Five Towns Jewish Home 1.25.24

January 25, 2024

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Dear Readers,

T

he pain is an ache, deep and throbbing. But it also stings and burns like a sharp slap across the face.

However you want to describe the hurt, it is there, and it is universal. Everyone waking up on Tuesday and reading about 24 of our most precious people dying in Gaza in one day felt the burning pain, the deep hurt, the anguish and the heartache.

Each person who loses their life in this war is a holy soul, someone who gave their last breath so their nation can live. And each person is not just a soldier. They are a child of two loving parents. They are a sibling to their brothers and sisters. They are a husband. They are a father.

And now, they are gone.

I try to read as much as I can about those who lost their lives so I can get to “know” them a bit better, get to understand who they were when they were alive, breathing, thinking, walking, eating, smiling, laughing. But how can words fully encapsulate a person? Each person, a world. Each person, a complex, layered individual. Each person, a conglomerate of feelings, emotions, hopes, dreams.

But I try because I feel that if this person gave their life so that my nation can live, I need to connect with him and understand

him and appreciate him. I need to try to get to know him so that I can properly acknowledge the sacrifice that he made – the ultimate sacrifice.

Rabbi Elkana Vizel’s, Hy”d, entreaty to his family in his letter to them before he went to battle helps one to understand him better. He implores them to “please, be happy, be optimistic, keep choosing life all the time. Spread love, light and optimism.”

He asked them to do this even though he knew that they were reading his words after he had left this world. His legacy was to leave them with rays of hope, love, and connection.

And then, this father of four adds, “Look at your loved ones in the whites of their eyes and remind them that everything we go through in this life is worth it and we have something to live for.”

Although Elkana wrote his letter to his wife and four beautiful children, we can all take his message to heart. And so, perhaps it is incumbent on us to live the life in the way that he knew, deep down, is the only way to live – with hope, love, and connection.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shoshana Soroka, EDITOR

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Nate Davis Editorial Assistant Nechama Wein Copy Editor Rachel Bergida Shana Brecher Lani White Design & Production Gabe Solomon Distribution & Logistics P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone | 516-734-0858 Fax | 516-734-0857 Classified Deadline: Monday 5:00PM classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com text 443-929-4003 PAYMENT VIA CREDIT CARD MUST BE SUBMITTED ALONG WITH CLASSIFIED ADS The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine.

Opinions expressed by writers are not neces­sarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

Shabbos Zemanim

Weekly Weather | January 26 – February 1

Friday, January 26 Parshas Beshalach

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Candle Lighting: 4:47 pm Shabbos Ends: 5:50 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 6:19 pm

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Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

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Community Happenings

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NEWS

82

Global

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National

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That’s Odd

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ISRAEL Israel News

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Israel is Home by Barbara Deutsch

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JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

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The Song of Miriam by Rav Moshe Weinberger

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The Seeds of the Final Redemption by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein

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Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

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Headlines and Halacha by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

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PEOPLE The Wandering Jew

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Inspiration Nation

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Stardom in the Rearview by Pinchos Friedlander

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Courageous Sailors by Avi Heiligman

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HEALTH & FITNESS Healthy Habits While on Vacation by Aliza Beer, RD

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FOOD & LEISURE Food for Thought

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The Aussie Gourmet: Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant

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LIFESTYLES

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Dating Dialogue, Moderated

by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

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Parenting Pearls

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School of Thought

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Mind Your Business

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Your Money

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When Life Gives You Lemons… by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

Dear Editor, In response to the writer in “School of Thought” where a parent was challenged by her children having to stay home for “Winter Break” while the rest of the Jewish world was out and about traveling: I have been there, done that. I work as an NYCDOE teacher, and my vacations run around a whole different schedule.

“Yeshiva Week” doesn’t make the lists of my days off. So my kids were home – every day, all day. Maybe I took a day off to go to Dave and Busters or the Empire State Building, but that was the extent of it.

I know today’s times are more demanding as our community swells with wealth (or people who just appear that way – but that’s another letter for another time). But I just want to share what my daughter wrote when she got back to school and her teacher had the fifth grade girls write “What I did over my Vacation.”

Here it goes (we still have the journal)” “I did not do ANYTHING on winter vacation. I breathed in and out 88,000,000,000,000 times. Although I did get to play – oh never mind – it’s nothing really. I just did that to get you guys curious ‘cause like I said before I didn’t do ANYTHING!!

“But my mom got this really good pizza pie. It had really good cheese, and it had this taste, like, like magic. Please don’t make me go into any more detail because it’s starting to get kinda pathetic. Well, that’s my winter vacation. THE end.”

I guess the payback was when she read it out loud, and the class and teacher were laughing so hard. She felt good that day.

She moved on from that winter break 15 years ago. And she is doing OK. Hope this gives you some hope, Hanna G. P.S. Teachers, we love all you do for our children, and we know you care so much.

But maybe the “writing about winter break” activity is kinda not the best idea.

Dear Editor, I so appreciate Malkie Shulman’s interview last week, Immas of Those in the IDF, and extend a personal yashar koach to this talented writer. We cannot begin to fathom how these women carry on, 24/7.

May Hashem grant them the emotional strength and stamina needed and may all the brave, valiant, dedicated chayalim return home, healthy in mind and body, b’karov. I was particularly moved by the pull-quote, “I tell myself that the greatest gift I can give my soldier when he returns home is a mom who has maintained her positivity, sanity and strength.”

We’re living in a complicated world, a challenging galus. Nisyonos are part of life. We will all be challenged at some point. We too need that sort of strength.

Mothers are the bastion of the home. If we maintain our equilibrium during challenging times, then the family will persevere and ultimately, triumph. Halevai, no one should be tested! We must remind ourselves that we have great family genes. We carry the DNA of our Avos and Imahos, of Yocheved and Miriam, Yehudis and Chana, Esther Hamalka and Devora Haneviah... It is most worthwhile to learn about these women who each played a major role in our history. Ideally, we will absorb the lessons along with their courage and strength.

May we soon welcome home all the captives, all the chayalim, and may we reunite with all acheinu kol Bais Yisrael, b’shalom u’b’shalva, in Yerushalayim Habenuya. Hashem yerachem!

Thank you for a quality publication. I eagerly look forward to reading The Five Towns Jewish Home each week!

Very best, Miriam Liebermann Continued on page 10

Cover art, Tu B’Shvat, by artbyabish.com

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HUMOR Centerfold

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Reflections Upon a Milestone Birthday by Country Yossi Toiv

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POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

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The Houthis Sink an Arrow Into the West’s Achilles’ Heel by David Ignatius 98 In Davos, Israel’s Hostages Get a Hearing by Bret Stephens

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The Genocide Charge Against Israel Is a Moral Obscenity

by Bret Stephens

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CLASSIFIEDS

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Does your family eat Shabbos leftovers during the week?

85 15 %

Yes

%

No

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Continued from page 8

Dear Editor, The Lubavitcher Rebbe said that there are two days that are the most important ones in a person’s life: the day they were born and the day they know why.

It’s the “why” that’s the challenge of galus. Rabbi Moshe Weinberger recently spoke in Boca Raton and asked on the name of the book of Shemos. We find many hidden names in this book.

For instance, Amram was called ish and Shifra and Puah were names of innuendo.

He explains that Mitzrayim was symbolic of galus and therefore knowing one’s name and essence in galus, a time of darkness, is complex. Adam brought doubt into this world when eating from the Tree of Knowledge, and we forever struggle with doubts of our inherent capabilities.

He quoted from Rav Kook to further emphasize that we need an identity as a nation. We are G-d’s chosen nation, and we have to become like one in unity and purpose, which is becoming more evident in these days.

With great introspection and the willingness to meet ourselves, we can reach the meanings of our names and essence and implore G-d with Shlomo’s words (Song of Songs 8:14), “Hurry, my beloved, swift as a gazelle or a young stag, to the

hills of spices!” We await a quick redemption where G-d will rest his presence on the Temple Mount.

Steven Genack Dear Editor, I’d like to introduce the community to an organization whose mission is unique.

Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is our only and singular focus. The organization I lead, Aim-Hire: Employment with Dignity, assists and finds employment for men and women who have a hard time locking in a job for any number of reasons. We focus on assisting people who are over age 40 and who have been looking for work for 12 weeks or more.

While we offer incentives to employers who hire our candidates, most of all, we guarantee them this amazing opportunity to do good and feel good while outsourcing their HR to us and hiring our vetted and supported candidates! For the job seeker, we offer a helping hand, a caring partner as well as introductions to our friendly recruiters, a consistent list of carefully curated real jobs to apply to as well as access to fully funded courses to enhance your skills.

If you or anyone you know fits our requirements and would benefit from our assistance, please refer them to info@aim-

hire.org or emiller@aim-hire.org.

Esther Miller Executive Director Dear Editor, President Biden justifies his campaign for a second term based upon a possible return of former President Trump to the White House representing the greatest threat to democracy. At the same time, Biden’s political allies have initiated legal challenges in 31 states to deny Trump ballot access to both the 2024 Republican primary and General Election ballot.

Doesn’t denial of citizen access to vote for the candidate of their choice for President represent a threat to the basic right of democracy? It should be the right of any eligible voter to cast their ballot for any presidential candidate on the ballot. This includes Biden, Trump, (assuming he wins the Republican primary, which looks more and more likely) along with Green, Libertarian or other independent third-party candidates. Why doesn’t President Biden condemn the actions of those who would deny millions of Americans the right to vote for Trump? Did he forget that in 2020 he ran as the candidate who would unite and not divide our nation? Will he use his upcoming annual State of the Union address to speak up and address this issue? It is Biden’s, not Trump’s actions, that appear to be a threat to democracy.

Sincerely, Larry Penner Great Neck, NY Dear Editor, For those Jewish-Americans who have “drunk the Kool Aid”“ regarding Donald Trump and state that he should never be allowed near Oval Office again, I say that you should consider what Jamie Dimon said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Mr. Dimon, JP Morgan Chase CEO, said, “Take a step back, be honest. He was kind of right about NATO, kind of right about immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Trade tax reform worked. He was right about some of China. He wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues, and that’s why they voted for him.”

Lesson to be learned by Jews who vote only Democrat. The handwriting is on the wall. President Biden is not supporting Is-

rael between pressuring Israel to end the war before defeating Hamas and to agree to a two-state solution now, both of which would be fatal to the concept of a Jewish state.

Jan Henock Woodmere, NY Dear Editor, My take on Jewish history, World War II and today, from “The Midrash Says” Parshas B’shalach. The reason for the continuing antisemitism throughout history goes back to Pharoah. Pharoah appealed to the Egyptians to form an army to pursue the Jews. He told them, “I will not ride in back of the army as is the custom of all kings in order to protect themselves. In this battle, I shall ride at your head.” Pharoah explained, “It is not the Jews against whom this war is directed, it is against their G-d Himself! This battle is against the King of Kings. It is therefore fitting that I harness the chariot myself.”

He also promised the Egyptians to loot and to share in the spoils.

This was basically Hitler’s appeal to the Germans and to the world. The nations of the world all united with one heart to join in destroying the Jews, just as all the Egyptians were united in their desire to overtake the Bnai Yisrael. Pharaoh also proclaimed, “In the past, I ordered that only the Jewish baby boys be killed, but now we will wipe them all out.” This statement echoes Hitler’s Final Solution.

There is also an interesting way in which the number six is connected to Jewish history. Pharaoh chose six hundred of the best chariots which the land of Egypt could provide. When the census of Bnei Yisrael was taken in their wanderings, the total number came to six hundred-thousand-plus. The loss of Jewish lives, during the Holocaust, is 6 million A recent headline in The Epoch Times: “Non-Detained Illegal Immigrants in the U.S. Surpass 6 Million as Border Crisis Persists.” This is middah k’neged middah.

When the U.S. closed its borders to the Jews in World War II, now its borders are wide open to illegals.

We can pray that Hashem soon treat our current enemies as He did in Parshas B’shalach.

Elli Epstein Ocean, NJ

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The Week In News

to get astronauts on the moon by 2030.

Last year, Russia, attempting to follow in the Soviet Union’s footsteps, tried to land the Luna-25 lander on the moon’s surface but failed.

32 Arrested in Japan on the Moon Assassination Plot

Japan became the fifth country in the world to have successfully landed an unmanned spacecraft on the moon with the landing of its lunar lander on Friday.

“We believe the soft landing was successful,” said Hitoshi Kuninaka, the director general of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, on the day of the landing, indicating that the craft landed on the moon’s surface without sustaining significant damage.

Currently, the lander is transmitting data from the moon to Japan. However, officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) fear that the craft’s battery life will end quickly as its solar charging capabilities have, so far, failed. Thus, the agency has, for the time being, put the spacecraft to sleep so that it doesn’t waste its remaining energy. Although the lander’s situation looks bleak, there is still a possibility that its solar panels could begin generating energy soon, the agency said.

The agency planned for the craft, which it named the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), to touch down near the moon’s Shioli Crater on the near side of the moon. It was launched in hopes of testing new moon landing technologies that could potentially make the process of landing on the moon easier for future missions.

Successfully landing on the moon is incredibly difficult. Before Japan landed its craft, there were only four other countries that made soft landings on the lunar surface: the United States, the former Soviet Union, China, and India.

The United States remains the only country to have successfully sent astronauts to the moon, and the country hopes to land another crew on the lunar surface in 2026. China, which successfully landed its first lunar craft in 2013 and, in 2019, became the first country to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon, hopes

Thirty-two people have been arrested after Venezuelan authorities concluded that they were involved in an assassination plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro. According to authorities, the civilians and soldiers who were arrested were part of a U.S.-backed “conspiracy.”

All suspects have “confessed and revealed information about the plans,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab said, adding that they had been accused of treason and “convicted” for their crimes.

Saab said arrest warrants have been issued for 11 other people, including rights activists, journalists and soldiers in exile, for the alleged plot that also targeted Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.

According to Padrino, the operation that started last year to uncover details of the alleged conspiracy was kept secret as it coincided with “talks” between Maduro and the United States that resulted in a prisoner swap.

He blamed the plot on the “far right,” as the Maduro government usually refers to the opposition, with “support” of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Officials released a video that purportedly implicates opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in the plot, and Saab vowed that “more arrests will follow” without naming names.

Maduro was elected in 2018 for a second, successive term not recognized by dozens of countries and met with a barrage of sanctions. Many of those sanctions have been eased as Maduro has agreed to hold free and fair elections in 2024 with observers present.

Machado, however, remains barred from holding public office despite winning overwhelming support in a primary vote last October. She was disqualified by

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the authorities for alleged corruption and for backing sanctions against Caracas.

In a report last year, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the “persecution of dissidents” in Venezuela as well as the “intimidation, persecution, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of journalists, human rights defenders and political activists.”

Maduro, who has not confirmed whether he will seek another term, frequently denounces plans to overthrow him, usually with the same co-conspirators: the United States, the opposition and Colombian drug traffickers.

Elon Musk Visits Auschwitz This week, Elon Musk, along with Ben Shapiro, visited the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Poland.

Musk, the owner of the X social network formerly known as Twitter, spoke at a discussion panel in Krakow after he toured the camp along with Shapiro, the conservative Jewish-American pundit, and Rabbi Menachem Margolin, an influential leader of European Jewry.

Musk brought along his 3-year-old

son X Æ A-Xii on the tour. A Holocaust survivor also came along. The group lit a memorial candle, observed a moment of silence, and placed a wreath at the former death camp’s so-called Wall of Death.

“If there had been social media, I think it would have been impossible to hide,” Musk said of the murders committed at Auschwitz. “If there’d been freedom of speech as well.” Musk also said it was “deeply sad and tragic [that] humans could do this to other humans.”

The panel followed speeches by multiple former leaders of European countries, including former president of Israel Reuven Rivlin; former chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurtz; former prime minister of France Manuel Valls; and Matteo Renzi, an Italian senator and former prime minister of that country. The speakers reiterated their opposition to antisemitism

and support for Israel and European Jewish communities.

Valls was among the speakers who condemned the prosecution of Israel at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, initiated by South Africa. That country “weaponizes terms like genocide for an anti-Israel agenda,” Valls said.

Musk said he had been “naïve” when it came to antisemitism.

“The circles that I move, I see almost no antisemitism,” he said. “Two-thirds of my friends are Jewish. I’m Jewish by association, aspirationally Jewish. I never hear about it at dinner conversations; it’s an absurdity in my friend circles. But looking at the pro-Hamas rallies that have taken place at almost every city in the West, it’s blown my mind.”

Musk had visited Israel in November to bear witness to the atrocities that Hamas terrorists perpetrated on October 7. He noted that antisemitic sentiment has exploded since the day of the massacre.

“All of the riots that were in the major cities and college campuses, I think, that was a shocking wakeup call to any sort of civilization or civil-minded person. Really quite a shock,” Musk said.

Addressing possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Musk said:

“The indoctrination of hate into kids in Gaza has to stop. When I was in Israel, that was my top recommendation.”

The discussion took place shortly before the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on January 27, a date that the United Nations designated to be International Holocaust Memorial Day. One million European Jews were killed in Auschwitz during the Holocaust.

Controversial Temple in India

This week, the streets of Ayodhya in India were filled with throngs of people who turned out to witness Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lead the inauguration of a controversial Hindu temple in the town.

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At least 7,000 people were invited to watch Modi unveil a statue of a revered god in Hinduism. The idol was decorated with gold jewelry, gemstones, diamonds and flowers.

More than three decades ago, a mob of militant Hindu radicals razed a mosque to the ground in the town. The new temple was dedicated on top of the site of the destroyed mosque.

The dedication of the temple is the realization of Modi’s dream to create what he has called a “new India,” which many consider to be the transformation of the country into a distinctly Hindu nation.

For Modi’s detractors, the temple’s inauguration is the conclusion of a decades-long campaign to pull India away from the secular roots upon which the country was founded following independence.

Narco-Submarines Almost 1,765 pounds of cocaine were seized by Colombian authorities on Saturday morning off the country’s Pacific Coast. This is the nation’s first “narco-submarine” of the year intercepted by officials, as drug traffickers in the

South American country produce record amounts of cocaine destined for Europe and the United States.

The 49-foot-long homemade craft was carrying loads of cocaine in small packages the size of bricks. The packets were stamped with images of scorpions and Mexican flags.

“In reality, this was a small” seizure, navy spokesman Capt. Wilmer Roa said.

“We’ve caught submarines with almost 3,500 kilos” (7,716 pounds) of the drug.

Last year, the Colombian navy captured 10 narco-submarines.

Drug traffickers use the hulls of speedboats to make the submersibles and adapt them so that they can travel slightly under the surface of the sea.

“Some people die inside these machines because they experience mechanical failures or have very small ducts for letting in fresh air,” Roa said.

Colombia’s government has struggled to limit cocaine production in recent years, as rebel groups and drug trafficking gangs take over territory abandoned by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas following the group’s 2016 peace deal with the government.

According to the United Nations’ office for Drug and Crime, the area planted with coca bushes in Colombia reached an all-time high of 568,000 acres in 2022, with potential cocaine production also rising to 1,700 tons — a 24% increase from the previous year.

Ecuador, Colombia’s neighbor to the south, is also struggling, as drug makers use the country to smuggle cocaine. On Saturday, officials in Ecuador announced that they had also seized a submarine carrying 3.2 tons of cocaine.

Iran, Hezbollah Helping Houthis According to several Middle Eastern and Iranian sources, since October 7, Tehran has been playing a direct role in the Houthis’ Red Sea attacks by providing training, weapons, money, and intelligence to the Yemen-based rebel

group. The regime has been arming the rebels with advanced drones and cruise missiles, as well as precision-strike and medium-range missiles. Sources have additionally claimed that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah are currently stationed in Yemen to supervise and guide the Red Sea attacks.

Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, has rejected the reports, asserting that Iran has played no role in the Houthis’ attacks on commercial ships on the Red Sea. A spokesperson for the Yemen-based rebel group, Mohammed Abdulsalam, has similarly claimed that the Houthis are acting on their own.

“The Revolutionary Guards have been helping the Houthis with military training [on advanced weapons]. A group of Houthi fighters were in Iran last month

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and were trained in an IRGC base in central Iran to get familiar with the new technology and the use of missiles,” reported an Iranian with knowledge of the matter, adding that Iranian officials had also gone to Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, to establish a command base.

“The Houthis are not acting independently,” determined Abdulaziz al-Sager, the director of the Gulf Research Center think-tank. “The Houthis, with their personnel, expertise, and capabilities, are not that advanced. Dozens of vessels cross through Bab el-Mandab daily. The Houthis don’t have the means, resources, knowledge, or satellite information to find the specific target and attack.”

“The political decision is in Tehran, the management is Hezbollah, and the location is the Houthis in Yemen,” said an anonymous senior regional source.

Abdulsalam, the group’s spokesman, has asserted that the Houthis have only been targeting Israeli crafts bound for Israel, with no intention of causing major damage to attacked ships, and added that U.S. and British intervention will fail to stop the group from continuing in their campaign against the Jewish state. But ships that have had no ties to Israel have also been attacked by the Houthis.

“We don’t deny that we have a re-

lationship with Iran and that we have benefited from the Iranian experience in training and military manufacturing and capabilities, but the decision taken

by Yemen is an independent one that has nothing to do with any other party,” Abdulsalam insisted.

Another security official associated with Iran said that the Houthis had enough weapons and military resources to carry out their attacks, but they needed Iranian intelligence to determine the routes and locations of the targeted ships.

Since October 7, the Houthis have attacked several ships on the Red Sea in what they say is an effort to pressure Israel into a ceasefire with Hamas.

U.S. Personnel Injured in Iraq Missile Attack Two U.S. service members stationed at the Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq sustained traumatic brain injuries after the Islamic Resistance in Iraq group fired ballistic missiles at the base on Saturday, according to U.S. officials.

Both service members have returned to duty.

Although the base had neutralized the majority of incoming ballistic missiles and rockets, a few missiles had hit the airbase, according to U.S. Central Command.

Saturday’s ballistic missile attack on the U.S. was one of the most serious attacks ever launched on the U.S. by Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq. While U.S. personnel were deployed to Iraq and Syria to defeat ISIS, American forces have sustained over 143 attacks since October 7, the day when the Hamas terror group attacked Israel, triggering an all-out war in Gaza. Many fear that the conflict, which has already seen spillover in Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria, will evolve into a regional war.

The United States has, since October 7, sunk Houthi ships on the Red Sea and has launched airstrikes in Iraq

at facilities utilized by Kataib Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed militia group, after U.S. personnel were attacked by the group in November. The U.S. has also launched strikes, targeting resources owned by the Houthis, the Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group that has been terrorizing the Red Sea. The Iraqi government has asked the U.S. to withdraw its personnel from the country after it attacked the Kataib Hezbollah facilities. The Pentagon has claimed that the airstrikes have had little impact on the situation and that the Iraqi government still needs the U.S. to maintain a presence in the country.

“We believe that reorganizing the relationship through ending its presence will prevent more tensions and entanglement of internal and regional security issues,” Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani asserted.

Earthquake Rocks China A 7.1-magnitude earthquake rocked part of China’s far western Xinjiang region early Tuesday morning, killing at least three people. At least five others

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were injured in the quake. Over 12,000 people were forced to be evacuated from their homes.

Two houses collapsed in the quake, and power lines were downed. Electricity was quickly restored, but rescuers faced bitter cold temperatures.

More than 50 aftershocks above magnitude 3 were reported as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the staterun China Earthquake Networks Center.

The tremors were also felt across the border in Kyrgyzstan, according to the United States Geological Survey.

In nearby Kazakhstan, at least 44 people were injured in the country’s largest city Almaty following the quake, authorities said. The quake was also felt as far away as Uzbekistan.

Most of the residents in the affected area in China are Uyghurs, a predomi-

nantly Muslim ethnic minority that has been targeted by a sweeping Chinese government crackdown in recent years, from mass detention to strict restrictions on religious and cultural life.

Rats Infect the Warfront

As Ukraine faces another dark and cold winter, Ukrainian and Russian troops have recently encountered yet another enemy attacking them in their trenches: rats and mice.

“Imagine going to bed, and the night begins with a mouse crawling into your pants or sweater... chewing your fingertips or biting your hand.

You get two- or three-hours’ sleep, depending on how lucky you are,” said a Ukrainian servicewoman who identi-

fied herself as “Kira,” adding that there were around 1,000 mice in the trench that she and a few other soldiers had been in while in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. “It was not the mice who were visiting us; we were their guests.”

This “mouse epidemic,” as Kira put it, was likely triggered by a few factors, including the mating cycles of mice and the current shift in seasons. The infestations have infected soldiers with diseases and have placed additional stress on them.

As shown by videos released by Russian and Ukrainian service members, mice and rats could be found nearly everywhere, including in beds, clothing, backpacks, furniture, and power generators. According to Kira, nearly every practical method of extermination has been utilized, but to no avail; the rodents won’t go away.

“We had a cat named Busia, and at first, she also helped and ate mice. But later there were so many of them that she refused. A cat can catch one or two mice, but if there are 70 of them, it’s unrealistic,” she said.

In December, the Ukrainian military claimed that Russian forces in the Kharkiv region had been experiencing an outbreak of “mouse fever,” which is said to be caused “by inhaling mouse feces dust or by ingestion of mouse feces in food.” The Ukrainian military asserted that some of the symptoms present in infected Russian soldiers include fever, rash, low blood pressure, vomiting, and kidney problems, thus significantly reducing “the combat capability of the Russian soldiers.”

The Ukrainian military did not reveal whether members of its own forces had also been infected. Although no name was given to the disease, its description and symptoms might indicate that it’s either tularemia, leptospirosis, or hantavirus.

“The mice chewed everything: radios, repeaters, wires. Mice got into cars and chewed on the electrical wiring, so the cars wouldn’t run, and they also chewed on tanks and wheels,” Kira said. “The losses from the mice in our dugout alone amount to one million hryvnia [$26,500].”

During World War I, rat infestations terrorized soldiers who were similarly unable to solve the issue. In World War I, soldiers started killing rats as a game, although the infestation didn’t stop until after the war had come to an end.

Too Much Pain

On Monday, 24 soldiers lost their lives fighting in Gaza. Twenty-one of those who were killed were reservists who died when they came under attack in the southern Gaza Strip, triggering a blast in two buildings, which collapsed with soldiers inside of them.

The buildings were about to be demolished by the IDF and were being rigged for demolition. Troops came under fire from Palestinian terrorists who fired an RPG at a tank. Another RPG may have also blasted the two-story buildings, which then crumbled on top of the troops.

Monday’s tragedy is the single deadliest incident since the start of Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza.

As of Monday, 219 soldiers had lost their lives in the Gaza war.

Other troops worked for hours to try to rescue survivors from the buildings.

The IDF said that it is investigating what went wrong to prevent further similar incidents.

By Tuesday, the IDF cleared the names of those who were killed for publication. They were named as: Sgt. Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Haifa. Lazar and his wife were both nurses.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Mevo Beitar. Hadar was close to his parents and grandparents. He also enjoyed traveling and worked as a security officer in India.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Ramat Gan. Sgt. First Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Kiryat Arba. He is survived by his parents and five siblings.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Yuval Lopez, 27, of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Alon Shvut. He was the father of three young daughters, aged eight

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months to three years old. Yuval’s two brothers are also soldiers – one fighting in Jenin and the other in Gaza. Yuval had made Aliyah when he was six years old.

He was originally from Peru and was part of the Bnei Moshe community, known as “Inca Jews.”

Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yehud-Monosson. “Yoav, in your humble way, in your characteristic silence and with a captivating smile, you were loved

and will be loved by all of us,” his family said in a statement.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Jerusalem.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Cedrick Garin, 23, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Tel Aviv. He was born in the Philippines and moved to Israel with his mother, who had been looking for work.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Bat-

talion, from Pardes Hanna-Karkur. Rafael has one child, who is a year old. A day before he died, Rafael sent his father-inlaw a text, “We will not leave the [Gaza] Strip until we have eliminated them all.”

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Rishon Lezion.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rahat. Ahmad was a Bedouin

with an eleven-month-old daughter.

Cpt. (res.) Nir Binyamin, 29, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Givatayim. Nir was going to propose to his girlfriend after the war.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Israel Socol, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.

Cpt. (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, of the 205th Brigade’s 9206th Battalion, from Elazar. Ariel worked in an investment company in Tel Aviv. He leaves behind his wife.

Sgt. First Class (res.) Sagi Idan, 24, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Rosh Haayin.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Mark Kononovich, 35, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Herzliya. Mark leaves behind four beautiful children.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Itamar Tal, 32, of the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Mesilot.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Adam Bismut, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 6261st Battalion, from Karnei Shomron.

Adam was the founder of SightBit. The company developed a life-saving AI system that locates drowning people at sea and alerts rescuers. The company was established after Bismut tragically witnessed someone drowning in the water, and despite everyone’s best efforts, could not save him in time.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Shay Biton Hayun, 40, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Zichron Yaakov.

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Daniel Kasau Zegeye, 38, of the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Yokne’am Illit.

Master Sgt. (res.) Elkana Vizel, 35, a squad commander in the 261st Brigade’s 8208th Battalion, from Bnei Dakalim.

Rabbi Elkana Vizel was a father of four. His twin brother, Itamar, wrote on Facebook after the tragedy, “My heart refuses to believe the words I am writing.

[My] twin brother – is no more. He fell heroically… in a battle in the Gaza Strip.”

Before Elkana went to fight, he wrote a letter to his family.

“If you are reading these words, something must have happened to me,” he wrote.

“Maybe I fell in battle,” he continued.

“When a soldier falls in battle, it is sad, but I ask you to be happy. Don’t be sad when you part with me. Touch hearts, hold each other’s hands, and strengthen each other. We have so much to be proud and happy about.

“We are writing the most significant moments in the history of our nation and the entire world. So please, be happy, be optimistic, keep choosing life all the time.

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Spread love, light, and optimism. Look at your loved ones in the whites of their eyes and remind them that everything we go through in this life is worth it and we have something to live for.

“Don’t stop the power of life for a moment. I was already wounded in Operation Tzuk Eitan, but I do not regret that I returned to fight. This is the best decision I ever made.”

In separate fighting in the city of Khan Younis on Monday, three IDF officers from the Paratroopers Brigade were killed: Maj. David Nati Alfasi, 27, a deputy battalion commander from Beersheba; Maj. Ilay Levy, 24, a company commander from Tel Aviv; and Cpt. Eyal Mevorach Twito, 22, a platoon commander from Beit Gamliel.

One other soldier was injured in that incident.

Four brigades had been involved in the fighting. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry told Reuters on Monday afternoon that at least 50 Palestinians were killed and 100 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis since Sunday night.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that the heavy losses suffered by the military only highlight the necessity to push on.

“Our hearts are with the dear families in their most difficult time,” Gallant wrote of the “difficult and painful morning.”

But, he said, “this is a war that will determine the future of Israel for decades to come – the fall of the soldiers compels us to achieve the goals of the fighting.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he mourned the deaths and wished to “strengthen the dear families of our heroic warriors who fell on the battlefield.

I know that for these families, their lives will be changed forever.”

Israel will “not stop fighting until absolute victory,” he asserted.

“We will do it together; we will do it in unity. I ask to strengthen the bereaved families, to know that we have to continue. I have no doubt that when they set out on their mission yesterday, they intended for us to continue, and that is what we will do,” war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said.

Khan Younis Tunnel Held 20 Hostages The IDF announced on Saturday that its troops discovered a tunnel in Khan

Younis beneath a top Hamas official’s house. DNA, physical evidence, and accounts from freed abductees prove that twenty hostages, some of whom were released as part of a temporary ceasefire, were hidden in the tunnel in what the Israeli army calls “harsh and inhumane conditions.”

The tunnel likely cost millions of dollars to construct, the IDF said. Before demolishing it, the Israeli military showed it to foreign media outlet reporters to demonstrate Hamas’ cruelty to the world.

Of the 132 hostages still in Gaza, 27 were killed while in captivity, according to the IDF. The military is “working in every way” to rescue each hostage from Gaza, said Hagari.

13,572 Israelis Injured in the War Emilia Aloni, a 5-year-old hostage who, alongside her mother, was among the 105 hostages released from Gaza, was one of the twenty captives held in the recently discovered Khan Younis tunnel; drawings that she made in captivity were uncovered during the IDF’s search.

Right as the Israeli troops entered the tunnel, they encountered Hamas gunmen. A battle ensued thereafter, and the terrorists were killed.

“The tunnel was rigged with explosives and blast doors designed to protect the terrorists and prevent the advancement in finding our hostages,” said IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

“After walking about a kilometer in the tunnel, at a depth of about 20 meters underground, the soldiers found a central chamber where, according to testimonies of hostages who returned from Gaza, we understand that they spent most of their time.”

Unfortunately, no other abductees were in the tunnel when the IDF searched through it, although it is a likely possibility that other hostages were in the tunnel but were transported elsewhere right when the Israeli military began its raid on the underground area. Deeper into the tunnel, the military discovered five small holding cells, each containing a toilet and mattress.

“According to the testimonies we have, about 20 hostages were held in this tunnel at different times under harsh conditions without daylight, in dense air with little oxygen, and terrible humidity that makes breathing difficult,” said Hagari. “Some of them were released about 50 days ago, and some are still held in Gaza and may be under even harsher conditions, including very elderly people who need medication and help.”

More Hamas terrorists were found stationed deeper into the tunnel and were killed by the IDF.

According to Health Ministry figures released on Sunday, 13,572 Israelis have been wounded in acts of war and treated in hospitals since October 7.

The number includes civilians and soldiers, in Gaza border communities, areas near the Lebanese border, Israelis injured by rocket fire in central Israel, and military personnel fighting inside the Gaza Strip.

The ministry said that 233 of the injured are currently hospitalized. Since October 7, 405 soldiers have been hospitalized in serious condition or worse.

Last week, the IDF said that Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have since October 7 fired approximately 9,000 rockets that reached Israeli territory. Hundreds, if not thousands, of additional rockets fell short inside the Strip, according to the military.

The IDF has killed more than 9,000 terrorists in Gaza since the start of the war and attacked some 30,000 targets in the coastal enclave, the military said.

The IDF killed an additional estimated 1,000 terrorist invaders inside Israel on or immediately after the October 7 incursion. (JNS)

Iran Vows Revenge On Saturday, Iran alleged that Israel is responsible for an airstrike that hit Damascus, Syria, killing five members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Tehran has since threatened to take revenge on the Jewish state for purportedly being behind the assassinations.

Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry, called the strike “a desperate attempt to spread instability in [the] region” and added that “Iran… reserves its right to respond to the organized terrorism of the fake Zionist regime at the appropriate time and place.”

Hamas, the terrorist group that invaded southern Israel on October 7, slaughtering 1,200 people, abducting over 200 others, and maiming and displacing thousands more, called the strike on Damascus a “heinous crime.”

“The Islamic Republic will not leave the Zionist regime’s crimes unanswered,” said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

The Iranian Defense Ministry claimed that the airstrike had killed “a number of civilians.” According to a journalist from AFP, the building targeted in the strike was utterly demolished, and the area was closed off, with ambulances, firefighters, and teams from the Syrian Arab Red

Crescent on the scene.

