Five Towns Jewish Home 3.28.24

Simchas

Remembering

Dear Readers,

We know that Hashem is the only One upon whom we can rely and trust. But sometimes, we let our minds wander and start to believe that there are outside forces that can help to bring about our success. We read the news, and we begin to think that we are going to be safe or successful because certain people are advocating for the Jewish nation. And we forget that despite the “friends” that we have, it ultimately comes down to our reliance on the One Above.

But then there are moments of clarity, times when it’s clear that the Jewish nation is alone, with no friends supporting or advocating for our survival. During these times, we question the lunacy of the rationalizations these forces make in turning against us. And we feel so alone, so betrayed, so bewildered by how the world has turned upside down.

But those feelings of betrayal are really a reminder. They are reminding us that despite those reassurances by those forces who told us that they were our friends, they were never really influencing the trajectory of world events. It’s an illusion to think that outside forces

can sway or manipulate our destiny. It is only our Father Who has been – and is – steering the narrative throughout history.

We are never alone. He has always been there and always will be there for us.

Fifty years ago, during the Yom Kippur War, Israel also faced an existential crisis. The world turned against us. At the time, the United States told Prime Minister Golda Meir to halt Israel’s incursion into Egypt. We felt like we were all alone.

Back then, Shlomo Carlebach sang, in his inimitable, sing-song tune, “Israel has no friends in the world,” he reminded us. “The holy land, the holy people of Israel are all alone – heim am l’vadad yishkon.

“But you know what we have?” he continued. “Yisrael batach b’Hashem. We have one Friend in Heaven.”

We can only rely on Him.

That message sustained us then, and it sustains us now.

Yisrael batach b’Hashem. Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern, PUBLISHER publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman, MANAGING EDITOR ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

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Dear Editor,

Although I do not reside in the Five Towns, I thoroughly enjoyed your Purim “Real” news stories and even figured out most of the “in” jokes. However, one thing puzzled me. The quote from Rep. Ted Lieu that “the best way to oppose fake news is for people to watch MSNBC where you report real news all the time” was in the regular news section rather than its Purim counterpart.

Deena Zivarts

Brooklyn, NY

Dear Editor,

The election season is in full swing. More than ever before, we must insist that the elections are fair and square. With all the turbulence and uncertainty in all areas of our country, it is of the utmost importance that we pick candidates with the highest potential and only validate and count votes of registered U.S. citizens. The crowd of illegals presently in our country can’t be part of it. Also, eliminate foreign voting machines with dubious software and mail-in voting which only open the door for massive irregularities and fraud. It needs strict surveillance; too much is at stake!

Ideally, it would be best to reinstate our former voting system. Go into a voting booth, click on your candidates and switch the lever! We have to reshape our country and execute internal and foreign orders the way we used to do it.

Then, we will regain our strength, be respected by our allies and enemies and become the ENVY of the world again.

Heinz Mayer

Dear Editor,

This past Friday, a day before Purim, the U.S., in an unprecedented move, introduced a resolution in the Security Council to impose an immediate “ceasefire” on Israel in Gaza. A ceasefire would only mean a “win” for Hamas and no hostages returned. It could also affect Israel’s existence since Hamas could reconstitute itself as Rafah, the most important city in Gaza, needs to be vanquished.

Both Russia and China vetoed the U.S. resolution. Regardless of the reasons for their veto, it can only be considered a “Purim miracle.” I noticed that most news organizations either didn’t cover this development or gave it short shrift. Is it because for the first time in UN history America stood against Israel’s interests, an ally, and the only democracy in the Middle East? This is a deliberate attempt at placating the Arab communities in the U.S. to obtain their vote. This is further evidence of Senator Schumer’s duplicity as he is the most important Jewish leader to take such a stand against Israel.

Jan

Continued from page 8

Dear Editor,

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the liberal media have two sets of standards when it comes to commenting on what Biden says versus what Trump says. Schumer and many in the media are critical with Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s most recent comment, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel and should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.” I don’t recall any significant moral outrage from reporters, editorial boards and political commentators when in 2020 Biden said, “If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.” Senator Schumer did not take to the Senate floor to criticize Biden’s comments, which millions of African American citizens found condescending and racist.

Sincerely,

Larry Penner

Great

Neck, NY

Dear Editor,

For all those espousing faux outrage at former President Donald Trump for stating the obvious, they are among the deranged part of the political system. The Democrat Party used to be the party where Jews felt most comfortable. Now, it is obvious that the party has abandoned its Jewish base. When the heads of the party – Biden and Schumer – both throw Israel, a true ally of the United States, under the bus and instead push for a ceasefire and a victory for Hamas, then we know that the party is no longer representing the principles of those who value peace and conservatism.

A ceasefire is a signal to Hamas: you will get whatever you want as long as you slaughter hundreds of Jews and hold 135 of them hostage.

The Democrat Party is no longer the party for me.

Sincerely,

Avi L.

Dear Editor,

Chametz spelled backwards is tzemach, a sprouting. This is logical since chametz is indicative of ego and haughtiness, as the Gemara (Berachot 17a) indicates the yetzer hara is like the yeast in the dough. Tzemach, though, is representative of a small sprouting, rooted in the ground and springing forth.

When one thinks of tzemach, they think of the bracha in Shemoneh Esrei, “Et tzemach Dovid – the sprouting of Dovid.” We know tzemach is a reference to Moshiach, as the verse (Zecharia 6:12) says, “Thus said G-d of Hosts: Behold, a man called the Branch shall branch out from the place where he is, and he shall build the Temple of G-d.” The branch translated as tzemach is representative of the Messianic kingdom that will sprout forth to build the Temple.

Dovid, of course, saw himself “not even as high as a worm,” yet his supplications to grow are unparalleled. His ability to “branch out” was boundless, but he knew he was a mere sprout that was looking to grow but never formed.

It is in the first chapter of Tehillim that we see Dovid pronounce, “He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades, and whatever it produces thrives.” Dovid’s ideal Jew is one who is continuously sprouting forth with vigor and vibrancy, never retiring to rote practice, but rooted in the ground.

Purim, which we just celebrated, is the necessary holiday that must precede Pesach. Purim is about simcha, from the root word machah, to wipe away, because one must negate their essence to come close to and exalt in the redemption of G-d. Only one fully reliant can reach a level of belief that allows reliance.

We now leave a state of negation with the knowledge that G-d runs every detail of nature and enter a sphere of the miraculous, knowing that the miraculous exists in every moment.

Steven Genack

Tragic Terrorist Attack In Moscow

At least 139 people were killed on Friday in a terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall, a famous concert venue and shopping center in Moscow. ISIS claimed responsibility for the assault, although the terrorist organization has yet to show evidence of involvement in the attack.

According to RIA Novosti, a stateowned Russian news agency, the assailants “opened fire with automatic weap-

ons” and then “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire,” before “allegedly [fleeing] in a white Renault car.” The attack reportedly led to the venue’s roof partially caving in. Over six hours later, authorities gained control over the fire.

“There are still some pockets of fire, but the fire has been mostly eliminated,” Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of Moscow, posted on Telegram.

A concert by the band Picnic had been planned for that day. No band members were injured, according to the manager.

Video of the attack shows people screaming and sheltering, as the sound of gunshots rang out. One group of people had to break a wall of windows in order to flee. Following the assault, a SWAT team arrived, and over 70 ambulance teams and medical professionals came to the scene to help those who were wounded. Firefighters evacuated about 100 people from the building, according to TASS.

President Vladimir Putin, who secured another presidential term less than a week before this attack, “conveyed his gratitude to the doctors” and extended wishes for a quick recovery for those injured in the attack, RIA-Novosti

reported.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the terrorist attack was a “terrible tragedy.”

“My condolences to the loved ones of the victims. I gave orders to provide all necessary assistance to everyone who suffered during the incident,” Sobyanin stated, adding that all public events would be canceled for the weekend.

In early March, Russia’s U.S. embassy warned that it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow” and cautioned citizens of the U.S. against going to big gatherings, such as concerts, in the Russian capital. After news of the attack in Moscow came to light, the embassy said that all U.S. citizens should avoid going to Russia altogether.

Putin, in a speech he gave on Tuesday, March 19 – days before the attack – called the U.S.’s warnings of terrorist activity “provocative,” adding that “these actions resemble outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.”

In March 2024, Russia thwarted a number of ISIS attacks, including one on March 3, when authorities killed six ISIS members planning an attack, as

well as on March 7, when members of the Vilayat Khorasan group who were planning to launch an assault on a Moscow Synagogue were “neutralized,” and one on March 20, when an ISIS commander was arrested.

Leaders from the U.N., China, France, India, and Saudi Arabia condemned Friday’s attack and extended their condolences to Russia.

On Sunday night, the four terrorists responsible for the attack were brought into court. Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, Shamsidin Fariduni and Mukhammadsobir Faizov are all from the Central Republic of Tajikistan but were in Russia on temporary or expired visas. All of them looked as if they had been beaten; one of them appeared unresponsive in court. They each face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Putin said, “We know that the crime was committed by radical Islamists, whose ideology the Islamic world itself has been fighting for centuries.” He added that the attack “is a link in a series of attempts of those who have been fighting Russia since 2014 with the hands of the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime.”

The attack was the deadliest on Russian soil in almost two decades.

Finland is Happiest

Want to be happy? Move to Finland.

According to the World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world – keeping the title it has claimed for seven years straight.

This year’s report tracks happiness by age group, and it’s not so happy for the younger segment of the population. Happiness has dropped so sharply among the young in North America that young people there are now less happy than the old. Those low scores helped push the United States out of the top 20 on the overall list for the first time since the report was first published in 2012.

But the U.S. and other countries decreasing in rank was also because other nations – especially several in Eastern Europe – had welcome gains in happiness.

The report looks at six key variables to help explain life evaluations: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

John Helliwell, emeritus professor of economics at the Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report, noted, “You find out Finland’s pretty rich in all of those things, like wallets being returned if they’re dropped in the street, people helping each other day in and day out, very high quality and universally distributed health and education opportunities — so everyone more or less comes out of the starting gate the same,” he said.

He also shared that Finland has happy immigrants, “so it’s something that they’re prepared to share with newcomers.”

Finland’s Nordic neighbors also earned reliably high scores with Denmark (No. 2), Iceland (No. 3) and Sweden (No. 4) in the top five, and Norway (No. 7) comfortably ranking in the top 10.

Despite fighting a war with Hamas, Israel nabbed the No. 5 spot, even though the survey took place after October 7. Happiness in Gaza was at dismal spot 103.

The Netherlands (No. 6), Luxembourg (No. 8), Switzerland (No. 9) and Australia (No. 10) round out the top 10.

The United States (No. 23) and Germany (No. 24) dropped out of the top 20 in part because of a rise in happiness among other countries — especially Czechia (No. 18), Lithuania (No. 19) and Slovenia (No. 21). The United Kingdom was No. 20.

While Lithuania ranked 19th this year on the overall list, among respondents under 30, it was the No. 1 happiest country in 2024. For those over 60, Lithuania came in at No. 44.

In the United States and Canada, happiness scores from people under 30 were dramatically lower than those from people age 60 and older. Among people under 30, the U.S. ranked at No. 62, while for those 60 and older, it was No. 10. Canada was No. 58 among the young and No. 8 for those 60 and older.

Australia and New Zealand, to a lesser extent, also saw much lower rankings among the young.

Afghanistan remains the world’s lowest-ranked country for happiness.

Farmers Protest in London

London was swamped with tractors on Monday as a convoy of farmers made its way towards Parliament to protest post-Brexit rules and trade deals that they say harm their livelihoods.

Supporters of the campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent drove slowly from southeast England and through southern districts of the capital, bound for Parliament Square, where dozens of supporters waited to welcome them.

A line of tractors flying Union Jack flags or signs reading “Stop substandard imports” snaked along the River Thames and towards the Houses of Parliament before circling Parliament Square to cheers and honking horns.

Other countries have also seen farmers protesting, including France. This is the first large-scale farmers’ protest in Britain. Farmers from across the 27-nation European Union have protested against what they see as unnecessary bureaucratic rules, clean-air and soil targets, and unfair competition.

Farmers in Britain have been hit hard by Brexit rules. Trade deals between the U.K. and countries including Australia and New Zealand have opened the door to cheap imports that are undercutting British producers. Organizers also criticize labeling that allows products to bear a Union flag when they have not been grown or reared in Britain.

Fatal Flooding in Brazil

At least 27 people have been killed in southeast Brazil as rainfall ravages

parts of the country.

The death toll in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo rose to 19, and at least eight people were killed in neighboring state Rio de Janeiro.

On Tuesday, authorities said that rainfall can potentially reach up to 2 inches per day. There are higher rainfall chances and new flood potential in central Brazil through midweek, with daily rainfall potentially reaching 4 inches in 24 hours.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva posted on X, “The federal government sympathizes with the affected families and lives lost and is in constant contact with state and municipal governments to protect, prevent and repair flood damage.”

Flooding and landslides remain one of the main concerns as rainfall has yet to cease through the week.

Brazil has suffered rapid urbanization and unsafe construction throughout the country. Combined with frequent and heavy rainfalls, many Brazilians have lost their lives. More than 30 were killed after heavy rains last year in Rio Grande do Sul, while another 20 died in flooding in 2022 in Sao Paulo.

Violence Hits Mayor in Ecuador

Ecuador has been grappling with a surge in violence at the hands of armed gangs. Just two months ago, the South American country declared a state of emergency after a gang leader escaped from prison. This week, the youngest mayor in the country, Brigitte Garcia, was found killed. She was 27 years old.

In a statement posted on X, police said that García, the mayor of San Vicente, a small coastal city, was in what is believed to be a rental car along with her communications director, Jairo Loor, who was also killed from a gunshot wound. Preliminary investigations suggest the shots were fired from inside the car, police said.

In a statement on Sunday, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Government called the incident a “criminal action” and referenced a national “fight against terrorism, organized crime and political corruption,” although they did not accuse any person or group of being behind the killings.

“We stand in solidarity with their families and reaffirm our commitment to use all force of the State to not leave these crimes unpunished,” the ministry said.

Former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa took to social media to express his disbelief, saying, “Enough!”

“My G-d! Brigitte! She was the youngest mayor of the country,” he exclaimed.

In January, Ecuador declared a state of emergency after notorious gang leader José Adolfo Macías, also known as “Fito,” escaped from prison. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” in the nation the following day and ordered armed forces to execute “military operations to neutralize” the violence across the country. More than 2,000 people were detained less than two weeks after the decree, according to the president’s office.

García was elected last year as a member of the left-wing Citizen Revolution Party, which is aligned with Correa, the former president.

U.S., Britain: China Behind Malware

The United States and Britain imposed sanctions on China’s elite hacking units Monday, accusing China’s top spy agency of a yearslong effort to place malware in America’s electrical grids, defense systems and other critical infrastructure, and of stealing the voting rolls for 40 million British citizens.

Taken together, the actions on both sides of the Atlantic underscored the escalation of cyberconflict between the Western allies and China, in vastly different spheres.

U.S. intelligence agencies have warned that the malware found in U.S. infrastructure appeared to be intended for use if the United States were coming to the aid of Taiwan. The theory is that Americans would be too tied up worrying about their own supplies of electricity, food and water to help a distant island that China claims as its own.

Separately, the Justice Department indicted individual Chinese hackers for what Attorney General Merrick Garland called a 14-year effort “to target and intimidate” China’s critics worldwide.

The motive behind the British intrusion was more mysterious. That attack involved stealing the voter registration data – mostly names and addresses – of tens of millions of people, as well as an attempt to hack into the accounts of members of Parliament. Britain had revealed the voter hack long ago but never said who was responsible.

On Monday, it announced sanctions against the same state-directed group involved in the U.S. hack.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden announced sanctions against two individuals and one company, which he said targeted Britain’s elections watchdog and lawmakers. But there was no indication that the hackers made any effort to manipulate votes or change the registration data – raising the possibility that they were simply testing their ability to steal vast databases of information.

“This is the latest in a clear pattern

24 of hostile activity originating in China,” Dowden said in Parliament. “Part of our defense is calling out this behavior.”

On Monday, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, dismissed the British reports of Chinese hacking as “fake news.”

“When investigating and determining the character of cyber-incidents, there must be adequate objective evidence,” Lin said, “not smearing other countries without a factual basis, not to mention politicizing cybersecurity issues.”

In announcing the sanctions, the Treasury Department described malicious state-sponsored cyber-actors as “one of the greatest and most persistent threats to U.S. national security.” (© The New York Times)

Can It Get Any Worse For Haiti?

Although Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, has been, for quite some time, engulfed in a state of never-ending chaos, the last three weeks have contained some of the worst times the country has ever seen, with powerful gangs battling against the city in hopes of gaining ter-

ritory and eliminating police and other authorities.

Bodies – or what remains of them – are sprawled out on the streets of the capital, with more people dying each day. Many residents are trying to evacuate, although the escape route is dangerous. The U.N.-promised international mission to Haiti, which would likely be composed of officials from Kenya, Jamaica, Benin, Bahamas, Barbados, and Chad, has yet to arrive, and the very existence of the Caribbean country is at stake.

Around eighteen months ago, Prime Minister Ariel Henry asked for military assistance from foreign parties. Since then, gang presence has consumed around 80% of the capital. Six months ago, the U.N. Security Council approved a military mission for Haiti, and two months ago, Dominican foreign minister Roberto Alvarez said that Haiti stands on

“the edge of the precipice.” It has been around two weeks since CARICOM said that Haiti would establish a transitional council, although no candidate has been identified for it.

The prime minister has been practically exiled from the country, gangs control the courts, and Haitian prisons are no longer functional. Haiti’s National Police do not have the necessary equipment, manpower, or leadership to effectively fight the gangs, with the average salary for a Haitian police official less than $200 a month. Additionally, only 30% to 40% of officers have bulletproof vests, according to Garry Jean Baptiste, an advisor to the Haitian National Police Union 17.

“We are ready for (the) multinational support force,” Baptiste said. “We’re ready to work with them. But the plan to receive the mission is not laid out; we think the mission will fail like the others because there is no framework to work together.”

Kidnapped Nigerian Children Released

On March 7, more than 300 children were kidnapped from the LEA Primary and Secondary School by a group of gunmen in Kaduna, a state in Nigeria. According to state governor Uba Sani, all of the children have been freed, including 137 or more whose release was announced by Sani on Sunday.

“I am happy, the families are happy, we are all happy the children have been rescued,” the governor said, adding that he visited each of the students’ families.

While being held captive, one teacher died from “some complications,” Sani said.

Although some have claimed that more children are still in captivity, the governor rejected such assertions as “a figment of people’s imagination.”

The children were at their school in Kaduna’s Chikun district when bandits entered the building and took the students hostage. In recent years, ransom situations and kidnappings have become a real issue in Kaduna state, which is neighbors with Abuja, the capital of Ni-

geria.

After speaking to dozens of children, Sani said he was “glad to see our released children in high spirits on Sunday evening” and added that the students would “undergo psychosocial counseling” and be given “proper medical supervision.”

The terrorists had warned that they would kill each abductee if they weren’t given 1 billion naira ($620,000). According to Sani, Nuhu Ribadu, who serves as Nigeria’s National Security Advisor, organized the “operations of the security agencies, which eventually resulted in this successful outcome.”

“The Nigerian Army also deserves special commendation for showing that with courage, determination, and commitment, criminal elements can be degraded and security restored in our communities,” he said before expressing gratitude to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu for “working round the clock” to see to it that all the students are safe.

Most Weapons Come from U.S. and Germany

According to recent data, nearly all of Israel’s weapons imports stem from companies in the United States and Germany.

According to a 2023 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which studies conflicts and arms, 69% of Israel’s arms purchases come from U.S. firms, 30% from Germany and 0.9% from Italy.

“At the end of 2023, the USA rapidly delivered thousands of guided bombs and missiles to Israel, but the total volume of Israeli arms imports from the USA in 2023 was almost the same as in 2022. By the end of 2023, pending deliveries of major arms to Israel included 61 combat aircraft from the USA and 4 submarines from Germany,” the SIPRI report read.

The SIPRI report stated that U.S. sales of fighter jets to Israel over recent

decades have played “a major role in Israel’s military actions against Hamas and Hezbollah.”

All of the Israeli Air Force’s current manned aircraft are American-made, aside from one helicopter built by France’s Airbus Helicopters.

Israel relies heavily on other nations for many of the components in its warplanes, helicopters, warships and submarines.

While it constitutes a much smaller portion of the total imports, other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands, also provide Israel with critical aircraft components. Israel also imports other materials used for military purposes from various other nations.

Last week, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced that his country had stopped arms exports to Israel over the military offensive in the Gaza Strip aimed at eliminating Hamas, following the terror group’s October 7 massacre.

Recently, Politico reported that President Joe Biden would consider placing conditions on future military aid to Israel if it moves ahead with its planned offensive against Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has also called on countries to stop sending arms. Italy announced in January that it had halted exports at the start of the war, and a Dutch court ruled last month that The Netherlands must stop delivering U.S.-owned parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel.

SIPRI’s study ranked Israel as the world’s 15th top weapons importer, taking up 2.1% of all imports, according to globally available data from 2019-2023. It also said that Israel was the world’s 9th top weapons exporter, responsible for 2.4% of exports.

Israel’s top customer for military supplies is India, which takes a share of 37% of Israeli exports, followed by the Philippines (12%) and the U.S. (8.7%), according to the research.

U.S. Fails To Pass U.N. Resolution

In an effort to prevent Israel from continuing its military’s ground operation into Rafah, the U.S., under the leadership of the Biden administration, sponsored a United Nations Security Council resolution, demanding an immediate

ceasefire in Gaza. However, the resolution last week failed, as Russia and China vetoed it, with Algeria voting against the resolution, eleven countries voting for it, and Guyana abstaining.

This is the Security Council’s fifth time trying to pass a resolution on the Israeli-Hamas war. At the beginning of the war, the U.S. shot down three resolutions, while Russia and China sabotaged two.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, condemned Russia and China for going against the resolution, noting that the two countries have refused to blame Hamas for the October 7th massacre.

“I’m sorry – it’s really outrageous and it’s below the dignity of this body [the Security Council],” Thomas-Greenfield said. “Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States because it would rather see us fail than this Council succeed, even after inclusive consultations.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Russia and China but added that the results of the vote displayed “the commitment, the conviction of countries around the world” to bringing about a ceasefire and the freedom of those kidnapped by Hamas.

“I think we were trying to show the international community’s sense of urgency about getting a ceasefire tied to the release of hostages – something that everyone, including the countries that vetoed the resolution, should have been able to get behind,” Blinken said.

Ambassadors for Russia and China claimed that the resolution overly favored the Jewish state. The draft for the resolution said that a continued ground incursion into Rafah “would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries” but stopped short of demanding a ceasefire without the release of hostages.

Blinken, as part of his meetings in Israel, explained the U.S.’s stance on a Rafah operation, asserting that such a military action would risk “further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardizing its long-term security and standing.”

“We share Israel’s goal of defeating

Hamas,” Blinken added. “And we share the goal of ensuring Israel’s long-term security. As we said though, a major military ground operation in Rafah is not the way to do it.”

In the coming week, Israeli and U.S. officials were set to have meetings in Washington, during which “we’ll be able to lay out for them in detail…how those goals can best be accomplished with an integrated humanitarian, military, and political plan,” said Blinken. However, the meetings were canceled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, following the passing of another U.N. resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire.

“We are determined, as Israelis and indeed as other partners in the region are, to deal [with] the ongoing problem posed by Hamas, a threat to so many,” Blinken said. “Hamas can be effectively dealt with without a major ground operation.”

West Bank Terrorist Attack

At around 5 a.m. on Friday, a Palestinian gunman shot at an Israeli minibus in the West Bank, close to the settlement of Dolev. The attack, which initially left no one hurt, led to a battle between Israeli soldiers and the terrorist, with the fighting lasting for hours and resulting in seven injuries, one of which is critical and two serious.

Following the initial attack on the vehicle, soldiers chased after the assailant, who shot at the officers a number of times. The IDF pursued the Palestinian gunman and dodged bullets for hours, after which the military’s elite Duvdevan unit was sent to the area in order to find the assailant. About five hours after the attack on the minibus, an Israeli Air Force helicopter launched a strike on the gunman, killing him.

Three victims of the attack were brought to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah, one of whom was in serious condition, one in moderate condition, and the other slightly injured, the hospital said.

Since October 7, the tragic day when

Hamas invaded southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, kidnapping 253 others, and wounding thousands more, conflict in the West Bank has been on the rise. And with Ramadan’s commencement last week, the threat of further terrorist attacks has increased, heightening tensions in the region.

According to the IDF, 3,500 Palestinians have been arrested in the West Bank, over 1,500 of whom have connections with Hamas.

U.S. Doesn’t Veto UN Resolution For Ceasefire

Following the U.S.’s failure to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu canceled National Israeli Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer’s visit to Washington, D.C., in which Israeli and U.S. officials planned to discuss the Jewish state’s potential ground operation in Rafah.

On Monday, the U.S. abstained instead of vetoing the resolution, which was supported by Russia and China, and demanded an immediate ceasefire and release of hostages but failed to make the former conditional on the latter. This is the first UNSC resolution demanding a ceasefire that was successfully passed since war between Israel and the terrorist group broke out on October 7.

The U.S.’s failure to veto the resolution represents a “a clear retreat from the consistent U.S. position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war” and that “gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to get a ceasefire without releasing our hostages,” stated Netanyahu’s office.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby insisted that the U.S. hasn’t shifted its policy and said, “We’re very disappointed that they won’t be coming to Washington, D.C., to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to going in

on the ground in Rafah.”

“It’s a non-binding resolution, so there’s no impact at all on Israel’s ability to continue to go after Hamas,” Kirby added. “We’ve been consistent in our support [for] a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal.”

Although the text of the resolution does not make the ceasefire conditional on the release of hostages, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield claimed that the text’s meaning indicated otherwise.

“On the one hand, the resolution says that taking civilians hostage is in violation of international law, yet on the other hand — despite the fact that you know Hamas won’t listen to your calls and release the hostages — you demand a ceasefire,” said Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan in response to the resolution’s passing. “It is harmful to these efforts because it gives Hamas terrorists hope to get a ceasefire without releasing the hostages.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is, as of now, in the U.S. on official business, labeled the resolution “scandalous,” adding that Israel has “no moral right to stop the war in Gaza until we return all the hostages to their homes.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich

noted that the U.S.’s failure to veto “plays into Hamas’s hands.”

“The State of Israel will not stop until Hamas is completely destroyed, and the hostages are returned,” Smotrich declared. “This is not the first time that an Israeli government has needed to make decisions contrary to the U.S. government’s position.”

The decision, which was approved on Monday, was supported by the 22-nation Arab Group and comes only a week after a similar U.S.-backed resolution was vetoed by Russia and China. The U.S.’s decision to abstain from voting was made because the resolution failed to condemn Hamas.

Although U.S. support for Israel was strong at the beginning of the war, the Biden administration’s patience for the Jewish state appears to be waning as Washington continues to urge Israel against going into Rafah, where four Hamas battalions are stationed.

Shifa Hospital Operation

As part of the IDF’s ongoing operation in Shifa Hospital, the Israeli army has detained around 800 people suspected of

involvement in terrorist activity. Of those captured, 500 or more have been officially identified as terrorists from Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Hussam Salameh, the PIJ’s observation and intelligence unit commander in Gaza City, and his brother, Wissam Salameh, the leader of PIJ’s Gaza City propaganda unit, were both captured by the IDF in the hospital. According to IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF also nabbed the commander of the PIJ’s Shejaiya Battalion, the deputy commander of PIJ’s Northern Gaza Brigade, and the PIJ commander who is responsible for the creation of terrorist tunnels in northern Gaza.

According to the Shin Bet, three key Hamas terrorists were also captured, including Amr Asida, the leader of the Nablus Unit, Mahmoud Qawasmeh, one of the terrorists who orchestrated the ab-

duction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in 2014, and Hamdallah Hassan Ali, who has recently directed terrorist attacks in the West Bank. According to Hagari, other “very significant” Hamas commanders were nabbed, but they have yet to be named due to ongoing investigations. Another group of terrorists are currently hiding in Shifa Hospital’s emergency room, with the IDF trying to evacuate civilians before capturing the remaining terrorists.

Ismail Haniyeh, the chief of Hamas, accused Israel of carrying out the Shifa operation “to undermine ongoing negotiations in Doha.” The terror group has alleged that Israel killed “dozens of displaced people, patients and medical staff” as part of the Jewish state’s Shifa operation. However, Hagari, on Wednesday, said that “until now, no civilians, doctors, medical teams — none have been hurt.”

