Five Towns Jewish Home 4.27.23

Dear Readers,

“Busha! Busha!” were the words that rang through the halls on Thursday at the World Zionist Congress. Those on the left were expressing their dismay that things weren’t going their way.

But perhaps those words could be used to sum up this year’s Congress: Shame! Shame!

The World Zionist Congress was established more than 100 years ago to promote and advance the ideals of Zionism. But it seems that many on the left have conveniently forgotten that core principle. Instead, they are focused on advancing their liberal agendas, inserting their woke ideals into resolutions that they hope will form policy in the Holy Land.

This year’s Congress was an “Extraordinary” Congress. Because elections were held in 2020 and an online vote on resolutions took place at that time as well, there was no real need for resolutions at this year’s convention. This year’s Congress should have merely been a venue for delegates to meet with each other and hear more about the WZO’s activities and programs.

But some groups attempted to hijack this Congress by forcing through their agendas. They wanted to use the Congress to promote their crooked values and their beliefs.

Eretz Hakodesh, the charedi slate I represent, was created to ensure that values that are antithesis to the kedusha of Eretz Yisroel are exposed for what they are and are defeated. Regardless of how much good the Eretz Hakodesh slate can help to sustain in Israel with its influence in the Zionist Congress, if power is also given to the groups on the liberal left, our influence would be worthless.

Indeed, the “sur mei’rah,” the removal of the immoral and corrupt, is even more important than the “aseh tov,” perpetuating the good.

And so, at this year’s Congress, when Eretz Hakodesh and other like-minded slates saw how the left was forcing through resolutions that included recognition of Reform and Conservatives conversions and the promotion of those who live alternative lifestyles, they realized they had to act. Invoking a clause that required a name-by-name vote of each resolution, the right-wing slates also ensured that voting would be honest and that delegates would need to be present during the vote.

The name-by-name vote would have resulted in many hours of voting. But sitting in a room hour after hour while ensuring that the Holy Land would remain holy would have been worth it.

The left, though, crying, “Busha! Busha!” wouldn’t accept this clause. As such, there was no vote at this year’s World Zionist Congress.

As a proud member of the Eretz Hakodesh slate, I knew that our side emerged victorious. We proudly and publicly upheld the values of Torah.

But I walked away with mixed feelings. Despite the “victory,” I wasn’t exultant. Instead, mixed with the feelings of success was a sadness for what our nation has become. As an American, I don’t always see the powers on the left actively trying to change Israel into their ideal woke nation. But this time, I was privy to those forces. I saw firsthand how their focus is not on the Torah or on conservative values. Instead, their drive is to shape the Jewish state into something that doesn’t resemble anything to do with Judaism. Their values are in direct contrast to Torah-true ideals. They want to trample on what we hold dear.

And for that, I say, “Busha! Busha!” Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Shabbos Zemanim

Friday, April 28

Parshas Acharei Mos/Kedoshim

Candle Lighting: 7:29 pm

Shabbos Ends: 8:34 pm

Rabbeinu Tam: 9:01 pm

Dear Editor,

Sometimes you want to listen to someone with such versality and range that he can show you just how far knowledge and genius can go. One such figure is Rabbi Gershon Ribner from Lakewood whose analysis of Torah has no limitations. He can also speak on any question and topic with fluency.

As is customary, when you find people on such a level, they carry themselves like ordinary people. Indeed, the true talmid chacham always lives with softness and an inner humility, always a way to test whether someone is a real giant or not.

He’s the son-in-law of Rabbi Schneur Kotler, zt”l. He shared a story about his father-in-law that gives insight into the kind of person his father-in-law was and how Rabbi Ribner became who he was. He said that when his father-in-law would collect tzedaka for his yeshiva, if a potential patron said he wanted the money to go to a different yeshiva, Rabbi Schneur Kotler, zt”l, would encourage this patronage and pass it onto that institution. Also, if he felt a talmid would be better off in another yeshiva, he advocated for that talmid to get in. It wasn’t about whether he got the money or whether he retained the talmid but rather whether the proper result occurred. It’s no coincidence that Rabbi Ribner’s Torah has become accepted by all, as he was taught from someone who was looking out for all.

Steven Genack

Dear Editor,

Politically correct liberal ”Birds of a Feather” flock together. First, Vice President Kamala Harris flies to Memphis, Tennessee, in a show of sol-

idarity to meet with state representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson. All three participated in a demonstration promoting gun control in the Tennessee legislative chamber disrupting proceedings to protest the school shootings. While in town, Harris could not find time to meet with the two brave police officers who shot and killed the school shooter, saving many more lives. She was too busy to meet with the families who lost loved ones or other victims. Not to be outdone, now we have President Biden inviting the same three legislators to the White House. No invitations for families who lost loved ones, two brave police officers or any of the families of shooting victims. What a sad commentary on the moral bankruptcy of both Biden and Harris. Americans deserves better.

Sincerely,

Larry Penner, Great Neck, NY

Dear Editor,

I had mixed feelings while reading your article on the Israeli veteran this week. On the one hand, we needed all our valiant soldiers to fight for our state. They did so bravely and with complete belief in the supremacy of the need of a Jewish country. But on the other hand, to read of the in-fighting was terribly hurtful.

I find that we have the same conundrum in Israel today. There is so much good being done, so much that’s needed to be accomplished, and yet, there are times when my heart hurts reading about the infighting and conflict between brothers.

Continued on page 10

Continued from page 8

I only hope that someday soon we will see past our differences and love each other because we are brothers – regardless of what may separate us.

Avi Bernfeld

Dear Editor,

Your article on Micha Netzer was so poignant and portrayed the bravery and determination that these young soldiers had in defending the state. I wish there was a way we could all express our utmost appreciation and gratitude for those who fought for our nation – both those who sadly lost their lives and those who managed to stay alive.

We owe them all tremendous debts of gratitude.

Rachel Perl

Dear Editor,

Last week, we commemorated Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Avi Heiligman for his insightful articles on the forgotten heroes of World War II. Of course, it is Hashem who is the Master of Wars. In the Purim story, Hashem put incidences together. Writers of history will say that the events are lucky or mistakes. But the events are produced by Hashem. Through all the events that seem so negative, Hashem will always leave a hint of hope.

The world was a different place almost a century ago. A study made six months after the war brought to light some of the problems that existed in intelligence work in 1941. There were only a few people in the U. S. intelligence community who knew the Japanese language. As a result, they were always behind in trying to keep up with and interpret the constant flow of information. Much of it was trivial. The army and navy listened to radio chatter but did not coordinate with each other and with Washington. After Pearl Harbor, they realized that the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack plans were broken up, like a puzzle, and placed amid other communications. In 1941, there were no phone lines to Hawaii. Messages had to be sent by Western Union and delivered to the naval office by motorcycle. To add to the negative coincidences, the naval base thought that the oncoming enemy planes were American planes. They had been promised more planes.

In this case, the Americans were lucky that as Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, all three of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s aircraft carriers were out at sea and escaped unharmed. There were similar mistakes made

by the Allies throughout the war. Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of Britain, made a deal with Hitler, allowing Hitler to take a piece of Czechoslovakia for “peace in our time.” This act destroyed any chance for some resistance to go against Hitler inside Germany.

Churchill was then appointed the new Prime Minister. A writer about that time in history wrote, “If Lord Halifax had been appointed as Prime Minister instead of Churchill, we would all be speaking German now.” A message from Hashem.

After Poland was captured, the French and British soldiers spent nine months inside the protective Maginot Line, doing nothing. Hitler took his tanks around the protective line. The relatively strong France quickly collapsed.

Hashem’s hand saved the situation through the evacuation of Dunkirk. This was not a victory, but many lives were saved, and it was a morale boost for Britain. It gave them the courage to keep fighting.

In 1941, Stalin was warned in many ways that Hitler would attack, but Stalin refused to believe this information. For five months, it looked like Hitler would succeed in Russia.

In this case, Hashem stepped in with real “climate change.” The German Army was halted at the gates of Moscow by extremely cold weather. By coincidence, this happened the week that Pearl Harbor was attacked. Russia was now able to use Siberian trained soldiers to fight the Germans.

Through all of these events, it was always a war against the Jews. Unfortunately, when Hitler received his first setback in Russia, December 1941, he stepped up his efforts and machinery to destroy all Jews. That became his main goal during the war. But despite the terrible loss of life and suffering, Judaism survived.

Fast forward to today. There is a lot of negative talk and incidents in the world and especially for Israel and Jews. We can only go back to the Purim Story. The people united in prayer and fasting. We can’t do that kind of fasting today, but we can pray with the words following the Aleinu prayer:

Do not fear the terror that comes suddenly, nor the holocaust of the wicked. Plan a conspiracy and it will be annulled

Speak your speech and it will not stand

Because with us is G-d.

Elli Epstein Ocean, N.J.

Crowd Surge in Yemen

Yemen is suffering financially. And while the humanitarian situation is dire all over Yemen, it is particularly bad in Houthi-held areas; nearly 65% of Yemen has been described by the UN as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Nine years of war have killed thousands, destroyed the economy, and left 21.6 million people – two-thirds of the country’s population – in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Tens of thousands of Yemenis are living in famine, according to the UN.

The country’s conflict began as a civil war in 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital Sanaa and toppled the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government. It spiraled into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to beat back the Houthis.

Dozens of people lost their lives last week, as hundreds of people surged to receive charity handouts from merchants in Sanaa, Yemen, during Ramadan. Some people were able to extricate themselves from the deadly crush, although many others were killed.

“What happened tonight is a tragic and painful accident, as dozens of people were killed due to a large stampede of a number of citizens caused by a random distribution of sums of money by some merchants and without coordination with the Ministry of Interior,” the spokesman of the Houthi-run Ministry of Interior, Abdul-Khaleq al-Ajri, said.

At least 78 people were killed in the crush and dozens injured, Mutahar al-Marouni, the director of the Houthirun Health office in Sanaa, said.

According to Reuters, hundreds of people had crowded into a school to receive donations of about $9.

At that point in Ramadan, people start to give out charity donations. Thousands of people had gathered at a local school, where the donations were being given out. When officials in charge of the distribution arrived and opened the door, “a lot of people rushed into the school.”

“This is a disaster to find people sacrificed their lives for just 10 dollars,” a journalist said. “People are very hungry. People are very poor.”

The Houthi-run General Authority for Zakat announced in a statement it would give one million Yemeni Riyal (about $4,000) to each family of the crowd surge victims.

It also said it would take care of the treatment of those injured and pay 200,000 Yemeni Riyal (about $800) to each injured person.

But it eventually became a proxy war between Iran – which has been accused of arming the Houthis – and Saudi Arabia, and the main arena for their competition for regional influence.

On Sunday, a Saudi delegation arrived in Sanaa for talks with the Houthis aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire. Last Friday, negotiations bore their biggest fruits yet with a three-day prisoner swap of nearly 900 detainees from both sides. Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam tweeted on Friday that talks had been “serious and positive.”

Beer is Not Champagne

In America, the slogan “the Champagne of Beers” that decorates cans of Miller High Life is rarely taken literally, but European regulators took it at face value last week, seizing and destroying thousands of cans that were deemed counterfeit Champagne and thus “illicit goods.”

Belgian authorities and the French committee for the protection of Champagne ordered that 2,352 cans of the American beer be emptied and crushed, after they were intercepted after they

entered the port of Antwerp, in Belgium’s north, to be exported to Germany.

Authorities thoroughly documented the operation for the news media, in what looked like a clear warning to the world not to mess with Europe’s most prestigious sparkling wine brand. Pictures of the carnage showed workers emptying the golden and red cans of what they considered counterfeit Champagne before pressing them against each other.

The destruction, authorities explained, was a consequence of the European Union’s strict rules regarding the protected designation of origin of several wines or foodstuffs produced, processed and prepared in a specific geographical area using recognized know-how. Protected products include Kalamata olive oil from Greece, Buffalo mozzarella from the region of Campania, Italy, and paprika from the Murcia region of Spain.

If goods infringe on a protected product in an EU member state, those goods are considered counterfeit. Molson Coors, the beverage company that owns the Miller High Life brand, doesn’t export to the EU and a spokesperson said they didn’t know how the beer arrived in Belgium. The person who was to receive the beer in Germany was informed of the plan to destroy the cans and did not con-

test the decision, the Champagne committee and Belgian customs authorities said in a statement.

Molson Coors said in a statement that it respected local restrictions regarding the word Champagne, “but we remain proud of Miller High Life, its nickname and its Milwaukee, Wisconsin, provenance.”

“We invite our friends in Europe to the U.S. any time to toast the High Life together,” the company wrote. (© The New York Times)

U.S. Personnel Evacuated from Sudan

“Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract U.S. government personnel from Khartoum,” Biden said on Saturday.

In a separate statement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken added that operations at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum have been “temporarily suspended.”

A group of just over 100 special operations forces were involved in the extraction.

The decision to evacuate the American personnel comes after a week of heavy fighting between rival military factions – the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF – which has left hundreds dead and thousands wounded.

Undersecretary of State for Management John Bass said Saturday that temporarily closing the embassy was “the only really feasible option for us in this case.”

The inspector general for Kenya’s police, Japhet Koome, told reporters that homicide detectives and pathologists had exhumed 11 more bodies from a series of shallow graves Monday, bringing the death toll to 58.

All U.S. government workers and their families were evacuated from Sudan over the weekend.

“As a result of the intensity of the conflict, and the challenges that our diplomatic personnel were experiencing in conducting basic operations and the uncertainty about the availability of key supplies like fuel and food going forward, we reluctantly decided it was time to suspend operations,” he told reporters on a briefing call.

Fewer than 100 people were evacuated from the U.S. Embassy, including “a small number of diplomatic professionals from other countries,” Bass said.

The State Department does not keep official counts of U.S. citizens in foreign countries and Americans are not required to register when they go abroad. Officials told staffers last week that there could be an estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, most of whom are dual nationals.

Following the evacuation and the suspension of operations at the embassy, the State Department updated its travel advisory for Sudan, saying that due to the current security situation, “The U.S. government cannot provide routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Sudan.” Its travel advisory remains at Level 4: Do Not Travel.

A Cult of Starvation

Kenyan police have uncovered dozens of bodies from graves connected to a Christian pastor, who is being investigated on allegations that he directed his congregants to starve themselves to

Many of the victims are believed to have been members of the Good News International Church, a “suspected religious cult,” according to a statement from Koome. The small sect, based near the town of Malindi, is led by a pastor, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who was arrested this month.

President William Ruto of Kenya called the allegations “akin to terrorism,” in a televised speech Monday. “Terrorists use religion to advance their heinous acts,” he said.

Mackenzie was arrested April 14 after authorities rescued more than 15 people from his property, four of whom were in critical condition and died soon after, according to media reports.

He was arraigned several days later by a judge in the Malindi Law Courts, who said the pastor would be held for two weeks as police conducted their investigation.

Authorities approached Mackenzie’s property after they received a tip from residents about people who were starving on the land, according to Charles Kamau, the head of criminal investigations in Malindi.

“The information we received is that the people there were being starved after being radicalized by a certain member of a church who told them that their work in this world is done and they should die and go and see their creator,” Kamau said in an interview with Citizen TV after Mackenzie’s arrest.

The death toll was expected to rise this week as investigators continued searching for bodies as well as survivors. Some who had already been found alive were still refusing to eat or drink water. At least 112 people have been reported missing, according to the Red Cross, which is helping trace the victims. (© The New York Times)

100 Terror Arrests in Turkey

Police in Turkey have arrested 110 people over alleged ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) weeks ahead of crucial elections.

Authorities said that the detained are suspected of financing the PKK in addition to recruiting members or engaging

in propaganda on behalf of the group, which Turkey and several Western nations consider to be a “terrorist” outfit.

The PKK has been at war with the Turkish state since 1984.

The raids were conducted weeks ahead of May 14 parliamentary and presidential elections, which pose the most serious challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade rule over Turkey.

Tayip Temel, deputy leader of the

country’s pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), asserted, “On the eve of the election, the government has resorted once again to detentions out of fear of losing power.”

Temel added that politicians, journalists, lawyers and human rights activists were targeted during the raids.

Erdogan has found the toughest electoral test of his 20-year rule in opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Opinion polls give him a

Erdogan’s support has taken significant hits in recent years due to a struggling economy and accusations of authoritarianism. He has also faced criticism for his response to devastating earthquakes in February that killed 50,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

Erdogan, who has been Turkey’s leader since 2003 and has occupied the presidency since 2014, still retains significant support and could yet emerge on top alongside his AK Party.

Venezuelan Opposition Leader Expelled from Colombia

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido entered Colombia on Monday to escape persecution in Venezuela and to attend an international conference on his country’s political crisis but was summarily expelled from Colombia.

In a video posted on Twitter, Guaido said he felt he was being persecuted by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Colombia.

“The persecution of the dictatorship, unfortunately, spread to Colombia today,” Guaido said on the video from inside an airplane.

Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late on Monday in a press release that Guaido was “irregularly” in the country, so immigration authorities escorted him to the international airport to take a plane bound for the U.S.

The conference had been organized by Colombian President Gustavo Petro and is aimed at restarting talks to end Venezuela’s protracted political impasse.

Petro is acting as a mediator between Venezuela’s government and the opposition as he tries to unfreeze negotiations between the two sides that began in Mexico City in 2021 but reached an impasse in November. Officials from about 20 countries, including the U.S., were expected to attend the conference on Tuesday. Neither Guaido nor Maduro were officially invited to attend.

Guaido, recognized in 2019 by more than 50 Western countries and their allies as Venezuela’s de facto leader, had hoped to hold meetings with officials attending the conference.

Venezuela’s divided opposition voted to disband its symbolic “interim government” in January and replaced Guaido as the head of a parallel congress made up of opposition lawmakers.

Chinese Journalist Arrested

Dong Yuyu, a veteran Chinese journalist who was the deputy head of the editorial department at Guangming Daily, is now facing espionage charges after meeting with a Japanese diplomat in a restaurant.

The Harvard University fellow regularly met with foreign journalists and diplomats to help understand global trends. But Chinese authorities regarded his contacts with foreign diplomats as evidence of spying, according to a family statement.

Dong is the latest in a series of liberal Chinese voices to be accused by the government of being linked to what it terms foreign interference.

As a non-Communist Party member, Dong was one of the most pro-reform voices at Guangming Daily and wrote articles in favor of an independent legal system, his family said. He was awarded a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University in 2006-07 and became a visiting fellow at Keio University in Japan in 2010. Four years later, he served as a visiting professor at Hokkaido University in Japan.

His writing caused the Chinese au-

thorities to take note. In 2017, an investigation by party authorities found that some of his articles were “anti-socialist,” and Dong was threatened with demotion, his family said.

He was detained in February 2022 while eating lunch with a Japanese diplomat at a restaurant in a Beijing hotel where he often met with foreign friends, the statement said. The diplomat was also detained, triggering a strong protest from Japan’s Foreign Ministry. The diplomat was released after several hours, but Dong has remained in detention.

It is unclear when Dong’s trial will take place. In China, espionage can be penalized with a jail term of more than 10 years.

Dong’s case has drawn international attention, with the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., issuing a statement on Monday calling for his release.

Last year, an Australian journalist, Cheng Lei, was tried in China on national security charges but has not yet learned of the verdict, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said last month. Cheng was born in China and was a journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television. She was detained in August 2019 and accused by China of sharing state secrets.

Life in Prison for Shul Attack

Lebanese-Canadian citizen Hassan Diab was sentenced on Friday to life in prison in absentia for the 1980 bombing of a synagogue in which four people died.

The Parisian court followed prosecutors’ request for the maximum possible punishment against Diab, now 69 and a university professor in Canada.

Prosecutors had said in their summation that there was “no possible doubt” that Diab, the only suspect, was behind the attack.

In the early evening of October 3, 1980, explosives placed on a motorcycle detonated close to a synagogue in Rue Copernic in Paris’s chic 16th district, killing a student passing by on a motorbike, a driver, an Israeli journalist and a caretaker.

Forty-six others were injured in the blast.

The bombing was the first deadly attack against a Jewish target on French soil since World War II.

French intelligence in 1999 accused Diab, a sociology professor, of having made the 10-kilogram (22-pound) bomb used in the attack.

In 2014, Canada extradited Diab at the request of the French authorities. However, investigating judges were unable to prove his guilt conclusively during the investigation and Diab was released, leaving France for Canada a free man in 2018.

Three years later, a French court overturned the earlier decision and ordered that Diab should stand trial after all, on charges of murder, attempted murder and destruction of property in connection with a terrorist enterprise.

What’s in a Name in Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has signed two laws that strictly reinforce his country’s national identity: banning Russian place names and making knowledge of Ukrainian language

and history a requirement for citizenship.

A law that Zelenskyy signed Friday prohibits using place names that “perpetuate, promote or symbolize the occupying state or its notable, memorable, historical and cultural places, cities, dates, events” and “its figures who carried out military aggression against Ukraine.”

government has asked European Union nations to take in the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers who reach Italy’s Mediterranean shores. The requests have largely been ignored.

The moves late Friday were Ukraine’s latest steps to distance itself from a long legacy of Russian domination, an increasingly emotional subject since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began last year. They also show how forceful Ukraine’s government has become about protecting its cultural identity in a conflict shaped by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to wipe it out.

Already, countless streets across Ukraine have been renamed, and statues of Russian figures like Catherine the Great have come toppling down in what officials have called “decolonization” or “de-Russification” projects. While such efforts to scrub away old Russian names have been going on since the fall of the Soviet Union, they have picked up pace since the war began in February 2022.

The law will come into force in three months, according to a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app by Ukraine’s Parliament, after which, local authorities will have six months to “free public space from the symbols of the Russian world.” A national board will draw up a list of what it considers questionable names, and then local councils in cities and towns must change them. If elected members of the local bodies cannot agree, the law says that the head of that body will have the authority to change the name.

As important as identity is to Ukrainians, it has also been a huge part of Putin’s justification for the invasion. Before ordering his troops to cross the border last February, Putin accused Ukraine of trying to “root out” Russian language and culture. He cited the need to protect Russian speakers as part of his spurious justification for the war and has repeatedly asserted that Ukraine is not a real state and that the Ukrainians are not a real people, but actually Russian. (© The New York Times)

Dutch: Migrants Don’t Have to Go Back

Most risk the dangerous, expensive sea voyage in hopes of finding family or work in northern Europe, but EU rules require them to apply for asylum in the country where they landed. The Dutch court said that, since December, Italian authorities have indicated that this rule should be suspended because of a lack of reception facilities for migrants in Italy.

“Without reception, there is a genuine risk that their basic needs, such as shelter, food and running water, will not be met, which is a human rights violation,” the Council of State said in a statement.

The decision will likely serve as a precedent and prevent the return to Italy of other migrants who sought asylum in the Netherlands after traveling through Italy. That will likely compound existing problems at overcrowded Dutch asylum centers.

Last summer, migrants were forced to sleep outdoors in unsanitary conditions near a reception center in the northern Netherlands village of Ter Apel, because there was no room for them indoors. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said earlier this month that he couldn’t rule out similar scenes this year.

The Dutch government sought last year to cut the number of migrants entering the Netherlands by restricting family members from joining asylum-seekers who have been granted residency, but the move was scrapped after courts ruled it unlawful.

Taliban Kills ISIS Militant

This week, the Netherlands’ top administrative court ruled that immigration authorities can’t send migrants back to Italy, because they face possible human rights violations there.

The ruling came about in cases brought by two migrants: a Nigerian and a man who says he’s from Eritrea. Both entered Europe through Italy. The Nigerian applied for asylum three times in Italy before applying in the Netherlands, and the other man arrived in Italy but didn’t seek asylum there, according to the Council of State.

For the past few years, the Italian

Taliban fighters in Afghanistan recently killed an Islamic State militant who U.S. officials believe was responsible for the August 2021 suicide attack at the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members.

The attack at the airport’s Abbey Gate, perpetrated during the chaotic withdrawal of American forces from

22 Afghanistan that summer, also killed at least 170 Afghans and injured 40 other U.S. troops.

For now, the militant’s name is classified, and there is little known about how he was killed. He was part of the Islamic State Khorasan Province, also known as ISIS-K by the U.S. government – an enemy of the Taliban.

The Abbey Gate attack was caused by a single explosive device, according to a report by U.S. Central Command. This person was on a list that U.S. authorities had compiled of those who were responsible for the attack.

Although the Taliban killed an enemy of the U.S., it is still clear that they are far from a friend of the United States. Since taking control of the country upon the U.S.’s withdrawal and the collapse of the U.S.-backed Kabul government, the Taliban have introduced draconian social restrictions, which in particular curb the freedoms of women.

9.7 Million Strong

79,000 new immigrants arrived, while 51,000 people died.

Over a quarter of Israelis, 28%, are children aged 14 or under, while 12% are over the age of 65.

When the state was founded on May 14, 1948, there were 806,000 people

By 2030, the population is expected to reach 11.1 million, and by 2040, 13.2 million. In Israel’s centenary year, 2048, the population is predicted to hit 15.2 million.

According to the figures, at the end of 2021, 46% of the world’s total Jewish population was living in Israel.

lem’s Mahane Yehuda market on Monday afternoon. The attack took place on Agrippas and Ki’ach streets.

One man, who was 80 years old, was being treated for multisystemic injuries. He is fighting for his life.

The attacker was killed at the scene by a bystander.

“A citizen who witnessed the incident and was near the scene shot and neutralized the terrorist, and later he was declared dead at the scene,” police said in a statement, calling the ramming a terror attack.

The Palestinian driver was identified as 39-year-old Hatem Najma, a father of five from the Beit Safafa neighborhood.

Almost 10 million people now call Israel their home, according to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday ahead of the country’s 75th Independence Day celebrations.

There are 9,727,000 people living in Israel, the CBS said. Of those, 7,145,000 are Jewish, or 73.5 percent, along with 2,048,000 Arabs (21%), and 534,000 members of other minorities (5.5%).

Since last year, the population grew by 216,000 people, an increase of 2.3%. There were 183,000 babies born and

Car Ramming in Jerusalem

Police said the driver “accelerated and deliberately hit a number of pedestrians, some of whom were crossing the road,” near the market.

“Minutes ago, not far from here, there was another attempt to murder Israeli citizens. This terror attack reminds us that the Land of Israel and the State of Israel were acquired through many tribulations,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a ceremony ahead of Memorial Day at the nearby Yad Lebanim Memorial center.

Seven people were wounded in a car-ramming terror attack near Jerusa-

Jordanian MP Arrested

Israel arrested a Jordanian parliamentarian on suspicion of smuggling over 200 guns and gold into the West Bank, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

According to Jordan’s Ammon news outlet, the arrest took place Saturday

evening at the Allenby Bridge border crossing, as MP Imad al-Adwan was heading into Israel by car.

A video showed around a dozen AR15-style assault rifles and around 200 handguns spread in rows on the floor as Israeli officials catalogued them.

Former Jordanian MP Tarek Khoury accused Israel of fabricating the gold angle, in order “to turn the heroic act into a smuggling issue.”

A surge of violence and terror at-

tacks has wracked the West Bank in recent months, aided by a flood of illegal weapons, including many guns smuggled from Jordan.

Earlier this month, an unnamed senior Israeli official told the Walla news site that Jordanian Foreign Minister

Did you know?

Ayman Safadi’s recent conduct and statements had exacerbated the crisis, adding that he “acted like Jordan’s [Itamar] Ben Gvir.”

Jordan has repeatedly lambasted Jerusalem in more than 10 statements over an incident during Ramadan in which cops entered Al-Aqsa to confront Palestinian rioters and were filmed beating some of them. At one point, Jordan refused to receive messages from Israel through the U.S. or the United Arab Emirates, saying it would only accept direct messages and only if Israel commits to not enter the mosque again.

Gilad Erdan Stands Up for Israel

Israel’s Envoy to the United Nations Gilad Erdan staged a walkout from a Security Council hearing on the Palestinians on Tuesday to protest against the meeting being held on Israel’s Memorial Day.

“Today’s debate has crossed all lines,” Erdan asserted. “Not only am I both appalled and outraged to the very depth of my soul, but I am sad. Very sad.

