yisroel commemorated Reb Yaakov Kamenetzky’s yahrzeit (1891-1986).

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva of South Shore, took Rabbi Rosenwasser’s 8th grade shiur to Reb Yaakov’s kever. Besides for being his illustrious grandfather, Reb Yaakov was also heavily involved in the formation of the yeshiva more than 60 years ago, and his daas Torah continues to resonate in the learning and hashkafa every single day. Reb Yaakov had a systematic approach to chinuch that included when to learn Alef-Bais, when to get their first Siddur and Chumash, and when to begin learning Gemara. Reb Yaakov had a keen understanding of children and the learning process, and he inspired a generation

An Inspiring Weekend at the Shaar

of mechanchim to reach every single talmid.

One of the more famous stories is when Reb Binyamin Kamenetzky, zt”l, asked his father Reb Yaakov if he could lower the mezuzah for the younger talmidim so they could reach it. Reb Yaakov replied that the mezuzah must remain in its proper spot and the children should have a stepstool to climb up and kiss the mezuzah. “In being mechaneich children,” explained Reb Yaakov, “you can never lower the mitzvah, rather you must raise the child!”

Going to the Beis Olam and davening at Reb Yaakov’s kever gave the talmidim a real sense of connection to the gadol who was so instrumental in their chinuch, and Reb Mordechai kamenetzky

showed them how the legacy of a gadol can impact generations of Yidden. They also davend at the kever of many other gedolim buried there including Rabbi Shlomo Heiman (18851944), Rabbi Reuvain Grozovsky (1886-1958), Rabbi Dovid Leibowitz (1889-1941), Rabbi Henoch Leibowitz (1916-2008), and Rebbetzin Miriam Freida, the wife of the Chofetz Chaim zt”l.

It is so important for talmidim to connect to the gedolim of the previous generation, and when the gadol is someone who impacted their life, it is all the more meaningful. These talmidim experience the legacy of Reb Yaakov every single day at YOSS, and they now have an even more personal connection to his legacy.

On March 16-19, the Shaar – a unique kiruv yeshiva and community based in Sh’or Yoshuv –hosted Olami’s National Men’s Learning Weekend. 150 students and young professionals from across the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom came to the Shaar for an exhilarating four days of wisdom, spirituality, community and camaraderie.

The Shaar would like to thank the 56 families and neighbors in the warm and welcoming community of Far Rockaway and Lawrence for opening their homes and hearts for hosting comfortable sleep -

ing accommodations and delicious Shabbos lunch meals.

The weekend was chock-full of fantastic learning and exciting events and highlights, including:

Elevating learning sessions and classes throughout the weekend with Shaar rebbeim and visiting speakers including Charlie Harary, Harry Rothenberg Esq., Rabbi Eytan Feiner among others, and multiple interactive learning workshops with local community members and business leaders.

A blow-out Thursday evening program with 150 community members

coming to Shor Yoshuv for 1-on-1 chavrusa learning with the participants, followed by an epic achdus-filled farbrengen with R’ Joey Newcomb, R’ Shlomo Reich, other musical chevra and 300+ Yidden singing, dancing and bonding.

Grit N’ Wit – an awesome obstacle course event hosted by Yeshiva Darchei Torah that included great physical and mental team-building challenges and races.

A fantastic and uplifting Shabbos with a lavish Friday night seudah with the entire group, amazing lunch seudos at community hosts, afternoon

shteiging sessions, tefillos led by Yehuda Green, with the beautiful Shabbos culminating in a grand havdala ceremony and concert with Yehuda Green and friends.

A gala melava malka and the legendary “The Q” trivia game show, held at the White Shul ballroom.

The weekend was baruch Hashem a great success, with many participants signing up over the weekend to return to the Shaar for Shavuos and to join the Shaar’s summer internship program, paving the way for many of them to ultimately join the Shaar full-time, b’Ezras Hashem!

YIJE Anniversary Dinner

With a program that was both elegant and unique, the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates recently held its 44th Anniversary Dinner at Temple Beth Shalom in Roslyn. The synagogue at the center of the Jamaica Estates community used the occasion to highlight the talents of two couples who themselves have been integrally involved in the execution of the YIJE anniversary dinner for many years. Over the course of the last 10 years, the YIJE dinner has gone from typical a shul fundraising event to an anticipated evening-out filled with good food, good friends, and engaging entertainment.

In an appropriate twist for the month of Adar, this year’s honorees, Fran & Yeeshai Gross and Sandy & Edit Shmuelly, actually planned and executed the evening’s program. In her opening remarks, Dinner Chairperson Yael Schreiber thanked the atypical honorees for all of the time, effort and resources they put into the event, noting that “most honorees would take advantage of the fact that they are being honored and step back to let the committee and others do the work,” but as usual, the Grosses and the Shmuelys gave “their time, unique talent and expertise to help produce and entertain us at the dinner [as they do] each year.”

Although quite elegant, with red carpet entry and formal photos being taken, the evening’s program was set in a relaxed atmosphere furnished more like a lounge than a typical dinner venue. Guests enjoyed an endless buffet prepared by Colbeh and sat at

café tables and couches all centered on a center stage with a giant LED wall. The mood for the evening was set during the buffet with a performance by Jeb Guthrie and Rob Taube and their incredible cover of music favorites from decades gone by.

Following remarks from YIJE President Dror Rosenfeld, Rabbi Emeritus Shlomo Hochberg and Mara D’atra Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner, the crowd was treated to popcorn during a screening debut of “A Dinner Gone Wrong,” a hilariously funny mockumentary about the making of a YIJE dinner. The film was produced and directed by Gross and featured a cast of more than 75 YIJE members, including the rabbis.

The honorees were then presented with beautiful gifts from the Shul as well as proclamations from State Assemblymember David Weprin and New York City Councilmember Jim Gennaro. During his presentation to the honorees, Mara D’atra Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner expressed that within the walls of YIJE lives a community of friends who feel like family, who sup -

port each other in moments of grief and inspire each other in times of joy.” In addressing the Grosses and Shmuelys directly, he continued, “we are all so thankful for all that you have done and continue to do, to help make our community thrive and grow. You are, all four of you, exemplars of devotion to others and a commitment to a mission to lift the spirits of your peers through music and media, with humor and harmony. To be in your company is to feel seen and heard and embraced –as you all exude such grace and never fail to bring a smile to my face.”

The night concluded with a remarkable concert by Sandy Shmuely, where he entertained the audience with an array of Jewish music, including several of his popular hits. To everyone’s surprise, Sandy’s close friend, Yoel Sherabi, made an unexpected appearance on stage at one point. For over an hour, Sandy and the others had the audience singing along before the night reluctantly came to an end.

YIJE Mara D’Atra Rabbi Dr. Dov Lerner

Miram Lerner, Rabbi Dov Lerner, Sandy Shmuely, Edit Shmuely, Fran Gross, Yeeshai Gross, and YIJE President Dror Rosenfeld

Yeeshai Gross joining Sandy Shmuely on stage

Frog- A-Thon at YOSS ECC

5 Towns Flag Football Week 2

This past Friday was week 2 of FM Home Loans 5 Towns Flag Football. We had an excellent, intense, and competitive week of games.

In the Pre 1A division under the direction of Rabbi Jeremy Fine and Rabbi Flecsher, the boys practiced drills for running, tagging, and catching. They are already on track to be all stars!

In the 1st grade division, the Patriots defeated the Giants with fast running and catching by Ephraim Herman. The Broncos defeated the Jets.

In the 2nd grade division, the Patriots defeated the Texans. The Jets defeated the Giants with the help of Elie Brown’s amazing short catches. The Broncos defeated the Vikings, and the Commanders defeated the Eagles.

In the 3rd and 4th grade division, the Panthers defeated the Raiders. The Saints defeated the Dolphins. The Seahawks defeated the Packers with an amazing interception that led to a touchdown by Yosef Young. The Broncos defeated the

Eagles. The Falcons defeated the Giants. The Vikings defeated the Steelers with Eitan Erreich’s amazing TDP, and the Jets tied with the Patriots.

In the 5th and 6th grade division, the Saints defeated the Panthers with Dovi Fruchter’s consistent defense. The Raiders defeated the Falcons. The Dolphins defeated the Steelers. The Patriots defeated the Packers. The Jets defeated the Giants, and the Broncos defeated the Seahawks with Mikey Aryeh’s all-star de -

fense.

In the 7th and 8th grade division, the Eagles defeated the Vikings with Aron Biber’s incredible back-to-back touchdowns. The Giants defeated the Patriots, and the Jets defeated the Broncos with Gedaliah Brill’s amazing catches.

Stay tuned for weekly updates in this paper as the FM Home Loans 5 Towns Flag Football League continues towards the Super Bowl!

Parent-Child Sunday Learning Season Finale

The final Sunday Learning Program of the year at YCQ took place on Sunday, March 19. Rabbi Levitt gave a phenomenal shiur on the mitzvah of telling our children the story of our freedom from Mitzrayim. Thank you to all the students and parents who came to our shiurim throughout the year. Attendees were given a beautiful sefer and participated in a mega raffle that included a grand prize of an Xbox. Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek!

Preparing for Pesach at BY5T

The girls at Bais Yaakov

As the children at Yeshiva of South Shore ECC learned about Pesach inside and outside the classroom, they engaged in array of makkos games and an assortment of frog-a-thon activities.

Leap frog, jumping, hopping and ribbiting were just a few activities. They also enjoyed balanced and walking carefully through the Yam Suf. We call it “whole body learning.”

Five Towns are enjoying learning all about Pesach! Wearing their aprons and baker hats, they got to bake their own matzah and enthusiastically participated in the entire process. They were also privileged to enjoy and participate in a spectacular interactive Pesach show with Morah Naomi. They fed baby Moshe kosher milk, watched as the huge frog was hit -- so many little frogs came out – and squeaked as we sang the frog song. They “show-

Rav Yitzchok Kolodetsky, son-in-law of Maran Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l, inspires Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s Middle School

ered” the Mitzrim with “blood,” combed for “lice,” crossed the Yam Suf, baked matzah, burned the chometz, set the Sed-

er table, davened and danced in Yerushalayim — l’shana haba’a b’Yerushalayim hab’nuya!

5K Color Run

This past Sunday was the annual 5K Color Run for The Camp Scholarship Fund, which is a campaign of the Matzliach Organization. It was held at Baldwin Park and attended by about 200 frum girls from grades 7-12 from our local schools as well as neighboring schools. Every year, these girls run together in achdus across the finish line and feel a big sense of accomplishment! The girls said that it was like a day at summer camp running, singing with ruach, dancing, and just having fun.Photographer Eli Weintraub did a fantastic job capturing the event with pictures and video. Professional DJ Reuvain played all the requested songs as the girls danced on and

off the stage. A big thank you to Rockaway Kosher Supermarket for sponsoring drinks, World of Chantilly for sponsoring customized cookies, and Gourmet Glatt

HANC Bat Mitzvah Program

The sixth grade girls in HANC’s Elementary School in West Hempstead have been preparing a special program celebrating their becoming B’not Mitzvah. Following a unit of learning that was prepared by Morah Aviva Sadigh, 6th grade Limudei Kodesh teacher, they researched their own Hebrew names. They then utilized their computer skills to create a PowerPoint presentation about their names, as well as delineating the qualities and middot of the person for whom they were named that they wanted to emulate as they grow up into young women.

On Sunday morning, the girls arrived accompanied by their honored guests: their mothers and grandmothers. The lunchroom was transformed into a dazzling Simcha Hall, filled with decora-

tions and balloon displays. Following a festive breakfast and Divrei Torah, the girls shared their projects with their guests and were then presented with a special pink siddur, engraved with their Hebrew names. The siddurim were dedicated in the memory of HANC’s beloved former Hebrew Coordinator, Morah Dafna Berman z”l, who passed away a year and a half ago. Since many of the students benefited from Morah Dafna’s Ivrit classes and special programs throughout their years at HANC, this dedication was deeply significant and meaningful.

Adding to the celebration of this important milestone in their lives, Mrs. Sorah Shaffren led a spirited kumzitz and dance session. Seeing the girls singing and dancing together with such enthusiasm brought tremendous simcha to

for sponsoring the refreshments. TCSF was started in our local community for our local community eight years ago by two siblings, Channa Shira

(Ryback) Schik and Shmaryahu Ryback, to help local children attend summer camps. So far, they have helped hundreds of children go to camp. The Camp Scholarship Fund has a dual purpose: the children learn the importance of doing chessed with fun activities, and the result of this fun chessed is that children help their peers go to camp in the summer. Teaching children this twofold concept has been proven to be very successful! There are no salaries taken: $700 helps send a child to camp for two weeks; $1,400 for half summer; $2,500 for full summer. Any size donation is appreciated. BeMatzliach@gmail.com.

the event, leaving everyone with memories that will last a lifetime.

As a special surprise for their mothers and grandmothers, the students concluded the program by singing a magnificent song V’zakeini, which truly left everyone in the room teary eyed.

Mrs. Michal Wasser, Assistant Principal, observed, “It was beautiful to see each girl celebrated and honored. Sorah Shaffran was able to highlight each student’s special talents. It was magnificent to see three generations come together to recognize this important milestone in each girl’s life.”

HANC wishes to thank all of the sponsors who donated to the Morah Dafna Berman Fund which provided the personalized siddurim, the parents who sponsored the event, as well as the PTA

for the beautiful decorations. Hakarat hatov goes as well to Morah Sadigh, Mrs. Michal Wasser, Assistant Principal, and Mrs. Daniella Hirt, Student Activities Coordinator, for all of their help in bringing this program to fruition.

HAFTR Joins Team Shalva at the 2023 Jerusalem Marathon

By Adam Schorr

Team Shalva, an organization that supports children with special needs, once again participated in the 2023 Jerusalem Marathon on Friday, March 17, in Jerusalem, the heart of the Holy Land. Many students from destinations such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States all arrived in Israel in anticipation of this meaningful opportunity. They sought to give back to the community of Shalva by running various distances in the marathon itself. Whether runners navigated a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon or, more remarkably, a full marathon, each distance was worth the cause. The primary goal of the organization is to give individuals with special needs the opportunity to challenge themselves and show the world their inner strength. The team comprises children and young adults with physical and mental disabilities, and the team has a unique approach to running. They focus not on time or distance but on the personal journey and development of each person.

In support of Team Shalva, HAFTR High School sent a team of enthusiastic students, consisting of 11th and 12th graders, to represent the yeshiva. Upon arriving on Thursday morning, the team headed straight to Shalva’s headquarters,

receiving a tour of the beautiful campus and various facilities available to members of the organization. Later that evening, with other schools and seminaries attending, Shalva held an opening ceremony, including with its esteemed founder, Rabbi Kalman Samuels. Rabbi Samuels delivered powerful remarks about the significance of Shalva and its evolution throughout the years.

On Friday, the big day came, and all runners set off in the streets of Jerusalem on their runs, exploring the true beauty of the city while facing challenging terrain and exerting strenuous effort. It was all worth it in the end, especially at the finish line in Sacher Park, where celebratory spirit spread throughout the park and racers received shiny silver medals for their accomplishment. But the joy

SKA Places at Science Olympiad

This year’s Science Olympiad was held at Lander College for Men on Sunday, March 12, with eleven yeshivot attending. Run by the Jewish Education Project, Science Olympiad offers talented science students the chance to participate in high level science activities not offered within a traditional classroom setting. SKA students had the opportunity to compete in 12 different competitions across all STEM subjects with building events, lab events and testing events.

Congratulations to the Science Olympiad Team of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls on winning fourth place overall team!

The following SKA groups received medals in individual events:

Chemistry Lab - 4th place - Chani Heimowitz and Aliza Tokayer

Code Busters - 3rd place - Ariella Fagin and Chaya Sarah Lelonek

Dynamic Planet - 3rd place - Annabelle Engel and Dara Ordentlicht

Forestry - 1st place - Dara Ordentlicht and Avital Sojcher

Green Generation - 3rd place - Maya Hiller and Chani Heimowitz

Scrambler - 3rd place - Adina Baumj and Eliana Zachter

Write It Do It - 1st place - Sari Roman and Avital Sojcher

The SKA participants were ecstatic over their wins!

“For the Scrambler,” says SKA Junior Adina Baum, “we had to build a contraption to bring an egg as close to a wall as possible without cracking it. For weeks before the event, Eliana Zachter and I worked with Dr. Parrino to build the device. All the SKA participants spent the full day of Science Olympiad competing, watching the other groups, and meeting with advisors of the event. The hard

did not conclude there. With a fun-filled Shabbat planned, students from many participating schools congregated once more, taking part in delicious meals, developing new friendships, and even having the special chance to hear again from Rabbi Samuels. Tamir Goodman, a former American-Israel basketball player, also shared inspiring words about his career in professional basketball and some unfortunate challenges he faced from antisemitism, which hurt but did not dominate his motivation for the sport.

Did you know?

Soon after, students joined together and filled up the dance floor while celebrating Shalva and closing out Shabbat, a true icing on the cake. It was a perfect ending to a remarkable experience. Participants began their journey home over the next two days, already looking forward to the 2024 Jerusalem Marathon.

HAFTR’s involvement in this year’s marathon enabled students to come together and show their strength, determination, and courage with members of Shalva. It also allowed Team Shalva and HAFTR to show the world that amazing feats are possible when people try their absolute hardest. A special thank you to HAFTR’s chaperones, Mrs. Alyssa Schechter and Mr. Joey Hoenig, for leading Team HAFTR, as well as our esteemed runners: Juniors Joseph Cohen and Isaac Herskovich, and seniors Abie Baruch, Joey Cohen, Amanda Ehrenhaus, Max Glaubach, Eric Herman, Molly Klein, AJ Mandel, Sophia Mastey, Alexis Pollack, Madison Pollack, Adam Schorr, Haylee Soshtain, Corey Spitzer, Effie Willner, and Ryan Zuckerman.

Many frogs can leap more than 20 times their body length.

work we all put in really paid off in the end when we won fourth place as a school team and our individual awards.”

SKA Sophomore Avital Sojcher also found Science Olympiad to be very gratifying.

“The work was hard,” she says, “and required a lot of time, but in the end, was very rewarding. The Olympiad gave me an important goal to work towards. Going to the competition was stressful but was so much fun! I was able to meet and speak with people my age with interests

similar to mine. Despite all my preparation, I was still surprised when both of my wins were announced. I’m grateful to my partners, Dara Ordentlich and Sari Roman, and the teachers who helped me achieve this.”

Mazal tov to the SKA captains Maya Hiller and Atara Razi and the coaches, Dr. Chana Glatt and Dr. Sal Parrino, as well as the SKA science and math faculty members who helped prepare the students.

HAFTR Hosts HAFTR Experience

By Sophia Pahl

HAFTR High School recently hosted the HAFTR Experience, an event for the incoming freshmen in Class of 2027. This program gives prospective students a glimpse into what high school life is like here at HAFTR. On Thursday, February 23, eighth graders from different schools across the metropolitan New York area had the opportunity to participate in this exciting program.

The HAFTR Experience is designed for current eighth grade students who have been admitted to the freshman class at HAFTR High School. Students were given the chance to see a day in the life of a HAFTR student. The students were greeted with welcoming remarks from Ms. Lippman, principal, and Rabbi Wallach, Limudei Kodesh coordinator. Students were then divided into several groups and assigned to designated upperclassmen, who escorted them around the school to a series of activities. Each activity gave students a taste of a different dimension of HAFTR High School’s

unique program. Whether engaging in hands-on projects or participating in lessons given by the astute and experienced faculty, there was something for everyone to enjoy. Some of these activities included creating vision boards, connecting with each other during games in the gym, participating in limudei kodesh and general studies classes, and much more! Students had the chance to meet high school students, teachers, and administrators and get a sense of what their future freshman year will hold.

This year, I had the privilege of escorting a group of eighth grade girls around the school throughout their experience. During our conversations, students in

my group shared their thoughts about making the transition to high school. All of the students agreed that while they are nervous, they are also extremely excited to be part of the HAFTR family. Even though I have attended HAFTR since I was in a four-year nursery, I didn’t have the opportunity to attend the HAFTR Experience in the eighth grade due to the outbreak of Covid-19. While I was given a virtual tour at the time, it could not compare to this in-person experience. With such a unique opportunity, it is clear why everyone had such a memorable time. We all took pride in welcoming these students and look forward to seeing them next year!

Yonah Levovitz dropping off a full pushka at the Hatzalah garage. Tizku L’mitzvos!

HAFTR Girls Learn About Hafrashat Challah with Rebbetzin Jaeger

By Jessie Kurlander

After learning about Hafrashat Challah in Morah Kilimnick’s Tanach class, students of both Morah Kilimnick and Morah Fagan’s junior classes were able to have a more in-depth experience to deepen their appreciation of this mitzvah.

On Thursday, March 2, students were privileged to take part in this special mitzvah at Rebbetzin Tehila Jaeger’s home in Far Rockaway. Rebbetzin Jaeger is the daughter of Rabbi Shlomo Friefeld, zt”l, the founder of Shor Yoshuv, a yeshiva located in far Rockaway. During our time there we heard beautiful words of Torah

that related to both Purim and ourselves. Not only did we learn about the strong voice Esther had, which saved the Jewish people in the Purim story, but we were also able to learn about the meaning behind each of our Hebrew names. Then, we each made our own challah and had the zechut to hear Rebbetzin Jaeger say the bracha of Hafrashat Challah. Ending off this great experience, we had the privilege of seeing the Rosh Yeshiva’s study. This experience was eye-opening and soul-stirring to all of us and gave us so much new information and knowledge about our purpose in life as the future generation of Jewish people.

HALB Girls Who Code

Agroup of 6th and 7th grade girls from HALB recently took a trip to the Girls Who Code CodeFair in Manhattan. The CodeFair was designed to align with the goals of Girls Who Code, which is to help change the culture of what a computer scientist looks like by

inviting more girls to get excited by the fields of coding, computer science, and engineering. The girls had a great time with the interactive exhibits, free giveaways, and being part of such a big group of girls and women who are excited by computer science and technology.

Rav Yitzchok Lichtenstein Addresses Bais Medrash of Lawrence Adopt-a-Kollel Melave Malka

On motzei Shabbos Parshas Vayikra, the Bais Medrash of Lawrence, led by Rav Dovid Fordsham, held its annual melave malka to celebrate the completion of another year of Adopt-a-Kollel partnership with wellknown Kollel Tiferes Tzvi, known as the “Brisker Kollel” in Yerushalayim. The Rosh Kollel, Rav Moshe Aharon Rosengarten, was in attendance and spoke.

The special guest speaker at the event was Rav Yitzchok Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. The melava malka also featured live music, sing-

ing, and dancing in honor of the Torah. Rav Lichtenstein gave a deeply moving and riveting drasha, relating how fortunate the shul is to be able to partner with one of most distinguished kollelim in Eretz Yisroel.

Rav Rosengarten passionately expressed his hakaras hatov to the shul, “Not just for this year but for all of the many years that you have played an integral part in the limud haTorah of so many avreichim.”

Adopt-a-Kollel gabbai, Reb Dovi Safier, put things in perspective when during

his remarks he said, “We all know that money comes and money goes. The only money that truly remains with us is the money that we give away to help and support others.”

The melava malka also featured live music and singing in honor of the Torah.

SHS’s Greatest Show

Asell-out crowd was blown away on Sunday watching the SHS Production, The Greatest Show. More than 75% of the student body contributed their talents to the production, acting, singing, dancing, lighting, designing sets, ushering, doing hair and makeup, and participating in all sorts of backstage capacities. Weeks of late-night practices, chauffeuring arrangements made possible by extremely devoted parents, and dinners ordered for the cast or home-cooked by the dedicated administration culminated in a flawless performance.

Produced and directed by Esty Munk, the play weaved the well-known story of P.T. Barnum with a parallel narrative showcasing Anna, a young girl emerging from the horrors of the Holocaust, who reacclimates to the possibility of dreams coming true. Through the characters portrayed in the show, SHS students were each given a platform to express kochos that don’t typically have a spotlight shining on them. We are so proud of our incredibly talented cast and crew for bringing to life the absolutely greatest show!

Rav Moshe Aharon Rosengarten, Rosh Kollel, Brisker Kollel

Rav Yitzchok Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, addressing the crowd

Reb Dovi Safier, Adopt-a-Kollel gabbai, addressing the event

Rav Dovid Fordsham, Rav, Bais Medrash of Lawrence

Siyumim on Chelek Aleph of Mishnah Berurah Held with Numerous Gedolei Yisroel as Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha Set to Complete Chelek Aleph

By Chaim Gold

“Idid not know what learning just a half hour of Mishnah Berurah could do to my life! At the beginning of the machzor, a friend of mine told me that a chaburah was forming in our shul and asked if I could join. After a bit of cajoling, I agreed. What can I say? Now, from the time I wake up in the morning until the time I go to sleep, every action is done through the prism of the halachos that I have learned in Daf HaYomi B’Halacha! I started with the halachos of waking up in the morning and then I learned so much about tzitzis and tefillin, kriyas shema – halachos that I had never known.”

Those were the words of R’ Yosef P. of Lakewood, a Daf HaYomi B’Halacha learner who has been learning as part of the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha ever since the start of Chelek Aleph.