On Thursday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant praised the operation, which, according to him, has “surprised the terrorists.”

“Nobody expected us to do what we did. There was an assault on a location that half a year ago took us a month to reach; now we did it in a flash,” Gallant said, addressing the soldiers of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit. Gal-

lant added that terrorists who are barricaded in the hospital “are considering their future: surrender or death.”

Although Hamas has accused Israel of harming patients, IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari has stated that the Israeli military “operates with precision and acts with care toward the patients and medical staff inside the hospital…because we distinguish between Hamas terrorists and the civilians they are hiding behind.”

“I repeat: Hamas is firing mortars at Shifa Hospital. Hamas is destroying Shifa Hospital. Hamas hijacked Shifa Hospital and hides behind the sick and injured, waging war from inside Shifa Hospital,” he added.

Under international law, if an armed group uses a healthcare facility for acts of aggression in a conflict, the medical site is rendered a valid target for military action.

On Monday afternoon, Hamas launched eight rockets from Gaza at Ashdod. Two of the missiles were neutralized, and the others landed in empty locations, causing no known injuries or reported damage. This is the first rocket attack launched from Gaza at an Israeli town since January 14, when rockets were fired at Ashdod.

Baltimore Bridge Collapse

At least seven cars plunged into the Patapsco River off Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning after a container ship struck a support column of the bridge.

It is unclear what caused the vessel to hit the bridge. Authorities are speculating that the ship was losing power, causing it to lose steering.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who was on his way to the scene, said the National Transportation Safety Board

32 would investigate. He said it was “too early to know all the facts. There is certainly a good chance the ship lost power and drifted into the bridge.”

Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency after the collision that took place at 1:20 a.m.

Just before the ship approached the bridge, the ship’s lights appeared to turn on and off multiple times. The ship had been under the operation of a pilot, as is required by Maryland law, to guide it through the port.

“This is a tragedy that you could never imagine… It looked like something out of an action movie,” Mayor Brandon Scott said at the first news conference.

As of now, authorities are conducting a search and rescue mission. At least two people were rescued and hospitalized. At least seven people are still missing. All of the ship’s 22 crew members and two pilots who were on board have “been accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries.”

The 1.6-mile steel bridge, which is part of Interstate 695, carried more than 12.4 million commercial and passenger vehicles in 2023, around 34,000 each day.

Famous Jewish Tailor Dies

Last week, Martin Greenfield, a survivor of the concentration camps and clothier for U.S. presidents, died at the age of 95.

Greenfield crafted handmade suits in his Brooklyn store for Presidents Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama. He made private-label suits for many top-name brands. But Greenfield never spoke to his customers about his experiences before he came to this country.

He got his start sewing garments when he was a prisoner in Auschwitz, working in the laundry. When he accidentally tore an SS officer’s shirt, he asked a fellow prisoner who worked with him in the laundry to show him how to fix the rip.

“The day I first wore that shirt was

the day I learned clothes possess power,” Greenfield wrote in his 2014 memoir, “The Measure of a Man: From Auschwitz Survivor to Presidents’ Tailor.”

“Clothes don’t just ‘make the man,’ they can save the man. They did for me.”

Greenfield managed to survive Auschwitz and Buchenwald, although he lost his whole family to the Nazi extermination machine.

“For 40 years, I didn’t talk about my past to anybody…ever,” he told Vanity Fair. “A lot of my clients were shocked when they came to a celebration when I was 80 years old to see that I was a refugee, a survivor.”

President Eisenhower – then Allied commander – was one of the liberators of Buchenwald in April 1945 and helped to liberate Greenfield.

Greenfield immigrated to the United States in 1947 and got his first job in GGG clothing factory in East Williamsburg.

When Eisenhower, then preparing to run for the presidency, became a client, Greenfield would slip notes into his suits offering foreign policy advice. Stories about those notes became so widely known that another client, President Bill Clinton, reportedly told him, “Don’t send me notes; you can fax them.”

Among his other clients were Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush; General Colin Powell; famous entertainers Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Johnny Depp and Ben Affleck; and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Candace Owens Not on Daily Wire

Candace Owens, a popular right-wing political commentator, is no longer part of the Daily Wire, a conservative media company founded by Jeremy Boreing and Ben Shapiro.

Owens, once respected by moderate Republicans as a source of honesty and truth, has, in recent months, been the subject of criticism for making antisemitic comments and espousing an-

ti-Jewish rhetoric.

“Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship,” said Boreing, the Daily Wire’s chief executive.

“The rumors are true – I am finally free,” responded Owens, who joined the company in 2021.

Although Owens, a far-right Republican, has always been known for her support of certain controversial ideas, she has, in recent months, emerged as an antisemitic figure and an antagonizer of her former friend and employer, Ben Shapiro. Before her exit from the Daily Wire, she and Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew, had been involved in a number of online fights.

Since October 7, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, murdering more than 1,200 Jews, kidnapping over 200 people, and wounding thousands more, Owens has, on a number of occasions, blasted the Jewish state for its military actions in Gaza, which she says constitute “genocide.” She has also alleged that there is an evil “small ring” of Jews in Hollywood and Washington, D.C., who are taking part in something “quite sinister.”

Shapiro condemned Owens in November, accusing her of espousing “disgraceful” views of the Jewish people and pretending to be knowledgeable about the situation. In response, Owens said one “cannot serve both [G-d] and money,” an indirect insult to Shapiro and a reference to a well-known antisemitic stereotype.

“Candace, if you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and [G-d], by all means quit,” Shapiro responded.

Recently, Owens liked an X post that claimed that a rabbi is “drunk on Christian blood,” a reference to the blood libel.

Owens, a Black woman, became wellknown for her controversial stance on race, wherein she asserted that America is not systemically racist. She has made headlines for her controversial views on rights for those who lead alternative lifestyles, immigration, and vaccines, as well as for her support for former president and current GOP nominee Donald Trump, with YouTube recently banning her for hate speech. She had, at one point, even hoped to become Trump’s vice president for the 2024 election. But her issues with the Republican Party began emerging after she supported Kanye West when he was under fire for antisemitic comments he made, thus sparking criticism and setting her apart from moderates in her party.

FL Limits Kids’ Social Media

On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law banning children under age 14 from having their own social media accounts.

Fourteen and 15-year-olds will be allowed to have accounts with parental consent. The law also places restrictions on inappropriate sites and requires them to have age verification.

The legislation makes Florida the latest in a string of states to pass laws that restrict young Americans from accessing social media, and is likely to invite legal challenges similar to those already filed in other parts of the country.

States including Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Ohio and Utah have pushed similar bills to regulate tech platforms. In February, a federal

judge temporarily blocked Ohio’s law over concerns about its breadth and the likelihood that it could infringe on teens’ First Amendment rights to access information online. Last year, another federal judge temporarily blocked Arkansas’ law.

DeSantis vetoed a prior version of the Florida law after saying he wanted to ensure that any legislation provides parents with enough of an opportunity to be involved in decisions about their kids’ social media use.

No Gov’t Shutdown

President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending package on Saturday, putting an end to the prospect of a government shutdown after the legislation

passed a rushed series of congressional votes with bipartisan support and landed on his desk just after 2 a.m.

The government faced a potential shutdown if the measure was not signed into law before midnight Friday. But as the Senate vote ticked past that hour, the White House released a statement saying that federal officials at the Office of Management and Budget had “ceased shutdown preparations” in anticipation of imminent Senate passage and signing by Biden.

In a statement, Biden said the measure’s approval was “good news for the American people.” But he alluded to the months of drawn-out negotiations that preceded the last-minute approvals, saying that the agreement was “a compromise” and that “neither side got everything it wanted.”

The spending deal “rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans and expands access to childcare, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad, and provides resources to secure the border that my administration successfully fought to include,” Biden said.

The 1,012-page legislative package lumped together the remaining six of 12 annual spending bills to fund key parts of the government through September, the end of the fiscal year. It was the culmination of months of painstaking negotiations during which Congress passed four stopgap measures.

Lawmakers wrote the package that Biden signed Saturday to comply with the debt and spending deal negotiated last year by the House speaker at the time, Kevin McCarthy, and Biden. It called for keeping spending on domestic programs essentially flat.

Hard-right Republicans in the House opposed the bill, which drew bipartisan support. After its passage was all but certain, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., began the process of calling for a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. In the end, more than half of Republicans voted against the spending measure, and it passed with a 286-134 vote. The Senate tally was more lopsided, with 74 voting in favor and 24 against.

Republicans cited as victories funding for 2,000 new Border Patrol agents, additional detention beds run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a provision cutting off aid to the main United Nations agency that provides assistance to Palestinians. (© The New York Times)

Shohei Ohtani

Interpreter Controversy

According to ESPN reporter Tisha Thompson, representatives of Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, have requested that authorities conduct an investigation into a purported “massive theft” of Ohtani’s money.

More than $4.5 million was wire-transferred from Ohtani’s bank accounts to pay for the sports gambling debts of Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, according to a spokesperson for the baseball player. Although Mizuhura made similar assertions against the ballplayer, soon after, he and the player’s spokesperson said that Ohtani had no involvement or knowledge whatsoever of Mizuhara’s bookmaking operation.

The Dodgers have fired Mizuhara, who alleged that he and Ohtani made money transfers in increments of $500,000. However, he later retracted this statement, asserting that Ohtani was unaware of the gambling activities.

“A source close to Ohtani gave an explanation for the changing storylines: As Ohtani’s handlers tried to determine what had happened, they initially relied solely on Mizuhara, who continued to translate for Ohtani,” explained Thompson.

Following the game last Wednesday, Mizuhara spoke to the Dodgers team, “telling them a story was coming out and that it was all his fault, saying he has a gambling addiction,” according to a team spokesperson.

Federal authorities are also investigating Mathew Bowyer, a bookmaker based in California. Ohtani’s money was reportedly sent to a colleague of Bowyer. However, Diane Bass, an attorney for Bowyer, has said that her client never saw or spoke to Ohtani.

“I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal,” Mizuhara said to ESPN. “I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again.”

If news of Ohtani’s involvement in sports betting were to come to light, it would represent the most significant betting scandal in baseball since 1989, when former Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose was permanently banned from baseball after gambling on games.

Man Arrested for Rwandan Genocide

Eric Tabaro Nshimiye has been living peacefully in Uniontown, Ohio. Last week, Nshimiye, also known as Eric Tabaro Nshimiyimana, was arrested by special agents from Homeland Security for taking part in the Rwandan genocide almost three decades ago.

The 52-year-old faces charges of falsifying, concealing and covering up a material fact by trick, scheme or device, obstruction of justice and perjury.

Nshimiye allegedly participated in the killing of Tutsi men, women and children in Rwanda by hitting them on the head with a nail-studded club and then hacking them to death. Specific examples of his crimes include killing a 14-year-old boy and “aiding and abetting” in the assault of Tutsi women, according to the release.

The Rwandan genocide broke out in 1994 and resulted in the horrif -

ic deaths of around 800,000 people, most of them members of the Tutsi ethnic minority, who had been given higher social standing by the Belgian colonial regime. Over a 100-day spree, soldiers, police, militia and armed civilians from the Hutu ethnic majority killed Tutsis en masse, encouraged by local officials and government-sponsored radio demanding civilians attack, assault, rob and kill their Tutsi neighbors.

Nshimiye’s charges also stem from statements he made during the 2019 Boston trial of his former classmate and now-convicted Rwandan genocide perpetrator Jean Leonard Teganya. Authorities say Nshimiye lied during his testimony to hide his own participation in the genocide.

In 1994, Nshimiye and Teganya were both medical students and prominent student members of the National Revolutionary Movement for Development, the ruling Hutu-majority political party that encouraged the genocide, as well as the party’s violent youth wing, according to the news release.

In 2017, Teganya was charged with fraudulently seeking immigration benefits in the United States by also concealing his involvement in the genocide. Nshimiye testified that neither he nor Teganya participated in the genocide. Teganya was convicted of two counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury in April 2019 and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Nshimiye fled Rwanda in the summer of 1994 and then made his way to Kenya, where he allegedly lied to U.S. immigration officials to gain admission to the country.

Measles Cases on the Rise

There have now been 64 measles cases in the United States this year, surpassing the total of 58 cases in all of 2023, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rise in cases should “alert us, rather than alarm us,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. Most communities across the country have vaccination rates high enough to have robust protection against the highly contagious virus, he said. Even after the increase, the number of cases is still significantly lower than it was in 2019, when more than 1,200 people were infected, more than two-thirds of whom were children.

But health experts said the milestone is a distressing reminder that even though there is an effective vaccine against the virus, measles remains a persistent threat to public health.

Doctors say there are several factors contributing to the spread of measles, cases of which have climbed across the globe in recent years. Many cases reported in the United States this year were linked to international travel, according to the CDC, as travel destinations such as Britain, Austria and the Philippines have had outbreaks. Many of the people in the United States who have been infected have been unvaccinated children ages 12 months and older.

Routine childhood vaccinations, including the two-dose vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, stalled once the pandemic started. At the same time, vaccine hesitancy has become more commonplace, said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Generally, a community is protected against measles if more than 95% of people in it are vaccinated. But state-required vaccinations among kindergartners in the United States fell from around 95% in the 2019-20 school year to roughly 93% in the 2022-23 school year.

That gap in vaccination has left about

250,000 kindergartners vulnerable to measles annually for the past three years, according to the CDC. The rate of vaccine exemptions for children has also increased, underscoring the challenges vaccine hesitancy presents. (© The New York Times)

Tammy Murphy Suspends Campaign

New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy is suspending her campaign for Bob Menendez’s Senate seat.

“After many busy, invigorating, and yes, challenging months, I am suspending my Senate campaign today,” she said in a video posted on X on Sunday. “I have

been genuine and factual throughout, but it is clear to me that continuing in this race will involve waging a very divisive and negative campaign, which I am not willing to do.”

She added, “And with Donald Trump on the ballot and so much at stake for our nation, I will not in good conscience waste resources tearing down a fellow Democrat.”

Murphy’s decision comes just days before a judge was expected to rule on a lawsuit aimed at curtailing local bigwigs’ influence over party primaries and the nominating process.

Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who’s vying for the Senate seat, had asked the court for a preliminary injunction banishing the so-called party line – a ballot structure that allows county leaders to give preferential placement to their endorsed primary hopefuls – ahead of the June 4 primary.

But the judge in the case was concerned, and the defendants had argued, that the time frame was too tight to make such a change. With Murphy dropping out, however, the urgency to address the primary ballot design is gone – meaning “the line” could be in place for the coming primary election.

“We will continue our efforts to

strengthen our democracy in New Jersey while we come together to stand up against the dangerous agenda pushed by Trump,” Kim said in a statement on Sunday, suggesting the lawsuit would continue. The congressman praised Murphy as “a voice for progress and public service in our state,” adding, “I respect her decision to carry on that work as First Lady.”

Murphy, the wife of two-term Gov. Phil Murphy, entered the Democratic primary in November as a first-time candidate with previous associations with GOP politics. Her early endorsements in the primary, however, suggested she might get a plum spot on the ballot – and a potentially decisive advantage over Kim.

Menendez, who is facing bribery and obstruction of justice charges, announced on Thursday that he would not run for reelection in the Democratic primary but left open the possibility of an independent bid this summer. The senator has forcefully denied the charges against him and has said that he will prove his innocence while claiming that he is being persecuted by prosecutors.

Railroad Race

A group of transit-loving students at UC Berkeley are now the record holders of the fastest travel time to all BART stations. The four students – plus a friend – visited all 50 Bay Area Rapid Transit stations in a record-breaking 5 hours and 47 minutes.

Ameen DaCosta, Jacob Champlin, Paul Liu and Winnie Zhuang – each studying either city planning, transportation engineering, or both – plus Chance Wen, who filmed their journey, started their trip on Saturday morning on the Yellow Line in Antioch. When they finally completed their trek, they headed to San Pedro Square Market, munched on yuca fries, slurped ramen noodles, and celebrated their accomplishment.

DaCosta grew up in New York City but now lives on the West Coast.

“When I was younger, my dad and I

went on these subway adventures, where we would take the subway to different random areas of New York City and get food and go out. That really kind of was the first time I ever took the train for fun, not just for a purpose, and I loved it,” he shared, adding that “public transportation also gave me a sense of autonomy.”

He admitted that the group is a bunch of “transit nerds” and loves public transit.

One piece of advice DaCosta would give to those traveling the train?

“I wish I’d looked out the window more and enjoyed the scenery, because these are areas that I’m not going to see very often,” he said.

All aboard!

May I Take Your Order?

Perhaps you’d like your order to go?

Well, in Paris this week, that would have been your best bet. On Sunday, the French capital was abuzz with men and women sporting black and white uniforms and holding trays aloft in the air.

The 110-year-old race for the city’s servers honored those who make French restaurants shine. Each server carried a pastry, a small but empty coffee cup, and a full glass of water for the 1 ¼ mile loop starting and finishing at City Hall.

Out of all those who came to race the streets, Pauline Van Wymeersch and Samy Lamrous were crowned fastest servers and, as such, ambassadors for an essential French profession.

The resurrection of the waitering race after a 13-year hiatus is part of Paris’ efforts to bask in the Olympic spotlight and put its best foot forward for its first Summer Games in 100 years.

Van Wymeersch, the runaway winner in the women’s category in 14 minutes, 12 seconds, started waitering at age 16, is now 34 and said she cannot see herself doing anything else.

“I love it as much as I hate it. It’s in my skin. I cannot leave it,” she said of the profession. “It’s hard. It’s exhausting. It’s demanding. It’s 12 hours per day. It’s no weekends. It’s no [holidays].”

But “it’s part of my DNA. I grew up in

40 a way with a tray in my hand,” she added. “I have been shaped, in life and in the job, by the bosses who trained me and the customers, all of the people, I have met.”

Can she take your order?

The Race That Eats Its Young

Runner Jasmin Paris on Friday became the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons, an extreme footrace that requires participants in rural Tennessee to navigate 100 miles of rugged terrain in no more than 60 hours.

Paris, 40, of Midlothian, Scotland, finished the race with 99 seconds to spare, making her one of only 20 people to complete the Barkley since it was extended to 100 miles in 1989. She was one of five to finish this year, out of 40 entrants.

At the end of the run, Paris sank to the

ground in front of a yellow gate that marks the start and finish of the event, which consists of five roughly 20-mile laps.

“The final minutes were so intense, after all that effort, it came down to a sprint uphill, with every fiber of my body screaming at me to stop,” Paris said.

Her legs were covered in cuts and scratches by the time she reached the end of the race, which was the subject of a 2014 documentary, “The Race That Eats Its Young.”

“I didn’t even know if I’d made it when I touched the gate,” she added. “I just gave it everything to get there and then collapsed, gasping for air.”

She attempted the race in 2022 and 2023 and became the first woman to reach the fourth lap since 2001.

In 2019, Paris, an ultrarunner and veterinarian, became the first woman to win the Montane Spine Race, a 268-mile ultramarathon in the United Kingdom. She broke the previous course record by 12 hours despite stopping at checkpoints to feed her newborn.

The Barkley began in 1986, after its founder, Gary Cantrell, learned about the prison escape of James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Ray fled for 8 miles over the course of 54 hours through the Tennessee

wilderness. Cantrell thought he could fare better himself, and he began to map out routes inside Frozen Head State Park.

The prison has been along the race route, which can change every year and requires athletes to often run through pathless terrain.

The rules for entering the race are cryptic. The Barkley doesn’t advertise. It asks applicants to submit an essay explaining why they wish to compete, in addition to a $1.60 entry fee. (© The New York Times)

The “Quad G-d”

Ilia Malinin looks like every other teenager – until he dons his skates.

The 19-year-old landed a quadruple axel on Saturday, propelling him to his first ever world title.

Malinin’s nickname is the “quad g-d.” He was sitting in third place after the short program on Thursday, telling reporters afterwards that he was suffering from physical and mental challenges in the build-up to these world championships.

But, on Saturday, he was drawn last to compete in the free skate and produced a dazzling performance to score 227.79, the highest ever score in this competition, before collapsing onto the ice with emotion.

“It means so much to me,” Malinin said afterwards. “The last few weeks were such a mental and physical challenge to go through.

“I was even debating whether I should come here or not. It was the last minute, but I wanted to come here to see what I can put out on the ice. I am so glad to be here on top right now.”

He is the only man to land the quadruple axel.

“There was a little voice in my head: ‘No matter what, you have to keep fighting, keep going, no matter how bad you feel you just have to know that you’re capable of,’” Malinin added.

His gold medal was the U.S.’s second at this World Championships after Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the ice dance earlier on Saturday.

Smooth as ice.

Around the Community

Simchas Purim at Rabbi Witkin’s House

Lev Chana students worked very hard and created their very own Megillahs explaining the entire Purim story

YUHSG Honors Positive Partnership with Yeshiva University

One crucial aspect of the positive culture found at the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central) is establishing and maintaining strong relationships. And one of Central’s most important relationships is with its parent institution, Yeshiva University. Central is a distinct, diverse extension of YU, working hard to honor the university in its mission, its identity, and its planning for the future. The future was the center of an important conversation held over a working lunch last week between some of Central’s most motivated student leaders and Mr. Andrew “Avi” Lauer, Yeshiva University’s Vice President of Legal Affairs, Secretary and General Counsel. The lunch was a gesture of commitment to this important relationship.

“It was really productive,” said junior Hannah Azose. “Central is a part of YU. There are so many instances in which Central has come together with YU for important events, like the rally in Washington D.C. and the March for Israel. I immediately felt more a part of YU for having had that meeting. It made me feel heard – and it made me feel hopeful that we will be successful in bringing people at Central and Stern together.”

Topics covered included potential ways by which the Stern College for Women and Central could be more deeply integrated. “And we ended up talking about leadership in general – how we can

put our skills to greater use,” Hannah continued.

One newly-established link between YU and Central is the Leadership Track, a new initiative launched in partnership with Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership. Designed to nurture students with an affinity for leadership, the track is comprised of Central Student Ambassadors, members of the school’s Government Organization (G.O.), and Central F.I.R.E (Friends Inspiring Religious Engagement) Fellows. Central Leadership Track fellows have had the benefit of mentorship and guidance from YU leaders, and the impact is being felt. Hannah spoke to opportunities available to Central students through the new initiative. “I was meant to do this,” she said. “I need to be able to give back and improve the school and school environment for everyone else, and with the leadership track, I can do that.”

Other moments of Central engagement with YU: on Tuesday, March 12, a group of Central seniors applying to Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women were invited to the main YU campus to hear from Mia Shem, a 21-year-old who was held hostage by Hamas for 55 days and released on December 5 of last year. The event attracted over one thousand attendees. Although Mia could not speak to the audience, her mother and

brother stepped in to tell her story and share how loved Mia felt by Klal Israel, including that she felt the tefillot of the community, even while in captivity.

Central student attendance at this event is another indication of the deep relationship that exists between Central and its parent school, Yeshiva University. “We really appreciated being included, as this was a standing room-only, YU-exclusive event,” said Central’s Associate Principal, Ms. Leah Moskovich. “We are praying for the release of all the hostages, and for Mia’s continued healing process.”

And on Wednesday, March 20, Central students were invited to participate in the Yeshiva University Innovation Lab, which offers a borderless NYC-based ecosystem via a unique model-business accelerator within the academy. The goal of the lab is to shape the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders with educational programming infused with Jewish

values, fostering a culture relentlessly focused on transforming human insight into business values.

“The opportunity to learn from professors and other entrepreneurs about the ideation process was eye-opening. To see the students in action, collaborating with professionals to hone in on their ideas, gave me great pride. They had one of the strongest ideas and were encouraged to enter into the innovation challenge – which they did,” said Head of School, Ms. Bracha Rutner, who accompanied four freshmen, including Emily Segall, Hudis Schnur, Camryn Brunner, and Sarah Galanti, to the event. “It was cool to see many different people coming together to either share their ideas, or brainstorm new ones with their peers,” Emily reflected. “We first came in as observers, and we left having pitched our idea to several others at the event.”

The Ganger Early Childhood Center at TAG had a special Purim Chagiga last week, with dancing and singing and lots and lots of smiles!

Around the Community

This Pesach Elevate Your Seder Table with Hazorfim’s Elegance

By Hadassah Bay

Nothing sets the mood like a magnificent Seder table, lovingly set with the most exquisite pieces of Hazorfim silver art, lichvod Yom Tov! You’re invited to take advantage of Hazorfim’s attractive prices and treat yourself to items that will be treasured for generations.

This season, Hazorfim is offering up to 30% off selected sterling silver masterpieces – Seder plates, wine goblets, Kos Shel Eliyahu with matching plate, washing cups, wine fountains, candelabras, salt shakers, matzah holders, chassan sets and more.

Crafted in our esteemed silver workshops, located in Israel, Italy and Turkey, every Hazorfim creation is a work of art, embodying tradition and quality. Only Hazorfim items carry the original ISI certificate, a guarantee of authentic-

ity, craftsmanship and the purity of the silver. And since Hazorfim sells directly from the manufacturer to you, there is no middleman, meaning the lowest prices and best value for your money!

Visit us at the Hazorfim store in Williamsburg, 67 Lee Ave., Tel: 718-3870445, or explore our collection online at www.hazorfim.com. For the ultimate convenience, shop by phone or WhatsApp at 1-800-551-8068 and have your selections delivered directly to your door.

Makor Chaim Students Have an Impact at MTA

MTA was privileged to host four students from Israel’s wellknown high school, Makor Chaim, for the past two and a half weeks. The four students, often referred to as the MC4, brought their signature ruach and spirituality to the yeshiva, which made their visit especially impactful.

The MC4 hosted Likrat Shabbat on Thursday evenings leading up to Mishmar, which included singing and words of inspiration, all with music accompaniment. The group spent a meaningful Shabbos in Brooklyn, as part of Rabbi Mendelson’s annual shiur Shabbaton. Their presence helped enhance an already meaningful experience for talmidim in that shiur.

They also hosted several “blitzim”

with talmidim in all four grades, which were educational as well as bonding experiences. In addition, they led a festive musical Hallel for Rosh Chodesh Adar and uplifted the spirit of MTA all month long with singing, dancing and divrei chizuk, leading up to their departure shortly before Purim.

It was so much more meaningful to welcome these special students this year, in light of the situation in Eretz Yisrael. The boys each have close family members currently in Tzahal, and are living through the war in a way that is very different from MTA talmidim’s view here in yeshiva. It is our most sincere hope that their family members return safely, swiftly and successfully to their families in good health.

Hamaspik of Kings County Delivers

Joy Throughout Five Towns and Queens

Insert coin. Press start. Have fun!

These were the instructions on the delightful gift boxes distributed to the homes of families in the Queens and Five Towns who are receiving Hamaspik services. This year’s Purim gift was truly unique — an arcade-style claw machine game designed especially for children, complete with a heartfelt letter penned by Executive Director, Mr. Hershel Wertheimer.

“My kids were busy with the claw machine the entire Purim,” says one mother. “Yosef was fascinated with the lights and music and loved watching his brothers play!”

The claw machine game came complete with special lights and sound effects to add to the Purim fun. Reusable

plastic tokens were included to make the game more realistic and exciting.

“The number one goal of the yom tov gifts is to bring simcha to Jewish homes,” says Mr. Joseph Moskowitz of the gifts and events department. “The feedback and beautiful pictures we received were truly touching, showing clients and their siblings enjoying their gifts and reveling in the Purim spirit with radiant smiles.”

Hamaspik of Kings County wishes all of our clients — and the entire Five Towns — many more days filled with simcha and joy!

To inquire about Hamaspik services, please reach out to 516-875-8400 Ext. 255.

Purim at Torah L’Kulanu

Torah L’Kulanu coordinated Purim programs with several local yeshivas in celebration of the yom tov of Purim. Students from Rambam and Kulanu came together to create a reverse inclusion minyan, which was followed by a chagigah and breakfast. The joining of our voices was incredibly meaningful! HAFTR students conducted a carnival at Kulanu where everyone enjoyed the various carnival games including ring toss, face painting, balloon animals and more. We look forward to hosting many more exciting and integrated events ahead in TLK!

HALB at the Chessed Center

HALB eighth grade boys got together at the Chessed Center on Purim day. They packed boxes, made tzitzit, and helped in any way they could. It was an incredible way for the boys to spend their Purim day!

Purim at HANC ECC

Shulamith morot dressed up to celebrate Purim!

