Five Towns Jewish Home 7.26.23

Dear Readers,

Irecently drove down a main street in another community and noticed all the large houses going up. Each house was bigger than the next, with beautiful edifices and magnificent details. But the one thing these homes were missing was space. Each house was built right on top of the other, with barely a strip of grass in between. And I wondered: why are these people building these multimillion dollar homes in a place with no space to breathe?

But then I caught myself. Although I am fortunate to live in the Five Towns with lots of breathing space and acres of lawns throughout the area, I can ask myself the same thing: why do we feel so comfortable building our beautiful homes in a place that is really only temporary?

These thoughts tend to percolate during these times, when the Churban of the Beis Hamikdash is so raw and fresh, when we mourn the destruction of our most holy place and the tragedy of where we find ourselves, cut off from our Source.

Part of that tragedy is the fact that we are unaware of the misfortune that we face each day. We aren’t cognizant of the Churban that we, in a sense, experience each day, as we find ourselves without that cherished, intimate closeness that we once had with the One Above. We don’t even know what we’re missing.

In other generations, galus meant that

each Jew was a breath away from execution or pogrom or crematoria. They knew and felt that terror of exile each day. They were beaten, ridiculed, denigrated – galus was imprinted on the blows they received from their neighbors in the streets. There was no escape from the constant reminders of the exile they were experiencing.

But for us, in our pampered lives, our galus is the numbness and indifference that we feel each day. We are unaware of the devastating circumstances we find ourselves in. Our galus is our ignorance that leaves us oblivious to the hole that needs to be filled in our hearts.

As I write these words, I know that some people may be reading this paper before Tisha B’Av and some will be reading it after the fast. I hope with all my heart that Tisha B’Av this year will not be a day of mourning and remembrance but will be a day of celebration and joy. But if Moshiach does not come this week, perhaps we can take the lessons of the Three Weeks to be cognizant of the fact that we are still in galus.

As we go throughout our days, we need to remember that we are still galus Jews, People removed from their Source, who yearn to be reconnected to their Creator in His Home.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Shabbos Zemanim

Friday, July 28 Parshas Vaeschanan

Candle Lighting: 7:56 pm

Shabbos Ends: 9:01 pm

Rabbeinu Tam: 9:26 pm

Dear Editor,

We enjoyed reading “The Forgotten Jewish Avengers” in last week’s TJH issue. It was truly a well written and fascinating look into the daring lives of Jewish pirates.

We wanted to highlight one notable Jewish pirate that was omitted from the article. Our ancestor Samuel Pallache, who himself was an ancestor of the famed Rav Chaim Palagi of Izmir, Turkey, served as a diplomat and privateer on behalf of the Dutch and Moroccan governments to raid Spanish ships as revenge for his family’s expulsion during the Inquisition. Known as the “pirate rabbi,” it is said that he had a synagogue and kosher food on board each of his ships. After a storm forced him to dock in England, he was famously rescued from extradition to Spain through the intervention of his close friend, Prince Maurice of the Netherlands, and is buried in the Beth Haim Jewish cemetery in Amsterdam. Sincerely,

Yonatan Aivazi & Mr. Nodari Palagi

Dear Editor,

First off, I want to tell you that I love reading your magazine. I find that there’s something in there for everyone.

That being said, I found your article on Jewish pirates interesting and had some conflicting thoughts on the topic.

Initially, I was taken aback by the fact that you devoted quite a few pages to a story about Jewish pirates who were obviously not acting in the way that Jews should act. They would exact revenge on Spanish ships in retaliation for the

Spanish Inquisition. Is this something we should be promoting? Should Jews be set on taking revenge?

But then, I reminded myself that that is what Judaism is about. We don’t whitewash history. We don’t hide our dirty laundry. These Jews acted in a way that they felt was warranted. They were so deeply traumatized by the Expulsions that they needed to lash out in revenge. We should never go through what they went through.

Why should we hide what they did? Shouldn’t we learn about them and their suffering and feel their pain? Isn’t their history our history as well? These people were not learned individuals and did what they thought was best to do with the limited tools they had at their disposal. They were proud Jews – proud of their religion and heritage.

Avi Hershkowitz

Dear Editor,

We need to discuss the elephant in the room. Why is the Navidater column repeatedly publishing letters that have little or nothing to do with dating?! My family looks forward to the DATING column every week, and we have been disappointed recently. Give the people what they want. There are plenty of columns written by therapists that can address the other issues. If the panelists ran out of questions to answer, I’m sure the Zaidy (our favorite) can use ChatGPT to come up with some new material.

Thank you and looking forward to a juicy column next week.

Hopeful in The Five Towns

Continued on page 10

Continued from page

If you live in the Five Towns, you get your water from Liberty Utilities, and if you look at your most recent bill, you’ll see they want to raise our water rates by approximately 34%. They’re saying a household that uses 6,000 gallons a month in the Lynbrook district (the district that includes the Five Towns) will pay $18.32 more every month. In reality, an average frum family with 3 to 4 kids probably uses at least double that, and would see a much larger increase than $18.32 per month.

Please go to https://documents.dps. ny.gov/public/common/search.html and search for Case Number 23-W-0235. This is the PSC’s rate increase file for Liberty. There is a tab for public comments. Please add your comment urging the PSC not to approve this rate hike. We already pay extremely high water rates, and we cannot take another 34% increase.

Please forward this message to all your groups and WhatsApp chats that include people in the Lynbrook Service District. We need to flood this case with public comments demanding that Liberty holds the line on water rates and that the PSC denies Liberty’s request.

You’ll be doing a chessed for all your neighbors as well as yourself. Thank you, J.

Abrahams

Dear Editor, I have to respond to Miri and her letter.

I’ve been around the block many times. I am sure I am older than Miri, which may not make me wiser, but has made me more respectful of the opinion of others. I’ve learned over the years there are many different paths of people. I’ve watched people (including my own children) do things that I thought were mistakes with a just-you-wait-and-see attitude, only to be totally wrong – while

their decisions were met with success. I’ve been humbled by my life’s continuous learning.

I’ve also witnessed many different paths of good parenting.

When I wrote my letter, it was about me – and my feelings.

Miri’s attacking letter could have been hurtful. Miri’s letter straight out lets me know she is “disappointed” in me and my “strident tone.” She let me know that “I am still the parent” (as if I didn’t know), and reminding me that a “parent’s job never ends” (ditto), that a pillow and Advil will solve my back issues (Thank You, Doctor Miri!), and she wishes me the best in “figuring it out.”

What don’t I have figured out? Parenting? Love of my children?

Why couldn’t you write your letter with the attitude of: we agree to disagree?

I am sure you are a great mom. I think I’m a pretty good mom, too. But your tirade was unwarranted.

Debbie Downer Still Hates Visiting Day

Dear Editor,

I have complaint about your Parenting column this week.

It does not concern anything the author wrote, but rather the picture that accompanied the column. It depicted a father teaching his son to bicycle. But the boy was not wearing a helmet. That is a big mistake. Helmets are a very basic piece of safety gear and children, and adults, need to wear them every time they ride. The way to teach that to children is simply to have children wear helmets every time they ride. That the bicycle had training wheels does not make any difference.

Looking at the picture, I am certain it is a stock picture and was inserted by the design and production team, not by the author.

Best wishes,

Steve Nachman

Earth’s Sunniest Spot

Mountains, and spans Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. The plateau has several cities on it, as well as Lake Titicaca, South America’s largest lake.

Spain’s Elections

The Altiplano, a plateau spanning several western South American countries, has been named the sunniest spot on Earth in a recent study.

Standing at around 12,000 feet above sea level, the plain receives peak levels of 2,117 watts of solar irradiance (light energy from the sun) per square meter, which is more than any other place on Earth. On average, the Altiplano receives around 308 watts per square meter, which is also the highest average on the planet.

“It’s actually the radiation that you will be receiving in summer if you are standing up on Venus,” noted Raul Cordero, an author of the study and a climatologist at the Netherlands’ University of Groningen.

For reference, Cordero noted, Venus’ distance to the sun is approximately 28% closer than Earth’s distance to the sun, which makes this discovery “incredible.”

“If you are exposed to such a high radiation danger, you have to protect your skin,” Cordero added. “At this particular location, for people working there … they are aware that the radiation was high, but now we know how really high.”

In comparison, the levels of solar irradiance at the top of Earth’s atmosphere measures at about 1,360 watts per square meter.

The high levels of radiation may be attributed to thin clouds that float high above the plane. While clouds in most areas are generally thick enough to block sunlight, the clouds that cover Altiplano are thin and broken, and thus increase the intensity of the sunlight coming through them, according to Cordero.

Despite the record levels of light and radiation on the Altiplano, the plateau is usually cold and dry.

The plain stands near the Andes

There was no clear victor on Sunday in Spain after the country came out to vote in elections in which no single party won enough parliamentary seats to form a government.

With over 99% of the vote counted, the center-right Partido Popular (PP) is set to come in first, winning 136 seats. The upstart far-right Vox party, a possible coalition partner to PP, is forecast to win 33 seats.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s ruling center-left Socialist party meanwhile is on course to win 122 seats, with likely coalition partner Sumar at 31 seats.

In order to govern, a party or coalition must achieve a working majority of 176 seats in the 350-seat legislature.

PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said he was “very proud” during a speech at party headquarters, lauding the fact that his party’s vote share increased from 21% to 33%.

Calling Sunday’s vote was a political gamble for Sanchez, after his party suffered major setbacks in regional and local elections in May. The PP that month made huge gains, amid a surge toward the right in European politics across the continent.

Most polls predicted that PP would win the most votes on Sunday but fall short of an absolute majority in Parliament, meaning it would likely have to form a coalition with the far-right Vox party. Such an arrangement would have courted controversy by ushering a far-right party government for the first time in decades. But Sunday’s vote count offered no easy path for a rightwing coalition to be formed.

Vox ultimately lost some seats in Sunday’s vote, down from the 52 it won in the last election.

It could now be weeks until the country’s path forward becomes clearer, with inter-party negotiations and

meetings involving King Felipe VI of Spain still to come as parties vie to form a government.

Beating Michael Phelps

Blaze Rages on Greek Island

For the sixth day in a row, firefighters were battling on Sunday to douse blazes on the Greek island of Rhodes that have trapped thousands of tourists and locals, forcing many to spend the night in hotel lobbies, gymnasiums, schools or boats docked at the port.

Greek authorities said that no major injuries had been reported so far, though nine people had been briefly hospitalized, most with breathing problems. Some vacationers described a chaotic rescue effort and criticized travel operators for flying them to the island despite the raging fires.

Michael Phelps may have retired from swimming officially seven years ago, but his legacy still lives on.

Last weekend, Phelps’ last remaining world record was smashed by 21-year-old Leon Marchand at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukoka, Japan, as the Frenchman completed the 400 meters individual medley in 4:02.50, shaving a whopping 1.34 seconds off Phelps’ previous mark.

“That was insane – one of the most painful things I’ve done. It was amazing to do it here and the time is crazy,” Marchand said afterwards, according to the Olympics’ official website. “The best is yet to come.”

Phelps had set the previous world record in the discipline at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Marchand was presented with the gold medal afterwards by the legendary American swimmer.

Phelps himself had held the world record for almost 21 years, setting a series of increasingly faster times during his stint as the world’s most dominant swimmer.

“It’s excellent. I train every day for that,” Marchand enthused. “I’m two seconds faster than my previous record, I beat the world record, it’s amazing… I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy.”

Did

of the fire service were further stretched Sunday after a bridge collapsed in western Greece, in the city of Patras. At least one person died and eight others were hospitalized in that disaster, authorities said, with firefighters continuing to search the rubble.

Firefighters were also battling a large blaze in the south of Evia, Greece’s second-largest island, close to Athens, whose northern section was ravaged by wildfires two years ago. Authorities ordered the evacuation of four villages in the island’s south on Sunday afternoon. And new fires broke out in central and southern Greece, and on the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea, another popular destination for British visitors. (© The New York Times)

Migrant Boat Capsizes Near Senegal

The wildfires on Rhodes are among hundreds to have broken out across Greece in the past week, stoked by tinder-dry conditions as heat waves sweep the country. Temperatures were set to reach 113 degrees Fahrenheit in central Greece on Sunday, prompting authorities to close the Acropolis and other ancient sites.

During the night, coast guard vessels moved thousands of people from seaside areas of Rhodes threatened by the fires to safer parts of the island. Television footage showed long lines of people, including many children, walking to safety under an orange sky, and crowds standing on beaches in the dark as officers helped them into rescue boats. Other images showed hundreds of people sprawled on mattresses in gymnasiums as volunteers distributed water.

According to a spokesperson for the Greek fire service, about 19,000 people — locals and tourists, many of whom were Britons — were moved away from fires on the island Saturday night. The resources

At least 17 people were found dead after a boat capsized near Senegal’s capital of Dakar, local officials said on Monday.

The bodies were discovered by the navy early in the morning and are believed to be migrants because of the type of boat they were in, said Ndeye Top Gueye, the mayor of the Ouakam neighborhood of Dakar, where the bodies were found.

“Because of the size and shape, we know that it’s a pirogue (a long wooden boat),” she added.

While this is the first time bodies have washed up in the neighborhood, migrant deaths at sea are becoming more common in Senegal.

“It’s not the first time, it’s the umpteenth time,” Gueye said. “The government needs to take countermeasures.”

It was unclear where the migrants were coming from, what nationalities they were, or where they were going. The Atlantic migration route is one of the deadliest in the world, with nearly 800 people dying or going missing in the first half of 2023, according to Walking Borders, a Spanish aid group.

In recent years, the Canary Islands have become one of the main destinations for people trying to reach Spain, with a

peak of more than 23,000 migrants arriving in 2020, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry. The boats mainly travel from Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania, with fewer coming from Senegal. However, locals and officials say there’s been a surge of boats leaving Senegal this year.

Earlier this month, eight migrants were found dead after a boat capsized off the coast of northern Senegal as it tried to reach Europe. Seven people were found dead and 50 were rescued on another vessel discovered off the coast of the northern town of Saint-Louis. At least 90 people are feared missing from that boat.

Fatal Flash Floods in Afghanistan

At least 31 people have been killed in devastating flash floods that hit parts of Afghanistan over the weekend.

In a press conference from Kabul, Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesman for Taliban’s Ministry of Disaster Management, said that 74 people are injured and at least 41 remain missing.

Flash floods caused by heavy seasonal rain in seven of Afghanistan’s provinces have partially or completely damaged 606 residential houses, as well as hundreds of acres of agriculture lands, Rahimi said.

“Teams of the ministry along with teams from the ministry of defense, ministry of public welfare, Red Crescent, provinces officials and other officials reached at the scenes of the floods and administered the rescue operations,” he said.

The Taliban’s Ministry of State for Disaster Management also said in a statement on Sunday that since the start of 2023, nearly 100,000 families who have been affected by natural disasters in different provinces have received food and cash aid.

Natural disasters over the past four months have killed at least 214, including the latest known flash flood deaths, it said.

At least 13 people in neighboring Pakistan lost their lives in the heavy

you know?

Two-thirds of an octopus’ neurons reside in its arms, not its head.

and landslides.

In April, the U.N.’s humanitarian affairs agency said Afghanistan is facing its third consecutive year of drought, its second year of severe economic hardship, and the consequences of decades of war and natural disasters.

Former Venezuela Spy Chief Charged

ed his position for personal gain,” stated Anne Milgram, chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “DEA and our partners stand united to bring to justice anyone, in any position, who endangers the safety and health of the American people.”

While he served as spy chief, Carvajal was responsible for the transportation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to Mexico, and then later to the U.S., federal prosecutors have claimed. Additionally, Carvajal has been charged with conspiring to use, carry, or possess “machine guns and destructive devices” related to the cocaine shipments.

Mexican officials prevented the drug from being delivered.

Carvajal was one of the most powerful officials in Venezuela when Chavez was president. In 2019, the former spy chief urged his country’s military to overthrow Chavez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro. At the same time, Carvajal came out in support of Juan Guaido, an opposition leader who is also supported by the U.S. Despite Carvajal’s requests for a rebellion, there have been no military uprisings, as the majority of the country’s army supports Maduro.

ing shut down, and businesses being destroyed.

Around twenty-three protesters were killed as a result of police response to the demonstrations, according to the United Nations.

William Ruto, the president of Kenya, has made it clear that he will not be tolerating these protests from his people.

Hugo Carvajal was Venezuela’s spy chief from 2004 to 2011 and served under former President Hugo Chavez. He has now been charged by the United States for organizing the international trafficking of drugs, an accusation which the former spy chief denies and has pleaded not guilty to.

“Carvajal abandoned his responsibility to the people of Venezuela and exploit-

The United States had to wait over ten years to bring up charges until the former spy chief was brought to the States. Previously, he had been arrested in 2014 in Aruba but was then sent back to Venezuela due to diplomatic immunity. Carvajal was later arrested again in 2019 in Spain on U.S. drug charges. At the time, Carvajal fled, and it wasn’t until 2021 when the man was arrested once again.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Carvajal co-led the Cartel of the Suns, a group of Venezuelan officials who organized the importing and exporting of drugs. In 2006, for example, the group sent 5.6 tons of cocaine to Mexico. At the time,

Protests Rock Kenya

“We must protect our country, we must protect our democracy by making sure our politics is devoid of violence, or chaos, or destruction of private business, or destruction of public property,” Ruto said at a rally last Wednesday. “We must protect this country and the police must be firm on hooligans, on criminals, on people who want to destroy other people’s businesses.”

These protests were started by opposition leader Raila Odinga, a politician who unsuccessfully ran against Ruto for president last year. Odinga claims that he lost because the election was tampered with.

Kenya has been slammed with several mass protests aimed at new tax hikes. These demonstrations have resulted in many citizens being killed, schools be-

Many Kenyans feel that Ruto betrayed his people; instead of fulfilling his promises, the president has only made matters worse, many citizens claim.

“[Ruto] campaigned on a platform of moving into mainstream the poor who have been forgotten over the years. He

called them the ‘Hustlers.’ So, there were certainly a lot of expectations from that quarter, that for once we have a leader who is going to look at our problems, but he’s been unable to attend to even the most basic,” explains Herman Manyora, a veteran political analyst.

Additionally, the president has eliminated several subsidies, including ones for food, fuel, and electricity, which have generally benefited the poor. At the same time, the economy suffers from rising inflation, unemployment, and national debt and has not yet recovered from the pandemic.

Vingegaard Wins Tour de France

Loze mountain pass through the Alps on Wednesday, 8 kilometers and a world away from the top of the hot, punishing climb, it was only briefly unclear why. Pogacar’s own voice, over his team’s radio and broadcast on television during the Tour de France’s 17th stage, provided an immediate explanation for the rare sight of him being left behind like a mere mortal.

“I’m gone,” he told his team. “I’m dead.”

It was an astonishing bit of television, a moment that will be replayed on every Tour broadcast for decades.

Most of Pogacar’s teammates did not wait for him. They did not try to help him. What would have been the point? There was no saving Pogacar’s race. The 24-year-old from Slovenia who usually rides with a smile on his face, perpetually unbothered, tufts of hair peeking out of his helmet, was gone.

Vingegaard quickly rode away from him, and rode away with his second consecutive Tour victory.

The Tour ended Sunday with pomp, aerial shots of the Eiffel Tower and eight furious laps on the cobbled roads of central Paris, capped by a sprint down the Champs-Élysées. Vingegaard, ahead of Pogacar by 7 minutes, 29 seconds, rode

easy in the leader’s yellow jersey, sipping Champagne while surrounded by his Jumbo-Visma teammates.

There were, as is always the case in a three-week race, several noteworthy stories. Jasper Philipsen won four stages and proved he is the best sprinter in the world. Thibaut Pinot rode his final Tour with his typical verve and panache.

Pogacar’s teammate, Adam Yates, finished a distant third, but from beginning to end, the Tour was about Pogacar and Vingegaard. The decisive 17th stage and the gap between the two — the winning margin was the Tour’s largest since 2014 — belies what was, until then, one of the most tense and exciting races in years.

Vingegaard and Pogacar have combined to win the last four Tours, and neither has yet reached the age when cyclists typically peak.

“It’s been an amazing fight we’ve had since Bilbao, and hopefully also in the future,” Vingegaard said after his victory was assured.

The only shame is that the next episode of this fight will not take place for another year. (© The New York Times)

Auckland Shooting

On Thursday, a gunman killed two people in Auckland, New Zealand, injuring many more. The attack took place just a few hours before the highly anticipated Women’s World Cup, a football tournament in which New Zealand played against Norway.

Tens of thousands of people were in Auckland to watch the game, when a man suddenly started shooting at a construction area.

“He moved through the building site discharging the firearm as he went,” Chris Hipkins, the prime minister of New Zealand, said. “Upon reaching the upper levels of the building, the man contained himself in an elevator. Shots were fired, and he was located a short time later.”

Hipkins went on to praise the heroic

When Tadej Pogacar slipped behind Jonas Vingegaard on the Col de la

20 police officials who “ran into the gunfire, straight into harm’s way, in order to save the lives of others.”

The suspect worked at the construction site where the attack took place and killed two of his coworkers. He died soon after. One police officer was hurt, and at least four civilians had “moderate to critical injuries” from the attack, said the country’s police commissioner Andrew Coster.

The shooter, a twenty-four-year-old man named Matu Tangi Matua Reid, had a history of domestic violence and was under house arrest. The construction site was the only place he was permitted to go. Although he had a criminal record, there was “nothing to suggest that he has presented a high-level risk,” Coster said, adding that Reid did not have a license to carry firearms.

The football game was not pushed off, although some other related events were canceled.

There has not been a gun attack in New Zealand since 2019, when fifty-one Muslims were killed in a mass shooting. After that terrorist attack, strict gun laws were quickly put into place in an effort to prevent such a shooting from ever happening again.

In general, shootings in New Zealand

are very unusual, and authorities are not sure how Reid obtained the weapon without a gun permit.

UN Official Killed In Yemen

try’s southwest. He came under fire on Friday afternoon, and the identity of the assailants is not yet known,” the UN said on the day of Hameidi’s death.

The Houthi movement, a militia group supported by Iran, has been attacking Taiz and has been blocking “essential goods and humanitarian supplies for the city’s residents” since 2015 in an attempt to take over the city, according to the United Nations. Members of the rebel group are likely responsible for Hameidi’s death.

Still Cracking Down in Belarus

Moayad Hameidi, who served as local head to a UN World Food Program (WFP) office in Taiz, Yemen, was murdered on Friday.

Twenty-one suspects have been arrested by the Yemen Police in connection with Hameidi’s death.

Cindy McCain, the executive director of the WFP, called Hameidi “a dedicated humanitarian” who spent eighteen years of his life working for the UN’s food program in Sudan, Syria, and Iraq.

The victim was a Jordanian national who was “working in Turbah, in the coun-

“Tens of thousands of civilians have died during the grinding conflict and the UN estimates that 17 million people are still food insecure across Yemen, with projections showing that by the end of this year the number suffering high levels of acute food insecurity could rise to 3.9 million,” the UN added.

Saudi Arabia has been trying to protect Yemen and stop the conflict, although peace proposals with the Houthi rebels have been unsuccessful thus far.

“Since 2015, a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government has been battling for control of the Arab nation, with Houthi militia, who control the capital and much of northern Yemen,” the UN explained.

In Belarus, red and white are the colors of the protest movement against the country’s authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko. And even the smallest sign of protest can land a person in jail.

After claiming victory in a widely disputed presidential election three years ago — and violently crushing the outraged protests that followed — Lukashenko has ushered in a chilling era of repression. He is moving ever closer to his patron, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, positioning himself as an invaluable military ally to Russia in its war against Ukraine, but also cracking down on dissent in a way that is invisible to much of the world but rivals that of Putin’s punitive regime. Belarusian security forces are rounding up opposition figures, journalists,

lawyers and even people committing offenses such as commenting on social media memes or insulting Lukashenko in private conversations with acquaintances that are overheard and reported.

In particular, activists and rights groups say, the country’s security forces are intent on finding and punishing the people who participated in the 2020 protests. Belarusians are getting arrested for wearing red and white, sporting a tattoo of a raised fist — also a symbol of the protest movement — or for just being seen in three-year-old photographs of the anti-government demonstrations.

“In the last three years, we went from a soft autocracy to neo-totalitarianism,” said Igor Ilyash, a journalist who opposes Lukashenko’s rule. “They are criminalizing the past.”

Belarusians interviewed by The New York Times this month echoed that sentiment, expressing fear that even a slight perceived infraction related to the revolution could bring prison time.

The crackdown has made people much more cautious about overtly showing their anger at the government, said Ilyash. That, in turn, has prompted authorities to focus on participation in old protests in an attempt to intimidate and stifle dissent.

Several of the country’s best-known political prisoners, including the leading opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova, have neither been seen by their family members or lawyers, nor permitted to write letters, meaning they have been out of touch for months.

Viasna, a human rights group that shared the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has identified almost 1,500 political prisoners in Belarus today, and a further 1,900 people convicted in what the group calls “politically motivated criminal trials.” (© The New York Times)

“Reasonableness”

Bill Passes 64-0

as did the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.

“This is a complete breaking of the rules of the game,” Lapid said, speaking minutes after the law passed. “The government and coalition can choose the direction the state goes in, but it can’t decide the character of the state.”

Presenting the government’s position on the bill ahead of the back-to-back second and third readings, Levin argued that “reasonableness” is a nebulous legal concept that bleeds into personal opinion.

“Reasonableness is a worldview. It’s not contract law, it’s not evidence law, it’s not a legal matter,” the justice minister said of the judicial test, used as one of the chief oversight tools for appointments and the actions of governments during election periods and in general.

On Monday, the Knesset gave final approval to a law that prevent the courts from reviewing the “reasonableness” of government and ministerial decisions, the first major bill of the government’s judicial overhaul to pass into law.

The bill passed its third and final reading with 64 votes in favor and 0 against, as the entire 56-member opposition boycotted the vote in protest.

It was a long haul. For 29 weeks, protests have been rocking the country. And it took 30 hours of continuous plenum debate – which began on Sunday morning – until the final vote.

Immediately following the vote, Justice Minister Yariv Levin celebrated the law as “the first step in a historic process to correct the judicial system.” Coalition leaders have publicly committed to continue the process, with the next step being a bill to remake the panel that selects new judges, expected in the Knesset’s winter session.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid promised to quickly petition the High Court of Justice against the newly passed law,

“You [judges] want to decide what’s reasonable and what’s not, instead of the people chosen by the nation? That’s reasonable?” Levin rhetorically asked. “I want to say more than that — who even said that what is reasonable in the eyes of the judges is even the logical thing to do? Who decided that their personal positions are better than those of the ministers?”

Herzog Addresses U.S. Congress

the second Israeli president to do so. The first was his father, Chaim Herzog, in 1987.

In his speech, Herzog praised the United States and discussed the Israeli government’s push to change the country’s judicial system, asserting that concerns about the future of Israeli democracy are unfounded and that he is working on reaching a “broad public consensus” and a compromise on the proposed judicial reforms.

“I am well aware of the imperfections of Israeli democracy, and I am conscious of the questions posed by our greatest of friends. The momentous debate in Israel is painful, and deeply unnerving, because it highlights the cracks within the whole,” Herzog said.

Israel’s democracy is “based on free and fair elections, on honoring the people’s choice, on safeguarding minority rights, on protection of human and civil liberties, and on a strong and independent judiciary,” the head of state added, claiming that the current protests in Israel prove his point.

Herzog went further, speaking of the freedom of religion and expression that Israeli citizens enjoy. He mentioned how “late Friday afternoon … the sound of the Muezzin calling to prayer blends with the siren announcing the Sabbath in Jerusalem.”

The topic of the speech eventually shifted to the Middle East as the president voiced concerns about Iran, praised Israel’s peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and shared his hope that Israel and its neighbors would make peace someday soon.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives last Wednesday, making him

“One cannot talk about peace while condoning or legitimizing terror, implicitly or explicitly. True peace cannot be anchored in violence,” Herzog said. “The younger generation of Israelis and Palestinians deserve better. They are all worthy of a future to look towards, a future

of peace and prosperity. A future of hope. I am wholeheartedly committed to this vision, a vision of hope and peace, true peace, without any terror.”

While most members of Congress — Republicans and Democrats alike — were present and applauded the Israeli President’s speech, some progressives boycotted the address, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar. Bernie Sanders, who was also missing from the joint meeting, said, “It’s

Kotel Security Checks

no great secret that I strongly oppose the policies of Israel’s right wing, anti-Palestinian government. We provide them with $3.8 billion in aid. We have a right to demand they respect human rights.”

“Criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the State of Israel’s right to exist,” Herzog told Congress to much applause. “Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self determination is not legitimate diplomacy, it is antisemitism.”

He added, “To us, it is clear that

America is irreplaceable to Israel, and Israel is irreplaceable to America. It is time to design the next stage of our evolving friendship and our growing partnership together.”