This coming 19 Nissan/April 10 will mark the siyum on Chelek Aleph of Mishnah Berurah in Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program. The siyum is a seminal milestone for those who have begun a little more than a year ago.

Recently, a testament to the outpouring of support and respect for the role that Daf HaYomi B’Halacha plays in Klal Yisrael was acutely felt in Eretz Yisrael where beautiful siyumim were held in the battei medrash of, HaGaon HaRav Avigdor Nebenzahl, shlita, the Boyaner Rebbe, shlita, HaGaon HaRav Reuven Elbaz, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim, HaGaon HaRav Shimon Galei, shlita, and the Lelover Rebbe, shlita, of Beit Shemesh.

“There are No Words to Describe the Zechus!”

At the siyum held at the Churva shul, Rav Nebenzahl said, “Since the Chofetz Chaim wrote the Mishnah Berurah, many new scenarios that demand a psak halacha have cropped up. There are so many modern innovations and conveniences that bring with them countless shailos Then Dirshu came along and gave us a halacha berurah in these areas, too. They have published a Mishnah Berurah that addresses so many varied, modern-day questions and placed it in the corresponding page of Mishnah Berurah in a

way that the learner can come out with both a clear mishnah berurah and halacha berurah.

“Rav Dovid Hofstedter, who established Dirshu to serve Klal Yisrael, has established the daily Mishnah Berurah learning program in a way that every Jew can have mishnah berurah and halacha berurah in front of him. There are no words to describe what a zechus this is! How much Torah has been learned as a result of Dirshu!”

Rav Dovid Hofstedter: The Need for Mesiras Nefesh

Rav Dovid Hofstedter was then asked to address the crowd. He cited the words of Chazal that Am Yisrael had no mitzvos with which to occupy themselves and as a result Hashem gave them two mitzvos: the blood of Pesach and the blood of Milah.

How can the Chazal say that they did not have mitzvos? The Medrash teaches us that, “In the merit of four things, the Bnei Yisrael were redeemed from Egypt. They didn’t change their names or their language, they didn’t speak lashon hara, and they were not guilty of arayos. “In addition, the Gemara says that even in Mitzrayim there was a yeshiva where Torah was learned.”

Rav Dovid answered, yes, there were yeshivos; yes, they maintained their Jewish clothing and even spoke a Jewish language, etc.; but, at the same time, their mehus, their inner pnimiyus, was that of immersion and absorption in the culture of Egypt.

Thus, the only way to extricate themselves from the culture of Mitzrayim was with true mesiras nefesh, with blood – blood of milah and blood of Pesach. They needed an act of true sacrifice to show that “my essence is Jewish, to connect with Hashem, as one, k’ish echad b’lev echad!” A person must be a keili, a receptacle for Torah. He must be connected to the Torah. The Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program is a way that connects Am Yisroel throughout the world with limud haTorah

Siyum with the Boyaner Rebbe and Leading Rabbanim

The siyum with the participation of the Boyaner Rebbe was also a deeply inspiring event. In his warm remarks, the Reb-

be thanked Dirshu and Rav Hofstedter for increasing Torah learning to unprecedented levels among Klal Yisrael. After the hadran, the Boyaner Rebbe turned to HaGaon HaRav Tzvi Schreiber, shlita, rav of the Chassidus in Eretz Yisrael, and asked if they could make a siyum and recite Kaddish on one chelek of the Mishnah Berurah. The Rav answered affirmatively. The rebbe went out of his way to go to his special davening room, take the siddur from which he davens with every day, and give it to Rav Hofstedter to use for the Kaddish. This unique sign of honor was not lost on the chassidim.

Rav Reuven Elbaz: “Just Like A Mikvah Purifies”

The scene at Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim led by Rav Reuven Elbaz, shlita, was surreal. Rav Elbaz was in a tremendous state of excitement and inspiration when he greeted the hanhala of Dirshu. In his remarks, he paraphrased the words of the Mishnah, “Just like a mikvah purifies those who are tamei, so too, Dirshu purifies Am Yisrael! How do they do that? They increase Torah learning among all segments of Klal Yisrael. Torah purifies the heart.”

Rav Elbaz hailed the halacha revolution wrought by Dirshu and gave his heartfelt bracha that Dirshu should have the continued siyata d’Shmaya that it has, and that Hashem should watch over Rav Hofstedter so that he can continue to enrich Klal Yisrael with Torah learning for many years to come.

Rav Galei: The Importance of Consistency

The crowd in Rav Galei’s beis medrash enjoyed a stirring, uplifting siyum as well. Rav Galei, who has himself been delivering a Daf HaYomi B’Halacha shiur for more than a decade, explained how the shiur is so important to him that despite the fact that he travels a lot, he tries

to never miss a shiur. Even when he is not in Eretz Yisrael, he delivers the shiur by telephone from all four corners of the world.

Rav Galei emphasized the ideal of temidus, of how much one gets from doing something daily without stop. “Not only does daily learning enrich you with so much knowledge, but the quality of the learning is different when it is done on a daily basis.”

Lelover Rebbe: An Unprecedented Level of Zikui Harabbim

Among the siyumim, one that was particularly inspirational was the one held with the Lelover Rebbe, shlita, of Beit Shemesh. It was attended by numerous prominent rabbanim and poskim of Beit Shemesh such as HaGaon HaRav Nosson Kopschitz, shlita, HaGaon HaRav Nesanel Bransdorfer, shlita, and HaGaon HaRav Tzvi Davidowitz, shlita

In his remarks, the Rebbe quoted one of the early Chassidic masters who says that even if a person engages in pious avodas Hashem for 1,000 years he will not reach the exalted level of a mizakeh es harabbim! “Dirshu,” the Rebbe continued, “has reached the level of being mizakeh es harabbim on a scope that is perhaps unprecedented.”

Perhaps the words of one of the rabbanim best encapsulated the purpose of the siyumim when he said, “The essence of a siyum is to inspire us to do more.

Anyone who has finished Chelek Aleph knows exactly what I am saying. All of us may have known the basics of tefillin before learning Daf HaYomi B’Halacha but I guarantee – after learning hilchos tefillin it is a different tefillin! After learning hilchos Shemonah Esrei, it is a different Shemonah Esrei.

“The same will happen with Chelek Beis! I can almost guarantee that you will never be the same.”

HaRav Avigdor Nebenzahl attending the Dirshu Siyum in the Churva Shul

Festive dancing at the siyum on Mishnah Berurah Chelek Aleph in the Boyaner Beis Medrash

Three Years After Nearly Dying From Covid, Biography of United Hatzalah’s Eli Beer is Published

On March 16, three years to the day after Eli Beer was admitted to the ICU at Miami University hospital, the Covid-19 survivor and Founder and President of United Hatzalah of Israel had his official biography published. The book, entitled 90 Seconds: The Epic Story of Eli Beer and United Hatzalah, was written to tell Eli’s story of how he went from being a helpless 5-year-old boy watching a bus blow up and dreaming of being able to help people, to running the world’s largest and fastest fully-volunteer EMS service that has resulted in more than 5.5 million people being saved.

Published by ArtScroll and written by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer, the book tells the exciting story of how Eli started off with a few friends to create an organization that responds to medical emergencies in less than three minutes across Israel, with the dream of arriving at any medical emergency in Israel in 90 seconds or less.

The exciting story spans decades, shares detailed stories of international crises and herculean relief efforts, and survival, all while bringing people from different backgrounds, religions, and nationalities together for one common

cause, saving lives. The book has been touted as being a “heart-stopping drama that is filled with dramatic rescues and inspiration” and takes the reader on an incredible journey behind the scenes of the founding of the fastest EMS organization in the world.

“I really hope that this book is read by many people and that it inspires them to push through whatever challenges they are facing and achieve their dreams, especially children,” Eli said ahead of the book launch. “Children have so many dreams, and people are always telling them it can’t happen. People said the same to me. I want everyone to read this book so that they understand that childhood dreams can happen and that anything is possible.”

90 Seconds is the story of how a boy who failed in school and went on to create the world’s fastest and cheapest private EMS service. The story tells of life-changing and life-saving technological innovations such as the “ambucycle.” It is the story of how lives were saved and dreams came true due to determination, vision, self-sacrifice, compassion, siyata diShmaya (Heavenly assistance) – and, of course, chutzpah.

From Slavery to Freedom

By Gabriel Geller - Royal Wine/ Kedem

Passover celebrates the Jewish people’s redemption from slavery in Egypt. However, we are not free of obligations. The purpose of breaking free from Pharaoh was so we could fulfill G-d’s promise to our forefathers and be his servants. Every mitzvah we do is part of this covenant with G-d, including the Passover seder and the four cups of wine. Yes, B” H, we are free to choose which wines to use for this mitzvah.

There are different minhagim among families and communities for which type of wine to drink at the Seder. Thankfully, the selection of kosher wine is more extensive than ever, which allows us the freedom to try more varieties and enjoy new wines for the holiday.

Personally, and for those following my column, these aren’t news; I use rosé for the Four Cups. According to most

halachic opinions, rosé is a shade of red and counts as such as it is made from red grape varieties. Using one of three methods, the winemaker decides how red he/she wants the wine to be by limiting the contact between the must, the grape juice, and the grape’s skins from which the color comes.

Here are the rosé wines I plan on enjoying this coming Passover: The Herzog Lineage Rosé 2022 is quite successful, blending refreshing acidity and mouthwatering fruitiness. On the higher end, the superb Razi’el Rosé 2021, with its complex notes of tart strawberries, vanilla cream, and herbaceous undertones. The Château Roubine Lion & Dragon Rosé 2021 is quite sophisticated. It pops in the mouth with layers of berry and stone fruit flavors, combined with lively acidity and an unusual but masterfully integrated structure and oak notes. While these last two wines are not from the more recent 2022 vintage, they are especially made

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman spoke about the book and said, “This is the captivating story of one of the greatest social entrepreneurs of our generation. Eli Beer took a simple idea and turned it into a massive life-saving enterprise. Read these pages to find out how.”

The book is available now on Amazon at the following link: https://www. amazon.com/dp/1422633071 or on the ArtScroll website, and wherever Jewish books are sold.

Proceeds from the book go to support United Hatzalah’s lifesaving efforts in Israel.

About United Hatzalah: United Hatzalah is the largest independent, non-profit, fully-volunteer emergency medical services (EMS) organization in Israel. United Hatzalah’s cadre of 6,500 EMTs, paramedics, and doctors create a network of emergency first responders, providing lifesaving medical aid with an average response time of three minutes or less across Israel. All of its services are provided 24/7 and are free of charge. The organization is completely supported by donations.

not only to last longer than most rosé wines but also to improve for a couple of years and should be at their peak now.

For the meal, Shulchan Orech, I will grace our Seder table with one of my favorite wines from Israel, the Carmel Limited Edition 2007, which I have aged for quite a few years. The current 2019 vintage is also excellent and will gain even more flavors and complexity if you wish to put some away, as I did. For the second Seder, I will open a mature bottle of Château Malartic-Lagravière 2005. Here, too, the new 2020 vintage is also excellent and will age gracefully.

There is another popular strategy. Start with a light wine. It can also be a rosé, like the Hagafen Rosé 2022, but it can also be a Pinot Noir, such as the Vitkin Pinot Noir 2021. Then, you can work your way up and enjoy a bigger wine, such as the Binyamina Chosen Tarshish Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. It is rich and layered, with complex, black fruit and herbaceous notes and a long

and plush finish. You can then move back to your Rosé or Pinot Noir or keep going with the Binyamina. For the fourth cup, if you can handle it, maybe a sweet wine dessert wine? The Or Haganuz Har Sinai, for instance. Port-style wines are heavier, high in alcohol, and therefore not everyone’s first choice for the Seder. But the sweetness and balance allow a unique drinking experience to wrap up the ceremony.

May these delicious wines and any other wine you choose to perform this mitzvah enhance your Pesach Sedarim. Chag Pesach kosher v’sameyach! L’chaim!

I don’t want to win enough to be placed on NCAA probation; I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation. - Shug Jordan (Auburn)

If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education.

- Murray Warmath, (Minnesota)

Lads, you’re not to miss practice unless your parents died or you died.

- Frank Leahy (Notre Dame)

You did great, Son. You scored one more point than a dead man.

- Coach Abe Lemons (Oklahoma City)

If you make every game a life-and-death proposition, you’re going to have problems. For one thing, you’ll be dead a lot.

- Coach Dean Smith (North Carolina)

Well Said, Coach Riddle Me This

You can calm down a fool before you can resurrect a corpse. – Coach John Thompson (Georgetown), on preferring players with passion

Failure is good. It’s fertilizer. Everything I’ve learned about coaching, I’ve learned from making mistakes. - Coach Rick Pitino (Louisville)

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

– John Wooden (UCLA)

Discipline is the highest form of love. If you really love someone, you have to give them the level of discipline they need. - Tom Izzo (Michigan State)

I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, “Of course not.” I said, “Well, I think you stink.” And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust ‘em!

- James Valvano (North Carolina State)

After the NCAA season, the Wildcats, the Tar Heels, and Syracuse are in the first three positions. The captains are Michael, Martin, and Paige. Here is what you know:

- Syracuse won as many games as the Wildcats and Tar Heels combined.

- Paige is not the captain of the Syracuse or Wildcats.

- Michael’s team won twelve games.

- The Wildcats won two more games than the Tar Heels.

- Michael is not the captain of the Wildcats. Who is the captain of which team? How many games did each team win?

Answer: Paige - 5 - Tar Heels; Martin - 7 - Wildcats; Michael - 12 - Syracuse

March Madness Trivia

1. According to Wallethub.com, what are the odds of picking a perfect bracket?

a. 1 in 43.5 billion

b. 1 in 9 trillion

c. 1 in 321.5 trillion

d. 1 in 9.2 quintillion

2. In 1940, Indiana Hoosiers head coach Emmett “Branch” McCracken was the youngest head coach to win the NCAA championship. How old was he at the time?

a. 31

b. 36

c. 41

d. 43

3. Which seeded team never won the NCAA championship?

a. 3 seed

b. 4 seed

c. 5 seed

d. 8 seed

4. How many teams competed in the first NCAA tournament in 1939?

a. 8

b. 12

c. 14

d. 18

5. In 1985, Villanova beat Georgetown 66-64 in the NCAA championship game. Who was the starting Center on Georgetown?

a. David Robinson

b. Patrick Ewing

c. Hakeem Olajuwon

d. Shaq

6. Which school’s 1991 team was known as the “Fab Five”?

a. Michigan College

b. College of Michigan

c. University of Michigan

d. UCLA

7. With the Tar Heels trailing by one in the 1982 national championship game, this player knocked down a jumper from the left wing with 17 seconds left to give his team the victory:

a. Michael Jordan

b. Isiah Thomas

c. Reggie Miller

d. Mark Jackson

Answer

1. D- You have greater odds of winning the lotto, getting struck by lightning, and having a boa

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

constrictor emerge through the pipes in your toilet all on the same day!

2. A

3. C

4. A

5. B

6. C

7. A

Scorecard:

6-7 correct: You really know your NCAA basketball. You are the annoying dude who studies for a month before filling out his brackets. “Well, uh, I’m considering putting Villanova in the Final Four. What do you think?” “What do I think? Get a life! That’s what I think!”

3-5 correct: You will get to the Sweet Sixteen, but you won’ be cutting down any nets this year.

0-2 correct: No chance of you cutting the net; maybe start by lowering the basket.

A University of Kentucky basketball player was almost killed yesterday in a tragic horseback-riding accident. He fell from a horse and was nearly trampled to death. Luckily, the manager of the Wal-Mart came out and unplugged the horse.

Parshas Tzav

By Rabbi Berel Wein

The parsha of Tzav more often than not coincides with the Shabbat preceding Pesach – Shabbat Hagadol, the “great Shabbat.” At first glance, there does not seem to be any inherent connection between the parsha of Tzav and Shabbat Hagadol and Pesach. However, since Judaism little recognizes randomness or happenstance regarding Jewish life, and certainly regarding Torah itself, a further analysis of the parsha may reveal to us an underlying connection between Tzav and Pesach.

I feel that this underlying theme

lies in the description that the parsha contains regarding the consecration of Aharon and his sons as the priests and servants of G-d and Israel. Judaism teaches us that freedom equals responsibility. Freedom without limits or purpose is destructive anarchy. The entire narrative of the Torah regarding the construction of the Mishkan and the institution of public worship/sacrifices come to emphasize to the freed slaves from Egypt their newfound responsibilities.

The rabbis cogently and correctly

defined freedom in terms of obligations and study of Torah, as opposed to the alleged freedom of hedonism. The consecration of Aharon and his sons coinciding with the consecration and dedication of the Mishkan itself brought home to the Jewish people the requirement of community service and national unity.

Look at the freedom movements that have arisen in the Middle East over the past few years and the chaos and deaths of tens of thousands of people that fol-

The Great Shabbat that precedes Pesach gives it its true meaning and places the anniversary of our freedom from Egyptian bondage into holy perspective. Freedom to toil 24/7 is only a different form of slavery. When Saturday looks like Tuesday but only more so since school is out and the burdens of carpooling and “having a good time” are even greater, then that cannot even remotely be related to true freedom.

In reality, every Shabbat is the Great

Freedom without limits or purpose is destructive anarchy.

lowed in their wake. The inability to create unity, to develop a moral and tangible national goal, mocks all pretenses of positive freedom. Without Aharon and the Mishkan, the promise of the freedom of Pesach would have remained permanently unfulfilled.

Part of the lesson of the Great Shabbat is that without Shabbat, Jewish freedom is only an illusion. Shabbat is truly the epitome of freedom. The absence of workday activities, the sense of family and friends, and of the contentment that Shabbat engenders all combine to create a vision of true freedom that is attainable and real.

Shabbat and the Shabbat preceding Pesach is even more so. Shabbat Hagadol represents the miracle that blessed our forefathers in Egypt when they took the Paschal lamb and the Egyptians did not object. But the true and ultimate miracle of Shabbat Hagadol is Shabbat itself. It has preserved the Jewish people throughout the ages in the face of opposing innumerable odds and challenges. It is in the realization of our freedom that we are able to properly appreciate and give tribute to Shabbat – Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Shabbat that we now commemorate so joyfully and gratefully. Shabbat shalom.

Shabbos Hagadol

The Marror Only Makes it Sweeter

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

We know that according to the Tur (Orach Chaim 430), the great miracle that occurred on Shabbos Hagadol was that at the first Pesach, while we were still in Egypt, “And each Jewish person took a lamb for his Pesach offering and tied it to his bedposts... and the Egyptians saw this and asked them, ‘Why are you doing this?’ and they answered them, ‘In order to slaughter it as a Pesach offering because of G-d’s command to us,’ and the Egyptians ground their teeth because they were slaughtering their gods.”

According to the deeper seforim, however, it is known (Zohar Yisro) that “all of the blessings above and below are dependent on the seventh day.” Pesach therefore draws its sanctity from the Shabbos before Pesach. According to this reality, this Shabbos is called “Shabbos Hagadol,” the “Great Shabbos,” because it contains within it the holiness of Shabbos as well as the sanctity of Pesach.

We must ask ourselves two questions about this mitzvah to watch over the lamb starting on the tenth of Nissan. The first is why Hashem commanded us to watch over the lamb four full days before slaughtering it on the fourteenth of Nissan. Rashi (on Shmos 12:6) answers:

Why did the Jewish people have to take the lamb four days before slaughtering it, which was not part of the mitzvah of the Pesach offering in future generations? Rav Masya ben Charash says, the verse (Yechezekl 16:8) says, ‘And I will pass over you and I see you and behold, your time was a time of love. The time has come [to redeem] the oath that I made to Avraham that I would redeem his children,’ but they had no mitzvos to busy themselves without in order that they should be redeemed, as it says, (Id. at 7) ‘And you

were naked and bare,’ so I gave them two mitzvos: the blood of Pesach and the blood of bris milah.

But how does Rashi’s answer explain why the lamb for Pesach had to be brought into the house four days early? Putting aside the issue of bris milah, the Jewish people could have bought the lamb on the fourteenth of Nissan, the same day it was to be slaughtered in order to acquire the merit of the mitzvah of the blood of Pesach. How has Rashi explained the requirement to bring the lamb into the home four days early?

The second question is why the Tur points out that the lamb was tied to the bedposts specifically. What difference does it make where the animal is tied while it is being kept in the home for those four days?

The words we are about to study will knock on the doors of your hearts. Please let them in! On Pesach, one is not only supposed to open the door for Eliyahu Hanavi, but also “every impoverished person,” everyone who needs to come inside.

The deeper seforim teach us that Pesach is the Rosh Hashana of emunah, of

faith. We must not only believe that there is a G-d but that He creates and conducts every created thing and He did, does, and will do everything that is done, such that each person has everything that he is meant to have and that he is not meant to have anything which he does not have because (Yuma 38b) “one does not have the ability to touch something that is not his.”

According to the Zohar, matzah is called the “bread of emunah, faith.”

Matza must be made from one of the five types of grain, and according to the Gemara (Brachos 40a), “Rabi Yehuda says [the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge from which Adam ate was] wheat because a child does not know how to call out ‘father’ or ‘mother’ until he has tasted grain.” According to Rabi Yehuda, daas, knowledge, means the innate knowledge of who one’s father and mother are, and that knowledge comes through eating the grain from which matzah is made. A child has the innate understanding that the person giving him his food is his mother or father and they take care of everything he needs.

On Pesach, when we eat the “bread

of emunah,” we internalize our connection with our Father. On Pesach, we ask, “Echad mi yodeah?” “Who knows One?” and we answer, “I know One. I know the One who spoke and brought the world into being.” When we eat the bread of emunah, we are like that child who possesses an innate knowledge of his father “who was acquired by Father for two Zuzim,” with the two Tablets on Sinai. Just as a child knows, even if not consciously, that everything that his mother does for him, even if it hurts or is uncomfortable, is for his good, so, too, my soul knows Hashem.

It is known that Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev’s father-in-law was not happy that he was spending significant time traveling to Mezrich to study with the Maggid. He expected him to devote all of his time to studying Torah in Berditchev. After one particularly long visit to Mezrich, he asked Rav Levi Yitzchak, “So what did you learn over all that time in Mezrich?” Rav Levi Yitzchak answered him, “I learned that there is a G-d.” Unimpressed, his fatherin-law called over the maid servant and asked her, “Do you believe in G-d?” She answered that, of course, yes, she believes in G-d. After dismissing her, he said to Rav Levi Yitzchak, “You see, even a maid servant believes there is a G-d. I do not understand why you had to spend so much time in Mezrich to learn this.” But Rav Levi Yitzchak answered him, “She says that there is a G-d. But I know there is a G-d.”

Every morning, we thank Hashem “Who has taken care of all my needs.” The Gemara (Brachos 60b) states that this blessing was initially instituted to be said when one puts his shoes on in the morning. And according to the Kaf Hachaim (46), one does not say the blessing of “Who has taken care of all my needs” on Yom Kippur when it is forbidden to wear proper shoes.

Those who have survived the Holocaust

understand why having shoes means having everything one needs. In the camps, a person’s most precious possession, for which he would give his life, was his shoes. Even growing up in America, my father, z”l, who survived the camps, taught us how precious shoes are. We had a ritual in our home where everyone gathered their shoes together and brought them to my father who would polish all of the shoes for Shabbos. He always explained how important it is to take care of one’s shoes. And when I got older, my initiation into manhood was taking over the job of polishing everyone’s shoes each week before Shabbos.

The Chofetz Chaim, zy”a, asked a certain Jew how his livelihood was going, and the man answered him, “It could be better.” The Chofetz Chaim innocently answered him, “I don’t understand what you mean. If Hashem wanted it to be better, then it would be better. Since it is not better, that must mean that it couldn’t possibly be better than it is right now.” Only the Master of the World knows the root of every soul and exactly what each person needs, his “kol tzarchi,” for his ultimate and eternal good.

What prevents a person from being fully aware that Hashem is in charge and makes sure that he has exactly what he is supposed to have? It is the earthliness that clouds our vision and dulls our spiritual senses. The moment our feet touch the earth in the morning when we sit up in bed, that earthliness threatens to take away our knowledge that Hashem gives us everything that we truly need. In order to put some space between that earthliness and ourselves, we wear shoes as a barrier. Perhaps that is an additional reason why Chazal instituted that the blessing of “she’asah li kol tzarchi,” “Who has taken care of all my needs” is said when putting on one’s shoes.

Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Baal Hatanya, once commented about Rav Shlomo’le Karliner that he was a tefach, a handbreadth, above the earth. The chassidim used to say that if you looked under Rav Shlomo’le’s feet, you would see that there was a little space between him and the ground. The Baal Hatanya’s true intent, however, was that Rav Shlomo’le was not affected by the earthliness of the world, and that there always seemed to be a separation between his elevated perception of reality and the forces of earthliness.

Shoes represent man’s effort to separate himself somewhat from the earth and remember that Hashem takes care of all of a person’s needs and that he has exactly what he is supposed to have. We can attain this perspective of faith on Pesach night when we eat the bread of emunah. Perhaps

this is why Hashem commanded the Jewish people: “This is how you shall eat [the matzah]... with your shoes on your feet...”

