Five Towns Jewish Home 9.14.23

Dear Readers,

Agood trial attorney will craft his or her closing arguments way before the trial begins. This way, everything done throughout the trial is geared towards supporting that closing statement.

I’m not a lawyer, but this concept can be a good illustration for a far more significant topic: Life.

As we come into Rosh Hashana, we can look back at the previous year and think about all of our failures, all the things we didn’t end up accomplishing, all the times we made mistakes. In fact, a central part of Rosh Hashana is talking about remembering – and asking Hashem to remember us only for good. But we can take that past and use it to look forward to our future. We can use those past experiences and challenges to craft our closing statement for next year – and embark on this upcoming year with those goals in mind. If we can focus on what we want our future to look like, what we want to accomplish this year, we can immediately begin working towards substantiating that goal.

There is so much beauty and wisdom found in Judaism. One of the concepts that has honed our nation is the idea that we shouldn’t become mired in the mud of our mistakes. Yes, there have been times that we have stumbled and perhaps lost our

way. We have strayed, we have blundered, we have plunged to seemingly bottomless depths. And still, while acknowledging those setbacks and regretting them, we are charged with moving past them and leaving them all behind. We are reminded that our mistakes do not define us; it is our soul that is constant and pristine.

We are a forward-thinking People. We are a People with a purpose, a mission that propels us forward. Other nations cling to the past without understanding the glory of being able to move forward. As Jews, we use our past to craft our futures. Each day, each year, each generation, we progress and advance, our goal clearly defined.

This Rosh Hashana, as we crown Hashem our King, let us use the past year to define what our upcoming year will look like. Let us craft that closing statement now so we can make this year a missive of purpose and fulfillment. And together, as a united People, let us advance towards our ultimate goal, when the whole world will acknowledge and recognize Who really runs this world.

Wishing you and your family a year filled with only good things.

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Friday, September 15

Candle Lighting: 6:46 pm

Motzei Shabbos, September 16

Candle Lighting After: 7:44 pm

Yom Tov Ends: 7:44 pm

Rabbeinu Tam: 8:15 pm

Rosh Hashana Zemanim

Kesiva v’chasima tova, Shoshana

Dear Editor,

I just want to address the article/letter written by Mr. Shimmi Ehrenreich about the closing of Cahal.

Firstly, I want to thank Mr. Ehrenreich for all he has done for Cahal. Although Cahal is no longer, they did not close as much as they rebranded. Zareinu has taken over for Cahal and has a lot of the same staff with some additions to the board. Zareinu plans on continuing the mission of Cahal to make sure no child gets left behind. As a community we should all acknowledge the wonderful things Cahal has done, and we should continue to support Zareinu so that they can continue to serve the community.

Again thanks to Mr. Ehrenreich and all the people who made Cahal/Zareinu possible.

A Cahal/Zareinu Supporter

Dear Editor,

Deaf people are exempt from the mitzvah of shofar, for the obvious reason that they cannot hear its sound. Despite this, my deaf father came to shul and “heard” the shofar. I pointed to the sounds printed in the machzor to show him where we were. He carefully watched the rabbi’s face while he blew the shofar and felt the sound vibrations on the bench to sense what the sound was like. He understood what the sounds were, and more importantly, he understood the significance of the shofar blowing.

Isn’t that the essence of the word Shema? It means not just to physically hear, but to understand. I have been blowing the shofar for my shul for numerous years. I found an old shofar that my father must have collected from his antique business. It’s raw and unpolished, but it makes a beautiful deep sound. Whenev-

er I blow it, I think of my father. I fulfill the mitzvah of Lishmo’ah Kol shofar –To understand the shofar’s sound. The Shevarim reminds me of some of my father’s shattered dreams. Not everything he planned went as he planned. The Teru’ah reminds me of the occasional cry for help, which he received in various ways from various people. Most of all, the Tekiah reminds me of how, regardless of the many challenges, he planted himself with tremendous determination and solid work to overcome his challenges. (Teki’ah comes from Litko’ah – to stick (in the ground so that something is firmly planted) He surrounded his Shevarim and Teru’ot with Teki’ot.

Undoubtedly, many of us have encountered similar challenges in our lives. Regardless of what these are, when you listen to the shofar, I hope you will contemplate, concentrate and most of all, understand the sound of the shofar.

I wish everyone a healthy and fulfilling year.

Daniel Feldman

Dear Editor,

The school year has officially begun. Our children are back in yeshiva. There are many more pedestrians on our streets, including children walking to and from school. Mothers are out with their toddlers and young ones. There are many more bikes and scooters on our streets also, as quite a number of our bochurim commute to and from yeshiva on their own. I am begging all drivers, please, please be exceedingly careful when you’re driving, especially when you’re making turns and particularly during twilight and the night hours. Be alert. Be on the lookout for pedestrians and those on

Continued on page 14

Continued from page 10 bikes and scooters. And for the more senior members of our community, please be aware that our reflexes are just not as fast when we age; we simply do not react as quickly as we would have years earlier. Additionally, our eyesight may not be as keen. We must be especially careful when driving and making those turns. Our children are so precious to all of us. Please be alert at all times.

When encountering a school bus with the “stop” sign extended, do not speed by. STOP!!! It may be your grandchild crossing the street! Or it may be my grandchild. Or your neighbor’s. Do not put our children at risk, chalila!!

May I now address myself to those on bikes and scooters. You must wear helmets, and you must have lights affixed to your helmet and bike. You, too, must remain vigilant and alert at all times, especially when making those turns around the corners. Take those turns slow and easy. And to those walking during the nighttime hours, you must wear a reflector. Much better safe than, chalila, sorry. May all be safe and well. Hashem yishmor.

Shira Dancinger

Dear Editor,

First off, I truly enjoy Etti Siegel’s column. I am happy she is back in rotation.

This week’s letter was particularly interesting to me since I have been in the education field for a while, and I have seen really good teachers and not-suchgood teachers. Believe me, a piece of paper with a degree is not indicative of a good teacher – in any way!

Being a teacher is a combination of so many talents and characteristics. Some of them can be taught; others are honed through experience; and some are just innate. I have seen first-year teachers and rebbeim who have managed to connect with and uplift a class starting from day one. Their concern, their love, their wisdom in explaining concepts, their insight into class management…

So don’t judge a teacher by a degree. They are so much more than a piece of paper.

Sincerely,

G. Stern

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Instability In Mali

On Thursday, a ferry was attacked while it was on the Niger River near the historic city of Timbuktu. The boat is managed by the state-owned company Compagnie Malienne De Navigation (Comanav), the military said. On the same day, an army base in Bamba, a town in the northern Gao region, was hit as well. As a result of the two attacks, sixty-four people were killed, fifteen of whom were soldiers.

According to Mali’s government, the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM), an organization connected to al-Qaeda, took credit for both attacks.

Earlier last week, another Comanav boat was attacked by militants, resulting in the death of a twelve-year-old boy.

In 2013, the United Nations deployed a peacekeeping force known as MINUSMA to Mali. Last June, the government of Mali requested that MINUSMA exit the country “without delay,” which the UN has been slowly complying with.

In light of these recent attacks, the state has called for three days of national mourning.

Fatal Earthquake Shakes Morocco

about 50 miles from the southern city of Marrakech, was the strongest to hit the area in a century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It rippled through the center of the country, shaking not only Marrakech but also Agadir, a resort on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, and Ouarzazate, a major city in the southeast.

Much of the affected zone is rural, with many houses made from mud bricks, a traditional construction method that is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and heavy rains.

Several attacks were carried out by rebel groups in the West African country of Mali on Thursday and Friday of last week, prompting concern over the state’s growing instability.

According to Mali’s armed forces, a “complex” suicide attack took place on Friday in the airport section of the country’s army base in the northern Gao region. No further information is known at this time, but the attack is under investigation.

Timbuktu, according to reports, is now under blockade by the GSIM, forcing more than 30,000 residents to flee.

Mali, a once democratic state, has been facing one armed conflict after another since 2012. In 2021, the government was overthrown by the militia group currently in rule, and violence and terrorism have since pervaded the West African country.

“In less than a year, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has almost doubled its areas of control in Mali,” the UN Security Council revealed this past August.

A powerful earthquake struck Morocco on Friday night, killing more than 1,300 people and setting off frantic rescue efforts through rubble-strewn city streets and remote rural areas as some residents sifted through mountains of debris with their bare hands.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of at least 6.8 and was centered

Scenes of devastation were unfolding across the country. In Marrakech, the main city of southern Morocco, residents poured out of their homes onto the city’s cobblestone streets to find piles of rubble from buildings that had crumbled around them, including mounds of red dust from the walled old city, or medina.

In the hardest-hit rural areas, Moroccans climbed through the canyons between collapsed homes that cascaded across roads and towns and tried to retrieve their dead.

At least 2,900 people were killed in the quake, according to the Moroccan interior ministry, and more than 5,530 were injured.

The precise size of the quake was not yet clear. The U.S. Geological Survey

20 estimated its magnitude at 6.8, but the Moroccan geological institute put it at 7.2. That would make it more than twice as large, according to the logarithmic scale on which earthquakes are measured. The U.S. agency said local estimates can often be more accurate, but initial readings of magnitude are measured automatically and need to be reviewed by seismologists.

The contours of the damage were also still taking shape Saturday. But it was clear that the scope of the catastrophe was extensive, with the rural provinces outside of Marrakech the hardest-hit. According to early breakdowns of casualties by provinces, the death toll was especially heavy in the rural Haouz region southeast of Marrakech, which includes parts of the High Atlas Mountains. (© The New York Times)

Africa Climate Summit

On Wednesday, September 6, the Africa Climate Summit came to an end as William Ruto, the president of Kenya and host of the summit, announced that $23 billion had been contributed by world governments, philanthropists, investors,

and development banks towards combating “climate change” in Africa.

At the end of the conference, African leaders jointly made the “Nairobi Declaration,” in which they asserted that the continent’s climate situation is a crisis that must be addressed urgently.

approx. $481 million, while the U.S. promised a contribution of $30 million toward promoting climate-proof food in Africa. Many pledges were made in order to better Africa’s carbon credit program, a system in which countries or companies would be required to buy credits in order to be allowed to generate carbon emissions.

Malaria in Kenya

“Africa is not historically responsible for global warming but bears the brunt of its effect, impacting lives, livelihoods, and economies,” the leaders added.

The largest donor was the United Arab Emirates, which pledged to contribute $4.5 billion to Africa’s clean energy cause.

“It is our ambition that this will launch a new transformative partnership to jumpstart a pipeline of bankable clean energy projects in this important continent,” Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, the head of ADNOC, the UAE’s national oil company, said in his announcement.

Germany pledged 450 million euros, or

“Carbon credits could be a game-changer for Africa,” noted Yemi Osinbajo, the former vice president of Nigeria, who now serves as an advisor for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). “They have the potential to unlock billions for the climate finance needs of African economies while expanding energy access, creating jobs, protecting biodiversity, and driving climate action.”

Others have criticized the idea of carbon credits, claiming that such a system would fail to stop rich countries and companies from continuing to pollute the environment.

This climate initiative “reflects a commitment to addressing the pressing issue of climate change by investing in renewable and sustainable energy solutions in Africa, which is essential for reducing emissions, creating jobs, and driving social and economic development,” Osinbajo added.

As temperatures rise in the East African country of Kenya, malaria cases are spreading throughout areas that have previously been largely unaffected by the mosquito-transmitted disease. About 10,000 Kenyans die from malaria annually; in the whole continent of Africa –from where 95% of the world’s malaria cases originate – over 600,000 people, most of whom are children, die from malaria infection each year.

This recent surge in malaria cases in Kenya has come amidst hopes of eliminating the disease with the use of a newly available malaria vaccine. This drug, the first of its kind, has helped approximately 1.7 million children throughout Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana, since the vaccine’s initial pilot release in 2019. Since then,

there have been far fewer cases of serious illness and death caused by malaria in children.

“We were at the verge of bringing cases to minimum, to non-detectable levels,” explained Damaris Matoke-Muhia, KEMRI’s Malaria Lab’s principal research scientist.

However, with recent temperature increases in Kenya, the effort to eradicate the disease has been undermined. Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are attracted to hot and humid areas and have been invading Kenyan areas which are getting hotter.

Now, “we’re seeing new species. We are seeing [malaria] going to places where we didn’t expect,” Muhia added. “We are taken back to zero.”

“Where cooler places now are becoming warmer, we are seeing increased malaria rate in those areas because of mosquito multiplication,” Richard Munang, the coordinator of the UN environmental agency’s climate change program, said, adding that malaria might spread to other continents as a result of these surges.

Not only that but “the behavior of the mosquito that transmits malaria is changing rapidly,” said Gitahi Githinji, the group CEO of Amref Health Africa, a

nonprofit organization. “And we are seeing that actually the public health system is not prepared for this resurgence.”

G20 Summit

alliances around the world to maintain stability. That’s what this trip is all about, having India cooperate much more with United States, be closer to the United States, Vietnam being closer with the United States. It’s not about containing China. It’s about having a stable base – a stable base in Indo-Pacific.”

joint statement on the Ukraine war. In the end, the declaration was notably generic but was nonetheless praised by the United States.

Over the weekend, U.S. President Joe Biden visited New Delhi, the capital of India, to take part in the G20 economic summit. Biden also visited Hanoi, Vietnam, where he sought to encourage the Southeast Asian country and others to distance themselves from doing business with China, while making it clear that he isn’t looking to start another cold war.

“I don’t want to contain China. I just want to make sure we have a relationship with China that is on the up-and-up squared away, and everyone knows what it’s all about,” the U.S. president said. “We have an opportunity to strengthen

While Biden was in the middle of speaking in Hanoi on Sunday, his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, suddenly grabbed a microphone and announced that the president’s news conference was over even though he was still answering questions. While the White House said that Biden would only answer five questions from reporters, he answered further questions about his interaction with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, at which point Jean-Pierre ended the conference. However, even after the press secretary’s interruption, the president stayed on stage to answer one more question, although his answer was not completely audible. Many are saying that the press secretary had to come to the President’s aid, as he was not answering questions in a coherent manner.

As part of the summit, representatives from the twenty member countries worked for three hundred hours and through fifteen drafts in order to craft a

“All states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition,” the statement read, adding that it especially opposes nuclear war. There was no instance in which the document condemned Russia by name, nor did it single out Ukraine as the victim of such aggression.

Oleg Nikolenko, the foreign ministry spokesperson of Ukraine, lamented his country’s absence from the summit and criticized the statement’s weak language. Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping were both absent from the summit, which was “a disappointment,” said the White House.

Chinese Spying in the UK?

Earlier this year, a UK parliamentary researcher and another man were arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police for allegedly interfering in British democracy on behalf of China.

One of the men was apprehended

in Oxfordshire, southern England, and is in his thirties, while the other was found in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is in his twenties. Both were set free on bail until early October, according to a police statement.

pletely fabricated and nothing but malicious slander,” said a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London. “We firmly oppose it and urge relevant parties in the UK to stop their anti-China political manipulation and stop putting on such self-staged political farce.”

The arrested researcher reportedly has some sort of connection to Tom Tugendhat, the UK’s Minister of State Security, and Alicia Kearns, the chairperson of Britain’s foreign affairs committee.

Putin Wants N. Korean Munitions

In a brief statement, the Kremlin said Kim would “pay an official visit to the Russian Federation in the coming days” at Putin’s invitation. On Tuesday, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim had left Pyongyang, the capital, for Russia by train Sunday. Photos showed that he was accompanied by the North’s foreign minister and its two highest-ranking military commanders.

“The investigation is being carried out by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, which has responsibility for investigations relating to allegations of Official Secrets Act and espionage-related offenses,” the statement added.

Amid reports of these arrests, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the G20 summit in order to address “very strong concerns” about the purported Chinese spying.

“The claim that China is suspected of ‘stealing British intelligence’ is com -

“While I recognize the public interest, we all have a duty to ensure any work of the authorities is not jeopardized,” Kearns posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in an attempt to explain why she had nothing to say about her alleged link with the arrested researcher.

A group of UK government officials known as the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) stated that they were “appalled at reports of the infiltration of the UK Parliament by someone allegedly acting on behalf of the People’s Republic of China.”

“It is for authorities to reveal the name of the person accused, and IPAC is united in hoping that justice is done expeditiously,” the group added.

When North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, visited President Vladimir Putin of Russia four years ago, it was mostly for diplomatic show.

But this week he will visit Putin a second time with the ability to supply something the Kremlin desperately needs: munitions that could help Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

The meeting, announced by both governments, comes as Putin is courting support for his standoff against the United States and NATO from other leaders opposed to Western dominance. Some, such as Iran, have provided direct military assistance to Russia for its war in Ukraine, while others, such as India, have resolutely declined to condemn Russian aggression.

Kim and Putin are expected to meet in the eastern port city of Vladivostok, where Putin is attending an economic forum this week.

Kim used his preferred method of travel during his rare trips out of North Korea, a slow-moving armored train. South Korean officials said Tuesday that his train had crossed the border into Russia.

Kim and Putin are expected to discuss military cooperation between their countries, including the possibility of North Korea supplying Russia with more weapons for the war in Ukraine, U.S. and allied officials told The New York Times last week. Since 2022, U.S. officials have repeatedly said that North Korea has been shipping artillery shells and rockets to Russia.

In exchange, officials have said, Kim would like Russia to provide advanced

technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as food aid. If some kind of mutually beneficial agreement is reached, it could transform a relationship that has long been limited to public displays of cooperation, and relatively small amounts of trade, into something more substantive — and, the West warns, more of a threat to global stability. (© The New York Times )

Caver Rescued from 3,400 Ft.

Mark Dickey, an American explorer, while on a trip to explore Turkey’s Morca cave, fell ill and developed life-threatening bleeding and vomiting. But the caver was thousands of feet below ground when he got sick, which launched an international rescue mission to help bring him to

the surface and save him.

Rescue crews worked for days to help Dickey, 40, escape the cave, installing a complex network of ropes and anchors throughout the passageways to hoist a stretcher thousands of feet to the surface. Crews from half a dozen countries divided the cave into sections, using small hammers and explosives to make way for Dickey to be transported.

Ironically, Dickey is a cave rescuer himself, and an instructor and chief of

the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a wilderness search and rescue program. The Morca cave is the country’s deepest cave system. Dickey was 3,400 feet below the entrance when he got sick.

On Monday, the Turkish Caving Federation announced that Dickey was successfully escorted out of the cave just after midnight local time and was being transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

Shortly after his rescue, Dickey said it was “amazing to be above ground again,” adding he was in the cave “for far longer than ever expected.”

He called the experience a “crazy, crazy adventure.”

Floods Sweep Libya

Tens of people have been killed – and as many as 2,000 are feared dead – in the aftermath of Storm Daniel, which caused devastating floods in Libya over the weekend.

Much of the destruction took place in Derna. The death toll from the city has not been taken, as the area has become inaccessible to rescue crews. Many are feared to have been carried away in the floodwaters that engulfed coastal towns.

Entire residential areas were erased along a river that runs down from the mountains through the city center. Multi-story apartment buildings that once stood well back from the river were partially collapsed into the mud.

In a phone interview with al-Masar television station on Monday, Prime Minister Ossama Hamad of the east Libyan government said that 2,000 were feared dead in Derna, and thousands were believed missing. He said Derna has been

disaster zone.

Ahmed al-Mosmari, a spokesman for the country’s armed forces based in the east, told a news conference that the death toll in Derna had surpassed 2,000. He said there were between 5,000 and 6,000 reported missing. Al-Mosmari attributed the catastrophe to the collapse of two nearby dams, causing a lethal flash flood.

Libyans have been facing hardship for years. Since a 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed long-time ruler Moammar Gadhafi, Libya has lacked a central government and the resulting lawlessness has meant dwindling investment in the country’s roads and public services, and also minimal regulation of private building. The country is now split between rival governments in the east and west, each backed by an array of militias.

Derna itself, along with the city of Sirte, was controlled by extremist groups for years, at one point by those who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, until forces loyal to the east-based government expelled them in 2018.

The prime minister announced Monday a three-day of mourning and ordered flags across the country to be lowered to half-mast.

Colombia is King of Cocaine

United States and Europe.

Coca leaf production now spreads over 230,000 hectares in the country.

Around half of Colombia’s drug crops are found in Indigenous reserves, forest reserves and natural parks, according to the report.

The new numbers came out a day after Colombia’s first-ever leftist president Gustavo Petro and his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the “failed” U.S.-led so-called “war on drugs.”

tions with the least possible harm to poor, rural producers.

Is Vietnam Playing Both Sides?

Cocaine is a highly addictive and illegal stimulant that is made from the leaves of the coca plant, which is native to South America. According to a United Nations report released this week, Colombia, the world’s biggest cocaine producer, set a new record last year for the manufacture of the drug and cultivation of the coca leaf.

Coca leaf cultivation was 13 percent higher last year than in 2021 while cocaine production rose from 1,400 tons to 1,738, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

These were the highest numbers since the UN started monitoring in 2001. Most Colombian cocaine is destined for the

Petro has charged that the campaign has only benefited drug cartels and has led to an increase in violence.

His remarks were made at a Latin American summit in Cali to discuss new ways of approaching the drug trafficking problem. About two dozen leaders of Latin American and Caribbean countries attended.

Colombia and Mexico were the “biggest victims” of the American-led “war,” which has criminalized and impoverished many rural people, the president added.

Colombia remains the world’s biggest producer of cocaine by far, followed by Peru and Bolivia.

The country is set to adopt a new drug policy soon, the government had said, aimed at dismantling criminal organiza-

When President Joe Biden met with Vietnamese officials in Hanoi this week, he was happy to rewarm ties between the two nations, glossing over the Communist Party of Vietnam’s intensifying human rights crackdown.

But even as the United States and Vietnam have nurtured their relationship over recent months, Hanoi is making clandestine plans to buy an arsenal of weapons from Russia in contravention of U.S. sanctions, an internal Vietnamese government document shows.

The document, which is dated March 2023 and whose contents have been verified by Vietnamese officials, lays out

how Vietnam proposes to modernize its military by secretly paying for defense purchases through transfers at a joint Vietnamese and Russian oil venture in Siberia. Signed by a Vietnamese deputy finance minister, the document notes that Vietnam is negotiating a new arms deal with Russia that would “strengthen strategic trust” at a time when “Russia is being embargoed by Western countries.”

For Vietnam, the idea makes a certain sense. Vietnam has long depended

on Russian weaponry. The United States’ vow to punish nations that buy Russian weapons has roiled Vietnam’s plans to revamp its military and create a tougher deterrent to Chinese encroachment. Yet by developing its secret plan to pay for Russian defense equipment, Vietnam is stepping into the center of a larger security contest.

Hanoi is adept at dancing between world powers. But its pursuit of a Russian arms deal undercuts its outreach to the

United States. And it shows the risks of an U.S. foreign policy that forces countries to make a binary “us or them” choice.

“I feel in some ways that America has unrealistic expectations of Vietnam,” said Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

“I’m not sure that they fully understand how sensitive Vietnam’s relationship with China is and how deep their relationship with Russia is. Misunderstanding these things could get America burned.”

Another reason for keeping open the Russian arms pipeline: buying Western weapons would require more transparency than dealing with the Russians.

“Every contract with Russia goes with money under the table or something under the table,” said Carlyle A. Thayer, an Australian expert on the Vietnamese military. “Are Vietnamese generals going to want to give that up?” (© The New York Times)

Fire on a Plane

Smoke filled the cabin of an Air China flight when one of the aircraft’s engines caught fire on Sunday. Thankfully, the plane landed in Singapore’s Changi Airport, and passengers were able to safely evacuate through the emergency exit slides. All 146 passengers and nine crew members safely evacuated after landing at about 4:15 p.m. local time, according to a statement from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Air China said in a statement on Weibo that flight CA403 was traveling from China’s Chengdu Tianfu Airport to Singapore Changi Airport when smoke appeared in the cabin of the A320neo before landing.

Last March, China faced its worst air disaster in more than a decade when a Boeing 737-800 China Eastern Airlines flight carrying 132 people left no survivors when it crashed while en route from Kunming to Guangzhou.

Abbas Stripped of Paris Medal

On September 21, 2015, Paris awarded Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, with the Grand Vermeil medal in celebration of the International Day of Peace. The medal, which

is the highest honor one can receive from the French city, was rescinded on Thursday, September 7, 2023, after Abbas made an antisemitic speech in which he justified the Holocaust.

The Palestinian firebrand asserted that the mass genocide of six million Jews had nothing to do with Judaism as a religion or race but rather was only perpetrated based on the social status of the Jews in Europe.

“Several authors wrote about this,” he continued. “Even Karl Marx said this was not true. He said that the enmity was not directed at Judaism as a religion but at Judaism for its social role.”

Abbas went on to promote the conspiracy theory that Ashkenazi Jews are not descendants of ancient Israelites and as such are not considered “semites.”

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wrote a letter to Abbas, informing him that his antisemitic comments have rendered him unfit for the prestigious medal that he was the recipient of.

“You … justified the extermination of the Jews of Europe during World War II with a clear desire to deny the genocide,” Hidalgo’s letter read. “I vehemently condemn your remarks. No cause can justify revisionism and negationism.”

This isn’t the first time Abbas has been accused of antisemitic comments. This past May, he claimed that Israel “lies like” Joseph Goebbels, who served as the chief propagandist of the Nazi party. A year earlier, while at a press conference in Germany with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Abbas said that Israel was responsible for “fifty Holocausts.”

Papua New Guinea Opens Jerusalem Embassy

The opening ceremony took place on Tuesday, September 5, and was attended by James Marape, the prime minister of Papua New Guinea, as well as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Today is a milestone moment for my country,” said Marape. “We are here to give respect to the people of Israel to the fullest.”

Marape cited religious reasons for why he made the decision that Papua New Guinea, a country where 95% of the population is Christian, should recognize Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel.

“They say that Hitler killed the Jews because they were Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews. Not true. It was clearly explained that [the Europeans] fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion,” Abbas said this past August. “The [Europeans] fought against these people because of their role in society, which had to do with usury, money, and so on and so forth.

“Such historical distortions are inflammatory, deeply offensive, can only serve to exacerbate tensions in the region and serve no one’s interests,” the EU said, condemning Abbas.

The foreign minister of Britain added that “the UK stands firmly against all attempts to distort the Holocaust. Such statements do not advance efforts towards reconciliation.”

U.S. officials, similarly, denounced Abbas for his antisemitic speech.

Papua New Guinea, a country in the geographical region of Oceania, has become the fifth state to open an embassy in Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the capital of Israel.

“Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem, but we made the conscious choice. This has been the universal capital of the nation and people of Israel. For us to call ourselves Christians, paying respect to G-d will not be complete without recognizing that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the people and nation of Israel,” Marape added.

Marape requested that Israel establish an embassy in his country’s capital, Port Moresby, but Israel’s foreign ministry has said that, as of now, Israel does not plan on doing so. Currently, the Israeli mission in Australia allows for the Jewish state to have a relationship with Papua New Guinea.

SHANA TOVA!

er-Terrorism Policy (ICT) on Sunday about Iran, warning that if a single Jew or Israeli is harmed in a terrorist attack orchestrated by Tehran, Iranian leaders will face serious consequences.

The new embassy is located in the Jerusalem Technology Park, which also hosts Guatemala’s and Honduras’ embassies. According to Marape, for the next two years, Israel will cover most of the expenses incurred by the establishment of his country’s new embassy.

“This is where so much of our heritage emerged from,” Netanyahu said at the opening ceremony in praise of the Pacific nation’s decision. “This is where our values were forged. This is where our proph-

ets prophesied.

“I think it’s fitting that a state and a people so deeply committed to these values do what you just did,” he added.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion were at the ceremony as well.

Aside for Papua New Guinea, a country that regularly aligns with Israel, the U.S. Guatemala, Honduras, and Kosovo have established their missions in Jerusalem. In the next few months, it is an-

ticipated that Hungary and Fiji will also announce an embassy move to the Israeli capital.

Mossad Chief Warns Iran

David Barnea, the chief of the Mossad Israeli intelligence agency, spoke at Reichman University’s Institute for Count-

“Fortunately for Iran, their terror efforts have been thwarted,” Barnea said. “Why fortunately for them? Because thus far, we have only got to the operatives and those who dispatched them.” If an Iranian attack is not stopped, Barnea added, then Israel will get to the people behind the attack, implying that the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would also be targeted in the aftermath of such a situation.

Over the last year, twenty-seven attacks targeting Jews and Israelis throughout the world, all of which were organized by Tehran, were thwarted by the Mossad and global allies, Barnea noted.

Barnea also spoke of how Iran and Russia’s relationship may present a threat to Israel. Up until now, Iran has been giving Russia weapons, but if Moscow decides to supply Tehran with weapons, the results may be catastrophic, he said.

“Our fear is that the Russians will transfer to the Iranians in return what they lack, advanced weapons that will certainly endanger our peace and maybe even our existence here,” the Mossad chief continued.

He then went on to warn the world to exercise caution and be careful when dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“Iran’s known nuclear weapon ambitions, and its past attempts to implement them, require that the international community be on high alert, and demonstrate unflagging determination to foil these ambitions,” he urged. “The current dialogue between Iran and the West does not reflect genuine willingness on the part of Iran to curb its nuclear program. Rather, it demonstrates Iran’s cynical attempt to release money frozen as part of the international sanctions imposed on it, while continuing to develop and expand its nuclear capabilities.”

Assemblywoman Stacey

Iran $6B Prisoner Swap

signed off on the sanctions waivers late last week, a month after U.S. and Iranian officials said an agreement in principle was in place. Congress was only told of the deal on Monday of this week. The outlines of the deal had been previously announced and the waiver was expected, but the notification marked the first time the administration said it was releasing five Iranian prisoners as part of the deal. The prisoners have not been named.

Many are criticizing the Biden administration for capitulating to terror and for boosting the Iranian economy and encouraging more detentions of American citizens by the Persian regime.

billion ransom and the release of Iranian operatives,” Cruz said in a statement.

The American prisoners to be released include Siamak Namazi, who was detained in 2015 and was later sentenced to 10 years in prison on internationally criticized spying charges; Emad Sharghi, a venture capitalist sentenced to 10 years; and Morad Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence.

Biden Bars Drilling

The Biden administration is set to send $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to Tehran in exchange for the release of five American citizens detained in Iran. The administration is issuing a blanket waiver for international banks to send the frozen funds from South Korea to Qatar without fear of U.S. sanctions. If that’s not all, as part of the deal, the administration has agreed to release five Iranian citizens held in the United States.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said on X, formerly known as Twitter, “It’s ridiculous for U.S. to be blackmailed into paying $6B for hostages which will help indirectly finance the number 1 foreign policy of Iran: terrorism.” Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas accused Biden of “paying ransom to the world’s worst state sponsor of terrorism.”

Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas said the waivers were a sign the administration was secretly pursuing a broader deal with Iran to include more than the release of the detainees.

“Today’s news confirms there has already been a side deal including a $6

In its most aggressive move yet to protect federal land from oil and gas exploration, the Biden administration announced last Wednesday that it would prohibit drilling in 13 million

acres of wilderness in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and cancel all drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The new regulations would ensure what the administration called “maximum protections” for nearly half of the petroleum reserve but would not stop the enormous $8 billion Willow oil drilling project in the same vicinity, which President Joe Biden approved this year.

Climate activists, particularly young environmentalists, were angered by Biden’s decision in March to allow the Willow project, calling it a “carbon bomb.”

Since then, the administration has taken pains to emphasize its efforts to reduce the carbon emissions that result from burning oil and gas and that are driving climate change.

“We have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages,” Biden said in a statement.

The Biden administration had promised some new protections in the Arctic when it approved the Willow project. The policies announced on Wednesday go significantly further by canceling the refuge leases and explicitly prohibiting new oil and gas leasing

JOIN ME ON THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Killer on the Run

in 10.6 million acres of the petroleum reserve.

“Biden was surprised by how angry environmental nonprofits were over Willow” and is trying to return to their “good graces,” said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was opened to drilling under President Donald Trump.

It sits atop an estimated 11 billion

barrels of oil, and for years, the fossil fuel industry, members of the Alaskan congressional delegation and state leaders have lobbied for drilling. In 2017, Congress passed, and Trump signed, a tax law that not only authorized but required leasing for drilling in the wildlife refuge.

The Trump administration held a lease sale that attracted just three bidders, including the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority,

a state agency. Most of the major oil companies stayed on the sidelines.

On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order halting Arctic drilling and in 2021 suspended the leases that had been granted by the Trump administration.