In an effort to uphold the religious and traditional practices of Orthodox Judaism, it is prohibited for women to bring Torah scrolls to the Kotel. In order to prevent people from doing so, there have been security checks for those suspected of carrying a Torah into the women’s section.

Last Wednesday, the Magistrate’s Court ruled in favor of the Women of the Western Wall, an organization which sued the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. WoW claimed that the Torah scroll inspections are discriminatory against women. The decision means that individuals will no longer be stopped and searched just because they’re carrying or suspected of carrying a Torah scroll.

However, the rule banning women from bringing Torah scrolls to the Kotel still applies, and guards are still going to be enforcing the law. This new ruling makes it that people will not be stopped at the entrance if they violate the law, but otherwise, nothing else has changed; once at the Kotel, anyone who violates the rule will be disciplined just as they would have been prior to this ruling.

Additionally, the court added that security checks shouldn’t be conducted solely because of one’s race, gender, or religion, but rather, should be done in an unbiased manner in order to ensure public safety.

“For the first time, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation will not be able to enforce an extreme, discriminatory and exclusionary policy towards women at the Western Wall,” Anat Hoffman, the chairman of WoW and one of the individuals to bring the lawsuit, said, praising the decision as a victory for her organization and for women’s rights.

“WoW filed a personal lawsuit against the Western Wall’s rabbi and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, a lawsuit that

was similarly rejected,” the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said in response to the ruling. “The court ruled that the procedure of not allowing the entry of a Torah scroll is legal.”

“WoW turned their failure into a victory,” the foundation added.

Bibi Gets a Pacemaker

day. “In any case, I want you to know that tomorrow morning I’ll join my friends at the Knesset.”

The Prime Minister continued, noting that “a week ago, they put in a monitoring device. That device beeped this evening and said I need to receive a pacemaker. I need to do this already tonight. I’m feeling excellent, but I’m listening to my doctors.”

Tornado Hits Pfizer Plants

About a week after Netanyahu’s recent health scare, when he was rushed to the hospital and had a medical device implanted in his heart, Netanyahu has been hospitalized once again.

The Israeli Prime Minister, who had fainted from dehydration last week after a visit to the Sea of Galilee, was admitted to the Sheba Medical Center on Sunday, July 23, after the heart monitor he received a week ago detected a “transient heart block.” While at the hospital, the Prime Minister underwent surgery for a pacemaker implant.

Although last week Netanyahu’s medical team announced that his heart is “completely normal,” on the morning of his pacemaker procedure, the doctors revealed that there were some detected irregularities in last week’s electrocardiogram (ECG) test and that the PM does, in fact, have a history of heart conduction issues.

While the ECG did find some signs of arrhythmia, further tests did not show any indications of the issue, said Professor Eyal Nof of the Sheba Medical Center.

“Last week, there was a disturbance in the ECG. Following the disturbance, [Netanyahu] underwent an invasive examination, which did not justify a pacemaker, but as is customary in such cases, a subcutaneous monitor was implanted,” Nof stated.

Roy Beinart, another professor at the medical center, added that the heart monitor saved the prime minister’s life.

“The disturbance was only for a few seconds. If the disorder had not passed and the heart rate had not recovered, we would reach a slow heart rate, to the point of loss of consciousness and, G-d forbid, cardiac arrest,” Beinart stated.

“As you can see, I’m doing great,” Netanyahu said in a video statement on Sun-

On Wednesday, a tornado hit a critical Pfizer plant in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. No individuals at the plant were hurt, but the factory itself sustained serious damage, leading many to anticipate drug shortages in the near future.

The Pfizer plant, which is one of the world’s biggest drug making factories, manufactures about one fourth of the company’s sterile injectable medications, including Pfizer’s painkillers, anesthesia, and anti-infectives, among other drugs. However, vaccines and pills are not produced at this particular facility.

“This will probably impact a lot of drugs already on shortage,” Erin Fox, University of Utah Health’s associate chief pharmacy officer, said, adding that, prior to this incident, Pfizer had been working on the Rocky Mount plant’s expansion in an attempt to combat the many drug shortages that the country has been experiencing.

It might be a while before consumers feel the effects of the plant’s damage, since many drugs already made by the plant, prior to Wednesday, are still being distributed and used by hospitals and medical facilities. However, once the current batch of medication runs out, there will likely be shortages.

“In a matter of weeks or months, the supply can just be depleted if other plants or manufacturers can’t expand their pro-

duction,” Mariana Socal, an associate scientist at John Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health, noted.

The factory has about 4,500 employees and spans 250 acres of land, making the facility over 1.4 million square feet.

While the plant was successfully evacuated, some people in eastern North Carolina were hurt by the storm. The tornado, which raged at wind speeds of 150 miles per hour, had not killed anyone but more than sixteen have been injured, two of whom are in serious condition, according to the National Weather Service.

NJ Sues Over NYC Congestion Pricing

The lawsuit argues that New Jersey drivers who need to reach Manhattan for work should not have to pay to fund the tolling program, which will generate $1 billion annually for the MTA, which runs New York City’s subway and bus network.

An MTA spokesperson, John J. McCarthy, called the lawsuit “baseless” and said the authority was confident the program “will stand up to scrutiny.”

The MTA has not yet decided toll rates, but in a report last year, it said it was reviewing proposals that would charge drivers who enter Manhattan south of 60th Street a fee of up to $23 for a rush-hour trip and $17 during off-peak hours. (© The New York Times)

1 in 10 Teens Use E-Cigs

New Jersey is suing the federal government to halt a congestion pricing program that will charge drivers to enter midtown Manhattan, New York, citing concerns that the tolling program will place unfair financial and environmental burdens on the state’s residents.

In its complaint, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, the state said it was challenging the Federal Highway Administration’s “decision to rubber-stamp” its approval of congestion pricing last month, which was the program’s final federal hurdle.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the program, which aims to reduce traffic in New York City while raising billions of dollars for mass transit, could begin as soon as spring 2024.

The lawsuit comes two days after a local panel appointed by the authority convened for the first time to decide on toll rates. At that meeting, dozens of drivers, including suburbanites, protested against the tolls.

The lawsuit was filed by Randy Mastro, with the state of New Jersey as the plaintiff, and announced by Gov. Phil Murphy, Sen. Robert Menendez and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, all New Jersey Democrats.

“The bottom line is that we have to put our foot down to protect New Jerseyans,” Murphy said on Friday. “We’re not going to allow this poorly designed proposal to be fast-tracked.”

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 in 10 young adults in the United States regularly use e-cigarettes.

The study, conducted by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, provides a snapshot of e-cigarette use in 2021. Based on data from the National Health Interview Survey, the report identified that e-cigarette use generally declined as family income increased. Adults under 44 were more likely to be dual users of both cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

Previous findings from the National Health Interview Survey have shown that cigarette use has fallen to record lows. E-cigarettes, however, have flared in popularity.

From 2020 to 2022, e-cigarette sales jumped in the United States to 22.7 million products sold each month, according to previous CDC research . More brands – particularly of disposable e-cigarette products – entered the market, while fruit and candy flavors that appeal to younger audiences surged in popularity.

The new data indicates that a little under 1 in 20 adults reported in 2021 that they were current e-cigarette users, with slightly higher rates among men than women. Young adults, between

the ages of 18 and 24, used e-cigarettes the most, with 11% indicating that they actively consumed the products.

As people got older, the study found, rates of e-cigarette use dropped – but traditional cigarette use steadily climbed. About 11.4% of survey respondents over 45 said they currently smoked cigarettes.

The rise of young adults using e-cigarettes is worrying. According to Dr. Joanna Cohen, director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins University, “If e-cigarettes were being used as we would hope, the only people who should use them are those who are using them to quit smoking. You would see very different patterns.”

“Tobacco companies are masters of targeted marketing as well as manipulation,” Dr. Cohen noted. “They want to make products that are attractive and appealing to a variety of demographics and ages. They also heavily promote their products … to particularly what we might call vulnerable populations.”

The CDC report arrives days after the American Heart Association released a statement warning of the health risks of e-cigarette use.

The statement sounded an alarm about the harmful properties of ingredients used in e-cigarettes, including nicotine – the addictive chemical in the products – and flavoring agents. It notes that those compounds have been shown to carry risks for heart and lung disease in animal studies and that they could pose “dangerous health risks” in humans.

Netflix Adds 6M Subscribers

238 million globally.

Netflix’s chief financial officer, Spencer Neumann, called the launch of paid sharing Netflix’s “primary revenue accelerator in the year” during the company’s second quarter earnings call.

“Most of our revenue growth this year is from growth in volume from new paid memberships and that’s largely driven by our paid sharing rollout,” he said.

The results come at a pivotal moment for Netflix as the streamer looks to boost revenue by restricting password sharing and introducing an ad-supported subscription option while also contending with a fresh challenge: strikes by both the Hollywood actors and writers unions that could impact its future slate of original shows and movies.

While Netflix’s password-sharing clampdown helped boost revenue for the quarter, it still fell just shy of what Wall Street analysts had expected. Netflix posted nearly $8.19 billion in revenue for the quarter, compared to the $8.3 billion Wall Street had projected. It also posted net income of $1.49 billion, up 3% from the same period in the prior year.

“While we’ve made steady progress this year, we have more work to do to reaccelerate our growth,” the company said in a letter to investors about the results. The company noted that subscriptions to its lower priced, ad-supported plan have doubled since the first three months of this year but that “current ad revenue isn’t material for Netflix.”

Masks Banned for Some Employees

according to a new policy issued by the fast food chain.

Beginning August 14, employees that want to wear masks must have a “valid medical note exempting him or her from this requirement,” an email to workers said. The policy is in effect for workers at its restaurants in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Utah, which amount to about 100 locations.

A policy for its California and Oregon restaurants, where it can’t ban employees from wearing masks, said that they have to wear a companyprovided N95 mask. A majority of In-N-Out locations are in California, totaling about 300 out of 391.

“We are introducing new mask guidelines that emphasizes the importance of customer service and the ability to show our associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals,” the memo said. Employees that have to wear masks, like in the “patty room” or lab technicians,” are exempted.

“Our goal is to continue to provide safe and customer-centric store and support environments that balance two things that In-N-Out is known for — exceptional customer service and unmatched standards for health, safety and quality,” the memo said.

Biden Suspends Funding for Wuhan Lab

protocols of the NIH regarding biosafety is undisputed,” wrote the official, whose name was redacted. “As such, there is risk that WIV not only previously violated, but is currently violating, and will continue to violate, protocols of the NIH on biosafety.”

The institute, which has not received any federal money since 2020, now has 30 days to respond to the notice.

“Therefore, I have determined that the immediate suspension of WIV is necessary to mitigate any potential public health risk,” the HHS official wrote.

The document was made public by the House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which has been probing the administration’s grants to the Wuhan Institute. Republican members of the panel have said that the virus was manufactured in the Chinese facility with the aid of U.S. funding and spread worldwide because of a lab leak.

Much of the attention has been focused on EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based organization that received a 2014 grant from NIH that was partly sub-granted to the Wuhan Institute.

The U.S. intelligence community has yet to reach a conclusion about where the virus originated. At the same time, China has blocked international scientists from exploring all possibilities about the virus’s origin.

NIH officials have asserted that no taxpayer funds were used for research that could have supercharged a coronavirus and caused the pandemic, but they have also admitted they don’t know the full extent of research being conducted in Wuhan.

NYC Offers $13M to BLM Protesters

In an effort to prevent subscribers from sharing their passwords with others, Netflix launched paid sharing in more than 100 countries. Now, it seems like their strategy worked. The streaming giant announced last week that it added nearly six million paid subscribers during the three months ending in June, bringing its total to more than

Customer service is key in certain industries, and what better way to connect with customers than with a smile?

Recently, In-N-Out announced that employees in five U.S. states will no longer be allowed to wear masks as part of new company guidelines that “emphasize the importance of customer service,” notably showing their smiles,

According to a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Biden administration is suspending all federal funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the Chinese lab at the center of a controversy over the origins of the coronavirus.

The memo from an HHS official said the facility has repeatedly refused to provide documents and answer questions from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about safety and security. HHS also told the lab it’s seeking to cut off funding permanently.

The Wuhan Institute “likely violated

In May of 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man who lived in Minneapolis, died as a result of what protesters claimed to be an act of police brutality and racism.

In the months that followed Floyd’s death, BLM protests were held in many areas of the country, including in New York City. In May and June 2020, the

NYPD arrested over one thousand demonstrators, many of whom later sued the city for unlawful arrest and for allegedly violating their civil rights.

Last week, the City offered to settle the lawsuit, proposing that if a settlement is reached, New York will give around $9,950 to each of the 1,380 protestors, adding up to a total of $13.7 million. If a judge approves the offer, it will be the largest amount of money ever awarded to protesters in a settlement.

The lawsuit accuses the City of disregarding New Yorkers’ First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights and claims that police officials were “corralling protesters into spaces where they could not escape, beating protesters with batons and fists, throwing protesters to the ground, using pepper spray indiscriminately, and ultimately arresting many of the protesters without lawful justification and without fair warning.”

“Protesters were physically restrained with flex-cuffs in such a manner that caused them unnecessary pain and suffering and, in some cases, possible serious and long-term nerve damage,” the plaintiffs claimed, adding that some “were subjected to lengthy and unnecessary arrest processing that put them in dangerously close quarters, all in the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic.”

In a statement, Stefan Mooklal, the NYPD’s deputy chief of staff, said that the department is committed to protecting the public and its constitutional rights, and “has improved numerous practices to address the challenges it faced at protests during the pandemic.”

According to reports, riots sparked by Floyd’s death caused about $2 billion in damages nationwide. In all, around 10,000 rioters were arrested throughout the country during that time.

Texas Protects the Border

bott’s government’s actions are disrupting U.S. Border Patrol operations in the region and put migrants at risk.

“It’s making our job harder,” one Homeland Security official told CNN.

Border agents have historically worked closely with Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety. But the latest steps taken by the state have made some day-today operations more challenging.

The Texas Department of Public Safety made certain portions of the Texas-Mexico border more difficult to access. Last Wednesday, the Justice Department said that it’s assessing the situation along the Texas-Mexico border – marking an escalation from an administration that for months had stopped short of taking any actions against Texas.

“The department is aware of the troubling reports, and we are working with DHS and other relevant agencies to assess the situation,” DOJ spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said. An assessment could be the first step toward an investigation.

Internal discussions about legal action against Texas date back to last year, when Abbott began sending migrants to cities nationwide without alerting them and have continued with the deployment of buoys in the Rio Grande. Additionally, migrants have been complaining of treatment they are receiving as they attempt to reach the United States.

In a Tuesday joint statement with other Texas top officials, including Department of Public Safety Chief Steve McCraw, Abbott’s office said there have been no orders or directions given under Operation Lone Star that “would compromise the lives of those attempting to cross the border illegally.”

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, said that he raised concerns about the reports of mistreatment to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying in a statement: “I raised the issue of Governor Abbott’s barbarity at a dinner tonight with Secretary Blinken. I read him the title and first paragraph of the Express-News article and urged the Administration to intervene – and to remove the death traps Abbott has installed for the sake of human rights.”

polling requirements to appear on the August debate stage.

It’s going to be a crowded forum. Among those who will be taking part are former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. They have each reached 1% or higher in at least two qualifying national polls and two qualifying state polls from separate states, which is a requirement set by the Republican National Committee.

and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez each need one state and two national polls to qualify. No other candidate has hit 1% in a qualifying poll so far.

Who is most likely to clinch the nomination? The new Fox Business polls from Iowa and South Carolina show Trump with a commanding lead over the rest of the field in both states. In the Hawkeye State, 46% of likely GOP caucus-goers backed the former president, compared with 16% for DeSantis and 11% for Scott.

In South Carolina, 48% of likely GOP primary voters picked Trump in the Fox Business poll, compared with 14% for Haley, 13% for DeSantis and 10% for Scott.

From Twitter to X

Candidates must also meet fundraising criteria and sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee in order to qualify for the August 23 debate in Milwaukee. Several candidates and their aides say they have already met that donor threshold, including Trump, DeSantis, Scott, Haley, Christie, Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Ramaswamy announced Saturday that he had also met the RNC’s fundraising criteria of 40,000 unique donors, with at least 200 unique contributors from 20 or more states and territories. He also said he intends to sign the candidate pledge.

“The RNC’s debate stage criteria are stringent but fair,” Ramaswamy said in a statement. “If an outsider can clear the bar, politically experienced candidates should be able to as well: if you can’t hit these metrics by late August, you have absolutely no chance of defeating Joe Biden in the general election.”

Pence is the only candidate who has met the polling threshold but says he has not reached the fundraising threshold.

“We’re making incredible progress toward that goal. We’re not there yet,” the former vice president said on Sunday. “We will make it. I will see you at that debate stage.”

On Sunday, Twitter owner Elon Musk announced that Twitter’s iconic bird logo will now be replaced with X. By Monday morning, the billionaire tweeted that X.com now points to Twitter.com.

“Interim X logo goes live later today,” he wrote, shortly before sharing a photo of Twitter’s headquarters lit up by a giant new X.

The Twitter website now features the same logo, while the familiar blue bird is gone.

Previously, Musk said he was bidding “adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

Twitter, founded in 2006, has used its vivid, globally recognized blue bird emblem for more than a decade. The brand, though popular, is on the edge of bankruptcy, according to Musk. To make matters worse, earlier this month, rival social media platform Threads launched from Facebook parent Meta. It surpassed 100 million user sign-ups in its first week.

Twitter had 238 million active users prior to being taken private by Musk in October 2022.

The Biden administration and Texas Governor Greg Abbott are at odds over measures at the southern border between Texas and Mexico.

The administration says that Ab -

A Crowded Republican Field

As of Sunday, seven Republican presidential candidates have met the

Of the remaining GOP candidates who have not yet met the polling criteria, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is one national poll away from doing so, Burgum needs two national polls, and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd

In June, Musk named Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal marketing executive, CEO of the company.

She commented on the name change on Twitter Sunday afternoon: “It’s an

exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.”

As Hot as an Oven

Oldest Bodybuilder

If you’ve never lifted weights in your life, it’s never too late to start.

Recently, a California man who was named the world’s oldest bodybuilder in 2015 had his title updated when he participated in a recent competition at age 90.

Jim Arrington, who was first named the world’s oldest bodybuilder by Guinness World Records at age 83, broke his own record by participating in an International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness Professional League event in Reno, Nevada.

Sea Otter Stealing Surfboards

Lost at Sea

Tim Shaddock set off from La Paz, Mexico, in April and attempted to sail across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia. But something went wrong with his vessel just a month into his voyage when a storm slammed his small ship, cutting off all electronics on the boat. Last weekend, the Australian native was saved when a helicopter spotted his ship 1,200 miles offshore and alerted a boat nearby.

Shaddock’s boat had drifted more than 1,000 miles before he was rescued by the Mexican crew of the Maria Delia tuna boat.

In an effort to prove just how hot it is in Texas now, National Weather Service personnel tried baking cookies in a car.

The NWS’s office in Midland said in a Facebook post it was about 105°F outside and 190°F inside the car when the cookie dough was placed on the dashboard.

They were left there for about 4½ hours. Finally, when taken from the car, the cookies were deemed fully baked.

“Can confirm they are done and delicious,” NWS employees wrote.

Officials said the project highlights the dangers of hot cars.

“This heat is still incredibly dangerous to anyone left in a hot car. Look before you lock,” they wrote.

Sounds like these pastries were in the hot seat.

The great-grandfather placed third in the men’s over-70 category at the event and first in the over-80 category.

The nonagenarian said he was born at just 5.5 pounds and suffered from multiple health issues during his early years. He started lifting weights at age 15.

“I wanted to be a superhero,” Arrington told Guinness World Records.

The dedicated athlete, who still spends two hours at the gym three hours a week, said holding the world record “opened an entire new universe,” including a feature in Men’s Health last year.

“I see all these fantastic physiques, and I knew the only way I could make it is if I outlast everybody,” Arrington shared.

A wily sea otter has been stealing surfboards – and hearts – off the coast of Santa Cruz, California.

A team of wildlife experts with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the nearby Monterey Bay Aquarium have been trying to capture the 5-year-old animal, known as otter 841, since last week because they say she poses a public safety risk.

But this creature has proved to be slippery and has evaded capture. For now, she has produced a fan club, with people showing up every day to catch a glimpse of her offshore.

The mischievous mammal was made famous by a professional photographer who posted photos and videos on social media that show her aggressively approaching surfers and getting on top of surfboards — on at least one occasion biting and tearing chunks off a board.

The team trying to capture her has used a baited surfboard to get to the creature. But she seems to be too smart for her captors. Although she has gotten to the board a few times in the past few days, as soon as a wildlife official towing the surfboard carrying her gets near the team’s boat, she dives off.

Otter 841 was born in captivity and was released into the wild in June 2020. She is tagged with her number and has a radio transmitter that officials have been monitoring to keep tabs on her.

This is not the first time the otter has been aggressive toward humans. She was observed approaching people in late 2021. In May 2022, she was spotted with a pup in the Santa Cruz area, and four months later exhibited similar aggressive behavior.

Can’t you “see” she wants to be left alone?

Over the past few months, Shaddock spent his time fixing his boat and swimming in the ocean. He had suffered from fatigue and never knew if rescuers were on their way.

After being rescued, the seaman said, “I feel really good. I’ve been struggling, you know, the health was pretty bad for a while. I was pretty hungry and I didn’t think I would make it through the storm, but now I’m doing really good.”

He survived on provisions he had packed along with fish that he caught.

Shaddock was not alone on his boat. He had his dog, Bella, whom he had met in Mexico before the disastrous voyage.

“She’s amazing. That dog is something else, I’m a bit biased but yeah,” Shaddock said. “Bella seemed to have found me in the middle of Mexico, she’s Mexican. She is the spirit of the middle of the country and she wouldn’t let me go.”

He gifted Bella to a crew member of the Maria Delia, on the condition that Bella would be well taken care of.

“To the captain and this fishing company that saved my life, I mean, what do you say? I’m just so grateful. I’m alive. I really didn’t think I’d make it,” Shaddock said.

Even though he still loves being alone out on the ocean, Shaddock doesn’t see himself sailing anytime soon and is looking forward to going back home to Australia in the coming weeks.

“I’ll always be in the water. I don’t know how far out in the ocean again I’ll be. I just love nature.”

We suggest he stay close to shore.

“And that’s exactly what I did.” Tried and true.

Around the Community

Summer Fun at Camp Shira

The Day 4 Shidduchim Unprecedented Anticipation For Yad L’Achim’s Two Live Tu B’av Together Events This Week

By Mia Perlman

What is the connection between Yad L’Achim, an organization that helps rescue Jewish women and children from captivity, and Tu B’Av, the most popular day for shidduchim in Klal Yisrael?

Many years ago, when Yad L’Achim began receiving calls about Jewish women trapped in Arab villages, it established a division dedicated to their liberation, as well as to the prevention of such situations. These women are often rescued with nothing more than the clothes they are wearing at the time, and Yad L’Achim helps provide them with basic necessities to begin rebuilding their lives. With Hashem’s help, many of these women have gone on to marry bnei Torah and establish Jewish homes.

But, recognizing that this isn’t always a quick or easy transition, Yad L’Achim arranged for talmidei chachamim to daven in mekomos hakedoshim such as Amuka and Meron so that these women should merit finding their shidduch. Soon, Yad L’Achim began accepting names for tefillah from Jews across the world, who wanted the talmidei chachamim to daven for them, too. And for many years, Yad L’Achim arranged for a minyan of talmidei chachamim to daven in Amuka (the resting place of the Tanna Yonasan Ben Uziel), an auspicious place to daven for a shidduch, on Tu B’Av, an auspicious day to daven for a shidduch. There never was and never will be any donation required

to submit names for tefillah through Yad L’Achim.

Six years ago, with the brachah and encouragement of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Yad L’Achim launched Tu B’Av Together, when not only do the talmidei chachamim daven in Amuka, but Jews all across the world unite to daven for all the singles in Klal Yisrael, reciting specific kapitlach of Tehillim on Tu B’Av – Together!

There are several ways to participate in this special day.

Two inspiring, uplifting events will be livestreamed on TuBavTogether.com, both hosted by Nesanel Gantz.

The first live event will take place on the eve of Tu B’Av, Tuesday, August 1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST, with a full program of shidduch tips and inspiration from renowned speakers as well as musical performances from today’s leading superstars.

Speakers will include:

● Reb Ari & Reb Yossi Bensoussan

● Dr. David Lieberman

● Reb Yisroel Majeski

● Reb Yonasan Schwartz

● Reb Ben Tzion Shafer

● Reb Meir Sperling

● Reb Eli Stefansky

With musical performances by:

● Yehuda Green

● Levi Falkowitz

● Eitan Katz

● Simcha Leiner

● Shulem Lemmer

● Joey Newcomb

● Ohad Moskowitz

● Moshe Tischler &

● Zusha

On Wednesday, August 2, the much-anticipated live Tu B’Av Together tefillah event will begin at 10 a.m. EST and continue for several hours, broadcast in real time online at TuBavTogether.com to hundreds of thousands.

Opening remarks will be delivered by Rav Yisroel Reisman, shlita. Inspiration as well as the eight chapters of Tehillim will be led by the following rabbanim shlita:

● Rav David Ashear

● Rav Shlomo Cynamon

● Rav Eytan Feiner

● Rav Dovid Goldwasser

● Rav Joey Haber

● Rav Sholom Kaminetsky

● Rav Nissan Kaplan

● Rav Paysach Krohn

● Rav Berel Lazar

● Rav David Ozeri

● Rav Fishel Schachter

● Rav Efraim Twerski

● Rav Yussie Zakutinsky

The following eight kapitlach will be recited: 32, 38, 70, 82, 121, 124, 127, 128. At TuBavTogether.com, names can be submitted for tefillah for free to the minyan of talmidei chachamim in Amuka. Over the past year, Yad L’Achim has received hundreds of messages from people who got engaged since submitting their names to last year’s Tu B’Av Together tefillah. Last year, over 500,000 Jews in places as far-flung as Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Greece, and Argentina participated in the tefillah and live events.

To submit names for tefillah for free, download the chapters of Tehillim in advance, and watch the live events, visit www.TuBavTogether.com or call Yad L’Achim (24/6) at 1-866-923-5224.

A New App Out of Kew Gardens Hills That Can Help Solve the Shidduch Crisis

The “shidduch crisis” as we know it is really nothing new. Since the times of Avraham Avinu, Jews have faced the challenge of finding the right spouse.

The Auntie Matchmaking app, out of Kew Gardens Hills and under the rabbinical oversight of Rabbi Daniel Rosenfelt of YIKGH, puts parents in the driver’s seat and empowers them to help their loved ones find their bashert. Because unlike most dating apps which are for the singles themselves, Auntie is not for singles at all. Rather, Auntie is based off of the rabbinic dictum (Bava Kama 92a) that

one who davens for someone else and is in similar straits will be answered first. This concept of davening for somebody else is in contrast to the typical Jewish dating app, which aims to mimic secular dating apps and provide a platform for young Jewish singles to meet.

Auntie Matchmaking, on the other hand, employs Jewish concepts from the time of Avraham himself, tackling the shidduch crisis from a genuinely new direction. It is made primarily for parents to play the role of shadchan and matchmake for their children, but it is also available to professional matchmakers, family members, and even friends. Any-

one who would assist in finding a shidduch for someone they care about.

Unfortunately, we all know too many singles for whom we want nothing more than to find their bashert. Auntie is our way of spending a few minutes to try and help connect our single friend or family member.

According to Rabbi Rosenfelt, “As rabbis, we try our hardest to help singles in our community. Auntie is an incredibly user-friendly app that empowers you to act as a shadchan and help singles find someone. We are blessed to have Auntie as a resource to help with shidduchim in the Jewish community.”

Auntie Matchmaking is currently available for Apple iPhone users only in the app store. It is in its earliest testing stages, so expect it to be imperfect and changing daily as the developers get valuable feedback from users like you. An application is only as good as its community, so consider getting your friends and family together to use Auntie! Every user will automatically be entered in a $300 Amazon raffle. Please contact rabbirosenfelt@gmail.com with any questions or comments.

May it be in the merit of helping someone else find a shidduch that your tefillos are answered as well!

MTA Summer Camp Visits Continue

MTA’s summer visits continued this week with visits to two more incredible camps. The day began at Camp Dora Golding, where Rabbi Schenker, Rabbi Emerson, Rabbi Cohn and Rabbi Apfel visited current talmidim and alumni. With doughnuts and swag bags in tow, everyone had a great time reuniting with their rebbeim. Rabbi Konigsberg, Program Director and Assistant Head Counselor at CDG and Associate Principal at MTA, also enjoyed reuniting with his colleagues, while busy at work. There are over thirty MTA former, current and incoming talmidim who are having a blast at Camp Dora Golding!