Based on this, we can understand why we eat marror, the bitter herb at the Seder. One may have wondered why we eat marror to remember the bitterness of Egypt. It might make more sense to distance ourselves from all bitterness to remember how Hashem redeemed us from the bitterness of Egypt. Instead of eating the marror, we should have a ceremony at the Seder where we prepare a plate of marror and then throw it out of the house. In reality, though, there is still bitterness in our lives.

At the Seder, it is only after we have eaten the matzah, the “bread of emunah,” and understand that “He has taken care of all my needs,” that we may then eat the marror with the right perspective. After eating the bread of faith, we can understand how even the bitterness served to us in life is part of how Hashem “takes care of all of

pasuk says, (Shmos 1:6), “And the Jewish people were fruitful, swarmed, multiplied, and became exceedingly, b’me’od me’od, numerous.” They accepted the bitterness of the exile with the attitude of thanking Hashem exceedingly even for the “bad.” Through all their suffering, this faith in b’chol me’odecha, b’chol middah u’middah,” thanking Hashem for whatever He gave them, became stronger and stronger, and they were strengthened by their belief in b’me’od me’od, being exceedingly grateful for whatever Hashem gave them.

Because of the bitterness in life, we come to the Seder with a lot more than four questions. We have questions about the quality of our marriages; it seems that we hear of a new divorce every day. We have questions about livelihood, our children, health, the situation with the Jews in Eretz Yisroel, and everything happening with the Jewish people throughout the exile as well. The matzah, however, is

not relate to the following ideas at all. We know that for serious Jews, the biggest bitterness in life is the tests and temptations that threaten to throw them off course in their service of Hashem.

It is known that a Jew once came to the Chozeh of Lublin and poured out all of his bitterness, all of his marror, before the Chozeh. He told the Chozeh, though, that he accepted all of his difficulties with love and with emunah, but that he had one problem which he could not accept, and on which he still had a question. He was constantly busy with his work and the distractions and impurities that he came in contact with because of his livelihood made it impossible for him to concentrate on his Torah and mitzvos. He begged the Chozeh to daven for him that the obstacles to his service of Hashem associated with his work should be removed. The Chozeh agreed and began to daven for him. When they saw each other again, the Chozeh told the man that after he davened for him, they answered him from heaven that they did not require high level Torah and prayer from him right now. What they require from him in heaven right now is that with all of his confusion and distractions, that he does whatever he is able to in his service of Hashem.

our needs” because He knows our souls’ true needs. We do not content ourselves with recognizing that Hashem gives us exactly what we need, however. After eating the maror, we say Hallel, praising Hashem for the bitterness.

As the Mishna says (Brachos 54a), “One must make a blessing on the bad just as one makes a blessing on the good, as it says, ‘b’chol me’odecha,’ [you shall love Hashem with all of your might,’ [meaning that] with every portion which Hashem dishes out, middah, to you, give thanks, modeh, to Him.” Rashi, on the same pasuk (Devarim 6:5) explains, “‘With all of your might,’ with every measure that Hashem metes out to you, [meaning one should love Hashem whether He deals a person] with a ‘good’ measure or a ‘bad’ measure.” In other words, we do not content ourselves with accepting the “bad,” the bitterness in our lives. We bless and thank Hashem for it because after we have eaten the bread of faith, we know that whatever is measured out to us is part of how Hashem gives us exactly what we need.

That is how our fathers and mothers survived our many bitter exiles. As the

called “lechem oni,” “the bread of poverty,” which Chazal (Pesachim 115b) call “the bread which answers many questions.” By internalizing emunah through the mitzvah of eating the “bread of faith,” our questions are answered because we realize that there are no questions.

Along these lines, Rav Meir Premishlaner said a beautiful drash, homiletical teaching, on the pasuk (Devarim 10:16), “And you shall circumcise the covering of your hearts and your necks will no longer be hard, lo takshu od.” He explains that because of our sins, Hashem’s face is concealed and so we have many questions on G-d. But when we do teshuva, when we circumcise our hearts and remove the stubbornness, the stiffness of our necks, then all of our questions, kushiyos, will automatically disappear. A Jew who has eaten the bread of faith and understands that “He has taken care of all my needs” has no more questions.

Jews who major in Yiddishkeit will understand the following words, though Jews for whom Yiddishkeit is their minor, for whom Torah and mitzvos are an interruption from what their life is about, will

Even one’s nisyonos, challenges, in his service of G-d, are part of how Hashem gives him exactly what he needs. Rav Nachman, in the Gemara in Eruvin (65a) says about his personal service of G-d, “I am a day laborer.” He had the perspective that his personal job in Yiddishkeit is not to concern himself with the “big” chunks of exalted service of G-d. Rather, he viewed each individual piece of his service of Hashem as important in and of itself. Every little piece counts. Especially when it is difficult to eke out a little mitzvah here and there, each one becomes even more precious. As it says in Pirkei Avos (5:19), “L’fum tzaarah agrah, according to the pain is the gain.” Hashem knows how to weigh every piece of service of G-d according to who the person is and where he or she comes from. Everything is measured according to the person’s mesiras nefesh, the self-sacrifice and exertion a person puts in to accomplish each and every mitzvah that he can in his effort to be a good worker, a faithful servant. We are day workers, collecting every little mitzvah we can.

Mitzvos with Self-Sacrifice

Now we can understand why Hashem told us to bring the lamb for Pesach into our homes several days before we were to slaughter it. Hashem gave the mitzvah

Only a mitzvah that comes with sweat and tears, with marror and mesiras nefesh, can open the door of redemption, the door to Egypt, and the door to Eliyahu.

of Pesach in order to allow us to merit redemption. It therefore would not have been sufficient for Him to tell us to acquire the lamb a few minutes before slaughtering it. Hashem knew that the mitzvah had to come with mesiras nefesh, self-sacrifice and marror. We had to feel the pressure from our Egyptian neighbors for a few days, upset that we were about to slaughter their god. We had to sweat. Only a mitzvah that comes with sweat and tears, with marror and mesiras nefesh, can open the door of redemption, the door to Egypt, and the door to Eliyahu.

The Rebbe, Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk, in his sefer Noam Elimelech on Parshas Kedoshim says that a person must sanctify his limbs and sinews with good deeds and must toil with practical mitzvos. We must use our bodies to build a sukkah; we must use our hands to grind flour for the matzah. In previous generations, everything was hard. Mitzvos came with struggle, sweat, and toil. Just a few years ago, we would spend hours looking for a couple of kosher haddasim. The mitzvos required more work. This purified the body and made each mitzvah very precious to the person.

Today, everything is easy for us. When we do not put in any exertion, effort, or me-

siras nefesh, self-sacrifice in a mitzvah, we do not feel any gratification or excitement in doing the mitzvah. It is the same thing with respect to Pesach. When our children see us toiling and working to clean and prepare everything for Pesach, there is an excitement when the yom tov comes. For those people who just lock up their houses and drop into a hotel for Pesach, there is no pleasure and vitality in the mitzvos associated with the yom tov. Working to prepare for a mitzvah purifies the body and prepares it to feel the sweetness of Hashem’s mitzvos.

The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Rebbe Rayatz, before becoming Rebbe, was the menahel, director, of the Lubavitch yeshiva. The administration of the yeshiva wanted to expel a certain boy from yeshiva who was not learning no matter what they tried. The Rayatz was unsure of what to do so he asked his father, the Rebbe Rashab. It was right before Pesach, and the Rebbe Rashab told him to put the boy in charge of cleaning the yeshiva for Pesach and coordinating the cooking of all of the yeshiva’s food for Pesach. The Rebbe Rayatz did this, and the boy completely turned around to become one of the yeshiva’s finest students. After Pesach, he asked his father how he knew that this would work. His father an-

swered him that toiling in mitzvos purifies physicality. It lifts a Jew up.

According to this, we understand why Hashem told us to take a one-yearold lamb into the house four days before Pesach, with all of its messes, the obligation to feed it, and the derision and fear we endured from the Egyptians because of the mitzvah. What an impression this must have made on their children! Imagine how the Jewish children saw their parents working and suffering the hatred of the Egyptians as we prepared to slaughter their gods for the sake of the mitzvah. We now understand why the lamb had to be tied to the bedposts.

The Torah refers to one’s descendants as his “bed.” As the pasuk (Bereishis 47:31) says, “And Yisroel prostrated himself on the head of the bed,” which Rashi explains to mean that Yisroel bowed in order to give thanks for the fact that “his bed was whole,” i.e., he had no wicked children. Therefore, when Hashem told the Jewish people to take a lamb and tie it to the bed on Shabbos Hagadol, four days before Pesach, the intent was that the self-sacrifice of the mitzvah should bind the mitzvah to their children, to the future generations.

The Rasha, the wicked son, understands that we must keep the mitzvos. But

his question is: “Why is it that you do all of this work?” He doesn’t understand why the family can’t simply go to a hotel for Pesach. Why does it have to involve so much work and toil? He does not understand that while eating the matza and marror may only take a few minutes, the primary part of the mitzvah, the sweat and toil of preparing for Pesach, purify the Jewish body. They give a person “shoes” to separate him from earthliness. The work and preparations are what make Yiddishkeit sweet. That is the fundamental aspect of Judaism which the wicked son denies. When one lacks the sweat and sacrifice of the mitzvos, all that’s left is the marror, the bitterness of Yiddishkeit, and what a terrible precedent that sets for our children. May it be Hashem’s will that we find the chometz in our lives and destroy it and that the process of doing so should make Hashem’s Torah and mitzvos even sweeter. Then all of the marror will become sweet and may we merit to return l’shana ha’ba’ah b’Yerushalayim, b’geulah sheleima v’amitis. Amen.

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

Inspiring Insights for Your Seder Night

By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

We all want to share deep and thoughtful ideas at the Seder in order to enhance the experience. I hope this collection of divrei Torah will aid you on your journey towards a meaningful, transformative Seder night.

What’s With All the Questions?

A notably prominent theme of the Seder is that of asking questions. While “Mah Nishtanah” is the most obvious example, the commentators explain many features of the Seder as purely serving as an impetus for the children to ask questions. It’s not only children, though, who are enjoined to question. The Gemara in Pesachim (116a) says that if a man’s child cannot ask the questions, then his wife should, and if he has no wife, he must ask himself questions. Even if two Torah scholars are sharing their Seder together, they should ask each other.

Why is questioning such an integral part of the Pesach Seder?

Asking questions is the gateway to learning. A question creates a gap – it allows you to recognize your current limitations, to shed the illusion that you already know everything. You can only learn something once you realize that you don’t already understand it. The Gemara in Gittin (43a) says that you can only understand a Torah concept if you originally struggled with it. Only by recognizing that you don’t already know something can you break it down, analyze it, and see it in a new way, thereby building a new, deeper understanding. If you believe that you fully understand

something, you simply will not allow your mind to develop a new way of seeing it. Only by realizing a lack in your understanding and perception can you develop deeper paradigms.

The Seder night serves as an opportunity to pass over our mesorah, our tradition and legacy, to the next generation. It’s a night when we speak about emunah (faith), the meaning of being a Jew, and our purpose in this world. In order to teach these lessons to our children and ourselves in a deep and lasting way, we must encourage the Seder participants to ask questions, no matter the age or knowledge level.

Our yetzer hara (evil inclination) convinces us that we are perfect, that we already know everything. As such, there’s no need to question. This flawed belief is personified by Eisav, who was born fully hairy. Hair is the outermost expression of a grown human being – Eisav pro -

jected the belief that he was completely developed and therefore required no additional growth. The name “Eisav” itself is the word “asui ” – meaning “made” or “complete.” Eisav represents the illusion of being complete, perfect, not requiring any further work or growth.

Our goal and mission as the Jewish People is to grow, develop ourselves, and fulfill our potential. On the Seder night, as we focus on whom each of us can become, we ask questions – creating holes that we then yearn to fill with additional knowledge, insight, and growth.

What’s Our Goal?

We conclude the paragraph of “Avadim Hayinu” by proclaiming, “ V’chol hamarbeh li’saper bi’yitzias Mitzrayim, harei zeh mishubach” – all those who elaborate on the Exodus from Egypt, behold, this is praiseworthy. The Ram-

bam (Maimonides) codifies this as a legitimate halacha of Seder night. What is the meaning of this statement? What is the importance of telling over the Pesach story at great length, and why on this night specifically?

There are two ways to interpret the statement of “v’chol hamarbeh.” The first is on a quantitative level, that one should tell over as much of the Exodus story as possible. The second is a qualitative approach, that one should delve into the miracles and wonders that Hashem performed when taking us out of Mitzrayim in as much depth as possible.

There is, however, a third way to understand this statement, one that offers a new perspective on Yetzias Mitrayim and the goal of Seder night. Yetzias Mitzrayim was not merely a historical event, rather it was the birth of the Jewish People – our People, you and me. The story did not end with the birth of the Jewish People, it continues with them growing into the nation they are meant to become. When the Jewish People left Mitzrayim, we journeyed to Har Sinai and Matan Torah, where we were given the Torah and our mission in this world as Hashem’s chosen nation. This is the story that has continued throughout history, that you and I are commissioned to continue to this very day.

Sippur means to tell over a story, and the haggadah says that whoever does this increasingly is praiseworthy. Jewish history is not only “his ”-story, it is our story. It is our mission and destiny, and we must continue to grow and thrive in this mission. The goal is to make yourself a part of the Jewish story, to continue what began with Yetzias Mitzrayim,

to become the person you were meant to be. V’chol hamarbeh...harei

Wine on the Seder Night… Really?

Pesach is a spiritual time, where we connect to some of the deepest themes of Judaism. Why then do we spend the night drinking wine? We see repeatedly that wine is a dangerous and damaging entity, connected to many infamous sins. According to one opinion, the Eitz Ha’daas was a grapevine. Immediately after the mabul, Noach became intoxicated, repeating Adam’s original sin. Lot and his daughters erred with wine. According to one opinion, Nadav and Avihu’s sin was performing the avodah while intoxicated. If wine has so many destructive consequences, why do we spend our Seder night drinking wine?

Nothing in the physical world is objectively good or evil, rather, everything has the potential to be used for either good or evil. The choice is solely up to you! Electricity is neither good nor bad. An outlet can be used to charge your appliances, but it can also give you an electric shock. The same applies to money: it can be used to enable Torah learning, but it can also be used to fund destruction and chaos. A charismatic personality can be used to inspire others to grow or to seduce them down a twisted path. Everything in this world is merely potential, waiting to be used. Evil, therefore, is really the misuse of potential, when we choose to use an object for something other than its true purpose. Evil is the breakdown and corruption of good. This is why the Hebrew word for evil is “rah,” which means brokenness or fragmentation.

Hashem created the world in this way so that we can have free will. We get to choose whether to use things for their true purpose, actualizing their potential, or to misuse them, getting pulled into the clutches of evil. This choice between good and evil is magnified as the power of something increases. The more power there is, the more potential there is. For example, a 220-watt outlet can either charge your phone, or give you a small electric shock you. But 20,000 watts can either light up your neighborhood or electrocute you. The more power, the more potential. Of course, this results in an important principle: the value in any power is only in as much as it can be controlled. Otherwise, the more power you have, the more destruction you will

have, as we often see with nuclear energy and money. Just think about giving a child the power to cross the street by himself. When do you give him such a power? Only when he has the ability to control it, to know when not to cross the street.

within us the understanding that not only are the open reversals of nature miraculous, but the day-to-day workings of nature are miraculous as well. Hashem performed outstanding miracles when taking us out of Mitzrayim, but the entire world of nature is a constant

world. What better way to do this than with wine?

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman is the author of the bestselling book, “The Journey to Your Ultimate 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 transformative online self-development course based on the principles of high-performance psychology and Torah.

The Vilna Gaon explains that wine is the greatest paradigm of physical potential. On the one hand, it is clearly dangerous, and its misuse often leads to utter disaster. But when used properly, it elevates you. Wine is able to open up the mind, allowing it to transcend its normal limitations. As Chazal explain, “Nichnas yayin yatzeh sod,” when wine enters, secrets are revealed. (Both yayin and sod have the gematria of 70.) Wine opens up your consciousness to a deeper level of experience and understanding that transcends the revealed level of reality.

The spiritual nature of wine is also evident in its physical nature. Everything physical rots, withers, and decays with time, such as the human body and food. Wine, however, only improves with time. Furthermore, as R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach explains, when it comes to most foods and drinks, the more you have, the less you want; you become full and lose your appetite. With wine, however, the opposite is true: the more you have, the more you desire.

This is why we have wine at every point of kedushah – at every point where we want to uplift the physical. It’s our way of showing that we’re taking the physical, something that has the potential for both spirituality and spiritual emptiness and using it for the good. We therefore make kiddush on wine on Shabbos, on yom tov, at a wedding, at a bris milah, and for other such holy celebrations.

We drink wine at the Seder in order to uplift the night of Pesach. We are uplifting our Seder experience, but we are tapping into a larger experience as well. The Ramban explains that the grand miracles of Pesach are meant to instill

miracle upheld by Hashem as well. This means that every aspect of this physical world is infused with G-dliness, with the potential for spirituality, and we can therefore uplift every single thing we encounter to a state of holiness. As we relive the Pesach story at the Seder, we learn about the inherent spirituality present within every facet of the physical

After obtaining his BA from Yeshiva University, he received Semicha from Yeshiva University’s RIETS, a master’s degree in education 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 website: ShmuelReichman.com.

On the Seder night, as we focus on whom each of us can become, we ask questions –creating holes that we then yearn to fill with additional knowledge, insight, and growth.

zeh meshubach

The HaRachaman We Add at the Seder

By Rav Daniel Glatstein

On Shabbos, yom tov, and Rosh Chodesh, it is customary to insert an additional HaRachaman to Bircas HaMazon . This format is followed on Pesach as well, and we add the following to our bentching at the Seder:

The compassionate One! May He cause us to inherit that day which is entirely good, that everlasting day, the day when the just will sit with crowns on their heads, enjoying the reflection of G-d’s majesty — and may our portion be with them.

However, aside from the first sentence, the nature of this HaRachaman is very different from most of the other HaRachamans that we add. The HaRachaman for Rosh Chodesh is a request for a good month. On Rosh Hashanah and Sukkos, the text of the given HaRachaman is relevant to the day. It is a tefillah that follows the theme of the given yom tov.

In contrast, this tefillah appears to have no connection to the Seder. Why do we mention the reward that tzaddikim will receive in Olam Haba? What connection is there between their reward and the night of Yetzias Mitzrayim? It would seem more appropriate to recite a tefillah asking for cheirus , freedom, and redemption from our current galus, or to mention Yetzias Mitzrayim , since that is the primary theme of the Seder.

The Yetzer Hara is Like Pharaoh

The Bas Ayin writes that one of the fundamental tenets of Judaism is that Olam Hazeh , this world, is likened to the antechamber of a palace, which refers

Our preparation consists of performing mitzvos and learning Torah. Then, upon entry into the palace that is Olam Haba, we will receive our just reward. We are taught that one moment of pleasure in Olam Haba surpasses all the earthly pleasures of this world.

Anyone who recognizes this truth will be careful to utilize his time in the performance of mitzvos, rather than chasing after material, transient sources of joy. He will work to gain eternity through the means of limud haTorah and the performance of mitzvos, for which he will be rewarded with the ultimate, eternal pleasure — in Olam Haba

The journey of life in this world is filled with struggle. The yetzer hara, which can be described as “Pharaoh,” seizes upon every opportunity to derail one from this objective. It repeatedly proclaims the mantra of Pharaoh: “Every son that will be born — into the River shall you throw him! And every daughter shall you keep alive” (Shemos 1:22).

Olam Haba, the World to Come, is referred to as the son, the ben, while Olam Hazeh, this world, is considered the daughter, the bas.

to the World to Come. This world is the entrance hall that leads to the Next World. It is where we prepare ourselves to enter the palace of Olam Haba.

The yetzer hara is the Pharaoh who tries to convince us to discard the ben, in effect, to abandon our efforts to achieve life in Olam Haba. He tells us: Cast the ambition for the son, for the World to Come, into the

We need to remember that we are constantly fighting a battle between the attractive, desirable, and empty material pleasures of this world and the meaningful and eternal pleasures to be enjoyed in Olam Haba.

sea. The yetzer hara declares: Don’t involve yourself in pursuing Torah and mitzvos. Instead, “every daughter shall you keep,” live it up, partake of all the pleasures that this world has to offer.

Remembering Yetzias Mitzrayim Daily

In light of the understanding of the Bas Ayin, we can appreciate why we are required to recollect the Exodus from Mitzrayim on a daily basis.

We need to remember that we are constantly fighting a battle between the attractive, desirable, and empty material pleasures of this world and the meaningful and eternal pleasures to be enjoyed in Olam Haba

Our goal must be to garner zechuyos, merits, that will ultimately enable us to gain entry into Olam Haba and abandon our quest for earthly pleasures. Our focus must be to overcome the threat of Pharaoh, who wanted us to cast away what is primary and grab the peripheral, as he proclaimed, “Every son that will be born — into

the River shall you throw him! And every daughter shall you keep alive” We must arrange our priorities correctly, remembering the crucial distinction: Olam Haba is the ikkar, the primary, and Olam Hazeh is the tafel, the subordinate.

This fundamental principle must be remembered every single day.

Understanding the HaRachaman

Seder night is the time when we fulfill the mitzvah of Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim, relating and reliving the events of our exodus from Egypt. Each of us must envision ourselves as if we are personally casting off the shackles of slavery — right now. At this very moment, we are all escaping from the evil clutches of Pharaoh; we are all going from servitude to freedom. Reliving Yetzias Mitzrayim and perceiving ourselves as newly redeemed highlights the fact that we reject Pharaoh’s adage, “Every son that will be born — into the River shall you throw him! And every daughter

shall you keep alive” We abandon his philosophy about the importance of this world and instead embrace the belief that Olam Haba is most important.

Therefore, as we leave the pleasures of the material world behind, and we affirm our focus to be working toward enjoying the pleasures of Olam Haba , we proclaim, “ The compassionate One! May He cause us to inherit that day which is entirely good, that everlasting day, the day when the just will sit with crowns on their heads, enjoying the reflection of G-d’s majesty — and may our portion be with them.”

Our departure from Mitzrayim is more than merely departing a country. It is a fundamental and categorial rejection of their way of life. This exit is an act of spurning the pleasures of Olam Hazeh and focusing on Torah and mitzvos, which will enable us to partake in the ultimate pleasures of Olam Haba. Thus, we recite this unique HaRachaman to articulate the objective of Yetzias Mitrayim, to extricate ourselves from immersion in this world, in order to prepare ourselves to bask in the light of the Divine Presence in the Next World.

Rabbi

are available on Torahanytime.com, podcast, his website rabbidg.com, and other venues.

The whole community is invited to Rabbi Glatstein's Shabbos Haggadol Drasha delivered at Kehilas Tiferes Mordecha at 530 Peninsula Blvd at 5:45 Shabbos Afternoon.

This article has been excerpted from Rav Daniel Glatstein on the Haggadah: Revolutionary Insights into the Haggadah, the Exodus, and the Final Redemption, by Rav Daniel Glatstein, published by ArtScroll/Mesorah.

Daniel Glatstein is the Mara D’asra of Kehilas Tiferes Mordechai in Cedarhurst, NY, and author of numerous seforim in Lashon Hakodesh and in English for ArtScroll. He is an international lecturer and maggid shiur. His thousands of recorded shiurim

Mazal Tov So-and-So!

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

Mazel tov on the completion of Nazir!

In recent years, some organizations have been publicizing their conclusion that it is perfectly fine according to Jewish law for men to marry women who are older than them. However, one could argue that the Gemara in Sotah (2a) seems to imply that if one wants to marry his soul mate, he must marry a woman who is younger than him.

The Gemara says, “Rav Yehudah said in Rav’s name: Forty days before the formation of a fetus, a Heavenly voice proclaims, ‘The daughter of Ploni (So-andSo) is intended for Ploni (this baby).’” (Rabbeinu Yechiel of Paris explained that “40 days before the formation of a fetus” is another way of saying “at the time of conception.” Only a 40-day-old fetus is considered formed. At the end of Nazir we referenced this point; a woman only brings a korban after a miscarriage if the fetus was over 40 days old.)

Why doesn’t the Gemara simply state that a Heavenly voice proclaims that soand-so will marry so-and-so? Why does the Gemara refer to the potential wife as “the daughter of so-and-so”? A simple solution would be that at the time of the Heavenly proclamation regarding this male child, his female counterpart hasn’t been conceived yet, so she is referred to as the daughter of some person, rather than as a person herself. Hence, in the preordained union, the male partner is older than the female.

However, to dispel this explanation, Tosfos say that the announcement is always made before the male child is formed “whether or not the female was already born.” The preordained wife could have already been born when the Heavenly voice proclaims which male child she will marry. Hence, it is perfectly fine for a man to marry a woman who is older than he is.

Still, how are we to understand the Gemara’s use of the phrase “the daughter

of so-and-so” instead of the simpler “such and such girl”? Various suggestions have been offered. The Iyun Yaakov explains that the Torah gives a father the right to marry off his daughter until she turns 12½. Since the father can take a more active role in his daughter’s marriage, the Gemara refers to the girl as the daughter of So-and-So.