“Today is one of the most sacred days of the year for the State of Israel. Today is Memorial Day for our fallen troops and victims of terror. The day during which every Israeli remembers those who paid the ultimate price while defending the Jewish homeland.”

The session was being held on Memorial Day despite “numerous requests to reschedule,” which, he adds, proves the international body’s anti-Israel bias.

Vexillology is the study of flags.

Erdan directed his attention to the council president, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and posed a hypothetical question regarding how he would respond to an event condemning Russian troops on May 9th, which is Russia’s Victory Day and a highly significant holiday.

“While Israelis mourn, this council, as usual, will hear more blatant lies condemning the State of Israel and falsely painting it as the root of all the region’s problems,” Erdan continued.

Calls for Unity on Yom HaZikaron

“This couldn’t be any further from the truth. The only reason this conflict has not yet been resolved is because the Palestinians refuse to accept the very existence of Israel, the Jewish state.

“They’ve proven this by rejecting any peace initiative and by inciting to terrorism, brainwashing their children to hate and murder Jews. Shame, shame, shame.”

Erdan decried Iran, which he cast as the “greatest threat to the region” and its nuclear program’s absence from the Secu-

rity Council’s agenda.

“So today, on this sacred and solemn day during which we Israelis bow our heads to the 28,468 fallen soldiers and victims of terror, I refuse to take part in this absurd farce,” he added.

Erdan then read aloud the names of terror victims who were killed in the past year, lit a candle in their memory, and then stormed out of the chamber.

Rabbi Leo Dee, whose wife and two daughters were killed earlier this month in a Palestinian terror attack, tendered his well-wishes to all bereaved families in Israel on Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron.

Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were murdered in an April 7 shooting on the Route 57 highway near the Hamra Junction in the Jordan Valley. Their mother, Lucy Dee, 48, who was riding in the same car with them that day, succumbed to her wounds days later on April 10. She was buried on April 11.

“I’ve been told that Yom Hazikaron this year is not going to be a time for unity of the Jewish people and that some people are planning protests or political rallies at ceremonies around the country,” said Rabbi Dee in a video released on Monday night.

“And I want to tell you something: I speak for the bereaved families, being one of the most recent, and I can tell you from all of these other families that I met recently at the shiva, we want one thing: we want unity. We want the memory of our families we lost through terror and through fighting those many wars for the State of Israel to be remembered and to be respected.

“And the way to do that is to do exactly what we’ve done every year in Israel. … I am certain that all of us can remember their holy souls for the years to come with respect and love that brings us all together as a nation,” added Rabbi Dee.

Israel began marking Memorial Day on Monday night as a one-minute commemorative siren sounded across the country. Commemorations took place at 52 military cemeteries and memorial sites on Tuesday.

Fifty-nine Israeli soldiers fell in the line of duty in the past year, and an additional 86 disabled veterans died due to their condition. Overall, 24,213 soldiers have lost their lives in service to the nation since 1860 and there have been 4,255 victims of Arab terror since 1851.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

has called on citizens to put aside differences, especially as it relates to the debate over the government’s judicial reform initiative, for one day, as the country finds common cause in mourning its heroes.

“[As] we fix our gaze on the military sections in the cemeteries, every headstone there tells the story of a life that was cut short. The unity of silent bereavement in the cemeteries cries out to us at this time. Our loved ones who fell, our loved ones who paid for our revival with their lives, did so for us—and we must stand together for them, united, in order to be worthy of their sacrifice,” said the premier.

Rabbi Leo Dee was chosen to recite the Yizkor memorial prayer at Israel’s main ceremony on Tuesday night marking the start of the state’s 75th Independence Day. (JNS)

No Votes Cast at World Zionist Congress

from all over the world traveled to attend the Congress in Yerushalayim Wednesday through Friday, April 19-21.

Representatives of the religious and nationalistic factions of the Congress discovered in the weeks before the convention that there would be loose rules regarding submitting resolutions at the convention, leading to resolutions being proposed on controversial issues, including a resolution against the judicial reform promoted by the government, a resolution against changes in the Law of Return, and a resolution in recognition of Reform and Conservative conversions. Indeed, as would be seen, one resolution committee even refused to “encourage” aliyah. They also sought to pass a resolution that could curtail the influence of the Orthodox community going forward.

“We had a situation where the World Zionist Organization was voting even against positions of the Israeli government,” said Rabbi Pesach Lerner, chairman of Eretz HaKodesh.

After these intentions were revealed, representatives of the right-wing and religious factions, led by Rabbi Lerner, recruited and encouraged representatives of the right-wing factions to travel to Israel to fully participate in the sessions and votes. In fact, all of Eretz HaKodesh’s 25 delegates attended.

from Shas and Likud, a new petition was drafted by Eretz HaKodesh. Within minutes, over 100 signatures had been compiled from across the spectrum. There were delegates from other factions that now joined. The Organization of Orthodox Synagogues Worldwide came out in force and joined Eretz HaKodesh.

With this petition ready to go, the presidium understood that Eretz HaKodesh and her new allies would not buckle, and that a by-name roll call vote would now be required. That would take multiple hours and could not be completed before the Congress adjourned Friday at noon.

Instead, an agreement was made. For the first time ever, there were no votes at the World Zionist Congress. Resolution discussion would take place on Friday, and all voting may take place electronically at a later date.

Rabbi Lerner emerged from the presidium with the news. He told his new friends in the Likud, “Tonight, we showed everyone that the honor of G-d will never come second. We are here to stay, and we will defend Jewish tradition and the kedusha of the land always.”

A Likudnik responded, “Am Yisrael lo mefacheid. HaShem Elokeinu HaShem Echad” (The Jewish nation is not afraid. Hashem our G-d, HaShem is One).

of shekel through the WZO to further anti-Torah agendas.”

“This is what the gedolei Yisroel in Eretz Yisroel and America directed us to do – to get in and stop this,” added Rabbi Lerner. “Boruch HaShem, this is what we accomplished, and this is what we will continue to do, with siyata diShmaya.”

Talented at Tanach

The Eretz HaKodesh party of the World Zionist Organization was founded to fight for Torah values in the Holy Land and that battle was on full display on Thursday in the plenary session of the World Zionist Congress. For the first time in history, the Reform and leftist movements who sought to pass resolutions against the values of Judaism, in the name of Diaspora Jewry, failed to do so. In a saga that lasted for many hours, the assembly adjourned without a vote taking place.

This was a significant blow to the leftist and liberal movements in the World Zionist Congress, with the Congress dispersing without their proposals being approved.

About 700 members of the World Zionist Congress had gathered in Yerushalayim, as the Congress convened for a festive event for the first time since the last such meeting, held in 2020, took place via Zoom due to the corona restrictions at that juncture. Now, delegates

At the Congress, a strong bloc made up of Eretz HaKodesh, Mizrachi, Likud, and Shas put together enough signatures to force a vote on each resolution by name, meaning that each of the nearly 700 delegates would be called one by one for each of the 18 resolutions, a process that would have taken many hours.

As this type of name-by-name vote was previously unheard of, the presidium was called upon to debate the petition. Rabbi Lerner, representing Eretz HaKodesh, is on the presidium. They left the room amidst shouts of “Busha! Busha!” The representatives of the left took up the anthem of the protests of the left against the Israeli government, crying, “Shame! Shame!”

The presidium left to debate, and over an hour later, all delegates who had been waiting in the main hall were told to break for dinner. It was about 45 minutes into the meeting that word emerged that some parties that had joined in that right-wing petition were beginning to fold. For Eretz HaKodesh, this was not an option. The issues being voted on were against Torah values, and nothing less than removing those anti-Torah resolutions was acceptable.

With the help of representatives

Rabbi Lerner thanked the delegates who came from all over the world to stand up for Torah values and declared before the delegates from all factions at the Congress, “Who cares for Toras Yisroel? Who cares for Eretz Yisroel? Who cares about Hakadosh Boruch Hu? Today we see that we are strong and are the majority.”

The Congress had effectively come to an end.

Torah Judaism had emerged the victor.

“I’m proud that Eretz HaKodesh went in to defend the principles of Torah Judaism, of Israel, of family, and we didn’t buckle,” said Rabbi Lerner. “The left and the Reform [movement] realize that there is a formidable force challenging them.”

What will happen next?

It’s hard to know. There may be a vote electronically and online, but, in truth, at this point, that is secondary. What is important is that no resolutions against Torah values were passed at the World Zionist Congress.

“For the first time ever at the Congress,” remarked Rabbi Nechemya Malinowitz, “someone challenged the narrative about what the Jewish people want. The resolutions would have placed tremendous pressure on the government and would have likely directed millions

Two Israeli girls, Emunah Cohen and Neta Lax, won the first and second places respectively in the annual International Bible Quiz on Wednesday, held in Jerusalem on Yom Ha’Atzmaut.

Cohen, who is in her final year of school in the central city of Gedera, beat out 41 contestants from 20 countries who reached the competition’s advanced stages. Lax is also in her final year of school, at Ulpanat Bnei Akiva in the northern West Bank settlement of Neve Tzuf.

Teenage contestants had to answer trivia questions about minute details from the most obscure books in Tanach. Contestants had to locate or complete fragments of biblical verses, identify who said which quotation to whom, or name geographical details of the ancient Land of Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara attended the event, as did President Isaac Herzog, whose mother, Aura, founded the competition in 1958.

Cohen’s victory is the first time in three years that a girl has won the competition. The last time girls finished in the two top spots was 17 years ago.

Speaking at the event, Netanyahu congratulated the competitors and once again reiterated his call for the country to unite in the face of massive upheaval due to his government’s plans to overhaul the judicial system.

Staying true to the event’s biblical theme, Netanyahu said, “Our forefather Abraham, at the age of 75, left Haran and following [Hashem’s] commandment ‘Go forth,’ arrived in the land of Israel. From that 75 to this 75 — 75 years of independence for the State of Israel. All of us, all the tribes of the nation, are making this journey together.”

Turkey Thanks Israeli Rescuers

State of Israel: A small country with a huge soul, a country that rushes to help others around the world and in the harshest conditions, out of humanity and the highest morality.”

The certificate from Erdogan was presented on Israel’s Memorial Day, which is observed every year the day before Independence Day.

A certificate of appreciation from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was presented on Tuesday to the commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ National Rescue Unit, Col. (Ret.) Golan Vach, who commanded Israel’s rescue mission that helped locate survivors and provide aid during the recent earthquake in southern Turkey.

The Israeli rescue mission was one of the first to arrive to provide aid after the earthquake and succeeded in rescuing 19 survivors from the ruins. The IDF sent 230 medical and emergency response experts to set up a field hospital in Kahramanmaraş, in addition to a 150-member Home Front Command team.

The IDF delegation was supported by emergency medical specialists from the defense and health ministries, fire and rescue services, Magen David Adom, United Hatzalah and Zaka, among others.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed back in February the “Operation Olive Branches” life-saving mission to Turkey.

“The entire people of Israel followed your rescue operation with great excitement. You went on behalf of the country, and you brought great honor to the State of Israel. We saw you in action in the cold, in difficult conditions around the clock in the most sacred work a person can do— saving the lives of others. ‘Whoever saves one soul’—you know the rest. You saved 19 worlds,” said Netanyahu.

He was invoking the Talmudic adage that states that whoever saves one person, it is as if he saved an entire universe.

“You did something else,” continued Netanyahu, “You showed the entire world the true and beautiful face of the

Israel’s deputy ambassador to Turkey, Nadav Markman, who assisted in the rescue mission, said, “We greatly appreciate the gratitude from Turkey. The members of the Israeli delegation acted bravely and professionally. The close cooperation between the IDF, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the other factors in the field made it possible to save many lives, to show the beautiful face of the State of Israel.” (JNS)

4 More Years of Joe

Joe Biden does not want to leave the White House. On Tuesday, the President formally announced his bid for reelection, framing his campaign as a fight against Republican extremism.

“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we are in a battle for the soul of America. And we still are,” he said in the video, which opened with images of the January 6, 2021.

“The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer,” Biden says in voiceover narration. “I know what I want the answer to be, and I think you do, too. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.”

Biden enters the race with a signifiDid

cant legislative record but low approval ratings, a conundrum his advisers have so far been unable to solve. Already the oldest president in history, 80-yearold Biden also confronts persistent questions about his age.

His announcement video warns against “MAGA extremists” who he says are “dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love.”

“Every generation of Americans has faced a moment when they’ve had to defend democracy. Stand up for our personal freedoms. Stand up for the right to vote and our civil rights,” he says. “And this is our moment.”

He said he needs four more years to finish the job he started.

Most Americans – and even a majority of Democrats – in recent surveys have shown little enthusiasm for another Biden run.

A series of upcoming challenges, from the ongoing war in Ukraine to a still-uncertain economy, could provide hurdles to Biden’s reelection. And now that power in Washington is divided, the GOP-controlled House has largely dashed hopes for major legislative accomplishments in the two years ahead of the 2024 vote.

Starship’s Dust Cloud

ploded minutes after liftoff and before reaching orbit. Near the launch site, the residents of Port Isabel were left to deal with the mess.

Virtually everywhere in the city “ended up with a covering of a rather thick, granular, sand grain that just landed on everything,” said Valerie Bates, a Port Isabel spokesperson. Images posted to social media showed residents’ cars covered in brown debris.

A window shattered at a fitness gym, its owner, Luis Alanis, said. Alanis said he felt “rumbling, kind of like a mini earthquake.” He estimated that the window would cost about $300 to fix.

Closer to the launch site, large pieces of debris were recorded flying through the air and smashing into an unoccupied car. Louis Balderas, the founder of LabPadre, which films SpaceX’s launches, said that while it was common to see some debris, smoke and dust, the impact of Thursday’s liftoff was unlike anything he had ever seen.

“There were bowling ball-sized pieces of concrete that came flying out of the launchpad area,” Balderas said.

The blast, he added, had created a crater that he estimated was around 25 feet deep.

Almaguer said that while Elon Musk’s venture had brought jobs to an economically distressed region, the brown muck covering her city was a reminder of the environmental downsides and a sign that things had gotten out of hand.

“The locals here are just being sacrificed,” she said.

“He just wanted to get this thing up in the air,” Almaguer said of Musk. (© The New York Times)

BBB Bankruptcy

sites will remain open and “continue serving customers as the Company begins its efforts to effectuate the closure of its retail locations,” according to a company press release.

Want a good deal? Closing sales will begin on Wednesday, although all purchases will be final.

Anything purchased prior to Wednesday can be returned or exchanged until May 24. Shoppers can use gift cards through May 8 and merchandise credits and rewards until May 15.

Tucker Out at Fox

ham, and a trove of other messages from around the 2020 presidential election.

These communications revealed that Carlson told confidants that he “passionately” hated former President Donald Trump and that Trump’s tenure in the White House was a “disaster.” He also used misogynistic terms to criticize pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and reject her conspiracies about the 2020 election. Additionally, Carlson disparaged the network’s leaders.

The lawsuit exposed how Carlson privately held a wholly different view than his on-air persona.

Dog-Sniffing Doctors

Fox News and Tucker Carlson have severed ties.

“We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” Fox News said in a short statement on Monday, adding only that Carlson’s last show was on Friday, April 21.

Carlson was the highest-rated single host at Fox News. The decision to part ways with Carlson was made Friday evening by Fox Corporation chief executive Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott.

Carlson was informed of the decision on Monday morning.

According to an article published this week in the journal JAMA Pediatrics , scientists can use dogs for the screening of certain diseases.

Using this method, schools are bringing in dogs to sniff students’ feet for volatile organic compounds that are known to be associated with Covid-19. If the dogs detect these compounds, students are then screened via antigen tests – reducing the amount of antigen tests performed by about 85%.

As the most powerful rocket ever built blasted from its launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday, the liftoff rocked the earth and kicked up a billowing cloud of dust and debris, shaking homes and raining down brown grime for miles.

In Port Isabel, a city about 6 miles northwest where at least one window shattered, residents were alarmed.

“It was truly terrifying,” said Sharon Almaguer, who was at home with her 80-year-old mother. During previous launches, Almaguer said she had experienced some shaking inside the brick house, but “this was on a completely different level.”

Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Starship ex-

Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy over the weekend after failing to keep the company afloat. The homegoods retailer had been trying to fend off bankruptcy for months after citing lower customer traffic and “reduced levels of inventory availability” as a source of financial woes this year.

Some of the 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 buybuy BABY stores and web -

The announcement came one week after Fox News settled a massive defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million over the network’s dissemination of election coverage. The lawsuit had exposed Carlson disparaging colleagues. A lawsuit filed in March by his now-fired top booker, Abby Grossberg, also included a number of allegations against his show.

During his time as a primetime host on Fox News, Carlson ascended to become one of the most influential figures inside the GOP.

For now, Carlson’s 8 p.m. time slot will be filled by a group of rotating hosts.

Dominion got its hands on Carlson’s group chat with fellow Fox primetime stars Sean Hannity and Laura Ingra -

Dr. Carol Glaser is the doctor behind this method. She had been called into a school in California to implement a Covid-19 screening program and had heard about dogs screening people for infections in different settings.

That’s when Glaser had her “aha” moment – incorporating canines into Covid-19 testing programs at schools, nursing homes or other public facilities could help save time, personnel, possibly even costs, and “would be a lot more fun,” she said.

“I thought if we had dogs in schools to screen the students it would be so much faster and less burdensome for schools,” said Glaser, assistant deputy director in Central Laboratory Services and medical officer for infectious disease laboratories at the California Department of Public Health.

“Remember when an antigen test is done at school, as opposed to home, there’s a whole bunch of rules and regulations that run under that. It’s not as simple as just handing those things out at school and having the kids do them,” she added.

For now, Glaser and her colleagues described in a new study the lessons they learned from the Covid-19 dog screening pilot program that they launched in some California K-12 public schools.

“The one thing we do know for sure is when you’re collecting a sample off of a human being, you want to go where the most scent is produced. That is the head, the pits, the groin, and the feet. Given those options, I went with feet,” said Carol Edwards, an author of the study and executive director of the nonprofit Early Alert Canines, which trains medical alert service dogs.

Last year, from April to May, the dogs visited 27 schools across California to screen for Covid-19 in the real world. They completed more than 3,500 screenings.

The researchers found that the dogs accurately alerted their handlers to 85 infections and ruled out 3,411 infections, resulting in an overall accuracy of 90%.

However, the dogs inaccurately alerted their handlers to infections in 383 instances and missed 18 infections, which means the dogs demonstrated 83% sensitivity and 90% specificity when it came to detecting Covid-19 infections in the study.

Don Lemon Out at CNN

News parted ways with its star host, Tucker Carlson.

Lemon announced his departure from CNN in a tweet. “I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN,” he wrote.

“I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly. At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at work.”

Lemon’s demise followed weeks of speculation about his status at CNN. As the co-anchor and leading face of CNN’s new morning program, “CNN This Morning,” he was under increasing pressure within CNN over the show’s poor ratings.

Last year, Lemon left the prime-time program he had hosted since 2014, “Don Lemon Tonight,” to co-anchor “CNN This Morning.”

The new program got off to a slow start among viewers. In February — just a few months after it debuted — it averaged 360,000 total viewers, compared with 895,000 for “Morning Joe” and 1.2 million for “Fox & Friends” on Fox News, according to Nielsen data.

Lemon co-hosted the program alongside Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, and he became a magnet for criticism, particularly after a February segment when he said that Nikki Haley is past her prime.

CNN averaged 735,00 viewers during prime-time hours in 2023, far behind Fox News (2.4 million) and MSNBC (1.2 million), according to Nielsen data. CNN lost 34 percent of its prime-time audience last year, compared with 2021.

No Assault Weapons in WA

This week, Washington State banned sales of assault weapons, including the AR-15, which has been used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in the United States.

weapons” and lists dozens of specific firearms — the AR-15, AK-47, M16 and M4 among them. It also prohibits equipment that can turn weapons into assault-style firearms and any semiautomatic weapon shorter than 30 inches in length. The bill includes some exceptions for firearms intended for military or law enforcement uses.

The lucky individuals will be members of the Visitor Services team. What does the job entail? Well, part of it would require employees to dress as giant birds of prey to scare seagulls away from the zoo’s main dining areas.

CNN on Monday fired veteran host and anchor Don Lemon, he said, in a surprise move just minutes after Fox

Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed into law House Bill 1240, which prohibits the “manufacture, importation, distribution, selling, and offering for sale of assault

“Assault weapons have no reason other than mass murder. Their only purpose is to kill humans as rapidly as possible in large numbers,” Inslee said at the state capitol on Tuesday. “AR-15s should not be idolized, they should be prohibited, and that’s what we’re doing here today.”

The White House praised the legislation. Last month, President Biden called on Congress to pass an assault weapons ban after six people were killed in a school shooting in Nashville.

A 2019 report looking at public mass killings with four or more deaths found that assault rifles accounted for more than 85 percent of fatalities.

Washington is the 10th U.S. state to generally ban assault weapons, joining California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, as well as D.C., according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Opponents of Washington’s legislation say it violates the Second Amendment and mischaracterizes the weapons involved. The state’s Republican Party accused Inslee of “ignoring the root causes of gun violence and infringing on law-abiding citizens’ rights” in a post on Twitter.

Free as a Bird

If Purim is your favorite holiday, you may consider applying for this position.

A zoo in England recently posted a job opening seeking applicants “comfortable wearing a bird costume” to serve as the facility’s seagull deterrents.

“At Blackpool Zoo, it goes without saying that we love all animals! And as a seaside resort, Blackpool is not short of seagulls. However, the seagulls are proving to be a bit of a nuisance when it comes to trying to steal food from our visitors and our animal enclosures,” the zoo said in the job posting.

Ideal candidates would be visitor focused, friendly, energetic, flexible, outgoing and “need to be comfortable wearing a bird costume.”

Better apply soon. You know what they say: the early bird catches the job, I mean, the worm.

Raptor Race

A team of French cyclists broke the world record for largest GPS drawing when they created an image of a giant dinosaur – a velociraptor – measuring 636 miles.

This was no small feat. Florent Arnaud, Maxime Brugère, Franck Delorme, Nicolas Meunier and Jean Roule created the GPS image by riding for a total 43 hours and 47 minutes over the source of six days.

The cyclists, members of the Cyclos randonneurs Saint-Galmier bicycle group, passed through counties including Cher, Saône-et-Loire, Indre, Nievre, Creuse and Puy-de-Dome to create the dinosaur image.

The team said they chose a veloci -

raptor for the image because it sounds like “vélo,” the French word for bicycle. That’s dino-might.

Sixty and Skydiving

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s tons of people skydiving!

A group of 101 skydivers over the age of 60 gathered in California last week to create formations in mid-air and break two world records.

The Skydivers Over Sixty group, which organized the attempt at Skydive Perris, said the 101 jumpers successfully formed a snowflake formation on their fourth attempt.

The previous record was set by a group of 75 skydivers over the age of 60 in Illinois in 2018.

This is not the first time they tried for the prize. The California group previously attempted the record in 2022, but members were unable to perfect the formation before poor weather scuttled further attempts.

The group also broke a second record the next day, when 95 skydivers completed a sequential formation, which involves the participants changing their formation in the middle of freefall. They beat a previous record of 57.

They are submitting their achievements to Guinness World Records for official certification.

The sky’s the limit.

Calling All Kyles

May.

In order to break the record, the city will need more than 2,325 Kyles in the city of Kyle at 4 p.m. on May 21 in order to break the first name only, same-name gathering record.

Those named Kyle who hope to attend are asked to gather at the Lake Kyle Park on the last day of the Kyle Fair, according to the event flyer titled, “The Gathering of the Kyles at the Kyle Fair A Tex-Travaganza,” posted to cityofkyle.com.

no variations.

“Various iterations of ‘Kyle’ such as Kyler, Kiel, or Kylee, are not accepted,” the flyer states. “Middle and last names will not be accepted.”

If your name is Kyle, come on over.

The city of Kyle, Texas, is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the “largest same-name gathering” in

The current titleholder of the samename record is the town of Kupreški Kosci located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to Guinness World Records. The town saw 2,325 people named Ivan come together on July 30, 2017.

The city has tried this before – three times before, to be exact. Now, they’re hoping that many Kyles will come.

Lest you think you can sneak in, in order to be considered for the Kyle contest, you need to spell your name “Kyle,” with

The Kyles in attendance will also receive a free Kyle Fair t-shirt of their choosing.

That’s so kool.

Around the Community

March of the Living Experience

By Rabbi Zalman Wolowik

This past week, my wife and I had the great fortune of joining a special VIP USA delegation to the March of the Living in Poland. I want to share some of our reflections regarding this powerful experience especially since for both of us it was the first time.

The feeling of standing among 10,000 Jewish youth from all over the world is absolutely indescribable, as we marched together for over an hour from concentration camp Auschwitz to concentration camp Birkenau.

On a personal note, it was mean -

ingful to be joining my dear friend, the former Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and his wife Tammy, alongside current Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides. I was moved by the thought of two proud Jews from two different presidential administrations and political affiliations coming together for one common cause.

We were also joined by other wellknown figures including former Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who is himself a Holocaust survivor, and television journalist Wolf Blitzer who is the son of Holocaust survivors. In a true spirit of “Never Again,” we were also joined by the fa -

mous rapper Meek Mill who came with us to learn firsthand and be educated so that he could spread the message of zero tolerance for antisemitism, as well as Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori who runs a Holocaust museum in Dubai that educates Muslim children about tolerance.

One of the highlights of my trip was helping people who do not yet have the opportunity to put on their prayer shawl and phylacteries (tallit and tefillin). It had a special meaning for us after seeing the items, such as the prayer shawls that were taken away from the Jews who perished in the Holocaust, and now in those same concentration camps we were able to do it with pride.

This is definitely one of the most memorable trips my wife and I have had and will stick with us for many years to come. Personally, we think that the message from here is to spread the idea of “Never Again” by encouraging people to bring goodness to the world and in memory of the 6 million Jews who perished, to do a mitzvah such as lighting a Shabbat candle Friday evenings before sundown for girls, over the age of three and women, and for men putting on tefillin. In this way, we ensure that not only will there never be a physical Holocaust, but we should not have a spiritual Holocaust by keeping all souls connected to their heritage.

5 Towns Flag Football

This past Friday was week 4 of FM Home Loans 5 Towns Flag Football. We were really excited to welcome everyone back from Pesach and can’t wait for the rest of the season. This week’s games were super competitive, with ties, last minute touchdowns, and great catches.

In the Pre 1A division, under the direction of Rabbi Jeremy Fine, the boys practiced their rushing skills while being guarded. Their skillset is really improving, and we can’t wait to see the final result!

In the 1st grade division, the Jets defeated the Patriots. The Broncos defeated the Giants with Theodore Goldgrab’s all

star plays.

In the 2nd grade division, the Broncos defeated the Eagles. The Vikings defeated the Texans. The Jets defeated the Patriots, and the Commanders defeated the Giants with Eliyahu Shilo’s consistent short catches.

In the 3rd and 4th grade division, the Raiders defeated the Saints. The Patriots defeated the Dolphins. The Jets defeated the Seahawks with Aharon Katz’s catch and touchdowns! The Steelers tied with the Falcons. The Panthers defeated the Packers with Sheldon Basuk’s TDP. The Giants tied with the Eagles, and the Broncos tied with the Vikings.

In the 5th and 6th grade division, the

Yom HaAtzmaut at HANC ECC

The Yeladim in HANC’s Early Childhood Center in West Hempstead embarked on an exciting adventure on Yom HaAtzmaut. The day began with a parade, complete with their own creative crowns and homemade Israeli flags. As the children marched out of the building to greet their parents who came to celebrate, sing and dance with them. Leading this special event was

Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, Head of HANC’s West Hempstead Campuses, and Morah

Trudy Rubinstein, Director of Hanc Early Childhood Center. The program began with beautiful voices singing Hatikvah together followed by an array of Israeli music to sing and dance to.

