Five Towns Jewish Home - 7-27-17

July 27, 2017

Distributed weekly in the Five Towns, Long Island, Queens & Brooklyn

Your Favorite Five Towns Family Newspaper

A MESSAGE OF HOPE AND COURAGE

Pages 8, 9, 12, 13 & 85

Dr. Moshe Avital, Holocaust Survivor and Member of the Haganah, Tells His Story

Around the

Community

pg

76

42 The Community Welcomes Rabbi Cohen of Ohr Torah

A Tragedy in a French Stadium 75 Years Ago

38

pg

Hundreds Attend Five Towns Fundraiser for Shalom Task Force This Week We’re Talking to...

Back for a 4th Year !

56 52

BOBKER ON TISHA B’AV Tisha B’Av: Trouble’s My Middle Name pg

Camp Atara

Seasons Express & Me HALB’s Avnet Country Day School

82

Page 77

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

ACHIEZER COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER A N D Y E S H I VA D A R C H E I T O R A H I N V I T E T H E M E N A N D WO M E N O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y TO A SPECIAL KINOS PROGRAM

SÆXC

Mourning &Meaning Absorbing the Message of Tisha B’av

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1ST, 2017 / ZÆGA, CTC VGA, B E G I N N I N G W I T H S H AC H A R I S AT

8:15

A N D F O L L OW E D B Y M I N C H A AT A P P R OX I M AT E LY

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The recital of Kinos will be interspersed with ,urrug,v hrcs from:

RABBI SHLOMO AVIGDOR ALTUSKY ROSH YESHIVA, BEIS MEDRASH HEICHAL DOVID

RABBI DAVID ASHEAR AUTHOR, THE LIVING EMUNAH SERIES

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MENAHEL, MESIVTA CHAIM SHLOMO

PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN KINOS. PLEASE DO NOT BRING LAWN/BEACH CHAIRS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 718.406.8360 OR EMAIL NEWS@DARCHEI.ORG

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

MARK THIS DATE DOWN

LAST CALL SALE STARTS Wed. Aug. 2nd DON’T MISS THIS SALE

% 80OFF UP TO

ALL STORES

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Mon.-Thurs. 10 - 9, Friday 10 - 2:45 Closed Saturday & Sunday

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The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

‫בס’’ד‬

Tisha B’Av Schedule

FOR WOMEN ONLY

Monday Night July 31st 8:11pm Fast Begins 8:55pm Maariv/Eicha 9:45pm Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein As the Dawn of Moshiach Approaches Tuesday August 1st 11am-12pm Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein Kinos 12:15pm-1pm Rabbi Label Lam The Light at the End of the Tunnel 1:15pm-2pm Charlie Harary Reconnecting with Our Father 2:15pm-3pm Rabbi Duvi Bensoussan Loneliness vs. the Need to Be Great 3:15pm The Secrets of Emunah: How It Will Transform Your Life, Your Challenges, and Your Relationships Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Video B Rabbi Eli Mansour, Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, Rabbi David Ashear 5:15pm-6pm Mrs. Chaya (Ivy) Kalazan Machlokes and Shalom - Inside and Out 6:15pm The Secrets of Emunah: How It Will Transform Your Life, Your Challenges, and Your Relationships Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Video A Dayan Aron Dovid Dunner, Rabbi Ephraim E. Shapiro, Rabbi David Ashear 8:15pm-9pm Rabbi Shmuel Skaist Where Do We Go from Here?

9:00pm Fast Ends

Can’t Make It? If you are unable to attend, you can view all the shiurim

LIVE

from your own home at www.ohrnaava.com.

Updated internet connection for seamless viewing

!‫לשנה הבאה בירושלים‬ SPONSORED BY

$18 for the night program, $18 for the Day Program, $25 for both Night & Day Participation *The Chofetz Chaim video is a SEPARATE fee of $15 made out to CCHF (includes Viewing of One or Both Videos) **Please note: The shul will be davening Mincha at 2PM & 7:35PM. Maariv will be at 8:15PM

LOCATION: 2201 East 23rd Street (corner of Ave V), Brooklyn, NY 11229 718.Ohr Naava (718.647.6228) ∙ www.ohrnaava.com

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

M

was “concerned” about the two Israelis soldiers who were fatally stabbed in the back by Palestinian terrorists while guarding Temple Mount.

And at no point did Ms. Gillibrand say she was “concerned” about the Salomon family who is now missing their grandfather and a father and a mother. No, she was just “concerned” for Netanyahu’s plan for peace.

I don’t think that at this point in time a “plan for peace” by the State of Israel is even an option.

How do you plan for peace when a metal detector is seen as so inflammatory that a Day of Rage is called for by the Palestinian leadership, urging their people to kill and slaughter Jews? How do you plan for peace when terrorists sharpen their kitchen knives to use as weapons and laud murderers as martyrs?

I do know who has a plan. It’s the Palestinians. Their plan is a scheme of terror and horror so invasive that Israel throws up their hands.

Their plan is to influence the world to see them as victims, crying woe is to me that I can’t enter my holy mosque because there are metal detectors there. (What, may I ask, are they bringing onto Temple Mount that will make those metal detectors go off?) And you know what? Based on what Ms. Gillibrand said a few days ago, they may just be winning. If a New York senator can get up and say that she’s “concerned” about a definite plan for peace, they have already gotten to her.

I called Gillibrand’s office today, expressing my displeasure and disbelief that she could be so naïve and ignorant. I urged her to visit Israel, suggested she visit a Palestinian neighborhood – maybe even without security – and see how comfortable she feels.

And then she can talk about a plan for peace.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

y last-minute preparations for Shabbos last week took on a different tone when I read about how three of our brothers and sisters were slaughtered as they prepared for a celebration of a new child. I couldn’t get the photo of the floor – covered and streaked with blood juxtaposed with the table above it laden with food and l’chaims – out of my mind. I wanted to sit down and absorb what had happened, how it could have happened, but there were last minute things to do and young children who shouldn’t be hearing the news and so I went through the motions, but my mind was elsewhere.

As I lit the candles I realized that there were many in Israel sitting at shalom zachors across the country unaware of the horror that was perpetrated against Klal Yisroel. And that the next day they would somehow hear the news and their hearts would tear in pain. The pain we all felt when hearing of the slaughter of Yosef, Elad and Chaya is a glimpse of the pain our nation has been feeling for hundreds of years. It’s the pain of pogroms and the Inquisition, the Holocaust and blood libels.

Millions of Jews have lost their lives in the millennia that we’ve been persecuted, hounded and wronged. But that does not ease our pain. Each loss is a searing reminder of how connected we are and how we so desperately need the golus to end.

This week, on Saturday, just hours after a 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist stabbed the Salomons and watched their life ebb in rivulets of blood on the floor, New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand spoke at a town hall in the Bronx. At one point she told her audience that she was “concerned” that Netanyahu does not have a plan for peace. She said she met with the prime minister earlier this year with other senators on a trip to Israel and came away with that “concern.” At no point during the speech did Ms. Gillibrand say she

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

10

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

10

Community Happenings

36

Seasons Express & Me

51

This Week We’re Talking to...HALB’s Avnet Country Day School

52

This Week We’re Talking to...Camp Atara

56

NEWS

ISRAEL

66

Global

15

National

22

Odd-but-True Stories

30

A Tragedy in a French Stadium by Brendy J. Siev 82

Israel News

18

PEOPLE A Message of Hope and Courage: Dr. Moshe Avital, Holocaust Survivor and Member of the Hagana, Tells His Story by Malka Eisenberg 76 Unit 669 by Avi Heiligman

102

PARSHA Rabbi Wein

60

Living Beyond the Checklist by Rav Moshe Weinberger

62

Dear Editor, The article this week by Tammy Mark on Dr. Mordecai Paldiel was eye-opening. I never considered that Yad Vashem didn’t have a special honor for Jews who risked their lives helping other Jews. And I was more surprised that it took a lot of twisting to have the institution commit to a special honor for heroic Jews. Dr. Paldiel is doing amazing work. The Holocaust is a grim, tragic horror in our lives. It’s not just survivors who are haunted by the atrocities committed. Descendants of survivors and the Jewish nation as a whole will forever remember what was committed against our nation in a systematic, vicious fashion.

But instead of focusing on the horror, Dr. Paldiel is able to sift through the ashes and catch glimmers of goodness in that era. He allows our nation to see the good and the hope that the Jewish nation had during that dark time.

There’s a famous story – and for-

JEWISH THOUGHT

give me, because I don’t remember the details – of someone who told a Rebbe that he became not frum after his experience during the Holocaust because he saw one Jew who had a pair of tefillin who would charge other Jews for the opportunity to wear the tefillin. “How could one Jew do that to another Jew?” the man asked himself and then eventually gave up his faith.

But the Rebbe looked at disenchanted Jew and said, “But look at all the other Jews who lined up and were moser nefesh to perform a mitzvah in the depths of despair.”

By focusing on the Jewish heroes who risked their lives to help others, Dr. Paldiel is showing us that even when we are faced with horror, our nation manages to rise above the misery and do good. How wonderful is the nation of Am Yisrael!

Sincerely, Noam Hirsch Continued on page 14

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Timing is Everything by Eytan Kobre

64

Share the Love by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

66

Prophets of Hope amidst Despair by Rabbi Naphtali Hoff

68

Broadcasting a Powerful Message by Rabbi YY Rubinstein

70

Bobker on Tisha B’Av

72

Please be aware that the eruv does not extend onto the boardwalk in Far Rockaway. Please do not carry or push carriages on the Far Rockaway Boardwalk on Shabbos.

Tu B’Av: Lessons on Finding the Right One

by Rabbi Shalom Yona Weis 86 HEALTH & FITNESS

95

The Pros and Cons of Defense Mechanisms by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

92

The Bittersweet Truth about Chocolate by Aliza Beer, MS RD 94

FOOD & LEISURE A Peek into Secrets of Skinny Eating

95

LIFESTYLES Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

88

Your Money

108

3 Plus 9 = Wake Up! by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

110

HUMOR Centerfold

58

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes What to Do for Little Charlie Gard by Charles Krauthammer CLASSIFIEDS

98 101 104

Which would you prefer: Going on a 3 day vacation anywhere in the world or going on a 2 week vacation within the tristate area?

48

%

3 Days Anywhere

52

%

2 Weeks in the Tristate

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Sale Dates: July 30th - August 4th 2017

Weekly Quaker Life Cereal

1

......................................................

Poland Spring Water

Hunt’s BBQ Sauce

Hunt’s Snack Pack

99¢

99¢

99¢

.................................................

Hunt’s Tomatoes

24 Pack - 16.9 oz

Whole, Diced, Crushed, Sauce, Puree - 28 oz/29 oz

4

$

Glick’s Cholent Mix 16 oz

Assorted - 13 oz $ 99

99

5

4/$

......................................................

Wesson Oil

2

......................................................

Original Only - 1 oz

1

2/$

Whole or Broken 11 oz

15 oz

12 Pack

99¢

499

$

A delicious side to every meal, Pri Avot Pickled Cucumbers are crunchy and delicious! The highest quality pickles are hand-selected, pickled in brine for that authentic middle-eastern taste. Perfect in appetizers, sandwiches, sides and more!

.................................................

.................................................

20 oz

23 oz

8 Count

Heinz Ketchup

1

Pri Avot 18-25 Pickles

.................................................

.................................................

Salted or Unsalted - 15 oz

8 Pack

Assorted 5.2 oz - 5.5 oz

$

$

Pringles

Item #

104-400 104-404 104-406

Product Name

Pack

Pickled Cucumbers in Brine Large 7-9 Pickled Cucumbers in Brine Mini 18-25 Pickled Cucumbers in Brine 30-36

1

349

Lieber’s Ice Poppers

99¢

299

$

899

5.4 oz - 4.5 oz

PICKLED CUCUMBERS

.................................................

Gourmet Glatt Roasted Dasani Flavored Cashews Sparkling Water

Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gushers

Cheez-It Crackers or Famous Amos Cookies

Libby’s Whole Kernal Corn

$ 99

.................................................

......................................................

99¢

.................................................

3

Osem Bamba

Spicy Brown, Yellow or Dijon 12 oz

.................................................

Lieber’s Mandarin Oranges

2

General Mills 15.6 oz Cookie Crisp; 18 oz Cheerios; 16 oz Golden Grahams $ 99

Gulden’s Mustard

Assorted - 4 Pack

.................................................

3/$

.................................................

Canola, Corn, Vegetable - 48 oz $ 99

Assorted - 18 oz

®

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12/23 oz 12/23 oz 6/4 lb

Tel: (516) 496 7400 Fax: (516) 496 8811

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.................................................

Coke, Fresca, Sprite, Dr. Pepper

UPC

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2 Liter

sales@galilco.com www.galilco.com

5

3/$

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2/$

take it on the road!

Dagim Solid White Tuna In Water - 6 oz 3/$

5

Quaker Chewy Granola Bars Assorted 6 oz - 8.4 oz 2/$

5

Go Lite Popcorn .625 oz 4/$

Oneg Shredded Cheese

1

......................................................

YoPlait Greek Yogurt

349

$

12 Pack $ 99

2

3

Assorted 59 oz

$ 99

Gefen Cup-a-Soup Mauzone Mania Except Fat-Free Fiber Flatbreads

.7 oz - 1.4 oz $ 49

Assorted 2 oz $ 99

1

Tropicana Orange Juice

Assorted - 8oz

Crystal Lite on-the-Go

Aufschnitt Beef Jerky

Flaum’s Lox 6 oz

699

Assorted 1 oz 3/$

8

1

by the case only

Sabra Guacamole Assorted - 8 oz

Norman’s Poppers Yogurt

$

2/$

Assorted - 5.3 oz

5

10

10/$

Assorted - 5.3 oz 10/$

.......................................

.......................................

.......................................

.......................................

......................................................

Daisy Sour Cream

11.5 oz

Assorted 6.5 oz

Assorted - 10 oz

18 oz

Temp Tee Cream Cheese

10

Assorted - 16 oz 2/$

3

2

$

99

Reddi Wip Topping

5

2/$

Ore-Ida French Fries

Assorted - 14 oz

Assorted 26 oz - 32 oz

299

$

......................................................

1

$ 99

Eggo Chocolate Chip or Mini Waffles 10.9 oz/12 oz

5

2/$

Pardes Broccoli or Cauliflower Florets 24 oz

.......................................

499

$

Breyer’s Ice Cream

......................................................

Meal Mart Kishka 16 oz

Assorted - 48 oz

349

$

3

99

NOW 2 locations!

4

2/$

Miller’s String Cheese

799

$

family pack!

Haagen Dazs Ice Cream

$

Sonny & Joe’s Hummus

Cedarhurst STORE HOURS

137 Spruce Street

(516) 569-2662

SUN -TUE: 7 AM-9 PM WED: 7 AM-11 PM THURS: 7 AM-12 AM FRIDAY 6:30 AM-2 HRS. BEFORE CANDLE LIGHTING

Halo Top Ice Cream Assorted - 16 oz

399

$

.......................................

.......................................

15 oz

$

Yoni’s Cheese Tortellini

4

$

99

Woodmere STORE HOURS

Macabee Mozzarella Sticks 7 oz

299

$

.......................................

Kineret Onion Rings Dr. Praeger’s Minced 32 oz Fish Sticks or Fishies

499

24 oz

699

$

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(516) 295-6901

SUN - THURS: 7 AM-9 PM FRIDAY 7 AM UNTIL 2 HRS. BEFORE CANDLE LIGHTING

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

Sale Dates: July 30th - August 4th 2017

Specials

1ST CUT CORNED BEEF

EXTRA LEAN BEEF STEW

1099 lb.

599 lb.

$

949 lb.

Corned Beef Deckel

$

Boneless Fillet Steak

$

...................

849 lb.

Silver Tip Roast

$

Ground Beef

$

...................

Neck & Skirt

4

Super Family Pack

99

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..................

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849 lb.

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...................

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...................

lb. Large Kolichel

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2/$5

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Golden Delicious Apples

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99¢ lb.

2

8

$

Family Pack

CHICKEN LEGS $ 79 lb.

SOLOMON’S NAVEL PASTRAMI $ 49 lb.

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$

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Super Family Pack

1339 lb.

$

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Frozen Beef Patties

569 lb.

$

Family . . . . . . . . . Pack ..........

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$

Chicken Bones

99¢ lb.

New Jersey Nectarines

$

...................

Ground White Chicken $ 99 4 lb.

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seasoned ready to grill or broil!

399 lb.

Chicken Cutlets

Super Family Pack ...................

699 lb.

Turkey London Broil

799 lb.

$

All Seasoned Silders

Mini Peeled Carrots

Fancy Eggplant

$

99¢ ea.

79¢ lb.

Idaho Potatoes

Spanish Onions

Cello Mushrooms

$

2/$4

59¢ lb.

2/$3

Grape Tomatoes

Holland Yellow Peppers

Holland Orange Peppers

Jumbo Green Peppers

Crispy Broccoli

2/$3

$

79¢ lb.

2/$4

Package

149 lb.

299 ea.

259 lb.

5 lb Bag

259 lb.

$

Penne a la Vodka $

Pasta Marinara

Grilled Salmon with Salad

2 lb Container

4

99 lb.

Sweet Kani Roll

899

Szechuan $ 1299lb.

Chicken $

1 lb Bag

order your shabbos platters early!

Yellowtail $ 95 $ 95 Scallion 8 4 Roll

......................................................

Spicy Tuna Roll

899

$

595

$

650

Salmon Florentine $ 99 lb.

6

12

Mini Parve Fruit Danish Assorted

Spray Roses Bouquet

1699& up

$

Roses! Roses! Roses!

1299 $ 1699 $ 1999 $

gourmetglattonline.com

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1195

$

order your fish & salad platter for shalosh suda!

8

Corn Bread Assorted Meltaway Cakes Sweet Onion Assorted Pumpernickel $ 49 ea. Rolls 4 Pack $ 49 $ 99 99 ea. ea. lb.

8

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Salmon Steaks $ 99 lb.

we now have assorted fresh hot bagels!

7

1095

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......................................................

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Breaded Flounder $ 99 lb.

Sushi Burrito

2

Fancy Rose Bouquets

2499& up

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largest variety of homemade dips! $399ea.

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Eggplant Rollatini

Light Smoky Taco Dip

5 Section Platter Just $32.99!

Tomato Salad

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$

549ea.

$

449ea.

$

We reserve the right to limit quantities. No rain checks. Not responsible for typographical errors.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 10

Dear Editor, Thank you for the article on Dr. Paldiel and his newest book, Saving One’s Own – Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust. I know that many people would be inspired reading about these Jewish heroes. Perhaps a series of articles in your paper focusing on Jews who risked all to save others would be appreciated by your readers.

All the best, Chana G. Dear Editor, Why would you put in a poll about Hillary Clinton and how she is disliked by Americans in your July 20th issue? How is that pertinent to readers? Is she running for election now?

We have to get off the bashing Hillary wagon. There is no point to it. Let her live her life.

Shimmy Korn Dear Editor, Jon Kranz’s column is always a joy to read. I especially loved one of his recent articles on wine. His list at the end with names of Jewish wines and their slogans is great. He has a great sense of humor, and his articles are always good for a chuckle.

Sincerely, Roman N. Dear Editor, When I heard the news of the Salomon family, who lost three family members in a most vicious way, my throat tightened, my stomach dropped, and tears sprung from my eyes. How can this be? A family about to celebrate a birth and then instead having to plan three funerals? And then I remembered that it is the Three Weeks and that Hashem feels our pain just as acutely as we do. All the pain that klal Yisroel suffers stems from the churban.

When we are united – sadly, in this

instance, in grief, we show Hashem that we are deserving of rebuilding His home. I only hope that this Tisha B’Av we will be able to turn our tears of sorrow into tears of joy, as Moshiach comes very soon.

A Reader Dear Editor, “Stinger” by Rafi Sackville was a great description about living in Israel in the summer months. Real living – and not just in hotels – requires dealing with different wildlife than one deals with in the States.

Think mosquitoes are bad? Try j’ukim! They are horrendous, and they are huge. And they come out of nowhere. Don’t like ants? I’d take ants over scorpions that seem to crop up in usual places – to my wife and kids’ horror. And I, as the man of the house, have to get rid of them.

No said living in Israel is easy, but we love it and we won’t have it any other way.

Reuven H. Ma’ale Adumim

Views expressed on the Letters to the Editor page do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jewish Home.

Please send all correspondence to: editor @fivetowns jewishhome.com.

YOUR VOICE COUNTS!

Join TJH’s weekly poll Email editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com Put “include me in the poll” in the subject line

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

The Week In News

From the Depths of Poverty: India’s New President

Ram Nath Kovind was a relatively unknown person in India until a few weeks ago. Last week he was elected president of India by the country’s Parliament and state leaders. The 71-year-old was born in a mud hut as a member of the Koli weaver caste, one of the lowest social circles in India.

Kovind rose to become a Supreme Court lawyer and as a politician is a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The role of the president is mostly ceremonial in India. Still, Kovind will have some powers, including the power to pardon those facing the death penalty. Political experts in India feel that his selection was an attempt by the BJP party to woo lower-caste votes. Kovind is only the second member of the low Dalit caste to become president. The Dalit caste used to be known as the “untouchables” as members of higher castes would not even come into contact with them.

Political parties in India have recently come under fire for not taking care of those in lower castes. “The BJP has been at the wrong end of the political spectrum due to the rising number of atrocities committed against the Dalits during their regime,” said Praveen Rai, a political analyst at the Center for the Study of Developing Societies, based in New Delhi. “By selecting him on ‘Dalit identity,’ it hopes to (calm) the rising tempers of the community and win back their votes for the next general elections in 2019.”

15

Kovind is being described as a very agreeable “yes-man” who will be unobtrusive and leave the limelight for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A Sad End to the Charlie Gard Case

Often the family of an extremely ill person has excruciating decisions to make regarding their medical care.

In the United States, those decisions are always left to the family, although doctors generally advise and inform them on complications and what the future will look like. In the U.K., the courts decide. In situations where the family of the sick person and doctors have opposing views and can’t agree on a decision in regards to medical care, the case it taken to the courtroom and a judge gets to make the final decision.

This variation in approach recently came into the spotlight when the parents of Charlie Gard, an 11-monthold terminally ill infant, pushed for permission to transfer their baby to New York for an experimental medical treatment. Earlier in the case, the courts ruled that Charlie’s life support machine should be switched off and that he should be allowed die with “dignity.”

Over the last five months, Chris Gard, 32, and Connie Yates, 31, Charlie’s parents, have been battling U.K. courts and doctors for permission to take their child to see Michio Hirano, a neurology professor at Columbia University Medical Center, instead of taking him off his ventilator to die. This week, on Monday, they withdrew their request. Their lawyer, Grant Armstrong, told Britain’s High Court that “time had run out” and that the treatment they were seeking would not work since it was too late.

As Armstrong addressed the court, Charlie’s parents cried. He explained that the parents’ primary concern was “to spend the maximum amount of time they have left with Charlie.”

On Tuesday, Charlie’s parents and their lawyer returned to court, asking

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the court for Charlie to be allowed to die at home. He was expected to be removed from his ventilator in the next few days. The court denied their request.

Charlie has a rare, incurable genetic disorder. He is brain damaged, paralyzed, can’t see or hear, and requires a ventilator to breathe. Dr. Hirano, the New York doctor who wanted to administer untested therapy, admitted it would not save the child’s life. The London hospital argued that the transfer and therapy could prolong his suffering. Recently, Hirano said he was no longer willing to administer the therapy after seeing recent results of a MRI scan. Sadly, his brain and muscular damage was too severe. Charlie’s parents had raised almost $2 million to treat his illness, known as encephalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome.

There has been tremendous interest in the case internationally.

President Trump and Pope Francis publicly supported the family. In Britain, the case reignited the debate around right-to-life issues, in particular whether requesting treatment that medical evidence shows may not work is an absolute moral right to be asserted by family members or

whether hospitals and courts are better placed to make decisions about what is in a patient’s best interest.

The hospital where Charlie is a patient, the Great Ormond Street Hospital, claims to have received death threats over the case.

“We are now going to spend our last precious moments with our son Charlie, who unfortunately won’t make his first birthday in just under two weeks’ time,” Chris Gard said on Monday. “To Charlie, we say mummy and daddy, we love you so much. We always have and we always will and we are so sorry that we couldn’t save you.”

Russian Troops Gather near Ukraine Russia is sending more troops to its Ukrainian border. Ukrainian Chief of General Staff Viktor Muzhenko said in an online video this week that new moves have been observed on the Russian side of the border. “The organizational and staff structure, the arms and the military equipment that

is approaching for reinforcement, indicates that these Russian divisions are striking forces in their essence and are intended for carrying out rapid offensive actions,” he said.

The Kremlin has insisted that they are well within their rights to mobilize their troops along the border.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has backed separatist militants in Ukraine border regions.

Throughout all of those actions, Moscow has never officially declared war on Kiev and vehemently denies its involvement in any of the fighting in the region.

When asked about the soldiers’ movements along the border, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that “the Russian Federation is free to change the configuration of armed forces on its territory in accordance

with what it views as most purposeful. When it comes to specifics, in any given case it is better to address this question to our colleagues at the Ministry of Defense.”

When speaking with the leaders of Russia, France, and Germany on the telephone, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said that the past few days have been some of the bloodiest in a long time along the border.

Church Uses Slave Labor A church in Brazil is being accused of kidnapping and forcing foreign visitors to work 15 hours a day for almost no pay. The Word of Faith Fellowship congregation is being accused of taking a passport from at least one of its visitors. Andre Oliveira says that when he was visiting from North Carolina, his passport was taken from him and he was forced to work cleaning up the evangelical church’s messes or face corporeal consequences.

According to Oliveira, when he wouldn’t cooperate with the forced labor he was either beaten or shamed at the pulpit. Under U.S. law, visitors to

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foreign countries on tourist visas may not perform work for which people are normally compensated.

In 2014, three former members of the Word of Faith church told an assistant U.S. attorney that the Brazilians were being forced to work without pay. Jill Rose, who is now the U.S. Attorney in Charlotte, promised she would  “take a fresh look at it,� but according to the former church members, she never responded after that first meeting and was out of contact for months following the meeting, Oliveira is one of the 16 former members who have claimed that they were subjected to physical and verbal abuse from the church. Since its inception in 1979, the church has rarely been sanctioned. The church was established by Jane Whaley in 1979.

There have been reports and rumors of misconduct, but nothing substantial enough to have the church shut down.

The church has about 750 congregants in North America and another 2,000 in Brazil, Ghana, Sweden, and Scotland. Whaley tells her flock that they can improve their lives with pilgrimages to Spindale, North Carolina.

The forced labor includes babysitting at the church’s K-12 school and putting up drywall and other general

construction needs for senior church members. “It was slave labor,� said Rebecca Melo, 29, who grew up in the church in Brazil and visited the U.S. about 10 times.

The U.S. Attorney General says the investigation into the church is still “pending.�

Three Killed in Friday Night Attack On Friday night, the Salomon family was preparing for a shalom zachor to welcome their newest addition to their family. But joy turned to terror after they answered a knock at their door.

A terrorist stormed the home of Elad and Michal Salomon in the West Bank settlement of Halamish, also known as Neve Tsuf, on Friday night after the meal. He entered the kitchen

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and began stabbing the four people present, Elad, 36, his sister Chaya, 46, and their parents, Yosef and Tova.

Sadly, Elad, Chaya, and their father, Yosef, 70, were slaughtered by the 19-year-old murderer. Their mother, Tova, suffered serious wounds and was immediately transferred to Shaare Tsedek Hospital in Jerusalem. Elad’s wife, Michal, was able to gather their five children and keep them safe in a bedroom upstairs. She shouted from a window that a terrorist was in their home and a neighbor, who was an off-duty police officer, grabbed his gun and shot the terrorist in the stomach.

During initial questioning, Omar al-Abed admitted that he purchased the knife two days before the attack and desired to commit a terror attack due to the recent Temple Mount controversy. Two hours before the attack the teen posted on Facebook that there is a need to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the mosque on Temple Mount.

The IDF released a photo of the post in which he wrote, according to a translation: “I have many dreams and aspirations. I know that with Allah my dreams will come true. I loved life, making people smile, but what kind of life is this? They kill our women and youth, defile our Aqsa while we sleep.

Take your weapons and resist‌ I only have a knife and it will answer the call of Al-Aqsa. You start a war amongst us and Allah will judge you for it. I hope that after me there will come men who beat you with an iron fist. I know I am going and will not return,� he wrote.

Hamas praised the attack as “heroic,� and said it came after “Israel’s attacks on the rights of our people in Jerusalem and at Al-Aqsa Mosque.�

On Sunday, thousands gathered in Modiin to mourn the loss of three special lives. Rabbi Yonatan Glass, the rabbi of Halamish, spoke about Yosef and the Salomon family. “Only someone with no remnant of humanity could raise their hand against Yossi and his family,� he said. “Yossi made everyone he came across happy. The Salomon family household was based on making other people happy.�

Yosef’s daughter Orit, one of three children who survive their father and siblings, said she now felt an emptiness having lost the “rock� of the family. “Dad, you were always a man who gave everything and made us all happy and made us feel like everything was OK but now, nothing is OK,� she said. “Now you can rest; we will look after Mom.�

Yosef’s wife, Tova, 68, was released from the hospital hours earlier and

joined the mourners at the funeral.

She had been seriously wounded in the attack and underwent surgery on Saturday morning.

Orit also vowed to look after her brother Elad’s children, saying that “your blood runs through me and I will look after them like my own.�

Michal Solomon, the wife of Elad, spoke of the deep partnership they shared and of her fears for the future without him. “Now you are not here for me and it scares me,� she said in a near whisper. “Thirteen years ago, I met a quiet, calm and stable man. I felt certain in my decision to spend our lives together. You were a perfect husband, we couldn’t have asked for any more. You were excited by our kids.

You cared about them. You played with them like a kid yourself,� she mourned.

Rafi Mendel, Yosef’s son-in-law, called on the government to respond to the attack by annexing the West Bank. “I pray to G-d to give wisdom and understanding to our prime minister. It’s time to understand that we need to end the illusions of the Palestinians that they will ever have control over our land. It’s time to impose Jewish sovereignty over all of it,� he said.

Yisrael Porush, mayor of the central Israeli town of Elad, the hometown of Elad Salomon, promised to respond to the attack by increasing Jewish presence in the “all of the Land of Israel.� “We in Elad will be here for the family. We will be with you but we will also not let this pass without a response. We will double and triple the size of Elad,� Porush promised the mourners at the funeral.

Neither the prime minister nor the president of Israel attended the funerals; the family asked them not to attend. They also requested that the television crews not film the proceedings. Some Knesset members did attend the funeral but did not speak.

Slowly, the three bodies of these holy kedoshim were lowered to the ground. Mounds of dirt were shoveled onto each body as the thousands of mourners slowly moved away in silence.

Hashem yikom damam.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

Attack at Israeli Embassy in Amman

Tensions between Israel and the Muslim world continue to escalate.

On Sunday, an Israeli security guard, Ziv, was attacked in the Israeli Embassy by a man with a screwdriver in Amman, Jordan’s capital. Two Jordanians who were workmen had arrived at the embassy to replace furniture. One, the attacker, Mohammed Jawawdeh, was identified as a 17-year-old of Palestinian origin. The security guard quickly defended himself, killing the terrorist.

