September 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
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K N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K U N O A Y K TH N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y N A H T YOU THANK U O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A U O Y K N THANK YOU TH A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H N T A H U T YO U O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A U O Y K THANK YOU TH N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O N A H T U YOU THANK Y O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K U N O A Y H K T N A H T U O Y K N A H T U N A H T YOU THANK YO U O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H U O Y K THANK YOU T N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y N A H T U YOU THANK O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H D UT WHO PROVIDE U F F O A T S Y G IN K THANK EYVEO Z A N AM A 0 R U 10 H O R F T E O V O R U E O B T PITE ESO RY MEM OF RY A TO EK K EN H W T D E L U IL F O N U Y F K NAL & N MER CAMPS. TIO A M A U S S H N E F T A S O A D H U N E T R O Y U O LS IN OU Y K N A H BOYS AND GIR T U O Y K N A H T ovKa!YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Shana TN A H T U O Y K N A H A H T YOU T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K THANK YOU N A H T U O Y K N A H T U A H T U YOU THANK YO O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K THANK YOU N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y H T U YOU THANK O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H U O Y K THANK YOU T N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y H T U YOU THANK O Y K N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O Y K THANK YO N A H T U O Y K N A H T U O YOU THANK Y THANK YOU The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
iva Baron ni Auerbach · Av t · Oriel Atias · Yo du Ah l h ae ch Mi · Aharon Berlin · Yossi Blok chayev · Yonatan uel Bennun · Zach m Sh · un nn Emanuel Abram Be · Dovid o Cywiak muel Benjamini yeh Cywiak · Shlom sha Bauman · Sh · Zevi Cohen · Ar n he Co a Gabe Bauman · Eli Ely · an · Dovie Frisch Book · Avi Cohn vid Bluth · Eitan an · Dovid Friedm m Do · ch in Fis te a us ch Bl v Sim Yako Felder · kmati Feldman · Jesse Halpert · Ariel He a Elefant · Sruly lia Gubitz · Dovid da Ge · r lle Go Tzvi Eisner · Shay h da ir Kivelevitz · Natan Gemal · Ju ery Kauf man · Me · Mendy Frydman Moshe Kahan · Av · n an Netanel Fruchter ffm Ho el tman · Nachi Loew Heyman · Yo berman · Corey Lis Akiva Hess · David · Lie i at ey Yo km · e He n vin ha Le Et · Aryeh isner Laub · Will Lerer Meiri · Yakov Me iva Lader · Aryeh sturov · Binyamin Ma vid Da · s Eli Kontente · Ak rk Ma vitz · Moshe Aryeh Novack l · Ezra Nenner · ndel · Aryeh Mane · Leibel Nebenzah Yitzy Loew · AJ Ma di ra Mo iel Ar · l m Mishae nd · Daniel Rand Eli Miller · Avraha binowitz · Aron Ra Ra n ha Et · e Tzvi Messinger · sk or llel Schein adia · Ari Profes cha Schachter · Hi cky Orrin · Mor Ov ss · Ari Saffra · Sim Ro Nosson Oirich · Ro an Eit · lum iva Spinner nyomin Rosenb · Sruly Sobel · Ak an Romanoff · Bi · Shuky Shaf ran ian Yehuda Rand · Eit at ab Sh ck in am · Beny · Nachum Weinsto rrison Schwartz n · Yozi Wagner ne Ta Eli Schupak · Ha lph Ra · n er Nachi Zinn an · Yehuda St she Zilberberg · · Daniel Steinerm · Moishy Zern · Mo Ephraim Spinner vi ha Za sh Jo · Weisman e Weisfeld · Sam Jack Weisfeld · Jo
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Dear Readers,
D
id you know that the term, “keeping up with the Joneses,” was coined by a Cedarhurst resident? Arthur R. Momand was the creator of a comic strip with the title “Keeping Up with the Joneses,” which ran in many newspapers in the early 1900s. He based his content on his own experiences as a young married man making $125 a week and living in Cedarhurst, NY. The problem with keeping up with the Joneses – which I’m sure Momand pointed out in his comic strip – is that while one is trying to keep up with the Joneses, the Joneses are trying to keep up with the Smiths. The Smiths, meanwhile, are running after the Clarks, who are trying to be just like the Scotts. The Scotts, then, are wondering why they’re not more like the Greens, who are trying their best to match up to the Carters. The race, as you can see, is on. But there’s really no happy winner in people’s desperate attempts to outdo or measure up to each other. It’s funny that Momand’s comic strip ran 100 years ago. Can you believe that they had those problems even before band-aids were invented? There were no microwaves or jet engines or bubble gum or even spiral notebooks. And even so, they were stretching themselves financially, trying to live up to the norms set by their neighbors. Nowadays, with the ubiquity of social
media, the pressure for people to achieve is not just measured up against their neighbors; they are trying to outdo or live up to the standards of people whom they never met – or even if they did, they wouldn’t know each other if they bumped into each other on the street. A big challenge for parents these days is to inculcate a contentment in their children for what they have. It’s not easy to teach children that there’s no need to run after the newest phone or accessory or vacation spot just because “everyone” has it. With everyone posing a perfect life on Instagram and online, our children are swept up in a maelstrom of stress, yearning to be just like “all their friends.” Sukkos, though, is here to ground us. It instructs us, “V’samechta b’chagecha,” be happy with the yom tov. Be happy with the opportunity to spend time with the family and enjoy each other’s company. Be happy with the simple things in life. Don’t go running after the latest fad; be present in the moment as you sit in your sukkah and gaze at the stars. Sukkos reminds us that the important things in life can all fit into a small, temporary dwelling – our relationships with the One Above, with our family and with ourselves. Wishing you a wonderful yom tov, Shoshana
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
בס"ד
is pleased to announce that Preschool registration will open right after Sukkos for the 2022-2023 school year Give your child an education that will stay with her for a lifetime. Experience chinuch with caring and warm Moros and Teachers, where every talmidah is appreciated for who she is. Rabbi Nosson Neuman Menahel
Mrs. Leah Zytman Principal
Morah Chana Leah Bitan Asst. Limudei Kodesh Principal
Morah Deenie Schuss Preschool Director
Dr. Rivka Gutkind PhD Learning Center Director
Morah Shani Stadtmauer Preschool Curriculum Coordinator
Avraham Mayer Executive Director
Call or email for an application
12-14 Heyson Road Far Rockaway NY 11691 info@baisyaakovam.org | 718-868-3232
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
בית יעקב ﬠטרת מרים
בס"ד
With much gratitude to the Ribbono Shel Olam, Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam
High School
for the
Under the warm and caring leadership of
Rabbi Nosson Neuman, Menahel We are pleased to appoint
High School
Mrs. Ruchie Sokoloff, Principal Her kindness and compassion for every talmidah, combined with her quest for excellence in education, are legendary in our community.
Rabbi Nosson Neuman Menahel
OPEN HOUSE October 20th Be a part of it Looking forward to greeting you
Mr. Isaac Zafir President
Mr. Eric Stern Chairman of the Board
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
8
COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll Community Happenings
8 50
NEWS
S20
Global
18
National
36
Odd-but-True Stories
46
ISRAEL Israel News
26
My Israel Home
94
Bennett’s Plan for a Global Cyber Defense Shield by Shammai Siskind 96 Poland’s Unrelenting Dedication to Jew Hatred by David Billet
133
JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on Sukkos
S6
Remembering Why We Came by Rav Moshe Weinberger
S8
The Unity and The Uniqueness: A Sukkos Perspective by Rav Yaakov Feitman S10 The Return of the Clouds of Glory by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein
S12
Rabbi Wein on the Parsha
80
Listening with the Inner Ear by Rav Moshe Weinberger
82
Delving into the Daf
84
PEOPLE The Wandering Jew
86
A Few Minutes with the Tape Man by Nate Davis
100
TJH Speaks with Councilman Bruce Blakeman
104
Jewish Heroes in World War II by Avi Heiligman
134
HEALTH & FITNESS Why You Need to Do Marriage Counseling Alone by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn
112
Sukkos the Easy and Healthy Way by Cindy Weinberger, MS, RD, CDN
114
Parenting Pearls
116 FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Sukkos Soup
80
S31
TJH Speaks with Cookbook 118 Author Sina Mizrahi Some Good Food by Sina Mizrahi
Dear Editor, On September 9, 2021, President Biden announced a six-part plan to conquer the Wuhan virus and its variants, but he omitted Part 7. It should call for the illegals passing through the southern border to also be vaccinated or for the border to be closed altogether. But no, the illegals are getting distributed without vaccination all over the country. Without Part 7, the other six parts will not only be unsuccessful but also even more controversial. The daily life of ordinary Americans will be restricted by mandatory vaccinations while the illegals are spreading the virus all over the U.S. I don’t know whether Biden is incompetent or is doing this willfully. How sick can you be to issue executive orders on that basis?! Forcing people to get vaccinated seems to be the new way of controlling people, and this looks like it is just the beginning. This is the start of a totalitarian society. How come almost nobody rebels openly and says that enough is enough? H. Mayer Dear Editor, This is in response to David S. Pecoraro, the Democratic delegate who believes Joe Biden and Kamela
Cover art, The Four Species, by Yaeli Vogel YaeliVogel.com
Harris are doing a great job for our country. The only activity Biden has accomplished was to promote the vaccine that Trump initiated by funding the drug companies. If you recall, Kamela Harris stated that she would NOT take any vaccine that Trump was involved with. Pecoraro writes that Trump is responsible for half-million Covid deaths, because he did not mandate masks. Since Biden is in office, with mask mandates, should we hold him responsible for all the Covid deaths? Let’s not forget the fact that the Democratic governors were sending Covid patients to nursing homes. Trump sent the Comfort Hospital Ship to NY, but out of principle Cuomo did not use it and instead sent patients to nursing homes to die. As far as the economic recovery you claim, what economic recovery? You claim he created jobs; these were pre-Covid jobs, yet nobody wants to work now, with all the money the stimulus payments they are receiving. People work for one week and then receive unemployment with a bonus. The government is printing money and handing it out. That is not economic recovery! Kamala Harris was given the responsibility of the Southern border, what has she done there? Opened the gates for anyone and everyone to enter. They are coming in by the thousands, bringing in Covid, diseases, criminals, drugs and terrorists. Hardworking taxpayers have to support and pay for them! Biden is personally responsible Continued on page 12
122
LIFESTYLES TJH Chol Hamoed Guide
S20
Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW
108
Your Money
140
Open to See by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS
142
HUMOR Centerfold 78 POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes
126
We Must Also Remember 9/12 by Marc A. Thiessen
130
Biden Needs to Turn the Page from a Painful August by David Ignatius
131
CLASSIFIEDS
136
Have you ever tasted esrog jam?
28
%
Yes
72
%
No
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Dear Editor, Though Sukkot is upon us, there remains a significant caveat from Rosh Hashana that applies to all holidays and all of life’s circumstances. The Mishnah Berurah makes an interesting comment when discussing the topic of simanim by Rosh Hashana. He says that a person shouldn’t be overcome by anger during the entire simanim process. When I think of the Chofetz Chaim, I think of the majestic stories my great-uncle, R’ Nachum Genechovsky, zt”l, who was a ben bayit there, would relay about him. A strong question remains as to why the Chofetz Chaim didn’t insert this cosmic idea in any of the other six chalakim. Perhaps the answer is there’s a great danger of mixing anger in the simanim process because then you yourself become a “symbol” of anger – a dangerous epithet to carry, especially in the home where the simanim process unfolds. Anger undermines peace and instigates bad decisions, thus making it is a dangerous quality to possess. Therefore, the risk of not eradicating it at new beginnings is too costly. As Sukkot approaches and we live out in nature connecting us even more to the Divine, it would certainly be a good time to dissociate from the trappings of anger. Steven Genack
al of troops out of Afghanistan while blaming the deadly evacuation on President Trump. He asserted that for the disaster unfolding in Afas a result of Trump not planning ghanistan. He is the first and only an exit strategy, the disastrous exit American president who has willfulhappened. However, Joe Biden was ly abandoned Americans and their president for seven months when allies behind enemy lines. The sight the exit happened. In the intervenof people hanging onto airplanes at ing months, he did not draw up any Kabul airport will not be forgotten. safe plan to withdraw from AfghanThe Afghans who were on the plane istan. Instead, he kept the original and not vetted might be terrorists deal without updating a single thing. infiltrating our country. Biden’s President Trump was not in office exit strategy will go down in histowhen the exit was being planned, in ry books and in military schools as contrast. Joe Biden promised that what NOT to do. He deserted his cit“the buck stops with me,” and now izens and supplied the enemy with his supporters are playing the blame millions and millions of dollars of game. According to recent Morning ammunition and supplies that will Consult polling, the president or polbe used by terrorists. He has made itician they blame the most for the the U.S. a disgraced country in the disastrous Afghanistan exit was Joe eyes of all nations. Biden. Other recent polling shows I am afraid that our grandchildren that 60-70% of Americans disapand great-grandchildren will be reprove of Joe Biden’s handling of Afsponsible to clean up the disaster the ghanistan. Biden administration is creating. He David also credits Joe with evachas flooded the country with illegal uating 120,000 Americans and Afimmigrants, criminals and possibly ghans out of Afghanistan. I wonder terrorists. He is printing money by why they had to evacuate?! Talk the trillions and giving it out to anyabout delusion! one and everyone, taxing the working His letter also implied that only class and businesses. This is NOT Biden helped victims of hurricanes economic recovery; it is economic diand natural disasters. Well, not only saster for our country and our future. did Trump approve disaster relief I think next time David Pecoraro and visit the sites of damage multivotes, he should wonder why didn’t ple times throughout his presidency, Joe Biden ever have a press conbut he also answered questions from ference, why can’t he ever answer a reporters during those visits! Joe question? He reads a statement, puts Dear Editor, Biden, on the other hand, hides from Last week, David Pecoraro wrote his mask on, and does an about-face. the American people like a kid playa response to my letter about the failWe don’t have to wonder about his ing hide-and-seek. ures of the Biden administration’s mental health. It is obvious. He has David also falsely writes that Joe made America the laughing stock Afghanistan exit. Mr. Pecoraro laaccomplished a bipartisan infrabeled my letter and my perspective of the world. Who is running the structure deal, although with the caas delusional. He stated that he was country? Look around and assess veat that he will only sign it if his othproud of the work he did last year the damage done to what was once er partisan bill gets approved. Also, a beautiful promising country. We getting Joe and Kamala elected. most Republicans did not vote for his Well, I’m glad that he is proud now have high crime, open borders, for campaigning for a man who is “bipartisan deal,” unlike bipartisan illegals and potential terrorists as criminal justice legislation that Donnot mentally there and for a woman neighbors who are receiving stimald Trump signed. who has no qualifications except beulus checks with no intention or inHe also credited Biden with ing black and female. The low stancentives to ever work. adding the most jobs than any othdards the Democrat Party has for So, who is delusional Mr. Pecoraro? I was also once a Democrat. Then presidential candidates nowadays er administration ever. Was there are astonishingly embarrassing. an intervening event in the past 18 I looked around and woke up! months, or am I missing something? Mr. Pecoraro said that Biden was Sincerely, Also, weak job reports that multiple solely responsible for the withdrawToby S. times have been off by half a million jobs with rising inflation is not a recovery. He also credited Biden with disLook out for our next issue, in stores, tributing vaccines from scratch. Peron Thursday, October 7. haps he has forgotten that Donald Trump’s administration developed the vaccine in record timing, deWishing all our readers and advertisers spite Joe and Kamala undermining it during the campaign. During the a wonderful Yom Tov! remaining weeks of the Trump presidency, at least 30 million vaccines Continued from page 10
were distributed. David blames Republican governors for the lack of success over Covid. It’s quite interesting how cases, deaths, and hospitalizations are declining in Republican-run Florida, in contrast to Democrat-run New York. Also, it is interesting how New Jersey and New York respectively have the highest and 3rd highest Covid death rate in the U.S., while Florida is number 18, despite its old population. Having political discourse is important for the continuance of a free society and the integrity of ideas. I do respect David’s opinions, despite the wrongness of them. Maybe next time when you call the other side delusional, take a look in the mirror. Sincerely, Donny Simcha Guttman Dear Editor, When I read a letter to the editor last week, I thought for a moment it was taken from the Babylon Bee’s website. David Pecoraro writes about numerous falsehoods. I honestly believe you are living in another reality. While technically Biden ended the war in Afghanistan, he definitely went about the process so backward without thinking it through. You can’t say he evacuated 120,000 people if he created the need for them to be evacuated. You don’t withdraw the military until you’ve evacuated all American citizens and any Afghans who helped us along the way. Then you destroy all remaining equipment, and finally, the military is the last to leave. I can’t believe that has to be said. It’s common sense. There has been no Biden/Harris economic recovery. It’s funny you think that Biden created more jobs in the past 7 months than any previous administration. People were out of jobs due to the Dems closing down businesses with unconstitutional lockdowns and many stayed home on their own. It’s equivalent to someone starting a fire then putting it out and trying to take credit for “putting it out.” It doesn’t work that way, sorry. Thanks to President Trump, Operation Warp Speed saw three vaccines developed in record time! You mention a “Trump recession.” That could not be further from the truth. Under Trump, the country saw record after record after record. Time and time again. Then Covid hit, thanks to China. Continued on page 14
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Israel has never had a better friend than Trump. He has done so many things benefitting the Jewish state. Anyone who says otherwise is delusional. Biden over the years has clearly shown the opposite, along with Harris. Talk about cognitive decline! Biden shows it literally on an hourly basis. Trump one time had his hand shaking while drinking a cup of water. Seriously? Get over it. It’s become sad how Biden struggles to get out a sentence and oftentimes forgets where he is and who he is with. I can go on and on. Mordechai Yormark
718.635.1673
Dear Editor, When I listen to the sizable minority of Americans who are defiant and enraged anti-vacciners and anti-indoor-mask-wearers, I can’t help but think back to when I was a teenage boy. I can still remember listening to 1968 Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy over my transistor radio. I was so impressed when he said, “We need to talk about what kinds of responsibilities do we have to each other in this country.” Yes, we really do. Sincerely, Stewart B. Epstein Rochester, NY
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Dear Editor, I’d like to address the usage of the term “broken home.” Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said, “If you believe that it is possible to break, believe that it is possible to repair.” In my experience both personally and professionally, I have come to the conclusion that many homes are more significantly broken during the marriages that end in divorce than they are after the divorce. The use of the term broken home leads to negative insinuations, negative associations and long-lasting negative labeling of both the children and the adults involved in the divorce. It is the prejudice that accompanies these negative feelings that leads to shadchanim turning away children of homes under repair. It leads to rabbis neglecting and sometimes outright punishing adults whose lives and homes are under repair. These small changes, these small awarenesses, and creating a world that emphasizes sensitivity to others and the challenges they face go a
very long way in helping us face the future both as a community and as a nation. With this New Year upon us and with people taking upon themselves New Year’s “resolutions,” let us resolve to consider homes to be “under repair” instead of broken because anything that is able to be broken is certainly able to be repaired – many times stronger and healthier than it ever was before. Esther Miller Project Director Success Space for Women Dear Editor, The fire on Friday afternoon, September 10, on the rooftop of St. John’s hospital in Far Rockaway was B”H contained 90 minutes after it started and with BH no injuries. 31 patients were evacuated safely and all neighboring buildings were B”H unaffected. Fire engines were fully manned, Hatzalah and emergency personnel were available to swiftly stop the blaze and return Far Rockaway to its usual peaceful pace. We are B”H so fortunate. Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate could reduce the size and scope of future emergency staff. Not everyone is capable of being vaccinated mostly due to various underlying healthcare issues that do not affect their capacity to perform their respected duties. Also, the state of Israel has confirmed natural immunity is better than any vaccine, and there are thousands who have BH survived COVID and have natural immunity who should not need to take the vaccine. It is extremely irresponsible for President Biden to enact a mandate that may compromise the staffing of vital services to our communities especially since the Delta variant is now on a downturn and the data clearly shows it was more contagious but it was not as deadly as the original virus. A day after President Biden announced the vaccine mandates a hospital in Lowville, NY, had to close its maternity ward because its staff chose to quit rather than take the vaccine. I fear there will be many more instances like this all over the country and what will happen to our communities? The choice to vaccinate should be between a person and their doctor, not mass marketing and not the business of anyone. Whatever happened to HIPAA laws? G.S., Far Rockaway, NY
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The Week In News
Father of 10 Killed in Uman Accident
A Sanz chassid from Beit Shemesh has been identified as the victim of a road accident that occurred near Uman, Ukraine, last week. Avraham Levi, 45 and a father of 10, was killed in an accident between a bus and a minibus which left several other passengers injured. United Hatzalah paramedic
Aharon Ben Harrouch confirmed the types of vehicles involved in the accident and said it occurred around 43 miles from Uman. “With the help of other paramedics and staff from the Uman clinic, we performed CPR at the scene of the accident on one of the passengers, who was critically wounded,” Ben Harrouch said. “However, to our great sadness, following our efforts at resuscitation, he was pronounced dead at the scene. In addition, we provided initial aid to four people from the minibus who were lightly injured, and afterwards they were evacuated to the hospitals in Kiev.” United Hatzalah paramedic Ben Tzion Crown said, “According to the passengers, they were on their way back from Uman to the airport in Kiev, ahead of their flight back to Israel. Unfortunately, one of the passengers in the vehicle was critically injured due to the type of accident. We performed CPR on him in an attempt to save his life, but to our great dismay, we were forced to declare his death at the scene of the accident.” Tens of thousands of Jews traveled to Uman this year for Rosh Hashana.
Lebanon’s New Government
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has succeeded in forming a government – the country’s first since the August 2020 Beirut blast. He is the third to be tapped to form a cabinet since former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned last year. The Lebanese Presidency said that to form his new government, Mikati visited Lebanese President Michel Aoun, signing a decree to form the new government in the presence of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Mikati, who is a billionaire who has served two previous terms as prime minister, promised after the
meeting to try to “stop the country’s collapse.” “The situation is difficult, it is very difficult,” Mikati acknowledged. “However, it is not impossible if we unite.” He noted, “Our priority is to appease the suffering of the Lebanese people. I won’t spare an opportunity to open doors with the Arab world. Today, Lebanon is in need of the Arab world.” The country’s economic crisis, unfolding since 2019, has been described by the World Bank as one of the worst the world has witnessed since the mid-1800s. It impoverished more than half the population within months and left the national currency in a freefall, driving inflation and unemployment to unprecedented levels. The new government held its first meeting on Monday, inaugurating its term with a call by the president to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund. Lebanon is home to 6 million people, including a million Syrian refugees. More than half the population now lives in poverty amid extended power outages and severe shortages in fuel and medicine.
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The Arc de Triomphe in Paris is being wrapped in plastic sheeting in tribute to Belgian-born artist Christo, who passed away last year. The plastic will remain on for 16 days as part of the exhibit
What Caused Last Year’s Plane Crash?