Alternatively, the Iyun Yaakov suggests that the phrase was used simply to keep a stylistic parallelism in the text of this lesson. After stating, “The daughter of so-and-so is destined for so-and-so,” the Gemara continues, “The house of soand-so is destined for so-and-so; the field of so-and-so is destined for so-and-so.”

The Iyun Yaakov offers a third explanation, which is the exact opposite of the original inference mentioned in the beginning of this article. The Gemara is specifically discussing a case where the girl was already born. Since she was already born, she can rightly be called the daughter of so-and-so. However, someone who was not yet born cannot be called someone’s daughter or son. Hence, since the announcement is made while the boy is still a fetus, he is referred to simply by

the moniker “Ploni.” The older girl was already born, so she can rightly be referred to as the daughter of Ploni.

The sefer Alei Veradim asks: what is the point of a Heavenly voice proclaiming that so-and-so will marry so-and-so? When the children are old enough they will find their Divine bashert even if it wasn’t announced. The Alei Veradim answers that Chazal tell us there are three partners in a person: Hashem, the father, and the mother. Parents might assume that they play a major role in deciding their child’s marriage partner. Therefore, a Heavenly voice proclaims the shidduch even before one of the children are born. At that time, only one of the three partners, Hashem, had a say.

What follows in the rest of this article is a loose translation from the sefer Pninei Rabbeinu HaKehillos Yaakov of the Steipler Gaon (vol. 1, page 34) that is apropos to the discussion of our Gemara:

It has become clear to me that when the Gemara says that the daughter of so-and-so is for so-and-so, it is not an absolute decree that it must be that way. There is no guarantee that the shidduch will actually happen. Rather, the Heaven-

ly voice is proclaiming that the following shidduch is appropriate and should be made….

Ultimately, the choice (free will) is left to the individuals. It is very common that when a boy and girl meet for the first time, they are reticent and say few words to each other. Then they tell their parents that they are not interested in the shidduch because the other party is too introverted.

They should have prepared topics to discuss and appropriate questions. The bachur should have prepared questions –for example, where do you study now? Or do you teach? Which Bais Yaakov did you attend? Which shiurim did you attend? What did you discuss about the last holiday? Which Chumash are you learning or teaching? How did you understand this incident?

Further, the bachur should prepare stories about tzaddikim and short mussar concepts from various mashgichim so that they will have enough to talk about.

Then the Gemara of “bas Ploni to Ploni” will be fulfilled.

Further, a boy could lose the “bas Ploni” because of his arrogance. He may think that he is someone very special and needs a girl with all the “maalos.” He wants a rich, brilliant, beautiful girl from the most chashuv family. Every girl he meets is not good enough for him. One may be slightly too tall or slightly too short; one is just average; one is not wealthy enough. He therefore discards all potential shidduchim . He will also lose out on his “bas Ploni.”

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

Healing the Hatred Israel’s Secret Revolution

by Sara yoheved r igler

Just when you think Israeli society couldn’t become more polarized, something arises – like the present crisis over judicial reform – to push the poles of national unity further apart. The massive protests this week, leading to the shutdown of the airport, the banking system, schools, government offices, even diplomatic and consular services abroad – all indicate how seriously the country is reeling.

Israel is steeped in ideological divides, hence the famous adage, “two Jews, three opinions.” Since the modern state of Israel was founded, tensions have persisted between the parties that make up each coalition and the constituencies that voted them in. Many Israelis have never sat down to engage in a meaningful exchange of ideas with those holding opposing worldviews and values.

But one quiet organization is challenging the standoff and bridging the gap. And in this case, it’s a chasm that a Jerusalem Post survey claimed was one of Israel’s most serious of social ills: the rift between secular and Hareidi Jews.

Enter the Be A Mensch Foundation, established in 2011 by two American olim with the aim to foster genuine Jewish unity galvanized by complementary shared values. The elegantly simple concept of “being a mensch” caught on and attracted the attention and participation of such Israeli icons as Tal Brody, Yehoram Gaon, Nobel laureate Professor Robert Aumann, WIZO president Tova Ben-Dov, serial entrepreneur Noah Alper, educator par excellence Rachelli Sprecher Fraenkel, and from the U.S., former Senator Joe Lieberman.

The press took notice. Stories were shared. A book was published. A commercial was produced to propagate the commitment of a cross section of Jews

to the high road of menschlichkeit – of being a person of integrity and honor. A torn community in Beit Shemesh was reunited. But this was only the tip of an iceberg.

By invitation, Be A Mensch launched weekly encounters with members of the Tzofim (Israeli scouts), many of whom become future leaders in Israel. This was the first time that completely secular Israelis had the opportunity to create a relationship – a friendship, really – with someone deeply chareidi. The simple concept of unity through communication spread. Other scouting groups heard about it. Suddenly, demand outstripped supply. And so it remains today.

Today, Be A Mensch presents myth-busting, eye-opening encounters, facilitated by highly trained chareidi staff, in secular high schools, kibbutzim, select military groups, and, most recently, among high-level business leaders. In all cases, the invitation to meet comes from the non-chareidi side. Why?

Attraction vs. Promotion

Following the advent of the TV series Shtisel and Srugim, many secular Israelis have cultivated a curiosity about the inner workings of the chareidi world. After all, going back two or certainly three generations, the ancestors of most secular Jews were chareidim of some sort. Is it possible that having common ancestors can spawn a sense of mutuality and identification which can transcend the layers of cultural disconnection?

For the tireless members of Be A Mensch, the answer is a profound yes. The results have exceeded their expectations, noting that the transformation of attitude happens quietly, slowly, very much at the granular, individual level. 18-year-old Liat from the mixed community of Beit Shemesh is a worthy ex-

ample. She stated, “I’d speak for an hour about how horrible the chareidim are, but I never met a single chareidi in my life. Now that I’ve met chareidim, I realize that all those things I knew before were not based on truth.”

In light of so many issues in Israel, how serious is the chiloni/chareidi divide?

The rift in Israel between secular Jews and chareidim endangers the country even more than the threat of a nuclear bomb from Iran. This was the surprising conclusion of five former Chiefs of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ehud Barak, Moshe Ya’alon,

Gabi Ashkenazi, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot) in a rare joint interview on Israeli Channel 12 in August 2022. After a long discussion of the Iranian nuclear threat, General Eisenkot stated: “The thing that most endangers the State of Israel in my eyes is the lack of solidarity in Israeli society.”

Moshe Ya’alon agreed: “I say that in the face of the Iranian threat, we will know what to do. But there is an internal existential threat.”

Ehud Barak chimed in. “I think that all living Chiefs of Staff, almost all living Mossad heads, and all living Shin Bet chiefs would agree on this. I mean, all

We're all brothers

“I’d speak for an hour about how horrible the chareidim are, but I never met a single chareidi in my life.”

the people who are involved in, or were at the head of the security apparatus, understand today that there is a more serious threat to the future of the State of Israel than from Iran, Hezbollah, or Hamas. This threat is what is happening within us — the risk of losing the internal cohesion, the internal solidarity.”

Unknowingly, the generals were echoing the chilling pronouncement of Chazal that the destruction of the second Bais Hamikdash and the grueling exile was caused by sinas chinam , hatred among groups of Jews.

While today’s headlines are focusing on the rift between the right and the center/left in Israel, the rift between secular Jews and chareidim has long been the most hostile and vicious conflict in Israeli society. A study commissioned by Gesher in early 2021 found that 65% of Israelis ranked the chareidi-secular conflict as the country’s most pressing conflict, compared with less than 18% who prioritize the Arab-Israeli conflict and 14% who think the Right-Left conflict is the most problematic.

Refusing To Be Enemies

Be a Mensch is the only organization in Israel whose goal is achieving Jewish unity between these factions. Mensch has done 900 encounters with various secular groups and has met with 34,000 participants. Its motto is: “Healing the rifts in Israeli society –one mensch at a time.” It is registering some miraculous successes.

In November 2013, Be a Mensch organized an event in Tel Aviv with Ha Noar Oved V’ha Lomed (The General Federation of Working and Studying Youth), Israel’s most extreme leftwing youth movement, and the leaders of other secular organizations. Mensch invited Rav Chaim Zvi Senter, Rosh Yeshiva of Aderes HaTorah, who, after getting approval from Rav Dovid Cohen, sent a bus with 25 kollel couples to the event. Tel Aviv’s Cinamateque Square was festooned with giant Hebrew banners proclaiming, “The religious and the secular refuse to be enemies.” There was no need for the official police protection arranged by Be a Mensch; instead, the atmosphere was one of camaraderie, like a family reunion. A Mensch staff member gave a brief introduction. Then the Jews in the square met each other in personal encounters meant to vanquish the stereotypes propagated by the media.

in a very unique event, totally unique. I don’t think there is right now anywhere in Israel such a diverse group, so many diverse people from all of Israel’s society here together to proclaim, ‘We refuse to be enemies.’”

Rav Senter himself was surprised by how open the secular Jews were to meet chareidim.

necessarily representative of what’s really going on.… To get to know each other as people dissolves so much of the sinah, so much of what we’re imagining.”

Be a Mensch has proven that when secular Jews actually meet chareidim and get to know them, their animosity melts away. As Rav Yosefs Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, directed Be a Mensch, “Let

A leader of one of the participating secular organizations effused, “We are

“It was so nice to see how interested these people are in hearing about our lives and how much they really felt close to us. It was really amazing. It’s something I never imagined without experiencing it.”

The secret of Be a Mensch’s success is to counteract the negative images of chareidim plastered all over the media by arranging direct encounters. As Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, Rosh Kollel of the Jerusalem Kollel and Rosh Yeshivah of Aish HaTorah, explained: “Bayis Sheini was destroyed because of sinus chinam, baseless hatred. Especially in this day and age, the divide between the chareidi world and those on the other side is based primarily on all sorts of images that we’ve got of one another that aren’t

the Name of Heaven become beloved through you.”

“Certified Secular Youth”

A key demographic concern for Be a Mensch is the half million young adults who will shape the next generation in Israel. Israel’s population is 30% s homer mitzvos, 35% traditional, and 35% secular. Be a Mensch recognizes the significance of what they call “certified secular Israeli youth,” meaning those who have never fasted on Yom Kippur. Thus, while they have held many meetings with secular kibbutzim and other adult groups, they have elevated their focus on high schools, the Scout movement leaders, and pre-military academies.

As of this writing, a cadre of care -

fully chosen chareidi men and women in their twenties and thirties have gone into 51 secular high schools, meeting with individual classes. They do not lecture to them. Rather, each Be a Mensch representative sits in a circle with one class and invites them to ask their questions about chareidim and their way of life. Typical questions are: Why do chareidim have so many kids? Why don’t the men work? Is it really like we saw on the television series “Shtisel” that people get engaged after just one or two meetings?

Shani is a 28-year-old chareidi woman from Jerusalem, a rabbi’s daughter, who has been working for Be a Mensch since 2018. With her friendly smile and unflappable personality, she is the perfect representative to face a potentially hostile audience. Recently, she was sent to speak with an 8 th grade class in the leftwing bastion of Ramat Aviv.

“I heard a lot of hate,” she recounts. “It was a whole class of 30 kids, and they voiced very strong, leftwing opinions that they hear at home. I had to do damage control. I asked them, ‘From where do you get your information? Television shows the people who are burning garbage, not the people higher up in our society.’ I told them that in my family, people are hard workers, and respectful, and pay taxes.

“Some of the kids wanted to connect with me. One kid in the class told me that he has tefillin and puts them on every day. I said, ‘Wow!’ And I gave him a lot a praise to make him feel good about himself. Another kid told me that he is descended from the Chatam Sofer. I said, ‘I was just there at his kever Do you know what a genius he was?’ I made him feel really good about it. A girl opened up her computer and found a picture of her grandfather, a rabbinic figure.”

One boy in that class was particularly aggressive. He asked a lot of hostile questions, voicing very strong leftwing opinions he absorbed at home. Shani answered calmly and patiently, without getting defensive. At the end of the class, he came over to Shani and told her that he wanted to thank her. “You answered very well,” he said. And he apologized that he wasn’t respectful. Shani later reflected, “Some of the things I said really resonated with him. I was very impressed. I saw a different child at the end.”

As Shani sums up: “They’re really sweet kids. Some were asking questions just to provoke. I try not to get provoked. I need to remember that they don’t know

Connecting with the Scouts

Meeting one-on-one on a kibbutz

anything about us. I have to be their window to religious people.”

One elite Tel Aviv high school wrote to Mensch:

We would like to express our deepest thanks for the fascinating Be A Mensch meetup with the 10 th grade civic-studies-major students.

At the meetup, the students had the opportunity to make something of a closer acquaintance with the charedi world, to shake off prejudices and stereotypes and to experience pleasant, open, accepting, and constructive discourse. The meetup allowed them to ask complex questions, and it shed light on various issues pertaining to Israeli society and the relationship between the groups that comprise it.

In a world where everything is political, we got to see a more reliable, less heated picture; a reality in which communication can happen in spite of differences.

Another high school wrote:

I want to thank you for the fascinating meetup with the ninth grade students here at the school.

I feel the meeting was very significant. For the first time, the students were able to make in-depth acquaintance with the charedi society, faceto-face, and to form circles of discourse with members of this sector.

Thank you for your openness and for your desire to bring different factions of society together.

Specifically now, during these turbulent times, you proved things can be different.

I strongly recommend that every school in the country participate in the program, and promote discourse on values and tolerance of others, and get to know the beautiful side of charedi society and religion.

On a recent trip to Israel, Gavriel Aryeh Sanders of Far Rockaway accompanied a Be A Mensch team to an elite Tel Aviv high school. He stated, “I’ve never seen two such polarized groups forge such a deep and genuine connection in such a short time. In three hours of animated conversation, I watched bias and ‘myth-perceptions’ about charedim melt before my eyes. The students and school staff wanted more contact. They themselves stated that this was a life-changing encounter.”

The Book

It all started with a book. Dr. Moshe

Kaplan is an immunologist originally from

Trenton, NJ. His grandfather, Rav Yosef Kaplan, learned by the Chofetz Chaim before emigrating to Passaic. In 1986, Dr. Kaplan made Aliyah. Driven to try to explain the treasures of Judaism to the larger public, he compiled a book of essays called, A Wholly Life: Spiritual Integration of Mind, Body, and Soul. In 2009, he felt inspired to publish a different book, about good middos. Be a Mensch: Why Good Character is the Key

a Mensch Foundation, garnered glowing support from Israeli luminaries, including star basketball player Tal Brody, famous singer Yehoram Gaon, and two celebrated Nobel Prize winners. Professor Dan Shechtman asserted, “Your values are my values and your wish to make a change is also mine.” Professor Aaron Ciechanover declared, “The enemies around us will never defeat us. If we shall be defeated, it will be by ourselves – in strife, hate among different groups, inability to listen and discuss in

University.

Meeting such brilliant people who have chosen to observe the religious precepts that their own grandparents rejected exploded the kibbutzniks’ stereotype of chareidim as primitive and backward. A letter from the Kibbutz Movement after one such Shabbos declared: “The meeting was exciting and fascinating, and goes far beyond expectations. … You must succeed!”

At the beginning of Mensch meetings with leftist youth groups, a moving short film is shown. After the passing of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, zt”l, the secular grandson of Rav Elyashiv’s first cousin, prominent in the Israeli television and film industry, asked to make a film about the Gadol HaDor. Filmed partly in Rav Elyashiv’s tiny apartment, the film includes his grandmother’s reminiscences about her famous cousin and family photos of their common ancestor, the Leshem. The film shows Maj.-Gen Eliezer Skeidy, former head of the Israeli Air Force, asking, “Who are the chareidim? My Saba and Savta and yours.”

Crisis In Beit Shemesh

to a Life of Happiness, Health, Wealth, and Love consists of essays by such notable people as Nobel laureate Prof. Robert J. Aumann, Natan Sharansky, Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, successful CEO Howard Jonas, Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb, and psychologist Judith Mishell.

This stellar cast each asserted that the most important achievement in life is character development. A rabbi who worked in kiruv pointed out to Dr. Kaplan that this book could be a great unifier in Israel’s fractured society, since everyone – religious and secular – could agree on the importance of good middos.

Dr. Kaplan took the book to one of Israel’s major publishers, Yedidot Aharanot, and asked them to publish the book in Hebrew. The publisher deferred, explaining that they primarily publish novels. But he promised to look over the book. Three days later, Dr. Kaplan got a call from the publisher. He enthusiastically declared that this book is so important that they decided to publish it in Hebrew.

The launch of the Hebrew book, followed soon after by the launch of the Be

a civilized manner and misunderstanding of the meaning and purpose of our life here. I hope Be a Mensch can build a bridge over these stormy waters.”

The book, the foundation, and the values they promote opened a door to Israeli society, free of political taint and “religious coercion,” the great fear of secular Israelis. Invitations to send representatives to kibbutzim, youth movements, student associations, and the IDF started to come in. Thanks to social media, every positive experience was widely shared, engendering more and more invitations.

Thus, “The Dialogue Project” of Be a Mensch was born. One of its first forays was to send prominent academicians, all of them chareidi, to spend Shabbos at secular – indeed notoriously anti-religious – kibbutzim to order to create a positive dialogue. Participants included genius mathematician Dr. Eliyahu Rips, Professor of Mathematics at Hebrew University; Dr. Yonatan Zeigler, a former senior engineer at NASA; and Professor Doron Aurbach, Head of the Faculty of Electro-Chemistry at Bar Ilan

For decades, Beit Shemesh was a sleepy development town in the valley just beyond the Judean Hills. It was inhabited mostly by traditional Sephardim with some secular and dati leumi [national religious] Ashkenazim attracted by the low prices and proximity to Jerusalem. Then the government started to build new neighborhoods. Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph attracted Anglo immigrants, mostly Litvak chareidim with a mix of dati leumi . Ramat Beit Shemesh Beit attracted an overflow of Mea Shearim families – Chassidic and Yerushalmi.

In 2011, a dati leumi school opened in the middle of a Chassidic neighborhood. “Extremist elements” were accused of harassing the schoolgirls. When a television news channel interviewed a sweet 8-year-old girl, who told how she was cursed at and spat upon on her way to school by Chassidic men, the whole country erupted in a virulent anti-chareidi reaction. Over 10,000 protestors descended on Beit Shemesh, and violent clashes ensued.

The government, desperate to put out the conflagration, decided to air calming public service announcements on television. The Jewish Federation of Washington, D.C., the “twin city” of Beit Shemesh, offered a $100,000 tender to the three best submissions for such TV ads. Out of a hundred competitors,

Be

Meeting protesters at a Kikar Rabin demonstration

a Mensch won one of the three tenders. Their ad shows a kaleidoscope of men and women of different ages and religious affiliation (or none), each uttering two or three words of a Hebrew pledge that together states: “I pledge not to judge anyone based on his or her appearance, style of dress, or affiliation with a specific group. I will be careful not to make generalizations and will always try to see the person behind the outside appearance. I will judge everyone favorably and I will always try to see the good in every person, and to focus on the good. Let’s create a new Israeli reality, one of acceptance, brotherhood, and unity. Together we can [said by a Chassid with long peyos].”

The final phrase of the video, “And it’s possible” are spoken by the same sweet 8-year-old girl whose interview sparked the conflagration. How did Be a Mensch pull that one off? They contacted her mother and convinced her that her little girl could be part of the solution. That’s how Be a Mensch works.

In addition, Mensch arranged some 300 meetings between different groups in Beit Shemesh. These included 50 meetings – 3-hour meetings every Friday night for a year – between B’nai Akiva [dati leumi ] boys and Yerushalmi Chassidim. The B’nai Akiva boys actually went into the Chassidic enclave of Ramat Beit Shemesh Beit and learned Torah with the Chassidim there. The water of Torah can put out the fiercest of fires.

Scout Leaders

Be a Mensch’s most long-term victory emerged from the Beit Shemesh crisis when Israel’s Scout movement, the country’s biggest youth movement, approached Mensch to arrange meetings between their 18-year-old Scout leaders and chareidim. Knowing that the greatest influence is exerted by loving personal relationships, Mensch agreed on the condition that the meetings would be held weekly for an entire year. Now, twelve years later, with a new cadre of Scout leaders annually, the meetings (currently held every two weeks) are still going strong.

Devoting a year between high school and the army, Scout leaders often go on to assume influential positions in Israel’s political and military hierarchy. Mensch sends avreichim to meet with the male Scout leaders and young married charedi women to meet with female Scout leaders. They forge warm, personal one-on-one relationships, each talking

about what’s happening in his or her life at present. Often, they have group discussions on meaningful topics such as, “What is joy?” “How do you acquire joy?” or “Do human beings have free will?” In such discussions, the chareidim convey Torah values, and, most importantly, the message, “We care about you.”

An “ice breaker” in the initial meeting of the women is symbolically significant. They sit in a circle. A Mensch representative holds a very large ball of yarn and makes a statement about

their chareidi friends, sometimes asking to come for a Shabbos meal or requesting a mezuzah for their homes. Close to 80% of the Scout leaders decide on their own to start fasting on Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av. As one Mensch director says, “We are changing the trajectory of their lives. You don’t know where it’s going to end.”

Flying High

Miraculously, Be a Mensch has become a sought-after program provider

and, after a three-year training course, become fighter pilots. It was this group that met with avreichim from Be a Mensch to learn about who the chareidim really are.

After the first meeting, one pilot declared, “This interaction was very interesting. They answered all the questions I had. Even the minor issues were addressed and answered, which I found significant. I came out of this meeting with an understanding that there is a challenge in living together…. We all want to live in the same country, but there are conflicts in our differing lifestyles. It’s very good to know and understand the other side. For someone who chooses to live in Israel, it’s a given that he will do whatever it takes [for mutual understanding].”

The interviewer then asked him, “So, do you recommend these types of meetings?”

“Passionately!” the pilot answered. “I absolutely recommend it. In my eyes, this is very significant, and we need to do it much more. That I did this only at the age of 21 is a problem. But at least I’ve done it now.”

Another pilot testified, “First of all, this was important. We’ve never had an opportunity to meet in such an intimate way. I’ve never had the chance before to speak one-on-one to a chareidi person.… There’s nothing I can do about it. They are part of my People.”

Since the first meeting, Mensch has been holding two-hour meetings with pilots twice a year. After every meeting, some of the pilots choose to continue to be in contact with the chareidim presenters. A few pilots requested to be invited to their presenter’s house in the chareidi neighborhood of Beitar.

Business Leaders

herself, such as “I’m the youngest in my family.” Holding the end of the yarn, she then tosses the ball to someone in the circle for whom that is also true. That young woman says something about herself, such as, “I have a problem with math,” and, holding the yarn, she tosses the ball to someone who shares that quality. Eventually, everyone in the circle is connected by the web of yarn – a physical representation of the spiritual reality that all of Am Yisrael are connected, for, as the Leshem and the Meshech Chachma teach, all Jews are part of the collective soul of Am Yisrael.

At the end of every year, the Scout leaders go into the army, but most of them retain their relationships with

for an ever-expanding circle of Israeli organizations and institutions. They do regular encounters with pre-military academies, which are the gap-year institutions for secular 18-year-olds to prepare them for the army. As Ofir, a jeans-clad student, exclaimed after one meeting, “This dialogue obligates all of us to really find a common denominator and partnership. Because, ultimately, we are part of you, and you are part of us.”

Within the last year, the Israeli Air Force asked Be a Mensch to meet with their most exclusive squadron, fighter pilots. Fighter pilots are the elite of Israeli secular society. Starting with 270 highly screened candidates, only 41 make it through the rigors of the tests

Mensch’s latest tour-de-force was initiated by a group of hi-tech business owners. They requested a tour of the Ponevezh Yeshiva and also to learn one section of Talmud in Chavrusa with yeshiva students. Mensch arranged the tour, which was eye-opening for these hi-tech entrepreneurs who live within several miles of Bnei Brak but had never seen a yeshiva in action.

Then, Mensch chose for their learning a sugya in the Gemara about cancelling a contract in halacha, a highly relevant topic for businessmen. Mensch hired outstanding avreichim , both brilliant in their knowledge of the sugya and adept in engaging people on a personal level, and paired them up with the

Meeting such brilliant people who have chosen to observe the religious precepts that their own grandparents rejected exploded the kibbutzniks’ stereotype of chareidim as primitive and backward.

Members of a kibbutz get answers to real questions

businessmen. They learned the Gemara and the commentaries together. When an avreich asked, “What do you think of this opinion?” and listened to the businessman’s answer, the avreich responded enthusiastically, “Oh, you just said the same thought as Rav Shimon Skop (or the Ktzot).”

The meeting was phenomenally successful. As one Mensch director exulted, “These businesspeople are exactly the brain type that can learn Gemara. They have a Gemara-kup. They loved it.”

One of the hi-tech moguls wrote afterwards: “A fantastic and uniquely special experience. It opened our minds through a window to an important world that was previously totally unknown to us.”

Why?

Why are secular organizations and institutions lining up for Be a Mensch programming?

On a facile level, as one Mensch director puts it, “It’s Anthropology 101. We’re a foreign culture. We’re the Indians. They want to learn about and experience the Indians. We’re exotic. It’s like they’re tired of hamburgers; they want sushi.”