A second Jordanian, the owner of the building who was also a physician, was hit by gunfire and later died of his wounds. Ziv was lightly hurt during the attack, the ministry said.

The incident led to a diplomatic standoff between the two countries, enflamed by the taut tensions over the Temple Mount crisis.

Jordanian officials insisted that the guard not leave the country until after a thorough investigation, while Israel contended that the guard has diplomatic immunity. Late on Monday night, all staff at the embassy left Jordan and traveled to Israel.

“A weight fell off my shoulders,” Ziv told Prime Minister Netanyahu when they met on Tuesday along with the ambassador to Jordan, Einat Schlein. “Thanks with all my heart. I am happy to be here. Einat and I felt that people were standing with us and were making every effort. We felt that, and I’m happy to be here.”

Schlein said: “It’s good to be home.

Everything’s great.”

Netanyahu, who also holds the position of foreign minister, told the pair that there was never any doubt that they would be brought back safely to Israel and that Ziv would not have been handed over to Jordanian authorities.

“I am happy to see you, happy that things ended the way they ended,” Netanyahu told Ziv. “You acted well, calmly, and we also had a commitment to get you out, that was never a question. It was only a question of time and

I am happy that it is a short time. You represent the State of Israel and Israel doesn’t forget that for a moment.”

Just minutes after embassy staff returned home to Israel, the security cabinet voted to remove metal detectors from Temple Mount, a move Jordan had demanded since Israel had erected them following a deadly July 14 terror attack at the site, which was carried about with firearms smuggled onto the Mount.

On Tuesday, thousands of Jordanians chanted “death to Israel” as they marched in the funeral procession of the terrorist, Jawawdeh. Mourners carried his dead body from Wihdat city, home to a large Palestinian refugee camp east of Amman, towards the cemetery in nearby Umm al-Hiran, where he was buried. They carried pictures of the terrorist along with Palestinian and Jordanian flags along with their bloodthirsty chants.

“We will go to Jerusalem as martyrs by the millions,” they screamed.

Jawawdeh’s uncle, Sami, said the family is urging Jordan’s King Abdullah II to avenge his death “because he is the one who can decide in such matters.”

“Mohammed’s blood did not flow in vain,” he added, saying it paved the way for Israel’s removal early Tuesday of metal detectors at entrances to the Temple Mount, which houses the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

Temple Mount Tensions Continue On Monday, the security council voted to remove the metal detectors that were installed on Temple Mount after two Israeli security officers were killed by three terrorists at the site on July 14. Muslims refused to use the metal detectors and declared a Day of Rage in response. At least three Palestinians were killed in demonstrations, and a terrorist slaughtered three Jewish people in their home on Friday night in the name of “Al Aqsa.”

The Muslim and Palestinian leadership claimed that the introduction of metal detectors was a change of the status-quo arrangement at the Temple Mount.

The last time a serious controversy arose over the Temple Mount was when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon walked on the Temple Mount in October 2000. “It’s our right,” Sharon said

that day. “Arabs have the right to visit everywhere in the Land of Israel, and Jews have the right to visit every place in the Land of Israel.” His audacious walk triggered the Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada in which over 1,000 Israelis were killed.

Despite the removal of the detectors from Temple Mount, on Tuesday, Muslim leaders continued to call for worshippers to boycott the site. The Waqf Islamic trust, which administers the site, said a decision to continue the boycott was pending a review of the new Israeli security arrangements there.

Muslims have stayed away from the sacred compound since Israel installed metal detectors there last week.

Earlier Tuesday, Israel’s security cabinet said it would replace the metal detectors with “advanced technologies,” referring reportedly to cameras that can detect hidden objects, but said the process could take up to six months. A Waqf official insisted that “the new high tech cameras” would not be accepted in place of the metal detectors and that the boycott will remain in place until it was certain the new security measures were approved by them.

Hundreds of Muslims came on Tuesday to pray outside the site. Doz-

19

ens of Muslim women from the outlawed Murabitat group prostrated on prayer mats they had brought with them and spread on the stone floor of the Old City. Others shouted chants against Israeli authorities. “With our blood and our souls we will redeem Al-Aqsa,” they screamed. Another chant rallied against “Netanyahu the conqueror.”

As custodian, Jordan has the final say over Muslim policies at the shrine, but also needs to consider public opinion, including among Palestinians in the Holy Land. Israel retains overall security responsibility there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah II spoke by phone late Monday to discuss tensions over the sacred esplanade in Jerusalem’s Old City, as well as a diplomatic crisis over a security guard at the Israeli Embassy in Amman who shot and killed two people after being attacked with a screwdriver. Jordan had demanded the guard be held and investigated, while Israel insisted he be brought home under diplomatic immunity. He and other embassy staff returned to Israel early this week.

The Temple Mount, sometimes known as Al-Aqsa, is the third holiest site of Islam.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Israeli Healthcare Co Sold for a $1.1B Israeli pharmaceutical company NeuroDerm has been sold to Japanese giant Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma for $1.1 billion – in cash. The firm made the announcement on Monday.

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It is regarded as one of the biggest-ever purchases of an Israeli firm outside the high-tech field. The Israel innovation authority says that this acquisition is the largest ever of an Israeli healthcare company.

NeuroDerm is responsible for researching and developing treatments for disorders relating to the central nervous system, specifically Parkinson’s disease. The goal is to radically

change the way the disease is treated through reformulating existing drugs.

The company’s core product is in advanced clinical trials in Europe and the United States. It could potentially hit the market by 2019. Over the years the company has received support via grants from the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Currently, the popular Levodopa/Carbidopa drug combination is

The NILI, a Jewish espionage network, played a key role in the Balfour Declaration, which helped establish the state of Israel. A new study by Efraim Halevy, the former head of the Mossad, shows that NILI spies collected “abundant military information through Palestine and South Syria” in order to convince Britain to help establish a Jewish State.

The Balfour Declaration was sent

by Arthur James Balfour, the British foreign secretary to Baron Lionel Walter Rothschild. It speaks about Britain’s desire to help establish a

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Jewish homeland. The letter was included in the Treaty of Sevres with the Ottoman Empire. Chaim Weizmann, then the president of the Jewish Federation in England and later the first president of Israel, has long been credited for securing the declaration. According to Halevy, the Jewish underground movement, headed by Aaron Aaronsohn, also gets a lot of the credit.

There is an official publication by the British Secret Intelligence Service that reviewed the intelligence activity in Britain in between 1909 and 1949. The publication talks often about how NILI spies helped Britain in their Sinai and Palestine Campaigns against the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine.

Additionally, in 1917, a British intelligence officer wrote to the director of the Eastern Mediterranean Special Intelligence Bureau: “You certainly seem to be getting good stuff through Mack.” “Mack” was the British code name for Aaronsohn among British intelligence personnel. Colonel Walter Gibbon, who led the Near East intelligence desk in the ‘30s wrote that it was “largely owing to the information provided by the Aaronsohn network that General Allenby was able to conduct his campaign in Palestine so successfully.”

Another clue to the level of Aaronsohn involvement is that he and Weizmann were the only two Zionist leaders to be invited to the British cabinet’s final discussion concerning post-Ottoman Palestine.

Halevy writes that NILI “proved how a handful of determined people can transcend their immediate condition, and through the power of their convictions, win over powerful international figures to support their cause.”

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Laptop Ban Lifted Passengers flying overseas are relieved that a ban on carrying laptops onboard certain U.S.-bound flights has been lifted.

In the last four months, the United States had prohibited bringing computers on flights leaving from ten airports in the Middle East and North Africa. This was one of the restrictions imposed by President Trump’s recent travel regulations.

The ban was initiated due to security concerns, as it is possible to hide explosives in devices. Opponents of the ban argued that terrorists could travel to the U.S. via Europe or another region where the restrictions didn’t apply and bring a harmful device onboard.

The final airport to be dismissed from the ban was Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, as confirmed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via a tweet last Wednesday. The other nine airlines that were affected by the ban include: Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Kuwait Airways, EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc, which are the only carriers to fly direct to the United States from the region.

The lift came after U.S. officials visited the ten airports in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey over the last several weeks to ensure that new security measures were being implemented.

The new requirements include enhanced passenger screening at foreign airports, increased security protocols around aircraft and in passenger areas, and expanded canine screening. They affect 325,000 airline passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the United States – on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries.

Any airlines that do not meet the new security requirements could be subjected to in-cabin electronics restrictions.

The United Kingdom continues to enforce a similar in-cabin ban on electronics on flights from some Middle Eastern airports. Those restrictions apply to flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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McCain Coping with Diagnosis

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U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain received a devastating diagnosis last week. His doctors discovered a brain tumor and diagnosed McCain, 80, with primary glioblastoma.

Doctors discovered the tumor during a surgery to remove a blood clot last Friday at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. Doctors discovered the clot during a routine physical exam that immediately led to the surgery.

According to the American Brain Tumor Association, glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive tumor that forms in the tissue of the brain and spinal cord.

McCain’s doctors reported that he was always responsible about his well-checks and scheduled exams. He gets skin checks every four months due to his history of skin cancer. In 2000, McCain was diagnosed with invasive melanoma. He also had three other scares in 1993, 2000, and 2002, which were all malignant melanoma and all were declared Stage 0.

As per usual, McCain arrived at his early morning appointment, Friday before 8 a.m. A doctor who had treated McCain for the last decade reported that he appeared to be in good health, although he did mention feeling fatigued but he was quick to blame that on his demanding travel schedule. He also mentioned that occasionally he felt foggy and not as sharp as he typically is. In addition, McCain reported having intermittent double vision. These symptoms and doctor intuition prompted a CT scan.

By the time the results came back, McCain had left the clinic. He was asked to return immediately for an MRI, which then led to the late afternoon surgery. McCain was in the ICU

by Friday evening and discharged on Saturday. He is currently recovering at his Arizona home surrounded by family. Following the surgery, McCain’s office released a statement saying that he is recovering “amazingly well.”

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has affected every one of us in the McCain Family,” tweeted Meghan McCain on Wednesday. “It won’t surprise you to learn that in all this, the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father.”

This weekend, Meghan McCain shared a photo of her and her father on a hike on Instagram with the caption, “Amazing hike with Dad @SenJohnMcCain this morning. Thank you all for your best wishes!”

O.J.’s Gonna be OK The cat with nine lives whose name is O.J. Simpson has been granted parole after serving nearly nine years in a Nevada prison. The former NFL star and infamous defendant in the murder trial of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman was sentenced to 33 years in prison in 2008, with a nine-year minimum sentence,

on multiple armed robbery charges.

Simpson was charged with the 2007 robbery of sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel room. He had

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claimed that the memorabilia was originally stolen from him. He was ultimately convicted on three counts of conspiracy, one count of burglary in possession of a deadly weapon, and two counts each of kidnapping, robbery, assault, and coercion, all with a deadly weapon.

Simpson’s legal troubles have captivated the American public for a long time. 13 million people tuned in to watch Simpson’s parole hearing.

That’s a far cry from the 95 million people who watched his infamous 1994 white Ford Bronco chase and not even 10 percent of the 150 million people that tuned in for his murder trial verdict in 1995.

The Juice may be released as early as October 1st.

Dems Unveil a “Better Deal”

On Monday, Democratic leaders gathered in small town USA to declare they’re the party of rural and blue-collar workers, attempting to compete for the same voters that helped thrust President Donald Trump into the White House.

A mix of 10 senators and representatives took to a podium in Virginia under the blistering sun as an attempt to portray a united Democratic Party, one that can appeal to both its progressive wing and the moderates who were drawn to Trump’s populist message last year.

“The fact that we’re all standing here today sends a powerful statement: Democrats are unified,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Berryville, Virginia, population 4,100, is over an hour’s drive from D.C. The plan unveiled, “A Better Deal: Better Jobs, Better Wages, Better Future,” is a three-pronged approach that focuses on improving wages, lowering costs of everyday expenses and boosting job-training opportunities. Democrats hope to hammer home their new message along campaign trails in advance of upcom-

ing elections. The first three policy proposals, announced Monday, focus on fighting corporate mergers, lowering prescription drug prices and creating jobs for 10 million Americans.

“This is one step that Democrats are offering to take back our government,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, to cheers. “It’s a darn good step.”

The members at the event included House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.

Democrats were forced to scramble for an updated, sleeker message as they saw themselves trounced in last year’s elections. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows a majority – 52% of Americans – sees the Democratic Party as a party that stands against Trump, while only 37% consider it a party that stands for something. And if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.

“Democrats have too often hesitated from directly and unflinchingly taking on the misguided policies that got us here – so much so that too many Americans don’t know what we stand for,” Schumer said on Monday. “Not after today.”

Schumer and Pelosi, respectively, wrote op-eds in The New York Times and The Washington Post Monday morning trumpeting the new agenda, which Pelosi said “represents a renewed Democratic commitment to the hard-working men and women across the United States who have been left out and left behind for too long.”

The three agendas rolled out this week include an independent agency designed to prevent prescription drug price gouging and to allow Medicare to negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower prices. The plan would also require drug companies to submit justification to the government for major price hikes 30 days before any wouldbe increases take effect.

Democrats also see consolidations in the airline, cable, internet, phone, beer, food and eyeglass industries as especially problematic. They want to propose changes in antitrust laws to prevent big corporate mergers that could result in increased prices and a “consumer competition advocate” that would help crack down an anti-competitive behavior.

The new agenda also pledges to

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create jobs for 10 million Americans by doubling federal support for registered apprenticeship programs, giving tax credits to companies that train new workers and expand partnerships between businesses and schools.

Democrats need a net gain of 24 seats to retake the majority in the House. The Senate, however, is a more daunting challenge. While Democrats only need a net gain of three seats, they’re also defending 25 seats, 10 of which are in states that Trump won.

Ten Die in Immigrant Smuggling Attempt The Walmart in San Antonio, Texas, was a tragic scene just after midnight on Sunday when officials discovered dozens of people packed into the back of a tractor-trailer in the parking lot. Ten of those people died, most likely from heat exhaustion and dehydration. It appeared to be a fatal immigrant-smuggling attempt.

Officials were tipped off by a Walmart employee who was approached by an individual described as disoriented who was looking for water. He said there were more people inside the truck who needed help desperately.

It is not uncommon for smugglers to use large trucks and vehicles to transport people. It was believed that there were 39 immigrants in the truck driven by James Matthew Bradley Jr. He is being charged with transporting illegal aliens. Upon conviction, the offense is punishable by life imprisonment or death, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney Richard

L. Durbin, Jr. Border officials have reported an increase in the number of people-smuggling incidents using tractor-trailers. On July 7, Border Patrol agents in Laredo, Texas, found 72 people from Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala and El Salvador locked inside a trailer. Weeks before, they rescued 44 people from Mexico and Guatemala who were discovered after police stopped an 18-wheeler near one of the city’s international bridges.

According to the Department of Justice United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas, the fatalities were supposedly all adult males, although some reports say that there were children on the truck as young as 10-years-old. The Mexican Consulate of San Antonio is reporting that 25 of the 39 individuals found this week were from Mexico.

Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said there may have been more than 100 people in the truck, although there were only 39 people at the scene when officials arrived.

Officials believe the rest left the area in order to avoid deportation.

San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood reported that 17

people were transported to local hospitals with life-threatening injuries, two of whom has since died (eight were already dead when responders first arrived), and another 13 had non-life-threatening injuries.

Sean Spicer Bids Farewell to the West Wing

White House press secretary Sean Spicer has resigned. Spencer’s departure was confirmed last Friday after several days of speculation about an impending change in Trump’s communications department.

According to The New York Times, Spicer departed because

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“he vehemently disagreed with the appointment of New York financier Anthony Scaramucci as communications director.”

Multiple sources familiar with the situation confirmed that Scaramucci was given that position on Friday morning. Scaramucci appeared with White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a briefing on Friday where he officially announced his appointment.

Sanders will be replacing Spicer as press secretary. Sanders gave over a statement from President Trump in which he described Scaramucci as “a person I have great respect for” and someone who “will be an important addition to the administration.”

“We have accomplished so much and we are being given credit for so little,” Trump said.

Before his stint at the White House, Spencer served as the communications director for the Republican National Committee. He is a longtime deputy and close ally of White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who was RNC chairman before Trump took office. Spicer took to Twitter to say that it was an “honor and a privilege” to be part of the administration and indicated he plans to stay on for the short term.

“I will continue my service through August,” Spicer wrote.

Scaramucci is not a new friend of the president. He was a campaign fundraiser for Trump and served as a member of the executive committee of Donald Trump’s transition team.

He previously served as a co-managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, a hedge fund he founded.

Scaramucci has been active in Republican politics for years. He previously served as national finance co-chairman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign. Interestingly enough, initially Scaramucci didn’t support Trump’s campaign for nomination.

He had raised funds for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and backed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush after Walker’s early exit.

Even so, Scaramucci sold his hedge fund business just before Trump took office, supposedly eyeing a position in the White House.

Over the last six months, he has been vetted for different roles in the West Wing.

“I wish him well and I hope he goes on to make a tremendous amount of money,” Scaramucci said of Spicer.

Huge Bitcoin Heist Revealed

Police in Bucks County, Pa. stumbled upon a $40 million Bitcoin scam in a very unlikely way. According to federal court documents, the Northampton Township Police Department received complaints about Theodore Price from his friend’s parents that he had stolen their laptops.

Once the police arrived at the home of Janine and Steve Aversa and interviewed the couple’s daughter, she told them that Price had been inside her parents’ house while they were on vacation and she let them into Price’s apartment.

Inside Price’s apartment, police found one of the stolen laptops as well as stolen credit cards and personal information of many deceased individuals. Police also found “multiple thumb drives and 105 pages of alphanumeric code,” according to the affidavit. The pages were brought to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as it was that suspected that the numbers were Bitcoin accounts.

Police were also able to trace Price to a stolen necklace that was taken from the Aversas’ home and hocked at a local pawn shop.

When confronted with the evidence, Price admitted to having written a program that allowed him to steal over $40 million in bitcoins, an electronic currency. “Price stated that people hire him to do things for their companies,” court documents state. “Price elaborated stating he would write Trojan software to penetrate network systems.” He also told investigators “he had been hired by numerous foreign governments to develop penetration software.”

“Price’s software recognizes the similar characters in another wallet and replaces it with Price’s acquired wallet,” according to the complaint.

“Because the Bitcoin wallet address is a legitimate address, the user does not realize that Bitcoin transaction is being diverted into a wallet other than theirs.”

One of the hacked accounts had

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

$34.6 million in it and others had many millions as well. If the claims are true, the scam would be one of the top five largest digital currency heists of all time. Federal agents are investigating the Bitcoin theft further before finalizing the charges against Price. They will present their findings to a federal grand jury.

NYC to DC in 29 Minutes

A 29 minute commute to work ain’t that bad by anyone’s standard, although it is limiting. Billionaire innovator Elon Musk is looking to expand horizons for those in the workforce. Musk claims to have received “verbal” government approval to build a futuristic underground rail system that will transport riders from New York to Washington, D.C., in under a half an hour.

“Just received verbal govt approval for The Boring Company to build an underground NY-Phil-BaltDC Hyperloop,” Musk tweeted out on Friday. He added that the system would ferry passengers from “city center to city center in each case, with up to a dozen or more entry/ exit elevators in each city.”

“Verbal” government approval is vague, and Musk still faces many obstacles. His project will also require major political maneuverings and an extraordinary amount of money.

Flight times between NYC to Washington, D.C., are about 43 minutes. Keep in mind, when flying in and out of big city airports, it takes time to get through security and if you are checking bags you need to allow for even more time. An Amtrak ride runs about three hours and 20 minutes on average, while driving takes over four hours between the two metropolises.

Musk’s bold statements come a few months after he formed a venture called The Boring Co. to manufacture faster and more efficient

tunnel-boring machines. This new initiative is supposedly a response to frustration with the notorious California traffic that Musk deals with.

He recently expressed his dream of building a tunnel from his office to the airport in Los Angeles. He also said he wants to build a network of tunnels throughout the city. His solution to the growing problem is a network of underground tunnels ferrying self-driving cars at high speeds. Next up on his to-do list is dreaming up a hyper-loop from Los Angeles to San Francisco and one in Texas.

Musk, 46, is the founder and CEO of SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company and product architect of Tesla Inc, maker of luxurious electric cars. He is also cofounder of PayPal, the online payment company. Musk has an estimated net worth of $15.7 billion.

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Sitting on a beach and then telling your constituents that you didn’t get any sun that day will not earn you any points from them. A recent poll of New Jersey residents shows that a full sixty-nine percent of them disapprove of their governor, Chris Christie, making him the least popular governor in the United States over the last 20 years – and the least popular in New Jersey history. To be fair, twenty-five percent of New Jersey residents gave Christie a thumbs up. But those twenty-five aren’t going to win him any elections. Not that he cares; he says he won’t be running again.

On the other side of the favorability scale, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Larry Hogan of Maryland are the U.S.’s most popular governors. Both of them are Republi-

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cans in deeply blue states. Baker, a moderate praised for his ability to work across the aisle, has managed to maintain very high popularity in a state where just 10% of voters are registered Republicans. Sixty-eight percent of voters in his state approve of the job he’s doing.

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard – all Republicans – round out the five most popular governors in the United States.

Governor Christie is not alone in his misery. The governor of Kansas, Republican Sam Brownback, is the second-least popular governor in the country. Sixty-six percent of voters in his state don’t approve of him.

Democrat Dan Malloy of Connecticut has a sixty-four percent disapproval rate; in Oklahoma, fifty-five percent disapprove of Republican Mary Fallin; and fifty-two percent of voters don’t like the job Republican Rick Snyder of Michigan is doing.

ernment’s most significant paramilitary programs. The American public has a right to know who is making life-or-death decisions in its name.”

In the same press conference, Pompeo ripped Iran, saying that their obvious attempts to gain a foothold in Syria were an example of how Tehran is trying to become the “kingpin” of the Middle East. He also said that Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal is like a “bad tenant bouncing checks.”

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CIA Head Blasts NYT

The New York Times came under fire from CIA Director Mike Pompeo after they disclosed the name of an undercover officer in charge of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Iran operations. Pompeo said the decision to publish the operative’s name was “unconscionable.”

The Times said that they decided to publish the name because it had been previously published by other news sources and the operative is “leading an important new administration initiative against Iran.” In a written comment, the Times said that although the CIA had asked that they not publish the operative’s name, he is “a senior official who runs operations from Langley, not out in the field. He is the architect of the drone program, one of the gov-

Last week, the mayor of the town of Talkeetna, Alaska, passed away.

He was 20. But Stubbs was no ordinary politician. He was the honorary feline mayor of the town that boasts 900 citizens.

On Saturday, Stubbs’ owners announced his demise. “Stubbs lived for 20 years and 3 months,” the family wrote. “He was a trooper until the very last day of his life; meowing at us throughout the day to pet him or to come sit on the bed with him and let him snuggle and purr for hours in our lap. Thank you, Stubbs, for coming into our lives for the past 31 months; you are a remarkable cat and we will dearly miss you. We loved the time we were allowed to spend with you.”

Mayor Stubbs went to bed on Thursday night and just never woke up.

He had been the purring politician in town since 1998, when he won the election in a write-in campaign. There is no human mayor in Talkeetna. With Stubbs’ passing, the town is left mayor-less. It’s possible, though, that Stubbs’ kitten may fill the void.

“Amazingly, Denali has the ex-

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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cycling precious coffee grounds that normally just get thrown away. That should definitely make you sleep better.

So what do you want to sleep on tonight? There’s an array of colors to choose from including mocha, latte and strawberry frappe.

When you wake up, though, you’re going to have to brew yourself a cup of joe to get you started in the morning. These sheets may have coffee in them, but they don’t smell – or taste – like the real thing.

Phelps Loses to a “Shark”

act personality as Stubbs,” Stubbs’ family wrote of the kitten. “He loves the attention, he’s like a little puppy when he’s around people. We couldn’t have asked for a better understudy than Denali – he really has followed in Stubbs’ paw prints in just about everything.”

Sounds purr-fect.

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Michael Phelps won America’s heart – many times over – last year when he garnered five gold medals and one silver at the 2016 Games in Rio. This year, during “Shark Week,” the Discovery Channel aired a special: “Phelps vs. Shark: The Battle for Ocean Supremacy.” Fans looked forward to seeing their swimming star battle it out with a real shark.

According to promos, “The great white shark [will] meet the greatest of all time.” Would he survive with all limbs intact? Who would rule the ocean waters?

But when viewers tuned in on Sunday night, they left disappointed – disappointed because Phelps and the “great white one” were not racing each other in real time. Phelps really raced against a simulator, matching the shark’s momentum.

In the end, though, the 23-time gold medalist wasn’t fast enough to beat the ocean predator. Phelps

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came in two seconds short against the beast.

Do they have medal ceremonies in shark land?

CPR Saves Lives

We know that CPR can save a person’s life. When immediate assistance is needed, first responders can help keep a person alive. David Knowles, a retired nurse, knows this all too well. He was saved by one of the students in the CPR class he was giving.

Four months ago, Knowles, 77, was starting to give a CPR class to people in his local church. Suddenly, he fell to the floor. When asked if he was all right, he told his student, “I’m not feeling all right at all.” He knew he was going into cardiac arrest.

First and foremost Knowles had the wherewithal to let the students know that this was not a demonstration. Being that this was also their first day taking the course, he had to let them know how to save him.

Luckily for Knowles, one of his students, Karol Chew, was taking the class as a refresher course. He told her to call an ambulance and asked her to tell his wife as well. He had the presence of mind to caution her to tell his wife not to run because she just had her gallbladder taken out.

He also told her to take out his false teeth.

“I was beginning to get a bit foggy,” Knowles explained. Even so, he tried to stay awake so he could help Karol perform CPR. She ended up doing CPR, saving his life.

Knowles doesn’t remember much from the incident. “I woke up two and half weeks later,” he said. He had been in a medically induced coma because the damage to his heart was serious. “It was quite severe. I was more dead than alive when they got me into hospital.”

Looking back, Knowles acknowledges how amazing it is that he was able to get the help he needed. “It really got bizarre, the whole thing,” Knowles said.

“I feel a lot better,” he added.

$1.8M for a Bag of Moon Dust

Looking for a bargain? I have a bottle of air from the Holy Land I can sell you.

Think that’s funny? A bag with specks of dust from the moon just sold for $1.8 million. The canvas bag, which was used by Neil Armstrong to collect samples during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, sold for just over $1.8 million at an auction in New York last Thursday. Lest you think that the purchaser overpaid for a bag of dust, the price was less than the $2 million to $4 million auctioneer Sotheby’s thought it would fetch. Still it was 1,821 times the price ($995) collector Nancy Carlson paid for it just two years ago.

The original purpose of the bag was only discovered when Carlson bought it in an online auction of assets seized by the U.S. Marshals Service. Carlson then sent it to NASA,

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which identified the bag as the one used by Armstrong. It also confirmed that the bag still contained lunar dust.

A legal battle then followed. According to the U.S. District Court in Kansas, NASA wanted to keep hold of the bag, arguing that the artifact was unique and should never have been sold to a private collector. The bag had ended up in the hands of the U.S. Marshals Service as part of property seized from a space museum president, who was convicted of fraud and stealing from the museum.

It was found in his garage but misidentified. According to the Kansas court documents, the U.S. government said that “no one, including the United States, realized that this bag was used on Apollo 11 and was an historically important item.”

The court ruled that Carlson bought the bag lawfully and ordered NASA to return it to her.

Armstrong collected roughly 500 grams of dust and 12 rock fragments as he walked through an area of the moon known as The Sea of Tranquility.

Carlson must have been over the moon with the final price at auction.

The Spin Zon

Spin, dreidel, spin – and keep spinning.

On Sunday, a new record was set for the most dreidels spinning at one time. The event was sponsored by the National Jewish Committee on Scouting, which provided the dreidels and cardboard spinning boards to participants.

But who was doing the spinning?

The Boy Scouts of America at their 2017 National Jamboree in West Virginia.

More than 820 dreidels were spun – all at the same time – for at least ten seconds. That’s a lot more spinning tops than the 754 that were used in 2014 in Tel Aviv to set the

previous record.

“Congratulations to all the Scouts who came together to break the world dreidel spinning record,” National Jewish Committee on Scouting Chairman Bruce Chudacoff said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to challenge our brothers and sisters in Israel to more and more competitions like this, which will bring us closer together.”

About Face

There’s a hair on your face. I mean, there’s a face in your hair.

Muhannad Khaled Omar takes hairstyling to the next level. The 26-year-old is a Palestinian-Syrian hairstylist living in Beirut. In his salon, he caters to those who want to make their hair into works of art.

Take, for example, a client who recently asked for U.S. President Donald Trump to adorn his scalp.

Omar, with an artist’s steady hand, shaved bits of hair here and there and added a spray of gold hair coloring and voila! It was the American president – on the back of someone’s head.

“I started this profession when I was in ninth grade,” Omar said.

“I was studying at the same time, learning how to cut hair. I’ve had a talent since I was young, a talent for drawing.”

He grew up in a refugee camp in Syria and moved to Lebanon in 2011.

“I started my baccalaureate studies and I studied psychology. When I came here to Lebanon, I mixed psychology, cutting hair and drawing into one profession,” he said.

Hair salons are a staple in every Middle East city, a place for friends to gather and gossip ahead of the weekends. Omar manages his own salon in the Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camp in south Beirut. He hopes to one day move to Europe.

For now, he’s content to continue cutting countenances into customers’ coifs.

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Hundreds Attend Five Towns Fundraiser for Shalom Task Force

Silver medalists Evan Small, Ilan Kranz and Kenny Sicklick

Event Chairs Bailey Sigman, Aliza Solomon and Sarah Boczko

Ping Pong Champions from left to right, Jonathan Brody, Jake Ackerman and Mark Goldberg with Ping Pong Tournament announcer Glen Ackerman

O

n Tuesday, July 18, Shalom Task Force held a ping pong tournament and barbecue to raise money for its men’s education programs. The event was a resounding success, drawing 200 supporters to the Woodsburgh home of Ian and Sarah Boczko.

“It was a wonderful evening that highlighted the crucial work that

Shalom Task Force is doing to address the problem of domestic abuse in our community and beyond,” said Rachel Marks of Woodmere, Shalom Task Force board member. “We believe that preventative education is essential, and the money we raised will allow us to offer more educational programs and reach additional people with our message. We were

With Seasons Express a stone’s throw from my home, I am, by the way, looking more like Kim Jung Un every day…and it’s not the haircut Page 51

Bronze medalists Brian Sigman (event chair), Ari Witkes and Neil Wiener

gratified that so many members of the community came out to support our cause.”

The event was co-chaired by the Boczkos, Aliza and Jared Solomon, and Bailey and Brian Sigman. Guests enjoyed a scenic poolside barbecue catered by Judd’s Memphis Kitchen, while mingling with friends and learning more about Shalom Task Force. The winners of the ping pong tournament were Dr. Jake Ackerman, Jonathan Brody, and Mark Goldberg.

Bailey Sigman, Shalom Task Force board member, delivered introductory remarks. Avital Levin, LMSW, Director of Education, described different potential scenarios involving domestic abuse, helping the audience gain a deeper understanding of how victims are affected and why it’s often difficult for them to seek help and leave an abusive situation. Rachel Marks described

the many programs, services, and resources provided by the organization.