After the parade, the children were surprised with delicious blue and white cookies, compliments of the HANC PTA. The Nursery Bet children then had their passports stamped and embarked on a trip to Israel. Once they “rode in the plane,” they arrived at HANC’s Elementary School for a day of Israeli exploration. They practiced their Ivrit in an Israeli Shuk and enjoyed tasting some Israeli treats at the outdoor cafe. The children also walked all through Israel on a giant map, exploring all the cities, deserts, oceans, parks and holy sites that they found along the way.

After their “return flight” to the ECC, the children experienced an interac-

Saints defeated the Giants. The Raiders defeated the Panthers. The Falcons defeated the Packers. The Dolphins defeated the Broncos. The Steelers defeated the Patriots with Ari Hiltizk’s perfect catching and defense, and the Jets defeated the Seahawks with Dylan Schwartz’s allstar touchdown.

In the 7th and 8th grade division, the Vikings defeated the Giants with Aaron Pahl’s fast catches and plays. The Eagles defeated the Jets. And the Broncos defeated the Patriots with Rafi Padeh’s back-to-back touchdowns.

As we are nearing th!e end of the season, the all new FM Home Loans Sweatshirts will be given out shortly

tive virtual tour in Hebrew and had the opportunity to experience Israel in a unique way. The children went fishing in Eilat, using fishing rods to catch the dagim; milked a cow on a kibbutz in Haifa; squeezed their own orange juice, davened at the Kotel; discovered artifacts in Tel Aviv; and even planted flowers outdoors in honor of Yom HaAtzmaut. Happy 75 birthday!

At the conclusion of this busy, handson, fun-filled day of learning, exploration, travel and culinary delights, the children had their passports stamped once again for their return trip to West Hempstead. From the smiles on their faces as they greeted their parents at the

end of the day, it was clearly a spectacular experience that they will never forget.

Yom HaShoah at SKA

By Avigail Nassir

On Tuesday, the 27th of Nissan, SKA commemorated Yom Hashoah. Throughout the programming of the day, the students acquired a sense of meaning and inspiration. At the start of the program, the students and faculty joined to hear an empowering speech given by Mrs. Drebin on her personal connection to the Holocaust and how we can internalize the events to our everyday lives. The school wide commemoration was highlighted by the lighting of yahrzeit candles in memory of those who perished. Posters and original student art depicting the World

War II war years were on display in the hallways of the school.

The remainder of the programming was made up of interactive workshops

led by the freshmen to give the students of the other grades an expanded view on the events that had taken place during the Holocaust. The sessions recognized the variety of countries impacted at the time and to the extent of what had been lost, with an additional focus on each individual as part of the whole; what was the potential each neshama would have brought to the world.

Yom Hashoah at SKA served as an opportunity to reflect on the past and the continuation of the legacy of those who were killed. We as a nation are stronger than ever; by learning from the events of the Holocaust and applying it forward, we can be assured that the generations

of Klal Yisrael of today and those that follow will live in a world far better than what was in the past.

Rabbi Dovid Cohen Addresses “How Do You Pasken a Halachic Question?” in Special Shiur

Harav Dovid Cohen, shlita, will deliver a shiur entitled “How Do You Pasken a Halachic Question” as he receives the second biennial Rabbi Raphael Zalman Levine Endowed Distinguished Talmudic Scholar Award presented by Touro University. The address will take place at 11:00 am on May 1, 2023 at the Lander College for Men/ Beis Medrash L’Talmud, 75-31 150th St in Flushing, NY.

“HaRav Dovid Cohen is one of our generation’s illustrious leading halachic authorities and Torah scholars. For decades, he has provided clear, compassionate and decisive halachic guidance on end-of-life issues to thousands of rabbis, Jewish health professionals and con-

cerned families,” said Dr. Alan Kadish, President of Touro University.

“Rav Dovid Cohen has long been an inspiration for anyone involved in teaching Torah and deciding issues of Jewish Law. He honors us ‘by accepting this award’ and sharing his profound insights in Derech Hora’ah,” said HaRav Yonason Sacks, Rosh HaYeshiva, Beis Medrash L’Talmud at Lander College for Men.

Rav Cohen will deliver a second public lecture before Rosh Hashana for medical professionals and pre-health students, addressing “End of Life Questions.”

Rav Cohen was born in Brooklyn to Russian immigrant parents who had tragically lost three children before the

birth of a daughter and a son. A devout Tehillim Yid who loved Torah, Tzvi Moshe Cohen was present in shul one Shabbos during the depths of the Depression when Harav Aharon Kotler zt”l came to raise funds for his yeshiva in Kletzk. Inspired by Rav Aharon’s appeal, Mr. Cohen immediately pledged his entire week’s salary--$12--to the yeshiva. Rav Aharon was deeply moved by the sacrifice and blessed him that his son should grow into a great Torah luminary.

Thousands of Jews across the world have been the beneficiaries of that blessing.

Rav Dovid attended Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, where he became a talmid of Rav Yitzchak Hutner, zt”l. He forged close ties with numerous Torah giants, among them Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, Rav Yisroel Zev Gustman, Rav Eliezer Waldenberg, author of Tzitz Eliezer, Rav Yerucham Leiner (the Radziner Rebbe), Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, and Rav Pinchos Hirschsprung, zichroman livracha. He corresponded with Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, who asked Rav Cohen to review his Seridei Aish, and had a warm personal connection with Rav Chaim Kanievsky, who wrote many comments on his sefarim.

His position as Rav of Congregation Gvul Yaavetz in Brooklyn is the springboard from which he was launched to prominence as the eminence grise of contemporary American poskim. As the Mara D’asra of Ohel Children’s Home and

Family Services, Nefesh International, Hatzolah of Flatbush, Central Hatzolah, and Camp Munk, as well as Dean of the Long Island Commission of Rabbis, his fingerprint is apparent in many critical aspects of communal Jewish life.

A fearless advocate for the underdog, Rav Cohen has championed the cause of agunos, and has been an outspoken defender of victims of abuse. His abiding ahavas Yisroel and profound understanding of the pain of mental illness have made him the address for those seeking nuanced and authoritative piskei halacha in this sensitive area.

The special shiur can also be accessed online. To register to participate in the event, visit touro.edu/ravcohen

Rabbi Dovid Thumim, father of Mrs. Bluma Drebin, SKA Principal, General Studies, lighting a yahrtzeit candle

Yom HaShoah at Central

The theme of the 2022-23 school year at Central has been “A Community of Kavod.” With this concept of respect in mind, Central observed Yom HaShoah on Tuesday, April 18, and, as a community, reflected on the Holocaust and its impact on the entire world.

Central seniors honored the day by touring the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Cambria Heights, Queens. The students were given a lesson about the Rebbe’s connection to the Holocaust by former Central faculty member, Rabbi Shlomo Teichtel. The visit was a meaningful addition to Central’s Senior Seminar program, with many finding it an opportunity for prayer and reflection.

Later in the day, a school-wide assembly was led by students from Central’s senior “From the Ashes” class, under the guidance of Rabbi Dr. Joshua Strulowitz. The assembly included a performance from Central’s choir, as well as a screening of the class’s culminating project, a series of interviews with Holocaust survivors. The interviews were written, filmed, and produced by the students, giving these seniors the opportunity to forge a personal connection with individual survivors. The experience of interviewing the survivors was made even more significant by the fact that the assignment required the creative component of editing – choosing the most crucial footage to include in the final product. The result was a series of pow-

erful personal testimonies – relevant, vital, and, at a time when the number of Holocaust survivors worldwide is growing smaller, crucial.

Senior Rebecca Boord reflected on the volume of information revealed in her group’s interview with survivor Anne Rudoler.

“It was so interesting that we got to speak with someone who was a bit older during the Holocaust because most survivors were children at the time,” she said. “She remembered a lot. The interview was an amazing experience.”

Senior Gabi Lefkowitz was also left with a lasting impression from her group’s interview with survivor Rachelle Epstein. “It was really special to hear about this from someone who spoke with such resilience – who went through something so terrible, but who had such an optimistic outlook on life, and who was able to rebuild her life with such energy. Experiences like this one made the ‘From the Ashes’ program so special to me.”

Survivors Ruth Levovitz, Lee Lichtman, and Debbie Orenbuch were also interviewed. Seniors Abby Abayev, Revital Abdurahmanov, Maytal Chelst, Leba Fass, Penina Feldman, Sara Feldman, Emily Froehlich, Daniella Orenbuch, Shira Rosoff, Shira Rothbort, Yael Schwartz, Ahuva Shachar, Sophia Shaool, Rena Sturm, Rivka Sullivan, Adina Tanner, and Leba Weissman also interviewed survivors as part of the course.

The Pre1A class at Yeshiva Ketana of Queens said the brachas ha’ilanos together last week

New York City Council Awards

$50,000 to Hunter College President to Continue the School’s Work Fighting Anti-Semitism

City Councilmembers on Monday presented Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab with a $50,000 check to expand an innovative campaign fighting anti-Semitism on college campuses.

Since 2018, when President Raab created Hunter’s Jewish Studies Center in response to the rise of anti-Jewish attacks, Hunter has been leading the charge against such hatred. The college engages students of all creeds through its multi-faith center, and its Cooper Fellows — a cohort of Jewish and non-Jewish students — study ways to prevent anti-Semitism.

“Our goal has always been to reach out not just to Jewish students, but to all students on campus,” Raab said. “By ensuring everyone understands the horrors of anti Semitism and the Holocaust, we can make certain that history does not repeat itself.”

Council Members Eric Dinowitz, a Hunter alum (MSE ’09) and chairman of the Jewish Caucus and the Committee on Higher Education, and City Council Majority Leader Keith Powers presented the check to Raab on April 17. The money is provided through Council Speaker Adri-

The Earth Dome Visits HALB

In connection to Earth Day, the Earth Dome came to teach the first and second graders at HALB all about the planet. They learned about the continents and the different types of land. They also learned about the different animals that live in each area.

Orthodox Union’s Women’s Initiative Helps Communities Reengage Women through Challenge Grant

enne Adams’s new Hate Crimes Prevention Initiative.

“I would like to thank President Raab for her commitment to putting an end to hate and promoting truth,” Dinowitz said. “This funding will make our home a safer and more loving place for all.”

The money will help pay for student internships at local Jewish institutions such as YIVO and the Museum of Jewish Heritage and trips to public events, including lectures, concerts, and film screenings.

The funding continues a tradition dating back more than 150 years of Hunter College battling prejudices.

Chazzanut Resonates at YSZ

Thanks to a creative incentive from the Orthodox Union’s Women’s Initiative, women are once again engaging in their shuls and Jewish communal life after a long, Covid-caused pause.

Launched in 2017 by director Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, The OU Women’s Initiative aims to create and promote programming focused on Torah study, community leadership, and spiritual, personal, and professional development for women of all ages.

When the pandemic began to wane and in-person events resumed last year, the OU Women’s Initiative devised a competition to encourage communities to reignite women’s communal involvement: The OU Women’s Initiative Challenge Grant 2022 for Innovative Women’s Programming. Open to North American shuls and community institutions, the grant awarded $3,600 to 10 nonprofits that designed imaginative and inspiring women’s programming.

The 10 winning programs are based in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Wisconsin, Texas, California and Montreal, Canada, and center on an array of themes, including religious outreach, the laws of kashrut, mitzvot between one person and another, self-care, charity and business law, among others.

A number of initiatives incorporated experiential cooking, art, music and theatrical activities, and some were geared toward specific demographics like teenagers, business leaders, and singles. All programs included Torah learning and provided a forum for participants to strengthen their spirituality and connections with one another and their communities.

Myriad networking and spiritual support opportunities included a unique Shabbaton for young mothers at Young Israel of Fair Lawn led by Rebbetzin Dina Schoonmacher. The event included a Friday night oneg, two Torah classes, and a special women’s shalosh seudos.

Wow! What a success the chazzanut program has been at Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion so far. Through this unique initiative, the boys have a chance to reconnect to their Sephardic heritage through Chazzanut Bukhari and Yerushalmi. Led by Rabbi Aviel Azizi, the YSZ talmidim learn shirei Shabbat v’yamim tovim, shirei semachot, niggunei tefillot nusach Yerushalmi and Bukhari, and much more. Additionally, the talmidim have gained a love for mu-

sic and learned how to use its essence in multiple aspects of their lives. From singing inspirational songs and tefillah in the classroom to performing on stage at our annual school dinner and recording in real professional studios, the boys at YSZ are getting a chance to develop their skills and confidence to illuminate the world. It is even more gratifying to hear about the extra nachat parents receive when their sons sing at their family yom tov and Shabbat seudot

“Women are at the heart of their homes,” said Rebbetzin Shmidman. “They need spiritual nourishment, and they thrive on networking and being connected. When we saw, as a result of Covid, that women were less engaged, we wanted to help draw them back, and reignite their spiritual energy and excitement.”

About 90 submissions were judged by a panel of OU staff and lay leaders who assessed the programs’ creativity, feasibility and scalability. The ideas were both impressive and diverse, noted Rebbetzin Shmidman, appealing to women of various ages, life stages, backgrounds, and interests.

The Mikvah Emunah Society in Silver Spring, MD, used the Challenge Grant to run a creative series educating women about the centrality of the mikvah and the laws of ritual purity in personal and communal life.

Although 10 nonprofits won the Challenge Grant funds, Rebbetzin Shmidman said all of the applicants emerged on top.

“The Challenge Grant created awareness and motivation to reengage women in the community,” she said. “The [possibility of winning the] grant was an extra push to get people thinking, and a lot of them ran their programs even if they didn’t win the challenge.”

New York City Council members Kevin Powers (right) and Eric Dinowitz with Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab.

100 Days of Learning at CAHAL

Happy 100th day of English for CAHAL’s 1st grade class at Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island. Mrs. Esther Parnes’ class enjoyed celebrating the 100th day of school last week. They read 100 sight words, colored and filled in special 100 day posters, got special pencils and stickers, and received a certificate that says, “Congratulations! You are 100 days smarter!”

CAHAL, the only program in the community with separate boys and girls classes for children with learning challenges in our local yeshivas and Bais Yaakovs, is accepting applications for the 2023-24 school year. To apply, visit www. cahal.org or call 516-295-3666.

Enhancing the Beauty and Safety of Cedarhurst: DPW’s Signage

Upgrade Project

The Village of Cedarhurt Department of Public Works has been working tirelessly to enhance the beauty of our Village. They have repainted more than 900 sign channels, straightened poles, and installed over 100 new signs to replace the old and fading ones throughout the Village. The DPW is committed to upgrading all the signs in the Village to improve safety for pedestrians and drivers by providing clear and effective communication.

Kehillas Yagdil Torah of Woodmere Joins Adopt-a-Kollel

Kehillas Yagdil Torah of Woodmere launched its new Adopt-a-Kollel partnership on Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Parshas Tazria-Metzorah. The shul, led by Rabbi Ariel Edelstein, has partnered with Kollel Beis Talmud L’Horaah Pnei Menachem in Yerushalayim.

This partnership is a prime example of how a casual conversation can lead to great things. Rabbi Bernfeld and Chaim Heller of Adopt-a-Kollel met Reb Nachum Soroka at the H3 Summit in Chicago. They started speaking about Adopt-aKollel. A week later, there was a meeting

Yom HaShoah at HANC Elementary

As the voices of Holocaust survivors are silenced by time and loss, it behooves us now more than ever before to keep their stories alive. In HANC’s Elementary School in West Hempstead, the responsibility of keeping the students informed and knowledgeable about the Holocaust is taken very seriously.

“We try to educate the children with what they need to know with an age appropriate approach,” explained Barbara Deutsch, Associate Principal. “We do our best to ensure that these precious lives that were lost will never be forgotten.”

On Yom HaShoah, the fourth through sixth grade students and their teachers were invited into the auditorium for a special program to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. As they entered the darkened room on Yom HaShoah, it was clear that this would not be a typical assembly. After sitting quietly, waiting for the program to begin, Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, Head of HANC’s West Hempstead campuses, explained that on this day each year, we remember the horrific tragedy that befell the Jewish communities during World War II. As is

the custom at HANC each year, the story of one survivor was shared with the students. This year, Mrs. Rifky Isseroff, a HANC grandmother, shared the story of her mother, Esther, who was a young child that miraculously survived the Holocaust.

Esther was born in 1927 and grew up in a town in Germany that was the home to 60,000 Jews, three shuls and many Yeshivot and Jewish organizations. When the Nazis invaded in 1933, her family wanted to escape but due to European immigration restrictions, could not leave Germany. On November 9, 1938, Esther and her family lived through Kristallnacht, and she watched in horror as her shul was torched and burned to the ground. Jewish-owned establishments were vandalized and burned, and the police did nothing to stop it. The next day, 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps. The Jews that remained were required to wear a Yellow Star on their coats to signify to all that they were Jewish. In an act of desperation to save her daughter’s life, Esther’s mother sent her at the age of 11 on a train by herself to a family in Holland who was willing to be foster par-

with the Rav.

On Shabbos, Rav Edelstein addressed the shul, very warmly encouraging them to support the kollel. He expressed the zechus to be part of a Klal Yisroel movement and the need for everyone to be connected to Toras Eretz Yisroel. The

response was outstanding. The gabbaim are Mr. Adam Feat, Mr. Stevie Fruchter, Mr. Nachum Soroka and Mr. Aryeh Young.

ents for her. Esther lived in Holland with them, but when they could no longer care for her, she lived in refugee camps and orphanages until the end of the War. Her brother, Max, was sent on the Kindertransport which was diverted to Scotland because the British would not allow anyone to emigrate to Israel.

With tremendous determination, Esther’s parents managed to survive the war and traveled to the United States. They managed to make arrangements for a visa for Esther, but it would require her to take a five day train ride, all alone, to Portugal where she could meet the boat that would take her to America. Once she arrived, her visa had expired and she ran the risk of being deported. Nothing stood in her way, and she managed to

take a train to New York to finally reunite with her parents.

Eight years after arriving in America, Esther met her future husband. They married, raised a family together, and Esther became a teacher. Her courage and tenacity were rewarded: four of her grandchildren are students at HANC, learning Torah and doing mitzvot every day.

At the conclusion of the program, each student who had a Holocaust survivor in their family, stood and lit a battery-operated lamp to spread the light of these brave people and to remember those whose lives were lost. May their memories be a blessing and an inspiration for future generations.

The talmidos of the Ganger Early Childhood Center at TAG enjoyed a special sweet treat for Rosh Chodesh Iyar

YCQ Marks Yom HaShoah

Students at the Yeshiva of Central Queens marked Yom HaShoah with meaningful ceremonies featuring Holocaust survivors on Tuesday, April 18. Through film, song, stories, and tefilah, students and guests honored the victims of the Holocaust.

Grades 3-4 and Grades 5-8 participated in age-appropriate assemblies to commemorate the important day, and students had the incredible opportunity to hear from Holocaust survivors. Rabbi Mark Landsman, principal of YCQ, told students how their generation will be the last to hear eyewitness testimony and that they must not take this for granted.

million Jewish victims. The grandfather of Binyamin Flamenbaum, a survivor and a chazan from Hungary, led a touching rendition of the special “Kel Malei Rachamim.”

Later that evening, the Names, Not Numbers © documentary that Grade 8 students have been creating for months was screened at a special event at YCQ. Every year at YCQ, eighth grade students participate in the Names, Not Numbers © program, an intergenerational oral history film project created by Mrs.Tova Fish-Rosenberg.

paper journalist and filmmaker. The students learned the history prior to the War, during the Shoah, and at liberation through web-based research and interviewing skills. Each student made this commitment to take an active role inspiring survivors to tell their stories to create a documentary film.

After learning about the unique bracha, only able to be said once a year, YOSS talmidim went with their rebbeim to make Birchas Hailanos during the month of Nissan.

Students and their guests shared the heartbreaking stories of their family members who were murdered and the miraculous accounts of those who survived. The Junior High School boys choir, led by Rabbi Mordechai Rovner, sang two beautiful songs of “Achenu” and “Ani Maamin,” and six candles were lit to symbolize the 6

For this year’s film, students interviewed five survivors: Ruth Mermelstein, Marion Lazan, Tanya Bernstein, Rabbi Moshe Yoel Walkin, and Miriam Mandelbaum. Students recorded the harrowing accounts of their survival in ghettos, forests, and concentration camps.

This project teaches students both interviewing skills and filming techniques as they work with a Holocaust educator, social studies teacher, news -

Yom Hashoah at the Marion and Aaron Gural JCC

Every Thursday when local Holocaust survivors gather at the Marion and Aaron Gural JCC for their weekly get-together is reason to be inspired. These brave and remarkable survivors of one of our history’s worst nightmares meet to socialize and be cared for and be uplifted by positive programs and friendly faces while they themselves each week inspire all who are fortunate to be there.

Last Thursday, to commemorate Yom HaShoah, the program was particularly meaningful. The day began with beautiful and heartfelt words of strength and admiration from Rabbi Moshe Weinberger of Congregation Aish Kodesh, whose beloved mother, Paula Weinberger, is a member of our JCC group.

Rabbi Weinberger’s stirring words brought tears to every eye. Following the rabbi’s visit, the JCC staff and volunteers lit candles for the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust and a candle to remember the JCC survivors who had recently left us as well. Each survivor then had the opportunity to light a can-

dle for those he or she had lost stating “I like this candle in memory of ...” filling in the painful blanks. It was a solemn and emotional part of the program where survivors shared some of their harrowing histories and unimaginable losses.

A delicious, hot comforting meal was served and was followed by the second part of the day where our Second Generation SHEMA (Studies in the Holocaust - Education, Memories, Awareness) program staff invited second, third and even fourth generation family members of survivors to join the group in a multigenerational program exchanging thoughts and memories with their beloved parents.

Fourteen posters of local survivor stories graced the walls of our social hall and enabled guests to read about some of the incredible lives of those among us and those who have perished but whose memories live on. For this very special part of the day, 10 eleventh grade Shulamith students and their teacher joined us and were witness to this incredible opportunity of seeing survivors surround-

ed by their family and legacies.

Conversation included the second and third generation telling their parents how much they admired their fortitude and strength and how they hoped to carry on in their parents’ footsteps instilling courage, faith and values in their children. Some survivors also spoke with, despite everything they had lived through, messages of hope. One survivor proudly announced, “We are the winners!”

When the program was over, the students presented each survivor with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a gift. It was an event all who participated in will never forget.

This beautiful day, featuring laughter, tears, hope and prayers combining the voices and dreams of young children, students, grandchildren, volunteers, staff and survivors, was made possible by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and the generous support of JCC Association Israel Engagement Fund.

The Marion and Aaron Gural JCC is a

The Yeshiva of Central Queens gratefully acknowledges the Names, Not Numbers © Program that has taught students about the Holocaust through the accounts of eyewitnesses and has enabled meaningful relationships to be forged between the survivors and our students. YCQ has benefitted tremendously from its participation in this Legacy Heritage project. Mrs. Heather Finkel, the Faculty Advisor for the program, also deserves tremendous recognition for all her hard work, as does Ms. Elisheva Simanowitz, the program organizer of the event.

proud non-profit partner of UJA-Federation New York.

For more information about our Holocaust survivor, SHEMA or any other JCC program call (516)569-6733 or visit our website www.guraljcc.org.

Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s fifth grades were treated to a hands-on, interactive presentation on Tuesday, the week of Parashas Kedoshim, about the halachos of shatnez—including real-life cases and fabric samples—by Rav Asher Shteierman, one of the fifth grade rebbeim

Survivor Visits Mercaz Academy for Yom HaShoah

“Iwas eight years old when it started for me…”

Mercaz students marked Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, with a visit from Zelda Polofsky, a survivor of the Holocaust who lives just a block from the school in Plainview. Rabbi Fogel told the students that this moment in time marked a significant opportunity to meet a survivor, an opportunity that their children will probably never have. Mrs. Polofsky shared her own delight in meeting the Mercaz Academy students, telling them that it gave her great pleasure to see so many Jewish children learning and thriving.

Mrs. Polofsky spoke carefully about her suffering, glossing over parts the children weren’t ready to hear, and sharing her perspective from that time with them. She explained that conditions in the ghetto were harsh but, as an eightyear-old, her first exposure there to electricity and indoor plumbing also were

memorable.

Later, the family fled to the barn of a non-Jewish farmer who sheltered them each winter, while they spent the warmer seasons hiding in the woods. When Mrs. Polofsky was 12, the war ended with her family in the USSR, but they eventually escaped to a Displaced Persons camp. Mrs. Polofsky told students how she longed to go to Israel, but her family ultimately reached the United States when she was 16.

Students asked many excellent questions. One sixth grader asked if her family had tried to observe any of the Jewish religious holidays, and Mrs. Polofsky said that they had, by using Christian holidays and the moon to determine the Jewish calendar date. A fifth grader wondered if she had ever been reunited with people she knew from Europe. Mrs. Polofsky, in response, described hearing a stranger speaking Yiddish, recognizing the accent, and identifying someone

from the Displaced Persons camp she had lived in for three years. A sixth grader asked if she had ever visited Israel, and Mrs. Polofsky proudly shared that she had been there no less than 13 times, including for her son’s bar mitzvah–and that she has three children, six grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren.

The students presented Mrs. Polofsky with flowers, and Rabbi Fogel thanked her for sharing her story, so difficult to relive, but so important for Mercaz Acad-

emy students to hear. He reminded students that the full name of the day is Yom HaShoah v’haGevurah, the day on which we remember not only the Holocaust, but the heroism of that time. Mrs. Polofsky’s bravery–refusing to give up during the worst of times, studying and learning to thrive in her new life, and reliving her experiences for the benefit of others–make her a true hero to the students at Mercaz Academy.

The Z’man is underway in Yeshiva Kol Torah. Rabbi Daniel Glatstein gave a shmuz on Sefiras Haomer and hachana for Kabbalas HaTorah this week

Shulamith ECC was busy preparing for Yom HaAtzmaut

HALB

The Home Stretch at Ezra Academy Counting Sefiras Ha’Omer

at Gan Chamesh

The 6th grade boys designed and created their own Pesach-themed games using their knowledge of series and parallel circuits with lights and buzzers. They were proud to show off their games to their friends and show them how to play them.

In connection with Sefiras Ha’Omer, the children at Gan Chamesh are busy with creative and hands-on counting activities. Patterning, sorting and exploring numbers all help the children strengthen their math skills.

Since returning from Pesach vacation, Ezra has been running full steam ahead with a super busy schedule to get everything in before finals begin. From Rosh Chodesh Iyar celebrations in the theme of Target, to hosting a yeshiva mock trial competition, to attending moot court at the PATCH Program tournament in Northport, there has been a whirlwind of activity. It will

only continue as the students get ready to celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut, attend retreat, begin senior internships, and take AP exams next week. A national moot court trip to Princeton, the STEM competition, grade trips and a Lag B’Omer program are in the works for the coming weeks. It’s a busy time but a fun and meaningful time at Ezra.

HAFTR High School Hosts Special Program for Yom HaShoah

Tuesday, April 18, marked Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. At HAFTR High School, students and faculty commemorated this significant day with meaningful programming. The day started with a siren sounding in the middle of the first period for a moment of silence. Students then made their way into the High School’s auditorium.

HAFTR High School’s senior class, dressed in black, stood lining the halls holding candles in memory of all those who were murdered during the Holocaust. The lights were dimmed and un-

derclassmen passed by the seniors on their way to the auditorium. This set the tone for the solemnity of the day and for the programming to follow.

The program was opened by Principal Ms. Lippman, who called on three seniors, Sydney Schneider, Kayla Krup and Isabella Stieglitz, to read original poems that they had composed about relatives who were in the Holocaust. Associate Principal Dr. Wyner then introduced the special keynote speaker, Rabbi Yechiel Spero, noted author and educator. Rabbi Spero shared powerful personal stories of resilience and emunah. In particular,

he spoke of his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. He showed the audience a memento from her – tickets for claiming scraps of food at the Buchenwald “canteen” that she had kept in his grandfather’s cigarette case. He explained that these tickets represent her belief in survival and moving forward, even while she was in a death camp, as she held onto these relics with the conviction that with emunah she would live. Students and teachers alike hung onto his powerful words – the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The program concluded with Kel Maleh said by Rabbi Baruch Fogel followed by everyone singing Vhi SheAmdah and the Hatikvah.