Around the Community

The Shnitzel Guys, together with DJ Yossi Newman and singer Yossi Lebowitz, added levity and laughter to the YOSS Mechina Purim Mesiba

Purim Festivities at and around MTA

The month of Adar at MTA has been incredible! Starting with a Freshman overnight, grade trips for sophomores and juniors and a very special senior day trip to Connecticut, complete with a visit to the Yeshiva of Waterbury, there has been a wide array of special programming. In addition, last week, MTA hosted their annual Rebbe-Talmid game that was enjoyed by ev-

eryone (and won by the rebbeim for the 3rd consecutive year!).

On Motzei Shabbos, Purim night, many MTA talmidim joined the YU Chagiga, and enjoyed dancing with rebbeim and roshei yeshiva to the music of Simcha Leiner. On Purim Day, our rebbeim and administrators opened up their homes to talmidim who came by to spread Purim joy.

The celebration continued on Monday, Shushan Purim, as hamantashen were served at breakfast for the yeshiva. MTA also held a leibadik chagiga along with shiur costume contests. Prizes were awarded for the most creative ideas. The winning shiur is featured here!

The chagiga was followed by a full spread of Dippin Dots served ala cart to the entire yeshiva!

Chai Lifeline Celebrates Graduation of Inaugural Lubeck Fellowship Cohort

Chai Lifeline, the Jewish community’s leading children’s health support network, is proud to announce the successful completion and graduation of the first cohort of its Lubeck Fellowship in Jewish Nonprofit and Communal Leadership. The groundbreaking initiative, launched with the generous support of Pam and Joe Lubeck and family, was designed to empower young men and women who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to volunteerism and community activism.

“In an era where Jewish leadership and pride are in such high demand in the face of a myriad of local and global challenges, the Lubeck’s investment in our young leaders is an investment the very future of the Jewish people,” said Rabbi

Simcha Scholar, Chai Lifeline CEO. “This momentous occasion marks a significant milestone in Chai Lifeline’s commitment to shaping the future leaders of the Jewish community.”

The program, directed by Rabbi Ari Dembitzer, provided participants with a unique opportunity to learn from and interact with some of the most prominent figures in the Jewish world. Guest speakers, including Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union; Rav Judah Mischel, executive director of Camp HASC; Hillel Moerman, partner at Goldman Sachs Growth; and podcaster and social media influencer Yaakov Langer, shared invaluable insights and experiences, enriching the fellows’ understanding of Jewish com-

munal leadership.

Over the course of an intensive eightweek seminar series, the fellows engaged in a comprehensive curriculum that covered critical aspects of Jewish values and identity, nonprofit management, education, advocacy, fundraising strategies, and the evolving role of Jewish nonprofits in the digital age.

Upon completion of the seminar series, the fellows were awarded a Certificate in Jewish Nonprofit and Communal Leadership, symbolizing their achievements and readiness to take on leadership roles within the Jewish community. Additionally, the graduates will now have the opportunity to join Chai Lifeline’s worldwide team, where they will apply their newly acquired skills and knowl-

At MTA, the festivities continued throughout the week, with themed costume days, Jersey Day and our annual Spirit Day as we kicked off the Red Sarachek basketball tournament that brought a lot of excitement to the MTA/ YU campus. MTA looks forward to keeping the elevated sense of joy and simcha throughout the month.

edge to make a meaningful impact.

“This is a celebration not just of the accomplishments of our Fellows but the bright future of Jewish leadership they represent,” said Rabbi Ari Dembitzer. “Thanks to the vision and support of the Lubeck family, we look forward to watching these young leaders forge ahead in all their areas of talent and expertise to create a better Jewish communal tomorrow.”

For more information about the Lubeck Fellowship, please visit www.chailifeline.org/fellowship.

HAFTR Celebrates Purim with Festive Activities

The joyous spirit of Purim continued to resonate throughout the halls of HAFTR on Shushan Purim as students across all divisions immersed themselves in a day filled with exciting and interactive activities.

In the Early Childhood division, the day kicked off with an enchanting Drum Tales experience led by the talented Mr. Max. Through rhythmic drumming and interactive storytelling, our youngest learners joyfully recounted the tale of Purim, creating unforgettable memories in the process.

Meanwhile, in the Lower School, students embarked on a whimsical adventure through the Wonka Factory, meticu-

lously crafted by our creative 5th graders. Carnival games with Purim-themed twists, including knock-the-bottle, ring toss, and die toss, brought laughter and excitement to all participants. The highlight of the day was a special musical Purim spiel performed by the 2nd graders for their kindergarten counterparts. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the PTA for their generous sponsorship of prizes and delectable carnival treats, adding an extra layer of sweetness to the festivities.

Over in the Middle School, the energy was palpable as students engaged in a day brimming with spirited costume contests and interactive games. From cheering on their peers in the costume

competition to navigating obstacle courses and bouncing around in bouncy houses, every moment was filled with laughter and camaraderie. It was a joy to witness our students embrace the spirit of fun and friendly competition, showcasing their strength and silliness with boundless enthusiasm.

The High School students and faculty got into the Purim spirit last week with specially designated themed days, including Jersey Day, Dress Like a Teacher (or Student), Where’s Waldo, and Am Yisrael Chai (blue and white) on Taanit Esther. Continuing the celebration today, creatively costumed students reveled in a carnival atmosphere featuring an in-

tensive bounce house obstacle course, Velcro ax throwing, and wild log jumps, all complemented by delicious hamantaschen snacks.

The day was a culmination of exhilarating challenges and delectable treats, creating memories that are sure to last a lifetime for all participants.

As we reflect on the joyous events of Purim, let us carry the spirit of celebration forward, infusing our days with laughter, camaraderie, and joy. May the festivities of this Shushan Purim resonate with the joys felt in Jerusalem, and may we all merit to share in the ultimate joy of Purim together with our fellow Jews in Israel.

To Worry or Not To Worry: Join the live webinar by Comfort Health

Don’t miss the live webinar for parents on the topic of anxiety in children hosted by Comfort Health! Conversation will focus around practical, everyday scenarios that many parents deal with like kids refusing to go to school, hesitating to invite friends over to the house, and not sleeping well at night.

The webinar will feature Dr. B – Dr. Chassia Boczko, who is a clinical psychologist, a long-time child and family therapist, and the founder of global community, GoBe Society. It will also feature Mrs. Odelia Abdolazadeh, Comfort Health HCBS coordinator in the Five Towns,

who will be on hand to discuss services available for children who are experiencing anxiety or other behavioral health challenges.

Webinar participants will be able to get their childhood anxiety-related questions answered live by the experts. Questions can be submitted confidentiality via

text at the event, or in advance by emailing them to afeinstein@hamaspikkings. org.

The webinar will take place on Wednesday, April 3 at 9 PM. To receive the link to join, email afeinstein@hamaspikkings.org.

Around the Community

Israel Chesed Center – Shifting from Purim to Pesach

As the amazing team of Israel Chesed Center volunteers prepared for a chesed-filled Purim, the team multi-tasked into Pesach mode as well. Before even going “full on Purim,” the Center hosted its partner, Menachem Teitelbaum of Yerushalayim, the founder of Ezras Yakov and one of the biggest baalei chesed on the planet! Ezras Yakov and its affiliated network of “Gemachs” supports thousands of families in Yerushalayim and throughout Israel via its Tomchei Shabbos food program, and programs providing services for atrisk children, medical needs for families and job opportunities for charedim. Since Shabbos Parshas Bereishis, in partnership with the Chesed Center and Ascent of Tzfat, Menachem has also coordinated the preparation and delivery of Shabbos meals to IDF bases; over the past few months, we have delivered an average of 16,000 fresh meals to over 100 bases every Friday! With Purim nearly in the rearview mirror, Menachem flew to New York to focus on Pesach, specifically to raise funds for Ma’os Chitim for the needy of Yerushalayim. The Chesed Center was privileged to host Menachem and to hear firsthand how, during the initial days of the War, he galvanized a team that has literally made Shabbos for tens of thousands of Chayalim.

The days prior to Purim were a whirlwind of activity in the Center and at its Israel headquarters. Over 100 duffel bags stuffed with costumes for the displaced families were packed and sent from the headquarters in Hewlett, with the expectation that the bags would arrive to the hotels in Israel with plenty of time to spare. The Israel Customs Authority had other plans, however, as they went on strike last week, leaving it virtually impossible to remove the bags from Ben Gurion Airport. Thankfully, the team in Israel never gave up hope and was able to deliver Purim costumes to thousands of Israelis – many in hotels and some who recently returned to their homes or moved into new homes. It was a great privilege for Shiri Hadar, the ICC’s operations manager in Israel, to personally deliver costumes, sent by members of our community, to our brothers and sisters from Kibbutz Re’im and Kibbutz Be’eri.

On Friday, a group of TAG 6th graders spent part of the day in the Chesed Center, taking full advantage of everything the Center has to offer. They started the day

with heartfelt Tehillim, jumped into some Chesed activities like jewelry making for soldiers’ children and letters to Chayalim, and each girl made a personal tzedakah box, which they used to collect tzedakah on Purim, funds which are already being used to support various needs in Israel.

Simchat Purim this year was strengthened by the addition of Chesed activities to the schedule of what is always a very busy day. Hundreds of volunteers passed through the Center to pack bags, write letters to Chayalim and make tzitzit, and were able to hear Megillah reading, enjoy cotton candy, decorate cookies, and participate in the festive atmosphere. The HALB eighth grade boys had their Mishloach Manot exchange in the Center, and dozens of families made sure to incorporate a stop at the ICC during the course of a very busy day. The activities continued on Shushan Purim, with a visit by the students of the Solomon Schechter of Long Island High School, who enjoyed a Shushan Purim Seudah, heard divrei Bracha from Rabbi Wolowik, and wrote personalized messages to Chayalim. Some of the seniors stayed behind to make tzitzit and to learn more about how students can get involved in the Center’s activities.

On Tuesday, the Center hosted the first of what it hopes to be many Israel Advocacy programs for High School students. Girls from Shulamith, SKA and HAFTR joined together for a session with Fayge Feder, the Five Towns’ leading voice for Israel Advocacy; Fayge has thousands of followers on WhatsApp chats and social media, and is leading the charge in fighting antisemitism, BDS and anti-Israel activities on college campuses and in Hollywood. Fayge encouraged the girls to become strong advocates, reminding them that while Chayalim, many of whom are only a year or two removed from high school, are fighting a military battle, our students can help fight the digital battle. Following the discussion, many of the girls helped back duffel bags of gifts for children of displaced families, while others continued to engage in discussions and planning for future events.

Wrapping up the Purim activities and heading into Pesach, the Israel Chesed Center is extremely grateful to the community for its great Purim accomplishments:

• Purim Costumes – over 3,000 delivered!

•

sending Seudat Purim to 10,000 Chayalim

• Mishloach Manot & Gift Cards – over 1,000 delivered to families of active-duty Chayalim, in partnership with Just One Chesed

• Mishloach Manot on Shushan Purim – over 250 delivered to displaced families in Jerusalem

Despite the achievements, there is still a lot of work to be done. The Israel Chesed Center continues to send hundreds of bags of gear for Chayalim, clothing for “mefunim,” and has embarked on a number of initiatives to ensure that all of our brothers and sisters in Israel who need help for Pesach will be the beneficiaries of the chasadim of our community.

Rabbi Wolowik, Jeff Eisenberg, Moshe Bodner and Rabbi Trump

MAY Leil Purim Retzifus Sede

AEzra Academy Celebrates Purim

Ezra Academy was filled with simcha and excitement as students, alumni, and faculty came together to celebrate Purim. The school hosted a beautiful Megillah reading followed by an unforgettable Purim party that left attendees with smiles on their faces and memories to cherish.

The evening kicked off with a spirited Megillah reading, where the story of Esther and the triumph of good over evil, and the lesson of Hashem watching over the Jewish People was retold with enthusiasm. Following the reading, the festivities continued with a lively party that had something for everyone.

Guests were treated to pulsating beats from a talented DJ, igniting the dance floor with energy and excitement. As the music played, students (and rabbeim and morot) showed off their best dance moves, creating an electrifying atmosphere.

video presentation was showcased, drawing laughter and applause from the audience. The imaginative portrayal of Ezra life added an extra layer of entertainment to the festivities, showcasing the dedication and creativity of Ezra Academy’s students.

s has become customary over the past few years, the 12th grade at Mesivta Ateres Yaakov assembled this past Motzei Shabbos, Leil Purim, for an incredible four-hour Retzifus Seder. Organized by senior rebbeim Rabbi Yonason Sprung and Rabbi Tsvi Greenfield, dozens of bochurim joined in the seder, an amazing Kiddush Hashem, when they could have otherwise been out celebrating. Of course, as all Retzifus Sedorim include, talmidim were well nour-

ished with danishes, sushi, beef jerky, soft drinks and coffee.

This year, the 12th grade was joined by Rabbi Yehoshua Robinson’s 11th grade shiur as well as a number of fathers of talmidim. The seder started at 10:30 PM and concluded close to 3:00 AM. The Mesivta thanks the generous individuals who sponsored the seder: Mr. Dov Kunstler, Mr. Moishe Haas, and Mr. Jeffrey Rosenthal.

But the fun didn’t stop there. Delicious fresh pizza was served, providing fuel for the festivities. A “make your own sundae” station allowed party-goers to customize their desserts with an array of toppings, adding a delightful touch to the night.

Highlighting the creative talents of the senior class, a special Purim Shpiel

Did you know?

During the 1600s, tulips were so valuable in Holland that their bulbs were worth more than gold. Around the Community

As the evening drew to a close, the sense of community and achdut lingered in the air, with attendees leaving with memories of a Purim celebration to remember. Ezra Academy once again proved to be a yeshiva of warmth, spirit, and tradition, giving the students a lesson in how to properly celebrate the yom tov of Purim.

Rav Yaakov Feitman speaking at his Purim Tish

Twenty-eight Middle School students of Great Neck’s North Shore Hebrew Academy (NSHA) – both Ashkenazic and Sephardic – joined together, on Purim Day, to chant the “Gantze Megillah,” in a program initiated in 2001 by dermatologist Dr. Paul Brody

Students and teachers at HALB dressed up for Shushan Purim and enjoyed an amazing carnival

Flag Football Week # 2

What a week it was at the Five Towns FM Home Loans Flag Football League! The boys were so excited to return to playing football. The pre-1A division learned how to run after the catch and had a lot of fun with their friends. The first grade division developed teamwork skills. In the second grade division, the Vikings beat the Eagles, the Patriots beat the Giants, and the Broncos beat the Jets with some awesome catches by Ariel Fleksher. In the third and fourth grade division, the Steelers and the Vikings had an intense back-and-forth game that ended in a tie. The Jets beat the Patriots, the Seahawks beat the Packers, the Panthers beat the Raiders, the Saints and the Dolphins tied, and the Giants beat the Falcons with

some great flag pulls by Dovid Young. In the fifth and sixth grade division, the Panthers beat the Giants, the Broncos beat the Raiders, the Seahawks beat the Dolphins, and the Jets beat the Patriots with some great catches by Baruch Dachs. In the seventh and eighth grade division, the Giants beat the Patriots, the Vikings beat the Eagles, and the Broncos beat the Jets led by William Itzkowitz who had 2 touchdowns.

Week 2 was unbelievable. We can’t wait to see everyone next week!

Sportsmanship of the Week Award: 1st grad: Aharon Schreier; 2nd grade: Avraham Deal; 3rd & 4th grade: Eli Alishaev; 5th & 6th grade: Yaakov Schattner; 7th & 8th: Eli Silver

Talmidim at Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim began preparation for Pesach by learning Hilchos Tevilas Keilim. In addition to some incredible stories, HaRov Naftali Weitz, shlita, discussed in detail the halachos of constructing a kosher mikvah.

Simchas Purim at Rabbi Libman’s House

At the Leil Purim Mesiba of Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid of Yeshiva Darchei Torah. Rav Shlomo Sender, maggid shiur, is speaking

Photos by Ira Thomas

Around the Community

Cedarhurst Trustees Myrna Zisman and Daniel Plaut Secure Re-election

Trustees Myrna Zisman and Daniel Plaut have been re-elected for another four-year term by the great residents of the Village of Cedarhurst. This strong show of support highlights the community’s appreciation for their unwavering dedication and hard work.

Expressing heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming support received from friends and neighbors, Trustees Myrna Zisman and Daniel Plaut stress the importance of community service. Trustee Daniel Plaut said, “We extend our sincere thanks to the residents of Cedarhurst. We are committed to continuing our efforts to enhance the village, ensuring it remains a fantastic place to live, work, and raise a family.”

Looking ahead, Trustees Zisman and Plaut reaffirm their dedication to maintaining the trust placed in them. They vow to prioritize initiatives focused on enhancing village security and maintaining the distinctive charm of Cedarhurst.

“I am genuinely pleased that Myrna and Danny were re-elected as Trustees. Their dedication and contributions to our residents and businesses have been invaluable, and I have every confidence

that they will continue to play a vital role in our ongoing efforts to improve and develop our Village. Together, we have a multitude of tasks and initiatives to undertake, all aimed at enhancing the quality of life in our community and ensuring the prosperity of Cedarhurst. With Myrna and Danny by my side, I am optimistic about the future success of our Village and the positive impact we can make together,” said Mayor Benjamin Weinstock.

Pheffer Amato Gets Religious Institutions Security Funding

New York State Assemblywoman

Stacey Pheffer Amato secured a record level of funding for a grant known as the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes (SCAHC) program. For years Pheffer Amato has been responsible for obtaining the necessary funds to make this grant wildly successful and allowing religious institutions to obtain this crucial security funding. Any and all religious institutions, which includes a religious school or a place of worship, can apply for the grant at an amount of $200,000.

During the 2023 State budget, Pheffer Amato secured the highest amount to date at $60 million. As the application has recently opened, the Assemblywoman personally sent a letter outlining the program to every synagogue that has a physical building in her district, along with every yeshiva.

The Assemblywoman said, “The cir-

cumstances surrounding this opportunity are incredibly unfortunate. While I obviously wish it was unnecessary, the sharp increase in recent hateful antisemitic acts prove its need. I fought to get this program funded, and worked to ensure it was open to every synagogue and yeshiva. Our community’s safety is my top priority, and I will stop at nothing to bring resources to help us.”

The SCAHC grant is distributed by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services and can be used for interior or exterior security improvements such as alarms, panic buttons, fences, shatter resistant glass, public address systems, security training, and enhanced cybersecurity. In the upcoming budget, the Assemblywoman is working to not only increase the amount of money for the grant but also expand the perimeters to include the hiring of security personnel.

HALB Stands with the Hostages and their Families

Afew months ago, Rachel Polin, mother of Hersh, who is currently held hostage by Hamas, requested that people show solidarity by wearing tape with the number of days her son has been held hostage. HALB sixth grader Natan Frenkel took it upon himself to print labels every day, counting the days since October 7, for the entire school to wear.

To all the hostages and their families: you are not alone. We haven’t forgotten about you.

Camp Areivim Mishloach Manos Drive By

Camp Arevim held its annual Mishloach Manos Swag Bag Giveaway on Ta’anis Esther. Hundreds of enrolled campers drove through the driveway at Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island to pick up their custom bags, water bottles and mishloach manos nosh. Head Staff could be seen singing and dancing to Purim music, distributing the mishloach manos and wishing campers a Freilichin Purim! Can’t wait for camp to start!

HALB Participates in Worldwide Shema

After an explanation from Rabbi Englander, the entire HALB building said Shema together on Taanis Esther, along with the global Jewish community, led by our brothers and sisters in Israel at the Kotel. It was an extremely moving experience to know that Jews all over the world were calling out to Hashem at the exact same time.

Purim at Plainview’s Mercaz Academy

Purim this year was on a Sunday, when Mercaz Academy in Plainview is usually empty. But the school’s annual PTA-sponsored Family-Friendly Megillah Reading and Breakfast Seudah drew nearly 300 participants to the school to celebrate at the gala event.

The megillah was skillfully read by Mercaz parent Adam Farber, who threw in some entertaining tunes that caused giggles in the audience and kept everyone engaged. The crowd frequently drowned out the name of Haman, with ra’ashanim (graggers) active to excellent effect. Parents, children, and teachers wore colorful and elaborate costumes, and several families displayed their creativity with joint, themed outfits. (In fact, families attending apparently included the Addams Family and the Incredibles!)

Afterwards, the families enjoyed the delicious spread of French toast, scrambled eggs, pancakes, bagels and fixings, and (of course!) hamantashen–some with chocolate and sprinkles involved–as well as the impromptu costume parade caused by the buffet line. Naturally, much of the crowd was made up of current Mercaz students and their families. However, this megillah reading is so popular that it was

Did you know?

attended not only by Mercaz Academy students, but also by many alumni and their families, years after a “child-friendly” reading is no longer necessary for them. Further, several in attendance were not (yet) affiliated with Mercaz Academy but were drawn by the family-oriented nature of the event, and it was enjoyed by all comers, old and new.

We are grateful to the Mercaz Academy PTA, who put in so much effort to make the experience beautiful and fun, and look forward to the first year that our alumni attend with their own children in years to come.

Small pockets of air inside cranberries cause them to bounce and float in water.

Acclaimed Author Susie Garber Visits YCQ

The fourth and fifth grade girls at YCQ recently had the special opportunity to hear from local author Susie Garber. Students learned about how she became an author, her writing process, and the Jewish values she incorporates into each of her books.

Mrs. Garber explained that she has always loved the art of storytelling. She loves listening to stories but has always had a special desire to tell stories. One day, she decided to submit some of her stories for publishing, but her drafts kept on being rejected. Despite this, she kept on trying and never gave up hope. Eventually, she found a publisher for her stories and the rest is history!

She told students about the importance of resilience and never giving up on one’s dreams. She showed the students the impressive amount of books and nov-

els she has written since the first time she was published. She noted that while all of her stories differ, they always have a moral deeply connected to the values of Judaism.

After Mrs. Garber’s inspiring talk, she

asked students what the values of happiness and courage meant to them. These are two themes she often writes about in her books and are two values especially relevant to the holiday of Purim. Students expressed what those emotions meant to

them by creating beautiful posters. Thank you to Mrs. Garber for her words of inspiration and to YCQ’s librarian Mrs. Etta Presser-Anton for organizing this special visit.

Can a Divorce Lawyer Also Bring a Couple Back Together?

From the desk of

Martin E. Friedlander, Esq.

As a matrimonial lawyer who has practiced for over thirty years, I have experienced many complex divorce matters. But sometimes, my role as counsel in the divorce can evolve into one of reconciliation. One story that comes to mind, in which I was able to facilitate the reconciliation of the parties, occurred several years ago.

In this case, I was representing the husband, and despite our attempts, the wife would not sit down in an attempt to come to a resolution. Instead, she took

a very contentious track that caused the case to be litigated in Court. Many issues were being litigated including business values and most importantly the issue of their shared children. These issues were becoming an exceedingly protracted matter that required many documents to be gathered as well as the history as it related to their children and their care. As is common in many of these cases, a forensic psychologist was appointed to evaluate the parents and the children and to opine to the Court about custody and visitation. In this case, the parties were married for fifteen years and had three children. During the parties’ mar-

riage, they were able to build a lucrative business that was now in financial jeopardy. The wife’s family was also pressuring her to get a divorce at the time.

Over the many years in this field, I have gained knowledge of therapists who handle both children’s therapy as well as couples therapy. But unfortunately, as I was seeing how highly contentious things were in this case, and not having any other choice, we proceeded with litigation. Over the next few months, litigation proceeded and documents were being gathered while the Court appointed a forensic evaluator to evaluate the parties and the children to report to the Court.

One night, I received a call from the wife asking if we could speak. I informed her that, ethically, since she is represented by counsel, I could not speak to her. She indicated that she had just discharged her attorney, to which I then informed her that when she hires her new counsel, they should contact me. Much to my surprise, she replied that she would not be hiring new counsel. Ultimately, she produced a letter stating that she had discharged her lawyer and that we could have a conversation. This was where the story took the most interesting of turns.

The wife in this matter wanted me to know, that after reviewing the entire process, she thought therapy between herself and her husband was an idea she wanted to pursue. The reason she called

me was because she wanted me to recommend a couple’s therapist that can work with them. She felt that I cared deeply about the case. She indicated that having observed my demeanor in the matter throughout the process and that it seemed that I cared about the parties and the children, not just the litigation. I was more than happy to comply, and I recommended a therapist who I thought would be perfect for the respective parties’ personality. I am happy to report that I was correct, and this therapist was able to spend a lot of time with the parties and worked on a reconciliation.

We are now many years past and the parties are happily married, and their family has only grown since. Because of my experience and insight and knowledge of many therapists, which involved settling matters and mediation, it places me in a position and knowledge of what resources in these different methods of resolving matters exist, sometimes even in the midst of an intense litigation. A proper facilitator can still be useful to resolve the matter amicably, even as in this matter a matrimonial attorney.

The author can be contacted by telephone at (212) 321-7092 and email at mef@mflawyery.com.

HANC Science Expo

The children in HANC’s Elementary School in West Hempstead have been exploring a myriad of topics in the realm of science. The fourth grade students, under the leadership of HANC’s inspiring science teacher, Mr. Jonathan Eisenkraft, chose a topic of interest to them and following the scientific method, designed their own experiments. After conducting research on their chosen topic, they presented a question that they wished to explore and developed a hypothesis as to what they hoped to discover. The children then tested their hypothesis through an experiment of their own design and recorded their results using charts and graphs. Each student then created a trifold display that explained their hypothesis, steps of the experiment, data that they collected, and conclusions based on their data.

The focus of this year’s Science Expo was in the realms of chemistry, physics, anatomy, earth science and computer science. Some of the topics explored included: which type of yeast causes challah to rise higher, which fruit contains the most acid, how music affects your heart

rate, can color affect the way something tastes, why eggs float in some liquids but not others, are video games bad for you, which surface contains the most bacteria and which materials affect Wi-Fi signals, just to name a few.

On the day of the Science Expo, HANC’s auditorium was transformed into a world of discovery where the fourth graders shared their knowledge with third and fifth graders, as well as with parents who came to visit in the morning. As the visitors made their way through the auditorium, they were greeted by very professional looking scientists, all

wearing white lab coats and all very eager to explain what they researched and what they discovered in the process. The depth of knowledge that they had gained was truly remarkable. This special learning experience broadened the students’ ability to discover science and explore multiple possibilities. As Mr. Eisenkraft explained, “The Science Expo is an incredible event where the children get to explore their interests and show off their creativity and learning. Students learn how to present their topics in a fun and meaningful way which is enjoyable for everyone.” Reflect-

ing on the process, fourth grader Noam Miller remarked, “It was an interesting experience. I learned a lot of new words and discovered that mold grows on bread longer than I thought.” Jordan Feldman added, “It was exciting when we got to see everyone else’s projects.”

This year’s Science Expo was bigger and better than ever and the children were commended on all of the hard work they put in at home to create such extraordinary exhibits. The students can’t wait to see what they will discover next as they explore the world of science and technology.

Touro University Named in TechGuide’s Best Computer Science Degree Programs for 2024

Touro University’s computer science program was ranked in TechGuide’s top 25 list of Best Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Programs for 2024, along with MIT, Stanford, Princeton, and Harvard. The list highlights colleges and universities that excel in providing educational opportunities and training for today’s students interested in pursuing this high-demand career.

Computer science is one of the university’s most popular majors with 150 students and to provide maximum flexibility, Touro offers its computer science bachelor’s both in person and online. The online program was ranked #1 in the U.S. by TechGuide.

The national Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment of computer scientists will grow 23 percent in the next decade, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 3,400 openings for computer and information

research scientists are projected each year. According to TechGuide, earning a computer science degree can be a lucrative educational path for students looking to expand their job opportunities and pursue an analytical, computational and even creative career.

“Touro University’s bachelor’s in computer science offers students the foundation necessary to develop cutting edge computing solutions and adapt to a world of ever-evolving new technologies. It is the perfect blend of theory and hands-on skills,” said Dr. Shmuel Fink, deputy chair of the computer science department at Touro’s Lander College of Arts & Sciences.

“Our graduates have secured top-tier positions and begun successful careers as software engineers, mobile app developers, full stack developers, analysts, senior managers and more,” continued Fink.

Recent Touro alumni have landed

internships and jobs at Goldman Sachs, IBM, Northwell Health System, Capital One Bank, Deloitte, Cross River Bank, and HealthFirst, among others.

TechGuide uses a culmination of research, interviewing, and personal experiences from experts in the fields of technology to help today’s young professionals navigate the world of technology and career options. Their list of the “Best

Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science Programs” is a look at what kinds of opportunities are available today and how to best prepare for what is coming tomorrow.