Founded 23 years ago, Shalom Task Force promotes peaceful family resolutions and healthy marriages for Jewish families. It operates a national domestic abuse hotline for Jewish victims and Sarah’s Voice, which provides free legal advice and services to survivors. Shalom Task Force also provides rabbinical and professional training on domestic abuse and offers prevention workshops to 2,000 young men and women each year in the United States and Israel. To reach the Shalom Task Force Domestic Violence Hotline, call 718.337.3700 or 888.883.2323 (toll-free). For more information, visit www.shalomtaskforce.org.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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Around the Community

HALB Leadership Day of Learning

S

ummer vacation has started for all, but the administrators and principals throughout the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach continue to learn! Constantly striving for academic excellence in their schools, the educational leadership throughout HALB had an outstanding opportunity for professional development held in the SKA Library on Thursday, July 6.

The educational administration of HALB, which encompasses Lev Chana Pre-School, HALB Elementary and Middle School Divisions, the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls and the Davis Renov Stahler High School for Boys, was privileged to hear from Kim Marshall, a former teacher, principal and district official who now consults with schools and districts nationally on educational issues. He is editor of the weekly Marshall Memo, a round-up of important ideas in K-12 education to inform principals and teachers about current research and best practices and is a

noted voice in the field of education today. He presented his research on providing faculty feedback, enabling the fifteen attendees to focus on meaningful strategies to improve the

quality of classroom learning for all students throughout the institution.

The feedback from the educators was extremely positive and they especially enjoyed the unique opportunity

to learn together with their colleagues in this third annual get together. Suggestions are already being considered for next summer’s day of learning.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Master Chef Takes Center Stage at Avnet

By Yeshaya Samet, Division Head

O

ur campers were waiting with baited breath as names were about to be drawn. The atmosphere was thick with anticipation. What moment caused such excitement? It was the onset of the tastiest week at Avnet’s DRS Campus, the moment when 16 lucky campers were chosen to compete for culinary glory.

Camper Dovi Herskovich, a Team Two participant, was thrilled to be chosen. “I love to cook at home with my mom, so I was really excited to be a participant,” he said with a big smile. For the title of Avnet’s Master Chef Champion, the battle was on!

The campers were divided into four teams and challenged with three rounds of cooking. They were judged on taste, creativity, presentation, and the cleanliness of their cooking stations. Team 1 competitor Noah Krup has participated in Master Chef contests before. “I’ve been in these kinds of competitions before but Avnet’s was by far the best. It was organized,

challenging, and the teamwork was really great.”

The first round, “Battle Pasta,” was very exciting. The young chefs got to choose from different pastas, a variety of cheeses such as mozzarella, ricotta, muenster, and cheddar. They also had to decide what vegetables they wanted to use and what kind of sauce would pair best with their pasta.

The campers on each team had to work together to come up with the best possible dish. The team with the best score would earn an advantage in the next round. Team 4 participant Jack Mann was very proud of his dish.

“My team made a baked ziti with muenster and cheddar cheese. We added broccoli as well and made a side of salad. We were really proud of our meal. It was delicious and creative.” The first round was won by Team 1, led by Camper Yaakov Zerykier. They earned perfect scores in the taste and plating categories.

There’s a famous expression that says, “Life’s uncertain, eat dessert first.”

So that’s what we did for our second round, “Cake Wars!”

Each team was challenged to make a delicious vanilla cake. They had to make the batter, choose from an array of ingredients like chocolate chips, different flavor frostings, vanilla extract, colored sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles, and all had to come together to be the perfect bite for the judges to enjoy. Team 4, led by Camper Akiva Roffe, designed a magnificent looking cake with a chocolate chip crown. But once again Team 2 earned a slight edge by going with the blue and white look and wowing the judges with an Israeli flag design.

It was still anyone’s com-

petition going into the final round, “Battle Pizza,” as all four teams were within striking distance of Team 2. Camper Jonah Rosenberg from Team 2 felt “confident” his team was going to win.

Team 3 leader Yehuda Goller said the pizza round was his favorite. “It offered us the best opportunity to be creative. We were given the freedom to come up with all different styles of pizza.” While Team 2 went with a classic style pizza, marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, basil and a bit of spice, the other teams really stepped up their games. Team 4 made a Chicago Style pizza, and Teams

1 and 3 made stuffed crust pizzas. Guest Judge Rabbi Jeremy Fine declared of the final round, “These were some of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.” The judges loved the creativity of Team 1 and Team 4 and the presentation of Team 2. But Team 3s pizza presented a marvelously overwhelming experience for the judges. Their creation, a stuffed crust broccoli pizza, reigned supreme when all was said and done. Congratulations to the winners, Yehuda Goller, Daniel Muskat, Shmully Klein, and Ariel Platschek, and congratulations to all the Master Chef Competitors.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Congregation Ohr Torah Welcomes Rabbi Cohen

C

ongregation Ohr Torah - The North Woodmere Jewish Center hosted a Siyum/Barbecue to welcome their new rabbi, Rabbi Dovid M. Cohen, on July 24, 2017.

Congregation Ohr Torah was founded over fifty years ago by new residents of the community, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, who saw the need for an Orthodox Ashkenazic Shul in the area. Rabbi Dr. Theodore Jungreis and Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis were the founding rabbi and rebbetzin.

Rabbi Dovid M. Cohen is Director

of New York Synagogues for the OU and Director of Community Engagement for Yachad. He is also a Columbia Law School graduate, licensed as a lawyer in the state of New York, as well as a family therapist with a Masters in Family Therapy.

Rabbi Cohen has served as mashgiach ruchani at Yeshiva University and Stern College for Women. He also directed the Lander College for Women Honors Program. Rabbi Cohen’s writings have been featured in many publications, and he is the author of a recently published book.

Mrs. Ruchi Cohen is the daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Austria, Rabbi Chaim Eisenberg. She is an RN at Langone Hospital. The Cohens have five children.

The Ohr Torah mishpacha is excited and honored to join with Rabbi Cohen in entering this new era at OT. Several hundred members of the North Woodmere community attended this event. Rabbi Cohen was welcomed by North Woodmere rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda Septimus of Young Israel of North Woodmere and Rabbi Shmuel Witkin of KBH. Special guest,

Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, welcomed Rabbi Cohen and his family to North Woodmere with a Proclamation of the Assembly of the State of New York.

A Summer of Inspiration and Tisha B’Av Programming at Sh’eefa

W

hile schools and yeshivos are on break for the summer, the learning is continuing strong for the women at Sh’eefa! To kick off the summer, we welcomed our new participants who have just returned from seminary in Eretz Yisroel, along with all of our Sh’eefa regulars, for an evening of inspiration. The post-seminary women enjoyed delicious sushi generously donated by Simply Sushi paired with an amazing shiur delivered by Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, Mashgiach Ruchani in DRS. There was incredible energy in the room, as the more than 60 young women heard inspiring words of Torah, socialized, met new friends and saw firsthand what Sh’eefa has to offer them.

This past Sunday saw close to 100 women come together to hear Ms. Chevi Garfinkel deliver a powerful and compelling shiur about our current z’man of the Nine Days leading into Tisha B’av. For an hour and a half, Ms. Garfinkel kept her audience hanging onto her every word as she transformed the esoteric ideas about this time period into practical ap-

plications. Beginning with the idea that we all go through private and personal suffering, Ms. Garfinkel reminded us that we must remember that our suffering is bound to the national suffering of our people and that even though no one can truly ever know what another person is going through, still, “we are all in this together.” This lesson can be seen in the first two paragraphs that we say in Shema everyday – the grammatical switch from singular to plural teaches us that we are each put onto this earth as a unique individual with a unique mission, and at the same time, as an integral part of a broader community.

This time period helps us focus on the experience we share as a part of that community.

Ms. Garfinkel then illustrated how we can and should treat one another in order to truly value all members of Am Yisroel; how to actually exercise “V’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha” in order to bring about the ultimate geulah, iy”H. This included how to empathize with one another and how to give and receive from one another.

A renewed and reinvigorated ahavas Yisroel could be felt in the air when the women walked away from this shiur.

Sh’eefa, under the leadership of Rabbi Ephraim Frenkel, Menahel, and Mrs. Aviva Zakutinsky, Program Director, continues to provide post-seminary women in our community with many impactful learning opportunities. In this time span of the Three Weeks, Sh’eefa has heard from Mrs. Rochel Chafetz, Ms. Chevi Garfinkel, Rabbi Yussie Zakutinsky, as well as special guest speakers from Eretz Yisroel including Mrs. Chana Silver and Mrs. Esther (Orlofsky) Lieberman. In addition to the learning, Sh’eefa also offers unique chessed opportunities – currently this summer the women have been packing boxes

for Tomchei Shabbos on Thursday afternoons.

To prepare for Tisha B’av, this coming Sunday, July 30, Sh’eefa will be having two unique events. Starting in the morning, at 10:15 am, we will have our regular Sunday morning shiur, which will be featuring Mrs. Amit Yaghoubi, entitled, “Mourning with Joy: Is it a Contradiction?” Refreshments will be served, generously donated by Seasons. Later in the evening, we will culminate the past Three Weeks of our learning together with a Leil Hisorerus, featuring Mrs. Shoshanna Jaeger. Doors open at 8 pm. The shiur is entitled, “I Cry...Because I Cannot Cry: What is Expected of Us on Tisha B’Av.” All women in the community are invited to attend.

Sh’eefa is also planning on showing Project Inspire’s newest Tisha B’Av film for women, “Bring Me Home.” This year’s film features Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, a”h, Rebbetzin Henny Machlis, a”h, and Mrs. Pearl Benisch, a”h, visionaries who made a real difference. Please visit our website www.sheefa.org for the exact timing.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Rabbi Paysach Krohn Speaks at Real Clear Daf Siyum

T

his past Sunday, Rabbi Paysach Krohn delivered an inspiring address at a siyum hosted by Real Clear Daf and Rami Abelson.

Rabbi Krohn extolled Real Clear Daf, a free online library of audio shiurim covering Shas until the current daf of Daf Yomi. Rabbi Krohn praised Real Clear Daf as an incredible feat of harbotzas Torah, getting traffic of 3,000 unique visitors a month, and referring to RCD as a great unifier of Klal Yisroel.

Rabbi Krohn recounted a trip to Rome where he beheld the tragic site of the Arch of Titus, intact with its disheartening image of the Menorah being whisked away from the Beis HaMikdash.

“Why did Hashem allow it to be there? What message does Hashem want us to get out of that Arch of Titus?”

Rabbi Krohn answered by relating a powerful story: A secular Jewish student was doing research on “Hadrian’s Wall,” a wall built by Hadrian

Rabbi Paysach Krohn

Rabbi Shmuel Wise, maggid shiur of Real Clear Daf

Rami Abelson, RCD listener and siyum co-host

(or Hadrianus, in the Gemara), an emperor of ancient Rome, built right near Gateshead in England. Hadrian is the emperor who had Rabbi Akiva murdered. Someone met this student and took him to meet R’ Leib Gurwicz, zt’’l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Gateshead. R’ Gurwicz took this student to the Beis Medrash, and the student was aston-

ished by the 200 students who were there, engrossed in their learning.

The Rosh Yeshiva remarked: “While Hadrian is gone and forgotten these students are toiling to understand what Rabbi Akiva means. aebbi Akiva still lives!”

Now, Rabbi Krohn explained, we understand why we still have the Arch

of Titus’s image of the Menorah being carried away. It is to teach us that the only possible hope for our continuity and final redemption is to carry the Menorah, i.e. the Torah, with us, holding it tight.

“Real Clear Daf is our chavrusa!”

Rabbi Krohn exclaimed. Having this powerful tool available 24/6, Rabbi Krohn declared, is surely a great zechus of Torah and unity to come into Tisha B’Av with.

Real Clear Daf is a free Shas audio library that is available via the web (realcleardaf.com) and its mobile application for IOS or Android. The maggid shiur is Rabbi Shmuel Wise who dedicated the project in memory of his brother, Aryeh Wise, a’’h.

L&L Comes to the YI of Woodmere

T

he Learn & Live program has started a program in the Young Israel of Woodmere.

About a month before the summer, R’ Shay Schachter, who saw the weekly pictures and information about the program in TJH, reached out to the director of the L&L of Far Rockaway, Reb Daniel Waldman, to start a L&L program in the YI of Woodmere. R’ Schachter put together a summer learning program for the adults in the shul and was looking to add a chil-

dren’s program as well. After some thought of what would be a meaningful yet exciting project for the boys to do, the idea of each boy building a model of the Bais Hamikdash was chosen.

The program started off with pizza dinner and after the boys ate Reb Dan-

iel Waldman presented and showed the boys the steps and explained how to build the model of the Bais Hamikdash. Iy”H, this coming Sunday the boys will be finishing their models in time for Tisha B’Av when we hope to have the real Bais Hamikdash built.

Hopefully, the boys have a little more

of a feeling towards the building of Bayis Ha’shlishi.

Thank you to Yossi Keilson, Bentzi Waldman, Yitzi Waldman and Shlomo Heiman for all your help. Thank you to Ronnie and the entire Young Israel staff as well.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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The Jewish Education Project and Yeshiva Har Torah Host Responsive Classroom Training

M

ore than 20 Jewish educators from half a dozen Jewish day schools came together for an intensive four-day course on the Responsive Classroom approach to elementary school education. The program, hosted at Yeshiva Har Torah, was facilitated by The Jewish Education Project (formerly the Board of Jewish Education).

“Our school was privileged to host this important workshop, which fully supports our school’s mission of creating a respectful learning environment for every child,” said Rabbi Menchel, principal of Yeshiva Har Torah.

The Responsive Classroom is a research-based social-emotional approach to classroom teaching. It emphasizes that learning critical social skills – cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control – is as important as learning academic skills, and that social development

goes hand-in-hand with academic achievement. This is accomplished through specific classroom strategies, including building a positive climate for learning through the use of routine, giving students options in their learning to create invested learners, using morning meetings and end of day “closing circles,” and setting up

classrooms to maximize independent learning. Since conceived by six classroom teachers in 1981, the Responsive Classroom has been implemented in classrooms across the country. Independent longitudinal studies have found a correlation between the approach and improved long-term academic performance.

The Jewish Education Project provided schools with the opportunity to participate in professional development that promotes students emotional and social investment in learning. Funding for the program was made possible through Title IIA funding, federal funds provided to the New York City Department of Education for teacher professional development.

“The program was an important opportunity for participants because demand for Responsive Classroom training, provided by the Northeast Foundation for Children (NEFC), far exceeds the NEFC’s capacity to provide it,” explained Sara Seligson, Director of Day Schools and Yeshivot for The Jewish Education Project.

“Being able to have ten of our own educators participate in a program of this caliber will maximize our school’s capacity in this vital area,” added Menchel.

“Emunah for Life” Reveals How Emunah Builds Relationships CCHF World-Wide Tisha B’Av Event to Unite 50,000 Jews Across the Globe

By C. Nestlebaum

O

ne answer? Does that really exist?

Yes! There’s a lifeline that helps us pull through all situations.

And that’s faith.

Emunah enables us to face huge challenges: the pain of death, disease, difficult children, the situations that rend our heart. Emunah is just as necessary for the daily struggles that cloud our vision: the petty jealousies, the demanding days, the things that just don’t seem to go right.

This Tisha B’Av, grab onto this lifeline.

This year’s presentation, “Emunah for Life: How to Master Life’s Challenges,” provides a deeper understanding of the cornerstone of Jewish belief: emunah. We live in times of terrible hardship and distress. There are so many overwhelming challenges that beat us down and take away our ability to function. And then there are so many smaller difficulties, things that seem unfair, or make our lives stressful and don’t allow us to experience happiness.

We need this lifeline as never be-

fore!

Bringing together 50,000 Jews in 700 in locations in 16 countries around the world, this event has played a major role in making Tisha B’Av a day of awakening, awareness and renewed commitment for Jews from every walk of life. From cities and towns to summer camps to bungalow colonies, the World-Wide Event’s message reaches far and wide.

The more a person really believes that Hashem runs the world, the stronger his relationships with others will be. This is the golden link between emunah and the mitzvos bein adam lachaveiro that will be explored this year.

Join us! Take the first step. Listen to the words that will open your heart and mind to emunah. Hear to the timeless messages of the Torah’s wisdom, the lifeblood of our survival. Realize the everyday hashgachah pratis before our very eyes.

Emunah allows us to live each day with purpose and meaning, to live in harmony with those around us, and to walk through the dark shadows when they confuse our path. This Tisha B’Av, the Chofetz Chaim Heritage

Foundation presents the largest-ever worldwide Torah event. “Emunah for Life: How to Master Life’s Challenges” is set to signal a surge of connection to Hashem, and bring serenity and simchah into our lives.

Presenting these thought-provoking topics will be a stellar array of speakers. Program A features HaRav Elimelech Biderman, a word-renowned mashpia from Bnei Brak whose penetrating weekly lectures inspire thousands worldwide; Dayan Ahron Dovid Dunner, senior dayan in the London Kedassia Beth Din and the rav of Bais Medrash Tottenham Adass in London, who is sought out by communities around the world to share his vast Torah knowledge; and Rabbi Ephraim Eliyahu Shapiro, the rav of Congregation Shaaray Tefilah of North Miami Beach and an internationally-acclaimed speaker who inspires thousands daily with his Shmiras Haloshon Yomi shiurim.

Program B features Rabbi Eli J. Mansour, rabbi of the Edmond J. Safra Synagogue and a sought-after speaker within the Syrian community and beyond; Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, founder and director of Ohr

Naava, Ateres Naava, and Bnot Chaya Academy for girls, and a dynamic speaker who inspires audiences world-wide; and Rabbi David Ashear whose “Daily Chizuk” messages of emunah and acclaimed book, Living Emunah, reach tens of thousands.

All of these speakers will bring to audiences around the world a new clarity regarding what emunah means in a Jew’s daily interactions with others. They will reveal how a person’s connection with Hashem neutralizes such traits as anger, jealousy and flattery and enables relationships to flourish.

As the Jewish people mark another year in galus, the message of emunah offers hope and comfort. By grasping this message, over 50,000 Jews around the world will strengthen their loving connection with Hashem and with their fellow Jews, thereby setting the stage for the end of the Jewish people’s mourning and the beginning of Geulah.

Please see the Tisha B’av location ad in this paper for a complete showing listing.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

Around the Community The fun at Ruach Day Camp continues – including STEM-type programming, sports, swimming, and this week’s Amazing Race!

Belle Harbor has the zechus of hosting the Mattosdorfer Rav who is vacationing there for half the summer. The Kollel of Chasan Sofer joined the Rav. The yungeleit drive in from Boro Park and Williamsburg to bring hashpa’ah to the community. The kollel is learning Maseches Avoda Zara with the sugya of Yayin Nesach. The kollel starts at 9:30 with Shacharis followed by a catered breakfast and ends second seder at 6pm.

Meet the Mets at Hillel Day Camp PHOTOS CREDIT: NEMY SOLOMON

O

n Friday, July 21, New York Mets players Wilmer Flores (#4) and T.J. Rivera (#54) along with Mr. Met himself paid a visit to our very own Hillel Day Camp.

The children were thrilled to have the opportunity to partake in a baseball clinic with these major league

players, practicing their pitching and batting skills, after which the players signed various memorabilia including the campers’ shirts, hats and gloves. Mr. Met joined in some photo opportunities with both campers and staff members. What a star-studded day at Camp Hillel.

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Around the Community

Rav Gideon Weitzman Featured Speaker at 4th International Conference on Jewish Medical Ethics

The speakers, R-L: Prof. David Pelcowitz, Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Halperin, Rabbi Dr. Meir Levinger, Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz, Rabbi Dr. Laibl Wolf, Rabbi Prof.

Avraham Steinberg, Rabbi Gideon Weitzman, Dr. Refoel Guggenheim, Vivienne Fried, Dr. Raphael Patcas, and Dr. Daniel Passwag

By Gila Arnold

R

av Gideon Weitzman, senior advisor of PUAH, recently participated in the 4th International Conference on Jewish Medical Ethics, held in Switzerland. The conference, entitled “Infertility – Fate or Challenge,” featured an impressive lineup of world-renowned experts, including many of the top names in the field of Jewish medical ethics, who discussed Jewish ethical issues that arise in modern reproductive medicine.

Guests enjoyed a long weekend in scenic Stein am Rhein, where, over the course of the four-day conference, they were treated to lectures on a wide array of

Rabbi Weitzman in conference closing address

fascinating topics, examining the subject of infertility from medical, halachic, ethical and hashkafic angles.

The conference drew over 150 participants, including Doris Fiala, Member of the Swiss Parliament and Council of Europe.

Rabbi Weitzman presented the conference’s opening lecture, discussing modern medical solutions to fertility challenges, and the halachic issues that can arise. He highlighted the fact that, due in large part to the efforts of organizations like

If you are going to live in the past and keep opening old wounds, picking at healing scabs, you will not be able to move on. To build, one must clear the old ruins away.

Page 86

Rabbi Weitzman and Rabbi Professor Avraham Steinberg discuss the issue of mitochondrial transfer

PUAH, international experts in the world of Jewish fertility, there has been a veritable revolution in recent years in the way poskim approach fertility treatment. Today, such treatments are almost universally accepted, with poskim investing much effort to find halachic solutions to potential problems.

Rabbi Weitzman spoke several times over the course of the conference, including a lecture about genetic testing, which led into a panel discussion on the value and limitations of premarital genetic testing. He also participated in a panel discussing fertility treatments in different sectors of Jewish society, and gave the conference’s closing lecture on

the subject of “halachic” or “religious” infertility. Rabbi Weitzman explained why he prefers the term “early ovulation” and discussed how the majority of cases can be solved through rabbinic input alone, without the need for medical intervention.

Some of the other prominent lecturers included: Rabbi Prof. Steinberg and Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Halperin from the Schlezinger Institute in Shaarei Zedek hospital, Dr. David Pelcowitz of Yeshiva University, and Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz from London.

PUAH’S BBQ held in the community was celebrated at the home of Beth and Yehuda Honig, 61 Muriel Avenue, last Sunday, July 23.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

o a f n a l t o e ng isla k a v i h nd s e y

SUMMER

BBQ 2017 mon 7pm

Aug. 28 At the Home of

Yechezkel & Anat Hartman 7 4 L AW R E N C E AV E N U E

Committee nachum augenbaum

yechiel frisch

avrumi haas

moe rosenblum

ariel aber

pinky freidman

zev karasick

shmuli schachter

moshe bajnon

dudi gross

avi krasnow

alex shulman

nessanel feller

yechezkel hartman

elie mishaan

eric stern

to benefit the rebbe life insurance fund F o r

M e n

O n ly

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Around the Community

Touro Comes to the Five Towns

T

he Five Towns has it all.

Renowned for its shiurim and Torah classes, it is also a mecca for shoppers and restaurant-goers. Now higher education will be added to the list of local attractions. Students who recently returned from Israel or those who have been learning in New York and are ready to begin college have a brand new option in the Five Towns. Touro College has arrived and will be offering select introductory courses in the heart of the community at Mesivta Ateres Yaakov on 131 Washington Ave in Lawrence.

Beginning on September 11, the new men’s division classes will be offered to qualified students on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Options for the fall include Psychology, Business Management and Public Speaking. Students interested in a fuller course load can take additional classes online during the fall semester or at Touro’s Lander College campuses in Queens or Brooklyn.

“We are thrilled to be launching this new location in one of the major metropolitan Jewish communities,” said Dr. Henry Abramson, dean of Touro’s Lander College of Arts & Sciences, who will be overseeing this new Touro location. “We aim to start students from across the Five Towns and Far Rockaway on their college careers and help set them on a path to their chosen profession.”

Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta and Beis Medrash Ateres Yaakov, said, “Ateres

Having fun at Camp Matov

“Taxation with representation ain’t so hot either.”

-Gerald Barzan Page 109

Yaakov is pleased to be part of this groundbreaking initiative. This program offers all qualified young men in the community a convenient Five Towns location to begin college studies, enabling them to spend more of their time learning and in a yeshiva setting and less on travel.”

Touro College was recently ranked #1 in MONEY Magazine’s value added all-stars rating. “Small classes, personalized attention and one-on-one mentoring are hallmarks of the Touro educational experience. Research from the National Survey of Student Engagement has shown that meaningful interactions between faculty and students can positively influence academic performance,” continued Dr. Abramson.

For more information or to register contact Meir Weiss, Director of Enrollment Management at admissions.fivetowns@touro.edu or call (718)535-9347.

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Seasons Express & Me

By Tzvi Dear

I

t’s the happiest place in the Five Towns.

If you haven’t figured out which place I’m talking about, um, I guess you are having brain freeze from too many Icees.

Oh, how the world has changed in such a short time. A mere two years ago Donald Trump walked down the escalator in Trump Tower and announced his candidacy for president, and Seasons Express opened in the Five Towns.

What does Trump have to do with it?

Not much, but anytime I open a newspaper these days, they are talking about Trump…Trump…

Trump, so I figure I should talk about him too.

Besides, do you know what I did when they announced that Trump defeated Hillary? That’s right – I went to Seasons Express and bought out the store. I call that a “Seasons Express flash party.” (I even saw Putin celebrating with an Icee! OK, I didn’t, but you get the point.)

Now, please don’t judge me. I don’t judge you when I see you buy your kid a small Icee while you rock yourself a massive soft ice cream. I know you coaxed your kid into asking for an Icee so that you have an excuse to get the ice cream.

Don’t be bashful; I’ve done that too.

Actually, I just did that last week after a bike ride with my son to the boardwalk.

As we were nearing our home and stopped for a light on Doughty and Central, I turned to him and asked, “So, what direction do you want to

go from here?” Our bikes were literally facing Seasons Express like Kim Jung Un’s missiles are facing South Korea (with Seasons Express a stone’s throw from my home, I am, by the way, looking more like Kim Jung Un every day…and it’s not the haircut). I may have said a quick prayer, hoping that my son sees the

with my antics. With a straight face I turned to her and said, “You know what you could use right now? A delicious, refreshing iced frappachino from Seasons Express.” And, tada…I found myself back in Seasons Express working on my shalom bayis! That’s a “win win” if I have ever seen it.

Better yet, the town centers around Seasons Express. I know I do and it has enhanced my center by around 40 pounds.

purple and green illuminated sign ahead. Without skipping a beat, my son turned to me and said, “Dad, what would father and son bonding be like without stopping off in Seasons Express?”

I am not sure, but I may have pumped my fist and said, “Yes!” I know, all of you armchair chinuch experts are shaking your heads in disapproval, but what do you want from me? I wanted a caffeine-free lemon-raspberry-diet root beer mixed with cherry-vanilla Sprite Zero, and I ran out of it at home.

Talking about home – yes, when we finally got home my wife was on the front porch with her lips tightly pinched into a frown while tapping on her watch. She was not happy

Anyways, back to my original point before I got distracted – a lot has really changed since Seasons Express popped up in what used to be the outskirts of town. Now it is the center of town. Better yet, the town centers around Seasons Express. I know I do and it has enhanced my center by around 40 pounds.

Seasons Express really plays a role in my comings and goings – when I leave town, I stop in at Seasons Express to get some snacks for the road; when I come back to town I stop in for something filling to eat because I’m starving; and, when I am in town, if you haven’t figured it out yet, I go to Seasons Express...it’s just what I do.

Every single time I go to the gym,

I go and get something healthy from Seasons Express before and after my exercise. How many times have I done this, you wonder? One time in 2017, which is not a bad start. (At this rate I am paying $360 for using my local gym’s treadmill for 20 minutes in total.)

Who would have guessed that a 24-hour store filled with kosher candy, nosh, ice cream, and hot food would be as popular as it is? OK, 70% of readers are thinking, “I always knew it was a great idea...” You see, I call people like you “Shabbos table Warren Buffets.” You come up with brilliant business ideas while sitting at your Shabbos table over a bowl of cholent. But it’s another thing to actually carry out your ideas rather than follow-up on your brilliant epiphanies with a long Shabbos afternoon nap and flavored Tums.

And, talking about cholent, I often find myself eating cholent from Seasons Express on Thursday night.

I am not the only one. I happen to meet everyone I know there. I know the drill already –“My wife ran out of eggs and milk so she asked me to run out and pick up some for her, but once I’m here I’ll try the cholent.”

Amazing how your wife runs out of the same stuff at the same time every Thursday night! It’s a miracle.

Want to know another miracle? I got through this entire article without slurping my Icee once and it hasn’t melted yet.

Just kidding. It’s totally melted…I’m off to the happiest place in town for a fresh one!

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

this week we are talking to:

HALB’s Avnet Country Day School

Exciting Camp Feature! Back for a 4th Year!

how are the youngest Five townsers spending their summer? over the summer season we will be speaking with local day camps to learn how our children and teens are spending their eleven weeks of summer vacation. Between swimming, sports, learning, trips, projects, cheers and lots of ices, we know their days are jam-packed with fun.

avnet Country Day school is an enormous camp with a spectacular new campus. this week, we spoke with Director Daniel stroock.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Camp is rocking, and we know that you’re busy making sure that all of your nearly 1,000 campers are smiling and having a great time. Daniel, as the director, can you tell us about your campers?

Avnet has experienced an incredible, and very gratifying, growth spurt!

At present, we have over 980 campers enrolled. It’s really an incredible number! Our campers are from all over the area and come from an extremely diverse list of schools. Of course, many HALB students attend Avnet, but we also draw campers from YCQ, Shulamith, TAG, South Shore, YKLI, HANC, HAFTR, Har Torah, Yeshiva Darchei Torah, Ashar, MDS, and some of the local public schools. Everyone seems to know that regardless of how you spend your year, Avnet is a great place to experience the summer!

That sounds like a lot of children

to supervise. How are the divisions divided?

We have four divisions housed in our New Woodmere Campus and two divisions in our DRS Campus. Our preschool, which we call Tipot, is led

by Roni Shetrit. We have two divisions for first through third grade: Ma’ayanot Boys led by Moshe Spern and Ma’ayanot Girls led by Yael Greenberger. Girls entering 4th through 8th grade are in our Agamim Division, which is headed by Ariana Wolfson.

On our DRS Campus we have two divisions for boys. The Harim division is for 4th & 5th graders while G’vaot is for 6th through 9th graders. Both of these are led by Rabbi Shaya Samet.

We are blessed to have Rabbi Jeremy Fine as Avnet’s Head Counselor.

He leads the charge to make sure that Avnet is absolutely filled with ruach and excite-

ment on a constant basis!

The Program Director of our New Woodmere Campus is Rabbi Natan Farber. Rabbi Farber makes sure each group has an amazing activity to go to at any given time.

Malkie Behar runs our office all year round and she has a phenomenal ability to know and remember almost every Avnet family and what their particular needs may be.

We begin each morning with an upper staff meeting, which is an opportunity to discuss how things have been going, chat about improvements we would like to make, and focus on the special events of that day. With the help of our enormous staff, nearly 300 strong, we create a warm and friendly environment, which enables all of the campers

from different backgrounds to blend together so well.

I know it isn’t Pesach now, but what makes Avnet different from all the other camps?

Simply put, there are two things that make us standout: our facilities and our mindset.

The New Woodmere Campus is simply stunning. I’ve had the good fortune to lead tours of our new building to prospective Avnet families and to returning staff members. The reactions I get are always the same.

People are simply awed to see what we have at our disposal. Beautiful green baseball fields, freshly paved basketball courts, stunning new heated pools, an outdoor hockey rink, an incredible gym, and a magnificent auditorium. Both campuses have benefitted from this incredible array and we have done our best to utilize what we’ve been given.