The tour continued with an impactful visit to MoKo (Morasha Kollel). With around thirty current talmidim and alumni spending their summer learning from top rebbeim and roshei yeshiva, including Rav Mordechai Willig, Rav Yitzchak Cohen and MTA’s own Rabbi Mendelson, their dedication to their growth in Yiddishkeit is undeniable. Rabbi Schenker gave a shiur to the high school kollel, and everyone enjoyed the doughnuts and bags that were given out.

MTA will be continuing their camp visits in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned…

Bnei Akiva’s Moshava Ba’ir Intercamps: First Half Highlight Event

During the Nine Days, hundreds of the oldest division campers and staff from the Moshava Ba’ir day camp network including campers from Moshava Ba’ir Long Island, Moshava Ba’ir MetroWest, and Moshava Ba’ir New Jersey, came together for a day of friendly competition, achdut, and chessed, in our first ever Tri-State MB Intercamps! Executive Director of Bnei Akiva U.S. & Canada, Rav Shaul Feldman, was ready to greet everyone and wish hatzlacha as the buses pulled up at the MetroWest campus, located on the beautiful and expansive grounds of Kushner in Livingston, NJ. Everyone was assigned to teams and geared up in their colored tees.

From a plethora of sporting events to a meaningful chessed program led by Orit Seif from the Israeli-based organization, Kedma, it was quite the busy day! Throughout the day, games were heating up as i9 Sports professionals coached our

teams through various rounds of Hockey, Basketball, Flag Football, Soccer and much more!

The chesed component with Kedma was particularly special during Tishat Hayamim, a time to reflect and give back as part of Am Yisrael. Together, the campers and staff wrapped chocolate bars with thank you notes for chayalim, packed school supplies, and decorated “welcome back” signs for at-risk Israeli children through Afikim.

The day, concluded with a delicious dinner, Mincha and a trophy award ceremony (though we all know when giving to others, everyone was truly winners!).

Congratulations to all of our champions!

It was quite an incredible and uplifting way to culminate the first session of the summer, and we are looking forward to seeing what second session brings for our Moshava Ba’ir Day Camps across the tristate and beyond!

JCCRP Meets with Met Council Family Violence Department

JCCRP staff welcomed Nechama Bakst, Channah Ginsburg and Esther Teitelbaum from the Met Council Family Violence Department last week. The presenters led a meaningful discussion on understanding intimate partner violence in the Jewish Community. JCCRP staff reviewed the three types of relationships a person may find themselves in and what can be done to assist an individual in an unhealthy or abusive relationship.

Thank you to UJA-Federation of NY for their ongoing support so that JCCRP can continue to advocate and assist those in need in our community.

Martin Oliner, Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, and Elliot Lauer at a fundraiser at the Lauer home

Over the past few weeks, Chazaq has hosted a series of successful Parent-Child Challah Bakes across all 15 of their Shaping Lives programs for public school children

Councilmember Eric Dinowitz traveled to Washington as a guest of Congressman Ritchie Torres for the Joint Meeting of Congress with Israeli President Isaac Herzog last week

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined the Met Council on Jewish Poverty and CEO David Greenfield in Brooklyn to distribute food to those in need. Throughout the event, over 500 food boxes, along with fresh produce, were distributed. Rep. Jeffries also announced an allocation of $1 million in federal funding for Met Council.

JCCRP Holocaust Advisory Committe

JCCRP recently hosted 10 Holocaust survivors from our Advisory Committee to discuss program improvements. Ideas and suggestions about programming they would like to see in the future and how to improve their connection to the community and their Jewish identity were discussed at length. Topics discussed included day trips, so -

cialization events, different food items in monthly deliveries, monthly lectures about topics pertaining to yom tov, and more. JCCRP hosts the committee four times throughout the year.

We thank the Claims Conference for their support and the UJA-Federation of NY for their ongoing support.

BACH of Long Beach’s T3 Initiative

On the heels of Israel recently celebrating its 75th birthday and in preparation for the upcoming High Holidays, the BACH Jewish Center has created the T3 Initiative to encourage members of all ages to participate in 75 acts of Torah (learning), 75 hours of Tefillah (prayer) and 75 acts of Tzedakah (charity).

Members of all ages will be participating including young children. A committee comprised of synagogue leadership, youth directors and volunteers have created various activities and source guides to help get the community involved over the next three months.

“This is a historic moment in time to

celebrate Israel – and what better way than by participating in this meaningful 3-month program that will serve the dual goal of celebrating Israel and preparing for the Yomim Noraim as a community,” said BACH leader Rabbi Benny Berlin. “If each of us and our families commits to the 75, together, our community can do something incredible in honor of the miracle that is the State of Israel.”

“While we are starting this initiative within our shul, our hope is that others will get involved and through the learning, praying and charity work, we can create a larger celebration of Israel,” added Rabbi Berlin.

Serving fish at Masbia for the Nine Days

Summer Fun at Simcha Day Camp

JSL Hosts Camp Clinics at SDC, Areivim

The JSL hosted basketball clinics sponsored by Town Appliance at Simcha Day Camp and Camp Areivim this past week. JSL Men’s star basketball players Aaron Azose and David Ivry led the clinics, providing the campers at both camps with the opportunity to learn essential basketball skills and participate in fun drills and games.

The boys all also received amazing JSL swag and were entered into a grand raffle for signed sports memorabilia sponsored by Chef Kevin. Yitzi Blachman of Simcha Day Camp won an autographed NFL football! The clinics were sponsored by Town Appliance, one of the league’s

Hall of Fame sponsors for the upcoming JSL Fall season.

The JSL Fall season by FM Home

Loans begins September 3 with options for Hockey (K-8th) basketball (3rd-7th), Football (1st/2nd), and Soccer (K/P).

Registration ends this Monday (7/31) and some divisions are already closed out! To register and for more info, go to 5tjsl.com.

Summer Fun Continues at Camp Machaneh Yisroel

Photos by Ezra Rosenfeld

AMIT Annual Yom

More than a hundred women gathered for the highly anticipated AMIT Annual Yom Iyun Day of Learning Seminar, a transformative event designed “For Women, By Women.” Hosted at The Sephardic Temple in Cedarhurst, this year’s seminar marked the 23rd AMIT Annual Yom Iyun Event.

The focal point of the event was the inspiring keynote address by Bracha Rutner, Head of School at Central/YUHSG and Yoetzet Halacha at KMS. Bracha Rutner’s commitment to halacha is beautifully blended with her dedication to helping others. Ms. Rutner’s love for Torah, halacha, and devotion to the Jewish community and Israel radiated throughout her enlightening address.

Themed “Choose Your Story – Change Your Life,” the seminar delved into the profound impact of storytelling in the Torah on our interpersonal relationships. Participants discovered the hidden les

Iyun

sons within Chazal’s stories, gaining valuable insights on how our words and actions shape our interactions with others. The program emphasized the importance of self-reflection to enhance our interpersonal skills and foster positive connections within our communities.

The AMIT Yom Iyun Event is a testament to AMIT’s unwavering commitment to continuous education and community support. As a leading organization, AMIT welcomes all children, empowering them to fulfill their potential while strengthening Israeli society. With a focus on innovation, academic excellence, and Jewish values, AMIT operates 96 schools in 32 cities throughout Israel, serving 40,000 students annually. Such growth and impact would not be possible without the generous support of donors committed to providing major gifts.

The annual Yom Iyun is truly a “happening,” said Mimi Mehlman, the event chairwoman for the past 23 years. “We

began as an educational group with many prominent keynote speakers in Lido Beach and have grown exponentially over the years. Our Yom Iyun has motivated hundreds of women to come together to learn as a chabura many valued and insightful lessons from our Torah and beyond.”

To learn more about AMIT and its dedication to shaping a better future through education, please visit www.amitchildren.org.

In a North-American, perhaps global, first, 700 talmidim worldwide recently completed Talmud Yerushalmi’s Maseches Demai, thanks to a unique partnership between the Orthodox Union’s Torah Initiatives and ArtScroll that enables easy access to Yerushalmi Daf Yomi via a user-friendly app.

Torah Initiatives comprises a broad array of innovative and impactful Torah programming and runs the All Torah platform, a collection of free Torah apps and websites. These include All Daf, All Parsha and All Mishna, which provide world-class, curated shiurim, content and resources.

“Although I’m overwhelmed by the participation of learners, this isn’t about the numbers,” says All Torah Director Rabbi Moshe Schwed. “This is a revolution of people taking the time to focus on an obscure area of Torah that’s recently been put more in reach by the completion of the ArtScroll elucidation and clear, easy-to-use online resources available on the All Torah platform.”

All Daf was launched in January 2020, concurrent with the start of the new Daf Yomi Bavli cycle, which spans

seven-and-a-half years. The platform features 14 world-class Daf Yomi shiurim, supplemental mefarshim and reference materials including a daily quiz and Jewish history that relate to the Daf Yomi cycle. The All Daf app has been downloaded 83,000 times to date, and there have been hundreds of thousands of views on the All Daf website.

Upon ArtScroll’s completion of the Schottenstein Yerushalmi, All Daf began a Yerushalmi cycle in November 2022 featuring shiurim and a link to the ArtScroll app to view the daf.

“Since its launch, over 10,000 unique users have logged on to All Daf to learn Yerushalmi, and close to 700 people currently incorporate this learning into their daily schedule using the All Torah platform,” says All Daf Project Manager Asher Tesser. “It’s unbelievable, because most people have never learned Yerushalmi before. It’s generally not taught in yeshivas. The OU decided to pursue something that was uncharted territory — no one has really previously offered this opportunity on such a platform. With All Daf shiurim in partnership with ArtScroll, it has become much more attainable.”

About 50 people recently celebrated Maseches Demai’s completion at a siyum hosted by Benyamin and Esti Kaminetzky of Teaneck, New Jersey. Maseches Demai explores the halachos related to produce that has been purchased from someone not versed in the laws of separating terumos and maaseros. The participants completed the masechtah in a little over three months.

OU President Mitchel Aeder was touched by the milestone accomplishment.

“Celebrating the siyum of Maseches Demai at the home of my friends Benyamin and Esti Kaminetzky — and virtually with thousands more worldwide — was truly a shehecheyanu occasion,” he says. “I applaud the All Torah and All Daf teams, Rabbis Rosner, Resnik and Ginsberg, and our partners at ArtScroll for their trailblazing achievements in helping people worldwide to learn Talmud Yerushalmi by making it accessible to all.”

The event has been chaired for the last 23 years by Mimi Mehlman and the reservations chair is Debby Gage.

Jessica Koenigsberg, Debby Gage, Bracha Rutner, Michelle Klahr, Mimi Mehlman, Audrey Wagner, Terri Wagner and Naomi Kaszovitz

Pumpidisa at Margaret Tietz

By Susie Garber

You couldn’t sit still as the rhythmic music of Pumpidisa flowed through the spacious, airy shul at the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Queens during a special concert event on Wednesday afternoon, June 28. Residents were clapping their hands, swaying, and singing along to the music, along with family members and Queens community members. The door to the shul opened into the lovely signature, famous, flowered courtyard that adorns Margaret Tietz. The scent of flowers wafted in during the concert.

The transformation that this band accomplished was magical. Residents who came in with blank or serious expressions were suddenly singing and clapping with broad smiles spread across their faces. Everyone was entranced by the wonderful performance of Pumpidisa. There is nothing like music to open people’s hearts. Their band travels all over the world. They’ve performed in 40 countries and recently returned from a performance in Australia.

There were two guitars and singers, Tzvi and Matt Levin (who are brothers), percussion was played by Levi Blesofsky,

and the keyboard was played by Mendel Hodakov.

Tzvi and Matt’s grandmother is a Holocaust survivor. So, it was particularly meaningful for them to perform at Margaret Tietz, which was originally founded for the benefit of Holocaust survivors.

Linda Spiegel, Director of Public Affairs at Margaret Tietz, was able to book this incredible event because of the help of Rabbi Mayer Waxman, Executive Director of the Queens Jewish Community Council. Ms. Spiegel greeted everyone and thanked the QJCC for procuring funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.

One of the residents took the mike at the end to thank the band for this wonderful performance.

The Director of Recreation, Ricardo Rosa Solo, sang along in an awesome baritone that rang throughout the room.

Tzvi said, “We look up to our elders. We stand on the shoulder of those who were here before us.” He translated the meaning of the Hebrew words and then they began the concert with a song titled “Hallelu,” which he explained means we are praising Hashem for all that He gives us. With every breath, we have the opportunity to praise Hashem.

They sang “Avinu Malkeinu,” and he explained the meaning and its connection to Rosh Hashana.

They also sang “Hinei Mah Tov,” “Havah Nagilah,” and other old favorites, like “Kol HaOlam Kulo Gesher Tzar M’od.”

The band players were clearly enjoying themselves, as they put their whole heart into each song, wanting to share the joy of music with the residents.

What stood out musically were the instrumental solos, the harmonies, and the wonderful rhythm.

When asked what he likes most about playing with the band, Matt replied: the brotherhood and the achdus

One resident said, “It was beautiful. It

brought back a lot of memories.”

Margaret Tietz offers Friday night services and a hot kiddush on Shabbos morning for residents. There is a Shabbos apartment for families, as well.

One family member extolled the care her mother received at Margaret Tietz. “She came in with a bad infection, bedridden, and was unable to walk. Now, thanks to an incredible team of therapists at Margaret Tietz, she is able to stand and is doing so much better.”

The community thanks Margaret Tietz for all they do and for this uplifting, wonderful concert.

This article was originally published in the Queens Jewish Link.

for every Jew at the Nikolsburg shul in Woodbourne, NY

Teens Celebrate the Power of Connection at TorahNoar Unity Conference

By Tova Point

As Israeli society grapples with deep-seated divisions, a beacon of unity emerged lastweek on July 18, the eve of Rosh Chodesh Av, when a lively crowd of thousands of teens from across the country gathered at Binyanei Hauma to take part in an energy charged Unity Conference, billed “Aderaba.”

The Aderaba conference was the initiative of Sulamot, founded by the Chief Rabbi of Gush Etzion, Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon, and the Rothenberg Family Foundation, founded by Robbie Rothenberg.

“When we talk about achdut, it’s not just a buzzword – we need to take action. The idea of this conference was to teach the youth exactly what it means to have achdut, and to give them practical skills to bring achdut to the world,” said Rothenberg.

Rav Rimon, who also penned a special prayer for unity to be recited in synagogues this Tisha B’Av, expressed his aspiration that the teens absorb the positive messages and leave the conference as “unity ambassadors.”

“I believe in the power of our youth,” said Rav Rimon. “It’s summer vacation – they could be doing so many other things today but they all chose to come here, to learn about achdut.”

Speakers at the conference included rabbis, educators, activists and public figures from across the spectrum of Israeli society.

In one memorable session, Michael Edri, an altruistic organ donor who is religious, stood on stage with the recipient of his kidney, Aviram Fidel, a secular Jew from Tel Aviv with extreme left-wing views. The two discussed the extraordinary bond they’ve cultivated despite holding polarizing political beliefs.

“I’m from a religious, Zionist community, and Aviram takes part in the anti-government protests – really there is nothing that

ostensibly connects us,” remarked Michael. “Nevertheless, our kidney donation has made us the best of friends. Not a week goes by when we don’t talk, our families are close; and really, we’ve succeeded in overcoming all the political arguments. We feel that what bonds us is far more powerful than any argument.”

Aviram Fidel echoed Michael’s sentiments and called on all the youth present at the conference to emulate their example and work toward connecting all the factions within the Jewish people.

Chani Lifshitz, the dynamic Chabad emissary from Kathmandu, Nepal, spoke animatedly about her experiences at the Chabad House she runs with her husband, Rabbi Chezki Lifshitz.

“Jews of every age, color and type come to us, especially Israelis, and we see something magical happen - when travelers are far from home, they seek a common bond with the people they encounter. Trekkers, backpackers who never thought they’d come to a place of Torah learning, find themselves sitting together and enjoying learning, whether it’s parshas shavua, Tanya or hashkafa.

Responding to a teen from the audience who asked how to relate to someone who seems intent on sparking an argument, Chani replied, “Never take anyone’s words personally. Let’s say someone accuses you of being the face of the right wing, of the settler movement – they’re not really talking to you, but rather to the concept. Let him talk himself out, and take a deep breath. Remember that once he’s finished his rant, you can sit over a cup of coffee and get to know one another. Don’t be afraid to discuss things, to share. Suddenly you discover that you share the same dreams, enjoy the same things. You discover that you can be the best of friends!”

Bat Galim Shaer, mother of terror victim Gilad Shaer, Hy”d, recalled the tragic experi-

Five Towns/Far Rockaway Library

Jewish libraries are a big service to the Jewish community, because, let’s face it, Jewish books are expensive! That is why I am so happy about the service that the Five Towns/Far Rockaway Library does for me. I can read and read every Jewish book I want with minimal payment. But running a library has its costs also. They have to buy new books all the time, pay for book repairs, and have a librarian in the library during

hours. So how do libraries do it?!

Every library runs differently. In a recent article in the Mishpacha Jr., they talk about three Jewish libraries and how they run. Our library over here runs in two main ways.

One way in which libraries are run are by occasional donations. A donation of as little as 20 dollars means another book on the shelf! Donations are a huge help in getting more books and repairing books.

ence when her son was kidnapped together with his friends, Naftali Frankel and Eyal Yifrach. “Sadly, in times of war, of tragedy, Am Yisrael knows very well how to be united. We shouldn’t have to wait for times of grief, chas veshalom,” she said.

“We have to remind ourselves that as the Jewish people, we have it in our DNA to be united. We don’t have to be concerned about our diversity; actually, that is our strength. Yes, we need to learn more about respecting one another, listening to the other, but looking around us, at all the youth who came here today, we can be very optimistic about our future.”

At the panel discussion, Rabbis Yigal Levenstein and David Stav, both leaders with vastly differing perspectives within the national religious community, showcased how dialogue and healthy disagreement can be achieved with respect and dignity.

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu mirrored that reality with his observation, “Our Sages said, there is truth and there is peace. You can disagree, and can have a different viewpoint – and the Gemara is full of opposing viewpoints – but underlying it all is love and brotherhood.”

Each session buzzed with energy, filled with enthusiastic, engaged youngsters who listened raptly and responded with insightful questions. Many are regular participants in Sulamot’s 40+ TorahNoar batei midrash, which advocate youth-led, youth-focused learning programs every motza’ei Shabbat.

The highlight of the conference was the mega-event, featuring artist Akiva Turgeman, who delivered a power-packed performance with songs that were both somber and hopeful. After an emotionally stirring video interview with Rabbi Leo Dee, a grieving husband and father to terror victims, Lucy Maia and Rina, Hy”d, Rabbi Dee took to the stage in person. He exhorted the youth to engage in ahavat chinam, specifically at this time, on the eve of the mourning period

for the Beit Hamikdash and as Israeli society experiences one of its most divisive periods.

Rabbi Dee cited the parable about three blind men feeling an elephant. “One is holding the trunk, one is holding the leg, and one is holding the tail. The first one says it’s a pipe, the second says it’s a tree trunk and the third says it’s a rope. They’re all describing the elephant, but they don’t know because they’re only holding one part of it.

“When we’re arguing with other people, usually they are holding one part of the argument that we’re not aware of. But if we show them respect and stop and listen to what they have to say, we can learn, they can learn, and we’ll all grow from the argument.”

Rabbi Dee was overcome with the outpouring of emotion from the audience. “I things it’s tremendous to bring all these youths together, learning from each other, seeing the respect that their rabbis are giving to one another and understanding that there’s more than one side of the “elephant” and that everybody together makes a better whole.

“This conference sends the precise message that the Jewish people need right now – one of tolerance, understanding and love.”

Another way they do it is by having dedicated volunteers who see the value of a library and thus offer time to help behind the desk. Volunteers usually check out books for customers, put books away, and help keep the library generally organized. Volunteers are what many Jewish libraries run.

The Five Towns/Far Rockaway Library is opening up for more hours. On Tuesday, they will be open from 6:30 to

83:0 instead of from 7 to 9! They are still open on Sundays from 10 to 12. The library is looking for volunteers to help during those hours. Contact us if you think you can volunteer even for a minimal time. Call Arlene at 718-3272425 or 917-972-8074 or Sipora at 347874-1280.

Thank you all for your enthusiastic response to the last article! Since the last article, the library has gotten more members!

WE WILL NOT BE PRINTING NEXT WEEK.

TJH WILL BE BACK ON NEWSSTANDS

AUGUST 10TH

Avnet’s Amazing Entertainment

There is always eye-catching entertainment on the fields of Avnet Country Day School. Over the last few weeks, campers not only enjoyed their standard programming and trips but also welcomed visits from top-tier venues. A personalized petting zoo allowed campers to get comfortable with adorable farm animals. There was fun for everyone at the annual campus carnival featuring exciting rides and exhilarating bounce houses. Adrenaline was high when older campers challenged their

bunk mates during a laser tag obstacle course. For an arcade attraction, a game truck rolled in to mesmerize participants with the latest in video amusements.

“We love offering many special programs on our grounds at Avnet, so our campers can enjoy extra entertainment within the comfort of their home-awayfrom home,” said Daniel Stroock, camp director. “Stay tuned for highlights from our upcoming visit by the National Circus Project!”

Orthodox Union Women’s Initiative Program Creates Critical Peer Network for Community First Responders

On a recent Monday in mid-July, 45 women from across North America united for a two-day seminar at a cozy boutique hotel in Great Neck, New York. Their purpose: to meet in person for the first time and exchange ideas stemming from two months’ worth of learning and skills they had just acquired as participants of the Orthodox Union’s Women’s Initiative annual Foundations of Community Mental Health Support Fellowship.

The fellows included select rebbetzins, kallah teachers, and kiruv and chinuch professionals who were among the first and second cohort trained to identify and support community members struggling with mental health issues. As those who regularly interact with community members, these women largely serve as “first responders” when it comes to identifying and dealing with personal, marital and familial crises.

“Women in community roles do not have a natural chevra to connect with for support – there is no rebbetzin school,” says OU Women’s Initiative Director Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman, who launched the fellowship in 2022. “They’re very alone. The fellowship is a space of support and of insight, and it is sacrosanct in offering them both the toolbox and the peer group to tackle mental health issues in the community.”

Mental health is a topic of prime importance to Rebbetzin Dr. Shmidman, who holds a master’s degree in school psychology and a PhD in educational psychology and serves as rebbetzin of the Lower Merion Synagogue in Bala Cyn-

wyd, Pennsylvania. She has always felt strongly about the need to support women in communal leadership roles, and says the fellowship was born from this passion.

The program’s objectives include introducing general mental health concepts, developing participants’ intuition to learn to recognize when and how to support community members and refer them to professionals in the field, and creating a network that enables them to consult with one another long-term. It does not, however, train participants to practice as clinicians or coaches.

This year’s cohort of 33 women explored common psychological issues; counseling skills such as effective listening, confidentiality and building trust; understanding family systems and the impact of troubled relationships; providing support and calming crises; gathering the necessary information to identify when to refer to professionals; an introduction to common diagnoses including anxiety, depression, OCD and ADHD; the impact of traumatic events; and issues related to adolescence.

Debra Green of Far Rockaway, New York, is a Judaic Studies teacher and 12th grade advisor at SKA (Stella K. Abraham) High School for Girls, a kallah teacher, and a helpline advocate at Ani Ledodi, a referral helpline that addresses concerns regarding intimacy and women’s health. In her almost three decades as an educator, she has been the first point of contact for people of all ages dealing with mental health challenges. She says the fellowship was absolutely vi-

tal to her leadership roles, and she would participate again in a heartbeat. Beyond the scope of information she acquired, the experience inspired her to continue learning more on the topic. She also greatly valued the opportunity to refine her listening skills, among others.

“For community leaders to offer a safe place for people to discuss their problems, people need to feel that we are empathetic,” she says. “We may not have all the answers, but we can guide people onward and be that listener for people to come to, to talk. I know I’ve been a good listener already, but now I think I can hone in on being more open to hearing and understanding.”

Each week, the fellows attended a two-hour, virtual course taught by licensed clinical social workers, therapists, psychologists and psychotherapists –many of whom are university professors

and directors of mental health programs who also serve as rebbetzins in their communities. Following an hour-long presentation on a mental health-related subject, the professionals moderated small group discussions unpacking the presentation or tackling issues relevant to their respective communities.

The fellowship culminates in a twoday seminar, which was held this year at the Inn at Great Neck, a quaint hotel that Rebbetzin Shmidman and her team selected for its intimate setting.

“I wanted everyone to feel that togetherness,” she says. “The place we chose conveyed to participants, ‘You have our support. No matter where you work, whether in New York or the middle of nowhere, you have the largest international Orthodox organization holding you. Know that we are here for you, with you and we’ll support you down the line.”

A Great Week at Hillel Day Camp

What an action-packed week Week 4 was at Hillel Day Camp! From the moment our campers arrive on Monday morning until the final cheers on Friday, the energy and enthusiasm are through the roof. Our talented counselors and staff have been hard at work, ensuring that every moment is filled with fun, learning, and lasting memories even through some rain drops!

As we approach the end of the first session, we can’t help but reflect on the incredible moments we’ve shared with our first session campers. Each child has brought their unique spark to the camp, creating an atmosphere of joy and camaraderie. The bonds formed over the past

The 25th Hour

By Rabbi Dov Keilson

Time. It’s our greatest gift. With all the time-saving technology around us, we still seem to have less time than ever.

In The 25th Hour, Rabbi Dov Keilson, mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva Darchei Torah, shares 120 daily readings on the value of time and how to get the most out of Hashem’s most precious gift to us. In The 25th Hour, you learn to:

• Strengthen your trust in Hashem;

• Control your time, instead of having time control you;

• Understand the value of each minute of life;

• Discover how to appreciate – and utilize – every day, no matter what is happening;

• Avoid the “same old, same old” syndrome and keep life fresh – every single day.

People are always looking for more time in the 24-hour day. The truth is that if we learn how to really use the time that Hashem has already given us, we will understand that the “25th hour” we are seeking can actually be found…within the other 24.

With its unique blend of mussar, Torah hashkafah, powerful chizuk, and practical advice, The 25th Hour shows us how to deeply appreciate the immeasurable gift of time. So come and travel through time, with the Torah as your guide. It’s quite a trip.

The following is a brief excerpt from this fascinating book.

few weeks will be cherished forever. We will miss our first session campers dearly and hold onto the memories we forged together. To our departing campers, we say thank you for making this session so special!

On Tuesday, we welcomed our second session campers with open arms, excited to create even more wonderful memories together.

This week, our campers went on some more amazing trips: Laer Bounce, Active Kids, Adventureland, Urban Air, and a Mets game.

There really is so much going on and one action-packed fun day after another here at Hillel Day Camp. The wide variety of activities the campers get to

do in camp include swimming, sports, Make It, game room, jewelry making, clowning, survival, rainy day bingo, and 7 flags. Hillel even has its very own mini golf course!

We had two great theme days this

week. On Tie-Dye Tuesday, we got to see the really cool shirts everyone made in art and Thursday’s Jersey Day let everyone proudly show off their favorite sports team. We had a petting zoo and carnival visit our Hillel Town, and ended the week strong with some friendly Olympics competitions.

Wishing you all a fantastic and joyfilled week!

This Day Will Never Return

Avraham Avinu, Moshe Rabbeinu, and all of our great leaders and sages are at this very moment experiencing the greatest reward and happiness possible. As the Mishnah teaches, “How wonderful is the spiritual bliss of Olam Haba, greater than the entire life (the pleasures) of this world…”

The reward of the World to Come is greater than all of the pleasures of this world. Avraham and Moshe are experiencing a happiness that will not end for all eternity, and their joy becomes greater each and every day. But there is one thing that they will never have again, and that is the diamond called “free will.” The ability to choose between good and evil, the opportunity to achieve and to accomplish and fulfill the will of Hashem from one’s own effort — that precious opportunity they will never have again.

This is what Chazal refer to in that above Mishnah when they say, “Better one moment of repentance and good deeds in this world that the entire life of Olam Haba.” For just as no happiness in this world can compare to that of the World of Truth, so too, no achievement in the Next World can ever compare to that of this world.

Some explain that this is the meaning behind the well-known Yiddish song that has been sung by Klal Yisrael for generations, “Olam Haba is a gutte zach…lernen Torah iz a bessere zach!

— The World to Come is a good thing,

learning Torah is a better thing!” That is, as great as the World to Come is and will always be, learning Torah in this world is even better! For that ability — to learn using one’s own free will — one will no longer have in the World to Come…

Life is a one-time chance that will never be given again.

Life is a small window in eternity to make that eternal difference.

Rav Avigdor Miller often brought out this point through the tragic story of Korach. During his last few seconds on this earth, Korach could have totally changed his fate, as his holy sons did. Because of their last-minute repentance, they were miraculously spared from Gehinnom.

Chazal teach that Korach has screamed, “Moshe is true, and his Torah is true!” in the World of Truth, day after day, for thousands of years. And if, as he was falling into the earth, he would have said those words just once, he would have been saved.