Rabbi Moshe Shachor, director of Mensch programming, takes it to a deeper level. “They want us to help them connect to the chareidi community,” he explains. “This year, when the situation is very dire in terms of hatred and demonstrations, the seculars are afraid. They turn to us because they want to know us, and actually meet chareidi society. They are afraid that soon they won’t be free to lead their lives as they want. They want to be much calmer, to feel comfortable with us. They want to know that we are not so scary. Of course, we want them to keep mitzvot, but we can’t force them. It won’t work. We want them to learn, to know, to connect to Truth. We want them to choose.”

Of course, there’s a second alternative: to distance oneself from those one fears. But Rabbi Shachor claims that this is not the response of most secular Israelis. “They know that we are here to stay; it’s a done job. They want to feel more comfortable with us, to hear what we have to say.”

Surprisingly, secular Israelis are very concerned about what chareidim think of them. “In every meeting,” says Rabbi Shachor, “they ask me: What do you think about us? I say, ‘First, you are my family. You’re part of us.’ Second, I think we agree that we have a deep argument

about almost everything. But it’s an argument, not a fight. An argument like you have with your brother. In a fight, you try to beat the other side. In an argument, we can talk about it.”

There are two explosive issues raised by secular Israelis in virtually every meeting. Here are a synopsis of the replies of the Mensch representatives: Marriage. Most secular people believe that Judaism is anti-pleasure, that couples get married only to fulfill the duty to have children, that religious marriages are duty-driven rather than love-driven. Mensch representatives don’t skirt the issue. They tell them that Judaism is not against having pleasure; rather, pleasure is so important that the Torah wants it to be in the right way, with sanctity. “They actually ask me if I love my wife,” Rabbi Shachor muses.

“I tell them that the Torah wants us to live life with a high level of pleasure, not to be a monk. We play music, we go on excursions to the zoo or hiking, we

er. “You love them, and they love you.”

The biggest surprise for the Mensch representatives who go into the high schools is to see that the students don’t hate them. As Rabbi Shachor, who has been involved in hundreds of such meetings, testifies, “In secular schools, we’re excited to see that they love us. They don’t hate us, as we thought they did. We discovered that what we thought, that they hate us, is not really true. Of course, in the media and in politics, the discourse is very divisive. But in the hearts of the people, it’s not like that. And after they meet us, they love us much more, because they see that we often have the same goals, that we are a family. They also know that we have the same history, the same grandparents. Most of them know, even if they do not keep Torah, that our Torah is an integral part of the Israeli nation’s values.”

Perhaps the dynamic is as Mishlei states, “As water reflects a face back to a face, so one’s heart is reflected back

Yehuda S. (afterwards on the staff of Be a Mensch) revealed something that proved a watershed in chareidi-secular dialogue. The “social justice protests” in October of that year drew tens of thousands of secular who prioritize the Arab-Israeli conflict and 14% who think the Right-Left conflict is the most problematic.

travel to interesting places. I tell them that simcha is a hallmark of a Torah-observant life.”

Chareidim in the workforce. In typically Jewish fashion, Mensch representatives answer the question with a question: What percentage of chareidi women do you think work? What percentage of chareidi men? Most of the secular participants answer between 10% to 20%. They are shocked when they hear the real answers: 77% of chareidi women and 53% of chareidi men work.

“I don’t want you to memorize these statistics,” Rabbi Shachor says. “I just want you to realize how little you know of us.”

“As Water Reflects A Face…”

Yet, beyond the “family arguments,” there is another reason why so many secular Israelis are reaching out to meet chareidim. As Rabbi Shachor explains, “Every Jew who lives here wants achdus, because all of them understand on a deep level that we are one nation.” He points out that when religious Israelis go abroad and they meet secular Israelis, they are delighted to talk with each oth-

to him by another.” The secular groups understand that Be a Mensch is spending time, money, and energy to dialogue with them because they care about connecting with them. Thus, they respond in kind.

Beset by an expanding budget, Be a Mensch is struggling to raise funds to keep up with the growing demand. But nothing can deter it from fulfilling its holy mission.

In all its activities, Be A Mensch follows daas Torah. The Gadol they most frequently consult is HaGaon HaRav Mordchai Goldstein of Ramat Bet Shemesh Aleph, the son of Rav Tuvia Goldstein, founder of Emek Halacha in Boro Park. As the director of Mensch asserts: “I feel that the reason we have such miraculous siyata d’shmaya is because we don’t rely on our own judgement. We ask shailos.”

Rav Yitzchak Berkovits and other Israeli gedolim have given their written support to Be a Mensch.

We Care About You

In 2011, a young avreich named

Then he stood up on the stage in front of 70,000 protesters and turned the secular protest into a Jewish cause by proclaiming, “Social justice is an ancient Jewish value. Mercy and compassion for the weak are Jewish values.” The crowd erupted in applause. He continued: “Social solidarity is the mutual responsibility that Judaism defined so well. Only all of us together will succeed in generating a real revolution for real equality and solidarity among us. The struggle is a struggle of all of us.… No more divide between chilonim and chareidim! We are together, one body with one heart!”

The crowd went wild. News channels carried Yehuda’s speech, and the video of it on social media went viral, with over 100,000 “likes.”

Yehuda’s message – that we are in this together and we care about your struggles – was life-giving water to the secular crowd that was apparently thirsty to hear just such a message. As one director of Be a Mensch puts it, “The source of the secular hostility is hurt feelings. There are widespread hurt feelings among the secular public that ‘you chareidi people don’t care about us!’ What we saw with Yehuda’s appearance at the social protest movement was an Aha! moment. ‘We see that you do care about us!’”

With every meeting, Be a Mensch is proving that chareidi Jews do care about their secular brethren, as witnessed by the distribution of cholent and bottles of water last week when the leftist protestors arrived at Bnei Brak. This care vanquishes the sinas chinam that otherwise brings calamity to Am Yisrael.

And Heaven smiles.

"We're sisters"

“I have to be their window to religious people.”

Birth Pangs of a Nation

By Rabbi Moshe B. Parnes

Israel’s newly proposed Judicial Reform Bill is all over the news, both in Israel and abroad, for all the wrong reasons. Thousands of protestors in Tel Aviv claim that its passage would change the character of the State from a liberal democracy to an unyielding theocracy.

Prominent media outlets and left-leaning pundits are rending their garments over the corpse of Israeli democracy, mourning the end of the State of Israel and the demise of Judaism itself.

None of this is even remotely true. In actuality, not only does the Judicial Reform Bill not herald the end of times, it may even usher in the beginning of a stronger, leaner and more focused Jewish people.

Let’s be honest, Israelis never cared much about democracy. The forced evacuations of thousands of Jews from their Gaza homes during the Sharon-led government, a policy supported by only a small minority in the Knesset, pulled the mask off any such pretensions in Israeli society. The brutal crackdowns on protestors and the warrantless jailing of minors that followed, gleefully sup -

ported by the secular Israeli press, underscored how little Israelis really value their freedoms.

The Gaza debacle was hardly a onetime event. Since its conception in the late 1800s, the founders of the State always valued socialist policy and conformity over human rights and democracy. The familiar saga of Sephardic Jews who immigrated to the State of Israel in its early years and tried to observe the Jewish traditions they had been accustomed to in their native lands was a harbinger of things to come. For the double sin of being both Sephardi and traditional, they were greeted with contempt, discrimination, forcible secularization, and even open hatred while trying to seek jobs, benefits and healthcare.

The Yemenites fared even worse. Their ancient community who resettled in Israel after the establishment of the State with great hope and anticipation were not met with the understanding and tolerance you would expect from a democracy. Instead, they were forced into anti-religious kibbutzim foreign to their way of life, often made to eat non-kosher food, given jobs compelling

them to work on Shabbat, and some even had their precious children torn away and placed in secular hands.

And so it was with the barely tolerated chareidi minority. As an American yeshiva student in the early 1980s, I vividly remember watching a peaceful, albeit loud, protest in Jerusalem’s Kikar HaShabbat, when Mayor Teddy Kolek disembarked from a black sedan and the police, who were mostly passively observing up till then, swung into action. They punched, beat, and shoved the protestors mercilessly. I’ll never forget the look of triumph on Kolek’s countenance as he watched a policeman bloody the face of a young chareidi student until the blood ran down his white shirt and onto the ground. I recognized that look; it was terrifying. I had seen it often in pictures from my parents’ time, but never on a Jewish face.

Purim is over, so we don’t need to masquerade any longer. The anguish at the proposed changes in the Israeli judicial system has nothing to do with the demise of a system of government that was always foreign to the Israeli psyche. What Israelis, and all Jews, do

care about, what they have always deeply invested in, is ideology and identity. Israel is currently facing a profound identity crisis, not a judicial crisis. It is wrestling with the confluence and contradiction of being an Israeli together with being a Jew.

History has shown that all movements that seek to redefine Judaism and Jews and divorce Judaism from its traditional sense have no Jewish future. There has never been a successful adaption of the Jewish religion, since the foundations of Christianity and Islam, that has maintained its Jewish identity. These breakaway movements are usually lauded and embraced at their inception as a new and dynamic form of Judaism, but ultimately, they drift away from their Jewish core, and their adherents are lost to the Jewish people forever.

In modern times, one needn’t look further than the Reform movement and its fraternal twin, the Conservatives. Once hailed as the very future of Judaism and the logical adaption of Jewish practice to contemporary custom, now, they only manage to sputter along be -

cause their numbers are artificially inflated by non-Jewish members. With their rabbinical and cantorial schools in serious decline, the shuttering of many of their synagogues and temples across America and the majority of their members marrying non-Jews, they are the very definition of assimilation and Jewish obsolescence.

The demise of the Reform and Conservative movements abroad and the great religious revival over the past four decades throughout the Jewish world places the Israeli secular public squarely in the center of an existential dilemma.

Israel’s Founding Fathers tried to fashion a Jewish identity based upon fealty to the State but not to the religion. “Israelism” was to become the new Judaism. This was the Israeli nationalist version of the Reform and Conservative movements. This new Israelism embraced Jewish culture, just as Reform does. There’s nothing unsettling about placing a Chanukah menorah in the window or enjoying a knish or a pastrami sandwich, but anyone who crossed the line into Jewish religion was met with the full wrath of the new Israeli. The inherent contradictions embodied in a philosophy promoting a “Jewish”

State devoid of Judaism, although apparent to religious Jews, were actively ignored by secular Israelis. Thus, the strongarming of the highly traditional Sephardic and Yemenite immigrants, the shunning of chareidim and the disrespect for religious Zionists were not met with democratic outrage. Instead,

passes, their desire to ensure a Jewish future for their children and grandchildren by espousing Jewish values can no longer be beaten down and pushed to the side like a protestor in Kolek’s Jerusalem of old.

Today’s protests are not against Judicial reform, which any liberal-mind-

disdain for religion as the last bastion of Israelism and the only remaining firewall against the onslaught of Judaism. They are greatly encouraged by American Reform and Conservative movement leaders who see this battle as their final prospect to transform the Jewish religion into the modern oblivion of Western ideas, transient culture, and anti-religious secularism.

they were welcomed as a necessary component in fashioning the modern identity of a Jewish-less Israeli man. Today, with the political rise of chareidim, Sephardim, religious Zionists and the many secular Israelis who revere Judaism and all that it encom -

ed citizen should happily champion. It’s about the guilt and contradiction that all Jews feel when confronted with Judaism. Secular Israelis are feeling the sharp pressure of their own faith bearing down on them, and they correctly view the Supreme Court and its

The civil unrest has opened very deep wounds in our national soul which at once hurt badly but give us the opportunity to peer into ourselves as we never have before. If we look honestly, we can come out more focused and stronger than we were before. If we don’t, we should bear in mind that this epic battle has a preordained victor. The Jewish Nation will ultimately choose Judaism over any innovation as it always has. Judaism is immortal and will survive and even thrive. The great question of the day is: will the anti-religious left in the State of Israel realize that in time?

Rabbi Moshe B. Parnes is the Rosh Kollel of the Hollywood Community Kollel in Hollywood, FL, and is Southern Regional Vice President of the Coalition for Jewish Values.

I’ll never forget the look of triumph on Kolek’s countenance as he watched a policeman bloody the face of a young chareidi student until the blood ran down his white shirt and onto the ground.

World Builders Rescued Three Times –and Now He’s the Rescuer

By Raphael Poch

The life of David Sfedge changed forever eight years ago when he was hit by a car while walking on a crosswalk. Within minutes of the accident, United Hatzalah volunteers arrived at the scene and began to bandage David for his wounds and stabilized his condition while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

David, a resident of the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, was taken to the hospital where he underwent a difficult recuperation period but recuperate he did. After the harrowing experience, David was thankful for the near-immediate intervention from the United Hatzalah first responders, many of whom he became friendly with. He never imagined that he would need their help again, at least not for another medical emergency.

However, he ended up needing their assistance not only once more, but twice. The first incident took place a few months later when his house caught fire, which was shortly followed up by David suffering an epileptic seizure and nearly losing his life to the ferocity of it. Both times, United Hatzalah volunteers from the neighborhood responded and helped David and his family.

David attributes his life being saved once again during the seizure episode to Reuven Sarfati, a volunteer EMT with the organization. Reuven met David when the two were teenagers and attending the same high school. As they grew up, they both stayed in the same neighborhood and got to know each other’s families.

During the seizure, David’s wife panicked, but his five-year-old son, not knowing what else to do, called Reuven for help. Reuven alerted United Hatzalah’s dispatch to the emergency, arrived at David’s home, began medical treatment, and even physically restrained David while he was suffering the seizure. Reuven provided David with assisted venti-

lation and prevented David from causing himself any further injury while he was seizing. David was then taken to the hospital once again for follow-up treatment.

After the third time that David was rescued, he realized just how critical the work of community-based first responders is and decided to join the ranks of the organization and become a volunteer

treatment during the elongated seizure. Those can be very dangerous and require medical intervention. If not for my friends and neighbors from the community who helped, I’m not sure that I would be able to be here today having this conversation.”

The experience left a deep impression on David.

David not only serves as an EMT but also as a member of the organization’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit and provides psychological and emotional first aid and stabilization to people suffering from both medical emergencies and the psychological trauma that results from them.

“I saw the trauma that my son went through when he had to make the phone call to Reuven,” he explains. “I wanted to help other children who go through the same thing. I often find myself helping children deal with their own trauma after having witnessed their parents in medical emergencies, or vice versa. I try to go respond to every medical emergency that I can. I even leave my own family in the middle of dinner in order to help neighbors or complete strangers. My family knows very well what I went through, and they recognize the importance of the work,” David concluded.

Reuven added, “Being an EMT can be stressful, but the satisfaction it provides gives us fuel to go and keep saving more people. It isn’t often that someone I saved becomes an EMT themselves, but it isn’t rare either. People who see the need for this kind of work are often the ones who undertake to do it.

himself. Today, Reuven, together with many of the other volunteers who helped, are close friends with David.

“Gilo is a very difficult neighborhood to navigate for outsiders,” David explained. “If Reuven hadn’t come that Shabbat when I suffered my seizure, I’m not sure I would have survived it.

The ambulances didn’t arrive for quite a while, and Reuven was the one there who was providing me with medical

“I feel that I was helped by people in my neighborhood, and now it is my turn to be the one offering that help.”

David now serves as the team head of the Gilo region for the organization and is in charge of the very neighborhood where he was saved.

“Becoming an EMT has been a gift for me,” he said. “I am able to help provide care to those who need it and give back. That is important to me.”

“I am happy that I was able to be there for David during his time of need, and I am proud that he has joined the organization and has become one of its most dedicated volunteers. This story is a reminder for me of the importance of the work that we do and the impact that it has on people’s lives. It is a force multiplier. I helped David, and now we both help others. That is a lasting impact that came from responding to one emergency many years ago. Now, countless lives have been saved and made better as a result.

“This is the true power of the community and the true power of the kindness of those who dedicate their lives to saving others.”

“Being an EMT can be stressful, but the satisfaction it provides gives us fuel to go and keep saving more people.”

David Sfedge (right) Reuven Sarafti (left) outside United Hatzalah's Dispatch and Command Center in Jerusalem

Making Pesach for Those Who Were Chased From Their Land

TJH Speaks with Sholom Ber Stambler, director of Chabad of Warsaw

By SuSan Schwamm

Rabbi Stambler, you grew up in Israel and have been in Poland since 2005. You and your brother, Rabbi Mayer Stambler, run Chabad in Warsaw. Around how many Jews live in Poland?

The answer to this question is that there is no answer.

After World War II, there was quite a flourishing of Jewish life in Poland. But during the communist regime and the different difficult situations, including two silent deportations that took place in 1957 and 1968, so many people left Poland, and those who stayed in Poland started to keep a very low profile. They’re not easily and openly telling everybody that they are Jewish. Sometimes, they hide it from their business partner or from their client or from their neighbors. Sometimes, they even hide it from their spouse or their children. So, we are discovering Jewish people in Poland all the time. You could say that in a big city, there is a bigger chance that someone will be brave enough to tell openly about their Jewishness, but the farther you get from the big city, the less there is a chance that they will speak up about it.

Even so, there are different numbers that are given out about how many Jews there are in Poland, though, and that ranges between 5,000 to 20,000 Jews in Poland.

We always try to find more Jews and then try to maintain the contact and show them that it’s no longer a shame to be Jewish. On the contrary – it’s popular and it’s interesting. And this is this is why there are many radio and TV shows which speak about the Jewish holidays. I try to deliver this message also over the media. I find many different kinds of Jews in different places, from physicians to politicians and businesspeople and

also many people in the media world of Poland. Until the war, you could say that America was “wholesale” shlichus and we were “retail.” Another Jew, another Jew. We would reach one Jew at a time. Every Jew is a whole world, but since the war, it all became very massive. One day you could have a hundred people show up. You have to fit so many hundreds of refugees at one time. We never dealt with such big numbers of people before.

How has it been connecting with the Jews of Ukraine?

I must tell you that we have had the opportunity to get to know Jewish people from Ukraine who are really amazing people. We’re amazed by their courage, not giving up. They’re looking for success again, and are getting settled and are solving problems and not only crying about them. We are also seeing the amazing work which the Chabad rabbis have been doing in Ukraine for so many years – we never had the opportunity to see it up close. Every Jew who comes from Ukraine was active in the community, and his basic knowledge of Judaism is very robust. And in their Jewish identity, there isn’t any crisis. He’s a Jew, and he’s proud of it, and for him, Shabbos and Pesach and Purim and other traditions is just something natural. I would not expect that, being in this part of Europe, where I live. You don’t see it this way in Poland. You could meet a Jew and today he’s a Jew, tomorrow he says, you know what? It’s over. I don’t want to be a Jew. But in Ukraine, a miracle happened Jewish-wise.

Why do you think it’s like that?

I have no way of explanation. I know that the Rebbe was born in Ukraine. The Rebbe was born in Mykolaiv, and he grew up in Yekaterinoslav, which is Dnipro today, and you can actually see that the biggest success of Jewish life in Ukraine today is definitely Dnipro. It’s also a matter of mentality and also a lot of many, many years of work – the rabbis in Ukraine have been there between 20 and 30 years already. They did the work, and we see the fruit.

Do you feel that the atmosphere in Poland is a little bit more anti-Semitic than in Ukraine? No. It’s not a matter of anti Semitism. It’s a matter of mentality. And it’s a matter that the communist regime made it very, very difficult to be a Jew in Poland, and this is the relatively fresh memory which people are carrying with themselves. It’s not like something bad is happening now, and there is any limit on being a Jew. On the contrary, we make a menorah lighting in the Polish parliament every year.

And from all parties, you have a presence in the Polish president’s palace. It’s not about what is currently happening. It’s about memory, but not only memory from the world after the war. You know, 1968, it’s not such a long time ago for people who are a bit older and remember.

Have you ever had an experience with a Polish non-Jew who came over to and expressed regret about what happened to the Jews in Poland during the war?

I have met many Polish people who love Jews and respect Jews and regret any needless crisis with Jews and with Israel.

Before the Ukraine war, what sort of programs did you have for the Jewish community in Warsaw, and how many Jews did you feel you were able to reach through those programs?

Well, we have a Chabad House here in Warsaw. We have a synagogue, mikvaos, a soup kitchen, and we have a special program of study of rabbinics here in Poland. Those students who came to study rabbinics travel around Poland for weekends to other locations and get to know Jewish youth and Jews of all ages. We do a lot of conferences, Shabbatons, and special holidays programs. But I can tell you that in Poland, it’s a lot of individual work. You get to know someone, develop the relationship, and he will get you to another Jewish person. And so on and so forth.

That’s a lot of work. But as you said, every Jew is a world. When you came to Poland around 20 years ago was there any sort of kiruv program or rabbi there at that time?

The Jewish community was there. And there is the chief rabbi of Poland, Rabbi Michael Schudrich, who is doing a great work.

You’re based in Warsaw. Are their Chabad houses in other cities in Poland?

There is a Chabad House led by Rabbi Eliezar Gurary in Kraków.

Based on your experiences, are there any specific mitzvos or experiences that you feel sparks the soul of a neshama that’s sleeping in a Yid? Do you feel that there’s any mitzvah that they really connect with?

You know, we are Chabad. In most of the cases, the first mitzvah that I will do with a Jew is actually tefillin. I have many stories and many experiences by so-called accident, but it’s really a divine intervention. I meet a Jew in a place which I didn’t expect, and we put on tefillin. And at that moment, I understand why I had to be there at that time.

Rabbi Mayer Stambler Rabbi Shalom Ber Stambler

Generally, holiday times are times which people like. Chanukah is the most popular holiday. We usually make a concert of some chazzanim and singers who come from around the world. And this is very popular, and we could have many, many hundreds of people who come to listen.

Polish Jews are very connected to the cultural part of Judaism and less on the “heavy” religious plan.

Every year, we make a menorah lighting in front of the Palace of Culture. The Palace of Culture is a very known, big building in the city center built by Stalin, and it is such a powerful, huge building that even though nobody likes Stalin, no one decided yet to demolish it. We do in front of this building, which symbolizes that Stalin was here, but he’s no longer here. It has a huge impact.

That is very powerful. Let’s talk about Pesach. I’m sure throughout the years you’ve held huge Sedarim. Tell me about what Pesach was like over the past few years before the Ukraine war.

Well, before the Ukraine war, we had the main Seder on the first night of Pesach in a hotel in Warsaw, and we would have about 100 to 150 local people with between 200 and 400 tourists, and it was nice. We would also send, with the help of the Chabad headquarters, some yeshiva bochurim to other smaller cities to make sedarim in many places in Poland.

But since the war started, we’re talking about a totally different story. Last year, it was in the middle of the period when we had a huge hotel for hundreds of refugees who lived with us, some of them from the beginning of the war. Some of them stayed here; some of them had to be here for a few weeks before they could make Aliyah. And we made a huge Seder for them in a huge hotel.

This year, we are renting a huge hotel outside of Warsaw – the entire hotel is dedicated only for refugees who have come from Ukraine. Generally, men from Ukraine cannot cross the border, but there are special permissions that they can get if it’s for a short period of time. Some families will use that special opportunity for Pesach so they can celebrate Pesach in the proper way and enjoy the meals with us and their families. There will also be refugees who already live in Poland who will join. You can’t believe how they are looking forward to this opportunity.

You are housing and feeding all these refugees for all eight days of Pesach?

Yes. Right now, we have 200 people who registered, and we are expecting many more to come. And this is on top of many other refugees who already have their home here or can’t come to the hotel, so we send them a Seder kit and kosher for Pesach products so they can celebrate Pesach properly both physically and spiritually.

You sound very calm for somebody who is organizing Pesach for hundreds of people.

It’s a huge help that those people from Klal Yisroel who live outside of Poland care so much and support us. We are appreciative of the help that they send to us.

What about logistics? How many pounds of matzah are you ordering? How many chickens?

My wife is way better at the details than I am, but I know that we ordered about 1,500 kilos of beef and 3,000 kilos of chicken. We are looking to know from our teams

whether this is enough or not. We have wine and grape juice and everything needed so no one will go hungry.

If your wife, Dina, also from Israel?

Yes. We came here four months after we got married. Before we came here, some friends were wondering how we could come to such a place, with the history and anti-Semitism. Our stay in Poland lasting so long is a big surprise. We see that there are Jews who really need this help. And we see tolerance from our Polish neighbors. And in a way, also, our community is growing because of the refugees who come from Ukraine.

A year ago, when Putin invaded Ukraine, the world was shocked. You live in Poland, which is a neighboring country, and your brother lives in Ukraine. What were your feelings when you heard that war broke out?

My brother, Levi, who lives there was actually making a wedding for his oldest son in Dnipro and it was supposed to take place on the third or fourth day of the war. And the kallah was from Russia. In the end, they made the wedding – organized in just three days – in New York.

What was I feeling when I heard the news? I couldn’t connect it. Everyone in Poland was scared because we thought that maybe we were next. You couldn’t go to the bank and get some cash because all the cash was gone. But other than that, I didn’t think about it too much until I got phone calls and WhatsApps and knocking on the door. Then I understood that maybe Putin wasn’t here, but the refugees have come.

I had no experience with this. Nobody prepared me to do such kind of help. And like I said, we managed. Here, you have to pay a lot of money for refugees who have arrived or are going to Israel. Some people came really scared. One guy lost his mind from what he was going through, and whenever he saw an airplane, he was afraid that this was a Russian missile. Until we got him to Israel, this was really hard. He needed psychologists and psychiatrists and physicians.