The Avnet mindset is fairly simple and it’s one we try to inculcate in our entire staff. We are focused on the

reality that we have a camp with 45 bunks. Each bunk has 9 periods in a day over the course of a 5 day week.

That means there are 45 bunks going to 45 different places each week.

That’s 2,025 different activities. And despite the large number, we are very centered on ensuring that at each of those destinations, the 1,300 people that make up the Avnet family, will enjoy doing something fun, doing something safe, and have a chance to grow as a person. We know that the summer is a chance for everyone to shine!

To make that happen, we pay attention to the details. This is something we emphasize to our staff. Programs work when they are planned properly and plans are followed. And, of course, everyone needs to have a healthy attitude. At our pre-season orientation, I addressed our entire staff and discussed the concept of flexibility. Everyone understands that what was planned on paper in November or March might

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need to be adjusted in July. The staff has risen to the occasion more fully than could ever have been expected and I couldn’t be prouder. As I said earlier both campuses have been making excellent use of our impressive facilities and it’s an evolution that will continue.

Tell us about some of the fun activities the campers enjoy each day.

Rabbi Joey Werner of the DRS Campus and Rabbi Aaron Fleksher of the New Woodmere Campus lead the sports programs on their respective sites. And by all accounts, those program are impressive! Leagues exist for a dizzying number of ages and sports. And those are complemented by clinics where

athletes of any level can hone their skills. Even with all of that, we are not just focused on team sports.

There are clinics in tennis and golf, and we have our very own Avnet Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course!

The list of specialties at Avnet grows every year! For years we’ve had Chinuch, Country Cooking, Arts & Crafts, Fine Arts, Zumba, Music & Movement, Warren Levi Boot Camp, Music, Jewelry Making and Woodworking. As we moved into our new building, we decided to use the additional space to add even more! New to Avnet this

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Creative Corner, Nature, and Ballet.

It’s very encouraging when returning staff members approach me to compliment a new specialty we have added. Thankfully, the compliments have been rolling in!

One of our most popular spe-

cialties is on our DRS Campus. We call it Avnet Adventures and it is run by Rabbi Mordechai Picker. He has an extensive camping resume and therefore is able to delight those seeking a change of pace. Campers are learning

about camping and survival; that includes knot tying, fire safety, the miraculous “space” of Altoid tin boxes, and the many uses of a para cord.

It sounds like there’s a lot of fun going on campus. What about trips off-grounds?

Our off-site adventures are as varied as our in-house programming.

Fun Station, Adventureland, Cyclones Game, Bouncers & Slydos, Active Kidz, Laser Bounce, Fishing , Pole Position Go-Karting, and Dave & Busters are among the many trips we take in our summer season. We send all of our pre-schoolers, boys and girls, as well as our elementary school girls each week to gymnastics. The boys have bowling as a regular part of their schedule.

The real standout trips of this summer have been Six Flags Great Adventure, Hershey Park, High Exposure, and a trip to “Anastasia” on Broadway! One of the highlights of my day is greeting the kids in the morning as the buses roll in, and I invariably get to hear exciting declarations about that day’s trips.

Wow! That sounds like a lot of fun! It seems like Avnet is a great mix of fun, friends and “fabulousness”! Enjoy the rest of the summer.

Thanks so much! We feel blessed and grateful for all of the incredible feedback we have received thus far.

Have a great summer!

By the Numbers

2: campuses 2: brand new pools 6: divisions 1:5: Ratio of campers to staff

45: periods in a week

per group

45: bunks in Avnet 60: Softball jerseys at

the #avnetwoodmere campus

Almost 1,000 campers

250: slices of pizza

served on pizza Friday at the DRS Campus

1,300: slices of pizza

served on pizza Friday at the New Woodmere Campus

2,025: activity

periods happening per week!

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

June

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POOL DATE thru S: Aug 27th* *8 No W /24 and 8/ omen ’s Sw 27 im 25th

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

THIS WEEK WE ARE TALKING TO:

Camp Atara

Exciting Camp Feature! Back for a 4th Year!

How are the youngest Five Townsers spending their summer? Over the summer season we will be speaking with local day camps to learn how our children and teens are spending their eleven weeks of summer vacation. Between swimming, sports, learning, trips, projects, cheers and lots of ices, we know their days are jam-packed with fun.

Hundreds of girls have been enjoying their summer days filled with fun at Camp Atara.

This week, we caught up with head counselors Shonie and Leah to hear more about the excitement at Camp Atara.

Thank you so much for speaking with us. Camp Atara has been around for a while, right?

Yes – 20 years! Camp Atara started in 1997 when the community felt there was a need for an all-girls day camp.

Shonie, Leah, tell us when you joined Atara.

We started working in camp in 2006 and 2007. We are a great team and took over as co-directors on 2012.

We’re halfway through the summer!

How many girls having been enjoying their summer fun at Camp Atara?

There are about 650 girls who love coming to camp every day! Our campers are mostly from the Five Towns, Far Rockaway, West Hempstead and Oceanside areas. We get many calls from girls from other neighborhoods who would love to join us, but we give our spots to the neighborhood kids first.

W h a t

ages are the campers?

Our campers are as

young as three-year-old nursery kids, all the way to 13-year-old eighth graders. They are divided into three divisions. Our pre-school division (nursery – 1st grade) has professional and experienced morahs in each bunk to give our campers the proper attention that they need. They have exciting trips and many special activities brought to them in camp. The middle division (2nd grade – 5th grade) goes on weekly trips and has a non-stop fun schedule with the activities they love to do!

The AtaraAdventurers, our oldest division, is our “traveling camp!” They also enjoy weekly professional tennis lessons, and they have amazing late nights and awesome overnights.

That sounds like so much fun – for all ages. Tell us, what do you think sets you apart from all the other camps?

Well, we absolutely love what we do! We are all friends who get together during the year to plan the summer and to have fun! Our enjoyment and love for what we do is passed to all of our staff who then pass it down to all our campers. We also pride ourselves on being a neighborhood camp and having a pulse on what’s happening in the communi-

ty. We are also special in that we have experienced staff running each activity so our activities are run well and the counselors are able to concentrate on the campers maximizing the fun.

What’s a “regular” day like at camp?

Every day the girls are greeted with welcoming upper division heads, making sure the day starts off with smiles so the girls know where to go and are ready for an exciting day! The girls daven and go to six activities daily. During lunch the cheering and ruach are out of this world!

There is always something special going on at Camp Atara. Besides our regular day filled with activities, we have special days. Some of the special days we have had this year are “Under the Sea,” “Colorful,” Emoji,” “Silly Hair,” and many more!

I heard you have wonderful staff at camp.?

Our staff is top-notch! A lot of our staff returns year after year. They enjoy coming to camp every day, and we greatly appreciate their efforts. We demonstrate that to them with small

tokens throughout the summer like staff night, muffins and coffee, and more.

Yum! What are the kids’ favorite activities?

The girls love all our activities!

Some of the most popular ones are our waterpark, ceramics, creative crafts, indoor/outdoor swimming, nature, aerobics, creative movement, among others.

What trips do the girls enjoy?

The girls love going out on their weekly trip days! So far, some of the places they have enjoyed include Luna Park, Puppets at Play, ice skating, roller skating, biking, Cup ‘o Fun, ropes course, Active Kidz, Funstation, Bounce, Jewish Children’s Museum – and more! The AtaraAdventurers also went on an overnight to Hershey Park!

They even stopped at the Herr’s Factory and tasted freshly baked potato chips.

It all sounds so exciting; I think I want to go back to camp! Do

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you do anything different for the Three Weeks and the Nine Days?

We have special days and have extra cool activities in camp. Some examples are tie dye, a balloon show, a petting zoo, a dunking booth, a more. We also have a bowl-a-thon to raise money for Camp Simcha. Our oldest division spends time doing extra chessed and preparing for a grand carnival. We will also be having a hands-on Beis Hamikdash demonstration to help the girls relate to Tisha B’Av. Shonie, Leah, thank you so much for your time. It seems like the girls are having the time of their lives at Camp Atara.

By the Numbers 650: campers 150: lbs chicken nuggets in one day 143: pies of pizza for Friday lunch 172:Amazon boxes (so far!)

720:slushies from canteen 110: pounds of challah dough each week 31: trips we sent out – just this month!

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1.

TJH

Centerfold

You gotta be kidding

Riddle me this?

replies Yentl. “Are you meshugah or something? How could it be any

As they sit and eat ice cream together, Jill, Tina, and Rachel are each wearing a shirt which is either green, red, or yellow (not necessarily in that order and only one color per girl). The girl wearing green, an only child, ate the least ice cream. Rachel, who is married to Jill’s sister, had more ice cream than the girl wearing red. What color shirt is each girl wearing?

worse?”

See answer on next page

A ferry is sinking and Yankel and his wife Yentl find themselves in the same life raft. Unfortunately, this life raft has been damaged during the panic to throw it overboard, and it is also sinking very slowly. And to make matters worse, the water around them is ice cold; there are sharks all around them; they have no food or drink; nor is there any kind of weapon or emergency flare on board.

After a few minutes of silence, Yankel turns to his wife and says, “I suppose we shouldn’t be too ungrateful, Yentl. Things could have been much worse.”

“What on earth do you mean, things could have been much worse?”

“Well,” replies Yankel, “we could have bought return tickets!”

Actual Excerpts from the Classified Sections of City Newspapers · Illiterate? Write today for free help. · Auto Repair Service. Free pick-up and delivery. Try us once, you’ll never go anywhere again. · Our experienced Mom will care for your child. Fenced yard, meals, and smacks included. · Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children. · Man wanted to work in dynamite factory. Must be willing to travel. · Stock up and save. Limit: one.

· 3-year-old teacher needed for pre-school. Experience preferred. · Mixing bowl set designed to please a cook with round bottom for efficient beating. · Dinner Special - Turkey $2.35; Chicken or Beef $2.25; Children $2.00 · Now is your chance to have your ears pierced and get an extra pair to take home, too. · We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand. · Man, honest. Will take anything.

· Used Cars: Why go elsewhere to be cheated? Come here first. · Wanted. Man to take care of cow that does not smoke or drink. · We build bodies that last a lifetime. · Wanted: Preparer of food.

Must be dependable, like the food business, and be willing to get hands dirty. · And now, the Superstore – unequaled in size, unmatched in variety, unrivaled inconvenience.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

2017 National Spelling Bee (Final Round) Words Know their definitions?

1. Durchkomponiert

A. Type of fish

2. Sceloporus

B. Business cycle of approxi-

3. Juglar

mately nine years

4. Gwyniad

C. Shop selling confectionery

5. Epirrhema

D. An address usually about public affairs

6. Heiligenschein

E. Short-tailed African eagle

7. Barasingha

F. Large yellowish brown deer

8. Konditorei

G. Bright light around shadow of person’s

9. Psophometer

head

10. Aracari

H. Device for measuring the volume of

11. Cavaquinho

noise

12. Gargouillade 13. Marocain

I. Dress fabric made from silk or rayon J. An individual musical setting

14. Cheiropompholyx 15. Berghaan

K. Type of skin disease L. Brazilian stringed musical instrument M. Forward leap in ballet N. Small iguanid lizards O. Colored tropical American toucan

Answer to Spelling Bee 1-J 2- N 3- B 4- A 5- D 6- G 7- F 8-C

9- H 10- O 11- L 12- M 13- I 14- K 15- E

Wisdom Key: 11-15 correct: You are a genius. Period.

5-10 correct: If I told you that you need to study your vocabulary more, I’d be an ultracrepidarian

(which you certainly know means “someone who gives advice outside of their area of expertise”)

at least you have a “heiligenschein.” At least your grandmother thinks you do!

0-4 correct: You have a terrible vocabulary, but

Answer to riddle: Tina is wearing green, Rachel is wearing yellow and Jill is wearing red.

Rachel can’t be wearing green because she did not have the least ice cream. Likewise, Jill is not the one wearing green because she is not an only child; thus Tina must be the one wearing green. Likewise, Rachel had more ice cream than the girl wearing red, which must make her the one wearing yellow, since Jill is wearing red.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Torah Thought

Parshas Devarim – Shabbos Chazon

By Rabbi Berel Wein

T

he Torah reading of this Shabbat and the attendant haftorah from the book of Isaiah always precedes the week of the fast day of the ninth of Av. It is as though our teacher Moshe, a millennium before the destruction of the First Temple, already envisioned the disaster that would befall the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.

This is also true regarding the words of the prophet Isaiah who, a

century before the destruction of the Temple and the exile of Israel to Babylonia and Egypt, predicts and describes the sad event. It is not only the gift of prophecy that Moshe and Isaiah possessed that allowed them to so graphically portray what would happen in the distant future.

It is their keen ability to see the problems that actually produced the sad result that we commemorate this coming week.

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Moshe despairs over the pettiness of their behavior, their constant carping and complaining, and of the burdens that they unnecessarily place upon their leaders and teachers. Isaiah complains regarding the moral and monetary corruption of their leaders and society and of the acceptance by the people

view themselves as though nothing exceptional was to be demanded from them and they would measure their achievements by the yardstick that others established for them.

So it would take a world of millennia-long persecution, discrimination and anti-Semitism to drive home to the Jewish people that they

The anniversary of the destruction of the Temples serves to remind all of us of the cost of not realizing who we are and, just as importantly, why we are.

of such failings. There are no voices raised in objection to the obvious destruction being wrought on Jewish society.

There is no feeling in the general society that somehow they were to be an exceptional people and a light unto the nations of the world. Without this societal feeling there apparently existed no reason for the Jewish kingdom and its holy Temple to survive and continue. Without the mission of the Torah and the feeling of Jewish exceptionalism, the purpose of the Jewish state and its Temple became irrelevant.

It would first take decades and later ages of exile to somehow impress the Jewish people as to their true role in society and civilization. Even then vast numbers of Jews would remain unaware of their place in society and of their purpose for existence. They would

are somehow exceptional, different, and that their history, and their God Who guides it, places a unique and holy mission upon them and all of their generations.

The anniversary of the destruction of the Temples serves to remind all of us of the cost of not realizing who we are and, just as importantly, why we are. This day of sadness serves also to be a day of contemplation and renewed dedication to the values and mission that the Torah and our tradition imposes upon us.

It is not only a day of mourning but it is a day of self-renewal and commitment. That is why the rabbis saw it as a day of potential joy and a holiday.

May it turn out to be that way even this very year. Â Shabbat shalom.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire

Parshas Devarim Shabbos Chazon Living Beyond the Checklist

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

R

av Yaakov Yitzchak of Peshischa, known as the Yid Hakadosh, zy”a, studied a few pesukim from sefer Devarim every day and encouraged his chassidim to do the same in order to increase their fear of Heaven. He called sefer Devarim the best mussar sefer. The Maharal, Reb Tzadok Hakohein, and others explain the deep essence of sefer Devarim, but on a simple level, we must understand the unique nature of the sefer and why Shabbos Chazon, the Shabbos before Tisha B’Av, always occurs on parshas Devarim.

There is a pasuk in Shmuel (2:1:18) which refers to a mysterious book called “Sefer Hayashar,” “the Book of the Upright.” The Gemara (Avoda Zara 25a) offers a number of opinions regarding the identity of this book: Rabbi Chiya bar Abba says in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, “This refers to the book of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov [sefer Bereishis] who were called upright...”

Rabbi Elazar says, “This refers to the Repetition of the Torah [sefer Devarim]. Why is it called the Book of the Upright? Because the pasuk (Devarim 6:18) says, ‘And you shall do what is upright and good in the eyes of Hashem.’” Rabbi Shmuel bar

Nachmeini says, “This refers to the book of Shoftim. Why was it called the Book of the Upright? Because the pasuk (Shoftim 21:25) says, ‘In those days there was no king in Israel; each person did what was upright in his own eyes.’”

The Maharsha, commenting on this Gemara, points out that it is understandable why Bereishis would be called the Book of the Upright since its central theme is the lives of our upright forefathers. It is also understandable why Shoftim would be called the Book of the Upright because the people at that time were the antithesis of that which is upright.

Why, he asks, would sefer Devarim be called the Book of the Upright based only on one pasuk that uses the word “upright”? Indeed, the word also appears in sefer Shmos. The Iyun Yaakov, a commentary on the Ein Yaakov, answers that Devarim, not Shmos, is called the Book of the Upright because the word “upright” appears four times in sefer Devarim and only once in Shmos, but this explanation is not satisfying. The Navi must have used the title “The Book of the Upright” to describe the book’s essence and not based on a tally of how many times the word “upright” is used in each book.

The Maharsha offers a beautiful

explanation. By and large, all of the individual mitzvos are given in the other four books of the Torah. They are given as a list of details; a string of “thou shalts” and “though shalt nots.” The purpose of sefer Devarim is to wrap all of those details into a unified whole called a “Jew,” a spiritual identity which is greater than the sum of its parts. The purpose of sefer Devarim is to teach a person how to go above and beyond each of the individual details of Jewish life to become someone who does “what is good and upright in the eyes of Hashem.” Such a Jew connects the dots of each of the mitzvos into one single transcendent reality. He lives not just to fulfill each of his obligations but to make his Father in Heaven proud.

The Gemara (Taanis 15a) says, “Not everyone will merit light and not everyone will merit joy. The tzadikim merit light and the upright merit joy.” Rashi points out that the upright are on a higher level than the tzadikim. The commentaries ask how Rashi could explain that the upright are greater than tzadikim.

Aren’t tzadikim also upright? It must be that while tzadikim keep all of the individual mitzvos but the upright weave all of those details together and go beyond the letter of the law.

An upright person sanctifies himself by avoiding even certain things which are permissible because he listens to the voice of Hashem within himself. Hashem’s will is not the sum of everything which is technically permissible or forbidden. An upright Jew asks himself what Hashem wants.

In the Talmud, Rabbi Yehuda normally does not derive anything from the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated pesukim based on the principle that the pesukim of the Torah are not written in chronological order. But the Gemara (Yevamos 4a) says that Rabbi Yehuda does derive teachings based on the juxtaposition of pesukim in one book: sefer Devarim. Why? Because a pasuk in Tehilim (111:8) says, “Steadfast [simuchim, juxtaposed] forever, made in truth and uprightness,” and sefer Devarim is called the Book of the Upright. Because the pasuk uses the word for “juxtaposed” with the word “upright,” Rabbi Yehuda infers that one can learn from juxtaposed pesukim in the book known as “upright.” Because sefer Devarim is the Book of the Upright, in which everything about Yiddishkeit is connected, Rabbi Yehuda can derive laws from even seemingly unrelated pesukim which are found side-by-side. In oth-

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

er words, because of sefer Devarim’s identity as a book which connects all of the seemingly disparate details of halacha, one can derive laws from even the seemingly insignificant order of the pesukim.

The lack of uprightness was the central theme of Yeshaya Hanavi’s rebuke of the Jewish people in the haftara of Shabbos Chazon (Yeshaya 1:2, 4). He wrote, “Children I have raised and exalted, yet they have rebelled against Me... Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy with sin, children of evildoers, corrupt children.

They have abandoned Hashem, they have angered the Holy One of Israel, they have turned backwards.” One might think that these harsh pesukim must refer to the worst nonobservant Jews who are heretics and idol worshipers.

But it is clear from the pesukim later in the perek that the Navi is speaking to very “frum” Jews! The Navi says (Id. at 12, 14-15), “When you come to appear before Me [in the Beis Hamikdash on Pesach Shavuos and Sukkos], who requested this of you, to trample My courts? ... Your New Moons and your appointed seasons My soul hates, they are a burden to me. I am weary of enduring them... Even when you pray at length, I do not hear; your hands are full of blood.” The Navi is speaking to Jews who were careful to come to the Beis Hamikdash three times a year. This shows that they were also careful with all of the laws of purity and impurity. They also kept Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh. And not only did they daven, but they “pray at length!” Yet Hashem despises their service?

Why did Hashem reject their service? Because they attempted to keep all of the details while forgetting about the heart of Yiddishkeit. They were not upright. They did not study the ultimate mussar sefer, the book of Devarim. They kept only “checklist Yiddishkeit,” without ever asking “What does Hashem want? What will make Him happy?” They made no effort to fulfill “And you shall do what is upright and good in the eyes of Hashem.” They managed to keep the mitzvos but turned away from G-d.

Hashem told them through the Navi, “This is not what I asked of you! This is not what I wanted!” Hashem told

them (Id. at 16-17), “Wash, cleanse yourselves... learn to do good, seek justice.” The way to rectify their sin was not to become frummer, but to become more upright.

How do we see this today?

My parents were at a hotel in the Catskills which was full of many

what kind of mitzvah G-d put under your nose? You could talk to this girl and give her strength forever.” The rosh yeshiva looked at Reb Shlomo as if to say, “Me, talk to her? Are you crazy? I have to learn!” But the rosh yeshiva was a great man. Reb Shlomo slept for a few hours during the flight but woke up to find the rosh ye-

They kept only “checklist Yiddishkeit,” without ever asking “What does Hashem want? What will make Him happy?”

frum Jews. As the guests were leaving the hotel, they were packing up provisions from the hotel’s catering department for the road. They did not limit themselves to a few cookies for the road, however. Many people loaded up shopping bags full of food to bring back home. He saw one older man accidentally drop a shopping bag he was carrying from the hotel kitchen. Six or seven bags of hot dog buns fell out of the bag. This man may have davened a beautiful Shacharis and gone to the mikvah that morning, but here he was stealing from the hotel. Where is the uprightness?

Reb Shlomo Katz circulated a story told by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach that brings this idea to life. Reb Shlomo knew one major rosh yeshiva who stopped talking to him because of his unusual outreach activities.

He was still cordial to Reb Shlomo but always let him know that he did not approve of what he was doing.

One day, Reb Shlomo saw this rosh yeshiva on an El Al flight from Eretz Yisroel to America. As Reb Shlomo was about to pass the rosh yeshiva, he saw that a young woman, a “hippie” he knew from Los Angeles, was sitting right next to the rosh yeshiva.

Reb Shlomo knew what the girl was going through and that she had just separated from her non-Jewish boyfriend. She had gone to Eretz Yisroel but had to return to the States. As he passed the rosh yeshiva, Reb Shlomo told him, “Heilige rosh yeshiva, you have twelve hours. Do you know

shiva standing next to him. He told Reb Shlomo, “I want you to know, I got a little taste of what you’re doing.

Thank you so much.”

Reb Shlomo concluded that the letter of the law may be that one should not talk to women. And while

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one must know the proper way to do such things, Hashem’s will at that time was that the rosh yeshiva talk to the girl and strengthen her. For a long time after that flight, the girl would tell Reb Shlomo, “I want you to know, on that El Al flight with that big rosh yeshiva, he literally saved my life.”

We must look beyond checking off all of our religious obligations from our Yiddishkeit checklist and ask ourselves, “What does Hashem want from me right now? What would make Him proud?”

May we merit to live upright lives and may this Tisha B’Av be transformed from a day of mourning into a day of celebration as we greet Moshiach with the arrival of the final redemption.

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and has served as Mashpia in Yeshiva University since 2013.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Between the Lines

Timing is Everything

By Eytan Kobre

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen all at once. -Albert Einstein

A

bie walks into a local bar and chances upon his friend Moishe. Smacking one hand against his forehead and the other around Moishe’s shoulder, Abie cries out, “Oy vey, Moishe! I’m so sorry to hear about your store burning down!”

Moishe whisked around sharply.

“Quiet, Abie! That’s not until tomorrow!”

There is great truth in the statement that timing is everything. Timing is essential in the workplace: you don’t ask for a raise when business is not going well or when you’ve recently committed some blunder. Timing is essential in cooking: that juicy hamburger on the grill is raw meat if not cooked long enough and a clump of charcoal if cooked too long. Timing is essential in medicine: go for a check-up too early and a problem won’t be detected, too late and there may be no cure. Timing is essential in sports: As baseball great Warren Spahn opined, “Hitting is timing.

Pitching is upsetting timing.”

And so it is in the spiritual life.

Do a good deed at the wrong time, and it could be a sin; commit a sin at the right time, and (under certain conditions) it could be a good deed (Koheles Rabba 3; Nazir 23b).

The Jewish people learned this lesson the hard way.

Although the Jewish people had proclaimed that they would “go up and fight [to conquer the Land of Israel]” (Devarim 1:41), it was too little, too late: they had previously indicated an unwillingness to do so, and they had lost the opportunity.

Despite having confessed their error in doubting G-d’s ability and willingness to give them the Land of Israel, the Jewish people nonetheless were barred from entering the land (Ralbag, Devarim 1:42). Sometimes we are given a specific opportunity at a specific time, and if we do not capitalize on it, it is lost for eternity.

“How good is a thing in its [proper] time!” (Mishlei 15:23; Sanhedrin 101a; Eruvin 54a). “There is a time for everything, and a proper moment for every purpose” (Koheles 3:1).

“Anyone who pushes the moment, the moment pushes him off; all who are pushed off by the moment, the

moment will be pushed off for them” (Berachos 64a). “How dear is a good deed at the optimal time” (Pesachim 68b; see also Shabbos 10a; Berachos 26a). The examples are endless.

Then there is bad timing. “Do not appease your fellow at the time of his anger, do not console him at the time his deceased lies before him, do not ask him [to regret] at the time of his oath, and do not attempt to see him at the time of his downfall” (Avos 4:18). This is not about appeasement, consolation, oaths, or downfalls. It is about timing. Each of these can be a good deed, but not when the timing is off.

So, “there was a proper time for Adam to enter the Garden of Eden, and a proper time for him to leave it,” “there was proper time for Noach to enter the ark, and there was a proper time for him to leave it,” “there was a proper time for Avraham to perform circumcision,” and “there was a proper time for the Torah to be given to the Jewish people” (Koheles Rabba 3; Bereishis Rabba 3:34). Life is not just a matter of knowing what to do and how to do it, but also knowing when to do it and when not to.

Even the ignoble recognize the value of good timing. Bilam was pow-

erful because he was able to time, and thus tap into, the precise instant every day when G-d is “angry” (Sanhedrin 105b). Korach is described as an “intelligent person” because he knew that timing is everything – he chose to make his move against Moshe precisely after the debacle of the spies.

The people were depressed. Morale was low. The Jewish people had just learned that they would have to endure 40 years of wandering through the desert. And that was the ideal time to pounce (Rashi and Ramban, Bamidbar 16:5).

Child-rearing, at its core, is all about timing. Introduce something too early or too late, and the child cannot comprehend or abide by it – or refuses to. It’s about hitting strides. Rabbi Frand tells the story of a child prodigy, later to become a great Torah scholar, who, at the age of seven already was discussing profound topics with adult scholars.

During one such discussion, the boy excused himself to play on a rocking horse. Asked to reconcile this childish behavior with his high-level Torah discussions, the young boy answered, “I still have to be a child.”

A couple once came to R’ Michoel Ber Weissmandl in tears, distraught

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

over their grown son’s looming intermarriage.

Rabbi Weissmandl related to them a parable told to him by R’ Chaim Soloveitchik about two neighboring towns whose merchants traded with one another regularly. When war erupted in the area, the border between the two factions was drawn between the two towns. The cemetery that serviced both towns now lay firmly within the borders of one side, such that the town occupied by the opposing authorities could avail themselves of the cemetery only with advance permission from the enemy.

The merchants of the town severed from the cemetery hatched a plan to resuscitate their dead trade with the other town. Masquerading as mourners in a funeral procession, the merchants would hide their goods in caskets and gain passage through the border. To make the ruse seem realistic, the merchants

would cry and wail as they carried the casket laden with goods over the border and to the cemetery.

With time and repetition, the ritual grew contrived. The merchants

were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.

Shortly before their execution, the merchants were granted an appearance with the commanding of-

Sometimes we are given a specific opportunity at a specific time, and if we do not capitalize on it, it is lost for eternity. had trouble feigning grief to begin with, but now they could hardly muster a fake tear, and some even chuckled while crossing the border.

Sensing that these were no real mourners, the commanding officer at the border pried open a casket to find it laden with goods. He immediately ordered the merchant “mourners” jailed, and, in short order, they

ficer. They cried and cried for mercy, but to the commanding officer was unmoved. “You’re crying at the wrong time. Had you cried convincingly at the right time you would have no reason to cry now…”

“So it is with raising your child,” Rabbi Weissmandl concluded. “Had you cried for your son’s welfare at the right time, you would have no

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need to cry now.”

The dreadful time of year in which we find ourselves was decreed not because we cried, but because we cried at the wrong time: had we cried one good cry before being exiled, we would never have been exiled at all (Yalkut, Tehillim 883; Medrash Tehillim 137). It was exceptionally poor timing.

And yet is opportune timing that can roll it all back. Referring to the final redemption, Yeshayahu prophesied in the name of G-d, “I, G-d, will hasten it in its time” (Yeshayahu 60:22). “If [we] so merit, the redemption will be hastened; otherwise, it will come in its appointed time” (Sanhedrin 98a).

Either way, that time should be now.

Eytan Kobre is a writer, speaker, mediator, and attorney living in Kew Gardens Hills. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? E-mail eakobre@outlook.com.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Observant Jew

Share the Love

By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

O

ne morning at shul, I began to have chest pains and difficulty breathing. It wasn’t anything terrible that you might think of and I’d prefer not to mention but was instead caused by something I witnessed.

Many of my readers know I write a weekly parsha sheet called the Migdal Ohr. I also put out several others in my shul including one written by a rosh kollel in Israel (to whom I gave the idea to write weekly) and one on the haftorah written by someone in his kollel (also my idea.)

I generally print out copies and place them on the bima so people can take them as they enter.

So what shook me to my core and imperiled my health? Someone was “cleaning up” and stacked all my papers up and moved them elsewhere, where people wouldn’t see them. Rather an extreme reaction you think? He definitely did.

I said, “Hillel, you’re killing me!” I explained that I put my heart and soul into sharing words of Torah and seeing him just steal that away from me, albeit unintentionally and well-meaningly, made me physically ill. He thought I ought to get my head examined because wasn’t the biggest deal in the world but I disagreed.

Every day we say a blessing that Hashem commanded us to “toil in words of Torah.” In essence, Torah is supposed to be our business. If a business owner walked into his warehouse to see vandals destroy-

ing everything, including things that were not insured, would anyone be shocked if he had a heart attack?

Then why should it seem strange that I would feel that way about my business, which has value for eternity?

But that’s not the point of this piece.

The point is that this person couldn’t understand why I was so bothered. But if it had happened to him, in his own version of it, he would have no problem relating or understanding.

Another case in point: my daugh-

I’m sure she’s a very nice girl and that she didn’t mean to be hurtful but to my daughter those words cut like a knife. Here was something she cared about and someone else didn’t appreciate that.

Much is said about sinas chinam, baseless hatred, and the need for ahavas chinam, unconditional love.

I would like to suggest that ahavas chinam or “free love” is what we give ourselves. We always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and try to avoid hurting ourselves. Why? What

We always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and try to avoid hurting ourselves. Why? ter has a special gift for doing hair and makeup. While I have a hard time relating (especially to the hair part) I know that it makes her happy when she can make someone feel beautiful. She prides herself on being well put-together also, and doesn’t feel it’s right to go out looking sloppy. One Friday in camp, after she’d braided, twisted, and pinned hair for half a dozen other girls, she finally got to get herself ready for Shabbos. She must have done something different that day and another girl commented, “Your hair looks weird.”

have we ever done to deserve that love? Of course, we’ve done absolutely nothing other than exist.