Pilot error and a failure to follow safety guidelines were probably what caused the Air India Express crash that killed 21 people last year. It was the country’s worst aviation accident in a decade. The Boeing 737, repatriating Indians stranded in Dubai due to the coronavirus pandemic, overshot the table-top runway and crashed while landing at Calicut International Airport in the southern state of Kerala in heavy rain on August 8, 2020. “The probable cause of the accident was the non-adherence to standard operating procedures by the pilot flying,” says Saturday’s report by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation that probes plane accidents. The pilot “continued an unstabilized approach and landed beyond the touchdown zone, halfway down the runway” instead of doing a “go around,” the agency said in the 257page report, published after a yearlong investigation. A go-around is a standard procedure in which the pilot abandons a landing attempt deemed unsafe and tries again.
In spite of being asked to go around by the pilot monitoring the landing, the pilot flying the aircraft failed to do so. The monitoring pilot also failed to take over the controls and execute the order. The aircraft had already made one failed attempt to land before it overran the 2,700-meter runway. The airport is known as a table-top because its runways have steep drops at one or both ends. The crash at the airport in Kozhikode was India’s worst passenger aircraft accident since 2010, when another Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot a table-top runway in Mangalore, a city in the south, and slid down a hill, killing 158 people.
Operation London Bridge
Although Queen Elizabeth II is in good health, the UK has a secret plan detailing what will take place upon her death. Dubbed “Operation LONDON BRIDGE,” it explains what will happen the first 10 days after the beloved royal passes on. Queen Elizabeth is 95 years old. It’s possible that London will become too full in the case of her death, as people pour into the capital to mourn the Queen. The plan attempts to mitigate the chaos with a security
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operation to prevent dangerous overcrowding. After an official announcement of her passing, there will be a service honoring the longest-reigning British monarch at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The prime minister and some senior ministers are scheduled to attend, but the memorial should reportedly appear “spontaneous,” according to the documents. Additionally, there are plans for the prime minister and his Cabinet to meet the Queen’s coffin at St. Pancras station as well as for the Queen’s son and heir apparent to the British throne Prince Charles to go on a tour of the UK in the days leading up to the funeral as he takes over as king of England. According to the document, “D-Day” is the day referred to as the day on which Queen Elizabeth passes away. After her passing, a “call cascade” will occur where the prime minister, the cabinet secretary, and other senior ministers and officials will be alerted of the Queen’s passing by HRH’s private secretary. The Privy Council Office, in charge of coordinating government work on behalf of the monarch, will also reportedly be alerted. The royal household will issue an “official notification” to alert the public and there are scripts in place on how officials should alert others on the news. All flags across Whitehall Road will be lowered to half-mast 10 minutes after the news is delivered. Additionally, the royal family’s website will change to a black holding page with a short statement on what occurred. The document also tackles what would happen if the Queen passes away in other cities or countries. For now, though, Queen Elizabeth is reportedly in good health. She has been queen since February 1952, after her father King George VI’s passing.
Iran: New Memory Cards for Surveillance Cameras Iran agreed on Sunday to allow international inspectors to install new memory cards into surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there, averting a diplomatic showdown this week.
The announcement was made by Mohammad Eslami of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran after a meeting he held with the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, in Tehran. The international world, though, shouldn’t be celebrating this initiative, as it still leaves the watchdog in the same position it has faced since February.
Tehran holds all recordings at its sites as negotiations over the U.S. and Iran returning to the 2015 nuclear deal remain stalled in Vienna. Meanwhile, Iran is now enriching small amounts of uranium to its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity as its stockpile continues to grow. “The memory cards are sealed and kept in Iran according to the routine,” Eslami said. “New memory cards will be installed in cameras. That is a routine and natural trend in the agency’s monitoring system.” The announcement could buy time for Iran ahead of a meeting this week of the IAEA board, in which Western powers had been arguing for Tehran to be censured over its lack of cooperation with international inspectors. Iran will be taking part in that meeting. The IAEA told member states in its confidential quarterly report last week that its verification and monitoring activities have been “seriously undermined” since February by Iran’s refusal to let inspectors access their monitoring equipment. Certain monitoring and surveillance equipment cannot be left for more than three months without being serviced. The IAEA was provided with access this month to four surveillance cameras installed at one site, but one of the cameras had been destroyed and a second had been severely damaged. Israel has repeatedly warned that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons. “You must not give up on inspecting sites and the most important thing, the most important message is that there must be a time limit,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said. Iran is “dragging on, we must
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set a clear-cut deadline that says: until here.” Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Sunday called for immediate “snapback” sanctions on Iran in the wake of the IAEA report last week, which found that Tehran has quadrupled its stock of 60 percent enriched uranium since May. “Iran does not respect the agreements it has signed, and there’s no reason to believe it will respect any agreements it will sign in the future. The time has come for action,” he said, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal, which barred Tehran from enriching uranium beyond 3.5%.
Taliban’s Revenge Killings
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According to Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations human rights chief, the Taliban reportedly is executing revenge killings of former Afghan security forces. Bachelet added that there were reports of instances in which the Taliban detained former officials from the overthrown Afghan government and their relatives, who later turned up dead. The human rights chief cautioned that Afghanistan could be entering a “new and perilous phase,” despite initial indications from the Taliban that they would avoid retaliation tactics and form a more inclusive government than the one seen when they last held power in the 1990s. There have been “multiple” allegations that Taliban fighters operated house-to-house searches for former Afghan government officials and others who worked with U.S. forces and enterprises. Other reports have emerged that members of the group beat journalists and violently broke up protests. According to Bachelet, women have begun to fear the Taliban and a degradation of their rights. This week, the United Nations hosted a donors’ conference to solic-
it emergency funds for beleaguered Afghans who could soon face widespread hunger after decades of conflict. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was leading the world body’s call for more than $600 million for the rest of this year in a “flash appeal” for Afghans. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, speaking to the council, said the world has a “moral obligation” to continue helping the Afghan people and said Germany would be “significantly stepping up” its humanitarian aid for Afghanistan. But he also suggested such aid would only continue if rights are respected. “We demand from the Taliban that they respect basic human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls,” Maas asserted, saying that would be a “benchmark for us and our partners in determining our future engagement with a new Afghan government – including for possible development assistance.” He also criticized the Taliban’s decision to exclude other groups from their recently announced interim government, saying it was “not the right signal” for international cooperation and stability in Afghanistan. Many thousands of Afghans remain desperate to leave Afghanistan, afraid of what Taliban rule might hold. The Taliban have repeatedly said foreigners and Afghans with proper travel documents could leave. But their assurances have been met with skepticism, and many Afghans have been unable to obtain certain paperwork. Additionally, they have been barred from traveling to the airport and the border by hordes of Taliban fighters.
Al-Qaeda Leader Arrested
The suspected leader of a group linked to Al-Qaeda was arrested by the Indonesia’s counterterrorism squad this week. The group has been connected to a string of bombings in the country. Police spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan said that Abu Rusdan, a
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convicted militant, was detained on September 10 in a city near Jakarta with three other people suspected of membership in Jemaah Islamiyah, which is labeled as a terrorist group by the U.S. Jemaah Islamiyah was said to be responsible for several attacks in the Philippines and Indonesia, including the 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people, mostly tourists from abroad. The arrest of suspected Jemaah Islamiyah members is part of a larger strike on the group. Born in Central Java, Rusdan, 61, was sentenced to jail in 2003 for sheltering Ali Ghufron, a militant who was later convicted and executed for carrying out the Bali bombings. After his release from prison in 2006, Rusdan traveled throughout Indonesia giving speeches and fiery sermons that received tens of thousands of views on YouTube. In one recorded sermon, he praised Afghanistan as the “land of jihad.” In the past year, Indonesian officials say counterterrorism forces have captured dozens of militants and suspected members of the Jemaah, including its alleged military leader, Aris Sumarsono, known as Zulkarnaen, who had been wanted for more than 18 years.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Sharm elSheikh, on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, on Monday. This was the first public visit of an Israeli prime minister to Egypt in more than a decade. The last time a meeting like this took place was between former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. According to a spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, the two leaders were to “discuss bilateral issues related to bilateral relations, ways and efforts to revive the peace process as well as recent developments in the region and international arenas.” An El Al flight carrying the prime minister departed from Tel Aviv to Sharm el-Sheikh early Monday afternoon. Bennett was expected to return home to Israel later on Monday. Bennett was invited to visit Egypt and meet with Sissi last month, during a meeting he held with Egyptian intelligence head Abbas Kamel in Jerusalem. The prime minister said last month that he had accepted the invitation and would soon visit in order “to strengthen and expand relations between the countries in the region.” The meeting saw a rare smiling photo of the two leaders. Even more surprising, an Israeli flag stood behind Bennett, in contrast to previous meetings between Israeli and Egyptian premiers. Bennett’s visit to Egypt comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and terror groups in Gaza, with three rocket attacks in as many days drawing retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. Egypt in recent months has tried to more publicly play the role of responsible, effective broker between Israel and Hamas. Cairo played a central role in negotiating the ceasefire that ended the May Israel-Gaza war after 11 days and has worked since to advance a long-term ceasefire as well as a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas. Earlier this month, the London-based Rai al-Youm online newspaper reported that Sissi was also leading a push to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Shortly before news of Bennett’s trip was revealed, Israel announced it was lifting COVID restrictions on the travel of Israelis to the Sinai Peninsula, a popular tourism destination. During Kamel’s visit to Israel last month, the National Security Council announced it had scaled back its security travel advisory for the Sinai for the first time in years. Meanwhile, EgyptAir, the national airline of Egypt, is scheduled to launch direct Tel Aviv-Cairo flights next month, after years of hiding the flights – mandated by Israel’s 1979 peace treaty with Egypt
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– through a subsidiary. Israel and Egypt have bolstered their diplomatic ties in recent years. The two governments share close security interests in the Gaza Strip as well as in Sinai and the eastern Mediterranean. Additionally, the fact that four countries have recently normalized relations with the Jewish State under the Abraham Accords makes a warmer relationship between Egypt and Israel more palatable to the Arab nation.
Building Collapse in Holon
After a building collapsed in Holon, the city architect urged residents to inspect their buildings and alert the city if there is a problem. The 32-family building had collapsed just hours after it had been
evacuated over the weekend. Residents had reported hearing cracking in the walls, which compelled officials to require evacuation, thus saving scores of lives. Speaking to Israel Radio, Aviad Mor, who is also acting city engineer, said the municipality was not planning to carry out widespread inspections even though other buildings could also be in danger of collapsing, saying it was the responsibility of residents to determine if there was a problem. Mor said the building collapsed due to the apparent failure of a central support column and noted that the building was built decades ago. First responders were called to the building on Saturday after residents reported hearing the sound of a blast. Images showed cracks on the walls of the building, and police said residents were unable to open the front doors of their apartments. The decision to evacuate the building was made in coordination with professional engineers, police said at the time, with officers closing off the street outside the building and police urging people to stay away. A day later, the building, on Serlin Street in the central Israel city,
collapsed, reflecting how close the situation had been to becoming a mass-casualty disaster resembling the collapse in June of a high-rise residential building in Florida, which killed 98 people. Despite the city’s lack of resources, Mor said Holon would help pay for the plans to rebuild the building. Mor also responded to complaints by the evacuated residents that the city was not doing enough to help them after they lost all their possessions. “We are giving the residents all that we can under the law as a first response,” he said. The city announced it was giving each family an immediate initial assistance package of NIS 5,000 ($1,500).
Sugar Levels Linked to Covid Severity Elevated pre-infection blood sugar levels are correlated with a greater risk of severe COVID-19 cases even in non-diabetics, a new Israeli study showed. The study, first published in
the PLoS ONE journal, uncovered a correlation between sugar levels and the risk of severe COVID-19 morbidity, regardless of a diabetes diagnosis.
The research was conducted by the Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Kupat Holim Meuhedet HMO, and Hadassah Medical Center, and included 37,121 subjects who were members of Meuhedet. It showed that in patients diagnosed with diabetes, the highest risk (1 of 4 patients) of contracting severe COVID-19 was found in patients with low sugar values. The lowest risk (1 of 12) was found in patients with high sugar values. For patients with no diagnosis of diabetes, the higher the sugar values, the greater the risk of severe COVID-19. The researchers recommended paying special attention to low sug-
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ar-value diabetics, as well as to patients with no diagnosis of diabetes who show abnormal sugar levels during fasting or who show elevated HbA1C hemoglobin levels. “The aim of the study was to locate risk factors for COVID-19 severe morbidity which could be handled in advance, so we could raise the awareness of those factors among the general public,” said Dr. Michal Shauly-Aharonov of the Department of Industrial and Management Engineering at JCT and Hebrew University’s School of Public Health. “Locating factors related to severe morbidity and death, G-d forbid, is important principally to shed light on the populations at risk, so they can receive priority in receiving vaccines.” Dr. Orit Bernholtz-Gulchin, head of the Kupat Holim Meuhedet regional diabetes clinic, said the findings mean that the medical community’s emphasis for those diagnosed with diabetes “should be placed on preventing hypoglycemia (a condition in which blood sugar level drops radically from normative levels) in populations found to be at risk of severe COVID-19 comorbidity.” Prof. Ora Paltiel of Hebrew University’s School of Public Health not-
ed, “The study shows very strongly how much can be learned from quality and continuous medical recording, such as the one we have in the Israeli health care system.”
Tel Aviv is “Funnest” City
It’s not a distinction that makes us proud necessarily, but last week, Tel Aviv was ranked as the “funnest” city and the eighth-best overall, out of the 37 “best cities” around the world by the London-based Time Out magazine. The global culture and events publication sought out the opinions of almost 27,000 city-dwellers on food, culture, nightlife, community, neighborhoods, overall happiness and other factors in their own cities, such as community projects, green spaces, and sustainability.
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While ranking Tel Aviv eighth overall, the magazine said that Israel’s second-largest city had scored highest in the “fun” category, second in the food and drink category, and was the city most likely to be described as “good for people like me.” “When COVID hit tourism, this high-tech hub hit the Reset button,” Time Out wrote. “The pandemic caused the ‘city that never stops’ to take a well-needed pause. Spaces like Dizengoff Square and Park HaMesila played host to picnics, gigs, screenings and talks. After the lockdowns, Israel led the vaccination race and before long locals were back sipping cappuccinos in cafes and doing yoga on the beach.” A September 2018 Time Out survey ranked Tel Aviv’s Shuk Hapishpeshim (flea market) area as the 16th-coolest neighborhood in the world. This year’s ranking noted the city’s Carmel Market as “the pulsating heart of the city.” Coastal Tel Aviv, nicknamed the “White City” for its thousands of Bauhaus-style buildings, placed between seventh-place Prague in the Czech Republic and ninth-place Porto in northwest Portugal It was the highest-ranked city in the Middle East, with Dubai coming in 26th and Abu Dhabi in 30th place. San Francisco nabbed the top spot on the list, followed by Holland’s Amsterdam and Manchester, in northern England. Bangkok closed the list in 37th place. Tel Aviv has a population of over 460,000 people.
Lapid: “Israel Will Not Sit Quietly”
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“Russia is one of Israel’s most significant and important partners,” Lapid added. “The Foreign Minister and I discussed ways to strengthen and deepen the relations between the new government of Israel and the Russian government. We all aspire to bring security and stability in our region and to the world.” However, he emphasized, “Unfortunately, there won’t be stability in Syria, or in the wider Middle East, while there is an Iranian presence. Iran is the world’s number one exporter of terror. It threatens us all. Israel will not sit quietly by while Iran builds terror bases on our northern border, or while Iran supplies advanced weapons to terror organizations – weapons intended to be used against us. “We will maintain our ability to defend ourselves in the face of threats from Syria and elsewhere.” On the Iranian nuclear program, Lapid warned, “The two IAEA reports are damning: they include serious violations – fraud, deception and outright lies. The picture is clear and very worrying. “The message to Iran must be loud and it must be clear. Iran’s march towards a nuclear weapon is not only an Israeli problem; it’s a problem for the entire world. A nuclear Iran will lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, and the last thing any of us want is to see nuclear weapons fall into the wrong hands. “The world needs to stop Iran from getting a nuclear capability, no matter the price. If the world doesn’t do it, Israel reserves the right to act. The Iranians have never hidden the fact that they want to destroy Israel. That is an existential threat for us. Israel will not allow Iran to become a nuclear state, or even a nuclear threshold state.”
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Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met last Thursday in Moscow for their first professional meeting since Lapid took office in June. In a joint statement following their meeting, Lapid said, “The people of Russia supported the creation of the State of Israel. We owe you. And we are a people with a long memory.”
Oxygen therapy in an animal trial slowed the build-up of plaque in the brain, Israeli scientists wrote in
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a peer-reviewed research published last Thursday in Aging. Plaque buildup in the brain is a characteristic sign of Alzheimer’s disease. The Tel Aviv University researchers concluded in their study that oxygen therapy improves the functioning of the human brain and that in animals it fights the build-up of brain plaque. The team also monitored six people over the age of 60 who had experienced signs of cognitive decline. For those people, 60 oxygen therapy sessions over 90 days improved blood flow to the brain by an average of 20% and improved memory by an average of 16.5%. Professor Uri Ashery, the study’s lead author, told The Times of Israel, “I don’t think this can ‘cure’ Alzheimer’s in humans, but it may be able to significantly slow its progression and severity. Further studies are needed, but people could possibly start benefiting from this in just a few years.” He noted, “We had a control group of similar mice that did not receive the oxygen therapy, and they grew many more amyloid plaques. Among those who received the therapy, only a third of the number of new plaques appeared, and existing large plaques reduced their size, on average, to a
half of what they were. “More research is needed, but there could be tremendous benefits if this can help people who lose cognitive abilities, either before or during the onset of Alzheimer’s.”
Biden Pushed Abbas to Shelve ICC Probe
Senior Biden administration officials had privately pressured Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to backtrack on his efforts to have Israel tried for war crimes at the International Criminal Court in Hague, a Middle Eastern diplomatic official told the Times of Israel. According to the Thursday report, the Biden administration maintains that the ICC does not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the
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case, since Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute which established the ICC. The previous administration under U.S. President Donald Trump held similar views. Washington maintains that there is no sovereign “Palestinian” state and that the Palestinian Authority should therefore not be granted ICC membership or allowed to delegate jurisdiction to the court. Although the U.S. has refrained from publicly calling on Abbas to revoke his complaint against Israel, the U.S. has issued statements “firmly” opposing the ICC probe. Publicly, Abbas has refused the requests, maintaining that he has every right to pursue the probe and that it is one of the few avenues he has to peacefully confront Israel l. It is not clear whether Abbas has the authority to turn back the clock and prevent the probe. A “well-placed Palestinian source” confirmed that Biden officials requested earlier this year that the ICC probe be shelved but said that the pressure has mostly subsided. A U.S. official noted, “The United States firmly opposes the ICC investigation into the Palestinian Situation. We will continue to uphold our strong commitment to Israel and its security, including by opposing actions that seek to target Israel unfairly.”
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Dr. Khazm al-Julani, a doctor from one of Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods, has been identified as the terrorist who attempted to stab a police officer on Friday. Israel Police footage of the attempted stabbing, which occurred in Jerusalem’s Old City, shows al-Julani attacking one of the police officers with a knife. The footage then shows the officer reacting by protecting himself and running backwards, before opening fire and
neutralizing the terrorist. Border Police who were standing behind the terrorist also drew their weapons. Al-Julani sustained severe injuries, and a Border Police officer standing near him suffered light injuries to his leg after flying shrapnel hit him. Al-Julani, who served as director of a college for alternative medicine in Jerusalem, did not manage to stab the police officers. He was evacuated from the area unconscious and in serious condition and was hospitalized at Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center in Jerusalem. He was declared dead a short time later. Police raided his home and detained his brothers and two sons for questioning after the attack.
2 Stabbed in Jerusalem
Two men were stabbed outside the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem on Monday. The terrorist was then shot by a police officer. The two victims, who were moderately wounded, were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman said the suspect, whom he identified as a 17-year-old Palestinian from the Hebron area, was in serious condition. The assailant was named in media reports as Basil Shawamra, a resident of the town of Deir al-Asal al-Fauqa, near Hebron in the southern West Bank. Tourgeman added that police detained two people near the bus station on suspicion of assisting the attacker and were searching for others. The attacker entered a store outside the bus station and stabbed two shoppers, who are yeshiva students. As he struggled with one of them, he was shot by a policewoman. “There is no doubt that there is an escalation,” the Jerusalem police chief said, noting a number of other recent attacks. Public Security Minister Omer
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Barlev hailed the response of the officers. “Congratulations to the Border Police patrol that successfully stopped the attack at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem,” Barlev wrote on Twitter. “A heroine who bravely strove for contract with the terrorist and handled the situation with professionalism, speed and sharpness.” The incident followed an attempted attack in the West Bank earlier Monday, in which a Palestinian man tried to stab two IDF soldiers at a hitchhiking station but was shot before he could inflict harm. The attacker was shot in the hand and transported to Shaare Zedek in moderate to serious condition. Tensions have been running high across the West Bank over the past week following the dramatic escape of six Palestinian prisoners from the high-security Gilboa Prison last Monday. Four of the six prisoners were recaptured by police over the weekend, but two remain at large. Security officials believe they may be hiding out in the West Bank and receiving assistance from Palestinians there. Overnight on Sunday, terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets at Israel, which were intercepted by the
Gaza Strip, marking a third consecutive night of rocket fire from Gaza. Separately, on Friday afternoon, an assailant was shot as he attempted to stab police officers in Jerusalem’s Old City, and later died of his wounds. The attempted stabbing occurred at the Old City’s Council (Majlis) Gate, on the northern side of the western Temple Mount wall, police said. Video of the incident showed the assailant repeatedly trying to stab a police officer, who backed away and opened fire.
Flare-Up Concerns in Gaza
Israel’s defense establishment is concerned that the security stability in Gaza, as well as in Judea, Samaria, and the rest of Israel, may be
disrupted. Officials are concerned that flareups may be sparked by continued clashes within Judea and Samaria, as well as by the capture of terrorists who escaped the Gilboa Prison last Monday, September 6. Four of the terrorists were captured between Friday evening and Saturday morning, including Fatah terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, but as of Monday, Israeli security forces were still searching for the remaining two terrorists. Security officials believe that one of the terrorists may have escaped to Palestinian Authority-controlled territory and are focusing on locating the other terrorist, who is believed to still be in Israel, likely in the north of the country. All relevant bodies were warned before Rosh Hashana that there may be an escalation in tensions, and therefore security was increased. However, it seems that, according to a source, the Israel Prisons Service “fell asleep.” Meanwhile, last Wednesday night, on Rosh Hashana, Palestinian Authority Arabs targeted IDF soldiers in several locations, including Shechem, Hebron, Qalqilya, and Bethlehem; near Ramallah, terror-
ists fired live bullets at IDF soldiers. The soldiers responded by using riot dispersal methods.
Two 9/11 Victims Identified – 20 Years Later
Last week, authorities positively identified the remains of two people killed in the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The identification came a week ahead of the twentieth anniversary of their passing. The newly-identified victims are Dorothy Morgan, of Hempstead, New York, and a man whose name was
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
withheld at the request of his family. They are the 1,646th and 1,647th victims to be identified, and the first new identifications since October 2019. According to authorities, approximately 40% of the victims still remain unidentified. A statement from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said that the remains were positively identified through “ongoing DNA analysis.” “Twenty years ago, we made a promise to the families of World Trade Center victims to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to identify their loved ones, and with these two new identifications, we continue to fulfill that sacred obligation,” Dr. Barbara A. Sampson, the chief medical examiner, said in a statement. “No matter how much time passes since September 11, 2001, we will never forget, and we pledge to use all the tools at our disposal to make sure all those who were lost can be reunited with their families.” The attacks, which targeted the Pentagon, Twin Towers, and a fourth target presumed to be the Capitol, left 2,977 people dead.