Later in the day, HAFTR High School sophomores went to Times Square for a program run by The Hate Ends Now Tour entitled The Cattle Car: Stepping In and Out of Darkness. The program is a partnership between Shadowlight and

Lechu V’Nelcha

After a break for Pesach, Lechu V’nelcha of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns has resumed. Before Pesach, we were privileged to host Rabbi Shaya Cohen for special pre-Pesach shiur. This past Sunday, LVN kicked off its sefiras haomer series on Pirkei Avos with Rabbi Menachem Feiffer delivering the

Southern NCSY. The program featured an immersive 360-degree exhibit within a replica WWII cattle car. HAFTR students were very moved by the presentation. Through the exhibit they were able to empathize with and experience what Jews during the Holocaust felt while on cattle cars.

HAFTR is committed to providing quality education and experiences to students. Yom HaShoah presents a powerful and important opportunity for Holocaust education and connecting students to a painful but important part of Jewish history.

first shiur. The next shiur will take place this Sunday night, April 30, with Mrs. Hinda Perr at 8:15 PM. Looking forward to greeting you!

To stay informed about future shiurim and events or to sponsor a shiur, please email lvnfarrockaway5t@gmail.com.

SKA Mock Trial Team Scores

Youth Mental Health First Aid at Kulanu

By Sam Spirgel

On Sunday, April 23, 2023, the Mock Trial teams from the Stella K. Abraham High School and five other local yeshivot met for a day of competition and courtroom drama.

The teams continued to argue the legal positions of this year’s New York State Bar Association’s mock trial fact pattern. This year, the parties argued a civil case arising from an accident at a construction site. Construction worker Remington Stone fell off his ladder and sustained serious personal injuries while working as a construction worker at the home of Marley Miser.

Each of the teams had an opportunity to argue for the injured plaintiff, Remington Stone, and in defense of the elderly homeowner, Marley Miser. As expected, each of the trials were lively and spirited with zealous arguments in support of their positions. Expert engineers and ac-

RAISE at HALB

cident reconstruction experts were cross examined with fitness and precision fit for the next John Grisham legal thriller.

The legal eagles of the SKA Mock Trial team were 2-0 on the day. The team is comprised of SKA seniors Lea Septimus, Atara Shleifer, Aviva Schrieber, juniors Talia Cohen, Shira Yehoshua, Talia Traube, sophomores Michal Greenblatt, Rachelli Retkinski and freshmen Atara Frankel, Racheli Simanowitz, Rivka Weissman, Esti Soriarsky and Yonina Pfeffer.

Their hard work, hours of preparation and practice was evident throughout the day from the opening argument through the closings, from the attorneys to the witnesses and the timekeepers punctilious attention to the clocks.

As SKA’s coach, I am very proud of the teams’ success and accomplishments! We look forward to another successful Mock Trial season next year! Congratulations to all the teams and participants.

Select members of Kulanu Academy’s clinical, educational and administrative team participated in a training on “Youth Mental Health First Aid” presented by Stuart Katz. Attendees learned about the most common mental health diagnoses in youth, how to recognize signs of mental health struggles and crises, as well as how to best refer individuals to professional mental health support as needed. The knowledge

gained will be put to use through the participants’ daily work at Kulanu Academy, as they serve students and young adults with varying disabilities. Participants expressed how meaningful the training content is to their work, giving them greater confidence in supporting their clientele and addressing the mental health needs of the population they serve.

Meaningful Yom HaShoah Program at HAFTR Middle School Honors Holocaust Victims and Survivors

On April 18th, HAFTR Middle School hosted a moving Yom HaShoah program, organized by Mrs. Einat Rabinovich, that paid tribute to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Students and faculty came together in a solemn and poignant ceremony to remember the six million Jews who perished during one of the darkest chapters in human history.

The program commenced with students reading prose and poetry that depicted the harrowing experiences of Jews during the Holocaust. Their moving performances conveyed stories of resilience and courage.

her personal experiences of surviving the Holocaust and spoke about the privilege of being in a yeshiva, where Jewish students can not only learn about Judaism but live it. Her words resonated deeply with the audience, reminding everyone of the importance of preserving the memory of the Holocaust and standing up against anti-Semitism in all its forms.

The program concluded with students Ezra and Hudi Kanarfogel playing “Hatikvah” on the trumpet and violin, respectively.

The HALB Middle School girls had an awesome, uplifting time at their Rosh Chodesh program. All year they have been working with the theme of ‘R.A.I.S.E.‘ing the bar. This

month the students are focusing on respecting each other by actively listening when another girl is talking. They were treated to delicious cholent and kugel, too!

Mr. Joshua Gold, Principal, and Dr. Yali Werzberger, Associate Principal of HAFTR Middle School, then lit candles in memory of those who perished during the Holocaust.

One of the highlights of the program was a speech by Emily Singer’s great-grandmother, Mrs. Judy Drummer, a Holocaust survivor. She shared

The Yom HaShoah program at HAFTR Middle School was a powerful and moving event that provided a platform for remembrance, reflection, and education. It served as a reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust, while also highlighting the resilience and strength of the Jewish people. The program honored the memory of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and emphasized the importance of never forgetting.

Shulamith Torah Bowl Team

Spring has Sprung at YOSS

As the runners-up in this year’s Torah Bowl Championship, our Shulamith Torah Bowl team did an amazing job! They had an unbelievable neck-and-neck game where they blew the other teams away with their

knowledge of the entire Sefer Bereshit. Yasher Koach to the entire Torah bowl team for their extraordinary diligence, hard work, and desire to study as much Torah outside of the classroom as they can. We are so proud of our girls!

Spring has sprung in Mrs. Lloyd’s fourth grade class at the Yeshiva of South Shore. The boys are excited to go outside and enjoy the nice weather. As part of our STEM curriculum, each boy created and designed his own kite. Plastic shopping bags, skewers, string, and tape were just some of the materials used to create their flying masterpieces. After creating a kite inside the classroom, they went outside and tested them on the football field. A perfect windy

day was chosen to do this activity. After many attempts to get their kites to fly, the class went back inside to have a post-experiment discussion. The class spoke about what worked well and what didn’t work well. The boys had great insights and ideas on how to improve the kite to enable a better experience. The students really loved this experiment and are looking forward to flying more kites, both homemade and store bought.

MTA Lions Win Annual Ezra Schwartz, z”l, Memorial Tournament

Over the weekend, the MTA Baseball Lions traveled to Boston for the annual Ezra Schwartz Z’L Memorial Tournament hosted by the Maimonides School. The tournament which honors the memory of Maimonides alum Ezra Schwartz, who was killed in a terrorist attack while visiting Israel, allows high school students from around the country to gather together for a weekend of camaraderie and fun. Baseball was one of Ezra’s great passions, and the tournament is a great testament to his life and impact on his school and com-

munity.

The Lions, anchored by the play of their seniors and with contributions from the lower classmen, left the tournament with the Champion’s trophy. But, more importantly, they left an impression on their hosts and opponents with their sportsmanship and middos. The team spent an inspiring Shabbos in the Sharon, Massachusetts, community and returned to yeshiva uplifted by their experience. The team can’t wait until next year’s tournament.

Morah Shaina Braun’s nursery talmidim picking spring flowers in Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s front yard this week

Rabbi Asaf Stefansky of Brooklyn made a fascinating presentation to Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s fifth grades last week about the halachos of tzara’as

Remembering Rav Binyamin Kamenetzky, zt”l

This past Sunday, the talmidim of YOSS marked the sixth yahrzeit of their unforgettable Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Binyamin Kamenetzky, zt”l. As some of the talmidim still remember Rav Kamenetzky, the memories of their beloved Rosh Yeshiva came alive again, as they heard divrei zikaron from the current Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Binyamin’s son, Rav Mordechai Kamenetzky.

Rav Binyamin’s essence is infused within the walls of YOSS, and his influence is felt daily by the talmidim, Rabbeimrabbeim, and everyone who walks through the doors of the yeshiva. His greatness and simplicity melded together in sync, as he carried out his vision to build a thriving Torah community, while never losing sight of each individual child and family.

Rav Mordechai spoke to the fourth and fifth graders, and then to the sixth through eighth graders in the Silber Mechina, evoking memories while relaying stories and lessons from the Rosh Yeshiva.

In a special assembly, the current Rosh Yeshiva spoke to the boys about everyone’s importance and potential. He told the now-famous story of how Rav Binyamin, who was already over 90 years old, came to the yeshiva to speak to the boys. As each boy answered his question correctly, he gave them a candy. But when the last boy answered correctly, there were no more candies left. Instead of just apologizing for his short stock of treats, Rav Binyamin returned the next day to look for the boy who rightfully deserved his reward!

Rabbi Kamenetzky also told the story of Rav Binyamin’s “guests” to an exclusive fundraiser held for the yeshiva marking the occasion of his 90th birthday. The yeshiva held a private event in Manhattan, attended by many philanthropists and wealthy business owners. To everyone’s surprise, in the middle of the event, a few people who were obviously not donors to the yeshiva came to join and went straight over to Rav Binyamin. Clearly, they had not made any

donation to the yeshiva!

Rav Binyamin welcomed them and thanked them for coming, and started to introduce them to some of the wealthy businessowners in attendance. When someone asked Rav Binyamin who they were, he answered, “These people asked me to help them find jobs. So I told them to come and meet a few businessowners

who can maybe hire them!”

The talmidim listened intently to the lessons of Rav Binyamin, and absorbed the eternal lessons of how to treat one another with super-sensitive care while realizing that with the right intentions and proper guidance, they each can achieve greatness!

The Menahel of Siach Yitzchok, Reb Dovid Sitnick, shlita, spoke with the Pre1A talmidim before they received their first siddur Yeshiva Darchei Torah Pre-1A Rebbi Rav Henoch Potash making Bircas HaIlanos with his Pre-1A talmidim across the street from the Yeshiva

Rambam Fetes 31st Scholarship Dinner

Rambam Mesivta held its annual scholarship dinner this year to celebrate its honorees, Brian and Sharon Duftler, Guests of Honor, Ben Diamond, Man of the Year, Rabbi Dr. Elie and Aliza Feder, Parents of the Year, as well as Yoni Miller, class of 2003, and Raphi Cooper, class of 2013, as Alumni of the Year. The dinner took place at the Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst and was emceed by Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal, a fivetime alumni parent.

Rabbi Friedman then addressed the audience and, using the concept of v’halachta b’drachav, recognized the honorees for their commitment to Avodas Hashem and Kiddush Hashem in their daily routines. He then spoke about

each individually and their contributions to Rambam Mesivta and the Jewish community as a whole.

Brian and Sharon Duftler, who are well-known for their community leadership, were the Rambam Guests of Honor. Sharon has served on the presidium of the Rambam Women’s League and chaired many events during the time their sons Mendy (2014) and Boaz (2023) attended Rambam. Brian was instrumental in coordinating Rambam’s application for Middle States certification and Blue Ribbon status, and was very involved in past Rambam scholarship dinners. Sharon and Brian are also active and beloved members in the YILC community and are known for helping

out whenever possible.

Ben Diamond, honored as the Man of the Year, is the Chief Strategy Officer of the One70 Group, the company responsible for building Rambam’s beautiful new building in record time. Ben is a key member of the Lakeview Fire Department where he conducts EMT training and is an active Hatzalah member in his West Hempstead community.

Rabbi Dr. Elie and Aliza Feder, recognized as Rambam’s Parents of The Year, are both well known for their educational accomplishments. Rabbi Feder is a tenured professor of mathematics in the CUNY system and gives a Mishmar shiur at Rambam on Thursday nights to students. Recently, he wrote a book entitled “Gematria Refigured,” fusing the workings of mathematics with the wisdom of Torah. Aliza is the STEM coordinator at HALB middle school and teaches Tanach at Shulamith High School. Rabbi Dr. Elie and Aliza are the proud parents of Ayala (Shalhevet class of 2021), Ezra (2022), Shmuel (2024), and Hillel.

Yoni Miller, Alumnus of the Year for the class of 2003, graduated Rambam 20 years ago and works in the world of finance as the First Vice President at IDB Bank. Along with his wife Rina, he is actively involved in his community of

Stamford, Connecticut.

Raphi Cooper, Alumnus of the Year for the class of 2013, graduated Rambam 10 years ago and is known for the deliciously healthy breadcrumb alternative Cooper’s Crumbs which he developed and manufactures in his spare time. Raphi spends the bulk of his time assisting others in his full-time capacity as a social worker.

Rabbi Yotav Eliach addressed the dinner attendees and spoke about how fortunate we are to live freely in the United States and to have an autonomous Jewish state, Israel. This was a preview of the remarks he was planning to give Rambam talmidim later in the week for Yom haZikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut He congratulated all honorees and made special recognition of the Alumni of the Year stating that both of them are held in high esteem by faculty members and by community members alike.

The program concluded with great desserts, socializing, and Ma’ariv.

Rabbi Dr. Elie & Aliza Feder Ben Diamond Raphi Cooper Sharon & Brian Duftler

Yoni Miller

Mi Omer?

Match the quote with the person who said it

1. “The only thing chicken about Israel is their soup.”

2. “I flew on an EL AL airplane. The signs read: ‘No smoking.’ ‘Fasten seat belts.’ ‘Eat, eat, look how bad you look!’”

3. “Israel also deprived the world of its chance of shedding tears of genuine sympathy over her destruction. The world resents this; it likes to feel noble and sympathetic.”

4. “Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!”

5. “You ought to let the Jews have Jerusalem; it was they who made it famous.”

6. “The Old City of Jerusalem is in our hands.”

7. “We plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian state. We will make life unbearable for Jews by psychological warfare and population explosion…. We Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem.”

8. “A fast walker could go outside the walls of Jerusalem and walk entirely around the city in an hour. I do not know how else to make one understand how small it is.”

9. “History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.“

10. “We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”

11. “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.”

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

An American tourist was riding in a taxi in Israel. As the taxi approached a red light, the tourist was shocked to see the driver drive straight through without even slowing down. Surprised as he was, he didn’t say anything, feeling himself a “guest” and not wanting to make waves. The trip continued uneventfully until the next intersection. This time, the light was green and, to the American’s dismay, the cab driver brought the vehicle to a grinding halt. Unable to contain his astonishment, he turned to the driver.

“Listen,” he said, “when you went through the red light, I didn’t say anything. But why on earth are you stopping at a green light?”

A. Winston Churchill

B. David Ben-Gurion

C. George Mikes

D. Dave Berg

E. Abba Eban

F. Bob Hope

G. Moshe Dayan

H.  Golda Meir

I. Yassir Arafat

J. Mark Twain

K. Golda Meir

The Israeli driver looked at him as if the American was deranged.

“Are you crazy?!” he shouts. “The other guy has a red light! Do you want to get us both killed?”

Matches:

Israel Trivia

1. In 1948, Israel had approximately 800,000 citizens. Approximately how many citizens are there in Israel today?

a. 4.2 million

b. 6.8 million

c. 9.5 million

d. 12 million

2. Israel comprises what percentage of the Middle East land mass?

a. 27%

b. 14%

c. 11%

d. 6%

e. 2%

f. 0.1%

3. Who was Israel’s second prime minister?

a. Moshe Sharett

b. David Ben-Gurion

c. Levi Eshkol

d. Golda Meir

4. Which of these deserts is not in Israel?

a. Judean Desert

b. Sinai Desert

c. Negev Desert

d. Arava Desert

5. What is unique about the postage stamp glue in Israel?

a. It is kosher.

b. It is blue and white, representing the colors of the Israeli flag.

c. It is bubble gum flavored.

d. The glue can be activated by touching it with your finger, preventing the need to lick it.

6. How many wars has Israel fought in since 1948?

a. 2

b. 4

c. 7

d. 12

7. How many days did the Six Day War last for?

a. 6 days

b. 11 days

c. 34 days

d. 97 days

8. Which of the following countries was the first to sign a peace deal with Israel?

a. Egypt

b. Jordan

c. United Arab Emirates

d. Turkey

9. How many Knesset members are there?

a. 61

b. 85

c. 120

d. 165

10. In 1952, who turned down an offer to become Israel’s president?

a. Albert Einstein

b. David Ben-Gurion

c. Moshe Dayan

d. Golda Meir

Wisdom Key:

8-10 correct: You are pretty smart yourself! Perhaps you will be offered the presidency of Israel. Word to the wise – do like your predecessor did: Don’t take the job!

3-7 correct: You are in the middle of the road. There is absolutely no place for you in Israel! You are way too wishy-washy.

0-2 correct: Just because the postage stamp glue is kosher doesn’t mean that you should eat it just for fun!

Torah Thought

Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim

By Rabbi Berel Wein

Among the many commandments and values that are represented in this week’s double parsha, special attention seems to being paid to the intimate and marital relationships between people. The Torah lists for us those relationships which are considered to be incestuous, immoral, and forbidden. There is perhaps no area of human behavior so sensitive and yet so dissolute and dangerously self-destructive as these liaisons and relationships.

According to the popularization of Freudian psychology, it is this drive more than anything else that is the energy source for human behavior. The Torah looks not to deny this basic drive, but rather it looks to channel and control this activity, turning it from something potentially illicit and harmful to something that is holy and creative. In order to accomplish this, the Torah imposes a set of limitations, inhibitions and rules to govern and sanctify such human be -

havior. In effect, the Torah teaches us that this is a neutral commodity. It is rather the circumstances and structure that surround the use of this drive that determines its probity and holiness. That is the key idea that lies behind the commandments that appear in these parshiyot: discipline, sensitivity, correct behavior, and a sense of positive purpose.

Be holy and sanctified the Torah tells us – that is our goal. How to arrive there is what the commandments, individually and collectively, come to teach us. And

ual piety and scholarship alone. Ramban advances the idea that the possibility of being obnoxious and disgusting, even within the confines of the Torah, so to speak, exists. How we deal with other human beings is a crucial part of being a holy person. It is far easier to deal with an unseen and inscrutable Divinity than to have to deal with a real human being face to face. When people differ with us, oftentimes, they are not cognizant of our needs and desires and can prove to be annoying and difficult. How are we to deal with such people? The Torah pre -

the road is paved with self-discipline, self-control, and a devotion to duty and responsibility.

These parshiyot also emphasize to us the Torah’s view regarding the treatment of other human beings. The Torah bids us to love, to respect, and to tolerate others, to become a holier person. Piety in matters that are, so to speak, between man and G-d are of prime importance in Jewish life. But of equal importance is the correct relationship between humans and their fellow human beings. One cannot be a holy person through rit-

scribes the same formula for dealing with others as it does for dealing with our innate drives as described above: patience, sensitivity, self-discipline, and retention of the goal of being holy. An awareness of circumstances and situations that govern all of the commandments of the Torah also relate to our interpersonal behavior, one with another. The Torah is always to be viewed as a unit, as something whole and inseparable. That is the way to embark on the road to holiness.

Shabbat shalom.

The road is paved with self-discipline, self-control, and a devotion to duty and responsibility.

Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim Where We Belong

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

Adapted for publication by Binyomin

Wolf

The greatest ideal in our lives is captured in one word found throughout our parsha: holiness. The Ramban (on Vayikrah 19:2) explains that the exhortation to be holy “because I am holy” “means that we merit to attach ourselves to Him when we are holy.” But what does it mean to be holy? As Rashi explains on the pasuk, it means to be separate from immorality and sin. At the beginning of the chapter called Shaar HaKedushah, Reishis Chochmah writes that holiness means “making a fence within a fence in order not to go outside.” What does this mean? Can it mean that it is G-d’s will that we always remain indoors?

Rav Yerucham Levovitz, zt”l , gives us a further insight into holiness by explaining, “‘You shall be holy’ means that we are commanded to be inner-focused people. Externality is the nature and essence of impurity.” We see that not going outside has nothing to do with staying indoors. For the majority of our history, most Jews have worked and done many of their activities outside. Holiness, not going outside, means something completely different: we must be deep people with rich inner lives.

The essence of exile and diaspora is not being in our place, in our true home. Why has it been Hashem’s will that we have not merited to live where we belong, in our national home where Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov dwelled 4,000 years ago? Moshe Rabbeinu asked himself this question when he saw his brothers enslaved in a foreign country (Rashi on Shmos 2:14).

According to the Midrash (Shmos Rabah 1:29), after Moshe killed the Egyptian, he looked around and saw

that some Jewish people saw what happened. He said to them, “You are compared to sand. Just as [with regard to] sand, a person takes it from one place and places it somewhere else and it makes no sound [during the transfer], so, too, this matter will remain hidden among you and it will not be heard.” Moshe assumed and expected that the Jewish people would be true to their nature and not reveal what he had done to the Egyptian.

But when he learned that certain Jews had circulated – “posted” – the secret, he said (Shmos 2:14), “The matter has become known.” The Midrash (Shmos Rabah 1:30) explains that Moshe understood why the Jewish people were in exile, outside their place, being persecuted by a strange nation: “There is lashon hara among them. How can they be worthy of redemption? ... Now I know why they are oppressed.” What is the essence of lashon hara? And why is exile and oppression its natural result?

A few pasukim after the commandment to be holy, Hashem tells us “Do

not go tale-bearing among your nation” (Vayikra 19:16). The Rambam (Hilchos Deios 7:2) explains the nature and full impact of the prohibitions against lashon hara and tale-bearing: rechilus. “What is a tale-bearer? This is one who carries ‘merchandise,’ going from one person to another and saying, ‘Poloni said such-and-such.’ ‘I heard such-andsuch about Ploni.’ Even though it is true, this destroys the world.”

Lashon hara and rechilus mean habitually revealing others’ secrets, speaking about things and people which are not their concern. Such a quality goes against the true nature of the Jewish people. We are deep people with powerful inner lives. That is why Moshe thought the Jewish people who witnessed his killing of the Egyptian thought they would keep it a secret.

People who have no inner life of their own have “no choice” but go outside of themselves and speak constantly about others. Redemption is when we have our own place. And exile is when we are outside of our true place. When the

Jewish people go outside of their true place, their inner spiritual world, this manifests itself in exile – our removal from our physical place.

This focus on talking about externality, other people’s business, or other superficial matters is the ultimate betrayal of the essence of the Jewish people. Moshe realized that this was why they were in exile. In fact, the Hebrew word for exile, galus , comes from the word l’galos, meaning “to expose.” When we jabber about others’ lives, exposing their private business, the natural result is exile. But after people revealed the fact that Moshe killed the Egyptian, the Jewish people learned their lesson and returned to their true nature. And this was the key to their redemption. How do we see this?

Most people are familiar with three things the Jewish people did that caused them to merit redemption (not changing their names, clothing, or language), but fewer know about the fourth one (Bamidbar Rabah 25:22): “They did not reveal their secrets.” They returned to their true inner-focused natures. Once again, they began to live lives of “a fence within a fence,” not going outside of themselves to prattle endlessly about others’ lives.

There are two Jewish ideas that most young women returning from seminary would be content never hearing again: “the whole honor of the daughter of the King is inside” (Tehillim 45:14) and tzinius – modesty. And while these ideas are often applied to sleeve lengths and hemlines, appropriate clothing is only the edge of the tip of the meaning of these concepts – which are applicable to both men and women.

Rav Yerucham explains tzinius this way: “The secret of the idea of tzinius is to be hidden, internal.” As we have already seen, this has nothing to do with remaining indoors and not going out into the street, though unfortunately many have misinterpreted the concept this way. The deeper meaning of “the whole honor of the daughter of the King is inside” is that we access holiness when we direct our attention to our inner life and away from things and people outside ourselves that do not truly concern us.

But what are these inner ideas with which we should occupy ourselves? How does one distinguish between superficial and essential concerns?

One deeper focus is the study of Torah. The Gemara (Sotah 49b) says, “What does the pasuk (Shir HaShirim 7:2) mean, ‘the curves of your thighs’? Why are the words of Torah compared to the thigh? To teach you that just as the thigh is hidden, so, too, the words of Torah are hidden.” What does it mean that the words of Torah are hidden? Isn’t sharing the Torah far and wide a great ideal?

The Gemara means that the words of Torah are called “hidden” because they

are not superficial or external. They go to the heart of life. The more one is focuses on superficial things, the less he can focus on putting his full energy into understanding Hashem’s will as expressed through the Torah.

But maintaining a rich inner life has become a rarity. Today, in frum communities, everyone must discuss and have an opinion on whatever everyone else is doing. Why must we discuss other people’s tragedies at all? What does it have to do with us? Do people even begin to think about the pain of the parents of a bride and groom about to get divorced, knowing that the whole world is talking about them? Do people consider how this talk and speculation destroys the lives of the young man and woman involved? Or how it affects the other relatives who are brokenhearted over this tragedy? Do we realize that we are destroying the world? Why must we prattle on, behind the guise of a concern for other Jews’ welfare, about other people’s business?

We live in a world where parents learn that their children are engaged only after the whole world has seen the 40 pictures they posted of themselves

sitting inappropriately close to one another on a simcha website or Facebook. And who says it is a mitzvah to post every picture from their private simcha for the whole world to gaze at?

Why are our inner lives so empty that everyone must post every little thing that happens on their favorite WhatsApp group? “My baby had solid food for the first time today!” Following the big news, everyone feels like they would be callous and uncaring if they ignored this important announcement. “Wow!” “What a big baby!” “Congratulations!” “What did she eat?” The endless, pointless chatter goes on and on. How much value do we really add to the world by talking with our friends or commenting somewhere online about the latest banality uttered by Hillary or Donald? Do we actually believe our political analysis on Twitter or Facebook will turn the tide of the election? The reason we become so obsessed with what is going on outside in the world is because our own inner life is completely barren. But our nature as Jews is to bring out the depth and inner-focus with which we merited the redemption from Egypt. We can become holy and cling

to G-d by turning away from focusing on what other people are saying or doing and turning our attention inward. We can set aside time to improve the quality of our davening or our motivations for doing the things we do. We can dedicate our attention to rectifying our own personal characteristics. In doing so, we begin to turn inward, working to become the people we want to during our one hundred and twenty years on this earth.

Let us consider how we can build fences within fences to separate ourselves from superficiality. Let us turn inward because Hashem is telling us that this is the way to access holiness.

In the merit of our efforts to turn our focus and attention where they belong, may Hashem return his entire nation to where they belong, Eretz Yisroel, with the coming of Moshiach and the complete redemption, may it arrive very soon in our days.

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.

Delving into the Daf Saying Amein to Birkas Kohanim

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

Rabbi Shragga Kallus delivered an enthralling and engaging lecture filled with Torah riddles. One such riddle was: “What are two scenarios where a person would answer ‘amein’ in the middle of his private Shemoneh Esrei?” Typically, all responses are forbidden then. He offered two scenarios. One is relatively rare (still valid as a riddle answer!). The second one is controversial.

One possible scenario is when someone is listening to the chazzan and being Yotzei with the chazzan’s recital of Shemoneh Esrei in lieu of his own. Since he is fulfilling his obligation of Shemoneh Esrei by listening to the chazzan, he must answer amein to each bracha. For various reasons, this technique is seldom employed.

The second scenario Rabbi Kallus offered, while being more common, is not universally accepted.

The Gemara (Sotah 38) says that a kohen has a positive mitzvah to bless Klal Yisrael. The Gemara does not directly discuss whether the person receiving the bracha has any mitzvah. The Sefer Chareidim writes that someone who pays attention to Birkas Kohanim and intends to be included in the blessing is also part of the mitzvah.

Rav Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz, in his work the Hafla’ah, understands the Chareidim quite literally: A person who listens to Birkas Kohanim can fulfill a mitzvas aseih; and if one doesn’t want to be blessed and turns his back to the kohen, he violates this aseih.

The Biur Halacha opens the second chelek of his work by citing the Chareidim. Some conclude therefore that the Chofetz Chaim is accepting the Chareidim’s position as definitive halacha.

Still, one can point to the silence among the other Rishonim on this issue to mean that they disagree with the Sefer Chareidim altogether and reason that there is no

mitzvah for an individual to be blessed by the kohanim. Receiving the blessings is definitely a wonderful opportunity but not an obligation.