My thought here is that ahavas chinam is loving myself just because I’m me, and sinas chinam is not loving others because they’re not me.

If I loved others like I love myself, I would have figured out what makes them tick, what’s important to them and what is the proverbial “air they breathe.” I would be sensitive to what gives them the will to live and the drive to produce.

When Bar Kamtza showed up at

the party, the host could only think of himself. He wanted this man out of his house. If he would have thought a moment about how Bar Kamtza must have felt at thinking the host wanted to make peace and then being embarrassed like that, he would have realized that proceeding to throw him out would be like murdering him. But he didn’t, because he only thought about himself.

As we approach Tisha B’Av and ask ourselves why the Bais Hamikdash hasn’t been rebuilt, we must remember that the answer doesn’t begin with: “Because he didn’t…” or “Because they…”. The answer begins with, “Because I still need to…”

Let’s focus on sharing the love we have for ourselves with others and try to see what makes them happy or sad, so we can treat them as we treat ourselves. This will go a long way towards raising our nation up so we’re ready for Moshiach.

Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world.

You can find him at www.facebook.com/ RabbiGewirtz and follow him on Twitter @RabbiJGewirtz. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion. Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@JewishSpeechWriter. com and put Subscribe in the subject.

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A Fulfilled L fe

Prophets of Hope amidst Despair

By Rabbi Naphtali Hoff, PsyD

O

n Tisha B’Av we commemorate and mourn – amongst other tragic events – the destruction of the First Jerusalem Temple and the exile of our people by the wicked Nevuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. This event marked the culmination of a long period of defeat and exile, starting one and one half centuries earlier with the northern Israelite Kingdom at the hands of the Assyrians, a process that took place over multiple years and stages. Similarly, the southern Kingdom of Judah was defeated and exiled in three stages over a period of eighteen years, which culminated with the Churban.

Throughout this entire period the Jewish people were fortunate to be led by some of the greatest proph-

ets in our nation’s history. Beginning with Yeshayahu (Isaiah), who lived during the period of the northern exile, and then Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) and Yechezkel (Ezekiel), each man presented their beleaguered brethren the opportunity to repent while providing direction and a hope for the future. In this essay we will look at the lives of each prophet to gain greater insight into who they were, the times in which they lived, and the contributions that they made under trying circumstances.

YESHAYAHU The prophet Yeshayahu was also the son of a prophet – Amoz – and a member of the royal Davidic family.

His daughter would later marry distant kin, the Judean king Chizkiya-

hu (Hezekiah). His death also came at the hands of a relative – his own grandson Menashe, who viewed him as a heretic and false prophet.

Politically, Yeshayahu counseled Jewish leaders to exercise patience when faced with adversity. He instructed them to refrain from rebellious behavior or from forming foreign alliances that would compromise Jewish autonomy. However, he was largely ignored, to the people’s detriment. The Judean king Achaz, an idolater and Chizkiyahu’s father, entered into a shortsighted alliance with the Assyrians against the Israelite Kingdom. The result was surrendered independence. Later, Chizkiyahu chose to rebel against Assyria, almost losing his kingdom in the process.

The majority of Yeshayahu’s messages, however, were devoted not to Judah’s foreign policy, but rather to the nation’s social and religious order. Throughout his lifetime, Yeshayahu proclaimed the word of G-d and encouraged the Jews to serve as a “light unto the nations.”

His “End of Days” vision describes a day when the whole world will be transformed. At that time, G-d’s historical design for the nations will be realized in Zion, when they will learn the ways of G-d and to walk in His path. The completion of our exile will be accompanied by the abolition of war. “The wolf will lie down with the lamb, the leopard with the kid” (Isaiah 11:6). Moshiach, a descendant of the house of David, will establish a reign of righ-

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teousness and truth. “(The nations) shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift the sword against nation’ neither shall they learn war anymore” (Ibid 2:4).

which is read on Tisha B’Av.

YECHEZKEL The message of Yechezkel has special meaning for the Jewish community in exile. His was the first and

G-d rhetorically asked the prophet, “Can these bones live?” G-d then instructed Yechezkel to “prophesize” to the bones that they will soon be reconnected and covered with flesh, after which they will once again be

The message of the prophet is clear. The Jewish people had expressed a sense of despair and disillusion, lamenting that “our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off!” G-d responded with a message of optimism and renewal.

“I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.” Do not feel rejected. I am still with you. You will be successful in your new land and will eventually be brought once again to Israel.

YIRMIYAHU Yirmiyahu first began to prophesize in the years following the reign of Menashe and his idolatrous inroads. He continued to do so for the rest of his life, cajoling the people to seek atonement. His later years coincided with the rise of Bavel as a world power and its extended exile of the Jewish people. His messages are clearly marked with a conviction that Judah was under G-d’s judgment and that Bavel was His appointed messenger to exile the Jews.

His message stressed spiritual and moral improvement, not military prowess or political savvy.

Yirmiyahu said that only repentance could save the people from destruction (Jeremiah 9:22-23). When his message went left unheeded, he realized that destruction was inevitable. He thus counseled submission to Bavel, opposing any talk of revolt.

Such talk, of course, did little to enhance Yirmiyahu’s popularity amongst the Jewish people. Both the populace and the monarchs opposed him. He was later forbidden entrance to the Temple (Jeremiah 36:5) and was even imprisoned.

Throughout, Yirmiyahu displayed remarkable resilience and fortitude in his heavenly mission.

The people of his time grossly misunderstood his motives. He was perceived as a prophet of doom, who took pleasure in predicting pain and destruction. Of course, the exact opposite was true. Yirmiyahu wanted desperately for the Jews to heed his cry and to change their sinful ways.

When his foreboding predictions did come to pass, he refused to indulge in personal vindication. Rather, he voluntarily escorted his exiled brethren as far as the Euphrates and mourned their loss. Yirmiyahu is the author of Eicha (Lamentations),

Yirmiyahu wanted desperately for the Jews to heed his cry and to change their sinful ways.

only communication from amongst the primary prophets to be relayed exclusively outside the land of Israel.

As one of the earlier exiles, Yechezkel was brought to Bavel. There, he began to prophesize, even before the Temple’s destruction. Like his fellow prophet Yirmiyahu, he initially focused on Divine retribution. The Jews would receive their just and predicted punishment for having violated their covenant with G-d. Their only hope for averting His wrath was through complete and sincere repentance.

Following the destruction, however, Yechezkel’s message became one of empowering hope. He taught that all was not lost; G-d would never abandon the Jewish people!

Yechezkel stated that the nation’s collective revival could only come through a spiritual resurgence on the ground level. This gave each particular Jew a tremendous sense of responsibility for his own conduct, while at the same time fostering a feeling of accountability towards the nation as a whole.

Yechezkel’s most famous prophecy of hope and restoration was his “Vision of the Dry Bones” (Ezekiel Chapter 37). In this prophecy, Yechezkel finds himself placed by G-d in the midst of a spacious valley. The valley was full of the dry, lifeless bones of hundreds or perhaps thousands of slain, unburied victims.

An awful silence fell over Yechezkel as he surveyed this scene of desolation and death. Suddenly,

Rabbi Naphtali Hoff, PsyD, is an executive coach and president of Impactful Coaching & Consulting. He can be reached at (212) 470-6139 or at nhoff@ impactfulcoaching.com.

Learn more about his soon-to-be-released book, Becoming the New Boss and download a free chapter at BecomingtheNewBoss.com.

brought to life. Immediately, the tens of thousands of bones began to connect, “bone to its bone.” Sinews, muscles, and flesh then surrounded them. After their physical framework was restored, G-d infused the breath of life within them.

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Another L

k

Broadcasting a Positive Message

By Rabbi YY Rubinstein

T

he Yerushalmi Yuma 1:1 says: “Every generation that does not see the Beis Hamikdash rebuilt in its days is considered as though it caused its destruction.”

Sadly, there is no shortage of evidence of Jews in our times echoing the thoughts and deeds of the generation that witnessed the walls of Jerusalem come crashing down.

Yet a friend wrote to me recently expressing a concern about focusing too much on our failures. Among other things he wrote were these words, “I think that instead of focusing and rehashing the divisions amongst us we would gain much more by seeing the good in each other.”

It is a fair point. After all, what makes a child succeed more: positive reinforcement or negative criticism?

I can easily retrieve memories of my favorite teachers and not just from school days when I was young but throughout my life. The very best

teachers conveyed a message that was encouraging. They pointed to my successes and achievements. If I needed mussar it was done subtly and with a smile.

In an approbation for my last book, Jewish Life and Jewish Laughter, Rabbi Paysach Krohn quoted from his great teacher Reb Sholom Schwardron, zt”l. “In our times, mussar should be given through humor.”

When we are introduced to our failures, it has to be in a way that invites us to embrace what is being said, and there is no better way than allowing us to laugh at ourselves.

I’ve just finished recording eight radio broadcasts for the BBC, something I have done regularly for twenty five years. Sitting inside a BBC studio all alone with just a microphone, headphones and your script can be a very nerve-racking experience.

In front of you is a large, soundproof window where three or four people are watching and listening to you very carefully. The sound engineers make sure the volume is OK. The producer and his or her assistant are making sure you speak clearly and slowly. Often they will suggest last minute changes. How words come across on paper might be totally different when someone is hearing them, as opposed to reading them.

Inevitably, when I started my broadcasting career, my nervousness often led me to stumble and falter. A polite English voice would suddenly fill the studio, saying, “Just read that again, please,” or, “Let’s take that from the top.” This was, after all, the BBC and everything had to be perfect. But it was how those words were said that made the difference between an enjoyable recording session and a disastrous one.

If the voice said, “Just read that

again, please” in a tone that suggested the slightest impatience or exasperation things went from bad to worse.

One stumble became a succession of stumbles. “Let’s take that from the top” became “Let’s take that from the top” – over and over and over again.

But the best producers got the very best from me by tweaking these words just a teeny bit. They altered “Just read that again, please” to “That was really, really good! Could you just read that again? We didn’t have the volume right at our end.” The tone of the voice mattered too. It was the friendly and encouraging voice that produced my best recordings.

The funny thing is I soon understood that my producer was just saying those sorts of things to make me feel good so I wouldn’t be nervous, but it still worked! Just realizing that they were on my side and were trying to make me succeed meant that I did.

It’s something Rabbi Dessler, zt”l,

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points to in his essay on Tisha B’Av. There are three weeks of criticism, leading up to the saddest day in the calendar, where over and over again our failures led to disaster and tears. But they are followed by seven weeks of comfort and reconciliation.

The voice that suggests impatience or exasperation has to be balanced by a different voice that is trying to make us succeed – so that we do. And that balance has to weigh heavily on the side of words that offer encouragement and are heard in a tone that is friendly and kind.

And when my friend wrote, “I think that instead of focusing and rehashing the divisions amongst us we would gain much more by seeing the good in each other,” I remembered an evening many years ago in Manchester, England.

the sink. He held up his coin to show her his first “wage.” His mother, who was a strict Methodist, looked down at her son’s hand reaching up towards her and at the coin it held.

“Where did you get that?” she asked.

“The Jew, Mr. Issacs, gave it to me, Mam,” He said excitedly and hur-

I had been invited to speak at a fundraising event for a well-known Jewish charity. There was one other speaker at the event, Lord Tonypandy, the former Speaker of the UK’s House of Commons.

Lord Tonypandy’s real name was George Thomas. He was born in a Welsh Mining town in 1909, eventually becoming a Labour MP. He was a deeply religious Christian and a great friend of Britain’s Jewish community.

When I met him on that night, he was already an old man suffering from cancer. Yet when a friend asked him to come and speak at a fundraising event for a Jewish charity, he defied his illness to travel four hours from London to help.

I liked him straightaway and when he spoke to his audience of five hundred Jews, he recalled the first Jew he ever met. He was nine-yearsold and the First World War had just ended.

There was one Jew living in the Welsh town he grew up in, a Mr. Issacs. One day, he approached the young “Geordie Thomas” with a proposition. If he would come into his home every Friday night and every Saturday morning to light his coal fire George would earn a threepence.

The little boy happily agreed and rushed home to proudly show his mother his “three-pennny” coin. He entered his mother’s kitchen and found her standing, washing dishes at

ried on, “I’ve to go into his house every Friday night and Saturday morning to light his coal fire. If I do that, I get a three-pence!”

The mother frowned and replied sternly, “Take it back, boy!”

Lord Tonypandy told his audience that his younger self had tears welling up in his eyes as he appealed to his mother, “But he said I could have it!”

Again his mother frowned and repeated, “Take it back, boy!”

Now he was crying in earnest and said, “But why?”

The mother looked at her son in surprise and replied, “You don’t take money from a man to help him serve his G-d!”

And so little Geordie Thomas went back to the Jew to return the coin and explained the reason why.

Mr. Issacs would hear nothing of it and promptly marched the little boy back to his mother. Then began a debate between the religious Christian woman and the religious Jew about the fate of the three-pence. Eventually a compromise was reached. George Thomas could keep the coin on that first occasion; afterward he would light the Jew’s fire for free.

Then Lord Tonypandy told his audience, “And you, Jews, you’ve forgotten who you are! When we in this country were living in caves, you had already built your golden Temple in Jerusalem. When we were wearing

bearskins for clothes, you’d already written the book that would be the moral and ethical inspiration of mankind!”

There were many listening in that Jewish audience who had tears welling up in their eyes as he concluded, “Never be ashamed of being Jewish.

You’ve forgotten who you are.”

“And you, Jews, you’ve forgotten who you are! When we in this country were living in caves, you had already built your golden Temple in Jerusalem.”

The right words said in the right way can make people – who might stumble and then stumble and stumble again – regain their confidence

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and stand straight and stand tall.

There is another voice we should listen to, especially when we could easily focus on our failures and stumble afresh. His words are encouraging and kind and are guaranteed to bring out the best in us. We are supposed to broadcast them every morning.

“Modeh ani l’fonecha Melech chai k’ayam, I give thanks to You, King and Living G-d.”

But it is the final few words, though, that we have to hear clearly and slowly: “Rabba emunosecha, Great is Your faith.”

His faith is the faith He has in each and every Jew. That means, too, that He has faith in all the Jews, His faith in Klal Yisroel.

So I think that my friend was probably right. Instead of focusing and rehashing the divisions amongst us, we would gain much more by seeing the good in each other. After all, there is so much good to see to understand that we needn’t stumble ever again.

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BOBKER ON TISHA B’AV Tisha B’Av: Trouble’s My Middle Name

By Joe Bobker

T

isha B’Av is one of three – the other two are Purim and Chanukah – non-Biblical festivals in the Jewish calendar and is traced back to the Biblical episode of the Meraglim, 12 Israelite spies who, despite being prominent “princes of each tribe,” delivered a devastating intelligence report describing Canaan as “a land that devours its inhabitants,” adding, with a stunning lack of confidence and pride, “we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so were we in their sight.”

No wonder our rabbis have a saying: sh’minit shebesh’minit, that even the most humble person needs an “eighth of an eighth” of pride.

Their diba ra’ah, “bad-mouthed” finding, came a mere fourteen months out of Egypt, to an exhausted folk who stood less than three days away from a promised land of milk and honey. The cowardly report depressed them into apathy, stupor, passiveness, and a massive identity crisis. And worse: it created a warped desire to turn back the clock, “Were it not better for us to return to Egypt?”

Their response was in radical contrast with the later episode when Joshua also sent spies who came back with a highly positive report. The stunning difference between these two responses can be understood by way of this notable little story: A Sage was sitting at a crossroads when a traveler approached him and asked, “Wise man, tell me, what are the people like in the next town?”

The Sage replied: “What were the people like in the previous town?”

“They were fine and good people,” the traveler answered.

“You will find that the people in the next town are fine and good people,” the old man replied.

A few hours later another traveler approached him with a similar inquiry. “Wise man, please tell me, what are the people like in the next town?”

The Sage replied: “What were the people like in the previous town?”

“They were selfish and evil people,” the traveler answered.

“You will find that the people in the next town are selfish and evil people!” the old man replied.

The spies of Moses went with a preconceived bias: they were suspicious of G-d’s promises and distrustful of the future. Thus they saw what suited them; Joshua’s scouts went with self-assurance, determined to implement G-d’s will and harbored no doubts as to their ultimate triumph. As the Yiddishists would summarize: Tracht gut, es vet zein gut, think well and it will be well.

When the Torah described their task it uses the Hebrew word for “tourist,” La’tour et Ha’aretz, an eerie early warning to future Diaspora Jews who refuse to visit Israel whenever it is “unsafe” to do so thus undermining the solidarity of an entire people.

Ten of the twelve spies, never having shaken off their Egyptian-victim status of kivros hata’avah, the “graves of lust,” had singlehandedly destroyed a nation’s morale, shat-

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Mourning after a pogrom

tered lofty aspirations, and belittled the Jews’ capacity to cope with the immediate challenge of conquest.

An angry G-d, aghast at this sudden debacle, reflects His fury in the sudden change of terminology: when the spies originally set out on their mission a proud Torah announces each by name and tribe; but upon return, the Torah ignores them totally, not even mentioning their names. God’s response is quick and brutal: “You cried without cause; I will, therefore, make this an eternal day of mourning for you.”

Thus the ignominy of Tisha B’Av was born, and G-d’s first national ordained death penalty is recorded as that generation is condemned to die before entry.

T

he moment G-d decreed that “Trouble” was to be Tisha B’Av’s middle name, the Ninth of Av entered the Jewish calendar cycle as our Annual Bad Omen Day. Its zodiac sign is a lion, appropriately chosen by Eicha’s “He is a lurking bear to me, a lion in hiding,” as if the Heavens have “stood aside” each year during this month and allowed the “lurking bears, lions,” and wild animals to have their way with His flock; a gentile free-for-all that drives the Jews to yearn for the day when the beasts of prey are tamed, when “wolves live with the sheep, leopards lie down with the kid, and a nursing child can play by a viper’s

hole.”

Jewish history’s date-fixation with the “9th” was such that all disasters, whether they occurred on the Ninth of Av, or close by, were automatically allocated to this day; a day that our Kabbalists claim proves the world’s incompleteness. On this day Jerusalem was destroyed; once by

pelled Jews from Russia’s border provinces on this day which marked the beginning of the end of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. Jewish mystics, by juxtaposing 1492 and 1942, linked the Tisha B’Avs of those two years to the sight of Spanish Jews being expelled to the seas and Warsaw Ghetto Jews being shuffled as if cat-

Our kinos are only substitutes for the thousands of volumes of unwritten diaries and incomplete chronicles, whose bloodstained pages were penned

by Jews being reduced to cinders either at the Temple or at Treblinka.

the Chaldeans, twice by the Romans’ Titus and Hadrian. So many Jews were sold into slavery that the open market price of slaves collapsed. It was on Tisha B’Av 1242 that Torah scrolls and 20,000 handwritten Jewish manuscripts would burn in Paris ordered by Pope Innocent IV who wasn’t so innocent and who rewarded King Louis IX with a “Sainthood” for being such a good arsonist. As a result of those flames, all the yeshivas of Paris closed dow, and the spiritual decline of French Jewry began.

Beitar fell on Tisha B’Av. The Crusaders started their bloodbaths on Tisha B’Av. Jews were unceremoniously kicked out of England on this day. Germany would start a World War on Tisha B’Av, and the Czar ex-

tle to a crematoria.

It all comes rushing back to us on this day when we begin Lamentations with the word “Eichah!” an expression that Kabbalists link via the same letters (alef, yud, kof, heh) to ayeka, the word that G-d uses when rebuking Adam, “Where [ayeka] are you?” in order to show that Adam, history’s first alienated exile, was the archetype symbol of G-d’s loss of harmonious relationships.

Sadness propels the words of kinos that are nothing more than a revisit of the savagery, one that unpleasantly throws the ghosts of our enemies amongst us. They are a summary of works written on behalf of the millions of Jews who were unable to bear witness to what they

saw, heard, experienced. But remember: our kinos are only substitutes for the thousands of volumes of unwritten diaries and incomplete chronicles, whose bloodstained pages were penned by Jews being reduced to cinders either at the Temple or at Treblinka.

Megillas Eicha is literally,“The Book of How” – as in, “How can it be?” – thus making it a floating manuscript of “how” to remember the outrages of Jewish history. And yet each remembers differently. The first two “songs” of Eicha (“Help us turn to You, L-rd, and we will return, Renew our days as of old”) are plaintive, mournful, wistful. The tone then shifts as the last coda burst forth in joyous and rousing, bright and invigorating optimism, perhaps matching the marching spirit of those pious Holocaust victims who sang Ani maamin as they walked their last mile.

These last lyrics make Tisha B’Av, in its own strange way, a day of robust and imaginative hope.

I first came to this conclusion as a teenager.

E

very year on Tisha B’Av, a Holocaust survivor sitting in front of me in shul would reminisce as to how he had softly repeated the phrase Yissurim shel ahavah (“afflictions of love”) over and over to himself during his four Tisha B’Avs in the death camps. This concept first appears with R’ Yohanan, rosh yeshi-

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va of Tiberias and a second-generation Palestinian Amora, who enters Jewish history as a man of tragedy, a walking epitome of Judaic suffering who was born an orphan, raised through poverty, had ten sons only to outlive them all – yet remained pious despite all hardships.

When that survivor muttered R’ Yohanan’s words of “Yissurin shel ahavah,” it allowed him the “comfort of comprehension,” hope within his hopelessness, and a method to deal with his loneliness, pain and heartache. It reminded him that he was not alone; that his suffering was within the context of a Divine plan, that there already existed a Jewish calendar day of cruelty even before Adolf Hitler goose-stepped his way into Polish Jewry. This helped him retain his sanity in an insane asylum where Jews, reduced to madness, were obsessively sewing their own burial shrouds and trying them on to ensure a perfect fit.

Tisha B’Av allowed each Jew to look over his hurt shoulder and see the shifting silhouettes of Jewish history; the shadows of the Bar Kochba revolt, the First and Second Crusades, the Mainz affair, the pogroms surrounding the Black Plague, the blood libel in Trent, the ferocious Christian passion plays, the burning of the Marranos, the “hep, hep” taunts of World War I, of Kishinev, and of the wretched “Ratevette!”

(Please save me!) cries that poured forth from the suffocating Third Reich.

The repetition of Tisha B’Av reminded him that there exist not only days of dark destruction, but also desirable days of creation. (Which is why Jews answer Baruch Hashem (“Thank G-d”) whenever asked, “How are you?” regardless of how they really are; because these two simple words represent the Jewish affirmation of life.)

The recurring annual theme of Tisha B’Av allows Jewish communities trapped in adversarial times to see their own dreadful dilemma within the totality of Jewish history; its traumatic historiography acting as a compass to help each generation – especially those today in the Third Jewish Commonwealth facing indiscriminate terror, stabbings, and

rockets, place their own sufferings within Jewish destiny.

There is an insightful Talmudic parable about hope: two Jews lose

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Jewish people, predicted that there would come a day when the Scroll of Lamentations will be prefaced with a Shecheheyanu, a blessing of thanks-

Polish Jews would break their Tisha b’Av fast, light a fire, throw their kinos into the flames – and dance and sing the night away convinced it was their last Tisha b’Av before the Messiah came something, say a sefer, at 2:00pm. By 4:00pm both conclude, “It’s gone.”

However one was found by a stranger at 3:00pm, the other by another stranger at 5:00pm. The first sefer must be returned to its original owner, but not the second. Why? Because the owner had renounced his own possession. The Judaic moral of the story? Never give up hope. Doomed Jews were able to look ahead because of their DNA of optimism. They knew the odds: that the Hitlerian or Crusader sounds in the background would be drowned out by the past voices of the Hebrew Prophets; that the Auschwitzs would come and go, but the eternal Jew always remained, not so easily defeated after all.

This is why Polish Jews would break their Tisha B’Av fast, light a fire, throw their kinos into the flames – and dance and sing the night away convinced it was their last Tisha B’Av before the Messiah came.

This is why Megillas Eicha, unlike Megillas Esther and the other Scrolls, was never written on parchment but on ordinary and inexpensive paper with temporary binding.

Not only because it was going to be reduced to ashes after the fast but because parchment represented permanence, a means of recording something indefinitely, forever, an attitude totally inappropriate in the context of Jewish suffering and persecution, on a day overflowing with the tears of Jewish children that is intended to accelerate the Redemption.

This is why Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdetchiv, the 18th-century chassidic “defense attorney” for the

giving, because the Tisha B’Av of Messianic times will be a day of rejoicing. The Berdetchiver was aware that the first word of Tehillim in which some of the worst calamities of Tisha B’Av are listed starts not with the word kina but mizmor, an expression of praise, a hint of acclaim, a teaser of adulation.

One day a chossid was shocked

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to see his Rebbe dancing happily on the Ninth of Av. As he approached his spiritual mentor he noticed that his Rebbe was dancing with tears of sadness pouring from his eyes. He asked why. “It’s very simple,” his Rebbe replied, “it’s a mitzvah to be sad on the ninth of Av, and a mitzvah must be carried out with happiness!”

Therefore, while it is technically correct to refer to Tisha b’Av as the traditional day in the Jewish calendar of preeminent mourning, sorrow and grieving, it is just as correct to refer to it as our traditional day of hope par excellence.

Remember: Tisha B’Av is also the day when Noah sent out the dove.

Joe Bobker is the author of the popular Torah with a Twist of Humor series. The first two of 18 volumes of his monumental work, Historiography of Orthodox Jews and the Holocaust, will be published this Rosh Hashana. Mr. Bobker can be reached at jbobker@gmail.com.

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A Message of Hope and Courage Dr. Moshe Avital, Holocaust Survivor and Member of the Hagana, Tells His Story

By Malka Eisenberg

“I

n the camps people were dying all around us,” Dr. Moshe Avital recalls. “They were saying we will all die here and no one will know what happened! If anyone survives, please tell the world what happened! I made a neder (promise) to tell what happened; I made it my mission.”

Dr. Avital recounts his life story with determination and courage.

He lived through the Holocaust as a young boy and lost his family, his town, his community. But with a strong will to survive, he valiantly endured the Nazi inferno and managed to make it to Israel, fighting in the Hagana for the Jewish State. He was smuggled into Israel via Aliyah Bet, was freed from the Atlit detention camp with 1,100 other orphans, and eventually became a developer of the Chidon Tanach. Dr. Avital is now

a prolific author and much sought-after speaker. Here, the survivor and witness to Nazi horrors recounts part of his story.

M

oshe Avital, then Lipschitz – he changed his name in Israel – was born in Bilke, Czechoslavakia, now part of the Ukraine, in 1928, the youngest of 11 children, six boys and five girls. He was a student in public school until 3:30 in the afternoons and then went off to the local cheder until 8 at night, later entering the yeshiva in Bilke at age 12.

The Hungarians occupied the area in 1938 but gave their area of Carpathia to Hungary when the Hungarians joined with the Germans against Russia. Slowly, the decrees rolled in: forced labor battalions for all Jewish males 18 to 50 to build airfields,

roads and bunkers for the Germans and Hungarians. “They took three of my brothers; two perished, one survived,” says Dr. Avital. Jews were not allowed to own property. The Nazis set up curfews so Jews couldn’t go out after sundown or travel anytime; they couldn’t go to school.

The Jews were taken to a ghetto in Beregsaz and “housed” in a brick factory surrounded by Hungarian soldiers and barbed wire. It had been used to store bricks so it only had a roof and pillars. They were given only watery soup once a day. The son of the Sprinka Rebbe was the rabbi of Bilke and secretly conducted services and Torah classes in the barracks. After two months there, the Jews were packed, about 100 people to a boxcar, with two containers, one for water and one for human waste. “The doors slammed shut and the train moved. It was closed except for one corner high

up near the roof secured by barbed wire. The Jews stood on each other’s shoulders to see where we were at the train stops.”

The train moved and stopped repeatedly. Soon the water ran out and the waste was overflowing. At the border between the Carpathians and Slovakia two high-ranking officers, one Hungarian and one German, announced that the Jews were now under the “command of the German army.”

Peering out of the opening of the car the Jews saw the sign “Krakow” and knew they were in Poland. On the fifth day, the doors opened to screams, clubbing, ferocious dogs barking, and Nazis yelling, “Rause” (out) and “Schnell” (fast). They were ordered to leave all packages. “There were no steps off the boxcar and the elderly and children having difficulty descending were clubbed and beat-

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Dr. Avital's father

en.” Avital recalls the scene fluidly, describing the horror vividly, seeing it clearly, fresh and sharp, from a memory seared painfully into his brain.

Men and women and children were separated, he says. “It was the last time I saw my mother and five sisters, nieces and nephews.” He explains that two of his sisters were married; one had five children and one had one child. “My brother Joseph and my father were with the men.” When they drew to the front of the line they stood before the notorious German criminal Josef Mengele.

Moshe’s father was sent to the left to his death. “I didn’t know what that meant; my brother who was 17 at that time was sent to the right. I was 14.

Mengele hesitated and motioned me to the right. I don’t know why other landsmen of my age were sent to the left. I ran to my brother and together we marched into Auschwitz passing under the sign, ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ which means work is liberty.”

Dr. Avital rapidly describes what confronted them next. “In the first room we saw piles of clothing and shoes. We had to take off our clothing and put it on the piles. In the next room barbers shaved us head to toe.

The next room had a huge ‘swimming pool’; we had to immerse in the disinfectant – it had a horrible odor.

The next room had piles of stripped clothes. I wasn’t asked my size. I got a huge uniform; it was falling off me.

A huge fellow near me had received a small uniform. We exchanged so we were able to wear what we had.

“We were then marched into a

Dr. Avital's mother

barrack; there were three levels of wood shelves up to the ceiling on each side of the walls and eight people were in each compartment. It was very crowded. A high-ranking SS officer came in and gave us a ‘pep talk’: ‘You are now in the concentration camp Auschwitz. Remember forever if you work, you will be OK; if not you go straight to the crematorium. Arbeit macht frei.’

“We were confused completely. I looked at my brother and he looked at me. We didn’t recognize each other

A photo from his youth

night we got a small slice of bread, coffee, and some margarine or jam.

“There were different philosophies – the bread was a commodity – on how to make it last. Some would eat a crumb and save the rest in their bosom. Some would divide it in three for breakfast, lunch and supper. Some ate it at once because they would be attacked and the bread stolen.” Moshe pauses. “I ate it at once,” he says.

After two months in Auschwitz, Moshe’s barrack was sent by train in boxcars to another camp, Plaszow.

“I don’t know why other landsmen of my age were sent to the left. I ran to my brother and together we marched into Auschwitz passing under the sign, ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ which means work is liberty.” with no hair and in prison garb.”

The men worked 12-hour shifts every day alternating one week day shifts and one week night shifts with only 700 calories of food a day. “It was impossible,” Dr. Avital says, describing the rations. “One of five prisoners would be given a bowl of black coffee for breakfast to share with the other five. After the third drank there would be none left for the other two. Fights would break out between the prisoners; the Germans wanted bad blood between the prisoners. Lunch was a small bowl of vegetable soup – mostly water. If you got a small piece of carrot or cauliflower it was a real find. At

There, the SS officers sat at tables and asked the prisoners their profession.

“I said I was a student and was sent to hard labor. My brother said he was a tailor since he learned to sew on a machine from our sister, so he became a tailor and made uniforms for the German Army. I worked very hard; I was taken eight kilometers to the Krakow train station to load and unload heavy equipment. We slept in the same barrack and always lined up in the same row of five because we heard of family and friends who were separated. This went on for four months.