And remember that it was the time of Covid. So in our hotel, people had to be isolated because of Covid. And then there were some people who were isolated in the Airbnbs that we rented for them. It was amazing how the local Jew-

ish people, volunteers, really mobilized themselves and looked after every individual.

How did you mobilize? There were throngs of people coming to your community and knocking on your door and ringing your doorbell.

You have to automatically think differently. You’re not looking for one apartment. You are looking for 10 apartments. And when you get a good team of volunteers, and many phone calls from abroad of people who want to help, it works. There was no time to think and no time for feelings.

Of those refugees, have most of them moved on to Israel?

We have about 1,000 refugees who left our hotel to go to Israel. Others went to different places in Europe; some of them went to America and Australia. And some stayed here in Poland.

How do you communicate with them?

My parents come from the Soviet Union of Ukraine and Russia, and I heard Russian in my life before. I find myself speaking to them in Russian, which they appreciate a lot.

Many of them also speak English. They also find the Polish language similar to Ukrainian, so they are managing very nicely. The communication is good. We also give them some courses in English and Polish and Hebrew.

People have to understand. A war, it’s not a matter of news. News has the character that after a few weeks, it’s no longer news, and it’s not on the top line, and people could avoid it. But the truth is that the pain of the world is now even stronger. People are tired. People have no power, and they really need help. In the beginning of the war, I would get phone calls from America: How can I help? Can I come volunteer? Can I send you some money? Can I send you some gifts or whatever? Those calls are missing now. That’s why we are making this campaign now for funds. We need the money. We went on this project of this hotel for Pesach, for instance, not knowing that we have the money, but we did know that there is the need. For us, the need is a good enough reason to act. And we are asking our brothers and sisters, please help. Right now, we’re seeing a surge of $2 million in our budget since the start of the war.

There are families that are staying here since the start of the war. We have gotten them apartments for free for the first year that they’re here. We gave them furniture. We’re helping them to make a living. And they’re here every day to daven, every morning and every evening.

We are just the boots on the ground here. These refugees are our brothers and sisters – and are all of Klal Yisroel’s brothers and sisters. We are just living with them. They come to us and they knock on our door, but at the end of the day, they are really asking every Jew in the world to help them. It’s not something that especially belongs to us. Without people like you, we cannot do it. This is something which is above and behind our resources. We don’t have local people here who can support us. Baruch Hashem, in the past, we had managed to get money from different donors mainly from the United States. But in the last three, four months, it’s almost like it’s silence.

People are used to the headlines, but they don’t realized that after each serious bombing in Ukraine, we have another wave of refugees coming.

By Mindi Werblowsky, LCSW

Dear Teen Talk,

I am in tenth grade in a local high school. My best friend and I have been in school today since first grade. She has always been a great student and top of the class. She initially struggled a little bit in the transition to high school but was able to adapt fairly quickly and continue to make top grades.

Teen Talk, a new column in TJH, is geared towards the teens in our community. Answered by a rotating roster of teachers, rebbeim, clinicians, and peers (!), teens will be hearing answers to many questions they had percolating in their minds and wished they had the answers for.

I am noticing behaviors recently that are concerning me about my friend… Although studying has always been a priority to her, that now seems to be escalating. She spends all of her time doing homework, reviewing her notes, or studying for tests. She speaks endlessly about getting accepted into a top university and going on to medical school… She does every extra credit assignment, and her entire self-esteem seems to be wrapped up in her grades. It’s great that she has all of these goals, but isn’t high school supposed to be a time to have fun with your friends also?

She won’t go out with me on Sundays, because she is always studying. She barely attends group gatherings. She doesn’t participate in extracurricular activities... she does not seem to have fun at all. Is this normal behavior for someone who has her eye set on the prize or are my instincts right that something seems to be off?

-A concerned friend

Dear Concerned Friend, Thank you so much for writing in and trusting your instincts to know when something feels off. The first item to discuss is when does what seems to be a normal, healthy behavior cross the line into being something that is actually unhealthy? And the an - swer to that is when the behavior escalates to the point where it interferes with normal, daily, age-appropriate functioning. Although having goals in life and applying yourself in

school is very important, based on your description, it does sound like this has crossed over that line. The importance of friends

cial outlets completely in favor of studying. She is also not yet a senior in high school or even a junior where it would be “normal”

It’s great that she has all of these goals, but isn’t high school supposed to be a time to have fun with your friends also?

and socializing is built into the genetic makeup of a teenager. Although that looks different in every adolescent, it seems in this case your friend is choosing to shun so -

for acceptance into university to be at the forefront of her mind.

Many people are familiar with the term anxiety and have an idea of what that

means. What fewer people may realize is that anxiety can manifest itself very strongly in academic areas. Studying every hour of the day, shunning social activities, and having the mindset of having to be “perfect” in this area can actually be symptoms of an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Similarly, if you notice that your friend does not seem happy, and is always stressed and pressured, that is another sign that something may be going on beneath the surface. There may be a danger here of complete burnout when the “perfection” is not

Are you a teen with a question?

If you have a question or problem you’d like our columnists to address, email your question or insight to editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com , subject line: Teen Talk.

achieved, of just giving up completely, and then falling into a depression. I would strongly encourage you to seek out an adult you trust and discuss your concerns with them, whether it is a teacher, the social worker at the school, or possibly even your friend’s parents (if you have a close relationship with them). Make it clear that you are concerned for your friend

and the pressure she is putting on herself and you feel that in the last year her behaviors have crossed a boundary. Your friend may be in need of some help, but the good news is that there are incredibly vast resources out there that can really provide the help she needs and help her succeed in a much healthier, stronger way.

Wishing you luck!

Mindi Werblowsky, LCSW, is the clinical director of Madraigos.

Dialogue What Would You Do If…

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

My younger brother has been dating a girl for two months. Until now, all he told me was her first name; he’s generally a more private person. She ate at our house for Shabbos this past week. I was shocked to notice she is the same girl as I saw while in seminary a few years ago who was friends with the party girls in the seminary I was a madricha at. She did not go to the same seminary I was working at, rather she hung out with the more messed up crowd from my madricha year.

I don’t want to ruin my brother’s shidduch, but I feel like I need to tell him. I just feel so guilty doing it.

What is the best way to break it to him?

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

Be strategic and smart. Tell him you recognized her and from where. Make it a chatty conversation and let him lead with questions.

Talk him about your madricha experience and what trends you noticed. You may carefully say something about seminary being part of a transition for some girls. The year in Israel for many is a learning process of making choices and owning a lifestyle, hashkofos, and perspectives. Talk about all these topics, spoken and unspoken, that concern seminary teachers and mechanchos. This is your opportunity to give context and perspective to the girls fresh off the plane that he may be dating.

Without knowing more about your relationship with your brother and wheth-

er he trusts your judgment, it’s hard to make more suggestions other than to say go about this indirectly at first and see where it leads.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

Let’s break down your question.

Your younger brother is dating a young woman who used to hang out with the party girls at the seminary you worked at a few years ago. You do not know she was partying, and you do not know her relationships with these girls. You do realize this was from years ago. For all you know, they could be related or even neighbors back at home. Yet, you would risk your brother’s shidduch because you feel compelled to say some piece of superfluous information that you

know. If you saw her often at the doctor’s office, would you then relay that it could be she has a terminal illness she may be hiding?

This is an unfortunate flaw to the shidduch system. While we simply cannot exist in a bubble, many outsiders see us every day and impart their own thoughts and opinions about us. Then, inevitably, it filters into shidduchim and can lead to rumors and lashon hara.

You don’t ask if you should tell him but how. May I ask you a question? What compels you to feel like you must “break it” to him and what, exactly, is the terrible news you would like to break to him? Do you have any faith in him to build an honest and open relationship with her on his own?

My advice is to simply stay out of it and trust his judgment. You don’t need to say everything you think.

The Single

Tzipora Grodko

Firstly, it’s extremely unfair that you’re assuming you know this girl based on who she hung out with back during the seminary days. You have no idea what she was struggling with, experiencing, or who she evolved into during that timeframe.

I know you mean well, but this is the epitome of gossip (and frankly, the ridiculous notion that one chapter of a dater’s life is defined by their one challenging or transformative year of development).

Spend time getting to know this girl, trust your brother’s judgment, and try to let go of your biased reason recognizing that it’s super limited. I didn’t hear you discuss any red flags nor display any current behavioral concerns. Focus forward, not back.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

To tell or not to tell, that is the question.

Is it a huge mitzvah or is it a huge mistake to tell your brother what you remem-

ber about his girlfriend?

Different iterations of this dilemma have appeared in the Navidater column over the past several years. There are different levels of possibilities to consider.

First, the behaviors that you describe happened some time ago. People do grow up, mature, and change. Perhaps she is now a much better person than she had been when you knew her. It’s probably best to say nothing and trust your brother’s good judgement.

Second, if you do, nevertheless, feel strongly compelled to get involved, call her up, tell her that you enjoyed your Shabbos meal together, and invite her to meet for a coffee. There, you can quietly assess if she is still the same, troubled person.

Third, if, after all that, you still feel strongly that the girlfriend is very “messed up,” you may wish to consider what Rabbi Avigdor Miller, zt”l, often advised. You can send an anonymous letter to your brother, advising him to carefully check his girlfriend’s references.

Now, readers of this column might find the following interesting:

You have probably heard that various companies have developed Artificial Intelligence (AI) computer programs that give human-like responses to questions. I signed up with a program called ChatGPT and asked it to respond to this week’s Navidater question.

I was astounded by its response. In less than a second, it texted, “It may be best to keep your opinions to yourself. People can change and grow, and it’s not fair to judge someone based solely on their past behavior. Your brother may also be aware of his girlfriend’s past and may have already made his decision about whether or not he wants to continue the relationship. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to tell your brother is up to you, but it’s important to approach the situation with empathy and understanding.”

Wow! Now, I can’t stop wondering if this plunge into Artificial Intelligence is enlightening or frightening?

I’m not sure how relevant yesterday is.

Pulling It All Together

The

Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Thank you for writing into the panel. You are in a bit of a sticky situation, feeling as though you are holding important information that could potentially hurt your brother. You want to give your brother the information so he can make an informed decision and “know” the person he is dating. Looking at the bigger picture. I feel the need to say that it is quite possible that this girl has matured since her year in Israel, that she no

longer associ - ates with these people, and that even being a “party girl” in Israel does not necessarily mean anything is “wrong” or questionable about this person. Outside of Orthodoxy and within the context of human development, partying at the age of 18 or 19 years old can be pretty “normal” and age-appropriate. It is also quite possible that

your brother already knows this and doesn’t care because of who this young woman is today In other words, you may not be “breaking it to him.”

If you feel it absolutely necessary to share this information with him (and that is a personal decision), the best way to do it is without judgment and without insinuation of what he should do. I would refrain from language like “I don’t know how to say this,” which insinuates that there is an actual problem or that he doesn’t already know. You don’t want your brother to feel judgment or that you have an opinion about this girl, because, if he does marry her, he will never forget that you “warned” him about the woman he adores. Try to stick with something along the lines of “I love you and I wasn’t

sure how to handle this. Please forgive me if I’m overstepping, I just didn’t want to hold on to this and keep this from you. So and so hung out with a party crowd during her year in Israel.” That’s it.

Think long and hard before you make this decision because if she is a wonderful person today, and treats your brother well and he makes her happy, I’m not sure how relevant yesterday is.

All the best, Jennifer

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

You don’t need to say everything you think.

School of Thought

By Etti Siegel

Q:Dear Etti, I don’t get it. It says “V’shinantam l’vanecha” – that parents should teach their children the story of Yetziyas Mitzrayim, but from the amount of divrei Torah that come home, I think rebbeim and morahs think that it is “V’shinantam l’avichem!” My children want to teach me everything at the Seder. Every year, they get upset if I call on another child and they have more to say, or if I want to share something but they have another drash to give over. What do rebbeim and morahs want from us? What is the purpose of the pages and pages of divrei Torah that hold me hostage at my Seder?

-Trying to Run the Seder

A:Dear Trying to Run the Seder, Below is a true story of a Gadol discussing your very question in V’Haish Moshe by Aaron Berry, printed in Bnei Brak in 1989, found on www.torah.org. I was humbled to have found it to validate my thoughts.

Harav Shimon Schwab, zt”l, once jokingly commented during one of his Shiurim on the Haggadah that today we have a new mitzvah of “ V’higgadita l’avicha” – And you shall tell your father! Our children come home from school weighed down with divrei Torah and Question and Answer sheets and are bursting to share their wealth of knowledge with us. However, we must bear in mind that the Torah explicitly states that the manner of the Haggadah must be “ Ki yishalchah binchah” – When your son asks you. The child must do the asking, not the parent. If the parent is asking questions and the child is providing the parent with the answers that he

learned in school, their roles are reversed. This specifically rules out use of Question & Answer sheets that the children bring home. (This is not to say that they shouldn’t be used at all. They can be used during the daytime Seudos when there is no specific mitzvah of Haggadah). The divrei Torah that add to and illuminate the actual story of Yetzias Mitzrayim may be shared. However, care must be taken that younger siblings should not be distracted from the mitzvah at hand. It is your Seder. Own it.

It is your Seder. Own it.

During the other meals, allow the little children to say “Mah Nishtana” again and show you their projects again and again (why not? They are so cute and excited!), have different children share all their divrei Torah at meals as planned in advance, invite older children to share at the night meals and try to really tune in. Children are also not competing for your attention at other meals because the meals are mapped out – who says what, and when. Trinkets and candy are still distributed as children listen to one another and compliment and engage appropriately.

Be Proactive

Dr. Ross Green, author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School, believes that if the children are part of the problem, make them part of the solution! He calls it Collaborative Problem Solving.

Sit them down and ask in a neutral way, “I have been noticing that you all have so much to share about the Hagaddah, but the Sedarim are not a good time to share everything. There are day meals and Shabbos meals. How do you think we should divide up the time so I can hear from you all? I am so excited!”

Watch your children amaze you as they work out the solution. Listen, maybe even take notes, and say, “This sounds really great. Let me think about it (run it by your mother?) and see if there is anything we need to tweak before we set this schedule.” Talking in advance allows the children to think calmly and rationally, and they, too, might think of a quick fix before yom tov arrives.

Have trinkets and candy/chocolate to give out at the Seder as the Shulchan Aruch advises.

Ask questions, be excited, and show the children how happy you are to share and be at the Seder with them.

Two places to order little prizes for all ages are Rhode Island Novelty at www.rinovelty.com and Oriental Trading Company at www.orientaltrading.com . The food is not kosher, but they have many small items that can be used as motivational treats.

Plan for Success

Preplanning is key for educators, and at the Seder, you are the Master Educator. Look through the Haggadah and decide what your focus will be and what you want to share. Make sure you have your audience in mind. Don’t expect children to sit though straight reading of the Haggadah, or lengthy commentary that is over their heads.

Have a chag kasher v’sameach, and lots of Yiddishe

-Etti

P.S. Don’t forget to send in a note of appreciation to your children’s rebbeim and morahs after Pesach. The more specific the note, the more meaningful it is. They put so much heart into teaching your precious children what they know.

nachas!

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.

Self-Care

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

Iknow that discussing self-care may sound like a terrible topic for this time period. Grocery shopping feels competitive – it’s bumper cars with the carts. We’ve declared war on errant Cheerios and a sudden affection for potato starch. The house looks like it was turned upside down, yet we call this huge mess “cleaning.” This is all despite the fact that the house need not be clean, just free of chometz. This is the busiest time of the year, yet here is an article on self-care.

Yes, exactly when we are experiencing the greatest upheaval is when we need to prioritize a little time for ourselves. The more stress we are experiencing, the more we need to prioritize our emotional health. Parents who don’t make time to relax and reorient themselves are likely to scream at their children, or worse. Now, more than ever, we need to practice self-care.

We are creating lifelong memories for our children. Thinking back to their childhood, we want our children to have smiles as they think of fun, togetherness, and laughter. Memories of being silly, taking trips, and eating food that tastes like Pesach should dominate their consciousness. Yelling, screaming, and feeling tread upon should not.

As adults, our children will not think fondly of organized drawers if all they remember is raised voices. They won’t care if we spent more or less time preparing the meal nor will they think wistfully, “We always had three new salads per meal” if they’d been treated harshly.

They will remember Pesach fondly if we blast the music a bit, take a detour to the park, or even just eat pizza huddled on the porch – if we’re doing it together cheerfully. We want them to reminisce about smiles, laughter, and good times. Only a calm parent – one who has maintained their own sanity – can provide this. Even if all we do is not yell as much, we’ve made significant progress.

Prioritizing

We tend to not prioritize our own needs, which is natural when we have kids and so

many other tasks vying for our attention. Younger kids and infants, in particular, are a full-time job that doesn’t even offer bathroom breaks. It’s not uncommon to find parents forgetting to eat. Showering involves careful planning, and basic errands require advanced strategies. Time to “relax” – if we even still understand the word – takes a backseat.

We take our job as parents seriously, and we want to do it well. We will obviously put our child’s needs first and tend to all they require. This is true, and we do need to prioritize our children. But, part of prioritizing our children is taking care of ourselves and ensuring we can be the best parent we can be.

We can only give from what we have, and if we deplete our energy stores, we are left with little left to give to our precious children. Our children deserve emotionally strong parents, and it’s up to us to maintain that strength.

When we recognize the importance of putting our emotional health first, we will work harder to fit it into our schedule. Even the busiest parent takes breaks for basic human needs, and we should put our selfcare in that category.

Easy Ideas

Taking care of ourselves doesn’t need to be complicated. We may picture grandiose ideas but never get to them. Often, it’s the small things that we can do with ease that add up to meaningful time for ourselves. Take something you can do easily, and make it happen. Consistency is important, too.

Each person is unique, and the key is to find what works for each individual. Some people enjoy being home, curled up with a new book; others enjoy being outdoors breathing fresh air.

While I like to include ideas, this is truly an area where we need to pick and choose what does and doesn’t work. For example, many women find a manicure to be incredibly relaxing. Making time for a mani is the perfect way for them to prioritize themselves. Personally, I don’t find it soothing

to get my nails done and shouldn’t choose that as my “me time.”

Whatever you choose doesn’t need to be fancy. Truthfully, the easier it is to work into a busy schedule, the more likely we are to do it. The simple time we make is better than the grandiose plans we can’t accomplish. It can be strolling on the boardwalk and watching the ocean, exercising, or taking a pottery class. It can be formal or informal. Even time for a relaxing hobby can be sufficient.

Creating Time

Many of our readers are likely to argue they don’t have the time; this author will agree with you. Between all the extra preparations in the house, shopping for food, purchasing clothing and other yom tov essentials, there isn’t time for the regular maintenance that every home requires. It’s hard enough to make Pesach while maintaining the regular daily tasks; who can think of finding extra time?

Time can be used more efficiently or serve two jobs simultaneously. This can also be called “making something from nothing.” We can take tasks we’re already doing and breathe some calm into them. The key is to find what soothes our unique selves and make that happen. This may mean a hot beverage being slowly sipped while creating a menu or reading The Jewish Home. A shower can be extended or turned into a bath. You need to eat at some point, and lunch can be eaten out with a friend or even by yourself. The body requires continuous breathing; relaxation breathing techniques can be a wonderful way to calm the body. Take a brief walk between errands or when shopping. Shop alone or with friends, whichever gives you a feeling of calm. Add music you enjoy or even a few minutes of reading. Just focus-

ing on ourselves and relaxing the mind can turn a regular task into feeling a bit more indulgent.

We can also reframe the time we do have and use it more meaningfully. I used to get frustrated when I had to stop my Pesach preparations for a nursing baby. I could be almost done with a major job, but when the baby got hungry, the world had to stop. Eventually, I was able to look at the situation very differently. Yes, it was annoying to be interrupted in the middle of something important, but it also gave me an opportunity to put my feet up and relax with my little one. Truthfully, while the house needs to get done, providing nutrition to my little one was no less important and could even be viewed as a little vacation when I set my mind in that direction.

Keep Preparations Simple

There is so much we do that isn’t necessary. Prioritizing our time also means choosing which tasks are truly important. Now may not be the best time to organize a child’s closet or remove their winter wardrobe. When we stick to halacha and what’s absolutely necessary, we can keep ourselves focused where we really need to be. Clarify the halachic requirements, as needed, to ensure your limited, precious time is being utilized optimally.

We can add some fun and take the insanity a little less seriously. Making time for ourselves is one way we can uplift this yom tov, not only for ourselves but for our entire family. We, too, came out of Mitzrayim and deserve to feel some geulah.

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.

Healthy Habits for a Happy Pesach

By Tehila Soskel, RDN, CDN

In just a few nights, we will be sitting down for the Pesach seder. We are surrounded by all the delicious food and desserts, some so tasteful it even tastes like chometz. However, as with any holiday, it can also be a time of overindulgence, with delicious foods and treats tempting us at every turn. Here are some easy tips to help you stay on track and feel your best over Pesach.

The Sedarim

Erev Pesach is a pretty busy day, from finishing your last bites of chametz to biur chametz to finishing up those last-minute things around the house. Regardless of how busy you may be, making yourself a priority and fueling your body is key. It’s important you make sure to eat all your meals, especially the day of Pesach. Having the mindset to save your calories for later will backfire, causing you to overeat later on. Aim to eat a high-protein breakfast, which will help set up your day for success by giving your body the energy it needs. Some high-protein breakfast ideas are eggs on whole wheat toast and sauteed vegetables, oatmeal topped with fruit and chia seeds, and a non-fat yogurt parfait –all quick and easy breakfast ideas to start your day off well. While you may be running around and preoccupied, make sure to sit down for lunch as the Seder does not start until very late.

The Sedarim are a really special time so try to be patient and stay present. After eating all the matzah and the foods required at the Seder, you will probably be pretty full. I’m sure there will be delicious food served whether you are home or away. Be in tune with your body and eat until you are satisfied; you don’t need to try everything on the table.

Try getting creative with your recipes and make healthy substitutions. For example, try swapping out matzah balls for zucchini or sweet potato balls. You can also opt for leaner cuts of meats. If you are on a program with all the delicious endless food options, gauge yourself as if you are home with all the tasty food options.

For breakfast, skip on all the desserts and sweet “carbs,” enticing as they may be. Fill up your plates with protein and lots of vegetables. Take advantage of all the fresh fruit, cut up vegetables, and crisp salads. It’s very doable to go away and eat mindfully and choose the healthier options which will help you feel your best.

Be Prepared

Growing up, chol hamoed meant going on all the exciting trips and was always my favorite time. Some people find it trickier to eat healthy while away all day, understandably so.

Firstly, always remember to pack your snacks. No one wants to be hungry or around people who get “hangry.” Waiting too long between meals will only cause you to overeat later on. Additionally, packing along snacks will help you have more energy, which is needed if you’re going to be out all day. Some snacks that are easy to prepare and pack are hardboiled eggs, string cheese sticks, avocado, fresh fruit, and sliced vegetables like carrots and cucumbers.

Meal prep ahead of time so it’s not too overwhelming. You can prepare tuna ahead of time for sandwiches, wash and check the lettuce for salads (or buy prechecked), boil hardboiled eggs and keep them in the fridge. Prepping ahead of time

will make your life much less stressful.

Remember, balanced meals are key. Some filling lunch ideas are salmon with roasted vegetables and a baked sweet potato, a salad with hardboiled eggs topped with quinoa, vegetable tuna on a slice of whole wheat matzah or crackers, and chicken or turkey salad.

Be Active

During any holiday, it can be easy to slip into a sedentary lifestyle, spending hours sitting at the table or relaxing with family and friends. However, staying active is important for both your physical and mental health. Try to incorporate some physical activity into your day. Take a walk after your meals; walk to a friend, and try to get some fresh air, which is both healthy mentally and physically.

If you are traveling to a warm place, then you should definitely be taking advantage of the weather! Go for a swim, bike, or move your workouts outdoors.

Exercise has endless health benefits from weight loss to reducing the risk of certain diseases; being physically active is key. Especially after eating so many meals and sitting around, physical activity is so important for your mental health. Exercise helps reduce anxiety, stress, and enhances your overall mood. If you are feeling overwhelmed over the long holiday, get outside!

Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated in general is always imperative but especially over Pesach, and with the weather warming up. Drinking plenty of water can help you boost your metabolism and keep your energy levels up. There is a lot more food being served, most with higher sodium content than usual, so be extra mindful to hydrate.

Start drinking as soon as you wake up. Don’t wait until the end of the day to take your first sip. Drinking enough water also helps improve your mood and sleep quality. Try aiming for at least eight cups of water daily.

Don’t Stress

While it’s important to stay on track with your health goals over Pesach, it’s also important to practice moderation. Don’t restrict yourself too much. Telling yourself that something is completely off limits will only make you want it more. Allow yourself to have some of your favorite food or treats – but in moderation. One or two pieces won’t ruin your progress. Try to stick to a healthy balance of nutritious foods and listen to your body’s hunger cues. Try to get in exercise, even if it means you can only do a little bit. A little bit is better than nothing. Exercise is an incredibly healthy outlet that does wonders for you mentally, so whatever you can do, do it.