The Shu’T Mahari Assad even suggests that the Chareidim himself did not mean that there is a distinct mitzvah for a non-kohen to listen to Birkas Kohanim. However, the people taking part in Birkas Kohanim enable the kohanim to fulfill their mitzvah of blessing the congregation. Helping someone else fulfill a mitzvah is in itself a mitzvah, and that is the mitzvah that a congregant can perform. However, if the congregant leaves shul before Birkas Kohanim, he has not violated any mitzvah. He had an opportunity to be included in the blessing of Birkas Kohanim and decided to forgo it.

These variant opinions might explain the different directives among the poskim in regard to a situation that is common in Eretz Yisrael but can also happen here: Suppose someone is in the middle of his silent Shemoneh Esrei when the kohanim start reciting Birkas Kohanim. What should he do?

Rav Elyashiv, zt”l, reasoned that the person should continue davening and may not interrupt his tefillah to pause for Birkas Kohanim. If there were a possible bittul mitzvas aseih, Rav Elyashiv would have advised the supplicant to pause, but he reasons that the Sefer Chareidim is a minority opinion. Consequently, l’halachah, there is no mitzvas aseih to hear Birkas Kohanim, so one is not permitted to interrupt his davening by pausing.

Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, (Igros Moshe O.C. 4, 21:2) disagrees. He specifically cites the Sefer Chareidim and reasons that a person hearing Birkas Kohanim has a biblical obligation to answer mein to each of the brachos. Therefore, someone who is reciting K’riyas Shema should still answer am-

ein to the three blessings (but not the opening bracha that kohanim recite when they start). However, someone in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei may not answer amein but still must pause and remain silent while listening to the blessings. Since someone who does this loses out on the mitzvah of answering amein to the Birkas Kohanim, Rav Moshe writes that one is not allowed to start Shemoneh Esrei if he knows he will not be finished in time to answer amein.

The Dirshu edition of the Mishnah Berurah points out an interesting inconsistency. The aforementioned teshuvah was penned on 15 Sivan 5740 and addressed to Rabbi Efraim Greenblatt, zt”l. In it, Rav Moshe writes that if the person davening Shemoneh Esrei is not in front of the kohanim, he may not move in middle of his prayer to stand in front of the kohanim. Yet in a later teshuvah (O.C. 5, 20:23), dated 2 Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5741, also addressed to Rabbi Greenblatt, Rav Moshe writes otherwise. He reasons that even in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei, if the supplicant is not in front of the kohanim, he should relocate himself to be in front of them. He writes, “Even though I did not see this halacha clearly anywhere it appears to me to be sound logically.”

Rav Moshe writes further in this second teshuvah, “There is certainly an obligation on every individual to hear Birkas Kohanim if he is in a city that has a shul with kohanim. The Sages were lenient with day laborers who worked in the field [so that they could] miss Birkas Kohanim during the week. They are considered anusim. Since Birkas Kohanim in America is only on yom tov, everyone who isn’t sick has to come to shul to hear Birkas Kohanim. Women who

have young children are exempt and they are considered anusim.”

In fact, in many congregations, even women who do not normally attend come to hear Birkas Kohanim. However, the Gemara writes that someone who is considered anus, and cannot attend Birkas Kohanim, still receives his or her bracha. Since they would attend if they could, they are not despising their bracha. However, someone who can attend Birkas Kohanim but chooses not to is not included in the bracha.

Returning, to the opening riddle, what would happen if someone is in the middle of his silent Shemoneh Esrei and finished the bracha after Modim? May he answer amein to Birchas Kohanim? According to Rav Elyashiv, certainly not. He should not even pause but should continue davening. Rav Shlomo Zalman, zt”l, answered that he may answer amein. (The Ishei Yisrael rules this way and cites others that follow this view.) Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, is quoted as saying one should not answer amein. (Dirshu MB 128:81)

Interestingly enough, the afore-cited teshuvos of Rav Moshe seem to differ on this point as well. The latter teshuva allows one to answer amein if it will not cause himself confusion.

Therefore, according to Rav Shlomo Zalman, zt”l, there is a second solution to the riddle.

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.

London and Paris, Athens and Rome, New York and Los Angeles are city combinations that make sense. But Dublin and Kishinev! What connection do these two cities have with each other? I cannot think of any commonality the capital cities of Ireland and Moldova share, other than my May 2001 itinerary.

Readers of my column over the past four years are aware of my involvement in the resurgence of Jewish life in the former Soviet Union. Pesi and I have been to the U.S.S.R. even during the communist regime of the late seventies and early eighties. As part of my commitment to the rebuilding of Yiddishkeit, I was active in the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel, especially in Kishinev where we established both a boys’ and girls’ Yeshiva. In that capacity, I traveled to Kishinev, Moldova’s capital, thirty times between 1996 and 2006. My trips were always related to managing the Yeshiva’s budget and construction projects. My responsibilities also included processing students who qualified to be sent to yeshivas and Bais Yaakov high schools in the States or Canada. Other trips were mainly for fundraising purposes, where we brought over potential donors to see

My Tale of Two Cities

By Hershel Lieber

our accomplishments and to help us to financially meet our needs and to expand our activities.

So far, I have explained the Kishinev angle of my May journey. But where does Dublin enter into the picture?

On a few occasions, Pesi traveled with me, and we would combine my functions

flavor of Dublin. In addition, we knew that there was a Jewish community in Dublin where we could spend our Shabbos, and kosher food, though limited, was available.

Dublin

We arrived early Wednesday morning

Stephens Green on the way to the main thoroughfare, Grafton Street. This is one of Europe’s busiest shopping locations and is dubbed “Ireland’s Premier Trading Street.” Aside from stores, it has a multitude of hotels, restaurants, cafes and dozens of well-attended pubs. The entire area was teeming with pedestrians, and the stores were well stocked with merchandise including Irish specialties. We did a lot of window shopping but did not buy anything. We then went to a supermarket for fruits and vegetables and rushed over to shop at The Big Cheese Company which had a small selection of kosher products.

in Kishinev with a stopover destination which was purely vacation-oriented. This is what happened in May of 2001 when I had scheduled a very hectic four days’ worth of activities in Kishinev but asked Pesi to accompany me for five days to Europe prior to my trip to Kishinev. We chose Ireland since we had never been there before and felt that we did not need more than a few days to get the taste and

on May 9 after a mostly sleepless night of flying. After checking into the centrally located Burlington Hotel, we decided that two hours of slumber would enhance the rest of the day’s activities, so to sleep we went. At noon, we ate the lunches that we brought along and headed out to explore the downtown area.

We walked through Dublin’s largest Georgian gardens square known as St.

On Thursday, we decided to take a tour of the small village called Avoca which was thirty miles from Dublin. A popular TV drama series was filmed there, and we were told that visiting the quaint location would be interesting. In short, it was a major disappointment and a waste of time. We did go to a presentation showcasing how colorful fabrics were woven on antique looms. We also stopped at the serene juncture to see the famed Meeting of the Waters, where two rivers meet to form the Avoca River, the subject of a poem by Robert Moore.

On Friday, we moved from our hotel

At the time, there were less than two-thousand Jews in all of Ireland, but even at its peak, in the 1940s, the numbers never reached more than 5,500.

The scenic Irish coast

At Malahide Castle

to Abrea House, a small guesthouse in a neighborhood where the small Orthodox community and shul are located. At the time, there were less than two-thousand Jews in all of Ireland, but even at its peak, in the 1940s, the numbers never reached more than 5,500. Traditional Jews were always a minority within a minority. Our guesthouse manager was very familiar with the needs of Orthodox Jews and extremely accommodating.

After settling in, we went out to expe -

rience a required Irish ritual, with a visit to the Guinness Storehouse. We toured the plant that produces and bottles the world-famous stout beer. The tour was fascinating, and the complimentary cold beers were deliciously thirst-quenching. After stopping by Cantor Shulman who gave us fresh challos, we returned to our guesthouse to get ready for Shabbos.

Our hosts for both seudos were Rabbi Zalman and Rivky Lent, the Chabad shluchim. Rav Zalman is also the de facto rabbi of the Dublin Hebrew Congregation. The shul had about fifty people during each of the Shabbos tefillos, and I was able to use the mikvah on Erev Shabbos. The beautiful seudos by the Lents included spirited conversations between the many participants. The international mix included guests from Jerusalem, Sao Paulo, Glasgow, Houston, and Washington, D.C., along with local Irish Jews. Rav Zalman asked me to give the Dvar Torah on Friday night, and he spoke the next day. We were also invited for an elegant patio Shalosh Seudos by the Gilbert family together with Cantor Shulman, which

was very pleasant. The Shabbos was memorable, and the friendly atmosphere made us feel exceptionally welcome.

On Sunday, we had one major sightseeing adventure: Malahide Castle. We traveled by bus along the Irish coast and were greeted by this magnificent eighthundred-year-old historic castle and its surrounding gardens. We took a guided tour which introduced us to the castle’s history and significance. We ended our day shopping on Grafton Street for souvenirs and gifts for our children.

Our stay was short, but we did get a taste and flavor of Ireland.

Kishinev

Monday morning, we both went to the airport. Pesi flew directly home, while I headed to Kishinev. I took a short flight to London and another one to Frankfurt from where I would continue on to Kishinev.

At the Frankfurt Airport, I met Reb Duvid D’Ancona who had founded a school and dormitory in Toronto that catered to teenage bochurim who came

from the former Soviet Union. He, too, was on the way to Kishinev to interview potential candidates to accept into his yeshiva, which he had done previously. He was also a major donor to our yeshiva through his Charity Fund. We flew together, and that very evening Reb Dovid began interviewing our students. Also present when we arrived to our school was Rav Hirsch Diskind who was the principal of the Bais Yakov High School of Baltimore who was a continuous source of guidance for our project.

On Tuesday, Rabbi Meyer Schwab, the principal of the Bais Yakov High School of Denver, arrived to interview our girls with the objective of accepting some into his institution. On Wednesday, Rav Moshe Eisemann, the former mashgiach of Ner Yisroel of Baltimore, arrived. Rav Moshe was my partner in every aspect of managing and funding both the boys’ and girls’ schools in Kishinev. He came to work with me on many decisions that needed clarity and immediate attention.

Over my three-day stay, I was heavily involved with finances and met with

In the Guiness Storehouse

Posing in front of one of Dublin’s many pubs

At Grafton Street

Kishinev Yeshiva boys

Kishinev Bais Yaakov students

Boys learning in Kishinev Yeshiva

With Rav Zalman Lent

our manager, Sergei, half a dozen times. Each evening, we sat together until way past midnight to work out a viable budget. I also had to meet with our rosh yeshiva and the principal of the girls’ school about educational issues. Having Rav Diskind and Rav Eisemann, both experts in chinuch, join those sessions relieved the pressure on me to make decisions in matters with which I had very little experience. I also met with some teachers and staff to hear their concerns and to offer encouragement for their efforts.

Rav Moshe and I had to finalize with Reb Dovid D’Ancona and Rabbi Meyer Schwab which students would qualify to be sent abroad. In addition, we had recently bought a large private residence in an upscale section of the city which we were planning to use for the Bais Yakov of Kishinev. This required a major renovation project which needed practical input from both Rav Moshe and me. We did not even discuss how we would finance the financial burden that we had undertaken. I took some time to take pictures of our students in both schools. We would use these photos to promote our institutions for publications and fundraising events.

The hectic pace and the continuous meetings and intense discussions during those three days was stimulating but tiring as well. On Wednesday, in the late afternoon, I needed a break. I went out alone for a walk on Kishinev’s main street, Stefan Cel Mare for two hours. This grand boulevard contains the country’s major government buildings including Parliament, as well as the city’s largest park and many stores. Moldova is Europe’s poorest country, and the merchandise that the stores carried were mostly shoddy and unattractive. There was rarely anything

of interest for me to buy.

When I returned from my walk, Rav Moshe and I wrapped up our meetings, ate supper with the yeshiva boys, and returned to our hotel rooms. We sat in the lobby talking and planning until two o’clock in the morning. On Thursday after Shacharis, I headed to the airport, where I still had to fly to Dublin with stops in Frankfurt and London before making it home. I could not make a flight back home the same day so I stayed over in Malahide (as there were no rooms available in Dublin). Although I usually

do not fly on Friday, I was too eager to get home before Shabbos.

When I boarded the Aer Lingus flight at 8 AM, I knew that I was closing the chapter of “My Tale of Two Cities.”

Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

R-L:Rabbis Meyer Schwab, Hershel Lieber, Moshe Eisemann, and Hirsch Diskind

Major Oren Blitzblau Disabled Israeli Veteran, Ironman Record Holder, Hero

By Isaac Seinuk

“There is no such thing as certainty after a terrorist explodes a bomb in your face. You have to first learn to breathe, then move, then understand that every rehabilitation process has its own rhythm.”

When Oren Blitzblau crossed the finish line of the Iron Man competition in Sweden on August 19, 2018, he not only triumphed over the difficult course but did so while overcoming life-changing injuries from 13 years prior.

Oren, a disabled Israeli veteran, was the only blind participant among 1,700 contestants at the Ironman competition in Sweden. He came in 83rd place in his age group. He completed the Iron Man’s 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling, and 2.4 miles of running, with his running companion, Erez Falk, in 10 hours and 51 minutes. This broke the previous record set by a blind person in the Ironman by 12 minutes.

Sports has always played a major role in Oren’s life. As a child in Naharia in Northern Israel, Oren was very energetic. To the delight of his parents, Oren found an outlet to his vast amounts of energy in the local pool in Naharia. He discovered swimming. Swimming was the first place where Oren learned about determination and motivation. He used to swim competitively, but his swimming races were interrupted when he entered the army. There, he served in the Paratroopers Brigade. A few years later, he transferred to the Intelligence Corps, where he served as the intelligence officer of the southern brigade in the Armored Corps near Gaza. Oren reached the rank of Major.

On January 10, 2005, while posted in Gaza as an intelligence officer, Oren received a communication from the Shin Bet that there was a wanted suspect who would be going south from Gaza City to

Rafah. An opportunity was available to intercept and arrest the terrorist in Gush Katif Junction. Oren recalls that it started as a routine arrest. He was escorting the Shin Bet personnel in the attempt to arrest the suspect. The suspect became aware of what was happening, and as if it was out of a scene out of “Fauda,” the suspect reached into his pants and triggered a bomb that he was wearing. One of the people who Oren was working with, Oded Sharon, was killed instantly in the blast. Oren had his glasses blown into his eyes but his ceramic vest saved his life, though in the process it crushed his ribs. Oren suffered burns all over his body.

Oren was rushed to intensive care at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. After three days, he regained consciousness but could not see. He was told that he had lost his right eye but that there was a chance that he may regain some vision in his left. The partial vision in his left eye only lasted for several years.

Oren actually returned to active service in eight months and remained in active service for ten more years. He, in total, completed 20 years of service in the intelligence corps.

Oren Blitzblau’s journey to the Ironman began with the rehabilitation, support, and training that he received through the help of the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization (ZDVO), which was established when the War of Independence ended in 1948. ZDVO supports and represents disabled Israeli veterans and built Beit Halochem centers to rehabilitate and reintegrate the 52,000 disabled veterans into society.

Oren strongly believed that going back to all of his former activities, including sports for him personally, would be his biggest win over Hamas. He began to train.

In 2013, he was named the European Champion in the Para Triathlon, where he competed in the category of blind persons, which included including swimming (1/2 mile), cycling (12.5 miles) and running (3.1 miles). He finished ranked 5th in the world.

The competition on August 19, 2018, was his first Iron Man competition, which he calls a success.

“I experienced a serious injury,” he said, “but I showed that I can deal here with the Iron Man, and this ability also helps in dealing with the blindness on a daily basis.”

Oren had only been married for fifteen months when he suffered his injuries. He is now the father of two daughters that he has never physically seen. He lives in Herzliya. Now that a number of years have passed since his Ironman competition, all Oren wants to do is relax with his wife Nitzan, who accompanied him to Sweden. The preparation that it took to compete required over a half of a year of exhausting training for the competition.

Oren continues to come to Beit Halochem to train and work out on a regular basis. He repeats what all members of Beit Halochem say; it’s their second home. His athletic prowess has been supported by sports scholarship donations, and his expenses for training, overseas competitions, coaches, and necessary equipment have been funded by Beit Halochem. However, Oren is not the only disabled veteran to benefit. Through Beit Halochem, disabled Israeli veterans compete worldwide in disabled sports.

“I will start thinking about the next competition where there is also a category of Physically Challenged,” Oren relates.

“I am very happy with my results. I know which landscapes I am missing out on, as I was not born blind, and my imagination complements what I cannot see.”

After his training rides when he gets back into the city, Oren becomes more stoic.

“There is no doubt that the other senses are sharper. I’d be lying if I say it is not fun, but I do not want to dig too deeply into that. I just want to enjoy the achievements.”

Oren currently is a motivational speaker who lectures worldwide about his experiences.

The former Executive Director of ZDVO, Brig. Gen. (res.) Haim Ronen, said, “Oren’s achievement demonstrates that the strongest force in the world is willpower. We are proud of you and glad to help you make history. You are a model and an inspiration to all of us.”

Oren and Beit Halochem are supported here in the United States by Beit Halochem USA/ FIDV. This year will be the 13th year of the Beit Halochem 5Towns 5K Run Walk sponsored by Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Group. With the help of our participants, we have raised hundreds of thousands dollars for veterans like Oren Blitzblau and Beit Halochem.

Oren, left, completing the Iron Man competition

Oren, right, on his bike

Israel’s Birthday Present

By Gedaliah Borvick

Happy birthday to the State of Israel! At 75 years old, the country has thankfully been weathering the global economic downturn relatively well. Let’s address a number of issues affecting Israeli real estate and then examine some of the popular Anglo markets.

Population growth . In 2022, Israel’s population increased by 1.5%, four times the average of developed countries, and the country’s total population is expected to double within the next 30 to 50 years. With demand projected to continue outstripping supply, coupled with rising construction costs, we expect housing prices to remain firm in the short-term and rise in the long-term.

Antisemitism . An extremely distressing issue is the escalation of global antisemitism. Focusing on the U.S., the Anti-Defamation League reports that antisemitic incidents in 2022 spiked by 36% over the previous year, representing the highest number of incidents since the ADL began tracking data in 1979. Antisemitism is one of the reasons that has led to an increase in people making aliyah and to an upsurge of overseas buyers purchasing Israeli real estate as investments.

Financing. Mortgage interest rates have gone up globally. Thankfully, rates in Israel have increased less dramatically than in other countries. A year ago, the interest rate on a 20-year fixed rate mortgage hovered around 3.5%. Today, the rates are around 5%. For first-time buyers, this increase is meaningful and, consequently, the volume of apartment sales in secondary markets – where many purchasers are young families on tight budgets – has gone down significantly. In contrast, sales in primary markets have remained resilient. To avoid high mortgage rates, some buyers are purchasing on paper and deferring taking out mortgages for a few years. Several new projects offer 20/80 payment schedules, where buyers pay 20% on contract, and fund the final 80% at the end of construction. This allows buyers to wait three years until taking out a mortgage, with the expectation that interest rates will decline over the next 36 months.

Strong Dollar. One big reason why overseas buyers are active is the strong U.S. dollar (USD), which effectively lowers the property cost. As of April 15, 2023, the USD is worth 3.67 shekels.

One year ago, the USD was 14% weaker at around 3.2 NIS. The cost for an American buyer to purchase a three million shekel property is $820,000; a year ago, it would have been $935,000.

Netanya and Beit Shemesh are excellent case studies to understand sales activity across the country. Prices in Netanya have remained stable, but the volume of sales in its secondary markets has slowed down. In comparison, prime Netanya locations, such as along the shore, have not experienced any downturn in sales volume. Somewhat similarly, Beit Shemesh and Ramat Beit Shemesh have experienced rising prices in all the submarkets, and overall sales remain strong. However, there has been a noticeable slowdown in sales volume in neighborhoods that cater primarily to younger buyers.

In Jerusalem, prices have increased significantly over the past year, and sales remain brisk for existing properties and for apartments under construction. Based on strong sales volume and the dearth of new construction projects in central Jerusalem, we do not expect prices to fall. However, with continued global economic uncertainty, we don’t

expect prices to rise considerably. A large number of apartments were sold in Jerusalem in 2022. Many of these deals were actually agreed to in the previous year but, due to Covid-related complications, only closed in 2022. With the deal backlog now cleared, there presently is more available supply – though by no means a glut – to accommodate market demand, and we have recently observed a number of fairly priced apartments enter the market. In Beit Shemesh and RBS, we are experiencing similar activity, with more second-hand purchasing options available plus exciting new projects offering favorable payment plans.

For people interested in purchasing a reasonably priced apartment, consider today’s attractive real estate opportunities Israel’s birthday present to you!

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

Fighting for Torah Values at the Extraordinary World Zionist Congress

By Rabbi Avromi Mostofsky

This past week, I went to the World Zionist Congress with low expectations. Our agenda was clear: fight for our values, even if we lose every vote. Historically, the chareidi community has been excluded by those who claim inclusivity.

On Wednesday, my committee spent almost two hours debating the Supreme Court resolution. While at times it got heated, thanks to a superb committee chair, it remained mostly respectful. The left wing parties discovered that the Orthodox are able to negotiate in good faith and come prepared.

At one point we were discussing changing the words rabbanim and rabbanot to manhigim and manhigot, in another resolution. After negotiations with the Rreform delegation, we were in agreement.

At the last second, someone from a different party began shouting that those words don’t mean rabbi and rabbanot. However, the secretary shut that down instantly. In Hebrew he yelled back,

“The Orthodox know what the meaning of rabbanim and rabbanot is. If they say the words manhigim and manhigot can be referring to those positions, and the Reform also agree, I’m going to go with the Orthodox!”

At another point in our lively debate, Marc Jacobs, Esq. and I, went over to talk with some members of the Reform delegation. They had proposed an amendment to their own resolution, which would make it watered down and theoretically much easier for us to accept.

Marc made it clear to them, on their amendment to the resolution, we would vote “Yes.” We appreciated their gesture, and it wasn’t unnoticed and so we would vote with them. Mizrachi requested a few minor adjustments to verbiage, and the Reform delegation accepted those. The amendment passed almost unanimously.

“But on the actual resolution,” Marc explained, “we’d have to vote ‘no.’ The resolution goes against our core beliefs, and although we understand that you feel it’s important, we cannot vote yes.”

Obviously, they wanted a yes vote, but it was clear that they truly respected his openness. This wasn’t personal. It was a matter of Torah. Does it mesh with what Hashem wants? The answer was no, so our vote would be no.

The Eretz Hakodesh slate at the World Zionist Congress was founded for one reason: Fighting for Torah values. We will never compromise on Torah values and will always fight to keep the kedusha (holiness) of the land. Many of the resolutions discussed and approved for a final vote at this year’s Extraordinary World Zionist Congress were antithetical to these values, and we vehemently opposed them. On Thursday night, when the voting was expected to take place, we were ready to vote NO on most of them. Together with the other parties who put Hashem first, we had a slight majority. So, we believed.

Prior to the voting, the Mizrachi slate came to us with an unusual request. They feared people were trying to vote multiple times by using other people’s

clickers. (The voting was to take place electronically via these “clickers.” -Ed.) Indeed, at one point, an Israeli member of the Likud faction showed one of us that he managed to procure a second one.) To prevent this, Mizrachi prepared a petition to require a name-by-name vote. While voting this way would take all night, naming more than 700 people during each vote, we felt this was the best option.

As this was unheard of, the Presidium, which devises all procedural matters, was called upon to debate the petition. They left the room amidst shouts of “Busha, busha! Shame, shame!” from the left. The same parties that demand “transparency and democracy” were unable to stomach a legitimately submitted petition.

The Presidium left to debate, and over an hour later, we were told to break for dinner. Our entire delegation remained in place, waiting for instructions from Rabbi Pesach Lerner, the founder of our party. I then got word that the initial petition from Mizrachi was becom-

Members of the Eretz Hakodesh delegation. The author is in the front, second from left

ing shaky. For Eretz Hakodesh, this was not an option.

The issues being voted on were against all our values, and we could accept nothing less than complete transparency.

In the aftermath, many on the left accused the right of simply trying to delay so there wouldn’t be a vote. I’m willing to admit that was true, but only insomuch as the electronic system was greatly flawed and the only alternative was name-byname voting.

I can’t speak for the left-wing parties, but we were prepared to remain all night voting name by name. Honestly. As other delegates seemed to be filtering out of the hall, not one of ours left. We stayed together waiting for instructions. Eretz Hakodesh exists because the Gedolim told us to do this. When the Gedolim say fight for the Torah, you fight. Staying all night is irrelevant.

So we waited, recognizing that even if we lost the votes, at least we’d go home knowing it was honest and we fought for the Torah values.

As Mizrachi eventually pulled their name-by-name petition, the next instructions were clear. Create a new petition, this time from our delegation, and get at least seventy signatures. But I had around

fifteen minutes to do so.

Immediately, with the help of our good friends in Shas and Likud, I drafted a new petition demanding a name-byname vote. Within minutes, we had the signatures we needed from across the spectrum. When you fight for Hashem’s honor, you don’t back down. Rabbi Le -

left put an event with President Herzog before Zionism.

Indeed, when Yaakov Hagoel, the chairman of the WZO arrived at that event later in the evening, all of the attendees began to shout at him, “Busha, busha! Shame, shame!”

So an agreement was made. For the

lo mifached, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem echad.” (The Jewish Nation is not afraid. Hashem, our G-d, G-d is one.)

As of now, voting will take place in a few days, electronically, online. This means nobody will be able to vote twice. With a slim majority, the right-wing parties will hopefully be able to defeat the resolutions against our values and pass those that we can accept. Perhaps the WZO will learn from this, and at the next Congress use a third party, or come up with another acceptable, verifiable voting system.

At this year’s Extraordinary World Zionist Congress, it was Eretz Hakodesh, fighting for our values, that was successful in the end.

rner reminded us of this important rule throughout the weeks leading up to the Congress.

With the Eretz Hakodesh petition ready to go, the Presidium understood that without an immediate solution, we’d be there all night. The left-wing parties had no interest in that. An event with the President of Israel was originally on the agenda for after the voting. An all-night vote would impede the ceremony. The

first time ever, in an initiative led by Eretz Hakodesh, Shas, Likud and ZOA, there were no votes at the World Zionist Congress. Rabbi Lerner emerged from the Presidium with the news. As he told our friends in Likud, “Tonight, we showed everyone that the honor of Hashem will never come second. We are here to stay, and we will defend the kedusha of the land, always.”

A Likudnik responded, “Am Yisrael

This is why our party exists. We will always defend Torah values and Eretz Hakodesh, our Holy Land. We will never back down. We will never give in.

“Am Yisrael lo mifached.”

Rabbi Mostofsky lives with his family in NYC. He studied in Jerusalem where he received Smicha at the age of 22. He is a board member of the American Zionist Movement and is a delegate for Eretz Hakodesh at the World Zionist Congress.

At this year’s Extraordinary World Zionist Congress, it was Eretz Hakodesh, fighting for our values, that was successful in the end.

Israel Among the Nations The Critical Need for Israeli Diplomacy

by Michael Oren

The Zionist movement launched by Herzl was essentially a foreign policy initiative aimed at sultans and kaisers and other world leaders. It drew on a tradition as old as Judaism itself and our forebears’ need to navigate between warring empires. The covenant between G-d and the Jewish people incorporates concepts and language from ancient treaties. The Bible itself can be seen as primer for how – and how not – to conduct foreign affairs.

This legacy was harnessed by Israel’s founders to secure recognition and legitimacy for the Jewish state and, after its establishment, help ensure its survival. Like our ancestors in the Bible, Israeli leaders had to steer carefully between hostile blocs and maintain strategic alliances. In recent years, the effort to de -

stroy Israel has morphed from an exclusively military to a largely legal campaign designed to delegitimize the Jewish state and strangle it with sanctions. Why then should Israel downplay the importance – and often dismiss –the role of foreign relations?