Israel has yet to confirm whether it was involved in the strikes.

Middle Eastern officials have said that the collapsed building was used by IRGC members.

Although early reports suggested that Akram al-Ajouri, a terrorist leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, died in the strikes, a PIJ spokesman has said that none of the group’s members were hurt in the airstrike.

A month ago, Brig. Gen. Razi Mousavi, a top IRGC official, was killed by another airstrike in Damascus which some similarly attribute to Israel.

Bibi: “No Palestinian State”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the Biden Administration’s

calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state and a speedy end to the war in Gaza, as U.S. support for Israel’s war effort begins to fade.

“I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of the Jordan [River],” Netanyahu asserted. “As long as I am prime minister, I will continue to firmly stand by this.”

In conversation with President Joe Biden and in a video statement released on Sunday, Netanyahu indicated that he may consider allowing the establishment of a Palestinian state, as long as it has no military capabilities, but the premier said in a tweet on Saturday that a future in which Israel has security control over Gaza – which he is committed to ensuring – would run “contrary to a Palestinian state.”

Netanyahu remains steadfast in his commitment to ensuring that Israel does not stop fighting until it is victorious in the war and that Hamas and all terrorist organizations in Gaza are eradicated.

The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported that the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar are pressuring Israel and the Hamas terror group into putting a complete end to the conflict with the release of all hostages in Gaza in a peace plan that could eventually bring about peace with the Jewish state’s neighbors and a potential Palestinian state.

“So far, we have brought home 110 hostages, and we are committed to bringing them all back,” Netanyahu said. “I am working on this around the clock. But let it be clear: I reject outright the terms of surrender of the Hamas monsters.

“Hamas is demanding the end of the war, the exit of our forces from Gaza, releasing all the murderers… of the Nukhba [forces] and leaving Hamas intact,” he said, warning that if Israel agrees to Hamas’ terms, “our soldiers will have fallen in vain…[and] we cannot guarantee security for our citizens. We cannot bring the evacuees home safely, and the next October 7 will be just a matter of time. I am not able to agree to such a fatal blow to Israeli security, and therefore I cannot agree to that.”

On Sunday, Yoav Gallant, the defense minister of Israel, said that the military will be increasing the scale of its ground campaign in Khan Younis, a key city in southern Gaza.

“The plumes of smoke from the tanks, artillery and Air Force planes will continue to cover the skies of the Gaza Strip until we achieve our goals, chief among them, the defeat of Hamas and the return of hostages to their homes,” said Gallant.

My Way or the Highway

“Leaving Brooklyn? Fuhgeddaboudit!”

“Changing Lanes? Use Yah Blinkah.”

Driving on the highway can be entertaining when officials use highway signs to promote safety in a humorous way. But federal officials are saying that some of these signs are going too far and can be distracting to drivers.

In the latest edition of the federal standards for highway signs, published in December, officials warned that messages “with obscure or secondary meanings, such as those with popular culture references” or those that are “intended to be humorous,” should not be used.

The standards do not impose an outright ban on all humor or pop-culture references in highway signs, the Federal Highway Administration clarified. But they recommend that officials avoid messages “that may confuse or distract drivers.”

Last week, the Highway Administration explained that state and local officials should “use good judgment” based on longstanding principles that recommend that highway signs “fulfill a need; command attention; convey a clear, simple message; command respect; and provide adequate time for proper response.”

A 2022 study, funded by the Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, found that a “significant proportion” of drivers did not understand safety messages that included humor, wit or pop-culture references. That study recommended that highway signs not use humor and that messages be limited to 16 words or numbers.

Still, some state officials believe that drivers enjoy the tongue-in-cheek admonitions to drive safely. In Maine, the transportation department held a contest for safety signs for roads. One of the winners urged drivers to slow down in winter, declaring, “Little known fact: Snow is really slippery.”

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New Jersey has a tradition of using humorous signs like: “We’ll be blunt, don’t drive high.”

“Our goal is always to create attention to safety and that’s what these signs are about,” said Steve Schapiro, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation. “It’s about making sure people read them, remember them, and drive safely.”

Still, he said, New Jersey would follow the federal guidance and “be mindful of the kinds of messages we put up, keeping them safety centered.”

Biden Cancels More Student Debt

President Joe Biden on Friday canceled nearly $5 billion in student loan debt for 74,000 people, the latest effort by the administration to deliver piece-

meal relief after the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s more ambitious loan cancellation plan last year.

Most of the people who will benefit from the latest round are teachers, nurses, firefighters and others in public service, who qualify for relief under existing programs that have been plagued by bureaucratic and other problems for years.

“My administration is able to deliver relief to these borrowers — and millions more — because of fixes we made to broken student loan programs that were preventing borrowers from getting relief they were entitled to under the law,” Biden said in a statement.

His promise to forgive student loans is a sticking point for crucial voting blocs, particularly young people, and for Black borrowers who disproportionately shoulder the most student loan debt. More than 43 million people across the country owe about $1.6 trillion in federal loans for college, according to government data.

The Biden administration has canceled more than $136 billion in student loan debt for more than 3.7 million people as the White House finds workarounds after the Supreme Court decision in June.

That more ambitious plan would have canceled up to $400 billion in student debt for about 43 million borrowers.

Now through February 15

But the court ruled that Biden had overstepped his authority with the plan.

The president said Friday that his administration was “continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible.”

Biden’s efforts to wipe out debts through policy changes have consistently polled favorably among Americans. But Republicans who oppose loan forgiveness characterize the policies as an unfair burden on taxpayers. (© The New York Times)

2 SEALs Lost at Sea

On Sunday, the U.S. military announced that two Navy SEALs who had been lost in the Arabian Sea during a mission to board a ship and confiscate Iranian-made weapons ten days earlier are now officially considered deceased.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command said the 10-day search was changed to a recovery effort.

The two missing SEALs were identified as Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers, 37, and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage Ingram, 27, both of whom were serving with a U.S. West Coastbased SEAL team.

Ships and aircraft from the U.S., Japan and Spain continuously searched more than 21,000 square miles for the men, the military said, with assistance from the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command, and the University of California, San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography “We mourn the loss of our two Naval Special Warfare warriors, and we will forever honor their sacrifice and example,” said Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command. “Our prayers are with the SEALs’ families, friends, the U.S. Navy and the entire Special Operations community during this time.”

On January 11, the group enacted a raid against an unflagged ship carrying illicit Iranian-made weapons to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. As the team was boarding the ship, one of the SEALs went under in the heavy seas, and a teammate jumped to try and save him in the choppy

waters.

The commandos had launched from the USS Lewis B. Puller, a mobile sea base, and they were backed by drones and helicopters. They loaded onto small special operations combat craft driven by naval special warfare crew to get to the boat.

In the raid, they seized an array of Iranian-made weaponry, including cruise and ballistic missile components such as propulsion and guidance devices and warheads, as well as air defense parts, Central Command said. It marked the latest seizure by the U.S. Navy and its allies of weapon shipments bound for the rebels, who have launched a series of attacks now threatening global trade in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The seized missile components included types likely used in those attacks.

The U.S. Navy ultimately sunk the ship carrying the weapons after deeming it unsafe. The fourteen members of the ship’s crew were detained.

End of the Road for Ron

On Sunday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he is dropping of the race for the Republican nomination for the White House.

DeSantis thought that he would be able to bring out big numbers in Iowa.

But last Monday showed him trailing far behind former President Donald Trump.

“If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome, more campaign stops, more interviews, I would do it, but I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory. Accordingly, I am today suspending my campaign,” DeSantis said on a video posted on X. He then touted his support for Trump: “While, I’ve had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent Joe Biden.

That is clear.”

He added, “I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will

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Spirit and JetBlue Can’t Merge

honor that pledge. He has my endorsement, because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear, a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents,” he said.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is now the lone contender against Donald Trump.

DeSantis has blamed his lackluster performance in the race on a host of challenges, including Iowa’s weather,

conservative media’s loyalty to Trump, and the unprecedented barrage of negative ads against him. One thing he hasn’t faulted was his main pitch to voters – his record of accomplishment in Florida – which he continued to feature in every speech.

After the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis seemed to have lost a lot of his campaign energy. Still in a recent interview, he said. “If I had been sitting on the sidelines, and Republicans end up

losing in 2024, people then would have said, ‘Oh, well, you had the opportunity to do something, and you didn’t,’” he said. “So, anyone can sit there and carp on the sidelines – get in the arena, and fight for what you believe in.”

DeSantis, 45, has three years left in his second term as governor of Florida.

He will not be able to run again after he completes his second term.

Spirit Airlines, once a fast-growing low-cost carrier, is struggling to convince investors that it has a clear path forward after an antitrust ruling blocked the sale of the company to JetBlue Airways.

A federal judge in Boston blocked the proposed merger last Tuesday, concurring with the Justice Department that the deal would hurt consumers by reducing their choices and raising fares. The airlines announced late Friday that they had jointly filed a notice of appeal.

Before it struck a deal with JetBlue in July 2022, Spirit was struggling. Unlike larger airlines, it never fully recovered from the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The budget airline is losing money, and some analysts say it is hard to see how Spirit can dig itself out of its financial hole without finding another buyer. Some airline experts say the carrier might have to file for bankruptcy protection.

“It’s a challenging financial picture for the company,” said Xavier Smith, director of energy and industrials research at AlphaSense.

In the days since the ruling, Spirit’s stock has lost more than half its value.

In a regulatory filing Friday morning, Spirit said it would seek to refinance a large chunk of its debt that comes due in September 2025. It said the merger agreement with JetBlue “remains in full force and effect.” The company’s shares climbed 17% in Friday’s session after that announcement and rallied more in extended trading after the appeal was announced.

On Thursday, the shares plunged sharply after The Wall Street Journal reported that Spirit was exploring restructuring options. Asked about that report, the company said it was “not pursuing nor involved in a statutory restructuring.”

Spirit, like other airlines, took out loads of debt during the pandemic, but it has not had the financial rebound that bigger carriers have seen. It now owes about $6.6 billion, up from $3.6 billion in 2019. This month, the company sold and leased back 25 jets, which allowed it to reduce its debt by $465 million.

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“Spirit has been taking, and will continue to take, prudent steps to ensure the strength of its balance sheet and ongoing operations,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

Unlike larger carriers like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, Spirit flies mostly within the United States; its few international routes are relatively short. (© The New York Times)

SCOTUS: Razor Wire Can Be Removed from Border

In a win for the Biden administration, the Supreme Court said this week that it is allowing U.S. Border Patrol agents to remove razor wire placed by Texas GOP Governor Greg Abbott’s security initiative at the U.S.-Mexico bor-

der while the state’s legal challenge to the practice plays out.

The razor-thin vote was 5-4.

The Biden administration and Governor Abbott have been at odds, with Abbott attempting to protect his state from illegal migrants pouring in over the border. Just this week, three migrants drowned in a section of the Rio Grande that state officials have blocked federal agents’ access to, prompting the Biden administration to further press for the high court’s intervention.

A federal appeals court last month ordered the Border Patrol agents to stop removing razor wire along a small stretch of the Rio Grande while court proceedings continue, and the Justice Department asked the justices earlier this month to step in on an emergency basis to wipe away that order, which they did on Monday.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would have denied the federal request.

Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesman for Abbott, said that the “absence of razor wire and other deterrence strategies encourages migrants to make unsafe and illegal crossings between ports of entry.” He added that the governor

“will continue fighting to defend Texas’ property and its constitutional authority to secure the border.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agency welcomed the high court’s order.

“Enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility,” the spokesperson said. “Rather than helping to reduce irregular migration, the State of Texas has only made it harder for frontline personnel to do their jobs and to apply consequences under the law. We can enforce our laws and administer them safely, humanely, and in an orderly way.”

The 5th Circuit is currently weighing the legal questions around whether the federal government has the authority to cut the wire that Texas had installed on the banks of the Rio Grande. It’s set to hear oral arguments in the case February 7.

Texas had urged the Supreme Court to deny the Biden administration’s request, telling the justices in court papers that “there is no basis for this Court’s intervention, much less now.”

What Went Wrong in Uvalde?

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice released a long-awaited report on the Uvalde school shooting, concluding that law enforcement officials present at the time of the mass shooting were negligent in their failed response to the crime and disregarded protocol, thus likely enabling the eighteen-year-old gunman to take more lives.

The shooting took place around twenty months ago, in May of 2022, at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. Twenty-one people in the school were murdered, two of whom were teachers. The others who were killed were students whose ages ranged from nine to eleven.

Although law enforcement personnel who were on the scene of the crime were initially hailed as heroes for going up against an assailant who brandished an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, the DOJ’s investigation points to significant failures

on their part to eliminate the gunman and save lives.

“The law enforcement response at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 – and then the hours and days after – was a failure that should not have happened,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. “Had law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in an active shooter situation and gone right after the shooter to stop him, lives would have been saved and people would have survived.”

The report does not make specific suggestions for holding negligent law enforcement personnel accountable, although some have called for criminal prosecutions and firings.

According to the report, law enforcement personnel arrived at the scene soon after the shooting began, but officials quickly stopped outside of the classroom where he was instead of attempting to eliminate the gunman as per protocol.

“Officers on scene should have recognized the incident as an active shooter scenario and moved and pushed forward immediately and continuously toward the threat until the room was entered, and the threat was eliminated. That did not occur,” the report said. They instead acted as if the matter were a non-urgent “barricaded suspect” situation. It took 77 minutes for officials to finally kill the gunman.

“For the span of more than 1 hour, between 11:37 a.m. and 12:49 p.m., there were at least 10 stimulus events, including at least six separate instances of gunfire totaling approximately 45 rounds in law enforcement officer presence, as well as officer injuries and the presence of victims. Any one of these events should have driven the law enforcement response to take steps to immediately stop the killing,” the report explained, adding that, although the then-school police chief Pete Arrendondo, then-acting Uvalde police chief Mariano Pargas, and Uvalde County Sheriff Ruven Nolasco were on the scene while the shooting was happening, no one stepped up to the plate and assumed a leadership role during the operation.

“Some officers were confused about why there was no attempt to confront the active shooter and rescue the children.

Without structure, agency leadership was unaware of the facts surrounding the incident and therefore unable to challenge the repeated decisions not to make entry into the classrooms,” the report added.

The DOJ said that Arredondo hadn’t immediately sent help to children and teachers in rooms 111 and 112 as he assumed that they had been killed already.

He thus “intentionally prioritized the

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evacuations over immediate breach and entry into the room,” which is “counter to active shooter response principles, which state the priority is to address and eliminate the threat.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed his gratitude to the DOJ for its report and said that his state had “already adopted and implemented some of the recommendations proposed.”

Many other mishaps are said to have taken place, including in transporting victims to the hospital and preserving evidence relevant to the mass shooting.

ations between the company and the employee union have included talk of about 100 job cuts, or about 20% of the newsroom, according to two of the people, who also have knowledge about the discussions. It has put journalists at the Times at odds with their owner, biotechnology billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong.

Those relations reached a nadir on Friday when employees walked off the job, in the newsroom’s first union-organized work stoppage in the 142-year history of the newspaper.

Upheaval at LA Times Los Angeles Times journalists gathered on Thursday at Flora, a rooftop bar not far from the paper’s headquarters, to toast their departing editor, Kevin Merida.

Talk was focused on why Merida, the paper’s editor for nearly three years, had decided to suddenly leave — and about the prospect of deep layoffs discussed in emergency meetings earlier that day, according to four attendees.

In the days since, internal negoti-

The tensions escalated further on Monday, after several of the state’s congressional representatives sent SoonShiong a letter raising concerns about the scope of the cuts and employees received a note informing them that two other senior editors had departed.

A spokesperson for the company, Hillary Manning, had no comment on ten-

sions in the newsroom or the scope of the proposed cuts but said in a statement that the newspaper appreciated “the concerns elected officials have expressed regarding the anticipated layoffs.”

She added that the Los Angeles Times, the largest news organization on the West Coast, had appealed to lawmakers to pass legislation that could help address financial challenges faced by local news publishers.

When Soon-Shiong bought the paper in 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that its newsroom included about 400 people, with roughly 138,000 digital subscribers. Journalists, who had been beleaguered by years of corporate infighting and cost cutting, welcomed a wealthy owner who said he was committed to investing. Over two years, about 150 new journalists were hired, and the paper reinvested in coverage of foreign news and expanded its digital presence.

But in June, the Times shed 74 newsroom roles, or about 13% of its workforce, in the first major cuts under SoonShiong’s ownership. Losing an additional 20% of the newsroom would return it to roughly the same staffing levels as when Soon-Shiong bought the company. (© The New York Times)

Failed Moon Landing

Astrobotic Technology, a private company based in Pittsburgh, launched its Peregrine lunar lander on January 8, with the craft hitching a ride on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket.

The company had been under a contract valued at over $108 million with NASA, whose Viper Lunar rover was carried up to space in Astrobotic’s lander.

Although Peregrine launched successfully, only hours later, it began experiencing major problems, including propulsion issues and a fuel leak, thus making it impossible for the lander to reach the moon. At that point, Astrobotic chose to repurpose the craft as a satellite, with it floating through thousands of miles, conducting tests on scientific instruments onboard. In the end, only

ten days after its launch, the company decided that it would be best to end the lander’s life with a fiery crash into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Had the mission been successful, it would have marked the first time a private company soft-landed a craft on the moon. Other companies have tried, but none have succeeded as of now. In 2019, SpaceIL, an Israel-based space company, launched its own craft, which crashed into the moon, and last year, Ispace, a Japanese company, similarly failed.

Peregrine’s mission could have also marked the first time the U.S. soft-landed a craft on the moon in over fifty years.

In partnership with NASA, Astrobotic plans on launching another lunar lander in November. In addition to Astrobotic, NASA has partnered with three other lunar exploration companies, one of which hopes to launch its lunar lander in February.

According to John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, his company lost more money from the mission than it gained.

“It’s certainly going to have some impact on our relationships and our ability to secure additional missions in the future,” Thornton said. “It certainly wouldn’t be the end of the business, but it would certainly be challenging… We’re in a high-risk space venture, and this is just the nature of space businesses.”

Anti-Israel Prof.

Leads Harvard’s Antisemitism Task Force

Following the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, who refused to condemn calls for Jewish genocide during her testimony at the House of Representatives, the Ivy League university’s interim president Alan Garber, on Friday, formed the Presidential Task Force on Combating Antisemitism, a committee created to investigate and address the “root causes” of campus antisemitism.

However, Garber has since faced criticism for selecting Harvard Jewish studies

tifying the root causes of and contributing factors to bias-based behaviors on campus; evaluating evidence regarding the characteristics and frequency of these behaviors; and recommending approaches to combat bias and to mitigate its impact on campus,” said Garber.

Just a week before the antisemitism committee’s formation, a group of six students from Harvard’s law and graduate schools sued the Ivy League institution for tolerating “severe and pervasive” antisemitism since October 7.

The students, who are part of Students Against Antisemitism, have claimed that the school “has become a bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.”

“Mobs of pro-Hamas students and faculty have marched by the hundreds through Harvard’s campus, shouting vile antisemitic slogans and calling for death to Jews and Israel,” read the students’ 77-page federal civil complaint. “Those mobs have occupied buildings, classrooms, libraries, student lounges, plazas, and study halls, often for days or weeks at a time, promoting violence against Jews and harassing and assaulting them on campus.”

Cancer Center to Correct Studies

A prominent cancer center affiliated with Harvard University said it will ask medical journals to retract six research papers and correct dozens of others after a British scientist and blogger found that work by some of its top executives was rife with duplicated or manipulated data.

The center, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, one of the nation’s foremost cancer treatment and research facilities, moved quickly in recent days to address allegations of faulty data in 58 studies, many of them influential, compiled by a British molecular biologist, Sholto David.

In many cases, David found, images in the papers had been stretched, obscured or spliced together in a way that

suggested deliberate attempts to mislead readers. The studies he flagged included some published by Dana-Farber’s CEO, Dr. Laurie Glimcher, and its chief operating officer, Dr. William Hahn.

The retractions come as researchers in the United States face growing pressure to account for instances of scientific misconduct, sloppy work, or outright fraud. Image sleuths have recently found evidence of fabricated data in scores of influential papers on Alzheimer’s disease.

Last year, Marc Tessier-Lavigne resigned as president of Stanford University after some of his published papers were found to contain manipulated results.

Allegations of misconduct have ballooned in part because experts have access to new artificial intelligence tools that can flag suspicious images depicting experimental results.

In the wake of recent high-profile misconduct claims, experts have drawn attention to a “publish or perish” culture in academia, which pressures researchers to generate striking results and place papers in major journals, whatever the merits of a study. Some researchers have also said that certain labs, explicitly or not, encourage junior researchers to take shortcuts.

The papers in question at Dana-Farber reported experiments on multiple

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professor Derek Penslar, a critic of Israel, as the committee’s chairman. In August, Penslar was among the 2,900 people to sign an open letter in condemnation of Israel, calling the Jewish state a “regime of apartheid.”

“We, academics, clergy, and other public figures from Israel/Palestine and abroad, call attention to the direct link between Israel’s recent attack on the judiciary and its illegal occupation of millions of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” the letter signed by Penslar stated.

In December, Penslar had also signed a letter supporting Gay who, at the time, was resisting calls for her resignation.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who was instrumental in removing Gay from her position of power, and former Harvard president and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers were among the many who were critical of Garber’s decision to appoint Penslar as head of the antisemitism task force.

A Presidential Task Force on Combating Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Bias was also formed by the interim president, which, alongside the antisemitism task force, will be “examining recent history and current manifestations of bias; iden-

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myeloma, a blood cancer, and immune cells, among other topics.

Dr. Barrett Rollins, Dana-Farber’s research integrity officer, said in a statement on Monday that the institute had requested or was preparing to request retractions of six manuscripts. It has identified another 31 manuscripts needing corrections. One additional manuscript remained under investigation, he said.

“You’ve got a cluster of people at one institution with image problems,” David said. “How many mistakes are we happy with people making and just kind of saying, ‘That’s an innocent error’?” (© The New York Times)

Where’s the Beef?

If you’re interested in sampling Kobe beef croquettes from Asahiya, a butcher shop in Japan, you better be patient. The waitlist for the non-kosher delicacy is 43 years.

Yup, you’ll have to wait more than four decades to sample the croquettes, which are made from Kobe beef and potatoes.

The shop had been making these “Extreme Croquettes” for many years, but in the early 2000s, they became an internet sensation.

Nitta, the owner of the shop, took over the store from his father in 1994.

“We sold Extreme Croquettes at the price of JPY270 ($1.80) per piece… The beef in them alone costs about JPY400 ($2.70) per piece,” Nitta explained.

He used the croquettes as a loss leader to draw in customers to sample the store’s Kobe beef.

“We made affordable and tasty croquettes that demonstrate the concept of our shop as a strategy to have customers enjoy the croquettes and then hope that they would buy our Kobe beef after the first try.”

Because the shop loses money on the Extreme Croquettes, it only pro-

duced 200 each week.

“We stopped selling them in 2016 because the waiting time became over 14 years. We were thinking of stopping orders, but we got many calls requesting to keep offering them,” Nitta said.

Asahiya resumed accepting orders for these croquettes in 2017 but raised the price. It also began to make 200 croquettes a day, instead of 200 of them a week.

“In reality, the Extreme Croquettes got way more popular than other products,” Nitta chuckled, laughing at his own money-losing business idea.

“We hear that we should hire more people and make croquettes more quickly, but I think there is no shop owner who hires employees and produces more to make more deficit… I feel sorry for having them wait. I do want to make croquettes quickly and send them as soon as possible, but if I do, the shop will go bankrupt.”

Fortunately, Nitta said that about half of the people who try the croquettes end up ordering their Kobe beef, so it’s a sound marketing strategy.

Now, each box of Extreme Croquettes, which includes five pieces, sells for JPY2,700 ($18.20).

The shop sends a regular newsletter to waiting customers updating them on the latest shipping estimate. A week before the delivery date, the shop will confirm the delivery with the patient customers once again.

Customers receiving croquettes these days placed their orders about 10 years ago. There are currently 63,000 people in “line” as of January 2024.

Sounds like they’re cuckoo over their croquettes.

Detox Dairy

Siggi’s Dairy wants you to step away from your phone. The yogurt company is offering to pay $10,000 to participants who complete a month-long “digital detox” with their phone locked in a box.

Eager to get rid of your extra appendage? The program, inspired by

“Dry January,” is accepting applications through January 31. Ten people will be selected for the digital detox and will have to keep their smartphones secured for one month in a lockbox provided by Siggi’s.

“We believe in the power of living a simpler life with fewer distractions.

One of the biggest distractions in our lives today is our phone. In fact, the average person spends 5.4 hours on their phones each day,” the company said on its website.

The selected winners who complete the program will receive $10,000, a phone lockbox, a “good ol’ fashioned flip phone” with a one-month prepaid SIM card, and a three-month supply of Siggi’s yogurt.

Sounds too good to be true.

Cup Crazy

Stanley cups are all the rage, although we can’t really understand the trend. One woman from California became a little cup crazy when she stole 65 of the popular water bottles, worth almost $2,500.

Police were called to a store in Roseville after employees saw the woman load up a shopping cart full of the tumblers without paying for them. She then stuffed her car – the trunk and footwell – with the cups.

Officers pulled her over and arrested her after they found her driving away.

“While Stanley Quenchers are all the rage, we strongly advise against turning to crime to fulfill your hydration habits,” the Roseville Police Department wrote on Facebook.

The cups sell for between $45 and $50, with limited releases being more expensive. People have posted them on resale sites for much higher prices.

Stanley tumblers have recently skyrocketed in popularity, largely due to social media marketing, unique color releases and brand collaborations. In fact, a 16-year-old from Alabama said her parents spent $3,000 last year to buy her all the different cup configurations.

“I’m obsessed,” Amelia Awad told the Wall Street Journal recently of the viral

tumbler craze. After getting her first cup a year ago, she now has 67.

Sounds like this craze has made her flip her lid.

Runs in the Family

Devon and Dylan Lee make their parents proud. The 17-year-old twins are graduating from Herricks High School in New Hyde Park with great accolades.

Devon will be the school’s valedictorian; Dylan is coming in as salutatorian.

Lest you think their parents are new to this rodeo, their sister Jeylin was valedictorian of the class of 2023.

The twins say that school is not just about grades, though.

“Over the course of high school, I learned the value of knowing yourself and your needs,” Dylan says. “I spent a lot of time hanging out with friends, playing volleyball, and playing music rather than solely focusing on grades and other expectations.”

“It’s all about balance,” adds Devon.

“Hold yourself accountable and learn about yourself what you need to really learn. Letter grades and numbers don’t mean anything if you aren’t having fun.

Whether it’s playing video games with friends, messing around on the piano, or just taking lots of breaks, I made sure that I was happy with who I am.”

These kids are all-around superstars.

The Lees have been active in extracurricular school activities as members of Herricks’ volleyball team, which won back-to-back championships.

The brothers also love to perform music, and according to the school, are both avid runners who compete in 10Ks, half-marathons, and full marathons.

All that hard work is paving the way for Devon to attend Cornell University, while Dylan is headed to Yale University.

When asked what the secret to their success was, Dylan told WABC, “Our parents always [valued] education and always pushed us to try our best. So even if we were to fail, all they ask of us is to try our best.”

They make it sound so easy.

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Around the

Community The Shaar’s Winter Experience Season a Smashing Success

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he Shaar’s annual winter trips season was a smashing success, b’ezras Hashem! Hundreds of secular students and young working professionals from across the U.S. – as well as international groups from the UK, Australia, South Africa – joined together with the 60 full-time Shaar chevra in Far Rockaway/Lawrence for periods of varying lengths – from Shabbos visits, to week-long visits, to visits lasting the

entire months of December and January – to experience Yeshiva and to taste the sweetness of Torah and Yiddishkeit, many for the first time.

These trips and weekend Shabbatons are the Shaar’s strongest recruitment tools, with high rates of students and young professionals historically returning to the Shaar for additional visits throughout the year and beyond. Many will ultimately come join the Shaar full-

time, either in the full-day Shaar Yeshiva program based in Sh’or Yoshuv, or the Shaar’s working/learning program, with daily 3-hour evening learning sedarim, weekly Shabbatons, and the guys living in the Shaar’s 13 houses in the Far Rockaway/Lawrence community.

Many of the exciting highlights over the past few weeks included fiery Torah learning and community shteig programs, a mega ski trip to Vermont, thrill-

ing NYC excursions, awesome Shabbatons, a very special Shabbos with HaRav Elya Brudny, shlita, and much, much more!

For more information about the Shaar, or to host a Shabbos meal for some thirsty neshamos, email sreich@theshaar.com or go to www.The-Shaar. com.

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CQ students in Grades 1-8 participated in a beautiful day of chesed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 15. In partnership with “All About Kindness,” students brought in various items from home to pack for local children in need and chayalim in Israel.

Students packed goody bags, havdalah sets, gloves and hats, and sefarim, and wrote heartfelt letters to accompany all the packages. Grade 7 girls participated in another act of chesed on the previous Friday when they worked with Boots for Israel, an amazing local initiative orga-

nized by the Young Israel of Holliswood.

Thanks to everyone who helped organize these incredible endeavors. Special thank you to the students and parents who brought in a tremendous amount of items and all the volunteers from All About Kindness and Boots for Israel, Mr. and Mrs. Moshe and Keren Birnbaum, Mr. Yakir Wachstock, Mrs. Shirly Pourad-Kaikov, and Mr. and Mrs. Shlomo and Ayelet Katz for inspiring the students and handling the logistics of these worthy chesed initiatives.

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

YCQ Day of Chesed: Packing Items for Local Children in Need and Chayalim

Around the Community

Local Holocaust Survivor Honored by Germany

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Talmidos B’rios month continues in the Ganger Early Childhood Center at TAG. Last week, the girls learned about healthy sleep habits. The girls who completed their sleep chart for the week received a special prize!

JCCRP Hosts Successful MLK Day Event

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n January 15, 55 volunteers gathered at the JCCRP pantry to pack winter care packages for local Holocaust survivors. JCCRP supplied music and pastries to welcome the community members to a wonderful volunteer event. The volunteers greatly appreciated the opportunity to give back to the Far Rockaway community in a meaningful way on their day off from work.

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the diverse group came together to bridge the communities with empathy and kindness. JCCRP greatly appreciated the time and effort donated by the vol-

unteers to make JCCRP and UJA’s MLK Day Event a huge success.

On January 16, the 200 boxes were delivered directly to the Holocaust survivors in Far Rockaway, despite the snow!

The Holocaust survivors appreciated the food boxes and profusely thanked the dedicated MLK Day volunteers for their hard work. Huge thanks to UJA-Federation of NY and all 55 of our wonderful volunteers that made this event such a success!

If you are interested in volunteering at our next Holocaust survivor event, please email volunteer@jccrp.org.

M

arion Blumenthal Lazan was honored this past Sunday, January 21, with the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany. Marion is a Holocaust survivor and a resident of Five Towns. This award is the highest honor given to a German citizen. General Consul David Gill and his wife Sheila Shrivastava hosted the event at the General Council’s residence in Manhattan.

The Order of Merit, bestowed upon Marion Blumenthal Lazan, not only recognizes her personal resilience but also signifies Germany’s commitment to combating historical ignorance and fostering a world where the lessons of the Holocaust are heeded, especially in the midst of rising global antisemitism. The Order of Merit is only given to a German citizen or foreigner that has made the impact like Marion has worldwide.

Marion Blumenthal Lazan, at the age of 89, remains undeterred in her mission to combat misinformation and educate people about the Holocaust. The global rise in antisemitism and the unsettling survey results serve as a stark reminder of the critical importance of her tireless efforts. In the face of these challenges, Mrs. Lazan maintains a rigorous speaking schedule, driven by an unwavering commitment to fostering understanding and tolerance. Her indomitable spirit continues to inspire, reminding us that even in the face of adversity, the power of education and remembrance can prevail.

As the world witnesses a disturbing

resurgence of virulent antisemitism in recent months, this prestigious award takes on added significance. Recent surveys highlight the alarming prevalence of ignorance about the Holocaust and skepticism about its occurrence. Despite overwhelming evidence of the horrific genocide perpetrated by the Nazis, with six million Jews killed, there is a disconcerting level of disbelief.

Marion was joined by her husband Nathaniel Lazan, and their children, Dr. David and Lisa Lazan, Robert and Susan Weinberg, and Michael Lazan. Their grandchildren, Arielle and Moshe Spern, Josh and Allysa Weinberg, and Jordan, Hunter, Ian, and Kasey Lazan, were also present at the event. Additionally, three of their 12 great-grandchildren, Leah Tova, Rachel Tehilla, and Ahuva Bracha Spern, were in attendance.

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Around the Community

Tu B’Shvat Celebration at Gesher

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n Tuesday, January 16, Yeshivath Gesher held their annual Tu B’Shvat celebration, honoring the mothers and grandmothers of the Gesher family. To commemorate this special event, grandmothers and mothers joined their children for an exquisite Tu B’Shvat art display, where each class created beautiful masterpieces using different modalities of art. Families then had opportunities to engage in interactive projects together, all centered around fruit, flowers, and the Shivas Haminim.

Some of the stations included: Bead making, photo booth/picture frames, a raffle, and opportunities for children to make their own edible flowerpots.

In preparation for this event, each family had an opportunity to fill out an

nachas together!

We want to thank our Event Sponsors The Wurtzels and Dancykiers, as well as the raffle sponsors: Traditions, Fruit

Platters and More, Blue Door Books, TipToe, Dish it Out, David’s Pizza and Batya Weisner.

their community and for the entire klal Yisroel.

Last month, Ezra students were responsible for sending ten boxes of air mattresses to the soldiers in Israel. Mattresses that were received and used by the soldiers in Gaza. If the story were to end there, it would be one of hundreds of a Yeshiva doing its part in a time of need.

However, Ezra students and rebbeim weren’t satisfied. They were so moved by the videos of soldiers thanking them that they decided to find and send 160 more air mattresses to Israel. They gathered around the boxes – a mundane object be-

ing elevated for a holy cause – and began to sing with their rabbi. They sang as they waited for their Uber driver to show up to deliver the boxes to their drop-off point.

The Ezra students, like other high school students, did their small part.

Only later did they find out Preya, the Uber driver, was so moved by their act of kindness that she decided to donate a bag of sweaters and clothing for the children in Israel and asked how she could help further. Preya became so sympathetic to the cause and plight of the Jewish people that she decided to join the IDF Chessed Center Volunteer Group. There are no

small gestures, no small acts of kindness, which is why the impression left on a high school student is so important.

Ezra Academy engrains in its students a love for education, a desire to grow as a person, and a passion for being a leader.

This is the same reason why Ezra alumna Avi Shakarov, a U.S. wholesale footwear vendor, found himself in the middle of a grassroots initiative called “Boots for Israel” that has provided over 10,000 military grade boots to soldiers in Israel after he donated and shipped 80 pairs of boots on his own. Seeing the need and demand, the initiative expanded and grew.