As I always say, the most important thing is to remember to be present. Yom tov comes and goes so quickly so it’s important to just enjoy all the wonderful moments.

Have a beautiful Shabbos and Pesach!

Tehila Soskel is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a private practice in the Five Towns. She sees clients for weight loss, diabetes, and other various diseases. Appointments can be made for in-person or virtual sessions: 516-457-8558, tehilasoskelrd@gmail.com, tehilasoskelnutrition.com.

The old CD players or “boom boxes” had pause buttons, whose purpose might have been to prevent the CD from getting scratched with an abrupt stop. I used them as a temporary stop while in the middle of a track to decide if I wanted to fast forward, reverse, or stop the music altogether.

When playing music, either by reading notes or by ear, there are pauses. When singing, we pause and take breaths at the ends of phrases. If you watch a band at a wedding, you’ll notice that some of the players – whether it is the clarinetists or trumpeters – take breaks while the other instruments are playing.

The musical term for these symbols is “rests,” and they signal us to count a beat or more before playing another note. In Beethoven’s 5 th Symphony, he uses four notes and then pauses. He then plays the same four notes again and pauses.

In some music, during those rests, we count in our heads. Sometimes, other instruments take over. If I am playing with an ensemble, I will listen to the music the others are playing and remain quiet during my turn to pause.

Being able to pause is a life skill –something I often forget to do.

Like when I offered to pick up my friend from the other side of town with-

The Pause Button

By Miriam Hendeles

out thinking carefully about whether I would actually have the time to do it.

Or when the brownies on the table at a vort I recently went to called my name. I said yes, when pausing would have helped me reconsider that yes.

Or when someone asked me to help out with an organization, and I was frustrated with things going on in my life at

without thinking things through?

Some phrases that are helpful to me these days, allowing others to give me time to think things through are, “Let me think about it and get back to you,” and “I don’t know.”

Pausing can sometimes pose a problem – when someone else does the pausing. When you’re in a rush and you want

be filled with all sorts of meaning.

You wonder – what’s behind that pause? Why didn’t they just begin gushing with praise? What on earth are they hiding from you? By the time they tell you about the person in question, you’ve already decided that the shidduch is a no-go. And you barely listen to what they say.

But no, the challenge is for you to pause as well. Think about it. Maybe the person paused because he or she was thinking how to formulate the words accurately? Maybe they have mastered the art of pausing and are deliberate and careful whenever they speak?

that moment and said no without thinking it through.

What’s wrong with pausing and saying, “I’ll think about it”?

When we get stuck on an issue in life, it is best if we pause and sleep on it. When we wake up in the morning, we usually have more clarity. I often wonder: would problems work themselves out if sufferers didn’t rush to fix them

an answer immediately. Oftentimes, the pausing may be misread by the listener, as if the person pausing is perhaps hiding something. Let’s say you call someone to inquire about a shidduch prospect and you mention the name of the girl or boy. You expect the person to jump in and rave about said boy or girl, but instead there’s a long, pregnant pause at the other end of the phone wire. That pause can

We can still incorporate pause buttons in our daily lives. Let’s view pausing as something positive and not be suspicious of it. Almost nothing is so important that it can’t wait just a little bit. Right or wrong, forward or reverse, there’s always room for reflection and discussion.

Something to pause and think about…

I often wonder: would problems work themselves out if sufferers didn’t rush to fix them without thinking things through?

Fd for Thought Greenwich & Delancey

By Nati Burnside

One of the more persistent comments in the kosher restaurant world today is that there aren’t enough Jewish delis. Without getting into a whole debate about supply and demand, I think it’s fair to say that many people would appreciate a classic kosher deli as an eating option in every Jewish community.

Unfortunately, there really are very few of these places left. That said, one that is slowly but surely gaining a fabulous reputation is Greenwich & Delancey. You have to be willing to make your way to Cos Cob (though that might not be quite as far as you think it is, depending on where you live), but if you do, you’ll find an forward-thinking delicatessen that blends the comforts of the old world with some advanced cooking techniques of the modern day.

When I was invited to try the impressive menu at G&D, it was really hard to make my choices. While it’s a great problem to have, the chefs certainly don’t make selecting your items easy.

Yes, chefs. Plural.

G&D is a family business. David Teyf’s name might sound familiar. He’s not only the executive chef at Madison and Park Hospitality Group (a popular caterer), he’s also the one behind LOX Cafe at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Teyf and his son Elan both studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, while Tollan (David’s other son and the apparent black sheep of the family) studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Madrid. All three of them contribute at G&D.

With multiple chefs comes multiple recommendations. Let’s start out with the Brisket Blintzes. Personally, while I’m not usually a fan of blintzes due to the texture, texture is one way these blintzes aren’t like your grandmother’s. Sure, the filling is made from delicious pulled brisket and caramelized onion and the dill on top is a nice touch, but it’s the slightly crispy exterior that sets these apart from their peers.

I don’t think anybody should walk into G&D without ordering the Crispy Potatoes. These Russian-style fresh potato chips with garlic and dill are a staple of a specific cuisine that isn’t as popular today as it deserves to be. The crunch is perfect and the care that goes into making these is the real thing.

Now let’s move into some of the interesting old world meets new world items. The Challah French Toast might sound like a hard sell. In a meat restaurant, you know they aren’t using real milk. But trust me, the result is toothsome and delicious. A massive wedge of their flaky homemade challah comes with maple syrup and some sliced fruit. That alone might do it for you, but if you’re in the mood, add on their house “bacon” (more on that to come) to get a perfect sweet and salty marriage.

The Smoked Pastrami Mini Donuts are an incredible invention. They arrive at your table in a smoking cloche, and you can taste the smokiness in every bite. A crisp exterior with a filling of pastrami and Russian dressing makes for an appetizer that you’d gladly eat multiple orders of in place of an entree if the menu didn’t implicitly demand that you choose a sandwich.

When it comes time for you to pick one of the sandwiches, go with your gut and select the one that hits your fancy. I can tell you that the Pickled Corned Beef Sandwich is probably going to be the best of its kind. G&D makes everything in-house, so you’re getting something worth the trip even if you want to stay on the conservative side of things.

Maybe you’re looking for fish? In that case, try the White Fish Salad Sandwich. As a huge fan of white fish myself, I’ll advocate for this as a worthwhile choice because this white fish salad isn’t like any I’d had previously. The fish itself was diced, and the mayonnaise component was reduced to a lower level than I would’ve thought possible. Served in an onion pocket with tomato

and cucumber, it’s certainly a lighter option than where the next few paragraphs are going.

The most innovative selection on the menu is the Smoked Beef Ham Sandwich. That’s not a typo; let me explain. Chef David had the idea to make “ham” out of beef by smoking and salt-curing beef belly to get the smokey and salty flavor that makes pork into ham, without the, you know, treif. It’s a unique, complex, and interesting taste that might be hit or miss for the kosher eater, but it’s extremely well-executed, and I loved it.

My final sandwich recommendation is my favorite of the bunch. Chef Tollan’s Famous B.L.T. is exactly what you think it is. Their house beef bacon, lettuce, and tomato (and some pickled onions) are served on toasted challah with a smear of garlic mayo. This sandwich made me question why other restaurants don’t offer similar compositions given the prevalence of bacon made from kosher animals. After trying a bite, I felt like I finally understood why the non-kosher version of this sandwich is so ubiquitous.

If you’d like to make your own sandwich (and you either have another person

or want to take home some leftovers), Chef David’s Signature Pastrami might just be the choice for you. G&D’s pièce de résistance is a full house-made pastrami that they bring straight from the steamer to your table and carve in front of you. It comes with an assortment of breads and condiments for you to build sandwiches as you like, and it’s certainly a one-of-a-kind experience for a deli.

There’s something about going to a kosher restaurant that isn’t just kosher but also distinctly “Jewish.” G&D will make you feel like you are home – and that alone would make it worth the trip.

In The K tchen

Charoset Salad

Pareve – yields 8 servings

By Naomi Nachman

Ingredients

Candied Almonds

◦ 1 cup blanched, sliced almonds

◦ ½ cup sugar

◦ ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Dressing

◦ ½ cup cream Malaga or sweet red wine

◦ ½ cup balsamic vinegar

◦ ¾ cup oil

◦ 2 Tablespoons sugar

◦ 1 teaspoon salt

◦ ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

◦ pinch cayenne pepper

Salad

◦ 5-6 ounces baby spinach OR choice of lettuce

◦ 3 Granny Smith apples, with peel, diced

◦ 8 dried dates, pitted and diced

Preparation

Prepare candied almonds: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add almonds, sugar, and cinnamon; cook for approximately five minutes, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved — do not overcook or sugar will burn.

Spread the nuts in a single layer on prepared baking pan; set aside to cool.

Prepare the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a container; cover tightly and shake to combine.

Assemble the salad: Add spinach, apples, dates, and candied almonds to a large bowl. Just before serving, drizzle with desired amount of dressing (you will have extra); toss to combine.

Prepare Ahead: Nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week. Dressing can be prepared ahead and stored in the fridge for about a week.

Cook’s tips:

• Be careful when working with the candied almonds, as hot sugar can cause a painful burn.

• This recipe makes a large quantity of dressing. Keep any extra in the fridge and use it to dress salads all week.

Recipe from Perfect For Pesach by Naomi Nachman, shared with permission by Artscroll Mesorah

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.

I wanted to include a version of charoset in my book, but I decided to take it a step further, so I created this charoset-inspired salad, with all of the flavors you expect to find: cinnamon, wine, nuts, apples, and more. During our photo shoot preparation, the kitchen support staff all raved about this salad and kept wanting to remake it just so they could enjoy it again and again.

Bill George: “It’s All About Knowing Who You Are”

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 Bill George (BG), former chair and CEO of Medtronic, on the re-release of his book, “True North.”

YS: What are your suggestions and techniques on how to deal with pressure as a leader?

BG: I started out my new book talking about learning who you are: Your “True North.” Your life story. To learn where you came from, your crucibles, and to be proud and learn from those crucibles when all the pretense is stripped. You’ve got to stand there,

look yourself in the mirror, and say, “Who am I and who do I want to be?”

Not, “what am I? What’s my title? How much money do I have?” It’s all about knowing who you are. And when you know that, when you’re under pressure, you can stay true to yourself. It’s tempting to get pulled off your True North. Some people get pulled off so far, they can never come back. One of them was a colleague of mine, Rajat Gupta, a great leader, who got totally pulled off course because of the pressure. His pressure was to make a lot of money. And so, he got involved in insider trading and went to jail, sadly, for two years.

You’ve just got to stay grounded in who you are. Before you go out and lead, you need to know who you are,

what your principles are in leading, and what beliefs you have. And then, you put those into practice with people.

How does someone come to the realization of what their True North is?

Well, in my book and in all the classes I teach, I actually tell people to first write out what they believe, their True North, and the difficult times, the crucibles that they’ve had. Because when things are going well and you’re not under pressure, it’s easy to follow your values. But what happens if you’re at risk of losing your job? Or losing everything you’ve worked toward? That’s the real test of a leader. Then I would recommend talking with someone, maybe a

spouse, a coach, or a mentor you have. I have a men’s group where we talk it out. We use six-person groups in all my courses to just share openly who you are. And I think because you hear yourself telling your life story, you can be much more honest and open. That other people accept you for who you are and aren’t going to reject you because you did this horrible thing when you were 12 years old.

Could you elaborate on this quote from the book, “First, you have to understand yourself, because the hardest person you will ever have to lead is yourself”?

That’s the self that gets pulled off

because you’re tempted. I got tempted back in my Honeywell days. I was eager to become CEO. I was on that track, trying to grab that brass ring, and I was losing sight of who I was. Finally, one day, I was driving home. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I saw a miserable person. Because I was losing it. And I went home and told my wife, Penny, my greatest supporter. And she said, “Bill, I’ve been trying to tell you this for a year, you just didn’t want to listen.” And she was right. I had turned down Medtronic three times for a job at that point. So, I talked to my men’s group the next morning, and they encouraged me to reopen discussion with Medtronic, which I did. And it’s the best thing I ever did. It opened the door to everything that happened over the 13 years I was there and for the last 20 years since I left. Because that was a company with mission and values, where I could lead with my heart and be who I was. Not just trying to be a numbers guy, to be an automaton, or run a big bureaucracy. But to really get in and create a great organization with great people who are all committed to the same goal of restoring people to full life and health.

How important is accountability in leadership?

In the old days, people didn’t want to admit their mistakes. They were afraid they would be criticized. Today, we say vulnerability is power. When I admit my mistakes, then people that work with me can admit their mistakes, and we can solve problems. If you don’t admit your mistakes, you wind up like Jeff Immelt did, trying to rationalize everything, never building a company, and, in fact, destroying shareholder value at GE.

You have to be willing to admit when you’re going on the wrong track. When you offend someone, you say, “I’m sorry. Can we put our relationship back together?”

That’s your job as a leader – to get out, be open with people, and then encourage them to admit their mistakes. One of the big problems that CEOs have is a lot of them don’t know what’s going on in their company. They spend 68%70% of their time in meetings, and they never get out to their people. If you go out and talk to your people, you’ll know what’s going on. You get out and talk to people in your stores, on the production lines, in your labs, to see what they’re working on. That’s where the action is. It’s not up in some meeting at headquarters looking at statistics.

Your book shares a quote from Howard Schultz: “The reservoir of all my life experiences shaped me as a person and a leader.” Could you elaborate on that?

Howard Schultz is a man who really knows who he is. He grew up in the Bayview housing projects in Brooklyn. He came from very poor circumstances. He’s never forgotten that. He still treasures that. That’s why he treasures every person who comes into a Starbucks store. That’s why he was so shaken when two black men were walked

Jobs, one of the greatest inventors of the former era. He got fired, then actually went out and processed for 5-6 years. He started a company called NeXT, worked at Pixar, and he learned a lot about himself. When he came back, he was a much better leader because he had failed before he learned about himself.

Could you walk us through the journey of “I” to “we”?

We all start out as “I” leaders. When you’re in school, you’re trying to get

How does a leader balance that with being a mensch?

out of a store in Philadelphia because of the color their skin. He said, “That’s not who we are.” He’s tried to live his life story and the crucibles he went through.

I think that’s true for all of us. We’ve got to know and process our own life stories and be proud of them. I spoke with a woman who came from Russia. She’s not proud of what Vladimir Putin is doing. But she’s very proud of being from Russia. She’s an American citizen, as much as I am, but she’s proud of her heritage. Why not? Why shouldn’t we be? America is the great melting pot where people come together. Somebody said it’s more like a mosaic than a melting pot because we all piece together. But if we have diverse people around us, we make better decisions – by having diverse people around us, but also by learning who we are through differences, not sameness. Not by surrounding ourselves with everyone who is the same as us.

Can you talk about turning failures into successes?

When things don’t go your way, that’s where you learn. That’s the greatest learning. We’re all going to get knocked down in life. But you’ve got to pick yourself up off the ground and come back. I think that’s the key. I encourage leaders to get out and take risks. You might fail, but you’ll be a much better leader if you can do that. If you try to be Mr. or Ms. Perfect, it’s simply not going to work. You’ll learn from these failures and come back really strong. Look at Steve

good grades, you’re trying to make it in sports, and it’s more about you. The same is true when you go off to college, or your first job, when you’re an individual contributor and don’t start out, it’s in a big leadership role. I think the key, though, is you have to make that transition to realizing it’s not all about you. It’s all about the people on your team. That’s your job. They’re not there to serve you; you’re there to serve them. Their job is not to help you get ahead, you’re there to help everyone on your team reach their full potential. That’s what a leader does – help everyone on their team reach their full potential. And if you do that, people are going to be very dedicated. They’re going to know you care about them and go on to work with you. Sometimes, you have to challenge them. Other times, you have to help them. But that’s your job as a leader. So, you have to make that “I” to “we” journey, which for many people can take even decades.

I had a colleague, Kevin Sharer, who failed when he left GE and went to MCI, and it was all about Kevin wanting to be CEO. Then he had to leave, and he was miserable. Then, he went out into the wilderness for a while and came back as the understudy CEO of Amgen and became a great CEO of Amgen. He did a fantastic job. But he made that “I” to “we” journey. I think we all have to go through that.

At the end of the day, leaders are judged by their financial results.

Long-term shareholder value, sustainable value, is not created by the CEO and CFO sitting down and figuring out how to manipulate the numbers to get the results that Wall Street wants. That may help you in the short term, but you’ll never sustain it that way. I think the only way to do it is to create greater value for your customers than your competitors do. That’s why Elon Musk creates such great value at Tesla; people love the cars. So, I think that you’ve got to create that value. Now, we need to understand much more deeply what motivates our employees. One thing I can tell you does not motivate your employees is telling them they’ve got to earn $391 a share this quarter. No employee working on a production line, or in a research and development lab, is going to resonate with that. They resonate with creating value for customers. That’s what motivates your employees. That’s why you have superior customer service. That’s why Delta’s customer service is so much better than United’s or American’s. It’s that kind of resonance that motivates your employees and gets them to come up with really innovative ideas and work with their hearts as well as their heads inside the company. So, that’s how you create sustainable shareholder value. That’s what we did at Medtronic. If it’s like General Electric and our mission is making money, no one will resonate with that. That’s why General Electric is basically out of business now. It’s a tragedy. The world’s greatest company is going out of business. That’s what happens if you don’t really focus on all your stakeholders, not just your shareholders of the last five minutes.

“You’re there to help everyone on your team reach their full potential.”

Notable Quotes

“Say What?!”

By-the-book DA confronts unpredictable opponent in Trump

- Headline on Politico referring to Alvin Bragg, who refuses to prosecute even violent crimes in New York City, as a “by-the-book” district attorney

Well, Jared, of course, is the only person I think who has benefitted in the billions – with a “B” –from the Trump presidency. That’s for sure.

- Kellyanne Conway, former senior counselor to Trump and long-time suspected leaker and infighter, on Fox News alleging impropriety by Jared Kushner

The teams in this year’s Final Four are Miami, Florida Atlantic, UConn and San Diego State. Really? The only way your bracket’s got those four teams is if you filled it out this morning.

— Jimmy Fallon

I paid 53% taxes on my Tesla stock options (40% Federal & 13% state), so I must be lifting the average! I also paid more income tax than anyone ever in the history of Earth for 2021 and will do that again in 2022.

– Elon Musk, responding to a tweet by Pres. Joe Biden that billionaires don’t pay enough taxes and should pay at least 25% of what they make to taxes

I’ll be honest, I think two of those teams might just be online universities.

— Ibid.

If you steal property, you must report its FMV (Fair Market Value) in your income in the year you steal it, unless in the same year you return it to its rightful owner.

- Post on the IRS website

You have a cynical public. They don’t believe anyone and when you start to see these prosecutors bring political cases, it just affirms everybody’s cynicism.

- Disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) in an interview with John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 seeming to switch sides from his former anti-Trump position when he represented the left-wing before they discarded him

It feeds the cynicism and that’s the cancer in our body politic right now.

- Ibid.

Time and time again, Trump’s responses have been unhinged, indicative, and self-defeating. And don’t buy for a second when he says he’s “fighting for you.” If you actually “rose up” and were arrested, Trump would abandon you, just as he has every ally who wasn’t useful to him anymore.

What did he do for those locked up for months over Jan. 6? What cash did he hand over for the candidates he endorsed in the recent midterm elections he torpedoed for Republicans?

- Ibid.

So, during Women’s History Month, we celebrate and we honor the women who made history throughout history.

- Vice President Kamala Harris at a White House speech

I’m convinced her speechwriter hates her.

- Tweet by Caroline Hakes

My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband. I eat Jeni’s ice cream — chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream. By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. You think I’m kidding? I’m not.

- President Joe Biden to the press before talking about the horrible school shooting in Nashville that left 7 people dead, including 3 schoolchildren

This is the violent apartheid government of Israel. Don’t look away.

- Tweet by Jew-hater Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who is in the House of Representatives, along with a video of Israeli police breaking up a fight between Palestinian teenagers

Another day, another blatant anti-Israel lie by Rashida Tlaib – and no one in House Democratic Party leadership will hold her accountable.

– Tweet in response by the Republican Jewish Coalition

He’s not always graceful but it’s definitely a unique thing to see.

- Alicen Baran, of Illinois, whose 150-pound black-and-white pig named Norbert rides a skateboard around town

This is something that was given as a gift from G-d. It’s not a personal achievement. I’m blessed that I was chosen to be the person with the longest beard. As Sikhs, we all keep the beard and we grow it and comb it and go through the daily routines, but I feel lucky that I’m the one that has the longest beard.

It’s not gonna end nicely. His end will not be a calm and quiet conclusion.

- Sarwan Singh of Surrey, British Columbia, who broke his own Guinness World Record and now has the world’s longest beard – 8 feet and 3 inches long

- Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in New Hampshire talking about his former friend and now enemy Donald Trump

- Editorial in the New York Post which supported Trump in the last two elections

Biden Moves To Undo Trump’s Political Play on the Space Command

By David Ignatius

The aftershocks from Donald Trump’s presidency reach even to outer space, but the Biden administration is quietly moving to repair one piece of the damage that could affect national security.

The White House appears ready to reverse a Trump administration plan to relocate the U.S. Space Command from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Ala., because it fears the transfer would disrupt operations at a time when space is increasingly important to the military.

The Space Command siting decision has been a political football for the past four years. Trump made the decision on January 11, 2021, five days after the chaos at the U.S. Capitol. He had said earlier that he wouldn’t decide until he knew the 2020 election results, “to see how it turns out.” Colorado voted against him, while Alabama gave him strong support and its representatives backed his claim he had won.

Senior military officials argued from the start for remaining in Colorado Springs, where the Space Command and its predecessors have been based for decades, and the Biden administration seems finally to be nearing the same conclusion. “We share the concerns of some military leaders about potential disruption of space operations at a critical moment for our national security,” a White House official said this week.

An initial review last year of the Huntsville decision by the Biden Defense Department’s inspector general found it “lawful” and “reasonable,” and the Government Accountability Office said last year that the Air Force had “largely followed” the normal base-location process. But in December 2022, the White House requested “a review of the review,” the official said, because of concerns that the relocation would mean a protracted delay in settling the Space Com-

mand in a new location.

“We’re doing some additional analysis; we want to make very sure we get this right,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told the Air and Aerospace Association on March 7.

Trump’s treatment of the issue had a political edge all along, according to John Suthers, the Republican mayor of Colorado Springs. He told me in an interview, confirming details of a letter he had written this month to Kendall, that Trump told him in spring 2019, when the Air Force was preparing its list of six finalists for the command headquarters, that he would make the decision “personally.”

Trump spoke with Suthers about the decision a second time in February 2020. When the mayor pitched Colorado Springs, Trump asked if he was a Republican. When Suthers answered yes, Trump asked what his prospects were of his winning Colorado. Suthers told me that when he answered “uncertain,” Trump seemed “perturbed.” Trump then declared that he would make the choice after the 2020 election. “I want to see how it turns out,” Trump explained, according to Suthers.

When Trump gathered his advisers at the White House on January 11, 2021, the senior military official present was Air Force Gen. John Hyten, a former head of the Space Command. He told me in an email: “When asked, I provided my best military advice[,] which was counter to the [Air Force] recommendation of Huntsville. I recommended Colorado Springs. My rationale was that the threat, primarily China, demanded that we move as fast as possible to reach full operational capability and that we could do that in Colorado much quicker than in Alabama.”

This same recommendation was made by two other top military space officials, Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, the Space Force chief, and Army Gen. James Dickinson, who headed the Space Command, according to the GAO report.

A late entrant in this political fracas was Florida, which argued that the Space Command should move to Patrick Space Force Base near Cape Canaveral. “What about Florida?” Trump demanded at the meeting, according to then-acting defense secretary Christopher Miller, who was present. Miller told me that he and oth-

ers warned Trump against that, citing the frequency of hurricanes and other factors. Miller said that the rejection of Florida was conveyed by his chief of staff, Kash Patel, to that state’s advocates, led by its Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.

Rep. Mo Brooks made one of the earliest announcements of Trump’s selection of the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. Brooks, who represents the area, was one of the leading GOP congressional apologists for the January 6 riot, arguing falsely in a tweet the next day: “Evidence growing that fascist ANTIFA orchestrated Capitol attack with clever mob control tactics.”

Some observers saw Brooks’ Huntsville advocacy as crucial. “But for Mo Brooks, the Space Command would not have been at Redstone Arsenal. I want to emphasize though that it’s a team effort,” said Rep. Brian Babin, R-Tex. A January 13, 2021, story in Axios noted that “two of Trump’s staunchest backers in Congress, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Mo Brooks, used their strong personal relationships with the president” to advocate for Huntsville.

Trump emphatically took personal political credit for steering the Space Command toward a friendly state. “I single-handedly said, ‘Let’s go to Alabama,’” he told the hosts of “Rick and Bubba,” a Birmingham-based radio show. “They wanted it. I said, ‘Let’s go to Alabama.’ I love Alabama.’”

Trump’s long shadow reaches to some unlikely places, but few as important as the prompt establishment of the Space Command headquarters. President Joe Biden is right to listen to the generals on this one and keep the locus of space operations where it is.