The Alaska development corporation denounced the Biden administration for canceling its leases and said it would take the Interior Department to court. (© The New York Times )

Danelo Cavalcante, a convicted killer, escaped prison in Pennsylvania almost two weeks ago and he’s still on the run. This week, Cavalcante was sighted in Chester County’s South Coventry Township, about 20 miles north of the prison he escaped from.

The search for Cavalcante began on August 31, when he managed to escape from prison. At the time, authorities focused the search for him on the area immediately surrounding the prison. But since then, authorities say that he managed to steal a car and drive to an acquaintance’s home. He also shaved, so he looks different than when he made his escape.

Cavalcante’s sister – who had overstayed her visa – has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Eleni Cavalcante testified in the murder trial of her brother, according to Chester County officials.

Cavalcante fled Chester County Prison within days of being sentenced to life without parole for the murder of his former girlfriend, 33-year-old Deborah Brandão. He left by “crab walking” between two walls, scaling a fence and traversing across razor wire.

In addition to the murder of Brandão – he stabbed her 38 times in front of her two young children, according to prosecutors – Cavalcante is also wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, his native country.

Most escaped prisoners are captured within 24 hours, and most of them within two miles of where they escape from.

SAT Alternative in Florida

The Classic Learning Test (CLT), a college admissions test similar to the SAT and ACT, has been approved by Florida’s Board of Governors. The exam, which is generally favored by Christians and conservatives, was created in 2015 and is now recognized by over 250 undergraduate schools in the United States, according to

-RONNIE GROSS

the CLT exam website.

Florida’s board has seventeen members, only one of whom was against the test’s implementation into the state’s education system.

“I’m not against allowing the use of the CLT,” Amanda Phalin, an associate professor at the University of Florida, said. “I oppose the use of it at this time because we do not have the empirical evidence to show that this assessment is of the same quality as the ACT and the SAT.”

While the ACT and SAT are each about three hours long, the CLT takes only about two hours and has three sections, according to its website: verbal reasoning, grammar & writing, and quantitative reasoning. The exam is administered online from the student’s home, as opposed to the other two standardized tests, which are currently taken on paper in the United States.

An ACT score can range from 0 to 36, while an SAT score can range from 400

to 1600. In comparison, the CLT is scored from 0 to 120.

“The SAT is a proven, valid predictor of college performance based on years of published and accessible research and data. CLT has not published evidence of validity or predictiveness of college performance,” the College Board asserted, adding that math tested on the SAT and CLT are also on different grade levels.

below high school grade level,” the nonprofit organization, which is responsible for SAT and AP testing, said.

“In reviewing a published CLT practice test, we found 25% of questions were

According to the creators of the test, the CLT “draws on sources that have helped shape the course of Western intellectual thought” and “looks to writings by time-honored authors writing from c. 400 B.C. to the present day.” Additionally, the CLT is an apolitical test, although many of its reading texts were written by religious figures such as Maimonides, Martin Luther, and Saint Augustine.

Now, students applying to Florida’s state universities will be able to submit exam scores from the CLT. Prior to the governing board’s vote, the CLT scores were already allowed in applications to Florida Bright Futures, a statewide scholarship program.

IRS To Target Millionaires

On Friday, the Internal Revenue Service said that it will begin to target 1,600 millionaires and 75 big business partnerships that, according to the agency, have “cut corners” on their taxes by withholding millions of dollars.

These new efforts come as the IRS receives a federal funding boost, allowing for increased hiring and access to new artificial intelligence technologies that are equipped to catch tax evaders, according to the service’s commissioner Daniel Werfel.

“If you pay your taxes on time, it should be particularly frustrating when you see that wealthy filers are not,” Werfel said, adding that each of the sixteen hundred targeted millionaires owe $250,000 or more, while there are

seventy-five business partnerships that have about $10 billion in assets withheld from the IRS.

“New tools are helping us see patterns and trends that we could not see before, and as a result, we have higher confidence on where to look and find where large partnerships are shielding income,” Werfel added.

“The IRS will have dozens of revenue officers focused on these high-end collection cases in fiscal year 2024,” he said. “We have more hiring to do. It’s going to be a very busy fall for us.”

According to academic and IRS researchers, in 2021, the wealthiest 1% of Americans did not report over 20% of their earnings. During the first half of 2023, over $38 million of withheld taxes were collected by the agency.

Ron Wyden, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, praised the IRS’s upcoming efforts as a means of holding everyone accountable to paying their fair share in taxes. Others have expressed concern over these measures, with some asserting that the IRS is exercising too much power and control and might be after the middle class next.

Attacking the 2nd Amendment in New Mexico

rying of guns on state property, including state buildings, schools and some parks.

When asked during a Friday news conference whether she believes the move will stop criminals in Albuquerque from carrying a gun on the streets, Lujan Grisham flatly said, “No.”

“But here’s what I do think – it’s a pretty resounding message to everybody else in that community to report a crime, to tell us what’s going on, to aid law enforcement to do something different,” she said.

state police to add officers in Albuquerque, with funding allotted for overtime.

Bernalillo County police will not enforce the order, Sheriff John Allen said on Monday. “They won’t enforce it. It’s unconstitutional,” he said.

Dozens of New Mexico residents came out against the order Sunday afternoon, openly carrying guns during a protest. Republican state representatives John Block and Stefani Lord have called for the governor to be impeached.

On Friday, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an emergency order banning both open and concealed firearms in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County, setting off a stream of backlash and legal challenges.

The ban is part of a public health emergency declaration over gun violence and drug abuse. The Democratic governor cited the killings of a 13-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy as well as two May mass shootings in the state in the declaration.

The order includes a 30-day suspension of open and concealed carry laws in Bernalillo County and a ban on the car-

The order makes exceptions for security guards and other law enforcement officials. People with permits to carry firearms are still allowed to have them on private property, as long as they are transported in a locked box with a trigger lock, or “some other mechanism that renders the gun incapable of being fired,” the order states.

Local law enforcement have pushed back against the order, leaving enforcement up to state police. The order directs

Did you know?

Djokovic Wins U.S. Open

Novak Djokovic has won so many Grand Slam singles titles in so many different ways it is getting extremely difficult to keep track of them.

Djokovic, a Serb, further solidified his reputation as the greatest player of the modern era on Sunday with a clinical,

The bark of a pomegranate tree turns gray with age.

straight-sets win over Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Floating across the court and swinging his racket with an ease and grace that top players a decade younger, and even more junior, can mostly only dream about, Djokovic took advantage of a flat start from Medvedev, then outlasted his friend in an epic second set and finally took apart his Monte Carlo neighbor 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

He did it on an Arthur Ashe Stadium court where he spent most of his career

playing the villain in matches against underdogs or longtime crowd favorites like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Sunday was nothing like that. The nearly 24,000 spectators welcomed him with a massive roar then showered him with the biggest one when Medvedev dumped a shot into the net to give Djokovic the title that has been surprisingly hard for the greatest hard-courts player in the sport’s history to win.

“This means the world to me,” he said

to the crowd just before lifting the trophy for the fourth time of his career.

It seems every time Djokovic plays a tournament these days he sets a record in men’s tennis, and usually he is besting one of his own. He began the year in Melbourne, where he won a record 10th Australian Open title. Sunday brought his 24th Grand Slam singles title, breaking his men’s record of 23 that he set at the French Open in June.

On Friday, he played in a record 47th

Grand Slam semifinal, one more than Federer. Three weeks ago, he won a record 39th title at a Masters 1000 tournament, the event just below the level of the Grand Slams. On Sunday, he played in his 36th Grand Slam final.

His performance at the U.S. Open guaranteed even before he took the court for his final matches that he would wake up Monday morning as the No. 1 player in the world, reclaiming the top spot from 20-year-old Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz. That will mark Djokovic’s 390th week at the top of the sport. He already had that record, too. (© The New York Times)

Apple Unveils New Products

On Tuesday, Apple unveiled a range of new products during a live-streamed presentation.

The event kicked off with a look at the all-new Apple Watch Series 9, equipped with the enhanced S9 chip, allowing for better performance, battery life, and an improved neural engine. Siri will play a bigger role in the Series 9, with more accurate dictation and quicker access to health information, none of which can be slowed down by a poor Wi-Fi connection. This new watch introduces a new way of operating the device: through hand gestures. By simply double-tapping your index finger and thumb together on the watch hand, you will be able to easily pick up or hang up a phone call, snooze an alarm, play or pause music, and even

scroll through the watch’s screen.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2, a bigger and more premium version of the watch, will come with the same improvements as the Series 9, including Double Tap and the S9 Chip. Its always-on retina display can shine as bright as 3,000 nits or as dim as 1 nit. Additionally, the watch will include an expanded altitude range, working as low as -500m to as high as 9000m, allowing its users to dive deep oceans and scale high peaks. The Series 9 will be priced at $399, while the Ultra 2 will be $799.

The highlight of the event was the announcement of the iPhone 15, as well as its Plus, Pro, and Pro Max models. The standard model will adopt the iPhone 14 Pro’s dynamic island notch and will utilize the fast A16 bionic chip. The iPhone 15 will have a 48MP camera, with fast autofocus, improved light capture, and a 2x telephoto option, allowing for high-quality zoomed-in photos. The standard model’s battery lasts all day, while the iPhone 15 Plus lasts for even longer. Perhaps the biggest news is that the iPhone 15, and its other models, will be switching to a USB-Ctype plug, thus abandoning the classic charger that the iPhone has used since its inception.

The premium model, the iPhone 15 Pro, is now built with titanium, which is strong and durable and makes the 15 Pro the lightest Pro model Apple has ever released. The phone has replaced its silence/ring switch with an action button. By default, the button allows users to toggle silent mode on and off, but through customization can be used to start recording a voice memo, turn on the camera, or open up an app automatically with just the press of a button. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will have the new A17 Pro chip, which, according to Apple, is the fastest smartphone chip ever. The Pro’s camera will allow for a 3x zoom, while the Pro Max, which has even bigger lenses, will have a 5x zoom-in option.

The iPhone 15 will be priced at $799, the Plus will be $899, the Pro at $999, and the Pro Max at $1199. The 15 and the 15 Pro will be 6.1”, while the Plus and the Pro Max will be 6.7”.

The Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and all the models of the iPhone 15 will be released on September 22..

Every Dog Has Its Day

At that point, Rodriguez was separated from Maia, who was taken by an agent from Delta. The next day, when Rodriguez was about to board her flight back home, Maia never came to the gate.

Atlanta’s airport is considered the busiest in the world.

Unable to remain in the United States for over 24 hours without a visa, Rodriguez was forced to board her flight to Punta Cana without Maia

“Everyone who knows me knows what she means to me,” Rodriguez said of her beloved pet. “I don’t go anywhere without her. She’s so well behaved that I take her to restaurants, literally everywhere. She’s my partner in everything.”

Maia is finally home. The 6-year-old dog went missing in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on August 18 when her owner, Paula Rodriguez, embarked on a journey from their home in the Dominican Republic to California for a twoweek vacation. When Rodgriguez got to Atlanta on a layover, she was informed by border patrol staff that her tourist visa wasn’t valid. They canceled her visa and told her she would need to return home on the next flight.

But it turns out that Maia was nowhere to be found. Two days after she went missing, a Delta agent told Rodriguez that the dog had run away in middle of the runway as her kennel was being opened.

For weeks, Rodriguez frantically tried to get airline and airport representatives to look for her four-legged friend.

Finally, last weekend, after three weeks of separation, Maia was found. She had been hiding in the cargo facilities at the airport. Now, she is reunited with her human friend.

Sounds like it was really ruff.

“Dream no coming after you,” Baluchi said. “You must follow your dream.”

He certainly lives the dream.

Paint the Town Red

Reza Baluchi just wants to get to England. The problem is his mode of transportation.

The Iranian native who now lives in Florida was attempting to head across the Pond in a giant floating hamster wheel made of buoys and wire.

Turns out that the U.S. Coast Guard wasn’t too happy with Baluchi’s choice of vessel. After days of wrangling with authorities and a criminal complaint filed in U.S. district court, authorities boarded the hydro-pod as they were preparing for Hurricane Franklin. But Baluchi wouldn’t go down without a fight. He brandished a knife and said he would hurt himself if agents wouldn’t allow him to continue his voyage.

It took three days and two Coast Guard boats, along with numerous agents, to finally get Baluchi onto dry land. Finally, he was brought ashore in Miami Beach last Friday, where he was released on $250,000 bond.

While his case is underway, he’s barred from travel outside the Southern District of Florida, and “may not go to the ocean or board a vessel on the ocean” — a special condition added to his bond agreement.

Baluchi and his hamster wheel have made headlines in the past. He has attempted similar voyages in 2014, 2016, and in 2021. The Coast Guard has intervened in all of those attempts.

Namaste Mix-Up

Police barreled into a yoga class in England last week after dog walkers thought a group meditation exercise looked like the results of a ritual mass murder.

The Seascape Cafe at the North Sea Observatory in Chapel St. Leonards, England, detailed the unusual incident in a Facebook post.

pating in a beautiful deep relaxation, and it could have never run through any of our minds that it could be taken in this way.”

Sort of kills the mood.

A Gem of a Find

A small village in Portugal is drunk. On Sunday, nearly 600,000 gallons of red wine flowed through the streets of São Lorenco de Bairro after two tanks owned by a distillery released the vino.

Videos of the drunken deluge showed red wine pouring through the streets of the town that is home to 2,000 people.

The alcohol torrent did not cause any injuries, although it caused material damage, as the red liquid flooded nearby roads, land, and entered at least one cellar. The wine in the streets caused an environmental alert as the Anadia Fire Department made efforts to divert the wine to prevent the contamination of the nearby Certima River.

Levira Distillery apologized for the incident and said the company will take care of damages.

“We assume full responsibility for the costs associated with cleaning and repairing the damage, having teams do so immediately,” it said in a statement. “We are committed to resolving this situation as quickly as possible.”

The soil soaked with wine will be taken to a special treatment plant.

Sounds like something to whine about.

“If anyone heard the mass of police sirens in Chapel St Leonard’s at 9:30 p.m. last night then please be reassured,” the post said. “They were on their way to the Observatory after someone had reported a mass killing in our building. Having seen several people laying on the floor... Which actually turned out to be the yoga class in meditation.”

“Dear General Public, please be mindful that the Observatory has lots of yoga classes happening in the evenings. We are not part of any mad cult or crazy clubs,” the post said.

By the time the police got there, the yoga class had been dismissed.

“I was very shocked,” the teacher said. “It was so surreal, and I didn’t quite believe it was true. I have spoken to most of the people who took part and they have just said how mad it is. They were all partici-

Aspen Brown had a very memorable birthday this year. The seven-year-old was visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas on a birthday trip with her family when she spotted what looked like a sparkling gem.

Turns out, this was no ordinary find. The jewel turned out to be a 2.95-carat diamond – the second-largest diamond found by a park visitor this year. (A 3.29-carat brown diamond had been found in March.)

Brown’s gem is about the size of a green pea and is golden-brown. A diamond in the rough.

FATHER & SONS

Excitement

Around the Community

is in the Air at BY5T

After a long and restful summer break, baruch Hashem, BY5T’s school year is off to an amazing start!

The girls were welcomed back to school by the hanhala with music and a balloon arch. They each received a personalized water bottle filled with treats and their own BY5T scrunchy. The en-

thusiasm and enjoyment on the faces of the morahs and talmidos alike during the first week was something special to behold.

The girls enjoyed a visit from the ice cream truck as an Erev Shabbos, back-toschool treat. A special thank you to the Shapiro family for sponsoring this event.

The girls jumped right into learning

about the Aleph-Bais and its importance and started an exciting and creative arts project teaching about how Hashem is everywhere! The girls participated in an interactive Rosh Hashana experience where they were introduced to the concept of “the King is in the field,” highlighting that Hashem is even more accessible in the period leading up to Rosh

Hashana. The girls also came up with favorite mitzvos scenarios that they then placed on “Hashem’s scale.”

So many great learning moments are happening at BY5T!

For more information, please visit BY5T. org.

Happy 8th birthday Remi Solomon!

May you continue to bring your family much nachas

Rep. Meng Announces $3 Million Grant to Met Council to Create First Ever Diaper Bank

Rep. Grace Meng, D-Queens, recently joined the Met Council on Jewish Poverty staff, volunteers and CEO David G. Greenfield at Met Council’s Affordable Housing Towers VI in Flushing to prepare essential food and hygiene kits that will be distributed to New Yorkers in need and launch a firstof-its kind diaper bank in Queens.

Rep. Meng took the opportunity to present Met Council with an oversized

check for $3 million in federal funding that she secured for the group to create a first of its kind program to provide diapers for needy residents of Queens. Some of the funding will also be used to increase access to food for seniors and Holocaust survivors; and providing menstrual hygiene products to women. While there, she also visited with residents, presenting them with packages of essential food supplies.

A Very Moving Selichos with BJX and Beri Weber

By Baruch Segal

There was unanimous feedback about the Selichos with BJX: “Wow!”

People were blown away by the beauty, holiness, and dveykus that transpired. The incomparable Beri Weber’s surreal voice penetrated our hearts and enveloped our souls. The Morah D’Asra of BJX Rav Yitzchok Fingerer’s electrifying speech moved everyone to tears as we all identified with the boy who ended up in India and broke his father’s heart. The diversity and unity felt like a prelude to Moshiach. Where else does one see Chassidim with white socks dancing together with Jews from other backgrounds, including Modern Orthodox and American, Syrian Persian and Russian baalei teshuva, some of whom were experienc -

Did you know?

ing their very first Selichos? This surely brought great bracha to the entire Flatbush and environs.

There’s a very sublime ruach and kedusha that one feels at a BJX davening or program that is indescribable but is truly life altering. You walk out feeling uplifted, inspired and ready to serve Hashem and love His children.

The city of Grenada, Spain is named after Punica granatum, the pomegranate tree.

The Yeshiva of Central Queens welcomed all of their new and returning students with a wonderful first week of school. Special thanks to YCQ’s Parent-Teacher Organization for arranging an amazing Pre-School Bash

The kindergarten talmidos of the Ganger Early Childhood Center at TAG celebrated their introduction to Aleph Bais on Friday

the Community

Welcome Back to HANC

The administration and staff in HANC’s Elementary School in West Hempstead have been working tirelessly to prepare for the opening of the new school year. Prior to opening day, the staff of the Elementary School and Early Childhood Center joined together for two days of professional development in order to enhance the instruction and experiences of the students for the coming year. Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, Head of HANC’s West Hempstead campuses, explained the theme for the new school year: “Each and every one of us has a special spark residing deep within our souls waiting to be revealed so that our potential can be expressed. Chazal tell us that we are each endowed with a neshama Elokah mima’al, a piece of Hashem embedded within us, more commonly known as our neshama. This spark ignites our potential. As I prepared for the school year and the launch of our yearly theme, this profound idea has fascinated me. When we grow towards our potential through our accomplishments and the chesed that we do, it helps us grow and

shine brightly!”

This year, 5784, will be focused on the theme “Ignite the Light.” HANC’s special programming and student activities will be centered around our theme of leading each child to meet their potential as they find their unique greatness and the elements that will help them shine.

To illuminate this theme, HANC invited a world-renowned inspirational

speaker, national radio host and former HANC parent Mr. Charlie Harary to address the crowd

On Wednesday morning, the doors of HANC Elementary School blasted open to great fanfare as the excited young neshamas walked the red carpet and bounced happily into the building greeting their former teachers and reuniting with old friends. It was a magnificent

sight to witness as the HANC family reconnected after a summer away at various camps and summer vacations. They were warmly welcomed by the engaging smile of their new rebbe, morah, or teacher. The students eagerly joined their new classes to embark on a year of learning and maturity. Their teachers are equally excited in anticipation of a wonderful year with their new classes.

Welcome Back to School at Central

It’s a new school year at Central! Preparations for opening week began with a new faculty orientation on Tuesday, August 30. New Wildcat faculty members bonded over icebreakers, a tour of the Central facility, and training sessions on technology and school culture. The evening of the 30th brought all faculty members together for a reunion with Central’s first annual Faculty Family Fun night, offering dinner, lawn games, and a popular bouncy castle for our faculty members’ children. The following day, faculty members used morning and afternoon development sessions to reflect on the past year and anticipate the year to come. The theme for the 2023-24 school is “The Power of Positivity,” chosen in part to inspire students and faculty to consider positivity as a decision and based on the idea in Pirkei Avot of an “Ayin Tova” – an optimistic outlook.

“The core reason as to why we chose positivity for this year’s theme is because positivity is a mindset – a work always in progress,” Associate Principal Ms. Leah Moskovich shared.

The day’s professional development training placed positivity at the center of discussion with a presentation by Dr. Yael Muskat, Dean of Mental Health and Wellness and Director of the Yeshiva University Counseling Center, who discussed how to positively influence students with curriculum and relationship building. Also presenting was Jewish organizational expert Dr. Sarah Rubinson Levy, who explored the increasingly crucial topic of AI as a classroom tool and its impact on education.

On Tuesday, September 5, Central gave the class of 2027 a rousing welcome at Freshman Orientation! These brandnew Central Wildcats spent the day meeting their teachers, collecting their books and supplies, and getting their first taste of high school. The following day, they were welcomed by returning sophomores, juniors, and seniors, as well as the full Central faculty for Opening Day. The introductory mini-day featured meetings with teachers, stopping in at the Central bookstore, and a warm welcome from Central’s Head of School, Ms. Bracha Rutner, who encouraged students to take a positive and proactive approach to the new semester. “Think about what you want to achieve over the course of the year,” she said. “We’re reaching for the stars in order to grow and to learn.”

Central has a robust September schedule in store, with guest speakers, field trips, Central’s Club Fair, and our annual Community Challah Bake. We are positive this will be the best year yet!

Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick and Nassau County Legislator and Deputy Presiding Officer Howard Kopel traveled to Israel with local leaders last week and met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog

Opening Week of 5 Towns Flag Football

What a week it was at the FM Home Loans-5 Towns Flag Football League! There were so many great games and moments! Let’s start with the youngest division, in the Pre 1A division, the boys had a lot of fun catching the ball and pulling flags under the leadership of Rabbi Jeremy Fine. In the 1st grade division, the Giants beat Broncos and the Jets and the Vikings had an intense game that ended

in a tie. The Eagles beat the Patriots with some great touchdowns by Menachem Samuel. In the 2nd grade division, the Eagles beat the Patriots, and the Giants beat the Broncos with a great touchdown by Asher Mishann. In the 3rd and 4th grade division, the Giants beat Dolphins. The Broncos beat the Steelers in a very competitive match. The Seahawks and Raiders tied, the fierce Patriots beat the Panthers, the Saints and the Falcons tied

in a very intense game, and the Jets beat the Packers. In the 5th and 6th grade division, the Giants beat the Dolphins, the Seahawks beat the Raiders, the Jets and the Packers tied, and the Panthers beat the Patriots with an unbelievable last second touchdown! In the 7th and 8th grade division, the Vikings beat the Giants, the Broncos and the Patriots tied, and the Jets beat the Commanders with incredible touchdown throws by Quar -

terback Aron Moskowitz.

Here are the winners of the brandnew Sportsmanship of the Week Award!

Pre 1a – Hillel Goldberg; 1st – Eli Hollander; 2nd – Ariel Flecksher; 3rd and 4th – Rafi Greenstein; 5th and 6th – Elisha Portal; 7th and 8th – Saul Shulman.

Wishing everyone a shana tova and can’t wait for the rest of the season.

YOSS Welcomes

Rabbi Ahron Oberlander

Yeshiva of South Shore welcomes Rabbi Ahron Oberlander as a new 7th grade rebbi! Born and raised in Brooklyn, Rabbi Oberlander was a talmid of the first graduating class of Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel elementary school. He continued learning there through Beis Medrash and currently serves as their Night Seder Shoel Umeishiv. Rabbi

Oberlander learned in Mir Yerushalayim and returned to learn in the Mir Kollel after his marriage. He also learned in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin Beis Medrash and Kollel.

Rabbi Oberlander previously served as the eighth grade Rebbe in Yeshiva Ahavas Torah in Brooklyn, where he was beloved both in and out of the classroom and formed lasting connections to his talmidim. In addition to being a Rebbe, Rabbi Oberlander is the Program Director of the Camp Morris Mesivta upstate. He also runs the Avos Ubanim program of his shul and is constantly on the lookout for new and innovative ideas.

Rabbi Oberlander’s classroom combines a high level of learning with an excitement and geshmak! He looks forward to creating a vibrant and exciting ruach in his classroom and to form a strong kesher with each of his talmidim.

Honoring Our First Responders

HANC Middle School’s Orientation

Lido Beach Synagogue and the BACH Jewish Center honored local first responders in a communal gala breakfast on Sunday morning, September 10. Members of the Lido Beach/ Point Lookout Fire Department accepted an award and a gift from their appreciative community.

Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Toras Chaim Bais Binyamin, the Yeshiva of South

Shore, keynoted the event with words of Inspiration: “There For Others: A Pathway to Teshuvah.” Rabbi Kamenetzky’s stirring words seamlessly wove themes from the Torah, American history, anecdotes from his illustrious zeidy, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky, zt”l, and the collective and vivid memories of 9/11.

Children came and played on the fire truck, courtesy and under the supervision of the firemen.

This year, HANC Middle School

seventh grade orientation was broken up into four components.

Rabbi Hecht spoke about the daily schedule and what the students can expect the first day. He also spoke to the students about the expectations of a HANC Middle School student in general. Rabbi Dworetsky, Mrs. Morey and Mrs. Steiner

ran an ice breaker activity. In the third session, Ms. Fredman gave each student their Chromebook and gave a session on digital citizenship. Orientation concluded with a delicious pizza dinner. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to meet new friends and reconnect with old friends.

L-R: Bert Fried, Chairman of the Board, Lido Beach Synagogue; Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky; Ariel Sutain, president, Lido Beach Synagogue; Bill Wade, Chief, Lido Beach/Point Lookout Firehouse; and Rabbi Elly Krimsky, rabbi, Lido Beach Synagogue

Shulamith Kicks Off Into a Great Year

On Tuesday night, September 5, the 8th grade girls of Shulamith got together for the 8th grade season kickoff. All the girls reconnected, had a delicious dinner and got excited to choose positions for the coming year which will allow them to make their 8th grade experience unforgettable. Thank you to the Dachs family for hosting and sponsoring this incredible event and to all the parent volunteers for making it a success.

The next morning, the Shulamith girls were so excited to come back home.

JSL Week 2 Recap

The JSL Fall 2023 regular season kicked off this past Sunday, in what is the league’s biggest season yet. This season spans 3 gyms, 500+ boys, and includes all-new weekday practices. The boys were eager to begin the new season and the first week of regular season games came down to the wire. Mr. David Brecher, owner of FM Home Loans, was in attendance for the start of what looks to be an incredible season. The league thanks the Sponsor of the Week, Maidenbaum, the leader in property tax reduction.

JSL Juniors

K/P Hockey: Team PinIt Realty battled to secure the victory led by Jake Ruvel with a goal and stellar goaltending. PinIt Realty beat Posh Home and Bath 4-2. Oded Perl was pure hustle, as he helped John’s Automotive defeat Bright Futures 4-1.

K/P Soccer: Dead on Pest Control and Target Exterminating tied 4-4. Simcha Smith of Dead on Pest Control was named MVP, scoring 3 goals, including the last goal to tie the game in the last 10 seconds. Akiva Bonrouhi was phenomenal for Island Roofing in their win over Simcha Day Camp. But Dovid Dubin played great

From the fun music and balloons to the welcoming staff, it was a great way to start the year. Each grade met in different locations to connect with their new teachers and then headed to their classrooms. The Shulamith student council chose this year’s theme of sports, and what a home run of a week it was! All the Shulamith girls listened to our newest theme song, and by the end of the day, they were all dancing and singing along. We look forward to a high scoring year at Shulamith!

in goal with 8 saves.

1st Hockey: Coach Eli Jaroslawicz had 5Towns Central in mid-season form as they were firing on all cylinders, including a top-notch performance by team MVP Eliyahu Zauderer. 5Towns Central won 3-0, in what was Coach Eli’s 4th win of the day.

1st/2nd Football: Joseph Meisels scored 3 TD’s, as PIP Printing defeated Adventure Media Group in a close game 5-3. Asher Melool had the play of the day with an amazing catch on 4th down to seal the victory.

Basketball

3rd/4th: Avi Abramson came ready for the 2023 season with a dominant performance, leading Traditions Eatery to a 10-point victory over Miller Realty. Zev Becher of Miller Realty had an amazing steal for the play of the day. Team “I Am Your Chef” won in a close game vs Newman Dental 15 to13, behind Game MVP Isaac Edery’s MVP 8 points and 10 rebounds. Dovid Bauman had the highlight defensive steal. Game MVP Binyamin Sabo had lockdown defense and Ari Walkin hit a nice fadeaway to help Maidenbaum defeat King David’s Contractors

13 to 6. 5th-7th: Noam Rosman played great to help 4Seasons AC beat Wieder Orthodontics 38-23.

Hockey

2nd/3rd: Shmuli Sitzer scored five times in the 1st period alone for Insight Optiks as they went on to beat Believe & Achieve 8-4. Aharon Schreier and Dovid Gerson both had 4 goals for Island Roofing as they defeated Built by Nate 10 to 1. Arielle Rosenblatt Interiors defeated Marciano Pediatric Dentistry 3 to 1, behind an incredible performance in goal by Eli Benedek.

4th/5th: Game MVP Binyamin Flegmann had 4 Goals and 1 assist as Town Appliance defeated JNT 5-2. Ari Frenkel played great in goal for AutoClick Car Keys in their 6-1 win over The Card Arcade.

6th/8th: Raphi is a wall. Rephael Klien continued where he left off last season, allowing zero goals in net to help BayRock Insurance narrowly win 1-0. Team JNT played great behind Binyomin Hirtz’s 4 goals, as they defeated 925 Sterling 6-1.

Game MVPS: Simcha Smith; Nissim Meisels; Ephraim Emanuel; Eliyahu Zau-

derer; Nisson Gordon; Avi Abramson; Ari Feldman; Isaac Edery; Zecharia Kotel; Shmuli Sitzer; Binyamin Sabo; Aharon Schreier; Dovid Gerson; Binyamin Flegmann; Aryeh Brandsofer; Abie Krieser; Ari Frenkel; Yosef Weilgus

Play of the Week: The first ever “JSL Play of the Week” trophy was awarded to Dovi Holzberg.

Fun Fact of the Week: The league mascot, the JSL Jaguar, is a former floor hockey superstar who scored 42 goals in the ‘94 sleepaway camp season.

Swag Alert: Every boy has already received a bag, sweat towel, and water bottle. The older divisions also received schedule magnets. Swag courtesy of FM Home Loans, Maidenbaum, Island Roofing, Town Appliance and Wieder Orthodontics.

Ahead of Rosh Hashana, YOSS talmidim assisted the JJCRP packing boxes for needy families in the community

At the end of the first day of classes, HANC Middle School students ended the day with two huge inflatable obstacle courses

Central Students Intern at Albert Einstein School of Medicine

For Central students, learning does not take a break between finals in June and the first week of classes in September. This summer, juniors Shira Fisher, Amy Morris, Esther Nazarov, and Sarah Yagudayev shifted from being students to being medical professionals in training as interns at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Under the guidance of Science Department Chairperson and Science Institute Coordinator Mrs. Ruth Fried, the four spent the summer immersed in the work of specialists at Einstein’s Longevity Genes Project, which is at the forefront of aging research in its work with its investigation of longevity in healthy centenarians.

Shira, who interned with the Division of Hepatology in the Department of Medicine, described the experience as formative: “It really showed me what being a researcher is like and how someone can make a career out of science,” she said. “I was trusted to analyze data, which was a really good learning experience. I really enjoyed being at the lab, especially when the days were eventful, because it was a

great view into how scientists are always challenging accepted theories and pushing the limits to discover or create something new.” Amy, who also served within the Division of Hepatology, agreed that the lab responsibilities were central to her experience: “I truly enjoyed coming into the lab each day. I knew I would always learn something new. I was trusted with so much since my first week.” Sarah agreed, citing the immunology research and lab experiments that were an integral part of her work in Hepatology. “I did research on Immunology, specifically the Hepatitis C Virus and T Cells,” she said. “In the future, I really do see myself pursuing a career in science, particularly medicine. As a young woman, this experience really showed me my potential and how important it is to be exposed to research.”

Central’s Science Institute, a rigorous, three-year academic program to which high-achieving students are invited at the end of ninth grade, was organized for this specific purpose: to introduce Central students to the excitement

and promise of a STEM career. Once accepted, Science Institute students focus their elective studies on college-level math and science classes, including an after-school research methodology course taught by Professor Jason Williams of the Dolan DNA Learning Center, in anticipation of national science competition participation during senior year.