Israel b”H does not need blood because their own citizens rushed to donate when the war started. We still wanted to have a blood drive, because every donation can save up to three lives, and we also wanted to help Israel in some way. We decided to make a financial contribution to Magen

David Adom for every blood donation received, and we found a very generous sponsor to make this contribution. So with one blood donation, you can save lives here and in Israel!

TAG, Maimonides, and the JCCRP are sponsoring this event on February 4

in TAG, 444 Beach 6 Street in Far Rockaway, NY. For more information, call the Blood Donor Center at 718-283-7657.

No appointment necessary! Please remember to eat and drink prior to donation. Please remember to bring your photo ID. Refreshments will be served.

individualized family tree, including family photographs. The family trees were on magnificent display alongside the art show, perfectly tying together the underlying theme of trees, family roots and Tu B’Shvat. The roots and legacies of our parents are the bedrock of our Gesher family, which B’ezras Hashem, with care and cultivation, will be future seeds for the growth of our children.

“Ilan, Ilan Ba’ma Avarechecha…”

Our bracha to our Gesher families is that as your children continue to blossom and develop, they will grow upward and outward from their family roots and continue to carry the lasting legacies of their parents and grandparents. It is truly special when teachers, parents and grandparents are able to share in this family

Chessed at Ezra Academy

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estled away on Queens Boulevard and Union Turnpike is a school that has a core belief that guides almost every principle they espouse. Ezra Academy believes that every blossoming Jewish teenager has a love inside of them – whether that’s for Israel, academics, chessed, or business. Ezra Academy’s goal and promise to every student is that they will help those teenagers find and nurture that love. Ezra’s commitment to their students and expectations of their students goes far beyond the classroom, imploring and guiding their students to become leaders within

TAG Blood Drive

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AG will be hosting a blood drive on February 4 from 10am-4pm.

The event started because so many people were asking if there was a way to donate blood to Israel. International blood donation is extremely difficult and complicated, and, as it turns out,

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Around the Community

Kav Halacha Network Conference

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n Motzei Shabbos, in Yerushalyim, the rabbonim and poskim gathered for an important meeting and networking. Forty rabbonim from English speaking communities all over Erertz Yisroel gathered in person to discuss eitzos for the issues of the day and hear from veteran leaders. The speeches were also video recorded for the network of rabbonim in the USA and UK to join virtually in the conference.

Organized by Kav Halacha, which operates a 25-hour line for shailos for the community worldwide and has become an active network for resources and information for rabbonim worldwide the event addressed sensitive issues and dealing with shailos and hadracha on important topics for Klal Yisroel’s leaders.

Rav Dovid Potash from England/

Yerushalyim gave divrei chizuk and shared some haaros from his viewpoint as a shul rav and posek fielding questions from his kehillah and those of his talmidim all over.

Rav Asher Weiss then addressed the assemblage on answering questions during crisis and the achrayus behind every psak. He also addressed some medical halacha issues and other shailos.

Rav Yitzchok Berkowitz shared his insight into understanding the various factors and issues that may involve in psak or guidance from a rav, sharing some personal anecdotes from Rav Elyahsiv and Rav Shlomo Zalman.

One of the organization’s coordinators, Rav Eli Biegeleisen, spoke about the recent expansion of the Kav Halacha, which now has some 45 rabbonim from

America, 30 from Eretz Yisroel and many others from around the world and fields questions from virtually every community. He gave an overview of the many specialized extensions for unique shailos available such as Fertility halacha, Ribbis, End of Life, Medical, Stam and a host of resources and connections that Kav Halacha provides for the rabbonim.

The distinguished gathering then heard from Rav Zev Cohen from Chicago as he shared tips and ideas from his decades in rabbunus.

The rabbonim who were able to attend in person and those who attended virtually from Lakewood, New York, Los Angeles and London were visibly excited at the opportunity to network, share and learn from their distinguished colleagues.

Rav Shimon Sofer, coordinator of Kav

Halacha, is actively working, together with the rabbonim in the network on the many requests for meetings on different important areas for rabbonim in the different communities.

Shas for Shidduchim Lights a Heartwarming Eis Ratzon in the Cold of Chicago

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he people in the frigid cold of Chicago, their hearts are on fire with the love of Torah and chesed… A siyum on Shas, on shishei sidrei Mishna… what an incredible eis ratzon it is!”

These are the words renowned author and rav of Chofetz Chaim Torah Center of Cedarhurst, Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Zev Ginzberg, shared with the 400+ lomdim of ChesedChicago’s 7th annual Shas for Shidduchim initiative this past Monday.

In the face of a massive winter storm, these lomdim gathered to learn all of Shas in just 24 hours as a powerful z’chus for Klal Yisroel’s singles. They were also joined by close to 200 children participating in Shas for Shidduchim Jr., learning all of Shisha Sidrei Mishna to contribute even more to the tremendous limud haTorah.

This massive undertaking culminated in a grand siyum haShas, featuring Rabbi Shmuel Schmelczer as the MC, Bruce Leon leading the Hadran Mishnayos, and Moshe Stesel leading the Hadran Shas, l’zecher nishmas his mother, Elka bas Nachum, A”H. Pure joy filled the atmosphere of Chicago’s magnificent Ateres Ayala Simcha Hall, as lomdim and their families danced to energetic and vibrant music from Gershon Friedman and the Mesamechei Leiv Orchestra, featuring singers Shimmy Atlas and Avery Amster.

The contributions made to Shas for Shidduchim support ChesedChicago’s year-round shidduch and newlywed-related services, helping countless single Yidden meet and start their new lives together. These combined acts of tzedakah and limud haTorah allowed for a truly

powerful segulah.

“A siyum haShas allows us to face any challenge that we need to face,” Rabbi Ginzberg closed, “And to do so for other people, to understand what it means for other people, that brings geulah. That brings redemption to Klal Yisroel.”

ChesedChicago (formerly Chicago

Chesed Fund), founded by Dayan Shmuel Fuerst, is committed to helping families in crisis throughout the Chicagoland area. Its 80+ programs provide critical assistance in the form of goods, services, and financial support in an environment that maintains the dignity and integrity of each recipient.

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t was another amazing day at JSL by FM Home Loans this past Sunday.

There were some incredible finishes, tremendous individual performances, and great sportsmanship, and many games came down to the wire. The JSL will be off next week (1/28) and will resume Sunday, February 4.

JSL Juniors K/P Hockey: Matis Teitlebaum had 4 goals and Avi Langer had a HAT TRICK as John’s Automotive defeated Future Care Consultants. Baruch Schreier played insane defense for PIP Printing, helping them defeat Town Appliance 7 to 4.

K/P Soccer: In a close and low scoring defensive battle, Island Roofing defeated Simcha Day Camp 2-0 behind a stellar performance from Yehoshua Malek.

Football: Aryeh Orzel scored 3 touchdowns and had the game sealing INT to help PIP Printing defeat Bright Futures in a very close matchup 8 to 7.

Home & Stone and PinIt Realty tied in an exciting matchup.

Hockey 1st: 5TownsCentral never trailed vs

Bright Futures in a very well-played game by both teams. Game MVP Dovid Levitin led the team with his all-around stellar play, helping 5TownsCentral take sole possession of 1st place in the division going into the break.

2nd/3rd: SDF Architect started the game with a goal from Avi Krigsman which was quickly answered by a goal for Avi Walden for Built By Nate. Meir Greenspan then scored 2 consecutive goals for Built By Nate to help lead them to a 3-1 victory. Arielle Rosenblatt Interiors played an all-around great game with goals scored by Charlie Rosenblatt, Mordechai Kirschner, and Zev Safier in their 7-4 victory. Yossi Efroyomson was a wall in net, Dovid Schwadel recorded a DOUBLE HAT TRICK, and Ari Salomon added 2 of his own as Gourmet Glatt cruised to victory against AdVenture Media.

4th/5th: Miller Realty and Posh Home + Bath went back and forth all game until Posh took the lead late in the 3rd and was able to withstand Miller’s powerful offense in the 5-4 win. The late afternoon matchup between JNT and Extreme Vent

Cleaning saw 4 lead changes with some great offensive passing and shooting. JNT would go on to win this great, competitive battle 7 to 6.

6th/8th: Dovid Kirschner and Dov Solomon both scored a pair of goals and Netanel Kirschner played incredible in net as JNT defeated a tough BayRock Insurance team 4-2. Dovi Holzberg locked it up in net and Yaakov Levine’s goal and assist to Benjy Statfeld were enough to give 925 Sterling the 2 to 1 win against Wieder Orthodontics.

Basketball 3rd/4th: Eli Oratz of Newman Dental was dominant all game, scoring 26 points and bringing down 15 rebounds to help his team defeat Maidenbaum 29 to 14.

Dovid Goldman of Maidenbaum made the highlight reel with an ankle breaker crossover leading to the and-one finish.

Shai Wells of Home & Stone was unstoppable, locking down Miller Realty’s top scorers and grabbing big rebounds, leading his team to a 21 to 12 win.

5th-7th: Meir Schebovitz had an incredible game Sunday and displayed

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

JSL Winter: Week 3 Recap

exemplary sportsmanship to help lead 5 Towns Podiatry to the 22-16 win vs. Island Roofing.

Game of the Week: I Am Your Chef and King Davids Contractors matched up in 3rd/4th grade basketball for this week’s Game of the Week with a WILD finish. Both teams played a tough, defensive game, with each team only finding the bottom of the net 9 times as regulation time approached 0:00. Menachem Lifshitz of I Am Your Chef calmly dribbled the ball down the court, found a tight opening between two defenders, and scored a heavily contested lay-up to give I Am Your Chef the exciting victory.

At the Reception for Munkacs in Lawrence

Munkacser Rosh Kolel Harav Yosef Horowitz

Guest speaker Rabbi Elysha Sandler

Reception host Mr. Yussie Ostreicher addressing the assembled

The Munkacser Rebbe, shlita, delivering divrei Torah

Greeting members of the community

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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Nassau County Goes To Queens

By Moshe Hill

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n the heart of Whitestone in Queens, amidst the biting cold, the American Legion Hall overflowed with energy as hundreds of people, bundled up against the 22-degree weather, gathered for a campaign rally supporting Mazi Pilip. The standing-room-only crowd reflected a diverse mix, not all initially Mazi supporters, but open-minded individuals willing to reconsider their positions. By the end of the night, the room echoed with cheers for Mazi, symbolizing a powerful shift in sentiment.

The evening began with the entrance of NYC Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a figure who commanded the stage and respect from the audience. Her massive standing ovation, lasting a remarkable two minutes, spoke volumes about the fervor of her supporters. Paladino, having triumphed over her opponent in reelection by more than 20 points, set the tone for the night with a resounding message: “We never underestimate our own power, and the group we grew here in northwest Queens is powerful.”

The rally was marked by a chorus of voices echoing sentiments against the radical left and a call to action to preserve a crucial seat in Congress. Speakers like Tony Nunziato, Queens County GOP chairman, emphasized the need to carry Queens for Mazi, transcending party lines in favor of a battle between sanity and insanity.

State GOP Chairman Ed Cox highlighted a major shift in electoral strategy, focusing on the importance of early voting and rallying Republicans to pledge

Mazi Pilip, former Congressman Peter King, and NYC Councilwoman Vickie Paladino

their support. Cox, in his passionate address, underscored Mazi’s commitment to freedom, opportunity, fiscally responsible government, and secure borders.

The common refrain: the urgency to maintain the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Amidst the sea of elected officials, Joe Cairo’s humor reflected the night’s infectious spirit as he jokingly considered moving to Queens after the rally. The camaraderie among Republicans was evident, with Vickie Paladino expressing awe at the unprecedented gathering of elected Republicans in New York. She declared, “Is the Republican Party in New York dead? NO!” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman characterized Mazi as a fighter and emphasized the mission to save America from what he termed as an attempt by “The Squad” to destroy the values taught by parents. The message was clear – a united front against foreign invasion, support for law enforcement, and a call for collaboration across Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens for the 2024 elec-

tions.

Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jen DeSenna’s triumphant declaration challenged the perception of unwavering Democrat enrollment, asserting that victory was not only possible but already achieved. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joe Saladino underscored the only way to protect America was to vote Republican, and veteran Congressman Peter King praised Mazi as the embodiment of the American Dream, emphasizing the importance of unity across Queens and Nassau.

As the rally reached its crescendo, Mazi Pilip took the stage to a standing ovation. Her powerful words resonated

with the crowd, expressing gratitude for America’s role in rescuing her from the Ethiopian civil war. Mazi addressed concerns about illegal immigration, stressing the need for correctness and respect while fiercely opposing what she deemed the destructive policies of the current administration.

The campaign rally for Mazi Pilip was not merely a political event; it was a testament to the unyielding spirit of individuals coming together for a common cause. The diverse voices, passionate speeches, and the unity forged that night sent a resounding message: change is possible, and it starts with a collective commitment to a better future.

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JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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Jewish Youth Basketball League Wraps Up a Thrilling Season

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he Jewish Youth Basketball League, a dynamic initiative in a joint partnership between Esquared, CHAZAQ, Beth Gavriel and ABA, has successfully concluded another exciting season. The league, which commenced in October, provided a platform for youngsters from elementary school through high school to not only enhance their basketball skills but also build confidence, foster teamwork, and, most importantly, have a great time.

Under the guidance of Rabbi Prager, the league prioritized creating a positive and inclusive environment where participants could not only develop their basketball prowess but also imbibe essential life skills. The season was marked by spirited competition, camaraderie, and a shared commitment to both athletic and

personal growth.

The young athletes gathered regularly to hone their basketball abilities. The league’s emphasis on skill development, confidence building, and teamwork aligned seamlessly with Chazaq’s mission of empowering youth and fostering a sense of community.

Chazaq remains committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to the holistic development of youth in the community. The success of the Jewish Youth Basketball League underscores the positive outcomes that can be achieved through a combination of sports, mentorship, and community engagement.

As the season concluded, participants were not only treated to improved basketball skills but also valuable lessons in teamwork, discipline, and resilience. The

positive impact of the league was evident in the smiles and camaraderie shared by the young athletes.

For information on upcoming basketball programming, please contact Rabbi Prager at rabbifitness@gmail.com.

Israeli Teen Cyclists Injured on October 7 Kickoff Bike4Chai Launch Event

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s Israel’s war reached its 100th day, Bike4Chai, the annual cycling event on behalf of Chai Lifeline held a launch party for its 2024 ride honoring two Israeli 15-year-old cyclists injured on the morning of October 7th. Itai Cohen and Zohar Shachar were training on a quiet stretch of roadway near their hometown while Zohar’s father Avi accompanied them in an escort car when the group was ambushed and shot at. While desperately trying to escape and completely unaware of the large-scale attack which surrounded them, the three were injured and spent between a month and two months in the hospital recovering.

The New York launch event saw over 570 people already registered for the 2024 ride which will take place on August 21 and 22 in upstate New York and end at the “World’s Greatest Finish Line” at Camp Simcha. Bike4Chai participants were given yellow ribbons to tie on their handlebars and were encouraged to join

the #RideToBringThemHomeNow initiative, joining thousands of other cyclists in cities around the world to bring attention to the hostage crisis in Gaza.

Itai’s father Erez addressed the gathering describing how close the group came to death on that horrific first day of the war, while other close friends were murdered or taken hostage. “Despite the intense tragedy of that day, perhaps the one thing that gives us comfort is seeing the outpouring of love and unity from Jews around the world and we have never felt greater unity than we feel right now.

Bike4Chai is a symbol of how people care for one another, and it’s an incredible honor for our sons to be associated with a ride that is all about their beloved sport and caring for others.”

Avi Shachar told the audience that he and the two boys were the only survivors who made it out of a two-kilometer stretch of highway that would fall into control of Hamas on that terrible morning. “We only managed to escape because

Did you know?

The deepest place on Earth is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It’s 36,201 feet deep. That’s almost seven miles!

Zohar quickly realized that we were being shot at by terrorists and with G-d’s help we made a U-turn and headed in the opposite direction. We were incredibly blessed to come across some people who would give us initial first aid and get us to the hospital to safety.”

Avi says that on that fateful morning, they were training for a 180 km charity ride that goes from Tel Aviv to Sde Boker in the Negev Desert and that participating in Bike4Chai will give them a sense of closure that they have all been looking for over many weeks of hospitalization and continued rehabilitation.

Sruli Fried, Executive Director of Bike4Chai, said, “This ride has been a staple on the charitable fundraising racing circuit for many years. While so much about our world has changed over the past few months, we know that one constant that has remained the same is the fact that for kids and families with serious illness their needs remain the same.

This ride will again give us the chance to raise critical funds on their behalf while also serving as a tribute to the spirits of survival and heroism which we see in Israel today.”

Bike4Chai supports Chai Lifeline’s year-round programs and services, including professional case management and counseling, meal delivery to hospitals and homes, transportation to med-

ical appointments, emergency financial assistance, crisis intervention and trauma response, insurance advocacy, i-Shine afterschool programming for children living with illness or loss in their families, Camp Simcha summer programming, and more.

Rabbi Simcha Scholar, CEO of Chai Lifeline, added, “This year, we all feel that there’s something even bigger that our participants are riding for and that’s the spirit of unity. Itai and Zohar are symbols of that sense of resilience that is such a big part of our world today and we know that their survival and commitment will help others get involved in our cause on behalf of the countless kids and families that count on Chai Lifeline.”

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JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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The Power of Shabbos Can Save Us Gedolei Yisrael Urge Learning of Masechta Shabbos and Hilchos Shabbos in Dirshu’s Amud HaYomi and Halacha Programs

By Chaim Gold

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he Gemara teaches that if Klal Yisrael would keep two Shabbosos, the geulah would come immediately. Perhaps we can say that this refers to the learning of both Masechta Shabbos and hilchos Shabbos,” said HaGaon HaRav Dovid Cohen, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Chevron, to a delegation of senior members of hanhalas Dirshu led by Dirshu’s Nasi, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, who recently met with him in his home in Yerushalayim.

It was Rav Dovid Cohen who, even before the Amud HaYomi’s inception, ardently hailed the establishment of the program because he presciently saw that it would address an important need and fill a void for Klal Yisrael.

“Even I Was Surprised” Rav Cohen has been a major advocate of the program since its inception and has enthusiastically hailed Dirshu’s Iyun Ha’Amud booklets that infuse the Amud HaYomi with a unique geshmak in learning by endowing the Amud HaYomi learner with many of the foundational aspects of each sugya’s lomdus in a user-friendly way.

He explained that the limud established by Rav Meir Shapiro for Klal Yisrael is extremely necessary because by nature, every person needs a mechayev and a framework that obligates him and enables him to learn with a plan, in an

Rav Dovid Hofstedter discussing the Amud HaYomi Program with HaRav Reuven Elbaz

orderly manner. Otherwise, one’s daily obligations get in the way and rob him of learning time. In Rav Meir Shapiro’s generation, people had more time for learning. They would spend hours every day in the shteibel and the Daf HaYomi was therefore an ideal limud. Today, people are much busier with the overwhelming obligations of everyday life and need a limud with more geshmak to engage them. Even bnei Torah need a certain geshmak to enable them to sustain their goals in bekiyus. The Amud HaYomi program, which gives a person more time to cultivate a real geshmak in learning, addresses all these needs. “That is why I encourage it,” Rav Cohen explained.

He added, “That being said, even I was surprised by the way it has conquered the hearts and minds of Klal Yisrael in such

HaRav Dovid Cohen discussing the Dirshu Amud HaYomi Program with Hanhalas Dirshu

a short time! I can tell you,” he told Rav Hofstedter, “this is just the beginning.

You will see in the future how many more people will upgrade their limud haTorah by joining the program and how it will lit-

erally take over Klal Yisrael.”

Masechta Shabbos Plus Hilchos Shabbos The Dirshu delegation also met with HaGaon HaRav Reuven Elbaz, shlita,

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“Moiredig!”

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Ezrachi, Rosh Yeshiva at the Mirrer Yeshiva and one of the elder Roshei Yeshiva of the generation, was simply amazed as he perused the Iyun Ha’Amud booklet, exclaiming, “Moiredig! Moiredig!”

He then expressed his fervent hope that the pace and schedule of the Amud HaYomi would give the learners a true geshmak in iyun, while enabling them to cover ground and complete masechtos on schedule. Indeed, Rav Yitzchok himself is scheduled to travel to Argentina where hundreds of lomdim have joined the Amud HaYomi program, to participate in the Amud HaYomi siyum on Masechta Brachos there.

“We Are Living in Yemos HaMashiach!”

One of the most gratifying aspects

of the Amud HaYomi is the way it has brought entire kehillos together, on the same page, literally! One such kehillah is Khal Adas Yerushalayim commonly known as Kehillas Hamasmidim led by Rav Elimelech Mintzberg. The kehillah has thriving branches in Yerushalayim, Bet Shemesh, Modiin Illit, Beitar and other places. The kehillah decided to adopt the Amud HaYomi as their official limud and soon, tens of shiurim will be established in each of their centers. Both kollel yungeleit and baalei battim are learning the Amud HaYomi. The kollel yungeleit have added it to their regular kollel schedule and the baalei battim had adopted it as their main limud.

At an event held together with senior members of Kehillas Hamasmidim and its Amud HaYomi Maggidei shiur, Rav Mintzberg spoke passionately about the limud haTorah revolution that he has witnessed in the kehillah since the Amud HaYomi began the cycle with Masechta Brachos on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan.

“I feel,” he said, “that if my father, Rav Leibel Mintzberg who led the kehillah for decades, would be here, he would say that we are living in yemos haMashiach! Wherever I go I see our baalei battim and avreichim deeply immersed in the limud, learning, chazering and taking tests in a way that we have never witnessed before. Yes, yemos haMashiach is an age when everyone has the ability to become a talmid chochom! That is what I am seeing today in our kehillah.

Everyone is so taken up with the limud.

There are no words to describe our profound gratitude to Dirshu for being the catalyst for this revolution!”

The Antidote to The Difficulties of Galus In his remarks at the Masmidim event, Rav Dovid Hofstedter noted the darkness of the galus in which we find ourselves and the difficult times facing Jews both in Eretz Yisrael and throughout the entire world.

“Hashem has given us the antidote

Did you know?

The deepest freshwater lake in the world is Lake Baikal, located in Siberia. It plunges to a whopping depth of 5,315 feet.

to combat the difficulties of galus!” he exclaimed. “He has given us special siyata d’Shmaya, He has endowed Klal Yisrael with the Amud HaYomi and the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha. Even within this terrible galus Hashem has shown us ha’aras ponim. The way Klal Yisrael has embraced this limud, the night kollelim, the different programs in various kehillos where tens of thousands have immersed themselves in this limud and are taking tests, show how Hashem has sent us this antidote! Torah protects and Shabbos protects.”

The Largest Beis Medrash in the World!

Rav Aryeh Zilberstein, one of Dirshu’s most successful maggidei shiur, has hundreds listening to his Amud HaYomi shiur in person and many thousands throughout the world listening to the recordings of his shiurim. He inherited the clear, eloquent powers of elucidation from his illustrious father, HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Zilberstein, shlita.

At a special gathering for Amud HaYomi maggidei shiur, Rav Zilberstein said, “We are part of what is certainly

the largest beis medrash in the entire world! This beis medrash encompasses many tens of thousands of people who are learning the Amud HaYomi. Yes, everyone may, in practice, be learning in his own local beis medrash, but we are all connected. The Gemara teaches that the more people who learn together, the greater hashraas haShechina there is.

I think,” Rav Zilberstein proclaimed, “this amazing new Amud HaYomi program brings the Shechina and so much bracha because, by its very nature, it pushes the lomed to keep on learning.

It is relentless, yet doable. The monthly tests that create a tremendous feeling of obligation to not only learn the amud well, but to review it repeatedly until it is so clear in one’s mind that one can take a test on it.”

Indeed, the siyum on Masechta Brachos and the beginning of Masechta Shabbos will coincide this year with Dirshu’s Annual Convention this coming weekend of Shabbos Parashas Tetzaveh, February 22-25, in Stamford, Connecticut, to be graced by leading Gedolei Yisrael who will impart chizuk and guidance.

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Rosh Yeshivat Ohr Hachaim and a member of the Shas Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah. Rav Elbaz focused on what he called “a golden opportunity” for lomdei Torah.

“I think,” he said, “that the fact that the Amud HaYomi is about to start Masechta Shabbos and that the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha will begin hilchos Shabbos in a few months offers a golden opportunity. One can learn Masechta Shabbos and thereby become familiar with all the concepts and sources of the halacha. Then, one can proceed to the next step to see how all those concepts and sources translate into halacha l’maaseh! It is amazing how Dirshu has ‘set the table’ for the lomdim by producing such wonderful sefarim. Their Iyun Ha’Amud booklets enables lomdim to easily access and understand the underpinnings of the sugya and the Dirshu Mishnah Berurah which helps every lomed truly understand the practical halacha as it relates to our times, gives us no excuse not to learn!”

Rav Elbaz added that he himself uses the Dirshu Mishnah Berurah daily and experiences remarkable to’eles, benefit from it.

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Short. Practical. And Very, Very Wise.

Chinuch with Simchah by Rabbi Yaakov Bender

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others and fathers. Morahs and rabbeim and even principals and menahalim. Especially in these challenging times, they have so many questions on chinuch. So many questions ... and one address for all those looking for sensible and practical answers, firmly rooted in our Torah wisdom: Rabbi Yaakov Bender, rosh yeshivah of Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway.

Rabbi Bender is a nationally acclaimed rosh yeshivah who has made Darchei Torah one of the country’s premier schools and who travels the world speaking about chinuch issues. Chinuch With Simchah, the fourth in this muchhailed series, once again lets parents ben-

efit from Rabbi Bender’s wisdom, experience and insight.

Will giving a child a “kosher” MP3 player open the door to dangerous technology or will it prevent the child from discovering more problematic devices?

At what age is it appropriate for a child to go to the funeral of a grandparent?

Eretz Yisrael is at war and my twelveyear-old daughter wants to go to an ice cream party. Should we tell her it’s inappropriate? How should I, as a parent, and my child, deal with a courtyard bully? And what if the bully is an adult?

In Chinuch with Simchah, Rabbi Bender gives us answers to these and to more than 200 other pressing questions.

He includes both specific guidelines and

also discusses the principles of chinuch and parenting that his advice is based on.

It is quite extraordinary how much is contained in these brief questions and answers. We learn when and how to discipline and when to look away, how to understand our children’s lives and worldview, and how to foster respect without creating distance. And, yes, how to raise Torah-true, stable, happy and “mentchliche” children even in the 21st century. Though the answers are brief and to the point, we can feel the warmth and love that Rabbi Bender has for every child – and his decades of experience in handling the myriad challenges of chinuch today.

Mission Possible! Touro Students Do Their Part in Israel Over Winter Break

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inter break for college students is often a time to soak up some sun in tropical climates or hit the slopes out West. This year, many chose instead to do their part to help ease the pain of the many people in Israel suffering since the brutal October 7 attack. A group of students from Touro University’s Lander College for Women headed off to Israel in early January on a mission they called “Leeby Bamizrach.”

Organized by psychologist Dr. Ditza Berger, a member of the Touro Guidance and Wellness Team, the mission’s goal was to help students better understand and empathize with the suffering of Jews in Israel, and translate that empathy into action, by contributing in whatever small ways were possible.

“The Lander College for Women mission to Israel expresses our school’s core values – support for Israel and its people and the connection between Israel and the Diaspora,” said Dr. Marian Stoltz-Loike, dean of Touro’s Lander College for Women.

Students shared that they hoped to gain a stronger appreciation for all that Am Yisrael is experiencing at this time, to give back to Eretz Yisrael, and support the Jewish people both emotionally and physically.

They rolled up their sleeves as soon as their plane touched down, making the most of their 8-day trip. From farmers to evacuees and soldiers, the students reached out to so many whose lives and livelihoods have been impacted by the war. They pruned a vineyard and tomato vines, ran activities for evacuated children, and visited wounded soldiers in Hadassah Har Hatzofim Hospital.

For many of the students, the high point of the trip was the opportunity to join 50,000 people at the massive Atzeret Tefillah at the Kotel on Erev Rosh Chodesh Shevat. One student shared, “We’re the only nation where everyone – from all walks of life – knows the same songs. I cried, ‘Hashem, these are all Your people, calling out to You.’” Another student remarked, “Today,

Did you know?

Each limestone/granite block that makes up the Great Pyramid of Giza weighs 2.5 tons. And there are 2.3 million of them.

I really felt the matzav and saw how it’s impacting every member of Klal Yisrael.

Everyone was in tears.” Students were deeply moved by the overriding feeling of achdus.

Over the course of the trip, mission participants had the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with the wives and mothers of soldiers, evacuees of Sderot and Shlomit, and Israeli taxi drivers.

Additionally, Rabbi Shmuel Klammer, Dean of Touro College Israel, organized a series of lectures for the participants, about the history of the State of Israel, bitachon in difficult times and personal accounts of people who lost loved ones on October 7th.

Although they spent a little over a week in Israel, all the students on Touro’s “Leeby Bamizrach” mission left with a deeper appreciation of the realities of

life in Eretz Yisrael at this moment and a stronger connection to the Jews living there.

Before embarking on the mission, one student said, “While our brothers and sisters in Israel are fighting for their lives and having their world torn apart, sitting in America just going about my life has felt inconsequential. Though I’ve been praying for Israel, signing petitions and sending whatever money I can, the fact is there’s only so much I can do from 6,000 miles away. This opportunity to go to Israel and give of myself in a real way is a chance to do my part in showing appreciation to the IDF, support for the displaced families, and helping the community in any way possible.”

As another student put it, “These are our people. This is what we do. I am so proud to be a Jew.”

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hile many of their peers spent winter break at exotic beaches and ski resorts, 300 Jewish teens from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico attended a five-day retreat devoted to Torah study and religious growth run by NCSY, the international youth movement of the Orthodox Union (OU).

Aspire: NCSY’s Yarchei Kallah is a premier annual Torah learning experience for public school students in 9th through 12th grades. This year’s Yarchei Kallah in Stamford, Connecticut, included all the exhilarating components that NCSY weekends are renowned for — spirited singing, dancing and Shabbat onegs; captivating speakers and immersive Torah sessions; and opportunities to cultivate lifelong relationships with peers, advisors and educators.

The retreat also serves as both a regional and international reunion where participants experience the power and fun of NCSY on a larger scale and take their Jewish practice to the next level.

Participants convened at the Stamford Hilton on December 27 for five days of Torah study and workshops.

“The theme of unity was particularly significant in light of the events on October 7,” says NCSY Director of Innovation and Strategic Expansion Rabbi Jacob Bernstein. “We emphasized the idea of being part of one nation and one people.”

Featured presenters included Rabbi Ari Bensoussan, Rabbi YY Jacobson, YU President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, Congregation Tiferes Yisroel’s Rabbi Menachem Goldberger of Baltimore, United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and NCSY alumnus Yoni Goldstein, Huntington National Bank Chairman Gary Torgow, and NCSY Director of Education and 18Forty podcast host Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin.

Senior educators from NCSY, Yeshiva University, Touro University and Israeli yeshivas and seminaries led a number of compelling sessions, and senior teens learned about inspiring gap year programs at an engaging fair.

A special program called “Holy Chutzpah: The Audacity to Believe My Individual Actions Can Make a Real Difference,” encouraged teens — in light of the situation in Israel — to take on a new mitzvah in the hopes of making a difference as part of the larger nation of Am Yisrael.

Participants were grouped into chaburahs during the day and had the option of furthering their studies at a fun evening Mishmar program.

Among the most memorable events was “The Power of One Fair,” where teens chose from a variety of meaningful activities including challah baking, decorating shoes for Israeli teens, packing spices for a mobile food pantry, and challenging national table tennis athlete Estee Ackerman to a game of ping pong, after hearing her remarkable story of faith in the face of religious discrimination.

An inspiring musical and dance-filled havdalah ceremony led by NCSY International Director Rabbi Micah Greenland was followed by a soulful kumzitz led by

Tu B’Shvat in BYAM’s Junior High

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he junior high at BYAM was treated to an informative and delicious experience. Chaia and Eliyahu Frishman from Fruit Platters and More came and shared some of their inside secrets. The girls learned how to make sorbet with virtually any fruit – even without a special sorbet maker.

In addition to the informative how-to, Mrs. Frishman put a hashkafic spin on Tu B’Shvat. She helped the girls think about the message of Tu B’Shvat; that de-

spite the fact that it’s freezing outside and it looks bleak, underground, things are starting to move and prepare for the blossoms we will eventually see. Even when things seem most dark, the yeshuah is already starting to sprout.

The event ended with some yummy samples of sorbet, fruit leather, and berry smoothies, as well as a question and answer session. It was truly an experience that nourished both body and soul.

Rabbi Daniel Kalish and the Mesivta of Waterbury. The night continued with an exciting game night including arcades, virtual reality, a photo booth, and deejay.

Perhaps the most powerful event was “A Night of Solidarity and Inspiration With Our Brothers and Sisters In Israel,” featuring video reflections and songs performed live by Shulem Lemmer, and a siyum dedicated to the October 7 victims and captives. More than 500 people participated, including 100 yeshiva day school teens from New York and New

Jersey, and 50 NCSY Shevet Glaubach Fellows, who joined Yarchei Kallah participants and staff.

“All the teens were randomly grouped together, and each group studied an aliyah from Parshat Bereishit all the way until Parashat Vayechi,” says Rabbi Bernstein. “In 10 minutes, we completed the entire Sefer Bereishit and we made a siyum on behalf of everyone who never had the chance to say, ‘Chazak, Chazak, V’Nitchazek.’ It was so powerful.”

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

300 Jewish Teens Choose to Spend Winter Break Learning With NCSY

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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1. *

TJH

Centerfold

Tree Trivia 1. What is the official tree of the U.S.? a. American Chestnut b. Gray Birch c. Oak d. Hawthorn 2. Approximately how many types of trees are there in the world? a. 500 b. 2000 c. 14,000 d. 23,000 3. Which country has the most square miles of forest? a. U.S. b. Russia c. Australia d. Brazil 4. The tallest tree in the world is a Coast Redwood located in

Northern California. How tall is it? a. 379 ft b. 590 ft c. 734 ft d. 1,100 ft 5. Which of the following U.S. states has the most trees? a. Wyoming b. Oregon c. New York d. Ohio 6. The oldest known tree in the world is located somewhere in Inyo National Forest, California.

(Its exact location is undisclosed to protect it from vandalism. If I found it, I would totally love to hang a “No Mets Parking Here” poster on it.) The tree is 4,789 years old. What is the name of the tree? a. Methuselah b. Solomon c. Goliath d. Jacob’s Ladder 7. The science of calculating a tree’s age by its rings is known as: a. Chlorophyllyzation b. Dendrochronology c. Treehugolagy d. Makeitupolagy because nobodyknowsyourelyingoligy

e. Botanology f. Arboristology Answers: 1-C 2-D 3-B- Russia has approximately 3,287,243 square miles of forest.

The U.S. comes in fourth place with 872,564 square miles of forest.

4-A 5-B- According to a report published by the USDA Forest Service in 2002, Oregon has the most trees in the U.S. 6-A 7-B Wisdom key: 6-7 correct: You are a serious tree lover. Let me guess, you tied yourself to a tree to protest it being cut down to build a new hospital, right?