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its Solar Futures Study last Wednesday detailing the significant role solar will play in decarbonizing the nation’s power grid. The study shows that by 2035, solar energy has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity, drive deep decarbonization of the grid, and employ as much as 1.5 million people – without raising electricity prices. The study’s findings call for massive and equitable deployment of clean energy sources, underscoring the Biden Administration’s efforts to tackle the so-called climate crisis, and rapidly increase access to renewable power throughout the country. “The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to
Available at your local bookseller or at www.RabbiWein.com / 800-499-9346 power all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in the process,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said. “Achieving this bright future requires a massive and equitable deployment of renewable energy and strong decarbonization polices – exactly what is laid out in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.”
SCOTUS to Meet In-Person
The U.S. Supreme Court will resume hearing oral arguments in its
courtroom starting next month, the court said last week. Admissions to the court will be limited to essential staff, the involved lawyers, and those journalists who cover the court full-time. The court will provide a live audio feed of the arguments. In a news release, the court noted, “Out of concern for the health and safety of the public and Supreme Court employees, the courtroom sessions will not be open to the public.”
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
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Sod Ha'adam Participants Reflect By Elisheva Halle (Creative Writer and Sod Ha’adam Participant)
On the outside, my life is ideal, but only I realize that I’m crumbling inside. My child is being bullied at school. How do I react without panic and despair? My student is struggling with her reading, is there anything I can do as a teacher to help? I’m a therapist and want a deeper understanding on how to connect to my clients and their pain.
What is Sod Ha’adam? How can a course that changed hundreds of lives be described in a few sentences? It’s about how to connect on a deep level, as a parent, spouse, friend, educator, therapist, or mentor. It’s about how to connect deeply to yourself.
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“As a mother, I would sit down with a child in his or her perceived crisis and my brain instantly went into hyper mode, quick fix, trying to come up with a permanent solution to their terrible crisis and problem. Now I sit with the child and I just listen from beginning to end and I try really hard to connect with their pain. It’s unbelievable how by the time they finish talking, most of the time the solution already happened. The solution that they needed was to feel that I am with them.” Sod Ha’adam Participant, Monsey NY
Sometimes we, our children, or the people around us have been labeled as a problem. Something that needs fixing. Sod Ha’adam teaches how to connect to your and other’s true core to maximize potential, so that people can feel beloved, needed, wanted, and seen. As parents, there is so much power in your hands to mold your child’s behavior and self-image. Sod Ha’adam teaches how to cull your natural gifts as a parent, spouse, educator, friend, or mentor instead of feeling helpless.
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“My son was anxious, angry and aggressive. He would come home from cheder and chaos would reign in my home. Then a friend told me about Sod Ha’adam. I listened to the classes with such excitement, I felt my heart opening, everything made so much sense. I slowly felt my whole perspective shift, and with it, my entire relationship with my son. Recently, he became bar mitzva. We kept hearing comments from family, who had no clue what we went through: “His face is aglow with happiness,” “He has such a menuchas hanefesh,” “Wow, such self-confidence.” One person asked us, “How do you make such kids in today’s day?” My husband and I looked at each other with tears of gratitude to Hashem and whispered, “Sod Ha’adam.” Sod Ha’adam Participant, Brooklyn NY It’s not magic, it’s not segulos. It’s about secrets that are deep, true and essential. When you hear them, you feel like you are finding a lost piece of your very being. Of course! A truth so simple and clear, the truth of our hearts that has been lost to us in the years of our galus. How to love. How to accept. How to enjoy life. How to believe in people.
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Sod Ha’adam is unique because the methods and truths are gleaned exclusively from Torah sources. There are general ideas that are then followed by practical tools. How to see people in their full glory, exercises that can be done, mindsets that can be adopted and how to do it seamlessly within your day. Sod Ha’adam addresses the root of the problem instead of focusing on altering the symptoms. It’s a holistic approach that takes into account a person’s physical, spiritual, cognitive and emotional wellbeing.
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Although participants have seen results and a better quality of life, Sod Ha’adam does not place emphasis on results—it’s about implementing a new way of living, where you see yourself and others as essentially whole, instead of hopelessly broken. It’s about entering a process where you can begin to enjoy your life and the people in them.
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The court added that it “will continue to closely monitor public health guidance in determining plans.” The court building itself will be closed to visitors until further notice, with only official business continuing. Since March 2020, the justices have not sat in the courtroom, instead hearing oral argument via conference call.
Biden Pushing Vaccine Mandates
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday visited a Washington middle school to encourage the adoption of his new COVID-19 plan. The plan, announced Thursday, would increase coronavirus testing
and require up to 100 million Americans to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, although it does not directly affect teachers in locally-governed schools. “I want folks to know that we’re going to be OK,” Biden said during his visit to Brookland Middle School, a short drive from the White House. “We know what it takes to keep our kids safe and our schools open.” He urged states to apply their own vaccine mandates, saying, “About 90% of school staff and teachers are vaccinated — we should have that at 100%. I’m calling on all of the governors to require vaccination for all teachers and staff.” If the Brookland students are all vaccinated, he added, then he would invite them for a special visit at the White House. Most U.S. states leave vaccine mandates up to individual school districts, although a few states have already begun to require teachers to vaccinate and some have banned mandates entirely. Vaccines are already required for those employed in Head Start programs and federally-operated schools. Meanwhile, as part of the White House plan, the U.S. government is working to increase the supply of
coronavirus tests and make them more widely available. “I want all schools setting up regular testing programs to make sure we detect and isolate cases before they can spread,” Biden said.
Zebras in D.C.
A pack of zebras has been spotted in Maryland County running loose. Last week, the National Park Service of Chesapeake Bay tweeted, “As if 2021 can’t get even more crazier, a pack of zebras were spotted in a Maryland County.” The herd of five zebras has been on the loose in Maryland for over a week. Chief Rodney Taylor with Prince George’s County Animal Services Division told Washington ABC affiliate WJLA that the zebras escaped from a farm near Upper Marlboro, Maryland, late last month. According to Taylor, the farm has had exotic animals on and off for 15 years. The farm is trying to lure the zebras back with feeding stations, in the hopes that they will be able to corral them without frightening the animals. Taylor added that the zebras are not dangerous unless you approach them. Zebras are generally peaceful and friendly animals. They distinguish each other through their voices, smells, and patterns of their bands on their bodies. For zebras, the black and white stripes are unique and help them to recognize one another.
LA Requires all School Kids to be Vaccinated
Officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District have said that
they want to guarantee all children attend in-person classes this year, and that for this reason, they voted unanimously on Thursday to require COVID-19 vaccines for all eligible students. The teacher’s union and many parents praised the move. LAUSD Interim Superintendent Megan Reilly said, “Our goal is to protect children, and our goal is to have children in school and not online. “This way we create the safest possible environment for those eligible to be vaccinated to learn,” she said, adding that younger children are also made safer by vaccine mandates. “They’re safer being surrounded by adults and others that are vaccinated,” she explained. Cecily Myart-Cruz, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, added, “Ultimately, we want our schools to stay open, and the best way to ensure that is to have as many people as possible who are in our schools vaccinated.” The Los Angeles mandate will apply to all eligible students attending in-person school, other than those with “qualified and approved exemptions.”
FBI Releases Declassified 9/11 Doc
The FBI on Saturday released a newly-declassified document on the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The document reviews details on the logistical support given to two of the Saudi Arabian hijackers in the lead-up to the attacks. The 16-page document is the first investigative record to be shared since U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a declassification review last week. The document provides a summary of a 2015 FBI interview with a man who had regular contacts with Saudi nationals in the U.S. and who aided terrorists Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. Last month, victims’ families issued a statement saying that Biden
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would only be welcome at memorial events if he declassified documents. Jim Kreindler, a lawyer for victims’ relatives, said, “The findings and conclusions in this FBI investigation validate the arguments we have made in the litigation regarding the Saudi government’s responsibility for the 9/11 attacks. “This document, together with the public evidence gathered to date, provides a blueprint for how al-Qaeda operated inside the U.S. with the active, knowing support of the Saudi government.” He added, “We look forward to more transparency and releases of information from the administration that finally provide the American people the truth they have long-deserved.” The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington praised the declassification as something which would “end the baseless allegations against the Kingdom once and for all” and slammed the “categorically false” assumptions that Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks.
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Former U.S. Presidents Commemorate 9/11
W. Bush was also at the memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Bush 43 said, “So much of our politics have become a naked appeal to anger, fear and resentment. On America’s day of trial and grief, I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor’s hand, and rally for the cause of one another. That is the America I know.” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the Flight 93 National Memorial, saying, “In a time of outright terror, we turned toward each other. If we do the hard work of working together as Americans, if we remain united in purpose, we will be prepared for whatever comes next.” Biden noted, “No matter how much time has passed, these commemorations bring everything painfully back as if you just got the news a few seconds ago.” Former President Trump was notably not invited to any of the major memorial ceremonies.
Arizona Divests From Ben & Jerry’s
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U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton stood side-by-side on Saturday at the National September 11 Memorial in New York to mark the twentieth anniversary of the nation’s worst terror attack. The three presidents shared a moment of silence, wearing blue ribbons and placing their hands over their hearts as a procession marched through the memorial. A jet flew above the memorial site before the event began. Afterwards, the names of the victims were read out. In addition to the New York memorial site, Biden visited the Pentagon on Saturday, as well as the field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the fourth hijacked plane crashed. Former U.S. President George
Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee on Thursday announced that the state will divest all public funds from Ben & Jerry’s for violating Arizona law by boycotting Israel. “Arizona law states that public state entities may not invest moneys with an entity that boycotts Israel,” Yee’s office explained. “On August 3, 2021, the Arizona Treasurer’s Office informed Unilever PLC that it was actively boycotting Israel due to the actions of Ben & Jerry’s, a subsidiary of Unilever, announcing that it will withdraw sales from Israel. These actions would be in direct violation of Arizona statutes.” She added, “I gave Unilever PLC, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, an ultimatum: reverse the action of Ben & Jerry’s or divest itself of Ben & Jerry’s to come into compliance with Arizona law or face the consequences. They chose the latter. “It does not matter how much investment Unilever PLC has in Is-
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rael. With Ben & Jerry’s decision to no longer sell its product in the West Bank, the companies are in violation of the law in Arizona. Arizona will not do business with companies that are attempting to undermine Israel’s economy and blatantly disregarding Arizona’s law.” The statement emphasized, “Israel is and will continue to be a major trade partner of Arizona. As Arizona’s Chief Banking and Investment Officer, I stand with Israel, and I will not allow taxpayer dollars to go towards anti-Semitic, discriminatory efforts against Israel.” The State of Arizona’s investments in Unilever were reduced from $143 million as of June 30, 2021, to $50 million on Thursday, and will be zero by September 21, 2021, after the last investment in Unilever matures. The State Treasurer’s office has been a longtime investor in Israel Bonds since 2013, investing more than $30 million including Treasurer Yee’s increase in the bond investments to $15 million in current holdings.
More Killed from 9/11 Illnesses than from Attacks
Thousands have died after suffering from illnesses relating to the 9/11 attacks. According to the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF), more than 67,000 claims have been submitted since 2011. Nearly 3,900 of those claims were filed on behalf of someone who is alleged to have died of a 9/11-related illness, the VCF said in a report. “That means that the number of people believed to have died of a 9/11-related illness subsequent to 9/11 has now exceeded the number of people who died on 9/11,” said Rupa Bhattacharyya, the “special master” who administers the fund. “More people are now believed to have died of 9/11-related illnesses than were lost on September 11,
2001,” she noted. Nearly 50 percent of those filing claims in recent years have cancer. 2,977 people were killed when Al-Qaeda hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington twenty years ago. Another plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. A compensation fund was created immediately following the attacks for the families of victims. In 2011, another fund was created for first responders and others suffering from chronic health conditions arising from the 9/11 attacks. The VCF has issued compensation of more than $8.95 billion to more than 40,000 individuals.
Masks Off in FL Schools?
Florida’s 1st District Court on Friday reinstated a stay on mask mandates in schools. The stay blocks local school requirements for now, court documents show. Last month, Second Circuit Judge John Cooper had ruled that Florida schools are allowed to institute mask mandates while the case is appealed at a higher level. Tweeting his response to the ruling, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wrote on Friday, “The 1st DCA has restored the right of parents to make the best decisions for their children. I will continue to fight for parents’ rights.” DeSantis’s attorneys filed the emergency appeal after a judge ruled on Wednesday that Florida must not enforce its mask ban. The U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights enforcement arm added to the issue on Friday when it said it would investigate whether Florida’s education department “may be preventing school districts in the state from considering or meeting the needs of students with disabilities.” In a Friday letter to Florida Education Commissioner Richard
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Corcoran, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) wrote, “OCR is concerned that Florida’s policy requiring public schools and school districts to allow parents to opt their children out of mask mandates may be preventing schools in Florida from meeting their legal obligations not to discriminate based on disability and from providing an equal educational opportunity to students with disabilities who are at heightened risk of severe illness from COVID-19.”
Wheel of Fortune
the wheel in place, which are each made of 107 separate 9mm-thick wires, were placed together end-onend, they would stretch from Dubai to Cairo. Want to host the party of the century? Each of the 48 cabins are designed to fit 40 people, meaning up to 1,750 people can ride Ain Dubai at any given time. Lest you think that a ride on Ain Dubai is something to brag about, the standards can be pushed even higher. There are three types of experiences on the giant ferris wheel: observation cabins (the standard option), social cabins (these are the “VIP” option and have a bar in the center of the pod) and private cabins, which can be booked out for special occasions and include the option of a private three-course dinner over two rotations of the wheel. A standard ride is 38 minutes long. And there’s nothing “standard” about it.
Don’t Go Breaking My Art Planning the world’s best chol hamoed trip? You may have to wait a few weeks. The world’s largest observation wheel is set to open in Dubai on October 21, 2021. When Ain Dubai opens its doors, the giant ferris wheel will be more than 250 meters – 82 meters higher than the world’s current tallest ferris wheel in operation, the High Roller in Las Vegas. It also will be twice the size of the London Eye, which towers over England’s capital city at 135 meters. Dubai sets the bar high for itself. It is home to the world’s tallest tower (the Burj Khalifa), the highest restaurant in the world, the world’s highest infinity pool, the world’s largest fountain show, the world’s fastest roller coaster, and the world’s largest indoor theme park -talk about being a high achiever. The Ain Dubai took more than eight years to complete. The structure used 11,200 tons of steel to build, about 33% more than the amount used to construct the Eiffel Tower. The structure’s hub and spindle weighs 1,805 tons – equivalent to four A380 airplanes – while the combined weight of the rim and the 48 passenger cabins is 7,500 ton. If the 192 spokes that hold
Art enthusiasts were aghast three years ago when a Banksy painting partially shredded itself moments after being sold for more than $1.4 million at a London auction. Originally titled, “Girl with the Balloon,” the artwork was subsequently renamed “Love is in the Bin.” Now, Sotheby’s says that it is set to go under the hammer next month and could fetch a whopping $8.3 million. The artwork depicted a young girl with a heart-shaped red balloon. A shredder was concealed in the frame. Once it was sold, the shredder was activated, cutting the painting into tiny pieces. According to Banksy, though, the shredder had malfunctioned; it was supposed to have shredded the piece in its entirety. “It was a big moment because nothing like that had been done before,” said art historian, author and co-founder of Artful, Matthew Israel. The idea of a self-destructing artwork was, he added, “entirely at odds with the aims of the auction house, where
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the condition of an artwork is paramount and the knowledge and expertise about it is core to its authority and value.” A few months after the 2018 auction, the Frieder Burda Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany, became the first public space to display the artwork. It is currently on tour ahead of next month’s sale, starting in London this weekend then moving on to Hong Kong, Taipei and New York. Sounds like Banksy’s pieces can rip your (art) out.
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David Rush knows how to hold his water. The Idaho man recently broke a Guinness World Record by using his hands to move more than 114 fluid ounces of water between two containers. This is not the first time Rush made it into the record books. He has broken more than 200 Guinness records to promote STEM education. David’s goal to beat was 87.9 fluid ounces, which was set by Pakistani record-breaker Usman Ayyub in 2019. He nabbed the title by moving 114.1 ounces of water in the 30-second time limit. Rush said he measured his results in three ways: using the markings on his container, by weighing the result and subtracting the weight of the container, and by pouring the water into another container with more granular markings. Like water off a duck’s back.
Ig Nobel Prize
The recipients of the 2021 Ig Nobel Prizes include researchers who experimented with upside-down rhinos, analyzed the bacteria in discarded gum, and studied the ways cats communicate with humans. The prizes, awarded by science magazine Annals of Improbable Research, were announced on Thursday at the 31st annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. Cat got your tongue? The Biology Prize went to Swedish researcher Susanne Schotz, who analyzed the variations in cat vocalizations while communicating with humans. Gum on your shoe? The Ecology Prize was awarded to a team of Spanish and Iranian researchers who used genetic analysis to compare the different species of bacteria found on discarded chewing gum recovered from paved surfaces in various countries. Smell a rat? The Chemistry Prize went to a team of researchers from Germany, Britain, New Zealand, Greece, Cyprus and Austria who used chemical analysis to test whether bodily odors created by a movie theater audience could be used to track incidents of violence, drug use, and profanity in films. A bunch of fat cats? The Economics Prize was presented to Pavlo Blavatskyy, who led a study that suggests the obesity of a country’s politicians can be used to indicate the level of
Did you know? According to Guinness World Records, the world record for the fastest growing plant on earth belongs to a certain bamboo species that grows up to 35 per day, which is almost 1.5” an hour, or at a speed of 0.00002 mph.
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corruption in the country. Bad hair day? The Peace Prize was given to a team of U.S. researchers who tested the hypothesis that humans evolved to use beards to protect themselves from punches to the face. Need a crash course? The Physics Prize went to a team of researchers who conducted experiments to learn why pedestrians do not constantly collide with other pedestrians, while the Kinetics Prize went to a different team of researchers who looked into why pedestrians sometimes do collide with other pedestrians. Bugging out? The Entomology Prize was awarded to John Mulrennan Jr., Roger Grothaus, Charles Hammond and Jay Lamdin, the authors of research study “A New Method of Cockroach Control on Submarines.” Need to clear the air? The Transportation Prize was given to a team of Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Britain and U.S. researchers who conducted experiments to determine whether it is safer to airlift a rhinoceros with the animal upside-down.
Cloning Camels
Some camels are in such demand that scientists are cloning them for beauty pageants. Because not all camels are blessed with drooping lips or a tall, elegant neck, scientists set out to find some ways to get the best of their stock. At the Reproductive Biotechnology Center in Dubai, scientists have figured out how to clone camels. “We have so much demand for cloning camels that we are not able to keep up,” the center’s scientific director Nisar Wani told AFP. Beauty pageants are not the only driver of the camel cloning industry. Many customers want to reproduce racing camels or animals that produce large amounts of milk. But “beauty queens” are the most popular order. Gulf clients will pay between 200,000 and 400,000 dirham ($54,500-$109,000) to duplicate a dromedary.
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The camels are paraded at dusty racetracks around the region and scrutinized by judges, with occasional discoveries of Botox and cosmetic fillers adding a spice of scandal to the high-stakes contests. Saud Al-Otaibi, who runs a camel auction in Kuwait, said customers’ judgement of the animals’ looks is key to his business. “The price of the camel is determined according to its beauty,
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health, and how well known the breed is,” he noted. When it comes to young animals, “customers are keen on seeing the mother to determine its beauty before buying the camel,” he added. The world’s first cloned camel was born 12 years ago in Dubai. It took five years of experimenting before she made her way into the world. Now, there are at least 10 to 20 camels being cloned every year in
the center. According to Wani, they are churning out “racing champions, high milk-producing animals… and winners of beauty contests called Beauty Queens.” Known as “ships of the desert,” and once used for transport across the sands of the Arab peninsula, camels are symbols of traditional Gulf culture. Sounds like they’re real cash cows for their owners.
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Around the
Community Welcome Back to School at HANC
A
fter many months of meticulous preparation, HANC’s Samuel and Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School in West Hempstead welcomed the students back to school on September 1. Despite the fact that their faces were covered with multi-colored masks, the happy expressions on the children’s faces were glowing through their excited eyes. It has been almost three months since school ended in June, and the children have been waiting so long to return to HANC, their second home. Despite the rain that was falling, nothing could dampen the excitement as the children approached the school building. Towering over the entranceway was a huge arch of balloons, and as each child entered the doors, they were personally welcomed and cheered as they walked the red carpet that led the way to their classrooms. The students were thrilled to be reunited with their old friends, and looked forward to getting to know the teachers and new students in their classrooms. For the teachers, the return to school began weeks ago. As the staff returned to school to begin preparing their classrooms, they were pleased to see all of the renovations that had taken place over the summer. In a
very short time, the dedicated teachers created new colorful and exciting bulletin boards and transformed their classrooms to welcome back the students that they had missed so much during the long separation. As the children became acclimated to their new classes and teachers, preparations for the upcoming holidays have begun. In addition to learning about the mitzvot and minhagim of Rosh Hashana, HANC’s backyard playground was transformed into a hands-on Shofar Factory. The knowledgeable staff from Tzivos HaShem gave the students an overview of how a kosher shofar is crafted from animal horns. Amazement, wonder and surprise were just some of the experiences of
the sixth graders as they explored the various steps necessary to create a hollow, kosher shofar. Once the students had the opportunity to explore the displays and the lesson was concluded, each student selected a horn and transformed it into a shofar. Protected with gloves and goggles, the children worked hard at sawing the ends off of the horns, sanding the surfaces and then polishing their magnificent creations. As they worked, the sounds and smells provided the children with an active, multi-sensory learning experience. Noa Kaye really enjoyed the hands-on experience. “We learned about which animals are kosher and which ones have horns. When we got our own horn, it was hard cutting
off the end with the small saws, but in the end, the shofar was shiny and smooth and easy to blow.” The Shofar Factory was presented by Tzivos HaShem and sponsored by the HANC PTA. It was a wonderful way for our sixth graders to start off their school year. As the first week of school concluded, the students gathered in the school auditorium for a Shabbat assembly. The program began with a resounding rendition of Sholom Aleichem, led by HANC’s new Head of School, Rabbi Ouriel Hazan, and accompanied by the magnificent music of HANC’s new music teacher, Mrs. Carrie Levine. Rabbi Hazan then shared a story with the children and highlighted some special acts of chessed that had been performed by children in the school. During the course of the program, children were rewarded with raffle tickets for listening attentively and participating enthusiastically during the singing. In addition to the prizes that several children won in the raffle, a special treat was promised to the fifth grade girls class for cheering for their classmate who was a big winner in the raffle. The children celebrated the coming of Shabbat and are already looking forward to next week’s Shabbat assembly.