To see TechGuide’s full list of schools on the Top 25 list, visit their website. Learn more about Touro University’s computer science program here.

Around the Community

Purim at Chabad

Thousands of people joined Chabad of the Five Towns over Purim.

More than 3,000 community members were able to hear the Megillah thanks to Chabad. Altogether, the volunteers at Chabad read Megillah a total of 126 in Chabad and at 54 homes for over 400 people in the Five Towns.

In addition to the at-home Megillah

readings and the Megillah on the halfhour, Chabad hosted three Purim parties: a Hebrew school family Purim in Israel party on Sunday morning, with close to 300 attendees; a CTEEN Blue and White Party for the Hewlett High School students; and a community Purim in Israel party.

Chabad of Hewlett Neck and Old Woodmere hosted its Purim Bowl party at Woodmere Lanes on Purim night. On Purim morning, they hosted the Family Shuk Experience, with Megillah reading and a mega Israeli breakfast and party. More than 200 people attended the festivities.

Unprecedented Achdus and Adulation as South American Jewry Participates in Largest Torah Event

Rav Yitzchok Ezrachi and Rav Raphael Abuchatzeirah Address Amud HaYomi Siyum in Buenos Aires

By Chaim Gold

The floodgates opened!

It happened during the drasha of HaGaon HaTzaddik, HaRav Raphael Abuchatzeirah, shlita. Some seven thousand Yidden from Argentina packed into the Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires. The standing room only crowd, both the more than 5,000 men and the nearly 2,000 women in the ezras noshim, were listening as the venerated mekubel began talking about what is happening in shomayim. He said, “Chazal teach that when a large group of Jews gather in honor of Torah to make a siyum on Torah, the power of Torah coupled with the power of so many Jews coming together creates a tremendous, powerful eis ratzon, opportune time for tefillos to be answered.

“There are so many things that we need from Hashem. Our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael are involved in a war against a cruel, implacable enemy. The Jewish people all over the world are in danger. So, so many people have their own personal difficulties. Even since arriving here in Buenos Aires, so many wonderful Jews have come to me begging me to pray for them. This one needs a child, the other needs parnassah, the third needs nachas from the children, the fourth needs a shidduch and the fifth needs shalom bayis. We all have so many things to ask from Hashem. NOW is the time to daven. It is an eis ratzon…”

At that moment, R’ Shlomo Cohen began to sing Acheinu Kol Beis Yisrael and was joined by thousands as the tears began to flow from both the men’s side and especially from the women’s side. Rabbi Daniel Cohen-Talgam, Dirshu’s Director in Argentina, related, “So many people came to me afterwards to tell me that they have never before davened like that in their lives! They felt as if the gates of Heaven were open!”

This was one highlight during a night of highlights on a scale never previously experienced by South American Jewry. Earlier this month, the South American Jewish community celebrated its largest Torah event in history with the inaugural siyum on Masechta Brachos in the Amud

HaYomi. The event was graced by HaGaon HaRav Yitzchok Ezrachi, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim, HaGaon HaRav Raphael Abuchatzeirah, shlita, and Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita Nasi of Dirshu.

Wall-to-wall achdus permeated the siyum through the enthusiastic participation of rabbanim and members of virtually every Torah observant kehillah of Argentina along with a large contingent from Brazil led by the rav of Kehillas Mekor Chaim of Brazil, Rav Yitzchak Dishi, shlita.

Later that week, a large, well-attended Amud HaYomi siyum was held at the large Safra shul in Sao Paulo Brazil.

The powerful, pervasive message at the siyum, said Rabbi Cohen-Talgam, was that Dirshu is here for every person at every level. “We want to help YOU learn Torah! If you are someone who learned in yeshiva and have a background in learning, we have a program for you! If you are a beginner, we have a shiur and a program for you. If you want to learn halacha, we have a program for you at multiple levels. If you want to learn Gemara, we have a program that fits. If you want to learn the works of mussar and ethics, we have a program and a shiur for you. And if not, we will make one!”

Indeed, that was one of the main themes of the evening, encouragement for increased limud haTorah at all levels. This was especially evident when the venerated senior Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Yitzchok Ezrachi, rose to address the crowd. The adulation was palpable. Everyone understood that this nonagenarian Rosh Yeshiva had traveled literally across the world and the hemisphere at his advanced age just to give them chizuk. Why? Because of his deep feelings of love and responsibility to his fellow Yidden.

Gazing at the massive crowd with love, Rav Ezrachi said with great emotion, “Every day we say ‘Asher bachar banu,’ that

Hashem chose us from all the nations and gave us His Torah. The reason we are chosen and the reason we are special is because we have the Torah.” Rav Ezrachi’s voice shook as he thundered, “Without Torah, there is no life! There is nothing without Torah. Torah is our life. A person who does not learn Torah is NOT ALIVE! He thinks he is alive, but he really isn’t.

“Now it is time for the next step. Baruch Hashem, there is Torah here, but Dirshu adds a unique framework. Everyone should join a program and learn Torah. There should be no Jew, not even one Jew from this community who does not have a daily learning seder.”

The power of Rav Ezrachi’s drasha and call to action was further reinforced by the inspirational music that followed. Singers R’ Motti Steinmetz and R’ Shlomo Cohen not only inspired the massive crowd but drew the crowd in, arousing feelings of deep kirvas Hashem, closeness to Hashem.

Rav Hofstedter’s words rang through the large hall, “Baruch she’asa lanu nes b’makom hazeh – praise be Hashem for granting us a miracle in this place! How did we merit to see this unique love of Torah and dedication to limud haTorah,” he asked, “in a locale so distant from the main Jewish centers?!”

He explained by citing pesukim and ideas from the weekly parshah. “The Torah tells us that Bezalel was selected to build the mishkan. What were his qualifications? The Jewish people until then had been slaves in Egypt, an oppressed people who barely had time to breathe, let alone to become expert craftsmen.

“The Ramban says that the greatest miracle was the very fact that an entire nation who for centuries had been oppressed slaves were somehow able to turn around and build a mishkan with the most detailed craftsmanship, gold,

silver. How? How were they able? Hashem endowed them with this ability,” Rav Hofstedter said, “because He saw that they had such a deep visceral desire to do Hashem’s will. Yes, even a slave who has no talent but expresses a total ratzon, an absolute dedication to serving Hashem, Hashem endows him with abilities above and beyond the laws of nature.

“What I see in this community is the tremendous teshuka, desire to come close to Hashem, to engage in limud haTorah and cling to Hashem through Torah! When there is a deep ratzon even miracles are possible!”

During the visit to Argentina, Rav Hofstedter and other members of the hanhala of Dirshu also had the opportunity to visit numerous mosdos of Torah in Argentina and witness the thriving resurgence of Yiddishkeit that is transpiring there. Rav Hofstedter visited Kehillat Ohr Torah, a historic shul that is led by Rav Raphael Preva. The delegation also went onto the yeshiva and the Kollel, where Rav Hofstedter met with the Rav, and was given a detailed update about the kehillah and the various mosdos. During the visit, Rav Dovid also visited the mosdos of Shuva Yisrael where hundreds of boys and girls in separate mosdos receive an authentic Jewish education.

The aftermath of the siyum, more than anything else, has attested to the fact that Dirshu has succeeded! There has been an exponential increase in limud haTorah, in new participants throughout South America.

“Indeed,” said Rav Cohen-Talgam, “the ultimate purpose of the siyum wasn’t just to celebrate the past, the fact that we had completed Masechta Brachos with the Amud HaYomi or Masechta Bava Kama with the Daf HaYomi. It was about the future. It was about how many more people are going to incorporate meaningful and consistent limud haTorah into their lives.”

Around the Community

Boots for Israel Pairs with Ruach at Young Israel of New Rochelle

By Jeremy Uliss

An opportunity born from hatred yet sustained by heroism summarizes the kickstart and epic growth of the unique chesed initiative, Boots for Israel In a string of random occurrences reminiscent of those of the approaching Purim holiday, Hamas’ surprise ambush on Oct. 7, 2023, and fateful Jewish geography-like connections led to the phone call between BFI Founder Yakir Wachstock and IDF General Daniel Jacob. This became the first step of an impactful movement that shows no sign of slowing down as orders continue to flow in daily from IDF soldiers for BFI’s much-needed tactical boots.

As BFI’s popularity has been hiking up, Jewish communities, synagogues, centers, organizations, and even matchmakers have leapt into action by helping organize a variety of events, facilitating the involvement of hundreds of volunteers of all ages for memorable programs energized by purpose to aid our soldiers.

On Wednesday, March 13, Boots for Israel volunteers gathered at Young Israel of New Rochelle to pair with its Ruach day program for a special boot-packing event. Participants of Ruach, a weekly program generously funded by the Young Israel and energetically helmed by Anya Wiebke, and BFI volunteers hosted numerous eighth-graders from Westchester Torah Academy for a spirited afternoon

of chesed, socializing, and snacks.

The overall scene portrayed a special achdut of generations and communities. As chesed comes in different “sizes” (like boots), it was inspirational to witness the collaboration creating something even greater. Although the boots’ trip ends in Israel, there’s no limit to the gratitude, goodwill, and hope that such events generate, step by step. As the holidays of Purim and Pesach approach, also involving uncertain times and stomping out seemingly impossible challenges, we should take a step back to appreciate the miraculous proliferation of such chesed initiatives like BFI ba’zman ha’zeh (in our days).

The event opened with remarks by cherished Young Israel of Holliswood Chairman of the Board and BFI founder, Yakir Wachstock, recounting the miraculous speed and efficiency with which he and daily devoted volunteers are able to help fill the IDF’s glaring need. Since that first phone call, BFI has leapt into action and hasn’t stopped. We should appreciate what can be accomplished if we notice and seize opportunities, Wachstock conveyed to the enraptured crowd.

We rarely know why things happen, not unlike Purim’s string of random-seeming occurrences. However, more important is the “what”; namely, what we as a nation, country, state, community, and individuals do with the opportunities presented to us. If anything, BFI’s story will serve as an example of

Chazak, Chazak V’nischazeik:

how one small step can lead to a movement.

Each Boots for Israel event seems to add something new to the process, and this was no different: volunteers’ hand-written notes of encouragement have become quite popular among the IDF soldiers! For good measure, granola bars and Gatorade accompanied the messages.

Following the speech, Wachstock introduced a promotional video by Yeeshai Gross depicting segments of soldier interviews and life as they are currently living it. A particularly poignant image was a close-up of a pair of boots held together by duct tape. Seeing the soldiers toil in their new reality infused the packing that followed with a palpable feeling of tikkun olam being performed in real-time.

Though the story of Purim is already chronicled in Megillat Esther, Boots for Israel’s story continues to be written. Numerous synagogues, schools, communi-

ties, companies, and nonprofits seize the opportunity to pair with BFI for special boot-packing events. Thus far, over $2 million has been donated thanks to BFI’s completely volunteer-driven work. However, we rely upon the generosity of Klal Yisrael to sustain the ongoing journey of Boots for Israel.

As Purim and Pesach approach and we recount the challenges and victories of ages past, may we channel our spiritual vibrance by helping face the challenges in our days.

For more information on volunteering opportunities, donating, or to host your own packing event, please visit https:// www.bootsforisrael.com.

Jeremy Uliss is a corporate psychologist by trade, writer at heart, living in Queens. He can be reached at JJUnicorpEnterprises@gmail.com.

Final Volumes of Haas Family Edition Sefer Zera Shimshon Now Available!

In the past few years, tens of thousands of readers have discovered the beauty of the Zera Shimshon commentary – and, of course, the segulah connected to it, which burst upon the Jewish world after being almost forgotten for more than two centuries.

Several months ago, ArtScroll’s 10-volume Haas Family Edition of Sefer Zera Shimshon on the Torah celebrated its siyum, and now, with the publication of the Zera Shimshon commentary on Koheles and Shir HaShirim, the entire project is complete.

We spoke to Rabbi Shmuel Kirzner, general editor of the project, about the translation and elucidation of the Zera Shimshon.

It wasn’t an easy project, he explains.

“The style of the commentary is not contemporary, and none of us were accustomed to it. Additionally, the commentary often includes complicated reasoning and esoteric ideas. Bringing those out in the English language was often challenging.”

But if there were considerable challenges in making Zera Shimshon accessible to the general public, the rewards were many.

“One who learns Zera Shimshon is immediately catapulted to the realms of derush and remez, usually in the framework of an elaborate tapestry of interwoven ideas. The combination of breadth and depth makes the sefer truly unique.”

And what can readers expect to find when they delve into the commentary?

“The scope of the sefer is phenomenal. A derush about Shabbos could suddenly be discussing the Jews’ departure from Egypt after 210 years rather than after 400, and a derush about Moshe’s prayers for the Jews after they made the Golden Calf could suddenly veer into the intricacies of the laws of marriage. To make the commentary more accessible to readers, there are introductions and summaries, and, for those who want to find a topic, the final volume, Shir HaShirim, includes a detailed topical index, which will enable a reader to easily locate the discussions that he is looking for.”

The Zera Shimshon promised great

blessings to those who learned his commentary. To those blessings, this monumental project adds one more: the infinite zechus of learning this unique and beautiful commentary.

Rabbi Yitzchak Sladowsky An Appreciation

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Every once in a while, a neshama comes down from Shamayim that not only makes the world a palpably better place but, step-by-step, creates revolutionary transformations. Last month, Klal Yisroel lost one of the most dedicated, likeable, and capable rabbis in the New York area in almost seven decades. Rabbi Yitzchak Sladowsky, a”h, was just such a person – in so many ways.

Rabbi Sladowsky was a true talmid chochom who helped bring the teachings of his illustrious Rebbe, Rav Yosha Ber Soloveitchik, z”l, to scholar and layman alike. He was the rav of his shul in Queens, the Forest Park Jewish Center, for over fifty years.  For twelve years, he taught the mechina shiur in MTA. His unique talents helped his young charges bridge the gap between a public school education and advanced Gemara study.

The Queens community and beyond are a different place because of Rav Sladowsky’s indomitable spirit and his nongive-up-ism.  He was a firm believer in if it does not work one way, try another – and always do it b’shalom without machlokes.

Rav Sladowsky served as the Executive Director for the Vaad Harabonim of Queens for close to a quarter century. He helped ensure the development of Kosher Eruvin in Queens and helped develop consensus and communal unity in that regard. He looked out for young people’s careers. The rabbonim of Queens in the late ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s nurtured each other. He brought familyhood to the Rabbinate.

He was essential in bringing Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, to a meeting in Queens, where the Posek HaDor delineated the differences between Queens and the communities of Manhattan and Brooklyn and explained why Queens was different.  These Eiruvin were essential in the Torah growth of Queens as well as Far Rockaway.

Rabbi Sladowsky’s method of guidance was to build and not to tear down. His subtle form of leadership was imbued

with a firm belief in the capability of individuals. He believed in people and helped build them up so that the world could be blessed with their contributions.

He never took credit for things himself, always hiding behind the scenes. He once saw a young rabbi of whom he detected extraordinary potential – both in terms of his dedication as well as administrative skill. He placed him in charge of the Queens Chevra Kadisha and let him run with it. Slowly but surely, Rabbi Elchonon Zohn took a neglected area of observance and got people and entire institutions on board. Soon the Queens Chevra Kadisha took a leading role in the Bronx and Manhattan, and helped set up similar organizations across the country.

Rav Sladowsky’s role in establishing the Queens Vaad HaKashrus and ensuring its integrity and trust among all members of the community helped set the pattern for so many other communities. He insisted that the Vaad of Queens have in-person meetings once a month. This helped create a bond that was essential in building the Queens Torah community. His vision and hard work in this area helped establish Queens as a Torah base. He would make visits to the kosher establishments under the Vaad himself. Restaurant owners offered him food, but he refused to take anything, explaining that it would be a breach in the integrity of the hechsher.

In his zeal to help build Torah, Rav Sladowsky arranged for leading rabbonim and poskim to give weekly shiurim in the Queens community and to come to the community for Shabbosim and yomim tovim. Rav Hershel Schachter fondly recalled Rav Sladowsky’s role in this and was so touched at how Rav Sladowsky and his colleagues welcomed a younger generation of rabbonim and arranged for such shiurim.

Rabbi Sladowsky played a central role in the establishment of Ezra Academy, which has created facts on the ground, frum families that now serve as inspirations for so many others in communities

across the country. One of Ezra’s graduates has penned seforim with approbations from the Torah world’s leading Gedolim. This young man has such clarity in his learning that he is well on his way to becoming a light for all of Klal Yisroel.

Rabbi Sladowsky’s method of consensus building combined with an unparalleled dedication to building and spreading Torah was also reflected in his divrei Torah. His children recall a particular explanation of the Dayeinu. How could it have been enough to just come to the foot of Har Sinai and not have received the Torah?  The answer he gave was so reflective of who he was. It was the achdus. Just to see the achdus alone, k’ish echab b’laiv echad, is so transformative that that too would have been enough.

This was a theme that he tried to teach throughout his life – not just demonstrating and seeking achdus – but appreciating its remarkable value. What made Rav Sladowsky so special was that he did so without ever compromising his Torah values.

A walk through Rabbi Sladowsky’s library of thousands of seforim reflects his eclectic appreciation of talent and knowledge wherever it can be found. His well-studied seforim include those written by Rav Shimshon Pincus, Rab Shamshon Refoel Hirsch, and Rav Soloveitchik’s, as well as lehavdil bain chaim lechaim , Rav Yitzchok Dovid Harfenes, shlita, one of the leading poskim in the Chassidish world, just to name a small sampling.

Another very special aspect of Rav Sladowsky was that he was able to achieve so much, without repercussions on his family. Someone paid the ultimate compliment – getting to know the family, one can see that being an outstanding rav for the Klal does not mean that the family had to suffer.  The children and the wife did not suffer; they were enhanced by it.  His granddaughter’s friends said that Rav Sladowsky and his wife were role models of shalom bayis.

Rav Sladowsky’s influence on others

was paramount. There was one family where one parent was not observant, while the other one was. One of Rav Sladowsky’s children was invited there for Shabbos. Rav Sladowsky’s foresight in giving that family a boost of hosting the rabbi’s daughter was paramount in their self-worth and engagement with the Torah community.

He loved teaching Pirkei Avos and with his extraordinary oratory skills was able to teach these lessons so brilliantly that people recalled these shiurim several decades later. Rav Sladowsky was humble and unassuming, and yet, he bore a very regal nature. Someone at the shiva mentioned that he loved Pirkei Avos so much because the values in it reflected his own middos and personality. He truly cared for people. It was these qualities that enabled him to have such an effect upon others. A doctor came to visit the shiva and said, “Were it not for him, I would not be frum.”

Rav Sladowsky leaves a remarkable legacy – the Torah communities that he helped build, as well as his beloved eishes chayil, Frayda (Fay), their six children: Esther (and Herbert) Friedman, Rayla and Dr. Benjy Krupka, Shaul and Debbie Sladowsky, Eve and Heshy Feldman, Debbie and Jonny Horowitz, and Rachel and Dr. Howie Antosofsky. Rabbi Sladowsky’s extraordinary grandchildren reflect the spirit of Torah dedication and love of kiruv that he demonstrated throughout his life. These grandchildren too have had enormous accomplishments in creating Torah families who are facts on the ground as well.

And up in Shamayim, Rabbi Sladowsky is certainly smiling.

TJH Centerfold

Baseball Cracker Jacks

Ninety percent of this game is half mental.

— Yogi Berra

I watch a lot of baseball on radio.

— Gerald Ford

Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher I ever saw. He always pitches when the other team doesn’t score any runs.

— Tim McCarver

I think I throw the ball as hard as anyone. The ball just doesn’t get there as fast.

— Eddie Bane

I never took the game home with me. I always left it in some bar.

— Bob Lemon

A man once told me to walk with the L-rd. I’d rather walk with the bases loaded.

— Ken Singleton

I’d be willing to bet you, if I was a betting man, that I have never bet on baseball.

— Pete Rose

Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.

— Yogi Berra

He’s turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he’s miserable and depressed.

— Harry Kalas, on Gary Maddox

You can sum up the game of baseball in one word: “You never know.”

— Joaquin Andujar

I walk into the clubhouse today and it’s like walking into the Mayo Clinic. We have four doctors, three therapists and five trainers. Back when I broke in, we had one trainer who carried a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and by the 7th inning, he’d already drunk it.

— Tommy Lasorda

Don’t call ‘em dogs. Dogs are loyal and they run after balls.

— 1943 St. Louis Browns Manager Luke Sewell, responding to a sportswriter who suggested that his team had “played like dogs”

Exchange between Cleveland Indians broadcasters Herb Score and Nev Chandler:

The baseball mania has run its course. It has no future as a professional endeavor.

— Cincinnati Gazette editorial, 1879

You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.

— Yogi Berra

Chandler: That base-hit makes Cecil Cooper 19 for 42 against Tribe pitching.

Score: I’m not good at math, but even I know that’s over .500.

The Stranger Side of Baseball Rules

1. How can a team hit into a triple play without any fielder touching the ball?

2. What are the seven ways a player can reach first base without hitting the ball?

3. An outfielder positions himself to catch a fly ball and then drops it on purpose. Why?

4. What happens if a pitchers throws a third strike to a hitter and the baseball gets stuck in the umpire’s or catcher’s face mask?

5. If a fielder tries to catch a ball and deflects it into the stands, what is the rule?

6. What is the rule if a fielder catches a ball with his cap?

Answers

1- There are runners on first and second base with no one out. The batter hits a really high infield pop-up. Both runners take off (which is silly). The runner from first overtakes the runner from second, therefore he is out. The pop-up then lands on the runner from second, so he is out. Then the ball lands in the in-field, so the in-field fly rule applies and it is an automatic out.

2- Hit, walk, error, fielders’ choice, hit by pitch, dropped third strike, and defensive interference.

3- It was a foul ball, and there was a runner on third who would have tagged up and scored if the fielder had caught it.

4- The hitter gets to go to first and each player on base advances one base.

5- If it is within 250 feet of home plate, each base runner advances one base. If it is more than 250 feet from home plate, it is a home run.

6- It is not considered a catch. Each runner and the batter advances three bases.

Wisdom Key

5-6 correct: You are a big league ump!

2-4 correct: Not exactly a big leaguer but not bad. 0-1 correct: Have you been able to dislodge the ball from your mask yet?

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

Doctor: What did you dream about last night?

Patient: Baseball.

Doctor: Don’t you dream about anything else?

Patient: What, and miss my turn at bat?

Parshas Tzav

By Rabbi Berel Wein

The entire thrust of Torah life lies in the word tzav which informs us as the title of the parsha of this week. Tzav means command, order, instruct. It allows little leeway for individual creativity in the performance of ritual and commandments.

The values of Torah life come with an instruction manual. And just as the wonderful gadgets of technology in our lives require adherence to the manual that accompanies each device in order for it to operate effectively, so, too, the Torah in the spiritual realm of Judaism requires adherence to specific instructions.

It is not for naught that any and all of the blessings that were composed by the rabbis to be recited before the performance of a mitzvah contains the word v’tzivanu – and He has commanded us – for the word mitzvah itself, which we usually translate in terms of being a good deed, literally means something which has been commanded.

It is this recognition of being commanded, of following the instruction manual of the Torah in a committed and punctilious fashion, that defines Judaism throughout the ages. In today’s world, there are many who seek to “improve”

upon the Torah. They have written a new and ever-changing manual of instructions using such sweet sounding terms as “relevant,” “progressive,” and “attractive” to describe prayer services, Torah commandments, and Jewish values.

The fault line in Jewish life today remains, as it always has been, this acceptance or rejection of the concept of v’tzivanu. But Jewish history teaches us that none of this tinkering with that

felt that the mountain hung over their heads as a terrible and forced burden.

Here they were going to be commanded to do things in certain exact way, to make the Torah’s values supreme over their own personal desires, logic and way of life. But they were warned then that abandoning the Torah and not following the instructional manual would bring personal and national problems, tragedies, defections and harsh judgments.

Jewish history teaches us that none of this tinkering with that concept survives the passage of time and the ever-changing mores of human society.

concept survives the passage of time and the ever-changing mores of human society. It is only the time-tested instructional manual that still stands and preserves us after all else has passed from the scene.

The concept of v’tzivanu rubs us the wrong way. We are by nature rebellious against authority imposed upon us by others. From infancy onward we demand to do it all by ourselves, when and how we wish. We can sense what the rabbis meant when they said that the people of Israel accepted the Torah at Mount Sinai and they

The mountain still hangs over our heads as we are witness to this fact in so many facets of our lives. So again we are brought full circle to the idea of tzav and v’tzivanu . The concept of tzav as promulgated in this week’s parsha is not addressed solely to Aaron and his descendants, but it is part of the heritage of Judaism for all Jews and for all who wish to witness Jewish continuity in their families and the Jewish people as a whole.

Shabbat shalom.

The parsha begins with a mitzvah that the kohanim clean out the ashes left over after the burning of the elevation offering, trumas hadeshen Hashem told Moshe (Vayikra 6:2), “Command, tzav, Aharon and his sons...” Rashi explains, “The expression ‘command, tzav, only denotes prompt and alacritous fulfillment.” This is difficult to understand. Although Rashi sees the expense of the offering as a challenge that makes such a command necessary, the Torah is actually discussing this particular aspect of the service – the trumas hadeshen Why would the mitzvah of trumas hadeshen, which involves merely sweeping up ashes and moving them, require such encouragement? It seems to be such an easy mitzvah. Why would the kohanim be hesitant to fulfill such a simple mitzvah? The truth is that the ease or difficulty in attaining a goal is sometimes a relative matter. The Gemara (Sukkah 52a) says, “In the future, the Holy One will bring

From the Fire

Parshas Tzav Matzah Jews

By Rav Moshe Weinberger

Adapted for publication by Binyomin

Wolf

the evil inclination out and slaughter it in front of the tzaddikim and in front of the wicked. It will appear to the tzaddikim like [the size of] a great mountain. And it will appear to the wicked like [the size of] a hairsbreadth...” But this Gemara is difficult to understand. How big and strong is the evil inclination? The size of a mountain? A hairsbreadth? Something in-between? According to this Gemara, do the tzaddikim or the wicked people have the correct perception?

Rav Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, the Klausenburger Rebbe, zy”a, explains that, in truth, the evil inclination is only the size of a hairsbreadth. How do we know this? When it comes to non-mitzvah activities, a person has tremendous power to work hard for long hours, to get up early, or stay up all night. This is within a person’s natural abilities. But when it comes to a mitzvah, suddenly, people become weak, feeble, and afraid. Almost anything can deter us from do -

ing a mitzvah. Fulfilling a mitzvah is, in truth, completely within our grasp. But the evil inclination causes us to find a hundred reasons why we cannot do it, to the point that the mitzvah feels virtually impossible to accomplish under any circumstances.

Why did the kohanim need to be coaxed to perform trumas hadeshen without being coaxed? The heaviness of their evil inclinations told them, “Don’t run to do that mitzvah. Your hands might get dirty!” “Perhaps you will get burned if the ashes are still warm.” The evil inclination is quite adept at filling one’s head with excuses and rationalizations.

Using this idea, the Klausenburger Rebbe explains the words we say in the Haggadah, “This is the bread of poverty that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, come and eat. All who are needy, come and celebrate Pesach.” When do we eat matzah? If we are so hungry, we would eat anything, so we

will also eat matzah. And if we are needy because we need to fulfill the mitzvah to eat matzah, then we eat it because we have no choice because of halacha.

But we daven to Hashem, “Next year may we be free men!” We daven to reach a time when we will not need to be starving or compelled by Divine decree to do a mitzvah. We ask Hashem to help us feel the sweetness in mitzvos so clearly that we will run after them to fulfill them because of an overwhelming feeling of desire and longing – out of our own free will. Not because we feel we have no choice.

We can understand this idea better by considering another question on the beginning of this week’s parsha. Why do the words, “incurring guilt through it, l’asheima bah” (Vayikra 5:26) from last week’s parsha immediately precede the mitzvah of trumas hadeshen at the beginning of this week’s parsha? What is the connection between these words and the pasuk’s

encouragement to the reluctant kohain?

The Klausenburger Rebbe explains that the word for “guilt” in the pasuk, l’asheima, is connected to the word meaning barren or desolate – shomeima. When a person’s head is empty and he does not personally know and sense the meaning and sweetness of the mitzvos, he requires great coaxing and encouragement just to induce him to fulfill an easy mitzvah. He feels no internal desire to serve Hashem.