3-5 correct: Not bad. You see? You gained something from those nature walks that your parents forced you to take as a child.

0-2 correct: You could use a little less carbon dioxide and a little more oxygen…develop a give and take with your local tree and maybe you will do better on the next trivia.

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

The magician says, “And now for my final trick!

I will disappear!” Then he grabs a pear from under the table and says, “You’re the worst fruit ever!”



was telling my children about the health benefits of eating dried fruits recently. It’s really all about raisin awareness.

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Why do oranges wear sun cream? Because their skin peels!

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Last night, I dreamt I was swimming in an ocean of orange lemonade. It was a Fanta-sea!

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My favorite fruit is the pear.

Because if you have two and you eat one, you still have a pear left.



What’s the similarity between an apple and an orange, beside that both are fruits? Both are not a banana.

What did the daddy tomato say when his child was falling behind on their walk?

“Ketchup!”

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. An orange a day keeps the plumber away. Basically, if you throw fruit at people they go away.



My friend told me, “Did you know trees drop edible stuff that’s not fruit?” I said, “That’s nuts!”

You Gotta be Kidding Me! A tomato walks up to a bunch of fruits in a line. He says, “Hey, guys, I’m a fruit.

Can I hang out with you?”



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What did one watermelon say to the other watermelon? You’re one in a melon!

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What vegetable is pretty cool? Rad-ish.

Riddle me This What is both a fruit and a time?

An orange turns to him and replies, Answer: A date.

“No, this is the punch line.”

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

So Fruity!

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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Torah Thought

Parshas Beshalach

By Rabbi Berel Wein

T

he centerpiece of this week’s parsha is naturally the great song of Moshe and of the Jewish people after their moment of deliverance from Pharaoh and the flooding sea. This song of Moshe and of Israel is repeated daily throughout the centuries of Jewish life in our morning prayer service.

The exultation of the moment is still retained and felt many generations later in the unmatched prose and poetry written in the Torah. What makes this song unique is that there is no reference to hu-

man bravery, to the courage of the Jewish people in plunging into the sea or to the leadership of Moshe and Aharon in shepherding the Jewish people through this crisis. Rather, the entire poem/song is a paean of praise and appreciation dedicated to the G-d of Israel.

G-d operates, so to speak, through human beings and world events. Many times, His presence is hidden from our sight. Sometimes it is even willfully ignored. In later victories and triumphs of the Jewish people and of Israel, it is the

human element that helps fashion those victories and triumphs that is acknowledged and celebrated.

But here in the song of Moses and Israel we have an acknowledgement of G-d’s great hand without ascribing any credit to human beings and natural and social forces. I think that this is perhaps the one facet that makes this song so unique.

Compare it to the song of Deborah, which

of the credit for these enormous and miraculous achievements to himself or his actions and leadership.

The greatest of leaders and the most gifted of prophets attains that championship of leadership and prophecy by downplaying his role. Moshe is well aware of his greatness and his unique relationship with the G-d of Israel. He is not naïve enough to think of himself as

We have an acknowledgement of G-d’s great hand without ascribing any credit to human beings and natural and social forces.

forms the haftorah to this week’s parsha.

In that song, the prophetess assigns a great deal of credit to the armed forces of Israel, to Barack its general, and even to Deborah herself, a fact that does not escape the notice of the rabbis of the Talmud. No such self-aggrandizement appears in the song of Moses and Israel at Yam Suf. This is completely in line with the character of Moshe who is described in the Torah as being the most humble and self-effacing of all human beings. There is no question that without Moshe there would not have been an exodus from Egypt nor salvation of Israel on the shores of the Yam Suf. But it would be completely out of character for Moshe to assign any

a plain ordinary human being. To do so would really be a form of ersatz humility.

But he is wise enough to realize that this exalted status that he has attained is little more than a gift that G-d has bestowed upon him.

From the beginning of his leadership career, when he attempted to refuse becoming the leader of Israel till his last days on earth, he retains this innate humility, which allows him to be the strongest of leaders and most courageous of prophets. There is a lesson in this for all later generations and for all of us that aspire to positions of leadership and importance. That is why this song of Moshe and Israel is repeated daily in Jewish life.

Shabbat shalom.

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From the Fire Parshas Beshalach

The Song of Miriam

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

ART BY J BITTON

Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

O

n this Shabbos of the Song at the Sea and the Song of Devorah, let us understand more deeply how women and mothers are the source of our ability to succeed in this world.

The men sang, “I will sing to Hashem for He is very exalted…” (Shemos 15:1).

And regarding the women’s song, the pasuk says, “And Miriam called out to them, ‘Sing to Hashem for He is very exalted…’” (ibid 21). Why was it Miriam who led the women’s song?

We see that many years earlier, when she was just a child of six years old, Pharaoh decreed, “Throw every newborn son into the river” (Shemos 1:22). According to Chazal (Sota 12a; Shemos Raba 1:19), Miriam’s father Amram, the greatest sage of the generation, gave up all hope and separated from his wife, and all the other men followed suit, lest they give birth to children who would immediately be murdered. It was only little Miriam who stood up and started a movement against the despair which had overtaken the entire generation: “Father! Your decree is worse than Pharaoh’s!” He brought her argument be-

fore the beis din, and he and they agreed with Miriam. Only Miriam’s courage was able to overcome the despondency that had infected the leaders of the generation.

We see something similar in this week’s haftarah in which the general Barak and the rest of the men were overcome with fear of the Kena’ani army and their general Sisra. When the pasuk says, “The caravans ceased, the travelers walked on crooked paths” (Shoftim 5:6), Rashi explains that this was because “the Jewish people were afraid to travel because of the enemy.” Normal life stopped because the people were paralyzed with fear.

And even when Devorah communicated the prophetic message that Hashem would deliver Kena’an into their hands, Barak was still afraid. He told her, “If you will go with me, then I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go” (ibid. 4:8). She agreed and thereby led the entire army to victory.

But this decisive defeat of the enemy’s will to fight came through another woman, Yael, who personally assassinated Sisra in his own tent! (ibid. 21). Devorah herself acknowledged the fact that Jewish women

brought about the victory in the song she sang celebrating Hashem’s deliverance. She relates how life stopped for the Jewish people “until I, Devorah, rose up, until a mother of Israel rose up” (ibid. 5:7). Chazal tell us that the Jewish people’s victory in this war arose from the feminine side. They say the same thing about our victory on Purim, when victory also came through a Jewish woman, Esther.

How were Miriam, Devorah, Yael, and Esther able to revive the hopes of the Jewish people when no one else could? We see the power of a “mother of Israel” to inspire confidence, bravery, and strength in the people. While the men carried the physical weapons, kli neshek, the Jewish mothers used something even more powerful than weapons, but which shares the same Hebrew root word: nishikos, kisses. A mother has the power to speak to her children, her husband, or the entire Jewish people and tell them, “You can do it! Hashem is with you! You will succeed!”

After the salvation at the sea in this week’s parsha, the men proudly said, “I will sing to Hashem!” But where did they get

the strength to sing? There is a backstory.

When the pasuk says, “And Miriam called out to them, ‘Sing to Hashem,’” who was she speaking to? The men? The women?

Both? The word for “them” in the pasuk is masculine, not feminine, which could indicate that Miriam was speaking only to the men, or, at the very least, to both men and women. According to one opinion in Chazal, Miriam was speaking not just to the women but to Moshe and the elders.

According to this opinion, the men received the strength to sing from Miriam, the woman who, as a child, had saved the Jewish people from despair of Pharaoh’s decree! Right after the Song at the Sea, Moshe told us, “If you will listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d, do what is straight in His eyes, hearken to His mitzvos, and observe His laws, I will not place on you the entire sickness that I placed on Egypt” (Shemos 15:26). The pasuk says “sickness,” singular, rather than sicknesses, plural.

According to the seforim hakedoshim, she saved the Jewish people from the most debilitating sickness of all – despair. As a child, and again at the sea, she told her

Why a date palm specifically? According to Chazal, the secret of the date is that “just as the date has only one heart [pit], so too the Jewish people have only one heart for their Father in Heaven” (Sukkah 45b).

And one of our Jewish mothers, Tamar, also gave life to Dovid HaMelech and Moshiach because she did not give up hope of carrying on Yehuda’s lineage, even

mother Tamar gave him and all of us the wherewithal to live beautiful lives.

My wife showed me a beautiful article that illustrates this perfectly. Several rebbetzins and educators were interviewed.

One woman, Mrs. Miryam Swerdlov, a Chabad educator in Crown Heights, wrote the following about her parents, particularly her mother:

As a child, and again at the sea, she told her brothers and sisters, “Be alive!

You can do it! Hashem is with us!”

when he gave up. Commenting on the pasuk, “The tzaddik blossoms like a Tamar, he grows like a cedar in the Lebanon” (Tehillim 92:13), Chazal say, “Just as the date palm has a beautiful appearance and all of its fruits are sweet and good, so too the son of David will be beautiful of appearance and all of his deeds will be sweet and good before Hashem” (Midrash Shochar Tov on Tehillim 92). Moshiach’s great-grand-

My parents have always been inspiration to me, as well. I was born in Russia and came to America when I was a little girl.

Life was not easy for us, but I didn’t know it. My father walked with his cane his entire life, but he was never bitter. He would say in Yiddish, “Pick up your cane in your hand and start walking.” That is how we lived.

We were taught, no matter what life gives you, you keep walking.

Although I have limited memories of my mother, since I was so young when she died, I do remember that she would sing constantly while working in the kitchen.

Sometimes, she would sing liebedig songs, and sometimes, she would sing slow songs.

I could always tell what mood she was in by what songs she sang. I learnt from her that no matter what you are going through, you must put yourself together, put on the best you have, put on your makeup, comb your sheitel, and walk out with your shoulders back and your head held high, because you can do it.

That is what Jewish women like Tamar, Miriam, Devorah, Yael, Esther, and Mrs. Swerdlov’s mother bring to us. Through their love and belief in us and Hashem’s providence, they tell us, “You can do it!”

Just like Miriam and Devorah, may the merit of Jewish women herald the time when we will “Sing to Hashem a new song” (Tehillim 98:1) with the coming of the great-grandson of our mother Tamar, Moshiach Tzidkeinu, soon in our days.

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

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brothers and sisters, “Be alive! You can do it! Hashem is with us!”

The womb is called the “source” of life in Hebrew, makor. And the numerical value of that word is equivalent to the word for ratzon, “will” or “desire.” Jewish women and mothers build us up from womb to tomb so that we have the capacity to get out of bed and do what we need to do to connect to Hashem and build the world.

The feminine side of Shabbos empowers us in a similar way. When the Shabbos Queen arrives, we sing in Lecha Dodi, “Shake yourself off! Arise from the dust! … Awaken, awaken! For your light has arrived. Arise, my light!” Devorah too sang, “Wake up, wake up! [said] Devorah. Awake!

Awake! Utter a song!” (Shoftim 5:12). On Shabbos, we are healed from that sickness of the six days of the week – heavy-heartedness, sadness, and despair, which often debilitates us even more than the swords of our enemies.

On Tu B’Shvat, when the earliest-blooming trees awaken from the inactivity of winter in Eretz Yisroel, we eat from the seven fruits for which the land of Israel is praised, including the tamar – the date.

According to the pasuk, Devorah judged the people sitting under the Tomer Devorah – the date palm of Devorah (Shoftim 4:5).

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Torah Thought

Tu B’Shvat The Seeds of the Final Redemption

By Rabbi Daniel Glatstein

ARTWoRK BY ARTBYABISH

T

he halacha is that we do not recite Tachanun on Tu B’Shvat. This is somewhat curious, since Tachanun is usually omitted only on Shabbos, Yom Tov, and Rosh Chodesh. What are we celebrating on Tu B’Shvat that causes us to omit Tachanun? It would not seem to have any joyous quality, and therefore we should be saying Tachanun, just as we do on every other weekday.

The Gemara does tell us that on Tu B’Shvat, as the majority of the annual rainfall has occurred, the sap begins rising in the trees. While this phenomenon is certainly something that we should appreciate and for which we should thank Hashem, how does the rising sap infuse the day with a quality of Yom Tov? The Magen Avraham writes that the minhag among Ashkenazim is to eat a variety of fruits on Tu B’Shvat. What is the rationale for this custom? The fruits of the new crop have not yet started growing, nor have they begun to blossom. It is only that the sap has risen internally in the tree, yet no fruits are ready to be eaten.

The Mishnah at the beginning of Maseches Rosh Hashanah, cited in earlier essays, discusses the correct date for the Rosh Hashanah for the trees. There is an obligation to give maaser (tithes), a tenth of the fruit that grows, to a member of Shevet Levi. The fruit that is given as maaser must have grown in the same year as the fruit that requires tithing. This New Year is the line of demarcation between one year’s fruits and the next.

The Mishnah states that the proper date for this Rosh Hashanah is the first day of Shevat, “k’divrei Beis Shammai, like the opinion of Beis Shammai”; however, it is the fifteenth day of the month, Tu B’Shvat, according to Beis Hillel.

The Bnei Yissaschar is troubled by the unusual wording of this Mishnah. Why does the Mishnah use this phraseology? Why deviate from the usual formula, “divrei Beis Shammai, these are the words of Beis Shammai”?

This curious choice of words seems to imply that Beis Shammai, by indicating that the proper date is the first day of Shevat, is maintaining consistency with its opinions throughout Shas. This ruling is concordant with everything Beis Shammai says elsewhere. To which ruling of Beis Shammai is the Mishnah alluding?

The Klausenberger Rebbe, in the sefer Yetziv Pis-

gam, offers a brilliant insight that opens new vistas into our understanding of the Mishnah. In doing so, he employs another teaching of his holy ancestor, the Bnei Yissaschar.

When Did Hashem Create the World?

There is a machlokes as to when the world was created: the first day of Tishrei or the first day of Nissan.

Rabbi Yehoshua holds that the world was created in Nissan, and Rabbi Eliezer is of the opinion that the creation of the world took place in Tishrei.

Throughout Shas, Rabbi Eliezer is known as a “shamusi.” The Yerushalmi explains that this title refers to the fact that Rabbi Eliezer was a talmid of the Academy of Shammai and adheres to the teachings and rulings of Shammai. Thus, when Rabbi Eliezer presents his opinion that the world was created in Tishrei, he is presumably following the opinion of his rebbi, Shammai.

When discussing the timing of Creation, both Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua are not focused on the initiation of Berias HaOlam. They are speaking about when Man, Adam, was created. The first day of Creation was five days prior — and Adam was created on the first of the month in question. Thus, Rabbi Eliezer, in accordance with the opinion of Shammai,

believes that Bereishis began on the twenty-fifth of Elul, while Rabbi Yehoshua would render that this transpired on the twenty-fifth day of Adar.

When Hashem brings something to fruition, He conceives the idea forty days prior to the event actually transpiring. For example, forty days prior to the creation of an embryo, Hashem already decides who the child will marry. As the Gemara states, “Rav Yehudah says in the name of Rav: Forty days before an embryo is formed, a Bas Kol calls out, ‘The daughter of So-and-so is destined to marry So-and-so; such and such a house is destined to be inhabited by Soand-so; such and such a field is destined to be farmed

by So-and-so.’”

The Bnei Yissaschar presents a novel idea. Just as Hashem arranges and coordinates the future of an unborn child forty days before its conception, so did Hashem initiate and prepare for the creation of the world, the beginning of His sovereignty. Hashem created the world Bereishis, because of Reishis. Rashi explains that Hashem created the world because of the Jewish people, who are called Reishis, the first.

The creation of the Jewish people rendered Hashem King, as there is no king without subjects. Thus, the creation of Man allowed for the possibility of Hashem’s sovereignty. Following the process of preparation, Hashem decided, as it were, to create the world for Klal Yisrael forty days before the actual beginning of Creation.

This decision occurred on the fifteenth day of Av, according to Rabbi Eliezer (forty days before Elul 25), and on the fifteenth day of Shevat — Tu B’Shvat — according to Rabbi Yehoshua (forty days prior to Adar 25). This is why, explains the Bnei Yissaschar, both Tu B’Av and Tu B’Shvat are considered to be Yamim Tovim.

Numerous historic events transpired on Tu B’Av, as it is a day infused with significance, being the date on which Hashem conceived of the idea to create the world b’shvil Yisrael. This is the reason it was selected as the date when people can seek out their zivug hagun, a proper marriage partner, as it is the date that Hashem conceived of creation.

Tu B’Shvat is the day on which we celebrate the Rosh Hashanah for the trees, according to Beis Hillel. This day has significance for Man as well, as the verse, “Ki ha’adam eitz ha’sadeh,” is homiletically interpreted as For man is a tree of the field (Devarim

Nissan or Tishrei?

What is the basis for the machlokes between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel as to when the world was created? Why does Beis Shammai maintain that the world was created in Tishrei, and Beis Hillel that it was created in Nissan?

The Klausenberger Rebbe explains. Throughout Shas, we find Beis Shammai usually rules more stringently than Beis Hillel. Beis Shammai tends to take a more machmir approach because he espoused the Middas HaDin, the strict letter of the law. Beis Hillel, on the other hand, tends toward a more lenient viewpoint because he embodied the Middas HaRachamim.

Tishrei is when all of creation trembles mei’eimas hadin, fear of judgment. Hashem judges each person individually, weighing all of one’s actions and adjudicating accordingly. The life of every being hangs in the balance. With the opening sentence of the Torah, we see that Hashem employed the middah of din as He created the world: "In the beginning of G-d’s creating the heavens and the earth.” Elokim is the Name of Hashem that embodies the Middas HaDin, the strict letter of the law. Amazingly, the word Bereishis can be rearranged to read B’Tishrei Aleph, indicating that the creation of the world with Middas HaDin took place on the first of Tishrei.

Nissan is a time when we saw Hashem’s boundless mercy. The Exodus from Egypt was not earned.

The verse, “But you were naked and bare” (Yechezkel 16:7), refers to the Bnei Yisrael lacking any merit at the time of Geulas Mitzrayim. Klal Yisrael had sunk to the forty-ninth level of impurity, and it was only through Hashem’s infinite rachamim that we were taken out.

Beis Shammai, who espouses din, therefore posits that the world was created in the month of din, in the month of Tishrei. Beis Hillel, advocating Middas HaRachamim, maintains that the world was created in the month of rachamim, the month of Nissan, as the pasuk states, “Olam chessed yibaneh, The world is built on kindness” (Tehillim 89:3). This, then, ex-

tends to the significance of the day of Tu B’Shvat.

Ascribing significance to Tu B’Shvat is consistent with Beis Hillel’s opinion: Hashem created the world with mercy in Nissan and began on the twenty-fifth of Adar; He therefore conceived of the world forty days previously, on Tu B’Shvat. Beis Shammai, who disagrees with this premise, does not consider the fifteenth of Shevat to be significant and therefore places the Rosh Hashanah for the trees on the first of the month.

When Will Mashiach Arrive?

In addition to their disagreement as to when the events of Sheishes Yemei Bereishis took place, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua’s views also diverge when it comes to establishing the date of the coming of Mashiach. The Final Redemption, says Rabbi Eliezer, will take place in Tishrei, while Rabbi Yehoshua is of the opinion that Mashiach will come in Nissan: b’Nissan nigalu b’Nissan asidin l’higael.

Although this would seem to be an Aggadic dispute, there is a halachic ruling in this matter. We rule according to Rabbi Yehoshua, stating that the world was created in Nissan. Just as in Nissan we were re-

The day of Hashem’s planning to bring the Geulah is most assuredly cause for celebration.

deemed from Mitzrayim, the Final Redemption will also come in Nissan.

The Final Redemption will directly parallel the Creation of the world. Rabbi Eliezer offers the opinion that the future redemption will occur in Tishrei, while Rabbi Yehoshua advances that it will come in Nissan.

Rabbi Eliezer employs a gezeirah shavah, likening “shofar” to “shofar.” The pasuk states, “Tiku b’chodesh shofar” (Tehillim 81:4) when referencing the month of Tishrei, and “B’yom ha’hu yitakah b’shofar gadol” (Yeshayah 27:13), referring to the shofar of Redemption. Just as the shofar of Rosh Hashanah is blown in Tishrei, so too will the shofar heralding the coming of Mashiach be blown in Tishrei.

Rabbi Yehoshua disagrees, stating that the month of Nissan is destined as the time when we will be redeemed. Just as Yetzias Mitzrayim transpired in Nissan, so too the Final Redemption will also take place in Nissan.

Arriving at the understanding that the Geulah will parallel the Creation of the world and will therefore take place in the same month as Berias HaOlam, we can advance the idea one step further. As noted previously, although the discussion about the timing of the creation of the world centers around Tishrei and

Nissan, in truth, the beginning of the Creation was six days earlier, the twenty-fifth day of Elul or Adar.

Parallel to Creation, the beginning of the Final Redemption will therefore be either on the twenty-fifth day of Elul or on the twenty-fifth day of Adar, and the initial conception of the idea will occur forty days earlier. The Geulah will be conceived of and planned on Tu B’Av, according to Rabbi Eliezer, or on Tu B’Shvat, according to Rabbi Yehoshua. Tu B’Shvat is the day that the idea will begin to formulate in Hashem’s mind, as it were.

The gematria of the word ilan, tree, is ninety-one, which is the same as the gematria of Hashem’s Names of Adnus and Hava-yah added together.1 This is an allusion to the fact that the initiation of the Yichud, Unification, of the two Names of Hashem that will be achieved with the coming of Mashiach is planned on the Rosh Hashanah for the trees. The earliest steps of Redemption will start on Tu B’Shvat.

The Mishnah’s unusual terminology — “k’divrei” — is now understood. According to Beis Shammai’s well-known opinion that the Geulah will be in Tishrei, there is nothing unique about any specific date in Shevat, and therefore the first of the month is when the New Year for the trees takes place. Beis Hillel’s recognized view, that the Geulah will be in Nissan, and thus it will be initiated on the fifteenth day of Shevat, does ascribe special qualities to that date. In concert with Beis Hillel’s view, then, the Rosh Hashanah for the trees is on the fifteenth of the month, on Tu B’Shvat.

A comment of the Rebbe of Ruzhin supports this idea, as he says, “Tu B’Shvat is the crown of the days of the Final Redemption, and it is therefore a day on which to celebrate and have a festive meal.”

We can also now understand why Tachanun is omitted on Tu B’Shvat. Tu B’Shvat is not merely the date on which the sap rises in the tree. It is not merely the demarcation point between the crops of different years. Tu B’Shvat is regarded as a holiday, as it marks the conception of the potential Geulah Sheleimah, which we await anxiously. We celebrate what we hope is the initiation of the process that will culminate with Mashiach’s arrival. The day of Hashem’s planning to bring the Geulah is most assuredly cause for celebration.

Why Eat Fruit on Tu B’Shvat?

Tu B’Shvat, we have learned, is a celebration of the forethought and arrangement of the coming of Mashiach and the Geulah Sheleimah. What, then, is the connection to fruit? Why do we have the custom to eat fruit on the day that the Geulah will begin?

When Hashem conceives of the Geulah on the fifteenth of Shevat, is there a clue in the universe that this momentous event is being planned? Can we know that Hashem has planted the seeds of Redemption?

The Gemara makes an astounding statement: There is no more open and reliable sign and signal to the end of the Galus and the coming of Mashiach than the proliferation of fruits in Eretz Yisrael, there is no clearer indication of the imminent coming of the Mashiach. Fruits blossoming and growing in abundance would be the most important and open indi-

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20:19). Beis Hillel is working with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua that on Tu B’Shvat Hashem had the initial idea to create the world.

The Klausenberger Rebbe employs this machlokes to explain the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah. Beis Shammai holds that the first of Shevat is the Rosh Hashanah for the trees, and this is in accordance with his well-known opinion that the world was created on the twenty-fifth of Elul, and forty days prior to the twenty-fifth of Elul is Tu B’Av. Thus, there is no special significance to the fifteenth of Shevat, and therefore he maintains that it is the first of the month of Shevat on which the trees are judged. His selection of Rosh Chodesh Shevat is k’divrei Beis Shammai.

Beis Hillel, on the other hand, posits that the world was created on the twenty-fifth of Adar, a process that was initiated forty days previously, on Tu B’Shvat. In accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua’s opinion as to when the world was created, the fifteenth of Shevat is a special day, and therefore that is the time designated as the Rosh Hashanah L’Ilanos.

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cator that Mashiach is coming. The Gemara cites the pasuk that articulates this idea: “But you, O mountains of Israel, will give forth your branch and bear your fruit for My people Israel, for they are soon to come” (Yechezkel 36:8).

The Maharsha elucidates this idea further. There is a remarkable interplay that exists between Eretz Yisrael and the Jewish people. When the Jewish people were not living in Israel — even in recent history, prior to the mass immigration of Jews from the four corners of the world in the twentieth century — the Land was a desert. Nothing grew in much of the country. Unless Hashem’s children are in the Land, the Land is barren and desolate. When we return there, it suddenly becomes an oasis. Thus, the clearest signs of the coming of Mashiach are the fruits of Eretz Yisrael!

The Torah writes, “Then I will provide your rains in their time, and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit” (Vayikra 26:4).

Which trees are referred to here? Trees in fields do not produce fruit; that is reserved for trees in orchards. Rashi explains that this pasuk is discussing barren, non-fruit-bearing trees. They are destined to produce fruit at the time of the coming of Mashiach.

All trees were originally intended to produce fruit, as the pasuk says about the creation of all trees, “Eitz pri oseh pri, trees yielding fruit each after its kind” (Bereishis 1:11), meaning that they have the capacity to produce fruits. However, after the sin of Adam HaRishon, some trees lost their ability to produce fruit.

The Atzei Chaim of Sighet explains that this is the meaning of the pasuk, “The heavens will be glad and the earth will rejoice; the sea and its fullness will roar... The field and everything in it will exult; then all the trees of the forest will sing with joy” (Tehillim 96:11-12): Then, when Mashiach comes, ALL the trees of the forest will break out in song, indicating that the song is not limited to the fruit trees, because even trees that normally were not fruit-bearing will start to grow fruit.

There is a prohibition against cutting down a fruit tree. This injunction does not apply to non-fruit-bearing trees, which one is permitted to destroy. When Mashiach comes, however, and all trees bear fruit, they will all join together in festive song because then none of the trees will be allowed to be felled. one of the symbols of the Acharis HaYamim is that it will be a time when all trees will start to produce fruit, when all trees will burst forth in song.

Maseches Sotah states that the day the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, fruit ceased to have savory flavors. The fragrant aromas of the fruits and their nutritional value was drastically reduced. Thus, with the Churban HaBayis, the outstanding qualities of the

peiros Eretz Yisrael were no more.

The Mishnah explains that at the time of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, people no longer maintained a level of taharah, purity. Because of the lack of purity in Israel, the sense of taste and smell for the fruits of Eretz Yisrael faded.

The Ben Ish Chai comments that the word taharah is an acronym for “taam ha’peiros rei’ach ha’peiros, the flavor of the fruit and the aroma of the fruit.”

When we stopped maintaining the necessary level of taharah, we lost the ta’am and rei’ach of the fruit.

Thus, with the Churban HaBayis, all the outstanding qualities of the peiros Eretz Yisrael were no more.

The Gemara relates that Rav Huna had located a uniquely plump and beautiful fruit. His son Rabbah appreciated that the fruit emitted an especially fragrant aroma. Rav Huna intimated that his son’s ability to sense the smell of the fruit was indicative that he retained his sense of purity — and he could thus appreciate the rei’ach that had been present while the Beis HaMikdash had still been standing. Rav Huna’s son was able to maintain his olfactory and gustatory senses, indicative of the fact that he retained the

We eat fruit on Tu B’Shvat as a declaration of hope, beseeching Hashem to grant the fruit restored luster, taste, and aroma in the coming year.

same level of purity as before the Churban.

When the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed and Klal Yisrael went into galus, the fruits lost many of their outstanding qualities.

When one consumes fruits of Eretz Yisrael, he recites a bracha when he finishes eating it. This bracha acharonah is Al Ha’eitz V’al Pri Ha’eitz. It contains text that is absent from Bircas HaMazon. We say, “And bring us up to it [Yerushalayim] and gladden us in its rebuilding, and let us eat from its fruit and be satisfied with its goodness and bless You upon it in holiness and purity.”

What does “U’v’taharah, in purity,” have to do with eating fruit? This is not a term used in Bircas HaMazon, so why is it added here? Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach would quote the sefer Avnei Shoham,

by Rav Moshe Leib Shachor, who says that the impetus for Hashem to remove the wonderful fragrances and flavors of the fruits was the decline in the level of

taharah in Klal Yisrael. We therefore ask Hashem to return us to Eretz Yisrael so that we can eat the fruits in the way they once were. We aspire to be able to make a bracha on the fruits in complete purity, which will restore the state of the fruits to its ideal form.

Taste the Geulah We have never been privy to the tastes and aromas of the fruits as they had been. If one were to taste fruit now and enjoy a new and increased intensity of flavor in the fruit, that would be the clearest indicator that Mashiach’s arrival is imminent.

The minhag of eating fruit on Tu B’Shvat may well have its source in this idea. In Nissan, we were redeemed from Egypt, and in Nissan, we will eventually be redeemed as well. Redemption in Nissan means that the process starts on the twenty-fifth of Adar, with the conception of the Geulah forty days earlier, on Tu B’Shvat. Hashem’s “idea” to send Mashiach and redeem Klal Yisrael from galus will arise in His mind, as it were, on Tu B’Shvat.

Partaking of fruit on this day will then allow one to literally taste the initiation of the Final Redemption on Tu B’Shvat. Experiencing the flavor of fruit on Tu B’Shvat could provide a premonition that the Geulah is at long last at hand. If the taste and fragrance of the fruit are uniquely enhanced, on their way to being restored to what they were when the Beis HaMikdash stood, that would be a sign that the process of redemption has begun.

We eat fruit on Tu B’Shvat as a declaration of hope, beseeching Hashem to grant the fruit restored luster, taste, and aroma in the coming year. We implore Him to realize the bracha of Bareich Aleinu, but our ultimate aspiration is actually that this will then lead to teka b’shofar gadol l’cheiruseinu — to the coming of the Geulah.

When the sefer Chemdas Yamim cites the custom to eat various fruits on Tu B’Shvat, he quotes the pesukim referenced above, indicating that the reason behind eating them is that the enhanced flavor of fruit is a sign that the Geulah is imminent.

We partake of numerous fruits on Tu B’Shvat and we inhale the fragrant aroma of the fruit, davening that the scents of a time gone by have been restored.

We eat fruit and yearn to feel more deeply satisfied than we normally are.

We are searching for evidence that redemption is on Hashem’s mind and that He is planning the Geulah. Not only is us consuming the fruit a form of tefillah that Hashem should gift us the Geulah, but it is a test of sorts, a way for us to perceive if we can begin to generate an inner joy that the Geulah Sheleimah is being set into motion.

1 Perhaps this is another reason that the Tanna uses the word ilan in the singular.

This article has been excerpted from The Light and the Splendor by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein.

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.

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66

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

Delving into the Daf

Shalom, Zachor!

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

O

n erev Shabbos Parshas Bo, a Far Rockaway resident decided to bring a gift for his friend’s shalom zachar. He spent 35 minutes on the round-trip delivery route. The newborn’s dad was grateful for his friend’s effort but said, “I’m Sefardi. We don’t make shalom zachars. We make a Brit Yitzchak.”

Is there any connection between a shalom zachar, celebrated Friday night, and a Brit Yitzchak, which is a meal the night before the bris? Does it make sense to say, “We don’t make shalom zachars. We make a Brit Yitzchak instead”?

Based on a Tosfos studied recently, it actually does! The Gemara (Bava Kama 80a) relates that Rav, Shmuel, and Rav Assi visited either a bris milah or a Yeshua HaBen. What is a Yeshua HaBen? Yeshua means saving or salvation. Rashi opines it is a pidyon haben. The words saving and redemption are related. Tosfos disagrees.

Tosfos suggests that a Yeshua HaBen is a party to thank Hashem and celebrate the fact that the mother and the baby survived childbirth. There is no source for making a shalom zachar in the Gemara. However, the Terumas HaDeshen suggests that this Tosfos and his explanation of the Gemara is the source for making a shalom zachar.

In fact, now we know what the purpose of the shalom zachar is! It is to thank Hashem for the health of the baby and the mother. The Rema codifies this Terumas HaDeshen as practical halacha and says there is a custom to make a shalom zachar.

It is interesting to note that according to this explanation, the shalom zachar can be made even if the baby is not present. The family members can still thank Hashem that everyone is well.

The Noda BeYehuda disagrees with this explanation of Tosfos. After all, if the seudah is to thank Hashem that the baby survived childbirth, why does Tosfos imply the seudah is only made for the birth of boys? Therefore, the Noda BeYehuda says that while it is true that the seudah is to thank Hashem, it is only made in conjunction with the bris milah. Therefore,

the seudah is made specifically the night before the bris.

One possible answer for the Terumas HaDeshen is that indeed there is a mitzvah to make a seudah for the birth of a girl as well. Indeed, many people often make a kiddush to thank Hashem. However, for a boy, there is a time constraint. The seudah

born, an angel hits the child on its mouth and it forgets everything. Many commentators are puzzled by this passage. What is the purpose of teaching the baby Torah only to have it forget it?

When the child forgets the Torah, it creates a vacuum. When the baby is born, it will have a thirst for Torah knowledge.

The child needs the added boost of the vacuum to give him to impetus to master Torah.

thanking Hashem should be made before the bris milah. We want the father to have the proper feelings and emotions during the bris. Therefore, the custom developed to have the celebration on the Friday night before the bris. However, there is no strict timeframe to make the celebration to thank Hashem for the birth of a girl.

Rebbe Simlai (Nida 30b) says that a fetus learns the entire Torah while in its mother womb. However, when the child is

This gives the child an inner drive to learn Torah to help him combat his evil inclination that fights so hard against Torah study. The Gemara in Megillah says that if a person states, “I exerted and found [Torah],” believe him. The point of the Gemara is that mastery of Torah is acquired through much effort. It is not possible to truly understand Torah with superficial application. The child needs the added boost of the vacuum to give him to impe-

tus to master Torah.

It is interesting to note the choice of words used in the passage. The Gemara states, “I exerted and found” not “I exerted and acquired.” “Found” implies something one had before. This fits well with the Gemara in Niddah. The baby learned the entire Torah in the womb; he is now finding what he lost.

The Maharshal suggests that this is the reason for a shalom zachar. The infant had the whole Torah, but it was taken from him. We visit the new baby to comfort him on his loss. The Derisha says that this may also be a hidden reason behind why the bris is performed on the eighth day. The Torah wants us to wait after seven days of mourning are completed for the loss of the baby’s Torah. Further, this explains the custom of serving lentils or chickpeas at a shalom zachor, because they are a food for mourners.