Following clinical research internships at Albert Einstein during their sophomore summer, the students spend their junior summer within a university research lab setting, such as that of Stony Brook University, where they perform independent research and publish a paper before embarking on the competition trail.

MTA’s Freshmen Class is Welcomed with a Special Orientation

The journey begins!

On Tuesday, MTA welcomed its 107th class of incoming freshmen, the Class of 2027. This superstar group of talmidim hails from many different communities, including Bergen County, Passaic, Westchester, Brooklyn, Queens, West Hempstead, the Five Towns, Highland Park, Monsey, Baltimore and Connecticut! As the buses pulled up and first-time high schoolers emerged, the enthusiasm could be felt by everyone. Though the talmidim began the day a bit nervous about beginning high school, that was soon replaced with excitement, as they were greeted warmly by their rebbeim and administrators.

MTA Freshman Orientation, under the expert direction of Freshman Grade Dean Rabbi Eli Cohn, is designed to begin a process of bringing this group of talmidim together into one unified grade. The program gave the freshmen an opportunity to begin the signature YUHSB

experience of shiur with their rebbe, as well as get oriented with their teachers in their core general studies courses. It was also a great opportunity to discuss the core values of MTA and what the yeshiva experience will be like during their time on campus. Finally, the day also provided the Class of 2027 to meet with Lion Senior Mentors. The Senior mentors are a selected group of 12th grade talmidim who are matched up with small groups of freshmen. This provides each ninth grader with an address of a fellow talmid in MTA to go to for advice and to help get acclimated to yeshiva. The Lion Mentors accompanied the Class of 2027 throughout their day, helping them learn their way around the campus and get used to the schedule. The talmidim concluded the day excited to begin their high school experience at MTA. Every Rebbe and teacher is looking forward to a year full of personal and spiritual growth!

Zipping Into Senior Year at SHS

By Tamar Frei

After a solid one day of school, Shulamith High School seniors took a well-earned break at our senior leadership retreat in Connecticut. We went to a ropes course park to do team building activities. The leader of the Empower course, Dan, taught us leadership skills, teamwork, and communication. Since we’re in 12th grade, we are the role models of Shulamith. It is our responsibility to be the leaders of the school, set the mood, and lead all the fun activities in school. As we worked through some of the challenges, everyone was included and involved, and we got to learn different skills. After lunch, we went to the ropes course, where we had tons of fun going on all the obstacles and zip lines. It was nice seeing girls go out of their comfort zone to try something new.

I really enjoyed starting off the year with a grade trip where everyone could be together and have a good time. Shulamith is all about being inclusive, fun, inspiring, and respectful towards others. I really am grateful and appreciative to Shulamith for all the trips and activities and hard work they put in to make our school year amazing.

MTA Launches its Senior Elective Names Not Numbers

There’s a Buzz Happening at BYAM

On Monday, September 11, approximately 30 seniors at MTA gave up their lunchtime to attend the opening session of Names Not Numbers, the Oral History Documentary Film Project. Names, Not Number is in its 18th year at MTA, and it has always been one of the most popular electives. Students gain valuable skills in interviewing, videography, and film editing, learn about the events of the Holocaust, and ultimately meet a survivor face to face to conduct a full-length filmed interview about the survivor’s life experiences.

During the opening session, Rabbi Michael Taubes, Rosh Yeshiva at MTA, charged the seniors with the responsibility to carry on the survivor’s story as

this generation will be the last to have the opportunity to speak to a living Survivor. Rabbi Shimon Schenker, Menahel at MTA, spoke about the importance of connecting to Jewish history on the level of a mitzvah to uncover Hashgachas Hashem in the world. Tova Rosenberg, founder of the NNN Program, emphasized the importance of the program with sobering statistics about how little the world remembers what happened during the Holocaust. Students watched a moving interview with Dr. Moshe Avital as a sample of the work they themselves will produce later in the year. In testimonials afterwards, students indicated they are excited to be involved in this important project to meet survivors and share their story.

Students in grades Nursery through 4 at BYAM were treated this week to an experience that won’t soon “bee” forgotten! Mr. Yosef Borenstein, also known as Mr. Bee, traveled all the way from Passaic to teach the girls all about the sticky sweet Rosh Hashana treat and the busy insects who produce it. Mr. Bee came with his beekeeping garb, including his bee suit and smoker. The girls enjoyed a true multisensory experience, as they saw, smelled and tasted the delicious honey, felt the beeswax, and

listened to busy bees buzzing. They got to do a hive inspection and see a real honeycomb complete with bees inside! They learned that each bee has a job depending on his age, and were able to calculate the ages of the bees based on the job each was doing. The girls enjoyed the different flavors of honey, which they learned was directly connected to the type of flower it came from.

What a “bee”eautiful experience it was for all!

Selichos with the Nikolsburger Rebbe in Woodbourne, NY

Getting Ready for a Sweet New Year

Senior year at SKA is an experience you wait for, well, for four years!

The Class of 2024 is starting off strong – from welcoming the girls on the first day of school with decorations and posters, to leading Friday morning ruach and kugel and exhibiting an amazing upper-classman positive vibe.

Lisa Fogel, 12th grade social worker, is a strong believer in empowering each and every student to reach new heights. Ms. Fogel, the 12th grade GLAs, and the programming team have been working on a senior class grade-wide leadership trip to allow each girl to learn more about themselves, their friends, and the grade as a whole. The seniors started their Leadership Trip with team building activities led by Rabbi Tani Prero. The program was designed to strengthen, galvanize and prepare our 12th graders for their role as school leaders.

While the 12th graders enjoyed their trip, the freshmen were treated to a trip

of their own. Encouraging achdut and camaraderie, the ninth graders participated in a graffiti art project, as well as cooperative games and team building with Rabbi Prero. Bringing it all together, the freshmen and seniors came together for a boat ride, where the grades mingled and got to know one another. Each freshman was paired with a senior…a “Stella Sister,” as part of our Stella K B’lev Echad program. The girls experienced the power of teamwork, and realized how much more they can accomplish when working together, a core tenet at SKA.

In preparation for Rosh Hashana, the whole school gathered to perform Hatarat Nedarim, with a Beit Din composed of our SKA rabbinic staff. The girls then viewed the U’netaneh Tokef video compiled by graphic design teacher Mrs. Jordana Mallin.

Wishing Klal Yisroel a shana tova u’metuka!

Shulamith Welcome Back Carnival

No amount of rain could keep away the happy smiles of the Shulamith families. This past Sunday, the Shulamith Women’s Organization hosted a welcome back carnival for all of the Shulamith families. The students were able to ride in a horse and buggy, go on inflatables, and participate in many different types of projects. We

would like to thank our Shulamith High School students for helping out with our honey dish making, sand art, bracelet making and many more booths for our students. We would like to thank our SWO for having such a fun welcome back carnival filled with crafts, face painting treats, a petting zoo, music and of course…the prizes!

Welcome Back HAFTR

HAFTR is excited to welcome back students and faculty after a restful and rejuvenating summer. Students returned with the energy to learn and grow and look forward to sharing many fun, meaningful and engaging experiences. Our dedicated educators look forward to developing every student’s potential, igniting curiosity, and broadening horizons.

A Modern Orthodox yeshiva serving families from the Five Towns and surrounding areas, HAFTR engages students in a rigorous, meaningful academic program in both Limudei Kodesh and General Studies, as well as inspiring religious programming, extensive co-curricular activities, and valuable social-emotional learning that focus on the whole self.

Last week, educational leaders in the Early Childhood Program, Lower School, Middle School and High School welcomed students back to school at orientations focusing on new initiatives and protocols and highlighting HAFTR’s unique culture of respect, achdut, accountability and gratitude. Students in all four divisions had the opportunity to meet their teachers and make a successful transition to their new classes. One of the main objectives this year is to instill our mission within our yeshiva

and galvanize our students, parents, and teachers in a common vision. Staff and faculty have worked hard on creating lessons and schoolwide programs (such as HAFTR Day), interspersed throughout the year, that are dedicated to achieving this objective.

This year, we look forward to facilitating students’ academic achievement, love of Torah learning and development as knowledgeable world citizens. Our educators are gearing up innovative programming and extracurricular initiatives to enhance our students’ experience and advance the warm, inclusive culture of our yeshiva. We look forward to another great year here at HAFTR.

Shulamith Welcomes New Families

This year at Shulamith, we baruch Hashem have a record-breaking number of new families joining us from kindergarten through 8th grade. What better way to welcome them than with a sweet gift? This past week, our new parent committee packaged individual gift bags for each of our new families and hand-delivered them across the Five Towns, Queens, Brooklyn, Long Beach and Oceanside. Thank you to our committee, headed by Elisheva Samuels, for making this welcome such a success. It is a zechut, for us in Shulamith, to welcome all these new families to the sweetest family there is!

Welcome to the Manchester

We are delighted to invite the women of the Five Towns to join us at the Manchester, the new community center created especially for the incredible women of our extended community. Those of you who had joined us for the gala opening event in the springtime certainly felt the excitement in the air! The joy of camaraderie! The pleasure of sharing our love for the arts and music and for life itself! The long awaited very first calendar of events is finally here after a long summer of planning and getting everything ready. Be sure to check out what speaks to you and sign up right away.

Our programming will begin soon after the chagim, starting on October 1, for the senior sophisticates of our community. We will be adding additional program-

ming for women of all ages as the season advances. As of now, we will be offering sessions in baking, book club, chair yoga, music, art, health and wellness. Our popular “Ladies and Latte” Rosh Chodesh will continue monthly as well!

The Manchester, located at 138 Woodmere Blvd, is the culmination of the dream of two extraordinary young women, Daniella Wolfson and Chavi Mandelbaum. Mannie Cahn z”l, was the beloved father of Daniella; Esther Eichorn, a”h, the beloved mother of Chavie. This center was created to carry out their legacy of caring and concern for all members of Klal Yisrael. May this terrific project continue to bring merit to their parents.

Looking forward to greeting you personally! Wishing all a kesiva v’chasima tovah, a year overflowing with blessings, ad bli dai!

Students at Lev Chana are eagerly getting ready for Rosh Hashana

Yeshiva Har Torah Cuts Ribbon On New, State-Of-The-Art Early Learning Center

While the beginning of a school year always brings new excitement, for Yeshiva Har Torah – a Centrist Orthodox Jewish day school serving students from around Nassau County and Queens – this year’s first day of school also meant opening a new, state-of-the-art Early Learning Center.

The 42,000-square-foot new facility, located on a two acre campus in Little Neck, Queens, was custom built for students in Pre-K through second grade. A great deal of thought and sensitivity has gone into planning the building to ensure that it would be a place in which the youngest children can grow and flourish. With a designated hands-on educational kitchen, sensory gym, makerspace, and amazing indoor and outdoor play areas, this new edifice will be a special place where young learners will receive the foundation for their entire Yeshiva Har Torah experience.

According to Ms. Elisheva Langstein, Assistant Principal Grades 1 and 2, “We not only have beautiful new classrooms, we also have so many spaces in the building that serve as extensions of our classrooms and promote inquiry based and hands-on learning, exploration, and play.”

According to Morah Chaya Wernick, Yeshiva Har Torah’s new Director of Early Childhood, the new campus will enhance learning opportunities for the

school’s youngest learners.

“After months of planning and working through all of the details, it is so exciting to walk through the halls and hear the sound of joyful children learning, playing, and utilizing the amazing amenities we built and planned for them.”

Rabbi Gary Menchel, Yeshiva Har Torah’s Rosh HaYeshiva/Head of School, said that older students at the existing campus will see immediate upgrades, as a result of the space freed up. “This is a dream come true. Not only will our young children enjoy a facility that inspires their growth, but our 3rd through 8th graders will now be able to take full advantage of their own beautiful building, with a number of enhancements already planned,”

he said. The converted spaces will include a new student activities center, additional classrooms, a larger library, a beit midrash annex, and a unique Hebrew language learning space.

Yeshiva Har Torah was founded in 1989 with 19 students and has continued to grow throughout its history. It currently educates over 800 students, with far more applicants than available spots each year. The growing school is a testament to the quality of the students, educators and growing facilities that encourage a strong curriculum and positive environment in which students can flourish.

Interim Associate Principal Mrs. Sara Duani says, “Beyond the walls of this beautiful new campus lay infinite opportunities for each and every one of our students to blossom.”

Mr. Ephi Strazynski, Executive Director, feels that the new campus also serves as a statement about the school’s investment in the local Jewish community. “Aside from the beauty and uniqueness of the building, which caters to grades

Pre-K-2nd grade, we know that there are not enough spots in yeshiva day schools in our area. Our new Early Learning Center helps us offer and maintain our commitment to our current constituent communities, and hopefully serves as a reinvestment in the Little Neck Jewish community,” according to Strazynski.

To that end, the new campus will also enable Temple Torah, the distinguished congregation that sold the property to Yeshiva Har Torah, to continue to serve constituents for many years to come. The congregation will have use of a new sanctuary on Sabbaths and holidays, as well as room for programming and classes.

Yeshiva Har Torah’s new Early Learning Center represents a significant milestone, promising a bright future for both the school and the local Jewish community. With upgraded facilities, more opportunities, and a commitment to growth, the future looks bright for this Torah institution that has served its students and community for over three decades.

Our HALB family is so excited to be back together in school! We are all looking forward to an incredible year

Rabbi Moshe Shonek blowing shofar at Yeshiva of South Shore this week

HANC High School Back In Action

On Wednesday, August 31, the incoming freshmen attended an orientation to introduce them to life at HANC High School. Students were greeted on the lawn by administrators, directors and the student senate under an arch of balloons and exciting music, great food and great vibes.

After a warm welcome by Rabbi Slomnicki, the students participated in a round-robin activity where they learned about school culture and the particulars of school life as they received schedules, set up lockers and emails, met with administrators, and participated in team building workshops, ensuring a seamless transition to a successful high school career.

Additionally, during the opening week of school, the freshmen had class meets and ice-breaker activities to help them acclimate to the school year. Activities allowed students to meet new faces, learn new names and discover what they have in common with their new classmates.

On Thursday, September 7, the class met in the Library to meet with the Deans of Students and to receive their Chromebooks. It was a wonderful week welcoming the Class of 2027 and we look forward to an amazing four years.

To kick off the new school year, HANC High School held its annual Opening Ceremony and Back to School Senate Event. Seniors, freshmen, and new faculty were introduced to the student body with warm welcomes. Prior to the ceremony, the Class of 2024 received their senior shirts and then made their grand entrance into the auditorium with ruach and excitement. In traditional HANC ruach, the parade of departments marched down the aisle, props in hand, celebrating the new academic year.

Students had the opportunity to hear from Rabbi Slomnicki, who, in his multi-media presentation, discussed student commitment to academics, extracurricular, and to their personal lives. The student body also

heard from Student Senate President, Maya Wertman, who addressed the students and informed them of the many exciting ideas and events that the senate has in store this coming school year.

HANC students ate lunch together and were then invited to an outdoor

Senate Ice Cream event where they reunited with friends and faculty. It was so nice to see everyone again after the Summer vacation. Welcome home HANC High School and we look forward to an amazing year.

A New Year at Shulamith ECC BYAM’s Brand New Playground

The preschool girls at Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam delighted in their brand-new spectacular playground equipment. They even had the opportunity to participate in their very own ribbon cutting ceremony, enhanced

by handmade giant scissors! The stateof-the-art climbing system was graciously made possible by the PTA as well as the Silvian Foundation. The girls look forward to many happy recess experiences!

Anew year is underway at Shulamith ECC, and we are definitely off to a sweet start! The hallways are once again filled with laughter and singing. In honor of the upcoming Chag, Rabbi Monczyk, our executive director, and Mr. Hillel Tuchman, parent of Sophie and Naava, came to visit. They showed the children many different types

Seize the Moment: Utilizing Rosh Hashana To Its Fullest

By Rabbi Dov Silver

As we wind down the current year and think ahead to the upcoming year, who among us doesn’t have deep feelings of hope and awe? We look back at the past year wondering what we could have done better and what we would like to do better in the coming year. On the threshold of Rosh Hashana, we proclaim that Hashem sits on His thrown and judges us. Who will live and who will die. Who by water and who by fire. Who will succeed and who will fail. When we internalize these ideas, our preparation for Rosh Hashana takes on new meaning. We pray for ourselves, our spouses, our children, our parents, our siblings, and our friends. We pray that we should be taken care of physically and financially and that all our needs and desires will be granted.

But, there is a whole other element of judgment that actually takes priority on Rosh Hashana. In Michtav M’ Eliyahu, Rabbi Eliyahu E. Dessler explains that the judgment of Rosh Hashana relates to the spiritual needs of a person. Physical requirements are taken into consideration only insofar as they contribute to the person’s spiritual progress. Therefore, the most important thing for us to consider is what will my relationship will

be like with Hakadosh Baruch Hu this year. How closely connected will I feel and what changes will I do to make the relationship more meaningful and positive? On a physical level, it is hard for us to know what to pray for because we really don’t know what our needs will be tomorrow. There might be things that come up throughout the year that will require us to pray for a whole different package. But on a spiritual level, the terms remain constant. Every bit of energy we exert in our spiritual relationship with Hashem never loses traction. It is constant. How reassuring it is that we have the opportunity on Rosh Hashana to elevate ourselves in our relationship with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

The fact is all of our relationships are precious. We, therefore, put a great deal of energy into nurturing them. In reality, one of the main reasons that our relationships are difficult to navigate is because they are so very important to us. However, we need to prioritize. We must exert much effort in those relationships that we deem crucial. If we don’t put in the necessary effort, these special relationships are destined to fail and dissipate.

Our upcoming Madraigos Rosh Hashana Retreat will focus on the topic of “Seize The Moment – If Not Now, When?” Working collectively as a group, we explore and examine tefillah, teshuva,

and tzedakah. As we know, tefillah is beseeching Hashem and teshuva is repenting our sins and, at the same time, committing to act better in the future.

Let us examine the concept of tzedaka more closely. First, what does tzedaka have to do with our relationship with our Creator? It appears that tzedaka is only beneficial to our relationship with those who are in need. But, if we understand that giving tzedaka is providing for Hashem’s children, we can only imagine how much joy this gives Him when we give tzedaka to each other. In addition, it makes us better people overall which develops an inner bond with Hashem and His Torah.

As we celebrate Rosh Hashana together with close to 500 people, we have many opportunities to help other each according to our unique talents and abilities. It is our hope that what we focus on during our Rosh Hashana program will guide us throughout the new year, helping us to foster positive relationships in our lives.

As we strive to incorporate the lofty messages of Rosh Hashana and the value of our relationships, I am reminded of a moving story in Touched By A Story, by Rabbi Yechiel Spiro, which elucidates an essential point most worthy of sharing. The story takes place in the concentration camps. It was 1945, and the Jews were being liberated. An American officer, who

of shofarot. Mr. Tuchman blew all the different types of kolot and his tekiah gedolah lasted a full minute. Rabbi Monczyk surprised us by juggling three apples at once!

We at the Shulamith ECC wish the entire community a shana tova u’metukah; a wonderful year filled with sweetness, good health and happiness for all!

was in one of the camps, witnessed an amazing scene. The children who were extremely frail and weak, literally hanging on to their lives, lined up to receive a portion of soup. One little girl wasn’t interested in the soup at all. She was quietly sitting on the side and didn’t join the line. The officer was amazed at how it was possible that she didn’t want the hot, nutritious food in her starving condition. But, it became quite clear. Instead of the soup, she simply wanted a hug. The officer hugged the young girl for a long time as they cried together. Before long, uninterested in the food as well, the other children lined up, one by one, in front of the officer and waited for a hug. Like the little girl, we are all in desperate need of unconditional love and acceptance. We can see that more important than basic physical sustenance, we crave real, emotional connections. Relationships of all kinds have the potential to help us attain this closeness in our lives.

May the coming year bring. And may Hakadosh Baruch Hu shine down on all of us. May you be blessed with simcha and bracha tamid and may this year bring the ultimate geulah.

Rabbi Dov Silver is founder and executive vice president of Madraigos.

A Guaranteed Way to Make a Difference, with EFRAT

By Hadassah Bay

As we approach Rosh Hashanah and Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, our prayers are imbued with appeals to the One Above that we be remembered … for life.

Traditionally, Jews donate charity to the plethora of wonderful, life-saving causes that exist throughout the Jewish world, in order to tip the scales, merit a favorable judgement and be inscribed, middah k’neged middah, in the Book of Life.

Yet the question remains: Can any organization promise that their efforts will indeed guarantee a life saved?

EFRAT can.

Every year in Israel, over 35,000 babies are tragically lost to the Jewish people. In an overwhelming majority of cases, these losses are linked to desperate financial struggles that leave expectant mothers feeling alone and with no viable options. And contrary to popular belief, these are not only women on the fringes – some come from within our very own communities. It’s painful to think how many lives (and how much heartache!) could be saved, if only the expectant mothers would receive the support they need.

EFRAT’s mission is to provide that support and enable these women to “choose life,” alleviating the emotional toll and lifelong regrets that may come otherwise. Every dollar donated to EFRAT directly aids a woman facing dire financial stress, giving her the confidence and resources she needs to welcome a new life into the world.

With nearly 50 years of dedicated service, EFRAT has empowered approximately 85,000 women to bring the children they longed for into the world. Throughout the decades, EFRAT has been endorsed by all Gedolei Yisrael, past and present, including Rav Elyashiv, Harav Ovadia Yosef and Harav Mordechai Eliyahu, zt”l, and, lbc”l, Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau and Harav Asher Weiss, shlita.

While there are other organizations that provide various forms of support to expectant mothers, EFRAT directly prevents the loss of life through comprehensive, wraparound services.

These include providing essential baby items such as cribs, strollers, and layettes, as well as ongoing support like monthly supplies of diapers, wipes, and formula for the first two years. Additionally, women benefit from EFRAT’s vocational programs aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty, as well as the Bayit Cham—a sanctuary where they can seek refuge and emotional healing.

The effectiveness of EFRAT’s work is underscored by its remarkable efficiency. The organization has streamlined its operations to the extent that the total cost to save one life, including all forms of support offered, is only $1,500.

Your generosity could be the lifeline that changes a woman’s story from one of despair to one of hope and joy, reinforcing the sanctity of life that is so precious to us, especially at this time of year.

Rabbi David BenSoussan, a Rosh Kollel in Lakewood, remarked, “On the threshold of the Yamim Nora’im, when we seek to increase our merit, there is no doubt that saving the lives of babies, as EFRAT does so efficiently, will help us to save our own lives — nefesh tachat nefesh. However, EFRAT doesn’t just save babies, but the entire family, helping them make the best decision and providing long-term support.”

For more information about how you can save a life — guaranteed! — please contact us at info@cribefrat.org and visit www.cribefrat.org

TAL Academy Opens!

After months of planning, the much-anticipated opening of TAL Academy took place on September 5 as moros and rebbeim greeted the first students of this ground-breaking new yeshiva. The school opened with separate boys’ and girls’ classes of students in grades 2-4. TAL Academy is a school designed for students with average to above-average intelligence who have language-based learning disabilities. This includes children with dyslexia and students who have difficulty comprehending and expressing themselves in both oral and written language. To date, there is no yeshiva in our area dedicated to serving children with these specific needs which includes a full dual curriculum.

The Moreh D’Asrah for TAL Academy is Rabbi Eytan Feiner who visited the children on their first day of school to give them a bracha. Rabbi Feiner spoke to the children about the mitzvah of the mezuzah and affixed a mezuzah to the entrance door while the children excitedly gathered around to watch.

Leading the team of highly trained

professionals at TAL is Mrs. Sara Taib, who has extensive background in both general and special education. Joining her is Dr. Lydia Soifer, a language pathologist, who is a sought-after lecturer and consultant. Dr. Soifer has been working with children and families for over five decades and holds the position of Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Mrs. Brocha Kresch, Director of Kriah, has developed her own multisensory Kriah curriculum and is overseeing the Hebrew reading instruction for all students. The team includes special educators, language pa-

thologists, occupational therapists, and a school psychologist who work together in a collaborative team so that all services are provided seamlessly within the school day. Students also enjoy extra-curricular classes including art, music, gym, and chess.

“After so many months of preparation, it is so exciting for us to be in our building and finally have the children here. It was so gratifying to see how quickly our students bonded with their classmates and with their teachers,” said Mrs. Taib, principal of TAL.

After the first full day of classes, an

appreciative parent shared, “I just wanted to let you know that my daughter came home today and said she had the best day of her whole life. I literally had to pull the car over and cried in my car as I was driving home... I have never heard her come home bursting with so much excitement over a simple school day.”

TAL Academy is located in Belle Harbor, NY, and is accessible to the Five Towns, Far Rockaway, Brooklyn, and Queens communities. For more information visit www.talacademy.org or call 516-218-1189.

Gedolei Yisrael Give Guidance and Inspiration at Dirshu Yom Limud and Tefillah Marking the Chofetz Chaim’s Yahrzeit

By Chaim Gold

our mouths and our tongues that enable us to speak!”

These were the powerful words of Rav Yissocher Frand, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva Ner Yisrael in Baltimore and one of the prime mashpiim of our time. Rav Frand’s words were said during a drasha that was seen by untold multitudes throughout the globe on Dirshu’s groundbreaking pre-Rosh Hashana videocast in conjunction with Dirshu’s ninth annual Yom Limud and Tefilla. The Yom Limud and Tefilla was designed to bring chizuk and hisrorerus to Klal Yisrael in advance of the Yamim Noraim, through the message of the Chofetz Chaim on his yahrzeit

On this year’s Yom Limud and Tefilla, hundreds of thousands of Yidden throughout the world said perakim of Tehillim for Klal Yisrael and learned halachos from the Mishnah Berurah and the mussar sefarim of the Chofetz Chaim to mark the yahrtzeit

In addition to the compelling drasha of Rav Yissocher Frand, the videocast featured never-before-seen footage of HaGaon Harav Yitzchok Scheiner, zt”l, , said many years ago at an Acheinu event. Acheinu is the kiruv arm of Dirshu.

Other drashos were given by HaGaon HaRav Shimon Galei, shlita, well-known mashpia and Rosh Kollel; HaGaon HaR-

av Yitzchok Berkowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Aish HaTorah, HaGaon HaRav Reuven Elbaz, shlita, Rosh Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim; and Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, Nasi, Dirshu. The chairman of the event was Rav Zev Smith, shlita, Maggid Shiur Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and Irgun Shiurei Torah.

The videocast was punctuated with inspirational niggunim of hisorerus in advance of the Yamim Noraim.

Rav Frand: “What is the Preparation for the Yamim Noraim?”

Rav Frand’s timely and timeless message left much food for thought. He explained that in preparation for the Yamim Noarim we try to improve our davening, we introspect, we try to gauge where we are holding now, a full year since last Rosh Hashanah. There is, however, another preparation that we do that almost seems to be swept under the rug.

“On erev Rosh Hashanah, we engage in hataras nedarim, we annual all vows we may have mistakenly made. This annulment of vows becomes much more as Yom Kippur is being ushered in with, Kol Nidrei. It seems strange. Is there truly nothing more important to do on the threshold of what is the most important twenty-five hours of the year?

“There truly is nothing more important!” thundered Rav Frand. “Because, if we come into the Yamim Noraim with mouths sullied by lies, broken promises, it will be very difficult to use that same mouth to beseech Hashem, ‘Who is Emes, with a mouth full of sheker. That is why

the first thing we must do before these holy days is fix and rectify our klei hadibbur, our mouths!”

Rav Yitzchok Scheiner on Asking for Mechilah

Just seeing the image of Rav Yitzchok Scheiner, zt”l, as he passionately and eloquently spoke, brought chizuk to those who merited to know him. He related a powerful story that showed the extent that a great man went to be granted mechilah, from someone whom he had mistakenly wronged.

He related the famous story of when the Rashash mistakenly thought that a tailor did not repay a loan and the man therefore was ostracized by Vilna Jewry as a result and he was forced to move out

of Vilna to a small town as a penniless refugee. The Rashash later realized that he had made a mistake and the person did pay the loan and the only way to ensure that everyone would realize that the tailor was right was by marrying off his daughter to the son of the tailor.

Children Throughout the World

One of the especially notable aspects of the Chofetz Chaim’s yahrtzeit was the special Yom Limud and Tefilla programming for children which was created with the singular goal of connecting children to the teachings and life of the Chofetz Chaim. In North America alone, more than 100 schools held special sessions of learning from the legacy of the Chofetz Chaim while in Eretz Yisrael and Europe

“There is nothing more important that we can do before the Yamim Noarim than to try fixing and rectifying our klei hadibbur,

Children participating in Beitar Illit, Eretz Yisrael

similar programming was held in over 500 schools!

Throughout the diverse communities across the United States and Canada, a wide range of more than 100 boys’ and girls’ schools, chadorim and Bais Yaakovs that truly represent the entire panoply of Orthodox Jewry participated in the Yom Limud and Tefilla school programs.

Rav Dovid Hofstedter: Keep on Davening, Keep on Connecting

Rav Dovid Hofstedter, Nasi of Dirshu, focused on the topic of tefillah that is such an integral part of the Yamim Noraim. He cited the well-known words of Chazal that teach us, “The gates of tefillah are never closed.” The question arises that we often see that our tefillos are not answered? We have all experienced instances when our tefillos were not answered. What does Chazal mean when they say the gates of tefillos are never closed?

Rav Hofstedter showed from the Baal Haturim that tefillah is not merely an exercise in asking Hashem for our needs, it is much more than that. It is our connec-

tion to Hashem! Tefillah is our relationship to Hashem.

Hashem doesn’t need anything. He is lacking nothing. What He wants is for us to have a relationship with Him. The difficulties that a person undergoes empowers the person to become closer to Hashem. Thus, even though it may seem like our tefillos are not answered, really, they are being answered, because they are enabling us to connect with Hashem in ways that we otherwise never could have.

The Chofetz Chaim “Fixed” Klal Yisrael

Rav Yitzchok Berkowitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah, highlighted the uniqueness of the Chofetz Chaim, that he wrote sefarim to rectify things that needed fixing in Klal Yisrael. No one understood what lashon hara was and how bad it was until the Chofetz Chaim created that awareness. He realized how important it was to write a sefer on daily halacha so that Yidden would be able to know what is wrong and right. The Chofetz Chaim was misaken Klal Yisrael.

Dirshu today is going in that path, creating daily limudim such as the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and publishing the wonderful Mishnah Berurah with all the modern-day halachic rulings set forth so beautifully and effectively.

Making the Chofetz Chaim “Real!” Dirshu invested great effort into creating programing for schools that would bring the Chofetz Chaim alive. Schools were given beautifully illustrated booklets that showed the relevance of the Chofetz Chaim and his life to children today. The books were written in age-appropriate ways with separate booklets for older and younger grades that truly gave them insight into the Chofetz Chaim and what he stood for and how they could connect with the message of the Chofetz Chaim today in 2023.

Rav Galei: The Greatest Kaddish! Rav Reuven Elbaz emphasized a general message on how to find favor in Hashem’s eyes during this critically important period of the year. He said, “One of the prerequisites to meriting Torah is

humility, because of his humility, Moshe Rabbeinu, merited to receive the Torah from Hashem. He genuinely felt, ‘Why should I be the one? I am nothing, I am a nobody!’ We must emulate Moshe Rabbeinu.”

Let us conclude with the profound remarks of Rav Shimon Galei, who in his inimitable way, full of regesh, pointed out how we can connect with the Chofetz Chaim and attain zechusim before Rosh Hashana, “Just as with a yahrtzeit children say Kaddish, the greatest Kaddish we can say is to undertake to learn and strengthen ourselves in any area of kedusha. The Pele Yoetz writes, if a person loses a father, if a child loses a parent, and he accepts upon himself to follow and emulate one thing that his father sacrificed his life for, that would be the greatest Kaddish one can do!

“The Chofetz Chaim was surely our spiritual father up until this day and age, as we all learn from his sefarim. Surely learning his sefarim is the greatest Kaddish we can say!”

Ram Horn Slogans

Nature’s original curling irons.

They put the “wild” in “hairstyle.”

The perfect excuse for never wearing hats.

Because sometimes, subtlety is overrated.

Life is too short for boring hairstyles.

Proof that even animals can have a “bad hair life.”

You Gotta be Kidding Me!

The real inspiration behind “rock and roll” hairdos.

When it comes to headgear, rams have it “horned” down.

When you want to impress with your head, not your words.