“One night they woke us at 4 a.m.

for role call, the kapos screaming and beating us. In the confusion we were not in the same row. An SS officer counted and then took us to the train station. That was the last time that I saw my brother, Joseph. I was alone.

I cried bitterly. I no longer had someone to talk to, to lean on.”

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oshe’s group was taken to Gross-Rosen in Silesia between Poland and Germany and after two weeks to a satellite camp, Bolkenheim, built on a mountain. It was bitterly cold, he recalls, “We only had our ‘pajamas.’ We were building airplane parts, again in two shifts, one week day, one week night. We were surrounded by barbed wire and two fences around the camp. One was electrified. If someone came near the fence they would either be electrocuted or shot by the guards. It was a brutal system. The commandant was a ferocious German. Rabbi Yitzchak from Hungary was a wonderful man in the camp and he encouraged me.

One day the German killed the rabbi right there. The commandant made fun of the rabbi. He said, ‘Herr Rabiner, where is your G-d?’ Rabbi Yitzchak motioned to Heaven. The German screamed, ‘I am your god and I can do with you what I want!’ He viciously kicked the rabbi until he died. Later the prisoners were talking where was G-d at that moment? I was 15 and was listening to what they had to say.

There were a lot of scholars there, and they were bringing sources from the

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Photos that Dr. Avital took while in the Israeli Army

Bible, Talmud and midrashim proving that there is G-d but the others disputed this and said, ‘Look at what the Nazi did.’”

Moshe survived the horror there for six months; many prisoners died.

He recounted that those who were taken to the infirmary never left, that prisoners were killed with gasoline injections into their hearts. He was told by a landsman that he met later that his brother Joseph entered the infirmary in December 1944 and never came out.

In January 1945 Moshe’s group was evacuated in a “relentless snowfall” in a long column of prisoners, five across, flanked by lines of SS men armed with machine guns. They marched all day and were crammed into barns and schools at night. “This was an advantage in a way,” Moshe says, “the body heat kept us a bit warmer.” The 500-kilometer death march to Buchenwald near Weimar took five weeks. The march began with 10,000 prisoners. Those who couldn’t keep up were executed. If they helped the stragglers they were pushed aside.

Upon arrival, Moshe was put in a children’s barrack where Elie Weisel, Yisrael Meir Lau, and his brother Naftali Lau were, among others. The chief of the barrack was a non-Jew from Czechoslovakia who had been a principal and was against the Germans and was a friend to the children.

On April 7, 1945, the commandant received an order to annihilate all the prisoners, and he began emptying out the camp in the forest and killing the prisoners.

Moshe says there were 80,000 prisoners before liberation; 60,000 were massacred in just four days. “It was our turn,” he recounts. “They

emptied the children’s barracks and just before we entered the forest the sirens began to wail. The SS closed the gate and we ran for cover, and the chief took us back to the barrack. I was too weak to walk; I crawled back.

“United States fighter planes bombed all around the camp and the next day at noon the Germans were running into the forest. Soon three American tanks and a jeep with a Jewish chaplain entered the gates.

The chaplain of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Herschel Schachter, came to us. ‘Yiddishe Yiddishe kinder kinder,’,’ he said, ‘‘Ir Ir zent frei! Jewish children, you are free.’ He tried so much to help us. I was put in a makeshift hospital in the SS quarters and hung between life and death for a few weeks. The rav visited me every day.”

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ews brought the orphans to France to recuperate, providing them with kosher food, medical care, Jewish studies, lessons on history and Hebrew, and songs.

While there, three soldiers from the Jewish Brigade, Jews from what was then termed Palestine under the British mandate who fought in Germany and Italy along with the British Army, came to tell them about the Hagana, the Irgun and Lechi, the Jewish underground defensive forces. They asked the orphans if they wanted to go to Palestine; 350 teenagers, all boys, signed up. Moshe was 16.

Moshe vividly describes his recollections of his experiences as part of the Aliyah Bet, the effort to bring the Jews to what was then Palestine in defiance of the British blockade. A column of British trucks covered in canvas came, driven by Jewish Brigade members, and the boys were tak-

en secretly to the port to avoid French and British agents. There were already a few hundred others from other concentration camps, Moshe says.

Together they sailed to Italy bringing 1,100 teenagers to Israel. The boat he was on was renamed Yaldei Buchenwald – the Children of Buchenwald.

“We were very happy; even though we were eating rations we knew we were going to the land of Israel and this was the end of our suffering. This was our goal,” he says. During the day

they stayed below deck and in the evening they were permitted up for air. The Hagana members on the boat taught them defensive training, how to fight hand-to-hand, and with wood or cans, and they were instructed what to do once they would arrive. The trip took 10 days and the boys spent the time talking, eating and sleeping.

“On the tenth day we saw the Carmel Mountains from a distance,” Moshe recalls. “We were overjoyed! The land of our forefathers!”

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Survivors of Buchenwald arrive in Haifa

But then, four British navy ships surrounded the boat. “You are trying to get into Palestine illegally,” the British announced. “Follow us!” The Hagana told the boys, “Don’t react, be calm.” The captain knew he had 1,100 orphans from the Holocaust on board, says Moshe. “‘I’ll take care of everything,’ said the captain. ‘Don’t do anything against the British.’” This was July 1945. They were taken to the Atlit detention camp near Haifa. “We were again in a camp but we knew they would not kill us,” Moshe says.

Now in Atlit, Moshe knew he was no longer alone. “I had a brother who was a Zionist, and in 1937, when he was 18, he went to Palestine. He was a yeshiva bochur from Yeshivat Chasam Sofer. He wrote great letters until the war. I was given by my parents the address before the war of my brother in Yerushalayim. When the Jewish Agency came into Atlit and made a list of those on the boat and asked if we had any relatives I gave the address of my brother. A landsman of mine from Bilke heard the Kol Yisrael radio program Chipus K’rovim, where they announced the names of survivors in Israel and heard my name and knew my brother. He told him, ‘Your brother Moshele arrived in Atlit.’ I was eight when he left. He couldn’t believe it. The landsman, Mr. Friedman, and my brother came to Atlit and asked for Moshe Lipschitz.

A worker came in and asked, ‘Who is Moshe Lipschitz?’ I answered, ‘I am.’

The man said, ‘Your brother is waiting for you at the gate.’ I recognized him

With Menachem Begin

but he didn’t recognize me because I was now 16. He asked me questions about our family and neighbors and realized that it was I. We both cried from joy and sadness. ‘I will do everything I can to free you!’ he said but the British didn’t let him in.

“One night, two months later, I was woken up in the middle of the night. ‘I am from the Hagana,’ said the man. ‘We are here to free you.’ He explained that they made a hole in the camp fence, tied up the guards, and brought trucks. They freed the orphans and brought them to kibbutzim. The British declared a curfew throughout the country for four days searching for the Atlit escapees but never found even one.” Moshe says that 1,100 of the refugees were freed.

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oshe had been hidden at Kibbutz Yavne but was then sent to live in a youth aliyah village in Sde Yaakov near Haifa for two years where he studied and worked in agriculture. When he was 18 he joined the Hagana and fought in the war of liberation.

He describes one battle in 1948.

“When the Ir Ha’atika (the Old City of Jerusalem) was attacked, I was stationed on the Anglo-Palestine Bank, the highest point, with a heavy machine gun, giving cover to the troops so they could get into the Old City, but the operation failed. The people in the Old City surrendered to the Red Cross and were sent to Jordan as prisoners

American troops liberating Buchenwald

of war for a year. Women, children and the elderly were sent to the Jewish-held part of Jerusalem.”

“On the day after the UN declared the partition of the Land of Israel into Jewish and Arab states, the Arabs from the Old City, whole mobs, attacked Jewish stores in Jewish Jerusalem near Mamilla, on Rechov Yaffo. We were sent by the Hagana to protect the stores. I could only use a kapap, a shepherd’s stick. The British were there so we couldn’t use guns.

That was my first encounter with Arabs.”

In 1948, Dr. Moshe Avital’s platoon of 35 Jews in the Hagana fought to defend Kibbutz Ramat Rachel from an invading Egyptian army regiment of 700 with heavy weapons and tanks.

“We had rifles, sten guns and Molotov cocktails,” recounted Avital. “The odds were impossible.

“We had casualties; my close friend Elimelech was killed. I had to tell his mother. It was a terrible thing.

He was from Jerusalem.”

Moshe Avital was in the Hagana at the time, later on in the Israel Defense Forces or Tzahal and fought mostly in Jerusalem defending Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in the southern environs of Jerusalem as well as the central area of the city by Har Tzion, Notre Dame, what is now Yad Vashem, and the Hebrew University. He rose in rank in the army in Chativat Etzioni attaining the rank of Rav Samal Gedudi-Regimental Sergeant Major.

He described how his unit in the Hagana was stationed at Deir Yas-

sin after the Irgun conquered it and blocked the road to Jerusalem to prevent a potential Arab attack from there. They were then sent to Har Tzion. “We were very close to the Arabs, just a few meters away,” he recounted.

“When they were shooting at night we would shout, ‘Stop! Let us sleep a little!’” Asked if they ever did, he chuckled. “Sometimes they did; they were also tired.”

“We were then sent to Mamila; it was a no man’s land then,” he recalled. “The Arabs from the Old City would attack the new city; it was very dangerous. It was two weeks before the declaration of the State (of Israel). We heard Ben Gurion declare the State on the radio while we were in the trenches in Ramat Rachel. We were overjoyed that after 2,000 years we had our own country.”

From then on until Israel redeemed Jerusalem from Jordan in the Six Day War in 1967, a strip of land split Jerusalem, ripping the Old City, the Jewish heart of Jerusalem, out of the newly reconstituted Jewish State.

“The next morning the Egyptians attacked. It was a heavy brutal fight.”

That was when Moshe was at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. “We held it. It was always the most extreme outpost south of Jerusalem. In the Six Day War Israel captured the area around it. There were bullet holes outside of the old dining room in the wall. They are still left as a memory. I go there often.”

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n 1948, Moshe’s brother in Israel, Shmuel Zvi, received a letter from their three surviving sisters and brother Shlomo on their way to America from the displaced persons camp in Europe.

Until then Shmuel and Moshe didn’t know that they had survived the Holocaust.

Moshe came to the U.S. in 1950 to participate in his sister Rose’s wedding, taking a month’s leave from the Army. She and Shlomo convinced him to stay to get an education and continue their father’s legacy as a cantor. “I was not keen on staying; I was a farbrenter Zionist.” Even so, he was accepted to and entered Yeshiva University in January 1951. He knew Dr. Pinchas Churgin, who was then head of the Teacher’s Institute at YU and later one of the founders of Bar Ilan University. “He knew me and was very friendly and he brought me in. I took a liking to Hebrew literature; I sang Hebrew songs from Israel and Hebrew poetry at assemblies.”

He explains that he knew some Hebrew from his yeshiva education in Europe and his involvement in Bnei Akiva when he was in Bilke. He speaks Czech, Yiddish, Hebrew, English, German and Russian. “It came in handy,” he said, “Till this day it comes in handy.”

“When I decided to return to Israel after six years, Rabbi Dr. and Mrs. Sol Wind of Teacher’s Institute invited me to a farewell dinner in my honor. Mrs. Wind arranged for a young lady who lived in Boro Park to drive me after dinner to Flatbush.” When Moshe met the young lady, Anita Herschman, he said, “Too bad I didn’t meet you before, I’m leaving Friday for Israel.”

She said, “I feel the same way.” That Friday she drove him to the ship to return to Israel and they exchanged addresses. Two weeks after he arrived in Israel, the 1956 war, the Sinai Campaign, began. This war was launched because Egypt had blockaded the Suez Canal, blocking the shipping lanes to Israel and other countries.

Meanwhile, Moshe was mobilized to fight in the war.

Rose invited Anita, who was a Jewish music teacher at Yeshiva of Flatbush, for supper. Rose liked Anita very much and wrote Moshe, urging him to come back and see if it was “se-

rious.” “Eight months later I was out of the Army and came to the U.S. for Pesach. We met and on Chol Hamoed I went to meet her family in Boston and we got engaged. This June we were married for 60 years. We have three wonderful married daughters and 11 grandchildren.”

Moshe remained in the United States and for six years was the principal of a Jewish school with 600 students in Sharon, Massachusetts. The

Jewish philosophy, and one regarding the role and status of women in Jewish tradition.

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urrently, Dr. Avital lectures on the Holocaust and Israel and has been affiliated with the Holocaust education center in Westchester for 20 years.

He speaks about 30 times a year, addressing universities, colleges, public

“My grandchildren are my nechama and my nekama.” couple then moved to New York and for 12 years Moshe was the director of the Department of Education and Culture of the Jewish Agency on 515 Park Avenue. As director he prepared questions for the Chidon Tanach, the International Bible Contest, and wrote 9,000 questions and answers.

He wrote three books on Tanach in Hebrew, three in English, based on these questions, and many students still use these books. He also translated ten books on Kabbalah and has written 16 other books on various topics including the Holocaust, his time in the Hagana, the study of Tanach,

schools, and day schools.

“When I was liberated I decided to devote my life to Jewish education,” Avital notes. “The new generation has to know the history of the Jewish people and the Holocaust.” He has two degrees in education and a PhD in Hebrew literature. He currently lives in Westchester and has visited Israel frequently, now spending four months there every year; he has one child in Israel and two in the States.

“When I go to Israel I go direct, only El Al, I feel at home.”

He has never returned to Europe.

“I made a neder (oath) never to step

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on European ground. I want to remember my hometown the way it was.

Everything was destroyed, Europe is one big cemetery and you never know where the mass graves are; you can’t step on graves – it’s a Jewish tradition.

“In Tanach the word zachor (remember) appears 265 times. We are constantly reminded to remember our history; Moshe Rabbeinu says remember the days of old, remember what we went through, what we stand for. We are an eternal people: they can harm us and did many times, we lost a lot of people, but it’s proof that they are never able to destroy us.”

When asked about his future goals Dr. Avital says,, “I hope to see more simachot, that is my biggest revenge.”

He currently has eleven grandchildren and he sees that as symbolic since his family had eleven children.

“My grandchildren are my nechama and my nekama.”

Dr. Avital stresses the importance of Israel’s and the Jewish need for self-defense. “The Hagana was an organization that protected the Jews in Israel and outside of Israel,” he says.

“It brought back pride to the Jewish people, it renewed the spirit of the Maccabeem and Bar Kochba. The Hagana learned a lot of tactics from the Tanach. It built a new kind of Jew, not afraid anymore, very proud to be a Jew and no more can the goyim do what they want. I got back my confidence in the Hagana. Until then I was afraid that someone can do something to me; since then I’m not afraid anymore.”

He adds, “My message to adults and young people: the most important thing is achdut, unity, because our biggest problem is division, so many different parties and affiliations, our enemies are using it against us. We have to get together and speak with one voice. They are not going to dictate what communities we can establish in Israel or not. Enough is enough! We are here to stay, the land is ours and we are here to fight for it.

Am Yisrael chai!”

Dr. Avital’s website is mosheavital.com.

He can be reached at drmosheavital@ gmail.com and is available for speaking engagements.

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A Tragedy in a French Stadium The Symbol of the French Holocaust Perpetrated

by Its People, Against Its People

French Jews arriving at the Pithiviers transit camp

Jews arrested by French police for interrogation, Paris, August 20, 1941

By Brendy J. Siev

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eventy-five years ago, on July 16 and 17, 1942, the French police gathered close to 13,000 Jews from across Paris and rounded most of them into the Velodrome d’Hiver, or Vel’ d’Hiv, the Winter Stadium right outside of Paris. The stadium, famous for hosting the 1924 summer Olympics, a place to see and be seen, became synonymous with cruel and inhumane

treatment of thousands. Fewer than 100 Jews survived the ordeal.

Vel’ d’Hiv has become a symbol: a symbol of the French collaboration and responsibility of the French people and nation for the Holocaust of the French Jews.

The Beginning of the End France after World War I was seen as liberal and welcoming,

drawing Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Jews perceived France as a locus of equality and opportunity. Paris became a thriving center of Jewish life. By 1940, approximately 350,000 Jews lived there in relative peace.

France declared war on Germany in early September of 1939, when Germany invaded Poland.

Hitler, ym”sh, wanted to dominate Europe and for a time it seemed as

if he would succeed. Germany focused for the first eight months on fighting in the east. In May of 1940, they turned their attention to the west and launched a successful offensive against the overwhelmed and underprepared French. When the French realized that they faced imminent defeat, the government ultimately organized an armistice.

By June 1940, France was in German hands.

Jews awaiting deportation, Paris, August 20, 1941

The Rise of the Anti-Semitic Vichy Government The terms of the ceasefire were as follows: The Germans occupied northern France, and the French operated a separate-but-collaborative independent government to govern southern France. This officially-neutral government operated from its new capital city, Vichy, and the whole southern region became known as “Vichy.” The government officially controlled all of France, except for Alsace-Lorraine, but it had difficulty asserting power in the north that was largely and directly controlled by the Germans.

In an effort, in part, to assert its independence, the Vichy government applied anti-Jewish pressure and created anti-Jewish laws in keeping with the German law before the Germans even asked them to do so. This meant that Jews lost their civil rights. Non-French Jews were sent to concentration camps administered by the French and French police; these Jews eventually died in extermination camps. Raids to capture Jews and “undesirables” were led by the French police in the north and the south.

The Vichy government collaborated with the Nazis, enforced anti-Semitic policies, and arranged deportations of Jews to concentration camps, predominantly to Auschwitz. The Vichy government was officially against these undesirables: Jews, immigrants, Freemasons, and Communists. While the French did not go so far as to embrace eugenics, they wished to revive a “French

The deportation of Jews from Marseilles in the early morning of January 24, 1943

race.” They used internment camps, already in existence, to hold those who countered this “perfect” race.

Ultimately, the internment camps became transit camps, a holding pen for those on their way to doom.

These concentration camps had originally been used in World War I to intern enemy aliens or to intern

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A French Jewish family, wearing their Jewish stars

tory yellow badges. Jews were excluded from administration, the army, entertainment, the arts, and professions including education, law, and medicine. Telephones and telegraphs were taken from Jewish homes. A curfew was established in February 1942. Jews were not supposed to appear in public places;

Ultimately, the Vichy government, in all, assisted in deporting 76,000 Jews to extermination camps.

French communists. Drancy was founded in 1939, and soon became the central transit camp for all those on the way to concentration and extermination camps in areas under German control. Eventually, most Jews, on their way to die, passed through the infamous Drancy.

Within three months of the establishment of the Vichy government, the Nazis ordered all Jews to declare themselves to the police.

In just Paris and the Paris suburbs alone, 150,000 people presented themselves without understanding the danger in doing so. The Jews’ names, professions, nationalities, and addresses were filed and sent directly to the head of the Gestapo in France; they were used in raids and to corral Jews to camps, including Drancy.

A month later the Vichy government created the first Statute on Jews, declaring the Jews a special underclass and enforcing manda-

they had to travel in the last car on the Paris metro.

The French citizenry, for the most part, were silent collaborators, and were, in fact, often in favor of anti-Jewish measures, especially the seizure of Jewish property.

The Tragedy of Vel’ d’Hiv In May and June of 1942, following the Wannsee Conference that detailed the Final Solution, Reinhard Heydrich, Fritz Sauckel, and Adolf Eichmann visited Paris. The Germans replaced the French administration in charge of the Jewish “problem.” This exacerbated the already severe anti-Jewish actions.

Jews now had to wear a yellow star.

A first deportation of 1,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz, the first of a wave of roundups that spring and summer called Operation Vent Printanier (Spring Wind).

Originally, the French had wanted to round up the Jews on July 13

through 15. But they did not want to face public outrage on Bastille Day, so the roundup was moved a day later. On July 16, 1942, under the cover of darkness, 4,500 members of the French police rounded up close to 11,000 Jews from Paris and brought them to the Vel d’Hiv. This stadium, famous for hosting the Olympics and well-known names like Ernest Hemingway, now became home for thousands of women and children.

Six thousand of those rounded up were taken immediately to Drancy.

The rest went to Vel’ d’Hiv. By the end of the week, the number of Jews in the stadium had reached 7,000.

The French police, under orders from leaders in the Vichy government, organized the Vel’ D’Hiv raid.

The police arrested 12,884 Jews, including 4,051 children that the Gestapo had not asked for, 5,082 women, and 3,031 men. All were sent from the Vel’ d’Hiv to Drancy. This was a quarter of the 42,000 French Jews sent to Auschwitz in 1942 (only 811 would survive the war).

The conditions in the Vel’ d’Hiv were crowded and inhumane. There was almost no water, no food, no bathrooms, and no one had planned to procure them. Only two doctors per shift were allowed to treat people. All ventilation was sealed so no one could escape, and that, combined with the glass ceiling of the stadium, made the conditions stifling. Despite the actions taken against them, the Jews had assumed that only men would be gathered.

Many men had gone into hiding; the women assumed they and the chil-

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The Vel’ d’Hiv, a scene of massacre

dren would be safe.

The Germans had explicitly ordered that children should not be rounded up. The French explicitly and deliberately ignored the order.

The week after the roundup, the Jews were taken to concentration camps in southern France and to Drancy, outside of Paris. There, their heads were shaved and their bodies invasively and brutally searched.

They were separated from their children and sent to Auschwitz, to their deaths. A thousand Jews were sent to die every two or three days. Their children – more than 3,000 babies and children – were left alone in the internment camps, because the Nazis had asked specifically for only adults, literally tearing families apart. A month later, the children were deported alone, among other, unfamiliar adults, in sealed railway wagons, to Auschwitz.

After Vel’ d’Hiv In August 1942, the French arrested 7,000 more Jews, and in early 1943 the French worked with the Germans to raid Marseille, sending people to their death and expelling 30,000 people from a single neighborhood.

Drancy remained under French control until July of 1943. But then, by 1943-44, many French were upset at the actual deportation of Jews and began to help them, leaving the primary task of hunting, rounding, and exterminating Jews to the Germans. Unfortunately, the first wave of deportations, conducted in 1942, took half of the total number of Jews in France. Without French collabo-

The Jewish quarter in Paris before the war

ration, the numbers in each deportation dropped significantly, but in so many ways it was too late.

Ultimately, the Vichy government, in all, assisted in deporting 76,000 Jews to extermination camps. Only 2,500 of those deported to extermination camps survived the war.

A Villain with No Regrets The Germans took over to expedite and more efficiently process those on the way to extermination.

SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Alois Brunner directed this effort until French liberation in August 1944. He had

The Drancy concentration camp

Sun-Times in a phone interview, “All of [the Jews] deserved to die because they were the Devil’s agents and human garbage. I have no regrets and would do it again.”

Jewish Resistance in France: A Master Forger Adolfo Kaminsky, a reportedly shy Jewish teenager, worked as an apprentice in a clothes dyeing and dry cleaning shop.

In 1940, when Adolfo was only 15, his mother traveled to Paris to warn his brother of his impending arrest. She never returned. Adolfo learned that Nazis had pushed her from a train. Adolfo’s friend, too,

“I was lucky to have saved a lot of people, or else I wouldn’t have had the will to live.” experience deporting Jews. Before that, he had deported 43,000 Jews from Vienna and 46,000 from Salonika. Following his time in Drancy, he oversaw the deportation of 13,500 Jews from Slovakia to extermination camps, including Auschwitz. Almost none survived.

Brunner lived in Syria following the war and died, possibly within the past decade, in Damascus. He was supported in Syria by the Ba’ath Party for his knowhow and advice on torture techniques used by Germans in World War II; in an interview in 1985 with a German magazine, he said that he regretted nothing and that all of the Jews deserved their fate. In 1987, he told the Chicago

was executed by Germans.

And so, Adolfo began to take revenge. He surreptitiously plied railway equipment with chemicals to make them rust and corrode transmission lines. He made detonators for explosives.

In 1943, his family was arrested and detained in Drancy, the internment camp near Paris. They were released, because, at one point, his parents had lived in Argentina; the Argentinian government protested their arrest.

But the family knew their time was limited. They sent Adolfo to get them false documents so they would live protected. Adolfo was more useful to the underground as a

collaborator. He knew, from his dry cleaning experience, how to remove the indelible Waterman ink used in official documents from clothing. In order to fake IDs, it was best to erase Jewish names from ID cards and replace them with French names. He knew, too, how to create typefaces from his time working on his school newspaper. So he created his own official rubber stamps, watermarks, and letterhead. Soon, he and his colleagues were producing 500 documents a week.

And so he applied the skills he learned as a dry cleaner and clothes dyer to become a forger, a world class artist, creating fake IDs and other identification documents to help thousands escape deportation to concentration camp.

Once, Adolfo stayed awake for two straight days, working through the night to create 900 birth and baptismal certificate for 300 children who were about to be rounded up. The documents would help get the children to safety in convents, the countryside, or Switzerland. Adolfo told himself, over and over, “In one hour I can make 30 blank documents. If I sleep for an hour, 30 people will die.” Thus, he kept himself focused and awake.

Now 91, he says, “At least I had the feeling I was avenging them….I can’t accept that some people think they’re superior to others, think other people are inferior. All human beings are equal, no matter what their skin color, their nationality, their religion.” He adds that being freed from the detention camps at Drancy compelled him to help others, which

Adolfo Kaminsky, with some of his forging equipment

gave him a sense of purpose. “I was lucky to have saved a lot of people, or else I wouldn’t have had the will to live.”

After Paris was liberated, Adolfo continued to work, this time for the French government. He created German documents so that French spies could enter German territory to learn more about concentration camps. For 30 years following World War II, he continued to create forged documents for resistance fighters around the globe, including those in Spain and South Africa.

Victims or Perpetrators?

In 1940, 300,000 Jews lived in metropolitan France. Half were citizens. Around 200,000 lived in Paris and its suburbs. From this total, 75,000 were deported, 25,000 of whom were French. In total, 90,000 Jews died in the hands of the Nazis, a quarter of the total pre-war Jewish population. These proportions are lower than those in other European countries, but the question really is – in an area with limited German leadership – why it is so high.

The answer lies in the collaboration of the Vichy government and the French people with Nazi motives.

The story of the Vel’ d’Hiv is particularly unsettling for the French, because it exposes the French hypocrisy of collaboration with the Nazi regime. The French have long clung to the notion that they were the victims: their ancestors were victims or part of the resistance. In fact, historians have a label for this: collaborationnistes. This refers to the fascists and Nazi sympathizers

Documents forged by Adolfo Kaminsky, including his own, lower right – "Julien Keller"

who ideologically wanted to collaborate with the Nazis. These collaborationnistes assisted the Vichy regime and the Germans in taking Jewish property, destroying shuls and Jewish monuments, and sending Jews to concentration camp. A famous collaborationniste is the founder of L’Oreal cosmetics, Eugene Schueller.

Finally, an edgement

Acknowl-

Last week, on July 16, 2017, in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met. Together, they honored the memory of the day that French Jews were rounded up and sent to a concentration camp 75 years ago.

In a monumental address, the French president publically acknowledged France’s role in the roundup. “It was indeed France that organized [this]...Not a single German” was directly involved, he said.

This was the first time an Israeli head of state went to the annual Vel’ d’Hiv commemoration. This was also the first time that a French president equated anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. Macron also listed those French collaborators, include the French police chief who planned the Vel’ d’Hiv roundups.

“France organized the roundups,” Macron admitted. “Not a single German participated.” And so France “in almost every aspect organized the death” of the victims.

He also criticized France’s failure to purge itself following the war of those who participated in the Vichy government.

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Confiscation of Jewish property by the French authorities

Mr. Macron’s statement was especially prescient since his opponent in the April French election denied the nation’s responsibility for Vel d’Hiv, and anti-Semitism is again surging in France, fueled by fundamentalist Islam. While President Jacque Chirac, in 1995, acknowledged the French role in the deportations, Marine Le Pen ran against Macron this past April stat-

ing that “France was not responsible for the Vel d’Hiv.” During these Three Weeks and these Nine Days, we too remember those who died, innocently, whose deaths were in vain and by the hands of those who pretend their hands were blood-free. The cries of the children and their mothers, without food or water, only adds pain to their martyred deaths.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Tu B’Av: Lessons on Finding the Right One

By Rabbi Shalom Yona Weis

T

u B’Av. Ask ten random Jews what it’s about, what are we celebrating, and what the customs and laws are, and unless they are proficient in Eliyahu Ki Tov and Bnei Yissachar, chances are they just won’t know. There is no siman in Shulchan Aruch to give us a framework, and the Gemara itself, on the surface level reading, doesn’t seem to add any clarity.

Mishna, Taanis 26b, says, “Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel said, ‘Israel has no days as festive as the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur’” The Mishna goes on to describe what today would be considered a very “s.o.” (socially off, at least that’s what my daughters would call it) ritual of spousal selection as the cause for the unparalleled festive sentiment of these two days.

As noted by the Ben Yehoyadah, the first reality check one should be metaphorically slapped in the

face with is from this outstanding rabbinical statement: the shidduch process is festive! It is so festive and so holy (words that Judaism had in mind to be synonymous) it was performed and perhaps was even the highlight on Yom Kippur! Think honestly what your reaction would be to someone who told you that they were taking on a new avodah for this Yom Kippur: they were going to work on shidduchim by going to search out the women’s section for suitable spouses. Yet, this is precisely what the Mishnah teaches us makes this day so festive.

The Gemara (Taanis 30b) then follows this Mishna up with six even more enigmatic statements to explain the festive atmosphere of Tu B’Av. I believe each one of these six opinions about the festivities of Tu B’Av is a lesson in a different aspect of what is needed to be ready for and cultivate a successful marriage.

These are the six occurrences on this day which made it a perfect day for shidduchim.

The first occurrence mentioned is: “This is the day that the tribes were permitted to intermarry.”

There was an original prohibition for a girl from one shevet to marry a man from another in order to ensure that inherited land stay in the possession of the tribe it was given to.

Inheritance is something that a person feels is uniquely theirs. People have been known to lose relationships with family members over their yerushah. In dating, people have made the decision to die alone because of their yerushaj. In relationships, to completely join with another is to share that yerushah and perhaps even give it up completely when the situation calls for it. A person’s yerushah could be something holy like their minhagim,

simple like their neighborhood, silly like their kugel, or serious like their outlook on life. None of them should be held on to so strongly that it makes it prohibitive to exchange it with someone else’s. We must learn to let go of these things and open ourselves up to a new lesson, a new inheritance.

The second occurrence mentioned in the Gemara is: “This is the day that the tribe of Binyamin was permitted to marry back into the congregation of Israel.” There is no question that what shevet Binyamin did was horrible and deserving of consequences and distancing.

Unless you are Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, or married to him, there will be bad things done in every relationship; it’s simply part of the package. However, there must come a time when all is not just forgiven but, in a way, forgotten as well. We must be ready and learn

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how to allow the offender back in our hearts…fully! If you are going to live in the past and keep opening old wounds, picking at healing scabs, you will not be able to move on. To build, one must clear the old ruins away.

The third occurrence mentioned is: “The day on which those destined to die in the wilderness finished dying.” Those last Jews that thought they were supposed to die in the desert were lying down in open graves every night starting Tisha B’Av, expecting to die. Thinking they had the wrong date they kept lying down until the 15th when it was a full moon and they understood the decree had been completed and they rose from their graves.