Following these ideas, Rav Yaakov Emden suggests that the term “zachor” in shalom zachor actually refers to remembering and not to a male child as is commonly assumed. The idea behind the shalom zachor is that we want the baby to start remembering Torah concepts that he forgot. Resting on Shabbos and the divrei Torah at the shalom zachor will begin this process of reminding the baby of the Torah that he lost. Shabbos is an apropos time for remembering Torah, as we fulfill the mitzvah of “zachor” by reciting Kiddush.

Rav Yaakov Emden suggests that perhaps this is the reason that a shalom zachor is only made for a boy, because only a boy is taught the entire Torah in the womb.

According to this explanation, it would seem that if the baby is not present, a shalom zachar should not be made. Common custom does not follow this ruling.

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.

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Halacha

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

New Heights in Shidduchim

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

D

ear Rabbi Hoffman, shlita I have a question regarding shidduchim: A shadchan wanted to set up a tallish woman with a shorter young man. The shadchan wanted to buy the young man elevator shoes so that they would end up dating. Not wishing to embarrass the young man that he was buying the elevator shoes himself, he told the bochur that there is a gemach in Lakewood for these situations and that he just needed to know the bochur’s shoe size.

Was the shadchan allowed to lie about this, and in general, what is the halacha with elevator shoes? Is it g’neivas daas to wear them? Also, is there a difference between men and women in this regard? It seems that it is not easy to hide the nature of ladies’ elevator shoes, but it is very easy to fool people with men’s elevator shoes.

ANSWER: It happens to be an excellent question. The shadchan was permitted to say that there was a gemach in Lakewood for these situations to avoid embarrassing the young man (See Teshuvos HaRosh 82:1).

As far as the general question, we reached out to a number of contemporary poskim, who had a wide variety of

opinions. But before we share them, let’s take a look at some classical meforshim on a relevant Gemara.

There is a Gemara in Yevamos (45a) wherein a young man of a dubious but kosher lineage asked Rav Yehudah what to do about his difficult shidduch situation.

Rav Yehudah offered two pieces of advice, and one of them was to go where no one

that when there is no monetary issue involved, the prohibition of g’neivas daas is of rabbinic origin. In order to fulfill the mitzvah of piru u’rivu, the Chasam Sofer (Yevamos 45a “Dekulo Amorai”) writes that it is permitted.

2. The Steipler Gaon, zt”l, father of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, writes that Chazal never enacted the prohibition

Rav Yehudah offered two pieces of advice, and one of them was to go where no one knew him and seek a shidduch there.

knew him and seek a shidduch there. The question arises as to how Rav Yehudah could have given advice that would seem to be g’neivas daas.

We find the following answers cited by Rav Yaakov Unsdorfer from Montreal in his Olalei Yaakov Vol. III: 1. Many poskim are of the opinion

when it comes to piru u’rivu (See Kehilas Yaakov Siman 44 “v’Gam efshar”). He further writes that there is an Umdenah – a general certitude – that once a woman has agreed to marry and has gone through it, she would not wish to divorce on this account. According to this, if it is clear that the woman would have wanted

to divorce on account of some defect, then it would be forbidden.

3. Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, zt”l, in his Salmas Chaim Siman 242, writes that from the woman’s perspective [perhaps at that time] the woman wishes to be married so much that there is a veritable “don’t ask, don’t tell” perspective, and as long as no one knows, it would be permitted.

Applying these to elevator shoes, according to the Chasam Sofer, there would not be a problem. According to the Steipler, it would also seem to be permitted. According to Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, however, it would be forbidden.

What did the contemporary poskim rule? Rav Yisroel Dovid Harfenes, shlita, ruled that it would be permitted. Rav Hershel Ausch, shlita, forbade it for men but permitted it for women because for men it is not readily detectable, but for women it is readily detectable.

This article should be viewed as a halachic discussion and not practical advice. The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@gmail. com.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

68

School of

Thought

Israel is Home

By Barbara Deutsch

F

ifty years ago, my husband Bob and I had an aliyah date and teaching jobs in Tzfat.

Needless to say, that opportunity did not materialize. We are in Israel for “yeshiva break” and looking for apartments for our second attempt at aliyah; the time is now. We are determined to make it happen.

How ironic is it that the reason we wound up aborting our original plans was war; at that time, it was just after the Yom Kippur War, and here we are again planning, and Israel is at war, again.

For the 20-plus years that our daughter has lived in Yerushalayim, she has always lived in Rechavia. It’s a mostly Anglo community populated by people from all parts of the world. The buildings are a lovely blend of really old, old, and redone.

To fit the needs of all of the disparate hashkofot, there are numerous communities to fulfill a family’s needs.

When we visit Yerushalayim, we walk the hilly streets every day; it gets easier as the days go by. After a busy day exploring and eating, we most often wind up at our daughter’s apartment near Gan Sacher.

On our route, we explore winding side streets filled with old broken buildings standing right next to new construction.

We have long imagined living on one of these secret blocks despite the fact that at our age, we would have only a handful of peers, our kid’s friends, and, of course, our daughter and her amazing family living close by.

These ancient streets are home.

When we planned this trip, we knew that there would be a lot to accomplish; we are grappling with this milestone in our lives and need to prepare for the move. Bob retired in June and has been busy packing, tossing and getting our New York house ready for sale – all of this while developing a schedule for himself and his dwindling free time.

I am retiring this June.

For Bob, retiring is a very good thing; the jury is still out for me. There are a lot of people, including me, who are worried.

When we arrived in Israel, much different from our most recent summer trip, the airport was eerily empty, like during Covid days. In July, the airport was packed with tourists and demonstrators; we had to take the train and shlep our pounds of luggage to get to Yerushalayim. We enjoyed an amazing summer despite the tumult of a seemingly divided country.

We usually stay at the Leonardo, formerly known as the Plaza Hotel. Rather than busloads of tourists, the hotel is

tle of visiting tourists. We have a favorite gift shop where we purchase nameplates and trinkets. I asked the charming owner how he was managing during the war.

“Baruch Hashem, missions from America and France buy the dog tags and necklaces in the shape of the map to bring back home,” he replied. He then shrugged his shoulders and said, “War, they want necklaces in the shape of maps of Israel, it’s fine. The people who come on chessed missions want to bring back souvenirs, that helps.”

I asked my daughter if she is afraid.

“Afraid? No! Why?”

crowded with displaced families waiting out the rockets pounding the South and North. Large meeting rooms and common areas have been converted into designated playrooms; the fancy hotel dining room is now a cafeteria/lunchroom.

The elevators are filled with uniformed school children and their loaded backpacks. I have no idea where they go to school.

As we take our daily walks along the empty streets, we miss the rabble and bus-

Fine it is not – it’s far from fine!

Terror attacks and rockets are commonplace events and part of the everyday talk. I asked my daughter if she is afraid.

“Afraid? No! Why?” Our family’s dinner talk is the common pedestrian conversation and teasing, bickering – oh, and war. Why should a 12-year-old be exposed to real people being shot while counting down hostage days? When is it ever OK for a teenage son to call home after a bus stop pigua to

report that he is safe?

I came determined to do some chessed along with our aliyah research. Volunteer, while I visited. It’s a busy time for us with a lot to accomplish in a short time. On the Tuesday we landed – Tuesday is Chicken Day – I spent an afternoon helping distribute bags of chickens and vouchers to displaced families.

It’s not enough, and I still have to figure out if picking things off high places will be sympathetic to my aging bones. I cannot bring myself to visit the horrors of the South; the images I have seen populate my nightmares.

Every morning, I sign my name to prewritten letters organized by advocacy groups in response to hatred and injustice. I see the once smiling faces of the hostages on billboards everywhere and write the same or a different letter demanding their return.

My much younger, dear friend, Nicole’s son Sam, got married the Sunday before our trip. Actually, we planned our departure around the simcha. It was a glorious, happy night. Much of Nicole’s family lives in Israel, and as it happens in our tight Jewish circle, her sisters-inlaw were on our flight to Israel. Little did one of her sisters-in- law know that upon landing, she would be greeted by the horrific news of her soldier nephew’s death in Gaza.

When will this end? Will Israel ever enjoy peace? Or even some form of normalcy? Is there even such a thing for our people?

The apartment in Yerushalayim that we found is on Rechov Tzfat in Jerusalem. It is where we are destined to go. Yes, Hashem has a great sense of humor.

Mrs. Barbara Deutsch is currently the associate principal at HANC 609 and a longtime reflective educator, parent, grandparent, and new great-grandparent. Even after all these years, she still loves what she does and looks forward to working with kids every single day.

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JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

The Wandering

Jew

Arkansas & Kansas

By Hershel Lieber

A drinking fountain in Hot Springs

I

t was just two weeks after a difficult tax season that we embarked on a well-needed vacation. I planned a full itinerary for a two-week trip to the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. I previously wrote an article about our stay in Oklahoma and our inspiring Shabbos at Rabbi and Rebbetzin Yehuda Weg in Tulsa. I also penned an article about our experiences in Missouri and especially our beautiful Shabbos at the home of Rabbi and Rebbetzin Menachem Greenblatt of St. Louis. It is time to focus on the other cities that we visited on this journey.

We arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Monday evening, April 29, 2013, and headed straight to our riverfront hotel. Our touring would begin the next morning. Tuesday was a full day, and we were able to see most of the city’s major attractions. This included the State Capitol, the 1888 Hornibrook Mansion, the state’s finest example of Victorian architecture, and the Old State House.

We spent a good hour at Heifer Village & Urban Farm, which embodied the philosophy of Heifer International in combating hunger and poverty in the world.

The exhibitions were interesting, innovative, and definitely something unusual and educational.

In the afternoon, we visited President

Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs National Park

Buckstaff Baths in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Bill Clinton’s Presidential Library, which houses the documents and artifacts of his administration. When we entered, we thought that a thirty-minute stroll would be sufficient. We were surprised that the displays intrigued us and brought back memories from the years 1993-2000.

There are over 100,000 objects and 80 million pages of records pertaining to the eight years Clinton served in office.

There is also a full-scale replica of his Oval Office. We spent nearly two hours there!

Before heading back to our hotel, we took a small hike crossing a defunct rail bridge spanning the Arkansas River.

On Wednesday, we headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas. The town is known for its naturally heated springs, many located in the Hot Springs National Park.

Equally known is Bathhouse Row, which has eight bathhouses dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their external designs and the elaborate interiors are a delight to connoisseurs of architecture of that period. The bathing rooms with small hexagonal tiles, bathtubs on legs, and exposed plumbing pipes were from the turn of the past centuries. Only two of the bathhouses are still active. We were not going to miss the opportunity to enjoy this experience.

There are separate facilities for men and

women, so we parted for the 90-minute duration. Aside from the thermal bath and a whirlpool mineral bath, we were pampered with hot towel applications and peacefully sat in a thick cloud of vapor in the steam room. A soothing massage topped off our relaxing afternoon.

In the early evening, we walked along the promenade that is lined with the eight bathhouses, marveling at their distinctive features, especially the colorful window awnings.

On Thursday, we headed toward Oklahoma but made a few stops on the way. Garvan Gardens, just outside of Hot Springs, is a 210-acre botanical paradise, except that we were too early in the season to see its full glory. Most flowers were still not in full bloom. We were At the State Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas compensated soon after when we drove though the Ouachita National Park. but it was still a magnificent day.

Friday and Shabbos we were in Tulsa.

The scenic Ouachita Mountain Range is unique in that it stretches from east Sunday and Monday, we spent in Oklato west as opposed to the Appalachians homa City. I shared with readers our exand Rockies. Though we were only driv- periences there in a previous article.

Late Monday, we left for Wichita, ing through it, we oohed and aahed when we passed the picturesque streams and Kansas, where we spent the night. The the pristine lakes. Driving for miles sur- next day, we took a tour of the Museum rounded by dense thickets of towering of the World’s Treasures. This museum trees casting shade with rays of sunlight is unique in that it is eclectic by design. peeking out between the branches was The diverse collection includes fossils for us a celebration of Hashem’s natural from prehistoric animals (e.g., Tyrannowonders. We did not do much that day, saurus) Egyptian mummies, signatures

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Marbles from Moon Marble Co. in Kansas

With Governor Sam Brownback at the State Capitol, Topeka, Kansas

to us. Then we quickly walked through the Kansas State Museum, which did not excite us immensely. We then drove to Bonner Springs and took an unusual tour of the Moon Marble Company. The owner, Bruce Breslow, gave us a demonstration of working with glass to make the children’s favorite pastime toy. The history and the decline of the art were also noted. Bruce, whose Yiddish name is Zelig, fascinated us with his personal and vocational history. He graciously gave us a couple of his dazzling samples as souvenirs.

Thursday we drove to Kansas City

At Union Station in Kansas City, Kansas

pany was still very much alive when we visited this museum, but as of late is in a rapid decline.

Next on our agenda was the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. It is listed as one of the twenty-five top museums in the nation. It specializes in Asian art, which include Chinese landscapes and ceramics. At first glance, we thought we would have a minimal interest in Oriental art, but we surprised ourselves by how much we enjoyed their collection.

After exploring the museum, we checked out of our hotel and proceeded to Independence, Missouri. There, The Hallmark Cards Museum in Kansas City, Missouri

With Bruce (Zelig) Breslow of Moon Marble Co. in Bonner Springs, Kansas

of all the U.S. presidents, a section of the Berlin Wall, and ancient coins, documents and artifacts from Middle Ages through the Renaissance. One can spend days viewing this vast assortment and only manage to get a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg.

From there, we made a stop at the Museum of Oil in El Dorado where we learned of early years when “black gold” was discovered in the West and the subsequent exploration and development of the oil industry. The famous Beren family was prominently depicted as originators of this industry. From there, we drove past many oil fields containing wells surrounded by drilling equipment.

We also passed grasslands with grazing cattle and wheat fields, where their budding crops were still barely visible. We were making our way towards Kansas’ state capital, Topeka.

On Wednesday, we toured Kansas’ largest city. A tour of the State Capitol gave us a private minute with Governor Sam Brownback who was very friendly

Truman’s home has lots of personal memorabilia, and the library devotes much space to Truman’s role in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and in ending World War II in Europe.

and went directly to Union Station, which was once the nation’s third largest rail station, for a walking tour of this historic edifice. Our docent was an elderly Jewish man who was clearly delighted that we were his only tourists. He gave us an unbelievable insider’s view of the building’s history as he walked around with us while sharing with us his own Jewish background. From there, we traversed walkways which brought us to the Hallmark Cards self-guided museum.

There, we were able to see the historic development of the greeting card industry which spanned over 100 years. The exhibits are far from boring, rather they create a timeline of the different types of greeting cards and messages that developed over a century of time. The com-

we visited the Harry S. Truman home and Presidential Library. Truman has a special place in the hearts of Jews. It was he who gave the order to vote for the establishment of the State of Israel during the crucial vote at the United Nations on November 29, 1947. It took some convincing from his former haberdashery partner Eddie Jacobson, but nevertheless, Truman stood strong against many forces in the State Department and military who had attempted to dissuade him from giving his approval to the Jewish state. Truman’s home has lots of personal memorabilia, and the library devotes much space to Truman’s role in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and in ending World War II in Europe.

The former president, his wife Bess, and

their daughter Margeret are buried in the nearby courtyard.

Friday, we concluded the final drive of our journey into St. Louis, Missouri, where we spent Shabbos and the next four days. I have written about that experience in an earlier article. It was a long trip, but as usual, well worth it!

Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit.

He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences.

Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

At the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

nspiration Nation

Rinat Har-Sheleg

100+ Days Without Her Father

By Eliyahu RosEnBERg

I

t has been over one hundred days since the unspeakably horrific October 7th terrorist attacks unfolded in southern Israel. Thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded the Jewish state – by foot, motorcycle, and paraglider – as rockets rained down on the innocent. By the day’s end, over 1,200 Jews were brutally murdered

by Hamas, and another 240 were abducted and dragged into the Gaza Strip, marking what has widely been considered the worst day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.

Today, over 120 Israeli abductees, who are still alive, remain in Hamas captivity.

Based on accounts from released hostages,

it is clear that the captives in Gaza have gone through and continue to endure unimaginable trauma and abuse, deprived of food, shelter, and necessary medical treatment and tortured physically and psychologically each day by their evil captors.

Uncertainty and emptiness have become a tragic part of life for the families and friends of those taken hostage, as they each must endure every day without their loved ones by their side. With each morning comes the rebirth of the greatest fear of all: that this day will bring the worst of news. But each morning also ushers in a renewed sense of hope that maybe, just

In His Words… our whole life has stopped. it’s not the same, it’ll never be the same. Even if they come back, things will never be the same.

”

We will do everything to bring everyone home. i’m doing everything for my dad, i’m doing everything for the people who are underground – the babies, the children, the mothers, the children who don’t have mothers anymore.

We just want everyone to come back home now.

”

he’s not just my father; he’s my mom, he’s my dad, he’s my best friend; he’s everything to me.

”

When we came here to new york and we met a lot of people – for us, it felt like we’re a big family. They hugged us and gave us a lot of power. and we hope that next shabbos, we’ll have our father, and also, if they [the Jews of new york] come to israel, we can invite them to our new home and hug them as they did to us.

”

maybe, this will be the day when the hostages are finally brought back home. * * * Just a few days before the massacre, there lived a happy family in Kibbutz Urim. Its members were Rinat Har-Sheleg, her two sons – eight-year-old Yoav and five-year-old Doniel – and her seventy-year-old father Louis Norberto Har, who lived nearby. Louis, a man who was full of joy, had just one goal in life: to spend as much time as possible with his children, grandchildren, and family; on Rosh Hashanah, that was his only resolution for the new year. His ten grandchildren, whom he would entertain with his dancing, impress with his delicious pizza, and play with as if he were a child himself, adored him to no end. And he loved them even more.

But that family has since been tragically torn apart.

Simchat Torah, a chag that is supposed to be full of joy and celebration, started as any day should: peaceful and quiet. But the morning calm was soon disrupted by the deafening sounds of rockets flying into southern Israel, where the Har family lived. Rinat and her children were luckily in the north for the weekend, staying at her friend’s house, but her father was not as fortunate as they were.

Louis had been spending the weekend with Clara Marman, and three of her family members, including her brother Fernando, her sister Gabriela Leimberg, and her niece Mia Leimberg, in Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak. Early Shabbos morning, they were awakened by the loud screech of a siren, and the family soon found themselves rushing to the safe room.

Shouts, yells, and the sounds of violence and terror began to consume the

kibbutz. Arab voices could be heard, with terrorist footsteps growing louder with each passing second. At 10:00 AM, it had become clear that the settlement was under attack.

“At ten in the morning, my father texted me that they [he and the family] were inside the shelter and that they were hearing a lot of shouting and yelling…and Arabic coming from outside,” Rinat recalled.

“And I said, ‘Nah, it’s the army! You must be confused!’”

But one hour later, Louis texted his daughter once more, sending her his love. The door to the house burst open, and when the terrorists entered the home, they began shooting and destroying everything in sight. Rinat hasn’t heard from her father since.

Louis, Clara, Fernando, Gabriella, and Mia were all abducted by Hamas on that day. Although Clara and her sister and niece were released in November as part of a temporary ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, Fernando and Louis remain in Gaza to this very day, over one hundred days later.

A perpetual void lives on in the hearts of Rinat and her sister Natali Har-Afgan, who must both live with the unspeakable fear of never seeing their father, whom they both love so much, ever again. Living with the plague of uncertainty, almost too exhausted to continue holding on to hope, Rinat and Natali have been forever changed by their father’s absence.

“I need to start over with my kids. I need to find a new home, a new school for them. Everything has stopped,” said Rinat. “My dad, every day, would take my kids from kindergarten, and he would be with us. We eat dinner every day together.

He’s not just my father; he’s my mom, he’s

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spite their intense suffering, Rinat and Natali have chosen to rise to the occasion and inspire the world. In early November, the two came to New York to share their story, to spread awareness, and to plead for the release of their father, their family, and every hostage suffering in Gaza.

“We could stay home and cry all day, waiting for them to come back or waiting for the government or somebody to do something, but we decided that it’s better for us to go to another place to speak, to tell our story,” Rinat explained.

Through Rinat and Natali’s unspeakable suffering has emerged unfathomable strength and faith that they will one day be reunited with their father. No one would blame them for staying home and being quiet; no one would possibly fault them for conceding to despair. And yet, the

unimaginable challenges that they are facing have brought out the best in them.

Although they both come from a non-religious family, since October 7th, Natali has started saying Tehillim every morning and evening, and Rinat has taken it upon herself to light Shabbos candles.

Rinat and Natali were inspired by the warm and supportive Orthodox community that embraced and hosted them in New York, and they felt empowered by how much emunah and achdus they witnessed during their visit.

“It’s amazing. We feel like we’re a big family and we’re all together, and we are all connected,” Rinat said. “It warms our hearts and gives us power to continue on and tell our story and do everything for our family… Kulanu am echad.”

Rinat has one message for her fa-

ther: “We will not give up.” And how can we when there are more than 130 of our brothers and sisters, old and young, who are still suffering in Gaza? We may not be on a physical battlefield, but we all still have the power to help in incredible ways.

This is not the time to give up hope, to live life as though the massacre never happened, or to chas v’shalom become numb or indifferent to the pain of October 7th.

This is the time to change, to have more emunah and hope, and to never, ever forget what Amalek did to us.

We may not recognize it, but we all possess the ability and strength to change the world through our actions.

From doing chesed to saying Tehillim to giving tzedakah to just having more faith in G-d, every one of us has the power to bring them home.

This article is based on a podcast, “Inspiration For the Nation,” hosted by Yaakov Langer. To catch more of this conversation, you can watch it on LivingLchaim. com or YouTube.com/LivingLchaim or listen wherever you listen to podcasts (just search for “Inspiration For The Nation”) or call our free hotline: 605-477-2100.

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JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

my dad, he’s my best friend, he’s everything to me.”

For the Har sisters, Shabbos, the most beautiful and enjoyable time of the week, now serves as a tragic reminder of what they have lost. Their father lit up their lives with joy and laughter. Without him, their world is dark and empty. And as for Rinat’s children – they aren’t only without their beloved grandfather, but they have also, in a sense, lost their mother as well. Without her father in her life, Rinat can no longer be the fun, happy mother that she used to be. Her father’s abduction has robbed her of all the joy that she once possessed.

Few can even begin to imagine the pain that Rinat, Natali, and their entire family have had to live through in these past few months. But de-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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Stardom in the Rearview Three Former ChiLd STArS reFLeCT on ChiLdhood FAme

By Pinchos Friedlander A “Singy” Kid

A Singing Career at 8

Young Dovi Weldler’s parents offered him a special treat for his birthday. Knowing how he was in love with the super-popular Yeshiva Boys Choir, they arranged with the owners Eli Gerstner and Yossi Newman for Dovi to get to watch a choir practice session. Nice enough.

Unsuspecting Dovi was excited for the opportunity. He went along with his mother to the site the YBC was using and watched up close as the magic was made. The boys were singing and dancing, and it was all very cool. Then, almost as an afterthought, Dovi’s mother turned to him.

“Why don’t you go up there, too and see if you can join along with the other boys?”

“Huh? Me?” Dovi was caught off-guard. “I can’t go up there!” But it was all a set-up. Before he knew it, Dovi was whisked to a back room, where he found himself auditioning in front of Yossi, who quickly realized he was up to the task.

Dovi went on to become a prominent soloist in the choir on albums, in concerts, and in music videos.

“I was always a ‘singy’ and theatrical kid,” he explains.

He loved expressing that side of him on stage. His cherubic face, sweet voice, and sure demeanor added their touch to the tapestry of YBC musical art. Eventually, he took his stage skills to the next level, performing in the mega “Zusmann” play (though not many knew it was him under the makeup and costumes).

Now a young adult, Dovi is happy to share with us his experience, as well as his unique perspective on stardom, particularly child stardom, on one condition: We can’t use his real name.

For those who remember, Yitzy Spinner starred in the Miami Boys Choir during the ‘90s. His confident yet youthful charisma and clear, boyish voice was wildly popular at the time. Some memorable solos and duets of his include the now-classic “Nikadesh es Shimcha” (sung at Miami Experience 4), the adorable “Around the World with MBC” at the same concert (featuring the boys dressing up like people from various nationalities and cultures and singing songs in the languages and cultures of those countries, or at least pretending to), poignant “Hayom Katzer V’hamlacha Meruba,” and “Sunshine.” There was also a memorable moment when Yitzy sang and his father accompanied him with a saxophone on stage.

Yitzy is more “go with the flow” about the whole choir thing. It was just the life he knew. Beginning his “career” at the tender age of eight, he feels like he was born on stage or in a music studio. He certainly has no problem with being interviewed. How did he originally get involved? His parents simply signed him up. Did they discuss it with him beforehand? He doesn’t even remember.

“It was so long ago.”

From Singer to Leader Yitzy Bald is a legendary composer in the Jewish world.

He is the creator of many classics, including the ‘90s-era mega-hits “Hu Klal” (Yisroel Wulliger), “Sameach” (Mendy Wald), “Ki Hashem Hu Elokim” (Shloimy Dachs), and many others. He is also a long-time successful rebbe, and camp personality and has a choir of his own called New York Boys Choir. Whew!

Yitzy Bald’s story is a little more painful, though. Yitzy is super expressive, and he is all heart. He reveals that as a young child, he was far from a star or hero. He was a bully victim. A group of boys viciously hounded him non-stop, for years. One of their favorite tactics was getting him into trouble. He recalls how they shut the light in the school gym and pinned the blame on him. They also made fun of him non-stop. His parents tried to help, but nothing worked. It came to a point where he just couldn’t take it anymore, and he begged his mother to switch schools. Realizing there was no alternative, she did. It was the right decision. Finally, Yitzy could breathe, be himself, be a normal, happy kid, and begin to put his troubles behind him. Around this time, Yitzy joined the Tzlil V’zemer Boys Choir. It was just what he needed to mend his battered self. Having the opportunity to shine, to produce a work of vocal beauty, and to perform built him up. It slowly reversed the damage inflicted on him by the prolonged bullying he had endured.

He also got to know famous music personalities like Mordechai Ben David, with whom he developed a relationship (Mordechai knew Yitzy’s great-grandfather) and ended up spending a lot of time at his home in Sea Gate, New York.

This helped him, too, and Yitzy credits the confidence he built up in those years with his ability to sit in front of a class as a rebbe.

“I rose from the ashes,” he says.

Choir Life How does a kid balance his singing career with school?

Dovi explains that in YBC, the choir leaders put an emphasis on not letting choir practice get in the way of school. In

Child Celebrity or Just a normal Kid? Dovi reflects on how Yossi Newman’s firm guidance really shaped his attitude toward his singing career. Besides the aforementioned condition, another stipulation he made with each boy in the choir was “no autographs.”

“I was a goody-two-shoes,” Dovi smiles, “and so I was like ‘yes, Mr. Newman.’ I took his rules seriously. And this was something he would always remind the guys. ‘Don’t let it get to your head. You’re just a kid.’ In hindsight, I realize that that’s what protected me from developing an inflated ego and becoming a baal gaava.”

In truth, Dovi shares that to his classmates, he was more or less just “Dovi.” He wasn’t treated like a hero. But still, he did have some special status. He recalls how his class was “blessed” with a few mean kids. Not the bona fide bully type, but the sort of kids who were less pleasant to have around or be around. With these “tzaddikim” particularly, his “singing status” was helpful to him. But it was in camp that he garnered more of a reputation. He was the “show kid.” He was on stage a lot, singing, acting, and eventually even leading a choir himself.

Similarly, to his closer relatives, he was just part of the family. Only with the more distant relatives was he “my cousin in Yeshiva Boys Choir.”

But Dovi learned Yossi Newman’s lesson well, and it is engrained in him. “I’m just a regular guy,” he says with passion. “Singing is just something I do. It doesn’t make me better than anyone else.”

It actually bothers him when people idolize him. When people come over and say things that imply they think he’s really cool because of his role in the choir, he’s like “no, I’m not!” Nor does it jive well with him when he sees people clambering all over other stars. He note that a current Jewish “superstar” sometimes davens in his shul. Invariably, many people go over to this singer after davening. They want to shake his hand, talk to him, tell him a good joke… but Dovi doesn’t. He knows he would not appreciate this kind of fawning, and he will not do it to others, either.

Another negative side of stardom is, like Dovi puts it, that “you can’t always be on.” But he says that it didn’t become so much of an issue for him, and he’s grateful for that. It’s not like people were stopping him in the street all the time. Still, one incident does stand out in Dovi’s mind, where he was accosted by a group of teenage admirers. He was only about eight or nine at the time and didn’t really know how to react.

“It was very awkward,” he recalls.

Another episode, this time when he was older, occurred when he had just arrived in yeshiva in Israel. This was during corona, and upon arriving in yeshiva, he needed to quarantine in this sort of plastic cage. A boy from South Africa came to bring him his meal. The boy took a closer look at him. “I know you from somewhere,” he stated. “Where do I know you from?” Dovi looked at him incredulously.

“You live halfway across the world from me. How would you know me?”

But the boy was sure of himself. “Give me some time.

I’ll figure it out.” Sure enough, a few hours later, at dinnertime, the boy was back. He asked Dovi loudly, in front of everyone, “Were you once in Yeshiva Boys Choir by any chance?” Dovi mentions the recent fame Miami Boys Choir got when they went viral on TikTok. “People ask me what I think about it. I say thank G-d I wasn’t in Miami Boys Choir. If I was, I would lock myself in a closet for a few weeks.” In fact, it is for this very reason that “Dovi” refuses to have his real name published.

Spinner’s Take Yitzy Spinner is more open to the experience of stardom. At the time, Yitzy was kind of famous in the frum world, and whether he was in camp or just the neighborhood, people would stop and recognize him. In fact, even today, there are people who still recognize his face from his days in MBC. “I’m not gonna lie to you; it was fun for a kid,” he shares. “But it had its challenges, too.”

Yitzy did feel a certain social pressure at

school. “You have to live with the fact that you’re the kid everyone recognizes. Sometimes, when you’re a kid, you just want to be a kid.”

Once he got older and left the choir, his face recognition wasn’t the same, but Yitzy doesn’t suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

“You move on. My years in the choir are very much a part of who I am, and I’m not running away from it. But I’m not stuck in the past. I have a lot of things going on in my life right now.”

And that’s what he focuses on. He recalls a classic comment he once got: “Hey, didn’t you used to be Yitzy Spinner?”

“I still am Yitzy Spinner,” he replied. “I’m just not 12 anymore.”

From “So Low” to Composer As for Yitzy Bald, although he is passionate about how much the choir built him up and builds up the boys in his choir, he is wont to share with the boys in his own choir that, in fact, as a child in Tzlil V’zemer he did not get any solos.

“I was ‘so low’” he jokes. But he accepted that happily.

He understood that he did not have the melodious voices of Mendy Wald and Shloimy Dachs (the star soloists in Tzlil V’zemer at the time), but he still felt a part of something he was proud of. Similarly, with his own choir, while he very much appreciates the elegance solos add, and is sure to feature them integrally in production and at concerts, at the same time, he doesn’t play it up to the boys. He doesn’t make a big deal about it, and like himself years before, all the children in NYBC feel confident, happy, and good about themselves. And the transformation that occurred to the young Yitzy Bald has been repeated and repeated many times in adult Yitzy’s work in Camp Agudah and in NYBC. Still, Yitzy did star as a child, in his own way. It happened when he was in summer camp in Camp Torah V’daas, and he had found out that his parents couldn’t make it for Visiting Day. It was Shabbos, the day before Visiting Day, at shalosh seudos. As Yitzy was pondering his disappointing situation, a song suddenly popped into his head, along with the words. He quickly left the dining room and ran to the baseball field, singing to himself over and over: “Ki m’Tzion/Teitzei Torah/U’dvar Hashem/M’Yerushalayim,” so he wouldn’t forget it. On Motzei Shabbos, he was still moping about the next day, as he walked around the camp aimlessly. It was almost lights out, but his mind was not on camp rules right then. He ambled past the shul, when he heard music playing. It was the elite staff members at the time, Moshe Shanik, Shmuel Fogel, Sholom Francis, and Yitzy Erps, plus a few others. They were practicing for their performance the next day. Without thinking, the young camper walked in.

“What are you doing here, kid?” someone demanded of him. “It’s almost lights out.”

Meekly, Yitzy offered, “I…I made up a song.” He hung his head, knowing the big hotshots wouldn’t

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JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

fact, this was a condition Yossi made with him upon joining the choir: “The choir can never come at the expense of school.” (Dovi’s school was off on Sundays, so that helped, too,) As for performing at concerts, Yeshiva Boys Choir doesn’t do many out-of-country concerts, so they usually managed to fit well into his school schedule – at least somewhat. Dovi recalls how Yossi would promise the boys a pizza party if they returned to yeshiva on time after a concert.

As for Yitzy Spinner, he is not sure exactly how choir practice and concerts worked out with his school schedule.

He assumes his parents worked it out with the parties involved. “I just did what I was told to do.” There were some concerts out of the country, he recalls, but those were generally at the end of the year, on Chanukah, and on chol hamoed, not so much during most school months.

“How does such a young child handle so much travel and flying?” I wonder.

But Yitzy doesn’t relate. “I was traveling the world with friends. I was getting to see all these people and places. Flying is fun for a kid! Jetlag? Which kid thinks about jetlag?”

Yitzy Bald has only fond memories of his choir years.

He recalls how the choir leader, a Lubavitcher fellow by the name Avraham Rosenberg, maintained a warm and healthy atmosphere in his choir, giving out nosh at choir practice and making the boys feel good about themselves, without inflating their egos.

For Yitzy Spinner, spending so much time with the choir meant that the choir boys made up a big chunk of his social circle. He felt closer to them than even his classmates. Though the boys came from different backgrounds and communities, their differences didn’t register to each other. They took each other in stride. Still, over time, the boys did gravitate into subgroups depending on age and on for how long they had been in the choir.

Yitzy Spinner and Dovi both reveal the way choirs operate: Not all boys are ready to perform at concerts right away. Firstly, not all kids get all the songs right away. And, aside from singing, there is another skill they need to master: choreography (dancing in unison). Those who are not ready don’t appear in those songs, or not at all, at concerts.

So, naturally, not all kids were in the same situation at all times.

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take him seriously. To his surprise, Sholom Francis beckoned to him from the guitar he was playing. “You made up a song? Come, sing it for us.”

Yitzy began singing his song once again. “Ki m’Tzion/ Teitzei Torah/U’dvar Hashem…” Sholom accompanied him with his guitar. Slowly, the others joined in, too. After about two rounds, Sholom told Yitzy, “Hey, kid, this is pretty good! I want you to sing it tomorrow at the concert, and we’ll back you with our band.” (Later, this song was produced professionally by Avi Fishoff on an album named Shevach.) Yitzy didn’t get to see his parents that Sunday, but the boost in confidence he received was just what he needed. He is still grateful to Sholom Francis for taking him seriously, believing in a young child and not dismissing him.

And to this day, these are Yitzy’s passions: The deep power of music, the importance of building people – especially children – up, and the intersection of the two; using music as a vehicle to give children that confidence and self-esteem.

The Power of the Choir Yitzy Bald is emphatic that a choir is a powerful tool to build up children, in many ways. He gets messages and texts from parents describing how much their child’s self-esteem grew as a result of the choir. Many children with ADHD learn from their choir work on how to focus and how to control their impulses. They become different kids.