But when a person’s head is not barren, but is full of knowledge, understanding, enthusiasm, and desire, the illusions of the evil inclination hold no sway over him. He wakes up early to arrive in shul before davening begins because he is full of the natural excitement for the sweetness of connecting with Hashem. He runs to begin cleaning for Pesach soon after Purim because he is filled with the light of Pesach, the light of redemption.

Unfortunately, so many of us are swayed by the feeble, hairsbreadth-sized delusions of the evil inclination because our heads and hearts are empty of desire and understanding.

We search for any excuse not to clean for Pesach. We run away to hotels so we do not have to clean at all. Or we run to hire additional help in the house to avoid

lifting a finger to clean the chometz out of our homes or our hearts. Chometz is emblematic of the evil inclination’s strategy of using laziness and heaviness to dissuade us from doing even easy mitzvos. We see this because bread rises when it sits idly for a time, doing nothing. That

chometz. As the Midrash says (Mechilta, Bo 9), “When a mitzvah comes into your hand, do not let it become chometz.”

In the Kelm yeshiva before the War, the custom was that the yeshiva did not maintain a janitorial staff. Instead, every year on Rosh Hashanah, 15-20 of the most

He must burn away the laziness and emptiness that provides such fertile ground for the evil inclination.

is when the impurity of chometz arises. Matzah is the opposite. It must be made quickly and with alacrity. A Jew must burn the chometz in his life. He must burn away the laziness and emptiness that provides such fertile ground for the evil inclination. One must fill his head with Torah, which the Navi (Yirmiyahu 23:29) compares to fire: “Are not My words like fire, says Hashem?” We must be matzah Jews, running to do mitzvos when we have the opportunity, spurning

elite bochurim would bid on the honors given during davening by taking on various tasks during the year like cleaning the bathrooms, mopping the floors, or taking out the garbage. These most sought-after jobs were taken by the best learners, the most prestigious bochurim.

When Rav Eliyahu Dessler, zt”l, was a bochur of thirteen years old in the Kelm, he was the youngest there. Nevertheless, he was hoping for one of the more prestigious positions, cleaning the toilets. But

because he was so young, an older boy took this position, and he was relegated to the less glamorous job of going to the post office to pick up stamps for the yeshiva. Young Rav Dessler was disappointed because he got such an “unimportant job.”

Imagine what a yeshiva would look like today if it were up to our able-bodied bochurim to clean it! The trumas hadeshen jobs of the day, cleaning the floors and the bathrooms, were the most sought-after by bochurim of Kelm, whose heads were not empty but were filled with longing and desire to connect to Hashem and His Torah.

As Pesach approaches, let us daven to Hashem that He take away our laziness and lack of motivation that causes us to feel that mitzvos are a heavy burden to be carried. Instead, may He cause us to feel the sweetness, meaning, and depth in our cleaning for Pesach, our modern-day trumas hadeshen, and all of the other mitzvos, such that we run to do them quickly and with great excitement.

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.

Think. Feel.Grow.

A Reason to Transcend

By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

It was that time of year again. Once a year, for a single day, the legendary Buddhist guru would emerge from his solitary meditation to greet the public. Thousands of people would flock to his farflung residence to greet him. Some came to ask questions, seeking his wisdom and advice, while others came just to lay eyes on this legendary figure.

The moment had finally come, and a hush fell over the crowd. The guru slowly emerged, and the crowd immediately swarmed toward him. Those in front began reaching out to him, and one by one, he began addressing their questions. The aura of reverence was suddenly broken by a commotion in the back of the crowd. An older woman began pushing her way through the crowd, trying to make her way to the front. Everyone began muttering, wondering why she was so desperate to meet the guru. She must have a very deep, philosophical question. Was she looking for the path toward peace and truth? Was she wondering how to find her unique mission in life?

When she finally reached the front, she grabbed onto the guru’s arm.

“Moishy!” she chided him. “Enough of this foolishness! It’s time to come home and get a job!”

Very often, people believe that true

depth and wisdom lies only in far-off places — in Eastern spirituality or Western philosophy. However, the deepest wisdom lies within Jewish thought, in the depths of the Torah’s inner wisdom. One must only seek, and they will find.

The Purpose of Chukim

The power and purpose of intellect is an oft misunderstood concept in the Western world, making chukim all the more important to study. A chok is commonly understood in contrast to a mishpat.

A mishpat is a rational, intuitive Torah law, such as the prohibitions against murder and stealing and the commandment to give charity. Such laws appeal to the human intellect and appeal to the innate moral compass present within all human beings, irrespective of religion, race, or ethnicity.

A chok, on the other hand, refers to a Torah law that seemingly defies human logic and rational explanation, such as parah adumah, kashrus (Jewish dietary laws), and shaatnez (the prohibition against mixing wool and linen).

If there is no logical explanation for these mitzvos, what is their purpose? Why would Hashem command us to do something for seemingly no justifiable reason?

One possibility is that this type of command engenders obedience and submission to Hashem’s will. A life of truth is a life aligned with a higher will, i.e., Hashem’s will (Avos 2:4). Such a life requires commitment and discipline. An effective way to discipline oneself is by obeying laws, regardless of whether one understands them. Comprehension and understanding are valuable, but chukim are necessary to create a firm structure of pure obedience to Hashem’s will.

However, it is possible that while chukim do not appear to have any rational or logical explanation, this is true only from the viewpoint of human logic and reason. In other words, there is, in fact, a reason for chukim, but these reasons transcend human logic, residing in a realm far beyond our intellectual capabilities. Within this line of thinking, it is possible that while our human intellects cannot grasp the entirety of a chok ’s meaning and depth, we can access shards of its meaning. A clear expression of this is the fact that many commentators have attempted to provide explanations for chukim, despite their supposed incomprehensibility. This suggests at least a partially comprehensible aspect to chukim, despite their elusive and transcendent nature.

The Nature of Intellect

The topic of chukim and our ability to intellectually grasp them raises a more general question: What exactly is the nature and purpose of our intellect? Within Western culture, the intellect is lauded as the be-all and end-all of truth itself. Scientists, philosophers, and atheists often claim that Judaism is dogmatic and irrational, rejecting logic and reason. Is this so? What is the role of intellect within Judaism, and conversely, what is its limit? Do we reject reason, embrace it, or perhaps take a middle ground? The Vilna Gaon famously said, “Where logic and human intellect ends, Jewish wisdom begins.” It seems, therefore, that Judaism does not reject reason and logic but builds upon it.

Let us explore what this means.

The Purpose and Utility of Logic

Philosophy and logic are useful, often necessary, tools for approaching spiritual truths. For example, one of the most famous methods of proving Hashem’s existence is the “proof by design” approach. The universe is so infinitely complex and vastly beautiful, with endless layers of depth and organization. Examine just a single human cell, and you will be astounded by

its sophistication. Analyze the principles of chemistry, and you will be blown away by how perfectly everything fits. The only logical reaction to a universe so organized and sophisticated is to conclude that there must be a Designer who created it. Such a work of art does not simply happen by accident. This proof is a logical one, using the logical alternative of a Creator not existing to prove the existence of one.

Many famous analogies are used to describe the likelihood of such a masterpiece happening by accident. One could say that it’s as likely as a monkey splashing ink over hundreds of pages and accidentally writing a literary masterpiece. It’s as likely as throwing a bunch of metal into a pile and accidentally creating a working watch. Or, it’s as likely as a tornado passing through a junkyard filled with scraps of metal and accidentally leaving behind a brand-new automobile. The point is clear: such a complex and beautiful world must have a Creator.

Another logical approach to Hashem’s existence uses the idea of causation. Logically, the world must have a first cause. After all, where did everything come from? We might be able to scientifically explain how things evolved, but this doesn’t tell us where those original things came from. Everything in the finite world can trace itself back to a previous source. Therefore, Hashem must be the Source of reality. One might ask, if everything has a source, then must not Hashem have a source as well? The fundamental answer to this important question is that once we realize Hashem is above space and time, the rules of logic, space, and time no longer apply to Him.

Intellect Provides Limited Knowledge

However, there are also flaws with human logic, and careful consideration of the previously mentioned proofs shows this clearly. One may logically conclude that Hashem exists; the world is so infinitely complex; there must be a Creator behind it. However, there is a fundamental limit to logic. Logic may enable us to know that Hashem exists, but it does not help us know anything about Him. We may know, through reasoning, that there is a Creator, but logic alone does not allow us to have a relationship with Hashem, experience Him, or deeply connect with Him.

(Thus, the quality of logical knowledge is limited. It is factual, cold, and external; it lacks intimacy, experience, and deeper connection. One may factually know someone exists, but only once there is a real, deep relationship does the quality of that knowledge become an experiential form of knowledge. This is why the Torah refers to

marital connection as daas, the Hebrew word for knowledge (Bereishis 4:1). Daas refers to internal, deep, and experiential knowledge.) But the limits of logic expand far beyond this example.

Immanuel Kant, the famous eighteenth century German philosopher, revolutionized the study of philosophy by questioning

Taking this idea a step further, we can question logical reasoning and conclusions as well. If the rules of physics and logic are based on personal, limited perceptions of a physical reality, human logic is extremely limited. As such, the Western world may be using the wrong tools to understand the ultimate truth.

Similarly, there is no way of knowing if the world as I experience it is identical to the world as you experience it.

the very validity of human intellect itself. (It is essential to point out that while, in the Western world, Kant is credited with this novel idea, Jewish thinkers have already been teaching this concept for thousands of years.) He proposed the following idea: the entirety of physical human experience is transmitted through our five senses. Therefore, our entire conception of the physical world is based solely on our personal, subjective experience. We don’t experience reality itself; we experience reality only as it is subjectively filtered through our own physical senses. We imagine that sounds are the way we hear them, sights are the way we see them, and tastes are the way we, personally, perceive them. However, the idea that our “translation system,” i.e., our five senses, allows us to sense things as they truly are is merely an assumption. There is no way of knowing if the world as I experience it is consistent with the objective reality of the world. Perhaps there is an infinite array of possible experiences that our five senses are simply unable to transmit to us. For example, our eyes happen to experience the world through a specific optic lens. But if our eyes were created to see at the quantum level, our perception of reality would be fundamentally different.

Similarly, there is no way of knowing if the world as I experience it is identical to the world as you experience it. We could each be living in our own subjective reality, experiencing something completely different. Say that what you experience as blue, everyone else calls green, and what you experience as green, everyone else calls blue. When you were young, you were taught to call what you experience as blue “green” and what you experience as green “blue.” In essence, there is no way of knowing what anyone else is experiencing; we each experience our own subjective reality.

This is the view that the Ramban takes, articulating this point in his commentary to Sefer Vayikra (Ramban, Vayikra 16:8). The Ramban criticizes the assumption that logic is the ultimate tool for determining truth, pointing to the Greek philosophers as a paradigm of those who made this mistake. They denied anything that their intellects could not grasp, anything they could not scientifically quantify. They created a limited subjective truth, confined only to that which they could explain logically. The

fault in this lies in the simple fact that rational knowledge is always limited.

In our next article, we will delve deeper into this fascinating topic and try to understand it on an even deeper level.

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

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

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

There is a machlokes Rishonim whether the mitzvah of bikur cholim is m’d’oraysa or m’d’rabbanan. It is based on the understanding of a passage in Bava Metzia (30b).

“Rav Yosef taught a baraisa concerning the verse: ‘And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the path wherein they shall walk and the action that they must perform’ (Exodus 18:20).’” The baraisa parses the various directives in the verse. “... “the path” is referring to acts of kindness; “they shall walk” is referring to visiting the ill.” Since the mitzvah of visiting the sick is derived from a pasuk, the Ramban in his Sefer HaMitzvos concludes it is a biblical mitzvah. However, the Rambam nevertheless concludes that bikur cholim is actually a rabbinic mitzvah. Still, one fulfills the Torah mitzvah of chessed by visiting the sick.

The Tur cites two primary reasons for the mitzvah of bikur cholim. The first is that the visitor should attend to the needs of the sick individual. The second is that the visitor should pray for the choleh . Indeed, the Rema (YD 335:4) declares: Anyone who visited a sick individual and did not pray for him has not fulfilled the mitzvah! The Levush

Delving into the Daf Visiting the Sick

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

and Chochmas Adam conclude that that Rema must hold that the primary reason for the mitzvah of bikur cholim is to daven for the sick individual.

Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, (YD 1:223) explained that the primary place to daven for the choleh is in front of him. The Divine Presence rests by a sick individual, and a prayer uttered in the presence of the choleh may be more effective. However, Rav Shlomo Zalman, zt”l, cautioned the visitor against causing the patient any duress or anxiety. If the patient knows that the person is praying for him, he may come to conclude that his situation is dire. In that scenario, a person should turn away from the choleh and daven quietly. The Gesher HaChaim suggests praying on the way out of the sick individual’s room. This way the patient won’t notice the prayer. Ultimately, if these solutions are not feasible, a person should simply pray in the adjacent room. Rav Elyashiv suggests that simply blessing the patient with a heartfelt refuah sheleima suffices for a prayer. Still, a perfunctory mumbling of refuah sheleima on the way out is not considered a prayer. (Mitzvos Bikur Cholim pg 13)

The Shulchan Aruch rules that dav-

ening in the place of a choleh is so auspicious that, one may pray there in any language. Otherwise, the Shulchan Aruch advises one to daven for the choleh in Lashon HaKodesh.

Rav Moshe Feinstein writes further that no one else can fulfill the mitzvah of bikur cholim in the same way that each unique visitor can. While others may care for the needs of the patient in the same way, or even better, no one can replace each individual’s prayers. Even if hundreds of others are praying for the individual, his tefillah can make a difference. Obviously, one must be careful not to overburden the patient with visitors!

It is therefore understandable why the Beer Moshe says that one should try to fulfill bikur cholim by actually visiting the sick individual and not merely calling him on the telephone. When he is present, he can see what the patient actually needs. He could ensure that the patient is being treated properly by the medical staff. Moreover, he has the special merit of praying in the presence of the Shechina. The Beer Moshe finds support for his ruling from our Gemara. The words in the pasuk that refer to bikur cholim are “Asher yailchu, that they shall walk.” The mitzvah

should literally be fulfilled by walking to visit the choleh. Indeed, Rav Elyashiv was reported to have ruled that one cannot fulfill the mitzvah of bikur cholim by telephone. The phone call fulfills the general mitzvah of gemilas chasadim, but not the more specialized mitzvah of bikur cholim. (SA Dirshu YD 335:17)

Rav Moshe Feinstein disagreed. He further cautions against abandoning the mitzvah if one can’t attend in person. A phone call can lift the spirits of a sick individual. Moreover, during the conversation, he will empathize more with the plight of the patient. Therefore, his tefillos on his behalf will be superior. Rav Moshe ruled that a phone call to a patient fulfills the mitzvah of bikur cholim to some degree. Still, one should try to visit in person to fulfill the mitzvah in a more complete manner.

Hashem should quickly send a refuah to cholei Yisrael.

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.

We Need a Geulah and Yeshua

Appreciating Rav Yonasan

David, Shlita

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

A translation and annotation by Rabbi Yair Hoffman. In this time, when we need geulos v’yeshu’os, it was thought to translate this piece.

The U.S. has turned its back on Israel in the United Nations, and the Jews now stand alone against a modern day Amalek and the world.

The Tur (OC 111) cites the Talmud Yerushalmi in Brachos 1:1: Said Rabbi Ami, “Whoever does not connect Geulah to Tefillah – the after blessing of Shema of redemption to Shmoneh Esreh – to what is he compared? He is compared to an admirer-friend of the king who has knocked at the door of the palace, and the king went out to greet him to fulfill his request only to find that his friend has run off, and then the king too runs off.

It would appear that this can be explained based upon the pasuk regarding the exile of Mitzrayim, “And the children of Israel moaned (vayizaku) from the labor, and they cried out, and their cry ascended to Hashem from the toil.” Now, it is not mentioned in this pasuk that they davened or prayed to Hashem, nor does it mention that the moaning or crying out was to Hashem. Rather, it simply states vayizaku – without elaboration. Their cry arose to Hashem.

The Dibbur Was In Exile

It is known (see Zohar II 25; Pri Aitz Chaim Pesach Chapter 7) that which is written in the earlier works, that in the exile of Mitzrayim, the dibbur – words of prayer – were in exile [as well]. Notwithstanding the depth of their pain and agony, they did not have the ability to express themselves in words.

Yet, later, in the parsha of Bikkurim – bringing the first fruits (Dvarim 26:7) –the crying out is identified as a crying out to Hashem, and that Hashem heard our cry. Rav Hutner, zt”l, explained that at the time that they cried out they did not feel or understand that they were praying. They thought that they were moaning in general. Only afterward did it become clear to them that this was a cry to Hashem.

The Words of the Rambam

Let us now preface the wording of the Rambam (Hilchos Avodah Zarah 1:3) that Avrohom Avinu recognized his Creator and would travel and declare His Divinity in the world until “a nation was established in the world that knew Hashem.” After a lengthy time in which the Jewish nation remained in Mitzrayim, they declined and began to learn from their actions and worshipped idols like they did, and the foundation that Avraham Avinu planted was almost forgotten. The nation of Israel returned to the errors and confusion of the world. Yet from Hashem’s love for us and His remembering the covenant with Avraham Avinu, He sent Moshe Rabbeinu to us.

A Thought From Rav Hutner

However, it was already explained in Pachad Yitzchok (Pesach 68:3) that this is not just a matter of “Maaseh sh’haya kach hayah – a relating over an incident.” Rather, it encompasses the very essence and nature of exile – that it is a test to uproot our connection to Avraham Avinu. This is the meaning of what Hashem said to Avraham (Bereishis 15:13), “And your descendants shall be strangers..” – that is that the recognition of your descendants

and the connection to the foundation of Avraham Avinu shall yet remain in Galus.

Where Our Voice Comes From

“And Hashem Heard our voice” – even without them knowing nor recognizing Hashem during that time, the kol, the cry or voice, emerged from the depth of the soul which we possess as an inheritance from Avraham Avinu. It is a root of belief planted ever so deeply within the heart of every Jew.

The kol emerges from the depths; therefore, each person’s voice is unique and different from one another as the voice comes from an internal root. And from this voice, it is understood and recognized from whom we descend.

“And our cry arose… And Hashem remembered His covenant with Avraham..” The meaning is not “hearing our cry” as one matter and “remembering Avrohom” as a separate matter. Rather, Hashem remembered the covenant with Avraham through hearing the voice of Avraham within the voices of Klal Yisroel. Only afterward, did it become clear what that voice was.

This is actually the order and manner of our Shemoneh Esrei tefillah. The first bracha is called Avos. We say, “Elokai Avraham” that which lies within us, of the foundation of Avraham Avinu which is the root of emunah – belief in Hashem – i.e. the portion of our forefathers that abides within us. “Mogein Avraham” – that Hashem protects the foundation of Avraham Avinu that is entrenched within us, to ensure that it will not be uprooted. And in the blessing of “Shema Koleinu” it begins with “koleinu – our voice” – the voice, and it ends with “shomaya tefillah” – tefillah is

already within the parameters of “words.” Those words are recited by everyone but it is possible from “the voice” to recognize the root from which it emerges.

The beginning of our prayer is with Birchas Avos, the Blessing of Avos. We are descendants of Avraham Avinu. The connecting of geulah to tefillah means the redemption that took us out of Mitzrayim, the root of our forefathers, will never be displaced or disconnected or forgotten. The words are the words of those who have been redeemed. In other words, through the power of Avraham Avinu that lay within us is how we say what we are about to say. We immediately connect redemption to prayer and that is through the introduction of Birchas Avos.

Going Back to The Yerushalmi

Now, with this, we can better understand the Yerushalmi cited in the Tur – the analogy of the admirer-friend that knocked on the door of the king. (The Hebrew is “ohavo” – the loved one.) The ohavo is specific. It refers to Avraham Avinu, who is called “My loved one” (see Yishayahu 41:8). If he davens immediately, then he meets with the King, but if he runs off, then the King also runs off. This means that at that moment in which we mention geulah immediately before tefillah that connection to Avraham Avinu awakens within us and lives within us. But, if we run off, then that moment of inspiration also leaves, and the King does not find Avraham Avinu, and He also runs off.

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

Israel Today It Doesn’t Take A Genius

ABy Rafi Sackville

mid the growing difficulties we face both as Israelis and Jews worldwide, life here in the Holy City goes on as it always has; despite the war, it’s as if Jerusalemites are living in a bubble. The poet Auden understood this paradox when he aptly wrote that, despite the horrors, “dogs go on with their doggy life.”

Our hostages may be only an hour’s drive from the comfort of our apartment, yet when we look out our windows and see and hear the constant thrum of rubber tires on the asphalt, when we take a bus to the city center where one business day runs into the next, then maybe, just maybe, it’s time for me to write something light-hearted to break the disquieting monotony of our national plight.

Allow me to begin with a question: do you know why ATM machines return your card before they dispense cash? The answer is unsurprising; years ago, Citibank came up with the card-before-cash ATM idea in an attempt to curb the painful experiences of customers leaving their cards behind after a transaction. This is because most users regard their task as completed once the goal of collecting money has been achieved.

I recently tested this theory – albeit reluctantly – and found its logic solid. Twice in two weeks I left my teudat zehut (identity card) behind in offices. If I apply Citibank logic, I’m not to blame.

The first occasion was at the Interior Ministry where we changed our address from Ma’alot to Yerushalayim. The clerk processed our request and handed over our

documents. Sima was her name, and she was very helpful. She asked for my identity card and slipped it under her keyboard. She changed our address and then handed over the paper attachment to the card. Thinking I’d gotten what I’d come for, I instinctively left…without my teudat zehut. Sima called me back, but I didn’t see or feel her call. By the time I did, I had to shlepp back into town by bus to retrieve it.

“I tried calling you,” apologized Sima.

Oh, how stupid I felt and promised that I wouldn’t do it again.

As I had no bus card, I had to rely on a phone application to pay. I found that awkward. Not long after, I bought myself what is known as a RavKav, those green transportation cards Israelis use on public transport. Until now, I haven’t been used to taking public transportation as it was always more convenient in the north to get around by car.

I entered the RavKav office on King George street on a Wednesday morning. The following day I couldn’t find my identity card. I came to the discomforting conclusion that I had, once again, left it behind. So sure was I that it was in the RavKav office that I panicked not in the least.

When I returned the following day, I approached the young lady who had processed my card.

“Hello. I was here yesterday…”

“Hello. I’m Osnat, but I don’t really remember you.”

This was puzzling. She told me she was sure to find it. “Let me look.” She opened a cupboard and produced a shoe-sized box filled with identity cards, all of them left behind by customers. I was gobsmacked by the sheer number of them.

“This is nothing. We’ve got twice as many at the Central Bus Station,” she shared.

RavKav has approximately 130 branches where cards can be acquired. If we multiply that number by the approximately 65 cards I counted, we would get to over 8,000 lost cards. If all owners of those cards applied for new cards at the Ministry of Interior, the sum paid out by them would amount to over 1,100,000 shekels – or over $300,000.

As a conscientious member of the public, I decided to write to the offices of RavKav with the intention of getting them to adopt my simple idea of training their personnel across the country to return identity cards before RavKav cards.

A month passed without reply. I called their customer service number and was put through to Dina, who heard me out and then said, at the speed of light, “The problem is well known. We’re dealing with it. Thank you very much.”

How exactly were they dealing withit?

“Yes,” she interrupted me, “and you forgot your teudat zehut.”

“So you remember me,” I quipped. “I’m Rafi.”

“Sir, we’re dealing with it,” was all Dina would say.

I enlightened her with my math equations, and how much money and time was being wasted. She repeated her message once again, this time so quickly it was clear she’d done so hundreds of times before. When I told her how easy it was to

rectify the problem, she pointedly told me that our conversation was over and, most importantly, that I should have a great day.

I waited a week and went back to the office in Jerusalem. I greeted Osnat with a smile and good cheer, but she couldn’t remember me. When I asked if she’d been directed to change the order in which she returned cards, she looked at me suspiciously and told me I was wasting her time.

There was no need to ask her because I watched her interact with three customers. Two of them took their identity cards without prompting. The third took two steps away from the counter before realizing that Osnat hadn’t returned their teudat zehut.

Later that week I was sitting at Cafe Birma on Emek Refaim telling my friend Zelman the folly of my ways. When I suggested that maybe RavKav ought to train their employees more efficiently, he almost choked on his carrot cake.

“Train them? Who said they’re trained in the first place?”

I mentioned that I’d be going back into the RavKav office on my birthday, the first of April, to change my status to senior citizen, after which I’d be paying half-fare.

“Don’t leave anything behind,” he quipped.

“There is no way I’m going to do that again,” I replied, sounding very sure of myself.

Zelman stopped chewing and looked at me with a smile.

“I know you, Rafi. Do yourself a favor and double check.”

Rafi Sackville, formerly from Cedarhurst, teaches in Yeshivat Horev in Yerushalayim.

We woke up very early on Taanit Esther to an email from Nefesh B’Nefesh, a really wonderful and helpful organization, to find out that after almost two years of prep, our documents all successfully uploaded and were finally filed correctly and accepted.

After filling out an application form accompanied by a $120 fee payment, which in no way accounts for all of the various fees charged for the German birth certificate, various apostilles and a FBI background check, we are finally ready for our Jewish Agency interview.

We now wait for an interview appointment. Hopefully, it will be at a time where we will actually be in the U.S. and not in Israel, Toronto or Miami. There are four or five trips planned in the coming months before the big move.

For the past 20 years, most of our trips to Israel have been for summer and winter breaks or when they are celebrated, happy milestones. Modeling what our parents have taught us, the Holocaust taught them, being with family is tantamount to everything else, and sometimes sacrifices need to be made.

As more and more people choose to make Israel their home, far from immediate family and close friends, it becomes harder and harder to prioritize, particularly as children get married and follow

Friends and Family

By Barbara Deutsch

their own dreams. The bigger the family becomes, the more widespread their lives, the more complications develop, changing the relationships and the dynamic of the brothers, sisters, parents, in-law children and grandchildren .

Packing up the comforts of a large home filled with memories and so much stuff makes me weep. What’s really hard is knowing that our growing American and Canadian families will not be just short car rides or quick plane trips away. When I shared my thoughts with our Israeli granddaughter Tova – she is a bit of a cynic – her response was, “Grandma, but it’s our turn!”

Thankfully, the Israelis are thrilled we are on our way.

We made it our business to make the most of opportunities to be with our local kids. We knew that the door was always open and an invite ours for all chagim and milestone events. We are blessed that our daughter-in-law’s entire family folded us into their lives and kept a place for us at their tables.

We also have some amazing friends who are family, who, when needed, made sure we always had a place to go for holidays and Shabbat. We will always remember their kindness and thoughtfulness and will have a room for them in our Jerusalem home.

We did our best not to take advantage of our local children’s close proximity and graciousness. We happily went whenever invited or included – that has paid off well in the loving and close relationships we have forged with all of them!

Our frequent trips to Canada – easier when it was Montreal, now Toronto – helped to solidify the connection with our Levy kids; Sukkot and now Pesach, we spend with them in Toronto. Yet, we never got to participate in the seemingly “small” and meaningful milestones: siddur parties, kindergarten graduations, general plays, ball games, and more. We did go to every major graduation proudly sitting among all of the grandparents and marveling at how quickly time was passing.

Apart from Covid, we never missed one.

With the Israeli contingent, that was clumsier and harder to accomplish. It’s very expensive and complicated for working parents and grandparents to drop everything and go. We did get to participate when there was a bris or two and milestones occasions; we missed everything else. Luckily, in charedi Israel, there are not many little league games and recitals to attend.

One time I came solo to hear our granddaughter Elisheva’s debut singing performance at the Jerusalem Theater;

she had the child lead. Her beautiful Shapiro voice sent chills up and down the spines of all in attendance. To be there, I traveled for over 22 hours, slept on the bottom of our grandson’s bunk bed and returned to a lot of school heat. This trip was for a -4day opportunity to be with my family and cheer on Elisheva; every second was worth it.

Because of that missed time from school, I was asked not to go to a family Purim seudah in Toronto. The way Purim fell that year, I did not have enough banked days and felt some pressure not to go – it would be a ”poor example” and all that. My husband went solo. We did not want to disappoint the Canadian kids who love when we visit.

Invited to spend Purim and Shabbat with the locals, on my way, I fell hard, shredded my knees and was limping and sore for weeks after.

I learned my lesson. This would be the last time I would let myself miss a family gathering. I made the choice to give into “what will others say?” pressure and chose work guilt over family. Sometimes, maybe for most, there are no options, that’s the way it is and there is no room for choice; you need to have a job to feed your family.