Life is defined by Judaism as growth, as continuing the act of creation – “Naaseh adam”, let us, Me and you, make man. The minute you decide you are a finished product, this is who you are, this is the way you think, this is your belief system, your moral and ethical level, your spiritual status, you are no longer among the living. You may as well lie down in the grave and wait for the body to realize the spirit has already died. As we grow older, we feel like we are more complete, there is less to work on, less that needs changing, we grow more set in our ways, and we start the “dying” process.

That is (one of the reasons) why it is much more difficult (in general, and certainly not for everybody) for older singles to marry. It so hard for them to continue to see themselves as needing to change. But a person must rise from the “grave,” must be willing to grow and change in order to create a healthy marriage.

The next occurrence mentioned is: “This is the day that Hoshea Ben Elah removed the sentries that Yeravam ben Nevat had stationed on the roads (leading to Yerushalayim) to prevent Jews from ascending (to the Temple) on the pilgrimage festivals.”

Every Jew has a mikdash (“V’shachanti b’sochum”), a place where we are real, vulnerable, deep, and sincere. Nowadays, more than ever, we all put sentries, guards, and walls to keep people out of those places. The shidduch world has become a superficial game with rigid

rules and strict etiquettes that can often stifle real and meaningful connections. Perhaps, above all others, this is one action that is most sorely needed. Let your guard down, remove the mask, open yourself up in a deep emotional way to another, and watch a beautiful and healthy

altar of love. Many young boys and girls are leaving yeshiva and seminary where it is mostly easy, and ideas and growth are spoon-fed without the basic understanding that the greater the goal one desires to achieve, the harder the work and greater the sacrifice needed to

We must learn to let go of these things and open ourselves up to a new lesson, a new inheritance.

relationship blossom.

The fifth occurrence mentioned is: “The day the Jews of Beitar were allowed to be buried.” There are churbanos in all our lives. They are our dreams, aspirations, desires, and potential spouses that we thought we absolutely needed and couldn’t and wouldn’t be happy without. Hashem often has other plans, and when we hold too strongly to ours, we feel they are like dead relatives that we just can’t move on from, we just can’t bury. One needs to have the strength to bury those ideas and move forward. Sans Temple, we are living in a b’di’eved world – there is no perfect job, no perfect school for the children, no perfect neighborhood, no perfect house, and even no perfect spouse. You will never be happy with your choice if you don’t bury what Hashem has deemed you do not to need. People hold out for too long for something that was never intended to be theirs.

The sixth and last occurrence mentioned that took place on Tu B’Av is: “It was the day they stopped chopping trees for the Altar pyre.”

After the destruction of the first Bais Hamikdash, when the Jews returned to Yerushalayim, it was desolate. There were Jews that had to travel far distances at great personal sacrifice to find and chop down wood for the Altar’s pyre. That chopping venture was always completed on the 15th of Av. A relationship, a marriage specifically, needs passion to keep it going; it needs a strong fire on the

achieve that goal. They are rushing out to marriage without really having put the work into it, into themselves, to become the type of people capable of the five aforementioned middos (and more) necessary to achieve the greatest goal: shalom bayis! To enter the marriage, which

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will need the fuel to keep the fire going, there needs to be a preceding period where the person struggled to build those spiritual, emotional and psychological tools.

It was these six specific lessons that the Gemara says were the source for the greatness of the 15th of Av. May Hashem help us all to learn, internalize and live them and truly build homes worthy of hashra’us haShechina, ultimately seeing the building of Hashem’s home with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu soon in our days.

Rabbi Shalom Yona Weis is a dynamic, inspirational, humorous and engaging speaker that has spoken for organizations, schools, universities and institutions on a variety of topics and to audiences of various sizes and affiliations all around the world. For private counseling or speaking engagements he can be contacted at sethweis123@gmail. com.

Wedges are back in style

Weekend picnics. Day-camp lunches. Or just to buy 5 mins. of peace. Tnuva’s individually wrapped cheese wedges will be all the rage this summer.

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t

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Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

My younger sister, Bella, is 27-years-old and still single. She’s been feeling and acting very desperate for a couple of years now to get married. All she talks about is getting married and how depressed she is about still being single. I married at 22, so I really cannot even relate to what it must feel like to be dating for so many years and going out on so many awful dates and being rejected so many times, as well as doing the rejecting. I know it’s a terrible situation for her, and I understand how fed up she must be.

My parents seem even more desperate to see Bella married than even Bella is! It’s all they seem to talk about, which only makes matters worse for Bella. She feels her own sadness, plus our parents’ nervousness, and it just makes matters worse.

Recently, Bella was set up with someone, who even just a few years ago she never would have gone out with. He comes with a less than terrific reputation. No one’s perfect – we all know that. But he’s known in some circles as being not such a nice guy. Our parents encouraged her to go out with him anyway. Why? I don’t know.

By now, she’s gone out with him quite a few times. I’ve made it my business to visit when she’s being picked up because I wanted to meet him for myself. I did not like what I saw. He seems very rough around the edges and not particularly polite or making any effort to be friendly to the family.

Bella tells me that she plans on continuing to date him, and if he proposes, she’ll probably say yes. She’s sick and tired of this whole dating situation and just wants to be married and be a mother already. Our parents, shockingly, back her. They make excuses for his poor presentation and also just want to see Bella married.

I feel like everyone in my family has lost their minds and I’m the only sane one left! I see this as a potential disaster and have been trying to convince Bella to walk away. It only leads to fights. Bella and I have always been so close and now we’re unable to even get along because she doesn’t want to hear my warnings.

I’m sad over the deterioration of our relationship but horrified over the prospect of her settling for this guy, who really seems like such a loser to me. What can and should I do?

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

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The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

B

ite the bullet and talk to her about her mental health – her depression and her sadness. Suggest that she get help to deal with that and go into a marriage as a healthy woman. Be blunt and tell her that marriage is not a hospital.

She is not being fair to herself nor to him, if she doesn’t attend to her behavioral health.

Promise Bella your support for her choices at the same time that you express concern about her emotional state. Demonstrate that you care about her emotional welfare and that that is your number one priority.

It’s not about heeding your warnings about this fellow. It’s not about her choices. It’s about your love for your sister and your concern about her.

Hopefully, she can get help and recognize some truths about herself and this relationship.

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A.

B

ella may have missed the boat but you blew your chance.

As you say, you can’t relate to “what it must feel like to be dating for so many years.” Bella is 27-yearsold, has been going out a long time, and is going into marriage with her eyes wide open. She’s weighed the pros and cons, discussed her choice with her parents, and has decided to marry Mr. Wrong (if he ever asks).

And you, the last Voice of Reason in the family, are trying to save Bella from falling off a cliff by kicking, screaming and criticizing the Man in Question.

Well, Sis, it’s time to get off the ledge. Apologize to Bella for your overbearing conduct. Your role in this drama is the Supportive Sister

– the sounding board, the active listener and the morale booster. Bella needs you now more than ever – if she continues to date the Man in Question, marries him or breaks off the relationship. A sister’s love is incontrovertible; it transcends Bella’s actions and choices (whether you agree with these or not) and will sustain you both during life’s happiest and most challenging times.

that she is feeling content, be there for her when she needs you, and stop using a magnifying glass over her choices since they are her choices – the rest is not in your control.

What you can control is rekindling a loving, sisterly relationship with her again.

The Single The Shadchan Michelle Mond

T

his is a really tough situation, and I understand you feel consumed with worry about Bella. I would recommend that you take her out to lunch. Start an open and loving dialogue, reminiscing about old times and laugh together. Find a moment to compliment her on how incredible she is and the things you appreciate in her. Tell her how much you value her and how you would love to learn more about this guy that she is dating. Feel her out and see how she speaks of him.

Perhaps there is a special side to him that you have not seen despite his reputation that you heard about through third parties. According to your letter, it sounds like you only met him one time – while he was quickly picking her up for a date – not exactly the opportune time to make a judgment about him being friendly.

I have a hard time believing that both Bella and your parents would be gung ho about this shidduch if he really was as bad as you think. You even mentioned yourself, in your second paragraph, that Bella has done her fair share of rejecting men that have come her way. There is a reason she has not rejected this guy, perhaps she really likes him.

My next piece of advice is to take a deep breath and remove yourself emotionally from this situation.

Your job as her sister is to be happy

If you keep sending her the message that he is beneath her or a loser, she may end up getting rid of you instead of getting rid of him.

Tova Wein

I

t’s easy to understand your concern for Bella. Obviously you want the best for her and fear that she is making a decision to go forward with this particular guy, not so much because he is amazing, but because she is just sick and tired of

dating already and wants to move on to the next chapter of her life.

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Not a great recipe for a successful marriage to be sure!

I think what you are failing to recognize is that there is probably little you can tell Bella or your parents, for that matter, that they don’t already know. I doubt that they are stupid and probably recognize his shortcomings but are making a calculated decision based on her dating history, her age and her need to move forward. Therefore, to risk the close relationship the two of you have is simply not worth it. Arguing

with Bella or your parents will not change the situation.

I’m sure you’ve made your point over and over again. At this point, you need to change your approach and go from being adversarial to supportive because Bella is clearly going to do what she wants to do, despite what you have to say. And if you are correct and this man is way beneath her and she actually marries him, she will need your support more than ever.

And just so you know, no one

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

Y

our concern for your sister is so understandable. You care for Bella deeply and want to see her settled down with the right guy. You’ve listened to the feedback, heard rumors, seen him in action (albeit briefly), and you’re troubled by all of it. What sister wouldn’t be?

Here’s the thing. If you keep sending her the message that he is beneath her or a loser, she may end up getting rid of you instead of getting rid of him. From your perspective and description, Bella and your parents do not see what you see. There may be an element of denial at play, if he is as bad as you say he is. Something terrible can be right under someone’s nose and the person doesn’t see it because his psyche cannot handle it or it doesn’t match the reality the person wants to create. If a person were to see it, it would be too painful, and so the subconscious makes it invisible.

Denial often comes hand-in-hand

with another infamous defense mechanism: rationalization. People often come up with justifications or reasons to explain what they are in denial about. “He had a bad day” or they even use another defense mechanism called projective identification in which they put the bad behavior on you. “Can’t you be nicer to him? You’re so mean to him!” Oh, the defensive possibilities are endless, so enough psychobabble. You can stand on your head and spit wooden nickels about this guy your sister is seeing, and Bella and your parents may not be able to hear you. People in denial generally do not like to have wooden nickels spat at them, if you get my drift, and so they attack or remove the wooden-nickel-spitter.

None of us have the ability to choose a husband for our sisters.

Bella is a grownup who has the val-

ever really can predict how marriages ultimately work themselves out. Often the wife has enormous influence over her husband, or vice versa, and they bring out the best in each other. Sometimes, some of åthe most unlikely of marriages wind up being successful. You just never know. At this point, you need to take a step back, stop fretting or judging, reignite your close bond with your sister and watch how this thing plays out. Life is full of surprises!

idation and support of her parents.

Trying to convince her to leave this guy may be a losing battle – for you. If she wants to be with him, she will find a way to be with him.

And if that means removing negativity and the naysayers from her life, she could possibly cut you off.

This situation is far from ideal, and I’m sorry I don’t have a magical answer that can make all of this go away. However, there are areas in this situation where you do have more control and you do get to call the shots. The first is your relationship with your sister. Now is the time to think about what you want your sisterly bond to look like as you move into the future. Understand that many people lose siblings because of situations similar to yours.

If you keep pushing her, I’m afraid that you may find yourself in an irreversible situation.

Others decide to build a deep and meaningful connection while working on accepting what they cannot change. You don’t have to be a phony and tell her you love her guy, but you can be her cheerleader, support her

I feel like everyone in my family has lost their minds and I’m the only sane one left!

self-esteem, help her grow a positive self-image, and be compassionate with her. You can invite her to your house for Shabbos if you want her to be exposed to a healthy relationship.

If you opt for Option B, she is more likely to open up to you (should the time come) because she will know that you are someone who doesn’t judge her and that you are safe to speak with. The choice is yours.

I am going to leave you with The Serenity Prayer which is at the core of Al-Anon recovery (support for spouses and family members of an addict): G-d, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Sincerely, Jennifer

Esther Mann, LCSW and Jennifer Mann, LCSW work with individuals, couples and families in Hewlett, NY. As The Navidaters, they specialize in dating and relationship coaching. To set up an appointment, please call 516.224.7779. Sessions are held in the office or via Skype. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email thenavidaters@gmail.com.

Visit their website, thenavidaters.com for dating and relationship advice and to learn more about their services. Follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram.

Check out the hit web series Soon By You, and be sure to tune into the Navidaters After Show!!

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Dr. Deb

The Pros and Cons of Defense Mechanisms

By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

“W

hat?” You’re probably thinking, “What could possibly be a ‘pro’ for defense mechanisms?”

Of course, everyone hates running up against them.

When they belong to somebody else.

But the reality is that we all create coping strategies. Some are great, some not so much.

See, as children we didn’t reason out how to react to tough circumstances. We just ran and hid in the closet if that was the smartest move at the time.

Or we learned to never stop talking. Or to smile way more than we actually felt. Or to fight. Or to keep it all locked inside. Or to escape to our friends in the neighborhood.

And today’s children have one more exit point: they can escape to their computers. Well, adults have that, too.

DEFENSE MECHANISMS THAT PROTECTED US WERE GOOD These defense mechanisms were good.

At the time.

Because they saved us from hurt, humiliation, physical pain, or hopelessness.

Years ago and in another part of the country, I had a client whose fa-

ther was an alcoholic. She escaped to the school library to avoid being around for the inevitable beatings. So she became the valedictorian.

Another client who ended up in my dissertation became an alcoholic and actually was grateful for it. It was the only way she knew to escape pain that was too unbearable to feel that was dished out by an abusive parent.

Sometimes escape can save a life.

Don’t forget, we’re talking about children. This is the best they can do and it is very good. It is excellent. It is brilliant. That’s how we ought to view symptoms. They’re the result of the best devices innocent children and teens can come up with so that they can continue to live and cope.

They’re hardly dysfunctional: they really functioned.

Naturally, they become part of one’s patterns in life. Then we keep using them when we no longer need them. Not only don’t we need them but they often get in the way of happy relationships. So why do we keep them?

I have a one word answer for that: fear.

MISPLACED FEAR STARTS A VICIOUS CYCLE WHICH JUSTIFIES THE FEAR The exact same fear that led to these coping mechanisms in the first place maintains them.

That’s when the vicious cycle

starts up.

See, the main ingredient of coping mechanisms is escape. Escape from what you fear. Think about it: hiding your feelings and withdrawing – what is that? It’s escape. Being a workaholic – what’s that? Escape.

Even yelling is escape. By pushing off the other person, you are cleverly preventing them from saying something you do not want to hear.

Of course, none of this is conscious. It started in childhood when things were automatic and it continues automatically.

Now, what happens when one person tries to escape from the other? That’s right: the other one runs after. And incidentally, this hot pursuit is also escape: you are escaping from the pain of rejection and loneliness. You would not pursue someone so vigorously otherwise.

There’s the opposite possibility, of course: The second person’s attitude can be, “You’re running away? Good!

I’ll run away, too!” So we have two people with arms defiantly crossed and not speaking to each other.

Possibly that is better than yelling and screaming, but not by much.

If the first person’s defense mechanisms are tough to break through, once the second person reacts to the first person with their own defenses, the door to any possible conversation, negotiation, or connection is slammed shut.

And that is never the end of that vicious cycle. The first person now reacts to the partner’s behavior, usually in a worse way than before. That’s called escalation.

Imagine two stone walls with arms folded trying to communicate.

Yeah, right.

SO WHAT’S BAD ABOUT THESE DEFENSE MECHANISMS? As if the above vicious cycle weren’t enough, there’s more that’s bad about using defense mechanisms when we are grown up and no longer need to. First of all, the level of escalation could lead to total estrangement and divorce.

Even worse, because we’re hiding behind our defenses, it becomes impossible for our partner to know who we are. Generally, our partner misjudges who we seem to be.

Let me give you a typical example of this. Linda and Levy are in the process of getting a divorce. She is the one who initiated the divorce because she was sick and tired of what she perceived to be his lack of attention and care. Linda is furious with Levy, and she gives him a verbal tongue-lashing every day. (All stories are made up.)

So why is she furious? She’s furious because of the lack of attention and care that he had been giving her,

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or not giving her, I should say. And every day that she prepares for the divorce and she thinks about her lost dreams, she is more and more angry.

The divorce itself causes her to be angry because it keeps reminding her of what she will never have.

Levy cannot for the life of him grasp where her anger is coming from. She has more money than he does so she will come out better financially than he will. In fact, she was able to hire a very good lawyer and he was not. She has everything on her side.

Except happiness. Except the marriage she wanted in the first place.

Her anger is the defense mechanism she uses. She hides the pain and anguish she really feels underneath it. She does not want to even think about that pain or she might lose her resolve to go ahead with the ugly divorce. But does anyone know all this? No. And she’s glad about that. She doesn’t really want anyone to know her soft and vulnerable side.

The tough exterior she shows keeps her going; she feeds on it.

But if she weren’t in the process of getting a divorce, hiding her hurt and pain would only mask who she really is from Levy. How would he ever know what to do differently if she won’t show him the real person

also have a hard time convincing Linda that the escapee that Levy is is not the real person he is either; he’s only escaping from her. That’s just what she wants to hear, right? Given how hurt she is, she can’t even understand why he would want to escape from her.

Imagine two stone walls with arms folded trying to communicate. Yeah, right. under the tough façade?

On the one hand she wants to protect herself from the pain of Levy’s neglect. On the other hand, her behavior is pushing him so far away, he has to neglect her to protect himself!

If this couple were to come to therapy, their counselor would have a hard time convincing Levy that the person he’s dealing with is not the ogre she puts herself out to be. She’d

Which brings us to the last and maybe the saddest part of this whole problem: people often lose track of who they are. They forget that they adopted defense mechanisms to cope with tough stuff and that the real person they are underneath is not at all like that. They literally don’t know who they are.

It takes work in silent moments of reflection to get back to that.

So we’ve said there are three problems with defense mechanisms: · The disconnect can escalate to the point of no return, a very sad result and an unnecessary one such as divorce. ·We end up not knowing who the other person is behind the walls they build. ·We often don’t even know who we are because we’re so accustomed to our walls.

We should not forget that those defense mechanisms were learned under stressful circumstances as little kids, so we need to also give ourselves credit for finding a way, at that time, to protect ourselves. We have to honor who we were as children and remind ourselves that now we are strong enough to face reality and no longer duck behind them for protection.

Dr. Deb Hirschhorn is a Marriage and Family Therapist. She can be reached at 646-54-DRDEB or by writing drdeb@ drdeb.com.

• Focus on the complete person • Seminary Credits accepted in major • Stimulating and challenging courses universities that speak to the heart and mind • Extracurricular Programs under direction • Warm atmosphere with expert of Mrs. Yocheved Shonek mechanchim and mechanchos

In Memory of

Mrs. Rose Edelman

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Health & F tness

The Bittersweet Truth about Chocolate

By Aliza Beer MS, RD

C

hocolate lovers, rejoice!

Studies show that dark chocolate may have many positive health benefits. In contrast to milk chocolate, which is loaded with unhealthy sugar, dark chocolate is filled with nutrients that can positively affect your health. Dark chocolate is made from seeds of cocoa trees and is one of the richest sources of antioxidants and minerals. It also contains a significant amount of fiber, which expands in the stomach and helps you feel full quicker. Here are some of the benefits that chocolate eaters obtain from consuming dark chocolate: Dark chocolate acts as a potent source of antioxidants. There is a standard called ORAC, which stands for the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, measuring the antioxidant activity of foods. Cocoa beans are among the highest scoring foods on this index. Dark chocolate contains many key antioxidants, including polyphenols, flavanols, and catechins, among others. These antioxidants help fight harmful free radicals in the body that try to cause damage. Some studies even suggest that dark chocolate may have the same, if not more, antioxidants than acai berries and blueberries.

Dark chocolate may improve your cardiovascular system by lowering blood pressure and helping with blood flow. The flavanols in dark chocolate stimulate the lining of your arteries to produce a specific type of gas called nitric oxide to send signals to the arteries to relax, lowering resistance to blood flow and

reducing blood pressure. Many studies show that chocolate can mildly improve blood flow and may even help lower blood pressure. A famous Swiss study, in addition to a German one, showed a link between dark chocolate consumption and lowered blood pressure combined with a reduced risk of heart attack. Additionally, an interesting Australian study showed that chocolate helped ease the increase in blood pressure that overweight people usually experience from working out. Researchers

one particular study observing 470 elderly men, cocoa was deemed to decrease the risk of cardiovascular death by 50 percent over a 15 year period. Studies indicate that people who regularly consume chocolate obtain a host of benefits for their hearts, including lower blood pressure, lower “bad” LDL cholesterol, and a lower risk of heart disease.

Flavonols in the chocolate also protect you from sun-induced damage, improving blood flow to your skin and increasing skin hydration

Some studies even suggest that dark chocolate may have the same, if not more, antioxidants than acai berries and blueberries. have credited the flavanols in cocoa for causing an increase in the flexibility of veins and arteries, allowing the chocolate eater to obtain these positive health benefits.

Also, certain compounds in dark chocolate cause less cholesterol to lodge in the arteries and lower the risk of heart disease over the long term. Oxidized LDL is LDL, which is a form of cholesterol, that has reacted with free radicals. This oxidized LDL may damage other tissues such as the lining in the arteries of the heart. However, cocoa contains powerful antioxidants that protect you against this type of damage. In

and density. The minimum amount of harmful UVB rays required to damage the skin increases, and can even double, after consuming dark chocolate high in flavanols regularly. Thus, your skin may take twice as long to develop redness and burning.

Dark chocolate may also improve brain function and has also been shown to improve cognitive function in elderly people suffering from mental impairment. It also improves verbal fluency and several risk factors for disease. Cocoa contains caffeine and theobromine, both of which are stimulants that help with

brain function. One important study linked cocoa consumption with an increase in blood flow to the brain, improving brain function. The University of Nottingham found that cocoa, due to its flavanols, increases blood flow to important parts of the brain for two to three hours and may help with improving mental performance and alertness.

Many studies show numerous benefits that dark chocolate contains based on its plethora of nutrients, antioxidants, and other substances. However, chocolate still may have many calories, and a lack of moderation will cause some weight gain. Interestingly enough, some research shows that dark chocolate is much more filling than other types of chocolate. When choosing a chocolate, make sure to buy dark chocolate, especially one that has a high cocoa content such as one that has at least 70% cocoa, because many of the health benefits are found in the nutrients that cocoa contains.

By eating a moderate portion size of a healthy dark chocolate snack, such as one or two squares, you can consume the cocoa “superfood” that is loaded with incredible benefits for your health. As long as you make sure to not over-indulge, you can gain all the benefits without making your health bittersweet.

Aliza Beer is a registered dietician with a master’s degree in nutrition. She has a private practice in Cedarhurst, NY. Patients’ success has been featured on the Dr. Oz show. Aliza can be reached at alizabeer@gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

In The K

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tchen

A Peek into Secrets of Skinny Cooking In this new cookbook, Victoria Dwek and Shani Taub C.D.C., C.N. team up to create mouthwatering recipes that will satisfy your cravings, delight your senses, and keep your waistline slim and trim. Try these dishes on your family this week – they will thank you and will keep asking for more!

Nachos Yields 4 servings Pareve | Sugar-Free Nachos are so much fun to eat — take a chip, pile on the toppings! Every bite is exciting. This is especially amazing in the summertime, when tomatoes and corn are naturally sweet. I used 80-calorie wraps to make the chips.

Although round wraps are more accessible, I find that square wraps crisp up into a more substantial, thicker “chip.”

Calories: 143 calories for 8 chips, 1 serving pico de gallo, and 2 Tbsp Avocado-Cucumber Cream

Ingredients Chips 3 low-calorie wraps Salt, for sprinkling Garlic powder, for sprinkling Chili powder, for sprinkling

Pico de Gallo 2 cups chopped tomatoes Kernels from 2 ears cooked fresh corn ½ small red onion, finely diced ½-1 jalapeno, seeds and membranes discarded, finely diced 2 Tbsp lime juice 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp salt Pinch coarse black pepper

Avocado-Cucumber Cream 1 ripe avocado ½ cucumber, peeled 2 tsp cilantro (OR 2 frozen cubes) 3 Tbsp lime juice ½ tsp salt

Preparation Prepare the chips: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a pizza slicer, slice each wrap into about 10 tortilla-shaped triangles. Spread on prepared baking sheet, coat with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. Bake until golden and crisp, 7-8 minutes.

Prepare the pico de gallo: In a bowl, stir together tomatoes, corn kernels, red onion, jalapeno, lime juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Prepare the avocado-cucumber cream: Using a blender, combine avocado, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. You may need to add up to 1 tablespoon water to start the blending process.

To enjoy, scoop up some Pico de Gallo with a chip and top with a dollop of Avocado-Cucumber Cream.

Shani says: People often ask, “How can I host a party while dieting and still feel like I’m part of it?” This is one way to enjoy finger foods and have fun.

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Shirataki Lo Mein

Eggplant Parmesan

Yields 1 large serving Pareve | Gluten-Free | Low Carb

Yields 6 servings as a side (double the portion for a main dish) Dairy | Gluten-Free | Low Carb | Sugar-Free

As with eggrolls, you can use whatever stir-fry vegetables (such as sugar snap peas), you have in your fridge here, but slice them thinly so they cook quickly. This entire portion is 146 calories.

I’d take this over a traditional eggplant parm any day. I can honestly say that I don’t feel I’m missing out. I especially love telling people that they can even eat the entire 9- x 13-inch pan for dinner and still be within a normal calorie count (though I’m sure you’ll be full before you get halfway through).

Shirataki noodles are made from a Japanese yam that happens to be virtually calorie-free (the final product has a minimal number of calories).

They’re tasteless and colorless, so whether they taste good depends on what you do with them. Shirataki noodles are available in the refrigerated section near the tofu in mainstream supermarkets.

Calories: 81 calories per serving

Calories: 146 calories

Ingredients 1 (6-ounce) package shirataki spaghetti 1 carrot, julienned ½ cup shredded red cabbage 1 oz. sliced mushrooms ½ tsp salt, or to taste Scallions, for garnish

Sauce 2 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp rice vinegar 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp fresh minced ginger, optional

Preparation

Ingredients

Drain and rinse shirataki noodles.

Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine all sauce ingredients.

Heat a wok or sauté pan over high heat. Add noodles and “dry-fry” until the pan is steaming and liquid completely evaporates (there should not be any water left in the pan when the other ingredients are added or it will dilute the flavor).

Add carrot, cabbage, and mushrooms; cook over high heat for 1-2 minutes until veggies are crisp-tender.

Add sauce; stir until sauce thickens and coats all noodles. Season with salt to taste. Add scallions.

1 large (1¼-lb) eggplant, sliced into rounds Salt, for sprinkling 1 cup marinara sauce (recipe found in the cookbook) 1 cup cauliflower cream (recipe found in the cookbook) 1¾ oz shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

Preparation Preheat oven to 400°F. Place eggplant rounds into a colander; sprinkle with salt. Let sit 20-30 minutes over a bowl or in the sink; rinse and pat dry.

Coat a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

Add eggplant slices; coat with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes.

Lay half the eggplant slices in a single layer in a 9- x 13-inch baking dish.

Top with ½ cup marinara sauce and ½ cup cauliflower cream. Use a spoon or spatula to spread the sauces evenly over the eggplant. Sprinkle with ¾ ounce mozzarella.

Add a second layer of eggplant, marinara, and cauliflower cream. Sprinkle with remaining 1 ounce mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Serve this to the whole family or even to company! No one will know it’s lighter than usual. I much prefer, though, to save the extra portions for myself and enjoy them for lunch later in the week.

Shani says: Simply use a bit less cheese – 1½ ounces – and you can count this entire recipe as 2 proteins and just 1 vegetable. Enjoy it!

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

Chocolate Brownies Yields 12 servings Pareve Fat-free baking is a funny and quirky thing (and there’s definitely loads and loads more trial and error than with traditional baking!). Usually, fat-free baked goods are loaded with sugar. I think it’s fascinating that a sweet potato can both replace the fat in a traditional chocolate cake … and contribute enough sweetness to keep this cake super low in sugar too.

Calories: 119 calories per serving

Ingredients ¼ cup cocoa 1 tsp espresso powder or instant coffee granules ¼ cup sugar ½ cup flour 1½ tsp baking soda Pinch of salt 4 (6-oz) jars sweet potato baby food 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, espresso powder, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt (you can also do this directly in the baking pan!).

In a cup or bowl, whisk together sweet potato puree, eggs, and vanilla Combine with dry ingredients.

Melt chocolate (or leave chocolate unmelted for crunchy bits in the brownie).

Fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared baking pan; bake for 30 minutes. Let cool; cut into 12 large squares.

Good to Know: For a cake-like consistency, use fresh sweet potatoes instead of baby food. Roast a 1-pound sweet potato at 400°F until very soft, about 1 hour. Peel (yielding ¾ pound sweet potato flesh) and puree until smooth.

Besides being light, this may be the sneakiest way to serve veggies to kids!

These can be frozen, but don’t eat them straight from the freezer. Let them thaw for best taste and texture.

Shani says: Enjoy this as Shabbos morning breakfast.

Reproduced from Secrets of Skinny Cooking by Victoria Dwek and Shani Taub C.D.C., C.N. with permission from the copyright holders ArtScroll/ Mesorah Publications, LTD.

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

Moreover, MEMRI also wrongly translates “ahlik” as “annihilate.” Ahlik, in the Arabic language, means destroy.

- Statement by the Islamic Center of Davis, California, claiming that the Middle Eastern Media Research Institute (MEMRI) wrongly interpreted its imam’s sermon last Friday because he didn’t say that they should “annihilate every Jew,” rather he said that they should “destroy every Jew.”

I’ve basically had a conflict-free life, you know.

- O.J. Simpson to the Nevada parole board last Thursday, at which time he was granted parole for a robbery he committed nine years ago

For me, the major criminal that exists in the United States of America is called Donald Trump; he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House.

A conflict-free life? This is who he is: He’s a sociopath, a narcissistic liar, a murderer, a thug, a kidnapper, a robber. The list goes on.

- Ron Goldman’s father, Fred

- Cong. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), during a church sermon in Chicago last week

If it was a guy from South Texas, I might ask him to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style.

- Congressman Blake Farenthold (R-TX), expressing his frustration with GOP holdouts on the Senate’s effort to repeal Obamacare

He’s huge…he is so unattractive it’s unbelievable.

- Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), overheard on a hot-mic talking with another senator about Congressman Farenthold

I am concerned that Prime Minister Netanyahu does not have a plan for peace and doesn’t have a vision for peace.

- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., at a Saturday town hall meeting in the Bronx

On the following dates, the CourierJournal incorrectly referred to hot dogs as sandwiches: Oct. 2, 1887; Aug. 10, 1901; March 20, 1904; July 21, 1935; Jan. 14, 1939; May 4, 1941; Sept. 15, 1950; June 29, 1958; Nov. 16, 1961; and Aug. 4, 1966.

Among those errors were references to a frankfurter sausage sandwich, frankfurter sandwich, Coney Island sandwich, frankfurter sandwich with mustard, and, the most egregious, a frankfurter sandwich with catchup. We deeply regret the errors, especially that last one.