But he did not. He clenched his teeth and refused to admit the truth. Therefore, he now is fated to say it over and over forever. In his last moment in this world, had he grabbed that window of opportunity, it would have made the difference of eternity.

How precious, how beyond words, is the chance of life!

This is true about every single day of life for each of us, as well. Every day of life is like an entire world in itself. No two

days are alike. Each day is its own unique creation, a uniqueness that never was and will never be again for all eternity.

Viewing our days like this could literally change our entire outlook on life. We wake up in the morning not to a day that was like the day before, but to a day that has its own character and mission. A day that has its own color and potential, its own beauty and influence. Who can fathom the greatness of a day? Who can measure the accomplishment that one day affords?

Let us try to open our eyes and see the days of our lives through a different lens than we have seen them before. This experience will be life changing.

This Week, TJH speaks WiTh… Camp Areivos

By SuSan Schwamm

For years now, Camp a reivos has beCome one oF the hottest Camps in town. at a reivos, aChdus and ruaCh are not just slogans they sing about – the spirit oF unity and ConneCtion permeates the Campus eaCh day. w ith a beautiF ul Campus, energetiC sta FF, hundreds oF Campers, outstanding aCtivities, amazing swag, and nonstop F un, a summer in Camp a reivos builds memories For a liFetime. t his week, we spoke with the head sta FF oF a reivos in the middle oF their busy sChedule to learn a bit more about the non-stop F un.

Camp Areivos has been around for four years. Tell us about Camp Areivos! Camp Areivos is a camp that gives a wholesome experience to each camper. Throughout our fun camp day, we are looking to build each camper up so that when summer ends, they leave with a greater bounce in their step and a stronger belief in themselves. The staff gathers before the summer to train and to become a team with the same goals. We are excited by the tremendous success of summer 2023 thus far, and we are looking forward to another epic month!

What do you think sets Camp Areivos apart from other local camps?

Our staff is what sets us apart. We

source our staff from all over the world and have the best of the best. Our staff is energetic, creative, responsible, friendly, and fun and makes for a great vibe in camp! Each one of our head counselors, division heads, morahs, counselors, JCs, and specialty staff are handpicked and go above and beyond every single day. We work hard to make a special program, and the staff is what takes it to the next level.

The cool and exciting activities are awesome, but what makes Camp Areivos so special is the care, concern and investment by our staff who give each camper the most meaningful and fun summer

Your staff sounds amazing! You have different divisions in camp. Can

you tell us about them?

Sure! We really try hard to make each division unique and special. There are different activities that are age specific so that as they continue to come back every year, there’s always something new and exciting.

Our Preschool director, Morah Loni Blumenthal, and her assistant, Morah Miriam Schwartz, make sure all our freshies are well taken care of and have a fresh and fun camp experience. They have special preschool activities every day that have to do with the theme, along with daily activities geared towards their age. Whether it’s swim or sports, creative movement or food art, ballet or sensory magic, art, sing along, or any other of our many activities, we love seeing them go home with big happy cute

smiles every day.

Our Juniors Division is led by Mrs Tziona Hoffman and includes a myriad of unique activities and trips. The girls get to experience camp in a different way than before. They join the head counselor activities and have special division head programs. They love the camp songs and swag that is part of the daily experience at Camp Areivos. These girls get to have late night and weekly trips, too! They also enjoy weekly excursions to Spring Gymnastics and Avid Fitness!

Girls coming out of 4th and 5th grades join our senior division under the guidance of Mrs. Tobi Krupka! Also known as Shalom and Rayus, these bunks have overnights and night activities and are trained in tennis each week.

Last but not least, we have our TC Hype girls! TC Hype is the most incredible program. We have extra special activities, including a spin class at Avid fitness, a trip to gelato ice cream, an incredible overnight, and two late nights a week. TC’s have an energy that is super contagious throughout the whole camp. TC’s definitely get the feel of a sleepaway camp vibe! Can’t wait to see what else is in store with this awesome division of camp. This year we also added a new division called TC Travel. Read on to learn more about it!

How many campers call Camp Areivos their home away from home this summer?

We have almost 400 of the most amazing girls in the world!

I heard there are great trips at Areivos. Can you share?

We take our girls on the most amazing trips! Some of the most dynamic trips include biking and boating in the Poconos, American Dream, Glow In the Dark Mini

Golf, Rye Playland, Adventure land, Splish Splash WaterPark, and Launch. The variety of trips ensures that every excursion is tailored to different ages and appeals to everyone’s preferences.

The Teen division is awesome – what special overnights do they go on and what special activities do you do with them?

We just went on an incredible overnight to the Poconos. We had fun in Camelbeach Waterpark at night and then enjoyed a beautiful kumzits and bonfire at our hotel. The next day, we had an early morning swim and then headed to Climbzone.

TC Travel sounds amazing!

It is! TC Travel is for a girl who would like to be a staff member and a camper. Half the week they go on trips, and half the week they work in Camp Areivos. The TCT’s go on full day adventures. They start camp at 9:00 a.m. and their day ends between 6 and 10 p.m. They have supervisors who give them a real sleepaway experience with

the benefit of being home in the summer. These TCTS also get to join our Camp Areivos weekly staff nights. TCTravel was created by our amazing program director, Hindy Schick.

Camp Areivos is located on a great campus.

Areivos is located on the TAG elementary school campus. The girls get to enjoy our very own outdoor, in-ground, Olympic-size, heated, beautiful swimming pool along with multiple outdoor play areas. Our freshies love the playground, and there are many indoor gyms for sports, crafts, and our special activities.

What’s a “typical” day like at Camp Areivos?

The camp days begin bright and early with the buses pulling in and campers being dropped off as the head counselors and DHs welcome the girls in with music and smiles for another amazing day. The girls come into the auditorium as the head counselors, Yael and Ayala, start off the day with high energy and calisthenics. The cheering and

areivos by the Numbers

100 lbs. of rice cooked this summer

1,100 pies of pizza ordered for this summer

22,000 frozen ice pops eaten

25 different trips for Areivos girls

45 lbs. of marshmallow fluff used just in first half

enthusiasm can be heard throughout the hall. Then every bunk goes to their bunk room as they get ready for davening. They then hear a shiur by their amazing shiur counselors which encompasses the beautiful values of kiddush Hashem. AND THEN...their already fun day begins for real! It is filled with fun activities run by amazing staff including sports, pioneering, art, baking, sensory science, main activities and so much more! Don’t forget the amazing trips that we include throughout the day. After a tired and fun day, we get ready for dismissal while eating yummy ices. We wave goodbye as we are already looking forward to the new and fun day that awaits us.

Sounds like a jam-packed day! What are some of the campers’ favorite activities?

The special activities in Areivos are really a highlight of the day. We have many out-of-the-box activities aside from the regular camp favorites. For example, we have sensory magic, where girls can make sand and slime. We also have pioneering

where the girls work together as a team to learn different outdoor skills. Every day we have main activity and division head activities that are planned according to the theme of the summer. The girls get individual attention from their head staff through these special activities.

“We’re all in it together” – what special things do you do surrounding your slogan?

We strive to make this theme of achdus and shalom a camp value that is given

Rena, Ditza, Chedva, Ahava, Achva, Shalom and Rayus. This continues this message of unity throughout the summer. We are constantly working to create an environment where everyone feels that they belong and that they are valued.

Is there a camp “theme” this year?

AH! Yes. The theme this year is AHreivos – we are bursting with excitement every day in camp. Every day there is a theme that ties into AHreivos – for example, we had AHqua day, cAHrnival

There is so much to do each day! Do you sleep? How do you manage to keep the camp running so smoothly?

I think what makes this camp run smoothly is the great team of staff that Areivos is blessed with. We are all a team looking to help and support each other with all that is going on in camp. That feeling of unity carries down to the campers and gives Areivos the special environment it has. And to answer your question, basically we don’t sleep from Pesach till camp is over!

What makes you happiest to hear about campers’ experience at Camp Areivos?

over by the head staff. Our number one priority is friendship, respect, and achdus amongst the campers. We decided to call our bunks by the name Gila,

day, and baby shAHrk day, to name a few. We are really kulanu byAHchad in Camp Areivos.

We constantly hear girls saying, “Wow, I feel like I’m in a sleepaway camp at home!” Nothing makes us happier than giving our girls this true camp feeling in a warm day camp environment. The special activities, cheering, fun staff, trips, and the opportunity to make new friends give Areivos the real deal camp vibes.

"

w e are Constantly working to Create an environment where everyone Feels that they belong and that they are valued."

TJH Centerfold

Vacational Speaking

What these vacation terms really mean

Old world charm = Shared bathrooms

Centrally located = Right under a highway overpass (Enjoy the balcony!)

Tropical = Rainy

Majestic setting = A long way from town

Options galore = Nothing is included in the itinerary

Secluded hideaway = Impossible to find or get to

Pre-registered rooms = Already occupied

Newly renovated rooms = Sure, we have some, but they are all booked. Enjoy your ¼-star rated room!

Explore on your own = Pay for it yourself

No extra fees = No extras. Period

Knowledgeable trip hosts = They know how to point at a

You Gotta be Kidding Me!

star on a map and say, “You are here” Live music = Some lonely local convinced the hotel to let him play bad guitar in the lobby on Tuesday evenings between 7:00 and 8:30

Parking available = We will valet your car for a small fee of $47 a day

Game room on premises = There is an old, bacteriacarrying arcade game in a dusty hole in the wall… It will keep your kids entertained for hours

Family atmosphere = If we are short on towels, be prepared to share

#1 hotel for Nascar fans = “Y’aall sayyid yaall want toofffpaste? Whuut’s thayat?”

Jimbo and Mary Ann save up for years (their combined WaWa salaries) to take their kids on a fishing trip. They rent all the equipment – the reels, the rods, the wading suits, the rowboat, the car, and even a cabin in the woods. They spare no expense.

The first day, they go fishing, but they don’t catch anything. The same thing happens on the second and third day. Finally, on the last day of their vacation, Jimbo catches a fish.

As they’re driving home, they’re really depressed.

Jimbo says to Mary Ann, “Do you realize that this one lousy fish we caught cost us fifteen hundred bucks?”

Mary Ann says in astonishment, “Wow! Then it’s a good thing we didn’t catch any more!”

Vacation Trivia

1. How did the Disney park called Epcot get its name?

a. It is the Latin word for “universal”

b. It is an acronym for “Eat, Play, Create, Observe and Transform”

c. It was the name of Walt Disney’s childhood dog

d. It is an acronym for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”

2. How many Smithsonian museums and galleries are there in Washington, D.C.?

a. 10

b. 13

c. 17

d. 19

3. Which country attracts the most yearly tourists?

a. France

b. U.S.

c. Italy

d. Japan

4. According to the Bureau of Transportation

Riddle Me This

Statistics, which of the following airlines has the worst on-time percentage?

a. Delta

b. JetBlue

c. United

d. U.S. Airways

5. Which national park gets the most yearly visitors?

a. Great Smoky Mountains

b. Grand Canyon National Park

c. Yosemite National Park

d. Yellowstone National Park

6. Which hotel chain has the largest presence in the U.S.?

a. Marriott

b. Hilton

c. Wyndham

d. Starwood

7. Which state has the most ski areas in the U.S.?

a. Vermont

b. Utah

c. Colorado

d. Wyoming

e. New York

Answers: 1-D

2-C

3-A

4-B- Would you believe it? We all love JetBlue, but this year, the airline came in at the bottom of the top five, with Delta Airlines coming in on time 84.8% of the time.

5-A- Great Smoky Mountains Park, located in Tennessee and North Carolina, draws more than nine million visitors a year, twice the number of any other national park.

6-B- Hilton has 3,382 hotels and 506,455 rooms in the U.S. (Don’t ask me how many bars of disgustingsmelling soap that is.)

7-E- New York’s 52 ski areas are the most in the U.S. Wisdom key:

6-7 correct: You know everything about vacations. You are the Ritz Carlton of vacation knowledge.

3-5 correct: You are mediocre when it comes to vacation, kind of like a Hamptons Inn.

0-2 correct: You really are off the mark when it comes to vacation. We’ll leave the lights on for you.

The Schwartz family is on vacation and trying to find the hotel that they booked. They stop and ask someone for directions, and he says that the hotel is one mile south of their location. This story takes place in New Jersey where it is practically impossible to turn around with all those concrete barriers separating the opposite lanes of traffic. The kids are hungry and tired and want to get to the hotel. Mr. Schwartz tells his kids that he is a magician (because he’s got to entertain them before they reach the breaking point). He says to them, “OK, kids, I will point this car north, drive it for one mile, and without turning around, we will end up at our hotel.”

How does he do it?

Answer: He drives his car in reverse.

Parshas Va’eschanan

By Rabbi Berel Wein

The Torah, as we all well know, is multilayered. The rabbis have taught us that there are seventy facets to every piece of the written Torah. We are also aware that no written word can adequately convey to us all of the nuances and possible meanings that lie embedded in the written word. The Torah requires elucidation, commentary, and explanation in order for any proper understanding of its message to be gained.

The entire book of Devarim is an elu-

cidation and explanation of the first four books of Moshe. As such, by the inherent nature of explanation and commentary, different words and phrases will be employed to describe events and commandments that were previously mentioned in the Torah.

A prime example of this appears in this week’s parsha where the Torah repeats for us the Ten Commandments revealed to Israel at Sinai. The wording here in Devarim differs slightly from the

wording recorded for us in Shemot. The Talmud in its rendition of the Oral Law states that these discrepancies – such as the use of the word shamor instead of the original zachor regarding the observance of the Shabbat – indicate that these words were stated simultaneously by G-d, so to speak, a feat that is beyond human comprehension and ability.

The Talmud means to indicate to us with this statement that all of the possible interpretations and layers of meaning in the Torah were given to us simultaneously and at once at Sinai. Only the Oral Law and the work of the commentators to the Torah over all of the ages has revealed

something. One is an impulsive, spur of the moment desire that arises out of seemingly chance circumstance – an advertisement in the media or a chance meeting or sighting. Such a desire is not planned and stems from the inherent human weakness within all of us to want to possess what we do not yet have. But there is another type of desire. It is long planned and had been part of our lives for years and decades. It borders on being an obsession or an addiction within our makeup.

Both of these types of desire can destroy a person. The Torah cautions us against these symptoms of self-destruc -

to us these original layers of meaning and interpretation for our study and practice. By using different words to explain what was already written, the Torah guides our understanding of the Torah only by way of the Oral Law and the great commentators of Israel over the ages.

In the final commandment of the Ten Commandments, the Torah here in Devarim uses the word titaveh, whereas in Shemot it used the word tachmod. The Torah points out to us that there are different forms of desire and wanting

tive behavior. And by the use of these different Hebrew verbs, the Torah indicates to us that there are different types of desires and that one must be defensive against all of them. The Talmud tells us that the eyes see and the heart thereupon desires. Guarding one’s eyes guards one’s heart as well.

This example of the Torah’s self-elucidation of the matter makes the lesson clear to all and challenges us to apply it wisely in one’s own life.

Shabbat shalom.

These words were stated simultaneously by G-d, so to speak, a feat that is beyond human comprehension and ability.

Parshas Va’eschanan

When Everything Else is Stripped Away

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

Adapted for publication by Binyomin

Wolf

Iwas thinking about a beautiful Midrash on the parsha (Sifri, Devarim 36). In it, Chazal say, “The Jewish people are so precious that the Torah surrounded them with mitzvos: tefillin on their heads, tefillin on their arms, mezuzos on their doors, and tzitzis on their garments. Regarding them Dovid said, ‘Seven in a day I praise You for Your righteous statutes’ (Tehillim 119:164).” The pasuk quoted by the Midrash refers to the fact that Dovid HaMelech was inspired to praise Hashem seven times a day for the seven mitzvos that surround His children as a sign of how precious they are to Him: four tzitzis on their garments, tefillin on their heads and arms, and a mezuzah on their doors.

The Midrash then continues with a well-known story about Dovid HaMel-

ech, “He entered the bath house and saw himself naked. He said, ‘Woe that I am naked of mitzvos!’ He then gazed at the sign of the covenant on his flesh and began to arrange his praise [after leaving the mikvah], as the pasuk (Tehillim 12:1) says, ‘For the conductor, on the eighth, a song of Dovid,’” a hint at bris milah, which is done on a baby’s eighth day of life.

What exactly happened to Dovid HaMelech in the mikvah? What was the nature of the epiphany he had there? He certainly wasn’t embarrassed by the fact that the other people in the mikvah “caught” him without his tefillin and tzitzis on. Firstly, that is the nature of the place and what everyone would expect. Secondly, as he was the king of the Jewish people, when he entered the

mikvah, everyone else certainly left as soon as he arrived!

Besides the fact that Hashem told us to, why do we wear tefillin and tzitzis and put mezuzos on our doors? We bind tefillin on our heads and our arms to remind us to bind our minds and actions to Hashem’s will. Wearing tzitzis remind us, wherever we go, of the mitzvos. And the mezuzah reminds us, before we leave the house, to remember Hashem’s will in all the choices we make as we journey out into the world. They stand as reminders to awaken our minds to remember our connection to Hashem and His will – “Seven in a day I praise You.”

But Dovid HaMelech was bothered by the question: What happens if all of the reminders that keep my actions and

thoughts in the right place are removed?

What is left of me? Do I still have a connection with Hashem? Is it all external?

Do I have an essential connection with G-d? How have all of these reminders affected my essence, if at all? Perhaps this question is what caused Dovid to cry out, “Woe that I am naked of mitzvos!”

It is so easy for us to allow Yiddishkeit to be reduced to one long string of reminders and signs without any change in the nature of who we are, what we want, or the nature of our consciousness. One’s entire Jewish life may only be defined by one’s rebbe, morah, family, shul, yeshiva, and the checklist of Jewish activities one engages in on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis. These signs of Hashem’s love surround us on all sides and are wonderful. But does the

way we rely on them make us into empty shells? What are we without them? Have they changed us on the inside?

How does one act when he is naked of mitzvos? When all the reminders are somewhere else and something pops up on the screen on a person’s phone, even unintentionally, what does he do? What is left when he is stripped of every external reminder and motivator to keep him or her on the straight and narrow? Is he still connected to Hashem and his Yiddishkeit?

Perhaps Dovid HaMelech’s fear at that moment in the mikvah was about what happens when one takes away all of his external badges of Divine service, when he was truly naked of mitzvos, disconnected from everything outside of himself. He was worried whether, after removing all of the “means” in his life, whether the “ends” had become part of his essence.

What was his epiphany? He realized that the part of him which was always covered, which was most private, the part of him so internal that it was part of his very flesh, had never left him. “This is My covenant which you shall observe, between Me, you, and your children after you: circumcise for your -

selves every male.” (Bereishis 17:10). This hidden sign of “My covenant” is the symbol of the relationship between the Jewish people and Hashem because it is invisible. It cannot serve to jog the memory. It only exists as part of our essence. That was his comfort and the subject a new chapter of Tehillim. What does it mean to be so connected to mitzvos that one feels connected

clothing and throwing him into a lime pit. This was a particularly gruesome death because lime acts like acid, burning the flesh.

When the Nazis threw this Jew into the pit to die, with everyone else looking on helplessly, he cried out: “Master of the World! I stand here naked before you.” And because it was Sukkos at the time, he continued:

vos corresponding to the lips. I have no haddasim or aravos, but I do have eyes and lips. And let the cloud rising up from the crematoria be my sukkah! Please, Master of the World, I ask that you take back my heart, spine, eyes, and lips back up to You and consider it as if I have fulfilled all of my obligations to you!

Each of us is surrounded by a myriad of mitzvos and positive Jewish role models, environments, and lessons. But if they remain as external reminders which, if removed, would leave us naked of mitzvos, then they will not have ever fulfilled their purpose.

even when he is stripped of everything in this world, both physical and spiritual? I once read about a Gerer chassid who was interred in one of the concentration camps. Because he had violated some Nazi rule or other, he was decreed to die. But to amuse themselves and torment the other Jews, they decided to kill this Jew by stripping him of all of his

You commanded me to take an esrog, but I have no esrog. You say that the esrog corresponds to the heart, and I do have a heart. You told me to take a lulav and that a lulav corresponds to the spine. I have no lulav, but I do have a spine. You commanded me to take haddasim corresponding to the eyes and ara-

Let us merit not to be satisfied with the external marks of Yiddishkeit alone. May we succeed in driving these reminders of our relationship with Hashem deep into our minds and hearts so that when we enter our version of Dovid HaMelech’s mikvah, we, too, will rejoice in our own internalization of our covenant with Hashem.

What happens if all of the reminders that keep my actions and thoughts in the right place are removed?

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.

When the Broken Path Still Leads Home

By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

Nothing in life is an accident. In Parshas Va’eschanan, we read about the Arei Miklat, the cities of refuge for those who unintentionally killed (Devarim 4:41–49). This parsha usually falls out immediately following Tisha B’Av, and, consequently, shortly before Elul. At face value, the Arei Miklat, Tisha B’Av, and Elul do not seem to share a thematic connection. The Ir Miklat is a city of refuge — a safe haven — for one who unwittingly murders. Tisha B’Av is a day of sadness and destruction, as Klal Yisrael mourns the loss of the Beis Hamikdash and the tragedies that have occurred throughout Jewish history. Elul is the month of teshuvah. What links these three topics together? In order to understand their deep underlying connection, let us delve into each of these three topics.

Tisha B’Av: The Death of the World

On Tisha B’Av, we go through a process of aveilus, mourning, similar to the process of mourning a loved one. This seems to be an excessive response to the loss of a building — the Beis Hamikdash. However, the destruction of the Temple itself was merely the physical expression of a much deeper tragedy. As we have previously discussed, the Beis Hamikdash was the makom (locus) of connection between Hashem and this physical world. The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed as a result of the disconnect that we, Klal Yisrael, created between us and Hashem, between us and our fellow man, and between us and ourselves. We lost sight of the spiritual root of this world, shattering the connection between us and Hashem. As the Nefesh Hachaim explains, once this was broken, the physical vessel that represented this connection i.e., the Beis Hamikdash, was

reduced to an empty shell that could easily be destroyed. (Nefesh Hachaim 1:4)

The concept of death is the disconnect between a spiritual life-force and its physical vessel. The death of a person is the process of one’s soul separating from their body. (Death is a stage of life, not the end of life.) When the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, the world died. The soul of the world, i.e., Hashem, left its body, its vessel — the physical world — resulting in a cosmic spiritual chasm and a shattered reality. (True, Hashem is still manifest in this world, but only infinitesimally compared to the connection that once was.)

We mourn on Tisha B’Av not just for the destruction of a building but for the death of the world itself. And we yearn for the day when Hashem will once again be fully and clearly manifest in this world, revealing the spiritual essence of this physical reality.

Based on this idea, it is now clear why Klal Yisrael was sent into galus as a result

of the churban Beis Hamikdash. A person who murders another intentionally is executed as punishment.

(This is middah k’neged middah: The murderer removed his victim’s soul from the physical world, so he is punished likewise. An accidental murderer, on the other hand, is not executed but exiled. This is also middah k’neged middah, but due to the unintentional nature of the act, the punishment is less severe. Instead of the killer losing his existence in the physical world, he loses his physical “place” in the world, his makom. He is forced to leave his home and live in exile. Interestingly, the word for place, makom, is deeply connected to the word for existence (kiyum). Hashem gives existence to the world (kiyum) by creating a place for the world (makom). When one takes away their fellow man’s existence in the physical world (kiyum), they also take away their place within it (makom).)

When the Jewish People “killed” the world, we were sent into exile. We lost our home, our makom – Eretz Yisrael. According to some opinions, this was, in fact, an act of mercy on the part of Hashem, as the Jewish People should have been executed for murdering the world – for having severed its soul from its body. Instead, though, we were merely exiled, maintaining the ability to correct our mistake and return home.

This serves as a beautiful explanation of the Midrash that states that instead of destroying the Jewish People, Hashem took His wrath out on the wood and stones of the Beis Hamikdash. (Eichah Rabbah 4:14.) Hashem destroyed the Beis Hamikdash, but He did not destroy us, giving us the chance to rebuild anew. Our exile, in a sense, is a gift, as it allows us to rebuild the connection between us and Hashem and return home once more.

Elul: Returning Home

This is why Elul directly follows Tisha B’Av. Tisha B’Av is the time of breakdown, exile, and death. Elul is the time of rejuvenation, redirection, and rebirth. As we transition from Tisha B’Av toward Elul, we pause, stop the negative momentum, and begin building anew. The low of Tisha B’Av becomes the impetus for growth throughout the month of Elul, and in this way, it becomes a yeridah l’tzorech aliyah – a breakdown for the sake of ascension. Elul, in the deepest sense, represents our journey back home to our proper makom, back to our unbreakable bond with Hashem.

The goal of Rosh Hashana is to fully and wholeheartedly anoint and embrace Hashem as our King. This can only happen after a month spent bridging the gap that we created between us. Elul is our voyage back home as we reconnect Hashem

to this world – the Soul of the world to its proper place. The literal meaning of the word “teshuvah” is “return” (shuv means return), and that is our goal at this time. We yearn to return the world to its proper, higher state, to return the Jewish People back to our elevated status, and for each and every one of us to return to our higher, true selves.

The process of return is a joyous one, but it is also a challenging one. We often feel as though we are fighting an uphill battle, and we struggle to maintain momentum and continue gaining ground. Every year as we approach Elul, there is an underlying sense of dread as we prepare ourselves for another year of “New Year’s resolutions,” writing down the same list of goals, only to be forgotten two weeks later. For many, this is the unspoken dread of Elul – the feeling of despair and loneliness as we grapple to rebuild ourselves and what feels like a broken connection with Hashem. This is why Hashem created the Ir Miklat

A Place for Those Without a Place

An Ir Miklat is a place for those without a place. When one loses his physical makom, he feels lost, abandoned, hopeless. At exactly this moment, he is given a sense of hope. He may have lost his place, but there is still a place for him to go in the interim until he can return home. This is what the Ir Miklat represents: hope for the hopeless, home for the homeless, stability for the unstable.

There is an additional spiritual idea here that reveals the ultimate depth of this concept. Many people think that before Hashem created the world, there was nothing. On the contrary – until Hashem created the world, there was everything; there was only Hashem Himself. As the Arizal, Ramchal, and others explain, Hashem created the world by making a makom, a space, within Himself. Just as everything in the physical world requires space to exist, existence itself required a space to exist. If you have a cup completely filled with metal, you cannot pour any water into it. Only if there is a space in the cup, if there is room for the water, can you pour water into the cup. Before Hashem created the world, there was no space for us to exist, as all of existence was occupied by Hashem. To create the physical world, Hashem made “space” within Himself for us to exist. This is why Hashem is referred to as the “Makom of the world,” the place of the world (Midrash Tehillim 90; Rashi, Avos, chap. 2). We exist within Hashem, so to speak; He is our makom.

However, there are times in our lives when we feel distant from Hashem and when we question whether or not Hashem truly cares for us, loves us, or believes in us. It is specifically at these times that we

to our true destination.

When we pass by the month of Elul, Hashem covers every tree with white flags. Elul is Hashem’s way of saying, “There will always be a place for you.” In response,

May we all be inspired to pause, find our footing, and use this Elul to purposefully journey back to our true Makom, i.e., Hashem.

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

refer to Hashem as “Makom.” For example, in a house of mourning, it is customary to tell the mourner, “HaMakom yenachem eschem – The Place will comfort you.” This is because at this specific time, the mourner (avel ) feels most distant from both their loved one and from Hashem. We therefore remind the mourner that not only is Hashem still your Makom, but He is also still the Makom of your loved one. This helps the mourner feel close to Hashem and reminds him that the meis (dead relative) is still here, in existence, within Hashem, simply in a more spiritual dimension.

This is the idea of an Ir Miklat. When one loses their physical makom, they feel completely abandoned. We not only provide him with a different physical makom, but we also ensure that he realizes that he will always have an existential, spiritual Makom — Hashem!

Elul as Our Makom

This is the purpose of Elul. Tisha B’Av reminds us of how broken we can become, of the genuine difficulty and challenge of life. But there will always be an Elul, an Ir Miklat, a Makom.

This connection between Elul and the Ir Miklat is alluded to in the Torah. The very first time the Torah mentions the Ir Miklat is in Parshas Mishpatim, with the words: “If G-d brought it about [meaning that the murder was unintentional], I will make a place for you…” (Shemos 21:13) The roshei teivos of these words is Elul!

Elul is our Ir Miklat, reminding us that we will always have a place to stay until the chaos subsides. But even while in the midst of that chaos, we must remember that this is only a way station, and that we must arise and journey back to our true makom, to our true destination. Elul is our shelter amidst the storm, a lighthouse in the dark. It helps protect us from the darkness, but it also helps guide us back

we must embrace that place and begin rebuilding from there toward our true destination.