When someone gets an emergency phone call that a dear one is in the hospital or passed away, we drop everything,

jump into the car, and head to the chapel or hospital. Yet, when we have a simcha, we hem and haw as to the viability of the occasion.

A quick “no, I can’t go” should not be a first response without exploring all of the options.

For the past six months and still counting (how does this even make sense that it’s been that long since the hostages were ripped from their families and lives?), my daughter Rachel and her friend Danielle (Peas Love and Carrots) and every available hand in both their families have been raising money, bagging chickens, and distributing and feeding many displaced families. The Chicken Gemach provides the families with chickens and vouchers for the supermarket. It is housed in a freezing cold hallway in Rechavia.

The emigrants from the North travel on freezing cold buses to pick up the donations. Many come for their own allotment, and others come to pick up for friends and neighbors. When I am in Jerusalem, I help out. It is far from a chessed as it gives me an opportunity to do a “good” for others. A bonus is that I get a bowl of Danielle’s delicious hot soup that she prepares for the weary travelers.

On my last trip, we also mourned a death, celebrated an engagement, and a birth.

When you interact on a weekly basis with strangers, you develop a relationship, you get involved in both the good and bad times. You become a family. One of the women who comes weekly shared the sad news of the death at 56 of the

engaged, one of the women – ironically also named Penina – brought her a beautifully wrapped gift. Big Penina was among the crowds of the displaced who had been praying for a shidduch for little Penina for these last many months.

A beautiful young woman and new baby came to say thank you in person; her allotment of food had been picked

To be there, I traveled for over 22 hours, slept on the bottom of our grandson’s bunk bed and returned to a lot of school heat.

community rabbi. He was also a “chicken regular.” He died peacefully without waking up one morning. Danielle and Rachel cried and lit a memorial candle for him. The candle was still burning when we went home a week later.

We will never know if the horrible stress of displacement contributed to his death.

When our granddaughter Penina got

up by others. This fragile new mom told the story of going into labor on October 7 as the massacres began outside Sderot. She labored alone in the hospital; she had no telephone to help make sense of the cause for the bombs. This, while witnessing the horrors of the dead and wounded people being admitted in the rooms beside her own.

Now displaced, she relies on the lar -

gesse of others to get by; she came to say Todah, thank you.

The Chicken Gemach eked out the money for Purim; Pesach is a very expensive holiday, and more money must be raised. The Chicken Gemach is determined to make that happen; they have become family.

This week, our family welcomed a beautiful baby girl born to Jakob and Nomi. Sari Miriam is named for two heroes of the Holocaust. Sari was born in a peaceful Manhattan hospital. We love her already.

In the coming weeks, we are returning to Israel for a bar mitzvah, celebrating Pesach in Toronto, proudly attending a YU graduation, flying to Israel for a wedding and returning for a Chag Ha’smicha.

We will be houseless and carless; we will not be homeless.

That’s the way we roll.

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.

Timor-David Aklin: Escaping Extremism, Embracing Judaism

By Eliyahu RosEnBERg

Christians want converts. Muslims want converts. Jews, on the other hand, aren’t looking to sell anything. And yet, there seems to be no shortage of geirim , with more and more people joining the Jewish nation each passing year. Each conversion story is, of course, beautiful in its own way, but some stories are so unique that they stand out as sources of inspiration

In His Words…

for the entire Jewish nation. This is one such story.

Growing up as a Muslim in an Arab neighborhood in Jaffa, Israel, Timor-David Aklin had an upbringing plagued by trauma and violence. When discussing his childhood, Timor noted that he has few good memories from his youth. His father was absent from his life, his mother would admonish and

We should love a little more. We should love everyone a little more. l ove, accept unconditionally, hug, and be okay even with those who disagree with you.

Relationships are the most valuable thing you have in your life. it doesn’t matter who you meet. Try to be nice to everyone. Try to be loving and caring and kind. it’s always better to bond with people and build a really strong relationship than to just make them strangers.

This too shall pass. it’s not going to be raining forever; eventually, the storm is going to wear out. Whatever pain you’re going through, you have to look at life and say: i’m not going to stay down. i’m not going to be on my knees. i will fight back. it’s hard. it’s difficult, but hashem helps. he helps everyone.

guilt him, and his uncles would expose him to extreme violence. Worst of all, he was born into a family that supported terrorism, glorified extremism, and hated Jews.

“Growing up, I was raised to hate Jews. And it hurts when I say those words because I am a Jew today. I feel like, okay, so I hated myself as a kid; I hated what I’ve always been because I feel like I’ve always been a Jew,” Timor sharesd.

From a young age, he saw the guns, grenades, and drugs that belonged to his uncles, who acted like thugs and criminals. As a child, Timor thought he was doomed to a life of crime similar to that of his close relatives, and he couldn’t imagine himself even living past the age of eighteen. Alas, at six years old, Timor was forced to smuggle burners into a prison, and although he was too young to fully understand the violence and crime that surrounded him, he knew instinctively, even then, that he wanted out.

“My mother would always guilt me growing up: ‘Look at the kids in Gaza. Look how they have nothing. Look at the kids in the West Bank; they have no shoes, they have no this, they have no that.’ She would always try to make me feel bad about having more than them,” Timor recalled. “She [my mother] never told me to go out and [commit acts of terrorism], but whenever something happened, she would celebrate it.

“I was just eight years old when 9/11

happened. We were at home, and people were dancing and chanting and screaming. It was a moment of celebration for Arabs and Muslims around the world,” he added. “So, there was no radicalization on my behalf in terms of anything physical. It was just pure hatred and antisemitic indoctrination.”

At around age ten, Timor was fed up and frustrated with his family; he was angry that he had to witness people taking drugs and shooting others in his neighborhood. And he was saddened that his family was devoid of love and purity, for he only sensed evil and darkness within them. It was at that point that Timor told his uncles that he saw no good in them and that he felt as though he had no place in the Muslim community. As punishment, his uncles, who were in their thirties, gave the tenyear-old boy a series of beatings.

Seven years later, when Timor was seventeen years old, he traveled abroad to see the world and embark on a spiritual journey. He began learning things about Islam, and the more he discovered, the more he grew disappointed with the religion. Timor’s exposure to Muslims in other countries also left a bad taste in his mouth; in Holland, he was in a restaurant with a few Muslims who were violently threatening each other’s lives, and in Thailand, he saw several Muslims disrespecting and verbally abusing people who couldn’t understand Arabic.

As Timor began studying world re -

ligions, he began realizing how many elements of Judaism were imitated and made more extreme by Islam. For instance, he discovered that Jews do netilas yadayim in the morning, while Muslims do Wudu, a multi-step process that involves washing one’s hands, elbows, knees, feet, ears, nose, and mouth. Jews observe Yom Kippur, a single day of atonement that includes fasting, prayer, and certain restrictions, while Muslims observe Ramadan, which takes most of Yom Kippur’s rules and extends them for an entire month. He also realized that the Koran, as a document, makes false claims about the Jewish people, charging them with crimes they did not commit.

With time, Timor’s belief in Islam evaporated. But despite his spiritual exodus from the religion he was born into, Timor still firmly believed in G-d. And soon after, he started believing in Judaism, too. Why? Because he fell in love with the Torah.

“When I was five, I learned the Bible. I went to a French school. We had a Tanach, and they would teach us some stories. My mother went and bought me – because I begged her to – some videotapes. She got me a movie series [about] the greatest Biblical heroes. And I just loved it; I loved every single character,” Timor recalled. “I had a Tanach at home because we had that class at school once a week for an hour. So I would run, go to the Tanach, and I would open it, looking for the stories that I had watched, because I was so intrigued and I wanted to learn more.

“The Tanach became a very dear document to me. It was very dear to my heart, and even though I was a practicing Muslim at the time, I always told myself that this book was true at one

point – because that’s the Islamic belief; that the book [the Torah] was corrupted, but at one point, it was true,” he added.

And soon after, Timor also found himself developing a deep passion for Hebrew and Aramaic. He loved the sound of the languages, and he soon began spending time memorizing Aramaic quotes.

“One thing led to another, and somehow, someday, I found myself just calling the rabbinate in Israel and telling them: I want to become a Jew,” Timor explained.

When the Beis Din asked why he wanted to convert, he said: “Because I’ve always been a Jew.”

And so, he took his birth name, Tamal, and put in a Yud and a Vav, the two letters from Hashem’s name, and he thus became known as Timor. He then told himself that he would be embarking on a mission, a spiritual quest in which he would be talking to G-d every day.

During Timor’s conversion process, he didn’t expect anyone to accept him. And yet, today, he says that nearly every single Jew he has met has accepted him.

“It was never an easy thing for me, as many people view Arab identity and Jewish identity as mutually exclusive, strictly dichotomous. Others find it weird, but I never let that get to me. Most of my interactions have been positive since I became a Jew,” he noted.

On the tragic day of October 7, as rockets were raining down on Israel and news of the unspeakable slaughter was beginning to come to light, Timor heard his Arab neighbors celebrating the terrorist attacks, singing joyfully over the killings and kidnappings of innocent people. While we clearly see how wicked Hamas is, many people continue to distort reality to justify the October 7 mas-

sacre. As Timor explains, the sad part is that Hamas supporters really think they’re advocating for the right thing.

“You, the Jew, you’re a liar, you’re a master of deception, you’re a thief, you’re this, you’re that. That’s what they’re fed from the day they’re born. So they inherently victimize themselves. And terrorists don’t think that they’re bad people for killing you. They think they’re going to heaven. They think they’re doing their social circle a great justice by taking you out,” Timor explained.

In order to expose the evils and dysfunctions of Islamic extremism, Timor has become an activist, advocating against terrorism and antisemitism on his YouTube channel. Today, he is a fully-fledged Jew, practicing Yemenite Judaism, a form of Yiddishkeit he feels deeply connected to, particularly be -

cause of his love of the Teimani culture and nusach, as well as his personal admiration of the Rambam.

As a child, Timor was, in his words, “mentally tortured for wanting to be kind,” and his gentle, well-mannered nature was seen by others as a weakness. But now, Timor understands that kindness isn’t a weakness, but rather, the greatest strength one can possess.

“I think the best advice I could give is that people should really understand that relationships are the most valuable thing you have in your life. It doesn’t matter who you meet. Try to be nice to everyone. Try to be loving and caring and kind,” Timor said. “And, whatever pain you’re going through, you have to look at life and say: I’m not going to stay down. I’m not going to be on my knees. I will fight back. It’s hard. It’s difficult, but Hashem helps. He helps everyone.”

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.

What Would You Do If…

Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

I am so sick and tired of dealing with shadchanim. They have an initial meeting but then don’t answer the phone when we call most of the time or come up with good ideas. The best ideas my daughters have gotten have been from friends who have dated guys who are not for them. But we can’t depend on those. We feel like shadchanim don’t give us the time of day, having given us the wrong types of guys, when they do send ideas. But then I see all my daughter’s friends getting married and I wonder what their parents are doing right and what we are doing wrong. Can you help us?

Thank you.

The Panel

The Rebbetzin

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

You are right. The best ideas come from people who have dated men and suggest them for your daughter. One does get to know a person well during dates, and they have done just that. Shadchanim are overwhelmed. They don’t have the time to get to know people and are inundated with requests. Therefore, it is easy for them to put people into boxes and then suggest people from what they think is the appropriate box. Consider taking an extended break from shadchanim and setting yourself and your daughter up for disappointment and wasted energy.

See if you can find agents, so to speak, who are looking out for your daughter in other locations and who have gotten to know her. Expand on the knowledge you have gleaned from the past four years.

And do not compare yourself to others. Hashem is in charge, and you are doing your hishtadlus with increased awareness and strategic thinking. They are not doing something right that you are doing wrong. Be smart and keep the faith.

The Shadchan

Michelle Mond

It is so hard to be on the sidelines watching our children struggle. Some might say it is even harder for parents than for the singles themselves.

I think it is important that you keep in mind a few things. One is that Hashem is the ultimate Shadchan. He can make anything happen within the realm of teva. In that vein, it may be a good idea to open the windows of opportunity for your daughter to naturally meet new people. Encourage her to visit friends in different states, go on family vacations to other vibrant Jewish communities, etc. If you hear of a good singles event in another city, send your daughter! She may not meet her bashert there, but she will meet new connectors. The reason I use the word “connector” is because I truly believe that anyone can be a shadchan. This is why (if I can be brutally honest) I have a difficult time

with shadchan-bashing. Fifteenish years ago, when I started setting people up as a newly married girl myself, I was not a shadchan. I was merely a friend, sister, cousin, and neighbor setting up singles I thought were good for each other. People were so appreciative! They sent me flowers and thank you letters. They did not bash or badmouth me when I redt ideas that were off the mark or when I didn’t answer the phone. It was only when I started b”H making shidduchim of many happy marriages through connecting the singles I knew that people started to call me “shadchan.” That is also when the negativity started seeping in through the grapevine. I was too hard to reach. I never answered my phone. How dare I set her daughter up with a guy who ended up coming to the door in a blue shirt? Why was I not available on an erev Shabbos to meet her daughter when they are only in town for this one weekend? You get the picture.

The more success a shadchan has, the more “creds” she seems to get from the outside world, the more people call her, the more overwhelmed she gets. Realize that shadchanim are people, too – people with their own challenges and daily life struggles, full-time jobs, and demanding kids and family members. We are humans like anyone else and didn’t ask for this to be the case for us to be so necessary. Our society has made the job of the volunteer shadchan vitally necessary, to the point that if we answered every phone call and had everyone on our lists on our mind for just five minutes a day, we would not have one minute for anything else. As in any volunteer position, we as a society cannot have super human expectations of the people doing the volunteering.

The best way for you to stand out, for your daughter to stand out, is to show appreciation to the shadchanim who are trying for your daughter. Send a thank you gift after she has thought of an idea for her, with a kind note. If a shidduch did not end up working out, realize that was Hashem’s will – and be appreciative to this person who spent her volunteer time working out all the logistics to get your daughter a date. I hope with this perspective our community as a whole can start to look at shadchanim in a more positive way and understand that we are truly doing our best.

The Single

Tzipora Grodko

Hi Chani,

It’s so hard to watch your daughter struggle to navigate the dating scene. It challenges one’s self-worth, faith, and quality of life. Very often, the illusion of “control” with dating is just that...an illusion. It’s unfortunate that you have had negative experiences, ghosting, and disappointment from well intending matchmakers. Please remember that G-d doesn’t need our help in this process. There’s no qualitative or quantitative way to meet the right person.

According to the recent publication by the OU on the “Shidduch Crisis,” statistics stated that most couples actually met through suggestions from friends, rather than shadchanim. I hope that provides you with some peace of mind throughout this very unknown process.

I personally believe that the best level of hishtadlus is to focus on self-development spiritually as well as characteristically. G-d has a plan and is taking care of you and your family. Everyone else is simply a messenger. Please reinforce this message in your daughter because she will likely feel whatever stress youfeel, and it’s already difficult enough. When we can’t have hope, we need to borrow it from those who can.

The Zaidy

Dr. Jeffrey Galler

Iam not smart enough to understand

why intelligent, educated, well-informed people (like us!) continue to depend upon this antiquated, unwieldy, shadchan system.

But if you’re going to proceed within this system:

Make sure that you are working with shadchanim whose database, or whose source of referrals, matches your daughter’s demographics.

Make sure that our daughter has the shadchan’s attention. Small gestures might be helpful.

Consider sending a note of appreci-

She will meet folks who know people, who know other people, who might have suggestions for her.

ation, like, “Even though it didn’t work out, thank you for recommending Chaim Yankel. Here’s hoping that our next connection is more successful!”

Or, how about sending a Shabbos bouquet with a note saying, “We hope these flowers enhance your Shabbos, the same way you are trying to enhance our daughter’s life!”

Alternatively, a more pragmatic recommendation is for you to remember the famous quote (that may or may not have been said by Albert Einstein): “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

So, instead of waiting for a shadchan to call, how about letting singles do what comes naturally, and (gasp!) help them meet on their own?

Frum singles can meet by joining religious organizations at school or at work. And, there are very acceptable Shabbaton and singles events run by reputable organizations, like “YUConnects.” Singles can also meet at events that are designed to help Israel’s war efforts, sponsored by trustworthy groups, like “Boots for Israel.”

In my neighborhood, there is a warehouse (1315 Peninsula Blvd, Hewlett, the former HSBC Bank building) where volunteers work all day, organizing, packing, and shipping supplies to Israel. Even if your daughter may not meet her bashert there, she will meet folks who know people, who know other people, who might have suggestions for her.

Instead of sitting back and waiting for opportunities to present themselves, it might be helpful to be aggressive and learn how to network successfully. Remember that “patience might be a virtue, but impatience gets things done.”

Pulling It All Together

The Navidaters

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Hi Chani,

Thank you so much for your email. This isn’t the first of I’ve heard of situations like yours. And I can understand how entirely frustrating this can be. I’m not sure what is going on or why shadchanim aren’t answering your calls. The best advice I have, off the top of my head, is to contact parents and for your

daughter to contact her friends in shid- duchim and ask for tips on best strategies and practices when working with shadchanim.

For what it’s worth, a little validation for shadchanim and daters and parents: shadchanim are very busy, and it can be

challenging to return calls. For people dating and their parents, this time lag can cause tremendous anxiety. To me, the most professional and elegant shadchanim are those who, when they can’t return a call immediately and hear someone’s frustration, will provide validation and have empathy for the constellation of awful emotions people dating and their parents experience. Sensitivity and empathy are everything. As for shadchanim dealing with “aggressive” types, the best bet is to have kind boundaries upfront explaining your process.

I wish there was a better way. The whole system is so flawed. I wish people could just meet naturally somehow. I wish permission would be given. Shadchanim would then become facilitators,

Realize that shadchanim are people, too.

and daters and parents wouldn’t feel beholden to a return call. The whole dynamic is so unhealthy and causes so much unnatural resentment simply because of the experienced inequality in the relationship. Here’s to hoping for a new way to date!

Sincerely,

Jennifer

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

Parenting Pearls Chinuch with Care

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

Chinuch is an important topic for our nation. With thousands of years of history, and the role we play in teaching the world about Hashem, it is only natural that we prioritize passing on our mesorah to the next generation. Along with this weighty role is the comfort of knowing we have a Torah to guide us in all our actions.

I often hesitate before addressing certain topics – this is one of them. How to be mechanech our precious charges is a serious undertaking. Describing how to balance a firm left hand with a loving right one is hard to convey in words. Additionally, while the Torah’s truths don’t change, the needs of each generation are slightly different. The needs of each individual child are unique, and the environment they are raised in will profoundly affect them. For example, in our generation, we knew television could bring unhealthy scenes into our home. We never could have guessed that our children would have handheld devices that could show what even television banned. Our parents could shield us from the news; our children are overwhelmed with it daily.

I remember the story of an older individual who saw a young child pushing a baby back into the crib. That little boy knew his baby wasn’t allowed to come out on his own so he was encouraging him to get back into the safety of his crib. The older adult, misunderstanding the young boy’s actions, walked over and gave him a slap on the face. The older man walked away content, thinking he had educated that boy. The child, alternatively, was completely confused as to why he was punished so harshly for trying to keep his baby safe.

It is easy to confuse what is and isn’t chinuch. That man mistakenly thought he had successfully taught that boy a lesson; in reality, he had not accomplished anything. Even worse, he created confused and negative feelings in that young child.

Throughout the article I will use the word “punishment,” but I don’t really

like the connotations behind the word. Punishment brings to mind harsh, punitive measures which are generally ineffective. While I am using this word, please remember that we can give a negative consequence without all that comes along with “punishment.”

What Chinuch Isn’t

There are many things that can be confused with chinuch. Chinuch isn’t yelling at, degrading or belittling a child. Doing that is both ineffective and detrimental to their growth. We want to educate and guide, not put down or emotionally hurt our young treasures. Ideally, our children should recognize their potential and abilities to improve, not think they are unworthy or incapable.

Many well-meaning parents will ask how to properly punish a child, mistakenly thinking this is the key to chinuch. Punishment alone is rarely chinuch. As the story above demonstrates, even the harshest punishment is meaningless on its own (and often harmful).

Chinuch should include concrete guidance, since a list of “don’ts” is not as informative as we assume. “Stop push-

ing.” “Don’t say that.” These phrases never teach a child what they should do when someone takes their toy or how to express themselves when upset. Often, they don’t even know what it is they’re saying or doing wrong, leaving them confused. We can tell kids hundreds of things they can’t do, but if we never tell them the correct way of doing something, they may never learn the true lesson.

The Role of Punishment

There is a theory circulating that parents shouldn’t say no to their child or impose rules on them. Known as “permissive parenting” (often erroneously confused with “gentle parenting”), these children, among other issues, act entitled, have more behavior problems and demonstrate greater impulsivity when compared to their peers. While I may discuss the downsides of punishments, I am certainly not suggesting parents refrain from disciplining their children. Besides for causing chaos, it’s simply unfair to the children themselves. Sadly, we are seeing the results around us as more and more children are not being raised properly by the adults in their

lives. It’s our role as parents to educate, guide and discipline our children, not to permit them to run wild or “rule the roost.”

Children do many things they are not supposed to – this is an inherent part of the learning process. Kids don’t know something is wrong until they’re taught otherwise. Punishment is there simply to help stop the negative behavior. It’s certainly not to get our anger out on a child nor is it to make them miserable. We can’t teach a child how to speak respectfully if they keep hitting. The punishment is only to stop the negative behavior so we can get to the next step – chinuch.

Additionally, some behaviors are so dangerous that, for their safety, we need to make our point clear. Playing with matches, knives or running in the street need to be dealt with more seriously so the child knows to never repeat that act. In these cases, punishment plays an important role in helping the child to hopefully remember that it’s a big “no-no.” I say “hopefully” because generally these behaviors are done by youngsters too little to remember they previously received a punishment. In all these cases, it’s crucial that parents never rely on the punishment alone. It’s our job to monitor our young charges and ensure they don’t have access to the street or dangerous items.

To be effective, punishment rarely needs to be harsh. Generally, it’s sufficient that it be a deterrent to repeating that behavior – you don’t need to make them miserable. Something as simple as being temporarily kept away from the current activity can be enough to make the point.

Any punishment or parentally imposed consequence should be given with love. The combination of firmness and affection demonstrates that we disapprove of the behavior while still loving the beautiful neshama that is our child. Natural consequences are all around us, and we generally don’t need to shield children from them. These are what

happen by default after a particular behavior. “A” leads to “B.” If you do “A,” then you naturally get “B.” If a child refuses to study for a test, then they will do poorly. We certainly shouldn’t call the teacher to complain. When they run in the mud wearing their new shoes, they will have dirty footwear. We don’t need to run out to purchase new ones. This isn’t a punishment – which is parent implemented – but it’s allowing them to feel the consequences of their own actions. It’s how Hashem built the world, and it’s a wonderful way to understand the repercussions of our behavior.

Even with natural consequences, we need to use seichel. If a child was throwing up all night then it’s unfair to expect that they would have studied for their test. If a child is struggling academically, we need to get them help, not just let them fail. A child who doesn’t understand social cues requires intervention to help them gain this important skill; we shouldn’t allow them to be continuously ostracized by peers during recess.

What Chinuch Is

If punishment isn’t chinuch, what is? Punishment is just one way to stop

a particular negative action. Chinuch is afterwards when we discuss or demonstrate the proper behavior. Sometimes that magical moment can come immediately, but often, it’s not until later when the child is calmer and more receptive. Punishment has the side effect of mak-

sions, not lecturing, is most effective. (Lectures make us tune out and ignore the speaker.)

“Might makes right” has very limited use. Yes, there are times we need to use our bigger size – such as when a child tries that mad dash into the street

The combination of firmness and affection demonstrates that we disapprove of the behavior while still loving the beautiful neshama that is our child.

ing children upset and taking them out of learning mode. Little children have short memories and need that discussion to happen earlier, while older children and teens can be addressed at a slightly later time.

Chinuch is something that should happen naturally throughout the day. Any moment can be used to educate our perpetual students. Loving discus -

– but it doesn’t work with teens or older children. Our most effective tool is our connection with our children. Ultimately, it’s the bond they feel with us, and the respect we’ve earned, that gives us our strongest means of educating and disciplining.

As their greatest teacher, we lead by our daily example. If we want our children to speak respectfully, then we need

to do the same. If we want our children to learn Torah or daven meaningfully, they need to see us living that truth. As mentioned above, how our children view us has an impact on whether or not they want to follow our example. The more they love and respect us, the greater their desire to emulate us.

We also can’t forget the role of praise. When we praise the correct behaviors, we’re showing what we want to see more of. Children value praise – especially from their parents – and will do what they can to earn that coveted remark. We want to especially praise children when we see them overcome personal challenges, such as using words instead of hitting.

Raising our children is both our hardest challenge and greatest privilege. By showing our children love as we gently guide them, we will, with Hashem’s help, see our youth turn into adults who will bring nachas to Klal Yisroel.

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.

School of Thought

By Etti Siegel

Q:

Dear Etti,

I am so frustrated sometimes as a teacher that I think about leaving education and going into a different field. I put so much effort into being the best teacher I can be, but I am stymied by parents who don’t understand the ramifications of their decisions or their lack of involvement. They don’t understand that I cannot help their child if they are not working with me. I want to help, but I cannot do anything if a parent stands in the way of his/her child’s success by bad-mouthing the school or the teachers, not supporting homework assignments, not following through on suggestions we (the staff committed to helping their child succeed) feel would help their child… the list could go on and on.

I know in my heart that at the end of the day, I can only do what I can, and I cannot care more than the child’s parents do. And yet, in my many years of experience, I sometimes do have the answers from my many years of experience – if the parents would only trust me and work with me!

Any advice?

-Burning Out

A:Dear Burning Out, I think your name is a misnomer. What you’re actually experiencing sounds like moral injury.

What is moral injury?

Psychology Today says it is “the social, psychological, and spiritual harm that arises from the betrayal of one’s core values.”

Syracuse University’s Moral Injury Project explains that it is the “damage done to one’s conscience or moral compass when the person perpetrates, witnesses, or fails to prevent acts that transgress one’s own moral beliefs, values, or one’s ethical code of conduct.”

Other researchers explain the term as a “disruption in an individual’s confidence and expectations about one’s own or other motivation or capacity to behave in a just and ethical manner” (Drescher et.al, 2011 p.9). Shay (2014) puts emphasis on leadership failure and a failure to do what is right by a person who holds authority in a high-stakes setting.

Moral injury is not a new term. For years, it was used in reference to war. When a soldier has to do anything that violates his personal code of conduct, he can experience moral injury, which leads to PTSD, guilt, and a host of other factors.

(Now it is used in many of the service professions. Doctors and nurses, stewards and stewardesses, customer

care personnel, and people in education all find themselves dealing with what should be preventable or fixable issues.)

I am not suggesting that teachers are dealing with anything as intense as soldiers at war. I am suggesting and pointing out, however, that teachers are caring people who are altruistic, passionate, and truly there to help students. When, despite their best efforts, they watch a child being hurt, or not being helped, and they have a good idea of what that pain or lack will cause the child in the future, it causes feelings akin to burnout. There is a sense of helplessness when a teacher does not know how to help a child, or when a teacher brings the issues observed to a principal or school leader and the response is not to get involved, or a lot of red tape. Sometimes teachers share with me that the school is hesitant to deal with the parents because the parents are belligerent and confrontational, or always playing the victim, or simply cannot help.

The nights I laid awake worrying about my struggling students would fill a library, but every teacher has a library of his or her own she can fill.

I remember being in my eighth month, having little children in the house, packing because we were moving to a new apartment, dealing with a husband recovering from an emergency appendectomy… and spending time making fun sheets for a series of tests being given in the school that I was opposed to. Since all my well-researched arguments were falling on deaf ears, I finally decided to make fun sheets so that at least the children would have a fun way to study instead of just memorizing useless information. If you would have seen me at the time, you would have been concerned. I was like a possessed person, creating fun sheets for each study page, because I felt the injustice had to be rectified somehow, and this was the best I could do.

Teachers get frustrated and become sad. Frustrated because they know the child needs help. Sad because they really care. And they really don’t know what to do.

A frustrated and sad teacher often feels helpless and that leads to a feeling similar to burnout.

Burnout, however, implies that the problem is with the person feeling burned out. It implies that the person is tired, worn out, or can’t do the job anymore due to a deficit within themselves. Perhaps they are getting older, or they struggle with time management or classroom management, which impedes their ability to do the job well and it is taking its toll. Moral injury implies a person put in a broken system, a position that they are unable to help because of outside factors.