– The Kentucky Courier-Journal, weighing in decisively that a hot dog is NOT a sandwich, in a correction issued last Wednesday in honor of national hot dog day

I saw that WebMD is being sold for $2.8 billion. The owner said he was just getting tired – but WebMD says it could either be gout, polio, or scurvy.

- Jimmy Fallon

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The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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When you lose to somebody who has a 40 percent popularity, you don’t blame other things – Comey, Russia – you blame yourself.

-Sen. Chuck Schumer turning on Hillary in an interview with the Washington Post this weekend

If any of you call an Uber any time soon, you might want to make sure it’s not a white Ford Bronco. I’m just saying. That’s right, O.J. Simpson was officially granted parole today and could be out of jail by October. When asked what he plans to do first, he said, “Well, catch up on all the shows about O.J.” - Jimmy Fallon

A lot of people didn’t know how to feel about the news. On one hand, O.J. is a convicted felon. On the other hand, he managed to keep Trump off TV for a whole afternoon. So it’s kind of a community service.

- Ibid.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk claims he has gotten verbal approval to connect New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington with a high-speed train that runs in an airless tube – while the New York City subway just introduced brand-new rotary phones.

– Seth Myers

Most people walk courteously – but white women, at least when I’m in their path, do not… Why only and specifically white women? Do they refuse to acknowledge me because they’ve been taught that they should fear black men and that any acknowledgment of black men can invite danger?

- Greg Howard’s op-ed in The New York Times about how “racist” white women are in perhaps the most liberal big city in the world

Can you imagine The New York Times running an essay where a white woman complains about how African-American men are rude and then blames it on race? The paper and the author would be skewered.

The left’s new default is that white people are doing wrong at every turn – even walking down the street.

- Dan Gainor, vice president for business and culture at the Media Research Center

If I didn’t sneak in, if I went in like I would normally go in, the right-wing press would go crazy. “What is Boehner up to?” The leftwing press would go just as crazy. “What is Obama doing? He’s going to let Boehner roll him again.” You’re dead before you even have an agreement.

- Former Speaker of the House John Boehner disclosing at a conference this week that he used to sneak into the Obama White House to meet with President Obama

He’s going to win again and I’ll bring a box of Kleenex over here to CNN in 2020.

- New White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tepper, promising that Trump will win again in 2020

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

I have exposure to the very cuttingedge AI, and I think people should be really concerned about it… AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.

- Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk speaking about artificial intelligence at the National Governors Association meeting

I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios – I just, I don’t understand it.

It’s really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible. In the next five to 10 years, AI is going to deliver so many improvements in the quality of our lives.

- Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook Live session talking about Musk’s comments

I mean, I’ll go and swim from time to time just to kind of decompress and get away, but I don’t miss the grind of that. I mean, it’s probably easier than doing what I’m doing now. I would say training for the Olympics is easier than living a normal life where I’m outside of the pool most of the time.

- Michael Phelps in an interview with Fox News

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

I did not collude with Russians, nor do I know of anyone in the campaign who did.

- Jared Kushner, talking to the press after meeting with Congressional investigators

Donald Trump had a better message and ran a smarter campaign, and that is why he won.

Suggesting otherwise ridicules those who voted for him.

- Ibid

I think there’s become a very “clickbait” mentality among a lot of reporters where they’re more interested in their clip or their click than they are about the truth and the facts.

- Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, in an interview with Sean Hannity after he resigned

There will never be a time during my term when I will be going to America or thereafter. I’ve seen America and it’s lousy. They have many human rights violations.

- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to reporters after a U.S. Congress human rights commission hearing where various advocate groups assailed his bloody war on drugs

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

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Political Crossfire

What to Do for Little Charlie Gard

By Charles Krauthammer

O

ne cannot imagine a more wrenching moral dilemma than the case of little Charlie Gard. He is a beautiful 11-month-old boy with an incurable genetic disease.

It depletes his cells’ energy-producing structures (the mitochondria), thereby progressively ravaging his organs.

He cannot hear, he cannot see, he can barely open his eyes. He cannot swallow, he cannot move, he cannot breathe on his own. He suffers from severe epilepsy, and his brain is seriously damaged. Doctors aren’t even sure whether he can feel pain.

For months he’s been at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

His doctors have recommended removing him from life support.

His parents are deeply opposed.

They have repeatedly petitioned the courts to allow them to take Charlie for experimental treatment in the United States.

The courts have denied the parents’ petition. They concluded that the proposed treatment has no chance of saving the child and would do nothing but inflict upon him further suffering. They did, however, allow the American specialist to come to London to examine Charlie. He is giving his findings to the court. A final ruling is expected on July 25.

The Telegraph of London reports that Charlie’s doctors remain unconvinced by the American researcher.

Indeed, the weight of the evidence appears to support the doctors and the courts. Charlie’s genetic variant is dif-

ferent and far more devastating than the ones in which nucleoside bypass therapy has shown some improvement. There aren’t even animal models for treating Charlie’s condition.

It’s extremely unlikely that treatment can even reach Charlie’s brain cells, let alone reverse the existing damage.

What to do? There is only one real question. What’s best for Charlie? But because he can’t speak for himself, we

zures? intubation?) to punctuate the darkness. His doctors understandably believe that allowing a natural death is the most merciful thing they can do for Charlie.

As for miracle cures, I share the court’s skepticism. They always arise in such cases, and invariably prove to be cruel deceptions.

And yet. Despite all these considerations, I would nevertheless let

The sovereignty of loved ones must be the overriding principle that guides all such decisions.

resort to a second question: Who is to speak for him?

The most heartrending situation occurs when these two questions yield opposing answers. Charlie’s is such a case.

Let me explain.

In my view, two truths must guide any decision: (1) The parents must be sovereign, but (2) the parents are sometimes wrong.

I believe that in this case the parents are wrong, and the doctors and judges are right. Charlie’s suffering is literally unimaginable and we are simply prolonging it. This is a life of no light, no sound, no motion, only moments of physical suffering (sei-

the parents take their boy where they wish.

The sovereignty of loved ones must be the overriding principle that guides all such decisions. We have no other way. The irreducible truth is that these conundrums have no definitive answer. We thus necessarily fall back on family, or to put it more sentimentally, on love.

What is best for the child? The best guide is a loving parent. A parent’s motive is the most pure.

This rule is not invariable, of course. Which is why the state seizes control when parents are demonstrably injurious, even if unintentionally so, as in the case of those who, for

some religious imperative, would deny their child treatment for a curable disease.

But there’s a reason why, despite these exceptions, all societies grant parents sovereignty over their children until they reach maturity. Parents are simply more likely than anyone else to act in the best interest of the child.

Not always, of course. Loved ones don’t always act for the purest of motives. Heirs, for example, may not the best guide as to when to pull the plug on an elderly relative with a modest fortune.

But then again, states can have ulterior motives, too. In countries where taxpayers bear the burden of expensive treatments, the state has an inherent incentive (of which Britain’s National Health Service has produced notorious cases) to deny treatment for reasons of economy rather than mercy.

Nonetheless, as a general rule, we trust in the impartiality of the courts – and the loving imperative of the parent.

And if they clash? What then? If it were me, I would detach the tubes and cradle the child until death. But it’s not me. It’s not the NHS. And it’s not the European Court of Human Rights.

It’s a father and a mother and their desperate love for a child. They must prevail. Let them go. (c) 2017, The Washington Post Writers Group

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Forgotten Her es

Unit 669

By Avi Heiligman

M

ilitary personnel always have to be ready to go into action when the call comes. Unless their country is at war, most military units train and rarely go on “real world” missions.

But some parts of the military are always on standby even when there isn’t a war to fight. Special Forces and counterterrorism teams see the most action during peacetime.

And there are some units that can get the call while at home, during peacetime, and it is to help people who may not even be in the military.

These are Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) teams, and the Israeli Unit 669 is one of the world’s best.

Unit 669 is not in the news or talked about as much as the Shayetet 13 or Sayeret Matkal units but they are just as active. These units are the Israeli versions of the American Navy SEALs and Delta Force, and Unit 669’s counterparts are the Nightstalkers and Air Force Pararescue.

As with many Special Forces

units, Unit 669 was formed to fill a void in war. During the Yom Kippur War, in 1973, several IAF pilots were shot down behind enemy lines without means to escape. An ad hoc medavac (medical evacuation) unit was created to rescue wounded ser-

cases, and the medical care that was given was inadequate. This point was brought home when a pilot was forced to eject behind enemy lines.

Even though he was wounded, he could still move around, but was captured when no IDF unit was sent

Unit 669 is very active during peacetime, and when a war breaks out they are running overtime. vice members but there was nothing to rescue stranded pilots or members of other branches. Other Special Forces units were tasked with rescuing the downed crewmen but these forces were taking out time from other critical responsibilities.

The time that it took for either the medavac or Special Forces units to arrive on scene was too long in some

to the rescue.

To avoid these mistakes, for future wars the IAF, under Commander Benny Peled, created a CSAR team and called it Unit 669.

Because of their inexperience in this new type of Special Forces, the unit commander, Yoram Shachar, decided to go with some officers to a pararescue school already in ex-

istence. The information and skills that they learned from the U.S. Navy and from the training in the Gulf of Mexico gave the leaders of Unit 669 the fortitude and intelligence to make it work in Israel. After returning to Israel, the officers set up a training school with just 12 students in the first class and were ready to operate by the end of 1974.

Even though Israel wasn’t at war, the unit didn’t have to wait long for their first mission. A European tourist became lost in the Judean Desert. Five Unit 669 members jumped onboard a helicopter and eventually found the hiker on a cliff by a ravine. Following the success of the first mission, the unit continued to get calls from around the country and soon gained popularity for its successes.

Training of these elite soldiers currently takes 18 months while they go through a variety of schools and courses. They take basic training with paratroopers and learn how to parachute. Other courses include

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

learning how to be a combat medic, SCUBA and rescue diver schools on counterterrorism, jungle, desert and urban warfare, how to infiltrate and exfiltrate from helicopters, and navigation. Some of the unit members are Special Forces soldiers, while others are doctors needed to provide critical care at the scene.

As the years passed more specialties and tactics were added to their training. Recently, Unit 669 members have been training to locate and recover friendly drones that were downed in enemy territory. To keep their skills sharp, missions to rescue civilians trapped on mountains, canyons or in remote areas are sometimes taken by the unit.

In 2003, a boat carrying ten Turkish seamen was caught in a heavy storm. Unit 669 was dispatched and rescued the men.

The unit is dived into three branches. The extraction teams are soldiers that can execute complicated rescues on all terrain and at sea, in all types of weather and warlike conditions. Some doctors are part of this branch and receive advanced combat training so they could deploy on the ground with other unit members. Even the soldiers of the rescue teams are qualified to perform battlefield surgeries. Needless to say, this branch is the most demanding physically and mentally. Evacuation teams are made up of doctors, paramedics and other medical personnel that provide critical care to patients while transporting them to a hospital. They receive only basic combat training and stay on the aircraft during missions. The third group, technical support group, is made up of non-combat soldiers that provide

the logistics of the group. There is a lot of logistics and support needed for a unit like this so this branch is the largest of the three.

Unit 669 is very active during peacetime, and when a war breaks out they are running overtime. Operation Cast Lead in 2009 saw Unit 669 rescue 83 wounded IDF service members. During Operation Protection Edge in 2014 the unit evacuated over 250 soldiers from Gaza with a large number of those being under enemy fire. A regular calendar year will see an average of 80 missions for the unit with new capabilities being added to their potential operations.

In addition to its military missions inside Israeli borders, Unit 669 has deployed worldwide. In 2012, the unit deployed within hours of hearing of a bus bombing in Bulgaria. Five Israelis tourists were killed, and the 32 survivors were soon in the hands of Unit 669 on their way back to Israel within hours of the attack. In 2015, a contingent of IDF soldiers with several Unit 669 members went to Nepal to provide assistance to the victims of a devastating earthquake.

In 2006, a civilian Search and Rescue unit was formed that in a way rivals some Unit 669’s missions.

Ichud United Hatzalah differs from Unit 669 in many aspects and for the most part is just an ambulance service. However, United Hatzalah (there are other Hatzalah organizations in Israel) does have rescue capabilities in the sea and is made up of civilians. The two organizations work together during times with high call volume. During the Gaza Conflict in 2014 while Unit 669 was

performing evacuations in Gaza, United Hatzalah was taking 50% more calls than usual a day helping out nearby civilians.

The missions and training depicted in this article are just a glimpse into the lives of the members of Unit 669. Many of the missions are not classified but since the men prefer to stay out of the spotlight it may take years before the public becomes aware of many of their other missions.

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For the past 43 years Unit 669 has been providing Israel’s military and civilian population with this necessary service and has quietly saved thousands of lives.

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.

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HOUSES FOR SALE WOODMERE: PRICE REDUCED Magnificent 5BR, 3.5BA Split Level Home, Eik, Formal DR, Den W/Frpl & Vaulted Ceilings, Skylights, Hardwood Floors, In-Ground Pool, Cedar Deck, Radiant Heat & Much More!!! Close To All…$825K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

COMMERCIAL RE CEDARHURST 500-3,500 +/- SF Beautiful, newly renovated space for rent. Ideal for Retail or Executive offices. Prime location. Convenient Parking.

Call Sam @516-612-2433 or 718-747-8080 INWOOD OFFICE SPACE LOWEST PRICES IN TOWN! 500-7000 Square feet gorgeous office space with WATERVIEW in Inwood!

Lots of options. Tons of parking.

WIll divide and customize space for your needs!

Call 516-567-0100

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Classifieds classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com / text 443-929-4003 COMMERCIAL RE ROCKVILLE CENTRE 4,600 -S/F Warehouse Includes Offices with Large Windows Loading Dock / Ideal Location - Walk to LIRR 917-822-0499 WAREHOUSE Up to 10,000 S/F Rockville Centre Loading Dock - Walk to LIRR 917-822-0499 5 TOWNS: Looking for: Orthotist, Podiatrist, Chiropractor, Physical Therapist, Dentist, or Obstetrician, Gynecologist.

Professional Spaces Available in Hewlett, Lynbrook, Valley Stream area. For Lease... Call for More Details Broker (516) 792-6698 CEDARHURST: Office Spaces, 3,400SF Ground Floor & 3,200SF Lower Level W/4 Bathrooms, Kitchenette, On-Site Parking, Can Be Combined, Great for Any Professional Use, For Lease...

Call Randy for More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

COMMERCIAL RE

COMMERCIAL RE

EAST ROCKAWAY: 3,250+/-SF Office Space in Professional Elevator Bldg W/Full Bsmt & Ample Parking, 9 Private Offices, 1 Private Bathrm + 2 Bathrms, Kitchen, Conference Rm, For Lease… Call For More Details Broker (516) 792-6698

WOODMERE: High Tech Executive Suites W/Parking & Storage, Various Sizes Available, All New!!! 24 Hour Access, All Utilities Included Plus Many Amenities, For Lease…Call Lori for More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

FRANKLIN SQUARE: 1,100+/-SF Professional Space in Building, Reception Area, Waiting Room, On-Site Parking, Great for Any Professional Use, For Lease... Call Alan for More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

CO-OP FOR SALE FAR ROCKAWAY 833 Central , 1st floor, balcony, doorman. Completely renovated, near LIRR, 2BR/2 full bath, 2 DW/sinks, wood cabinets, granite counters $339 917-572-9644

ROCKVILLE CENTRE: LANDLORD MOTIVATED!!!

850+/-SF Retail Store on Corner of Municipal Parking Lot, Excellent Signage Opportunity, Almost Any Use, Great Location, For Lease …Call Randy for More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

WOODMERE: BEST BUY – NEW PRICE SMALL PETS OK: Beautiful Corner Unit In Elevator Bldg, 2BR, 5 Closets, All Large Rooms, Sunny & Spacious, Close To All...$165K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

ROSEDALE: 750 +/- SF Retail Store W/4 Parking Spots in Rear, 10’ Ceilings, Great High-Traffic Location on Woodmere/ Rosedale Border, For Lease…Call Randy For More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

LAWRENCE: New Listing - Best Building!!! Stunning 3BR, 2 Full Bath Co-op on 1st Flr Of Elevator Bldg, Updated Kitchen & Baths, Enclosed Terrace W/Screens, Near All...$320K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

APT FOR RENT FAR ROCKAWAY 2 bedroom apartment for rent Beach 9 St & Bolton $1750 including gas and electric Call Aaron at 646-462-8341

FAR ROCKAWAY 2 bedroom apt available furnished newly renovated basement with high ceilings, airy and light. Brand new Kitchen and appliances . All rooms have split air conditioners, full bathroom and WiFi. please call Ricki 347-248-9160 $1400 + utilities WOODMERE: Brand New Renovated 1BR Apt In The Heart Of Woodmere, Quartz Countertops, Stainless Steel Appliances, New Cabinetry, Double Sink, Dishwasher, HW Floors, New Windows, Marble & Stone Bathroom, W/D In Bldg, Close To Railroad & Shopping, Heat & Water Included…

1 Or 2YR Lease…$1,995/mo.

Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

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4BR Home, Renov Kitch, Spacious 2BR, 2BA, Eik, 3BR Cape, Fin Bsmt, 4BR,2BA Cape, Formal SD#14,Near All..$3,500/mo Storage,Near All..$2,795/mo SD#14,Near All..$525K DR,Bsmt,SD#14..$560K

Magnificent 5BR, 3.5BA Waterfront 6BR, 6.5BA Split, Pool, SD#14..$825K Col,Dock,Pool..$1.995M

Sprawling 4BR, 4BA Exp-Ranch Set On ParkLike Property, Fin Basement, SD#14...$1.199M

Carol Braunstein

Susan Pugatch

Call or Text

(516) 592-2206

cbraunstein@pugatch.com

(516)

www.pugatch.com

 2500+SF Office Medical Suite  8 Car On-Site Parking  Beautiful Atrium-like Setting

295-3000

spugatch@pugatch.com

 4,600+/- SF Retail W/Bsmt  High Profile Corner on Central Ave  Occupancy Early 2018

AVA I L A B L E :

Cedarhurst: Various Sized Offices & Retail Stores in ♥ of Town. ..Call For More Details Hewlett: 1,100+/-SF & 1,500+/-SF Office Spaces in Prof Bldg W/Parking ..$24 - $29 PSF Woodmere: High Tech Office Suites, Many Amenities Include. …..Call For More Details

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Classifieds classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com / text 443-929-4003 HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

ATTENDANCE OFFICER Girls’ high school is looking for an organized, responsible administrative assistant to manage attendance.

Must be adept at school management software, Excel, and mobile devices.

Hours 9-5 M-Th and 9-12 F. Email resume to mshepard@tagschools.org

WARM, LOVING, HEIMISHE PLAYGROUP IN FAR ROCKAWAY ages 2 ½ to 4 – is looking for assistants and substitutes.

Please call 516-371-6848

CATAPULT LEARNING Teachers, Title I Boro Park, Williamsburg and Flatbush Schools *College/Yeshiva Degree *Teaching experience required *Strong desire to help children learn *Small group instruction *Excellent organization skills Competitive salary Send resume to: Fax: (212) 480-3691 ~ Email: nyteachers@catapultlearning.com

Pugatch Realty Corp., in Woodmere, is looking to hire and train a select group of motivated Realtors.

If you are looking to build a career in real estate, or looking to take your existing career to the next level, there is no better place to start that the #1 Real Estate Brokerage in the Five Towns…

Call Today (516) 295-3000 x 128. All calls kept confidential.

Be A Camper And Get A Youth Corp Job at Camp Gavoha Ages 14-16 Call Today 917-734-4495 SALES ASSOCIATE NEEDED FOR WOMEN’S BOUTIQUE. Fashion sales experience required. Five Towns location. Call 516-512-3447 or e-mail workresumes79@gmail.com Local F.T. Accounting Office Seeks P/T JR. ACCOUNTANT proficient in Q.B. knowledge of payroll tax, sales tax, business tax and individual taxes Qualified applicants should please e-mail resume to: 5towntaxoffice@gmail.com Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, Woodmere, NY seeks a FT MIDDLE SCHOOL LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER FOR 2017-2018.

Resumes to ulubetski@halb.org

SEEKING CERTIFIED SPECIAL ED TEACHER for well-known preschool in Far Rockaway.

Start fall 2017. Competitive package, pleasant working conditions Email resume to scohen@oonourwaylc.org Growing, dynamic Five Towns High School is seeking PT teachers who can both challenge and develop strong relationships with students, in: English and AP Biology Please email cover letter, resume and time availability to: ftteacherresumes@gmail.com.

Competitive salary, commensurate with experience FIVE TOWNS OFFICE LOOKING FOR immediate hire of several people…part time and full time…starting at $15 per hour. Need detail- oriented person to handle A/P, A/R, customer service, and ability to negotiate bids and contracts.

Computer literate a must.

Please email fabadi@egwaste.com

TJH Classifieds Post your Real Estate, Help Wanted, Services, Miscellaneous Ads here.

Weekly Classifed Ads Up to 5 lines and/or 25 words 1 week ................ $20 $10 2 weeks .............. $35 $17.50 4 weeks .............. $60 $30 Email ads to: classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Boys kiruv school located in Kew Gardens seeks general studies teachers for upper elementary grades. Must be proficient in Common Core curriculum and comfortable with technology in the classroom in addition to receiving training in an award winning system. Competitive salary. Hours are Monday-Thursday 12:30-3:45 Please send resumes to jobseekfr@yahoo.com OVERNIGHT \WEEKEND COUNSELOR Responsible and exp’d staff to live in a beautiful group home & work 3 nights\week 7pm - 9am. Staff are not req’d to remain awake after 11pm.

Staff are req’d to work two weekends per month. Free rent & food. Stipend given as well. Great for college girl.

For additional info contact Frayde Yudkowsky at 732.948.4636 or fyudkowsky@evolvetreatment.com ARE YOU BACK FROM SEMINARY AND JUST MADE YOUR COLLEGE SCHEDULE? Five towns preschool looking for part time assistant teachers....

2 days, 3 days, half days.

Email your resume and references to earlychildhood@shulamith.org

Looking to hire full time EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/ BOOKKEEPER. Prior Bookkeeping and Quickbooks experience a must.

Please email your resume to: nassaultc@gmail.com The Ganger Early Childhood Division of TAG seeks warm, caring, capable assistants for coming school year.

Experience preferred. please send resume to csender@tagschools.org

MISC FOUND: FOLDED BLACK STROLLER OUTSIDE CENTRAL PERK CAFÉ ON FRIDAY NIGHT ABOUT A MONTH AGO. LOOKING FOR ITS OWNER. ANY LEADS, PLEASE CALL DEVORAH AT 917-797-7924 SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURES Tickets + Safari Valid any operating day $40 Parking passes $20 Call or text Shua @917-923-0011

SHIDDUCH DATING? NEED PLACES TO GO? Check out Pegishaplace.com WIG GEMACH Everyone in our community deserves to look great! Donate used wigs and make a world of a difference.

For appointments to see wigs or to donate, call Deena 845-304-6668

Reach Your Target Market

Include valid credit card info

Deadline Monday 5:00pm

Classifieds

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Life CAPTURE

I M A G E S LTD PHOTOGRAPHY I VIDEO

GABRIEL SOLOMON

Your

Money

Caliente

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

GABE@LIFECAPTUREIMAGES.COM 516.499.9620 WWW.LIFECAPTUREIMAGES.COM

“Of course you have a purpose in life.

You pay taxes, don’t you?”

Rabbi Dovid Fleischmann Certified Mohel

WWW.BABYSMOHEL.COM

Baby-Friendly Care

 Personalized Attention

Expert Skill and Dedicated Service you Deserve

516-314-3236 babysmohel@gmail.com

S

ummer is here, and in most of the country, it’s hot! The All-Star game has come and gone, dog days are right around the corner, and if your air conditioner makes a funny noise, the hair stands up on the back of your neck.

Now, we can’t help you if your air conditioner breaks, but we can try and put a smile on your face with a few tax quotes to start your day.

Try and spot the summer references hidden inside — they might not be quite as easy to find as you think! ·“A dog who thinks he is man’s best friend is a dog who has obviously never met a tax lawyer.”

Fran Lebowitz

·“The United States will get a value added tax when conservatives realize that it is regressive and liberals realize that it is a money machine.”

Lawrence Summers ·“Baseball is a skilled game. It’s America’s game – it, and high taxes.”

Will Rogers · “ Ta x at ion w it h r e pr e sentation ain’t so hot either.”

Gerald Barzan ·“If [a United States Supreme Court Justice is] in the doghouse with the Chief [Justice], he gets the crud. He gets the tax cases.”

Harry Blackmun ·“The IRS spends G-d knows

how much of your tax money on these toll-free information hotlines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly. If you ask them a real tax question, such as how you can cheat, they’re useless.”

Dave Barry

·“Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but Democrats believe every day is April 15.”

Ronald Reagan ·“Taxes are paid in the sweat of every man who labors. If those taxes are excessive, they are reflected in idle factories, tax-sold farms and in hordes of hungry people, tramping the streets and seeking jobs in vain.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt Not many of us are thinking about taxes after April 15. But the reality is, there’s never a bad time to stop wasting money on taxes you don’t have to pay. The sooner you start planning, the sooner you’ll rescue those dollars from your paycheck or quarterly estimates. So call us before the heat gets too high and see if we can bring you some cool relief!

Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 yea rs in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at allanjrcpa@aol.com.

The Jewish Home | JULY 27, 2017

VE I S LU C X E

CAHAL IS HIRING

Assistant Teachers

2017-2018 FULL TIME / PART TIME POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Judaic and General Studies NEW CLASSES Grades K - 8

Apply Today!

Send resume and references Shira@cahal.org or call: 516-295-3666

INTEGRATE D in Community Yeshivas

5 TOWNS FAR ROCKA WAY

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JULY 27, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Life C ach

3 Plus 9 = Wake Up!

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

H

ow in the world do you explain this to anyone?

“The Three Weeks are ‘coming’ up!” And then, “Oh my gosh...hhhhelp...the Nine Days!”

You kind of sound nuts!

Yes, sweetie, one week is coming, and after that two, and, yes, after that comes three! That’s how it always works. What is the big news?!

And what’s with the concern about the Nine Days? It’s true – after any week is another week, but that is

seven, not nine days. Who talks in terms of nine days? Moreover why an “oh my gosh”? What are we afraid of? First comes seven, then eight, then nine – what’s the big problem?

So, it isn’t really about the days, it’s about two things. One is tough and the other is even tougher: the restrictions and the events that caused the restrictions! The restrictions couldn’t come at a worse time.

Seriously, no swimming? It’s like a hundred degrees outside! Why not

do this in December? We never even would notice it then!

And how about this “no music” thing? There’s like sefira with no music already for 49 days, couldn’t they just overlap? It’s summertime.

We want to just have fun and pass through the dreaded Three Weeks.

So why do we have these restrictions now? Maybe it’s important that we stand up and take notice of something. After all, how often do all of us feel passed over, not given the attention we need or crave, and then realize that notice is a good

up. When we take notice, we begin to register what we are missing and appreciate having it.

So, don’t just take notice of what we can’t do during this time period.

Hone those take notice skills! They will come in handy in life. There will be times we don’t have what we want. But if we’ve honed those skills we will realize sometimes we are challenged and sometimes we are not. Sometimes the challenges are pervasive, and sometimes they are in the background. At times, we get a national command to wake up

There’s a reason we are supposed to take notice during this time.

thing?

So much positive can come through taking notice, getting the attention that we deserve. Self-esteem can be elevated. Neglect rectified. Bad feelings reversed.

So maybe there’s a reason we are supposed to take notice during this time. We as a nation went through a hard time many, many years ago.

We lost our faith. We heard bad news from the spies in the desert and became disheartened. That negativity rippled down through the generations. The first Temple was destroyed. The second Temple was destroyed. And we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes.

So how do we rectify things? We take notice! We don’t want these days to pass by without waking us

and take note, and at times we get a personal one. We don’t always like it, but we can try to use it to learn something about how to appreciate life.

Often, we agonize over the tough times. But when we take notice of those tough times, we are able to see the blessing in the good times as well. So try to take all the good in even over the Three Weeks, Nine Days...one minute, every second.

Consider yourself on notice!

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917705-2004 or r ivk i@r o s e nw a l d s. com<mailto:rivki@rosenwalds.com

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The following is a partial listing. To view all times and locations please visit: https://chofetzchaimheritagefoundation.org/tishabav/event-locations/ CEDARHURST

Agudah of Five Towns 508 Penninsula Blvd.

2:00 A 5:00 B Kehillas Bais Yehuda Tzvi 395 Oakland Ave. CC 2:30 B 4:30 A

FAR ROCKAWAY

TAG HIGH SCHOOL 636 Lanett Ave 2:00 B 4:00 A Y.I. of Bayswater 2716 Healy Ave. 3:00 A 5:00 A Yeshiva Ateres Shimon 1239 Caffery Ave. 12:30 B 3:00 A

FOREST HILLS

Havurat Yisrael 68-60 Austin St. Jul. 31, 9:30pm A Machane Chadash 67-29 108 St. 2:15 A 5:45 B Queens Jewish Center 66-05 108 St. 2:00 A 4:00 B Y.I. of Forest Hills 7100 Yellowstone Blvd.

TBA Sephardic Jewish Cong.

101-17 67th Drive 1:00 A 3:00 B

GREAT NECK

Ahavat Shalom 130 Cuttermill Rd. 5:00 A 6:45 B Great Neck Syn. 26 Old Mill Rd. 5:00 B Kollel Ohr Haemet 112 Steamboat Rd. 3:45 A & B Torah Ohr Heb. Academy 575 Middle Neck Rd. Jul. 31, 10:30pm B Aug.1, 12:00 A Y.I. of Great Neck 236 Middle Neck Rd. TBA B

HEWLETT

Cong. Anshe Chesed 1170 William St. 3:00 A 5:00 B Y.I of Hewlett 1 Piermont Ave. 2:30 A 4:30 B

INWOOD

Bais Tefillah of Inwood 321 Doughty Blvd.

2:30 A 4:00 B

JAMAICA ESTATES Cong. Anshe Shalom 80-15 Cant St. 6:00 B

KEW GARDENS

Kew Gardens Syn. Adath Yeshurun 82-17 Lefferts Blvd.

3:00 A 5:00 B

KEW GARDENS Hills

LONG BEACH

Bach Jewish Center 210 Edward Blvd.

9:30 A & B Y.I. of Long Beach 120 Long Beach Blvd.

Jul. 31, 9:00 pm A Aug. 1, 5:00 B

Boulevard ALP Assisted Living 71-61 159th Street OCEANSIDE 2:30 B Cong. Darchei Noam 3310 Woodward St. Cong. Ahavas Yisrael 2:30 B 4:15 A 147-02 73rd Ave. 2:10 A 4:10 B Y.I. of Oceanside 150 Waukena Ave. Kehilas Sephardim 5:30 B 150-62 78th Rd Jul. 31, 9:30pm B Aug. 1, 5:00 A

Admission: ADULTS $15, STUDENTS $10

PLAINVIEW

Plainview Syn. Zichron Kedoshim 255 Monetto Hill Rd. 1:30 A 5:30 B Y.I. of Plainview 132 Southern Pkwy.

TBA

WOODMERE

Y.I. of Woodmere 859 Penninsula Blvd.

TBA Yeshiva Gedola of the Five Towns 218 Mosher Ave. 3:00 A 5:00 B