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Around the Community
Rav Yaakov Bender delivering a shmuess to the third grade talmidim of Yeshiva Darchei Torah before Yom Kippur
YOSS Makes Custom Esrog Boxes
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n preparation for Sukkos, Rabbi Heimlich’s and Rabbi Gardenswartz’s 3rd grade classes at Yeshiva of South Shore designed beautiful esrog boxes. They set up outside and glued decorations onto the boxes, after which each boy painted his
HAFTR Early Childhood students practiced dipping their apples in honey for Rosh Hashana
MTA Brings Mishmar To Local Communities
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hen Mishmar couldn’t take place in yeshiva due to tropical storm Ida, MTA brought the learning program to local communities. MTA rebbeim led Mishmar programs in Bergen County, Brooklyn, Monsey, Passaic, Queens, Riverdale, Westchester, and West Hempstead. “Even though we were unable to
learn in yeshiva, we wanted to end the year with Torah by learning together before Rosh Hashana and wish each talmid a k’siva v’chasima tova in person,” shared Associate Principal Rabbi Shimon Schenker. “We are grateful to our amazing rebbeim and incredible talmidim for taking part in this meaningful opportunity.”
box and allowed them to dry in the sun. They had a wonderful time working on this fun and useful project! Im yirtzeh Hashem they will use the esrog boxes they built themselves for many years; even better, if next year they use them in Yerushalayim!
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Around the Community
Rabbi Greenberg’s 6th grade shiur at YOSS designed sukkahs according to the various poskim they are learning about in shiur PHOTO CREDIT: MAXINE LIPSHITZ
YCQ Remembers 9/11 By: Eyal Traeger
O
n Friday, September 10, the Yeshiva of Central Queens held a 9/11 memorial assembly for the junior high school students. The assembly began with a short video showing a timeline of the day and clips of the attacks. Next, firsthand stories were told about experiences and memories by a few YCQ staff members: Mr. Miles Ehrenkrantz, Ms. Elisheva Simanowitz, Ms. Odelia Schlisser and Ms. Darlene Picciano, JHS science teacher, who told her story of her family members who were in Manhattan on 9/11. Mr. Ehrenkrantz, JHS social studies teacher, shared his story about working in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. “Having worked in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on 9/11,
I had a very different experience than those in New York. America’s newest heroes were, of course, all of the men and women who worked tirelessly to save as many people as possible at The World Trade Center in New York and The Pentagon in Virginia. While they are my heroes, too, I have a very special and personal connection to 40-unsung heroes that saved my life, and those of my colleagues on Capitol Hill that day: the 40 passengers aboard United Flight 93 who thwarted the terrorist’s goal of crashing their jet fuel-filled plane into the Capitol Building, killing hundreds of senators and representatives, along with their staffers, like me. “Every year, for 20 years, I have written to their families to express my profound sadness for their loss. There is not a day that goes by when I do not think of them. Their sacrifice
Did you know? Although bamboo is a grass, many of the larger woody bamboo species are very tree-like in appearance and are often called “bamboo trees.”
fuels me to be a better person each day.” Ms. Simanowitz, JHS administrative assistant and organizer of the program, spoke about her father, Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz who was a first responder in the attacks. He later passed away from cancer in 2017. He was a great friend to YCQ and the entire Kew Gardens Hills community. She said, “Even though the events of 9/11 happened 20 years ago, the country and the world are still feeling the effects of it today. So many lives were lost that day, and we continue to lose more to 9/11-related illnesses each day. It’s so important to remem-
ber the innocent people who were lost and the heroes who sacrificed so much more than we could have ever imagined just to try and help.” This year is the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Many people today are still affected by the events of that day, including the first responders who are still sick from the debris that they inhaled. These assemblies are important to educate people and increase awareness of these attacks. This generation was not alive during the attacks so it’s important for them to understand how September 11, 2001 changed the world and continues to impact the way we do things.
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For When a Pediatric Patient Needs a Home Away from Home A Visit at Children’s Center at the Phoenix
There’s no place like home. But when home isn’t a realistic option, whether for the short- or long-term, every infant, child, and teenager experiencing a medical challenge or crisis deserves to be ensconced in the softness and stability of a home away from home. And this is exactly what the staff, residents, and family members at Children’s Center at the Phoenix consider it to be. It’s where nurses are smiling and singing friends,
therapists are patient and encouraging teachers, and medical personnel are optimistic advocates. It’s where each child is not just a patient, but a world of unique personality and potential. It’s about a promise of innovation and expertise. When the Phoenix Center acquired the children’s facility in 2020, we vowed to revamp the existing
Spotlight on Dr. Kenneth Lieberman Chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Hackensack University Medical Center and Professor of Pediatrics, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
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s one of the nation’s first pediatric centers to offer dialysis and kidney care, the kidney and dialysis department at the Children’s Center at the Phoenix, led by the world-renowned Dr. Kenneth Lieberman, boasts a team of specially trained doctors, nurses, social workers, and dieticians. Dr. Lieberman is the acclaimed Chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Hackensack University Medical Center and the DaVita Medical Group, and is affiliated with the Hackensack, Jersey Shore, and Palisades Medical Centers. At the forefront of medical advancement in the field of pediatric nephrology, his leadership of our team at the dialysis unit means the children at our facility benefit from up-to-date and compassionate care, on site. The feedback and recommendation Dr. Lieberman’s patients share all speak of the compassionate, expert, and patient-focused care they receive.
have found what children with complex kidney disease and their families need, above all, is empathic medical care. This includes always answering all their questions as well as listening to and addressing their individual needs. Respect for the patient is my core value. This is what patient-centered care means to me. Providing my patients with state-of-the-art kidney care includes both cutting-edge diagnostics and therapeutics. I strongly believe that a physician should constantly be at the forefront of knowledge in his field in order to deliver the best patient care. This includes producing Philosophy of Care Dr. Lieberman’s Philosophy scholarly works, participating in cutting-edge clinical trials, of Care, in His Own Words In my over 40 years prac- as well as attending and partice of pediatric nephrology, I ticipating in national and inter-
national symposia. Teaching at all levels of medical education is a necessity. Under my leadership, the nephrology division has been able to participate in clinical trials with unique and effective therapies—available at few other medical centers. Medical Affiliations HMH Hackensack University Medical Center HMH Jersey Shore University Medical Center HMH Palisades Medical Center In Conversation How long have you been at The Children’s Center at Phoenix? It’s been a year now. What do you feel is unique about the Kidney and Dialysis department at the facility? The availability of pediatric dialysis for kids at the Center is exclusive. What has been your overall impression of The Children’s Center’s leadership? The staff at the facility are both highly dedicated and supremely professional.
center from the pediatric skilled nursing facility it was to a haven of innovation, healing, and wellness for young patients facing debilitating illness. The natural outcome of recruiting an amazing team of renowned doctors and medical advisory board, as well as therapists, nurses, and dedicated social workers and dieticians, is a family-centric approach to facing and dealing with medical hardship and making decisions together. Along with medical excellence, the ambiance created by renovating the campus to a child-friendly, full aquatic design theme contributes to the renewed vigor and positivity with which the team of caregivers and patients at the Children’s Center at the Phoenix face each day. It’s about a single-minded goal; providing children with the nurture, care, and passion needed to grow, heal, and develop despite facing debilitating illness, while affording peace of mind for the patients’ families. It’s about the care of our precious children. And when our children are involved, good will never be good enough. That’s why we focus on the collaboration of renowned pediatric doctors, therapists, and specialists to assess, treat, and celebrate each child’s personal challenges and growth. With services ranging from pediatric brain injury, wound, respirator, and ventilator care; respite care; physical, occupational, speech, and language therapy; as well as educational and recreational programs – both on site and in community schools, the center is equipped to successfully care for both acute and long-term medical and behavioral crisis. Centrally located in Haskell, New Jersey, with easy access to all prominent hospitals in the tristate area, the Children’s Center at the Phoenix is a 92bed skilled nursing facility, replete with a state-ofthe-art respiratory care program. Caring for children from newly born to 21 years old, the Children’s Center provides both short- and long-term care, as well as respite services. It’s about the entire patient. Because, while dependent on vital technology, medication, and therapy programs to heroically face each day, we appreciate that the young, fun-loving kids at our center thrive on the creativity and skill that multisensory recreational activities offer. The variety of art, craft, sensory stimulation, pet therapy, and musical activities the children enjoy, with the stimulating direction of expert recreational as-
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Around the Community sistants, have proven to enhance their quality of life and independence, and reduce or eliminate the effects of illness and disability. Horticulture, pony visits, monthly birthday parties, exercise programs, trips, and library hour make daily life for the children eventful and fulfilling. Using an integrated approach of viewing each patient as both a child and a child who requires medical assistance ensures that all of their individual needs are being met. It’s about keeping frum patients’ unique needs top of mind. In the frum world especially, child placement is fraught with emotional uncertainty and practical obstacles. That’s why the Refuah Program at the Children’s Center is a game changer. This initiative includes, first and foremost, the assurance that all staff at the center are educated and sensitive to the nuances and diversity of Yiddishkeit. A rabbi on site, Bikur Cholim room and Shabbos accommodations, complementary transportation and Refuah concierge services, and availability of kosher food are some other amenities designed to provide the highest standard of care to frum residents and their families, making them feel at ease while at the center. It’s about peace of mind when you need it most. When caregivers are in need of a vacation or are dealing with an emergency that prevents them from being there for their loved one, our respite care services are there to provide the crucial reprieve. The only pediatric skilled nursing facility to offer respite services, our interdisciplinary team is
here for you whenever the need arises, fully equipped to accommodate all your child’s medical and emotional needs. It’s about what patients’ families are saying. It’s why Eli’s father said: “We have seen many facilities, and they were good – but at the Children’s Center at the Phoenix, it feels much more, and it feels like family…We hope and are sure to have a great family relationship by taking care of him TOGETHER.” It’s why Shlomo Fuhrer, the grandfather of a patient we adored, took the time to let us know: “My grandson received exceptional care. I was really amazed at everything the wonderful staff did for our family. I would highly recommend this place.” It’s why Moshe Geller says of his conviction that he chose the right facility for his child: “The staff is truly one of a kind! They go to great lengths to ensure the patient and family are happy. Right from the start, we were amazed at the devotion each and every staff member displayed. Such a compassionate team; so giving. We were lucky to have
our son cared for by these wonderful people. He got great therapy, and they showed such love to him. We were constantly informed of any changes in his care plan and the nurses patiently answered our questions over the phone. His room was really neat, and he got so many toys! Choosing this facility was a smart choice we made!” It’s what the experts are saying, too. The incredible results of the annual New Jersey Department of Health Survey were the natural outcome of a team of caregivers who are completely committed to enriching the lives of the residents and children we serve. Here’s just a sampling of comments from the state surveyors: “I am very impressed with the pediatric unit. I can see that all the staff really adore and love the children,” and, “Everyone works so well together and the patients are receiving great care.” It’s a true testament to the compassionate care that is provided to our residents each and every day. It’s because we care enough. Enough to go the extra mile to gradually and sensitively coax a young teen-
ager who had been through a horrific accident to cooperate with therapists, relearn to walk, and overcome the emotional effects of the trauma. It’s how she is currently back home with her family and friends as a healthy young adult. Enough to snuggle and cuddle a newborn patient who was unable to breathe on his own, playing his favorite music so he beams and giggles as he matures. It’s how he is now off the ventilator for a couple of hours each day, and happily cooperates with his daily physical, occupational, and speech therapists. It’s why Ed Peters, our beloved director of the respiratory department, has a young patient waiting impatiently at the door to his office each morning to greet him. It’s how each day, milestones are celebrated, and little people are embraced by the love and warmth of those who truly care for them. It’s about making the right choice for your loved one. Be in touch for any further discussion: Alexandra DeLuise Director of Admissions 1433 Ringwood Avenue Haskell, NJ 07420 C. 908-907-7136 O. 973-839-2119 x137 F. 973-839-3007 adeluise@phoenixcrp.com www.phoenixcrp.com Scott Weissman Assistant Administrator/Director of The Refuah Program 1433 Ringwood Avenue Haskell, NJ 07420 Phone: 516-581-9455 sweissman@phoenixcrp.com www.phoenixcrp.com
The Refuah Program A unique initiative making the Children’s Center at the Phoenix a frum-friendly residence, the Refuah Program has made all the difference for families seeking appropriate placement for their children.
A Word with Scott Weissman, Refuah Program Coordinator Hi, Scott. Can you tell us a bit about what prompted the Refuah Program’s initiative? We saw the need for a place where any Jewish family could feel comfortable placing their child, because putting a child into a facility in general is very scary. The word “nursing home” is usually associated with the elderly, so placing children in
such a place can be frightening. What this project means is that there is frum programming behind the scenes and that there is someone – me – whom parents and family can speak to at any time, who understands what they are like and exactly what their distinctive needs are. Wow, that sounds like a huge accomplishment.
What kind of feedback have you getting from the program? There’s been lots of positive feedback, baruch Hashem. I’ve been involved since December and have received a lot of positive comments from families, many of which had children in the Center before the program began. They all have my personal cell number and can reach out
whenever there is any concern or need. I am there for them as only someone who understands them can be. Do you have any other message you’d like to share? Often, I get very close to the families of frum patients I deal with. I’ve learned from experience how, because of the close, trusting
relationship we share, I end up discussing a lot of different things with these families, and this enables me to more effectively service their needs. Thank you for your time. May you be able to continue helping frum patients and their families with this amazing program!
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
Preparing for the chagim at Shulamith Early Childhood
CPR at Central
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t was with great excitement that Central welcomed students and faculty back home last week! After a wonderful summer, we are back, refreshed, and ready for the best year Central has ever seen. While all Central teachers have exciting, enriching lessons and programs planned, our students in 10th grade and AP Chemistry began the year by participating in a special CPR training program. The students will be trained and certified in the lifesaving skills of CPR and other first aid tools. Aviva Kessock, a sophomore from Oceanside, explained that she’s grateful for the pro-
gram because “these classes not only taught me how to act properly in a situation where CPR would be necessary but it showed me that you never know what can happen, so you should always be prepared.” Our CPR instructor, Celia Sporer, is currently a part time NYC paramedic based at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn and full-time professor of Criminal Justice at CUNY. In addition to teaching private CPR and first aid courses regularly, she is an NYS Certified Instructor Coordinator working for a private EMT course provider and with Hatzolah in Mon-
sey and New Square training their female volunteers. Mrs. Fried, science department chair, says that having this program is so important because “finding relevance in what we study creates a community of learners who are passionate about what they
study, and are happy to come to school each day. Our students are thrilled to have the opportunity to apply the science that they study to their everyday lives.” Talia Frankel, a 10th grader from West Hempstead, agreed, saying, “I can proudly
A JEP/Nageela Rosh Hashana
By Jen Reiz
I
n what has become a beautiful annual tradition, families made the trip to Camp Nageela to join as one mishpacha and celebrate Rosh Hashana together. The chagim take on new meaning as camp families
come back to enjoy the ruach and energy displayed by Rabbi Dovid and Basi Shenker, Rabbi Yitzchok and Tzippy Wurem, Rabbi Moshe and Esti Katz, and more. Children of all ages and their parents have special time to bond, enjoy the delicious food, and participate in meaningful davening
say that I now have the ability to react properly in order to help save someone’s life if, chas v’shalom, needed. This is something that is so important for everyone to learn, at any age. I am so glad we were given this opportunity!”
PHOTO CREDIT: DANIEL KAY OF DANIEL KAY MEDIA
and learning at all levels. “This was our second year at Nageela’s Rosh Hashanah program, and it was truly soul-awakening and inspiring for me and my children,” said Abigail Ruben. “I took home the messages about forgiveness, being more loving and giving. I’m so appre-
ciative of what Nageela gives to us!” Many families returned to Nageela for the uplifting Yom Kippur program this week. Help support JEP/ Nageela’s year-round educational and fun programs by calling 917-7152415 or visiting donate@jepli.org.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
MTA Talmidim Help After Storm
M
TA talmidim were hard at work in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ida, volunteering in their local communities. Talmidim helped families whose homes were damaged by the storm with clean up and debris removal. “We are so proud of our talmidim, who are always willing to go above
and beyond to help those in need,” said Director of Guidance Mrs. Tamar Sheffey. “At MTA, we work hard to instill the value of chessed within our talmidim, and it’s incredible to watch firsthand as they put what they have learned to use and make an impact on their communities.”
The students in Morah Shoshanna and Mora Sara’s class at the HANC Early Childhood Center in West Hempstead reenacted the story of Yonah and the whale before Yom Kippur
Investing in Israeli Innovation is Investing in the Future By: Mendy Gelbord
I
srael truly is the start-up nation of the world today. With over 8,300 active start-up companies and in excess of USD $107 billion generated in IPOs over the last decade, Israeli innovation is changing the world as we know it in almost every field imaginable. Founded in 2012, the Besadno Investment Group, whose name in Hebrew represents the phrase “With G-d’s help, we will succeed,” recently launched the crowdfunding platform, InvestiNation. The platform is the first kosher crowdfunding investment platform that provides accredited American investors with access to multiple innovative start-ups in sectors ranging from PropTech, Mixed Reality, ConTech, EdTech, Medical, Aviation and Aeronautics. Eliezer Gross, CEO and Founder of the Besadno Investment Group, identified the need to build a gateway between the American accredited investor and the multitude of innovative investment opportunities emerging out of Israel today. “Our investors are quicky understanding that investing in Israeli innovation is investing in the future. Besadno sits on the board of every
company we invest in, giving our investors a sense of added security,” Gross explains. “We handpick early-stage start-ups after an extensive due diligence process. It’s not enough to have a brilliant piece of technology in hand, rather, one must be able to identify the market potential and turn it into a profitable business. Our team of advisors and experts assist the potential companies with market penetration and product development during critical growth stages.” One such promising company is Urban Aeronautics, who are currently developing emission-free “carsized” aircrafts that will be able to land in highly populated city areas. Major capitals around the globe are
now passing legislation to allow for urban taxi aviation as early as 2025. In the medical sector, Fertigo works to improve the success rate of IVF by performing continuous real-time in-vivo monitoring to determine the best possible moment for a successful implantation. The potential of such technology in the U.S. is astronomical as each IVF implantation costs between USD $11,000 $12,000, with a success rate of only 37.8%. Fertigo’s technology aims to dramatically increase the success rate of these treatments. StructShare, a construction tech company on the platform, is digitalizing the construction purchasing ecosystem. The company provides
software that allows specialty contractors to connect with vendors and streamline the entire purchasing cycle, from planning through field orders, POs and deliveries, to an automatic account payable process. “Trade contractors have seen savings of over one hundred thousand dollars in one year,” boasts Gross. “Often, the innovation we invest in makes such a small but critical change to an entire industry that we are left asking ourselves, how did the world operate without it?” Besadno prides itself in offering only investments that have been approved for halachic compliance by the Badatz of the Eidah Hachareidis Yerushalayim. “The Badatz review includes researching issues of ribbis, shemiras Shabbos, and kashrus related to FoodTech,” explains Gross. “For the first time, InvestiNation provides the Orthodox market with the opportunity to be a part of the next Israeli innovation success story,” boasts the CIO of Besadno Group, Oded Eliashiv. To learn more, visit: www.investination.com or contact a representative at (212) 603-9808.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
We Will Never Forget The Five Towns Commemorates 9/11
O
n Sunday, September 12, 2021, the Village of Cedarhurst held a memorial ceremony commemorating the tragic events of 9/11 at Andrew J. Parise
Park. Scores of Five Towns residents came to pay their respects and share in remembering the horrific events that took place twenty years ago. Local politicians joined in the ceremo-
ny including County Executive Laura Curran, Supervisor Don Clavin, Councilman Bruce Blakeman, and State Senator Todd Kaminsky. Cedarhurst Mayor Ben Weinstock
opened the ceremony and thanked the heroes who selflessly ran into the burning buildings to rescue their American brethren. He thanked local law enforcement, firefighters,
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Around the Community Hatzalah members, and Port Authority workers. The mayor urged residents to teach their children about the events of 9/11. He asked schools to include 9/11 lessons in their curriculum, but reminded listeners that children must be taught about 9/11 in a non-biased, factual way. Many in “Generation Z” never saw a video of the 9/11 attacks; he noted that see-
ing the footage would impact the way they viewed the events of 9/11. John Feal, of the FealGood Foundation, lost part of his foot in the 9/11 attacks. He generously gave of his time to remind the audience of the need to thank their local heroes and to look past the color, religion, gender and political affiliations of others. He spoke of the unity felt after 9/11. And
he told of the countless individuals who have died since the 9/11 attacks in 9/11-related illnesses. Deputy Mayor Ari Brown, Trustee Myrna Zisman, Trustee Israel Wasser, and Trustee Daniel Plaut read the plaque markers, noting the time of the crashes of each of the planes on that fateful morning. County Executive Laura Curran
spoke of feeling gratitude for the country of the United States and for the heroes who protect us daily. Councilman Bruce Blakeman noted that his nephew perished in the 9/11 attacks and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He urged listeners to stand up for what the United States represents.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
YOSS First Days
S
eptember 1, 2021 marked the first full day of school for our Yeshiva of South Shore students. It was difficult to tell who was more excited – the students or the teachers. With all the preparations, inviting classroom décor, and exciting activities, both teachers and students were finally ready for the big day. There are so many firsts when entering first grade. Mrs. Traube’s Firsties read the popular book David Goes to School by David Shannon. The class played an interactive game sorting different appropriate classroom expectations inspired by David’s story. The students completed their first directed drawing of the famous, lovable character, David, just like David Shannon. David’s character will inspire them throughout the coming year to make smart choices. While parents and teachers have so much to do for the big day, our students have a whole set of other worries –first day jitters! To ensure a smooth transition Mrs. Berenholz’s second graders read First Day Jitters, by Julie Danneberg. This helped the students address their own jitters and recognize that even
teachers can be nervous about the first day of school. Each student received a personal Jitter Juice beverage to celebrate the first full day of school. What is courage? Mrs. Weiss’s third grade class tackled this theme when approaching the sensitive topic of 9/11. Using the mentor text, Courage, by Bernard Waber, the students discussed how courage can be applied to their lives just as courage was used by our 9/11 heroes. The boys designed a personal art piece depicting
various daily acts of courage. What better way to get to know one’s students than through art? Every student in Mrs. Zicherman’s fourth grade class had the opportunity to showcase their strengths and unique character traits through creating their own personalized robot! It was an introduction to their exciting STEM unit in which they used every day materials to represent themselves in robotic form. The robot designs reflected athletes, scientist, scholars and mathema-
ticians. Fourth grade is ready to steam ahead into STEM! Mrs. Gross’ and Mrs. Kastriner’s fifth graders created an acrostic poem which emphasized their individual unique qualities. Each boy answered a questionnaire about themselves and responded by tracing their hand and filling the traced fingers in with their interests. The fifth graders have a diverse range of strengths and hobbies. We’re building talmidim, leaders, our future!