He shares a story of a boy whose parents went through a messy divorce. The family was literally tearing apart at its seams. This boy was in NYBC at the time and would come to Yitzy’s home to practice many a night. Today, the boy is thriving, learning in one of the premier yeshivos in the United States. It is clear to Yitzy that going through what he did, there is no way this boy would be where he is today if he hadn’t had the choir in his life to counteract his traumatic family situation.

As Adults Today, Dovi still uses his musical talents and ear, mainly in the production and composition sphere. He still very much appreciates music but prefers a more behind-thescenes presence. His taste in music also leans away from much of the popular rock and jazz style which is very much in vogue today. He is wont to quote Abie Rotenberg’s classic

line (from Journeys 3) “One thing you must keep in mind/A Jewish song of any kind/Is only holy if and when/It brings you closer to Hashem”.

In shidduchim now, Dovi’s big fear is he will be on a shidduch date with a girl and she will recognize him from Yeshiva Boys Choir…and suddenly her tone of voice will change….

I ask Dovi: With Hashem’s help, he will soon be married and have children. Would he send his own children to sing in a choir as he did? Dovi thinks about the question. He puts his head down.

“I’m not sure,” he finally says. “I need to think about it some more.”

Yitzy Spinner is currently married with children, living in Great Neck, NY. His music career is still ongoing. He is a chazan, and he is also involved in music production.

“Hey, didn’t you used to be Yitzy Spinner?” “I still am Yitzy Spinner.

I’m just not 12 anymore.”

“In fact, as we speak, I have an orchestra in Hungary recording for one of the big name singers, a name you would surely recognize,” Yitzy reveals.

He explains that even as a child in the choir, he was drawn to the production side of music, more than most of the other boys in Miami Boys Choir. Even Yerachmiel Begun would discuss with him different pieces and nuances he was considering and ask Yitzy’s opinion. (Yitzy has no idea whether Yerachmiel actually followed his advice.)

What did his experience in the choir do for him as an adult? Confidence. Yitzy had the unique experience of taking on an audience of a few thousand people, sometimes alone on the stage.

“You have to learn how to tell yourself, ‘This will be OK. And not only OK, but this will be great.’”

This confidence is a solid foundation for Yitzy now as an adult. As a chazan, he can daven in front of hundreds of

Every Song Has an Address Yitzy Bald has many stories of various people being powerfully affected by the songs he composed, each in their own way. He is wont to say “every song has an address” – of whom it was meant to affect. One moving incident involved Reb Moshe Sherer, z”l.

Yitzy was at the Agudah Convention one year, when someone approached him with a message from Rabbi Sherer, asking Yitzy to come over to his table.

Yitzy duly complied, not knowing what Rabbi Sherer needed. When he found the table, Reb Moshe Sherer asked him and his small group of friends to sing “Tatteh,” a popular slow composition of Yitzy’s (sung on a Yisroel Wulliger album). When the group got to the high part, Yitzy noticed that the normally reserved aristocratic askan was crying. Yitzy felt uncomfortable but said nothing and just kept on singing. The group moved on to the next song, but soon Reb Moshe asked them to sing “Tatteh” once again, and the same scene repeated

people, and he is comfortable in front of a crowd of any size.

Yitzy would send his children to join a choir in a heartbeat, if it could work logistically (he lives too far and is too busy for his children to join choirs in Brooklyn), and his kids would be interested (so far they have never asked).

His kids are happy the way they are and don’t need it, but Yitzy certainly looks back fondly at his time.

“It was an amazing experience.” He strongly recommends it for whomever can do it.

Yitzy Bald has been doing choir and music production for many years, directing the music production in Camp Agudah, including a cantata choir during the Nine Days, as well as concerts by outside performers. The cantata choir, especially, contains many meaningful songs, which he works on together with Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, who provides the words for the tunes Yitzy composes.

But NYBC is his baby. Founded in 2008, it is now Yitzy’s main focus, as far as music is concerned (he’s still a rebbe, though). Most songs he now composes are used for the choir. Yitzy also has the advantage of years of chinuch experience. And to him, the choir is a form of chinuch. He sees his true goal as building children up through music.

And the scores of letters, calls, texts and emails from enthusiastic, grateful parents testify to his success with that.

During the Covid months, when much of life came to a standstill, NYBC was not spared. Many parents were nervous to let their children come to choir practice, and attendance dwindled. To supplement this, Yitzy hit upon a novel idea. NYBC For Everyone requires no auditioning, and is, like its name, for everyone. It runs parallel but separate from its “older brother” NYBC Pro. Any boy who can benefit from the experience of practicing in a professional-like choir, which of course includes performances (mainly for proud parents and relatives) on a real stage, with the whole nine yards, can sign up. Since there is less professional pressure here, Yitzy makes sure to give each participant a solo at performances, something he cannot do with NYBC Pro. It is also more geographically diverse than the Pro division. While the former is based out of Five Towns and Brooklyn, NYBC For Everyone also has branches in Lakewood, Monsey, Queens, and more.

But Yitzy’s objective with both divisions is really one and the same: To give boys a healthy outlet, self-esteem, and a positive venue in which to express and develop their talents and skills, using that to grow into better ovdei Hashem.

itself. Yitzy wondered what was going on but didn’t have the chutzpah to ask Reb Moshe directly. He got the answer soon enough. Reb Moshe’s son, Reb Shimshon Sherer, came over to Yitzy on Motzei Shabbos and explained that Reb Moshe had been diagnosed with cancer, r”l, the year before. (At the time of the Convention, he was already in remission.) On the way to the hospital, everyone was anxious and stressed, and Rabbi Sherer asked his son to play some music. Yisroel Wulliger’s new album was in the car, and Reb Shimson began playing it. When they reached the song “Tatteh,” he heard his father weeping from the back seat. When the song finished, Reb Moshe Sherer asked his son to play it again, and yet again – all the way to the hospital. And in the subsequent months, as Reb Moshe went through excruciating chemo treatments, he listened to that song every single day.

That’s what gave him the strength to go on.

Yitzy can be reached at 917-225-3113 or at yitzybald@gmail.com.

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Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

My mother’s brother, our uncle, was always the comic relief of the family. All of us kids loved when Uncle Benny came over and spent Shabbosim with us. Years have gone by and all of us kids got married but Uncle Benny has since remained single. Here and there, we try to set him up, but

it never goes anywhere. Now more than ever, when Benny needs a happening place to be, my parents enjoy inviting him. When he comes and one or two of us marrieds are there as well, we end up feeling awkward. We almost feel bad that we’re married and he’s not. We know obviously it’s illogical, because whatever is meant to be is meant to be, but we feel like it’s an elephant in the room that has completely changed our dynamic around him.

We’re wondering if there is a way to make things normal or back to the way they were. Is there something we can do or say? Should we go above and beyond to try and set him up more? Not set him up at all?

We would really appreciate the panel’s thoughts. Thank you so much.

-Elisheva*

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

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The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. ou are a caring bunch. Keep in mind that perhaps your uncle could probably use someone his own age like his sister to encourage him and support him through dating. That’s not your role, obviously.

You care and would love to see him with a family of his own, however.

Since you have tried to fix him up in the past, I would suggest that you bite the bullet. One of you, perhaps one who is particularly close to him, should pull him aside privately or go out for a walk with him. The script can be practiced before but should be thought through so that he is neither patronized nor uncomfortable. He should come out of it feeling loved as well as respected.

It could go something like this: “We love spending time with you here at our parents’

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home where we have enjoyable family seudos together. I was just wondering if you are still open to suggestions of women to date. You know I care deeply about you, and I would really love it if you found your life partner. But I don’t know if it’s my place to keep trying to fix you up. What is most comfortable for you, Uncle Benny? Do you want to think about it and get back to me?”

The Shadchan Michelle Mond o not act as Benny’s shadchan. Act as Benny’s family. Just because he is not married does not mean he is no longer the person he once was! He still is the fun, entertaining uncle – and I bet that what he wants more than anything is for everyone to just act NORMAL. Go about your normal married lives around him, shmooze about the good times, laugh at old jokes, poke fun

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and enjoy the banter.

What I have come to realize is what singles hate most is feeling like everyone around them has to suddenly be a shadchan. They feel that everyone around them feels the obligation to help. They constantly have to feel out the “nebach” vibes permeating through every member of the house.

They feel your hesitancy to talk about your new apartment or your kid’s chumash party, and they don’t like it.

Invite Benny for meals at your place, have him get to know your new husband, and they can build a relationship, too. Give him a fun place to chill. He will feel the love and support. You might feel like this is not helping but it actually is. Through this love, support, and nonjudgmental warmth he will feel at your house, the more energized he will be to get out there, date, and build a family like yours. Shoving it in his face by acting awkward and different when he comes by will push him away.

Thanks for shedding light on this im-

portant issue by sharing your question!

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler t is an unfortunate fact of life that in our insular community, an important measure of success is whether a person is, or is not, married.

However, whether by choice or by circumstance, there are many who remain single.

According to Rebbetzin Dr. Yardana Hodkin, Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Langone Medical Center, “Utilizing a person’s marital status as a major barometer of success in life is very sad.

If getting married is simply not working out for an individual, remember that there are many different avenues through which a person can achieve fulfillment in life and that there are many different

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you laugh, lights up family gatherings, and clearly loves you.

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

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ear Elisheva, Thanks for your email! It seems like you have a wonderful, warm, and caring

family! I know that place to say any-

don’t it’s your t h i ng to

As part of your task of achieving avodas Hashem, perhaps you should consider how important it is for you to always make your uncle feel welcomed and loved by you and your family.

“Feeling awkward” is not something that objectively exists or doesn’t exist; it

is a construct of your own mind. So, please consider that the first step in alleviating this situation is for you to reprogram your thinking and change your mentality.

Our job in life is to successfully be a true Eved Hashem, under any circumstances that Hashem gives us.

Uncle Benny. Keep offering suggestions of women he can go out with. Things will feel normal and comfortable when you change your outlook. Uncle Benny isn’t married but that doesn’t mean that he is uncomfortable. As you and your siblings/cousins get older and become adults, you are seeing Uncle Benny through a different lens. But nothing has actually changed.

Go on enjoying your lives around Uncle

Benny. He is likely thrilled to see his nieces and nephews getting married. And if he is having a hard time, that doesn’t mean he wants you to hide your joy from him. You are allowed to be openly and happily married. Most healthy(ish) people do not want their loved ones to hide their joy from them because they don’t have the same.

All the best!

Jennifer

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

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

pathways to avodas Hashem.”

So, Elisheva, your Uncle Benny sounds like a very incredible person. He makes

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Parenting Pearls

Travel Tips for Families

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

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ravel is always challenging – even more so for families with children.

With us being in the yeshiva week “tekufa,” I thought this may be a good time to discuss some things that can be helpful for families “on the go.”

Whether a long distant destination or a local museum, being prepared is always important. It’s the time and foresight we put into preparing that often leads to the best family trips.

Bringing the Basics Hungry kids (and adults) are cranky.

It’s helpful to have plenty of snacks prepared and meals ready. I know kids want bags of chips, candy and cookies, but children can’t live only on sugar. Try including something healthy as well as protein-packed. We want them feeling fed, not just hyper.

Have plenty of water available, especially when traveling to sunnier destinations. Kids get thirsty, and hydration is important. On a similar note, frequent bathroom breaks are a must; offer to stop when you pass the facilities.

Keep with you kids acetaminophen

and ibuprofen, band-aids, tissues, hand sanitizer, sunscreen and similar basic necessities. You’d be surprised how handy those items are. Extra diapers, wipes and changes of clothes (especially for those recently potty trained) are important, too.

Keep with you a sufficient supply of any medicines your family routinely requires, such as those for allergy or dermatological conditions or anything prescribed.

Naptime is important and needs to be included in your plans, both for kids and adults. Please make sure the one driving the vehicle is always well rested before getting behind the wheel. Especially on long road trips, it’s tempting to drive those extra hours. Research shows how poorly tired drivers respond on the road.

Include activities for children to do while traveling. They get bored surprisingly quickly and are liable to drive each other crazy. Have a variety of options available, including music, audio stories, and options that are not “screens.” Be mindful of the mess an activity creates before packing it. If it can produce a mess, inevitably it will.

Safety Children are very excited about visiting new places and seeing the world around them. It’s easy for them to forget to hold an adult’s hand or stay close. Buddy systems, high visibility or matching shirts, and carriers worn on the body (for babies and toddlers) can all help to keep everyone together.

Children can become easily distracted and not realize the family has moved

on to the next exhibit. Adults should frequently check to make sure everyone is accounted for. If adults will be going in separate directions, make sure it’s clear with whom each child is going. Nobody wants to get into the argument of “but I thought you had him.”

Make sure you have a recent photo of each child that clearly shows their face.

We may have hundreds of pictures of our children on our phone, but surprisingly few have a clear view of the face. Of those showing facial features, the kids are usually making funny or bizarre expressions.

It can be helpful to take a picture of each child before leaving so you know exactly what they’re wearing that day.

Everyone should know the cellphone number of the accompanying adults and discuss in advance what to do if they, chas v’shalom, become separated from the group. Review basic safety information that is relevant to your trip.

Derech Eretz Derech eretz is so basic but undeniably important. Especially as visibly frum families, others will judge us not only as individuals but also as members of the Jewish nation. Basics, such as not littering, cutting lines or screaming, are often forgotten by kids but noticed by those around us.

We need to remember that we are outside among other people. We are quite a culture shock for them! We dress differently, eat only kosher food, and speak fluent “Yinglish.” Our larger families stand out in a society with an

Clear Expectations Kids often want to do the right thing, but they don’t instinctively know how to behave in various situations. Adults frequently make the mistake of assuming a child knows how to act, and what to do, in each situation they will encounter. We assume they know to be quiet during the

rav’s speech and not run in screaming for a lollipop. It’s obvious to us to not wipe chocolate-covered hands on our mother’s new shirt. It seems clear that if something in the museum is blocking your path, it means we don’t cross the barrier or hop over it. We assume that children understand that it’s impolite to

them when they err. We certainly want to be mechanech them, but we want to do so gently and be mindful that they may not have intended to do the wrong thing.

During vacation, children are exposed to many new situations and places. There are many benefits for a child to experience new things, and parents

Making a kiddush Hashem never takes a vacation, and good middos should travel with us everywhere.

loudly say something about another person’s appearance.

Often, a child or teen doesn’t realize what’s expected of them. We may get upset or embarrassed when they make these mistakes and yell or harshly discipline a well-intentioned youngster.

Rather than punish or scream, many of these situations can be avoided with a little preparation and understanding.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t correct

shouldn’t shy away from introducing their child to novel locations.

Clearly explaining appropriate behavior beforehand can both benefit a child’s chinuch and prevent unpleasant situations. Make clear your expectations, and give examples, whenever possible. “There will be many people there.

You need to stay close to us and not run ahead.” “This is a ‘no touch’ museum.

You can look but keep your hands be-

hind the roped off area.” “You can gently touch the petting zoo animals. Let me show you how to do it.”

Any new part of the experience can be discussed prior to going. It’s surprising how few kids understand the basics that we take for granted. We need to see the trip from our child’s eyes to recognize what will be new for them.

This technique is rather universal and can be used before many major events or new experiences, such as weddings or other simchos. For some children, a verbal explanation will be sufficient. Other children may require acting it out or seeing relevant pictures.

Traveling with children is challenging but gives them exciting and incredible experiences. Take some pictures, smile at them, and have some fun as you get to see the world through their young eyes. This is when some of the best memories are created. Enjoy and have a great Shabbos!

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.

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ever-decreasing birth rate. We may say “kids are kids,” but that doesn’t mean the guy on the plane wants to hear them.

The majority of the world is gentiles, and we are less than .2% of the world population. Our families are likely to meet a few non-Jewish people during our travels. Especially for children raised in predominantly frum communities, it can be an adjustment to recognize that the world around us has different norms.

Those traveling farther away need to remember that the year-long residents don’t always appreciate having their communities taken over.

While still maintaining pride in our heritage, we need to have constant awareness to respect others and that we are living in their country. Making a kiddush Hashem never takes a vacation, and good middos should travel with us everywhere.

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School of

Thought

By Etti Siegel

Q:

Dear Etti, Some kids seem to make friends so easily. My son is struggling. My heart hurts as I watch him trail behind the other kids when I drop him off or pick him up from school or stop by school to give something to the office and get a glimpse of him at recess.

How can I help him?

- Concerned

A:

Dear Concerned, You are a wise parent. Having friends is so important and knowing how to form those relationships is just as important as getting good grades. You can’t actually make friends for your child, but you can try to teach him the crucial social skills he needs.

Dr. Rachel Busman, a psychologist who works with anxious children, explains that shy children struggle with making friends and need help and support knowing what to do and transitioning to new situations.

Dr. Mary Rooney, a psychologist who works with many children who have ADHD, says that social skills do not come naturally to many children, especially children who are impulsive or hyperactive. They have trouble taking turns and dealing with the times when things don’t go their way. Children who struggle with focus might not be sure how to assert themselves and so they end up out of the loop.

Both agree that children who are having difficulty making friends need help learning social skills.

Start by reaching out to your child’s teacher to get a clearer picture of what your child does around other children. Does he hang back? Push his way forward? Talk incessantly? Not take turns? Give up very quickly with a more assertive child? The clearer the picture, the better you will be able to help him.

Try some coaching. Play some games and encourage turn-taking. Teach your child how to lose gracefully. Don’t always let him win when you play with him – that defeats the purpose! Share what happened in your social interactions over the course of the day, share some stories of different events that happened to others without using names, and show how you dealt with issues that arose. (Of course, in your everyday interactions, your child needs to see you model the patience and turn-taking you are coaching him to learn.)

Does your child look people in the eye when he speaks?

Does he pick up on other people’s moods? These are im-

more friends if he joins an athletportant skills that help develop conic activity. Kids care about sports, nections with others.

Children who and if your child doesn’t, it will Social stories are a wonderful are having leave him on the outs again. Can source of learning and are often difficulty making someone practice throwing balls springboard for discussions. For with him and see if he can catch preschool and first grade, social friends need help and throw and if he is afraid of the stories are books like I Go to School learning social ball? (If he is afraid, be careful to and I Go to the Park by Rikki Benbuild him up and not tease him for enfeld, Hachai Publishing. Books skills. being scared of being hit, and keep like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and Savta in mind that boys spend a lot of time Simcha are helpful to read with your at school playing sports. Check with child in grades 2-4. the teacher if there are other boys Playing “Finish the Story” by sharing a scenario without an ending will get his brain who don’t like sports and find out what they play with or thinking. It will also help you identify where his social do instead.)

There are social groups run by social workers that could deficits are. An example: Chaim and Yossi are looking at Gedolim cards. Shimmy wants to join. Finish the story. improve your child’s ability to make friends. Ask your son’s Or: Chaim and Yossi think Shimmy is out. Shimmy thinks pediatrician, teacher, or school social worker if he/she can he got to the base before the ball, and he isn’t out. Finish recommend any.

Dr. Bussman reminds parents to be careful, though. the story.

If there is a social worker in your child’s school, ask Some children are more introverted and prefer being by for a phone or in-person meeting. He/she might be able to themselves. “Different children in the same family can have observe your son and pinpoint where the deficits are and different social limits and degrees of comfort. A child who prefers quiet time or being in small groups isn’t necessarily either guide you and/or work with your child directly.

Playdates at your house, under your supervision, are avoiding other kids.” They still need to learn social skills very enlightening. Your child will be most comfortable at and be with other people, but one or two friends are OK. home, and you will get to see firsthand what the issues are. Your son might not need a whole gang to hang out with.

You might need to practice with your child before a friend Your son also might not be able to handle more social accomes over, enabling a shy child to know what to expect tivities if he goes to school every day. He might relish being during a playdate and a more impulsive child to know what home and playing by himself. Maybe an activity he enjoys the expectations are when having a friend over. once a week can widen his social circle without taxing his I always found carpool to be an eye-opening experi- more introverted nature.

As always, we need to remember that our children are ence, and other mothers I spoke with feel the same. The kids often forget the driver is a listening adult, and you not an extension of ourselves. Dr. Rooney’s advice is to keep can figure out a lot about your child’s social skills from everything in perspective. “Kids need just one or two good friends. You don’t have to worry about them being the most that short ride.

Are there any Sunday or after-school activities that popular kid in their class.”

Hatzlacha, would help your son develop closer friendships? Be sure - Etti to remember that a less athletic child might not make

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.

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Health & F tness

Destination Diet: Healthy Habits While on Vacation

By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

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f you are on a diet plan for weight management, it can be stressful to go on vacation since you’re not eating your meals at home. Many vacation spots have kosher restaurants available to dine in, but most of the food contains more calories, saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar. If you’re traveling to a place that lacks kosher options, you might order catered food which can also be highly processed. This article will provide tips and strategies on how to navigate eating well on vacation and prevent jeopardizing your weight goals.

Navigating Kosher Restaurants Places like Miami, Israel, Panama, Mexico, or California have a lot of kosher restaurants available, and many of you might eat out the majority of your meals.

Here are some strategies you can use to stay on track when you go out to eat.

Learning what each menu term means can help you understand how the food is cooked.

Here are a few terms you might see

on the menu that can mean the restaurant food is healthier: 1. Broiled- Food is exposed to direct heat from above in an oven or broiler, resulting in a seared exterior and moist interior. The food is usually made without excess oil. Chicken, meat and fish are great options for broiling.

2. Steamed- Food is cooked with hot steam or moist heat. This method doesn’t involve oil and is a great way to prepare vegetables.

3. Seared- A way to quickly cook the surface of food at high heat to create a flavorful and charred exterior and maintain a juicy interior. This method of cooking is good for meat and chicken.

4. Grilled- Usually involves cooking food on a grill or grill pan over an open flame or heat source to create a smoky flavor and grill marks. Chicken is a popular option to grill.

5. Roasted- Cooking foods in an oven or with a dry-heat environment with a light amount of oil. The food is roasted until it becomes browned, crispy, and develops a rich flavor. This

is a method you can use for most foods.

Here are a few terms that imply the restaurant food may be unhealthier: 1. Breaded/Battered- The food is usually coated with flour and fried.

2. Caramelized- Cooking in butter until the food is browned.

3. Creamy- The sauce that the foods are in have high-calorie ingredients like milk, cream, butter, and mayonnaise.

4. Crispy- Can be another term for fried in breading and oil.

5. Glazed- The food has an outside layer that is sugary and/or oily.

Next time you are at a restaurant, try to order foods that contain the healthiest term words to avoid the extra calories, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium found in the foods that contain the unhealthier terms.

Start with Vegetables Starting your meal with vegetable-based appetizers or a salad can help you feel fuller sooner and avoid overeating at the main course. This can

also help with getting the nutritional benefits that vegetables offer like micronutrients and antioxidants. If you’re ordering an appetizer, remember to stick to the healthier menu terms like roasted or steamed.

Or…Start with Broth-Based Soup If you prefer starting your meal with soup, stick to broth-based. Examples of broth-based soups contain vegetable-broth, meat-broth, chicken-broth, and bone-broth. These soups provide us with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients like collagen. Collagen is a protein that is responsible for skin elasticity and healthy joints. Broth-based soups are flavorful and don’t have added calories and fat found in other soups that have a creamier base like a bisque.

Having soup before your main course can also help you feel more full and avoid overeating.

Sauces and Dressings Whether you’re ordering a salad, ap-

tables. Portion sizing is still important even if you order a healthier option.

Review Menu in Advance If you have time, review the menu in advance so you can plan what you want to eat. This will help relieve any anxiety or uncertainty you may have and prepare you to eat a healthy meal. This also ensures that the restaurant you’re going to has healthier options, because there are some food establishments that have none.

Appetizers and Desserts While it’s tempting to order appetizers and desserts, it’s important to be mindful of how often you indulge, how much you eat of it, and the food options you choose. Desserts and appetizers have extra calories and added sugars which can contribute to weight gain. It’s okay to indulge once in a while and then move on afterwards to your regular rou-

Ask Questions When in doubt, just ask! The food servers are knowledgeable when it comes to the menu, and they can also clarify your questions with the chef. If you want to make sure a sauce is low in calories, or to ask how your entrée will be cooked, it’s smart to inquire about it before you order.

Engage in Physical Activity Exercise is helpful for weight maintenance on vacation. You don’t need to search for a gym, but simply try to find time to walk, or engage in other fun activities like tennis and swimming. Movement can help you feel more energized and compensate for any excess calories you consume that day.

Don’t Forget to Enjoy If you rarely go out to eat, it’s okay to occasionally splurge or go off your diet. One night of dining out won’t ruin

Control Portion Sizes A great way to save calories is by splitting your dish with a dinner companion. Many restaurants provide huge portions so splitting an entrée can help prevent overeating. If you can’t split your dish, ask for a to-go box at the beginning of your meal to prevent eating all of your food. This can also provide you with lunch or dinner for the next day!

Another option is to just order an appetizer since many appetizers are a little smaller than entrées but also filling!

Don’t Order Hungry It’s not a good idea to go out to eat if you feel like you’re starving. While this can help us savor and enjoy the meal, it will actually cause us to order more food and overeat. Try eating a snack or light meal before you go out to eat to prevent yourself from eating and ordering too much. Examples can be low-fat Greek yogurt, an apple, or carrots with hummus.

You can also think of it as an “appetizer” before your entrée at the restaurant.

Eat Similarly to Home If you dine out frequently, order foods that you similarly eat at home. Our meals at home should include lots of vegetables, a protein like chicken or fish, and fiber like quinoa or whole grain bread.

Many restaurants have unhealthy menu items like fried chicken or creamy pastas, but there are usually healthy options to choose from. Opt in for salads with protein like fish or chicken, or a protein entrée like roasted steak, chicken, or fish with a side of steamed or roasted vege-

Starting your meal with vegetable-based appetizers or a salad can help you feel fuller sooner and avoid overeating at the main course.

tine. Other ways to navigate appetizers and dessert is to take a few bites, split it with someone, or opt for preferable options. For example, you can choose appetizers that are mostly vegetables like a small salad or roasted veggie dish.

For dessert, sorbet is a preferred option since ice cream and cake is higher in calories and fat. You can also order fruit like strawberries and blueberries if you want something sweet at the end of your meal.

Avoid Drinking Your Calories Many beverage options like alcohol, juice, and sodas contain significant calories and added sugar. Stick to water, tea, and coffee or other low-calorie drink options on the menu. Selecting these beverage options can prevent you from drinking your calories.

It’s essential to also maintain good hydration over vacation especially if you’re traveling to a hot destination. Dehydration can make you feel dizzy, fatigued, and contribute to headaches. For weight maintenance, drinking enough water can help control your appetite and reduce hunger so you’re less likely to overeat.

your progress if you resume your normal dietary routine the next day. Going out to eat is a great way to spend time with family, friends, and celebrate occasions.

Don’t allow yourself to get stressed about food. Just do your best and enjoy your time out.

Bringing Your Own Food?

Often, people travel to destinations that lack kosher options and one is forced to bring/cook their own food.

You can still eat healthily by following these few tips.

Choosing Healthier Catered Food Already-made meals can be high in sodium and sugar, but there are healthy options you can purchase instead. Opt in for grilled chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, string beans, brown rice instead of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and white rice. Request to have your meals double wrapped so you can reheat it at the hotel or Airbnb. Already-made food can easily be packed in the car or in a checked-bag if you’re flying.

Consider Purchasing a CrockPot or Slow-Cooker If you’re allowed to, you can ship a small crock-pot, slow-cooker, or Betty Crocker Pizza Maker to your hotel or Airbnb to make chicken, salmon, and eggs. You can also bring/ship your own pots and pans. These cooking methods can be useful if you prefer to cook your own food and control what goes into each dish.

No Fridge?

If there is no fridge available for food storage, here are meal options you can bring that don’t require to be refrigerated: 1. Whole grain sandwiches or wraps with tuna packets or almond or peanut butter.

2. Canned food: Chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans are filling meals.

3. Oatmeal packets: If you have hot water available, instant regular oatmeal can be easily made.

4. Beef Jerky: Try to find one made without sugar.

5. Protein bars: Look for ones with minimal sugar that are high in protein and fiber.

Stick to Healthy Snacks Whether you’re packing or buying snacks on vacation, the snack options should be mainly healthy. Apples, berries, cantaloupe, baby carrots, celery, pretzels, nuts, healthier protein bars, dark chocolate, popcorn, and wholegrain crackers are great options.

While it may seem impossible to eat healthy while on vacation, utilize these strategies to ensure that you stay on track! It’s important to enjoy your vacation time with family and friends and even indulge in an unhealthy meal once in a while. If you resume your normal healthy eating patterns post-vacation, any “damage” that was done during vacation will be reversed. The primary goal for vacation is weight maintenance, and if successfully achieved, then your vacation resulted in a true victory!

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

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petizer, or an entrée, most come with sauces or dressings. If you’re eating a salad, opt in for vinegar-based dressings like balsamic, red wine, and apple cider, lemon juice, olive oil, vinaigrettes (olive oil and vinegar), and low-fat dressing options like Caesar or Thousand Island. It’s essential to portion control with dressings, so ask to have the dressing on the side and only use up to two tablespoons or google the serving size suggestion for that dressing.

It can be harder to control what sauces to eat if the food is cooked with it.

You can try to ask the waiter to swap a healthier sauce for a dish you want. If the sauce is served on the side, ask if there is a fat-free or low-fat option or ask to switch the sauce to a healthier option.

Healthier options include Greek yogurt, mushroom sauce, pesto, salsa, hot sauce, or low-calorie options for ketchup, BBQ, mayo, and buffalo sauces.

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Hum

r

Reflections upon a Milestone Birthday

By Country Yossi Toiv

I

Don’t Pass the Donuts, Please!

recently celebrated my 75th birthday, b”H. When I told my good friend and rebbi, Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, about it, he noted that 75 in gematria is ayin-hay which stands for Olam Haba, The World to Come. I started feeling really good about myself thinking I was a ben Olam Haba, but then he noted that it also stands for am Haaretz, an unlearned ignoramus, which brought me back down to earth pretty quickly!

As I look back over the inexplicable course my life has taken over these many years, one thing becomes crystal clear: It’s a miracle I’m alive!

Not once or twice but at least three times in my life, Hashem in His infinite mercy has seen fit to intervene and rescue me from life-threatening situations that have tragically taken so many others!

Let me tell you about the big three.

Miracle On Franklin Avenue The D train thundered down the track swerving and screeching as it sped towards the Franklin Avenue station that early Sunday morning. It was 8:30 am, and my brother Moshe and I were heading to yeshiva (Lubavitch) on Bedford Ave, on the corner Dean Street. I was 12, and he was 9 years old. We were sitting in the last seat in the last car of a completely deserted train! Well, almost deserted! A disheveled-looking homeless man reeking of liquor and worse was lying across three seats directly opposite us. He looked harmless and was fast asleep, so we paid him no heed. We were pretty fearless in those days, although maybe naïve and foolish would be more accurate. In any case, we were also lulled to sleep by the constant rocking motion of the train, so we leaned against each other and dozed off.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes to check where we were and saw the large green letters FRANKLIN AVE on the tiled station

wall. Our stop! I jumped up, grabbed my knapsack with one hand and Moshe with the other and ran for the door. The doors hissed and began to close. Moshe scampered out, and I just made it out too, except for one small problem: my left ankle was still on the train. The metal door was shut tightly on my foot, and no amount of twisting and pulling by me or Moshe could get it out! I threw down my knapsack and began shouting to the conductor, “Help, help, I’m stuck” but he was nowhere to be seen. The airbrake ominously hissed off and slowly the train began moving forward …shlepping me along. As my brother receded into the distance, I saw the wall at the far end of the station loom larger and larger as the train picked up speed.

I was sure that it was over for me. In desperation, I screamed out, “Shema Yisroel Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad!”

Suddenly, the drunken man who was sleeping on the train towered above me in the door window. Just for an instant, his bloodshot eyes locked on mine as he

took in the situation. Then I saw his fingers push through the hard rubber molding holding my ankle in their unyielding grip. I watched him grimace and strain at those doors like Shimshon Hagibor between the stone columns in the temple of the Plishtim. Then, with one last, mighty heave, he miraculously spread those doors barely an inch apart…but that was enough! My shoe fell off inside the train, my foot came loose and finally, panting on the platform, I watched the train quickly vanish into the dark tunnel. Right before the last car disappeared, I saw my shoe come flying out the window and slam into the far wall. That could easily have been me! I thanked Hashem for His quick response and wondered if Eliyahu Hanavi could possibly disguise himself as an inebriated vagrant on a deserted D train in Brooklyn.

I decided yes – he could!

That was the first time my life was miraculously spared. But thankfully, not the last!

The next occasion would be four years later in the Bronx as I was rushing through a quick breakfast about to head out to Taft High School for my summertime make-up Geometry Regent.

(Don’t ask!)

I had just taken a big bite out of a sugar-coated doughnut and took a sip of milk to wash it down. I washed it down alright…right down my windpipe!

I couldn’t breathe. I jumped up and ran to my mother holding my throat. She started screaming and began banging on my back with her open hand. It wasn’t working! I couldn’t get a puff of air in or out.I was down on one knee on the kitchen floor starting to see the darkness closing in.

But then, my older sister Channa, who was just getting ready to leave to work, heard the commotion and came rushing into the kitchen. Reacting quickly, she stuck her finger down my throat and after some maneuvering was able to dislodge a small piece of donut. But that was enough. I managed to suck in some blessed air and slowly but surely coughed out the rest. I was seconds away from passing out. She had literally saved my life!

So twice I had been saved from death’s door, but the most dramatic event was yet to come.

Peril On the Palisades Six years later, I was on a shidduch date and trying to impress my date with my new, little Datsun (before it became Nissan) and sophisticated appreciation of nature (the fall foliage was in full bloom). I decided to take her on a scenic trip to Bear Mountain in upstate New York. It was a long, beautiful drive up the Palisades Parkway, and the date went rather well – but the ride home did not.

replace the Austrian Birch.

So those were the big three but there were countless other times, not quite as dramatic, where I noticed that Someone up there was looking out for me. Many other close calls occurred while driving, swimming, crossing the street, and some bicycling misadventures.

Trying to make sense of it all, with the

He has bestowed upon me and my family! I hope I have to some extent justified His faith in me and I pray He gives me the opportunity to continue to serve Him and Am Yisroel in good health for many years to come. May we all serve Him with hearts full of gratitude and simcha and thus bring the geulah shleimah b’karov!

Hodu l’Hashem ki tov ki l’olam chasdo!

In a feeble attempt at humor I cracked, “I guess you could say I flipped over you.”

For some reason, she didn’t find it funny.

benefit of hindsight, I’ve come to the following conclusion: Perhaps the real reason I was saved all those times was because Hashem had plans for me!

Maybe it was that He wanted Country Yossi to survive so that he would write songs that made people smile, laugh, learn and be inspired. When I first met Sholom Rubashkin and introduced myself, he smiled at me and said, “You helped lighten my load!”