Moral injury is said to cause serious distress. Moral injury is asking a person, in this case, the teacher who wrote this letter, to go against her personal and professional values.

The nights I laid awake worrying about my struggling students would fill a library, but every teacher has a library of his or her own she can fill.

Parents, please reread the letter at the top of this page. Realize how much the teacher cares for and wants to work with you, not against you, for the benefit of your child. If your teacher is not reaching out, she might be suffering from too much rejection. Tell him/her that you want their advice. Show that you value their opinion. Explain why you are choosing a different path, not defensively, but because you are both in this together.

Teachers have to bring their hearts to the job. That is what drew them to teaching! Understand that they have only the best intentions, and try to work with them, not against them.

Most of all, make sure your children know how much you value their teachers. Teachers can make mistakes. Schools can make mistakes…but everyone makes mistakes. Value the humans in the institution you send your children to.

Teacher, remember that just caring and being in a child’s life for one year can make a tremendous difference to that student. Your belief in the child, your unconditional care, and your passion come through and make the world of a difference. Do your best and daven for the rest.

Hatzlacha, and thanks for writing in.

- Etti

Mrs. Etti Siegel holds an MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership and brings sound teaching advice to her audiences culled from her over 35 years of teaching and administrative experience. She is an Adjunct at the College of Mount Saint Vincent/Sara Shenirer. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning, is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country, and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher-mentoring program), Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She is a frequent contributor to Hamechanech Magazine and The Journal for Jewish Day School leaders. She will be answering your education-based questions and writing articles weekly for The Jewish Home. Mrs. Siegel can be reached at ettisiegel@gmail.com.

The Benefits of In-Season Produce

By Tehila Levine-Soskel, RDN, CDN

In today’s fast-paced world, processed foods often take center stage, although the importance of fresh produce should not be overlooked. Fruits and vegetables serve as nutritional powerhouses, with endless health benefits to our overall well-being. Whether it is to help strengthen and support our immunity to help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, consuming an abundance of produce in your diet offers endless benefits.

Consuming fresh produce provides a rich nutrient content. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants that are crucial for maintaining optimal health. For instance, vitamin C, found in citrus fruits and bell peppers, plays an essential part in wound healing and supporting our immune system. More so, spinach and kale are great sources of vitamin K, which is crucial for bone health and blood clotting. The fiber content in fruits and vegetables helps support the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, which helps maintain a healthy digestive system. Diets high in fiber have been linked to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.

Focusing on including a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables offers a wide array of phytonutrients. For example, lycopene, found in pink grapefruit, watermelon, and tomatoes, has been associated

Spring Salad Ingredients

Asparagus

Peas

Radishes

Feta cheese

Roasted chickpeas

Avocado

Mixed greens

Dressing Mix lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper together and pour over salad.

with lower risk of specific cancers. Moreover, the flavonoids in berries and dark leafy greens possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, helping protect cells from damage and reducing the risk of chronic diseases.

Studies have shown improved mental health and cognitive function in those with diets high in fruits and vegetables. Additionally, other studies have shown a positive association between a plant-rich diet and a reduced risk of anxiety and depression. The myriad antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in fruits and vegetables may help protect the brain from inflammation, helping to promote well-being.

With the warm weather approaching, you may find yourself reaching for a crisp apple or a sweet orange. Eating seasonal foods offers the foods at their peak of freshness as well as taste. You may be familiar with the term “seasonal eating,” which refers to eating food at its peak of freshness.

Consuming seasonal food offers many benefits such as more flavor, greater freshness and its nutritional value. These foods are purchased and consumed at the time of harvesting. Fruits and vegetables that are in season are often much more fresh since they are being transported more quickly to stores than out-of-season produce.

Here is a list of in-season produce for spring:

• Apples

• Apricots

• Asparagus

• Avocados

• Bananas

• Broccoli

• Cabbage

• Carrots

• Garlic

• Kale

• Kiwifruit

• Lemons

• Lettuce

• Limes

• Mushrooms

• Onions

• Peas

• Pineapples

• Radishes

• Rhubarb

• Spinach

• Strawberries

• Turnips

Foods go through a growing ctycle, and once the plant hits its peak, that food is harvested. Taking a trip to the farmers market is one of the best ways to find seasonal foods. If doing so isn’t optimal, you’ll still be able to identify it in the grocery section of the store. In season produce is usually lower priced and often on sale because of the high volume.

Each food has its own time that it is grown as well as harvested. For spring, there are some crops such as asparagus, spinach, radishes, and rhubarb that can

tolerate cold temperatures best. Melons, cucumbers, peppers, summer squash, and tomatoes and summer produce can thrive in warmer conditions.

Not only does eating seasonally offer the best flavor, but it also provides greater nutrition. Out -of-season produce is often harvested earlier, which results in nutrient losses and less flavor. However, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are actually harvested and packaged at their peak making them great options as well. More so, some frozen foods may even have increased nutrient levels after freezing.

Eating in-season provides many benefits. From providing more nutrients, better taste, as well as saving money. Filling your diets with in-season fruits and vegetables helps ensure you reap these benefits.

According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the recommendation for adults to eat fruits and vegetables is 1.5-2 cup equivalents of fruit and 2-3 cup equivalents of vegetables daily. Unfortunately, most individuals don’t meet the recommended amounts. The most important thing – more than focusing on eating in-season produce – is to try to meet the daily amounts of fruits and vegetables. The benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables can help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and heart disease.

In conclusion, the health benefits of eating fresh produce are undeniable. From helping strengthen immunity to promoting mental well-being and overall health, fruits and vegetables offer endless nutrients that are essential for our health. By consciously including more produce into your daily meals, you can help take proactive steps to your health and well-being.

Tehila Soskel is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a private practice in the Five Towns. She sees clients for weight loss, diabetes, and other various diseases. Appointments can be made for in-person or virtual sessions: 516-457-8558, tehilasoskelrd@gmail.com, tehilasoskelnutrition.com.

Emerging from Covid

By Sarah Chana Silverman, PhD

As I look back on my life in the last four Covid and post-Covid years, I can recognize both how things changed and remained the same compared to my life before. Baruch Hashem, no one in my family was seriously ill with Covid. In the first few weeks of March 2020, Covid struck my son’s family hard and quickly, after which my husband and I went into an extended period of sheltering alone.

I had already developed a work-athome schedule years before and could continue to work from home, Zooming daily. B”H, as a result, our income did not diminish. I could still talk on the phone to friends. We had frequent across-the-fence and 20-feet-away visits from my children and grandchildren who live in the neighborhood, which over time gradually increased and decreased in distance until they became our extended pod. I listened to 3 or 4 wonderful shiurim a week and practiced daily yoga on Zoom. By May, I was leaving my yard and taking up my walks in the morning on the beach. I like to read, which I could still do, thanks to the outdoor book pickup my local library initiated. Life seemed almost alright.

What was not alright was saying goodbye to my sister Lynn during Covid. Some five years before the pandemic, she had to go into a small assisted-living home in Los Angeles because of her increasing disability. When Covid hit, she became isolated from her family and all other social experience. Although the state of California did not mandate it, the facility had a strict no visitation policy, totally isolating all the residents there. Even from other residents. Everyone stayed in their own room, all the time. For myself, I planned to visit her in May 2020 along with one of her children. That trip was canceled. As were subsequent attempts to reschedule the trip.

Lynn did not do well in those months. She did not get Covid, but she was alone. For nearly eight months, her husband could not visit her daily as he had done; she could get no visits from her four children. The year before, my nephew,

her oldest son, recorded several hours of my memories of my sister as part of a family history project he was creating. During those Covid months, my nephew and l both used these stories to entertain her with vignettes of her early life. She enjoyed that, but phone calls were poor substitutes for real visits from her family.

Lynn was failing physically and mentally, no doubt exacerbated by the isolation of Covid. By the end of August, she was dying, and her family was finally allowed to visit her in the last few days of her life. All her children came and were able to enter her room through a private door. Because they were concerned about possibly infecting their father with Covid if they flew, they drove to Los Angeles. Baruch Hashem, her two children living out of town were close enough to make the long drive. Her husband worked closely with the local Chabad rabbi to ease her passing and her burial. I could not join them. Even if I had been willing to fly, I would not have been allowed into the facility where she was staying nor to the cemetery--immediate family only.

I attended her funeral on Zoom. I sat shiva alone for my sister, in my house with my husband, taking some phone calls, having Zoom shiva visits, and attending the nightly Zoom shiva minyanim in California organized during the pandemic by the synagogue my brother-in-law and sister attended for years.

These were important to me, but grief and isolation are not good companions. It took me literally years to overcome my deep sadness over Lynn’s death and the isolation that I felt throughout that whole time. Last August was my sister’s third yahrtzeit. I prepared pictures and stories that I shared with my family here in New York in person and via Zoom with my sister’s family the next day. As I shared what I had prepared with my family at our yahrtzei seudah, I was overcome with grief, and my heart responded by going into overdrive for some hours. I had been increasingly concerned by this reaction to grief and my doctor was also. I did not know how to overcome the protracted mourning which kept returning. I knew that I needed to change something.

Baruch Hashem, two months after Lynn’s yahrtzeit, as we started anew the annual cycle of the Torah, I heard Michal Horowitz give a moving Zoom shiur in the week of Parsha Chayei Sara, when she honored Liraz Assulin, Hy”d, one of the many women who were killed on October 7.

Quoting from Rashi and others, she taught several pesukim from Koheles, Chapter 3: “To everything is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven… A time to weep and a time to laugh, A time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Asks Rashi, what does it mean there a time for to cry? Tisha B’Av is the time to cry,

when we mourn for the destruction of the Temple in Yerushalayim. Says the Kli Yakar, Avraham cried at Sara’s burial because he felt as if his personal Bais HaMikdash was destroyed. He came to give hespadim for Sara and mourned for the destruction of our holy Temple, the Bais Hamikdash.

Continues Rashi, when is the time to laugh? We will not truly laugh until Hashem will return us to Tzion, and “our mouths will be filled with laughter.”

When is the time to mourn? In days of aveilus, when is the time to dance? At the chasunah of the chassan and kallah. When Sara died, Avraham mourned. But afterwards, there was a marriage between Yitzchak and Rivka, and we danced for the chosson and kallah.

Although I truly mourned for my sister and what, in my limited capacity, I remembered as the sorrow of her life and death, the time for mourning had passed. It was time for me to strengthen my bitachon that the Ribbono Shel Olam does good, has done good, and will do only good. Lynn’s life was part of Hashem’s plan for the ultimate good we will see with the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash and coming of Moshiach. May we see it speedily in our time.

It was like a lightbulb going off. My problem with my sister and my continued feelings that she died hard and too young were no longer appropriate, if they had ever been. It was my obligation to my family and myself to let it go. Gradually, I have started to do so over the last few months. Baruch Hashem, it has even changed my memories of her. I can focus on and remember the happiness she experienced in her life and the happiness we shared as children. Instead of further diminishing myself, I have grown, saying goodbye to Lynn.

JWOW! member Sarah Chana Silverman holds a PhD in Social Anthropology. She lives with her husband in Lawrence, NY. Her married children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren live nearby. She contributes to the Jewish community through her work at Shalom Task Force and writing about people that she loves.

In The K tchen

Lemon Ginger Chicken

By Naomi Nachman

I recently developed this recipe using Tuscanini’s lemon ginger jam. I served this to my guests on Friday night, and they loved it. I love that it took me five minutes to prepare!

Ingredients

◦ 8 pieces pargiyot (boneless, skinless chicken thighs)

◦ Salt and pepper, for seasoning

◦ 2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

◦ 2 jars Tuscanini Lemon Ginger Fruit Spread

◦ 1 teaspoon kosher salt

◦ 1 lemon, cut into 8 slices

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Place chicken in a large baking pan and season both sides with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze: In a small saucepan on low heat, add in two jars of jam, kosher salt, and oil and slowly heat till mixture becomes runny. Add in the lemon slices and cook on low for 10 minutes.

4. After the chicken is cooked, pour the glaze over the chicken, and bake for another 20 minutes. When serving, place a piece of lemon as a garnish on each piece of chicken.

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.

Boost Your Sales Game

This column features business insights from a recent “Mind Your Business with Yitzchok Saftlas” radio show. The weekly “Mind Your Business” show – broadcasting since 2015 – features interviews with Fortune 500 executives, business leaders and marketing gurus. Prominent guests include John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi; Dick Schulze, founder and Chairman Emeritus of Best Buy; and Beth Comstock, former Vice Chair of GE; among over 400+ senior-level executives and business celebrities. Yitzchok Saftlas, president of Bottom Line Marketing Group, hosts the weekly “Mind Your Business” show, which airs at 10pm every Sunday night on 710 WOR and throughout America on the iHeartRadio Network.

Since 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’ve assembled vital tips from five of the top sales experts that Yitzchok has had on the show.

go to dinner sometime.” That’s the attraction part. And in the sales world, if we don’t first Attract and go right to Engage, it’s as though we’re asking somebody to marry us without taking them out first. That’s one of the basic missteps in the world of sales.

The Attract and the Engage are my responsibility as a salesperson. That begs the question of who’s responsible for the “Compel”? If you look at the synonyms

you be able to say, “Hello, this is the title of my talk?” When given that opportunity, the majority of businesses would say something along the lines of, “Hello, we’ve been in business for 12 years. This is what we do to support our prospects and clients. This is the product or service that we provide. We’re great.” It’s all about me, myself, and I. And that will only get 3% of the marketplace. On the “Buyer’s Pyramid,” 3% of prospects

sides, it will lead your prospects to see you as the only logical conclusion.

That is what your core story does. It takes anybody that’s listening to you, grabs them with an intriguing story, and leads them to you as the only logical conclusion.

t h E Formul A F or c lo Sing

Attr Act, Eng AgE , A nd c ompE l

Dean Harder, Founder of H

Norm Trainor, Founder and CEO of The Covenant Group

So often in the world of sales, a salesperson leads with what they do and the services they provide. They start from the inside and work outward. But I’ve learned through my years of doing this that it’s better to start from the outside and work back in. The outside is what the prospect wants, what they’re after. If you’re a prospective client, in order for us to ever get to a point in the conversation where we’re syncing up on something that matters to you, you first have to be attracted in to even wanting to have a conversation with me. “Attract” really starts by understanding what it is the client wants. Once they lean in and go, “Wow, I had no idea about the things you’re telling me about,” that’s the tip that you’re ready to “Engage.”

If you were a single person who wanted to get married, you wouldn’t walk up to a stranger and say, “Hey, do you want to get married?” Instead, you would first say, “I’d love to buy you a cup of coffee or

The single most important determinant of whether someone will buy from you is whether you speak to what motivates them.

for compel, they’re actually negative words, like persuade or coerce. I don’t want to persuade or coerce you. However, I want you to become compelled to take an action that makes transformational changes in your life, regarding the products or services that we talk about. It’s not my job to literally compel you; it’s my job to help you see things that you don’t see.

Know Your c or E StorY

Amanda Holmes, CEO of Chet Holmes International

Let’s say that you were in a stadium full of your prospects. If I were to hand you a mic right now, would

are in the “buying now” category, 7% are open to it, 30% aren’t interested, the next 30% think they’re not interested, and the last 30% are definitely not interested. So, 90% of that stadium will get up and walk out as soon as you’ve started just talking about yourself. Your core story is a way of educating your prospects, no matter where they fall on the “Buyer’s Pyramid,” to join the “buying now” category, by using a blend of market data.

Our world has gotten so critical because of the internet. It’s hard for us to trust anything. That market data builds trust and gets you credibility through the logical side of science, which you can then back up with a story, because stories are what we remember. Our whole history is told in stories, so that we will remember it and retain it. With that blend of the logical and emotional

There is a simple formula to convert someone from a prospect into a client. That formula begins C (convert) = M (motivation). The single most important determinant of whether someone will buy from you is whether you speak to what motivates them. People are motivated to do what they’re motivated to do. Essentially, C = M + the clarity of your value proposition. You have to be able to explain in a simple and compelling manner how you can help them achieve what’s important to them.

But here’s the other consideration, C = M + the clarity of your value proposition – A (anxiety). People usually get blocked in terms of decision making when they experience anxiety. Anxiety is blocked excitement. Now, usually a buying decision makes us anxious when we have “buyer beware” messages. We have this fear of making a mistake. We beat ourselves up when we make a mistake and think we have exercised poor judgment. One of the things you have to

help people do is to stay in touch with their excitement and not have that convert to anxiety.

The key is managing the before, during, and after of getting to “yes” that much more quickly.

FocuS Your E FF ort S

Adam Lieberman, President of Lieberman Training

Many times, when a salesperson starts, they’re doing 12 different things. They’re getting engaged with the customer, getting the order, following up on the shipment, dealing with complaints, filling out paperwork, following up with the billing department, etc. Salespeople are often doing a lot of activities during the course of the day that don’t involve selling. The first thing I tell people who want to grow their sales teams is that if you have a top producer – let’s call him Charlie –

don’t find another Charlie, just make Charlie more productive. Have Charlie do more things that actually bring in revenue and create sales. It’s the 80/20 rule. Typically, 80% of your time or effort will bring in 20% of something. And vice versa, 20% of effort will bring in 80% of something. A lot of times a salesperson will find he spends 20% of his time on sales and 80% on non-sales related activities. So, the key is bringing in other people for customer service, billing, posting orders, etc. Make Charlie more effective, more productive, by focusing solely on sales.

lEAving A Strong voic E m A il

Ron Karr, Author and Sales Expert

Don’t let getting sent to voicemail deter you from making a sale. You can still leave a great message to entice your prospects into calling

you back. Remember, the goal of a great voicemail is not to actually make the sale, but to get the recipient to call you back. The key is to be customer-focused. Don’t lead with self-focused things like your name or your company. Even talking about the deals you are offering can come off as self-focused. Let’s say, for example, you’re a car salesman. A strong, customer-focused way to start would be, “Hi [insert their name], I just want to talk to you about some innovative ways we can get you into your next driving experience. Can you give me a call?” The focus is on their experience. I’ll give you another example. I was once hired by a big medical imaging company that was making the transition to filmless imaging equipment. One of the regional managers at this company had a return call rate on her voicemail messages of about 10%. Her typical voicemail to radiologists would go along the lines of, “Hi, this is so-andso from such-and-such. Please give me a call back. I want to talk to you about X.” No one would call her back. So, I worked with her, and we changed her voicemail to, “Hi, I want to talk to you about how you can stop getting woken up by doc -

tors in the middle of the night due to lost X-rays. Please give me a call.” Her return phone call rate went up to 60%. It’s all because she immediately talked about something that connected to their experience.

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

It is unfortunate that, you know, from time to time, things will happen.

- Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) when asked about a horrific crime committed by an illegal migrant against a young girl in Massachusetts

I’m not delusional. This will be very hard to do, but it’s not impossible. My hope is to have Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and then Literally Anybody Else right underneath.

- Dustin Ebey, of Texas, who legally changed his name to “Literally Anybody Else” and launched a campaign for president, in an interview with a Texas news station

Apple has locked its consumers into the iPhone while locking its competitors out of the market.

— Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announcing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that stifles competition and keeps prices artificially high

Chuck Todd was a Dem staffer.

Tim Russert was a Dem staffer.

George Stephanopoulos was a senior Dem WH staffer.

Jen Psaki was a senior Dem WH staffer.

But, NBC hired a Republican??!!?!

- Tweet by Sen. Ted Cruz (R0TX) responding to the liberal mutiny about NBC hiring former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel

I think the president is worried about losing Minnesota and Michigan. He’s getting a lot of pressure from the pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party.

- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on ABC News’ “This Week”

Well, there is a peculiar kind of Jew over there. A Jew who in many ways shows sympathy and inclination to the nationalist spirit that has permeated the leadership of the Kyiv regime.

- The Kremlin’s spokesman in response to a question about how Zelensky, who is Jewish, may be linked to the ISIS attack last weekend in Moscow

I am ruling out nothing.

- Vice Pres. Kamala Harris, when asked if Israel can “face consequences” from the U.S. by going into Rafah, in order to defeat Hamas

It will happen even if Israel is forced to fight alone. Even if the entire world turns on Israel, including the United States, we’re going to fight until the battle’s won.

- Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in a recent interview promising that Israel will go into Rafah

Hard disagree. Israel has the right to prosecute Hamas to surrender or to be eliminated. Hamas owns every innocent death for their cowardice hiding behind Palestinian lives.

– Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) responding to Harris’s comments

[Hamas] know they can’t defeat Israel militarily, so what they’re saying is, “OK, we just committed this incredible act of barbarity. We’re the darlings of the terrorist world. Now can we survive? We’re not going to survive if Israel completes this war. The only way we can survive is if America stops Israel from completing the war. So right now, they’ve got a few battalions left in Rafah and they’ve got their leadership still intact. So now they’re watching Biden and they’re saying to themselves, “This guy’s going to stop Israel, and if this guy stops Israel, we’re going to survive. We don’t have to pay that high a price to survive.”

The price of the hostages goes up and the risk of a bad outcome goes up. No one’s paying attention to Biden more than Hamas, and he’s sending them exactly the wrong signals.

- Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman in an interview with Arutz Sheva

What I saw October 7 was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. You have to finish up your war, and I am sure you will do that. You have to get the job done to get on to a normal life for Israel, and for everybody else.

- Donald Trump in an interview with Israel Hayom

I would act very much the same way as you did. You would have to be crazy not to. Only a fool would not do that. That was a horrible attack.

- Ibid.

I love all people, including Jewish people. The majority of my agency/ marketing team are Jewish, and I talk to them almost every day. You probably just took what I said the wrong way but what I said was meant to be a good thing.

- Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner after people were offended that he quipped to a Jewish podcaster that “y’all run the world,” before jokingly adding “y’all got to see how they walk through the airport with that [yarmulka] on the side of their head and that…don’t fall off”

Well, back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I wish I’d have had an interpreter. I’d be scot-free.

- Baseball great Pete Rose, who was banned from baseball for betting, insinuating that the recent scandal involving Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter gambling on games is much deeper and likely involves Ohtani himself, whose interpreter is just the “fall guy”

Donald Trump has gotten a break yet again from the undemocratic judicial system. An appeals court in New York reduced Trump’s bond from $454 million to $175 million. That is a privilege in action.

- From an article on radical-left website Daily Kos, titled, “Rich White Man Privilege Prevails,” bemoaning the reduction of the bond that Trump has to pay to appeal a judgment of a case that even many Trump haters admit was purely politically motivated

Honestly, this is so infuriating… We have decided that he gets his own private court of justice. He has a private plane, he has private clubs that he lives in. He basically has fashioned himself his own private militia to try to take over the Capitol. Now he’s getting his own private system of justice.

- MSNBC contributor Tristan Snell responding to Trump’s bond being lowered

To this Council, Israeli blood is cheap. This is a travesty and I’m disgusted.

- Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan after the U.N. passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire even though it has yet to pass a resolution condemning Hamas’s holding of hostages, which is a war crime

I’ve been voting Democrats since 1960. This is the first time that I am thinking of not voting for them. I can’t vote for them, because that is a vote against Israel.

- Alan Dershowitz, in an interview with Channel 12 News

If Ukraine Falls, It Will Be the GOP’s Afghanistan

House Republicans hammered President Biden last week for his catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and rightly so – it was one of the worst foreign policy calamities in American history. But if Republicans cut off U.S. military aid to Ukraine, they will precipitate an equally disastrous foreign policy debacle – and they will own it in the same way that Biden owns the exit from Afghanistan.

The heart-wrenching images of Taliban forces marching into Kabul as desperate Afghans fled are seared into the minds of the American people. They have formed an indelible stain on Biden’s reputation. Before Kabul fell in August 2021, his approval rating had never dipped below 50 percent. Afterward, the floor fell out from under him – and he never recovered. The botched withdrawal was the tipping point after which many Americans decided Biden was incompetent.

Republicans should look at the damage the fall of Kabul did to Biden’s good name and imagine what the fall of Kyiv would do to theirs.

Already, their delays in new aid have tilted the battlefield in Russia’s favor. Last year, Russia made no military gains on the ground, whereas Ukraine succeeded in wiping out nearly one-third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet by the end of this January. But as aid has stalled on Capitol Hill, Russia has started taking territory again. If the Republican-controlled House doesn’t pass military aid soon, Ukrainians will start to run out of key weapons systems – and Russia will start making major advances on the ground this year.

Knowing that Kyiv’s stockpiles are running dry, Russia is preparing an offensive to start when the ground dries in late spring. Right now, U.S.-provided HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) hold Russian forces at a distance. But if those missiles, as well

By Marc A. Thiessen

as small-arms ammunition and 155mm artillery shells, are not replenished, Russia will begin to break through Ukrainian defenses.

Today, U.S. air defense systems keep Russian bombers out of the sky and allow Ukrainian forces to shoot down Russia’s drones and missiles. But if Ukraine runs out of missile defense interceptors, Russian planes will be able to bomb Ukrainian front-line positions with impunity. They will also be able to attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, plunging Ukrainian cities into darkness and crippling the nation’s economy. Then, they will almost certainly start carpet-bombing Ukrainian cities, forcing Ukraine to use its dwindling supply of interceptors to defend its civilian population and leaving its front lines exposed.

Eventually, as the interceptors run out, the civilian population will be left defenseless. Imagine the sight of manned Russian bombers flying over Ukrainian cities and devastating them. The result would be a humanitarian catastrophe. Russia would inflict civilian casualties on a scale unseen in Europe since World War II, intentionally targeting schools,

hospitals and residential buildings to break Ukraine’s will. (If you doubt it, just look at Russia’s brutal targeting and massacre of civilians during its barbaric 2016 air campaign in Aleppo, Syria.) A massive wave of refugees would begin fleeing the country, further demolishing the economy.

With air superiority, Russia could target not just Ukraine’s population and civilian infrastructure but also its domestic defense industry. Ukrainian-produced weapons such as the MAGURA V5 sea drone have been used (along with U.S.-made long-range anti-ship missiles) to smash Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet and force the Russian navy to withdraw from Crimean ports and Ukrainian territorial waters. This has allowed Ukraine to resume grain exports, which are critical to its economy. But if Ukraine runs out of anti-ship capabilities, Russian naval forces will return - allowing them to target the critical port city of Odessa, cut off grain shipments and target civilian populations in western Ukraine, who will be newly exposed because of the depletion of Ukraine’s air defenses.

While Ukraine would not likely fall

this year, the conditions would be set for a Russian victory in 2025 – just as (Republicans hope) Donald Trump takes office. So, Ukraine’s catastrophic collapse could well happen on the GOP’s watch, not Biden’s. Imagine the outrage as stunned Americans watch Russian forces marching into Kyiv, slaughtering and pillaging as they did in Bucha at the start of the war. Whom do Republicans think Americans would hold responsible for the atrocities playing out on their screens?

Indeed, the political repercussions in many ways would be worse this time. At least in Afghanistan, Biden could argue that the time had come to pull U.S. troops out of harm’s way. But in Ukraine, there are no U.S. troops in harm’s way. Republicans would have abandoned Ukraine not to save American lives but to save money. That might not be as popular a decision as they think when Americans are seeing the lifeless bodies of Ukrainian women and children on their televisions.

What about the possibility of letting Europe make up for these weapons shortfalls? The simple answer is: Europeans don’t have the stockpiles to do so. “Only the U.S. has the available stocks of ammunition, armored vehicles and their ammunition, and air defense interceptors to affect the trajectory of the conflict dramatically over the coming weeks and months,” says Fred Kagan, the director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, where I’m a senior fellow.

Here’s the bottom line: Without U.S. aid, Putin’s forces will begin marching toward Kyiv and Ukraine will become the next Afghanistan. So for Republicans, a time for choosing has arrived: Unless you want to be blamed for the fall of Kyiv the way Biden is blamed for the fall of Kabul, send military aid to Ukraine.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer’s obscene call on the Senate floor last Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ouster from power was the latest sign that Hamas’s strategy is working.

On the “Caroline Glick Show” this week, U.S. Military Academy professor Col. John Spencer, who chairs West Point’s Urban Warfare Studies Program, explained that the terrorist organization’s plan for victory is a concerted political-military strategy.

Hamas, he said, knew that the Israeli Defense Forces would respond in force to its Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel. “They wanted Israel’s counterattack, and then they wanted to hold in the tunnels and use the hostages just to buy time for the international community – namely, the United States – to stop the IDF in their operations.

“Their only goal is to survive.… It’s all about time. They want to survive Israel’s attack against them, which gives them immense political power. If they survive in any way, they have strategically won the war,” said Spencer.