Because who needs a personal space bubble when you’ve got built-in antlers?

A police officer in the big city stops a man in a car with a sheep in the front seat.

“What are you doing with that sheep? You should take it to the zoo,” the officer says.

The following week, the same police officer sees the same man with the same sheep in the front seat, with both of them wearing sunglasses. The police officer pulls him over.

“I thought you were going to take that sheep to the zoo!” the officer says.

The man replies, “I did. We had such a good time, we are going to the beach this weekend!”

Ram Trivia

1. What is a ram?

a. Female goat

b. Female sheep

c. Male goat

d. Male sheep

2. Rams are known for their distinctive spiral horns. What is the proper term for these horns?

a. Tusks

b. Antlers

c. Horns

d. Scutes

e.

3. What is the average lifespan of a ram in the wild?

a. 5-7 years

b. 9-12 years

c. 15-20 years

d. 25-30 years

4. What is a group of rams called?

a. Flock

b. group

c. Pod

d. Cluster

5. Which breed of ram is famous for its long, spiraled horns that can reach up to 30 inches in

Riddle Me This

circumference?

a. Suffolk

b. Merino

c. Jacob

d. Corsican

6. What is the primary function of a ram’s horns?

a. To attract mates

b. To defend against predators

c. To store food

d. To keep cool in hot weather

7. Which type of ram is specifically bred for its fine wool, often used in high-quality textiles?

a. Bighorn Sheep

b. Merino Sheep

c. Icelandic Sheep

d. Dorset Sheep

8. What is the term for the act of a ram forcefully striking its head against an opponent’s head during competition for dominance?

a. Butting

b. Bucking

c. Bouncing

d. Barging

9. According to history, in what region of the world did the domestication of sheep first occur?

a. North America

b. South America

c. Australia

d. Middle East

What do you call a deer with no eyes?

Wisdom Key:

7-9 correct: You have a great internal RAM drive!!

4-5 correct: Not bad, but it could be time to free up some memory.

0-3 correct: You are a bit short on data!

Answer: No-eye deer.

Rosh Hashana

By Rabbi Berel Wein

Rosh Hashana marks the beginning of a reflective period in the Jewish calendar year. At one and the same time, we look back at the accomplishments and failures of the past year and we also look forward to our lives and hoped-for achievements in the coming good year now dawning upon us. The prayers of Rosh Hashana represent this duality of outlook.

They also represent the constants in our lives and souls. The Malchiot section tells us of G-d’s ever-present rule over his world and its creatures. It is this constant that surpasses time and space, calendars

and timepieces. Life is too random and unstructured for human society to begin to understand and to cope with in the absence of this constant. It is only because of this omnipresent constant that we retain the ability to glimpse the past and foresee the future simultaneously. We are all aware of the famous Hebrew quip that says that the past is gone, the future has not yet arrived and the present is but a wink of the eye. Yet the present is always with us with its demands and challenges. It is the constant reminder to us of G-d’s eternal sovereignty, always omnipresent even if sometimes hidden.

The L-rd ordained for us so many commandments so that in every step in life that we take we are reminded of His presence and sovereignty. We are never really alone in our existence in this world. This is one of the great sublime messages of Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashana is called, in our liturgy and rabbinic literature, the Day of Remembrance. G-d, so to speak, remembers us for good and for life, and we remember our entire history from the binding of Yitzchak till today. The most painful of all conditions, as we are all so aware of today in our time, is the disappearance of memory. The person we loved and cherished is gone even if the body of that person is still present and functioning.

If this is true regarding individual human beings, how much more so does it apply to national memory? We ask G-d not to forget and forsake us, but we are also bidden to remember our story and ourselves. Heaven, so to speak, holds up a mirror to us, and as we move, so does our reflection in Heaven.

If we are not diligent in remembering, then we are prone to be forgotten as well. Rosh Hashana is the tool to reinforce our memory of people gone and of past events, of family traditions and ancient customs, and of the core events of Jewish history. On Rosh Hashana, the entire sweep of humanity is remembered and assessed. In a flash, the past becomes the present. That is the tremendous aspect of memory, for by being able to evoke the past, we recreate it as part of the present. The Zichronot sec -

tion of the liturgy of Rosh Hashana provides us with this gifted ability.

But Rosh Hashana is also a holiday of optimism and of looking forward and ahead. We resolve to become better people, more humane and G-dly in our attitudes and behavior. The echo of the shofar of Sinai that we hear, or our own sounding of the shofar, inspires us to strive to become a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. That echo has never diminished and the challenge it conveys has also never lessened. Rising to that challenge is the goal set for us in the new year. The sounds of the shofar remind us again of Sinai and its eternal covenant and strictures. Just as our past was governed by it, so, too, will our future be determined by its structure and parameters.

So, too, to a certain extent, our future can be assessed and can become more predictable on Rosh Hashanah. The more we are able to hear the echo of the shofar of Sinai, as we strain to listen to the faint strains of the shofar of redemption, the better the new year will be for us individually and nationally. The shofar represents our trumpet call to national and spiritual greatness.

All of the verses of the liturgy of Shofrot combine these two soundings – Sinai and redemption – in their message and import. The great army of G-d’s eternal people is being summoned to arms, to face the challenges of the new year. We have to hear those shofar soundings in our souls and not only in our ears.

Ketiva v’chatima tova.

According to the tzaddikim, Rosh Hashana is not a time to speak in public. Rather, it is a time of (Melachim 2:4:13) “dwelling amongst the people.” The only way one person can possibly get up to speak in front of other Jews on Rosh Hashana is to try and offer a little inspiration for the blowing of the shofar. Therefore, may the following words be accepted as an effort to encourage the King’s subjects on the occasion of His coronation.

One of the major events we remember and “remind” Hashem of by blowing the shofar is the merit of Yitzchak who allowed himself to be slaughtered for Hashem’s sake at the Akeida. We must wonder what Yitzchak was thinking as he walked toward Har Hamoriah to die al kiddush Hashem, in order to sanctify G-d’s name. The Midrash (Tanchuma Vayeira 23) relates that Yitzchak said, “‘If [Hashem] has chosen me, my soul is given over to Him. Over my blood, dami, I am greatly pained.’ And nevertheless, ‘The two of them walked together’ with certainty, this one to slaughter and this one to be slaughtered.”

Rosh Hashana Turning Around

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

The Maharam Shick asks why, if Yitzchak was so willing to give his life that he walked together with his father Avraham with equal determination to do Hashem’s will and if he declared “my soul is given over to Him,” why does the Midrash say he was exceedingly pained over the spilling of his own blood?

He answers that he was certainly more than willing to give up his life and acquire the World To Come in one moment. But what pained him was that he would no longer have the opportunity for “dami,” to stop and be silent. “Dami ” can mean “my blood,” but it can also mean “my stopping” or “my silence,” as in the phrase (Vayikra 10:3), “Vayidom Aharon , and Aharon was silent” or (Tehillim 30:13) “L’ma’an yizamercha kavod v’lo yidom, in order that I sing out Your glory and not be silent.” Yitzchak was thinking, “My soul is given over to Hashem but I cannot bear the pain of knowing that I will no longer be able to stop and silence my own personal desires. I will no longer be able to fulfill (Tehilim 44:23 ‘we are killed for your sake all day.’”

What does it mean to be killed for Hashem all day? One can only be killed once! It must mean that little death one experiences when he says “No!” to his body’s desires because of his belief in Hashem. A person can die a thousand deaths to sanctify G-d’s name in that way. A person can give over his soul, his desires, and his honor over to the Master of the World.

The Tur in Orach Chaim 581 quotes the Yerushalmi that on Rosh Hashana, “[The Jewish people] eat, drink, and rejoice on Rosh Hashana [even though it is the day of judgment] because they know that Hashem will do a miracle for them.” The Gemara in Brachos (20a) explains how the key to meriting a miracle. The Gemara states, “Rav Papa said to Abaye, ‘What is different about the earlier generations for whom miracles were performed but miracles are not performed for us?’ ... He said to him, ‘The earlier generations gave their lives for the sanctification of G-d’s name, but we do not give our lives for the sanctification of G-d’s name.’”

We must understand

asked this question to Abaye in particular. We must also understand how Abaye could say that the people in his generation did not die to sanctify G-d’s name. Weren’t multitudes of Jews willing to give their lives in order to keep and study Torah at the time of the Romans? Abaye therefore must have had something else in mind.

Notably, “Abaye” was not Abaye’s real name. According to Sherira Gaon and Rashi on Gittin 34b, his real name was Nachmeni. His father died before Abaye was born, and his mother died shortly after naming him Nachmeni. He was raised by his uncle, Raba bar Nachmeni. Because Raba bar Nachmeni did not want to call his adopted son by his own father’s name. Therefore, with great love, he called his son “Abaye,” which is an acronym for (Hoshea 14:4) “asher b’cha yerucham yasom, in You, for whom the orphan is granted mercy.” Abaye grew up with great loneliness and poverty. Nevertheless, he was moser nefesh, sacrificed, and overcame all of those chal-

lenges to become “Abaye,” thus fulfilling “we are killed for your sake all day.”

It is a miracle whenever a person engages in self-sacrifice because he goes against his own nature. Abaye did not mean that people do not give up their lives for G-d. Every Jew has the potential, and many people, until today, give up their lives for Hashem’s sake.

Abaye knew that Jews will give up their lives for G-d. He was saying that in his times, people did not live for G-d by sacrificing their own desires for His will. When a Jew goes against his nature, he merits that Hashem will go against nature by performing a miracle for him.

I heard from my rebbe Reb Dovid Lifshitz, zt”l, who heard from Reb Yerucham Levovitz, zt”l, that when Reb Yerucham was young, a tightrope walker came to his town to perform. The town did not usually experience much excitement, so this was a big event. This was particularly exciting because there was no net below the tightrope. After the performance, everyone crowded around the tightrope walker to ask him all about it. One man asked, “What was the scariest part? Was it when you first got onto the rope? Was it as you walked down the rope as it got lower? Or was it when the rope began

going higher?” The performer answered him, “No, the most frightening part was turning around .” Reb Yerucham concluded that indeed, the hardest thing in the tightrope of life is turning around after one has become accustomed to doing things in a certain way for a long time. Going against one’s nature and turn -

time and time again. When Jews do this, then Hashem will do miracles for us and deliver us healing and rectification for us and our children.

On erev Rosh Hashana one year, the Minchas Elazar of Munkacz was asked by his very young grandson, “Zayde, please blow the shofar!” He loved hearing his

privately blew the shofar for his grandson. The next day, Rosh Hashana morning, he got up in front of the shul right before the blowing of the shofar and said: “Master of the world. You can testify that I have always done everything I could to keep every single halacha and minhag. But yesterday, because I could not bear to listen to my grandson cry, I blew the shofar in violation of the minhag. Hashem, how can you bear to listen to the cries of millions of your children for thousands of years? They are not asking to hear one hundred blasts of the shofar, thirty blasts, or even ten blasts. They are only begging for one blast of the shofar! ‘Tekah b’shofar gadol l’cheiruseinu, sound the great blast of the shofar of our freedom,’ announcing the arrival of Moshiach!”

ing around is a miracle, and by turning around, one merits miracles.

Such sacrifice does not have to be dramatic. If one is accustomed to arriving for Shacharis five minutes late every day, he can turn around and come five minutes early every day. If one is accustomed to always outdoing what other people say and “getting in the last word,” he can turn around and let others get in the last word. When one reverses old habits, he can give his life over to G-d

grandfather blow the shofar throughout the month of Elul and was disappointed that his grandfather had not blown the shofar that morning. He tried to explain to his grandson that we do not blow the shofar on erev Rosh Hashana but the young boy insisted, “Zayde, please blow the shofar!” No matter how many times the Minchas Elazar tried to explain to him that he could not blow the shofar, his grandson would not listen. The child began to cry. Finally giving in, the Rebbe

Master of the world, our lives are given over to You. Help us turn around and recognize that our bodies and our souls belong to You and may You sound the great shofar of our redemption with the coming of Moshiach this year!

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.

Going against one’s nature and turning around is a miracle, and by turning around, one merits miracles.

Rosh Hashanah: A Day Of Rebirth

By Rabbi Yaakov Feitman

My rebbe, Rav Yitzchok Hutner, used to say (in Yiddish) that teshuvah means being andersh, nisht besser (different, not better). He explained that what he meant by that was that repentance means making a complete change, not just some improvements. To be somewhat prosaic, this is akin to the difference between repairing an old car and buying a new one. However, when it comes to Rosh Hashanah, there is an even deeper meaning to this distinction, which emerges as one of the most optimistic and positive aspects of the day.

The Torah reading for Rosh Hashanah is somewhat surprising and even enigmatic. We lain from Parshas Vayeira that Sarah Imeinu was remembered on Rosh Hashanah to conceive Yitzchok Avinu (Berachos 29a). The surprising part is that since Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment, we would think that it would about repentance, fear of our impending evaluation by the Heavenly Tribunal or similar themes. However, the enigma becomes unraveled when we contemplate Sarah’s situation. Chazal (Yevamos 64a) shockingly reveal that Sarah was not only infertile but virtually didn’t even have a uterus. In other words, in order to conceive, she didn’t require surgery or even a miracle; she needed to be recreated as a new human being.

That is Rosh Hashanah for all of us. Andersh, nisht besser. The Isha Hashunamis (Melachim II 4:8) also experienced a miracle on Rosh Hashanah. We know that every time that the Torah says hayom (today) it refers to Rosh Hashanah. That day, “the great lady” of Shuneim merited techiyas hamiesim – revival of the dead – for her son. This, too, is not just healing or a change for the better. It is a new life. On Rosh Hashanah, if we daven properly and truly have kavanah as we should, we can start completely fresh. The past will not matter at all, because everything will be new. It is not just a calendar or number

change; it is a molecular transformation.

The source of all this seems to be that, unlike other yomim tovim where the korban (sacrifice) is ordained with the word V’hikravtem (Bamidbar 28:19) – you shall offer – that of Rosh Hashanah is defined by Va’asisem (Bamidbar 29:2) – you shall make. Chazal (Yalkut Shimoni, Parshas Pinchos 782) explain this distinction on Rosh Hashanah as “I will consider it for you as you have become a berya chadasha (new being).” Of course, this hearkens back to the creation of Adam on Rosh Hashanah, which allows and mandates all of us to recreate ourselves on a higher level on that day.

In truth, we say this often enough on Rosh Hashanah for the concept to penetrate deeply into hearts and minds: Zeh hayom techilas maasecha – this is the day of your very beginning. Each one of us has the ability to make a fresh start, erasing anything negative in our past. Another way which we express this on Rosh Hashanah is hayom haras olam. Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv explained this term to derive from the word herayon – pregnancy or gestation. On Rosh Hashanah, we are all “expecting,” hopefully to deliver a healthy, pure, new person. Just as a preg-

nant woman must watch what she eats and keep herself healthy so that the baby will arrive in perfect condition, so must we be exceptionally good on Rosh Hashanah, so that our new self emerges pristine and spiritually well for the New Year.

The Sefas Emes (Rosh Hashanah 5648) adds that we can even free ourselves of the chains of the yetzer hara on this day, because we become as pure and innocent as a newborn. We all become like Yosef Hatzaddik, who was freed from prison on Rosh Hashanah (Gemara Rosh Hashanah 11a) because we, too can become free of the obsessions and negative traits which defined us in the past. The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 2:4) actually codifies this by ruling that “one of the ways to conduct oneself when doing teshuvah is to change one’s name as if to state, ‘I am no longer the person who performed those sins.’”

Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (quoted in Ohel Moshe on Rosh Hashanah, page 493, note 198) refers us to the story of Chana, who miraculously conceived on Rosh Hashanah. Chana had not given birth even once, while her sister already had ten children. Yet, Chazal tell us that she requested of Hashem (see Medrash on Tehillim 99:6) a child who would be the equal of Moshe

and Aharon. Rav Shlomo Zalman explains that she was able to submit this astounding supplication because it was Rosh Hashanah when our heavenly ledger is clear and “we have opened a new page” in the heavenly book. Rabbeinu Yonah (Kuntres Yesod Hateshuvah, end of Shaarei Teshuvah) formulates it in the following way: “A person should consider himself on this day like a newborn baby, with neither merits nor demerits.”

Rabbi Menachem Stein tells a moving story about a woman who had unfortunately experienced several years of infertility and asked if she and her husband could stay with the Stein family for Rosh Hashanah. They agreed, and the woman and her husband davened in the Ohr Yisrael Yeshiva near where the Stein family lived. During the Haftorah, where the travails of Chanah are read in the Haftorah, the woman began to sob loudly. She couldn’t stop for seven minutes. The Baal Koreh could not continue, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the entire yeshiva. That Tammuz, she gave birth to a baby boy, and she today is the mother of eight healthy children, boruch Hashem. Like Chana herself, this woman recognized that she must take advantage of Rosh Hashanah to the fullest and must do her best, with no regard to embarrassment or anything else.

Perhaps we are not on the level of some of these extraordinary people, those of long ago or even our days. But each of us has access to the change which Rosh Hashanah allows us to achieve. We have the ability to recreate ourselves – to become different, not just better. Our molecules can be different after this Rosh Hashanah and therefore everything can change. Let us each seize the moment this year and hopefully our collective rebirth will give us all a kesivah v’chasimah tovah.

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

In Parshas Va’eschanan, Moshe Rabbeinu declares the praise of Klal Yisrael. “For which is a great nation that has a G-d Who is close to it, as is Hashem, our G-d, whenever we call out to Him?” (Devarim 4:7). Moshe Rabbeinu is saying that Klal Yisrael is a great nation because we have the gift of tefillah — the ability to call out to Hashem and know that He will answer us.

The Brisker Rav wonders why this is considered a unique and special quality of the Bnei Yisrael, since even non- Jews can pray to Hashem. Moshe Rabbeinu mentions the special quality that is unique to the Bnei Yisrael: Ki mi goy gadol, For which is a great nation. Moshe Rabbeinu could have mentioned a mitzvah such as tzitzis, tefillin, talmud Torah, mezuzah, or Shabbos , which is truly unique to Klal Yisrael; the umos ha’olam don’t have these Why choose tefillah, which belongs not only to the Jewish people but also to the umos ha’olam? On the rare occasion in the Torah that Moshe Rabbeinu declares the uniqueness of Klal Yisrael, he chooses the one mitzvah that is applicable to non- Jews as well!

In Selichos we say, “For My House will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples” ( Yeshayah 56:7).

When Shlomo HaMelech inaugurated the first Beis HaMikdash, he asked Hashem to accept the prayers

The Shofar of Rosh Hashana

The Piercing Cry of the Neshama

By Ra BBi Daniel Glatstein

of non- Jews who would come there to pray On Yom Kippur, we read Maftir Yonah, and we learn that the people of Nineveh were mispallel to the Ribbono shel Olam and Hashem accepted their tefillos. Clearly, then, tefillah is not a feature unique to the Bnei Yisrael

Hashem Is Our Teruah

Let us endeavor to discover the meaning behind Moshe’s praise of Bnei Yisrael. One of the pesukim we recite in Mussaf on Rosh Hashana, as part of Shofaros, is a verse in Parshas Balak. When Bilaam speaks about the admirable qualities of Klal Yisrael , he says , “He [ Hashem] perceived no iniquity in Yaakov, and saw no perversity in Yisrael. Hashem, his G - d, is with him, and teruas melech bo — the friendship of the King is in him” (Bamidbar 23:21). Klal Yisrael’s special status is that teruas melech bo

What is meant by teruas melech? To which special trait in Klal Yisrael does this term refer? Rashi explains the term to mean “chibah and rei’us , love and friendship.” Bilaam was jealous of the fact that the Jewish people are blessed with the friendship of the Ribbono shel Olam Hashem is the Borei, Creator, Manhig, Leader, and Mefarneis, Provider, for the umos

ha’olam as well, but the concept that Hashem is teruah, a close and dear friend , is applicable only to the Bnei Yisrael Bilaam is pointing out that this level of closeness, this endearing friendship, exists solely between Hashem and Klal Yisrael

The Ibn Ezra, however, interprets this phrase differently, stating that Bilaam is highlighting something else entirely. He says that Bilaam is bothered by the fact that the Bnei Yisrael have the mitzvah of tekias shofar. That is what he envied: the mitzvah of shofar.

Of all the mitzvos of the Torah, of all the mitzvos that Klal Yisrael does that demonstrate the greatness of the Jewish people , why, asks the Brisker Rav, is the one mitzvah Bilaam selects the mitzvah of shofar?

Why is this the one mitzvah that Bilaam is jealous of ? What is unique about the mitzvah of shofar that Bilaam singled it out as the catalyst for his ire? Let us try to uncover the inner dimension of the mitzvah of shofar.

Choosing the Right Horn for the Best Defense

The Gemara discusses the type of horn that can be used for the mitzvah of shofar on Rosh Hashanah

When the Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh HaKo -

dashim on Yom Kippur he does not wear his bigdei zahav, golden vestments, to do the avodah. The reason for this is based on the principle of ein kateigor naaseh saneigor, the prosecutor cannot be the advocate . The gold vestments are a reminder of the sin of the Eigel HaZahav, the Golden Calf. Gold , which would serve as a prosecuting agent before Hashem and which would remind Hashem of the Cheit HaEigel, cannot now be employed by the defense Wearing gold into the Kodesh HaKodashim on Yom Kippur would be a reminder of Klal Yisrael’s aveirah and could sway the judgment of Yom Kippur against us. To forestall this possibility, the Kohen Gadol does not wear gold .

The Gemara then asks, why then does the Kohen Gadol wear the gold vestments on Yom Kippur when he is not in the Kodesh HaKodashim? Why does the Kohen Gadol wear the golden vestments when performing other parts of the avodah? Why present the opportunity to remind Hashem about the Cheit HaEigel ? The Gemara answers that our only concern of ein kateigor naaseh saneigor is in the innermost Sanctum , the Kodesh HaKodashim , lifnei v ’ lifnim Outside of the Kodesh HaKodashim, however, we are not concerned that the Kohen Gadol’s defense will unintentionally serve to prosecute

For this very reason , the horn of a cow or bull cannot be used on Rosh Hashanah to fulfill the mitzvah of shofar. Here , too, the Gemara employs the principle of ein kateigor naaseh saneigor. Using the keren, horn, of a cow would remind Hashem of the sin of the Golden Calf at a time when we want Hashem to be considering only our merits We avoid using a horn that could remind Hashem of the Cheit HaEigel and would serve as a prosecuting agent rather than as a tool for the defense

However, this seem to be at odds with the principle the Gemara stated with regard to the bigdei zahav that were worn outside of the Kodesh HaKodashim, that we are concerned with ein kateigor naaseh saneigor only in the Kodesh HaKodashim. The shofar is not blown in the Kodesh HaKodashim , it is blown in the shul, so why do we employ the principle of ein kateigor naaseh saneigor when it comes to choosing the appropriate horn to use as a shofar?

The Gemara answers that since the mitzvah of shofar is employed as a favorable remembrance of the Bnei Yisrael before Hashem , it is as if it is being used in the Kodesh HaKodashim. What does this mean? The shofar is not permitted to be blown in the Kodesh HaKodashim — and , in fact , no one , not even the Kohen Gadol , even entered the Kodesh HaKodashim at all on Rosh Hashana . How does the fact that the shofar ’ s purpose as a remembrance cause it to be considered as if it were being blown in the Kodesh HaKodashim?

Does Hashem Listen to the Shofar ?

There is an important principle employed in tefill-

ah When the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah arranged the text of our prayers, they did not randomly choose nice words to be incorporated into the tefillos Each word of the Shemoneh Esrei is based on a pasuk in Tanach. This is especially true of the chasimos, conclusions, of the brachos. However, there seems to be an exception to this rule The bracha of Shofaros, recited as part of Mussaf on Rosh Hashana , contains wording that does not seem to appear anywhere in Tanach

We conclude the bracha of Shofaros by saying, “Ki atah shomeah kol shofar u’maazin teruah v’ein domeh lach, For You hear the sound of shofar, and listen to

the teruah, and there is none like You .” “Baruch atah Hashem shomeah kol teruas amo Yisroel b’rachamim, Blessed are You, Hashem, Who hears the sound of the teruah of His people , Yisrael, with compassion.”

However, there is no source in Tanach for the concept that Hashem listens to our shofar -blowing Furthermore, what is the meaning of this bracha? Hashem is not the One Who listens to the teruah — it is we who are required to listen to the teruah! That is our mitzvah of shofar on Rosh Hashanah: to listen and hear the sounds of the shofar. The Rambam writes in at least eight places that there is a mitzvah for us to hear the sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashana . What do we mean when we say that Hashem listens mercifully to our teruos?

Bent or Straight

There is a machlokes as to whether the shofar should be bent or straight The Gemara explains the two viewpoints. One opinion is that on Rosh Hashana, the more bent and humble one ’ s mindset , the better it is. Therefore, the shofar should be bent . The other opinion is that on Rosh Hashana a person ’ s outlook and mindset should be straight, and therefore the shofar should be straight as well

The shape of the shofar is intended to resemble the kind of da’as a person should have on Rosh Hashana Should one feel humbled and bent over, or should one focus on being straight and upright , rather than bent? Interestingly, this same machlokes is found in the

Gemara with regard to how a person should stand while davening Shemoneh Esrei . Should a person daven with a bent- over posture , with his eyes cast downward as a sign of a humble mindset , or should one daven standing upright , with one ’ s eyes toward the heavens as he davens, because as one stands before Hashem he should be standing straight , not bent Furthermore, Rashi in Rosh Hashana , in explaining the two views as to the halachically correct shape of the shofar, cites pesukim in support of each respective position — the very same pesukim quoted in Yevamos . Rashi applies the pesukim that the Gemara used to explain how a person should stand as he prays to the shape the shofar should have on Rosh Hashana Rashi writes that the position that holds that the shofar should be bent maintains that the more a person bends his face toward the ground while he is davening, the better, which is sourced in the pasuk, “My eyes and My heart shall be there” (I Melachim 9:3); that is, when a person davens, his eyes and his heart should be bent downward . This opinion would likewise hold on Rosh Hashana that the shofar should be bent The dissenting opinion holds that the shofar should be straight , as the pasuk states , “Let us lift our hearts with our hands” (Eichah 3:41). This is the very pasuk from which the view emanates that one should be in a completely erect position when davening. Therefore, on Rosh Hashana, one should utilize a straight shofar

The Deeper Meaning of Tekias Shofar

The sefer Hararei Kedem of Rav Michel Shurkin advances that from this sugya in Rosh Hashana, we glean a significant yesod If the shape of the shofar is akin to our posture during tefillah, clearly there is another, deeper, component to the shofar! It shows us that the shofar is, in fact , a cheftzah shel tefillah, and tekias shofar is an aspect of prayer! More than just producing stirring sounds to listen to, it is actually a form of tefillah This is enunciated explicitly in the words of Rashi . In explaining the position that the shofar should be bent , Rashi says, that since on Rosh Hashana the shofar is for prayer, it needs to be bent . Rashi is clearly stating the principle that the shofar is an item of tefillah.

Doing a Mitzvah During Shemoneh Esrei

This concept is further reinforced by the fact that we sound the shofar during Shemoneh Esrei One does not shake his lulav and esrog during Shemoneh Esrei; it would be highly inappropriate One cannot even give tzedakah while davening Shemoneh Esrei. Yet , minhag Sefard does blow shofar during Shemoneh Esrei . Minhag Ashkenaz does not blow shofar during the silent Shemoneh Esrei , but the shofar is sounded during chazaras hashatz. This, too, is a devi-

ation from the norm During the chazzan’s repetition of Shemoneh Esrei one is not permitted to perform other mitzvos; even learning Torah is not allowed During the chazzan’s repetition, one must pay full attention to the words the chazzan is saying, as if he himself were davening Shemoneh Esrei. How then can we blow the shofar during Shemoneh Esrei and during chazaras hashatz?

It is apparent , then , that blowing the shofar is in itself tefillah. 13 Blowing the shofar is not an interruption of tefillah — it is tefillah! The sound of the shofar is tza’akah, it is crying out to Hashem.

Ein Kateigor and the Shofar

The sefer Hararei Kedeim uses this to explain why ein kateigor naaseh saneigor applies to the shofar even though the shofar is not used in the Kodesh HaKodashim. The Rambam writes that when one stands to daven Shemoneh Esrei, he should envision himself as if he were standing directly in front of the Shechinah Further, the Rambam adds that when one davens, his heart should be meditating about Hashem, as if standing before Him in Heaven.

During Shemoneh Esrei, one should be thinking that he is standing in Shamayim, and he should consider himself as if he is standing directly in front of Hashem When the shofar is sounded , it is also tefillah, and , just like Shemoneh Esrei , it is to be viewed as if it were being sounded directly before Hashem, as if it were being blown in Shamayim. This, posits the Hararei Kedem, is equivalent to standing lifnei v ’ lifnim in the Kodesh HaKodashim! It is as if the shofar is being blown in the actual Kodesh HaKodashim! No wonder we can apply the principle of ein kateigor naaseh saneigor to the shofar! It is considered tefillah, and tefillah is regarded as taking place in the Kodesh HaKodashim.

I would add an even more explicit support to this idea. The Shulchan Aruch tells us that when one davens Shemoneh Esrei, he should have intention toward Yerushalayim, toward the Beis HaMikdash, and toward the Kodesh HaKodashim The Mishnah Berurah explains that this means that one ’ s frame of mind should be as if he were physically standing in the Beis HaMikdash , in the Kodesh HaKodashim . He must envision himself as standing in the Kodesh HaKodashim as he davens. By the same token , blowing the shofar, too, should be imagined as if it is taking place in the Kodesh HaKodashim . Using a shofar that recalls the sin of the Eigel would then be inappropriate, because ein kateigor naaseh saneigor would apply.

The Tandem of the Shofar and Tefillah

Rabbi Shlomo Wahrman points out that this explains the tefillah, “May the utterances of our lips be pleasing unto You, Almighty, Most High and Uplifted , Who understands , and gives ear, Who perceives and listens to the sound of our shofar blast .” This tefillah starts with a reference to tefillah: “Areshes s ’faseinu, May our tefillah be sweet to You.” We then ask Hashem to listen to the sounds of our shofar blasts, l’ kol tekiyaseinu. Which are we asking Hashem for? The answer is that since sounding the shofar is a form of tefillah,

it is really only one request: We are asking Hashem to listen to our tefillos in all their forms — in the form of the shofar blasts and in the form of the words that we pray with our mouths.

Tekiah Is the Praise

An original thought was presented by Rabbi Isaac Bernstein, a renowned rav and master orator The Gemarasays that teruah can be translated as either a moan or a wailing Either way, it is a form of crying: a tefillah The tekiah serves a different purpose . In Tehillim we say, “Halleluhu be - seika shofar, praise Hashem with the tekiah of the shofar.” Tekiah is shevach, praise of Hashem

We know that a person is always supposed to first praise Hashem, and only then begin to daven Therefore, we first blow a tekiah, as praise of Hashem. This is then followed with the teruah, which is the actual tefillah of the shofar. Then, since tefillah also concludes with shevach to Hashem, we conclude with a second tekiah Each tefillah of the shofar, each teruah, is sandwiched between two tekios, two praises of Hashem Thus, the blowing of the shofar follows the halachic format of tefillah

The Cry of the Shofar

The Brisker Rav extrapolates the yesod that the shofar is a form of tefillah from the words of the Rambam The Torah says that when going out to war: “When you go to wage war in your Land against an enemy who oppresses you , you shall sound short blasts of the trumpets, and you shall be recalled before Hashem, your G - d, and you shall be saved from your foes” (Bamidbar 10:9).

The Rambam codifies this mitzvah as follows: It is a mitzvas asei to “cry out — to daven — and to sound the trumpets .” However, the pasuk does not mention davening; it states only that the Bnei Yisrael are to sound the trumpets How does the Rambam derive that

there is a mitzvah to also daven? It is very clear that the Rambam understands that the function of blowing the chatzotzros, the trumpets, or the shofar is a form of tefillah, and that is why he describes the mitzvah of the chatzotzros also as tefillah

Why Do We Need the Shofar’s Tefillah?

Rosh Hashana is a day in which we spend many hours davening to Hashem. What does the tefillah of the shofar add to the numerous tefillos we already recite?

The Beis HaLevi offers a very profound approach On Rosh Hashana , as we stand before Hashem being judged , we daven extensively, hoping for a good year We do not want to use any items that may remind Hashem of our aveiros, and that is why, as we mentioned above , we don’t use a shofar made from a cow ’ s horn. We apply the principle of ein kateigor naaseh saneigor, which also explains why the Kohen Gadol would not serve in the Kodesh HaKodashim while garbed in his gold vestments. Both the shofar of the cow and the gold garments would remind Hashem of the sin of the Eigel We do whatever we can to avoid recalling and highlighting aveiros we may have committed in the past , so that they cannot be held against us.