This is the first step of teshuvah: recognizing that we are not where we need to be, but that through constant effort and the help of Hashem, we can get there; we can return to our true makom, and we can ascend to a true Rosh Hashana. The foundation for this is our interim makom, our Ir Miklat, Elul – the place for those without a place. This allows us to gain our footing, create clarity and purpose, and begin our journey back home.

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

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

Elul, in the deepest sense, represents our journey back home to our proper makom, back to our unbreakable bond with Hashem.

Tishah B’Av: Remembering What We Have Lost

By Rav Yaakov Feitman

My rebbe, Rav Yitzchok Hutner, zt”l, Rosh Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, used to explain the difference between the eating ban on Yom Kippur and that of Tishah B’Av: “Tishah B’Av, ver ken essen? Yom Kippur, ver darf essen? On Tishah B’Av, who can eat? On Yom Kippur who needs to eat?”

In other words, our goal for Tishah B’Av is to feel the Churban – the destruction – of the Beis Hamikdash so profoundly that we couldn’t eat even if we were allowed to. On the hand, on Yom Kippur, we are so close to being like the angels – so holy and pristine – that we don’t even need food. Some might deem this is a slight distinction, but in reality, the two fasts are light years apart.

First of all, let us think about why we mourn the loss of the Beis Hamikdash. Rav Chizkiyahu Mishkavsky tells a story about the day of Rav Eliezer Menachem Mann Shach’s funeral. All of his talmidim were shattered, the talmidei chachomim were crying bitterly, and a simple pauper in Bnei Brak was also bawling. When people asked him why he was weeping, the poor man answered, “That man gave

me a shekel every time he left the Yeshiva. How can I replace that precious coin which I have lost?” Of course, we understand that Rav Shach gave tzedakah and to that beggar Rav Shach’s passing was a personal disaster, but is it not tragic that anyone should miss the cosmic loss of the gadol hador?

Yet, we, too, are perhaps not much better than that needy but totally honest neighbor of Rav Shach. We cry for Moshiach and the restoration of the Beis Hamikdash because of many things. We would like the anti-Semitism and terrorism to end; we would like to be healthy and wealthy and happy. These are all fine and appropriate wishes. But when we are supposed to be mourning the Beis Hamikdash, there are infinitely more important matters. Therefore, to prepare for Tishah B’Av, let’s spend some time considering what it was like to have the Beis Hamikdash.

First of all, when we first began the Three Weeks, we mourned the cessation of the Korban Tamid – the two daily sacrifices which were offered on behalf of all of Klal Yisrael. How important were they?

Chazal (Medrash Tanchumah, Pinchos 13) tell us that when the Beis Hamikdash stood, if a person sinned at night, the Korban Tamid brought him forgiveness. If he sinned by day, the afternoon Tamid would do the same. If a teacher during the time of the first Beis Hamikdash was having difficulty concretizing for his students the concept of a miracle, they would take a field trip. If it was a rainy, windy day, they would go to the Mizbeach, the holy altar, to watch the smoke go straight up to the sky. The wind didn’t change the direction of the smoke a bit; it rose with our prayers and went straight to Hashem. If it was a hot day, they went to the place where the animals were slaughtered. Everywhere else, there were flies and bugs in the air. But in the Bais Hamitbachaim, regardless of how many hundreds of animals were being offered and no matter how hot it was, there were no flies at all. In the Beis Hamikdash, we saw hashroas HaShechinah – the manifestation of the Divine presence. That loss, the inability to access that kedushah in our lives, is what we are truly mourning this Tishah B’Av. Another important metaphor for our

inconsolable loss may be derived from one of the pesukim we will be reading on Tishah B’Av eve. The pasuk states that “your ruin is as vast as the sea” (2:13). Numerous meforshim explain that just as when the Yam Suf split all the waters in the world split at the same time, so too when the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, everything fell apart as well. In the Hoshanas, which we will recite on Sukkos, G-d willing, we ask for a return to the time “when the Tribes will go up to the Beis Hamikdash.” Our commentaries reference the story with Nakdimon ben Gurion, the famed philanthropist of Yerushalayim, for whom the rains came miraculously when he needed them and the sun emerged after it had set, just so he could make a kidddush Hashem. That was what it meant to have a Beis Hamikdash, where all the world would see openly that Hashem, our heavenly Father, took care of us.

Another explication of “your ruin is as vast as the sea” takes on new force after the loss of the Titan submersible where everyone on board perished in an attempt to make contact with the 111-year-

old wreck of the Titanic. Now, although many experts have attempted to retrieve the Titanic over the past century, it has resulted only in more disaster, failure, and death. Long ago, our sages derived this message from the pasuk in Eichah. If something is lost on dry land, it may turn up later and archaeologists can often find it after centuries and millennia. But if something is lost deep in the sea, it is generally irretrievable. So, too, it is with the loss of our beloved Beis Hamikdash. Yirmiya himself (30:17) laments that we don’t feel its absence and very few understand the loss.

One of the Kinnos we will recite on Tishah B’Av refers to the holy vessels of the Beis Hamikdash. Here, too, we often don’t realize that the Menorah was the source of all wisdom in the world. The Shulchan was the source of all parnassah. The Chidah writes that Eliyahu Hanavi must have sprinkled the ashes of the Parah Adumah upon the Arizal because otherwise he couldn’t have reached the levels of holiness and Torah to which he ascended. This could only happen because some very special people were able to access the kedushah of the Beis Hamikdash in their lives wherever they were.

One moment in the Beis Hamik-

dash could change a person forever.

Yosef Meshisa lived during the time of the second Beis Hamikdash. He was a wicked man who had helped the Romans in many ways. When our enemy destroyed Yerushalayim, the Romans were afraid to enter the Beis Hamikdash because of its renowned holiness. They convinced Yosef to enter first and remove some of the vessels, promising him that the first

itz, zt”l, Rosh Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim (Sichos Mussar), says that one moment in the Beis Hamikdash changed Yosef Meshisa from a rashah to a tzaddik. That is the power of the Beis Hamikdash. That is what we have lost.

Finally, the Rema (in his Sefer Toras Haolah) relates an amazing story which is hard to find anywhere else. Yirmiyahu Hanavi was standing outside the Beis

resolved questions you have in any area.”

Socrates trotted out all of his mathematical and philosophical issues, and Yirmiyahu resolved them as if they were child’s play. Now it was the philosopher’s turn to be shocked.

“Where did you learn all this wisdom from?” he begged to know.

Yirmiyahu answered, “All that I know and am comes from these stones, but this is something that you cannot and will not understand.”

Indeed, sadly, today we don’t understand it, either. But more recently than Yirmiyahu, Rav Yaakov Emden wrote (Siddur Bais Yaakov), “All the tragedies of Jewish history…flow from the fact that we have forgotten Yerushalayim. Not only all year long, but even on Tishah B’Av itself, our mourning is not sincere and heartfelt.”

thing he removes would be his very own. He brought out the Menorah, but even the Romans told him that this was no utensil for a regular human being. They took the Menorah from him but allowed him to go back in for something else. This time, he wouldn’t enter and did powerful teshuvah for his sin. The Romans tortured him to death, and a voice rang out from heaven that Yosef Meshisa would enter directly into Olam Haba. Rav Chaim Shmuelev-

Hamikdash bemoaning its impending destruction. The famed philosopher Socrates met him and asked him why he was crying. He explained that it was over the loss of our Temple, but Socrates was not impressed.

“You seem to be an intelligent person,” the philosopher told him. “Why would you cry over sticks and stones?”

Yirmiyahu responded in kind, “You state that I am intelligent. Ask me any un-

This year, let us think – at least on Tishah B’Av itself – about our tremendous loss. If we will do so properly, Hashem will surely send us back the Beis Hamikdash for which we mourn and yearn and Moshiach Tzidkeinu to redeem and guide us, bimheira b’yameinu.

Rav Yaakov Feitman is the rav of Kehillas Bias Yehudah Tzvi in Cedarhurst, NY.

One moment in the Beis Hamikdash could change a person forever.

The Spanish Inquisition

By R ABBI DAnIel Gl ATSTeIn

Tishah B’Av is the most wretched day on our calendar. It is such a miserable day that Yirmiyah HaNavi, who was born on Tishah B’Av, cursed the day of his birth.

From time immemorial, Tishah B’Av has been the most tragic day for Klal Yisrael. The Mishnah records five major tragedies that transpired on Tishah B’Av. The Mishnah begins with the very first Tishah B’Av after Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim, when the meraglim returned from their mission to Eretz Yisrael. Their frightening report resulted in Klal Yisrael’s crying bitterly that night, as the pasuk states, “The entire assembly raised up and issued its voice; the people wept that night” (Bamidbar 14:1).

The Ribbono Shel Olam observed our tears; He saw us crying disappointedly — disregarding His assurances that the desirable land of Eretz Yisrael would truly be theirs to conquer. The Gemara states, “’ You cried for naught,’ said Hashem. ‘I will now give you reason to cry on this night throughout the generations.’”

The Mishnah goes on to report that both the First and Second Batei Mikdash were destroyed on Tishah B’Av. The great city of Beitar was captured on Tishah B’Av, and Turnus Rufus plowed over Yerushalayim on Tishah B’Av as well.

The prophet Yirmiyah had good reason to curse this ominous day.

Throughout our history, Tishah B’Av has been like a lightning rod for Jewish tragedy. The city of Alexandria, which was larger than Beitar, was also destroyed on Tishah B’Av.

The Jewish community of England was expelled on Tishah B’Av in the year 1295. This is alluded to in the pasuk, “He shall drive you out of here” (Shemos 11:1), writes the Abarbanel (Yirmiyah 2:24), as the numerical value of 55, kalah, is a reference to the year 1295, which is 5055 in the Jewish calendar.1 In addition, the Jews of France were expelled on Tishah B’Av, and World War I began on Tishah B’Av.

I recall that when I was twelve years old, Tishah B’Av fell out on Shabbos. I was walking to shul with my father on the Shabbos before my bar mitzvah. We davened at the Agudah of Avenue L, and as we neared the shul, we could

see the location where the shul was supposed to be, but it was no longer there. It had burned down on Friday night, the night of Tishah B’Av.

What is most likely the worst tragedy to have occurred on Tishah B’Av since the Churban Beis HaMikdash was the tragedy of the gerushei Sefarad, the tragedy of the Spanish Inquisition.

Spanish Jewry

When the First Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, the Jews were exiled to Bavel. Many of the Jews made their way to Europe, and some arrived in Spain. When Ezra HaSofer eventually returned to build the Second Beis HaMikdash, he called to the Jews to return to Eretz Yisrael. Just as most of the Jews in Bavel remained there and did not answer his appeal, so too did many Jews remain in Europe — including in Spain.

After the Second Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, more Jews immigrated to Spain. About the year 68 CE, the Spanish Jews comprised two distinct factions. There were Jewish families who had been there since the destruction of Bayis Rishon, and there was a second group comprised of the Jews who arrived there after Churban Bayis Sheini. For about 1,400 years, there was a large, flourishing Jewish community in Spain. The major Torah academies of Bavel, Sura, and Pumbedisa declined in the tenth century, and Spain subsequently became the epicenter of Torah Jewry.

I would like to debunk and clarify a historical myth.

The Golden Age of Spain That Wasn’t

There is an expression, “The Golden Age of Spain.” However, this is somewhat inaccurate. There was no Golden Age for Spanish Jewry. Jewish history in Spain was replete with massacres, pogroms, and persecutions — continuously. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were burned, tortured, or forcibly converted.

Jewish history is relative. There was a small window of about two hundred years during which we had some degree of respite. However, the vast majority of the 1,400 years that we were in Spain — from 68 until 1492 — was one long stream of antisemitism and persecution.

Ironically, the only respite occurred when Spain was overrun by the Mohammedans, but there was no tranquility for Spanish Jewry while Spain was under the dominion of Rome and the Christian world.

The “Golden Age of Spain” appears to be a misnomer. Rav Eliyahu Ki Tov explains that the origin and meaning of the seemingly misplaced title is the result of a classic Jewish phenomenon that is commonly seen in the exile. As Klal Yisrael journeys through galus, upon occasion, we find ourselves looking back longingly at a time that we erroneously recollect as having been a wonderful experience for us. But this is merely a product of our collective imagination.

We saw this when the Bnei Yisrael were in the Midbar and they recalled the “good times” they had in Mitzrayim. “Zacharnu es hadagah, We remember the tasty fish” and the other delicacies of which we were able to partake while living in Mitzrayim. The people were remembering events that had never transpired.

Mitzrayim was a holocaust. We were enslaved with intensely challenging and physically crushing labor. Our children were disposed of by the Egyptians, unceremoniously tossed into the Nile River. When brick quotas were unmet, Jewish children were used in lieu of the missing bricks. A full eighty percent of our people perished in Mitzrayim. We suffered terribly, yet our memory narrowed in on one fact — we had fish — and suddenly our time in Mitzrayim seems to have been pleasant instead of what it really was.

This is part of our Jewish nature: to focus on one small benefit and have fond memories of that specific point in time, of that particular event. So, too, writes Rabbi Eliyahu Ki Tov, the Golden Age of Spain is somewhat of a misconception.

The Abarbanel and the Spanish Inquisition

We know a great deal about the Spanish Inquisition. Much of what we know and understand about that black time in history is gleaned from secular sources. In contrast, the following is what is considered the most authoritative and comprehensive firsthand account from perhaps the greatest Jewish luminary of the time: Rabbi

Don Yitzchak Abarbanel, whom the Beis Yosef refers to as hanesher hagadol, the great eagle.

Rav Don Yitzchak Abarbanel lived from 1438 to 1508. He was a prolific writer, authoring Rosh Emunah, a commentary on the Rambam’s Moreh Nevuchim; a Haggadah called Zevach Pesach; and a trilogy on the coming of Mashiach under the heading Migdol Yeshuos: Yeshuos Meshicho, Mayenei HaYeshuah, and Mashmi’ei Yeshuah; and, of course, his magnum opus: his peirush on Tanach.

The Abarbanel records much astonishing historical information in his hakdamah, introduction, to Sefer Yehoshua, in his peirush to Hoshea, and, most extensively, in his introduction to Sefer Melachim

The Abarbanel began his career in Portugal, where he was an advisor to King Alfonso, whom he described as a “righteous ruler.” When Alfonso died in 1481, he was succeeded by his son, João II. João executed most of his father’s advisors, whom he falsely accused of treason.

The Abarbanel was among those summoned by João — allegedly to provide advice and guidance. However, the Abarbanel was warned as to João’s true intentions and told that his life was in danger. He immediately fled, with his pursuers at his back. He crossed the border into Spain literally moments ahead of his pursuers.

He arrived in Spain, penniless and in complete anonymity — something that can be at times valuable for a rabbi. Residing in Toledo, his newfound respite allowed him to work on his commentary on Sefer Yehoshua, Shoftim, and Shmuel.

Not long thereafter, he was summoned to serve as the finance minister to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. In this capacity, the Abarbanel assisted the king and queen in raising Spain to the status of a financial superpower. However, peace and tranquility would not last long for the Abarbanel.

In the year 711 CE, the Arabs had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and conquered large parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Ferdinand and Isabella embarked on their ambition of Reconquista, to reconquer the region and wrest it from Arab control. In 1487, Malaga fell to the Christian monarchs — with only a single Arab stronghold remaining to complete the Spanish goal of Reconquista.

And then the ominous year 1492 arrived.

On January 2, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella won a great victory: They attacked and conquered Granada. This was one of the greatest victories in world history. Granada was annexed to the kingdom of Spain.

When arrogant King Ferdinand returned from battle, he sought to find a way in which to show gratitude to the “god” of the religion that was newly embraced in Spain.

In the words of the Abarbanel: “Va’yomer Eisav b’libo ba’mah esratzeh l’elo-hei, and he said to himself, ‘There is no better way to repay my god than to gather all these miserable Jews who walk in darkness together and force them to embrace the “true religion.” And if they fail to do so, I will banish them from the Iberian Peninsula.”

The Abarbanel adds: “Yatzah d’var ha’melech v’daso – like the das of Paras U’Madai.”

Many Acharonim find remazim in Tanach for this

year of tragedy, 1492. The Abarbanel writes (Hoshea 5:7) that it was the year in which this pasuk in Yirmiyah was fulfilled: “The One Who scattered (m’zarah) Israel, He shall gather him in and guard him as a shepherd [guards] his flock” (Yirmiyah 31:9). The word m’zarah is a remez to 1492.

Converting From Jewish to Secular Dates

There is a formula that can be employed to convert the Jewish calendar year to the secular calendar year. We drop the millennial number from the Hebrew date, and then add the number 1240. This will provide the current secular year. As an example, we are currently in the Jew-

for Re’eh nah b’anyeinu, a prayer in the Shemoneh Esrei asking Hashem to please take note of our suffering, of our challenging plight.

The Abarbanel documents that King Ferdinand issued a proclamation that any Jews who would not accept Christianity as their faith within a three-month period would be banished from Spain. The three-month window concluded in the ominous month of Av. This, writes the Abarbanel, is the meaning of the pasuk: “They betrayed Hashem, for they begot alien children; now a month will devour them with their portions” (Hoshea 5:7).

The month that was predestined for tragedy, the month that consumed them once again with the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash and only left a small remnant — this month will consume even that small remnant of the Jewish people, that tiny fraction that still exists.

Frighteningly, not only did King Ferdinand set the date for the month of Av, but the dagger in the heart was the fact that the final date of the ultimatum — conversion or expulsion — was Thursday, August 2, 1492: Tishah B’Av.

King Ferdinand did not intentionally pick Tishah B’Av. A nd he had no inkling as to the significance of the date which he had chosen, writes the Abarbanel. He continues that it was as if he had been Heavenly directed to choose that specific date.

ish year 5783. Dropping the five, the millennial number, leaves 783. Adding 783 to 1240 gives 2023, which is the current year in the secular calendar.

M’zara, which is a remez to the year 1492, has a gematria of 252. We then add the number to 1240 to arrive at 1492. Thus, the pasuk in Yirmiyah hints at the year 1492.

The sefer Tzemach Tzeddek was authored by Rav Dovid Ganz, a talmid of the Rema. As a young man, he traveled from Germany to Cracow because he yearned to learn Torah from the Rema. Rav Dovid Ganz was an accomplished astronomer who corresponded with the renowned astronomers of his time, Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. He had been encouraged by the Rema to write a book on history.

The Tzemach Tzeddek identified a remez to the year 1492 in the pasuk: “Sing out, O barren one who has not given birth; break into glad song and be jubilant, you who have not been in birth travail. For the children of the desolate [Yerushalayim] will outnumber, rabim, the children of the inhabited one, said Hashem” (Yeshayah 54:1). The word rabim has a numerical value of 252; once again, a reference to the year 1492 and its desolation.

One of the gedolei Yisrael who was among the gerushei Sefarad was Rav Yosef Yaavetz. In his sefer Ohr HaChaim, he offered reasons that he believed explained why Klal Yisrael was subjected to such nefarious decrees. The Bnei Yissaschar, Rav Tzvi Elimelech M’Dinov, in his commentary to Rav Yaavetz’s sefer, notes another remez to the year 1492. The pasuk states, “B’ran, when the morning stars sang in unison” (Iyov 38:7). B’ran has a gematria of 252; again a reference to the year 1492. Additionally, he points out that the word b’ran is an acronym

Thus, the law was set in place: Any Jew in Sefarad (Spain), Sicily, Majorca, and Sardinia was forced to decide between converting to Christianity and being evicted from his home and country.

The Abarbanel describes sitting in the palace when this decree was issued. Unable to contain himself, he risked life and limb by shouting, “Save these people! What do you want from them!? Why are you doing this!? If it is money you seek, we are ready to pay a hefty fee for each Jew. Money is not an issue.” He pleaded with the officers and with the officials who were charged with enforcing this awful edict.

On the day before this gezeirah was signed into law, the Abarbanel pleaded with King Ferdinand himself. The king was moved by his impassioned pleas and was ready to reconsider. However, the evil inquisitor Thomas de Torquemada rushed into the room, carrying a cross and ranting and raving. His arrival shook Ferdinand and Isabella to the core. Terrified, they ordered the Abarbanel out of the room, and they signed the decree. All Jews were required to convert or to leave by Tishah B’Av.

The Abarbanel adds that as evil as King Ferdinand may have been, it was Queen Isabella’s incitement that really drove the evil ruling. “A nd the queen stood to his right, to provoke and incite.”

Interestingly, Torquemada was Queen Isabella’s personal confessor.2 In 1483, he was appointed to the role of Grand Inquisitor. Within a few years of his assumption of this post, the Spanish Inquisition took over 30,000 lives. The cries of the victims of the torture chambers reverberated throughout Spain. The smoke from the pyres of the auto-da-fé hovered like a dark cloud over the Iberian Peninsula.

As successful and as affluent as a person may be, it is crucial never to get too comfortable.

The Abarbanel writes that since being exiled from Yerushalayim, Klal Yisrael had not experienced a tragedy as severe as what happened in Spain. In that three-month period, primarily towards its end — during the time between Shivah Asar B’Tammuz and Tishah B’Av — three hundred thousand Jews were forced to leave Spain. This figure does not include the hundreds of thousands who accepted the alternative and converted to Christianity. (In addition, another two hundred thousand Jews had converted to Christianity in 1391, 101 years previously.)

The Abarbanel was given an exemption to the evil decree. He alone was given permission to remain in his home, unharmed, without having to renounce his faith. He could continue in his capacity as the finance minister of Spain. However, he chose to leave with his brothers and sisters, and he joined them as they were exiled.

He describes that as they left their homes, the Jews were comforted by one thing, and one thing only: “Their king will pass in front of them, with Hashem at their head.” They felt the Shechinah, the Presence of the Ribbono Shel Olam, going into exile with them. They were not alone.

When they embarked on their journey, the Jews had no idea where they would go. Some went to Portugal, others to Navarre. Suffering, broken, hungry, and tired, many opted to travel by sea. The Abarbanel testifies that many of their boats capsized or sank. He himself boarded a ship bound for Naples.

During the course of his travels, he lost the only manuscript of his peirush on Sefer Devarim. When he arrived in Corfu, he met someone who somehow had made a copy of this manuscript. The Abarbanel utilized this copy when he published his sefer on Devarim

In the year 1493, the Abarbanel and his fellow refugees were strangers in a foreign land, as he writes, “Geirim hayinu.” The word geirim has a gematria of 253, alluding to the year 1493. It was during this time, while living in Naples, that the Abarbanel completed his commentary on Sefer Melachim

Seder HaDoros

Rav Yechiel Halperin (1660-1742) wrote a very important historical treatise entitled Seder HaDoros The high regard in which the sefer is held is apparent from the fact that the Chida not only studied it, but he wrote footnotes to the text. Rav Halpern was a descendant of the Maharshal, and he writes that the entirety of the Tochachah was manifest during the time the Jews were expelled from Spain. The gerushei Sefarad suffered tremendously, and all of the curses contained in the Tochachah were fulfilled.

He records an incident that is truly heart-wrenching.

A refugee from Spain, a Jew expelled from his home, fled by sea. He was accompanied by his elderly father and his young son. His father was weak and hungry, and he was slowly dying of starvation. When the boat docked, the man set out to obtain food for his father. Not having any money to purchase food, he begged a baker for a loaf of bread. The baker refused, but eventually agreed to give him a loaf of bread in exchange for his son. The man was

in a terrible quandary; he opted to leave his son at the bakery and run back to his dying father with the loaf of bread.

Sadly, when he returned to his father, he found that his soul had already returned to his Creator. The refugee raced back to the bakery. The evil baker refused to accept the returned loaf, and he would not allow the child to leave with his father.

This is truly one of the most terrible episodes I have ever heard.

The Abarbanel writes that Klal Yisrael had not experienced a tragedy of the magnitude of the Spanish Inqui-

on Tishah B’Av — despite their not necessarily having occurred on that date.

We include these in the Tishah B’Av liturgy because we recognize that all Jewish misfortune and tragedy can be traced back to the Churban Beis HaMikdash

As we study the Tishah B’Av kinnos, we are struck by an oddity. There is an event that is glaringly and conspicuously absent. Where is the kinnah lamenting the expulsion of the Jews from Spain? Why is there no reference at all to what the Abarbanel dubbed the worst tragedy to happen since we were expelled from Yerushalayim?

The entirety of Kinnos is recited, and the day of Tishah B’Av goes by, and yet there is no mention of the Spanish Inquisition. This appears to be an egregious omission that requires explanation. After all, the Crusades, the Ten Martyrs, and the Holocaust are all referenced, despite their having occurred during other dates on the calendar. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain was orchestrated by the Ribbono Shel Olam to occur on the very day of Tishah B’Av, a fact that is certainly not mere coincidence. Yet, not a word about it in all of the Kinnos.

There must be some very fundamental reason why we don’t mourn this terrible tragedy on Tishah B’Av, on the anniversary of its having begun.3

Musical Accompaniment

I would like to share a historical fact.

sition since the time of the Churban Beis HaMikdash, when we were exiled from Yerushalayim. These words of the Abarbanel reverberate in my mind, prompting one simple question.

Tishah B’Av: A Time to Mourn All Our Tragedies

It is Tishah B’Av. We are not eating, we are not drinking. We are sitting on the ground. We are not wearing our usual footwear. We gather together in shul. We lament and cry about the Churban HaBayis, the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. As we recite the Kinnos, we cry for other tragedies that have befallen our people throughout our history. The Kinnos are not limited to any specific event, and we shed many tears for our national suffering throughout the long and bitter years of galus.

In the twenty-first kinnah, Arzei HaLevanon, we cry for the Asarah Harugei Malchus, the Ten Martyrs, although none of them was killed on Tishah B’Av.

In the twenty-fifth and thirty-third kinnos we lament and bemoan the gezeiros and the horrible abuse we experienced at the hands of the Crusades in the year 1096. This also did not transpire on Tishah B’Av, yet it is mourned in our Kinnos.

In Kinnah 41, Sha’ali Serufah Va’eish, we cry for the public disgrace of our sifrei kodesh, the burning of volumes of the Talmud in the streets of Paris in 1241.

More recently, we have begun to incorporate kinnos that were authored specifically to lament the horrors of the Holocaust, a tragedy that affected many of us personally. These have been included in our davening

As the three hundred thousand Jews were leaving Spain on Tishah B’Av 1492, there was a psak issued by the gedolei Yisrael, among them the Abarbanel. The ruling issued — a hora’as sha’ah for that specific time and place — was that they should be accompanied on their journey by orchestral music. They left Spain amidst music and song. On Tishah B’Av, the musicians played — something we normally regard as forbidden.

There were a few reasons for this interesting ruling. The Rabbanim sought to boost the spirits of the exiled multitudes who were forced to abandon their homes. They wanted to encourage them, to infuse them with hope and bitachon that Hashem was with them.

Furthermore, they were employing music as a way of expressing gratitude to Hashem that they had withstood the nisayon and did not convert to Christianity. They were zocheh to be mekadesh Sheim Shamayim, to sanctify G-d’s Name, and that was a cause for celebration.

Rav Eliyahu Ki Tov tells us another reason for the music that filled the air as the Jews were expelled from Spain. There is a fundamental lesson being taught by this seemingly incongruous act. The Rabbanim wanted Klal Yisrael to learn that we never cry when we leave galus We shed tears only when we leave Yerushalayim.

Therefore, they were directed to leave Spain, not with tears, but with music and song.

It was a tragedy, a devastating event. Over three hundred thousand Jews were left homeless, evicted from a country where they had flourished for centuries.

But they had never truly belonged in Spain. They were not really leaving their homes. They were leaving a place of exile, a stopping place along the long road of

The Abarbanel writes that since being exiled from Yerushalayim, Klal Yisrael had not experienced a tragedy as severe as what happened in Spain.

galus. A Jew does not cry when he leaves a place of exile. Because we don’t belong there.

Rav Yechiel Halperin records the following startling comment in his entry for the year 1620. In writing about the suffering at the hands of the Crusades, the author of the Sma (Sefer Me’iros Einayim) was asked why the community of Worms (Vermaiza) suffered far more persecution, pogroms, and gezeiros ra’os, evil decrees and edicts during the times of the Crusades than any other kehillah

The Sma writes that the kehillah of Vermaiza was founded by Jewish exiles who made their way to Germany following the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash. After seventy years of exile, many Jews returned from Babylon to Eretz Yisrael, but none returned from Worms.

The community in Yerushalayim wrote to the people of Worms, urging them to join them in their new homes, in their settlement in Yerushalayim. The complacent Jews of Worms dismissed the invitation. They responded, “You stay where you are, in the great Yerushalayim, and we will stay where we are, in the little Yerushalayim.”

They were too comfortable in galus. That is why they suffered more devastation than the rest of European Jewry.

Rav Avraham Saba, one of the great kadmonim, was one of the leaders among the gerushei Sefarad and author of the classic work on Chumash, Tzror HaMor. He was similarly asked why the Jews of Spain suffered so much. What was the reason they suffered such a terrible fate?