Hamas didn’t invent this approach. This has been the Palestinians’ strategy for defeating Israel since at least the 1982 First Lebanon War. In that conflict, the PLO relied on the United States to force Israel to permit the PLO to survive to fight another day, by leaving Lebanon for Tunisia.

The Palestinians clearly identified Israel’s greatest strategic vulnerabilities and built their strategy around them.

Its first vulnerability is its Jewishness. Israel is the Jew of the international community. As such, it is continuously scapegoated, just as Jews have been scapegoated throughout history. The United States is the only powerful nation that has ever been willing to stand up to international bigotry against the Jewish state. So the only thing needed to collapse Israel’s international position is for America to turn against it.

This goes double for military capabilities. Since 1973, Israel’s ability to keep its

Israel Today

Israel’s Strategic Game of Survival

By Caroline B. Glick

military operating during a war has been dependent on U.S. resupply. The Palestinians reason that if their many friends can convince Washington not to supply Israel with weapons in wartime, then their terrorist forces will survive.

Since all the Palestinian terrorists need to do to win is survive, their strategic aces in the hole are antisemitism and time.

Today, all aspects of U.S. policy regarding the Hamas war against Israel in Gaza and the larger Iranian-directed war to destroy the Jewish state are aligned with the Palestinian strategy.

The Biden administration’s insistence that Israel permit unlimited quantities of food, water, fuel, medicine and other goods to enter the Gaza Strip ensures that Hamas will maintain its control over the population.

America’s threats to end its military resupply have forced Israel to slow down its operations in Gaza in the interest of conserving ammunition.

Biden’s demand that Israel not conquer Rafah – Hamas’s last conventional holdout, where a quarter of its original forces and its military leadership are holed down – is a demand that Israel allow Hamas to survive with its leader -

ship and that part of its “army” intact. In other words, it is a demand that Israel not only allow Hamas to survive but that Israel permits it to end the war with a victory parade.

Likewise, the administration’s obsessive focus on building a Palestinian state – one that under all circumstances will be dominated by Hamas – and its opposition to continued Israeli military control over Gaza after the war indicates that not only is the administration opposed to an Israeli victory, it seeks a Palestinian victory.

As Spencer explained, in prosecuting the war to date, Israel has managed to do the impossible. It has waged the war successfully on the tactical level despite the massive obstacles the Biden administration has placed against its operations at every turn.

Israel’s tactical prowess owes to the fact that the IDF is a citizens’ army. As such, it is able to tap into the unique skills of all sectors of Israeli society. For instance, in the weeks leading up to the ground invasion, the so-called Hilltop Youth – young men who live in isolated communities in Judea and Samaria – appeared at the mobilization base outside Gaza with their welding tools and metal beams. They fitted APCs and tanks with

steel canopies that protected them from RPGs and other armor-piercing projectiles. No one called them up to help. They just arrived. And their efforts saved the lives of countless soldiers.

Similarly, a high-tech engineer called up to reserve duty developed a drone capable of operating inside the tunnels. Cross-industry collaboration with the IDF led to the immediate production of the drones for deployment in the tunnels – to great effect. One of the IDF’s tactical innovations that most impressed Spencer was its success in turning Hamas’s tactical advantage – its tunnels – into a disadvantage by learning to fight inside them.

“This Is a Conventional War”

Since Israel first bore out the accuracy of the Palestinians’ strategic assessment of its weaknesses by standing down in the face of U.S. pressure in Beirut in 1982, Jerusalem has opted to avoid the strategic contest altogether and focused on achieving tactical advantage across time. Its tactical successes enabled life to go on in Israel as the Palestinian war against it festered.

The situation wasn’t desirable. Over the decades, the Palestinian-led political war in the international arena against Israel’s right to exist constantly escalated in scale and destructive capacity.

But on a day-to-day level, Israel prospered. Given the sharp differences of opinion among Israelis over the strategic goals vis-à-vis the Palestinians, by limiting the battle to the tactical arena, Israeli society remained unified sufficiently to fight limited wars in Gaza, as well as limited operations in Judea and Samaria.

The clash in Israel revolved around Israelis’ perception of Palestinian goals. Israelis on the left believed Palestinian demands were limited, and therefore, it would be possible to peacefully coexist if Israel appeased them by withdrawing from Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and giving them a state.

Israelis on the right believed Palestinian demands were unlimited, and that therefore, Israel must have the national

and strategic means to defeat them as a military and political threat by retaining perpetual control of Judea and Samaria and granting the Palestinians limited autonomy.

The military scope and genocidal nature of Hamas’s assault on Israel on Oct. 7 did two things. First, it settled the argument between left and right. Domestic support for Palestinian statehood dried up. Depending on the poll, between twothirds and 85% of Israelis (including Israeli Arabs) now oppose Palestinian statehood.

Oct. 7 also ended Israel’s ability to suffice with tactical successes and avoid a strategic victory. Hamas’s strike was strategic. The dimensions of its slaughter and the jubilation with which it was greeted across Palestinian society mean that nothing short of total victory will suffice to ensure Israel’s survival.

Unfortunately, the Biden administration and its Democratic Party refuse to understand the strategic stakes. Spencer explained that the West – and specifically, the United States – will not acknowledge two fundamental facts about the war. First, this is a conventional war, not a counterterror operation. Hamas is not merely a terrorist organization. It is a large, fortified army that began the war with 30,000 soldiers organized in specialized, well-trained units operating under a unified command.

To understand the nature of the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, “you really have to go back to World War II-style battles,” said Spencer.

“Defense is always the strongest form of warfare.… Hamas has had 15-plus years to build defensive positions.… Yes, they don’t have an air force. They don’t have armor and tanks. They’re mostly light infantry. But they’re in probably the most defensive terrain that could ever be created. They’re in literally bomb-proof bunkers underneath every house.… It’s 400 miles of tunnels that range from 15 feet to 300 feet underground where no military munition can reach.”

The IDF, Spencer noted, “has lots of drones and things above, but you can’t see through concrete. You can’t see underneath the buildings. It’s an immense defensive capability, but also the rocket supply. The fact that Hamas has launched over 12,000 rockets at Israel’s civilian sites – every one of them a war crime – is part of their combat power.… The fact that they’re sitting in their defensive positions, waiting for attack and have been planning for that for 15 years means it doesn’t really matter how big

the IDF is or how powerful they are.”

The second fundamental feature of Hamas’s war against Israel that the United States refuses to acknowledge is that Hamas’s Oct. 7 operation was not a terrorist attack. “They did terrorist things, but that was a full division-level invasion of a nation, of Israel,” and “while Hamas is a

stabilize Israel politically and replace Netanyahu with his chief rival Benny Gantz, whom they believe will agree to capitulate and accept the formation of a Palestinian state. Minister-without-Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar’s decision on Tuesday to ditch Gantz’s party and take his faction’s four Knesset seats into the coali-

Since all the Palestinian terrorists need to do to win is survive, their strategic aces in the hole are antisemitism and time.

terrorist organization, it’s also an army.”

The terrorists that carried out the slaughter that day didn’t “penetrate” Israel, like a suicide bomber who explodes himself in a crowded cafe. Hamas operatives invaded Israel with thousands of well-trained, heavily armed terror forces organized as light infantry and artillery units. Their goals were to seize whole communities, military bases and villages, and enact a pre-meditated plan of sadistic slaughter, gang [assault], seizure of hostages of all ages, seizure of strategic targets, and, if possible, the holding of territory within Israel. The ground invasion was synchronized with a massive missile and drone strike, in addition to a cyberattack against first-response systems and other critical infrastructure.

Three Things Israel Must Do to Win

Israel’s mini-war (“Operation Protective Edge”) against Hamas in 2014 ended with a tactical victory and strategic stalemate. Ten years ago, Netanyahu was able to withstand the Obama-Biden administration’s demand that Israel capitulate and enable Hamas to win a strategic victory by mobilizing the support of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which opposed Hamas.

Fearing Hamas’s mastermind Iran –and in light of the U.S.’s determination to enable a Hamas victory to empower Iran – today the moderate Arab states are unwilling to stick their necks out. In the absence of Sunni support, Israel is compelled to stand alone against the United States.

To win, Israel must do three things. First, it must remain politically stable. Schumer’s broadside from the Senate floor was just the latest salvo in an allout effort by the administration to de -

tion speaks to the near-consensus view in Israel that Netanyahu is the only leader that will fight to victory despite U.S. opposition. On Wednesday, a Direct Polls survey showed that U.S. hostility has strengthened Netanyahu and the right. Netanyahu leads Gantz 47% to 37% in public support. His right-religious bloc of parties (including Sa’ar) is polling a 62-seat Knesset majority to Gantz’s leftist bloc of parties’ 48 seats.

The second thing Israel must do is

mobilize U.S. public opinion on behalf of its goal of achieving strategic victory by eradicating Hamas and maintaining its security control over Gaza for the foreseeable future. According to last month’s Harvard-Harris poll. Americans support Israel against Hamas 82% to 18%. Netanyahu opened a campaign this week to secure public support with a slew of interviews to the American media and his speech to AIPAC’s annual convention.

Schumer’s hysterical attempts to walk his remarks back amid a furious storm of criticism from all quarters revealed that pro-Israel public opinion remains a factor in American politics.

Finally, Israel must conquer Rafah in defiance of Biden’s red line and do so as quickly as possible.

As the weeks and months pass, and Election Day in America draws nearer, if Israel remains politically stable, if the IDF continues its brilliant fight in Gaza and if U.S. opinion remains supportive, just as Israel has turned Hamas’s tactical advantages into its own, it will turn the Palestinian U.S.-centered strategy on its head. For once, time will work in Israel’s favor, and Israel will win the strategic victory it needs to secure its survival. (JNS)

As the United States was entering World War II in late 1941, there wasn’t much of an American spy network from which they could send agents to far-off locations. The Office of Strategic Services was created by Colonel William Donovan, a World War I hero and Wall Street lawyer. He was tasked by President Roosevelt to recruit men and women for the agency that would be used in many roles including intelligence gathering, propaganda, espionage, subversion, sabotage and post-war planning.

About 13,000 men and women served with the OSS and were sent to places like Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific. One of these agents seemed to be an unlikely candidate to be sent into Nazi-held Europe. Fredrick Mayer was a Jewish OSS agent and was tasked with a very important mission in Austria that ended with the surrender of an entire town.

Mayer was born in Freiburg, Germany. His father was a decorated World War I veteran who had served in the German Army. Many Jews who had been in the Imperial German Army thought they would escape Nazi persecution, but they were wrong. When he was seventeen, Mayer and his family moved to the United States, settling in New York.

Forgotten Her es Operation Greenup

By Avi Heiligman

Mayer worked many jobs, including as a mechanic for companies such as Ford and General Motors. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, many Americans – including Fredrick Mayer – signed up with the military. Mayer’s personality didn’t really match up well with military doctrine. During training, he excelled in several areas like marksmanship, infiltration, raiding, and hand-to-hand combat, but

ish Dutch refugee named Hans Winjberg. Hans was born in Amsterdam and fled to New York with his twin brother. Another brother of his and his parents were killed by the Nazis. Hans joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and was recruited by the OSS. Soon, Mayer and Hans were sent to North Africa and then to Bari, Italy, to prepare for their mission. Operation Greenup was led by Mayer, with Hans serving as the radio operator. The third man in their group

Mayer had achieved the incredible. German forces surrendered without a fight to a Jewish spy originally from Germany who was only an enlisted soldier.

he was fiercely independent. His unique set of skills combined with his personality and knowledge of German, French and Spanish caught the eyes of OSS personnel. They were looking for misfits in the army, and Mayer was a perfect candidate.

There were other Jewish men in Mayer’s OSS training class, including a Jew-

was Franz Weber. Franz had served with the Wehrmacht, the German military, and had seen the Nazis’ cruelty against the Jews up close. In late 1944, he took the drastic step of defecting to the Allies and was assigned to the OSS as part of Mayer’s operation. Being from the area that they were to operate from, Franz was

to serve as the group’s guide.

Operation Greenup began on February 26, 1945 when the trio parachuted into the Austrian Alps. They had to walk in deep snow to reach Franz’s family who gave them shelter, food and protection. Then they got to work transmitting vital information back to American headquarters. The U.S. Army at that time was advancing into Austria and needed information on the Brenner Pass that bordered northern Italy and southern Austria. There were also rumors that hardened Nazis were gathering in the area to stage a last stand for the Third Reich. In reality, there was no such last stand being prepared, and Mayer relayed this and other important information back to headquarters. The team also recruited other resistance operatives, instigated acts of sabotage against the enemy, and accurately transmitted German troop movements.

Mayer’s cover was so convincing that he was able to stay in the German officer’s barracks in Innsbruck for several months. He then switched covers and posed as a French electrician fleeing the Russian troops. Using this disguise, he infiltrated a Messerschmitt factory. Among the information he relayed back to American lines was details used by the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force in air raids of German

Franz Weber, Hans Wijnberg, and Fred Mayer

supply lines and ordinance facilities.

However, his cover was blown when one of the men that he worked with was arrested and told the Gestapo that he knew of a high-ranking American officer working as a spy. Mayer was brought in and at first tried to keep his cover story that he was a French electrician. The Gestapo then brought in the person who betrayed Mayer, and he started speaking German. Mayer was then brutally beaten but would not give up the names and locations of Hans and Franz. Throughout the terrible beating, it never occurred to the Gestapo that their prisoner was Jewish, because if they had, Mayer probably would not have survived.

As he was being tortured, another American agent was being interrogated by the Gestapo. Hermann Matull was shown a picture of Mayer and was asked if he knew him. Matull replied that Mayer was a big shot American commander and that anyone that mistreated him would be shot by American forces once they controlled the area. He also said that Mayer could only be interrogated by the German commander in the area, Franz Hofer. Matull knew that Hofer was looking for a way to surrender to the Americans and not the Russians. Hofer was now

convinced that Mayer was the guy to talk to and demanded that he be brought to him for interrogation.

Hofer invited Mayer for dinner and introduced him to Rudolph Rahn, the German ambassador the Mussolini’s government. During their meeting, Hofer and Mayer agreed tpthe peaceful surrender of Innsbruck. Mayer was still not convinced that Hofer did not want to know the loca-

tion of his radio operator. Instead of using his radio operator to send a message to the OSS, Mayer gave a message to Rahn to be delivered to the OSS in Bern, Switzerland. The OSS top man in Bern, Allen Dulles, then reported, “Fred Mayer reports he is in Gestapo hands but cabled, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m really not bad off.’”

Soldiers from the American 103 rd Infantry Division neared Innsbruck on

May 3, 1945. A car approached waving a white flag. Mayer got out of the vehicle and introduced himself as Lt. Mayer of the OSS. Major Bland West was then told by the swollen-faced Mayer that the Germans in the town were ready to surrender and only later found out that Mayer was a sergeant. Mayer had achieved the incredible. German forces surrendered without a fight to a Jewish spy originally from Germany who was only an enlisted soldier. For his actions during the operation, Mayer was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart and the Prisoner of War Medal and was recommended for the Medal of Honor.

After the war, the OSS was disbanded with a few of the departments dispersed to other agencies. In 1947, the CIA was founded, thus fulfilling Donavan’s dream of a peacetime intelligence service. The success that Mayer and his team achieved in the last few months of the war 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.

The 103rd Infantry Division of the US Army in Innsbruck in May 1945

Your TJH Purim Photo Album

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classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

SERVICES

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Servicing Washers , Dryers , Refrigerators , Dishwasher, stoves

All work guaranteed. Call 718 3762288

MY MOTTO IS DON’T WAIT TO buy real estate

Buy real estate and wait Your realtor for life 516-784-0856 Alexandra at Realty Connect USA

PEACEFUL PRESENCE STUDIO

Men’s private yoga, Licensed Massage & Holistic Health Guidance

436 Central Ave, Cedarhurst Info. & free video training www.peacefulpresence.com 516-371-3715

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FULL SERVICE MOVING

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Local Long Distance. Licensed Insured 1000’S Of Happy Customers Call Shalom 347-276-7422

HANDYMAN AVAILABLE

For big or small jobs, Sheetrock, carpentry, painting, electrical, plumbing, install & repair appliances Call Ephraim at 347-593-4691

VACUUM SALES AND REPAIR

All areas call Max Flam 718-444-4904

MANAGEMENT STAFF WILL ASSIST

you with: * Obtaining Medicaid and Pooled Income Trust

* In-home Assessments, Individual and Family Counseling

* Securing reliable home care assistance

* Case and Care Management services

Dr. S. Sasson, DSW, LCSW (718) 544- 0870 or (646) 284-6242

HAIR COURSE:

Learn how to wash & style hair & wigs. Hair and wig cutting, wedding styling Private lessons or in a group Call Chaya 718-715-9009

ZEVIZZ WOODTURNING JUDAICA  Challah knifes, batei mezuzah, besamim holder, kiddish cups, havdalah candle holders, yad for sefer torah, pens, stenders, bowls and more  952-356-2228

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

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

HOUSES FOR SALE HOUSES FOR SALE

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

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-in-ready 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 welllandscaped 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

WOODMERE

New to the market renovated 3 bedroom 2 full bathroom ranch home with a full finished basement in the heart of Woodmere, sd#15, on a lot size 90x118, gas heat, central air conditioning, garage, new windows, roof, siding, appliances, lighting, kitchen and bathrooms. Eat in kitchen with 2 sinks, 2 dishwashers, double oven, island, lots of cabinets and storage. Spacious renovated basement with lots of storage, washer dryer and utilities, minutes to the railroad, shopping and 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!

LAWRENCE

New to the market 5 bedroom 3.5 bathrooms prime location with a lot size 77x130 features an eat-inkitchen, formal dining room , main floor den , formal living room with vaulted ceilings, finished basement, 2 car garage, gas heat, central air conditioning, in ground sprinkler, alarm call for more details.

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, MARCH 31 12-3:30PM • 218 JUNIPER CIRCLE S

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

NORTH WOODMERE

Meticulously maintained fourbedroom, two-bathroom home on an expansive corner. Main floor: entrance foyer, generously sized bedroom, a full bath, attached two-car garage. On the next level: sophisticated formal living room with cathedral ceilings, eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, sleek black banisters, hardwood floors. Third floor: master suite, two additional bedrooms, and another full bath. Lower level: cozy den with brick fireplace, laundry facilities, ample storage space, and utilities. New heating system, central air conditioning, custom closets throughout, inground sprinkler system. Conveniently located near parks, shopping centers, and houses of worship, and situated within SD#15 with low taxes. 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

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443-929-4003 HOUSES FOR SALE HOUSES FOR 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

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. Highend finishes, premium flooring, and custom details throughout.

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, MARCH 31 11-1:00PM • 222 WALKER PL. 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

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

1st showing spacious bright and sunny 5 bedroom 3 full bathrooms in school district 15. Features an expanded gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, 2 sinks, double oven, warming drawer, great counter space, central air conditioning, gas heat, 2 of the bathrooms are new, hardwood floors, recessed lighting, in ground sprinkler, gas line for the barbeque, 2 car garage and minutes to all.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker

Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

WOODMERE

Introducing a stunning 14-side hall colonial home in the Hewlett Woodmere School District. Formal living room, formal dining room, den with a skylight. Eat in Kitchen, two sinks, a double oven, a warming draw and a microwave. First floor bedroom, a full bathroom and laundry room. Two-car garage. Upper level has four bedrooms, two full bathrooms. Finished basement with playroom, storage and utilities. Well-groomed exterior with porch adjoining the master bedroom. Hardwood floors and back patio. Central air conditioning, inground sprinkler system, alarm system. Close proximity to schools, shopping centers, restaurants, and transportation options.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HOUSES FOR SALE

NORTH WOODMERE

New to the market magnificent 5 bedroom 3 full bathroom split level.

Bright & sunny, living room with vaulted ceilings, formal dining room, eat-in-kitchen, den with fireplace, sunroom, 2 car garage, gas heating, central air conditioning, master bedroom with en-suite, hardwood floors, in ground sprinkler system, plus so much more.

Mark Lipner Associate Broker

Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

LAWRENCE

359A Central Av Lawrence  1 bedroom apartment, elevator building, eat-in kitchen, full bath, hardwood floors, plenty of closet space. Ceiling fan in bedroom & kitchen, laundry room in the basement. Close to the railroad, shopping, and houses of worship. $179k Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

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 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

Classifieds

APT./COOP/CONDO SALE APT./COOP/CONDO SALE

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. $130K Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HEWLETT

Totally renovated 1 and 2 Bedroom, Apartments with washer/dryer, kitchen with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances. Recessed lighting, hardwood floors, storage in basement. Close to RR, shopping, and houses of worship. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457

mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

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

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

LAWRENCE JUST LISTED

This amazing two-bedroom two full bathroom condo Features a luxurious lifestyle in the beautiful city of Lawrence. What more could you ask for? The building has a 24-hour doorman and elevator access, with a social room, library, washer/dryer inside the unit, and terrace. Plus, the added benefit of having a live-in super to ensure maximum safety and security! And don’t forget about your new kitchen complete with a gas stove, refrigerator, microwave, and even two dishwashers! The living room and dining room are spacious and have recessed lighting installed throughout. Both bedrooms feature lots of closet space for storage. To top it off, there’s even garage parking available to make your life just that much easier! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Please call for a private showing Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

LAWRENCE

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

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 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

APT./COOP/CONDO RENT

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

3 BEDROOM BELLE HARBOR BEACH

Community, 3 blocks from beach, 1200 sq.ft.  2 family home, separate entrance,  renovated, spacious 3 bedroom,  2 bath, EIK, stainless steel appliances, dishwasher, w/d, 6 closets, deck, summer parking. Heat & water incl. Pay g&e $3600

NEPONSIT REALTY GERI LISPSMAN, BROKER 917 751 8476

CEDARHURST

1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, totally renovated private entrance , central air conditioning, hardwood floors, washer/dryer, garage parking, dishwasher, recessed lighting, private playground, close to railroad, park, shopping and houses of worship. Call for more details

Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457  mlipner@bhhslaffey.com

HEWLETT

Welcome To Luxury Living in The Heart of Hewlett! This Spacious 2 Bedroom, 2 Full Bathroom Condo Boasts in Unit Separate Laundry For Ultimate Convenience. Enjoy Lovely Courtyard Views from Your Private Terrace. With Elevator Access and A Doorman, Experience The Epitome Of Comfort In This Prestigious Building. Mark Lipner Associate Broker Berkshire Hathaway Laffey International 516-298-8457 mlipner@ bhhslaffey.com

COMMERCIAL REAL ESATATE

1500SF LOFT OFFICE

(formerly Shmuel Flaum Architect)

2 store/offices; ~600sf each 2 Cedarhurst offices; ~100sf each Starting at $650

Also… Large Parking Lot & Storage available Utilities, Internet & Parking incl. with some Kosher kitchen – Minyan

Next to LIRR - No broker fee

Call/text/Whatsapp:  516-206-1100

5 TOWNS - OFFICES FOR LEASE

CEDARHURST

Individual office spaces available in great location.

Rental fee includes electricity, taxes, internet, cleaning and parking.

Large corner office $995 mo. Smaller interior office $625 mo. Please respond to 516-902-8006.

CEDARHURST —OFFICE SPACE

Executive Office Suites small and large, short term and Long Term INCLUDES  access to beautiful conference room, kitchenettes, all utilities and internet included.  Text/ Whatsapp Sam 516-567-0100

INWOOD — OFFICE SPACE

700 sq Office space w/ 3 Interior Offices  next door to beautiful Inwood Park, Mincha Minyan Text/Whatsapp Sam 516-567-0100

MIAMI BEACH-ALEXANDER HOTEL

2 bedroom 2 bathroom ocean view apartmentPesach rentalNeeds some updating Great price! 516-410-0683

Classifieds

classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com

• text 443-929-4003

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

SHEVACH HS

Has these open teaching positions available pm M-Th for 2024-5. Computer science (AP Comp Principles, Graphics, Google apps), Spanish, Algebra, AP Biology, Phys ed. Candidates with credentials and/or experience should send their resume to mshepard@shevachhs.org

REGENTS EXPERT

Tutoring regents in Algebra and Geometry

A Darchei Torah instructor

Guaranteed results

Text 347-491-8045

WhatsApp 347-767-1755

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

EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER

Assistant Teachers Needed in Lawrence for Fall, 2024 and Camp Staff over 16-years-old for Summer, 2024. The Gural JCC Early Childhood Center is hiring Assistant Teachers for the 2024-2025 school year, and Camp Staff over 16-years-old for Summer, 2024. Please send resumes to JCC.Nursery@guraljcc.org or call (516) 239-1354.

BNOS MALKA ACADEMY

is seeking a 4th grade kodesh teacher, starting immediately. MondayThursday 8-12:30, Friday 8-11. Please send resume to rungar@bnosmalka.org

BOOKKEEPER

Excellent growth potential, Frum environment, Excellent salary & benefits. Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com

SEEKING ELA TEACHER

Teaching position for Gr. 6. Mon.-Thurs., afternoon hours. Far Rockaway/5T area. Great salary, warm, supportive environment. Training in our curriculum is provided. Teachersearch11@gmail.com

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

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.

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

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

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

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!

GOING TO FLORIDA FOR PESACH?

Get your favorite wine and spirits delivered for free for all orders over $400

vintagekosher.com/pesach 646-768-8800

On a certain day in March, millions of Americans go scrounging through their Ancestry DNA tests in hopes of finding a drop or two of Irish blood to justify a trip to the bar. Others struggle to pronounce those unpronounceable Irish names: Cillian [kill•ee•an] and Saoirse [sor•sha] are easy enough, but Meadhbh [mave], Fiadh [fee•a], and Caoilfhionn [kee•lan] are more of a stretch. In Chicago, the Journeyman Plumbers Local Union 130 uses 40 pounds of environmentally friendly dye to turn the river green. In Cincinnati, Skyline Chili dyes their noodles green.

Oh, and don’t forget the beer! On March 17 each year, 13 million pints of Guinness go down the hatch. Surprisingly, it is only the third most popular day for drinking here, behind New Year’s Eve and Mardi Gras. Still, we manage to suck down 174% more beer than usual, with the average person consuming 4.2 drinks. 36% of men admit to binge drinking on this day – and if you aren’t one of them, surely you know one. That adds up to $6.85 billion in spending, or $44 for each of the drinkers crowding your favorite pub. And that, in turn, gives federal and state tax collectors cause to celebrate, too.

Your Money Irish For a Day

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

Seeing taverns filled with Irish-for-aday drinkers—on a Sunday this year, no less—it can be hard to remember that less than a century ago, alcohol was illegal. But when the Great Depression hit, Uncle Sam needed money more than morals, and in 1934, the 21st Amendment re-opened the door to federal beer taxes. The challenge back then was setting rates high enough to be worthwhile but low enough to let le -

$3.50/barrel on the first 60,000 barrels for domestic brewers producing less than 2 million barrels annually. Rates go up to $16/barrel on the first 16 million barrels for all other brewers and importers and $18/barrel for everything over 16 million barrels. That works out to about a penny and a half per pint for the small-batch stuff, up 7 cents per pint for beer from vats the size of Rhode Island. Beer snobs may

That means most of us are guzzling the same workingman’s swill as everyone else, even when it’s poured by a red-bearded hipster with a handlebar mustache.

gal producers compete with bootleggers. Congress settled on $5 per barrel of beer – roughly $115 in today’s dollars or about 46 cents per pint.

Since then, rates have drifted up and down like the tides. In 2020, the Craft Beverage Modernization Act set rates at

rave about exotic brews like Stedji Brewery’s Hvalur ale (made with sheep dungsmoked whale testicles) or Fossil Fuels’ Jurassic Saison (made with yeast DNA from 45-million-year-old fossilized amber). But in the real world, 73% of the beer we drink is taxed at the $18 per barrel top rate. That

means most of us are guzzling the same workingman’s swill as everyone else, even when it’s poured by a red-bearded hipster with a handlebar mustache.

Uncle Sam isn’t the only tax man skimming the foam off the top of the mug. All 50 states and the District of Columbia collect their own beer tax, too. Those rates range from 2 cents/gallon in the Cowboy State all the way up to $1.29/gallon in the Volunteer State. Some states levy higher rates on stronger beers. And state and local governments generally collect sales tax on beer, too. They really do get you everywhere. (Don’t forget there’s a sales tax on your Uber ride home!)

This Irish celebration may come just once a year (although we’ll get to pay the same taxes all over again in May, when Mexican-for-a-day drinkers go out for happy hour on Cinco de Mayo). But you can still call us for planning to put a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow!

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.