We possess a faculty that is used consistently throughout the year and not always in the right way. At times, we use our mouths to speak lashon hara, rechilus, motzi shem ra, sheker, etc . The last thing we want to do on Rosh Hashana is remind Hashem of the improper ways in which we have used our mouths over the past year. There is probably a much greater concern of ein kateigor naaseh saneigor with regard to our own mouths than there is for the Eigel with which our ancestors had sinned When our tefillos come up to Hashem on Rosh Hashana, beseeching Hashem, “ Z achreinu l’chaim,” the malachim will highlight the other words our mouths have said , words we are likely less than proud of, and which may steer our judgment in an unfavorable direction.

We therefore are gifted with a form of tefillah that bypasses the mouth. The Beis HaLevi writes that the shofar is tefillah that arises from the depths of the heart , and it does not use the mouth in the same manner that it had been used to commit the aveiros that involve speech. Its tefillah goes straight from the heart to Hashem It can be termed a quadruple bypass — bypassing the larynx , tongue , teeth, and lips — and it allows our tefillos to come before Hashem without the downside of being offered through the same vehicle that had been used for sin It is tefillah without utilizing the faculty of speech. The shofar is the cry from the heart of a Jew And the heart of a Jew is holy and pure

Why Tefillah Sets Us Apart

As we noted above , tekias shofar is the mitzvah of which Bilaam was envious. Why specifically the shofar? We have many mitzvos We also asked why Moshe Rabbeinu praised the Bnei Yisrael by focusing on a unique ability of Klal Yisrael: the koach ha’tefillah But non- Jews can also pray, so why is this a praise of Klal Yisrael?

He was jealous of the purity of the yearning that lies in the deepest recesses of the heart of a Jew, the desire that emanates from the power of the tefillah of the shofar.

The shofar is a unique , special type of tefillah. It is a cry to Hashem m ’umka d’ liba, from the deepest recesses of the heart The content of this cry to Hashem depends on what is in the heart of the person who is sounding the shofar. Innately, the heart of a Jew contains the deepest desire to serve Hashem. When a person does not agree to divorce his wife, and beis din rules that he should , “kofin oso ad sheyomar rotzah ani, we force him until he says that he wants to give the get.” The Rambam explains that even though he is being forced , this person ’ s get is still considered as having been given of his own will, because, deep down, every Jew has the same desire: Ritzoneinu la’ asos ritzonecha, Our will is to do the will of Hashem.

When the shofar is in the mouth of a Jew, sounding teruos to Hashem , what emanates from his heart is pure desire to serve Hashem and do His will. The tefillah of the shofar is therefore the purest of tefillos.

But the heart of a non - Jew does not have this deep -rooted innate desire to serve Hashem and do His will When the heart of a non- Jew is tapped and

namely, to come closer to Avinu she’ baShamayim, to do the will of Hashem This is what Bilaam envied He was jealous of the purity of the yearning that lies in the deepest recesses of the heart of a Jew, the desire that emanates from the power of the tefillah of the shofar This uniqueness of our spiritual character and DNA is what made Bilaam envious.

This, perhaps, is also the special power of tefillah that Moshe Rabbeinu referred to when he said , “For which is a great nation that has a G - d Who is close to it , as is Hashem, our G - d , whenever we call to Him?” (Devarim 4:7). The tefillah of the shofar that emanates directly from the neshama of the Jew is the form of tefillah that exemplifies the praise of Klal Yisrael.

When we recite the bracha of Shofaros, we conclude by stating, “Ki Atah shomeah kol shofar u ’ ma ’ azin teruah,” Where in Tanach does it say that Hashem listens to the sound of the shofar? It is the pasuk that states , “O Heeder of prayer, unto You does all flesh come ” (Tehillim 65:3).

its desires are revealed , it would not prove to be as worthy and meritorious.

The tefillah of the shofar, which comes m ’umka d ’ liba , is the deepest , most intense desire of a Jew :

May HaKadosh Baruch Hu be attentive to the piercing cry of our shofar, accompanied by all of our tefillos and accept them with mercy and good will, and may we all merit a gut gebentched yahr.

The shofar is the cry from the heart of a Jew. And the heart of a Jew is holy and pure.

This article has been excerpted from The Mystery and The Majesty 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.

Soldiers of Hashem Enlisting for Purpose on Rosh Hashana

By Rabbi Benny Berlin

On Rosh Hashana, our prayers resonate with the plea, “Zochrainu l’chaim ,” remember us for life. We yearn for vitality, for a year marked by health and well-being. The Sefer HaChaim (Book of Life) which we mention in our prayers holds significance as a symbol of bridging the past year to the present, underscoring our determination to continue living. This fervent desire for life is shared, not just by us, but also by G-d. We say, “Melech chafetz b’chaim,” a King who cherishes life, has invested in our world out of a deep love for life itself. He desires and longs for us to keep living and come closer to fulfilling our missions in this world.

In this shared aspiration for life, a question naturally emerges: if both we and G-d desire life, wouldn’t this request for our lives to be extended be straightforward given our aligned intentions? Why, then, do we find ourselves imploring and crying out so fervently to show we are worthy, to convince Him of the import with which we are making this ask?

A story from a time of adversity in Russia offers insight.

During an era of harsh decrees against the Jewish community, great tzaddikim embarked on journeys to Saint Petersburg to advocate on behalf of their Jewish brethren. One year, the Netziv found himself there during the days leading to Rosh Hashana, away from his family due to a looming decree.

Amidst a small Jewish population in St. Petersburg, a substantial synagogue attracted cantonists – young Jewish individuals conscripted into the Russian army. These cantonists were granted leave during the High Holidays, and one Rosh Hashana, a seasoned soldier stood before them.

Addressing his fellow congregants before Mussaf, he questioned the purpose of their prayers. Given their harsh lives and

the inevitable perils they faced, he wondered what remained worth praying for.

“Friends, what should we daven for? Our lives are miserable. Many of us are going to get killed in the freezing cold winters. We should daven for one thing, ‘Yisgadel

understanding refocused their intentions from individual desires to communal destiny, the recognition of G-d’s ultimate dominion.

The Netziv’s reflections on this event aligned with this. The soldier’s clarity

“L’ma’an’cha Elokim Chayim,” for Your sake, O living G-d. This reminds us that our lives are dedicated to G-d’s glory and that our existence finds purpose in aligning with His divine will.

While we desire life, and G-d wishes the same, our prayers are intended to orient us toward life’s true purpose:

“L’ma’an’cha Elokim Chayim.” As we direct our prayers toward sanctifying G-d’s name, we renew our commitment to live lives that crown Him as King.

During Rosh Hashana, another notable concept that emerges is the image of Bnei Yisrael passing before G-d as “K’vnei Maron.” In the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah, 18b), the phrase “K’vnei Maron” prompted several interpretations. Among them is the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah who likens us to the soldiers of King David. Essentially, the image he conveys is that on Rosh Hashana, each of us takes on the mantle of a soldier, enlisting under the command of G-d and passing before Him as a member of His army.

We, too, must consider our divine assignment or, more aptly, conscription. What is our unique purpose in this world? We stand on the precipice of enlistment, seeking to understand our role and fulfill our purpose. This collective commitment to live for G-d’s sake forms the essence of Rosh Hashana.

v’Yiskadesh Shemai Rabba,’ may His great name be exalted and sanctified.’” This phrase, he believed, encapsulated the essence of true prayer.

The Netziv recounted this story annually, underscoring the soldier’s profound insight. Amidst their hardships, he grasped the heart of meaningful tefillah – the sanctification of G-d’s name. This

allowed him to see the “forest” despite the “trees.” The forest in this case was the kingship of Hashem, a reminder that our existence is dedicated to loving and serving Him. That is what to live for on a daily basis, that is what all of our blessings and comforts should be used for on a broader scale.

This idea culminates in the phrase

Let us all commit to enlist – every one of us – in the battle to bring glory to Hashem’s name, marching in accordance with His divine commands. For Your sake, O living G-d.

Rabbi Benny Berlin is the rabbi of BACH Jewish Center located in Long Beach, New York. For more information, visit: https://www. bachlongbeach.com/.

As we direct our prayers toward sanctifying G-d’s name, we renew our commitment to live lives that crown Him as King.

Thought

The Path of Sinners and the Path of Sin

By Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik

The main feature of repentance is confession. There are, as stated before, two categories of confession: one, whose purpose is kapparah, and the other which has as its goal taharah. Although their liturgical formulation is identical, repentance of acquittal is actually quite different from repentance of purification.

The Talmud lists those who are disqualified as credible witnesses and mentions dice players (including checkers players), usurers, and gamblers on pigeon races among them. The Talmud then poses the question: “Dice players…when are they considered to have repented? When they break up their checkers and undergo a complete reformation, to the extent that they will not play even as a pastime…. And a usurer?… When he tears up his credit slips and undergoes a complete reformation, refusing to lend on interest, even to an idol worshiper. Pigeon trainers: that is those who race pigeons…. When may they be reinstated? When they break up their pegmas (pigeon traps) and undergo a complete reformation to the extent that they will not practice their vice, even in the wilderness” (Sanhedrin 25b; cf. Maimonides’ formulation, Laws of Testimony, Chapter 1, Sections 5–8).

The above violations center on the prohibition of theft and robbery. Why, then, is not repentance considered an accomplished fact as soon as the sinner regrets his wrongdoings and ceases to engage in those fraudulent, thieving practices? Playing dice for free, lending mon-

ey with interest to an idol worshiper, and setting up a pigeon trap in the desert are not forbidden by law. Why is not the repentance of these sinners a “complete return” until they literally break their dice, tear up their loan contracts and dismantle their pigeon traps?

tance. All that is required for acquittal is the sinner’s regret of past actions and his resolution not to return to his folly. However, repentance of purification necessitates a complete breaking away from the environment, the contributing factors, and all the forces which created

to sin. Sin is not created ex nihilo nihil. Evildoing is the product of a certain atmosphere, of favorable conditions – flattery of men in positions of power, indolence, imagined or real fear, weakness or spinelessness; such is “the path of sin.”

Even when we do not actually commit a wrongdoing, we often find ourselves on the “path of sin.” Along the sides of this road, sin is permitted to bud, flower, bear fruit and take root. Like any other organic creation, sin requires an environment in which it can flourish, absorb nourishment, and thrive under the warm rays shining down upon it, as does a sprouting tree.

For acquittal of sin (kapparah), remorse is sufficient. Only a person who actually commits a transgression needs to seek kapparah. However, in regard to purification, abandoning the act of sin is only a partial remedy. Refraining from sin in accordance with what is specifically forbidden in the law is necessary, but more than that is demanded. One must turn away from any temptation to walk in the “path of sin” – “Let the wicked man leave off his way and the man of evil deed his thoughts….”

It is interesting to note that Maimonides did not deal with this issue under the Laws of Repentance, but rather within the Laws of Testimony. This is because re-admissibility as a witness depends upon the achievement of purification from sin which involves much more than repentance which brings acquittal, dealt with in the chapter on the Laws of Repen-

the atmosphere of sin. For repentance of purification, which restores man to his primary condition of integrity, man is required to break the dice, tear up the deeds, and burn all the bridges leading to the world of sin which he has left behind him.

Thus, we see that there are two levels of separation – the first, from sin and the second, divergence from the path leading

The reference here is not to refrain from sin itself, but to avoid the path leading toward it and away from it. The verse does not speak of “sinful thoughts” but just of “thoughts” which means man’s entire way of thinking, his world concept, the intellectual obscurity and emotional ambivalence which combine to create sin and then cast man within it as though into a dungeon.

“A new heart and a new spirit” come about only by means of departure from the path of sin, which is considered complete return, while separation from sinful acts is all that is necessary in order to achieve kapparah, acquittal.

Even when we do not actually commit a wrongdoing, we often find ourselves on the “path of sin.”

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

With Rosh Hashanah upon us, Jewish retailers stock new fruits for us to enjoy. An interesting halacha related to fruits, one to which we don’t give much thought to, is orlah.

The Gemara (Kiddushin 39) states that the mitzvah of orlah applies in the Diaspora. One may not benefit from the fruit produced in the first three years of a tree’s life. (The determination of what is considered three years is beyond the scope of this article. Nevertheless, it is usually shorter than three calendar years.)

This halacha is not usually relevant to common fruit trees. Most fruit trees take considerably longer than three years to produce fruit. However, the Torah’s definition of “eitz,” a tree, to which orlah applies does not conform to the English definition. The bracha of ha’eitz is recited before eating blueberries even though they most certainly do not grow on trees. They grow on shrubs or bushes.

Kiwis and grapes do not grow on trees or shrubs, yet ha’eitz is still recited on them as well. Their vines live for multiple years while producing fruit. Therefore, they are halachically categorized as eitzim. In fact, one may recite Birkas Ha’ilanos on a flowering blueberry bush.

This halacha might make you so excited that you head to your local garden center to buy some shrubs. Almost all garden centers have blueberry plants. Lowe’s sells some specimens in a box. What is most interesting is a little fact printed on the back of the package, stating that it is a one-year plant. Blueberry bushes may flower and produce fruit in their second year. However, these fruit would be orlah. It is interesting to note that professional gardeners suggest that one should not allow a blueberry bush to produce fruit in its second year, as it may weaken the plant. It is best for the shrub if it uses all its energy on its leaves and roots the second year. A pomegranate grower noted that pomegranate shrubs may also flower and produce fruit in their second year. That fruit would likewise be orlah.

The Gemara offers a creative way to partially circumvent the prohibition of orlah in the Diaspora. However, the Gemara implies that one should not publicize the technique the Amoraim employed. The Aruch HaShulchan writes that it is for this very reason that the method they used is not mentioned in Shulchan Aruch. (And won’t be mentioned in this article either.) It is a technique that is easily misunderstood and therefore may be misused. Nevertheless, the Aruch HaShulchan writes that if one is aware of the technique and understands it, he may indeed use it.

However, even for those who fully understand the trick, the Chasam Sofer writes that one cannot use the trick on his own produce, rather only on his friend’s. So one who has orlah would have to find someone knowledgeable in the technique and ask him to employ it. In the final analysis, according to the Chasam Sofer, the technique stops a person from benefiting from his own orlah, so its usefulness is limited.

The Gemara also says that the prohibition of kilayim of trees applies in chutz la’Aretz. In our times, there has been an explosion of varieties of fruits related to crosses of plums and apricots. Some names for these fruits are aprium, apriplum, plu-

ot, and plumcot. Just as there are many varieties of apples–such as Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp–there is more than one type of plumcot or pluot. There are over 30 named varieties of these “recent” fruits.

It is a common misconception that these fruits were produced by techniques that would be forbidden to Jews. This is totally not the case. The prohibition against grafting trees applies when one inserts a branch of one tree onto another tree. For example, the commercial nursery Trees of Antiquity is currently selling an almond tree grafted onto peach roots. According to some Rishonim, one would not be allowed to grow that tree even if he purchased it already grafted.

Another little-known fact is that virtually all fruit trees available for purchase or grown commercially are grafted. When one grows a fruit tree by seed, one cannot be sure of the exact characteristics of the fruit that will grow from the resulting tree. The seed of a Gala apple tree will grow an apple, but it won’t be exactly the same as a Gala. It may be very different. The only way to ensure that a tree produces the exact fruit one desires is by grafting.

There are multiple methods of graft-

ing. One involves taking a branch of a tree that has fruit that one desires and inserting it into another tree. In my limited research, it appears that apple trees are generally grafted onto apple rootstocks. However, other trees are not as limited. The Lovell peach rootstock may be host to almond, apricot, nectarine, peach, and plum trees.

Amazon sells a fruit cocktail tree that grows apricots, peaches, and nectarines on one tree. Once again, according to some Rishonim, one may not water or fertilize that tree even though it was purchased already grafted. Still, one would be permitted to eat the fruits of the tree that were already grown. If this were not the case, one would not be able to buy plums from the market, because one can’t be sure the nature of the grafted trees they are from.

The hybrid fruits mentioned earlier, such as apriums, pluots, and plumcots, are produced by cross-pollination. For example, one may pollinate a bloom of a plum tree with pollen taken from an apricot tree. When the plum produced from that hand-pollinated bloom is ripe, one would plant the plum seed found inside and, years later, see what type of fruit it produces. The fruit will be some sort of cross between a plum and an apricot. If it tastes good, the new cultivar will be given its own name.

To produce that new hybrid fruit commercially, branches or buds from that tree will be grafted onto other plum or apricot trees. This last step involves the Torah prohibition of grafting. The initial steps of cross-pollination are a long but permissible process not related to the prohibition against tree-grafting.

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 Moroccan Earthquake: An Analysis

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

As of the latest counting, the toll from a devastating earthquake that swept Morocco over the weekend has grown to 2,497 people killed and 2,476 injured. It was a 6.8-magnitude quake that destroyed homes and shattered lives throughout the High Atlas Mountains.

Many people view earthquakes as the energy released from the random and meaningless movement of Earth’s tectonic plates. They see it as layers of crust and brittle upper mantle moving over the asthenosphere randomly colliding with each other, pulling apart, and rubbing against each other. The clastic energy that was stored is simply released. Randomly. They see it as nature at work. Nothing more. True, there is a massive release of energy and movement called an earthquake. But, they say, it is devoid of any meaning.

Not so, say the sages of Israel. The sages view earthquakes as containing messages—deep and profound signals to us.

September 1, 1923, was the 20th of Elul. A powerful earthquake hit Japan’s Kanto plain and veritably destroyed To -

kyo, Yokohama, and its surrounding cities. It killed over 100,000 people. When the news reached the saintly Chofetz Chaim in Radin, he fasted and said that the news should galvanize everyone to do teshuvah. He wrote a kol korei about it (Letters of the Chofetz Chaim 10-12).

The Gemara

The Gemara in Berachos 59b discusses the subject matter at length. Rav Katina identifies the Mishnaic term “zvaos” as “goha,” meaning earthquakes. The Gemara relates that Rav Katina was once walking on the road and reached the house of a sorcerer who read human bones. As he passed by, the earth shook.

Rav Katina asked the sorcerer if he knew how earthquakes came to be. The sorcerer raised his voice and answered, “Katina, Katina, why should I not know? When Hashem remembers that His children are immersed in pain among the nations of the world, He [figuratively,] sheds two tears into the Great Sea and His voice is heard from one end of the earth to the other, and this is an earthquake.”

The Gemara concludes that although

Rav Katina did not admit it to the sorcerer, the answer he gave was correct. Rav Katina personally explained it based upon a verse in Yechezkel (21:22) that the earthquake is the result of “and I shall pound My hand upon My hand and I will put My wrath to rest.”

Rav Hai Gaon and Rav Nissim Gaon

Rav Hai Gaon (939–1038) and Rav Nissim Gaon (990-1062) both explain Rav Katina as saying that these tectonic plates are physically moved as a manifestation of Hashem’s compassion for His people bereft of the dveikus that could have been achieved through the presence of the Beis HaMikdash, scattered among the nations of the world, and living in misery.

Rabbeinu Chananel

Rabbeinu Chananel (980–1055) explains it somewhat differently. In his view, the earthquake is an expression of Hashem’s frustration at the treatment of Klal Yisrael at the hands of the nations and that He remembers the promise made to Noach never to flood the earth again.

The earthquake is a sign to the Jewish nation that Hashem has not abandoned or forgotten us. We should patiently wait until the burdens of the exile are lifted. The earthquake strengthens our fear of Hashem and allows us to rededicate ourselves to Torah and mitzvos.

The Maharal

The Maharal (15201–609) in his Be’er HaGolah (4:7) explains that the phenomena of nature are not solely on account of nature—there is a Divine cause behind them. The Anshei Knesses HaGedolah enacted the blessing of “Whose power and strength fill the entire world.” If earthquakes were solely phenomena of nature, why would they enact this blessing? Among the men of the Great Assembly were prophets as well!

The Maharal also explains that this Divine sadness is not actually to be attributed to Hashem because of His complete perfection; rather, it must be understood as reflective of us, the recipients. Explains the Maharal, we, the nation of Israel, are not functioning as we should— we are broken from our true task—and

thus the world appears to be shattering. He further explains that the earthquake is a message that things are not how they should be. Israel should be fulfilling its Divinely ordained role. The place of Hashem in the world should be different than how it is now. Thus, the earthquake indicates that things are, in fact, different than they should be.

Morocco

The message of the earthquake in Morocco is twofold: (1) what to long for and (2) reassurance.

Rabbeinu Bachya in his commentary on Vayikra (4:22) discusses the inevitability of leaders sinning. The verse states, “Asher nasi yecheta—when a leader will sin…”

Rabbeinu Bachya writes concerning this verse, “It does not state, ‘If a leader will sin’ but rather ‘When a leader will sin.’ The matter is one of certainty. The reason is that the leader’s heart is filled with conceit and haughtiness.”

Rabbeinu Bachya goes on to explain that the Torah (Devarim 17:20) provides a counterbalance for the haughtiness of a king: he must carry a sefer Torah with him at all times so that his heart does not rise above his brethren. The nesi’im, the

leaders of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, were also provided by the Torah with a counter-balance toward their tendency to sin. They were instructed to bring the precious Avnei Shoham stones as a gift (Sh’mos 22:27). These precious stones were the same type of stones that were found on the breastplate of Aharon HaKohen and were designed to achieve atonement. The

His creations. The concept of checks and balances is important in a world where leaders inevitably stumble. Democracy, in theory, offers temporary checks and balances until a more perfected system is found. But humanity cannot allow it to be circumvented. When a Weimar Republic, for example, is replaced by a dictatorship, the world cannot stand aside

undermines the recognition that all of mankind reflects the Divine Image.

Conclusion

From the Maharal, we learn that we should not be satisfied with the diminished or limited role we now have. We long for the time when we can once again be the light unto the nations, and, as we pray for in the Rosh Hashana davening, “

V’yei’asu kulam agudah achas la’asos retzoncha b’leivav shaleim—that the nations should form one agudah to perform Your Will with a complete and pure heart.”

stones thus had a humility-inducing effect, according to Rabbeinu Bachya.

The Netziv also interpreted the verse “Asher nasi yecheta” in the same manner: that the Torah is predicting the absolute certainty of the leader stumbling.

Perhaps then, there is a message here for the secular world. The message is that we all want a more perfect world in which all of mankind attempts to emulate Hashem Himself and His chesed toward

and allow a dictator to take over. When an Iranian government murders its citizens indiscriminately, the world should not stand aside in silence. And when an overly powerful judiciary makes up its own laws, undermining and circumventing the system of checks and balances, that needs to be modified. Safety laws should not be skipped over just to save money. Man was created b’tzelem Elokim and circumventing safety laws

From the Gaonim, the message is not to give up—to be reminded of Hashem’s undying love for us. It is a message of hope that we can continue once again, renewed with the knowledge of Hashem’s concern and love. And we are reminded of the importance of seeing all of mankind as reflecting the Divine Image, keeping to the laws of safety, and the realization that man and our leaders are still imperfect and that we should ensure that checks and balances remain in place for everyone, whether left or right.

The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@ gmail.com.

The earthquake is a sign to the Jewish nation that Hashem has not abandoned or forgotten us.

The Ultimate Insider

By Gedaliah Borvick

We had the great honor of marketing a lovely apartment in Jerusalem’s Sha’are Chesed neighborhood for the estate of Yehuda Avner. Standing in Avner’s office and viewing numerous photos of him with leading world leaders felt like I was taking a stroll through the history of the State of Israel.

You might recognize the name Yehuda Avner, as he wrote a wonderful book called, The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership. Avner was secretary and speechwriter to prime ministers Levi Eshkol and Golda Meir and adviser to prime ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin and Shimon Peres. In these roles, he was privy to many conversations of historical significance, some of which are mentioned in the book. One can tell that Avner was a magnificent speech writer, as his prose is clear, his recall is thorough, and his stories are riveting.

After serving the prime ministers, Avner held diplomatic positions in New York and Washington, D.C., and then served as Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Ireland and Australia.

Yehuda Avner was born in Manchester in 1928 and, after experiencing antisemitism in Britain, became active in the Bnei

Akiva religious Zionist youth movement. Upon high school graduation in 1947, Avner moved to Jerusalem. He fought in the 1948 War of Independence, and then helped found Kibbutz Lavi. Avner married Mimi Cailingold (sister of Esther Cailingold, a war heroine who died in the battle for Jerusalem’s Old City), and together they raised a family of four children.

Further recognition of how Menachem Begin’s Jewish pride and selfless devotion to the Jewish nation impacted Avner’s weltanschauung, or life philosophy, is revealed in Avner’s 2013 version of the Ten Commandments, in which he shared ten lessons acquired during his lifetime of public service. It is a brilliant piece, worthy of reading and rereading. One detects

ment. Don’t make light of it. Do all in your power to deny him the means of carrying out his satanic intent.”

“Protect Jewish dignity and honor at all costs.” Discussing lessons learned from the Holocaust, Begin developed this theme: “The seeds of Jewish destruction lie in passively enabling the enemy to humiliate us. Only when the enemy succeeds in turning the spirit of the Jew into dust and ashes in life, can he turn the Jew into dust and ashes in death.”

Yehuda Avner absorbed important lessons from Israel’s early leaders and gave voice to these giants on a global scale. A master wordsmith, Avner was blessed to utilize his immense talents to help frame and spread the message of the State of Israel to the world.

In 1959, Yehuda Avner joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and never turned back. Although he wrote glowingly of all the prime ministers, one quickly detects Avner’s profound admiration for Menachem Begin, as a large portion of The Prime Ministers chronicles Begin’s life from pre-State through the years that he served as prime minister.

the tremendous influence that Begin had on Avner. For the sake of brevity, let’s focus on two of Avner’s ten lessons:

“When an enemy of our people says he seeks to destroy us, believe him.” This is based on a quote from Begin, when asked about important lessons learned from the Holocaust. Begin elaborated, “Don’t doubt him [the enemy] for a mo -

May we, in this new year, learn from Yehuda Avner and redouble our efforts to use our talents and strengths on behalf of Am Yisrael.

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

A master wordsmith, Avner was blessed to utilize his immense talents to help frame and spread the message of the State of Israel to the world.

Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and Yehuda Avner, 1977

The Wandering Jew

The Synagogues Of Our Journeys

Part I

By Hershel Lieber

Avery important feature of our journeys in Europe was visiting synagogues in the countries that we traveled to. In most cities, we had the opportunity to actually daven in those shuls. Sometimes, we were only able to see them during times that services were not being conducted. Occasionally, those edifices lost their original purpose and were turned into museums which showcased their former functions. In every case, we were intrigued by the historical significance of these holy buildings and their contributing role to the Jewish communities of those places.

I hope that by presenting a photo album of these remarkable sanctuaries my readers will be able to take an armchair tour of our heritage throughout the European continent. The photographs are almost entirely from professional photo collections. The synagogues are labeled by city and country. In many cases, I included a personal or historical note that I wanted to share.

Replica of wooden synagogue in Gwozdziec, Poland at the Museum of Polish Jewish History

BUCHAREST, ROMANIA: CHORAL

SYNAGOGUE

When I was there in 1980, I had a chance to talk with Chief Rabbi Moshe Rosen in his office behind the shul’s magnificent interior. At the time, he asked me to join a Beis Din for the conversion of an entire family of seven members.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY: KASZINCZY SYNAGOGUE

The first time we came to this shul in 1979, we still saw bullet holes in the doors of this stately building which probably came from the house to house fighting between the Nazis and the Soviet Army. Until 1929, Rav Koppel Reich, the city’s Chief Orthodox Rabbi, served as rav in this shul.

BERLIN, GERMANY RYKESTRASSE SYNAGOGUE

When I was there in 1983, the city was still divided between East Germany and West Germany, and I had to pass through the famous Checkpoint Charlie to see the Communist East. This shul is in the former East Berlin section and houses the Lauder Rabbinical Seminary. I spent almost a week there in 2005 learning with groups of students.

ANTWERP, BELGIUM: SHOMREI

HAADAS SYNAGOGUE

In 1966, a relative took me on Shabbos to daven in this shul. The Gaon, Rav Chaim Kreiswirth, who was the rabbi, spoke before Mussaf. My first shidduch date was also during that trip with a prominent local family.

FLORENCE, ITALY: GREAT SYNAGOGUE

We did not participate in any tefillos during our short visit in 2011. We just toured this magnificent building and read the literature about its history.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK SYNAGOGUE

In 1979, I davened a weekday Shachris in this city’s main shul. The Chief Rabbi at the time was Bent Melchior, who I met that morning. His father and predecessor was Marcus Melchior who was instrumental in saving almost all of Danish Jewry from the Nazis.

DUBROVNIK, CROATIA SYNAGOGUE

This shul is only used during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur for the tiny Jewish community of the city. A rabbi from Israel is brought in to officiate in Europe’s oldest Sephardic Synagogue still in use. When we toured it in 2016, it was basically a Judaica museum.

KIEV, UKRAINE: GREAT CHORAL SYNAGOGUE

In 1979, I had a major scare when I was arrested by the KGB and taken to a forest for interrogation. I had written about this incident in a previous article. Obviously, I was released since I am writing about this now. The arrest took place after coming back from this shul and heading out to meet a prominent dissident and activist, whom I never got to meet.

LISBON, PORTUGAL: SHAAREI TIKVA SYNAGOGUE

This was the synagogue where we davened at during the Shabbos that we were in Lisbon in 2012. This was the first shul built in Portugal after the 15th century when all Jews were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. It was inaugurated in 1904.

AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND: PORTUGUESE SYNAGOGUE

This was the first foreign city that I traveled to before getting married. That year, 1966, I did not visit the shul, but went to see it on three other occasions. While leading a group of students on an Aish trip, I was able to teach them about the mitzvah of making a bris as we were observing one from the women’s gallery.

GIBRALTAR: SHAAR HASHAMAYIM SYNAGOGUE

We spent two Shabbosim once during 2000 and again in 2006 in this tiny city/country where all the 800 Jews are loyal to Torah Judaism. I davened twice in this shul and gave the Dvar Torah Shabbos morning during my second visit. One of our greatest benefits of visiting here is the continuous friendship we formed with Chief Rabbi Ron and Rebbetzin Kochava Hassid.

BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA: HEYDUKOVA SYNAGOGUE

This shul was where we davened during our most recent European trip in 2022. I was the Baal Tefillah for Kabbolas Shabbos and Mussaf.

VENICE, ITALY: ITALIAN SYNAGOGUE

This is one of the five synagogues in Venice which were used by different ethnic groups in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, they form the main attraction in the former Jewish Ghetto. Each one is different in design and in decoration, but all have the features that are necessary for a shul. We took a tour of them during our first visit in 1999.

KISHINEV, MOLDOVA: AGUDAS YISROEL SYNAGOGUE

After spending Pesach 1996 with Pesi and our two youngest children in this city, my involvement with the Yeshiva of Kishinev was bonded. Together with my colleague Rav Moshe Eisemann, we oversaw both the boys and girls high schools. Our commitment to sustain these schools required me to travel there thirty-one times. This photo is of the Bais Medrash of the school which we were instrumental in creating.

KRAKOW, POLAND: REMUH SYNAGOGUE

From my first visit in 1978 to the present year, Krakow has had a special place in my heart. This was the city of my father and his paternal family as well as my mother and her paternal family. We have been there countless times and am still able to see the buildings that they lived in. The Remu Shul was where I said Selichos before Rosh Hashana in 1979. The Old Synagogue is now a Jewish museum. Walking its streets gives me a nostalgic sense of connecting with past generations of my family.

HELSINKI, FINLAND SYNAGOGUE

When we went in 1981, it was an overnight stop on the way to Leningrad, USSR. In 2013, I was leading a women’s tour for a tour agency to Russia, and we made a full day stop to see this city. I arranged for the shul’s chazzan to guide us and portray the Jewish history of this Scandinavian country. We had lunch in the shul and the chazzan entertained us with music and song.

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC: ALTNEUSHUL

It was always a great privilege for us to daven in the Altneushul where the Maharal was the Rav. Starting in 1979 and during each of the six times we were in Prague, we made it our sacred duty to daven or at least visit the shul. The legend of the Golem’s final resting place in the sealed attic gave the shul an added dimension. I remember in 1992 teasing my son Mechel that I would leave him up there if he misbehaved. He took me quite seriously.