Hundreds of Shuls Will Pray for Return of Bodies of IDF Soldiers
H
undreds of synagogues across North America will join in solidarity on Yom Kippur and Sukkot to recite a special prayer for the return of the bodies of fallen Israeli Defense Forces Lt. Hadar Goldin and St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul. The movement is being led by the Religious Zionists of America-Mizrachi (RZA), and also includes and online petition to learn more about the soldiers and advocate on their behalf. During the group’s recent rabbinic mission to Israel, participating North American rabbis had the opportunity to meet with Drs. Leah and Simha Goldin, the parents of Hadar Goldin. Before the pandemic, the Goldins traveled regularly to plead their son’s case to government authorities abroad. Unfortunately, the pandemic limited not only their ability to regularly work on their son’s case through high-level meetings, but also caused his story to slip from the minds of
the officials with the power to apply meaningful pressure on Hamas to release his remains. “No parent or family should ever have to experience the loss of a child. All the more so, no parent should ever have to live a life in limbo, hoping and praying for the return of their child’s body for the ability to bury them,” said RZA-Mizrachi America CoPresident Rabbi Leonard Matanky. “We hope to join together on our most holy of days to storm the heavens in prayer to ask Hashem to bring them home.” The prayer, which beckons Hashem to empower the return of the remains of both soldiers, was written by Goldin’s family. It loosely translates to “Merciful Father who dwells on high; May He, in His great mercy, remember with compassion the holy and pure soldiers who laid down their lives for the sanctification of His Name.” It goes on to describe, “They
were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions in carrying out the will of their Maker, and the wish of their steadfast G-d, with courage and humility.” It closes by asking Hashem to remember them for good, together with the other righteous of the world, and bring them to their final resting place amidst their people, Israel. “After meeting with the parents of Hadar Goldin, we returned from the trip inspired to take action. We immediately set up a petition to help raise the profile and awareness of the situation across our congregations and have since expanded those efforts to other congregations and communities, of all Jewish denominations,” said RZA-Mizrachi America Executive Vice President Rabbi Ari Rockoff. “It was only natural to look to our tradition and prayer as the high holidays approach and even more natural to remember and pray for our brethren on our most holy of
days.” The petition, which was written by RZA rabbis in partnership with the Goldin family and their advocates, has already garnered thousands of signatures. Addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, it calls on the United States’ leading diplomat to increase pressure on Hamas to return the remains of the two soldiers’ bodies and the live civilian hostages it currently holds, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. The petition reminds Blinken that Goldin was killed and captured during a U.S.- and U.N.-mandated ceasefire and thus it is the opinion of the undersigned, and the families of the victims that both parties share the responsibility to secure the repatriation of his remains. Those interested in reading and signing the petition may do so at www.rza.org/bringthemhome.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
Beis Medrash of Lawrence held a Chanukas Habayis for their new building on Martin Lane as well as a Hachnasas Sefer Torah
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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Around the Community PHOTO CREDIT: WEINTRAUB STUDIOS
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
Arba Minim Shuk at Netzach
RNSP members assisted with patient evacuation, traffic control, and gave out water bottles on Friday at the site of the St. John’s hospital fire
T
his past Sunday, Mesivta Netzach HaTorah in Woodmere welcomed Rabbi Tzvi Yaakov Stein to the Mesivta to review the halachos of lulav and esrog. Fathers and grandfathers were invited to join this special Sunday morning program featuring a lively and interactive shiur, learning together the prac-
tical halachos of choosing a kosher lulav and esrog. Following the shiur, an “Arba Minim Shuk” was hosted in the Mesivta, allowing the boys to carefully choose a beautiful set of the arba minim, while applying their practical halachic learning from the shiur with Rabbi Stein.
Did you know?
Girls in Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam prepared for Sukkos and Simchas Torah
A bamboo grove was the only plant species to survive the radiation of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima, Japan in 1945
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
The Purple Fellowship
A
fter a successful launch of the Purple Fellowship last year, Shalom Task Force (STF) is excited to announce that applications are now open for the next cohort of fellows. The Purple Fellowship is open to high school juniors and seniors interested in growing
into leadership roles in the Jewish community. Fellows attend 9-week intensive training program that cover important topics including domestic violence, abuse in the Jewish community, boundaries, being an upstander, as well as advocacy and fundraising skills. Students develop
skills to become active community leaders. One fellow shared that “the Purple Fellowship taught me so much about a topic I knew nothing about. It has inspired me to continue to spread awareness and the importance of being a leader in my community.” Purple Fellows gain an extensive
understanding of domestic abuse and healthy relationships while learning vital leadership skills. The fellowship culminates with the participants planning Go Purple Day-school wide program. One student noted, “Before Go Purple Day, I knew almost nothing about domestic abuse. The day did a great job at raising awareness. I can’t wait to apply to the next cohort!” Last year, the Purple Fellows successfully reached 7,600 high school students from 23 schools in the United States and Canada through Go Purple Day. “When I started the Purple Fellowship, I was nervous for Go Purple Day since I have never planned an event before. Through the trainings, I not only learned the skills to plan Go Purple Day, but learned skills that will help me throughout my life.” The first year of the Purple Fellowship was a spectacular success. The program was awarded a Purple Ribbon Award medallion in the category of Outstanding Youth Initiative of the Year by the Theresa’s Fund and DomesticShelters.org. In April 2021, the Hadassah Foundation awarded STF a grant to support this work for the next two years. “While we were so thrilled about the success of the pilot year, having the recognition on a national stage is both extremely gratifying and exciting,” said Dr. Shoshannah Frydman, Executive Director, Shalom Task Force The application for the Purple Fellowship is now live on the Shalom Task Force website. To learn more and to apply, please visit shalomtaskforce.org/purple-fellowship. Shalom Task Force has been offering support and education to the Jewish community since 1993. Shalom Task Force’s Education Department has seen a record number workshop attendance during the 2020-21 academic year. In total, the STF Education department has reached over 13,000 community members through our education awareness workshop. If you or your loved one has questions or concerns about relationships, or are currently in an unhealthy or abusive relationship – we are here for you. Please call, text, or WhatsApp the confidential Shalom Task Force Hotline at 888-883-2323 or chat with a live advocate at shalomtaskforce.org.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
Rebbe Usher Anschel Jungreis, son of the Niklesburg Rebbe, teaching his pre-1A class in Yeshiva Ketana of Queens about the lulav and esrog
Always on Time for Shabbos with JEP By Jen Reiz
I
s there a lottery at JEP’s Lawrence office? It may seem so as the phone lines are abuzz with requests for the new 2021/2022 magnet of Shabbos and yom tov times. Thanks to the generosity of Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Group, LLC and VentRight for answering the call so our friends in the Five Towns, Far Rockaway and neighboring communities know exactly when to welcome Shabbos each week this new year. “As the old saying goes, there are only two sure things in life – Shabbat and taxes,” said Shalom Maidenbaum, managing member of Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Group, LLC. His partner, Amy Madmon, continued, “It made sense for us to partner again with Five Towns organization, JEP. Our company helps homeowners save time and money on their property taxes, while JEP shares our Jewish traditions with the next generations, teaching them how to use their time in a meaningful way and the values of Shabbat.” Founding director of JEP/
Nageela, Rabbi Dovid Shenker said, “We are happy to present this service to the community. The magnet is a full-circle symbol of what we do. As we teach and inspire local youth about Torah and our heritage, they come to appreciate the beauty of Shabbos. At the same time, we have the generous support of those who already know what it is to embrace Shabbos and the chagim, so essentially we are all working together for the greater good of uniting all Jews.” “This year’s art conveys such a deep message about Shabbos. Shabbos is compared to a bride that the Jewish people unite with each week. This unity brings us to the ultimate Unity of the world and Hashem. Hence, the art shows Shabbos candles taking the form of a chuppah. Adorning it are the famous words that Jews have welcomed Shabbos with for millennia, Boi Kallah, Boi Kallah. On the chuppah pillar is Echad, symbolizing the Oneness of Hashem, the Jewish People and Shabbos,” added Rabbi Shenker. Ohavia Feldman said, “As executive director of JEP/ Nageela and one of the proud
owners of VentRight, the partnership was a natural one for me. With my business partners, Leon Lantsman and Elimelech Sperling, we have a vested interest in spreading the light for Jews from all backgrounds. Just seemed like a good in-ventment.” A new tradition of featuring a Five Towns-area artist to design the magnet began last year. This year we are honored to feature the stunning work of Anastasia Schlussel of Lawrence for the colorful border design of the Shabbos magnet. Originally from Moscow, Anastasia Schlussel has lived in the Five Towns for over 25 years. She is an architectural and interior designer, muralist, faux finisher and construction manager. Stylistic art is a hobby, mainly focusing on themes related to oneness, awareness and spirituality. “It is a privilege to have been asked to contribute to the Shabbat magnet design for JEP, an organization that brings Jewish unity. I am very grateful for the opportunity to be a small part of the candle-lighting mitzvah.” Anastasia can be reached at
JEWISH EDUCATION PROGRAM (J.E.P) OF LONG ISLAND 110 Rockaway Tpke, Lawrence, NY 11559 JIL-The Dovid and Suri Schwartz Jewish Individualized Learning Program Dedicated by Shya Hersh and Yehudis Schwartz
(516) 374-1528
www.jepli.org
Dovid and Suri Schwartz Jewish Experience Center Dedicated by Isaac and Tova Schwartz
IN TIME FOR
Shabbos
Candle Lighting Times for
5 Towns, Long Island, NY - ‘21-’22 Sep 06* 7:00 Mar 18 6:47 Sep 10 6:53 Mar 25 6:54 Sep 15* 6:45 Apr 1 7:01 Sep 17 6:42 Apr 8 7:09 Sep 20* 6:37 Apr 15* 7:16 Sep 24* 6:30 Apr 21* 7:22 Sep 27* 6:25 Apr 22 7:23 Oct 1 6:18 Apr 29 7:30 Oct 8 6:07 May 6 7:38 Oct 15 5:56 May 13 7:45 Oct 22 5:46 May 20 7:51 Oct 29 5:36 May 27 7:57 Nov 5 5:28 Jun 3 8:03 Nov 12 4:21 Jun 04* 9:12 Nov 19 4:16 Jun 10 8:07 Nov 26 4:12 Jun 17 8:10 Dec 3 4:10 Jun 24 8:11 Dec 10 4:09 Jul 8:11 1 Dec 17 4:11 Jul 8:09 8 Dec 24 4:14 Jul 15 8:06 Dec 31 4:19 Jul 22 8:01 Jan 7 4:26 Jul 29 7:55 Jan 14 4:33 Aug 5 7:47 Jan 21 4:41 Aug 12 7:38 Jan 28 4:50 Aug 19 7:29 Feb 4 4:58 Aug 26 7:18 Feb 11 5:07 Sep 2 7:07 Feb 18 5:15 Sep 9 6:55 Feb 25 5:23 Sep 16 6:44 Mar 4 5:31 Sep 23 6:32 Mar 11 5:39 Sep 25* 6:29 *Indicates Yom Tov Lighting *Indicates Yom Tov Lighting *Earliest lighting
keyspaces@gmail.com. JEP/Nageela wishes you a healthy, happy and prosperous year ahead as you welcome Shabbos each week! If for some reason you still didn’t receive your magnet, contact jenr@jepli.org. Visit our sponsors at mptrg.com/
jep and goventright.com. To make a donation, please visit jepli.org/magnet. Tizku l’mitzvot and have a good Shabbos! Jen Reiz is the director of PR & Development at JEP/ Nageela.
Speci al S Suppl UKKOS emen t
jbga zgnye S6
Sukkos by Rabbi Berel Wein
S12
S8
Remembering Why We Came by Rav Moshe Weinberger
S20
S10
The Unity and The Uniqueness: A Sukkos Perspective by Rav Yaakov Feitman
S31
The Return of the Clouds of Glory by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein TJH Chol Hamoed Guide
Sukkos Soup by Naomi Nachman Art by Yaeli Vogel
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
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The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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AVAILABLE IN FULL SIZE & COMPACT SIZE ALSO AVAILABLE: THE MONUMENTAL BESTSE LLING ENGLISH EDITION
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e study Gemara, poring over its pages, cherishing its every word. But do we know very much about its background? In this beautiful volume, we will enrich and enhance the experience of learning Gemara !with so much vital information Major Rabbinic works describing the transmission of the Torah Shebe’al Peh and the compilation of the Mishnah and Gemara: Rambam’s Introduction to Yad Chazakah and Pirush HaMishnayos, with both Hebrew text, elucidation, and explanatory notes. The Iggeres Rav Sherira Gaon in the original Aramaic, with Hebrew translation, elucidation, and explanatory notes.
Includes writings on Over 250 biographies of Tannaim, Amoraim, and Talmudic personalities. A narrative history of the era of the Mishnah and Gemara, including a history of the Yeshivos. The Yud Gimmel Middos and other rules by which the Torah Shebiksav expounded, with clear examples of each one. A concise history of the printing of the Gemara.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
7
Torah Thought
Sukkos By Rabbi Berel Wein
T
he culmination of the great month of Tishrei occurs with the commemoration of the holiday of Sukkos. It provides a joyful relief and release from the intensity of the first two major holidays of the month, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. While we experience an enjoyable sense of celebration, of commemoration and exalted purpose with these two unmatched high holy days, there is a sense of tension and even foreboding that accompanies them since they are days of judgment and of heavenly decree. This holiday of Sukkos, with its emphasis on the beauty of nature and the freedom from being housebound, provides an emotional and psychological relief that, to a great extent, characterizes the nature of this holiday itself. It is called the time of our joy and happiness not only because of what it represents, but also because it raises us from the concerns and doubts that naturally accompany our commemoration of the High Holy Days – the Days of Awe – that dominate the first part of the month. We have the feeling within us of having passed through the time of testing and challenge, of trial and judgment, and of emerging as a better and more wholesome individual, both in relation to our Creator and to our fellow
human beings. It is this feeling that we have when we leave the hospital in a better state of health than when we entered, of being vindicated in a court of law, pardoned for our transgressions and wrongdoing. This feeling certainly manifests itself in achieving a state of happiness and contentment. Because of the time of judgement that comes before Suk-
holidays were meant to be celebrated in the land of Israel even though they are observed outside of Israel. Here in Israel, the holiday occurs when sitting outside is not only possible but is actually enjoyable. Sitting in the cold northern winter weather in Chicago, I remember my father telling me that out of all the holidays of the year, Sukkos was especially difficult for him because it brought
We have the feeling within us of having passed through the time of testing and challenge, of trial and judgment, and of emerging as a better and more wholesome individual.
kos, the holiday can perhaps be more appreciated than others. It is as though one emerges from a long dark tunnel and then comes to see the cheerful light of nature and of Jewish life. In northern climates, having to leave the house and exist in a booth opened to the elements is perhaps not such a pleasant experience. However, it should be obvious to all that the Jewish
home the fact that the real home of the Jewish people was in the land of Israel. In Chicago, we oftentimes had snow on the covering of the roof of the sukkah. He ruefully remarked that the Torah apparently made no provision for snow on Sukkos and that, in itself, was a proof that we really belong in the land of Israel to celebrate the holidays of the Jewish calendar.
In general, there certainly is a sense of satisfaction, if not even joy, in appreciating the wonders and beauty of nature. Many of us are urban dwellers and are not even accustomed to noticing, much less appreciating, the wonders of the natural world that we inhabit. On the holiday of Sukkos, we are obligated by Jewish law and tradition to leave our house and in some fashion connect ourselves to the natural surroundings that we often ignore during the rest of the year. Insects, especially bees, can be very annoying but their purpose is to remind us that we are not the only creatures that inhabit this planet. The wonders of the natural world, with their infinite variety of creatures and colors, is meant to testify to the power and infinite grace of the Creator of the universe. The holidays of the Jewish people are built on the platform of agriculture, climate, and the variety of nature, as well as they are based upon the historical events that these holidays represent. They are meant to give us a complete picture of creation, nature and human history as well. They are meant to instill within us the harmony of and appreciation of life and its wonders. The holiday most representative of this is that of Sukkos. Chag sameach.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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From the Fire
Shmini Atzeres Remembering Why We Came By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf
B
efore we begin Yizkor on Shemini Atzeres, we need to keep in mind that Hashem wants us to remember the neshamos of those who have moved on to the next world. But He also wants us to remember our own mortality. As we read on Shabbos Chol Hamoed Sukkos (Koheles 7:4), “The heart of the wise is in the house of the mourner while the heart of the fool is in the house of festivity.” Rashi there explains that the wise think about the day of death and the fools’ hearts do not tremble, nor are they troubled at all because they do not think about the day of death. We therefore see that the trademark of the wise person is that he does not take his mind off of his mortality while the fool thinks about nothing but this world. It never crosses the fool’s mind that this whole world is just a diras ara’ei, a temporary dwelling. Shlomo Hamelech therefore advises (Koheles 7:2), “It is better to go to the house of a mourner than to go to a house of festivities ... and the
living will take it to heart.” This does not mean, G-d forbid, that the wise, who remember the day of death, are sad and depressed. Just the opposite. Those whose hearts are in the house of the mourners are happy, trust in Hashem, and are full of hope. Because they remember that there will be a time when they leave this world, they live accordingly and are therefore liberated from the fear of death. Because they do not put all of their hope in this temporary world, they do not fear the inevitability of the fact that they will one day have to leave this world. The wise person remembers and lives with the Yizkor, the remembrance, that (Koheles 12:7) “the spirit will return to G-d who gave it.” In connection with this idea, the Chofetz Chaim offered the following parable (Shem Olam Vol. 21, Ch. 11, footnote). Tens of thousands of people traveled from all over Europe to participate in the great trade show in Leipzig, Germany, every year
to buy and sell merchandise from which they would make a living the entire year. All of the hotels were packed and served the most delicious food. Because such a large crowd converges in Leipzig, there are all types of people there: those who are wise, those of average intelligence, and fools. Nevertheless, even the most foolish merchant who comes to Leipzig knows that he is not there for the luxurious hotel or the delicious food. If one would ask such a person, while he is in the middle of enjoying a fantastic stuffed chicken, “Why are you in Leipzig?” he would answer that he is there to acquire merchandise so he can make a living. No one would answer that he came for the stuffed chicken. Each one remembers why he came from so far away to Leipzig. The contrast is astounding. Our neshamos, our souls, traveled much further than the distance between the shtetl and Leipzig. Each person’s soul descended all the way from the highest world and traveled through
countless worlds to reach this one to participate in the great trade show of this world. Yet, we hardly ever give any thought as to why we made the long trek into this world. All we think about is the “the house of festivities” of this world. We hardly give any thought to the fact that “the spirit will return to G-d who gave it.” One day we will have to return home with whatever merchandise we were able to acquire in this world. In order to be prepared for that homecoming, we must remember to (Avos 3:1) “know where you came from and where you are going.” There is a story about one visit by the Baranovitch Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Elchonon Wasserman, Hy”d, to the United States to raise money for his yeshiva. He called a wealthy clothing factory owner whom he had known as a child in Baranovitch. Unfortunately, while he had become a very successful clothing manufacturer, he had also abandoned Torah and mitzvos. The fac-
tory owner invited Rav Wasserman to his office on the top floor of the factory. When the Rav arrived, they exchanged pleasantries and then the man asked him, “Rabbi Wasserman, what did you come here for?” Rav Elchonon lifted up his frockcoat, pointed to the back, and said, “A button fell off of my frock. I have come to have a new button sewn on.” The man laughed and responded, “Really, rabbi, why are you here?” The Rav looked at his old friend with complete seriousness and repeated, “I need a new button for my frock.” Playing along, the man answered, “No problem, Rabbi, come with me.” He took Rav Wasserman onto the factory floor and called out one of his workers, “Pete, can you come here and sew a button onto the Rabbi’s coat?” The man did as he was asked, and the factory owner turned again to Rav Wasserman and said, “Rabbi,
you see what a large operation I have here. Now, please tell me why you really came.” Rav Wasserman responded that he had already told him why he came, thanked him very much for the help, and walked out of the factory, leaving the stunned factory
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Rav Wasserman responded, “Please come here, and we will talk.” The man immediately drove over to the house in which the Rav was staying. Rav Wasserman then told him, “You find it so hard to believe that I came all the way from Baranovitch to the United States to have a
Our neshamos, our souls, traveled much further than the distance between the shtetl and Leipzig.
owner behind. Early the next morning, Rav Wasserman’s phone rang. He picked up the phone and heard his old friend’s voice, “Rabbi, I lost a night’s sleep because of your visit yesterday. Please, Rabbi, tell me why you came!”
button sewn onto my frock. But your neshama came all the way from underneath the throne of Hashem’s glory and descended through seven worlds to come into this world. Do you really think it came all of this way just to sew buttons and make
clothing?” According to the story, the man became a baal teshuva and a great supporter of the Baranovitch yeshiva. Rav Wasserman was not saying that he should not make clothing or be successful. But he must remember that making money and being financially successful is not why he was brought into this world. As we begin Yizkor, may we remember why we came here and live with our broader goal in mind so that we can experience the true joy of living according to the truth and not getting lost by forgetting that this is a temporary world.
Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.
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The Unity and The Uniqueness A Sukkos Perspective By Rav Yaakov Feitman
O
ne of the special qualities of Sukkos is the multiplicity of mitzvos we are privileged to perform. In addition to all the common features of yom tov, such as simcha, seudos mitzvah and the like, there are numerous mitzvos to elevate us each day. We sit in the sukkah, shake the lulav, esrog, hadasim and aravos, are elevated by the tefilos of Hoshanah Rabbah, celebrate the joy of Simchas Torah, and much more. Yet, each aspect of this amazing yom tov carries its own unique quality. Even more, two of the major components of Sukkos seem to contradict each other. The halacha teaches that the Four Species must belong to us exclusively, at least on the first day. However, regarding the sukkah, not only may we eat in each other’s sukkah, but the Gemara (Sukkah 27b) teaches that “all of Klal Yisrael are [potentially] capable of sitting in one sukkah.” This statement is a reference to the fact that in the original sukkos in the desert, all of Klal Yisrael did, in fact, dwell inside of one great cloud of glory (see, for instance, Rav Yonansan
David, Kuntres Sukkos 31:7). Why is there this dichotomy in the heart of two of the essential mitzvos of this yom tov? I believe that the answer may be found deep in the essence of being a Jew itself. Let us begin with the importance of achdus in Am Yisrael. The Gra (commentary on Mishlei 6:19) and Rav Yitzchok Issac Choveir (Drush for Parshas Shekalim) both
the great unifier of Klal Yisrael, also helps to connect us to our Father in heaven. Rav Dovid Cohen, Rosh Yeshivas Chevron (Zman Simchaseinu, page 82), adds that for this reason the Ananei Hakavod – Clouds of Glory – were in Aharon’s merit. Since he brought Klal Yisrael together by making peace between individuals, he also effectuated Hashra’as Ha’Shechina in the nation.
We can all fit into one Sukkah, yet we retain our individualities and singular qualities. speak eloquently about the sine qua non of Jewish unity for the Shechinah to dwell in our midst. Rav Choveir concludes that “just as the soul does not attach itself to one organ by itself, so is Hashem not called Elokei Yisrael – the G-d of Israel – unless the entire nation is unified so that He dwells with the complete nation as one.” The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael 53, 54), too, also teaches us that Aharon,
On the other hand, as is well known, the Arba Minim – the Four Species –represent four different types of Jews. The Gemara itself (Menachos 27a) tells us so and the Medrash (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12) elaborates: “The hadasim have a good smell but no taste like Jews who have good deeds but no Torah. The aravos have no taste or smell like Jews who have neither Torah nor good deeds.