Perhaps He wanted me to reach thousands of heimishe listeners with the popular radio show, CDs and magazine – bringing laughter and good cheer to His People struggling through a long and bitter Golus? Who better to sing about “Cha Cha Cha Cholent,” “The Flying Lukshin Kugel Eater,” “Big Bad Moish,” “7 Little Kids” and regale, educate and entertain three generations of kinderlach with Torah, middos and mitzvos through laughter and song through the hilarious antics of Kivi and Tuki? Maybe it was His inscrutable will that the profound and poignant lessons of “Al Tomar (Tick Tock),” “The Wedding’s Over,” “It’s Only Make-Believe,” “It’s An Upside-Down World,” et al enter the hearts and minds of His beloved children at this fateful moment in Jewish history?!

And perhaps now, as we approach the End of Days and the ominous, deteriorating world situation hangs like a black cloud above us, He wanted someone to encourage and inspire them with songs about “The Little Kinderlach,” “He’s Coming Closer” and “Oh, My Yerushalayim”?

Whatever the reason, I am profoundly grateful and thankful to our Hakodosh Boruch Hu for all the wonderful blessings

An Afterthought Upon re-reading the above, it occurs to me that this insight should apply to all of us as well. My good friend Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss always advises that if you want to live a long life, one should make himself important and indispensable to as many people as possible! This way, if Hashem decides your time is up, the potential col-

lateral damage and pain it would inflict upon others may make Him have second thoughts! After all, they don’t deserve to be punished so you might get a pass because of them.

Each of us has our own unique gift, talent, or skill that we can use to help or comfort others. Whether it’s visiting the sick or lonely, inviting guests for Shabbos, making shidduchim, collecting tzedaka, counseling others, learning and teaching Torah, or any other altruistic networking endeavor that involves you with many people, whatever it takes, be a People Person! Even a warm smile or a genuine hearty, good morning to a stranger can have dramatic effects. There are countless stories of gedolim greeting toll-takers and gas station attendants with sincere words that not only made their day but a big kiddush Hashem as well.

I know a woman who spends all her free time playing music and singing songs with the old people in an assisted living facility. They tell her that this is the highlight of their day! The love, joy and kedushah being generated by her selflessness has given them purpose and reason to go on. She just bought herself the best life insurance policy there is.

So can you!

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Actually, let me re-phrase that – it was a wreck.

Literally!

While heading home, I was driving in the right lane zipping along at the legal limit when I was distracted for just a moment. When I looked back up, suddenly, there was a fork in the road! In the darkness, it seemed that the road turned right so I swerved to the right and found myself on a serpentine exit ramp heading to Nyack. My small car struggled to stay on the road, but after a few seconds, the steering wheel froze and all by itself turned sharply to the left. Then the brakes locked, and suddenly I found myself bouncing along on the grass heading straight for the trees at 50 mph.

I remember seeing a tree right in front of us and then a loud crack, complete darkness, and then total silence.

I slowly opened my eyes fully expecting to be in the Next World. Instead, there we were, suspended from the ceiling of the upside-down car by our seatbelts. We opened our belts and plopped to the floor (roof?). I cranked open my window, and we crawled out onto the grass. I don’t know how, but within a few minutes, an ambulance was on the scene and a paramedic quickly examined us. I was unhurt, but she needed a few stitches in her scalp. He said it was a miracle that we both walked out of that wreck!

I called my roommates back in Far Rockaway who thankfully came to pick us up. They drove her home first, and as she left, I apologized for everything and in a feeble attempt at humor cracked, “I guess you could say I flipped over you.”

For some reason, she didn’t find it funny.

We never spoke again, but I did hear from her lawyer!

The next day, I went back to the scene of the accident to examine the vehicle and get my stuff. What I found shocked me to my core!

The last thing I remembered seeing right in front of me before the awful crash was a tree. But it seemed the car had spun sideways at the last split second and hit the tree flush with my driver’s side door, flipped over and came to rest on its roof. The tree was cracked in half and the car was totaled. Miraculously, I was unscathed! Had I hit that tree head-on, I hate to think what would have happened. It was as if a Heavenly Hand had reached down and turned the car at the last moment.

To add insult to injury, however, a month later I received a bill from the Palisades Parkway Commission for $250 to

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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F

d for Thought

Railroad Pizza Pesto Pie with Kalamata Olives and Feta

By Nati Burnside

L

evi Aronow is a barber. He went to school to be a barber. He owns The Railroad Barber (409 Troy Avenue) in Crown Heights. As you might expect of a successful barber, Aronow decided to expand his brand. But unlike most barbers, he decided to expand his brand to include…pizza.

And this isn’t the kind of pizza you can find on every street corner. This is high-quality Neapolitan style pizza that’s made fresh to order. The crust is crisp and paper thin, the sauces are made fresh, the cheese is melted perfectly, and you don’t have to be waited on in a fancy dairy restaurant to get it.

But how did Aronow go from cutting hair to stretching dough?

It started slow at first. His brother, Tzemach, had been making his own pizza at home in Israel for friends. During Covid, both brothers relocated to Florida and started Dunwell Pizza Co. as a kind of food truck that eventually hit the road and did catering for parties. When Levi returned to Brooklyn, he decided to open a brick-and-mortar place that made the same style pizza. Personal pies only, high quality ingredients, and great flavors.

As much as the pizza itself differs from its standard New York style counterpart, it’s arguable that Railroad resembles your average pizza place even less. First of all, the menu is small. So small that you could walk in and somebody behind the counter could explain everything to you in 30 seconds or less.

Second, there’s no register for that person behind the counter to use. In fact, they can’t even really take your order. For that, you’ll have to use one of the kiosks or order online. Want to order over the phone? Not an option because they don’t have a phone.

“If you have to call and ask a question, then we haven’t made it easy enough,” said Aronow about the unique model.

Zeppolis with Cinnamon Sugar

“Our goal is simplicity.”

The third difference you’re likely to notice is the machines. There’s an electric dough press, an automated fryer, and two countertop pizza ovens. Once you order, your pizza is constructed in about 90 seconds, it’s in the oven for about 90 seconds, and then it’s all yours.

When I was invited to Railroad, I sampled everything they had to offer.

The menu consists of three types of pizza, three types of fries, and two types of zeppolis.

The pizza types are divided by sauce.

There’s a pie with San Marzano tomato sauce, one with pesto sauce, and an inventive pie with alfredo sauce. The pesto and alfredo pies have “recommended” toppings, but you can also select for yourself if you wish.

Even the plain pie is fantastic. It’s every bit the quality you might get in a nice dairy restaurant, but it costs just $14 (and there’s a combo option that adds fries and a drink for $20). The pesto pie comes with feta and kalamata olives and will give you a real taste of Greece. Lastly, the alfredo pie comes with a roasted garlic jalapeño chutney and dates. The balance of the creaminess, sweetness, and spicy kick really come together nicely.

The fries come plain (sea salt), seasoned (a non-spicy house blend), or truffle (parmesan cheese to go along with the truffle oil). The texture is unsurprisingly flawless due to the automated fryer. My favorite was the truffle, but if that’s not your thing, both of the others were superb as well.

The zeppolis are interestingly made of the exact same dough as the pizza crust (more streamlining!) and with good reason. Back when Levi was working with Dunwell, they made churros as a dessert option. At one event, they faced a crowd with a big sweet tooth and ran out of churro dough. But with plenty of pizza

Truffle Fries

San Marzano Tomato Pie

Alfredo Pie with Roasted Garlic, Jalapeno, and Dates

Levi Aronow

dough and cinnamon sugar topping left, they improvised.

Railroad offers both cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar as choices, and you really can’t go wrong. Also using the automated fryer, the result is a fritter that you can’t have just one of.

Having opened multiple locations in Crown Heights in less than a year, Aronow’s goal was to prove his business model. Each location is small, but many orders are takeout or delivery. His most recent spot took six weeks from the time he got the keys until the time he opened the doors. Most restaurants would take six months in a heartbeat. Each location needs two employees (one making food, the other manning the oven), with a third only necessary in the busiest of times.

Trying to bring Neapolitan style pizza to the masses for an affordable price is only really possible because of the business model. The fact that every order is filled so quickly means that everything can be made fresh and people aren’t wait-

ing for long. That translates to virtually zero food waste. Given rising costs, that’s a massive savings that the business is able to pass down to the customer. Using high quality ingredients is much easier to justify when almost nothing is going in the garbage.

Aronow is looking for investors to spread Railroad’s brand throughout the tristate area, so it might be only a matter of time until there’s a Railroad location near you.

Railroad Pizza Dairy - Counter Service 587 Empire Boulevard 227 Kingston Avenue 857 East New York Avenue Brooklyn, NY Beis Din of Crown Heights Vaad Hakashrus (CHK)

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In The K tchen

Falafel Stuffed Eggplant Pareve / Yields 8 servings

By Naomi Nachman

As my mother grew up in Israel, she always served some sort of eggplant dish on our Shabbat table, which influenced my love of eggplants.

This eggplant dish I created combines my love of falafel, eggplants, and everything that can be found in a falafel.

Ingredients

◦ 4 mini eggplants ◦ 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided ◦ 4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided ◦ 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained ◦ ¼ cup chopped onion ◦ ¼ cup breadcrumbs ◦ ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped ◦ 2 Tablespoons tahini paste

◦ ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped ◦ 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice ◦ 1 Tablespoon olive oil ◦ Prepared tahini sauce for topping

Preparation

1. Prepare the eggplant: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment

paper.

2. Slice eggplants in half lengthwise; score cut sides in a crosshatch pattern. Place

◦ 1½ teaspoons cumin

the eggplant halves, cut sides up, on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle eggplant with 1

◦ ½ teaspoon ground coriander

teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes or until slightly tender

◦ ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

and browned. Set aside.

◦ ¼ teaspoon ground red pepper

3. In a food processor fitted with the “S” blade, process chickpeas with onion,

◦ 2 cloves garlic, minced

breadcrumbs, parsley, tahini, remaining olive oil, spices, garlic, and water until

◦ ¼ cup water, plus more for the pan

smooth.

◦ Juice of ½ lemon

Israeli Salad ◦ 3 plum tomatoes, cut into very small dice ◦ ½ English cucumber, peeled, and cut into very small dice ◦ ½ small red onion, diced

4. Place eggplants into a baking dish. Spoon ½ cup chickpea mixture onto each eggplant shell. Add lemon juice and water to pan to cover the bottom. Bake for 25 minutes or until eggplant halves are tender and chickpea mixture is lightly browned.

5. Prepare the Israeli salad: Combine all Israeli salad ingredients in a bowl.

6. To plate, place eggplant halves on a platter. Top each with ¼ cup Israeli salad; drizzle with prepared tahini sauce.

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.

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Mind Y

ur Business

Marketing to the Youth Nation

T

his 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.

S

ince 2015, Yitzchok Saftlas has been speaking with leading industry experts on the “Mind Your Business” show, sharing insightful business and marketing strategies.

In this article, we’re going all the way back to take a look at one of the very first editions of “Mind Your Business,” in which Yitzchok sat down to speak with Matt Britton, former CEO of MRY and author of Youth Nation. * * * Marketing to millennials is very differ-

ent than marketing to older generations.

Millennials are a group of people who grew up with the internet in their homes.

This means that they intuitively understand technology, and by nature, consume media in ways that are far different than people who did not grow up with the internet. Think of the access to information that they had growing up by being able to go online and do research. Think of their ability to communicate with multiple people at once by using instant-messaging.

These are things that were unheard of in the ‘80s. Since those people grew up in a completely different world, in some ways, they are almost like a different species.

They think about things differently. They communicate differently. The products and services they seek out are different.

Their value systems are different.

Rethinking Media Marketing Marketing to younger people requires developing an entirely separate strategy than what is often used for older generations. They are consuming media completely differently. They’re not watching TV in a linear fashion. TV consumed by the younger generations, millennials and Gen Z is either viewed in a time-shifted form, which means that they’re recording it on a TiVo or DVR type device and

watching it later, or more often than not, they’re streaming it on tools like Netflix, Hulu, or Apple TV, to watch on their own time. That means traditional television advertising simply isn’t reaching this generation. Their eyeballs are glued to their phones. So, they’re not looking at billboards or bus stop ads anymore. The phone has sort of become an appendage to young people’s bodies. Brands need to know how they’re going to penetrate that smartphone device to bring messages that matter there, because that’s where the young consumers are.

Creating Shareable Experiences Young people have always looked to products and services to help them kind of define their own personal brand. They used to do this through the cars they drove or the sneakers they wore, because that was the easiest way to express themselves to other people. This is what really drove commercialism and the status symbols that were accessible to everyone in the ‘90s. That’s why you had these huge brands popping out of nowhere. The difference today is, ultimately, young people would rather define themselves by experiences than physical items. They could never do that before social media, because if

they went on an adventure, to a basketball game, met a celebrity, went to a festival, etc., those pictures that they collected, those experiences, were only able to be shared with people who were physically in front of them. Now, with the birth of Instagram, consumers now show off their experiences, as a byproduct of building their personal brand, at scale. They can show tens of thousands of people the experiences that they’ve captured as a way to reflect who they are. That’s much more meaningful than showcasing their sneakers or their cars, because it’s much richer and involves other people.

We’re basically in an era where we are truly using an experience economy, and Instagram is the ultimate catalyst for that. I like to use a term “D.I.F.T.I.,” which means “Did It For The Instagram.” This refers to people pursuing experiences, not for the ability to experience those things, but to share them with others as a way to prove who they are. “I’m going to go cliff diving, so that I can show people I’m adventurous.” “I’m going to sneak down to the front row and take a picture at a basketball game to show people that I have enough clout to get front row seats.” “I’m not going to want an autograph from a celebrity. I want the selfie instead, so that I can show people that this celebrity is as-

sociated with me.” That’s the new form of personal brand building. It’s not the cars or the sneakers; it’s the experiences.

While Instagram has been the ultimate catalyst for personal branding, there are many different platforms out there, each with their own nuances and uses. Instagram is sort of the modern-day print. When consumers flip through Instagram, they do so very quickly, looking for something to catch their eye, almost like how you’d scroll through a magazine for pictures. Take Vogue, for example. It’s famous for being super thick and mostly full advertisements with big, glossy pictures. But that magazine flies off the shelves because people love looking at those ads. It’s the same with Instagram, except the consumers are creating the content.

Twitter [now known as X] is really a news gathering and information source.

That’s why a lot of celebrities have actually departed from Twitter as their core social media network and have moved to Instagram. They want to share their lifestyle and their looks, and it’s much easier to do that in photo form than in text. Twitter, at its core, is about 140 char-

saging, like texting or Facebook Messenger, hold onto your message forever. But Snapchat has created a tool where communication is ephemeral, meaning after you share it with people, it goes away. So, for many young people, it’s become the de facto form of communication.

Making Your Business Stand Out If you’re trying to market your small business to the youth nation, you need to

“It’s not the cars or the sneakers; it’s the experiences.”

lennials and Gen Z don’t use any of these platforms to communicate with other people. For that, they use Snapchat. The reason why is that young people know from growing up in the internet generation that they need to be careful about what they share online. They don’t want the things they share to follow them forever. Any earlier forms of instant mes-

be experience driven. If you have a physical store, that store needs to be memorable and shareable in some way. If you give consumers something to share, they will share it, it will be seen by their peers, and the business will be able to grow organically. It’s much better for businesses to live on the edge and be different. Playing it safe and staying in the middle is actu-

ally the riskiest thing you can do, because this audience is not going to be exposed to any traditional media you put out there.

They’re going to be exposed through influencers, celebrities, and their peers. So, if you can’t get one of those constituents to talk about your business, you’re going to become largely invisible.

It’s also important to understand all of the sophisticated, data-driven ways to reach consumers. For example, Facebook has called something called “dark posting,” where you can actually put different posts out to very small subsets of consumers, to see what posts do best. You can target groups as specific as people who live within one mile of your store who like Oreos and are fans of the New York Yankees. That might just be 300 people. But, if you’re selling New York Yankee-branded Oreos, then that’s who you should be targeting. So, for local businesses, the days of marketing in the Yellow Pages and things like that are over with. You can market with such pinpoint sophistication to people within your local area through their mobile devices or when they’re walking by your store. It’s the businesses that can really command that that are going to be able to win.

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Mastering Social Media

acters. Sure, you can attach photos and videos, but it’s largely about sharing copy and links. The media has really gravitated towards Twitter. Most people will tell you that they get their news on Twitter. They don’t watch news networks on television, but they follow their Twitter accounts.

Facebook is more about connecting with friends and family. It’s personal.

People will go to Facebook when they hear that somebody got married or had a baby.

Now, what’s interesting is, many mil-

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

Fire sale on all Ron DeSantis merch today!

- Tweet by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA after his rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), bowed out of the presidential race

The merch is almost going as fast as people are fleeing California. Eh, OK, not quite.

- One of many tweets in response

He had the nerve to run. You have to wait until Joe Biden dies in office before you get permission to run for President.

– Another commenter

He just asked if I will be using the name Ron Desactimoneous… That name is officially retired!

- Trump, after Ron DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump

Always be wary of any name that sounds like it could come out of a George Orwell book.

We must confront the deepening rot of antisemitism on social media platforms, on college campuses and elsewhere in America.

We must ask ourselves, what kind of society do we wish to be? Do we wish to be a society that affirms that every life, every Jewish life, every black life, every life has inherent dignity and value and worth that each of us is a child of God, that each of us is an equal creation in the image of G-d? Or do we wish to be a society that affirms that violence and terror, no matter how barbaric, can be justified and even glorified under the guise of quote-unquote, “resistance”?

- Ibid.

- Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), speaking at a Manhattan synagogue

I fell short. I’m sorry.

- Golriz Ghahraman, 43, a former UN human rights lawyer originally from Iran who became the first refugee to be sworn in as a member of New Zealand’s Parliament in 2017, resigning last week after videos showed her shoplifting from two clothing stores

Diversity, equity and inclusion, these all sound like nice words. What it really means is discrimination on the basis of race… thus I think it is fundamentally antisemitic.

- Elon Musk at an event with the European Jewish Association (EJA) following a visit to Auschwitz this week

In the circles that I move, I see almost no antisemitism. And I know there’s this old joke [about having] one Jewish friend. No, like two-thirds of my friends are Jewish. I have twice as many Jewish friends as non-Jewish friends. I’m like Jewish by association.

– Ibid.

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

96 A letter to his family, written in advance by Elkana Vizel, H”YD, who was among 24 soldiers killed in Gaza earlier this week

If you are reading these words, something must have happened to me. If I was kidnapped, I demand that no deal be made for the release of any terrorist to release me. Our overwhelming victory is more important than anything, so please continue to work with all your might so that the victory is as overwhelming as possible.

Maybe I fell in battle. When a soldier falls in battle, it is sad, but I ask you to be happy. Don’t be sad when you part with me. Touch hearts, hold each other’s hands, and strengthen each other. We have so much to be proud and happy about.

We are writing the most significant moments in the history of our nation and the entire world. So please, be happy, be optimistic, keep choosing life all the time. Spread love, light, and optimism.

Look at your loved ones in the whites of their eyes and remind them that everything we go through in this life is worth it and we have something to live for.

Don’t stop the power of life for a moment. I was already wounded in Operation Tzuk Eitan, but I do not regret that I returned to fight. This is the best decision I ever made.

I wish the Democrats would think a little more carefully when they talk about MAGA. – Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on MSNBC

Just take a step back and be honest: He was kind of right about NATO. He was kind of right about immigration. He grew the economy quite well. Tax reform worked.

- Ibid.

I don’t like how he said things about Mexico, but he wasn’t wrong about some of these critical issues and that’s why they’re voting for him.

- Ibid.

[I] asked to speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu and until now, that phone call has not been received.

- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has made vicious remarks about Israel since Oct. 7th, disclosing to Al Jazeera that Prime Minister Netanyahu refuses to take his call

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I am here today to tell you that the West is in danger. It is in danger because those who are supposed to uphold the values of the West find themselves co-opted by a worldview that inexorably leads to socialism, and consequently, to poverty.

- Argentine President Javier Milei addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,

It must never be forgotten that socialism is always and everywhere an impoverishing phenomenon that failed in all the countries where it was tried. It was an economic failure.

It was a social failure. It was a cultural failure. It also took the lives of 150 million human beings.

- Ibid.

It’s estimated that Ron DeSantis spent $2,263 per vote he got. It literally would have been cheaper to buy each of his supporters a Peloton bike.

- Jimmy Kimmel

Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes. - President Joe Biden when asked if the airstrikes against the Houthis are working

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

Political Crossfire

The Houthis Sink an Arrow Into the West’s Achilles’ Heel

By David Ignatius

T

he White House has officially designated April as “Supply Chain Integrity Month.” Houthi rebels in Yemen and a dozen other players that can wreak havoc on global logistics don’t seem to have gotten the message.

The Houthis are a tribal militia in a faraway country that many Americans couldn’t identify on a map. But they have the ability to disrupt world markets. For three months, they have been sending missiles and drones toward commercial cargo ships in the Red Sea – and, in the process, altering global shipping flows and insurance rates. Reuters reported on Tuesday that just in the past week, risk premiums for ships traveling the area had increased by more than 40 percent.

The Houthis have what might be called bottleneck power. They command the narrow passageway into the Red Sea, which allows them to sabotage a vulnerable point in the global supply chain. This ability to exploit chokepoints is an increasingly important but little-discussed weakness in the global economy – one that the United States, which boasts of its role as guarantor of freedom of navigation, seems almost powerless to prevent.

U.S. military threats didn’t deter the Houthis, who began firing missiles at cargo ships in November in a supposed protest against the war in Gaza. A U.S.led coalition of more than 20 countries, hubristically called Prosperity Guardian, didn’t stop the attacks, either. Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, two of the biggest global shipping companies, announced on Jan. 2 they would stop using the Red Sea route because of the Houthi missiles.

The United States and Britain finally took military action on Jan. 11, striking more than 60 Houthi targets with more than 100 precision bombs, and U.S. forces attacked again the next day. Even that didn’t stop the Houthis, who struck a U.S.-owned cargo ship on Monday, draw-

ing a retaliatory U.S. assault Tuesday against a Houthi missile-launching site.

The Houthis are masters of modern guerrilla war, exploiting the weak points of stronger powers. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates fought a war against them starting in 2014. The UAE gave up in 2020, and the Saudis agreed to a peace deal last year, which only seemed to embolden the Houthis. They are tough, patient fighters – supplied with weapons, training and intelligence by Iran – and they sit atop one of the world’s most strategic waterways.

Houthi leaders seem to understand that the deeper they draw the United States into conflict, the greater impact they have on the global economy. That’s the lesson of this undeclared war: The United States has overwhelming economic power. But perhaps because it is dependent on global trade and financial flows, it is especially vulnerable to economic attack by such seeming lightweights as the Houthis.

We’ve seen other bottleneck vulnera-

bilities during the past few years. A giant Panamanian-flagged cargo ship called the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal for six days in March 2021, obstructing more than 350 ships. The delicate thread of global commerce was beginning to unravel when the ship was finally refloated.

The war in Ukraine has been, in part, a battle to control access points and skew commerce. Russian control of the Black Sea allowed it, for a time, to halt Ukrainian grain shipments and spike global food prices – adding to inflation and, worse, threatening famine. Russia’s enemies, identity still unknown, sabotaged the Nord Stream pipeline in September 2022. Ukraine at least twice has attacked the Kerch Strait bridge that links Russia to occupied Crimea.

Paradoxically, the more dominant the United States has become economically, the more vulnerable it is to supply-chain attack. An early demonstration of that dependence was the 1974 Arab oil embargo, whose destabilizing effects persisted for much of the next decade. Today’s most

precious resource is information, and the United States keeps leaping forward with new digital tools. But as cyber technology advances, so do the weapons of cyberwar.

A disturbing example of a U.S. strength that could become a weakness is our dominance of cloud computing – and growing reliance on it. A study published Wednesday by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace focuses on the risk that the theoretically invulnerable cloud could be disrupted by natural disasters, technology failure, human error or other unanticipated factors.

The study cites an estimate by two giant reinsurance companies that potential insurance losses in a cloud-dependent world could be 100 times those before cloud adoption.

The Carnegie study, outlined for me this week by Ariel Levite, one of its three authors, proposes that cloud providers and their clients should agree on “a framework to enhance resilience and trust.” Like giant financial institutions, cloud providers should face regular “stress tests” to see how they would cope with unexpected disasters, Levite explained.

The Biden administration, which took office amid the Covid-19 pandemic, recognized the need to protect global supply chains. And the administration’s actions have reduced the United States’ vulnerability to outside disruptions.

But the bizarre little war off the coast of Yemen – and its big potential effect on global commerce – is a reminder of how fragile the logistical network remains. The grandees of the world economy who are gathering this week in Davos, Switzerland, for their annual celebration of globalization should keep an eye on the distant bottleneck at the Bab el-Mandeb, where the system seems very weak indeed. (c) 2024, Washington Post Writers Group

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Political Crossfire

By Bret Stephens

T

he annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is largely an opportunity for the powerful to mingle with the even more powerful. For the most part, I’ve spent my time here listening to government leaders — Iran’s foreign minister struck me as an exceptionally talented dissembler — and schmoozing with business leaders, think tankers and officials at Davos’ famous private dinners and after-parties.

But the most moving stories I heard this week came from some of the least powerful people here.

“I open my eyes and feel my throat close,” Rachel Goldberg said, describing her mornings over the previous 100-plus days. “I say a Jewish prayer and ask, ‘Let today be the day.’ And then I say, ‘Pretend to be human.’ And I put on this costume because if I’m a ball on the floor, I can’t save him.”

She is speaking — with extraordinary self-composure — of her 23-year-old son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. On Oct. 7, he was attending the Nova music festival with a friend when terrorists from Hamas, arriving in paragliders and vans, murdered 364 people in cold blood. Hersh and nearly 30 others tried to hide at a small roadside bomb shelter. Terrorists attacked it with hand grenades, then a rocket-propelled grenade, killing nearly everyone inside.

Hersh survived the assault, barely.

Goldberg showed me video footage, taken by Hamas, of him being put into the back of a truck and driven off to the Gaza Strip. The lower half of his left arm has been blown off, leaving a bloody stump.

It’s stomach-churning to watch.

Goldberg is in Davos to talk to anyone who can help save and return the remaining 132 hostages, including Hersh.

So is Noam Peri, who works for Google in Israel. Peri’s father, Chaim, a welder and artist from the kibbutz Nir Oz, near

Gaza, was taken from his home on the morning of Oct. 7.

He was hiding with his wife, Osnat, in the safe room of their house when Hamas broke through. Chaim heroically shoved a terrorist away, giving Osnat time to hide in a corner of the room.

When Hamas returned, he walked out with them, losing one of his sandals along the way. They never thought to go back to check the room for additional people.

two dates in the morning, a half-pita and some rice, another half-pita.

He will turn 80 in April, assuming he’s still alive.

Another elderly resident of the Nir Oz kibbutz was Eli Margalit, who was murdered that day. Hamas took his corpse with them to Gaza — presumably as a negotiating chit, cruelly denying his family the chance of a burial and a place to mourn.

Also taken by Hamas that morning was his daughter, Nili Margalit, a pediat-

“And then I say, ‘Pretend to be human.’

And I put on this costume because if I’m a ball on the floor, I can’t save him.”

“He saved my mother,” Noam said.

She last had proof of life nearly two months ago, when Hamas shot a video of Chaim and two other elderly hostages, looking frail and afraid. He’s without his glasses, hearing aid and medication, most likely in an airless tunnel deep underground, sustained, according to the testimony of hostages who have been released, on a starvation diet: typically,

ric nurse in a hospital in southern Israel that largely serves the Bedouin community. She was taken alive at knifepoint.

“On Friday morning, the day before the attack, I was on shift in the hospital, and I was telling a friend of mine, ‘You know, tomorrow is a holiday, and our tradition is to fly white kites for peace on the border to show solidarity for Palestinians,’” she said. “That was my intention.”

She spent the next 54 days with 20 other hostages in a tunnel that, according to her captors, was 130 feet underground.

“There’s no air. You feel like you’re suffocating. No running water. There was a toilet but no running water; we flushed it once a day. The hygiene conditions are terrible.” She was repeatedly told by her captors that “nobody cares about us; the government isn’t looking for us.”

As a nurse, she took it upon herself to care for the other hostages — some of whom had arrived in the tunnel with heart conditions, kidney and respiratory diseases, diabetes and other afflictions.

Worse than the physical deprivation, she said, was the psychological terror. “When your spirit is not strong, you can’t survive,” she said. “The mind will make the body shut down.”

I asked her what her homecoming — which came about as part of a temporary truce in which Israel released Palestinian prisoners — was like. “My house was burned down; I don’t have a house to go back to,” she said. “It’s not about the clothes. It’s memories. Photos. My entire life on two hard drives, all gone. No sense of how my father died.

“I want to give my father a proper burial,” she added. “To say the prayers.”

In my talks with Goldberg, Peri and Margalit, they took care to stay away from expressing any political opinions. Smartly so: The powerful in Davos take sharply different views about the war.

But I struggle to imagine how anyone of good conscience can take any view except to desire — and loudly demand — that Hersh come home to his parents, and Chaim to his daughter and wife; and that Nili be able to bury her father; and that all the hostages, irrespective of every other consideration, be freed and brought home now. It bears repeating everywhere, every day, until the day finally comes. © The New York Times

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

In Davos, Israel’s Hostages Get a Hearing

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Political Crossfire

The Genocide Charge Against Israel Is a Moral Obscenity

By Bret Stephens

I

n recent decades, as many as 3 million people perished in a famine in North Korea that was mainly government-induced. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians were gassed, bombed, starved or tortured to death by the Assad regime, and an estimated 14 million were forced to flee their homes. China has put more than 1 million Uyghurs through gulag-like re-education camps in a thinly veiled attempt to suppress and erase their religious and cultural identity.

But North Korea, Syria and China have never been charged with genocide at the International Court of Justice. Israel has. How curious. And how obscene.

It’s obscene because it politicizes our understanding of genocide, fatally eroding the moral power of the term. The war between Israel and Hamas is terrible — as is every war. But if this is genocide, what word do we have for the killing fields in Cambodia, Stalin’s Holodomor in Ukraine, the Holocaust itself?

Words that come to mean much more than originally intended eventually come to mean almost nothing at all — a victory for future génocidaires who’d like the world to think there’s no moral or legal difference between one kind of killing and another.

It’s obscene because it perverts the definition of genocide, which is precise: “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.” Notice two key features of this definition: It speaks of acts whereas part of the genocide case against Israel involves the misinterpretation of quotes from Israeli officials who have vowed Hamas’ elimination, not the elimination of Palestinians. And it uses the term as such — meaning the acts are genocidal only if they are directed at Palestinians as Palestinians, not as members of Hamas or, heartbreakingly,

as collateral deaths in attempts to destroy Hamas.

If Israel were trying to commit genocide, it wouldn’t be putting its soldiers at risk or allowing humanitarian relief to arrive from Egypt or withdrawing many of its forces from the Gaza Strip.

It would simply be killing Palestinians everywhere, in vastly greater numbers, as Germans killed Jews or Hutus killed Tutsis.

It’s obscene because it puts the wrong party in the dock. Hamas is a genocidal organization by conviction and design.

Its founding charter calls for Israel to be “obliterated” and for Muslims to kill Jews as they “hide behind stones and trees.” On Oct. 7, Hamas murdered, mutilated, tortured, incinerated, raped or kidnapped everyone it could. Had it not been stopped it would not have stopped.

One of its leaders has since vowed to do it “a second, a third, a fourth” time.

It’s Hamas, not Israel, that started the war, keeps it going, and would resume it the moment it has the arsenal and the opportunity.

It’s obscene because it validates Hamas’ illegal and barbaric strategy of hiding between, behind and beneath Palestinian civilians. From the beginning of the war, Hamas has had a double aim: to kill as many Jews as possible, and to incur Palestinian fatalities to gain international sympathy and diplomatic leverage.

What is happening now at The Hague will never be a victory for ordinary Palestinians, no matter the court’s verdict.

Their victory will come only when they have a government interested in building a peaceful and prosperous state, rather than destroying a neighbor. But it will serve Hamas as an unparalleled propaganda triumph — quite a turn for a group that only months ago proudly filmed itself murdering children.

It’s obscene because it’s historically hypocritical. The United States, Britain and other allied nations killed a staggering number of German and Japanese civilians on the path to defeating the regimes that had started World War II — often known as the Good War.

Events such as the bombings of Dresden or Tokyo, to say nothing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were tragic and far more indiscriminate than anything Israel stands accused of doing. But no serious person holds Franklin Roosevelt to be on a moral par with Adolf Hitler. What the Allies did were acts of war in the service of a lasting peace, not genocide in the service of a fanatical aim.

The difference? In war, the killing ends when one side stops fighting. In a genocide, that’s when the killing begins.

It’s obscene because of its strange selectivity. Reasonable people can argue that Israel has been excessive in its use of force, or deficient in its concern for Palestinian civilians, or unwise in thinking through the endgame. I disagree, but fine.

But how curious that the discussion has turned to genocide (and did so from almost the first day of the war) because it’s the behavior of the Jewish state that’s in question. And how telling that the accusation is the same one that rabid antisemites have been making for years: that the Jews are, and have long been, the real Nazis — guilty of humanity’s worst crimes and deserving of its worst punishments. A verdict against Israel at the International Court of Justice would signal that another international institution, and the people cheering it, has adopted the moral outlook of antisemites.

It’s been nearly 50 years since Daniel Patrick Moynihan condemned the U.N.’s “Zionism is racism” resolution as “this infamous act.”

“The abomination of antisemitism,” he warned, “has been given the appearance of international sanction.” Maybe the ICJ will make a similar mistake.

If so, the shame and disgrace will rest with the accusers, not the accused. © The New York Times

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Forgotten Her es

Courageous Sailors

By Avi Heiligman

James “Willy” Williams receiving his medal

M

edals and citations can be awarded to anyone in the military, but the ones most often talked about are usually from the army or Marines. Sailors fight in battle as one unit, and the ship’s complement will often be recognized with similar decorations. Officers higher in command on a ship may receive special decorations for leading the crew in difficult situations. Some sailors in American history were awarded high decorations for individual acts of bravery that took place on the water as well as on land and in the air.

Boatswain Mate First Class James “Willy” Williams was born in South Carolina and during his twenty year career in the navy was awarded more medals than any other enlisted sailor in the U.S. Navy. He served during both the Korean War and Vietnam War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions along the Mekong River in Vietnam. On October 31, 1966, he was the boat captain and patrol officer of a river patrol boat when he and another American patrol boat came under enemy fire from two enemy sampans. Williams killed the crew of one of the boats and while pursuing the other boast came under intense enemy fire. He had run into a force of ten boats and despite the numerical disadvantage continued to put himself in harm’s way to destroy enemy targets. While waiting for helicopter support, a much larger enemy force was discovered, and he led the charge to destroy

The Musashi battleship

as many of them as possible. The helicopters finally arrived, and he directed their fire on the remaining enemy positions.