TOLEDO, SPAIN: SYNAGOGUE DEL TRANSITO

We were in Toledo twice, in 2000 with friends and in 2006 when I was leading a tour group to Spanish cities that are associated with Jewish history. This synagogue is almost 800 years old and after the Expulsion of Jews in 1492 was used as a church. Today it is a museum of Spanish Jewry.

WROCLAW, POLAND: WHITE STORK SYNAGOGUE

I do not remember all times that I was in Wroclaw, but in 2008 we spent the Shabbos before Rosh Hashana there and davened in this shul. It was not yet fully renovated but was fit enough to be used for the Yomim Noroim.

SARAJEVO, BOSNIA: ASHKENAZI SYNAGOGUE

We visited the Sarajevo Synagogue in 2007 but were not there during Shabbos when only Friday night services are held for the remaining 700 Jews of the city. The building, which was constructed in 1902, was divided horizontally in the 1960s. The former women’s section serves as a shul while the main floor is a community and senior center.

ROME, ITALY: GREAT SYNAGOGUE

In 2015, between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we spent a few days in Rome. This magnificent shul was a highlight of our visit. We davened there a weekday Mincha which included Selichos for the Aseres Yemei Teshuva. Tempio Maggiore, which is in the former Roman Ghetto, is over 150 years old. The Nusach Italki that is used there has similarities to the Romaniote Nusach used in Greece. It was very difficult to follow the pronunciation of the words during the repetition of the Shemona Esrei.

WORMS, GERMANY: RASHI SYNAGOGUE

In 2005, I visited the Bais Olam and the rebuilt shul and yeshiva named after Rashi. The woman guide who gave the tour in German showed me the replicated indentation in an outer wall of the shul and told me the legend about Rashi’s mother who was pregnant with him at the time. While Rashi’s mother was walking along the wall, two horse-drawn carriages imperiled her and miraculously the shul’s wall moved inwards to give her protection. I retorted in my best German and said, “Warum sagen Sie das sei ist nur eine Legende?” (Why do you say that this is only a legend?) She answered me with a smile, “Because Rashi was actually born in Troyes, France, and it is highly unlikely that his pregnant mother came here.” Rashi, though, did study in the Yeshiva of Worms for about six years from when he was seventeen years old, and that could be the basis for the yeshiva carrying his name.

Man on a Mitzvah Mission

Rabbi Levi Baumgarten Talks About His Army of Mitzvah Tanks

By Malkie SchulMan

“Every Jew has a connection, a pintele Yid (a Jewish spark). It’s the job of all of us to awaken that connection,” contends Rabbi Levi Baumgarten, Executive Director at Chabad Lubavitch mitzvah tank and Chabad Lubavitch of Watermill, NY.

For over half a century, in rain, sleet, snow or hail, horrible traffic and parking nightmares notwithstanding, the busy streets of Manhattan, Tel Aviv and other major cities around the world have been home to a remarkable phenomenon that continues to capture the attention of locals and tourists alike. It is the sight of an RV trundling through its streets, parking in strategic locations throughout the city while Chabad Jews descend from its doors, tefillin and Shabbat candles in hand, asking passersby: “Excuse me, are you Jewish?”

Meet the Mitzvah Tank

The origins of the mitzvah tank, today a spacious 30 ft. mobile home transformed into a mini synagogue, replete with an aron kodesh, mechitza, siddurim, and other holy Jewish books, can be traced back to 1962 when Chabad yeshiva students, at the behest of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l , would drive around Manhattan in small vans providing candles for unaffiliated Jewish women to light and tefillin for Jewish men to don. The idea of traveling around big cities to get unaffiliated Jews to do mitzvahs gained momentum, and in the fall of that year, local businessman and

chassid Aaron Klein refurbished a Navy surplus bus into what became known as the “Merkos Mobile Library.” This mobile library, with its eye-catching blue and orange colors and attached speaker system to play Jewish music, carried a library of Jewish books and provided a space for men to put on tefillin.

Rabbi Shlomo Cunin, a yeshiva student at the time, would drive the bus to different locations and invite folks to explore Jewish literature and engage in meaningful mitzvos. Each week, Rabbi Cunin would drive the bus to the Bronx. He’d park it in front of Jewish communal centers, set up tables and chairs, turn up the music, and encourage people to peruse the library on wheels and offer to help the men put on tefillin.

These mobile libraries did not become known as “mitzvah tanks” until 1974 when a New York Times reporter visited 770 and the Rebbe explained that the buses were “our tanks against assimilation.”

But in those days, it was just a weekly occurrence; each Friday, the mitzvah tanks would travel around the city. The year 1988 (after the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s wife, a”h) marked a significant development in reaching out to non-observant and alienated Jews. The mitzvah tank, transformed into a portable “educational and outreach center,” expanded its workload, and, under Rabbi Levi Baumgarten’s guidance, began to work its way around Manhattan daily.

Tanks

“For years, we only had one mitzvah tank driving around during the week,” shares Rabbi Baumgarten. “But now, in the last few years, we’ve put another two or three mitzvah tanks into (daily) operation.”

Rabbi Baumgarten shares what inspired him to get involved.

“Community leaders were asking me to run the mitzvah tank full-time in New York City. You need a certain type of personality that can work with a 20-second time frame, the time it takes to ask someone if they’re Jewish and somehow convince them to do a mitzvah once they answer yes. Coming from the family I did, I felt there was a good chance I could do it.”

The final (and most important) seal of approval, however, came from the Lubavitcher Rebbe who blessed Rabbi Baumgarten with tremendous success in his endeavor. “And I can tell you his blessing continues to be fulfilled every single day!”

Rabbi Baumgarten’s family is certainly a model of outreach to many, starting with his illustrious parents.

“I grew up in a home that was always open to unaffiliated Jews. Between 1950 and 1978, I would say 90% of disconnected Jews exposed to Chabad came through my parents’ house in Crown Heights.”

And today, every one of Rabbi Baumgarten’s siblings, in one way or another, is involved with shlichus.

A Story A Day

Rabbi Baumgarten and his mitzvah tanks follow a weekly routine, moving through various parts of Manhattan on specific days and reaching out to every type and stripe of Jew. Every day, Rabbi Baumgarten sends an email to his regulars, informing them of the tank’s location for the day as well as prayer times. “We do baby naming, and we give aliyahs for people on their birthday and any other occasion,” shares Rabbi Baumgarten. Many families have experienced transformative journeys through their encounters with the mitzvah tank, with some embracing a fully observant Jewish lifestyle, becoming shomer Shabbos and observing taharat hamishpacha. Rabbi Baumgarten often travels to weddings and bar mitzvahs as the officiating rabbi. He has become the rabbi of hundreds, if not thousands, of these formerly alienated Jews.

“I am constantly amazed at the far-reaching vision of the Rebbe. Every day is another story,” he says.

“This happened a while ago,” recalls Rabbi Baumgarten. “I was parked on 37th Street and Broadway, and a man walks into the mitzvah tank and asks if I remember him. I’ve met thousands of people over the years, but I do have a good memory. This time, though, I couldn’t place him.

“’You must look different from the last time I saw you.’ ‘I do!’ he says. ‘Ten

Rabbi Baumgarten and his son (who works with him) continue to witness incredible stories of transformation and connection.

“It was a Tuesday, and we were parked on 42nd Street and Madison Ave,” shares Rabbi Baumgarten. “A guy walks by, and even though he was wearing a cross, I had a feeling he was Jewish. He appeared flustered when I asked him,

gether, and I asked him what happened. He answered simply, ‘I don’t know. I felt shivers go through my entire body like lightning and I couldn’t control myself.’ I told him, that’s the pintele Yid , the spark residing in every Jew, no matter where they are now, that was awakened in you.”

Then the minister told Rabbi Baumgarten, “I want to tell you something. I pass this way to my church every day. I know what you guys do, so I’ve deliberately avoided walking on this corner so you wouldn’t see me and stop me. Today, I forgot and walked by this corner. At the exact moment I passed by, you opened your door and saw me.”

“It’s the Almighty G-d calling you, I told him,” said Rabbi Baumgarten.

Though Rabbi Baumgarten never saw the man again, he has no doubt that this incident was a major turning point in his life.

“This is the effect of the mitzvah tank,” avers Rabbi Baumgarten. “It awakens the Jewish soul.”

The blessing the Rebbe gave the mitzvah tank ripples throughout the world. Rabbis from all over call all the time and ask Rabbi Baumgarten for his secret. Recently, a rabbi of a major organization called to ask Rabbi Baumgarten how he got a particular fellow to put on tefillin. He’d been trying to get him to put them on for ten years. “My answer is simple,” shares Rabbi Baumgarten. “It’s not me; it’s the mitzvah tank. The Rebbe gave a special blessing that whoever enters it is blessed.”

Moshiach is Only One Step Away

years ago, I was passing the mitzvah tank, and you stopped me and asked me if I was Jewish. I tried to run away but you convinced me to come inside and then spent a half hour trying to get me to put on tefillin. You told me if I put on tefillin, something good would happen within a day, a month, up to a year. Well, I did put on the tefillin, and I left the mitzvah tank inspired. I began to think about who I am and what I am, and I became interested in discovering more about Judaism. When I returned to my home in Argentina, I contacted the Chabad rabbi and eventually became observant. I want you to come outside and meet my wife and children.’”

Now on their fourth mitzvah tank,

but he answered yes and agreed to come in the mitzvah tank and even agreed to remove the cross while in the tank. He told me he was a minister in a church, but he knew he was Jewish because his mother was. I tried to explain the concept of the specialness of a Jew, how dear he was to G-d, and why he shouldn’t be in a church.”

Rabbi Baumgarten asked the minister if he ever put on tefillin. He said no. Once Rabbi Baumgarten convinced him to put them on, the effect was instantaneous and dramatic.

“He started shaking uncontrollably and crying,” says Rabbi Baumgarten. “I couldn’t get him to stop for 20 minutes. Finally, we were able to say Shema to -

The Rebbe’s vision of bringing Moshiach closer through the performance of mitzvos resonates deeply with Rabbi Baumgarten. “Years ago, at a fabrengen, the Rebbe told us that in these times we must do everything in our power to bring Moshiach. We must impress upon every Jew that every mitzvah he or she does is bringing the Messiah closer.

“Thirty-three years ago,” Rabbi Baumgarten continues, “two welldressed, distinguished looking Jewish gentlemen passed the mitzvah tank. After they responded, ‘yes’ to my opening line, ‘Are you Jewish?’, I invited them inside to put on tefillin. As they came in, I said to myself, Levi, how are you going to start telling them they’re doing a mitzvah for Moshiach when they don’t know anything about Judaism at all? Nevertheless, the Rebbe said to do it, so I repressed my fears and said, ‘Gen-

“You need a certain type of personality that can work with a 20-second time frame, the time it takes to ask someone if they’re Jewish and somehow convince them to do a mitzvah once they answer yes.”

tlemen, do you know why you’re here? To bring Moshiach by doing a mitzvah.’ And what did one of the men answer? ‘Great! That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about – what is this Moshiach business?’ After that, through the years, this man and I have become close. Every time he comes to New York, he stops in for a visit.

“That’s what it’s all about – doing another mitzvah to bring Moshiach closer, that’s the message,” maintains Rabbi Baumgarten. “It’s easier than you think. People today know that we’re living in a crazy world. They see the chaos around us. They come in because they want to be a part of the change.”

Even many non-Jews show interest in the mitzvah tank. When they do, Rabbi Baumgarten will hand them a card that explains the seven Noahide laws. That is also part of the Rebbe’s message especially now in these pre-Messianic times, to share with non- Jews about G-d and about the commandments that they need to observe.

Non-Jews, too, have miraculous stories connected to the mitzvah tank.

“One time,” shares Rabbi Baumgarten, “we were parked on 57 th Street near the Four Seasons hotel when a non-Jew walked up to me and shared his story. He had worked as a bell boy in the Four Seasons for 32 years, and they had a strict policy about how much time you’re allowed to take off. Apparently, this guy had taken off too much time and now he was being fired. He desperately pleaded with his boss to give him another chance but nothing doing. He was very upset; it was a good job with good tips, and now he had no choice but to leave. On his way home, he passed the mitzvah tank and stopped at the picture of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He said (to the Rebbe’s picture), ‘I’m not Jewish but I need your help. I’m a good man and I lost my job. Please help me get it back.’ Then he went home. When he got there, there was a message on his answering machine from his boss saying, ‘We decided to give you another chance.’”

Lest you think it’s only the mitzvah tank that the Rebbe blessed as a vehicle for spiritual awakenings, incredible stories happen to and around Rabbi Baumgarten all the time.

Before Covid, Rabbi Baumgarten would periodically organize trips to Israel for unaffiliated Jews who’d never been there before. On one occasion, he gathered bar and bat mitzvah age non-religious kids for a once-in-your-lifetime trip to the Holy Land.

As he tells it, “It turns out, Motty, the bus driver I had hired for the entire eight-day trip, was a crusty, bitter middle-aged fellow.” Which, of course, did not deter Rabbi Baumgarten from asking him if he’d put on tefillin that day. Nor did his response surprise Rabbi Baumgarten. “Listen, Rabbi,” Motty said (in Hebrew), “we’re going to be together for eight days. We both want to enjoy ourselves. So, you don’t bother me, and I won’t bother you. Don’t ask me about my religion. And definitely, don’t ask me to put on tefillin.”

Well, as they say, the gauntlet was

their conversations, Rabbi Baumgarten also helped Motty with his shalom bayis. “Bring your wife flowers for Shabbat, I told him.” On Sunday, Motty said it was the nicest Shabbat ever, even though his wife thought he flipped when he came in with the flowers. Then Sunday night, Motty’s adult ba’al teshuvah son called and said to Rabbi Baumgarten, “What did you do with my father? He’s smiling and happier than we’ve ever seen him. Not only have you transformed him, but you’ve transformed the entire family!” An epilogue to the story is that three months later, Rabbi Baumgarten called

tops six months, but you never stopped. How could I refuse?’”

Mitzvahs are Every Jew’s Birthright

“Eight years ago, a Jew from Ukraine, a big guy, bangs on my door and says he wants to put on tefillin. I asked him if he had a bris. No, he answered, and even though he was already 69 years old, he was still interested in having one. I called a mohel, and we set the date. I’ll never forget when I told this Russian Jew that the bris was over,” shares Rabbi Baumgarten. “He raised his hands and said, ‘Thank G-d! I am now connected to G-d and Abraham.’ I went off my rocker. What an amazing quality of a Jew who’d never in his life even put on tefillin but felt such a deep connection after his bris.” And what an extraordinary testament to the transformative power of the bris that it had such an indelible impact on this Jew.

Women are also welcomed into the mitzvah tank. “Sometimes, we will say a brocha (blessing), Shema or Tehillim (Psalms) with her. Sometimes, she will want to give to charity. We always (try to) hand out Shabbos candles.

“There was one older woman who would often pass by our mitzvah tank but always refused to accept Shabbos candles. One week, however, she took them. I remember she said to me, ‘How old do you think I am, Rabbi?’ Tricky question. I said, ‘I don’t know – 75? She said, ‘I’m 90 and because of the Rebbe, for the first time, I will be lighting candles for Shabbos.’”

thrown down. “I remember telling my wife that by the end of the trip, this guy would be putting on tefillin,” says Rabbi Baumgarten. Long story short, the two started schmoozing about other topics and became friendly. The next day on the way to Tzfas, Rabbi Baumgarten asked Motty if he could do him a favor and put on tefillin “’For me, not for you,’ I said. ‘Sure, for you, I can do it. Just not for me,’ Motty answered.” When they got to Tzfas, Motty said, “Nu, aifo hatefillin (where are the tefillin)?” And he put them on.

“We had gotten really friendly by then and the next day at Ein Gedi, without my saying anything, Motty asked me, ‘Aifo hatefillin? ’” He put them on every day that week. During the course of

Motty to see how he was doing. Motty said, “Rabbi Levi, from the time I started putting on tefillin with you, I haven’t missed one day.”

Often, people feel like if they put tefillin on once or do any mitzvah once, there’s some kind of commitment they’re making. They’re afraid. Still, they feel a pull.

“There was one guy who passed the mitzvah tank literally for years. Every time he passed by, I’d say, ‘Hi, how are you? Do you want to put on tefillin?” shares Rabbi Baumgarten. “Each time, he’d say no, until one day he agreed to put on tefillin. Now he comes almost every day to put on tefillin. I said, ‘Paul, what happened?’ ‘Your persistence, Rabbi. Most people stop asking after

Although the daily mobile mitzvah tank has been a mainstay on the streets of New York City since the late ‘80s, Covid definitely cut down on the amount of people who visit it daily.

“I’d say before Covid,” says Rabbi Baumgarten, “we had 300-400 people visiting us a week. Now, it’s half that amount. But we still have minyans on most days.” And stories of salvation continue to happen.

The following story seems so random but that’s part of what living with faith is all about, when you’re not able to put all the pieces together but know in your bones that there is Someone watching over you who is.

“A few years ago,” begins Rabbi Baumgarten, “a seriously distressed woman walks into the mitzvah tank. She looks around and says, ‘Who’s the rabbi? I need help.’”

Turns out, her father’s life depended

“I said, ‘Paul, what happened?’ ‘Your persistence, Rabbi. Most people stop asking after tops six months, but you never stopped.’”

on an immediate kidney transplant, and she was convinced there was some way Rabbi Baumgarten whom she had never met before in her life could help. Finding kidney donors was not something Rabbi Baumgarten was used to doing, but the fact that this woman had sought him out led him to believe that maybe he could help.

“I contacted Rabbi Lider, the head of Ahavas Chesed, an organization known for their acts of kindness especially to hospital patients. Together, we coordinated efforts to find a suitable kidney donor, and remarkably, two months later, the man received his kidney transplant.”

Months afterward, this woman’s wealthy father wanted to show his appreciation to Rabbi Baumgarten for saving his life by throwing a party in his honor. Rabbi Baumgarten insisted that it was G-d who saved his life but did agree to a simple lunch gathering. During the meal, the man asked what gift he could give the rabbi to express his gratitude. “I think he thought I was crazy when instead of asking for something of monetary value, I requested he take upon himself the commitment to put on tefillin daily. But when he saw that I was serious, he agreed to do it. “

Perhaps one of Rabbi Baumgarten’s most memorable encounters was a story that unfolded in downtown Manhattan on a Monday, a day before the tragic events of September 11th.

“We used to get about 40 people from the Twin Towers coming to put on tefillin,” shares Rabbi Baumgarten. “That

The next day, history happened in the form of 9/11. Two days after that, Rabbi Baumgarten got a call from this fellow profusely thanking him for saving his life.

“I did nothing, the Almighty G-d did,” Rabbi Baumgarten answered.

“You were the emissary,” said the man and he then shared his miraculous

Tower of the World Trade Center. He grew very agitated and emotional as he continued speaking to Rabbi Baumgarten. “Are you listening, Rabbi? My desk on the 79 th floor is exactly where the plane entered the building! I want you to know that not only did you save one life, you also saved a family, because this coming Sunday I’m getting married to a Jewish girl!”

The missed train had rerouted his destiny, and he was convinced that putting on tefillin in the mitzvah tank on the previous day had been the merit through which his life had been spared.

The Never-ending Stories

Monday, a friend of mine named Josh brought over a friend of his to put on tefillin. I began as I’ve done so many times to explain to him the importance of this mitzvah. I told him, ‘I guarantee you that within one day, one month, something major will happen in your life. That’s how powerful this mitzvah is.’ He said, ‘You got me.’ And he emotionally put on the tefillin.”

tale. “I’ve been working in the World Trade Center for the last eight years,” he explained, “and I’m always early. Two days ago, for the first time ever, I missed my train by literally 30 seconds. I was annoyed because the next train was being rerouted, and I knew I’d get to work late.”

Little did this guy know that at the moment his train was being rerouted, a Boeing 767 was crashing into the North

Just like the stories never end, the effect of each mitzvah on an individual, their family and future generations does not end. They serve as a testament to the profound impact and lasting transformations brought about by the mitzvah tank. Each encounter with a Jewish soul is special and holy to Rabbi Baumgarten. It continues to reinforce his belief in the power of connecting individuals with their Jewish heritage and the tremendous influence a single mitzvah can have on one’s life to bring Moshiach closer.

“Are you listening, Rabbi? My desk on the 79th floor is exactly where the plane entered the building! I want you to know that not only did you save one life, you also saved a family.”

Shaking Up the Middle East

How Close Are We to a Saudi-Israel Deal?

By Shammai SiSkind

n Monday, August 28, flight HM022 took off from the tiny island nation of Seychelles toward Ben Gurion Airport.

The aircraft was filled with some 130 Israelis all on the final leg of their varied journies back home.

What should have been an uneventful flight across the Indian Ocean and up the Horn of Africa ended up taking an unexpected turn.

Shortly after takeoff, the pilot turned on the PA system.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” explained the capital calmly, “we’re experiencing some technical difficulties with the electrical systems of the aircraft.” The captain quickly reassured the passengers that there was no emergency. However, they would have to make an “unplanned landing at Jeddah International” to undergo some repairs.

The passengers were a bit startled. Did they hear the captain correctly? Their Israel-bound flight was actually going to land in Saudi Arabia? Many of the passengers began panicking, some even breaking down in tears. What would the Saudis do with a plane full of Jews?

How pleasantly surprised they were when, after landing in Jeddah, they received a warm greeting from Saudi officials. “You are most welcome,” said a smiling Saudi man in English as they crossed the airport threshold. All the passengers were politely escorted to accommodations where they would await their replacement flight. It seemed they wouldn’t all be taken hostage after all.

The following morning, all 128 men

and women boarded a plane bound for Tel Aviv.

In an official response to the incident, Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Riyadh for the “warm treatment of the Israeli passengers,” emphasizing that the Kingdom’s “good neighborliness” was very much appreciated.

A Deal Unfolding?

The Seychelles Air incident could not have taken place at a more apropos time. Scores of nervous Israelis being greeted by the Saudi government with open arms served as an uncanny metaphor for what is actually taking place right now at the

diplomatic level. For months, outlets from news media along with think tanks have been reporting on a U.S.-backed normalization deal developing between Israel and the Saudis. In early August, the Wall Street Journal reported American and Saudi officials negotiating “details of an agreement” they hope to cement within in the near to medium future. The report came less than two weeks after President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made a trip to Riyadh to meet with Saudi defense officials. No connection to Israel was mentioned at the time. But subsequent reports of the U.S. brokering talks with Jerusalem solidified the rumors:

Sullivan’s trip was merely the first round of face-to-face negotiations on an Israel normalization deal. After weeks of speculation, Washington revealed in early September that another delegation of senior diplomats would soon be traveling to the Kingdom, this time led by White House Middle East czar Brett McGurk and Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf.

Plans for these talks didn’t just spontaneously emerge from the ether. They are the culmination of years of slow and tedious diplomatic advances, steps that have gradually brought the two countries to the verge of an actual deal.

A Not-So-Secret Reconciliation

In a July interview, Benjamin Netanyahu was asked about his approach to pursuing new diplomatic ties.

“Typically, when two nations start a dialogue, the talks take place in secret,” said the Prime Minister. “I like to have them in secret, but out in the open.”

Indeed, for the better part of a decade, it has been an open secret that Israel and the Saudis maintain close communication. Without a doubt, the single most important contributor to opening these back channels has been the increasing aggression of the two countries’ common enemy, Iran – nothing like a genocidal theocracy to bring folks together.

But the Ayatollahs and their nuclear ambitions aren’t the only factors bridging the gap between Jerusalem and Riyadh. Saudi Arabia has been modernizing at an astounding rate. While it may still re -

semble a religious dictatorship by Western standards, in many ways, the Saudi Arabia of today is barely recognizable compared to just a few years ago. Sports arenas, theme parks, and European-style cafes are now common features of Saudi cities. The style and fashion of men and women traversing the streets in many places make them indistinguishable from locals in other modern countries. Statebacked religious institutions such as the Muṭ awwa ʿūn, the religious enforcement police, have almost none of the power (or prestige) they used to enjoy. The social change has been coupled with state-level policy shifts in the infrastructural and economic spheres. Today, the Saudi government openly pursues a wide range of heavy industries, commerce, and even renewable energy. While real success in these arenas may still be years away, for the Saudi government, long tethered to the petroleum industry, to even be talking

about diversifying its economy is, in a word, remarkable.

These significant changes in the Kingdom are usually attributed to Crown Prince Mohammed, the favored son of the

aging King Salman. Several years ago, Salman bequeathed to Mohammed what was essentially carte blanche authority to administer all areas of the state. While Mohammed’s policies have undoubtedly been

a powerful force driving evolution in the Kingdom, in many ways, MBS is more of a symptom than a cause. Saudi Arabia has generationally shifted to a more pragmatic society, one that eschews the typical corruption and nepotism that has long characterized the Arab world, seeks to soften the religious extremism of its past, and, most importantly, achieve the advantages of modernity. For a country with these goals, normalization with Israel, the most advanced nation in the region, can be a huge asset.

MBS began initiating meetings with the Israelis in 2015. That year, he met with Israeli officials in private in the beach resort city of Eilat. Two years later, a story was leaked to media outlets that the Prince had met with diplomats from Jerusalem on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Jordan. It was during this period that Dr. Anwar Eshki, a retired Saudi general, visited Israel, heading a delegation of ac-

ademics and businessmen. While the visit was not an official one, the delegation was approved by the Saudi government and had the explicit purpose of “encouraging relations” between the two countries.

During the presidency of Donald Trump, when efforts to clamp down on Iran enjoyed the full backing of Washington, intelligence sharing between Riyadh and Jerusalem increased exponentially. There were numerous public references to using Saudi airspace for a strike on Iran.

The chaos of the Covid era largely halted any major progress on the diplomatic front. The fact that a new American president took office, one with a much colder stance toward both the Saudis and Israel, did not help, either. Still, Israel did not abandon its hopes of normalizing with Riyadh. The Saudis, on their part, maintained the same interests, interests they believed could be facilitated by an Israel deal.

The Terms

The dynamics of the U.S.-proposed deal are relatively straightforward: the United States seeks to push the Saudis into peace with Israel in return for several perks. First is security guarantees designed to protect against Iranian en-

program. The interest in such a program is well in line with talks of alternative energy coming out of the Saudi establishment for years. Officials in Israel have publicly stated the government would not oppose such a program in Saudi Arabia.

On the Israel side, formal toes with

from other Muslim-majority countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, which are important players in their own right both militarily and economically. Among the more immediate economic benefits, there is one that could have far-reaching effects on the region: a rail line connecting Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the other states in the peninsula.

croachment. This would include the loosening of restrictions on American arms sales to the Kingdom. Second is U.S. assistance in constructing a civilian nuclear

Riyadh would be a monumental political win that would largely signal an end to the contentious dynamics of the Middle East. A deal would lead to recognition

Israel’s Transport Minister Miri Regev has been pushing for similar initiatives since coming into her job. Regev has made several references to a proposal first put forth by one of her predecessors, Yisrael Katz, for connecting the Gulf states to Haifa Port by rail. The idea of an Israel-Saudi rail route plays into the Crown Prince’s ambitious plans for developing Saudi infrastructure, specifically new urban and commercial centers. One mega project already in the works is Mohammed’s “city of the future” Neom, a half-trillion-dollar venture in north -

Typically, when two nations start a dialogue, the talks take place in secret, said the Prime Minister. I like to have them in secret, but out in the open.

western Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coast. Neom’s planned features include a state-of-the-art industrial complex, a global trade hub, tourist resorts, and a linear city powered by renewable energy sources. Imagine: Israel could very well become a gateway to Saudi commerce and a crucial asset to the Kingdom’s economic aspirations. In turn, Israel could shift from an isolated outsider to a much more integrated member of the Middle East.

However, not all aspects of Saudi normalization would be positive for Israel. Closing a deal with Riyadh could come at a cost. Both the Americans and the Saudis are making clear what those costs could be.

Strings Attached

The Saudis occupy an important position in the Arab world for several reasons.

Aside from its strategic assets, a GDP nearing close to $1 trillion, its massive oil production, and its influence over the petrol industry through OPEC, the Kingdom also holds substantial religious prominence. After its conquest of the Arabian peninsula in the early 20th century, the House of Saud became the custodian of Islam’s most important holy site in Mecca. It is difficult to overstate how important this is from a political point of view. Saudi Arabia’s spiritual and geopolitical esteem has long made it the “flagship” of the Arab world. Thus, the internal and external pressure to toe the political line has always been immense –especially when it comes to Israel.

Over the decades, the Saudi policy on Israel has remained steadfast: there can be no reconciliation with the Jewish state until the Palestinian issue has been fully resolved. The stubbornness of Arab countries like Saudi Arabia had for years driven Western policy on the Middle East. The key to everything was the Palestinians. Until that was solved, there was no hope of integrating Israel into the region. The Abraham Accords orchestrated by Trump and Netanyahu four years ago put an abrupt end to this myth. While the official stance of the Saudis and many others remained the same, the shock of the Accords did force the region to take some pause: even if the Palestinian issue wasn’t to everyone’s liking, real diplomatic prog-

ress with Israel was actually possible. But while the Saudis’ opinion on Palestine may have shifted, they haven’t abandoned the issue completely. Statements from officials in Riyadh indicate that they will not agree to a deal with Jerusalem that does not include a significant advancement toward Palestinian sovereignty.

Incorporating the Palestinian issue into the deal is not a mere theoretical. The expected visit to Saudi Arabia by U.S.

that historically served Palestinians. Ramallah also expects the U.S. Congress to scrap legislation characterizing the PA as a terror organization. Finally, the PLO delegation will demand the U.S. force Israel to raze a variety of “‘illegal outposts” in order to solidify PA control of the area.

Now, examining these demands, it’s difficult to think the PA actually believes they’re feasible. The notion that the current government of Israel would acquiesce to any of these points is simply lu-

ously. This would lead to initial proposals released by Washington and Riyadh outlining demands on Israel, demands which Israel will not accept. This could very well scuttle, or at least indefinitely postpone, any progress on Saudi normalization.

But much more likely is that little to nothing will emerge at all from upcoming meetings in Riyadh. As Jake Sullivan indicated at a press conference at the end of August, America’s goal at this point is exploring avenues for getting the Saudis interested in a deal. This is an important step to making a deal a reality but a very early one in the overall process. If U.S. diplomats can successfully entice the Saudis, the real talks, possibly even a meeting between Biden and MBS, can then take place. As for the Palestinian participants, they are almost certainly there for the PR. The Saudis – and to some extent, the Americans as well –need to demonstrate that they aren’t trying to completely sidestep the Palestinian issue by pursuing normalization with Israel, so they invited some PLO freedom fighters to the party. Even if the Saudis sympathize with the Palestinian cause in their heart of hearts (which is also doubtful), the PA’s demands are far from their main interests here. The Saudis are much more concerned with whether or not the Americans will build them a nuclear reactor than they are with Palestinian statehood.

diplomats will overlap with a Palestinian delegation led by the PLO executive committee secretary-general Hussein alSheikh, who will lay out what Ramallah is hoping to obtain from a Saudi-Israel normalization deal. According to Israeli officials, the Palestinian Authority is seeking “irreversible” steps that will advance its bid for statehood. These steps include transferring parts of the so-called Area C in Judea and Samaria to Palestinian control. Furthermore, the PA expects the United States to openly push for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations and to reopen its consulate in Jerusalem

dicrous. Many members of the Knesset are actively pushing to annex Area C as Israeli territory. Handing it over to the PA isn’t in their realm of possibility. The idea that the government would even consider the destruction of cities in the West Bank is also laughable.

At the end of the day, however, the Saudis did invite the PA to the table. The Americans also agreed to have them present. This means that there are two possibilities for how these talks will play out: the less probable scenario is that both the Saudis and the Americans take the Palestinian demands somewhat seri-

It is quite possible the Palestinians have already been told their attendance is just for show. According to Palestinian officials, the delegation’s head, Al-Sheikh, discussed measures with the chief U.S. diplomat Barbara Leaf during a meeting at the end of August and received a largely chilly response. In a similar vein, Israeli media reported that Ramallah is already very skeptical of the meeting in Riyadh. In the words of one Palestinian source: “They [the PA] think normalization is happening with or without us, so they may as well [try to] benefit from it.”

Regardless of the Palestinian issue, there are still crucial points to hammer out if there is any hope of a deal moving forward. As all the stakeholders understand, the most important piece is how much the U.S. is willing to invest to make the Saudis amenable to a deal.

The Saudis are much more concerned with whether or not the Americans will build them a nuclear reactor than they are with Palestinian statehood.

What Would You Do If…

Dear Navidaters,

Firstly, I appreciate you allowing a forum to discuss these types of questions anonymously.