The reason is the presence of a parallel tradition, one of Zionist distaste for the Diasporic court (shtatlan) Jew combined with the premium Israelis place on self-reliance. The school of thought was best summarized by David Ben-Gurion’s famous quip, “Umm Shmum ” (roughly “The United Nations – who cares?”) When, as ambassador to the United States, I first informed IDF and Mossad commanders of the campaign to boycott and sanction Israel, their reaction was, “No worry. The main thing is that we remain strong.” As if tanks and planes could defend the state from a popular movement seeking to pass laws denying us, first, the right to use those armaments, and later the right to exist.

In the contest between the two traditions, the biblical regard for foreign policy and the current contempt, the latter has won out. The foreign ministry has been stripped of many of its responsibilities and its budget repeatedly slashed.

Much of Israel’s foreign policy is today conducted through the National Security Council, the IDF, and the Mossad, by individuals lacking any diplomatic background. Norway, with none of the legal and diplomatic challenges Israel faces, spends twelve times as much on its foreign relations. The Palestinian Authority

maintains 120 legations abroad. Israel has 96, with several of those slated for closure.

Ironically, the decision to cut back on Israel’s representation abroad comes at a time of unprecedented international interest in expanding ties with the Jewish state. Once, in the years after Israel’s twenty-fifth anniversary, the country was completely isolated. No peace with Jordan and Egypt, unremitting hostility from China, India, the twelve-nation Soviet Bloc, and embassies in only five of the twenty-four African capitals. Relations with most of Central and South America were strained at best. Today, fifty years later, all of those countries, plus the four Arab signatories to the Abraham Accords, are closely linked with Israel. Never before has our diplomatic portfolio been more diversified. Never before has our foreign policy horizon been wider. And yet, at the same time, rarely has there been a more urgent need for an effective, creative, and activist Israeli diplomacy.

The reason is that now, as in millennia past, Israel must navigate between empires. With the United States – Israel’s preeminent ally virtually since its founding – withdrawing from the Middle East and elsewhere in the world, and other powers rushing to fill the vacuum, Israel finds itself facing new superpower challenges. Far beyond the hazards posed by Russian forces stationed near our northern border, there is the looming challenge of China.

This is the China that has built some

thirty-five ports around the world, including at the entrance to the Red Sea, and is reportedly planning to construct two on the Persian Gulf. The same China now dominates Africa economically while rapidly expanding its global naval outreach. Analysts also predict that China, alone, has the ability to rebuild Syria, a project estimated to cost some $300 billion. And this is the China that has modernized Israel’s two major ports, laid Tel Aviv’s subway system, and undertaken dozens of major construction projects countrywide. The skylines of virtually all Israeli cities are marked with cranes bearing Chinese signs. Less visible are Chinese takeovers of Israeli high-tech companies and the opening of Chinese cultural and technological centers at Israeli universities.

China is certainly not a hostile country – anti-Semitism is essentially unknown there – but it is increasingly regarded as such by the United States. American officials have repeatedly warned their Israeli counterparts that, if China rebuilds Haifa port, the U.S. Sixth Fleet will no longer pay portsof-call visits there. Washington has repeatedly worked to prevent the sale of Israeli military technology to China, to the point of triggering diplomatic crises with Jerusalem. Our ally’s position is that Israel cannot have its American pie and Chinese rice cake, too. Ultimately, we must choose.

And so, Israel must navigate. It must counterbalance its strategic, economic, and ideological links with America with its burgeoning interests with China, to take stock of America’s retreat from the Middle East with China’s very rapid en-

Michael Oren

try, and to grapple with China’s close relations with Iran, North Korea, and other enemy states. All the while, Israel must not lose sight of the parallel foreign policy goal of preserving our right to defend ourselves and, beyond that, our right to exist as a sovereign Jewish state.

The means for ensuring those rights are discussed elsewhere in this book, but it bears repeating that failure to address the very real threat posed daily to Israel’s legitimacy could seriously endanger our security and ultimately even our existence. That threat must be fought by all possible means, including, of course, foreign policy. And foreign policy was and will remain the principal purview of the foreign ministry.

Yet it is precisely that ministry whose budget and responsibilities have been

so radically reduced. Reversing this trend requires better educating Israelis about the impact of foreign affairs on their daily lives. Diplomacy is not merely the poor stepchild of security, they must learn, but an essential tool for safeguarding their homes and prosperity. Diplomats do not “sip cocktails,” as

must be the days when diplomats could exchange some 120 cables to purchase –this actually happened – a teakettle. So, too, the ministry must be purged of the cronyism that consistently led to inappropriate and even damaging postings abroad and chronic leaks to the press. Early in my term in Washington, I briefed several for-

gle political attaché analyzing elections in America. No longer can a mid-level diplomat serve as Israel’s sole liaison to 1.4 billion Christians. The old division of departments according to geography (Asian Desk, European Desk) no longer corresponds to a world linked by the internet and economic globalization. Ambassadors and their staffs must be chosen solely on their qualifications, by a committee free of foreign ministry influence, and instantly dismissed for leaks. The ministry, in short, must be deconstructed and rebuilt in ways that can regain the public’s confidence.

the popular myth holds, but work long hours for little pay and even risk their lives to represent and defend Israel in an often-hostile world. They provide the time and space necessary for our soldiers to fight and defend them from legal repercussions.

The foreign ministry must also be reformed. An institution infamous for inefficiency and mindless bureaucracy, it must be streamlined and modernized. Gone

eign ministry departments, including the most classified unit, and read everything I said in the next day’s newspapers. Israel’s ambassador to the United States never spoke to the foreign ministry again for the next five years!

Generally, the ministry must be made to reflect twenty-first century realities. No longer can the embassy in Washington have a full-time diplomat in charge of international organizations but not a sin-

The road turn restoring the foreign ministry to the exalted position it held in the early years of the state, and, more broadly, reviving the Jewish people’s respect for diplomacy, is long and challenging. It is a path that must be taken, if Israel is to position itself successfully in the twenty-first century world, navigating between competing powers, and defending itself against delegitimization. Israel can be a light unto nations but only by projecting and protecting the beam.

“Israel Among the Nations” has been excerpted with permission from 2048 – The Rejuvenated State by Michael Oren, The Toby Press (2023), an imprint of Koren Jerusalem

Israel can be a light unto nations but only by projecting and protecting the beam.

What Would You Do If…

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

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

Navidaters,

DearThanks for your insightful column. I love hearing your different panelists’ perspectives.

My brother is an addict – he doesn’t know I know. It’s kind of hard to miss as he still lives at home. On the outside, he is a regular run-of-the-mill guy, but he transforms at night. He drinks a LOT and goes out with friends and then stays in bed until late in the morning, then gets up and goes to work, davening, chavrusa, etc.

What really concerns me is he is dating. Our parents are busy professionals and not very hands-on; it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t even realize. How should I deal with this as a very concerned sister?

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

Leah, kol hakavod for seeking advice on how to handle this problem in your family and with your brother’s dating. I think the first issue has the most immediacy and you recognize that. Ask your parents to meet with you at a restaurant with privacy. Tell them it’s an important conversation you want to have and ask them to make the time for you. Couch your language carefully as you introduce the topic. Use sentences like, “I am worried about my brother. There are disturbing signs that I cannot help noticing. It seems to me that these are signs similar to those of substance abuse.” The point behind being careful

is that you don’t want to make your parents feel guilty that they missed something. Your goal is to bring the matter to their attention. They are the parents.

At the same time that they need to consider what to do about their son, they also need to take care of you, their daughter. That means protecting you. You want to ask them to keep the conversation confidential. They should be shown your sincerity and respect. You will ask them to keep family relationships strong and positive by not sharing that you came to them. If you are successful with part one in getting them to hear your concerns, they will accede to your request. It might be wise to conclude with this request.

The follow-up is their responsibility. That includes paying serious attention, consulting professionals, and communicating with your brother.

B’hatzlacha.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

Leah, I am so sorry you’re dealing with such a difficult predicament. You are walking around with a heavy burden that must be lifted off of your shoulders. Your brother’s addiction and mental health should definitely be addressed by a competent adult in his life. I urge you to reach out to anyone who you remember him being close with, whether it is a rebbi, mentor, or relative. Make sure it is somebody he respects. The burden should not be on you to break the news.

I would like to just make a statement for the general audience who is reading this paper. When your son and daughter goes out into the dating world, it is your responsibility to make sure he or she is mentally fit to be married. It’s not just about getting an adult child to the chuppah but preparing him or her to be a good spouse. Even if this child will be a bit older when he or she starts dating, it’s okay. You’re doing the right thing.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

You sound like a very good sister who has correctly identified a potentially serious problem.

Here are my thoughts. Merely telling your brother, or merely telling your parents, that there is a problem that needs to be addressed, may not be an effective approach.

First: In order for your efforts to be effective, I suggest that you initially do some important groundwork. Please call the Relief Resources organization (their Brooklyn number is 718-431-9501, and their New Jersey number is 732-9051605).

You will explain your concerns, your family’s demographics, your brother’s medical insurance (if any), and they will respond to you with various options and recommendations.

Second: In order for your brother

to take you seriously, you cannot have a casual discussion with him in your living room. Instead, tell him that you have something important to discuss and invite him out for a coffee.

Because you are the only one who understands your relationship with your brother, you need to think carefully about what to say. You will want to speak with empathy and compassion. And, you will want to avoid being judgmental or confrontational, because this could cause him to become defensive and unreceptive to your concerns.

You might say something like, “You are a great guy and a great catch. I have observed an issue that might be more serious than you realize. And, this issue might be inhibiting your potential.”

Avoid blunt statements such as, “Your drinking is out of control.” Instead, explain how you’ve noticed how his behavior has changed and give specific examples, like, “I’ve noticed that you drink at night, go out with your friends, and then stay in bed until late in the morning.”

Observations like that might be hard for him to defensively dismiss or ignore.

Then, formally present him with what you have learned from Relief Resources. Emphasize that you love him and will be there for him.

Third: It’s a bit puzzling that your parents are oblivious to a problem that seems so obvious to you. Note that alcoholism is often not merely an addiction problem but also an emotional/psychological problem.

Good luck with helping your brother on his road back to health.

When your son and daughter goes out into the dating world, it is your responsibility to make sure he or she is mentally fit to be married.

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Dear Leah,

Thank you for writing into the panel. More often than not, living with an addict means living with others who are in denial of the addict’s addiction. Along with addiction often comes projection and rationalizations. It is very painful for loved ones to recognize that there is a serious problem. Oftentimes what happens is that the person in the family who recognizes and acknowledges the addiction becomes the “problem.” On some level, I believe your parents do know that your brother has a problem with alcohol.

I want to convey to you what you may be up against, not to scare you but to prepare you. Confronting the addiction to your brother may have several different results. He may brush you off; he may tell you are anxious, crazy or that you have absolutely nothing to worry about and that you are overreacting. He may also tell you to mind your own business, as many addicts have no intention of stopping and can get angry when confronted.

I do believe that as a loving and con-

cerned sister, it is most definitely your place to say something to your brother along the lines of, “You know how much I love you. I’m saying this out of love and concern. I’ve noticed that you are drinking on weeknights and not getting out of bed in the morning. I am here for you if you want to talk about it.”

if your brother is not interested in your “help” and you have true concerns that he is struggling with addiction, I think it behooves you to speak with your parents about this. Hopefully your brother and your parents will accept your concerns for what they are and not turn the tables on you. If that is the case, your brother’s potential addiction may be able to be addressed in a healthy and helpful way. If your concerns are not welcome, please know that there is absolutely nothing that you can do to prevent this. People do what they want to do,

and people stop doing the things that are bad for them only when they want to stop.

Very often in families with someone addicted to a substance, there is another person with another addiction, a loved one addicted to helping the addict. In Al-Anon meetings, loved ones of addicts learn how to live their own full lives, breaking their own addiction to what the addict is doing, how much alcohol he is consuming and how he chooses to live his life. I am not suggesting that you attend one of these meetings as I don’t know whether or not your brother struggles with addiction conclusively.

The time is now to speak honestly as the clearly concerned and loving sister and daughter that you are.

Wishing you an easy and fruitful conversation with your family members.

Sincerely, Jennifer

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

School of Thought

By Etti Siegel

Q:Dear Etti, Last week’s letter hit a nerve. Unlike last week’s bored student, my 5 th grade daughter behaves beautifully in class. I do not need to discuss tolerance with her. She gets it. But she is bored to tears! She comes home so out of sorts. She loves her morning teacher and subjects, etc. Her afternoon teacher, however, is inexperienced, and my daughter is so under-stimulated. For example, the teacher does each math problem one by one with the class and does not let anyone go ahead. My daughter is finished quickly, and the math is easy for her, so she sits quietly, and it is agonizing. When I mentioned to the teacher at PTA that she needs more, I saw the teacher was clueless and had nothing more to offer. She is over her head and doing the best she can. We are waiting out the year, but my daughter is losing her spark.

Sincerely,

-Exasperated Mother

A:Dear Exasperated Mother, Kol hakavod to you! Kudos for raising your daughter with patience and tolerance and building her resilience.

But you can do more!

Don’t let your daughter lose her spark for learning! Make sure to give her enrichment at home. There are books and programs that she can further her math skills and have more opportunities to advance in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math).

Some easy ways to enrich her skills:

• Have her bake! If she can follow a recipe, challenge her to make half a recipe, or double the recipe. What about 1½ times the recipe?

• With proper supervision for online activities, have her master basic computer coding. According to Wikipedia, “Computer programming is the process of performing particular computations, usually by designing and building executable computer programs. Programming involves tasks such as analysis, generating algorithms, profiling algorithms’ accuracy and resource consumption, and the implementation of algorithms.” I know that sounds overwhelming to you if you are not familiar, but the programs available now are easy and kid-friendly and allow children to master the basics of computer coding. Scratch is the program most used for a target audience of children ages 8-16.

At https://www.dreamsforschools.org/codingathome-elementary/ your daughter can follow clear activities for basic coding on Scratch, or she can build a bridge, paddle boat, airplane launcher, create a marble run, a giant straw tower, and build an egg drop.

But you still have to contend with school.

Here are some ideas:

1. Teach her Sudoku, a popular logic-based numbers puzzle. Given a grid of 9 boxes with some numbers already filled in, the objective is to make sure each column and row contains each number 1-9 only once. Once she masters beginners, she can move to the next two harder levels. This is an activity one can stop and come back to, so this works well for those times in class where the teacher is reteaching what your daughter has already grasped. There are many kinds of “fun activity books” that one can buy for only a few dollars, and Sudoku is one of the many.

2. Have her prepare an “I Spy” type game, where you make up an object or word that she has to look for all day and keep track of and tell you how many she found when she gets home. I would stay away from the most commonly found words or objects – we don’t want to keep her so busy that she cannot pay attention.

3. Have her keep a writer’s notebook.

Well-known author Ralph Fletcher explains in his book A Writer’s Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You, “A writer’s notebook gives you a place to live like a writer… When you come right down to it, a writer’s notebook is nothing more than a blank book, but within those pages you’ve got a powerful tool for writing and living.”

So in her writer’s notebook, she can write down something someone said that made her think, record her observations or feelings, capture questions and memories, write ideas for a story, insert a word she just learned, and just fill the notebook with random thoughts to keep her thinking. Note that a writer’s notebook is not a diary. It is more like a collection of treasures that might become a writing or a drawing one day. (It can be a place to glue in items as well, items that make you recall a special moment, a memento, a clipping, a picture… anything that might lead to more thinking.)

I’ve started you off, you can take it from here.

Remember that life is full wonderful times, but also full of frustration, so help your daughter develop the skills to deal with those frustrations as they come along.

Hatzlacha!

-Etti

Don’t let your daughter lose her spark for learning.

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.

How Does Sleep Affect Our Health?

By Tehila Soskel, RDN, CDN

Abalanced diet, proper hydration, and regular exercise are probably the things that come to your mind when you think about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Each one of those are certainly imperative to feeling your best, however, one aspect of our health that may often be overlooked is our sleep. Sleep plays a major role in our health as well as weight management. The amount we sleep and our quality of sleep contribute immensely to how we feel.

How many of us hit the targeted sleep recommendation of 7-8 hours per night? If you are reading this and said yes, then that’s great. Unfortunately, many people do not. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average person sleeps less than seven hours per night.

Just like food and water are essential to survive, so is your sleep. So what happens when you sleep? While we are sleeping, our bodies are busy repairing our cells, restoring our energy, releasing toxic waste, and implementing so many more processes that are crucial for our health and to function properly.

Not sleeping enough can greatly impact our appetite and eating behaviors. Ghrelin and leptin are our hunger hormones that are controlled while we sleep. These two hormones control our appetite and help give us our hunger cues. Ghrelin increases our appetite, while leptin decreases our appetite. While we are awake, ghrelin is increased due to our body’s increased energy use and it decreases while we are sleeping. Lack of sleep causes increased ghrelin levels and suppressed levels of leptin. Due to the increase in ghrelin levels, this can lead you to consume more calories than usual.

Numerous studies have linked weight gain and lack of sleep. One study

compared people who slept eight hours per night versus six hours per night and found that those who slept around eight hours per night had the lowest body fat percentage of the group. More than that, research has shown that continued sleep deprivation may be associated with increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

What we put in our bodies before bed and how close to bedtime it is may have an impact on how we feel and our quality of sleep. Research has implied that it is recommended to wait at least three hours after eating dinner before going to bed to help ensure our bodies have time to digest the food. If you’re looking for a pre-bedtime snack, it’s important to choose foods that will leave you feeling your best. Foods like bananas and pistachios may help increase melatonin, making them a good choice. Additionally, protein-rich foods like nuts, hummus, and yogurt are good options, too. Some studies have implied that consuming chamomile tea may help improve sleep quality.

Keep in mind while there are many foods that may promote better sleep

quality there are some that aren’t the best before bed. Try avoiding snacks with added sugars and spicy, heavier foods before bed if you’re prone to heartburn and acid reflux. Spicy foods, fried foods, chips, etc. may make lying down difficult as they may cause indigestion and heartburn and are best to be avoided before bed.

Getting enough sleep also helps maintain a strong and healthy immune system. Were you ever told to “sleep it off” when you were sick? The reason for that is because during our sleep, our bodies make proteins that fight against infections and inflammation, as well as antibodies. These molecules help destroy germs and help prevent sickness. Research has shown that lack of sleep can cause weak immune responses, and when we are sick, our body needs even more immunity to help keep us healthy. Unfortunately, lack of sleep can lead to many other things like anxiety, poor memory, mood changes, weakened immune system, weight gain, insulin resistance, and other chronic diseases.

When we are sleep deprived, our usual routines may feel much more

difficult. Have you ever tried going to a spin class, on a run, or a kickboxing class running on very little sleep? Aside for the fact that lack of sleep makes you less motivated to attend the workout, it is also very hard to keep up and have the energy to finish the workout with little sleep. Getting quality sleep can help enhance your physical activity.

Getting enough sleep may not magically happen overnight, but there are many things you can do to help support it. Firstly, get into a routine. Going to bed around the same time each night helps us stick to a schedule and routine. Our bodies soon adjust, and you may notice you start getting tired around the same time each night. If you are someone who reaches for more than one coffee per day, cutting down on the caffeine and limiting your last cup to the early afternoon can both be ways to help improve your sleep. Even if you think caffeine doesn’t affect you much, it still may hinder your sleep. Another helpful tip is to turn off your electronics. Whether you are watching a show or mindlessly scrolling, the blue light from the screens hinder your sleep by affecting your melatonin levels so try to cut down on electronics before bed as much as you can.

Pick a few tips that work for you and start slowly. Soon enough, you may see better sleep and better functioning during the day.

Have a great Shabbos!

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.

Meaningful Relaxation

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

After mistakenly thinking I had been getting better, I again began feeling sick and became progressively worse. Eventually, I once again ended up in my physician’s office. When your doctor excitedly tells the nearby medical student, “Take my stethoscope and come listen – you’ve got to hear this,” you know it’s not good news. Apparently, my lungs were producing the perfect wheezing sound that indicates pneumonia. Having then recently discovered that I was expecting, the doctor declined x-ray confirmation.

“Pneumonia is never good, but when you’re pregnant it’s really not good,” my obstetrician prophetically informed me. I was quite sick for a month before I began the long recuperation process. My GP gave me strict instructions: “You’re to get a cleaning lady to clean your house, a nanny to take care of the kids and bikur cholim to provide meals.” I was to do nothing but get better. I will confess that I never got a nanny (shhhh…don’t tell).

That month of illness coincided with the time everyone else was getting ready for Pesach. At the time, I had three rambunctious boys that were only more jumpy having their mother out sick. As you probably know, mothers don’t get sick days off.

Someone suggested I call the local girls high school to see if any of their students wanted to come and help out with the kids. Soon after, a group of girls showed up, and together they took my excited little guys off to the park.

My little ones had a blast, and I truly think the teens did, too. The girls were outdoors together laughing and socializing while giving my children some desperately needed calm. I was feeling guilty that I had taken these teens away from their families during the busy pre-Pesach season, but they reassured me they weren’t needed at home as each of their families were leaving for the holiday. With smiles, waves and wishes for a refua sh’laima, they left after returning my young crew. Weeks later, I would see one of these wonderful young ladies and she would inquire how I was feeling.

I have often thought of these young women – now mothers themselves – and the tremendous chessed they (and their families) did for us so many years ago. While this story took place 14 years ago, it came to mind recently when I read the letters to the editor before Pesach. To refresh your memory, there was an ongoing discussion regarding the extended vacation period our teens have before Pesach

begins. Some felt the break was too long, leaving our youth bored, while others felt the extended period was necessary to allow our teens to recharge.

In a move that some will call “wise” and others call “cowardice,” I will not be directly addressing the issue mentioned in the letters as I don’t feel the schools need my input into their calendar and scheduling.

With summer soon approaching and school vacations a periodic occurrence, ensuring our teens have a healthy schedule during off-times is a relevant topic.

The Debate

As mentioned above, the initial issue discussed was how much time is necessary for students to relax and when does that turn into boredom and unproductivity. Everyone needs structure to their day with downtime to recharge. Finding that balance is important and will differ for each person. To add to the confusion, that perfect balance will periodically need to be readjusted.

Often, we may not even realize how much having a routine helps us. Basic parts of our day include times we eat, sleep and wake-up, davening and shiurim. On top of that, we often have

school/work, household chores, errands, appointments, exercise, or any of a number of activities we do daily. Usually, we only associate these more definable events as structurally important while neglecting to value sleep and mealtimes as contributors to our overall schedule.

Students work hard in school, and our teens have tough schedules. The boys are in school for long hours with minimal days off, and the girls have very intense classes with tests and high educational expectations. These years are very important, and our teens are working hard.

Adults may mistakenly think that teens don’t have “real problems,” because they have their parents’ support. We provide them with room and board, healthcare, finance all their needs and take responsibility for their safety. It’s virtually impossible for our youngsters to understand how much we do for them. Despite our efforts to ensure their basic (and not so basic) needs, they still have a lot of stress from other places, and we should respect their emotions. Allowing them downtime, when needed, is part of ensuring their emotional needs are being met.

Vacation Period Goals

Vacations are wonderful but come

with their own challenges, including making sure these days are used productively. It’s a waste to spend an entire day doing nothing but staring at your walls bored – it’s a bigger shame to do so for two months. The key is to find a healthy balance, so they come away from school breaks feeling refreshed and accomplished. How this happens will look different for each person.

As we’re all unique, we all have different ways that will leave us refreshed and relaxed. Some people will get this from resting in the backyard, while others will enjoy a good hike or other leisure activity.

It’s important to remember that making time to relax is different from being “hefker.” For this topic, I’m defining hefker as acting or existing mindlessly. Relaxing is purposeful, while hefker is not. As an example, being in bed to nap because you’re tired is purposeful. Reading in bed or any other activity to rejuvenate oneself is intentional. Spending all morning in bed because you have nothing to do and can’t bother getting up is hefker.

While it’s important to not spend too much time being hefker, what may look pointless to one may be an intentional

act of relaxation by another. For example, I don’t color to relax but many people (including adults) relax by drawing, coloring or use other outlets. It would be wrong for me to think someone is wasting time by coloring just because it’s not particularly purposeful for me.

We certainly don’t want to mistakenly

with friends while helping a family that really needed it. They were able to go into yom tov knowing they had helped another and used some of their vacation period meaningfully.

Naturally, some children will need more structure than others. Everyone needs to cover the basics such as routine

Some teens have projects they enjoy doing such as carpentry or DIY around the house. There are always volunteer and chessed opportunities available. Teens are far more capable than we give credit, and they really can contribute. Take the time to ask your teen about their vacation needs, preferences and goals.

An additional benefit is that these days off from school allow teens to practice time management. During the rest of the year, they’re told where to go and what to do. This is an opportunity for them to learn how to manage their own schedules.

accuse our children of being hefker when they’ve chosen to engage in a mindful activity. Alternatively, if we see they’re spending all day without purpose, then we want to gently redirect them.

It’s a special feeling to know you’ve accomplished something. How amazing for a child to finish a vacation period and know they’ve done something meaningful! In the opening story, those young ladies had fun together, spending time

sleeping hours and mealtimes. For example, randomly going to sleep at 3 a.m. some days, 1 a.m. on others and waking up anywhere between 12 and 3 p.m. the next day isn’t structurally sound.

Once you’ve covered the basics, there are a lot of options where to go from there, depending on the individual’s needs. Many teens enjoy working a bit to earn some spending money. There are usually structured programs or classes.

Before vacation we want to make sure our children will have some structure to their day and something accomplished at the end of it. As in the above story, there’s nothing wrong with teens enjoying what they’re doing and it’s a bracha when they can be happy contributing.

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.

Allowing them downtime, when needed, is part of ensuring their emotional needs are being met.

Totally Kosher

TJH Speaks with Chanie Apfelbaum for Her Take on Tradition with a Twist

By Susan Schwamm

The kosher food world has changed so dramatically since years ago. Why do you think that’s happened, and what do you see on the horizon?

I think it all comes down to the consumers. People want more. People demand more. The whole foodie culture of the world has changed so much with Instagram and social media. They always say the kosher food world is behind, but still, along with the rest of the world, they’re demanding more out of restaurants, out of foodies and their dishes. There are bloggers and influencers, and all that has a huge effect on what people are watching, what they’re consuming, what they’re eating. We’re living in a foodie generation, and the kosher world is following suit.

You’re seeing it in different types of global cuisine in the kosher restaurant industry. You have Marani in Queens. You have Sen Sakana, a Peruvian Japanese restaurant in the city. We have real Omakase restaurants. People are bored of the heimish food that we grew up with, and everybody wants change.

Did you grow up with more heimish tastes in cuisine?

Yes, I grew up extremely Hungarian with Ashkenazi food. My mother still cooks that way. And don’t get me wrong, I love my mother’s food. To me, it’s nostalgic. It’s comforting. But my palate has evolved so much, and I think that those types of foods lean so sweet. Now, I really prefer savory and spicy food. I’ve just come to love different types of global cuisine, so for me, heimish, traditional food just falls really flat. It’s really more about comfort and nostalgia as opposed to flavor when I eat food from my youth.

How did you refine your palate?

The turning point for me was when I went to kosher culinary school. It was about over 10 years ago. I went in with the goal to expand my palate. I was into just using paprika and garlic powder in my cooking –my mother never used fresh herbs in her cooking. It wasn’t fresh and bright. It was good, though.

So I definitely had my preferences. I had my dislikes. I hated cilantro. I didn’t like fresh ginger. And I remember, in school, we made these different dishes. We made a pad Thai that just blew my mind because

it has tons of chili and lime and tamarind and cilantro and ginger and all these flavors that I’ve never tried before. We made all different types of global cuisine, and I just was like, “Wow, this is incredible.” These were foods that I had told myself I didn’t like, but I actually opened myself up to the possibilities. They were really, really delicious and intriguing, and I think that was a huge turning point for me in getting out of my comfort zone.

What does your mother say when she tastes these different flavors? Is she still shocked by it, or is she coming onboard?