The esrog represents the highest possible achievements of both Torah and maasim tovim, and the lulav represents Jews who have Torah but no good deeds. However, the Shulchan Aruch (651:11) insists that we must combine the three of them with the esrog and hold them together when we perform the mitzvah. The Gra (Biur to this halacha) explains that holding the species as one symbolizes the achdus of the people of Israel. Before anyone claimed the phrase for education or politics, we knew that “no Jew can be left behind” as Klal Yisrael welcomes the Shechinah into our midst. This is the magic of Sukkos, when we can all fit into one sukkah, yet we retain our individualities and singular qualities. The parsha which introduced the New Year, Nitzavim, stressed this immediately from the beginning. The greatest and the most seemingly minor in our nation are mentioned together, just as the esrog must be waved simultaneously with the other species. However, the esrog, which represents the leaders such as the
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Sanhedrin and Gedolei Yisrael, must always be both together and separate. For the naanuim, we hold them together, but the esrog remains in the other hand, to symbolize that we must always revere the zekeinim as our role models, just as they must always be above the fray and the vicissitudes of life. Thus, even when we are separate, we are together, and even when are together, some distinctions will remain. On the level of Klal Yisrael, everyone counts. On the individual level, some accomplish more than others. Yet, every Jew counts; each is precious to Hashem and to each other. Perhaps we can now also understand the difference between the night of Pesach and eating in the Sukkah. The Korban Pesach required those partaking of the lamb to be registered for that group. No others were allowed to join. On the other hand, as we heard, all of Klal Yisrael essentially sat in the same sukkah, since we were all enveloped by the Ananei Hakavod. Furthermore, there were specific individuals who
were forbidden from eating the Korban Pesach, but everyone enters our sukkah. When we left Mitzrayim, we were not yet a nation and needed to be selective and careful about those with whom we associated. But once we were a nation, everyone was not only welcome but absolutely necessary. Such has been our history as well. Although there were always deviant groups and those whose philosophy had to be rejected, no individual was ever thrown out. We can now understand more clearly two more aspects of this beautiful yom tov. The Unshpizin – our holy heavenly visitors – come only on Sukkos, no other yom tov. Rav Yechezkel Sarna (Delayos Yechezkel) explains that we are zocheh to their presence after we have done the rigorous teshuvah of the Yomim Noraim. This, too, symbolizes the unity of Klal Yisrael. Even though some have sinned, at the end of the process, we are all purified together through repentance and the power of Yom Kippur.
However, as my rebbe, Rav Yitzchok Hutner, zt”l, always pointed out, at the Simchas Bais Hashoeivah in the Bais Hamikash, there were two songs. One was sung by the baalei teshuvah and one by those who had never sinned at all. We recently learned this in Daf Yomi (Sukkah 53a) but many wondered a bit why specifically Sukkos seems to reflect this separation. The Pachad Yitzchok explains that since Sukkos is the culmination of the Yomim Noraim, the avodah of teshuvah must be recognized and receives a song of its own. We may now add as well that the greatness of Sukkos is that there is absolutely no contradiction between the achdus of the nation and the uniqueness of the individual. Both together build the fabric of the nation of Hashem. May Hashem help us in 5782 to unify as a nation but to each add our unique contribution to the kavod Shomayim, the glory of Heaven.
Rav Yaakov Feitman is the rav of Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi in Cedarhurst, NY.
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The Return of the Clouds of Glory The Vilna Gaon Revolutionizes Sukkos BY RABBI DANIEL GLATSTEIN
The
pasuk states, “So that your generations will know that I caused Bnei Yisrael to dwell in booths [sukkos] when I took them out of the land of Mitzrayim; I am Hashem, your G-d” (Vayikra 23:43). What does the word “sukkos” refer to in this verse? In what type of booths did Hashem “cause the Bnei Yisrael to dwell”? The Gemara cites a machlokes between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva as to the identity of these sukkos. Rabbi Eliezer says they were Clouds of Glory, and Rabbi Akiva says they were actual booths. The definitive explanation seems to be the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer: Clouds of Glory. Rashi here states that the sukkos to which the pasuk refers are the Ananei HaKavod, the Clouds of Glory, that surrounded and protected the Jewish people as they traveled through the Midbar. It is interesting to note that typically Rashi’s modus operandi is to tell us peshuto shel mikra, the simple explanation of the verse. Why does he deviate from his usual practice here? In this case, the straightforward translation of the pasuk would seem to be actual sukkos, yet Rashi writes that the
word sukkos refers to the Ananei HaKavod. The Mizrachi explains that Rashi selected the pshat of Ananei HaKavod because it is a more grammatically correct interpretation of the pasuk, which states, “Ba’sukkos hoshavti, I caused Bnei Yisrael to sit in the sukkos.” This implies that Hashem created the sukkos and placed Bnei Yisrael into them. Physical sukkos would have been constructed by the people themselves, rather than by the Ribbono shel Olam. Therefore, Rashi’s reading truly is the simplest interpretation indicated by the words of the verse: Ananei HaKavod. The Targum similarly translates the verse to mean, in the shade of clouds I situated Bnei Yisrael when I took them out of Mitzrayim. So we see that Targum, too, agrees with Rashi that the sukkos in the pasuk refer to the Ananei HaKavod.
Halachic Ramifications
This is not merely a matter of aggadata, but it has halachic ramifications as well. Interestingly, one of the few simanim in the Shulchan Aruch
that has only one se’if, subsection, and, uniquely, has no title, quotes the pasuk stating that there is an obligation to sit in a sukkah for seven days, because Hashem housed the Jewish people in sukkos when He took them out of Mitzrayim. The Shulchan Aruch then adds that the sukkos mentioned in the verse refer to the Clouds of Glory that enveloped Bnei Yisrael and protected them from the heat and the sun when Hashem took them out of Mitzrayim. Rav Yosef Caro, the author of the Shulchan Aruch, was a posek; however, this siman merely translates the pasuk, and does not seem to include any halacha. Of what halachic significance is it that the sukkos in the pasuk refer to the Ananei HaKavod? The Bach explains that the mitzvah of sukkah differs from most other mitzvos. When it comes to other mitzvos, we perform them because Hashem told us to do them, without our having to be cognizant of the reason. The mitzvah of sukkah is one of three unique mitzvos where the Torah specifically utilizes the word “le’maan, so that,1” indicating the reason for the mitzvah. In this case, the pasuk states, “So that your generations will know
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that I caused Bnei Yisrael to dwell in booths [sukkos] when I took them out of the land of Mitzrayim (Vayikra 23:43). Thus, the reason is so that all generations will know that when Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, He caused us to dwell in Sukkos. The Bach further explains: In order to fulfill the mitzvah of sukkah, one must have this reason in mind while he is in the sukkah. That is, if one sits in the sukkah and does not contemplate the fact that he is to recall the sukkos in which Hashem placed us while we were in the Midbar, then he has not fulfilled the mitzvah of sukkah properly. It is not enough to have kavanah to perform the mitzvah of sitting in the sukkah; one also has the additional obligation to remember the reason behind the mitzvah. Therefore, the Shulchan Aruch deviates from its normal practice and explains that the verse refers to the Ananei HaKavod, because unless we have this concept in mind while we are sitting in the sukkah, it will compromise our fulfillment of the mitzvah. The Tur, similar to the Shulchan Aruch, states that we sit in the sukkah to remember the Ananei HaKavod. The Tur then raises a basic question: We left Mitzrayim in Nissan and it was at this time that the Ananei HaKavod were given to protect us. It would seem only logical that we should celebrate Sukkos at the time of the year that it happened. The Tur answers that leaving one’s home in Nissan to go into a temporary hut does not make it clear that one is performing a mitzvah. It is usually comfortable to eat and sleep outdoors at that time of year. It would not be obvious that your intent in entering the sukkah is to fulfill the mitzvah; in fact, bystanders could assume you are going out to enjoy the weather. Even though you may think, “L’maan yeidu…” as you sit in the sukkah, clearly doing the mitzvah for its own sake, your intent is not clear to passersby; thus, we do not celebrate Sukkos in Nissan. In Tishrei, however, when it is cold and the rainy season is about to begin, it is not as pleasant outside. Sitting in the sukkah at that time sends a clear message that you are sitting in the sukkah solely to follow the will of Hashem. This answer, however, is not fully satisfying. We are accustomed to commemorating events at the time of the year that they occurred. Nowhere else is the date changed due to a concern about what people will think! Why is it different here?
Why Do We Commemorate the Ananei HaKavod?
The Gemara teaches us that Klal Yisrael was provided with their basic needs while they were in the Midbar in the merit of three illustrious people: Moshe Rabbeinu, Aharon HaKohen, and Miriam HaNeviyah. In the zechus of Moshe Rabbeinu, we were given the maan, in the zechus of Aharon HaKohen we were given the Ananei HaKavod, and in the zechus of Miriam HaNeviyah we were given the Be’er, well of water. No mitzvah or festival was established to commemorate the maan or the Be’er. The Chida asks: Why, then, do we have a Yom Tov to commemorate the Ananei HaKavod?
In Sefer Shemos, the yom tov of Sukkos is mentioned twice, but it is not referred to as by that name; instead, it is referred to as Chag HaAsif, the Festival of the Ingathering or as the Festival of the Harvest. 1. In Parshas Mishpatim: And the Festival of the Ingathering at the close of the year, when you gather in your work from the field (Shemos 23:16). 2. In Parshas Ki Sisa: And the Festival of the Harvest shall be at the changing of the year (ibid., 34:22). It is not until Parshas Emor that the Torah refers to Sukkos by that name: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Sukkos, a seven-day period for Hashem (Vayikra 23:34). Why is it that in Sefer Shemos — which relates the Exodus and the sojourn in the Midbar — there is no mention of the name Sukkos with regard to the yom tov that commemorates the sukkos provided by Hashem?
On the anniversary of the return of the Ananei HaKavod, we celebrate the re-establishment of our close, loving relationship with Hashem. We encounter another difficulty in the Midrash that lists the numerous miracles that were performed for Bnei Yisrael in the Midbar: the maan, the slav (quail), Be’er Miriam, the Mishkan, the Presence of the Shechinah, the Kehunah, Malchus, and the Ananei HaKavod. Why does the Midrash mention the Clouds of Glory last? They were present from the moment Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim, and logically, therefore, they should be mentioned first. All of the above questions indicate that there must be something more to the phenomenon of the Ananei HaKavod that warrants the celebration of a yom tov. The Vilna Gaon, in his commentary on Shir HaShirim, offers an illuminating answer to the Tur’s question, stating that the objective of the yom tov of Sukkos cannot possibly be merely to celebrate the fact that we were protected by the Clouds of Glory in the Midbar. As noted, numerous miracles occurred in the Midbar but we do not commemorate them with a yom tov. A miracle in and of itself does not warrant being commemorated by a celebration. The yom tov of Sukkos, then, must be celebrating something in addition to the miracle of the Ananei HaKavod. The Gaon explains that while we were journey-
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ing through the Midbar, Hashem provided us with protection in the form of the Ananei HaKavod. However, after the sin of the Eigel HaZahav, Golden Calf, Hashem took away the Ananei HaKavod, and Bnei Yisrael thus lost their protection. Instead, Hashem said He would send a malach to protect and guide them. The Torah states, “Behold! I send an angel before you to protect you on the way, and to bring you to the place that I have made ready” (Shemos 23:20). The malach was to be the intermediary, the go-between for Hashem and Bnei Yisrael. Klal Yisrael was devastated. On Rosh Chodesh Elul, Moshe Rabbeinu ascended to Shamayim, where he davened to Hashem to forgive Bnei Yisrael for the Cheit HaEigel. While in Shamayim, Moshe inscribed a new set of Luchos. He then came down on Yom Kippur, and Hashem said, “Salachti k’dvarecha, I have forgiven because of your word” (Bamidbar 14:20). Although Hashem forgave the Bnei Yisrael, since they were still deprived of the Ananei HaKavod, they felt they were severely lacking. They wanted more than to be forgiven, they wanted their relationship to revert to what it had been prior to the Sin, when Hashem openly demonstrated His love for us by providing us with the Ananei HaKavod. Klal Yisrael missed the Presence of the Ribbono shel Olam. More than forgiveness, they wanted the Shechinah, symbolized by the Ananei HaKavod, to return. Moshe, as representative of the people, said, “If Your Presence does not go along, do not bring us forward from here” (Shemos 33:15). They did not want a malach, they wanted the Shechinah. They had been forgiven, but they felt that Hashem’s love had not returned. Their relationship with Hashem had been diminished from what it had been previously, and they wanted to feel that Hashem wants them, that He loves them. Bnei Yisrael remained devastated and distraught. They wanted ritzui; they wanted Hashem to want and desire them as He had done prior to the sin of the Eigel. On 11 Tishrei, the day after Yom Kippur, Bnei Yisrael received the commandment to build the Mishkan. The people brought donations to begin construction of the Mishkan. The Torah then tells us, “But they continued to bring him free-willed gifts morning after morning” (Shemos 36:3). For the next two mornings, 12 and 13 Tishrei, the people continued to bring nedavos, donations, for the Mishkan. On 14 Tishrei, says the Vilna Gaon, the chacham lev, the wise men, gathered together and weighed all that was brought.2 On 15 Tishrei, construction commenced on the Mishkan. It was on this day, as construction of the Mishkan commenced, that the Ananei HaKavod returned. Hashem returned His Presence to Bnei Yisrael on 15 Tishrei, the first day of Sukkos. Sukkos is not only a celebration of a miracle, of the miraculous Ananei HaKavod that protected us in the Midbar. We are celebrating that after Klal Yisrael did teshuvah the Clouds of Glory were returned and we were thus able to reinstate the initial love that Hashem had for us and He Himself once again led Bnei Yisrael. The kapparah was achieved on Yom Kippur, and the ritzui on Sukkos!
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SEPTEMBER 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29,17, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Knowing the chronology of the departure of the Ananei HaKavod and their ultimate return in the month of Tishrei, it becomes clear why Sukkos must be commemorated during this time of the year. On the anniversary of the return of the Ananei HaKavod, we celebrate the re-establishment of our close, loving relationship with Hashem! We are commemorating that the Chibah HaRishonah, the initial love that Hashem had for us, was reinstated as a result of the teshuvah for the Cheit HaEigel. The power of teshuvah was so great that it restored our relationship with Hashem to its previous state. The Vilna Gaon writes that as the Mishkan was being built, the tefillah that was said was, “May the pleasantness of the L-rd, our G-d, be upon us; our handiwork, establish for us; our handiwork, establish it (Tehillim 90:17). The very next pasuk reads, “Whoever sits in the refuge of the Most High, he shall dwell in the [protective] shade of the Almighty” (ibid., 91:1). Thus, we see that Hashem’s Presence returned when we began to build the Mishkan, demonstrating the restoration of our original relationship.
The True Desire of Tzaddikim
Rabbeinu Yonah explains. When two friends quarrel, they may eventually resolve their differences and reconcile. But their relationship usually does not return to the same state as it was prior to their disagreement. However, when we do teshuvah, hoping to reconcile with Hashem, we are not content with mere kapparah, forgiveness. We are not only seeking atonement to spare us from yissurim, tribulations, and other punishments. We daven that Hashem should go much further; we pray that He will want us, desire us, find favor in us, and have the same affection toward us as if we had never sinned. As Elihu stated, “[One] entreats G-d, and He accepts him” (Iyov 33:26). Rabbeinu
Yonah adds that it is possible for an aveirah to be forgiven and for the sinner to be freed of any yissurim, yet Hashem may still not desire that person and will not desire his offerings (i.e., his mitzvos). This was the status of the Bnei Yisrael on 11 Tishrei, when Hashem had forgiven the sin of the Eigel but no longer desired such a close relationship with them. A tzaddik’s greatest desire, writes Rabbeinu Yonah, is to gain the favor of Hashem, so that Hashem desires him. For when Hashem wants a person, true eternal life ensues, and one can bask in the warm glow of Olam Haba even while still residing in this world. As the pasuk says, “Life results from His favor” (Tehillim 30:6). We are not satisfied by simply receiving kapparah and selichah. We need more than that. We need to return to the way it was before we sinned. Chazal say, Ribbono shel Olam, we want to feel that Your countenance is illuminating us, and we want to bask in Your glory. We want ritzui — to be desired by Hashem. This is a level that can be achieved only if one can reacquire the same status he enjoyed prior to sinning. This is the level Klal Yisrael achieved on Sukkos after repenting for the Cheit HaEigel. The sukkah, which represents the Ananei HaKavod, is the testament that we have achieved not only kapparah, but also ritzui, and that can only happen after the kapparah of Yom Kippur. Thus, Sukkos must fall in Tishrei rather than in Nissan. In yom tov davening we say, “Atah bachartenu m’kol ha’amim ahavta osanu v’ratzitza banu v’rommamtanu m’kol ha’leshonos v’kidashtanu b’mitzvosecha v’keiravtanu malkeinu l’avodasecha v’shimcha ha’gadol v’hakadosh aleinu karasa.” The Vilna Gaon explicates these words as follows. Atah bachartenu m’kol ha’amim — You chose us from among all the nations of the world. This statement refers to Pesach, when Hashem took us
out of Mitzrayim to become His nation and selected us as His people. Ahavta osanu — You loved us. This occurred on Shavuos, when Hashem gave us the Torah. V’ratzitza banu — And You desired us. Even though we sinned, You still showed that You wanted us. This refers to the yom tov of Sukkos, at which time Hashem restored the Ananei HaKavod, demonstrating that His love, affection, and desire for us were reinstated, even after the sin of the Eigel. These two words, v’ratzitza banu, beautifully capture the true essence of Sukkos. After severing our connection to G-d, we achieved forgiveness, and ultimately, we were welcomed back into the protection of the Ananei HaKavod, as Hashem demonstrated His eternal desire for us as His people. According to the Vilna Gaon, it is this joy at the return of the Shechinah that is the reason that the yom tov of Sukkos specifically is referred to as Zman Simchaseinu. We rejoice over the fact that not only were we forgiven but that Hashem has clearly shown that our relationship with Him was restored to what it had been, as if we had never sinned. This ritzui is what we are celebrating, captured succinctly in the words, v’ratzitza banu. Rav Meir Simchah of Dvinsk uses this Vilna Gaon to explain why the Torah refers to Sukkos as Chag HaAsif, and not as Sukkos. The pesukim in Shemos were written even before the Cheit HaEigel and the subsequent departure of the Ananei HaKavod. At that time there was no “Chag HaSukkos”; it was only after Klal Yisrael’s teshuvah was accepted and the Clouds of Glory returned that there became a reason to celebrate Sukkos by that name. Until then, the yom tov was referred to as Chag HaAsif, a harvest festival in celebration of gathering in all the produce from the fields. But in Sefer Vayikra — after the Cheit HaEigel, subsequent teshuvah, and the return of the Ananei HaKavod — Hashem gave instructions for a transformed seven-day yom tov called Chag HaSukkos. In Parshas Re’eh, Rav Yitzchak HaKohen Huberman writes that this explains why the Midrash quoted above places the Ananei HaKavod at the end of the list. The miracle of the Ananei HaKavod that is significant to us is when they were returned, rather than when they were given initially. Therefore, they are enumerated last. The pasuk states, “And You, in Your great compassion, did not forsake them in the Wilderness; the pillar of cloud did not turn away from them by day to lead them on the way, nor the pillar of fire by night to provide illumination upon them and upon the way they were to travel” (Nechemiah 9:19). According to this verse, the Ananei HaKavod never left Bnei Yisrael throughout the time they were in the Midbar. How can the Vilna Gaon’s explanation that the Ananei HaKavod were taken away and then returned be reconciled with this pasuk that explicitly states that they never left? Tosafos asks why women are not obligated in the mitzvah of sukkah. The principle “af hein ha’yu b’oso ha’neis, although they too were a part of the miracle” obligates women in Arba Kosos on Pesach,
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
in Mikrah Megillah on Purim, and in neiros Chanukah. As beneficiaries of the miracles, they too must participate and fulfill those mitzvos. When the Bnei Yisrael were in the Midbar, all the people, including the women, were protected by the sukkos of the Ananei HaKavod. Therefore, logically, they too should be obligated in the commemoration of the neis, and they should be required to sit in the sukkah. Tosafos answers that the principle of af hein ha’yu b’oso ha’neis applies only to mitzvos d’Rabbanan, not to mitzvos d’Oraisa. According to the Vilna Gaon, however, we can answer Tosafos’s question differently. Sukkos is not merely a celebration of being the beneficiaries of the Ananei HaKavod, a miracle that the women enjoyed just as much as the men. Sukkos is actually a celebration of the return of the Ananei HaKavod, heralding the return of the special relationship Klal Yisrael enjoys with Hashem. The Cheit HaEigel, which precipitated the departure of the Ananei HaKavod, was perpetrated by the men of Klal Yisrael, not the women. The Tur states that originally Rosh Chodesh was given as a yom tov to all twelve Shevatim, men and women, but the yom tov was taken from the men. Rosh Chodesh remained as a yom tov for women because they never served the Eigel. Likewise, Rav Akiva Eiger notes, regarding the custom not to wear gold jewelry on Yom Kippur, because it is reminiscent of the Eigel HaZahav, that women, who did not participate in the Cheit HaEigel, MAY wear gold jewelry on Yom Kippur. Therefore, the Chasam Sofer explains that since the women did not participate in the Cheit, they were never excluded from the Ananei HaKavod and their relationship with Hashem neither faltered nor wavered. Thus, since they never lost the shade and protection of the Ananei HaKavo,d the women are not obligated to commemorate the return of the Clouds. Only the men were deprived of the Ananei HaKavod; the women enjoyed the protection of the Clouds of Glory continually, without interruption. The women are therefore not included in the celebration of their return, and that is why they are pattur from sitting in the sukkah. We can suggest that this can explain the pasuk in Nechemiah as well. The Navi states that the Ananei HaKavod never left, and, in fact, this is true. For the women, the Ananei HaKavod remained present continuously throughout the time the Bnei Yisrael were in the Midbar. The men were excluded from Ananei HaKavod because of the Cheit HaEigel, and were allowed back in on Sukkos, but the Clouds themselves never left.