I finally got married at the age of 35 B”H and feel very blessed to be in this new stage of life. If I’m honest with myself, though, there are some issues surrounding my in-law’s family that I can’t get past.

I have three young, spry sisters-in-law who are over a decade younger than me and way ahead of me in life. I feel triggered around them constantly. They’re perfect young mothers who married perfect husbands right away with the perfect large young families building their homes. I want to like them, get close with them, and I want to connect with them; I’m just so unbelievably jealous of them, if I’m honest. I hate the feeling at the same time, because I don’t want to be. How can I pull myself out of this? Any advice would be helpful.

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

Methinks you may be suffering from a lack of peers who are at the same age and stage as you are. You don’t have friends who are doing the same things you are doing: beginning married life, managing a home and job, and starting a family. It’s challenging to do these things at any age, but especially when you don’t have confidants who can share tips, insights, and experience.

You are blessed to have these three young sisters-in-law who can serve as an instant peer group. You know they are not perfect ,but they do seem to effortlessly manage a lot with skills you may not have this instant. You yearn for a relationship with them. However, your perception of them as perfect and your own challenges

right now (which are temporary, let me assure you) are standing in the way.

Look at it this way: Hashem gave you this team of three to help you and to share hacks with you. He not only gave you a great husband but a pack of sisters to help you ease into your new life. These are blessings indeed.

You are smart. You picked the right guy. Now continue to be smart and take a few tools from their (and their friends’) toolbox. The feelings of jealousy and inadequacy will melt away. You will be empowered and feel more capable as time goes on.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

Mazal tov on your recent marriage! I’m sorry for the pain you are experiencing surrounding your sister-in-laws. You

wanted so badly to be in the stage of life that your SILs are so effortlessly “rocking” in front of your eyes. It is natural to have these feelings when you are around them. There is nothing but time and experience that will help ease the pain and jealousy you feel in your heart. I’m not sure there is anything that can make it go away, but what you can certainly do is work on yourself to view the situation in a different light entirely. Is it possible the sisters-in-law look up to you and are envious of YOU? Look at it from their perspective when you are around them. Their time in the spotlight came and went, but now it is your turn – embrace it. Every first that you experience is one that they have already had!

Being single in a marriage-centered society can leave those who’ve been in it with battle scars after they get out of it. Processing it after the fact with the right person can be very therapeutic and can also help put the past in the past so you are able to focus solely on your amazing future.

The Single

Tzipora Grodko

Welcome to humanity, where your feelings are valid and healthy! Jealousy is super, super difficult to work through, and I think your best option would be to attend therapy to grieve and process your feelings in the healthiest space possible with someone that can be professionally objective to provide you with the space and support you need. Oftentimes, people think we should push away feelings in order to move forward, but the reality is

Honor your jealousy, listen to it, learn from it.

that we actually need to feel and process in order for the feeling to be released, in order to move forward.

Be patient and compassionate with your process as it takes time, but you’ll get there and then be able to hopefully help someone else one day.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

We Orthodox Jews live in a very insular bubble. Our very young women feel tremendous pressure to date seriously and marry early.

According to the Census Bureau, in 1980, the average American woman married at 22; today, the average American woman marries in her late

20s or early 30s. The clear trend in secular society is for women to avoid rushing into marriage.

Consider the advantages of marrying a bit later in life:

According to sociologist Phillip Cohen, “The odds of divorce decrease the older the woman was when she first got married.”

An online financial advisor notes, “For many couples, getting married older allows them to support each other financially, increase their buying power, and provide a larger financial cushion.”

Psychologists like Dr. Aleyna Gündoğdu observe that “women who get married early and give birth cannot focus on their personality growth… Many people focus on their career development and is one of the advantages of delaying marriage.”

Journalist Ankita Banerjee wrote, “… With girls getting higher degrees…more

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Thank you for writing to the panel! Jealousy is a natural, human feeling. We are all jealous from time to time, some of us a little more and some of us a little less. And it can’t be easy having these three young seemingly perfect sisters-in-law who seem to have arrived before you, and quite easily. This is not easy terrain.

I’m imagining that during your single years you wanted to be married badly. Perhaps those were very hard years. Thankfully, you are married now. And you have these three seemingly young, perfect sisters-in-law who are “ahead of you.” They seem to have what you want and perhaps would have had had you been married younger. This is painful. Let’s not

sugarcoat it or pretend it isn’t.

When we are jealous of someone, we tend to “zoom in” on that aspect of their lives and hyper focus on it. A helpful tool to manage jealousy is to start to “zoom out.” You are focused on your sisters-in-law’s young ages and families. Try zooming out. Try to see their lives in their entirety. Everyone had parts of life that aren’t pleasant, to say the least. Try zooming out to see the entire picture. Try zooming out when it comes to your life, too. This will help you develop a greater appreciation for your life.

Another helpful tool is to remind yourself, as hard as this is, that no one is ahead

and more opt to marry later in life. Millennials, especially, seem to be in little hurry to marry. My mother told me to be financially independent before I tie the knot, and I will tell my kids the same.”

The point here is that there is no right or wrong age at which to get married. Whether voluntarily, or by circumstance, every individual follows a different path in life.

Perhaps the following might help you feel better: Allow your imagination to visualize a fictitious letter that a very young mother might have written to the Navidater column:

Dear Navidaters,

My sister-in-law is 35 years old and just got married. I am seething with jealousy.

While I listened to my parents and principals and married one of the first young men who matched all the items on my shidduch checklist, my sister-in-law was able to meet people from different walks of life, before settling on her soul mate.

While I was, and still am, bogged down with dishes and diapers, my sisterin-law was able to travel, complete her

education, and advance in her career.

While my husband and I depend on financial help from parents and my newborn is wearing hand-me-downs from older siblings and cousins, my sister-inlaw is financially secure and can afford whatever her children will need.

Etc., etc.

Okay, perhaps this fictional letter is a bit far-fetched, but you get the idea. Every age and every circumstance is filled with advantages and disadvantages, pluses and minuses. We must be samaiach b’chelko, be content with a half-full cup, and do the best that we can for ourselves and our families.

or behind. Viewing this through a spiritual lens may remind you that your life is exactly as it is supposed to be. There is really no race or contest.

One practical tool to help with jealousy is to build bridges and connections with each sister-in-law. Invite them for lunch or go to the mall or a museum. Grab a coffee. Get to know them as people, separate from their roles as young “perfect” mothers.

Let us honor the fact that we are sometimes naturally jealous of the things we want and don’t have (yet.). Hashem wired us with it. To fight it is silly. Allow it. Accept that you are jealous. Sit with it in complete lack of judgment or trying to rid yourself of it. You would like what they have. Focus on what it is that you want. And imagine yourself having it. It is scary to dream or imagine. But do it anyway.

Dare to imagine yourself with a baby. And think, “What kind of mother do I want to be?” “What will that first moment meeting my child be like?” Dare to imagine yourself with a baby of your own, iy”H. Honor your jealousy, listen to it, learn from it. It is telling you something.

If you absolutely cannot stop thinking about it, and you feel you are having obsessive thoughts that are intrusive and stopping you from enjoying life or your daily functioning, please speak to a therapist and your doctor. Even if the thoughts are not intrusive, speaking to someone may help.

Mazal tov on your marriage! Don’t forget to remember your celebrations and simchas. Mazal tov!

Sincerely, Jennifer

Being single in a marriage-centered society can leave those who’ve been in it with battle scars after they get out of it.

A Changed Yom Tov

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

It’s Rosh Hashana and a time when we take a serious look at our previous year, what we desire for the future and an honest cheshbon of ourselves. It’s really intense and can be overwhelming. Some may find this internal search to be disheartening or even upsetting. Perhaps we didn’t accomplish our goals or, even worse, feel we had a decline. Maybe it was a really difficult and painful year. Some years truly are more challenging than others, and it can be hard to reflect upon those experiences.

It’s a gift that once a year we are forced

to reevaluate ourselves and our life, but it can come with intense emotions. It’s easy to focus on “dip the apple in the honey” but more complicated to ask ourselves, “Did I improve as an individual and am I a better parent than this time last year?”

The truth is, we all make wonderful goals for ourselves, yet we rarely can live to the high standards we’ve mentally set. Perhaps we’ve made grandiose plans for what we expect from our spouse or children, and they, too, haven’t reached that bar. I will briefly mention the important fact that we can never change others, only

ourselves. What we can do is be the support and encouragement others need as they work on their own challenges.

Successfully Changing

We tend to underestimate the importance of small changes, and it’s such a shame since slow and gradual change is more likely to be enduring. Additionally, when we don’t value the minor adjustments we make, we can easily feel overwhelmed and give up. Rather, when we can appreciate each small step, we are encouraged to progress ever further.

Many children and teens judge their accomplishments based on the opinions of others. If others see what they did as valuable, then they will, too. But, if those around them denigrate what they did, they may no longer value their hard work.

If this is true with their peers, it’s certainly the case when it comes to their trusted adults. It’s disheartening for a child to work so hard yet go unnoticed. Children crave their parents’ love and approval. They want us to take pride in their actions, and they eagerly await that special smile from us. They thrive from receiving that eagerly anticipated compliment but get hurt when it doesn’t appear.

It’s so easy to focus on the obvious negatives, but the world is a happier place when we learn to see the positives. I know that sounds “Pollyannaish,” but it’s important in parenting. A child may have trashed their room yet shared their favorite toy with a sibling. We can be mechanech on the negative and insist the bed-

room be cleaned, but we shouldn’t ignore the generosity towards a brother/sister. Sometimes improvement can be seen by the lessening of a negative. It’s an impressive accomplishment if a toddler exercises self-control and switches from hitting to yelling at the baby. We don’t want to ignore the yelling, but it’s helpful to acknowledge the child’s efforts. Perhaps a teen has decreased the number of times they speak with chutzpah. Please note that I’m not condoning or encouraging any of these negative behaviors. It’s our desire to get rid of the bad middos and that makes it so crucial for us to do so with seichel.

Growing Parents

We are role models for our children, and we set the tone for their current and future yomim noraim. When they see that we value our personal development and take this time seriously, they will associate yomim tovim as important times that require introspection and emotional preparations. If they see us focused exclusively on the externals, we risk them doing the same.

As parents, we, too, are working to better ourselves. I hear so many parents frustrated by the mistakes they make while not appreciating the areas they’ve improved. We need to recognize and take pride in our growth while taking an honest look at areas in which we can be better. If we only see the negative, we can become disheartened and not see the value in our efforts.

When we are needlessly hard on ourselves, we also risk our children thinking that personal growth requires beating oneself up, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Someone who is depressed or feeling down is less likely to be capable of maintaining meaningful change.

We need to be realistic when setting our goals and not take on too much, which is a recipe for disaster. A small, but enduring change is ultimately more meaningful than a large goal that gets tossed by Tzom Gedalia.

Supporting Our Children

We can’t make our kids be successful students, better people or more obedient. Once they’re out of their toddler years, there is very little you can legally do to “make them do” whatever it is we want. They, too, have free will, and it’s up to them whether or not they use that gift wisely.

Does this mean we should do nothing?

Certainly not. Our role isn’t to force, guilt or shame but to love, guide and encourage. We may feel this is insufficient, but experience has shown that the appropriate support can be very powerful in helping others improve and meet their goals. We can see how powerful emotion-

al support can be by how many women post-birth have said they couldn’t have done it without their husbands. Biologically speaking, she completely could have done every step of those nine months and childbirth without his help. But, you can’t compare the physical and emotional differences between a woman with a supportive husband and one whose husband

sometimes it’s

a very fine line.

Meaningful Yom Tov

Despite the similarity in minhagim, yomim tovim look different for each individual. We have how we think Rosh Hashana should look – in shul for hours of meaningful prayers, enhanced by the timeless melodies unique to this time. For

ents will bring children to shul that aren’t ready, making the children and the mispallelim suffer together. Other parents may stay home with their young ones but feel guilty about it or unfulfilled.

Prior to the holy day, it can help to realistically assess what we can do to maintain the spirit of the day, with the understanding that parents need to be flexible and plans may change. Our goals may include shul, being at home davening, or even playing a relaxing game with a rambunctious and emotionally needy toddler. Some may laugh at the last example, but seeing to our beloved children’s needs is no less important; they are precious children to Hashem, too. We should try to avoid feeling guilty for meeting their needs and doing our best.

ignored her. For many women, their husband’s support has made a tremendous difference. Similarly, a child who has a parent lovingly encouraging them and guiding them as they meet each challenge will have an easy, more successful path.

Many parents may find it helpful to periodically take the time to contemplate their child’s needs. The next question is how we can most effectively assist them without overwhelming them or creating feelings of inferiority. I won’t deny that

many, this is exactly how their holiday appears, and it’s truly beautiful. Others may find their day is very different. Perhaps they have young children who can’t attend shul all day – or at all. Maybe they have someone else that requires their attention or they simply can’t focus for hours on end.

As parents, we may sometimes need to judge ourselves by a different metric. It can be a hard adjustment from praying in shul to davening at home. Some par -

I want to wish all of Klal Yisroel a meaningful Rosh Hashana and an incredible year to come. May Hashem grant us good health, success in all we do and nachas from our precious children.

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.

Our role isn’t to force, guilt or shame but to love, guide and encourage.

A Healthy and Sweet New Year

By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

As Rosh Hashana approaches, we excitedly anticipate the arrival of the New Year. This festive holiday is a time for reflection, renewal, and gathering with loved ones. While the yom tov table often overflows with delicious traditional dishes, it’s important to craft a balance between indulgence and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Let’s explore practical tips and guidelines for a health-conscious celebration of the chag.

• Bring on Breakfast: Don’t skip the most important meal of the day before heading to shul. This can lead to overeating later in the day. Avoid feeling too hungry before lunch by eating a balanced breakfast that will keep you satisfied and energized. Here are some healthy, not too time-consuming breakfast options:

◊ Greek yogurt : Greek yogurt is a great choice because it is rich in protein and probiotics. Top it with fresh berries, cinnamon, chia and flaxseeds, and some high fiber cere -

al (instead of high sugar granola) for added nutrients and flavor.

◊ Hard-boiled eggs with brown rice cakes : Eggs provide protein and essential nutrients, while rice cakes offer a satisfying crunch. Add a sprinkle of your favorite seasoning or some avocado for healthy fats.

◊ Cottage cheese: Cottage cheese is low in fat and high in protein, making it a great breakfast option. Make it sweet with sliced fruits or savory with tomatoes, other vegetables and crazy salt.

◊ Whole grain pancakes: Make pancakes using whole grain flour or oat flour before yom tov and reheat in your warming drawer. Top with sliced bananas and a spoonful of Greek yogurt.

◊ Quinoa bowl: Quinoa is a protein-rich grain. Cook it as instructions state, and add roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed greens (kale, spinach), and a poached egg. Drizzle with tahini for healthy fats.

◊ Overnight oats: In a cup with a lid/cover, mix steel-cut oats, unsweetened almond milk, chia/ flaxseeds, berries, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and a nut butter. Let it “cook” overnight, and it’ll be ready for you to grab in the morning! Oats are a heart healthy carb, the berries bring the antioxidants, the seeds additional fiber, and the nut butter is your protein: a complete and well balanced breakfast.

• Mind your Meat : Traditionally, Rosh Hashana meals often feature red-meat dishes, such as beef, lamb, or veal, but it’s essential to be mindful of your meat consumption for cardiovascular reasons. A balanced approach is to minimize red meat intake. Ideally, you should avoid consuming red meat for all four meals of the holiday and limit it to no more than once a day during the entire celebration.

◊ Fish: One of your meals should be a fish-based meal, and it’s an excellent idea to schedule it for the

second night of Rosh Hashana, so you are not having red meat twice in one day. Fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for heart health.

◊ Mushrooms : They have a meaty texture and umami taste, which makes it a great substitute for meat in many dishes.

◊ Veggie soups: These are great fillers to use at a lighter, non-fleishig meal.

• Eat the Rainbow : While delicious potato kugel and other carb-rich dishes are an integral part of the chag, it’s equally important to prioritize healthy sides. If one is washing and consuming challah or sourdough at each meal, most of your sides should be vegetables. Try to incorporate a colorful array of veggies, such as broccoli, peppers, eggplant, green beans, etc., and salads into your menu. Healthy carb sides could be roasted sweet potato fries, which offer a sweet and savory twist, or butternut squash, a vibrant source

of vitamins and fiber. Cauliflower rice, zoodles (zucchini noodles), hearts of palm pasta, and spaghetti squash are excellent low-carb alternatives that can complement your main dishes beautifully. These sides will give you the satiety and satisfaction that comes from pasta, without the extra calories.

• Delectable Desserts: Indulging in dessert is a beloved part of any holiday celebration, and Rosh Hashana is no exception. However, it’s crucial to exercise moderation. Enjoy dessert once a day, preferably during the lunch meal. At night, as the body prepares for rest, insulin sensitivity tends to decrease. This means that your cells become less responsive to insulin, a hormone responsible for regulating blood glucose levels by facilitating the uptake of glucose into cells. When you eat food late at night, especially foods high in carbohydrates, your body may struggle to efficiently process glucose. As a result, blood sugar levels can remain elevated for an extended period, which is a risk factor for conditions like insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Savor the sweetness of the holiday without going overboard.

• Hydration : Staying adequately

hydrated is not only essential for overall well-being but can also be a valuable ally in managing your food intake. Often, our bodies can confuse thirst with hunger, leading us to reach for unnecessary snacks or larger portions. By prioritizing regular water intake throughout the day, you can help differentiate between true hunger and thirst, ultimately making more mindful and healthier

with loved ones while staying active.

• Challah Alternatives: Consider trying alternatives to challah, like matzoh or sourdough bread. These options offer unique flavors and textures, and are sugar-free, all the while providing a different twist to your Rosh Hashana meal.

• Don’t Heap on the Honey : Honey is a significant symbol during

time to reevaluate your health goals. This fresh start can serve as a source of motivation to prioritize your well-being. Remember that holidays are not solely about food; they are also an opportunity to connect with family and friends, reflect on the past year, and set intentions for the year ahead. By following these health-conscious guidelines, you can strike a balance between enjoying traditional holiday foods and maintaining your commitment to a healthy lifestyle. As you gather around the table and share the sweetness of the season, remember that the true essence of Rosh Hashana lies in the love and connections you nurture with your family and friends.

Wishing all of my readers a kesiva v’chasima tova , a happy and healthy new year!

food choices. Naturally flavored water, such as Hint , is an okay option as well.

• Stay Active: With all the time spent sitting in shul and around the dining table during Rosh Hashana, it’s essential to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine. Take a walk every day to burn off some calories and maintain your energy levels. A family stroll is an excellent way to spend time

Rosh Hashana, representing sweetness for the coming year. While honey is a natural and unprocessed sugar, it is still calorie-dense. Be mindful not to overdo it. A little drizzle of honey on your apple or challah is a good touch, but excessive consumption can add unnecessary, and sometimes unexpected, calories.

Rosh Hashana marks the beginning of the New Year, making it a perfect

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

Savor the sweetness of the holiday without going overboard.

School of Thought

By Etti Siegel

Q:Dear Etti, At what point is my child supposed to recognize the letters of the alphabet? He sings the alphabet song but does not know any letters, even though I point them out. He is just starting the 4-year-old program in school, so we have this year before they really learn to read.

Other children he plays with seem to recognize the letters, and it is making me worried.

Any advice?

-Befuddled over ABCs

A:Dear Befuddled over ABCs, I remember once watching an educational video of Dr. Rick Lavoie holding up a watch. He asked his audience, “What is this?” Everyone answered, “A watch.” He turned it sideways. Again he asked his audience, “What is this?” Everyone answered, “A watch.” He turned it the other way and again asked, “What is this?” Again everyone answered, “A watch.”

He then held up the lowercase letter b. “What is this?” Everyone answered “b.” He turned it different ways, and suddenly the b was the letter d, the letter p, or the letter q.

It can be so confusing!

The ABCs have meaning because adults (many years ago) agreed that these written symbols represent sounds used in our spoken language.

There is a lot to absorb, and your child may need a little more focused learning to understand the correlation between the letters and the sounds they make. Until the age of three, children are making sense of the world around them and putting words to the things they see. If he is still three, it might still be okay that

he does not recognize the letters. HandsOnAsWeGrow.com has 50 alphabet activities for you and your preschooler to make letter recognition fun.

Facts are: “About 20 percent of children can recognize a few letters by age 3, often the letter that starts his or her own first name as well as other letters contained within the name. You may also notice that some of your child’s scribbles are starting to look like letters, especially the first letter of his or her name.

“By the time children are older (4 years old and up), 60 percent know more than half of the uppercase letters and five to 10 lowercase ones. About 30 percent can recognize all letters, both upper and lower.” (pbs.org)

Speak to the preschool director and ask if you should be doing anything differently.

What is the concern?

We are always on the lookout for struggling readers, because the earlier we catch any issues, the more we can intervene, so the child does not have to suffer. (School is all about reading. It is real suffering to a child when they look around and see everyone else seems to be able to read and they cannot.)

“The specific signs of dyslexia, both weaknesses and strengths, in any one individual will vary according to the age and educational level of that person. The fiveyear-old who can’t quite learn his letters becomes the six-year-old who can’t match sounds to letters and the

fourteen-year-old who dreads reading out loud and the twenty-four-year-old who reads excruciatingly slowly. The threads persist throughout a person’s life.” (Reading Rockets, Clues to Dyslexia in Early Childhood)

Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level points out that usually, the issues begin with delayed language.

Once a child begins talking, we look for:

Difficulty learning (and remembering) the names of letters in the alphabet

Seems unable to recognize letters in their own name Doesn’t recognize rhyming patterns like cat, bat, rat Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk” A family history of reading and/or spelling difficulties (dyslexia often runs in families)

Interestingly, even as they avoid trying to read, and seem stubborn about applying proper effort, many children who struggle with reading are strong in other ways. They have high levels of curiosity and a great imagination, are eager to embrace new ideas, usually display surprising maturity, have a large vocabulary and enjoy using it, and have excellent comprehension skills for stories read to them or told to them.

The earlier we can catch the issues, the more we can help; so kudos for realizing that you need to check into this!

Wishing you a kesiva v’chasima tova,

- Etti

Mrs. Etti Siegel holds an MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and brings sound teaching advice to her audiences culled from her over 35 years of teaching and administrative experience. She is an Adjunct at the College of Mount Saint Vincent/Sara Shenirer. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning, is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country, and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher-mentoring program), Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She is a frequent contributor to Hamechanech Magazine and The Journal for Jewish Day School leaders. She will be answering your education-based questions and writing articles weekly for The Jewish Home. Mrs. Siegel can be reached at ettisiegel@gmail.com.

We are always on the lookout for struggling readers, because the earlier we catch any issues, the more we can intervene, so the child does not have to suffer.

Saying Yes to Saying No

By Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz

Maybe it’s a generational thing. Our generation of women had a different education than the frum young women of today. Expectations we had of ourselves were different. The world was a different world, too, and its messages were not about self-care, fulfillment, and passion.

We’ve learned to navigate change with understanding, skill, and prayer. We have a couple of years under our expanding belts and waistlines.

But for some things, we need the validation of our peers. Whether we are sitting at a simcha with friends who let us in on their coping strategies or we share in the JWOW! forums, we find others have the same thoughts and conclusions. And oh, how liberating and validating it is to hear them from others!

It’s way after Shavous, and I am still relishing my pre-Pesach conversation with a former bestie from high school. We’re not in touch regularly but the old straight communication is there. Before launching into the reason for my call (checking out the appropriateness of someone from the special needs community for a possible shidduch), we chatted.

I told her I was cutting up a salad or some such food-related kitchen chore and had plenty of time. We spoke about her teaching, which she absolutely adores with the enthusiasm of a girl straight out of seminary. Her last child had recently fledged, and her nest was empty.

“I gave away all my cookbooks,” she confided as I shared what I missed when my younger daughter left the house. I missed the camaraderie in the kitchen with my daughter Shabbos morning.

She said goodbye to her cookbooks as well as her daughter. It’s a new stage. And she knows what she is doing, and that’s it. She is not trying to be creative in the culinary department.

Wow, thought I. That’s a strong statement! She had removed the temptation to try the new and the beautiful dishes winning bestseller awards in the Jewish publishing world.

I immediately went over to a corner of my kitchen where I’d taken out all the holiday recipe supplements and the clippings from the Jewish magazines that I were sitting atop my cookbook shelf for years. I hadn’t decided what to do with them, but I removed them because the clutter was an-

noying me and Pesach was soon upon us. That cabinet needed organizing! Put them in a magazine file? A looseleaf binder with clear plastic pages? I hadn’t been sure.

Now I was. Out came the glossy glorious tablescaped holiday recipe collections and in they went into the recycling garbage can.

It’s over, thought I. When I make yom tov and special meals, I do what works for my schedule and shul responsibilities. The days of trying new recipes are over. Thank you for the permission to make it final, Rochel.

Even my friend Tehilla from Lakewood whose recipes I still have on file from our newlywed days together recently told me she buys takeout twice a week. My frugal friend who believes in simplicity that belies her comfortable suburban upbringing? Yes!

For many of us, the validation of friends is especially meaningful when we don’t have the wisdom of our mothers to rely on. The comments and pithy remarks etched in our brains don’t cover multiple serving dishes, plastic containers, and pitchers.

The help of a professional often does

the job of a friend. My LA friend recently showed me her sparse fleishig cabinets after a recent kitchen update. “The organizer told me one set of glasses and one set of stemware only. That’s it.”

I overheard the same message recently in shul at kiddush. “At this stage, I am getting rid of stuff. Who needs it? Downsizing is better!”

Not sure if I am there yet. My cleaning lady told my granddaughter three years ago as we organized the “Costco closet” that I don’t throw things away. I’ve been very aware since then.

Question for me going forward. How much self-control do I have at Home Goods?

Please don’t check my cabinets when you visit my pink kitchen.

It’s my space, and my stuff is my disgrace.

We midlifers are a work in progress. We heed current trends and our friends, both. Validation is our need. JWOW!

A Simply Good New Year

By Rivky kleiman

Cubed Firecracker Salmon

inspired by the ever-popular fire poppers sauce, i decided to give it a try and expand on the craze. nestled on a bed of angel hair pasta, these nuggets are truly fabulous.

Ingredients

1½-2 lb. skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch cubes

Firecracker Sauce

2-4 Tbsp sriracha, as per your heat preference

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup honey

3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, crushed

½ tsp sea salt

Angel Hair Pasta Salad

16 oz. angel hair pasta, prepared according to package directions

½ cup sesame oil

½ cup low sodium soy sauce

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp hot chili flavored oil or 2½ tsp olive oil + 1-1½ tsp hot sauce

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp black sesame seeds + additional for garnish

Scallions or chives, for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine firecracker sauce ingredients in a resealable bag or bowl. Reserve a few tablespoons of sauce for basting post-baking. add salmon cubes to sauce; toss to coat. marinate for 30 minutes.

3. meanwhile, prepare the angel hair pasta salad: in a large bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, chili oil, sugar, and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds. add prepared angel hair pasta to the dressing. Toss well to combine. Set aside.

4. Place salmon cubes on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Baste with reserved sauce.

To assemble: Place a small mound of angel hair pasta in the center of each plate. nestle 3 salmon cubes over pasta. Garnish with a light sprinkling of sesame seeds and scallions. Serve at room temperature.

Velvety Mushroom Leek Soup

a s a self-proclaimed and unabashed mushroom lover, i proudly say this is one of my all-time favorites. The creamy, velvety texture has a depth of flavor that is outstanding. Coupled with roasted garlic in a creamy base, the earthy mushroom tones make this the epitome of a true mushroom experience.

Ingredients

1 head garlic

4 Tbsp olive oil, divided

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

24 oz. shiitake mushrooms, or mushroom of choice, sliced

3 Tbsp kosher salt, divided

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, washed and sliced

4 large shallots, thinly sliced

½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper + more for garnish, optional

1 tsp umami powder, optional

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 cups water

4 cups nondairy milk

Crispy Mushroom Croutons

3½ oz shiitake mushrooms or mushroom of choice, sliced

2 Tbsp olive oil

kosher salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a small piece of foil.

2. Slice off and discard the top of the head of garlic. Place garlic head in the center of prepared foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil; sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste. Seal foil around garlic; place in a muffin tin or a pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

3. in an 8-quart pot, over medium-high heat, heat remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. add mushrooms; stir until they release their moisture. Raise heat; stir until most of the moisture is absorbed. add 1 tablespoon salt, stirring to combine. Stir in leeks and shallots.

4. Pop out the roasted garlic cloves by pushing upward from the bottom of the head. add garlic to the pot. Stir; cook for 7 minutes. add remaining 2 tablespoons salt, black pepper, and umami powder, if using. Stir in balsamic vinegar, water, and nondairy milk. allow soup to reach a low boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes.

5. meanwhile, prepare the mushroom croutons: in a 1-quart pot over medium heat, heat olive oil. add mushrooms. let mushrooms sweat for 3-4 minutes until they release their liquid. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Raise heat; stir mushrooms until all liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are slightly crispy. add teriyaki sauce; stir until completely combined. Set aside.

6. Remove soup pot from heat. Use an immersion blender to puree soup. Sprinkle with additional black pepper, if desired, to garnish. Top with mushroom croutons.

Note: This soup is freezer friendly.

Veal Pocket With Honey Glaze

The perfect balance of sweet and heat is infused into this veal by braising in a dry rub and later glazing with the hot honey. The depth of flavor appeals to those who like it hot and those who do not.

Ingredients

1 (3-5-lb) veal roast with pocket and bones

½ cup chicken stock or ½ cup water + ½ tsp consommé powder

½ cup white wine or additional ½ cup chicken stock

Dry Rub

2 Tbsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 Tbsp onion powder

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp smoked paprika

1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes

Honey Glaze

½ cup honey

¼ cup rice vinegar (see note)

1 Tbsp lime juice

¼ tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or ½-1 tsp hot sauce

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Set out a baking pan.

2. Pat veal dry; place into prepared pan.

3. Prepare the dry rub: in a small bowl, combine dry rub ingredients.

4. Spread rub over top and bottom of the veal, as well as inside the pocket. Pour chicken stock and white wine around the roast.

5. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Place a piece of parchment paper over roast; cover loosely with foil. (The paper prevents the foil from discoloring or warping.) Reduce heat to 325°F; bake for 3 hours.

6. Prepare the honey glaze: in a small

saucepan over medium heat, combine glaze ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes without stirring. mixture will thicken and reduce.

7. Pour glaze over roast. Return roast to oven, uncovered. Roast for 30 minutes.

Optional: Double the glaze; pour on half the glaze in Step 5. Serve roast with remaining glaze on the side.

Note: if preferred, substitute apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar for the rice vinegar.

Caramel Apple Crumble

Crisp apples, creamy caramel sauce, and a fantastic crumb topping combine to make this completely irresistible.

Ingredients

Caramel Apples

5 firm apples (Granny Smith, Pink l ady, or Gala)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

3 Tbsp flour

¼ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 Tbsp margarine, finely diced

Caramel Crumbs

½ cup margarine (1 stick), diced

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 cup flour

¼ tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

Caramel Sauce

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

2½ Tbsp water

4 Tbsp margarine, cubed and softened

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

½ cup nondairy whipping cream, at room temperature nondairy vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Set out 2 (9x13-inch) baking pans.

2. Peel and core apples. Quarter each apple. Cut each quarter into 3, yielding 12 wedges per apple.

3. Combine remaining caramel apple ingredients in one 9x13-inch pan. add apple wedges. Toss to completely coat wedges. Bake, uncovered, on center rack for 15 minutes. Toss apples; bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove apples from oven. Set aside to cool.

4. Prepare the caramel crumbs: Combine caramel crumb ingredients in the second 9x13-inch pan. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes. (margarine should have melted.) Stir mixture until coarse crumbs form. Continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes, stirring every so often to break up clumps.

5. Prepare the caramel sauce: in a large skillet, over medium-high heat, cook sugar, corn syrup, and water without stirring, until honey colored (810 minutes). Remove from heat.

6. add margarine, stirring until melted. add vanilla. Gradually stir in nondairy whipping cream and kosher salt. Pour mixture into a bowl; allow to cool for 30 minutes.

7. To serve: Place several caramel apple wedges into a cup or bowl, or on the center of a plate. Place a scoop of ice cream over apples. Sprinkle with a handful of crumbs. Drizzle homemade or store-bought caramel sauce over apples. apples can be served warm or at room temperature.

Note: Short on time? Store-bought caramel drizzle is a quick substitute topping.