The Tzror Hamor answered, “It was their arrogance; they were under the illusion that they were in their own land, and they constructed homes that were grand and ostentatious — like palaces.”

The Absent Kinnah explained

I am compelled to believe that the reason there is no kinnah for the Spanish expulsion is for the very same reason that they played music as they left Spain. As painful as it may be, we do not cry when we leave galus. As hard as it is, we cry only when we leave Yerushalayim.

This is the lesson of the downfall of Spanish Jewry. As successful and as affluent as a person may be, it is crucial never to get too comfortable. We don’t belong here. And we are not going to be here forever.

As grandiose as the Golden Age of Spain was, never have Jews in the history of our people been more comfortable in galus than the Jew in America. Look just how comfortable we are in this goldene medinah, just look at the contemporary scene of American Jewry. Seven out of every ten Jewish weddings are intermarriages, Rachmanah litzlan

Even in our somewhat insulated society, we build homes

and we drive cars and we conduct ourselves as if we are going to be staying in this country forever. And I hate to break it to you. That is not reality. America is merely a stop along the long road of our bitter exile. In fact, America is the last stop.

The last Stop

Rav Chaim Volozhiner was the primary disciple of the Vilna Gaon, and he is considered the father of the concept of a yeshiva as we know it today.

North Africa, Egypt, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and America. America is the last stop.”

Rav Aharon Kotler, in Mishnas Rav Aharon, records this as an authentic mesorah

Here we are, at the final stop of this long and arduous journey we know as galus. We don’t know how much longer we will be here. We hope we will be here b’shalom, in peace, until this stop is over, and we can finally return to Eretz Yisrael. But the sad verdict of history is that when a stop along the galus journey comes to an end, we are lucky if we can leave fast enough with the shirts on our backs.

If there is one thing that we learn from the omission of the Spanish Inquisition from the Kinnos , if there is one thing that we can learn from the music of the gerushei Sefarad, it is that we never cry when we leave galus. We don’t belong in galus , and we have never belonged in galus. We don’t belong in Spain, and we don’t belong in North Africa. Neither do we belong in France, Hungary, Poland, or America.

We belong in Eretz Yisrael. We belong in Yerushalayim.

One morning, in Rav Chaim’s yeshiva, the bachurim were surprised by the onset of terrible and painful crying in the middle of the Shemoneh Esrei of Shacharis. They looked for the source of the loud wailing and were astonished to see Rav Chaim Volozhiner sobbing uncontrollably. The students began to tremble, tears welling up in their eyes at the sight of their Rosh HaYeshivah crying so bitterly.

When davening was over, Rav Chaim left the beis midrash and entered his private study. The talmidim of the yeshivah could not understand what could possibly have moved their Rosh Yeshivah to tears in the middle of davening. They asked Reb Dovid Tevil, the author of the sefer Nachalas Dovid, to approach Reb Chaim and ask him why he was moved to bitter tears.

Reb Dovid entered Rav Chaim’s study with great trepidation, and in a quivering voice, he informed Rav Chaim that the entire student body of the yeshiva was gripped with fear as a result of their rebbi’s crying.

At first, Rav Chaim was reluctant to explain. Eventually, he acquiesced, taking the fact that he had been moved to tears publicly, in the presence of his students, as a sign from Hashem that he should in fact include them in the reason behind his tears.

Rav Chaim told Reb Dovid, “My dear talmid , you should know that the day will come when the pillars of European Jewry will topple, when the yeshivos will be uprooted and destroyed.

“But there will be one more stop before the arrival of Mashiach. The last stop will be America. The tenth and final exile of the Torah will be America. Babylon,

If we merely open our eyes, we will appreciate that we live in historic times. We see the words of all the Neviim coming to fruition. All the Neviim promise us that before the coming of Mashiach, the Ribbono Shel Olam will gather Klal Yisrael to Eretz Yisrael from the far-flung corners of the globe.

Every decade recently we have been seeing Hashem doing just this: gathering Jews to Eretz Yisrael. First the Iranians, then the Russian Jews, and then, in the following decade, the Jews of Ethiopia. More recently, many Jews from France have made their way to Eretz Yisrael. There is no question that we here in America are coming up on Hashem’s list of those to return to Eretz Yisrael.

Just as we left Spain triumphantly, with song and music, so too will we rejoice when the Ribbono Shel Olam takes us out of America as well.

We hope and fervently pray that this final stop will not last much longer, and that this will be the last mournful Tishah B’Av.

May we be zocheh to all go up to Yerushalayim together.

1See further in this essay for the formula to convert the Hebrew date to the secular date.

2Early Acharonim, page 37, by R’ Zechariah Fendel.

3 Although a kinnah composed to lament the tragedy of the Spanish Inquisition is preserved in the sefer Shevet Yehudah of Rav Shlomo ibn Virga, it is not included in our liturgy of Tishah B’Av.

This article has been excerpted from The Darkness and The Dawn by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein, ArtScroll Publications. Rabbi Daniel Glatstein is the Mara D’asra of Kehilas Tiferes Mordechai in Cedarhurst, NY, and author of numerous seforim in Lashon Hakodesh and in English for ArtScroll. He is an international lecturer and maggid shiur. His thousands of recorded shiurim are available on Torahanytime.com, podcast, his website rabbidg. com, and other venues.

We never cry when we leave galus; we shed tears only when we leave Yerushalayim.

Eat but Don’t Overeat

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

The topic of overeating is discussed in the daf this week (Gittin 70a).

The Gemara quotes a beraisa that states, “One who fills his belly with anything will become sick.” Rashi explains that eating as much as one desires causes sickness. Rav Papa commented that this beraisa is referring even to healthy food. The Gemara further recounts Eliyahu HaNavi’s advice to Rebbe Nosson that a person should stop eating when he is two-thirds full. Lastly, Rebbe Chiya quotes a beraisa stating that one who wishes to avoid stomach ailments should stop eating before he is full. And the Kisei Rachamim writes that overeating causes one to spend an excessive amount of time in the bathroom, wasting precious moments of life.

The Rambam writes in Hilchos Dei’os that most sickness comes as a result of overeating. The Seder Mishneh explains that the Rambam’s source is the aforementioned Gemara.

The Raavad writes that besides curtailing one’s food intake for health reasons, there is an element of avodas Hashem involved. One can work on curbing his desires by ending his meal before he is full. In fact, the Raavad says that if one specifically intends to curtail his eating l’shem Shamayim, such an act is greater than a fast. A fast doesn’t occur every day, but the avodah of limiting one’s food consumption can take place at every meal.

Shabbos meals can become the bane of every Jewish dieter. After all, the Ben Ish Chai writes that one who eats delicious food on Shabbos—even with the intention of gaining personal pleasure— fulfills a mitzvah min ha’muvchar, a mitzvah in the choicest manner. Are the Rabbanan advising one to curtail his eating even on Shabbos? The Kaf HaChaim says that is most certainly the case! One should not eat his fill, even on Shabbos. Although afflicting oneself on Shabbos is forbidden, refraining from gorging is

not an affliction. One can consume and try delicious foods without overeating.

The Reishis Chochmah quotes the opinion of Rabbeinu Moshe Kohen, who suggests, perhaps counterintuitively, that the mitzvah of eating three seudos on Shabbos was instituted to curtail eat-

that in a few short hours he will have to eat again. The Reishis Chochmah writes that if one trains himself to curtail his eating on Shabbos, then he will certainly be successful at dieting during the week.

Rav Yosef Karo writes in the Shulchan Aruch (291:1): “You should be very

second meal and will leave room for the third meal.”

The Shulchan Aruch offers an interesting option for how to fulfill the third Shabbos meal. If the second meal extended past midday, he can bentch, walk around, wash again, recite HaMotzi, and continue eating. (But if he just sits at the table, it would be considered one long meal.)

This plan would seem to violate the dictum that one should not utter unnecessary blessings. After all, he will need to recite another HaMotzi and Birkas HaMazon, which would not have been needed had he continued his meal uninterrupted. Nevertheless, the Shulchan Aruch rules that since it is after midday, and one is thereby fulfilling the mitzvah of the third meal, this option can be employed.

However, the Rema concludes that if one can eat the minimum shiur of bread (an egg-sized piece) to fulfill the third meal after Mincha, he should do so instead. There are two reasons this is preferable to dividing one’s second seudah: (1) it avoids the entire question of making unnecessary blessings; and (2) the Rema holds that it is preferable to eat the third meal after Mincha.

If one pauses his second seudah in order to bentch and go to shul to daven Mincha early, perhaps he will have solved both of the Rema’s concerns. Obviously, he has solved the Mincha issue. Further, it is preferable to bentch before leaving one’s place and going outside. He therefore bentches before leaving his house and is thus forced to divide his meal into two parts.

ing. One who knows that he has to eat three seudos on Shabbos will pace himself and not overeat, especially when the days are short. One who is zealous to fulfill the mitzvah of seudas shlishis will be careful not to eat too much at the shul kiddush and at his second meal, knowing

careful to fulfill the mitzvah of the third Shabbos meal. And even if one is full, he can fulfill the mitzvah with an egg-sized piece of bread. If it is impossible for him to eat, one is not obligated to pain himself and force himself to eat. One who is wise will not fill his stomach at the

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.

The Reishis Chochmah writes that if one trains himself to curtail his eating on Shabbos, then he will certainly be successful at dieting during the week.

Healed By The Torah

Based on a story told over by Rabbi Duvi Bensoussan

Prepared for print by Daniel Agalar

Afather once arrived at the home of the revered Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, carrying his twoyear-old son. With a somber expression, the father expressed his desire to perform the customary upsherin, the first haircut, for his young child at the tender age of two. Rav Chaim, renowned for his wisdom and insight, questioned the father’s intention, given that traditionally, upsherin is celebrated at the age of three.

Gently, the father revealed the heartbreaking reason behind his request. His precious son had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and the doctors had grimly informed him that the child might not survive until the age of three. Desiring to partake in this cherished milestone, the father sought to cut his son’s hair before it was too late.

Rav Chaim, his eyes filled with compassion, looked directly at the father and offered a reassuring smile. He excused himself momentarily and retreated to another room. Returning with a vial of wine in his hands, Rav Chaim approached the young child. With great tenderness, he offered the boy a sip of the wine, urging him to drink. The father watched intently, uncertain of the significance of this gesture.

Addressing the anxious father, Rav Chaim declared, “Do not proceed with the haircut. Your son will be well and will live a long life. You will have the opportunity to perform the upsherin when he turns three.”

Filled with hope and gratitude, the father left Rav Chaim’s presence, carrying the profound words of the revered sage deep within his heart. Eager to seek con-

firmation of this miraculous prediction, the father took his son to the hospital the following day. He requested another scan to assess the status of his son’s condition. The doctors conducted the examination and compared it to a previous scan, their faces filled with astonishment and disbelief. The tumor that had once threatened the child’s life had miraculously vanished.

chan Aruch. The power of Torah had permeated his being, miraculously eradicating the ailment that had plagued him.

This extraordinary incident served as a poignant reminder of the life-giving force that resides within the Torah itself.

The father returned home, forever transformed by the experience. He witnessed firsthand the profound impact that Torah can have, not only on an intellectual level but also on a spiritual and physical plane. His son, now infused with the eternal wisdom of the Torah, was given a second chance at life.

Overwhelmed by this inexplicable turn of events, the father rushed back to Rav Chaim, his heart brimming with gratitude and curiosity. He implored the sage to reveal the secret behind the wine he had given to his son. With great humility, Rav Chaim explained that the wine he had offered was from the last siyum, the completion of a significant Torah study, that he had made on the eve of Pesach. The Torah-infused wine had flowed into the young boy’s veins, filling him with the essence of Torah, and consequently, the tumor had vanished.

Rav Chaim emphasized that the boy had become imbued with the wisdom of Shas, Yerushalmi, and Shul-

From that day forward, the father and his family found a renewed sense of appreciation for the Torah as the ultimate source of life and blessing. They recognized that by immersing themselves in its teachings, they could tap into the transformative power of divine wisdom. The miraculous healing of their son’s tumor became a testament to the inseparable bond between the Torah and the very essence of existence.

Daniel Agalar is the founder of Stories to Inspire, an organization dedicated to sharing curated inspirational stories from renowned rabbanim. With a widely popular podcast that has surpassed 4 million downloads, Daniel’s passion for spreading positivity shines through. Join the daily WhatsApp broadcast by messaging 310-210-1205 or explore over 4,300 stories on his website at www.storiestoinspire.org. The stories can also be accessed on the hotline at 718-400-7145.

The tumor that had once threatened the child’s life had miraculously vanished.

A Mother’s Plea: Bring My Son Home

By Brendy J. Siev

On August 1, 2014, Leah Goldin’s youngest child, Hadar, was killed in a tunnel in Gaza. It was two hours after a cease fire, brokered by the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union, was declared between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

It was five weeks before his wedding.

His chuppah never happened.

Nor did his levaya, his funeral.

Hamas has yet to return Hadar’s body to his family. And Leah has not stopped fighting to get it back and give her son the burial that all human beings are entitled, the chessed shel emet that all Jews deserve.

“Hadar was gifted. He was a beautiful son,” Leah says. “He was an artist, an intellectual. He had an intellectual view on everything.”

Indeed, in the years following his death, Hadar’s art has traveled the world, and his writings have been published. In 2016, his drawings were exhibited at the UN. They traveled the United States, starting at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. His explanation of Mesilat Yesharim was printed and widely distributed.

Hadar is one of Leah and her husband Simcha’s four children. His oldest sister, Ayelet, lives in Ramat HaGolan. His brother, Menachemi, resides in Yerushalayim. And his twin brother, Tzur, just had a newborn daughter.

In 2014, when Hamas rained thousands of rockets into Israel, Hadar Goldin was focused on his upcoming nuptials. He had designed and drawn his wedding invitation and was looking forward to a life of love and shalom bayit, not combat. Then, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge and sent their soldiers into Gaza to blow up the tunnels and stop the violence.

Tzur was assigned to rescue missions. He took the wounded out of Gaza and got them to safety and medical care. He rescued Israeli soldiers, and he also rescued Palestinian civilians who were caught in the crossfire or used as human shields.

Hadar was a Givati soldier, who was tasked with protecting engineers involved with eliminating the tunnels that bring terrorists into Israel. After the ceasefire,

Hamas fired on Hadar’s team, killing three soldiers, including the commander, and abducting Hadar into a tunnel. When a group of soldiers attempted to rescue him, they were unsuccessful.

The day was dubbed “Black Friday,” and the IDF initiated the Hannibal Directive, attacking the area, in an effort to save Hadar.

It was too late.

“We have been struggling for his body since then,” says his mother.

It’s been nine years.

The fifth day of Av will be Hadar’s ninth yahrtzeit, or hazkarah. On that day, the family be holding a major event called “Lizkor U’Lihzkir,” or “To Remember and to Remind,” that Hadar “must be brought home.” There will be singers and speeches, and friends and supporters will join the Goldins at Mitzpeh Hadar, the park they built in his memory outside his hometown, Kfar Sabba.

Through this all, Leah Goldin has been a true Jewish mother: dedicated, powerful, and relentless. She has traveled the globe to find allies who can pressure the Palestinian Authority to release her son’s body to her. She refuses to be daunted or drawn into political discourse on this. During covid, she met with Robin Meyerson of Momentum, an organization that has helped her reframe and finetune her message.

“Hadar is a victim of a ceasefire rather than a victim of a war,” Leah tells people. The ceasefire was brokered by the UN, the U.S., and the EU. “They are therefore responsible to bring him back.”

The Goldins stress that the UN is obligated to assist under UN Resolution 2474, which calls on member states to assist in repatriating prisoners of war and the remains of civilians and soldiers.

This legal framing of her case has enabled her to meet with world leaders and has garnered sympathy and assistance from them. Before December 25 of this year, she went to the Vatican to meet with the Pope. A month ago, she traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to meet with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. Last week, she joined Israel President Herzog’s delegation to the United States to meet for the third time with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.

The Palestinian Authority has been using Hadar’s body as a “bargaining chip,” Leah asserts. “A bargaining chip for terrorists.” They say they will release Hadar, but only if Israel releases living terrorists from Israeli prisons.

That is an untenable solution.

Instead, Leah continues her crusade, meeting with powerful people in the hope that they can exert their power to leverage a proper burial for her son. In these meetings, Leah defines her case as a humanitarian one. The fact that the body has not been released is in direct violation of international humanitarian law. This means that those who violate it should not receive humanitarian aid or support.

This is not about politics, she stresses. This is about human rights. This is about religion and religious burial rights.

“It is the responsibility of Jewish people to bring our boys to kever Yisrael,” Hadar’s mother says.

Then she boards the next plane to bring a mother’s plea to another understanding listener, one who can hopefully convince those holding her son’s body to send him home. It is a Jewish mother’s plea for a final resting place for her child.

Leah and Simcha Goldin with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Ihate waiting in lines of any kind; hate is a strong word that I should really not use but the visceral reaction that I get when on a line and someone cuts in front of me or the time spent waiting exceeds two minutes can get overwhelming for me.

When someone pretends that they don’t see me waiting and then they catch my judgmental facial expression, their reaction is not pretty; it’s usually childish and filled with excuses that no one wants to hear.

“Oh, so sorry, were you standing here? I did not see you. I only have this one thing to return – it won’t take long. Is it okay?”

In Israel, you need to learn how to accept this as a normal occurrence because failure to do so will find you feeling upset every time you are in a store, office or wherever you need to wait for something you thought you needed or wanted.

There is a place in Rechavia that takes me over the top. It is a very popular bagel cafe which caters to a mostly American clientele. People who eat and shop for yummy baked goods at this eatery are used to getting what they want when they want it, which is right now!

I cannot say that I am innocent.

Granted, the food is good; it suits the Anglo dining palate and probably serves the best bagel and coffee in the mehadrin world. The service, on the other hand, is just awful. That’s being kind but the only way to adequately describe it.

When you walk in, you will encounter two lines, one for drinks and one for food. I asked, “Can I get my drinks before I get the sandwiches?”

“Sorry, first the food and then the drinks!”

We tried to game the system by breaking the order into one for drinks and a separate one for sandwiches; our complicated list of drinks and sand -

Waiting on Line

By Barbara Deutsch

wiches for seven people was too hard to memorize having lost that muscle memory skill during these cell phone days of having everything accessible on our phones.

Memorizing lists and phone numbers has become a thing of the past.

My cell phone-hating husband did not have his with him; I don’t know why I expected him to have it. Some background: our grandson Yoav told me he only uses the house landline phone (we still have one of those) to get in touch with Grandpa. Yoav considers it his cell. As we left our landline in America, he would not be expected not to have that or any phone with him.

When the boys were students at DRS where my husband taught for many years, I would text Yoav or one of his brothers, Jakob and Elly, if I needed to get a message to him. They would go to his class to share my questions or needs.

Now that our Canadian grandson Judah spends long weekends with us – he

wiches, breakfast had turned into brunch.

Now the drinks; I can’t go there because what happened takes things over the top of the top. Let’s leave it at that. Suffice it to say that by the time we got home, it was now lunchtime and the once hot crisp sandwiches had turned into a soggy mess.

All of my waiting on line frustrations were met: long lines, feeling ignored, getting cut off and being told that the coffee that I wanted was never made in the store even though I have had that certain blended iced black americano with no milk or sugar coffee many, many times in the past.

Check, check, check.

Hint: an iced coffee is a cold coffee here. If you order an iced coffee, you get a milky sugary mix of ice and weak coffee.

There is a pretty good bagel store on Ben Yehudah; it’s not as good but good

The questions that beg to be asked: which store is the one for you? Which is the one for me? Do you prefer taste or expedience?

Compromises need to be made. I have to figure out this phone thing with my husband; I’ve tried but still have not gotten him to take his phone without reminding him before he leaves.

is a senior at YU –I text him when I need to connect with my husband.

I digress.

Left with no other options, we waited patiently (tried) for our food to be made; of course, the person delegated to us behind the crowded counter was brand new and learning. Our knowledge of bagel types in Hebrew is non-existent as were hers in English.

By the time we had all of our sand-

enough. When you walk in, you will find giant iPads posted on one wall, and across from it, a counter with fresh food, bagels, and a coffee and drink center. You plug in your order from the menu that appears on the iPad screen, print the receipt, give it to the cashier, and wait for your order.

Our family of five people got our breakfast in less than 10 minutes; hot and crispy and just the way we like it.

I love Israel, we plan to move here soon, so I’m thinking that I better work on my frustrations, get used to the lines and the people who populate them.

Mrs. Barbara Deutsch is currently the associate principal at HANC 609 and a longtime reflective educator, parent, grandparent, and new great-grandparent. Even after all these years, she still loves what she does and looks forward to working with kids every single day.

By the time we had all of our sandwiches, breakfast had turned into brunch.

What Would You Do If…

Dear Navidaters,

I am 24 years old and have been dating for a year.

Although I have gone on several good dates, I haven’t progressed past four dates with any one girl.

Can you give me tips on how to get me to the next level? I feel that after 3 or 4 dates, we sort of “max out” and things plateau from there.

Thank you, Avi*

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

Avi, it’s smart to ask for some suggestions to bring your relationships to the next level, however, you don’t share much about yourself.

Here are some questions to ask yourself that may help. Am I varying the settings of the dates? Do I bring a sense of fun and spontaneity to things? Do I have the courage to be vulnerable on dates or am I trying to impress too much? Do I show myself as I am expected to be? Do I ask follow-up questions and am I an active listener? Am I measuring the young woman according to a checklist I have devised? What have I learned about myself during this year? What have I learned about my communication skills during this past year? Do I need some coaching?

The dating process is one of growth and self-discovery and not only about chemistry and the other person.

B’hatzlacha.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

After reading your question, a famous quote came to mind.

“The most successful people are not the ones who have all the answers, but the ones who are willing to ask the right questions and seek out solutions.”

You are on your way to success by virtue of the fact that you are asking these questions. You are correct to believe that there is something to uncover here. In the trajectory of dating, up until the fifth date, you are basically making a new, surface-level friend. Once date four and five

come along, you have known each other enough to be comfortable, are attracted, and want to continue to keep the ball rolling in the relationship. It is likely you max out here because your walls are up surrounding your vulnerability.

I would compare it to the following scenario. A person has three presents in front of him and can only open one. They are all packaged well. He starts with one present, and the wrapping paper is glued to the present itself. He tries ripping it off, piece by piece, but it’s hard, almost impossible to see the item. At this point, the person will likely just give up and choose another present. A present is supposed to be comfortable, easy, relaxed; all the opposite of ripping glued wrapping paper off a gift inside it. When a person is building a relationship, there will be good dates and bad dates, it surely won’t always be positive. However, when the relationship is right, there will generally be a feeling of upward motion. You’ll feel like you are getting somewhere.

If a person’s walls are up, it affects both daters, not just you. It is in situations like these where I find singles get stuck in the place you are at. What you can work on is being vulnerable and open with your dates. Perhaps create the ambiance of date four as one that is more tailored fit to your date. Invest in a really thoughtful date; prepare a picnic in a nice park, make a reservation at a nice restaurant, or choose a venue that you know she’ll love based on something she has shared with you. Bring up topics of conversation that you know will interest her and do a lot of listening. Practice the art of active listening, and compliment when appropriate. Be open with your date, and try slowly to share things that are more than surface level. Getting vulnerable is part of what will help you and your date get closer and move forward to the next stage.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

You are telling us that none of your dating relationships have progressed past the fourth date.

Let’s assume that it is not you who has

always been ending the dating relationships, and that it is not the girl who has always been ending the relationships, but that both situations are happening.

Let’s further assume that you have been planning meaningful dates. Instead of sticking to the usual coffee in a hotel lobby, or dinner at a local restaurant, I hope that you have been planning dates that allow for more meaningful interactions. Activities like going on a hike, volunteering together, taking an interesting class together, or visiting a fascinating museum exhibit all help prospective couples to get to know each other and, perhaps, develop meaningful relationships.

If both of those assumptions are correct, then the obvious conclusion is that you, like the hapless fellow in the Johnny Lee song, have been “looking for love in all the wrong places.”

Whether you find your dates through a shadchan, through work or school interactions, through online dating sites, or through singles events, you might wish to reevaluate whom you choose to date.

Have you been choosing dates based upon good looks? Religious upbringing? Educational or professional accomplishments?

After you have been dating for a year, and not coming close to finding what you’re looking for, perhaps your dating choices are flawed. Perhaps it’s time for you to redefine or modify your criteria.

Yes, it’s hard to change what you think you want, or need, in a life partner. But remember the famous George Bernard Shaw quote: “Progress is impossible without change.”

If you succeed, perhaps you, like Johnny Lee, will be able to sing:

“No more looking for love in all the wrong places.

Looking for love in too many faces…

I bless the day I discover(ed) You…”

Perhaps it’s time for you to redefine or modify your criteria.

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Dear Avi,

Thank you so much for writing into the panel! First and foremost, you may benefit from a few sessions with a dating coach to help you figure this out. Tips and advice are wonderful and helpful, but a few sessions with a dating coach may help you figure out what exactly is going on and what is contributing to your not getting past the fourth date.

Speaking from experience working with people who have expressed similar experiences, there is often difficulty

with vul - nerability at play. Some people have a hard time shifting from chit chat and “keeping it light” to having the DMCs (Deep, Meaningful Conversations) about feelings, needs, the past and traumatic life experiences. If any of this resonates with you, and maybe even if it doesn’t, processing this and figuring this out with a coach may be just what the doctor ordered.

General dating tips to help you move past the fourth date:

1. Make sure you are choosing your dating candidates wisely, based on values and non-negotiables.

2. Notice if you are interested in seeing the person again. There should be a feeling of interest and curiosity and wanting to know and learn more. You enjoy being in this woman’s presence.

3. Have a little fun! You do not have to sit at an airport lounge. Take a walk, go to the zoo, or a museum... do something a little out of the box. Sometimes, a stiff environment can stiffen a person right up.

4. Do you own hishtadlus. Are you holding back? Face yourself in therapy or coaching. Be open to self-exploration and considering: Am I afraid to open up? What is coming up for me as I think about

revealing all the parts of me to someone else?”

The most intimate, most passionate, most satisfying relationships are often shared between two honest, vulnerable spouses who aren’t afraid to emotionally show up. The work is hard, but the reward is priceless.

All the best!

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.

If a person’s walls are up, it affects both daters, not just you.

Years ago, we never would’ve thought that personal phones would be such a hot topic. Most likely that’s because cell phones didn’t exist. A child with a private line simply had an extension of the family’s phone installed in their own bedroom. A few parents gave their children a separate phone number. Usually, a private phone line was less for the child’s convenience and more to ensure the parents had use of a phone during their talkative child’s teenage years.

Modern technology provides previously inconceivable convenience and communication, yet along with that comes new challenges to parents. Having the internet on a computer is complicated enough; handing someone that same tech in a handheld device offers a whole new dimension.

Like every area of life, there are pros and cons. As adults, we can appreciate the convenience of online banking. I can check my balance, arrange transfers between accounts, and deposit checks before I start my day. I can even pay bills or reimburse a friend who picked up a grocery item for me. I can make doctor

Parenting Pearls

Phone Basics

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

appointments using text or email and send my parents videos of their adorable grandchildren.

Alternatively, the phone can be a handheld time waster that follows you everywhere. Frequent text and email checking, along with the rest of the phone’s capabilities, ensure we’re occupied for hours – often with little accomplishments to show. As hard as we work to filter what comes through, it’s still too easy for questionable content to gain entrance. Off-color jokes, foul language, and hurtful comments are shamelessly passed along – even to those who don’t appreciate such content.

Even for kids who don’t really need a phone, it’s considered “cool” and a status symbol with younger and younger students asking for one of their own. As every child informs their parents, “all the other kids have one but me” (author’s note: that’s rarely true). Surprised parents are facing this question earlier than they expect. For many families, phone ownership is not even a discussion topic as some already decided a phone is mandatory, while others consider it off-limits. It’s crucial that parents make this

decision together before giving over their final judgment and not appear conflicted with each other in front of their child.

I will preface this article by clearly stating I am hesitant to take on this topic. I urge each family to speak to their rav, rebbetzin or chinuch mentor to guide them in making a final decision. What follows are simply my humble thoughts, along with issues for parents to include in the discussion.

Know Thy Child

Children are unique, and phone requirements are no different. Some children attend school around the corner and rarely go off too far on their own. Other children have long commutes or are away from home often, whether for educational or social reasons. Many of our community’s teens dorm. While there are children who may truly need a phone to keep in touch with their parents, for other kids, it’s merely a status symbol.

Additionally, different personalities can handle different privileges. Some children are incredibly impulsive, while other children are more restrained.

There are children who are open with their parents and comfortable communicating, yet other kids will hide to avoid getting into trouble. There are children who can withstand peer pressure, and others who won’t be able to stand firm when others are pressing them.

We need to take into account both their communication needs and their unique personalities when deciding phone conditions.