Zman Simchaseinu
Thus, Sukkos is the celebration of the tikkun, rectification, of the Cheit
HaEigel, the return of Hashem’s full desire for Bnei Yisrael, as it was prior to the Cheit. Sukkos is followed by Shemini Atzeres, which the Vilna Gaon describes as the yom tov that has the greatest simchah of all the Yamim Tovim. Shemini Atzeres is followed by Simchas Torah. Why does Simchas Torah follow Sukkos? Would it not be more logical to celebrate Simchas Torah on Shavuos? The Sforno (Ki Sisa 32:19) teaches that when Moshe Rabbeinu came down from Har Sinai carrying the Luchos, he witnessed the Jews worshiping the Eigel. He continued to descend the mountain, Luchos intact. But when he saw Jews dancing around the Eigel, he threw down the Luchos and shattered them. We see that it was the dancing that prompted him to break the Luchos. When one does an aveirah, explains the Sforno, he can always mend his ways by doing teshuvah. But if someone derives much hanaah, pleasure, from doing an aveirah, remedying that sin becomes much more difficult. Simcha is present when someone truly enjoys something to his core, and when this is displayed for an aveirah, the possibility of doing teshuvah becomes more remote. As stated, on Sukkos we celebrate because we were able to atone for the Cheit Eigel and do such complete teshuvah that we reclaimed our relationship with Hashem. But there is still one more step. When the Bnei Yisrael served the Eigel, they danced and sang around the Calf. We still must show that we are rectifying this misplaced joy as well. In order to show that we have so completely eradicated any connection to the Eigel that not only would we never worship it, but we would only use simcha for the Torah, we sing and dance with the Sefer Torah, demonstrating happiness and joy in celebration of the Torah. Celebrating Simchas Torah is the ultimate rectification for the sin of the Eigel. The Meshech Chochmah brings a midrash stating that the Ribbono Shel Olam loves Klal Yisrael so much that first He refers to us as biti, My daughter. Hashem then says that He loves Klal Yisrael even more, referring to us as achosi, My sister. Finally, Hashem says that His love for Klal Yisrael is even greater, and He calls us imi, My mother. The Meshech Chochmah explains this cryptic midrash. We have three Yamim Tovim: Pesach, Shavuos, and Sukkos. Klal Yisrael did not do anything to merit the yom tov of Pesach. Quite the contrary; Klal Yisrael had descended to the forty-ninth level of tumah. We worshiped idols just as the Egyptians did. Although we were completely undeserving, Hashem came to rescue us. This is analogous to a parent providing for a child. The child does not do anything to earn the parent’s affection or the numerous provisions he receives from his parent. Hashem calling Bnei Yisrael “My daughter” is a reference to His rescue of us from
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Mitzrayim on Pesach, providing for us without our having earned it. Next comes Shavuos, for which Bnei Yisrael did purify themselves and prepare for three days, elevating themselves to be able to say Naaseh V’Nishma. Recognizing our efforts, Hashem came down to Har Sinai and gifted us the Torah. This is similar to a mutual relationship between siblings, with each party doing for the other; thus, Hashem calls us “My sister” in the context of the yom tov of Shavuos. On Sukkos, however, our relationship achieved a new level. Here, it was Klal Yisrael who took the full initiative to rectify the rift in our relationship with Hashem. We did complete teshuvah and rectified the Cheit HaEigel so that Hashem’s ratzon completely returned to us as it had been initially. Now the roles are reversed, so to speak, and we are the parent, so to speak. Hashem calls us “My mother.” We know that the more work one puts into something, the more happiness he experiences from it. Something that one gets without effort does not provide the same level of joy as those for which he toils. Sukkos is the yom tov for which we worked the hardest, and therefore it is the one yom tov that we refer to as Zman Simchaseinu. Hashem saw our efforts and our desire to restore our cherished relationship with Him, and Hashem responded not only “Salachti k’dvarecha,” but also with the words we were yearning for, “V’ratzitza banu,” I want you. The other two mitzvos are tefillin: “So that Hashem’s Torah may be in your mouth” (Shemos 13:9), and tzitzis: “So that you may remember and perform all My commandments and be holy to your G-d” (Bamidbar 15:40).
1
2 This is the version of the chronology brought in the Biur Ha’Gra on Shir HaShirim. Rav Shlomo Brevda (points out that this calculation, however, is problematic for the following reason. The Gemara [Shabbos 86b] states that all agree that the Torah was given on Shabbos. Thus, Yom Kippur on the following year was on Tuesday, and the commandment to build the Mishkan was given on Wednesday. The people then brought their donations on Thursday and Friday. How, then, could these donations have been weighed on the following day, which was Shabbos, when melachah is prohibited? Rav Shlomo Brevda posits that a more accurate account is the one which states that what occurred on the 14th of Tishrei was, “Moshe commanded that they proclaim throughout the camp, saying, “Man and woman shall not do more work toward the gift for the Sanctuary!” And the people were restrained from bringing (Shemos 36:6). Shabbos 96b learns from this verse that it is prohibited to carry on Shabbos. According to the account of Avodas Hagrishoni, there was no weighing on the 14th; all that occurred were the proclamation and the cessation of donations. This is also consistent with the Vilna Gaon’s commentary in Seder Olam 6.
Rabbi Glatstein is the Mara D’asra of Kehilas Tiferes Mordechai in Cedarhurst, NY. This article has been reprinted with permission from The Mystery and The Majesty by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein, published by Artscroll
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
C O M M I T M E N T
P R O G R E S S
G U A R A N T E E D
:תנא דבי אליהו כל השונה הלכות מבטח לו,בכל יום שהוא בן עולם הבא
The 7-year journey is nearing completion! The 7-year cycle of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha will be completing the 2nd complete cycle of the daily limud halacha this coming
אדר תשפ״ב/ February 2022. Join in celebration, as tens of thousands worldwide BE”H mark this watershed moment, and prepare to embark on the next journey
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through Mishnah Berurah.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
SIYUM LOCATIONS WORLDWIDE BE”H: EUROPE RADIN: Thursday, January 20, 2022 | י״ח שבט VILNA: Shabbos Parshas Yisro, January 21-23, 2022
כ״א שבט-י״ט
ERETZ YISRAEL PAIS ARENA, Yerushalayim: Thursday, February 10, 2022 | ט׳ אדר א׳ KETER HARIMON, Bnei Brak: Thursday, February 10, 2022 | ט׳ אדר א׳ PAIS ARENA, Yerushalayim: Motzei Shabbos, February 12, 2022 | י״א אדר א׳ BINYANEI HAUMAH, Yerushalayim: Motzei Shabbos, February 12, 2022 | י״א אדר א׳
NORTH AMERICA CURE ARENA, New Jersey: Thursday, March 3, 2022 | ראש חודש אדר ב׳ PATRIOTS WAR MEMORIAL, New Jersey: Thursday, March 3, 2022 | ראש חודש אדר ב׳ SHABBOS CONVENTION, New Jersey: March 4-6, 2022 | ג׳ אדר ב׳- א׳,פ׳ פקודי GRAND SIYUM ON SEDER MOED, New Jersey: March 6, 2022 | ג׳ אדר ב׳,מצוש“ק
Partial view of the previous Dirshu World Siyum marking the completion of the first machzor of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha, March 2015
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
SOME SEE BUILDINGS. O T H E R S S E E E T E R N I T Y.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s new capital project will encompass a Mesivta Beis Medrash and its first-ever Residence Hall. This project will empower generations of talmidim to learn, thrive and grow in an environment conducive to their lofty calling. Long after the final brick is laid, your gift will continue to accrue dividends. Some look at these plans and see bricks and mortar. Our visionary builders see eternity.
MR. & MRS. BERISH & HANNAH FUCHS
THE BIVETSKY FAMILY SHAAR HATORAH
MR. & MRS. YUSSIE & SUSAN OSTREICHER
RESIDENCE HALL AND TORAH CENTER
ה ליב ע”ה-לע”נ שלום ראובן בן ארי
MESIVTA BEIS MEDRASH BUILDING
MESIVTA BEIS MEDRASH
ANONYMOUS
MR. & MRS. BENZION & MIRIAM HEITNER
ANONYMOUS Residence Hall Cornerstone
Entranceway to Mesivta Beis Medrash Building
לע”נ הרב מאיר יעקב בן הרב אהרן ע”ה
לע”נ ישראל הלוי לעווין ע”ה ואלישבע בתיה קפלן ע”ה
THE BLOOM FAMILY
MR. & MRS. MOTTY & HADASSA JACOBOWITZ
MR. & MRS. URI & ESTHER KAUFMAN
MR. & MRS. SHMULI & MIRIAM MENDEL
Building Amud
Promenade Vestibule
לע”נ דוד בן משה ע”ה הר‘ משה נתן בן יחזקאל ע”ה וישראל בן אברהם ע”ה
לע”נ ר‘ ישראל בן ר‘ בנימין הכהן ע”ה
Beis Medrash Vestibule Entrance
Mr. & Mrs. Simcha & Shani Applegrad
Mr. & Mrs. Berel & Sherry Daskal
Mr. & Mrs. Naftoli & Chani Einhorn
Mr. & Mrs. Samuel & Beverly Goldberger
DEDICATION OF CAMP ORAYSA CAMPUS In Memory of Mrs. Marta Schron ע”ה
DEDICATED ANONYMOUSLY
GYMNASIUM WING
DR. & MRS. YOSSI & ZIVIA SCHWARTZ
MR. & MRS. NASSAN & DEVORAH TREITEL
Dedicated by Mr. & Mrs. Yaakov & Rivky Jacobovitch
Mesivta Beis Medrash Building Cornerstone
Preschool Cornerstone
לע”נ חוה בת דב ע”ה
MR. & MRS. URI & DEVORAH DREIFUS
MR. & MRS. ALON & CHANIE GOLDBERGER
MR. & MRS. NACHMAN & ESTHER GOODMAN
MR. & MRS. MOTTY & HADASA MENDELSOHN
MR. & MRS. MENASH & MIMI ORATZ
MR. & MRS. SHIA & ELANA OSTREICHER
Ner Tamid
Sha’ar of New Beis Medrash
MESIVTA OTZAR HASEFORIM
THE SCHRON FAMILY
MR. & MRS. YITZCHOK & SHOSHANA GANGER
Mr. & Mrs. Chaim Sholom & Rivky Leibowitz
Mr. & Mrs. David & Sima Rosenfeld
Sha’ar of New Beis Medrash
Basketball Court in Elementary School Gym
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew & Stephani Serotta
Mr. & Mrs. Morris & Devora Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Yehuda & Mindy Zachter
Entrance of Beis Medrash Building
Beis Medrash Building Vestibule
לע”נThe children,
bochurim and all 45 neshamos of the Miron tragedy, Lag Baomer 5781
לע”נ זעליג בן מרדכי ע”ה
Get in on the ground floor of this monumental project. To choose from a wide selection of sponsorships at all levels, please contact: Rabbi Zev Bald 718.868.2300 ext. 232 zbald@darchei.org Rabbi Baruch Rothman 718.868.2300 ext. 706 brothman@darchei.org
darchei.org
לע”נ מוהר”ר יחיאל מיכל בן ישראל יהודה ע”ה
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Places to Go, Things to Do With the weather giving us broiling days of heat and other
interesting trips to go on indoors as well – so take your pick!
days filled with rain and wind, we hope that the sun will
Spending time with the family is the goal, wherever the day
smile upon us as we go on chol hamoed outings as a family
may take you.
this Sukkos. If we’re lucky enough to get balmy weather, we
TJH has compiled a list of ideas, activities, and places to go
can take advantage of the wonderful experiences available
for you to enjoy. Make sure to pack enough food, a portable
outdoors. And if gimshei bracha shower upon us, there are
sukkah, and music for the road and have fun!
BACK OPEN FOR FUN!!!
Zoos and Farms Queens County Farm Museum 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, Floral Park, NY 11004 718-347-3276
In park, ages 2 - 24 years - $44.99 age 25 and up - $34.99, under age 2 - free. Save $5! Purchase online adventureland.us 2-24 years $39.99 25 years and up $29.99
CholHamoedSuccos PARK HOURS ONLY ON Thursday, Sept 23 & Sunday Sept 26 from 11AM to 5PM
White Post Farms 250 Old County Road, Melville, NY 11747 631-351-9373 New York Aquarium Surf Avenue & West 8th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11224 718-265-FISH Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center 431 East Main Street, Riverhead, NY 11901 631-208-9200 Prospect Park Zoo 450 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225 718-399-7339 Queens Zoo 53-51 111th Street, Flushing, NY 11368 718-271-1500
718.471.8444
Sukkah will be available on premises.
NEW POLICY: Each person entering the park MUST purchase a ticket, which includes rides.
Central Park Zoo 64th Street & 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10065 212-861-6030
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
s”xc
CHOL HAMOED
SUKKOS 2021 THURSDAY - MONDAY 9/23 THRU 9/27
LOCATED IN “FOODIE” COURT A To book tickets for all attractions visit:
www.americandream.com OONN
CHICKIES: Tel: 201 820 1555 • BCH@ChickiesFood.com
CHOLOV YISROEL
GELATO
GLATT KOSHER under the strict supervision of the
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Green Meadows Farm At the Aviator Sports Center 3159 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11234 718-470-0278 Bronx Zoo 2300 Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10460 718-220-5103 Long Island Game Farm 489 Chapman Boulevard, Manorville, NY 11949 631-878-6644 Woodside Orchards 116 Manor Lane, Jamesport, NY 11901 631-722-5770 Schmitt’s Family Farm 26 Pinelawn Road, Melville, NY 11747 631-271-3276
The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
Union Square Greenmarket Union Square West, New York, NY 10003 212-788-7476
Scenic Attractions Central Park Boating, biking, the Great Lawn, model-boat sailing, carriage rides, carousel Between 5th & 8th Avenues and 59th & 106th Streets, New York, NY 212-360-3444 Bryant Park 6th Avenue, between W 40-42 Street, New York, NY 10018 212-768-4242
Harbes Orchard 5698 Sound Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901 631-683-8388
New York Highline Gansevoort St. to West 30 St. between Washington St. and 11 Ave., New York, NY 212-500-6035
Wilkens Farm 1313 White Hill Rd, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 914-245-5111
Brooklyn Bridge Park 1 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 718-222-9939
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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Little Island Floating Park Pier 55 in Hudson River Park West 13 Street, New York, NY 10014 Fort Tyron Park Riverside Drive to Broadway, W 192 Street to Dyckman Street, New York, NY New York Circle Line Pier 83 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 212-563-3200 Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Ferries from Battery Park, NY 1 Battery Place, New York, NY 10004 212-363-3200 Jamaica Bay Riding Academy 7000 Shore Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11234 718-531-8949 Sands Point Preserve Conservancy 127 Middle Neck Road, Sands Point, NY 11050 516-571-7901 Great Neck Steppingstone Park 38 Stepping Stone Lane, Great Neck, NY 11021 516-487-9228
Old Westbury Gardens 71 Old Westbury Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568 516-333-0048 South Street Seaport 89 South St., New York, NY 10038 212-732-7678 Brooklyn Botanic Gardens 900 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11225 718-623-7200 Brooklyn Heights Promenade Downtown Brooklyn—Remsen Street to Orange Street along the East River The New York Botanical Garden 2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10458 718-817-8700 Wave Hill Public Gardens 675 W 252 St, Bronx, NY 10471 718-549-3200 Historic Richmond Town 441 Clarke Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10306 718-351-1611 Bear Mountain State Park Route 9W North, Bear Mountain, NY 10911 845-786-2701 The Amish Village 199 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks, PA 17572 717-687-8511 Mystic Seaport 75 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT 06355 888-973-2767
Amusement Parks Six Flags Great Adventure 1 Six Flags Boulevard, Jackson, NJ 08527 201-862-0250 Hersheypark 100 W. Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, PA 17033 717-534-3900 Adventureland 2245 Broad Hollow Road (RT 110), Farmingdale, NY 11735 631-694-6868 Luna Park Coney Island 1000 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224 718-373-5862 Adventurers Amusement Park 1824 Shore Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11214 718-975-2748
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
10am 11am-4pm 11am-4pm 11am-4pm 11am-11:30am 11:45am 12pm 1:45pm 3pm 5:30pm
Rides open Make It @ The J! Petting Zoo Face Painting Karate Demonstration by Warren Levi Opening Day Ceremonies Performance by Uri Davidi Performance by Uri Davidi Karate Demonstration by Warren Levi Rides close
10am 11am-2pm 11am-4pm 11am-4pm 11pm 1pm 2pm 4pm
Rides open Make It @ The J! Petting Zoo Face Painting Performance by NACHAS Performance by NACHAS Karate Demonstration by Warren Levi Close of Five Towns Community Sukkot Fair
Carnival Rides and Games · Kosher Food Trucks David's Famous Cholov Yisrael Ice Cream truck Pizza G N I T Cotton Candy & Popcorn • Rita’s Ices T PE ZOO!
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The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Dorney Park 4000 Dorney Park Rd, Allentown, PA 18104 610-395-3724
ADVENTURE ON
HIGH
Sahara Sam’s Oasis and Water Park & Diggerland 160 Cooper Road, West Berlin, NJ 08091 856-767-7580 Bronx Zoo Treetop Adventure Climb and Zipline Bronx River Parkway at Boston Road, Bronx, NY 10460 347-308-9028
Indoor Fun Parks Legoland Discovery Center Westchester 39 Fitzgerald Street, Yonkers, NY 10701 866-243-0779 Fun Fuzion at New Roc City 19 Le County Place, New Rochelle, NY 10801 914-637-7575 Fun Station USA 3555 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314 718-370-0077 @ Play Amusement 229 Broadhollow Road, Farmingdale, NY 11735 631-815-5355 Laser Bounce 2710 Hempstead Turnpike, Levittown, NY 11756 516-342-1330 Laser Bounce 8000 Cooper Avenue, Glendale, NY 11385 347-599-1919 RPM Raceway Go-Karting 40 Daniel St, Farmingdale, NY 11735 631-752-7223
hours thursday september 23
10:30 am - 9:00 pm friday september 24
10:30 am - 6:00 pm sunday september 26
10:30 am - 8:00 pm thursday isru chag september 30
11:00 am - 7:00 pm
5369 U.S. 9 Howell, NJ • climbzone.us/howell
One World Observatory One World Trade Center, 285 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10007 844-OWO-1776 Chelsea Piers Hudson River—Piers 59-62—New York, NY 212-336-6800 Woodmere Lanes 948 Broadway, Woodmere, NY 11598 516-374-9870
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SEPTEMBER 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29,17, 2015 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Funfest Bowling 6161 Strickland Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11234 718-763-6800 Chuck E. Cheese 162 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, NY 11550 516-483-3166 Kids N Shape 162-26 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, NY 11414 718-848-2052 Brooklyn Boulders 575 Degraw Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217 347-834-9066 Brooklyn Boulders 23-10 41st Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101 718-482-7078 MetroRock Brooklyn 321 Starr Street, Brooklyn, NY 11237 929-500-7625 Cliffs Climbing in Dumbo 99 Plymouth St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 347-830-7625
Long Island Adventure Park 75 Colonial Springs Rd, Wyandanch, NY 11798 631-983-3844 Trapeze School NY (indoors) 467 Marcy Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206 212-242-8769 Trapeze School NY (outdoors) 353 West St, New York, NY 10014 212-242-8769 Flight Adventure Park 1850 Lakeland Avenue, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 631-619-6000 Skyzone Trampoline Park 33 Lecount Place, New Rochelle, NY 10801 914-740-8272 Skyzone Trampoline Park 111 Rodeo Drive, Deer Park, NY 11717 631-392-2600 Rockin’ Jump Trampoline Park 241 Market Street, Yonkers, NY 10710 914-510-9119 Launch Trampoline Park 163-50 Cross Bay Blvd, Howard Beach, NY 11414 718-593-4204 iFly Trapeze Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, NY 11554 516-640-6995 High Exposure Climbing 266 Union Street, Northvale, NJ 07647 201-768-8600 Glow Golf Roosevelt Field Mall, Garden City, NY 11530 516-747-3682 Smith Point Archery 215 E Main Street, Patchogue, NY 11772 631-289-3399 Bury the Hatchet 25 Noble Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222 917-243-9696 2BAPilot Flight Lessons 9100 Republic Airport, Farmingdale, NY 11735 516-662-8887 VR World NYC 4 East 34 Street, New York, NY 10016 646-578-9630 Dave & Busters 1 Sunrise Mall, Massapequa, NY 11758 516-809-8514
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
Dave & Busters 1504 Old Country Road, Westbury, NY 11590 516-542-85011504
La Mano Pottery 110 West 26 Street, New York, NY 10001 212-627-9450
Iceland Long Island 3345 Hillside Avenue, New Hyde Park, NY 11040 516-746-1100
Taro’s Origami Studio 95 7th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11215 718-360-5435
City Ice Pavilion 47-32 32 Place, Long Island City, NY 11101 718-706-6667
Museums
Long Beach Ice Arena 150 W Bay Dr, Long Beach, NY 11561 516-705-7385
Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Pier 86, 12th Avenue and 46th Street 212-245-0072
Something Different
9/11 Memorial and Museum 200 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10006 212-266-5211
Puppetworks 338 Sixth Avenue at 4th Street, Park Slope, NY 11215 718-965-3391
New York Hall of Science 47-01 111 Street, Corona, NY 11368 718-699-0005
Make It Too 86 Cedarhurst Ave, Cedarhurst, NY 11516 516-341-7660 Build a Bear Roosevelt Field Mall 630 Old Country Road, Garden City, NY 11530 516-248-0027
Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128 212-423-3200 Museum of Jewish Heritage 36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280 646-437-4202 Living Torah Museum 1603 41 Street, Brooklyn, NY 11218 718-851-3215
Build a Bear 9015 Queens Blvd, Elmhurst, NY 11373 718-289-7135
Long Island Children’s Museum 11 Davis Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530 516-224-5800
Artrageous Studio 5 N Village Ave, Rockville Centre, NY 11570 516-255-5255
The Skyscraper Museum 39 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280 212-945-6324
Once Upon a Dish 659 Franklin Ave, Garden City, NY 11530 516-742-6030
Skyscape 928 8th Avenue, New York, NY 10019 212-549-1941
Baked in Brooklyn 242 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11249 718-384-2300
Museum of Illusions 77 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10014 212-645-3230
Brooklyn Clay Industries 63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205 301-395-0143
National Museum of Mathematics 11 East 26 Street, New York, NY 10010 212-542-0566
Color Me Mine 123 Baxter St, New York, NY 10013 212-374-1710
Brooklyn Children’s Museum 145 Brooklyn Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11213 718-735-4400
Color Me Mine 177 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023 212-877-0007
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Jewish Children’s Museum 792 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11213 718-467-0600 Children’s Museum of Manhattan 212 W 83rd St, New York, NY 10024 212-721-1234 NYC Fire Museum 278 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013 212-691-1303 American Museum of Natural History Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024 212-769-5100 Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10028 800-662-3397 Frick Collection 1 E 70 St., New York, NY 10021 212-288-0700 New York Transit Museum 99 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 718-694-1600 Lower East Side Tenement Museum 103 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002 877-975-3786
Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, NY 11721 631-854-5579 Liberty Science Center Liberty State Park, 222 Jersey City Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07305 201-200-1000 Crayola Factory 30 Centre Square, Easton, PA 18042 1-866-875-5263 The Franklin Institute 222 North 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-448-1200 Please Touch Museum 4231 Avenue of the Republic (formerly North Concourse Drive), Philadelphia, PA 19131 215-581-3181 Imagine That! Children’s Museum 4 Vreeland Road, Florham Park, N.J. 07932 973-966-8000 TJH assumes no responsibility for the kashrus, atmosphere, safety, or accuracy of any event or attraction listed here. As Covid restrictions may be in place, we suggest calling and confirming guidelines and requirements before you set out on your adventure. Have a great time!
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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
In The K
tchen
Sukkot Soup By Naomi Nachman
I wrote this recipe last year with Sukkot in mind. I was looking to create a soup
that would stick to our bones while eating outdoors on a cool Sukkot evening. My family and guests absolutely loved this
soup. This recipe makes a big batch, and it freezes really well.
Ingredients ◦ 2 tablespoon canola oil ◦ 2 strips flanken ◦ 2 medium onions, diced ◦ 2 cloves garlic, minced ◦ 4 stalks celery, diced ◦ 2 large carrots, diced ◦ 2 medium zucchini, diced ◦ 2 can chickpeas, drained ◦ 1 ½ pounds (24 oz.) frozen broccoli cuts ◦ 1 ½ pounds (24 oz.) frozen cauliflower cuts ◦ 8 cups vegetable broth or water ◦ 1 tablespoon kosher salt ◦ Freshly ground pepper
Preparation 1.