The K tchen

Rosh Hashana Jewel-Tone Farro

Pareve / Yields 8 servings

By Naomi Nachman

Ingredients

◦ 2 tablespoons canola oil

◦ 4 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced

◦ 2 teaspoons salt, divided

◦ 2 cups cooked farro, prepared according to package directions

◦ 1 teaspoon turmeric

◦ ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

◦ ½ cup pomegranate seeds

Preparation

1. In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add leeks; sauté for 2 minutes, then add 1 teaspoon salt. Sauté for a few minutes, till leeks are soft.

2. Add cooked farro, turmeric, and remaining salt; sauté for a few minutes.

3. Remove from heat, add fresh parsley and pomegranate seeds; stir to combine. Serve warm.

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

This farro got its name from the ruby-like pomegranate seeds and the emerald-hued parsley.

This makes a stunning presentation as a side dish with two different simanim incorporated: pomegranate and leeks.

Photo by M IRIAM P AS

Ira Zlotowitz Talks Real Estate Mind Y ur Business

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 Ira Zlotowitz (IZ), founder and CEO Of GPARENCY.

YS: What does someone need to know before jumping into real estate investing?

IZ: There are two personas in real estate in investing. There’s who I call “GP Gary,” the big real estate tycoon, and at the other end of the spectrum, there’s “Acquisition Alice,” who’s just starting out. Acquisition Alice can be one of two people. They could be someone who’s looking to invest with a GP Gary or someone who just wants to start buying real estate. There are a few points that I want to give as a backbone for real estate investing. Number one, you have to realize when you go into real estate that it’s an illiquid asset. If you put your money in the bank, you can pull it out whenever you want. If you buy stock, you can pull it out whenever you want. But with real estate, you can’t pull it out whenever you

want. You’re going to sell it when the time comes to sell. If you’re desperate for the money, you’re going to lose it all, because you’re going to sell it at a discount. So, it’s an illiquid asset. It’s the type of deal you’re putting away for the long term. Number two, if you’re going into real estate, before you look at the numbers of any deal, the first thing you want to do is look at the person. You want to follow someone that you trust to be honest. Obviously, they have an ulterior motive to a certain extent, because that’s how they make money, but it’s usually aligned with your goals.

As far as a minimum threshold for real estate investing, there is no minimum number. It’s all about the people you’re investing with. In real estate investing, there are basically two people, the GP (General Partner), who calls all the shots. And then, there’s the group of LPs (Limited Partners), who are the investors. Each GP could have a minimum. So, one GP could say, “I only take money. $10,000 checks.” That’s why certain platforms opened, similar to crowdfunding. These platforms opened up and said, “You have the ability to put in as

low as $5,000,” and they would invest in a bunch of different deals. My personal opinion is, if you’re investing, you want to really invest directly with the GP. The closer you are to them, the better, because you get to know them, build rapport, and grow with them. You don’t want to just be a check and a number somewhere.

Is getting involved in real estate worth the investment of time, money, and effort for an average person who doesn’t have a lot of financial assets?

The answer is two-sided. If a person wants to become a GP, that means they want to be the person who’s going to buy the deal and collect other people’s money. If that’s the career that they’re choosing for themselves, then obviously, it’s worth the investment. But, in your first deal, do your due diligence, find an experienced GP, and become their Co-GP. Become like a partner to them. They will take the main lead, you’ll get a smaller piece of the pie proportionally, and then together, you’ll raise money on the deal and build the account from there. On the other side of the equation, if, for example, you own

a small store and have little extra cash to invest, I think that you should for sure go into real estate. Take up to a certain percent with the right person and invest.

People often will ask, “Is there a better asset class? Should I invest in these types of deals or those types of deals? Should I do construction, development, or land?” A lot of this has to do with your own risk tolerance, and even more to do with the fact that certain things just pull at you. Say I was talking to a group of 30 people who aren’t involved in real estate right now. Imagine I asked them, “You found out that your great uncle left you $10 million in a will, and you can’t spend it. You have to buy a piece of real estate and live off the return. What would you buy?” Some of them might buy ten $1 million buildings. Others might buy one $10 million building. Some of them might buy houses to keep flipping and sell off the profit. There’s no right or wrong answer. In real estate, it’s different strokes for different folks. But the fundamentals and the starting points are the same. Find someone you trust, make sure you do your due diligence, and keep taking the steps from there.

What are some of the potential benefits and challenges for jumping into real estate?

If everything goes well and you buy a building in a certain area, supply and demand can bring a lot of benefits. For example, think about when Amazon started opening up warehouses. Before, you could have bought something for $20 million and the price might trudge along to $21 million or $22 million. But, all of the sudden, when Amazon wants to be in that neighborhood, it goes through the roof and you can sell it for $50 million. So, sometimes, you can have that kind of crazy upside. There’s also tax benefits and other great things. The challenge is that you risk losing the tenants, can’t afford the payments, and the bank wants to foreclose on you. So, there are a lot of these risks that get involved. That’s why, if you’re going with a syndicator or a GP that you trust and they have a good track record and know the cycles, they know never to take more than a certain amount of leverage. Back around 2021, people were taking floating rate deals because they saw it was only getting better and better, and thought, “Why lock in?” Now, those people don’t look great in hindsight. Some people will say the opposite. “Don’t take a long-term rate today. Rates are up. Take a floating rate today, because at least you’ll get the benefits if they keep going down.” Other people will say, “No, it’s going to keep going up.” You can’t time these things. I used to tell a client, “What business are you in? If you’re in the stock business, buy stocks. If you’re in real estate and the loan makes sense today, take the loan.” But other people have different opinions.

Overall, real estate has ups, downs, and risks just like any other market. But there’s one huge difference that separates it from anything else. It’s illiquid. The pro, to a certain extent, is if you’re a big enough investor in the deal, you have a say in what we should do differently for the building. “Should we upgrade it? Is it worth taking that risk?” If you invest in Microsoft, Apple, or Google, you have no say. So, some people like the fact that in real estate you have a say. Other people like the fact that there’s an actual, tangible asset that you’re dealing with. At the end of the day, there is a building there. And if you can figure out how to juggle the payments for the next 30 years, one day you might not have a mortgage, in theory. You’ll see all different strokes for different folks about how they do business, based on how their mentors told them they should buy real estate.

What should a business owner be aware of in order to stay ahead of the curve?

We’re moving into a world of gig economy. Uber is a great example. I once took an Uber, and the driver was this really professional looking guy. I said, “yYu’re an Uber driver?” He didn’t fit into the usual stereotype. He said, “I work downtown. I used to take the train, but I wanted a car. So, I signed up as an Uber driver. I leave my house an extra 50 minutes earlier, I put the des -

are remote or in-person?” Positions are becoming more and more fractured. If you have a great niche of what you do, then you’re going to be able to charge hourly for that at a higher rate.

What change in the real estate market led you to move from running a major mortgage brokerage company to founding GPARENCY?

My partner used to talk about how there were two train companies. One

tination of my office building into the GPS, and I drive to work while picking up passengers along the way. And when I leave, I can leave that second. I don’t have to wait on the train. And I make money. It covers the cost of the gas and the tolls.” So, the world is changing to that of a gig economy. My whole company is remote, and I hire experts in each space. I don’t just hire a marketing person. Instead, I hire based on their specific expertise. If we need someone for SEO, I hire someone who does SEO. I hire based on the niche of each person. I think that’s going to become a lot more prevalent going forward. People are going to say, “What’s the difference if this person is working part-time or full-time? What’s the difference if they

had the tagline, “Best in transportation,” and the other had the tagline, “Best in train transportation.” But train transportation isn’t really relevant anymore. How do you get around today? With cars, planes, and whatnot. The first company still exists because they

adapted. So, I went into the mortgage brokerage business as a trusted adviser. But, as the market and technology evolved, I felt that I needed to change to a new business model in order to continue providing the same value as a trusted adviser. When people invest in real estate, there’s two terminologies that get used. One is called “cash-on-cash.” If I put in $1, how much cash am I getting back? The second is called the “IRR (Internal Rate of Return).” Basically, over the life of the investment, I don’t care if I get $0 in the first couple of years, but what I make up in years 3-6 to sell will be enough to make up for that lost time. To me, the cash-on-cash was a terrible idea. But, I was pretty confident in the IRR and that when the market changed, it would make up for that lost time. I looked at the example of Netflix versus Blockbuster, and I said to myself, “I never want to be “Netflixed” out of my own business. I saw the handwriting on the wall. You can’t time the market. Maybe I could have waited six more months. But I felt that the business was going to totally change, just like travel agents and stockbrokers changed. You’ve got to become Netflix and take that risk before it’s too late.

“Find someone you trust, make sure you do your due diligence, and keep taking the steps from there.”

Notable Quotes

“Say What?!”

So after the White House threw out the global welcome mat, Democratic mayors are now shocked that millions actually showed up.

– Gregg Gutfeld, Fox News

If you advertise that you’re willing to give away a valuable limited resource, a resource that doesn’t really belong to you, then what…do you expect? Free room and board, free health care, free school for your kids? Wow, maybe we should all fly to Mexico City and walk back in. Huh?

– Ibid.

One of his primary insecurities is that he doesn’t want to be perceived as stupid. He has this plagiarism scandal back in the 1980s. So when he walks into an interview, he wants to have mastery of what he’s discussing.

- Biographer Franklin Foer in a “Meet the Press” interview about his new biography on Biden

Ground Zero in New York — I remember standing there the next day and looking at the building… It looked so devastating

– Pres. Joe Biden in his 9/11 remarks, despite records showing that he spent the entire day after the terror attack in Washington, D.C.

Aaron Rodgers is going to tear his Achilles on a rain-drenched MetLife turf in 2.5 hours.

- Tweet by a football fan two and a half hours before the Jets kickoff, in which Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles, ending his season 5 plays into the first game

Aaron Rodgers lasted 1/1584th of a Scaramucci.

- Tweet by Anthony Scaramucci who famously served as Trump’s communications director for 11 days

This order will not do anything to curb gun violence other than punish lawabiding citizens from their constitutional right to self-defense. I have a fact for you: criminals do not follow the law or a public-health order.

– New Mexico Sheriff John Allen, a Democrat, responding to New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) unilaterally suspending open and concealed carry laws for 30 days in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County under the guise of “public health”

Greedy or usurious person.

- Translation of “Jew” in Spain’s official dictionary

They say that Hitler killed the Jews because they were Jews and that Europe hated the Jews because they were Jews. Not true. It was clearly explained that [the Europeans] fought [the Jews] because of their social role, and not their religion.

- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

The [Europeans] fought against these people because of their role in society, which had to do with usury, money and so on and so forth.

- Ibid.

When Trump was president [fossil fuel use] went up... He’s so dangerous. This is one of the many tragedies this summer due to climate change. This is the one — the number one existential problem.

- Joy Behar, on “The View,” blaming Trump for The Burning Man festival being cut short due to heavy rainfall

There is ZERO evidence of wrongdoing!!! other than…

Texts

Emails

WhatsApp Messages

Whistleblower Testimony

Hunter’s Laptop

Biden Video re Shokin

Bank Records

Gov’t Docs

Phone Calls

Business Meetings

Statements of Former Partners and Clients

Hunter’s Own Words…

- Tweet by Lee Zeldin

This isn’t about political revenge. We have the bank accounts… You can see that the homes that the Bidens own can’t be afforded on a congressional or a Senate salary.

- Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) at a press conference about the impeachment inquiry into President Biden

You also understand that it’s not normal for family members to receive millions of dollars from overseas interests. Those things aren’t normal. That’s not normal to have 20 shell companies. These things are not normal, and it alludes to not only just widespread corruption, but money laundering, if not influence-peddling itself.

– Ibid.

The American people can’t see that. They think it’s political revenge.

- Reporter, in response

Because you don’t report on it.

- Sen. Perry

The analogy that I was given was that 22 years after Pearl Harbor, U.S. Presidents were not still going to visit Hawaii.

- Fox White House correspondent Steven Doocey reporting on what a White House official told him when he asked why President Biden commemorated 9/11 from Alaska, rather than at the attack sites

What’s maddening is the fact that in New York and Chicago and D.C. and LA and other places, they put out policies self-proclaiming that they are sanctuary cities, and they love to promote these liberal ideologies until they have to actually live up and apply them. It’s clear that the policies of sanctuary cities and letting everybody live for free simply do not work.

- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Fox News

Well, the mayor may have made it to be mayor of New York, but he could not last a week in Texas. They have so few migrants in New York compared to what we deal with every single day.

- Ibid.

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go to bed.

– Pres. Joe Biden at the end of a press conference in Vietnam

I hate Nike! They’re woke!

- Former Yankees pitcher David Wells explaining to the press why he put a piece of tape over the Nike logo on his jersey at Old Timer’s Day

Yesterday, my children and I were violently carjacked in the driveway of our home in Minneapolis. Four very young men, all carrying guns, beat me violently down to the ground in front of our kids.

– Social media post by Shivanthi Sathanandan, vice chairwoman of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and a former vocal supporter of abolishing the police department

Look at my face. REMEMBER ME when you are thinking about supporting letting juveniles and young people out of custody to roam our streets instead of HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS.

– Ibid.

It’s embarrassing, and I feel so bad. Sorry if I embarrassed you and your family and friends… I feel so bad I can’t even tell you.

- “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon apologizing to his staff on a Zoom conference after an expose was published about the toxic work environment that he created

by

There seems to be an innate need for religion. Many atheists simply adopt another belief system (e.g. wokeness) that is essentially a religion.

- Tweet

Elon Musk

The U.S. Needs the Global South on Ukraine. It Has to Offer More in Return.

By David Ignatius

The U.N. General Assembly gathers each September for its annual meeting in New York – and U.S. presidents make their ritual pilgrimage to promise that, despite its obsessive focus on Russia and China, America really, truly cares about the world’s neediest countries.

Is it any wonder that the Global South, as the developing nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America are collectively described these days, appears increasingly convinced that the United States is paying them lip service? Or that they’re mostly sitting on their hands about a war in Ukraine that most of them know is an abomination?

Yes, 141 countries voted in March 2022 to condemn Russia’s invasion. But a year later, 32 countries – including India and China – abstained on a resolution demanding an end to the war.

Third World leaders undoubtedly respect Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But they must also wonder: Why does Ukraine get all the attention, when the rest of the world is suffering, too? Why does Zelensky get all the applause? There’s surely some jealousy and rivalry in this arms-length approach to Ukraine. But we ignore the Global South’s demand for more attention at our peril.

Last September, President Biden delivered a General Assembly speech that rang all the usual bells. He promised “relentless diplomacy” and “unabashed” advocacy of global development. He touted a half-dozen U.S.-sponsored programs and initiatives for the world’s poor. But a year later, what have these promises produced? Apart from the daily diligence of good agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the answer

is: Not much.

Biden will probably deliver a similar laundry list of good intentions this month. But don’t be surprised if the audience tunes out.

We need a more honest bargain this September: The United States will take the problems of the Global South more seriously – and actually deliver – if the recipient nations will do more to end a war in Ukraine that, among other things, is choking global grain supplies and making the developing world’s food insecurity much worse. Blunt as that might sound, it would be both a pragmatic deal, in terms of mutual self-interest, and an idealistic one.

An astute critic of the United States’ failure to address the needs of the Global South is Mark Malloch-Brown, the U.N.’s former deputy secretary general and now the president of the Open Society

Foundations, the organization created by George Soros that funds projects in the developing world. Malloch-Brown recently shared with me some disturbing evidence of how badly the development agenda is going wrong.

He noted that the United Nations is planning to hold a summit this month, before the General Assembly, on the “sustainable development goals” that were set in 2016. By his count, of the 140 metrics for achieving these goals, “half are not on the desired trajectory and about one third have stalled or gone into reverse.”

This global reversal of progress is evident in other measures, Malloch-Brown says. The U.N.’s Human Development Index has now fallen for the second straight year, all the way back to 2016 levels – the first such decline since the agency began compiling statistics. Global food insecu-

rity is affecting over 345 million people – more than double the 2020 level. And Malloch-Brown says about 60 percent of low-income countries face debt distress.

Polls indicate that the global public wants action. The Open Society Foundations will soon publish a survey sampling more than 36,000 respondents in 30 countries, representing 5.6 billion people.

The details aren’t public yet, but it appears that big majorities believe that lenders should help indebted countries, fear that climate change could harm them in the next year, want a greater say on international financial decisions, and believe that high-income countries should increase the World Bank’s resources.

Russia survives politically by convincing the developing world that its problems are created by the wealthy nations of the West – even when the damage is directly attributable to Moscow’s own actions. A case in point is Russia’s decision to withdraw in July from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had been painstakingly negotiated last year by U.N. Secretary General António Guterres. The International Monetary Fund warned in July that Russia’s move to scuttle the deal could boost food prices 10 to 15 percent.

Support for Ukraine and the Global South are sometimes juxtaposed, but, in truth, they converge. This simple fact is that there won’t be a just peace to end this terrible conflict without support from the fence-sitters.

To put it in stark terms: The United States won’t achieve its national security interests without becoming more involved in global development issues.

Raimondo Finds a China Facing a Reality Check

By David Ignatius

China knows it’s suffering a serious real estate crisis. It badly wants to placate unhappy Western companies and get more foreign investment. It fears it’s falling behind America on artificial intelligence. It’s nervous about its future and wants more communication with the United States.

That’s a quick summary of the impressions Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo took away from her trip to Beijing and Shanghai last week. Her visit provided a snapshot of China at an inflection point, at which its leaders recognize they’re facing significant economic problems but don’t have any quick fixes.

As it faces these head winds, China has toned down its anti-Washington rhetoric, if not its global ambitions. “They want a relationship of greater communication,” Raimondo told me last Wednesday. Their message, she said, was: “We hear the concerns of U.S. business. What can we do to improve?”

Raimondo, the latest in a string of top U.S. officials to visit China this summer, met with Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng and others. “People have said they’re on a charm offensive to attract U.S. capital, and I would agree with that,” she told me. She said she plans to follow up with regular contact with her Chinese counterparts to underline that “the happy talk needs to translate into change.”

The Chinese government’s usual bluster and defiance toward Washington appear to have been shaken by a sharp slowdown in economic growth, a collapsing real estate market, and a fear that the Chinese tech sector is losing ground to the West. After hosting Raimondo in Shanghai, local Communist Party chief Chen Jining summed up the Chinese view this way: “The economic rebound is a bit lackluster. So stable bilateral ties in terms of trade and business is in the interest of two countries.”

“The word ‘Taiwan’ did not come up once,” Raimondo said. “They gave us very, very little rhetoric or lecturing.”

Chinese officials, from the premier on down, admitted their current economic difficulties. “They acknowledged the real estate crisis. There was no pretending that wasn’t happening,” Raimondo told me.

“They repeatedly said the U.S. is ahead of China in artificial intelligence” and con-

together,” Raimondo said the vice premier told her.

Chinese leaders still seem uncertain about what macroeconomic policies will best address the malaise. Raimondo said that despite the recent hemorrhaging of real estate debt, Chinese officials don’t think the central government itself is overleveraged, and they say they don’t fear contagion will spread to other sectors.

“China is un-investible because it’s become too risky.”

The commerce secretary expanded on the wariness of U.S. investors. She told me U.S. companies had grown accustomed to “garden variety” problems of operating in China, including the “ripping off of our IP,” “requiring joint ventures when we do business there,” and “subsidization of stateowned companies.” But U.S. executives balked at additional Chinese harassment over the past year, including “extreme data-localization,” “raids on businesses” and arbitrary “counterespionage” measures to control documents.

“A lot of CEOs said to me, ‘I’d like to invest more, but my board won’t let me. … The board says it’s too risky,’” Raimondo explained. The corporate fear about China, she said, was that “anything can happen to your company in the name of national security” in a way that is “totally arbitrary.” That’s one reason foreign direct investment in China has dropped during this year’s second quarter to its lowest level in 25 years.

China now needs the United States and other Western economies it had disdained after the 2008 financial crash, when Beijing spoke of a West in permanent decline. Premier Wen Jiabao lectured the audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2009 about the West’s “unsustainable model of development characterized by prolonged low savings and high consumption.”

ceded they “need to pick up [their] game in artificial intelligence.”

China seems ready to begin a serious dialogue with the United States about developing guardrails for artificial intelligence, something that national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with their Chinese counterparts this year. “That’s an area we should have our teams work on

But President Xi Jinping’s government is resisting the kind of consumer stimulus that the United States has often used to combat slow growth. One Chinese told Raimondo that Xi fears “consumer fiscal stimulus might make people weak.”

Raimondo traveled to China with a basketful of complaints from U.S. companies. As she told reporters during her trip, U.S. executives warned her before leaving that

Raimondo heard a very different Chinese voice last week. Today’s officials are chastened, perhaps even a bit scared, by their economic difficulties. Xi’s “China Dream” is still alive – and potentially threatening to the West. But as Raimondo saw last week, Beijing has experienced a reality check.

Today’s officials are chastened, perhaps even a bit scared, by their economic difficulties.

The Flying Heroes Who Helped to Form the State of Israel

By Avi Heiligman

More than a decade before Israel was established, a commercial airline was formed there called the Palestine Flying Service. This airline operated under the British Mandate, and in 1940, the British took control of all the aircraft for military purposes. Other Jewish airlines and companies formed during the British Mandate, with some under the control of the underground groups like the Palmach. These pilots and the aircraft that remained serviceable were integral pieces of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in 1948, although more aircraft and pilots were needed. These were sourced from Jewish contacts worldwide, and soon the Israeli Air Force became a formidable foe for the Arabs. Still, not all of the pilots, ground crew and personnel that served in the IAF in 1948-1949 were front page heroes.

Fighter planes were the main source of media attention in the IAF during the War of Independence. Other types of planes were used in roles such as bombers, transport, and reconnaissance. American Lee Goodwin, who was not Jewish, took command of the IAF’s Aerial Photography Unit. Under

his lead, they had seven pilots who were qualified to fly these missions. They first used handheld cameras before upgrading to automatic cameras that could be mounted on their planes. The pilots took photos to chart the coastlines and Egyptian-held territory near Ramallah.

Pilots and crew came from around the world. While most of these volun-

Senior from Johannesburg had been in Israel since 1947 and recruited other pilots. Together with fellow South African Cyril Katz, Les Chimes, Naftali (Tuxie) Blau, Arthur Cooper and Alf Lindsay, who was not Jewish, they flew planes from South Africa in the days leading up to the declaration of the State of Israel. These planes played an integral part

Germans were about to close in and make him a prisoner. After the war, the Jewish pilot felt the need to help his brethren in Eretz Yisrael and immigrated to the Holy Land. In late 1947, he joined the Haganah’s Air Service and was sent back to South Africa to recruit pilots and purchase planes. The military planes that he bought were blocked from being transported due to an arms embargo, so instead they purchased and flew eight civilian aircraft to Israel.

teers came from countries that heavily invested in air power during World War II, many Jewish pilots came from South Africa. They sometimes spoke in Afrikaans over the radio to confuse any enemy that might be listening in on unsecured communications. Boris

in the early months of the war, even though they weren’t fighters.

Boris Senior had been a fighter pilot with the British RAF (Royal Air Force) during World War II and was shot down during a mission over Italy. He was rescued by friendly forces just before the

Senior flew the first air mission in Israeli history. On May 14, 1948, the day Ben Gurion declared Israel as an independent country, he flew on an aerial reconnaissance mission over enemy territory to photograph their lines that were preparing to attack. He became the commander of the Sde Dov Airfield near Tel Aviv and later in the war joined a fighter squadron. Before the war ended, he shot down two Egyptian fighters and was soon appointed as the commander for the Air Defense Command.

Harold Simon was another South African aviator that joined the ranks of the IAF in 1948. During World War II, he was a navigator and bombardier for the South African Air Force. He was

On one of his earliest flights during the war, he held a 20-pound bomb in his lap and threw it out of the window when they reached their target.

recruited to fly for Israel as an expert aviator and soon became the chief of operations for the IAF. His 24 missions in 1948 were for both reconnaissance and bombing purposes. On one of his earliest flights during the war, he held a 20-pound bomb in his lap and threw it out of the window when they reached their target.

The flying was dangerous, and several pilots lost their lives in accidents as well as from enemy fire. Zahara Levitov was a female Palmach operative

that took pilot training and flew for the IAF in 1948. She joined the Palmach and was once partnered with a woman named Leah Schlossberg. Leah later married future Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Levitov was involved in a failed operation that saw fourteen Palmach fighters killed. After the death of her fiancé in an accident with grenades, she moved to the U.S. There, she heard that the Israeli War of Independence started, and she joined a pilot’s course organized by Teddy Kolak – the future

mayor of Jerusalem. Levitov completed the course and was sent to the Tel Aviv airport to assume the position of deputy squadron commander. She flew out to areas that weren’t easily accessible by ground transportation to make sure they had what they needed. Tragically, she was killed on August 3, 1948 when her plane experienced technical failures and crashed into a wall. Recently, documentaries and books have been published describing and detailing the roles that these unsung

heroes played in 1948. The IAF soon became one of the best air forces in the world, and it is the early airmen that are Forgotten Heroes from the IAF’s formative years.

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.

Harold Simon, second left, going over plans with IAF commander Aharon Remez and others

Zahara Levitov

Boris Senior, in front of a Spitfire D-130 after its first successful test flight

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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

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

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

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

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

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

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 516-298-8457 • $175K

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

WOODMERE

Totally renovated bright and sunny 1 bedroom corner unit apartment with a washer/dryer. Features quartz countertops, ss appliances, recessed lighting, bathroom with chrome fixtures, close to the railroads, shopping and houses of worship. Call for details Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

Classifieds

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

LAWRENCE JUST LISTED

This amazing two-bedroom two full bathroom condo Features a luxurious lifestyle in the beautiful city of Lawrence. What more could you ask for? The building has a 24-hour doorman and elevator access, with a social room, library, washer/dryer inside the unit, and terrace. Plus, the added benefit of having a live-in super to ensure maximum safety and security! And don’t forget about your new kitchen complete with a gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, and even two dishwashers! The living room and dining room are spacious and have recessed lighting installed throughout. Both bedrooms feature lots of closet space for storage. To top it off, there’s even garage parking available to make your life just that much easier! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Please call for a private showing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 • mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

One Bedroom Renovated Apartment

In Prime Lawrence. Efficiency Kitchen, Renovated Bathroom. Sunken LR, Dining Room, Close to All, Transportation, Shopping, Worship. $275k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

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 HELP WANTED

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

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

IMMEDIATE OPENING

ELA teaching position for Gr. 5. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Competitive salary, warm supportive environment. Teachersearch11@gmail.com

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

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.

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

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

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

GROWING YESHIVA IN QUEENS

Seeking: 1st Grade General Studies Teacher (Boys)

Pre-1A Morah (Limudei Kodesh Girls)

Preschool assistants

Secretarial position

Great pay-on time! Please email resume and references to staffing@ ybtschools.org

BOOKKEEPER

Brooklyn

HASC seeking a Part-time or Full-time Bookkeeper

Will Train. Knowledge of Excel Warm and Caring Environment. Paid for Jewish and Legal Holidays. SignOn Bonus jobsfis@hasc.net

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!

SEEKING TO RENT

Any Property with Option to buy. Good credit. Cash. Terms$$$$. 212-470-1708

KOLLEL IN 5 TOWNS UNDER

R’ Y. Kalish - Limited slots available  Option for 1 or 2 sedarim Competitive compensation Call/Text (718) 207-1050

Your Money

Workingman’s Blues

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

Turn the dial on the Wayback Machine to September 5, 1882. Most Americans work 12 hours per day, seven days per week, often in physically demanding jobs under unsafe conditions. “Helicopter parenting” doesn’t exist yet because the kids are working in factories, farms, and mines. A group of 10,000 men risk their jobs on a one-day strike to demand higher wages, shorter days, and a ban on prison labor. The New York Times reports, “The barrooms were never more resplendent” and adds that “liquidly, the first celebration of Labor Day may go down to history as an unqualified success.” Six years later, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill declaring Labor Day a national holiday.

Today, few Americans work 40 hours a week, and employers are experimenting with four-day weeks. Millions have ditched their commute for Zoom. Labor Day is mostly about barbecues, sales, and last-minute summer celebrations. And while you may thank Washington for the protections that make work less work, you may not realize that the tax code continues to throw shade at the workingman. That’s because there are two very different sets of rules for the income we earn from capital and the income we earn from labor.

“Capital” pays you for owning things. This includes the interest and dividends you earn in your investment accounts, the rents you earn from your real estate, and the gains you earn when you sell something for a profit. Much of this is taxed at ordinary income rates, ranging up to 37% plus a 3.8% net investment income tax.

yourself in the form of self-employment tax. If you collect a paycheck, you’ll pay half of it in the form of FICA. All of that is on top of your regular income tax.

The bottom line here is that the rich guy who makes his living collecting stock dividends and renting houses and apartments pays a smaller percentage of tax on

ried interest,” which lets hedge fund and private equity fund managers avoid employment tax and pay capital gains rates on most of their income. There are only about 5,000 Americans who can squeeze through that loophole. But they include some of the highest-earning people in the country, like Citadel Fund founder Ken Griffin, who made $4.1 billion in 2022 alone. Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both called for slamming that door shut. And when was the last time those guys agreed on anything? If we still had peasants with pitchforks and torches, this is the sort of thing that would get them storming the castle in no time flat.

And some are taxed at special, lower rates, like 20% for qualified corporate dividends and long-term capital gains.

In contrast, “labor” pays you for the work you do. This includes salaries and wages you earn working for The Man, and income you earn from running your own business. That pot gets hit with an employment tax of 15.3% on your first $160,200 of income, plus 2.9% on anything above that. If you work for yourself, you’ll pay it

his income than the working man who generates those corporate profits and pays those rents. Billionaire Warren Buffett has said for years that he pays less tax than his secretary. Employment tax is a big part of that problem, along with the lower rates on the dividends and long-term gains that make up most of his income.

Wanna get really fired up after this Labor Day holiday? Treasury regulations define a special kind of income called “car-

If you run your own business, you may be paying more employment tax than you need to pay. And regardless of how you earn your income, Labor Day marks the start of the official tax-planning season. Dust off those decorations, warm up Spotify’s “Tax Season Songs” playlist, and call us to see if you can pay less this year!

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

If we still had peasants with pitchforks and torches, this is the sort of thing that would get them storming the castle in no time flat.

Where Are You Off To?

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

Where are you going this holiday? I guess you’re thinking, Why are you asking me? After all, that’s in G-d’s hands!

We know that G-d’s role is to assess us and figure out where one is heading this year. But I bet you originally thought I meant where you are going physically this holiday. You know, in the geographic sense?

And guess what? I did mean that!

Because we know these holidays are all about if you are going home for the holidays or staying put. They’re about

whether your kids are coming to you or whether you’re going to them. Or the big one: are you going away? Which usually means Israel!

And there’s also so much cooking and planning. Honestly, isn’t it crazy we need to do food prep evenfor the non-eating day?!

After all, we need to make this really giant meal beforehand to fill us up. And then we need to make another one just to dream about all day, as we hunker down in soul mode.

But getting back to Rosh Hashana, not

only are there huge meals to prepare but there’s a lot of extra food items thrown in. The special foods that symbolically express our wishes and hopes for the new year, i.e., like eating a raisin and celery and saying, “I hope it gives me a ‘raise in salary.’”

Then there’s the bread with the honey. Followed by the apple with the honey. And chased by the cake with honey. That’s a honey of a menu.

Certainly, don’t forget all those new fruits that come into play as well.

It’s a very busy, foody time that you’re

What food for thought will fill you up and offer to help satisfy you?

There is a giant piece of good news here.

If you decide to opt in this year and sign up for the life track journey, then every day presents a new menu. There are choices and specials thrown in to help challenge you and guide you as well. So maybe take some time to think: Where am I spiritually this year as well? And where would I like to be?

The good news about that is that you don’t need an invitation from anybody. No

What food for thought will fill you up and offer to help satisfy you?

traveling toward. The only minimizing of food that takes place is if you are one of those people who tosses bread in the ocean to represent the sins you are disposing of. Otherwise, it’s ingest, ingest, ingest.

So we do have to decide where we are heading to get these physical needs fulfilled.

But, as long as we did raise the issue of the esoteric question of where you are heading this year, how about we revisit it for a second?

Once the holidays are over, we need to land somewhere. And I don’t mean a random landing field; I mean a mental outlook for the year.

big money outlay either. You can go anywhere; no ticket needed! Just a commitment to take the ride.

This holiday season can give you opportunities to really influence and find out where you are actually off to this holiday!

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.