School Rules

Most of our community’s children attend private schools. Each yeshiva has their own policy regarding many areas such as clothing, internet, and vacation choices. The regulations regarding phone ownership are usually clearly delineated.

Speaking to parents, I know how emotional families can get regarding the rules and regulations that come in that handbook. This article is not the place to discuss what role school guidelines should play in their students’ lives; I will leave that argument for others to enjoy.

What is relevant to our topic is the attitude we are giving over to our child. It’s no secret that a number of parents

choose to not follow each rule for their family as set out in that handy guide. Your child may or may not know if your family follows each guideline, such as if your internet filter meets school regulations. Conversely, your child will see clearly if you allow – or encourage – a phone the school has banned. They will also notice if you permit them to “hide” the phone during school hours if that’s forbidden. When we openly allow our children to flaunt school guidelines, we are setting them on a path to disregard the school’s overall educational influence.

Positives and Negatives

Like most things in life, there are both positives and negatives. Knowing both sides can help in decision making. I’ll only be mentioning some of the more common issues parents may be facing.

Having a cell phone allows children to easily communicate with their parents wherever they are. That ease of calling is a major safety feature. Wherever they may be, they can call us and we can locate them. While we hope they don’t need it, emergency services are also easily accessible. We do want to make sure the phone doesn’t become a leash of non-stop calls, preventing our child

the natural freedom they need in order to develop.

Many of our youth use their phones to text and socialize. It can be hard on a teen to be left out of their friends’ conversations. Phones keep kids connected with each other in ways unavailable with landlines. Alternatively, texting can create poor social skills, bullying, and other hateful behavior. Knowing your child and their peer group is an important part of deciding how a phone will affect your child socially.

For children and teens who are ready, it can be a good opportunity to educate them on appropriate phone usage. Based on how the world is moving, it looks inevitable that our children will eventually become cell phone users. It’s important that our future adults learn how to use their device properly prior to going out in the “real” world. This productive education can only happen for children that are ready, though.

Cell phones can be incredible time wasters, and children have been known to spend hours on them daily. Parents can have little control over what their child accesses. There is so much problematic content available that it’s frightening. As mentioned above, chats and

text have been used for bullying and other aggressive behaviors. Naive youth have unwittingly given out their personal information to unreputable individuals.

Smart or Not Smart?

There are many options when it comes to cell phones. While most children want the newest phone – bells and whistles included – parents have many choices to pick from.

Most kids are probably begging for smartphones. These handheld computers do everything – sometimes they even make calls! Many chat groups and other apps will only function on a smart device. Parents that choose this option for their child can bring the phone to any number of professionals who can help block services that parents feel are not beneficial for their child.

Flip phones, often called “dumb phones,” are making a comeback. Now called “feature phones,” even those outside the Jewish community are valuing what a basic phone offers in terms of convenience and ease of use.

Parents may choose to allow their child to use an adult’s phone, either for all cell phone usage (assuming they’re near the parent) or whenever their “fea-

ture phone” can’t do the job. This can be a nice compromise for parents who want their child to have a phone that doesn’t support certain apps. Parental oversight may still be necessary as parents may not have a strong filter installed.

I won’t be popular with the kids when I say this, but not every child requires a phone. Some parents may choose to not provide their child with a personal device at all. Parents then have the choice of whether or not they want to have onhand an inexpensive “family phone” for emergencies or just for those times they want their child connected, such as for a long trip.

As the world changes around us, parents must continuously adjust. Taking into account our children’s needs, while davening for siyata dishmaya, can help us make the best decisions for them. Whatever we do, let’s make sure we stay connected to our precious youth.

Sara Rayvych, MSEd, has her master’s in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 10 years in Far Rockaway. She can be contacted at Rayvych Homeschool@gmail.com.

Healthy Tips For Your Summer Road Trips

By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

The summer is filled with fun activities, family time, and maybe even a few road trips. On these road trips, it is easy to be tempted by the fast food along the route when you get hungry. It is important to eat nutritiously, especially on road trips because they often involve sitting for extended periods. This time spent sitting leads to a decrease in calorie expenditure. If you consume excessive calories without burning them off, it can contribute to weight gain and a decrease in overall health. Furthermore, the food you consume directly impacts your energy levels and mental alertness. Choosing nutritious meals or snacks can help sustain your energy throughout the journey, keeping you focused and alert. Conversely, consuming excessive processed and fast foods can lead to energy crashes and feelings of fatigue, negatively affecting your driving abilities.

Here are some ideas of snacks and meals that can be packed in a cooler or insulated bag and brought on a road trip:

Snacks

• Caprese skewers. For a light and flavorful snack, assemble Caprese skewers using cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, and basil leaves. Thread them onto skewers and drizzle with a balsamic glaze, if desired. These bite-sized skewers are easy to pack and eat on the go, making them a convenient option.

• Freeze-dried fruit. The brands Bare and Crispy Fruit sell delicious apple chips, freeze dried mango, and more. There is no added sugar, which makes them a nutritious option. Furthermore, they can be found in individual sized bags, which is helpful for portion control and make them easy to pack.

• Baby carrots with hummus. Pack baby carrots with a side of hummus in an air-tight container. If you do not have a container on hand, the brand Sabra sells individually packed hummus containers. They also have a guacamole version, which is another option. Customize this snack option by choosing a variety of vegetable sticks, such as cu -

cumber, jicama, or bell peppers.

• Fruit with yogurt dip. For a refreshing and healthy snack, pack a variety of seasonal fruits like watermelon, pineapple, berries, and grapes. Serve them with a side of fat-free yogurt dip. The natural sweetness of the fruits paired with the creamy yogurt creates a delightful contrast of flavors. This snack is not only delicious but also hydrating and great if you have a sweet tooth.

• Energy balls. Combine rolled oats, nut butter (such as almond or peanut butter), honey, and a mix of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits in a bowl. You can really make these snacks your own by adding your personal favorites to them. Mix well, then roll into bite-sized balls. These energy balls are easy to pack, require no refrigeration, and can be enjoyed on the go. An alternative is to purchase the energy bites by Power of Wholesome. The combination of healthy fats, protein, and natural sugars will keep you satisfied and focused throughout the journey.

Meals

• Turkey and avocado sandwiches . Start with whole-grain bread (such as 647 bread or Ro Yo) and layer with thinly sliced turkey breast, creamy avocado slices, crisp lettuce, and juicy tomato. The combination of lean protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich bread creates a well-rounded and nourishing meal. This sandwich is not only tasty but also easy to pack and eat on the go. It provides a good balance of nutrients to keep you fueled and satisfied during your journey. Also, try making the sandwich open-faced or using only one slice of bread. When sedentary on a road trip, you might find that it will take fewer carbohydrates to fill you up.

• Quinoa salad with roasted vegetables . Cook quinoa according to package instructions, and let it cool. Toss it with a mix of roasted vegetables like zucchini, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with a lemon vinaigrette made from olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and herbs. This salad is packed

with protein, fiber, and vitamins, making it a good option for a long drive.

• Tuna wraps. Use tuna of your choice but avoid ones that are packaged in oil. Layer a vegetable, such as lettuce or kale, underneath the tuna. Roll it up tightly and secure it with a toothpick. This filling wrap provides a balance of flavors and nutrients, making it a perfect choice for a summer road trip.

Staying healthy during the summer involves adopting a holistic approach that encompasses proper nutrition, hydration, sun protection, physical activity, and adequate rest. Maintaining proper hydration is essential in hot weather to prevent dehydration. Aim to drink about 125 ounces of water as a male and 90 ounces as a female, as recommended by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Water is crucial for thermoregulation, nutrient transportation, and metabolic processes. Avoid sugary beverages and alcohol, as they can contribute to dehydration.

In terms of sun protection, protecting your skin from harmful UV radiation is crucial to prevent sunburn, premature aging, and skin cancer. Wear sunscreen with a broad-spectrum SPF of 30 or higher, and reapply every two hours.

Wearing SPF in the car is important as UV rays come in through the windows.

As for physical activity, engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. Choose activities you enjoy, such as swimming, cycling, or hiking, to stay motivated and make exercise a part of your routine. These physical activity practices are put on pause during a long road trip,

adequate amount of water on the road and take a break from driving if you are feeling fatigued.

On the trip itself, it is possible to stay within your health goals even on vacation. In restaurants, choose lean protein, avoid fried foods, and always ask for any dressing on the side. To avoid eating out too often, it is a good idea to prepare some snacks and meals at home before your trip. Most of the snack and

and ordering sugary drinks, bring instant options that only need hot water. If you want to bring a portable grill on vacation, remember that you do not only have to grill hot dogs. Pack or buy chicken cutlets, turkey burgers, chicken burgers, and maybe even a lean cut of steak. For the burgers, the 647 buns from the brand Schmidts are a good option because they are low in carbs and high in fiber. If possible, make a trip to a local grocery store and buy vegetables to grill and pack your own spices. Seasoning your food with your favorite spices will make the vegetables tasty without the need for excess salt.

The summer is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family, indulge in your favorite activities, and enjoy the sunshine. Keep your health goals in mind as you enjoy your vacation.

which is why proper nutrition during these trips is so important. However, it is imperative to take breaks during the trip to stretch. Prolonged sitting in a car can lead to muscle stiffness and reduced blood flow. Regular stretching helps to alleviate muscle tension and increases blood circulation to the muscles, preventing discomfort and potential muscle strains. Remember to drink an

meal options listed above can be preserved in a cool environment and will last for days. Another option is to pack already cooked meals, such as grilled chicken, and freeze. Reheat throughout the trip for a quick protein option. It is a good idea to pack some non-perishable snacks such as high-fiber cereal and bread, beef jerky, and tuna packets. To abstain from going out for coffee

Aliza Beer is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition. She has a private practice in Cedarhurst, NY. Patients’ success has been featured on the Dr. Oz show. Aliza can be reached at alizabeer@gmail. com, and you can follow her on Instagram at @alizabeer

Prolonged sitting in a car can lead to muscle stiffness and reduced blood flow.

Upholding That Which is Sacred

By Miriam Liebermann, MSW

I’ve always loved that particular set of goblets. They had graced the Seder table in my parents’ home. They had an unusual design; modern figures dancing, encircling the goblets. I was so enchanted by this design that I later incorporated those figures into a tefillin bag that I made for our oldest son, Avrami, almost three decades ago. Picture a navy blue background with five modern figures in primary colors, arms outstretched, together holding up an unfurled Torah scroll.

This design incorporates a major lesson for a young bar mitzvah boy. Upon reaching the age of 13, he becomes a member of the Klal, of the greater Jewish community. This is a mighty privilege but also an awesome responsibility. Together, with his family, friends, neighbors, community members, he must do his utmost to uphold the precepts of our holy Torah. As a young boy, he functioned as an individual. Upon becoming a bar mitzvah, he becomes a fully functioning member of the greater Klal Yisrael.

When Avrami married, I assumed he would then use a different tefillin bag, gifted to him by his lovely wife. He lovingly assured me that would not be the case, and he continues to use my handiwork, gifted to him with much love, till 120, G-d willing, in the best of health!

Today, there are many men along with many bar mitzvah boys, who proudly tote handmade tefillin and tallis bags. I’m thrilled to see the beautiful designs, but more than that, I see way beyond the superficial beauty. Every single handcrafted item has been created by a loving relative – in most cases, a mother or a grandmother.

I well recall when I began to craft these meaningful items, tashmishei kedusha. My dear friend Ruchi Gluck indicated that I was following in the footsteps of Chana, who lovingly wove a tallis katan for her son Shmuel, who grew to be Shmuel Hanavi, one of our greatest prophets.

As Chana drew stitch after stitch,

she imbued this tallis katan with her dreams and her prayers, that her son grow to be a true eved Hashem.

I do my utmost to emulate Chana and meaningfully work on my own needlework projects, being mindful of every aspect. Who will be using these tefillin? What is the purpose of the tefillin? What is our objective? I handcraft a beautiful Yerushalayim scene, surrounding the text of the traditional Birchat Habayit. As I stitch the words and the scene, the moving prayer is on my mind and in my lips. “May this home be a sanctuary of peace, here shall be found serenity, light and joy, love and brotherhood…. Here shall be a dwelling place for the Shechina…. In the shadow of this beam shall reverberate the voice of Torah…”

I weave my own dreams and prayers into these items. These then become the most meaningful gifts that I can bestow upon my progeny.

There are some communities where these handcrafted items have become the norm. But that is not the case

throughout the country. There are some who may label these items as being “not yeshivish” and frown upon them. Some are more comfortable following the crowd and would rather purchase a more standard item. Today, the leather ones are quite popular, having replaced the more traditional velvet ones, and are certainly quite attractive.

I would hope that we have respect for those who elect not to conform. I applaud those young bar mitzvah boys who so proudly use the tefillin bags crafted especially for them, appreciating the love poured into the project by their Savta, Omi, or Babby. I applaud the mothers and grandmothers, wives and aunts and even mothers-in-law who spend many hours, expending much effort and energy in the creation of the most meaningful, unique gifts.

A negative, sarcastic remark made by a classmate, a family friend, or a teacher belittling this item, can impact a young, impressionable bar mitzvah boy who may not have the confidence yet to

be different in any way from his peers. Let us be the ones to commend him, to praise him.

In our generation, there are aspects of kibbud av v’eim unfortunately not as entrenched as they were decades back. There are families who daven in shuls where there are no senior members. They daven strictly in a young minyan, seemingly not realizing that one day they, too, will reach a more advanced age, G-d willing. Given today’s reality, perhaps we should be doing more to cultivate respect and even affection for one’s elders. What actions can we take to strengthen the bond between young and old?

When you happen upon a handmade tefillin bag being carried by a young man, you may want to inquire, “Did your mother make this for you? Your grandmother? How fortunate you are to have such an extraordinary, unique tefillin bag, created and bestowed upon you with such love.”

More than the calf wants to suckle, the cow wants to give her milk.

The mothers among us, the grandmothers, and the great-grandmothers, ka”h, all want so much to give of themselves, to give of ourselves, and to be appreciated for doing so. I’m hereby offering the appreciation and the validation. Please join me. It feels so good!

And most essential, may all our prayers and dreams for the future be realized. We’re living in complicated times – certainly, we sense the ikvesa d’Mashiach. Raising an ehrliche dor is not a given today. The outside world stealthily encroaches upon our world. May our prayers reach the Heavenly throne.

Wishing all much joy and nachas up ahead!

JWOW! is a community for midlife Jewish women which can be accessed at www.jewishwomanofwisdom.org for conversation, articles, Zoom events, and more.

Fd for Thought Dar Yemma

By Nati Burnside

Alot of kosher restaurants are the same.

Maybe not exactly the same but familiar, at the very least. Whether it’s the same type of look, feel, smell, or taste, many kosher restaurants are bound to remind you of several other kosher restaurants you’ve been to in the past.

That’s not quite the case with Dar Yemma. The Moroccan spot in midtown Manhattan will probably strike you as a new experience unless you either go out of your way to seek out Moroccan cuisine or grew up with it.

While the decor itself doesn’t clearly indicate the ethnic menu, the staff is dressed in Moroccan attire and the intoxicating olfactory nuances of the place will greet you at the door. As for seating, the main dining room is complemented by a smaller space upstairs and a private room on the ground floor. The private room is surrounded by walls of glass wine refrigerators that give it a special look and allow for privacy of sound but also a line of sight to the rest of the restaurant.

When I was invited to Dar Yemma, I took my seat as the staff brought out some small bowls of different salads to go with the house bread. While the bread looked like your standard pita, it’s actually a Moroccan version that’s a little crispier on the outside. The red pepper hummus carries a great flavor to try it with.

If you’re looking to enhance your first course, I’d suggest ordering the Mixed Mezza. It’ll add bowls of hummus (this one is super smooth with whole chickpeas and olive oil), babaganoush, zaalouk (a dip made from roasted eggplant and tomato), and matbucha. My favorite of these was the matbucha, but keep in mind that it’s a little spicier than the type you’re used to if you buy the store brands.

I thought combining the hummus (either

one) and the matbucha on top of the bread made for a great texture and fulfilled my obligation to dip bread in something and eat it.

Continuing the trend of ordering samplers to try things, the Darna Combo is a good choice that will provide you with a little bit of a bunch of things. This choice is obviously easier to make if you have a group of four or more, but you could always do it with two people and take home leftovers. The combo comes as a board featuring Meat Briwat, Moroccan Basteeya, Vegetarian Moroccan Cigars, Stuffed Grape Leaves, and Falafel Balls. It also brings you three new dips that go well with different board members.

I liked all the occupants of this platter, even with their very diverse tastes. The briwat were crunchy and well-spiced, the cigars were an interesting alternative that I could see being a favorite for vegetarian patrons, the grape leaves carried the lamb flavor wonderfully, everybody loves a delicious freshly made falafel ball, and the basteeya (a kind of chicken pastry with powdered sugar and a sweet sauce) was a pleasant surprise that I’d likely never have ordered on its own.

Considering that we’ve already discussed the first two sampler items, we might as well go for the hat trick. The Mix Grill Platter is the crown jewel here. You get four large kebabs (lamb, beef, kefta, and dark meat chicken) with a couple sauces, a pile of grilled vegetables, a bowl of salad, and a large portion of rice. This is the perfect item to share with a group, and you won’t be disappointed. Be aware that Dar Yemma actually carries five types of kebabs (these four plus white meat chicken), and you should feel free to ask your waiter for any combination of the four or even two of the same type if you’d like. The lamb was the highlight for

me, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that both of the chicken kebabs were so juicy that it was hard to tell the difference between them. Marinated in lemon and saffron, they were the best chicken kebabs I’ve ever had.

Maybe you’re looking for something smaller? If so, try the Kefta Tagine. Coming to your table in its own small tagine, this dish has Moroccan spiced meatballs and two poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce. It also comes with a side salad and rice, making it a rather large meal for one person. If you put some of the sauce, meatballs, and poached egg on top of the rice and mix it together, what results is something that might remind you of shakshuka – only better. The thick sauce combines with the runny egg, the rice is an amazing vehicle, and the meatballs only add to the greatness.

Last but not least, the Chicken Couscous is probably exactly what you think

it is, but that’s probably a good thing. It’s a massive tagine of authentic Moroccan couscous (virtually a powder-like consistency) with boneless dark meat chicken buried at the bottom and topped with an assortment of vegetables. The flavors all get to know each other really well, and this thing could feed a family, though you might want some extra meat to supplement it. Make sure you’ve got somebody to share it with.

If you want to try something a little bit different, try Dar Yemma. The servers can certainly help you pick dishes you’ll like, and there’s a wide spectrum between familiar and less familiar foods.

Go familiarize yourself.

Meat - Moroccan (212)-704-4098

DarYemmaKosher.com

32 West 39th Street, NY, NY

Dover Tov

(Rabbi Berach Steinfeld)

In The K tchen

White Pizza

The recipe makes one 12-inch pie

By Naomi Nachman

My family loves pizza! Then again, what’s not to love, especially when you make it yourself? This dough recipe is quick and easy to make so you can throw together homemade pizza at the drop of a hat. It is one of the most popular recipes in my book Perfect Flavors.

When I make pizza for my family, I try to come up with interesting toppings. I recently made this one for my family even though I wasn’t sure if they would like a tomato-less pizza. Amazingly, it was a huge hit, and now I have gotten them to try all kinds of assorted toppings, sauces and vegetables on their pizza. (BTW, Australians love pineapple on their pizza!)

Ingredients

Dough

◦ 2 teaspoons dry yeast

◦ 1 teaspoon sugar

◦ 3/4 cup very warm water

◦ 2 cups flour

◦ 1 tsp. salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine yeast, water and sugar in a bowl and let proof for 5 minutes, until bubbling.

Add flour and salt and knead for 2-3 minutes

until flour is well blended and a dough ball forms. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Roll dough to fit a 12-inch disposable pizza pan or pizza stone.

Ingredients

Toppings

◦ 1 cup ricotta cheese

◦ 1 cup mozzarella

◦ ¼ cup parmesan cheese

◦ 1 tablespoon olive oil

◦ 1 tablespoon milk

◦ ½ teaspoon garlic powder

◦ ½ teaspoon salt

◦ ¼ teaspoon oregano

◦ 8 oz. can pineapple chunks

◦ ½ small onion, sliced

Preparation

Mix cheeses, oil, milk, garlic powder and salt together in a bowl until smooth.

Spread all over pizza dough, leaving a crust.

Top with pineapple and onion and sprinkle with oregano.

Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website, www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669.

in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie

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

Gourmet

Amanda Holmes: Telling Your Core Story

This column features business insights from a recent “Mind Your Business with Yitzchok Saftlas” radio show. The weekly “Mind Your Business” show –broadcasting since 2015 – features interviews with Fortune 500 executives, business leaders and marketing gurus. Prominent guests include John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi; Dick Schulze, founder and Chairman Emeritus of Best Buy; and Beth Comstock, former Vice Chair of GE; among over 400+ senior-level executives and business celebrities. Yitzchok Saftlas, president of Bottom Line Marketing Group, hosts the weekly “Mind Your Business” show, which airs at 10pm every Sunday night on 710 WOR and throughout America on the iHeartRadio Network.

On a recent 710 WOR “Mind Your Business” broadcast, Yitzchok Saftlas (YS) spoke with guest Amanda Holmes (AH), CEO Of Chet Holmes International, on the rerelease of her father’s book, The Ultimate Sales Machine.

YS: How has marketing evolved since the original release of The Ultimate Sales Machine?

AH: In 2007, when my father, Chet Holmes, originally released the book, he had built this marketing infrastructure at a time when the internet wasn’t really something that we were doing a lot with. Back then, the average company was on seven different marketing mediums to promote their business. Now,

with social media channels and paid advertising sites, we’re on an average of 13 marketing mediums. We’re doing double the amount of work, and yet, for a fraction of the results. My father used to talk about how there are 40,000 commercial messages hitting your prospect every day. But that was before 3.8 billion people decided that they needed to have a voice on social media. There are 3.8 billion social media pages online today. Just on Facebook alone, there are around 9 million users promoting their businesses with Facebook Ads. The clutter factor has gotten so high. If you’re saying, “I wonder why my prospects don’t hear me. I wonder why I’m not getting responses when I call them or do marketing. Why aren’t they responding?” It’s because of the clutter factor. So, you really have to know who you’re

speaking to and you have to speak to them specifically. When you market to everyone, you market to no one.

Think about where your message is landing, so that you are actually speaking to where they are, instead of just speaking out into the universe.

With the landscape changing so much since the book’s original release, how can we apply your father’s lessons to the modern world of marketing?

One of the things that has made my father’s methodologies so timeless is that they are based on strategic thinking, rather than just having a different tactic for each medium that comes around. For example, I took what my father taught about radio ads, used his original copy, and put it into a Face -

book ad. That ad decreased our cost per lead by 30%. It’s just the mediums that change. The same ads and strategies that he was running in newspapers, I now use for Instagram Reels, LinkedIn posts, and YouTube ads. It’s all the same concepts.

For example, my father had four rules for advertising. Rule One, it must be distinctive. One of the things that makes an ad distinctive is when you have some kind of human element. It’s one thing to show a picture or video of a mug that you’re selling. It’s another thing to have a person holding the mug and looking happy. It makes it more human. So, every time that I post an Instagram Reel, I will make sure to add that human element. Because I know that my father proved generations prior, that when you have a human element in your

ads, it makes them more distinctive and more relatable.

Rule Two is that you want to capture attention with a screaming headline. We had a client that said, “Learn the three things that are making humans go extinct.” Now, obviously, that’s a pretty head-turning title, and you have to go, “What does this person have to say?” And that leads to Rule Three, which is that you have to get their engagement and allow them to want to read more. So, in this client’s education, it discussed how humans don’t get the proper nutrition, and then that led into the fact that they sold supplements. And of course, Rule Four is to have a call to action. So, all four of these steps can be proven with every social media post you put out or every email that you send.

Every time we post on social media, that is the perfect breeding ground to track how many impressions we’re getting, how many views, how many likes, how many comments, how many shares, etc. With every single post, as we’re tracking them, we can identify one that went soft viral, and use that to guide our ads. We have so many platforms enabling us to test and determine what headlines will grab people’s attention. The majority of people just post without tracking or looking back. I got a billion-dollar client from a Facebook ad where someone was asking in the comments about pricing. I followed up, and it turned out that he ran a multibillion-dollar company. I couldn’t get to him by email. I couldn’t get to him by phone. But I could talk to him on Facebook Messenger.

With so many new marketing mediums, how can a business ensure that their marketing generates ROI?

My father had a five-point checklist that he put in the original book, and we decided to take that and implement it through every marketing medium. Step One on the checklist is that you want to target your buyers. We had a client in New Jersey that used to go to this trade show every year, and we did an audit of the revenue that they were generating. They spent a million dollars, and they only generated $60,000 from that trade show. So, that begged the question, “Are your target buyers even at this trade show?” And the answer was no. So, why were they marketing there? Target your buyers. Where are they? Where do they spend their time online? Where do they spend their time offline? Who are the influencers that they watch? What

Facebook groups are they a part of?

Step Two is to capture leads. You have to grab their attention and get their information. Whether it’s their email, phone number, or social media accounts, if you don’t capture their information, then you’ll never follow up. 80% of leads that are generated from an event are never followed up on.

I’ll give you a great tip for capturing leads. When you meet a prospective lead, say, “It was really nice to meet you. Let’s do something fun. Let’s take a selfie together.” Pull out your phone, take the picture, and then say, “I’ll text it to you. What’s your number?” You’re assuming the sale. I have done this with

lars in real estate. They’ve hit the “Inc. 5000 List” 10 years in a row. So, every quarter, they have an event, and the community sells the prospects on their services. The ability of what we can do with communities today is magnificent.

Finally, Step Five is to convert to sales. If all of these steps don’t lead to a conversion, you are either in the wrong place, marketing to the wrong people, or not following the steps.

How can businesses take advantage of direct mail in an increasingly digital world?

There’s around 3 billion emails sent every 60 seconds. Now that our digital

hand you a mic right now, would you be able to say, “Hello, this is the title of my talk?” When given that opportunity, the majority of businesses would say something along the lines of, “Hello, we’ve been in business for 12 years. This is what we do to support our prospects and clients. This is the product or service that we provide. We’re great.” It’s all about me, myself, and I. And that will only get 3% of the marketplace. On the “Buyer’s Pyramid,” 3% of prospects are in the “buying now” category, 7% are open to it, 30% aren’t interested, the next 30% think they’re not interested, and the last 30% are definitely not interested. So, 90% of that stadium will get up and walk out as soon as you’ve started just talking about yourself. Your core story is a way of educating your prospects, no matter where they fall on the “Buyer’s Pyramid,” to joining the “buying now” category, by using a blend of market data.

nine-figure CEOs and billion-dollar executives in the automotive industry, and time and time again, they go, “Wow, that was brilliant.” And it doesn’t cost you a dime. We call it the “signature selfie.” Another great way to capture leads is with your web presence. Make sure that your website has a way to capture emails.

Step Three is to educate. Stop selling and start educating. Because of purchase avenues like Amazon, 97% of our prospects don’t want to be sold to anymore. They want to be educated. Why? Because they can go online today, and they can purchase something on Amazon without ever having to talk to a sales rep. People are buying houses and cars without having to talk to a sales rep. This is absurd for any person that has been selling for a decade or more. We’re flabbergasted by this concept. So, what are you doing to educate your prospects, so that they see your information and decide they want to talk to a sales rep? The average B2B consumer views five pieces of content before they raise their hand and say, “Okay, I’d like to talk to a sales rep.”

Step Four is to interact and foster community. We have the ability to create communities unlike ever before.

I’ve keynoted for the last three DLP Capital events. They have a billion dol-

inbox is so full, our physical mailbox is much less full than it used to be. So, direct mail has become such an effective method. But you have to know how to do it correctly. So many people will send a piece of mail that doesn’t look like it’s been personalized in any way. When it comes to direct mail, you need to narrow down to the 12 prospects that you’re targeting. Because of the internet, you have so much information on these prospects available to you. If my father had the amount of information that we have today about prospects, I can’t even imagine what he would do. You can be so specific to a person and leave a lasting impression that they’ll always remember. For example, one person, named Dennis Yu, sent me socks with my face on them. And now, every time I open my sock drawer, I will continually think of Dennis Yu. It will always have him as top of mind in my head. So, what can you do to be out of the box while showing them that you are listening, that you’re thinking about them, that you care about them, and that you actually want to provide them with value?

What is a “core story,” and how can it be used to capture prospective buyers’ attention?

Let’s say that you were in a stadium full of your prospects. If I were to

Our world has gotten so critical because of the internet. It’s hard for us to trust anything. So, that market data builds trust and gets you credibility through the logical side of science, which you can then back up with a story, because stories are what we remember. Our whole history is told in stories, so that we will remember it and retain it. With that blend of the logical and emotional sides, it will lead your prospects to see you as the only logical conclusion. That is what your core story does. It takes anybody that’s listening to you, grabs them with an intriguing story, and leads them to you as the only logical conclusion.