Williams ordered the patrol boats to use their searchlights in the dark, and while it exposed their positions, it allowed for the destruction of the remaining enemy forces. Altogether, 65 enemy vessels were lost, and Williams was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

A few months later, in January 1967, Williams was awarded the Navy Cross for another action along the Mekong River.

This time, he was with two other patrol boats, and they intercepted a Vietcong supply convoy. He directed fire from the air force and artillery on the suspected crossing area, but soon the patrol boats were under heavy enemy fire. Williams and his boats poured fire on enemy machine gun positions, but he was wounded in the ensuing action. Despite his painful wounds, he still was able to lead the boats away from the danger zone. After the battle, it was assessed that they had intercepted three machine gun companies totaling hundreds of enemy soldiers and had put many of them out of action.

In other actions, Williams was awarded two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, and several other medals.

Many navy personnel were stationed on land or attached to land forces. Richard Dreyfuss from Tucson, Arizona, joined the navy when he was just 17. As

a pharmacist’s mate, he was medical corpsman attached to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Division when they attacked the Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima in February 1945. He came to the aid of wounded marines that were attacked by fortified machine gun positions. After treating the men, he helped the rest of the unit locate the enemy’s location by exposing himself to incoming fire. This allowed the marines to pinpoint and destroy the machine guns. A few days later, he again advanced under heavy enemy fire towards a group of wounded marines.

He moved from one wounded man to another rendering aid until he himself was severely wounded. For his dedication and bravery under terrible conditions, he was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his wounds.

As with the Army Air Corps, the U.S. Navy’s air section was greatly expanded during World War II. The three main types of planes that flew off of World War II aircraft carriers were fighters, dive bombers and torpedo bombers. Dive bomber pilots would be able to track the target as the plane went into its bomb run, thereby increasing the accuracy of hitting a moving ship. Dive bomber pilot James Barnitz of Indianapolis was awarded the Navy Cross twice for hitting two very important Japanese ships. On October 24, 1944, during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf (one of the largest naval battles in history), the

two largest battleships in history became the focus of American naval planes. Barnitz, flying off of the USS Essex (CV-9), was with Bombing Squadron Fifteen (VB-15) and led three planes towards the gigantic battleship Yamato. In the face of intense enemy anti aircraft fire, he scored a direct hit on the Japanese ship. Later that day, other planes sank the Yamato’s sister ship Musashi. Almost two days later, Barnitz pressed on a determined attack on the Japanese heavy cruiser Nachi. Despite the heavy anti-aircraft fire, he scored a direct hit. Other planes had hit the cruiser as well and soon the ship sank.

Barnitz received a host of other medals including the Air Medal for his attacks on Japanese installations in the central Pacific. Later, he trained French pilots and was awarded the French naval aviation wings.

After the war, he joined the Naval Flight Demonstration Team, better known as the Blue Angels.

Only a few sailors are widely recognized for their courageous acts while in the line of duty. Forgotten Heroes like the sailors written about above deserve to have their stories told and is history to be remembered.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

PUBLIC NOTICE OF NASSAU COUNTY TREASURER’S SALE OF TAX LIENS ON REAL ESTATE

Dated: January 24, 2024 Mineola, New York

THE NASSAU COUNTY TREASURER

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Notice is hereby given that commencing on February 20th, 2024, will sell at public on-line auction the tax liens on certain real estate, unless the owner, mortgagee, occupant of or any other party in interest in such real estate shall have paid to the County Treasurer by February 15th, 2024 the total amount of such unpaid taxes or assessments with the interest, penalties and other expenses and charges against the property.

Such tax liens will be sold at the lowest rate of interest, not exceeding 10 percent per six-month period, for which any person or persons shall offer to take the total amount of such unpaid taxes as defined in Section 5-37.0 of the Nassau County Administrative Code.

Effective with the February 2019 lien sale Ordinance No. 175-2015 requires a $175.00 per day registration fee for each person who intends to bid at the tax lien sale.

Ordinance No. 175-2015 also requires that upon the issuance of the Lien Certificate there is due from the lien buyer a Tax Certificate Issue Fee of $20.00 per lien purchased.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Nassau County Administrative Code at the discretion of the Nassau County Treasurer the auction will be conducted online. Further information concerning the procedures for the auction is available at the website of the Nassau County Treasurer at: https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/526/County-Treasurer Should the Treasurer determine that an in-person auction shall be held, same will commence on the 20th day of February 2024 at the Office of The County Treasurer 1 West Street, Mineola or at some other location to be determined by the Treasurer.

A list of all real estate in Nassau County on which tax liens are to be sold is available at the website of the Nassau County Treasurer at: https://www.nassaucountyny.gov/527/Annual-Tax-Lien-Sale A list of local properties upon which tax liens are to be sold will be advertised in this publication on or before February 07th, 2024.

Nassau County does not discriminate on the basis of disability in admission to or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodations such as those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to participate in all services, programs, activities and public hearings and events conducted by the Treasurer’s Office. Upon request, information can be made available in Braille, large print, audio-tape or other alternative formats. For additional information, please call (516) 571-2090 ext. 1-3715.

Dated: January 24, 2024 THE NASSAU COUNTY TREASURER Mineola, NewYork________________ TERMS OF SALE Such tax liens shall be sold subject to any and all superior tax liens of sovereignties and other municipalities and to all claims of record which the County may have thereon and subject to the provisions of the Federal and State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Acts.

However, such tax liens shall have priority over the County’s Differential Interest Lien, representing the excess, if any, of the interest and penalty borne at the maximum rate over the interest and penalty borne at the rate at which the lien is purchased.

The Purchaser acknowledges that the tax lien(s) sold pursuant to these Terms of Sale may be subject to pending bankruptcy proceedings and/or may become subject to such proceedings which may be commenced during the period in which a tax lien is held by a successful bidder or the assignee of same, which may modify a Purchaser’s rights with respect to the lien(s) and the property securing same. Such bankruptcy proceedings shall not affect the validity of the tax lien. In addition to being subject to pending bankruptcy proceedings and/or the Federal and State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Acts, said purchaser’s right of foreclosure may be affected by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act(FIRREA),12 U.S.C. ss 1811 et.seq., with regard to real property under Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(FDIC) receivership.

The County Treasurer reserves the right, without further notice and at any time, to withdraw from sale any of the parcels of land or premises herein listed. The Nassau County Treasurer reserves the right to intervene in any bankruptcy case/litigation where the property affected by the tax liens sold by the Treasurer is part of the bankruptcy estate. However, it is the sole responsibility of all tax lien purchasers to protect their legal interests in any bankruptcy case affecting their purchased tax lien, including but not limited to the filing of a proof of claim on their behalf, covering their investment in said tax lien. The Nassau County Treasurer and Nassau County and its agencies, assumes no responsibility for any legal representation of any tax lien purchaser in any legal proceeding including but not limited to a bankruptcy case where the purchased tax lien is at risk.

The rate of interest and penalty at which any person purchases the tax lien shall be established by his bid. Each purchaser, immediately after the sale thereof, shall pay to the County Treasurer ten per cent of the amount for which the tax liens have been sold and the remaining ninety per cent within thirty days after such sale. If the purchaser at the tax sale shall fail to pay the remaining ninety per cent within ten days after he has been notified by the County Treasurer that the certificates of sale are ready for delivery, then all amounts deposited with the County Treasurer including but not limited to the ten per cent theretofore paid by him shall, without further notice or demand, be irrevocably forfeited by the purchaser and shall be retained by the County Treasurer as liquidated damages and the agreement to purchase shall be of no further effect. Time is of the essence in this sale. This sale is held pursuant to the Nassau County Administrative Code and interested parties are referred to such Code for additional information as to terms of the sale, rights of purchasers, maximum rates of interest and other legal incidents of the sale.

Furthermore, as to the bidding, 1. The bidder(s) agree that they will not work with any other bidder(s) to increase, maintain or stabilize interest rates or collaborate with any other bidder(s) to gain an unfair competitive advantage in the random number generator in the event of a tie bid(s) on a tax certificate. Bidder(s) further agree not to employ any bidding strategy designed to create an unfair competitive advantage in the tiebreaking process in the upcoming tax sale nor work with any other bidder(s) to engage in any bidding strategy that will result in a rotational award of tax certificates.

2. The tax certificate(s) the Bidder will bid upon, and the interest rate(s) bid, will be arrived at independently and without direct or indirect consultation, communication or agreement with any other bidder and that the tax certificate(s) the Bidder will bid upon, and the interest rate(s) to be bid, have not been disclosed, directly or indirectly, to any other bidder, and will not be disclosed, directly or indirectly, to any other bidder prior to the close of bidding. No attempt has been made or will be made to, directly or indirectly, induce any other bidder to refrain from bidding on any tax certificate, to submit complementary bids, or to submit bids at specific interest rates.

3. The bids to be placed by the Bidder will be made in good faith and not pursuant to any direct or indirect, agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any other bidder to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive bid.

4. If it is determined that the bidder(s) have violated any of these bid requirements then their bid shall be voided and if they were the successful bidder the lien and any deposits made in connection with said bid shall be forfeited.

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Parking & Storage. $6.2 million +972544415704 Kim Bash Real Estate Kim@kimbashrealestate.com 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

HOUSES FOR SALE

HOUSES FOR SALE

HOUSES FOR SALE

DON’T GET STUCK WITH A TWO STORY HOUSE YA KNOW, IT’S ONE STORY BEFORE YOU BUY IT BUT A SECOND STORY AFTER YOU OWN IT! Call Dov Herman For An Accurate Unbiased Home Inspection Infrared - Termite Inspection Full Report All Included NYC 718-INSPECT Long Island 516-INSPECT www.nyinspect.com

NORTH WOODMERE Stunning Split , 5 Bedrooms With 3 Full Baths. Custom Features Throughout. Well Maintained Home.

Hardwood Floors, Granite Counters in kitchen, Formal Living Room and Dining Room, Den, Full Finished Basement. Relax in the Private Backyard With Inground Pool. SD#14.

A must see! Close To All Houses of Worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

CAN’T AFFORD YOUR PROPERTY TAXES? MORTGAGE? Must sell for any reason?

Call for FREE Consultation.

Call now 212-470-3856 Cash buyers available!

HEWLETT Exquisitely renovated and modernized residence situated on a picturesque 50x200 lot. 4 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms. First floor features dining area, huge living room, expansive kitchen with modern cabinetry, two sinks, two ovens, and two islands. Second floor features 4 bedrooms, a nursery, primary suite with WIC. Private backyard with 400 square foot inground pool house/ guest house, cabana with a kitchen and grill, playground, basketball court. Fully paid solar panels. A fully renovated basement featuring a wet bar, separate outside entrance. Close to all houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com LAWRENCE Stunning One of a Kind Mid Century Modern 6 Bedroom, 6.5 Bath, Contemporary Ranch. Resort Style Home on Over an Acre of Property in Back Lawrence. Incredible Views, Regulation Size Tennis Court - Deco Turf. IG-Gunite Pool, Low Taxes, 5318 sq. ft. of Main Floor Living Space. Plus 5000 sq. ft. Basement With Very High Ceilings. Call Mark 516-298-8457 for more details Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Beautiful, brick, colonial boasting 5 bdr 3.5 Bth in pristine condition.

Excellent location, near all!

Move right in! RCUSA 516-512-9626 CEDARHURST JUST LISTED Magnificent renovated 4 bedroom 3 bathroom in SD#15, new roof, windows, plumbing + electric, gas cooking, new marble bathrooms, marble kitchen with stainless steel appliances, LED lighting, security cameras and speakers throughout the home, custom closets, outdoor patio, 1 car garage, near all. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Charming Colonial on beautiful tree lined street in the heart of Old Woodmere. Home features 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, kitchen, dining area, living room, full basement.

Relatively new heating system + hot water tank. Large & beautiful backyard. Great for entertaining.

Close to all. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com HEWLETT Exquisite contemporary colonial residence boasts a prime location set back from the street, enhancing its striking curb appeal. With 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, this move-inready home is bathed in natural light thanks to its four spacious skylights.

Expansive formal dining room, full basement offers 8-foot ceilings.

Stunning inground gunite pool and a beautifully designed patio in the well-landscaped yard. Located in school district 14 and conveniently close to all amenities, this property is a rare find that won’t stay on the market for long! Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 CEDARHURST New listing 5-bedroom 4 bathroom split level home in school district # 15, hardwood floors, central air conditioning, minutes to all $899k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 WOODMERE New to the market. 3 bedroom 2 full bathrooms with a full basement.

Ranch home in the heart of Woodmere, SD#15, on a lot sized 90x118, gas heat, garage.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE New to the market spacious 1 bedroom 1.5 bathroom condo, elevator building, central air conditioning, garage parking, 24hr doorman, many closets, kitchen with granite countertops, generous counter space, washer/dryer, minutes from shopping, park, transportation and houses of worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Woodmere just listed 3 bedroom 2 full bathroom hi-ranch in sd #15 with central air-conditioning , gas heat, 2 car garage, eat-in-kitchen, l/r, d/r, den, hardwood floors, minutes to transportation , shopping, and houses of worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Welcome to this stunning residence situated on a tranquil residential street in Lawrence SD#15. This spacious and flawlessly maintained home boasts 4 to 5 bedrooms.

Bright, airy living room with vaulted ceilings, skylights and wet bar.

Central air conditioning, elegant quartz countertops, eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, main floor den with fireplace, master bedroom with bathroom snd dressing room, Jacuzzi tub, three other bedrooms and two full bathrooms. Inground sprinklers, lush landscaping, alarm system. Spacious playroom. Twocar garage. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

Classifieds

105

HOUSES FOR SALE

HOUSES FOR SALE

HOUSES FOR SALE

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

HEWLETT-WOODMERE School district. New to the market.

4 bedroom 3 full bathroom home features living room with a fireplace, formal dining room leading out to the deck, eat-in-kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, 2 dishwashers, double oven, new microwave, primary bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, plus 3 additional bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms, large family room, central air conditioning, gas heat, in-ground sprinklers, hardwood floors, modern high hat lighting, custom window treatments, driveway has recently been done, 2 car garage, beautifully landscaped plus so much more.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Spacious home within school district 14 with exquisite upgrades and central air conditioning, splendid kitchen with dual sinks, five bedrooms. Main level encompasses a spacious great room, office space, complementing the formal living and dining areas.

Unfinished basement, detached garage. Expansive lot, measuring 80 x 100. Conveniently located near shopping, railroad, restaurants and places of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

FAR ROCKAWAY New Construction Prime location Beach 9th & Hicksville 5 bedrooms, 4bathrooms, Eating kitchen, Dining room /living room , Laundry room, Large unfinished basement, Driveway and backyard 516-206-2005 ALLGOING Realty

WOODMERE 1 bedroom apartment, elevator building, eat-in kitchen, full bath, hardwood floors, plenty of closet space. Ceiling fan in bedroom & kitchen, laundry room in the basement. Close to the railroad, shopping, and houses of worship. $179k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WEST HEMPSTEAD Introducing a stunning new construction home. Nestled in a picturesque neighborhood. Large windows, open-concept layout that merges the various living spaces.

The expansive living room is bathed in natural light, thanks to the windows that offer great views of the surrounding area. Gourmet kitchen with top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances, sleek cabinetry, expansive center island with a breakfast bar.

Ample counter space and a welldesigned layout. Wonderful dining area providing. Large glass doors, spacious patio. Luxurious master suite with a spacious bedroom, a lavish ensuite bathroom and a large walk-in closet. Additional bedrooms.

High-end finishes, premium flooring, and custom details throughout. Call for pricing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com WOODMERE Spacious home within school district 14 with exquisite upgrades and central air conditioning, splendid kitchen with dual sinks, five bedrooms. Main level encompasses a spacious great room, office space, complementing the formal living and dining areas.

Unfinished basement, detached garage. Expansive lot, measuring 80 x 100. Conveniently located near shopping, railroad, restaurants and places of worship.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

VALLEY STREAM Meticulously cared-for high ranch with four bedrooms and two full baths. Expansive dimensions, measuring 58 x 133. Two-zone, gas-heated system, central airconditioning, and an inground sprinkler system. The upper-level features three inviting bedrooms, accompanied by a full bathroom.

The well-appointed living room, elegant dining room, and an eat-in kitchen complete this level. On the ground floor, you’ll find an additional bedroom and bathroom, a spacious den with sliding doors that lead to the backyard, convenient washer and dryer facilities, and an attached garage. Great access to schools, shops, restaurants, and public transportation. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE 5 Towns Home for Sale Amazing Location 60 Meadow, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms.

Large den, Living Room/Dining Room. Kitchen + 2-car garage.

Near Shuls. Call or Text ALLGOING Realtor 516-206-2005.

359A Central Av Lawrence INWOOD New to Market Multi-family home for Sale multi-use/mix-use zoning Large rent roll Call 516--637-1973

WOODMERE INWOOD CEDARHURST

LAWRENCE New to the market 2 bedroom 2 full bathrooms top floor elevator building, 24 hr doorman, open concept, totally renovated kitchen, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, 2 dishwashers, island, 2 new bathrooms, terrace, central air conditioning, u/g parking, high hats throughout, custom closets minutes to shopping, railroad, park, and houses of worship Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-2988457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE CEDARHURST LAWRENCE

WOODMERE Introducing a stunning 14-side hall colonial home in the Hewlett Woodmere School District.

Formal living room, formal dining Quality New Construction!!! room, den with a skylight. Eat in Spacious Wide Line Expanded Ranch on Most Prestigious and Stucco Col. with 2 Storycape Entry in 9 ft Ceilings, 14 Zone Heat which Charming 4 bdrm prestigious country Brick C/H Colonial 4+ BR, 3 Bths, Hardwood floors, Serene Cul-de-Sac in Village of Lawrence , Main Flr Master Bdrm includes Radiant Heat, Anderson Windows with Lots of Natural Kitchen, two sinks, a double oven, clubThroughout, area, open concept, fir, fdnr,Chefs eik, full height FLR FDR, Finished Basement, in quietMain Exclusive Tree OPEN HOUSE 3:00-4:30 223 Hickox Avenue HOUSE 12:30-1:30 1068 Suite with Many Closets and Bthrm, Addional Flr highland Bdrm & Bath, Light Flr Fdnr, Magnificent Eik with High End OPEN Totally renovated Colonial.

Like New. High Ceilings, Chefs EIK, 5 a warming draw and a microwave.

Center Hall Huge Colonial with Main Level+Den 3 BRs 23Bths Baths Lg Flr Fdnr Den, EIK, Mudrm, 4 Bdrms onFinished Second Flr, basement, beautiful property with above lined area. $1.599 Appliances, Dble Ovens , 6oversized Burner Cooktop with Pot Filler, Bdrms.

Prime Woodmere location!

Basment Beautiful Property 2ground Dishwashers, and more.

Master Bdrm Suite with Luxurious Bath Beautiful Wrap Around Property, $1.690M pool; fish pond and greenhouse, low taxes First floor bedroom, a full bathroom $1.659M $999K and Walk in closet,+4 Bdrms and 2 Beautiful Bths ,2nd Flr endless potential! location!!! $995K Laundry Rm , Full Finished Basement with 10 ft Ceilings Huge and laundry room. Two-car garage.

Playrm 2 Bdrms and Bth laundry Rm storage, Beautiful WOODSBURGH CO-OPS/CONDOS Upper level hasCEDARHURST four bedrooms, two Manicured Garden.

CEDARHURST WOODMERE CO-OP WOODMERE WOODMERE WOODMERE LAWRENCE CEDARHURST WOODMERE FAR ROCKAWAY full bathrooms.

Finished basement LAWRENCE with playroom, storage and utilities.

261 Central Ave 1st Floor, Large Entry Foyer, Open Concept Kitchen.

Large LR/DR Overlooking the Courtyard $229K Well-groomed exterior with porch adjoining the master bedroom.

LAWRENCE 240 Central Avenue Hardwood floors and back patio.

Spacious 1 Bdrm 1 Bth Apt in Well Maintained Elevator Bldg Central air conditioning, inwith Terrace Overlooking Garden, Near All $229K ground sprinkler system, alarm FAR ROCKAWAY system. Close proximity to schools, 156 B 9th St Mint 2BR, 2 BTH Beachfront Condo This spacious s/h col , in the prestigious village of woodsburgh, shopping centers, restaurants, and with Wraparound Terrace, Magnificent sits on 1/2 acre property in a. most serene setting, with beautiful Quality New Construction!!!

Sunrise & Sunset waterviews, and magnificent sunsets .

Flr banquet fdnr , transportation options.

Spacious Wide Line Expanded Ranch on Most Prestigious and Stucco withCharming 2 Story EntryColonial 9 ft Ceilings, 14 Zone Heat which COMMERCIAL New ToCol. Mkt. on Beautiful Tree Spacious Split Level Home InInPrestigious Academy 5$589K BR home in the heart of Far Rockaway, 3 Bths, EIK, Spacious Split Level Home Prestigious Academy RENTAL! NEW! 9 Room Dr office Suite, Located rm, main level den /fplof, master bdrm suiteFlr with his Bdrm29 Woodmere Blvd Apt 2B Renovated, Mint, Corner 1 Bdrm Serene Cul-de-Sac in Village Lawrence , Main Master includes Radiant Heat, Anderson Windows with Lots Natural inbreakfast theher Heart of Cedarhurst, Spacious waiting room, Reception Area.

Lg EIK, w/2 sinks, FLR/FDR, Attic, Lower lvl Den FDR, Den, Foyer, Walk in Closet, 130 Deep Property.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker lined Street, Features FLR FDR, EIK, Den andofLibrary and closets and bth + 4 bdrms , new bths, newly renovated Area.

Lg EIK, w/2 sinks, FLR/FDR, Attic, Lower lvl Den with OPEN HOUSE 3:00-4:30 223 Hickox Avenue OPEN HOUSE 12:30-1:30 1068 highland Suite with Many Closets and Bthrm, Addional Main Flr Bdrm & Bath, 9ft Ceilings. Spacious Eat In Kitchen, 2 Sinks, Granite Light Throughout, Flr Fdnr, Magnificent Chefs Eik with High End Area and Exam Rooms, all on Main Floor.

Close to Public finished basement with laundry rm, playrm, of23storage, FinFlrBsmt, Bsmt, Playroom &&Main 22Mudrm, add’l rooms, Oversized Prop.

Counter tops and S.S. Appliances.Large Lvgrm/Dnr and Large Totally renovated Colonial.

New. High Ceilings, Chefs Large Primary Suite, Basement Prime Center Hall Colonial with Level Den 3lots BRs Baths Lg Fdnr Huge Den, EIK, +rooms, 4 Bdrms Bths onFinished Second Flr, Fin Playroom add’l Oversized Prop.$1.495M Berkshire Hathaway Laffey Appliances, Dble Ovens Finished , 6Like Burner Cooktop within Pot Filler,EIK, 5 Transportation many special details thruout $1.9M+ Bdrm/BR with Lots of Windows Bdrms.

Prime Woodmere location!

Basment Property $1.1M Beautiful Beautiful Wrap Around Property, $1.690M 2 Dishwashers, and more. Master Bdrm Suite with Luxurious Bath $6,000 Location $1.39M $1.1M REDUCED $299K International 516-298-8457 $1.659M $999K and Walk in closet,+4 Bdrms and 2 Beautiful Bths ,2nd Flr Laundry Rm , Full Finished Basement with 10 ft Ceilings Huge mlipner@bhhslaffey.com Playrm 2 Bdrms and Bth laundry Rm storage, Beautiful

WOODSBURGH CEDARHURST

Manicured Garden.

CO-OPS/CONDOS WOODMERE CO-OP

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

106

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

FOR RENT

WOODMERE Generously proportioned, first-floor apartment in an elevator-equipped building in the heart of Woodmere.

This Co-op boasts three bedrooms, two full bathrooms. Lofty ceilings, spacious foyer, formal living area and dining space. Expansive kitchen with gas stove, microwave, dishwasher, washer-dryer. Hardwood floors provide an elegant touch, and the comfort of five air-conditioning units ensures year-round climate control. Three bedrooms, with the primary bedroom having en-suite full bathroom. Dedicated storage. Near shopping centers, railroad, dining and places of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE Welcome to this exquisite and expansive 1 Bedroom co-op in the highly sought-after and prestigious Heathcote. Recently renovated, generously sized foyer. Vasr Eat-InKitchen. Situated in a classic pre-war building, this residence features 9-foot ceilings that add an air of elegance and sophistication. The convenience of an elevator ensures easy access to all levels, making everyday living a breeze. Private storage room. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE JUST LISTED This amazing two-bedroom two full bathroom condo Features a luxurious lifestyle in the beautiful city of Lawrence. What more could you ask for? The building has a 24-hour doorman and elevator access, with a social room, library, washer/dryer inside the unit, and terrace. Plus, the added benefit of having a live-in super to ensure maximum safety and security! And don’t forget about your new kitchen complete with a gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, and even two dishwashers! The living room and dining room are spacious and have recessed lighting installed throughout. Both bedrooms feature lots of closet space for storage. To top it off, there’s even garage parking available to make your life just that much easier! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Please call for a private showing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 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 Apartment Modern 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2nd floor. SS appliances, double sink, quartz countertops, walk up finished attic, split units.

Rivka 917-639-6169

CEDARHURST 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, totally renovated private entrance , central air conditioning, hardwood floors, washer/dryer, garage parking, dishwasher, recessed lighting, private playground, close to railroad, park, shopping and houses of worship.

Call for more details Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE New to the market studio co-op apartment, elevator building, high ceilings, low maintenance, laundry room on premises, minutes to the railroad, shopping, restaurants and houses of worship. $ 135K Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE Spacious, Sunny 1 BR with screened in Terrace, new A/C, Move-in Condition, Well kept Bldg w/ Friendly neighbors, Lo Maint - $239K Paul (917) 579-4243

LAWRENCE New to the market 1 bedroom 1.5-bathroom condo apartment, elevator building, 24 hr doorman, central air conditioning, washer/dryer, u/g parking, terrace, many closets, social room, gym, library minutes to shopping, restaurants, transportation and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

FOR RENT CEDARHURST 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment, private entrance, washer/dryer, central air conditioning, freshly painted, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, garage parking, stainless steel appliances, great courtyard, minutes to the railroad, shopping, restaurants, park and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

BENSONHURST 3 fam, 2nd fl, 3 bed, 2 bath, EIK, lg LR, lg DR, bonus area, front porch, backyard, renov, sunny, lg windows, $2900, 347-598-9608 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

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 • $179K

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JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

108

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

FOR RENT

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

WOODMERE House rental 4 bedroom 2 full bathrooms, central air conditioning, kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, dual sinks, formal dining room, den, hardwood floors, washer and dryer Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

BAIS YAAKOV FIVE TOWNS is looking to hire a warm, enthusiastic Second Grade Hebrew Teacher for the 2024-2025 school year.

Great opportunity to work with experienced teachers in a friendly and collaborative environment. Please email: Principals@by5t.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

TEACHER/TEACHER MENTOR Join our Collaborative Team at HASC. Looking for an experienced Teacher/Teacher Mentor to help with the administration of a SEIT Program.

Great Pay! Part-time! Flexible hours!

Warm & Caring Environment.

SAS/SBL a plus Email resume: jobswd@hasc.net

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

BAIS YAAKOV FIVE TOWNS Is looking to hire a warm, enthusiastic Second Grade English Teacher for the 2024-2025 school year. Great opportunity to work with experienced teachers in a friendly and collaborative environment.

Please email: Principals@by5t.org YESHIVA KETANA of Long Island Seeks Full Time Office Secretary. Computer skills required Great work environment.

Email Resume to office@ykli.org BOOKKEEPER Excellent growth potential, Frum environment, Excellent salary & benefits. Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com

TJH Classifieds Post your Real Estate, Help Wanted, Services, Miscellaneous Ads here.

Weekly Classifieds Up to 5 lines and/or 25 words 1 week ................$20 2 weeks .............. $35 4 weeks .............. $60 Email ads to: classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com Include valid credit card info and zip code

Deadline Monday 5:00pm

HE LOVES COMPUTERS, animals, and exercise. Can you share his interests? Spend time with a 29-year-old young man with developmental disabilities in Lawrence, NY. Part time, flexible hours, starting salary $27.

Contact: Jobs@hamaspikking.org or 718-387-8400 Ext. 249

ACCOUNTANT F/T Beitel Group is seeking to hire F/T Staff Accountant. Min 2 years’ experience required. Competitive pay, benefits, and growth potential.

Please email resume to jobs@beitel.com.

IMMEDIATE OPENING PM Substitute Assistant Teacher for lower grade special ed class, 5 Towns/ Far Rockaway Yeshiva. Great Salary.

Hours: 1:00 - 4:00, Mon. - Thurs.

Email: nnadata@zareinu.org or call 516-316-6633.

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 A YESHIVA IN QUEENS is looking for an experienced part/ full time secretary, 2-year-old morah, kindergarten morah, kindergarten morah assistant and Pre-1A English teacher for the 2022-2023 school year. Nice and timely pay. Please email resume to mshelt613@gmail. com or call/text 718-971-9799.

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT A multi-tasker needed for general office work. The ideal candidate is someone who is detail-oriented, responsible, and can take ownership.

Looking for someone who is eager to learn, and expand his/her skill set while possessing the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Experience with Excel required. Five Towns location. In-office position only, not remote. Please send resume to 5tpart.timecareer@gmail.com

SECRETARY Woodmere, Part-Time HASC, a leader in special education, is seeking a part-time SEIT Secretary to add to our Team.

Job includes general office and administrative tasks related to the tracking and maintenance of SEIT student and staff files.

Computer skills required.

Attention to detail a must.

Great pay. Room for growth.

Warm and caring environment.

Training provided. jobswd@hasc.net 516-295-1340 DO YOU PLAY GUITAR? Earn money doing what you love!

Help a friendly 14-year-old boy with ADHD gain confidence and overcome struggles by teaching him to play.

Sundays, Lawrence. jobs@hamaspikkings.org or call 718.387.8400 ext. 413 to apply.

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 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

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!

Your

109

Money

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

L

ove him or hate him, everyone’s favorite richest man on the planet, Elon Musk, keeps racking up the headlines. Is he a twenty-first-century Edison or Ford, hurtling towards the first trillion-dollar fortune? Will he change the world with his genius for cars, batteries, rockets, and satellites? Or is he a cranky, drug-addled narcissist, costing himself millions every time he tweets or alienates the advertisers rapidly fleeing his social network? It’s not an either/or question. People are complicated. And Musk is certainly more complicated than the average bear.

Last week, a fun video started circulating on YouTube that adds a new twist to the Musk saga. The narrator started out by boldly asserting, “I know why Elon Musk bought Twitter, changed the name, and lost $25 billion, on purpose.”

We’re all ears! Are you?

It turns out that, under this theory, Musk bought Twitter specifically to wreck its value – for taxes. Cratering the company’s value would let him quietly sell the smoking ruins of the old business to a different company he owns, then book a capital loss on the sale. That, in turn, would let him sell Tesla or SpaceX stock with an equivalent amount of gain

without paying tax on it. Genius, right?

(Except for the fact that you wrecked the company!)

Except, not really. The video says nothing about something called the “related party” rules. Those rules say that if you trade business or investment property to a related party – including a close

billions from their company stock without ever selling – and thus, avoid tax on capital gains – simply by borrowing against it and taking tax-free loan proceeds instead. When the borrower dies, the stock’s basis is “stepped up” to its fair market value as of the date of death, and the gains during their lifetime escape tax

The narrator started out by boldly asserting, “I know why Elon Musk bought Twitter, changed the name, and lost $25 billion, on purpose.”

family member, a business entity you own or control, or a nonprofit you control – you don’t recognize any gain or loss on that sale. That means that if Musk sells Twitter to another company he owns, the loss is suspended until that company sells it to an unrelated party.

The theory ignores another attractive reality of controlling a billion-dollar fortune. Tech moguls like Musk can realize

forever. Yes, it means paying ongoing interest instead of a one-time tax. But, as long as the stock continues to grow faster than the debt, the billionaire borrower actually comes out even richer. It’s called the “Buy, Borrow, and Die” strategy. And Musk can tap it any time he wants without the controversy and embarrassment involved in cratering a social network.

Having said that, there’s one potential

benefit to be gained by slashing Twitter’s value. Musk borrowed $13 billion from seven lenders to take Twitter private.

Now, based on Twitter’s current losses, that debt is estimated to be worth just $11 billion. This creates the opportunity for Musk to buy it back from the lenders at a discount. If he were to do so for, say, $11 billion, he would come out $2 billion ahead by avoiding repayment. Buying the debt like that also avoids the possibility of owing tax if the banks forgive any portion of the debt. Still, it’s a stretch to believe Musk would jeopardize his reputation like he has to save such a tiny fraction of his $200+ billion fortune.

Musk has enough money that he can afford to torpedo a company or two. But that won’t help him with taxes, not in the way this particular conspiracy argues. Fortunately, you don’t need to wreck your company to save big. Call us to learn more! And while we’re on the subject of conspiracies, birds aren’t real.

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.

JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

Elon Musk – Love Him or Hate Him

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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Life C ach

When Life Gives You Lemons…

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

“W

hen life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

We always look at this saying from the negative side – “gives you lemons.”

Remember, it’s rare we get anything for free! Life just gave us something for nothing!

Sometimes, the things life sends our way are truly challenging and atrocious.

However, there are times we are just spinning things the wrong way.

Let’s follow through with the lemon thing. A kid finds a bag of lemons. They totally are disinterested –correction, disappointed! They’d rather find Fruit

By The Foot, chocolate bars, toys, or any other kid-friendly thing.

But, alas, the saying… And thus started the first lemonade stand. Your kid is suddenly an entrepreneur.

Ambitious! Rolling in the dough.

Yes, I realize that you are out a lot of money or the neighbors are. After all, who’s buying lemonade on some random side street? But, your child is beginning to get the idea that one can be creative

and innovative.

That lesson carries over pretty quickly to homework, as well. A kid gets a lot of lemons to do at home. He extrapolates from the lemon stand experience and relatively rapidly finds the lemon-

Bad weather: Rain: a free car wash.

Snow: time to build with the kids.

Overly hot: time to test out that new split unit Tornado – free whirl-a-ride.

We’ve got a lot of power. Maybe not

We’ve got a lot of power. Maybe not in what happens but in what we squeeze out of it.

ade. It’s you! However, you, on the other hand, are saddled with the bag of lemons… Either to write about or add up!

When we get disappointed in life, we often forget the lemon lesson and mope.

This is no way to cope.

Is it a rotten break or is it an opportunity?

A lot of traffic: time to listen to a shiur.

in what happens but in what we squeeze out of it.

Bad break at work? An opportunity for something better.

Relationship not working out the way you thought it should? No, not necessarily an opportunity for something better! Rather, an opportunity for you to show up a little better!

The trick is not to just get sour right away.

Try not to think it’s the pits.

Instead, notice how bright it is. The color of sunshine.

Recognize that a drop goes a long way.

Remember that a lemon is flavorful.

And can be sugarcoated.

We do get some doozies in life. Try to take a lemonade moment and see where this might be able to take you in life. Take those bitter moments and make a valiant stand.

And who knows? Hopefully, you’ll come out the richer for it!

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.

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JANUARY 25, 2024 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 25, 2024

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