She loves it. I was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal many years ago for my poutine latkes, and they also interviewed my Bubby. She told them that it turns her stomach thinking about how I’m putting cheese on traditional latkes. She has since passed away, but she wouldn’t understand these new flavors or appreciate them. My mother appreciates it. It’s not the way that she cooks, but she thinks my food is delicious. Every time she eats over, she’s like, “Wow, wow,” to this and that. And she loves going to different restaurants, and she loves trying new things. Once in a while, she also incorporates these flavors into her dishes in her kitchen.

I think it’s really a generational thing. When people are younger, they’re more open-minded. The generations and the culture is changing, as well.

What about your kids?

They didn’t grow up eating all those heimish foods because I don’t cook them a lot. Obviously, they know from their Bubby’s house potato kugel on erev Shabbos. I don’t make it; they go to my mother’s house to have it. I make chicken soup often, and there are definitely some traditional things they we have. Potato latkes always – it’s not Chanukah without a real potato latke. So, they definitely have had so much exposure to so many different flavors, but they do appreciate the traditional foods.

What dishes do you recommend for people whose children’s palates aren’t used to these types of flavors?

I always say that with kids, to get them a little bit

out of their comfort zone, it’s great to serve food on a “board.” In the book, I have the “top 10 build your own boards,” but it doesn’t have to be on a board for me. It could be on the counter in a bunch of bowls. Putting the dishes out for the kids in a bar style, where they can pick and choose their own toppings, gives them a sense of control and they’re more likely to eat it. They’ll see their sibling sprinkling on something, so they’ll try it, too. My kids love when I do a build-yourown-taco or build-your-own-sushi bowl. Maybe they wouldn’t normally eat edamame, but they’ll sprinkle a few into their bowl and try it.

You wrote in your book that you didn’t start out as a foodie; you were actually a web designer. Tell us a little bit about your journey.

I’m a very creative person, and I’m very artistic. I always had my hands in different types of artistic endeavors, whether it was knitting or crocheting or scrapbooking or party planning. But I just didn’t have any interest in food because it seemed really square to me with a lot of rules and a lot of following instructions, and that’s not the way my brain works.

I found my way into the kitchen, because when I got married, I was forced to start cooking, and I started hosting people. Friends would ask me for my recipes because they say people eat with their eyes first and I really plated the food beautifully because I come from that artistic space. I realized that food can actually be a way for me to express myself artistically and creatively. That really piqued my interest, and then I started following food blogs – there were really maybe two on the web back then, like the Smitten Kitchen and Pioneer Woman. I used to watch the Food Network when I got home from work, and I subscribed to food magazines, and I just l started getting really into it as an artistic medium, and then slowly I thought, “Let me learn about food and flavors and cooking and all that.”

I want everyone to open the book and find something that they would love.

Your Millennial Kosher cookbook is extremely popular. Yes. The Millennial Kosher book is in its sixth printing. It came out in 2018. What made you decide to write Totally Kosher?

Anyone who writes a book will say after it’s done that they’re never writing one again, it’s just so much work to do. And it really is. But there comes a time when enough time has passed and you’re onto the next project. In this case, Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin r andom House, had reached out to me because they were interested in coming out with a kosher cookbook because they hadn’t printed one in many years. I was really excited by the idea of going mainstream and reaching a global audience and bringing kosher to the masses.

Do you feel a big responsibility to be representing the Jewish, kosher world?

I one-hundred-percent feel that responsibility, and that’s why I put so much thought into so many details of my book. So much of what is woven through the book is about Jewish life and Jewish upbringing and Jewish pride and lighting Shabbos candles with my daughters. It’s showing our customs and traditions, whether it’s in the intros or in different ways. I don’t know if you noticed all the details, but even the end paper is Totally Kosher made into kosher “symbols.”

I really thought about all the details, and I put so much love into this book and so much thought into every recipe and every page because I want people to see that it’s not just the recipes. It’s really about the beauty of being a Jewish woman – Jewish pride, and all of that. I want people to get the feeling of that when they look through it.

What was the process when the publisher approached you to write the book?

I signed my contract with them in december 2019, which is a really long time ago, but we pushed the book off a year because of Covid. Everyone lost a year because of Covid, and I lost my taste and smell for a couple of months. I couldn’t even taste properly. Normally, I would say the normal trajectory of a cookbook is about two years.

So this has definitely been a long labor of love. Which recipes would you recommend people “start with” when opening up your newest book?

That’s a very hard question to answer, because it depends on the person. It depends on their family. It depends if they have kids. It depends on what flavors they enjoy.

In the book, I try to be sensible and have a little something for everyone. There are a handful of gluten-free recipes. There’s a lot of healthy recipes. There are some indulgent recipes. There are some traditional recipes. There are some modern recipes. There are some global recipes that use interesting ingredients, and then there are recipes that use pantry ingredients. I want everyone to open the book and find something that they would love.

You mentioned that people eat with their eyes. Can you give us specific plating tips on how readers can plate

their food to make it look more appealing?

I always joke that all Jewish food is brown. Matzah ball soup is beige. Brisket is brown. Cholent is brown. Kishka is brown. Literally every food is brown. And that’s one of the reasons that kosher food has such a stigma and a stereotype because it can look greasy and dull. But there are ways around it.

First of all, when I plan a menu, I think about all the dishes on the table. If your brisket is brown, that’s fine, but do you have something orange, like a roasted sweet potato or roasted butternut squash, or something green like snap peas or asparagus or some roasted cabbage?

And then looking at a dish itself, if your brisket is brown, maybe you can put some pomegranate seeds and parsley over it or add some figs or something beautiful. There’s always a way to bring color to the table.

Where do you store all your serving pieces? You must have so many.

They’re all over the house. I’ve been blogging for years and years, so I have so many props, but my style changes and general food trends change, so I’m constantly going through it, getting rid of stuff, getting new stuff. And obviously, before I photographed the book, I went shopping and got a lot of new stuff. I also hired a food stylist. She sent me some stuff that she wanted me to order.

There’s a lot of work that goes into every single photo. We plan our shoots at the beginning of the week and figure out all the things that we’re going to need. Even if we do all the shopping beforehand, we’re still making orders throughout the day because we forgot this or we forgot that. It was one of the hardest six weeks of my life – photographing that book – but it’s beautiful. I’m so proud of it.

Tell us about that six-week process.

At the beginning of the week, I made a schedule for every day of what we’re going to be making and then I printed out the recipes and hung them up in my kitchen along all the cabinets. I hired an assistant to cook the dishes, and I had my food stylist in the kitchen overseeing the dishes being made. Then I would photograph the dishes together with the food stylist one dish at a time. We got through 10, 12 recipes a day.

The photos are beautiful. Where did you learn food photography?

I had an interest in photography, but I didn’t understand how to use a camera. I would take photos for my blog in the early days, but now, when I look at those photos, it’s almost embarrassing. I have really evolved from there. But it’s so nice to see that a person could go from that to this.

In order to hone my talent, I took a class with Mendel Myers, who is a wedding photographer. It was a two-week class, and I really learned how to use the camera. I started to learn how to manipulate light. Over time, my composition got better and better. I see a huge difference even from Millennial Kosher to now.

Any tips for the home cook on how to photograph food well?

Well, really, it boils down to lighting. Lighting is a huge part of photography. iPhones are pretty good cameras. Flash is not great for photographing food. You could have someone shining their light on the side of the photo if you need extra light as opposed to you using the flash. I shoot with professional equipment, but if you just wanted to shoot in your house or have nicer photos, I would say move your dish over to a window.

What are a few recipes from Totally Kosher that you are always going back to for yourself and your family?

I think the Pad Chai is probably my favorite recipe in the book because well, first of all, it’s just a very playful name and I love things like that that are fun. But also, as I was saying, the pad Thai that I made in culinary school blew my mind with all the flavor – sour and spicy and tangy and all those different flavors you get from the lime and the tamarind and the harissa. It infuses all the points on the palate and it’s colorful and super flavorful. The dish infuses my two favorite flavor profiles, which is Middle Eastern and Thai. The Chili Crisp is something that may get lost because it’s in the “extras” chapter of the book, but it’s just so incredible, and it’s something that if you keep in your fridge, you can literally put it on everything. I would definitely suggest that people try that.

What certain spices or ingredients should people buy to experiment with different flavor profiles?

I saw such a huge difference when Millennial Kosher came out, right? My Kale Caesar Salad has a dressing with anchovies in it, which is not revolutionary. But in the heimish kitchen, a Caesar salad is mayo, distilled white vinegar, sugar, and garlic powder. I made a real umami-rich Caesar dressing for the book. I remember someone telling me that they sent their husband to the store, and he came home and he said that the guy in the store was like, “What is going on? There are so many men here coming to buy anchovies.” I remember going shopping for my kids for clothing in Williamsburg. The guy behind the counter thanked me and said that I introduced his family to sriracha and they now put it on everything. Millennial Kosher kind of introduced some of these flavors, which now are very commonplace.

For this book, I definitely think there are some new flavors, like gochujang, which is one of my favorite condiments ever. It’s a Korean chili paste. And it’s fermented, so it has lots of rich umami flavor. That’s literally one of my favorite ingredients.

Other than that, we have kombu that’s used in the miso soup, which is a great umami booster. Miso paste, which I actually had in my first book, is also wonderful. A lot of these ingredients help boost flavor in the kosher kitchen when we have the issue of not being able to use beef stock or things like that in certain dishes.

I also have that in the book – the top 10 ingredients to transform kosher cooking. Those are ingredients that will help in that way.

It’s really about the beauty of being a Jewish woman –Jewish pride.

A Taste of Totally Kosher

Recipes and Photos

by Chanie Apfelbaum

Peach Cornmeal Crisp

Serves 8

When it comes to fruit crisps, it’s summer > winter for me. I love playing around with different seasonal fruits to create a bubbly crisp or cobbler for dessert, but stone fruits are my jam (pun intended!). You can use peaches, plums, or cherries for this crisp. Just sweeten it to taste depending on the tartness of your fruit. The cornmeal in the crisp topping adds a wonderful texture and color to the crisp that just screams summer, and paired with ice cream, it’s a decadent dessert worthy of your BBQ feasts.

IngredIent S

• 2½ pounds peaches (5 medium), halved, pitted, and sliced ¼ inch thick (do not peel)

• ₁⁄₃ cup plus 1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar, divided

• 2 tablespoons bourbon

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• ½ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour

• ½ cup yellow cornmeal

• ₁⁄₃ cup refined coconut oil, softened

• ¼ cup granulated sugar

• Vanilla ice cream, for serving

PreParatIon

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. In a large bowl, toss the peaches with ¹⁄3 cup of the brown sugar, the bourbon, cornstarch, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Place the peaches into an 11-inch baking dish.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, coconut oil, granulated sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Mix with your fingers to form crumbs and sprinkle over the peaches.

4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is crisp and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving warm with ice cream.

5. Cover leftovers with foil and refrigerate (it may turn soggy).

Yemenite “Soup” Sheet Pan Chicken

Serves 4 to 6

The only way to describe a bowl of Yemenite soup is otherworldly. The smell—a heady blend of cumin, coriander, cardamom, and cloves—intoxicates the senses. It’s pure comfort food in a bowl. That smell comes from hawaij, a curry blend native to Yemenite cuisine, not to be confused with hawaij for coffee, its sweet counterpart. I use the spice blend on a whole chicken and roast it on a sheet pan for all the comfort of a bowl of soup turned into a heavenly sheet pan dinner.

IngredIent S

• 1 (3-pound) whole chicken

• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro

• 2 heads garlic, cut in half crosswise

• ½ lemon

• 1½ to 2 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved

• 2 plum tomatoes, quartered

• 1 small Spanish onion, sliced into wedges

• 3 tablespoons Hawaij for Soup (page 302)

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

• Kosher salt

• Hilbe or Schug, for serving (optional)

PreParatIon

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2. Stuff the chicken cavity with most of the cilantro (reserving some for garnish), ½ head of the garlic, and the lemon half. Place it, breast-side up, in the center of the baking sheet. Arrange the potatoes, tomatoes, and onions around the chicken in a single layer.

3. In a small bowl, mix the hawaij and olive oil and brush it over the chicken (and under the skin) and vegetables. Season generously with salt. Tuck the remaining 2½ garlic heads, cut-side down, into the vegetables.

4. Bake for 1 hour, basting the chicken and vegetables with the pan juices halfway through, or until the chicken juices run clear and the vegetables are tender and caramelized.

5. Garnish with remaining fresh cilantro and serve with hilbe or Schug.

e a Sy doeS It!

Use store-bought hawaij seasoning, available in Middle Eastern markets. Pereg is my preferred brand, labeled “mixed spices for soup.”

Recipes excerpted with permission from “Totally Kosher” Copyright © 2023 by Chanie Apfelbaum.

Photographs copyright © 2023 by Chanie Apfelbaum. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.

The K tchen

ANZAC Biscuits

Pareve / Yields 3 dozen cookies

By Naomi Nachman

I just landed in Sydney, Australia, to visit my parents, and today happens to be ANZAC Day, so I felt sharing this recipe from my book, Perfect Flavors, would be very appropriate.

ANZAC biscuits are a classic Australian biscuit (cookie, if you are American). ANZAC stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps.

During World War I, Australian soldiers were sent to the European front; their wives wanted to send them homemade treats that could be mailed on a six-week journey across the sea. These biscuits traveled well and became iconic. We Aussies have continued to eat them for the last 100 years!

Ingredients

◦ ½ cup canola oil

◦ 2 tablespoons hot water

◦ 1 teaspoon baking soda

◦ 2 tablespoons molasses

◦ 1 cup old-fashioned oats

◦ 1 cup all-purpose flour

◦ 1 cup light brown sugar

◦ 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix together oil, hot water, baking soda, and molasses.

3. In a second bowl, mix together oats, flour, sugar, and coconut. Add mixture to wet ingredients. Mix to combine.

4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, then flatten with the palm of your hand. Place on prepared baking sheets.

5. Bake for 15 minutes.

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.

Mind Y ur Business

Matt McHale: The Future of AI

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) and guest host Ramon Ray (RR), personal branding expert, spoke with Matt McHale (MM), founder of ArcaSys LLC., about the rise of AI technology. * * *

YS: What is AI?

MM: To put it simply, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is mathematics analytics. And that’s really what it comes down to –using mathematics and analytics to take data and use it in such a way that we’ve never seen before. These computers are now able to perform tasks that normally a human would have to. It has things such as visual perception, speech recog-

nition, decision-making, and translation between languages. And now, companies are investing so that soon, AI will go beyond speech and images, and even start using touch.

YS: What are some of the actual technologies out there right now?

MM: OpenAI is a company that developed ChatGPT, Dalle, and other AI software. But the most well-known right now is ChatGPT. We’ve been using AI for a while. Go on to any social media platforms, AI is being used in the algorithms. It’s able to look at this data and say, “Ramon looks at these motivational speakers, he knows about small business, so we’re going to feed him more of what he’s looking for.” GPT4 was recently released, and now Google is coming out

with Bard, because they want to keep up with it. GPT and Microsoft have really come together for a partnership, using GPT in their Bing search. Stanford did Alpaca, which is going to be more for the end user to be able to get something like this more inexpensively. Another big release was MidJourney version 5 which uses the Multimode Model for creating images. They still struggle with some things like human hands, but there’s pictures of bees and food close up that I couldn’t tell the difference.

RR: I can hear billions of people thinking right now, “That’s great for the geeks. That’s great for people who code and can stay up working late at night with their favorite beverage.” But I think that is not the case.

There are some pretty practical applications that even the average person or regular business can use. Maybe give us a few examples of practical ways that ChatGPT can help you in your everyday life or in business.

MM: One great way is with writing and communication. Let’s say you want to write a Facebook post about someone you love. You can type, “Write me a Facebook post that will talk to my wife about our anniversary,” and you’ll be amazed at what it comes back with and the information that’s on there. Or just doing simple text replies or email replies. ChatGPT can also help you with your career. If you’re going into a job interview and you want to do some research on that company and what kind of questions should you ask, it will come back with all that information. You can upload

your resume and say, “How would you improve this resume,” and it will come back with a whole bunch of good things to do it. You can even go on there and create a game right now. You don’t need to know anything about code. If you just type something out, it could code and create a game for you. Just based off an idea that you would have, it would be able to build all that into a game in there.

RR: Who is ChatGPT competing with or is it all? Is it the people? Should we be afraid of our jobs? Or is it just helping the person who’s already doing great do better and focus on other things? Is it competing with software out there that people may realize they don’t need any more? I keep hearing different things.

MM: I’d say it’s all the above. If I had a company and I had an employee like you, Ramon, I’m not laying you off. I know that you stand out and bring certain energy to the table. So, the onus is on people to always improve themselves and understand how to utilize new technologies. Because if you can just be commoditized and looked at as a number, you could lose your job. But if you can keep pushing through and understand how to use the technology, then don’t worry about it. It’s going to help make you better.

Now, you could absolutely use AI to replace some of your software. But it could also complement your software. I use it with our CRM systems all the time. If you want to do better with sales through your analytics, data, and marketing, you can do all that within AI. You could build out spreadsheets for Excel or any of these complicated things that took so long before. But then there’s also going to be new software and companies that come out. Salesforce is a great example. There are so many companies out there that exist because Salesforce started this infrastructure and support that. AI is going to be the same thing. There’s going to be so many companies that come out of this to support, to work along with it, to help companies grow, to understand how to create products, how to increase sales, and how to make your operations better.

RR: I think what’s interesting about that is if you look at, for example, the taxi industry and Uber. I think that the reason why taxi companies had some challenges was not the tool per se, but the innovation. So, in a similar way, there’s companies out there maybe charging

tons of money for some special software. They now need to quickly move and see how they can leverage AI to serve their clients better, not make them go through hoops. The client will know what else is out there. So, to your point, I think this will force us all who want to level up to do better.

YS: What is the Multimode Model?

MM: When ChatGPT first came out, we saw it as text-based. You could go in and type a question, and it would come back with text. That’s how we looked at it. We can set up a customer service

tem being able to talk to another. If I want to integrate my Twitter with my phone, and be able to send pictures over, there’s an API for that. We do that all the time, but we don’t think about it. Now, when we get into API for AI, that’s when it really gets fun, because you can bring all that intelligence and information directly into your company’s systems. We talked about using that as a chatbot for your customer service. All those common questions that would waste a lot of time are taken care of. Look at DuckDuckGo. Here’s a company that’s also a search engine. They can’t develop what Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft are do -

always going to have to be people that come up with these new ideas and understand how to create them. AI might be able to take care of some menial tasks for us, but there’s also things now that we can do so much better with these tools.

RR : For the young people out there, they should be all in this. You can take the traditional college education trajectory. You may not want to be off on your own and do entrepreneurship. You may just want to work a regular job. But I would say in that case, a person still needs to be aware of these tools. You need to be able to say, “Hire me and I can use these in your company.” Because the business owners are aware of it. We’re going to expect you to leverage it.

YS: How could someone apply this technology to sales or marketing to scale a business?

chatbot that can answer questions 24/7, faster than the actual people answering right now. But you needed that Multimode Model to be able to do more on the imaging. When OpenAI first came out, they started doing a test. They took a scratched together picture about building a joke website, and their system took it and built an actual website. It’s going from text, to being able to manipulate voices, to not only creating images, but also dissecting images and telling you what you’re seeing. So, the next step would obviously be touch. OpenAI has been taking a lot of the money they’ve made, and they’re investing in these companies that are starting to build robots to get to that touch level. If you saw Ironman, where he’s talking to his computer J.A.R.V.I.S., and getting all this advice from it, we’re not far off from that. Not only from a voice standpoint, like how your Alexa can suddenly become the smartest thing in the house, but you’re going to have a robot that cooks for you and does all these things. We thought the Jetsons was far off, but we’re a lot closer than we were just a year ago.

RR: I know something that’s really important is the connection of a lot of these platforms. I think that gives them a lot of power. When we hear about API integrations, plugins, and these things, what does that mean?

MM: API integration is just one sys -

ing, but if they don’t, they’re out of business. Luckily, there are other systems that are coming out and other ways to use your API to do that. Imagine taking all that information and bringing it into your company to plug into your analytics. There’s a company called Fathom. When I’m doing my Zoom info meeting, not only does it record the video and audio, it does a whole transcription of the audio and creates an AI summary. You could take all of that information onto your server, using your own little version of GPT and say, “Alexa, remind me, what we talked about at Thursday’s meeting? What were the five takeaways?” You don’t have to look anywhere. You’re going to have all that information right there on your phone.

YS: For the next generation of the workforce, what are the challenges and opportunities presented by AI?

MM: Again, AI is mathematics analytics. We’re still going to need people to come up with these great ideas and understand how to put these things together. It’s easy for any of us to just start typing. But if you told me to go and build it, I wouldn’t know how. That’s not me. So, do people still have to go to college and learn these things? Absolutely. You always want to continue education. Whether that’s through college or other means remains to be seen. But we should always continue to learn, because there’s

MM: There are so many tools out there now. One uses AI to stay on the phone to let you know if it’s a voicemail and kick it over to you once someone answers the phone. You can go into GPT and say, “Who’s my ideal client,” and it will come back with a whole layout of the type of people you should look for. It goes through these different levels and builds personas out of it, like “a female manager who’s 35 years old and doesn’t have kids.” You can take that information to your marketing team and type “what kind of message should we send to that persona?” When I first started using it, I thought it was a good base to work off. But a lot of times, I’ll say, “Run with that and see how it does.” And it’s done really well. You can put in a competitor’s website and say, “This is what they do. What are we missing?”

“I think this will force us all who want to level up to do better.”

Notable Quotes

“Say What?!”

On the mifepristone issue, it’s politicians finding a court, targeting a specific court that they thought would be helpful to them, to take a medication off the market, which was approved 20 years ago by the Federal Drug Administration.

- Vice Pres. Kamala Harris, seeming to rename the Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

If you’re telling me that abortion is a positive good, what are you saying? Well, you’re arguing for child sacrifice. When the Treasury Secretary stands up and says, “You know what you can do to help the economy? Get an abortion,” well, that’s an Aztec principle, actually… What you’re watching is not a political movement. It’s evil.

- Tucker Carlson, addressing the Heritage Foundation

We are now at a point where, officially, most officers are paid more than a teacher with a master’s degree serving these same kids involved in these same incidents. We are defunding safety, defunding our public schools, defunding our parks, defunding our libraries. When we are taking all of those resources and demanding that every single department — except the militarized one — be cut, we are sending a message about who and what we care about.

I’ve been a Zionist all my life.

- Ruth Tarlo, who made Aliyah this week from Australia at the age of 98

When I was in the throes of depression, to be 100% honest, I was not the kind of Senator that was deserved by a Pennsylvanian.

- Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in his first interview after returning to Washington from in-hospital treatment for depression

I cannot call a teacher if I need help. If a man is running me down, I cannot call a teacher. I’m going to have to call the police. I’m going to be praying for police, not a teacher.

I’m not a paid assassin.

– Chris Christie telling Politico that he will only run for president against Trump if he thinks he can win

When you’re waking up for your 45th morning at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manchester, you better think you can win, because that walk from the bed to the shower, if you don’t think you can win, it’s hard.

- Ibid.

I bet you some of those people that are criticizing me know somebody, or they might be someone, that faces depression in their lives as well. And I just always try to tell people by saying it’s not a Democratic or a Republican area. It’s humanity. And, there [are] people from — no matter where you live, no matter what your political views are — is that you suffer from depression, or you know somebody there.

- Ibid

-Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Dem/Socialist-NY) criticizing Mayor Adams for giving the police their first raise in 7 years

- Elizabeth Gomes, 33, who lost her eye in a random attack in a subway station last year, responding on Fox News to Cortez’s criticism

We stand at the shoulders of giants, don’t we? We stand on shoulders of people like John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington. That this group of people took on the largest empire in history. They said no, we will not stand for this. And won.

- Republican Senatorial candidate for Ohio, Bernie Moreno, at a campaign event last week

That same group of people later, white people, died to free black people. It’s never happened in human history before, but it happened here in America. That’s not taught a lot in schools much, is it?

- Ibid.

They make it sound like America is a racist, broken country. You name a country that did that: that freed slaves, died to do that. You know, they talk about reparations. Where are the reparations for the people in the North who died to save the lives of black people?

- Ibid.

SpaceX is now saying they triggered the explosion, but originally when it happened, they called it a “rapid unscheduled disassembly.” That sounds like what celebrities say when they’re getting divorced: “Our marriage is going through a rapid unscheduled disassembly — please respect our privacy at this time.”

— Jimmy Fallon

Elon’s defenders were quick to point out that this was only a test and the rocket was actually supposed to explode, which is definitely what I would say if my $3 billion rocket exploded.

— Jimmy Kimmel

The city is being destroyed by the migrant crisis.

- New York City Mayor Eric Adams during a panel discussion in Washington

The national government has turned its back on New York City. Every service in this city is going to be impacted by the asylum seeker crisis.

- Ibid.

I am not enjoying the game. There’s a whole generation that doesn’t like the game.

- Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson disclosing on a podcast that he doesn’t watch the NBA since it went woke

They even had slogans on the floor and the baseline. It was trying to cater to an audience or trying to bring a certain audience to the game, and they didn’t know it was turning other people off. People want to see sports as non-political.

– Ibid.

Show me a school that I shut down and show me a factory that I shut down. Never. I never did.

- Dr. Anthony Fauci in an interview with The New York Times talking about his Covid response

I gave a public health recommendation that echoed the CDC’s recommendation, and people made a decision based on that. But I never criticized the people who had to make the decisions one way or the other.

- Ibid.

From a broad public health standpoint, at the population level, masks work at the margins –maybe 10%.

- Ibid.

I feel like I’m 11!

- Comedian Carol Burnett , who just turned 90, in an interview with the New York Post

I’m happy somebody wanna compete and not be friends. I love guys that wanna compete. Too many players let Bron score. They wanna be friends.

- NBA champion Stephen Jackson commenting on Dillon Brooks, of the Memphis Grizzlies, trashtalking LeBron James

An Age of Deconfliction May Be Dawning On the Middle East

By David Ignatius

Let’s talk about ending ugly wars. No, not the one in Ukraine, at least not yet. But those in the Middle East. Here’s a brief inventory, and it shows why American diplomacy remains essential in this vexed part of the world.

The Yemen civil war, one of the cruelest this century, appears to be inching toward a stable settlement – thanks to tireless mediation by U.S. envoy Tim Lenderking and concessions from Saudi Arabia, a country that Americans (often for good reason) love to hate. Yemen could still reignite, but after a year of quasi-truce, the Saudis deserve some credit.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan, after a phone call last week with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “welcomed Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary efforts to pursue a more comprehensive roadmap for ending the war and offered full U.S. support for those efforts,” according to a White House statement. It’s about time. In late 2021, the United Nations estimated that this war, started by the Saudi leader with U.S. support, had killed or starved 377,000 people.

The Syria civil war is, if anything, even more tragic. Since 2011, the conflict has killed more than 500,000, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and driven about 6 million people from the country. But this miserable conflict lacks a U.S. mediator or road map for resolution. So Arab countries are moving on their own to make separate deals. The Saudi foreign minister was in Damascus this week for the first time since 2011. That’s a sign that countries are getting ready to freelance their own arrangements.

Syria fatigue afflicts American policymakers, which is understandable after countless unsuccessful diplomatic for -

ays. In place of a policy, we have sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad and refuse any normalization with him. The sanctions might make members of Congress feel better, and they give us a bit of leverage, but they do nothing to ease Syria’s suffering. This approach reminds me of America’s non-policy toward Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.

The right role for the United States in Syria is easy to describe but exceedingly difficult to execute. First off, we have a moral obligation to help the Syrian Kurds – who nobly fought and died to destroy the Islamic State – find a place in a future federal Syria. The vulnerability of our Kurdish allies was illustrated when a drone strike, probably from Turkey, nearly assassinated Gen. Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, this month in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

To protect our Kurdish allies in a future Syria, the United States should be

working with its regional partners in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and, yes, Saudi Arabia. I hope that secret diplomacy has already begun.