“Think about where your message is landing, so that you are actually speaking to where they are, instead of just speaking out into the universe.”

Notable Quotes

“Say What?!”

It’s been a long week, and I’ve seen a lot of stuff. I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that. Here’s one thing I feel: I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to, it doesn’t mean it’s true, right?

- Country star Jason Aldean responding to a barrage criticism from the woke mob for a new song called “Try That in a Small Town,” the lyrics of which say that if criminals tried pulling off their crimes in a small town they’d be shot

What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here. I love our country, I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this [garbage] started happening to us.

- Ibid.

Women who don’t like children are a massive glaring red flag visible from space. It’s irrelevant how they feel about dogs.

I did release the handlebar and do a fist pump –twice.

- Michael “Hoogie” Hoogerwerf, 70, recalling receiving the news that he won the $1 million lottery while on a motorcycle run

I believe him now, absolutely. Or this is the best prank ever.

– Hoogie’s daughter, after joining him at lottery headquarters

If you must be outdoors, consider wearing an N95 mask to help reduce your exposure to toxins.

- From a New York Times article titled “Is It Safe to Go Outside? How to Navigate This Cruel Summer”

Why does Israel get under your skin? Because it’s democratic, pro-American, or Jewish? You don’t get worked up about massive human rights violations in China, Iran, Cuba, & Venezuela. You all would fit in great with the antisemites at the United Nations.

– Former South Carolina governor and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley in a tweet aimed at Alexandria OcasioCortez (Dem/Socialist-NY) and other radical leftists in Congress who voted against the recent resolution in support of Israel

- Tweet by The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh

It is well known that I am not overly humble. Objectively, if, heaven forfend, Bibi disappears one day…and we find ourselves facing deterioration with regard to the Hezbollah or Iran and a socio-economic crisis, and someone has to make hard decisions…then objectively I am more suited than anyone else...in the country to take the driver’s seat.

- Anti-judicial reform leader Ehud Barack, in a recently disclosed video from three years ago, in which he is talking about creating a civil war in Israel to get into power

I have a friend who is a historian and who once told me: “Ehud, they will call on you [to lead] when dead bodies float in the Yarkon River,” but I wish to emphasize that the bodies will not be those of workers who infiltrated from the “territories” nor those of Israeli Arabs. The bodies that float will be those of Jews killed by Jews. - Ibid.

We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward understanding that she made a mistake in this matter.

- Police Chief Nick Derzis, after it came to light that Carlee Russell, an Alabama woman, had lied that she was kidnapped and that she saw a toddler alone on a highway

Vivek Ramaswamy is now beating DeSanctimonious. Christie dead as his stomach band. “Aida” Hutchinson a solid minus 1%. I’m up 44 points!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

– Social media post by Donald Trump

I often say, and I mean this sincerely, Wall Street — good folks down there — but they didn’t build the middle class. They didn’t build America. The middle class was built by the middle class.

- Pres. Joe Biden during a speech in Philadelphia

To what everyone from Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal has become my change, my different philosophy, they, I don’t think they started off trying to be complimentary because they started calling it Bidenomics. And our plan is working, Bidenomics. – Ibid.

President Joe Biden has reportedly asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop pushing through a “divisive” judicial overhaul bill amid protests. This is the same Biden, incidentally, who crammed through a massive, highly “divisive,” generational spending bill with zero votes from the opposition; the same guy who regularly rules by unconstitutional executive diktats; and the same guy who has done more to delegitimize the Supreme Court than any president in modern history.

– David Harsanyi, The Federalist

The West Feels Gloomy About Ukraine. Here’s Why It Shouldn’t

By David Ignatius

An Israeli friend remarked the other day that optimists and pessimists die the same way, but optimists live better. In that spirit, let’s take a look at the situation in Ukraine.

A gloomy mood has been gathering this summer about the war. Partly, it’s a matter of perceptions: The Ukrainian counteroffensive has been advancing more slowly than many in the West had hoped, even though Ukraine is maintaining its deliberate strategy of patience; and the NATO summit in Vilnius was contentious, despite a pro-Ukraine commitment by the alliance that continues to deepen.

The discontent is understandable, but wrong. The middle of a conflict always tests people’s nerves. It feels like a tunnel; there’s a sense of fatigue and frustration; confidence sags, and combatants start blaming one another. This war-weariness might afflict Ukraine and its allies, but it’s vastly more evident in Russia. Ukraine might not be winning this war yet, but Russia is losing – and its leaders and people know it.

A midsummer accounting shows the severe price President Vladimir Putin has paid for his misadventure in Ukraine. Public anger in Russia spawned what Putin called an “armed mutiny” by renegade warlord Yevgeniy Prigozhin. Yet Putin is apparently afraid to punish Prigozhin and his Wagner Group militia, which has outperformed Russia’s battered regular army.

Putin’s army holds its defensive positions in Ukraine, hiding behind a blanket of mines. But the Russian army’s command and control is disintegrating. It is a mess that Putin seems unable to admit, let alone fix.

Russia is preparing a major new offensive of its own east of Kharkiv, according to a Ukrainian defense official. That could disrupt Ukrainian plans in the south, but given past Russian performance, it isn’t

likely to alter the balance of the war.

Given the failure of Russia’s conventional forces, there’s an obvious danger that Putin might turn to the domain in which Russia remains a superpower: nuclear weapons. But that would be even riskier for Russia than for the West. Any demonstration of Russia’s battlefield nuclear weapons would draw a devastating U.S. conventional military response – and probably cause the loss of China as an ally.

Meanwhile, for the United States and its NATO allies, these 18 months of war have been a strategic windfall, at relatively low cost (other than for the Ukrainians). The West’s most reckless antagonist has been rocked. NATO has grown much stronger with the additions of Sweden and Finland. Germany has weaned itself from dependence on Russian energy and, in many ways, rediscovered its sense of values. NATO squabbles make headlines, but overall, this has been a triumphal summer for the alliance.

The Ukraine battlefield is hard to assess from a distance. Reporting from the front lines offers searing evidence that the offensive has been a bloody slog against en-

trenched Russian forces. But Ukraine continues to advance slowly in the south and much of the east. Kyiv hasn’t achieved its goal of splitting the swath of Russian-occupied territory along the coast and putting Russian forces in Crimea at risk. But operations such as Monday’s strike on the Kerch Strait Bridge show that Russia’s hold is vulnerable.

How can Ukraine advance further, to a position from which it could bargain for a peace deal from strength? Pentagon officials keep reminding me that for all the angst about the slow pace of the offensive, Ukraine still hasn’t committed the bulk of its mobile forces. It’s watching for weak points in Russian lines where it can punch through.

A measure of the difficult battle ahead came last Tuesday from Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “I think there’s a lot of fighting left to go, and I’ll stay with what we said before: This is going to be long. It’s going be hard. It’s going to be bloody.”

Ukrainian commanders say they need two more things to succeed. Given the stakes in this war, it’s a mistake not to pro -

vide them. The first is longer-range missiles, known as ATACMs, that can strike at Russian command and logistical centers deep in the rear. Ukraine’s strategy is to disrupt this Russian command and logistical network, and we should give them more tools – with the proviso that the missiles shouldn’t hit targets in Russia (or, for now, occupied Crimea).

Ukraine’s second requirement is better air defense and protection from Russian air attacks. F16s won’t be much help this year, but there’s other equipment in the NATO arsenal that Ukraine could use, perhaps including helicopters and ground-attack planes. U.S. commanders will know the right mix of weapons, but Washington’s rule of thumb should be to provide every weapon now that we would wish we had sent if the offensive fails.

President Biden has always said this war should eventually be settled through negotiations, and as Ukraine advances, the administration should be working with partners to explore diplomatic options. It’s a measure of Russia’s weakness that some of Moscow’s erstwhile friends, such as Turkey and China, seem increasingly interested in a negotiated settlement.

As the West helps Ukraine push forward, it should also begin to explore the terms under which a just settlement of this war might be possible. Ukraine will need security guarantees, but so will a radically weakened Russia. The United Nations must be involved, perhaps with peacekeeping forces that can stabilize borders after Russia withdraws from occupied territory.

On the other side of this war is a better future for every party to the conflict, including an eventual post-Putin Russia. The thing about tunnels is that if you keep moving though them, darkness eventually gives way to light.

China is Serious About Winning the New Space Race

By David Ignatius

Of all the potential threats that China poses to the United States, the most worrisome for me is future domination of space. Quietly but persistently, the Chinese are developing an arsenal of weapons to challenge America – the nation that landed the first man on the moon – for preeminence in this domain.

The idea that the heavens are becoming a zone of potential conflict is abhorrent. Looking at the recent photographs taken by the James Webb Space Telescope is a reminder of the majesty and transcendent mystery of space. But, unfortunately, there is abundant evidence of aggressive Chinese military moves on this frontier.

The Chinese tested the first anti-satellite weapon in 2007, which left a field of thousands of pieces of debris that still endanger other satellites. Since then, they have tested satellites that can snatch other craft and carry them to a distant orbit known as the “graveyard zone.” They have flown spaceplanes that can also capture objects in orbit and have talked of building bases on the moon. Their researchers have described ways to use satellites to conduct cyberattacks in space. And then there are the spy balloons in near space.

The point is: Beijing recognizes that space is the ultimate “high ground” and wants to control it.

The United States, the space pioneer, was slow to recognize China’s ambitions. NASA controlled civilian space flight, but when the moonshots ended and the Space Shuttle was retired, the United States seemed to lose interest. The Air Force was responsible for military aspects of space, but its attention was closer to Earth, and it didn’t react adequately to China’s rapid moves. President Donald Trump created a new branch of the military, the Space Force, to respond to the

challenge, and it was one of the few solid decisions of his presidency.

I had a chance to discuss space issues this week with four of the leading American experts: Gen. James H. Dickinson, head of U.S. Space Command; John F. Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy; Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, assistant director for space policy in the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Salvatore “Tory” Bruno, chief executive of the rocket-building company United Launch Alliance. They were all speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, which I moderated.

The first takeaway from these conversations is that they recognize that, in space, China is the “pacing threat,” as the new buzz phrase describes it. If you want a quick summary of China’s remarkable space array, check out the latest “Space Threat Assessment” published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which is the best collection of open-source reports.

A second theme is that the United States’ response to China’s bid for dominance will be a mix of government systems

and commercial satellite arrays being developed by SpaceX’s Starlink, Maxar and many dozens of other “New Space” companies that are building what amount to commercial communications and surveillance networks in low-Earth orbit. The Pentagon is partnering with more than 130 of these companies, Plumb said. China can’t match this explosion of private entrepreneurial effort.

In November, the Pentagon published a detailed “space strategic review” discussing the Chinese threat and what to do about it. Unfortunately, like nearly everything else that explores offensive and defensive strategies for dealing with Beijing, it’s classified. At Aspen, Plumb repeated past comments that “space is overclassified,” but he didn’t shed any new light on U.S. plans. Neither did Dickinson, the head of Space Command.

I wish these officials would heed the 2021 advice of Gen. John Hyten, at the time vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Deterrence does not happen in the classified world.” The closest any Pentagon official has come to confirming that

the United States is building weapons to deter China in space was Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall’s comment in March explaining his plans to spend money for “offensive capabilities” in fiscal 2024: “There are hard kill and soft kill capabilities, if you will, that we’re funding. But I’m not sure I can go very far beyond that.”

The Chinese appear to be preparing for a kind of cyberwar in space that would jam or disable satellites. That was the gist of Pentagon documents allegedly leaked by Airman Jack Teixeira that were published by The Post. One document said China could use cyberattacks “to seize control of a satellite, rendering it ineffective to support communications, weapons, or intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems.”

Chinese journalists have reported some of Beijing’s cyber plans. A researcher at a People’s Liberation Army-supported think tank published a study arguing that “a combination of soft and hard kill methods should be adopted to make some of Starlink’s satellites lose their functions and destroy the constellation’s operating system,” according to a May 25, 2022, article in the South China Morning Post. China could use “high-power microwave weapons” against the Starlink satellites, argued a March 30 article by that paper’s Beijing correspondent.

As thousands of satellites maneuver in this newly contested domain, there’s an obvious need to establish norms and standards of conduct. I asked Uzo-Okoro from the White House whether there had been any discussion with China about such rules of the road. “Not particularly,” she said.

That has to change. Otherwise, the United States could find itself surrendering its once-formidable lead on the final frontier.

Heroes Who Deserve to be Remembered

By Avi Heiligman

The list of Jewish Americans who have been cited for bravery and gallantry in action is quite long. There are documents and books that list many of these heroes, but they usually just mention a few details of their stories, like the name of the service member, their rank, hometown and awards received. Detailed research will often bring to light their actions that are rarely mentioned. This column has often written about these service members, and here are a few more Forgotten Heroes from World War II.

Alvin Hyman was a technical sergeant from Reading, Pennsylvania, and served with the 28th Infantry regiment, 8th Infantry Division. The division landed at Normandy almost a month after the invasion and saw action in Northern France, the Hurtgen Forest, the Rhineland, and ended the war fighting in Germany.

On February 24, 1945, Hyman’s battalion was fighting in Duren, Germany, when they ran into heavy gunfire coming from a pillbox. The men were pinned down, but Hyman took action and single-handedly assaulted the German position. He threw grenades into the pillbox and killed five German soldiers. Twenty-five other Germans came out of the pillbox and surrendered to Hyman, who was now out of ammunition. Hyman received the Distinguished Service

Cross for that action and the Bronze Star for fighting off a German attack in late 1944. After the war, Hyman settled in Baltimore, where he became a furniture salesman and was very active with the Jewish War Veterans organization.

Before joining the submarine service, Lieutenant Lawrence Savadkin of Forest Hills served on the destroyer USS Mayrant (DD-402). The Jewish engineering officer was with the ship following the North African invasion in late 1942. On July 26, 1943, the ship was attacked by German dive bombers. The Mayrant ’s engineering section was flooded, which usually spells disaster for a ship. However, due to the actions of several officers including Savadkin, the ship was saved. Even though he was wounded, Savadkin directed the able men of the section in both assessing and repairing the damage. Savadkin was awarded the Silver Star for his courage in saving the ship. As a side note, the ship’s executive officer, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., the president’s son, was also awarded the Silver Star for saving the life of a badly wounded sailor.

Savadkin soon transferred over to working on submarines and was assigned to the USS Tang (SS-306) for the submarine’s fifth war patrol. Under Commander Richard O’Kane, the Tang sank a record 33 Japanese ships totaling over

116,000 tons. Savadkin was the assistant approach officer while on board, and his skills were on display when he assisted in the sinking of over a dozen ships while on patrol. One of the enemy ships was a destroyer, and this came at a time that the Japanese could ill afford to lose any ships at all. On October 24, 1944, the Tang approached the center of a large convoy headed to reinforce the garrison in the Philippines. The Tang sank a tanker and a large transport.

Erratic torpedoes caused many problems for American submarines, and the Tang’s incredible run was about to end. Early the next morning, the Tang fired her 24th and final torpedo. The torpedo made a circular run and hit the submarine, causing her to sink. Only nine sailors survived, including O’Kane and Savadkin who had been trapped in the flooded conning tower. He helped another sailor clear the submarine and made the ascent to the surface by finding a huge air bubble. The surviving sailors were taken prisoner aboard a Japanese destroyer and were eventually sent to the Ofuna interrogation camp where they were beaten and tortured. Savadkin was held at a POW camp until the end of the war. For his actions on the Tang, Savadkin was awarded the Navy Cross in addition to the POW Medal and the Purple Heart.

There are only a few Jewish aces that fought for the Americans during World War II. Robert Seidman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was one of these pilots flying in the P-38 Lightning. The P-38 was an interesting-looking fighter plane as it had two piston engines with a distinctive twin boom design. Seidman was assigned to the 49th Fighter Squadron, 14th Fighter Group, Fifteenth Air Force that was in action in the Mediterranean. Seidman shot down five enemy planes, achieving the revered status of ace pilot. On May 14, 1944, he was killed by anti-aircraft fire while on his 50th combat mission near Aviano, Italy. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star, the Air Medal with eleven Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart for his achievements and bravery in the air.

The extraordinary actions of these men rightfully earned them decorations. Although their names are rarely seen outside of old headlines and military history books printed decades ago, these Forgotten Heroes deserve to be remembered.

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.

Robert Seidman, right, with Lt. Joseph Havrilla

The USS Tang Captain Lawrence Savadkin

Richard O'Kane with President Harry S. Truman

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CEDARHURST HOUSE FOR SALE BY

OWNER

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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

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HOUSES FOR SALE HOUSES FOR SALE

NORTH WOODMERE

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HOUSES FOR SALE

CEDARHURST

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WOODMERE

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WOODMERE

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HOUSES FOR SALE

WEST HEMPSTEAD

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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.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

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Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

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Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

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WOODMERE

Introducing a desirable colonial located in the heart of Old Woodmere, situated on an oversized lot. This charming home boasts 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths, along with a full finished basement. The first floor features a formal living room, dining room, kitchen with a breakfast room, and a spacious den. It is conveniently located in School District #14. Don’t miss out on this must-see property! Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CEDARHURST

Move Right into This Very Spacious & Renovated 6 Bedroom, 3 Full Bath, Colonial on a Lovely Quiet Street.

5 Very Large Bedrooms All on 2nd Floor. Beautiful Den W/Fireplace & Playroom; Both on 1st Floor.

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WOODMERE 1st Showing

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SUNDAY JULY 30 • 11:30-2:00PM 1016

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HOUSES FOR SALE HOUSE FOR RENT

LAWRENCE

3BR, 2bth, LR, DR, Kitchen, Family

Rm, Office, Attached Utility Shed

• Huge backyard, 9600 sq ft lot

• 5-cars parking • Walk to all!

• Priced to sell! . . $1.69M

Interested or know someone who might be? Reach out for more info! Steve 516-371-5522, please leave message.

OFFICE FOR RENT

5 TOWNS - OFFICES. LOT Corner Bayview & Lawrence AveDaily Minyanim

Renovated Office 350SF

Kitchenette, WIFI, Separate AC. Renovated Storefront Office ~600 SF

Private Bathroom, Separate AC Parking Lot 4000SF

All Available Immediately

POR - Negotiable Call/Text/WA Owner: 516-206-1100

WOODMERE

Just listed - House Rental 6 bedroom residence. Living room with soaring vaulted ceilings and fireplace. Oversized den with fireplace. Family room. Central air conditioning. Five bedrooms on a single level. Close proximity to the railroad, shopping destinations, and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

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SHORT TERM RENTAL WOODMERE

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WOODMERE

Exquisite and expansive 1 Bedroom co-op in Heathcote. Recently renovated. Large foyer, vast Eat-InKitchen. Classic pre-war building with elevator. Private storage room. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the perfect combination of space, style, and convenience in the most desirable location. 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

LAWRENCE

1 bedroom apartment, elevator building, eat-in kitchen, full bath, hardwood floors, plenty of closet space. Ceiling fan in bedroom & kitchen, laundry room in the basement. Close to the railroad, shopping, and houses of worship

$168k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

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

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

CEDARHURST

Rental Just listed 3 bedroom, 2 full bathroom apartment with spacious rooms, central air conditioning, underground parking, washer/dryer, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, kitchen with refrigerator , microwave, stove and dishwasher, minutes from shopping, transportation restaurants and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

Spacious 2BR, 2 Full Bath Apt with an enclosed terrace in the heart of Lawrence. Well maintained & manicured building. New hardwood floors, updated Eat-in Kitchen with gas stove. warming draw, dishwasher & microwave. New windows on the enclosed terrace & one of the bedrooms. 3 New A/C Units & New Refrigerator. Close to shopping, transportation, library, schools, and houses of worship. $339K Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

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mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE JUST LISTED

This amazing two-bedroom two full bathroom condo Features a luxurious lifestyle in the beautiful city of Lawrence. What more could you ask for? The building has a 24-hour doorman and elevator access, with a social room, library, washer/dryer inside the unit, and terrace. Plus, the added benefit of having a live-in super to ensure maximum safety and security! And don’t forget about your new kitchen complete with a gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, and even two dishwashers! The living room and dining room are spacious and have recessed lighting installed throughout. Both bedrooms feature lots of closet space for storage. To top it off, there’s even garage parking available to make your life just that much easier! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Please call for a private showing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

SALE

One Bedroom Renovated Apartment In Prime Lawrence. Efficiency Kitchen, Renovated Bathroom. Sunken LR, Dining Room, Close to All, Transportation, Shopping, Worship. $275k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

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

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 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Well maintained 1 Bedroom apartment. Elevator Building. Pet Friendly, SD#14, Corner Unit, Bright + Sunny, Hardwood Floors, Eat-in Kitchen, Full Bathroom, 3 Closets, 2 Ceiling Fans, 1 A/C Unit, Full Time Super on Premises. Minutes from the Railroad, Shopping, Houses of Worship, and Laundry Room on Premises. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-$175K

LAWRENCE

New to the market Generously sized 1 bedroom 1.5 bathroom coop in an elevator building, with a 24 hour doorman, underground parking, double terrace, central air conditioning, washer/dryer and storage on the floor, eat-in-kitchen, living room and dining room, no steps into the building or to the apartment, minutes from shopping, park, transportation, and houses of worship. $479,000 Mark Lipner

Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

ISRAEL REAL ESTATE

RAMAT BEIT SHEMESH G1

*Available this summer in RBSG1*

5 bedroom/4 bathroom (3 full- 1 half) 1st floor • Building w/ an elevator

Quiet street • Close to bussing (local and to Yerushalayim)

Across the street from a few different Shuls

Walking to G1 Mercaz

Available July 12 - Aug 9 with flexibility

For more info WhatsApp 347-831-5128 or call 053-412-7194

HELP WANTED

CAREER OPPORTUNITY

Home-visiting Social Worker/Case Worker position in Brooklyn, NY working with Holocaust survivors. Caseload involves case-management and supportive counseling. Hours 9-5 with flexibility. Car required. Friendly environment. Please email resume and cover letter to ababich@bicco.org

BOOKKEEPER

Excellent growth potential, Frum environment, Excellent salary & benefits. Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com

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

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Qualified, enthusiastic, General Studies Fifth Grade teacher to join a team of professionals at Torah Academy for Girls. salary commensurate with experience. email resume to Jgulkowitz@tagschools.org.

SEEKING ELA TEACHER

Teaching position for Gr. 6. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Great salary, warm, supportive environment. Training in our curriculum is provided. Teachersearch11@gmail.com

5 TOWNS BOYS YESHIVA

Seeking Elem Gen Ed Teachers

Excellent working environment and pay. Only lic/exp need apply. Email resume to yeshivalooking@gmail.com

SEEKING

Part-time secretary for educational services program in the Five Towns/Rockaways. Flexible hours. Competitive pay. Email info@Zareinu5T.org

IMMEDIATE OPENING

ELA teaching position for Gr. 5. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Competitive salary, warm supportive environment. Teachersearch11@gmail.com

YESHIVA OF SOUTH SHORE

Seeking the following positions: Assistant teachers Learning Center Teacher for ELA and Math, MS Science Teacher

Please send resume to: monika@yoss.org

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 e-mail 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.

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

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

SHEVACH HIGH SCHOOL

in Queens is seeking dynamic teachers for the 2023-2024 school year in the General Studies department in English, Maths, and Sciences, some positions will require Masters’ degrees (positions are all in the afternoon). There are a limited number of openings in the Limudei Kodesh department. Salary commensurate with experience. Resumes welcome.

Please send resumes to rwittenstein@shevachhs.org

HIRING: Dynamic and experienced Sales Representative to join new sales team for global Grant WritingConsulting Firm based in Brooklyn, NY. info@idcgivinggroup.com, 1-347-331-0426

SHEVACH HIGH SCHOOL, the Bais Yaakov High School of Queens, seeks a dynamic, warm, and experienced Limudei Kodesh teacher for Chumash and additional subjects. Full morning hours, Monday through Friday. Please send resume to rwittenstein@shevachhs.org.

GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL IN QUEENS seeks a full time, experienced clinician (school psychologist, LCSW, LMHC, etc.) to work in conjunction with current school psychologist.

Salary commensurate with experience. Please send resumes to rwittenstein@shevachhs.org

MISC.

SHMIRAS HALASHON Text 516-303-3868 with a time slot of your choice to be careful on lashon hara. Be a part of the 1,000 people for klal yisroel!

Today’s millennials and Generation Z have hit some speed bumps on their path toward financial independence—the dotcom crash of 1999, the Great Recession of 2007-08, and the Covid pandemic among them. Many seek whatever security they can find in traditional employment, then launch a side gig. Some of those side gigs feel a lot like work, like delivering for Instacart, recharging electric scooters, or renting rooms on Airbnb. Others are creative and fun, like starting travel blogs, creating online courses, or becoming online influencers, whatever that means.

The baby boomers and Gen Xers running the IRS are perfectly happy to share their success in the form of taxes on their profits. That means a generation of Americans who can still remember asking themselves, “Who’s FICA?” when they got their first paycheck is now asking themselves, “What’s a 1099?” But sometimes, a side hustle suffers a “failure to launch.” That’s when taxpayers discover Uncle Sam isn’t nearly as willing to subsidize the losses as he is to share the profits. It’s especially true if the side gig involves anything you might do just for fun.

The general rule is that if your side business loses money, you can use those losses

My Deduction Was This Big

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

to offset your salary from The Man. But if your hobby loses money, the “hobby loss” rule limits your deduction to your income from that activity. In other words, heads the IRS wins, tails you lose. (Now you know why Gen Z is so cynical.) The key to using those losses is to prove you started your side hustle with the intent to make a profit.

keeping a straight face when she found that Sherman didn’t operate Songswell in a businesslike manner, had no relevant expertise in video production, couldn’t substantiate the time and effort he claimed to devote to the business, and showed no success in similar ventures. Reading between the lines, it was clear she didn’t believe a

Homer, Alaska, 200 miles from his home in Anchorage. His biggest expense was an airplane he bought to shorten his commute— but he never got a pilot’s license to fly customers with him. He kept receipts but then just handed them to his accountant at the end of the year “to figure it out.” (That’s a direct quote from the taxpayer, and it’s also what the writers currently striking in Hollywood call “foreshadowing.”) Tax Court Judge Cary Pugh bought that Swanson knew how to catch a fish. But she wasn’t buying his ability to run a fishing business, and she disallowed his losses exceeding his paltry $7,554 in gross revenue.

Two recent Tax Court cases show how that necessary motive isn’t always easy to prove.

Sherman vs. Commissioner involved an ER physician who moonlights as a guitarist. Dr. Sherman launched a side hustle called Songswell Productions to create music videos. He didn’t report any income, but deducted $87,674 for equipment, along with $17,084 in other expenses. Judge Courtney Jones may have had a hard time

word Sherman said, and she disallowed every dime of “alleged business expense deductions,” he claimed. (At least he wasn’t claiming losses from a DJing business, which is literally a job that some celebrities can do with one hand while holding a chihuahua in the other.)

Swanson v. Commissioner involved a retired bus driver who opened a charter fishing business with his 22-foot boat in

In Dr. Seuss’s classic Horton Hears a Who, we learn that “a person’s a person no matter how small.” Sadly, the same rule applies to your side hustle. Be sure to call us before you make any business decision so we can help you make the most of it!

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.

That’s a direct quote from the taxpayer, and it’s also what the writers currently striking in Hollywood call “foreshadowing.”

Start getting ready. Simcha is on the way! Lots of joy!

How do I know?

Because I trust you. All of you.

I know just how you have been spending your last few weeks and what you’ve been doing:

-Holding doors open for others –even when you’re in a rush.

-Complimenting – more than usual – making that conscious effort.

-Calling that person who is lonely –even if it’s a hard conversation to have.

-Smiling at the lady next to you in line – even if you’re having a bad day.

-Buying an extra snack for someone else – and dropping it off when you’re running out of time.

-Even letting the other person cut in – without mumbling under your breath.

Doing endless thoughtful things!

That’s what’s going to help to let the good times roll.

ach Get Out Your Dancing Shoes

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

Years back, we were negative, doubting G-d’s ability to give us success in conquering the land of Israel. But we can reverse that negative energy with positive faith.

dentally, it also makes people feel great. Which, in turn, makes us feel great. Which, in turn, makes G-d “feel great.” See how good it can be to take turns, after all?

can bring realities into being, davar. So let’s talk about good things and say good things, and thus infuse our world with positive energy.

And that way, we will bring to Life good things.

So, get out your dancing shoes, everyone. Simcha is hopefully just a few more good deeds away!

And I’ve got that positive faith in all of us.

You are awesome partners in changing the world.

When we do kind and thoughtful acts for one another, we reverse the baseless hate that took us down. Inci -

The Talmud says the month of Purim brings in joyful energy. The month of the destruction of the Temples brings in reduced joyful energy. But we are bigger than month energy. We’ve got creative energy. Through speech alone, dibbur, we

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail.com.

You are awesome partners in changing the world.