(c) 2023, Washington Post Writers Group

20 Years On, I Don’t Regret Supporting the Iraq War

By Bret Stephens

Of those who supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq 20 years ago — not just warmongering neocons like yours truly but also plenty of liberals, such as the current president of the United States — most have disavowed it.

A few of the arguments for doing so are strong. Others, I think, are wrong. And one is dangerous, in ways that misshape our foreign policy debates today.

Among the strong arguments, one is especially compelling to me. If nearly every U.S. government bureaucracy is slow, wasteful, and frequently incompetent in America, how much more so would it be in a country as distant and complex as Iraq?

The problem in Iraq wasn’t simply a matter of faulty decisions, of which — as in every war — there were many. It was of faulty systems. Around the 10th anniversary of the invasion, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction painted a devastating picture of our efforts. Billions of dollars were wasted on projects that were rarely, if ever, completed. Uncle Sam, whose cruise missiles could destroy Iraqi targets with astounding precision, couldn’t keep the lights on in Baghdad.

Bottom line: Nation-building may have been something Washington could do in 1945 in places like Japan, under leaders like Douglas MacArthur. A core lesson of the Iraq War is that we shouldn’t trust ourselves to try it again. We do better as a cop than as a savior.

Those are arguments about the aftermath of the war. What about its conception?

The strongest case against invasion, other than the inevitable and tragic toll in lives, is that it would merely empower Iran. That was the private view of several Israeli policymakers I spoke with at the time, when I was editor of The Jerusalem Post.

But the case looks shaky on closer inspection. Nobody on either side of the debate over the invasion was seriously in

favor of strengthening Saddam Hussein as a counterweight to Tehran, as some were in the 1980s. On the contrary, many opponents of the invasion wanted to continue to weaken him through sanctions, in the hopes that his regime would eventually collapse. That, too, would ultimately have benefited Tehran.

If anything, the invasion of Iraq appears to have prompted Iran to shutter its illicit nuclear program out of fear of American power, at least for a time. It also got Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi to come clean on his own secret nuclear program — oddly, but not trivially, the most important anti-proliferation achievement of the war.

Then there are the weak arguments.

One is that, in failing to adequately anticipate the insurgency that followed the invasion, the U.S. bears the brunt of moral blame for the misery Iraqis endured. In fact, Iraqis suffered horrifically under Hussein and suffered horrifically under the insurgency, and the force that destroyed both was the U.S. military, with tremendous sacrifices by Iraqi security forces. American troops help Iraqis do so against the Islamic State group to this day. Their courage and sacrifice should be saluted, not disparaged.

Another weak argument is that Iraq under Hussein wasn’t a serious geopolitical threat, no matter how badly his forces were damaged in 1991. This ignores the horrors of the Iran-Iraq war, the rape of Kuwait, the Persian Gulf war, the Scud missile attacks on Israel and the Kurdish refugee crisis, to say nothing of his genocidal assaults on his own people. Hussein also repeatedly made real bids to acquire nuclear weapons, which were stopped only by an Israeli military strike in 1981 and by U.S. attacks and U.N. inspections during and after the Persian Gulf war. In 1998, the Clinton administration launched four days of strikes against Iraq, with the explicit intention of degrading Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction capabilities.

But if there was one indisputably real WMD in Iraq, it was Hussein himself. Until his downfall, he put everyone and everything he encountered at risk.

Then there was the argument that we could have contained Hussein indefinitely through sanctions and other means. Maybe in theory, but not in practice. The human misery caused by the sanctions against Iraq had become a fervent global cause by the late 1990s. They were internationally unsustainable. They were also

easily flouted for the regime’s benefit, as the U.N.’s oil-for-food scandal laid bare.

Ultimately, the choice for the United States and our allies in early 2003 wasn’t invasion or containment. It was invasion or, over time, the quasi-rehabilitation of Hussein’s Iraq. This was a Hussein that, as the Duelfer report on Iraq’s WMD noted in 2004, “wanted to recreate Iraq’s WMD capability — which was essentially destroyed after 1991 — after sanctions were removed and Iraq’s economy stabilized.”

Finally, there is the argument that George W. Bush and his administration lied about the intelligence. I think they sincerely believed the (mis)judgments of the CIA, which, as the bipartisan Robb-Silberman report concluded, sincerely believed in them itself. “The intelligence community was dead wrong in almost all of its prewar judgments about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction,” the report noted. But it “was what they believed.” The consequences of this confusion are dangerous.

Critics of the war now make the point that the intelligence fiasco wrecked America’s credibility. It’s true. But no less damaging was the never-ending “Bush lied” charge that, 10 years later, morphed into the “Obama lied” charge when it came to Bashar Assad’s use of chemical weapons in Syria or the suggestion that President Joe Biden is lying about last year’s sabotage of the Nordstream pipeline. One conspiracy theory tends to beget another, in ways that are destructive to all sides.

Readers will want to know whether, knowing what I know now, I would still have supported the decision to invade. Not for the reasons given at the time. Not in the way we did it. But on the baseline question of whether Iraq, the Middle East, and the world are better off for having gotten rid of a dangerous tyrant, my answer remains yes.

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New to the market! Move right into this magnificent home with a state of the art kitchen with 2 sinks, 2 dishwashers, 2 microwaves, double oven, stainless steel appliances, large island radiant heat, master bedroom suite on the 1st floor with 2 additional bedrooms and bathroom, main floor family room, upstairs has an additional 2 bedrooms and a full bathroom, parl-like property close to all. Open House Sunday April 2 1:00-2:30pm 480 Arlington rd Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

NORTH WOODMERE

For sale by owner. Beautiful, spacious hi ranch with 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, D/R, L/R, kitchen, and large den. 2 zone gas heat, central a/c, hardwood floors. Possible mother/ daughter or home office with separate entrance. Low taxes, no Sandy damage. Walk to shul. Call or text 516.413.4218

WOODMERE

Charming Colonial on beautiful tree lined street in the heart of Old Woodmere. Home features 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, kitchen, dining area, living room, full basement. Relatively new heating system + hot water tank. Large & beautiful backyard. Great for entertaining. Close to all. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Beautiful, brick, colonial boasting 5 bdr 3.5 Bth in pristine condition. Excellent location, near all! Move right in! RCUSA 516-512-9626

HEWLETT BAY PARK

Prestigious Center-Hall Colonial in Hewlett Bay Park, Set Back on Private Property. This Stately Home Features a Grand Entry Foyer, Formal Living Room, Formal Dining Room, Chef’s Kitchen, Large Den, Master Bedroom suite with Sitting Room + 2 Baths (His & Hers) and Loft and Additional 3 Bedrooms + Bonus Rooms. Exquisitely Manicured Park-like property. Award Winning School District #14. Too Many Features To List. Will Not Last!

P.O.R. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

FAR ROCKAWAY REDUCED! Moller Realty Group

Corner Lot for Sale. 40x100. Approved Plans. Legal 2 Family. Asking $499k *Adjacent lot with existing legal 2 also available Both lots Asking 1.4m Motivated Seller Call or Text 516-506-3347

WOODMERE

Move right in. 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms split level. Features eat-in-kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, formal living room and dining room, main floor family room with fireplace, 2 master bedrooms with full bathrooms, central a/c, gas, heat, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, cedar closet, sauna, generator and much more. $1,115,000. Open House

SUNDAY, APRIL 2 - 12:00-4:00PM

566 Norman Way. Mark Lipner

Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Move Right In. Renovated 8 Bedroom Colonial, Prime Location in SD#14Old Woodmere. Smart Home, Camera System, New CAC System, AG Pool, Large Eat-in Kitchen with Pantry. Finished Basement. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HOUSE FOR RENT

WOODMERE HOUSE RENTAL

Lovely Split Level on Quiet Residential Tree Lined Street. Huge Park-like Property. Four Bedrooms, Two Full Baths, deck & playroom. Close to all. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

APT. FOR RENT

WOODMERE

Big fully renovated, spacious 4bedroom 2 full bath split level.2 car garage +driveway. Backyard on water SD#14. W&D. Tons of storage space. 917-324-9292

APT FOR RENT

2 bedroom spacious apartment fully renovated. Separate entrance & utilities. Water view, walking to shul & shopping. On the lake.  347-517-3552

CEDARHURST MOVE RIGHT IN.

Totally Updated One Bedroom Townhouse Apartment on the First Floor. Featuring 1.5 Bathrooms, Central Air Conditioning, Washer/ Dryer in the Unit, Kitchen With SS Appliances, Hardwood Floors, and Recessed Lighting. Freshly Painted. Super on Premises. Underground Parking is $95/month. This spacious rental is managed by a responsible landlord. Great Courtyard. Close to the Railroad, Shopping, Restaurants, Post Office, Cedarhurst Park + Houses of Worship. NO BROKERS FEE Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODSBURGH

Magnificent 2K Sq. Ft. Co-Op. 3Br/2Bth, Eik, Lr, Dr, W/D In Unit, Gar, 2 Stor Units, Elev, Near All $775K 516-846-1032 No Brokers

LAWRENCE

Spacious 2BR, 2 Full Bath Apt with an enclosed terrace in the heart of Lawrence. Well maintained & manicured building. New hardwood floors, updated Eat-in Kitchen with gas stove. warming draw, dishwasher & microwave. New windows on the enclosed terrace & one of the bedrooms. 3 New A/C Units & New Refrigerator. Close to shopping, transportation, library, schools, and houses of worship. $339K

284CENTRAL AVE B-5 Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-2988457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CEDARHURST

Move Right In. Totally updated 2BR, 2 Bath, Apt. on the 1st Floor. Private Entrance, CAC, W/D in Unit, Kitchen with SS Appliances, Hardwood Floors, Recessed Lighting, Freshly Painted, Great Courtyard, Parking $95/Mo. Close to Railroad, Shopping, Restaurants, Cedarhurst Park + Houses of Worship NO

BROKERS FEE Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

One Bedroom Renovated Apartment In Prime Lawrence. Efficiency Kitchen, Renovated Bathroom. Sunken LR, Dining Room, Close to All, Transportation, Shopping, Worship. $275k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

Spacious 2BR, 2 Full Bath Apt with an enclosed terrace in the heart of Lawrence. Well maintained & manicured building. New hardwood floors, updated Eat-in Kitchen with gas stove. warming draw, dishwasher & microwave. New windows on the enclosed terrace & one of the bedrooms. 3 New A/C Units & New Refrigerator. Close to shopping, transportation, library, schools, and houses of worship. $339K Mark Lipner

Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HEWLETT

3 bedroom 2 bath co-op with central air conditioning, terrace, washer dryer, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, magnificent kitchens, ss appliances, l/r, d/r, close to the railroad, shopping, and houses of worship. $319k

1201 EAST BROADWAY H-23Mark

Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE JUST LISTED

This amazing two-bedroom two full bathroom condo Features a luxurious lifestyle in the beautiful city of Lawrence. What more could you ask for? The building has a 24-hour doorman and elevator access, with a social room, library, washer/dryer inside the unit, and terrace. Plus, the added benefit of having a live-in super to ensure maximum safety and security! And don’t forget about your new kitchen complete with a gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, and even two dishwashers! The living room and dining room are spacious and have recessed lighting installed throughout. Both bedrooms feature lots of closet space for storage. To top it off, there’s even garage parking available to make your life just that much easier! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Please call for a private showing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-2988457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HELP WANTED APT./COOP/CONDO SALE APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

HEWLETT

Totally renovated 1 and 2 Bedroom, Apartments with washer/dryer, kitchen with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances. Recessed lighting, hardwood floors, storage in basement. Close to RR, shopping, and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HEWLETT

Hewlett House 1 Bedroom Co-op. Unit Includes 1 Parking Spot + Storage Unit, W/D Outside of Unit. Close to Shopping, Schools, Houses of Worship, Restaurants + Parks.

Prime Location in the Heart of Hewlett. $109k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CEDARHURST

1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, totally renovated private entrance , central air conditioning, hardwood floors, washer/dryer, garage parking, dishwasher, recessed lighting, private playground, close to railroad, park, shopping and houses of worship. Call for more details

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457  mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

1 bedroom apartment, elevator building, eat-in kitchen, full bath, hardwood floors, plenty of closet space. Ceiling fan in bedroom & kitchen, laundry room in the basement. Close to the railroad, shopping, and houses of worship

$168k Mark Lipner Associate

Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Totally renovated bright and sunny 1 bedroom corner unit apartment with a washer/dryer. Features quartz countertops, ss appliances, recessed lighting, bathroom with chrome fixtures, close to the railroads, shopping and houses of worship. Call for details Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Move right in!! 2 Bedroom Apartment, Elevator Bldg in SD #14, Pre War Bldg, Pet Friendly, Laundry Room in Basement, Wood Floors, New Windows, Corner Apartment, Beautiful Renovated Kitchen w/SS Appliances, 3 A/C Units, Close to RR, Shopping & Houses of Worship. A must-see! $199k

HELP WANTED BOOKKEEPER

Excellent growth potential, Frum environment, Excellent salary & benefits. Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com

REBBEIM TEACHERS & ASSISTANTS

CAHAL is hiring Special Ed Rebbeim, Teachers and Assistant Teachers for 2023-24 school year. AM or PM, FT or PT. E-mail resume to shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666 for information.

SEEKING ELA TEACHER

Immediate opening. ELA teaching position for Gr. 5. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Competitive salary, warm, supportive environment. All teaching materials provided. Teachersearch11@gmail.com.

A YESHIVA IN QUEENS

is looking for an experienced part/ full time secretary, 2-year-old morah, kindergarten morah, kindergarten morah assistant and Pre-1A English teacher for the 2022-2023 school year. Nice and timely pay. Please email resume to mshelt613@gmail.com or call/text 718-971-9799.

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

Lg Flr Fdnr Huge Den, EIK, Mudrm, + 4 Bdrms 2 Bths on Second Flr, Beautiful Wrap Around Property, $1.690M

Col. with 2 Story Entry 9 ft Ceilings, 14 Zone Heat which Light Throughout, Flr Fdnr, Magni cent Chefs Eik with High End Appliances,

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

MDS REGIONAL NURSE:

5 Towns area Nursing Home management office seeking a Regional/Corporate level MDS Nurse to work in our office. Must be an RN. Regional experience preferred. 2-3 years MDS experience with good computer skills required. Position is Full Time but Part Time can be considered. Great Shomer Shabbos environment with some remote options as well. Email: officejob2019@gmail.com

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT

A multi-tasker needed for general office work. The ideal candidate is someone who is detail-oriented, responsible, and can take ownership. Looking for someone who is eager to learn, and expand his/her skill set while possessing the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Experience with Excel required. Five Towns location. In-office position only, not remote. Please send resume to 5tpart.timecareer@gmail.com

CONTROLLER

Large Not for Profit Organization is looking for a Controller who can Manage the monthly financial close, including reconciliations of revenue and expense accounts, investment activities, fixed assets, accruals, ongoing variance, payroll, and benefits analysis. Manage and comply with all local, state, and federal government accounting and reporting requirements. Salary range $120k-$160k

Respond to Jobs@hcsny.org

YESHIVA ATERES EITZ CHAIM

Boys HS Cedarhurst, seeking GS teacher for afternoons, M-TH. Warm and supportive environment. Competitive salary based on experience. Please email resume to aecrabbioppen@gmail.com.

IMMEDIATE OPENING

ELA teaching position for Gr. 5. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Competitive salary, warm supportive environment. Teachersearch11@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

Reach Your Target Market

COM HAB/ RESPITE SERVICES

Nechama is a High Functioning

24 Year Old Female that lives in Far Rockaway near Dinsmore Ave, who has experience working with children, is looking for a frum young mother, who lives in Far Rockaway area to provide Com Hab and/or Respite Services for her, in order for this individual to learn how to manage a household i.e., learning cooking skills, organizational skills etc… This individual is available from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm Monday through Thursday, including Sundays. Jobs@hcsny.org

Classifieds

The Incredible Recipients of the Navy Cross

By Avi Heiligman

For many centuries, militaries around the world have awarded medals, ribbons and decorations to those that served with distinction and bravery on the battlefield. Over a hundred years ago, the Navy Cross was instituted by an act of Congress to award those in the naval service who distinguished themselves with extraordinary heroism. The first recipients were awarded the medal for their service during World War I, and in 1942, Congress made the Navy Cross eligible only for combat recognition. Today, it is the second highest military decoration for sailors and marines after the Medal of Honor. Here are some of the incredible stories of those awarded the Navy Cross.

The Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) flying off of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet became famous for their sacrifice during the Battle of Midway. Lieutenant Commander John Waldron from South Dakota led fifteen Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bombers to search for enemy ships on June 4, 1942. The squadron was unescorted by fighter planes, and Devastator torpedo bombers were obsolete in the face of Japanese fighters and anti-aircraft fire. Waldron found the enemy aircraft carriers, but the American planes were no match for the Japanese Zeros. All fifteen planes were shot down with only Ensign George Gay surviving the action. Other American planes

went on the attack, and soon four Japanese carriers were at the bottom of the ocean. For his actions, Waldron posthumously received the Navy Cross and the destroyer, USS Waldron (DD-699), was named after the naval aviator.

Not all of VT-8 was present on the Hornet at Midway, as some fliers were being refitted with the new Grumman TBF-1 Avenger torpedo bomber. Five of these planes were also shot down during the Battle of Midway. The rest of the squadron’s detachment was in Pearl Harbor during the battle and were sent to the carrier USS Saratoga. These planes were now the reconstituted VT-8. Jewish Ensign Aaron Katz from Shaker Heights, Ohio, was part of this detachment and was noted for bravery while flying off the Saratoga. Despite having to endure his commander’s anti-Semitic rhetoric and insults, Katz became one of the squadron’s best pilots.

On August 24, 1942, VT-8 assisted in sinking a Japanese light carrier during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons. Katz’s Navy Cross citation reads in part, “Ensign Katz pressed home his attack through a bursting hail of fire from hostile anti-aircraft batteries. He contributed to the relentless fighting spirit and aggressive courage which enabled his squadron to score one certain hit and two estimated hits on an enemy aircraft carrier. His superb airmanship and

unyielding devotion to duty aided greatly in the defeat of a persistent foe.”

After the Saratoga was torpedoed, the squadron was stationed at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal and often operated only one plane at a time due to maintenance issues. They were vital in fending off Japanese attacks. The Squadron was disbanded when it returned to the United States.

Aaron Katz wasn’t the only the Jewish serviceman to receive the Navy Cross for actions on August 24, 1942. The 1st Marine Division under Major General Alexander Vandergrift had been in a tough fight with the Japanese fighting on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. The tropical jungles proved to be a tough learning ground for the previously untested marines. Even though the marines were low on supplies, including food and medical supplies, they had captured the valuable Henderson Field airfield and were determined to keep it at all costs.

Private First Class Jack Sugarman and the rest of Company D, First Battalion, Seventh Marines, 1st Marine Division were defending the airfield in a foxhole the night of August 24. Born in Media, Pennsylvania, Sugarman was a member of the Marine Corps Reserve, and he was assigned to a four-man machine gun unit. The small group was facing a numerically superior enemy. The Japanese attacked in a mass

head-on assault, and Sugarman and the other three marines had to deal with their malfunctioning machine gun. It had to be repaired four times all while being subjected to intense enemy gunfire. Another member of his unit, Edmund D’Orsogna, recalled the fight that night: “They kept coming all night with bombs … flares … everything. Men were getting shot, blown apart, all over the place. In the morning, reinforcements finally arrived, allowing us to rest. Other than the machine gun jamming a few times, we held our own.”

Sugarman’s actions that night saved the lives of nine officers and marines, and he is credited with many of the 165 Japanese soldiers killed during the assault. In addition, the position and the airfield were kept in American hands, and for his actions, Sugarman received the Navy Cross.

These men are just a few of the many who were decorated for bravery in battle. Their Navy Cross medals are a testament of their heroics on the battlefield, and while they are rarely talked about today, their stories is history not be forgotten.

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

The USS Saratoga

Members of the Torpedo Squadron 8

Lt. John Waldon, right, with his back-seater in a photo taken before the Battle of Midway

Considering how much Americans think about retirement, it’s sometimes hard to realize what a new concept that phase of life really is. It wasn’t too long ago that you worked right up until you died. Or, if you were lucky, you took good care of your kids at the beginning of their lives – then you sent them off to work in the coal mine or bobbin factory at age eight and hoped they would return the favor for a couple of years at the end of yours.

Today, Americans who want to spend retirement playing in the Florida sun instead of clipping supermarket coupons face a decades-long challenge. How do you cobble together an adequate income from the three-legged stool of social security, employer-sponsored pensions, and personal savings? Some succeed; others fail. Most manage to somehow muddle through. (As the Greek philosopher Mediocrates once said, “Ehhhh . . . that’s good enough.”)

Americans aren’t alone in struggling with how to support our seniors after their working years. Right now, France is torn over pension benefits, and taxes play a big part in that debate.

France currently has 42 different retirement systems tied to different companies, unions, and professions. What they

Quelle Horreur!

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

all have in common are pay-as-you-go financing and generous benefits, with an average “replacement ratio” of 74%. (Social Security pays 51%.) It’s expensive –France spends 14% of its gross domestic product on pensions. (It’s 6.4% here.) And the statutory retirement age is just 62, which leaves retirees with decades to en-

sleight-of-hand to push it through without a vote. Protestors flooded the Place de la Concorde, where Marie Antoinette said, “Let them have their cake and eat it, too,” before she lost her head. French police have made hundreds of arrests, and Macron’s polling numbers have dropped below Pepe LePew’s, oops.

to go higher. In fact, French tax collectors have started using artificial intelligence to scan open-source satellite images to catch homeowners who don’t pay property taxes on backyard pools – which sounds like the tax collector’s equivalent of scrounging cushions for spare change.

Back here in the U.S., taxes play a huge role in retirement planning. Should you stuff your savings into tax-deferred accounts and hope you’ll be paying less when you take them out decades from now? Or should you choose a Roth alternative and pay now to avoid a bigger hit later? Will this year’s choice still be right next year? How optimistic are you that the next pandemic won’t turn us all into zombies and make the whole question moot?

joy le Beaujolais nouveau and les croque monsieurs. They’ve even got pickleball!

Here’s the problem. The population in France, like populations everywhere, is getting older. In 2020, there were 1.7 workers paying into the system for every retiree getting benefits; by 2070, there will be only 1.2 paying in. President Emmanuel Macron has long favored raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. Last week, he used some constitutional

French unions seem open to simplifying the system so long as benefits don’t take a hit. They would rather see the government raise the social charges that finance pensions or income taxes on wealthy households. Right now, the social charge is 9.7% on salaries and 17.2% on investments. And the top tax rate is 45% on income over €157,807, or roughly $168,000. Those rates are already high enough that Macron’s party is reluctant

This time of year, millions of Americans put more planning into their March Madness brackets than they do into their retirement. If you’re one of them, call us before your #1 seed, “retiring in style,” gets upset! We promise not to judge.

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.

The statutory retirement age is just 62, which leaves retirees with decades to enjoy le Beaujolais nouveau and les croque monsieurs . They’ve even got pickleball!

It used to be peanut butter and jelly. Now it’s portobello and pesto. These are the popular sandwiches these days.

Sandwiches are a neat easy way to avoid utensils.

Or a way to limit your bread intake to just two slices.

Don’t you just love when you decide to watch what you eat and then you go to a restaurant?

There, they automatically and generously mess you up. They put a yummy basket of hot bread on the table with your name written in large letters. At least that’s what it feels like.

And then that place beside it a delicious garlic and oil dip. Can you possibly ignore it? Can you ever limit yourself to just two pieces?

Alas, the sandwich! Your savior.

Sandwiches can also be a great day trip item. But what to put inside may be where you hit your challenge!

Just think about that yummy tuna sandwich, dripping with just the right amount of mayo. Then adorned with your favorite vegetables. But is it situa-

Man Does Not Live By Bread Alone

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

tion appropriate? Can you imagine taking it on the plane? The looks you’d get. If you took it out to eat it, you’d probably be hung out on the wing by your neighbor. This is certainly not a close quarters sandwich.

There, of course, is always the trusty

for a kid. It wouldn’t even enter their minds to finish it. They seem to consider most of it as just a handle to hold it by. Three bites in, and they are done!

Sandwiches are much less heavy for kids. By the time you finish cutting off the crust that they don’t even want to

And so far, no one has come up with a matzah sandwich that trumps a bread one.

Since we ate matzah as slaves, we eat matzah as free men and women to flip the association and to remember also not to get all puffed up. During the matzah days, we remember to remain humble and appreciative.

And when we are good with that message, and we’ve inculcated it into our psyche, then we can humbly return to enjoying a nice whole grain with portobello and pesto – or however you want to slice it!

bagel. That can be safe because you can fill it with simple cream cheese. But definitely hold the lox for tight seating arrangements.

The only problem with bagels is, dough for dough, bagels are the most dense and caloric sandwiches and therefore not your first choice for a light lunch.

Of course, they are never a bad idea

see a trace of, there’s very little they have to navigate and finish.

I know salads are the big things for adults these days, but with lighter and healthier breads available, sandwiches are making a bit of a comeback.

So enjoy your last few bites of bread, whatever you’re filling it with, because the matzah-remembering days are on their way.

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship 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 rivkirosenwald@gmail.com.

If you took it out to eat it, you’d probably be hung out on the wing by your neighbor.