The world owes a debt to the SDF. After vanquishing the Islamic State, the militia took responsibility for housing prisoners, including foreign fighters who would threaten every country in Europe and the Arab world if they were released. It would be grotesque to abandon the SDF after it lost 12,000 dead fighting the Islamic State.

America’s Syria agenda includes more than our Kurdish allies. Neighboring Arab states (and Israel) need help reducing Iran’s military power there; Turkey needs reassurance about the security of its southern border; refugees need a way home; Assad, the presumptive victor, doesn’t deserve help with reconstruction, but Syria does. And our agenda won’t be complete without the release of Austin Tice, a freelance jour -

nalist and Post contributor who was kidnapped there in 2012.

When we think about ugly wars in the region, let’s pause a moment to recall poor, ruined Lebanon. That country has been ravaged by civil war and corruption for five decades. Its political system is so poisoned that the nation can’t agree on a president. The United States can help by backing the presidential candidacy of Gen. Joseph Aoun, head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, a clean, apolitical symbol of the nation and its aspirations. Hezbollah doesn’t like him, but many Lebanese people do. Let’s hit the Lebanon reset button, at last.

The Middle East has been a conflict zone for most of our lives; now, an age of deconfliction may be dawning – with the sad exception of the unending Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The new operating system can be summarized in four words: Make friends, make money. This moment is about settling quarrels. The Saudis, with Chinese help, are normalizing relations with Iran. The UAE has stopped feuding with Turkey and Qatar. The Arabs (holding their noses) are reviving relations with Assad. China gets credit for brokering the Saudi-Iran deal. But, really, the animating force in the region is the UAE, the architect of “no-problem” foreign policy.

The Biden administration is rediscovering diplomacy, too, after decades of American wars in the region. We’re brokering deals with Iraqis, Lebanese, Emiratis, Kurds, Saudis and maybe, eventually, some Syrians, too. Some of our partners are distasteful, but that’s part of diplomacy. We’ve had too many decades of ugly wars; it’s time for some ugly peace.

Don’t Forget About TikTok

By Marc A. Thiessen

The Discord leaks provide an urgent reminder of why it is essential the United States move quickly to ban TikTok, the Chinese-owned app that gives the Chinese Communist Party access to highly personal information of more than 150 million Americans. But instead of banning TikTok, the Biden administration is using it to help the president’s reelection campaign. That is exactly what Beijing wants.

A key lesson from the leaks, absorbed by China and everyone else, is that low-ranking individuals in this country have access to high-value information. Authorities have arrested a 21-year-old junior enlisted member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Jack Teixeira, who apparently was able to obtain hundreds of pages of highly classified intelligence – including finished CIA products, our secret assessments of Taiwan’s vulnerability to a Chinese attack, and U.S. knowledge of Chinese military and cybertechnology advances. The U.S. government failed to catch on for almost eight months –and might never have found out if the documents had not begun circulating on social media.

Beijing knows there are millions of potential Teixeiras out there – ordinary Americans with access to nonpublic information Chinese officials want. And TikTok could allow the Chinese government to collect personal and potentially compromising information on its American users that could one day be used to trick or coerce them into providing secrets to Beijing.

Downloading TikTok is like downloading a Chinese spy onto your phone. As Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, recently testified, “TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool” that allows Beijing to collect search and browsing history, keystroke patterns, text messages, unsent draft messages, images, vid-

eos, location data, metadata, fingerprints, and voice prints of millions of Americans. All this information is at the beck and call of the Chinese Communist Party. What could China do with this information? The possibilities are endless.

Most Americans think their conversations on messaging apps such as Tele -

affairs, say, to private images and videos they share, to the angry messages they composed but never sent to loved ones. All of that could later be used for blackmail or deception.

Beijing could one day harness artificial intelligence to exploit the information it is collecting from your phone.

cial or national security secrets is to find one low-level employee with access to the information it wants. TikTok will help it do so. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 67 percent of American teens have installed TikTok on their phones. Those teens will grow up and take entry-level jobs in major corporations, research institutions, defense contractors, and military and governmental organizations – giving them keys to information networks and potentially, eventually, to highly sensitive information. China could one day use the data it collects from TikTok to map out personal and professional relationships among Americans, identify individuals of interest, and then target them for information.

China could use that access not just for intelligence or commercial espionage purposes but also to potentially gain access to computer networks controlling critical U.S. infrastructure. That could allow Beijing to target our power grid, telecommunications, banking or transportation systems in the event of a conflict. And if the targeted individuals share their information – even unwittingly – only with Beijing, not in an online chatroom, the U.S. government might never find out.

gram, WhatsApp and Signal are safe because they are encrypted. But China does not have to break the encryption to collect the content of those communications because the TikTok app could allow the Chinese regime to follow and record users’ keystrokes. For Beijing, your Snapchat conversations never disappear; they can be collected and stored for future exploitation. Trackers within TikTok compile personal and potentially embarrassing information on millions of our citizens. Beijing can learn these Americans’ deepest secrets – from details of personal

Just last week, ABC News reported that an Arizona mother got a call from an unknown number and heard her 15-year-old daughter’s voice on the other end sobbing that she had been kidnapped. It turned out the voice was an AI-produced “deep fake.” At this moment, China could use TikTok to collect voice prints of millions of Americans, which could allow China to one day clone their voices in a similar fashion for national security or commercial espionage.

Which brings us back to Teixeira. All China needs to gain access to commer -

TikTok represents an unparalleled economic and national security threat to the United States. But instead of moving to ban TikTok, the Biden administration is recruiting an “army” of social media influencers to help President Biden win a second term – even planning to give them their own dedicated briefing room in the White House. This makes Biden the first president to knowingly use a sophisticated surveillance tool controlled by the Chinese Communist Party to influence a U.S. election. That is a mistake. The longer Biden uses TikTok to target young Americans, the longer he allows Beijing to do the same.

Russia Hasn’t Stopped Maneuvering For Greater Control of the Web

By David Ignatius

Even as fighting rages on the ground in Ukraine, Russia continues to wage a long-term battle for control of what Kremlin officials call the “information space” of internet communications.

Moscow’s campaign to throttle information is shameless. It launched its latest denunciation of the West’s supposed “coercive measures” in internet technology this month, as it was jailing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on a bogus espionage charge and sentencing democracy activist and Post contributing columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on treason charges.

Russia knows that information is power. In addition to muzzling debate at home, it has attempted to seize the digital high ground internationally through the United Nations and its agencies. Last year, it campaigned for leadership of the U.N.’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Moscow’s candidate was rejected in favor of an American, Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

Moscow’s latest attempt to rewrite internet governance came at a meeting this month of a U.N. working group known as the Global Digital Compact. Moscow argued for international regulation of cyberspace in place of the current loose but effective public-private system known as the “multistakeholder model,” which the Russians claim is dominated by “large technological conglomerates” in the West.

Boris Meshchanov, Russia’s representative at the U.N. meeting, turned normal logic upside down by claiming that only state control of the internet could protect liberty. “The regulation of the internet exclusively by the private sector has long been shown to be ineffective. Only States can guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens,” Meshchanov argued during an

April 13 speech to the working group.

Russia’s position in these international gatherings has been severely weakened by its invasion of Ukraine. Meshchanov complained about Western “dividing lines” between “democratic” states and “authoritarian” ones that are “allegedly opposed to a free and safe internet.” He said Russia wants the Global Digital Compact to create “a balanced international system for managing the internet infrastructure.”

The Biden administration scoffs at Moscow’s internet arguments. “Russia is trotting out tired, unrealistic proposals that most countries have considered and rejected,” a State Department spokesperson wrote me on Thursday. “This language is nothing new, and we don’t see appetite globally for a Russia or China-led internet.”

The Russians (backed by China) have had little success in rewriting the rules for cyberspace, but they keep on coming. After Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting last month with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two pledged to

“support the creation of a multilateral, equal and transparent global internet governance system” – meaning one that they could control.

A new battle over communications rules will open in November when the World Radiocommunication Conference convenes in Dubai. This meeting, organized by the ITU, will include debate on rules and standards for satellite-broadband systems such as Elon Musk’s Starlink array.

The World Radiocommunication Conference is the sort of obscure technical discussion that the United States sometimes ignored in the past. But the Biden administration has smartly made such international trench warfare a priority. To prepare for the conference, the State Department is gathering a team led by Anna Gomez, an expert on spectrum issues who was drafted from the Federal Communications Commission. State has also created the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, headed by Nathaniel C. Fick.

The satellite networks that will be dis-

cussed at the WRC meeting in Dubai are potential game-changers in global communications: They could provide internet access for otherwise closed or tightly regulated countries, such as Russia, China and Iran. Starlink has also provided broadband connectivity for the Ukrainian military, allowing its forces to download intelligence and targeting information.

Russia has tried unsuccessfully to block these satellite internet systems. As its forces were invading Ukraine, Russia hacked a system called Viasat in an effort to deny signals to Ukraine. The system was eventually restored, but the attack affected users across Europe.

Musk, the chief executive of Starlink’s parent, SpaceX, tweeted last May: “Starlink has resisted Russian cyberwar jamming & hacking attempts so far, but they’re ramping up their efforts.” Evidently worried about the risks, Starlink announced in February that it would no longer allow Ukraine to use its service for drones and other offensive military operations.

Space might become a battlefield in the information war. Russian diplomat Konstantin Vorontsov warned at the United Nations in October that private satellite networks were “an extremely dangerous trend” and that “quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation.”

To sum up: Russia and China are deadly serious about controlling information – on the ground in their suppression of journalists and in global forums that are shaping the rules for cyberspace. The United States might have invented the modern digital world, but Russia and China want to put their hands on the kill switch.

Following the 1981 airstrike on the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirik, it became evident that Israel had put the rest of its Middle Eastern enemies on notice. However, that did not stop some of them from starting a nuclear program. Over two decades later, Syria, under President Bashar al-Assad, was detected as to having talks with North Korea, and soon a site in the Syrian desert was pinpointed as the location of a nuclear reactor. Israel began to plan an attack on the reactor, which was just one of many against targets in Syria that also included taking out terrorists.

Libya had shocked Israeli leaders when, in 2004, they announced that they were suspending their nuclear ambitions. However, it became apparent through intelligence sources that they weren’t the only country secretly building nuclear facilities. The Mossad and other Israeli intelligence organizations had been gathering information on the Syrian reactor for years. They learned that North Korea had helped the Syrians build the facility and learned other vital information in a covert operation. Two Mossad agents gained access to a London hotel room where a Syrian official had been staying and hacked into his laptop. The contents revealed top-secret information, including the location of the reactor. Subsequently, a top Iranian official defected and gave information to the Americans that Iran was also involved and financed the expensive facility. Images from satellites also confirmed the existence of the

Attacking Syria

By Avi Heiligman

facility, and photographs were obtained showing North Koreans in the Syrian desert at the reactor.

All this information was enough for Israel to launch an attack, but the United States and President Bush wanted concrete evidence before allowing an operation to take place. More satellite images and photographs from Israeli intelligence-gathering planes were collected. Conversations between North Korea and Syria were secretly recorded and brought as evidence. Even videos inside the facility were obtained by the Mossad, but more proof was asked for by the U.S. The evidence that convinced the Americans was dirt samples collected by Seyeret Matkal commandos on a daring mission to facility. The soil showed signs of nuclear activity and confirmed that Syria had a nuclear program. The U.S. then gave permission to the Israelis to launch an attack.

The attack commenced on September 5, 2007 with ten F-15I “Ra’am” fighters from the 69th Squadron taking off from the Ramat David Airbase. Three planes broke off and returned to base while the other seven met up with escort of F-16I “Sufa” fighters. Their first target was a Syrian radar station which soon lay in ruins. Soon after, they reached the nuclear reactor and attacked it with laser and GPS guided bombs. Assisting with the attack were Shaldag commandos that had been on location since the previous night. They “painted” the reactor with lasers which

helped the jets pinpoint the targets during the attack.

The attack totally destroyed the reactor. The code word for a successful attack, “Arizona,” was reported. All planes safely returned to their Israeli airbases. The only clue that it was an Israeli attack was an external fuel tank with Hebrew writing dropped by one of the fighters in Turkish territory near the Syrian border.

Official responses to the attack left out what the planes were targeting with both sides only admitting that some type of military operation took place. Speculation abounded as to what the Israelis were targeting, and many correctly assumed that it was a nuclear facility. It was only in 2018 that the Israelis acknowledged the attack.

This wasn’t the only time Israelis were sent into Syria to take out a target. In August 2008, Syrian General Muhammad Suleiman was hosting a party at a seaside mansion in the port city of Tartus. Suleiman had ties with Hezbollah and had been the head of the Syrian nuclear program. The Israelis knew he was involved in transferring weapons from Iran to Hezbollah and suspected that he was going to try and build another nuclear facility. The Israelis wanted him gone. On that summer’s night in 2008 two divers from the Shayetet13 unit (the Israeli Navy SEALs) appeared out of the water and took aim at him with sniper rifles. The general slumped forward, dead, and the divers were able to make a successful getaway back into the Medi-

terranean Sea. As with other assassinations and operations, Israel did not claim responsibility, but their involvement was verified by independent sources.

Over the past few decades, Israel has undertaken many operations against targets in Syria. These missions include a 2003 airstrike against a Palestinian terrorist training camp and a 2013 airstrike to take out a convoy carrying Russian weapons headed for Hezbollah. In 2008, the “number two” Hezbollah terrorist, Imad Morenia, was killed in a car explosion. A U.S. official praised the assignation saying, “The world is a better place without him. He was a mass murderer and terrorist responsible for the deaths of countless innocents.”

While many of the raids and operations into Syria haven’t been officially acknowledged by Israel, independent sources have verified Israeli involvement. The identity of the operators and pilots are still classified even when Israel has admitted to carrying out the operation. While their names may never be known to the public, these unsung heroes are vital to stopping terrorists and rogue governments from harming the Jewish state.

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.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Syrian air base

The aftermath of the Syrian war

The Osirik nuclear site after the bombing

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Meet the Realty Connect USA Team

LAURIE STASCHOVER SRS PSA

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson lstaschover@realtyconnectusa.com

(516)650-0517

RACHEL HERSH Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Rachelhershrealtor@gmail.com (917)902-3661

LARA SCHEER Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Lara.scheer@gmail.com (516)314-6944

DARA KARHU Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Dara.karhu@gmail.com (516)724-0389

SUZI GOLDBERG Licensed Real Estate Salesperson suzipg@aol.com (516) 633-9120

LISA

GABRIELLE EISENREICH

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson geisenreich@realtyconnectusa.com (516) 462-4955

655-3723

RENA CHILL Licensed Real Estate Salesperson renabchill@gmail.com (516) 314-2565

LENNY BOBROW

Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker lennybobrow@gmail.com (516) 784-0262

JOYCE MICHAELS Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker jmichaels@realtyconnectusa.com (516) 361-3342

(516) 316-8375

AVIGAIEL BERNSTEIN

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson avigaielbernstein@gmail.com

(631) 578-7527

PATRICIA VALENTI

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson philsbodyworks@aol.com

(516)574-3917

JORDAN CHANIN-ALBANESE

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson jordanalbaneserealty@gmail.com

(917) 716-1737

EVA MALKA

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson snoopyshue@aol.com

(516) 662-1814

CHAYA (SARAH) ISAACS Licensed Real Estate Salesperson sarahisaacs@gmail.com

(917) 587-5704

DAVID ZIVOTOFSKY

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Davidzivo1@aol.com (516) 732-0018

MIRI STERN

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson mirigee@gmail.com (718) 791-9157

LISA KIRSCHNER

Licensed Real Estate Associate Broker Commercial Real Estate Specialist Lisa.k.kirschner@gmail.com

(516) 445-0445

HOUSES FOR SALE HOUSES FOR SALE HOUSES FOR SALE

CAN’T AFFORD YOUR PROPERTY TAXES? MORTGAGE?

Must sell for any reason? Call for FREE Consultation. Call now 212-470-3856 Cash buyers available!

NORTH WOODMERE JUST LISTED

Move Right Into This Beautifully

Maintained and Updated Three Bedroom, 2.5 Baths Large Split Situated on an Oversized Park-like Lot Overlooking the Pond. Home Features naturally bright lit rooms with a Ground Level Den Leading to Patio, With Another Lower Level With Partially Finished Basement. Hardwood Floors Throughout Updated Kitchen With Granite Counters in School District 14 and Close to all Houses of Worship. $949k

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International

516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HEWLETT BAY PARK

Six bedroom home in highly desirable Hewlett Bay Park on 3/4 of an acre with an inground gunite pool and tennis court, en-Suite bathrooms and bedrooms on both floors, 1st floor Master Suite with steam shower and Jacuzzi tub, Eat-in Kitchen, with SS appliances, 2 sinks, 2 dishwashers, double oven, formal living room, formal dining room, den with fireplace. Close to railroad, shopping, and houses of worship. SD#14. Great house for entertaining. Park-like Property. P.O.R. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

New to the market. 3 bedroom 2 full bathrooms with a full basement. Ranch home in the heart of Woodmere, SD#15, on a lot sized 90x118, gas heat, garage. Open house Sunday, April 30 • 11:30-1:30PM

401 Howard Avenue Mark Lipner

Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Well maintained 4 bedroom home on a cul-de-sac in Old Woodmere SD#14. Features central air conditioning, gas heat, eat -in -kitchen  with stainless steel appliances, very spacious den, 2 car garage, hardwood floors, high hats, magnificent yard with an inground saltwater pool, close to the railroad, shopping and houses of worship. Call for a private showing.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 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. OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY APRIL 23 1:00-2:30pm 58 CENTRE ST

Mark Lipner Associate Broker

Berkshire Hathaway Laffey

International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

HOUSES FOR SALE

WOODMERE

Spectacular 5 bedroom, 5 bath renovated home in SD#14 with in-ground pool & pool house, lot size 111 x 107. Formal living room & dining room, magnificent kitchen with SS appliances, tremendous den with fireplace and 4 skylights, vaulted ceiling, LED lighting, master suite, new CAC, new roof. Outside totally redone with Stone and Stucco. Backyard with new pavers, park-like property, sandbox, great home for entertaining. Close to all.

OPEN HOUSE APRIL 30 • 2:00-3:30PM

562 SUNSET DR Mark Lipner

Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CEDARHURST

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 30 – 12:30 – 2:30PM

480 ARLINGTON RD Mark Lipner

Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-2988457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

COME TO LONG BEACH, NY FOR THE SUMMER, STAY ALL YEAR

Long Beach is a very warm community with an out-of-town feel only 20 minutes from the Five Towns. We offer a choice of shuls as well as kosher food options all within an easy walk to the ocean, boardwalk and beach.

This beautiful Tudor offers 3 Bedrooms, 2 full & 2 half baths. It is a very well maintained 2600 square foot home in the Westholme area. Easily walkable to shuls, beach & the train. There is a Giant Primary bedroom with walk-in closet & en-suite, a finished basement and lots of original details.

ASKING $990,000

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com

HOUSES FOR SALE

CEDARHURST HOUSE FOR SALE BY OWNER

In the heart of Cedarhurst (Close to Woodmere , Lirr & Cedarhurst Park)

EIK Kosher Kitchen/ Dr/Lr/Family Room/ Playroom/ 4 Bedrooms, 3 Full Baths/ Basement:

2 Bedrooms, 1 Full Bath, Kitchenette, Separate Entrance

Asking $1.3m

Whatsapp Text Only: 845-213-0002

No Brokers

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.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

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

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE HOUSES FOR SALE APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

WOODMERE

Beautiful, brick, colonial boasting 5 bdr 3.5 Bth in pristine condition. Excellent location, near all! Move right in! RCUSA 516-512-9626

FOR RENT IN ISRAEL

RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL

Furnished 1br deeded 52 sqm holiday apartment at Kfar Maccabiah Hotel. 20 mins to central TLV, 24/7 Front desk, 3 pools, full gym, parking. 6 months annual usage.  Priced to sell at NIS 950,000.  Contact Carol at 646-6454935 or carolinalevine@gmail.com

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

LAWRENCE

New to the market Jr. 4 apartment in an elevator building with a terrace and underground parking, laundry on premises. Kitchen with granite countertops, 2 sinks, ss appliances, spacious step down living room with high ceilings, guest room/ office, spacious primary bedroom with 3 closets, full bathroom with full vanity, medicine cabinet, toilet and lighting, custom blinds, near the railroad, shopping and houses of worship.$289K 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

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

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 284 CENTRAL 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

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-23 Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE APT. FOR RENT

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

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

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

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

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

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

HEWLETT

Spacious and Sundrenched 1st Floor 2 Bedroom, 2 Full Bath Unit In The Incredibly Maintained Garden Town. Updated kitchen with Granite Countertops and Gleaming Hardwood Floors Throughout With A Private Washer/Dryer. Best Views from Every Window And The Large Terrace Facing The Beautifully Landscaped Courtyard. Indoor Parking Available As Well And An I Adjacent Municipal Lot. Convenient To The LIRR, Shops & Restaurants. Maintenance includes all your taxes, heat and water. No more shoveling or gardening for you reduced to $185k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-2988457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

5TOWNS FOR LEASE: OFFICE + STORAGE + PARKING LOT

Bayview and Lawrence. Minyan

Available immediately

Call/Text/WA Owner: 516-206-1100

FAR ROCKAWAY FOR RENT

2 BDRM apt, Bright 2-bedroom apartment; 2nd floor-Eat-in kitchen; washer/dryer hook-up Private entrance; On Sage Street, parking available-Near main Shuls & LIRR $2100/month includes heat & water. For more information call (718)327-4386.

HELP WANTED

PRESCHOOL TEACHERS AND ASSISTANTS

needed for 2023-2024 school year!

JELC Preschool of Merrick is opening more classrooms and seeks highly motivated, creative, and loving teachers & assistant teachers for the upcoming 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR. Infant, toddler, nursery and pre-k positions available! Competitive salary and warm working environment.  For more info, call Gayle at: 516-833-3057 ext 110 or e-mail resume to admissions@jewishelc.org  or WhatsApp 516-236-2239

ALTERATIONS BOUTIQUE

Part-time position available at Cedarhurst must have computer knowledge Will train contact: sheva.muller@gmail.com or text 516-314-4810

JOIN OUR TEAM!

ABA company located in the 5 Towns looking to fill multiple full-time administrative positions Knowledge of Central Reach a plus, but will train the right candidate Great work environment Call 516-670-5374 or Email your resume to: Careers@supportivecareaba.com

LARGE NOT FOR PROFIT

Organization Looking for Controller

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

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.

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

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

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.

DELIVERY PERSON NEEDED to deliver Newspaper every Thursday morning to locations in Brooklyn. Must have Minivan or SUV and availability to work consistently every week! Please email gabe@fivetownsjewishhome.com or call (917) 299-8082

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

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

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

IMMEDIATE OPENING

ELA teaching position for Gr. 5. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Competitive salary, warm supportive environment. Teachersearch11@gmail.com

BOOKKEEPER

Excellent growth potential, Frum environment, Excellent salary & benefits. Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com

MISC. SECTION

GEMACH ZICHRON TOVA

Loans up to $5000 head checks and 2 co signers required. Call 7186146789 or 7186143271

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

Here in America, we're world champs at “fake it ‘til you make it.” Just look at Anna Delvey (Inventing Anna), Representative George Santos (if that’s really his name), Elizabeth Holmes (scheduled to report to prison by April 27), or Sam Bankman-Fried (cooling his heels under house arrest while he waits to get sent to a place where nobody plays League of Legends).

We’ve been conning ourselves since Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to India in 1492. If faking it ‘til you make it were a state, it would have the fourth-biggest economy in the country, falling between Florida and Illinois.

Except, of course, when it comes to taxes. Millions of Americans who are living in mortgaged houses, driving leased BMWs, carrying fake Louis Vuitton bags, and throwing their vacations on credit cards would rather die than show their neighbors the numbers they’re sending the IRS this time of year. Americans spend billions of hours and billions of dollars on tax preparation every year, and it’s fair to say that very little of that money and effort goes toward making their numbers bigger. Maybe you want to buy more house than you should, and you need to show more than you’re really taking home. That may not be defraud-

ing the IRS, exactly, if it doesn’t cost them anything. (It’s still filing a false return, but it’s hard to see the IRS taking the time or effort to prosecute anyone for it.) But when you start missing mortgage payments, don’t be surprised if the bank takes a closer look.

There’s a new social movement calling for pay transparency that argues that

pay, from the CEO on down. Can you imagine the episode of The Office where Michael accidentally leaves everyone’s W2 - in the copier?

But that could never work with taxes—or would it?

One hundred years ago, Congress thought making tax bills public would help fight cheating. “Secrecy is of the

and when President Coolidge took office, he shut it down on the reasoning that publicizing taxpayers’ addresses made them more vulnerable to scammers. (If Andrew Jackson was known as “Old Hickory,” Calvin Coolidge should have been nicknamed “Old Buzzkill.”)

There are more egalitarian countries—most notably Finland—that currently publicize tax bills. It’s hard to argue, though, that transparency would drive anyone who’s just faking it to report more honestly or try to appear more patriotic than they already are or aren’t.

I’ll leave you with two questions this week. First, is it good news or bad news that “fake it ‘til you make it” culture won’t extend to Form 1040? And second, if wasting money on taxes you don’t need to pay is bad, is spending money you don’t need to spend in order to impress people you may not even know any better?

we would all be better off if we knew how much our neighbors made. Several states have passed laws requiring employers to include pay ranges in job postings. Those laws make the hiring process easier because it eliminates applicants who might back out at the last minute when they learn the pay range isn’t enough. This has led to some companies even taking the radical step of publicizing everyone’s

greatest aid to corruption,” said Nebraska Senator Robert Howell. And so, for 1923 and 1924, tax payments were public records. Newspapers raced to report exactly how much various robber barons paid, including John D. Rockefeller (over $7 million in 1923), J.P. Morgan ($98,643.47), and Charles Schwab ($29,494.38). Not everyone liked sharing quite that much information, though,

Call me to see if we can help you pay less—and thank you for listening to my TED talk!

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.

If faking it ‘til you make it were a state, it would have the fourth-biggest economy in the country, falling between Florida and Illinois.

Is There WIG-gle Room?

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

Wigs need to look like hair or otherwise one might as well go with the lovely scarf or cute cap in their closet.

But do you want it to look exactly like your own hair or a little wiglike? That depends on whether you want people to know that at least you’re covering your head! Many people like their wig to look like their own hair, unless of course, they don’t like their hair. Then they’re happy to choose a new look. Even a different color, cut, or style!

Sometimes, I bet, too, you wish it weren’t so costly?

I think it helps if you think about it like an expensive piece of jewelry – costly but worth it.

But then again, who’d stay so busy washing, straightening, and curling their diamonds?! You stick it on and, voila, you sparkle! There is no perpetual care necessary. Perhaps just the cost of a safe?!

With a wig, if you don’t take special

care of it, you could wind up walking around with a mop on your head. Sure, that’s useful if you’re upside down at home. But otherwise, it is certainly not a good use of your head.

And on top of that, no pun intended, if you don’t take good care of your own hair,

make it work for you in particular. Some people find they need bangs to give it the appearance that this is a real part of them. Others are totally enamored with the new nets. They make the hairline completely natural-looking. It’s a real advance as long as you are gentle with

But then again, who’d stay so busy washing, straightening, and curling their diamonds?!

it could sabotage your whole look. Imagine if a strand slips out that is not colored or textured the same way, and boom, the whole natural look goes down the drain.

That would be along with all the other hair that stuffs up your drains!

Then there are the different styles to

your wigs. Otherwise, you may look like you have a fishnet stocking hanging down over your eye.

Care, care, care!

Where’s the wig that’s designed to be done and then you can run?

Well, does anything really come with-

out effort?!

Even the jewelry had to be earned somehow.

So my suggestion is: bite the bullet. And recognize that effort is the name of the game – whether dealing with rearing a child, to making it in life, to looking your best. Putting in the work is the name of the game.

And it’s all in the name of the mitzvah. You get to work on it and put in all that effort for a good cause.

We just can’t seem to “wig”gle out of this one!

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 917705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail.com.