Heat oil in large soup pot over medium-high heat. Sear flanken for about 5 minutes per side, or until
the meat releases itself. Remove meat and set aside.
2.
In the same pot, add onion and sauté till translucent. Add in garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low, add celery, carrots, zucchini chickpeas, broccoli and cauliflower.
3.
Place the meat back to the pot. Add the broth, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring mixture to a boil.
4.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 2 hours.
5.
Remove meat and shred off the bones and return the meat to the pot.
Cook’s note: Add broth or water until just below the top of the vegetables. Too much water will make a thin soup. Photo by Hudi Greenberger. Styling by Renee Muller. Shared with permission by Mishpacha Magazine.
Naomi Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, caters weekly and Shabbat/ Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website, www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669.
E NG
ly.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
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The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim does Tashlich at the beach
Elul Inspiration at SKA
W
ith the Yomim Noraim quickly approaching, classes and activities at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls focused on Elul inspiration starting with the first days of school. With Rosh Hashana only days away, SKA’s ninth graders made simanim for their yom tov tables, sharing crafts and fellowship with their new classmates and Grade Level Advisors. A heartfelt Hatarat Nedarim assembly and stirring U’netaneh Tokef video helped give significant depth to preparing for the girls’ yom tov tefillah. The program also launched the year’s
chesed initiative for Keren Hashviis, accompanied by a poignant video explaining what Jewish farmers in Eretz Yisroel experience when they observe Shemita and the need for financial support. The inspiring pre-Rosh Hashana address by Rabbi Menachem Penner, “So Much Teshuva, So Little Time: Where Do I Start?” helped make the upcoming davening so purposeful while the delicious kugel and spirited dancing before Shabbat put everyone in a yom tov mood. The fast day of Tzom Gedalia offered another opportunity to inspire with a voluntary Meaningful Fast
Program as SKA students heard words of chizuk from Rabbi Jordan Auerbach and then made chocolate lollipops to give to local firefighters, combining the observance of 9/11 with chessed. Listening to Mr. Ari Schonbrun, a survivor of 9/11, telling his incredible story the next day brought history home to the girls who were not yet born when the tragedy occurred. The SKA Beit Midrash Shabbos Shuva Program was filled with multiple shiurim and chavruta learning for SKA mothers, students and alumnae who participated in Woodmere and at satellite locations in
Brooklyn, Queens, West Hempstead and Great Neck. After an emotional davening at the annual SKA Tefillah at the Beach and a breakfast filled with girls sharing their reflections on tefillah, the students took part in Teshuva Workshops given by faculty members on preparing ourselves for the Yomim Noraim. A pre-Yom Kippur kumsitz held on the day before Yom Kippur brought additional inspiration to the upcoming fast day. SKA wishes our students, faculty and administration together with Klal Yisroel, a gmar chasima tova and a wonderful chag Sukkot!
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Around the Community
Over 500,000 Inspired by the Message of the Chofetz Chaim at Dirshu’s 7th Annual Yom Limud and Tefilla Videocast Featuring Leading Gedolim Garners Provides Unprecedented Pre-Rosh Hashana Inspiration
Participants at Yeshiva Emet LeYaacov, France
By Chaim Gold
“T
he Chofetz Chaim changed the briyah – he transformed the entire world! The entire agenda of Klal Yisrael changed because of him, and today, on his yahrtzeit, it is the time for
us to make a decision – the decision to follow in his ways.” Those were the passionate words of HaGaon HaRav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Ateres Yisroel, in a stirring drasha seen by hundreds of thousands throughout the globe on Dir-
HaRav Yaakov Hillel delivering divrei chizuk at Dirshu’s Vision & Inspiration presentation
shu’s groundbreaking pre-Rosh Hashana videocast in conjunction with Dirshu’s Seventh Annual Yom Limud and Tefilla marking the yahrtzeit of the Chofetz Chaim. Dirshu’s 7 th Year of Giving Chizuk Rav Ezrachi’s powefrul drasha was part of a new, revolutionary program that Dirshu designed this year in honor of the 7 th Annual Yom Limud and Tefilla to bring the message of the Chofetz Chaim to Klal Yisrael on his yahrzeit, in advance of the Yamim Noraim. For the past six years, Dirshu has been holding its annual Yom Limud and Tefilla to mark the yahrtzeit of the Chofetz Chaim. The Yom Limud and Tefilla was established by Dirshu to give chizuk and to bring Klal Yisrael together specifically on the auspicious occasion of the Chofetz Chaim’s yahrzeit just before Rosh Hashana in unified tefilla on behalf of all Jews and to encourage the continued learning of the Chofetz Chaim’s sefarim that have such power to invoke rachmei Shomayim. On this year’s Yom Limud and Tefilla, hundreds of thousands of Yidden throughout the world said perakim of Tehillim on behalf of Klal Yisrael and learned halachos from the Mishnah Berurah and the sefer Zachor L’Miriam both authored by the Chofetz Chaim. This year, Dirshu introduced a new program that exponentially increased the inspiration, enriching and encouraging Klal Yisrael to em-
ulate the path forged by the Chofetz Chaim in a most practical, lasting way. They designed an incredible presentation that was shown on the motzei Shabbos and Sunday preceding Rosh Hashana and was seen and heard by hundreds of thousands throughout the world. The videocast, in both Hebrew and English versions, was addressed by leading Gedolei Yisrael including the venerated, senior Rosh Yeshiva, HaGaon HaRav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Ateres Yisroel of Yerushalayim; HaGaon HaRav Shimon Galei, shlita, well-known Mashpia and Rosh Kollel; HaGaon HaRav Yaakov Hillel, shlita, Rosh Yeshivat Hamekubalim, Ahavat Shalom; Hagaon HaRav Nissan Kaplan, shlita, Rosh Yeshiva Daas Aharon; and Rav Dovid Hofstedter, shlita, Nasi, Dirshu. The English videocast was chaired by Rav Zev Smith, wellknown Maggid Shiur in Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program and Irgun Shiurei Torah, while the Hebrew one was chaired by Rav Shlomo Miller. The videocast also featured musical interludes of chizuk with hartzig music by the renowned menagnim, Motti Steinmetz, Zanvil Weinberger, Shlomo Cohen, and Aharle Samet and a special, deeply moving composition about Radin and visiting the Chofetz Chaim’s kever that was composed especially for the event by popular writer, Rabbi Nachman Seltzer. HaGaon Rav Nissan Kaplan, who spoke on the English videocast said,
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The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
Around the Community “People in our generation are always seeking segulos. The Gemara tells us the best segulah. “He who learns halacha daily is muvtach, ensured, a portion in Olam Haba’ah. Can one get a better segulah than that?!! Now, on the Chofetz Chaim’s yahrtzeit, is the time to accept upon ourselves to learn the Mishnah Berurah daily! To learn the sefer Chofetz Chaim daily!” Tens of Thousands of Children Throughout the World Another component of the Yom Limud and Tefilla was the special programming featured in many hundreds of schools that impacted countless children across the globe. The remarkable, school-age program designed by Dirshu made a tremendous impact on tens of thousands of children both in major Jewish centers and in places far from Yiddishkeit hubs. The program was created with the singular goal of connecting children to the teachings and life of the Chofetz Chaim. Towards that goal, they wrote some hilchos Rosh Hashana from the Chofetz Chaim’s sefer Zechor L’Miriam, together with hashkafa and mussar as taught by the Chofetz Chaim and compiled them
into age-appropriate, user-friendly, easy-to-understand booklets replete with magnificent illustrations, rare stories of the Chofetz Chaim, and a brief history of the Chofetz Chaim’s yeshiva. Throughout the diverse communities across the United States and Canada, a wide range of more than 150 boys’ and girls’ schools, chadorim and Bais Yaakovs that truly represent the entire panoply of Orthodox Jewry participated in the Yom Limud and Tefilla school programs. They included schools from communities such as Monsey, NY; Lakewood, NJ; Brooklyn, NY; Manhattan, NY; Toronto, Canada; Houston, TX; Baltimore, MD; Cleveland, OH; Waterbury, CN; Phoenix, AZ; Passaic, NJ; Denver, CO; Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; and Providence, RI. In addition, countless Chassidishe schools in Brooklyn, Lakewood, and Monsey also participated. Rav Dovid Hofstedter: The Struggle is the Greatest Success Rav Dovid Hofstedter, Nasi of Dirshu, delivered a passionate, moving address in the videocast wherein
he discussed one of the primary, unasked questions that many thinking Jews face at this time of year. “The Yamim Noraim is a tremendous opportunity, but with it comes a tremendous nisayon as well. The opportunity is obvious. It is a time when our tefillos are heard, a time of teshuva, etc. Simultaneously, many of us think, ‘We have been here before. We have tried and ultimately, reverted back to our old lives.’” Rav Hofstedter said, “When Yaakov struggled with the malach of Eisav, the pasuk says he was called ‘Yisrael, ki sarisa, because you struggled, vatuchal, and you prevailed.’ “The Chiddushei Harim asks, ‘Yaakov should therefore be called, “vatuchal – you prevailed!” Why does the pasuk call him, Yisrael after the word sarisa, struggle?’ “He answers that the greatest success is the struggle itself! Striving to overcome obstacles, is the greatest success. That is our tafkid.” Rav Hofstedter then shared a deeply personal moment with the multitudes who were tuned in throughout the world, “Both my parents and my wife’s parents were Holocaust survivors.
They lived through the kivshan ha’eish, the fiery furnace of the Churban. Some people gave up hope after Hitler. Others didn’t. They didn’t give in to yiush, to despair, but they struggled and prevailed. From that struggle and that hope of that group of heroic survivors, the entire olam haTorah that we have today was built. Those survivors built it.” “The Time is NOW!” Rav Zev Smith concluded with a passionate call to all Yidden, wherever they may be, to follow in the path of the Chofetz Chaim by bringing the learning of daily halacha into their lives. “The time to start is NOW!” he exclaimed. “Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program is now learning the halachos of sukkah. It is the opportune time to jump in and begin to learn halacha l’maasah that you can incorporate into your life immediately!” Dirshu is poised to complete the second machzor of Daf HaYomi B’Halacha with a grand World Siyum. There is no better time to start learning Daf HaYomi B’Halacha by getting in, now, before the third machzor even begins!
PLANNING IS YOUR STABILITY IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
בס״ד
You can do Halachic planning when doing secular Estate Planning You can protect your children’s inheritance You can appoint someone to make financial and medical decisions, if you are unable You can help your parents prepare for the expense of long-term care Estate Planning, Probate, and Elder Law Planning (Medicaid Planning), require counsel who is experienced, professional, and above all, caring. Monet Binder Law, P.C. has earned a reputation, through over 21 years in practice, for working with clients with patience, understanding and compassion, assisting them in realizing their goals to protect themselves and their loved ones, in the best way possible. “Monet possesses the rare combination of being very knowledgeable, very thorough and very caring. She made what seemed like an overwhelming process, much simpler and less fearful. I highly recommend her.” – Alan Proctor
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All halachic documents are under the supervision of the Bais HaVaad in Lakewood.
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OCTOBER 29,17, 2015 | The Jewish Home SEPTEMBER 2021 | The Jewish Home
1. *
TJH
Centerfold
Not Bamboozling You Bamboo accounts for 99% of pandas’ diets. The other 1% is made up of vegetation, fish or small animals. (Definitely trying that after Sukkos…for two days.) Bamboo shoots are commonly used in Asian cuisine. (So are snakes.) There are over 1,500 species of bamboo in the world! (There’s a guy in Brooklyn who uses every variety for his schach! It’s a great chol hamoed trip.) The largest species of bamboo can reach 1,300 feet in height. (Imagine how tall they would be if they didn’t drink coffee!) Bamboo releases 30% more oxygen into the atmosphere and absorbs more carbon dioxide compared to other plants, thus cleaning the air. (Let’s surround AOC’s house with bamboo!) Bamboo is used not only in construction but also is used in the manufacture of floors, skateboards, bicycle frames, and helmets. (If you have a bamboo bike, just remember – no shirt, no service!)
Bamb o o w a s the first plant to regrow after the atomic blast in Hiroshima in 1945, as it can tolerate extreme conditions. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on this planet. Some species can grow more than 3 feet in a 24- hour period. (It’s good bamboo doesn’t have a grandmother, otherwise she would have to constantly comment, “Wow, you got sooooo tall!”) Bamboo is a staple of Eastern medicine and is used for respiratory and digestive illnesses, fevers, and inflammation. (If you get a headache on Sukkos, just grab a piece of schach and rub it on your forehead!)
You Gotta Be Kidding Me! Seymour comes running into shul one night, all out of breath and very excited. “What is happening Seymour?” asks Yankel. “Oh, you would never believe it, Yankel,” says Seymour. “I was trying to catch the bus back from work and I missed it. So I chased it to the next stop, and I missed it again. I kept missing it, and before
I knew it, I chased it all the way to here.” Yankel says, “So, why are you so excited?” Seymour replies, “What do you mean? It’s amazing! I got here and saved the money that I would have had to spend on the bus.” Yankel replies, “You should have chased a taxi – you would have saved a lot more money!”
The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
Hall of Famer Derek Jeter Trivia 1. Having become a first-ballot Hall of Famer last week, how many of the 397 Hall of Fame voters voted for Derek Jeter? a. 201 b. 300 c. 396 d. 397 2. In what year did Derek Jeter make his major league debut? a. 1992 b. 1994 c. 1995 d. 1996 3. In what year did Jeter record his 2,000th hit? a. 2000 b. 2006 c. 2008 d. 2011 4. How many Gold Gloves does Jeet have? a. 2 b. 3 c. 5 d. None
Answers: 1. C- Jeter’s teammate Mariano Rivera was the only ever unanimous Hall of Famer. Jeter received the most votes ever for a position player. 2. C- Jeter made his major league debut as a fill-in for injured shortstop Tony Fernandez on May 29, 1995. He batted ninth and went 0-for-5. Not a sign of things to come. 3. B- In May 26, 2006, almost 11 years to the day after he hit No. 1, Jeter reached 2,000, singling vs. Kansas City Royals righthander Scott Elarton. 4. C- 5 5. C- 2003 6. A, B, C, D- Jeter received each of
5. In what year did Jeter become captain of the Yankees? a. 1996 b. 2000 c. 2003 d. 2007 6. While in high school, which of the following awards did Jeet receive? a. B’nai B’rith Award for Scholar Athlete b. High School Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association c. Gatorade High School Player of the Year award d. USA Today’s High School Player of the Year 7. Which team passed up on Jeter, enabling the Yankees to sign him? a. Astros b. Padres c. Cubs d. Red Sox
these awards. 7. A- Jeter was scouted heavily by Hal Newhouser, an employee of the Houston Astros, who was convinced that Jeter would anchor a winning team. Newhouser felt so strongly about Jeter’s potential that he quit his job after the Astros passed on him. 8. C- In 1999, Jeter’s batting average was a career high .349 and he also hit a career high 24 homers. (Those steroids really work wonders! Just kidding…. I can already feel the wrath of you Jeter fans. It’s a good thing you don’t know where I live!) 9. B- Dream big and you too may achieve greatness. In my junior high
8. What is Jeet’s highest yearly batting average to-date? a. .324 b. .334 c. .349 d. .352 9. In his junior high school yearbook, what did Jeter predict he would be in 10 years? a. Zoologist b. Shortstop for the Yankees c. Doctor d. Physical trainer 10. On September 11, 2009, Jeter became the Yankees all-time hit leader. Who did he pass in order to get that title? a. Mickey Mantle b. Yogi Berra c. Babe Ruth d. Lou Gehrig
school yearbook, I predicted that in 10 years I would be the TJH Centerfold Commissioner! 10. D Scorecard: 7-10 correct: You are one of those who has a life-size cutout of Jeter in your basement…. Yeah, he loves you, too! 3-6 correct: You have a healthy level of Jeter knowledge, while still having a real life. 0-2 correct: Hmm… You will probably do better when we have David Wright Hall of Fame trivia in the Centerfold. (You have a lot of time to prepare for that…probably a lifetime to prepare.)
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3
Torah Thought
Parshas Ha’azinu By Rabbi Berel Wein
T
hese last chapters of the Torah, culminating in this week’s reading, are all a very serious and have an almost fearsome quality and tone. Heaven and earth are called upon to be the ultimate witnesses regarding the covenant that the Lo-d has made with Israel for all time. Rashi points out to us that human witnesses and even historical tradition within families, tribes and other groups are insufficient to
uphold the veracity of the covenant between G-d and Israel. Human beings, by their very natures, can only see things superficially and remember things selectively and often with a bias and/or agenda. This is not the case with nature that always does the will of the Creator and has no independent opinion or understanding of events on its own. We will see later in Jewish history that the Prophet Isaiah will also
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invoke Heaven and earth in repeating the outlines of the covenant, justifying the rewards and punishment that observance or disregarding the covenant always brings with it. The concept is that nature itself, with all its wonders, unpredictability, and beauty, is itself the greatest source of testimony regarding the covenant between G-d and Israel. It is one of the truly unique ideas and interpretations that Moshe teaches us in this final part of his valedictory oration the Jewish people.
feline species, monogamy from the ant, and other such values that are present in the great natural world that we inhabit. Nature in the world that surrounds us is one of wonder and inspiration, but at the very same time, one of possible danger and trepidation. Volcanoes and earthquakes are also present when we view the beauty and inspiration that snowcapped mountain ranges present before us. If one stands in the shadow of a great, tall mountain, every human being experiences the trepida-
It is a thing of wonder and beauty, of soaring visions, rich in mystery and inspiration.
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Heaven and earth are eternal in this world and have fixed laws and patterns that are to never be altered. So, too, is the covenant between G-d and Israel. It also is unchangeable, reliable, consistent, and predictable and serves as an example and witness to the covenant that has bound us for millennia and remains in force in our current world as well. The rabbis of the Talmud have often used nature and its attendant animal world as a source of instruction as to how human life should be conducted. The Talmud tells us that we could learn cleanliness from the
tion that the gigantic rock formation provokes. So, too, is the nature of the covenant between G-d and Israel. It is a thing of wonder and beauty, of soaring visions, rich in mystery and inspiration. It invokes within us a sense of wonderment. But it also awakens within us the fear and anxiety that make our lives uncertain and bestows upon us feelings of danger. Our only choice is to observe the covenant and to realize that, in so doing, we guarantee our eternity in partnership with the natural world in which we live. Shabbat shalom.
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From the Fire
Parshas Ha’azinu Listening with the Inner Ear By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf
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he parsha begins (Devarim 32:1), “Ha’Azinu ha’shomayim v’adabeira, give ear heavens, and I will speak.” The pasuk asks the heavens to listen using the word ha’azinu, whose root is ozen, meaning “ear.” Therefore, the opening teaching in the Midrash on the parsha (Devarim Raba 10) teaches the following: “What is the halacha if one has an earache, is it permissible to treat it on Shabbos? The sages taught, ‘One may violate Shabbos even for questionably life-threatening situation,’ and in this case of an earache, if it is dangerous, one may treat it on Shabbos.” The commentaries point out that this Midrash seems not to teach anything novel. Every Jew knows that one may violate Shabbos even for a questionably life-threatening situation. The Midrash also cannot mean that every earache is life threatening illness because it says “if it is dangerous...” The Avnei Nezer, in the introduction to his sefer on the laws of Shabbos, Eglei Tal, writes that one may not violate Shabbos to save just one limb. But if the danger to that one limb could endanger the person’s life, then one may violate Shabbos to save that limb. This is because Shabbos is called “Klilah d’Oraysa,” the central principle of the whole Torah. It may therefore not be violated for the sake of just one part of a person. But it may be violated for the sake of an illness that endangers the whole person. The Avnei Nezer’s son, the Shem Mishmuel, based on his father’s teaching, offers a novel explanation of the
Midrash quoted above. First, he points out that the ear has an external portion and an internal portion. He explains that the inner ear is connected deeply to the brain and that any sickness affecting the inner ear would certainly affect the whole essence of the person. The Midrash therefore teaches that if the sickness is dangerous, i.e., if it affects the inner ear, then it actually affects the whole person and one may therefore violate Shabbos to treat it. But if the illness only affects the external part of the ear, then one may not violate Shabbos because it will not endanger his life. The same principle applies in matters of ruchniyus. The Shem Mishmuel also quotes the Mishna in Rosh Hashana (3:7) which says, “If one hears the echo [of the shofar], one does not fulfill the mitzvah. So too, if one was passing behind a shul or he was in his house near the shul and hear the sound of the shofar or the sound of the Megillah, if he had intent, he fulfilled his obligation, and if he did not have intent, he did not fulfill his obligation.” One must hear the actual sound of the shofar, and not an echo, a secondary version of that sound. Similarly, there are two ways to listen to something. One may listen with intent so that the sound affects the essence of who he is, or he can listen superficially, in which case he will not fulfill the mitzvah. The same thing is true more generally in the Torah. We are familiar with the Ramban’s explanation of
“Kedoshim tihiyu, You shall be holy” (Vayikra 19:2), that it is possible to be a naval b’reshus haTorah, a vile person although he technically keeps the mitzvos and is officially Orthodox. Such a person has not heard the essence of the Torah, the Torah itself. He has only heard some external, superficial aspect of the Torah, an echo of Yiddishkeit without truly hearing the inner will of Hashem. Based on this principle, the Shem Mishmuel makes a distinction between shemi’ah, hearing, and ha’azina, paying attention or “giving ear.” Paying attention means listening to the essence of the message. The pasuk (Shmos 15:26) says, “If you listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d and do what is just in His eyes, and give ear to his mitzvos...” We see here that after the pasuk teaches that one must listen (shemi’ah) to Hashem, it reemphasizes that he must also pay close attention (ha’azina), indicating that there is a distinction between the two and that paying attention implies a closer form of listening. A Jew must seek out the inner message of the mitzvos and listen to what they are really asking of him. When a Jew learns Daf Yomi, he should not just check it off of his Yiddishkeit checklist for that day. He should ask: “What is this Gemara asking of me, what should I learn from this?” The pasuk in Tehilim (45:11) says, “Listen, daughter, see, and incline your ear.” After one listens and looks, he must listen with his inner ear to internalize the message so
that the teaching so that it permeates his being and affects who he is. That which a person hears should not merely affect him superficially, but he should also make it part of his whole self. We can now understand the continuation of the Midrash quoted above, which says, “The Rabanan say that one who wishes not to have an earache nor to have a sickness in any one of his limbs should incline his ear to the Torah. Then he will inherit life, as it says (Yeshayahu 55:3) ‘Incline your ears and come to me. Listen and your lives will be revived.’” The Medrash teaches that if one does not want to have an “earache,” he should pay attention so that he will truly listen to the words of the Torah. If a person wants to have a full, deep, and real Yiddishkeit, he must not listen to the Torah and keep the mitzvos with his ear alone. Rather, he must incline his ear to hear what the Torah wants from him. May each of us succeed in listening to the Torah’s message to us and making it the basis for our lives and not merely individual line items on our daily Judaism checklist so that that we will merit to hear Eliyahu Hanavi announcing the arrival of Moshiach, may he come soon in our days.
Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.
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Delving into the Daf
Of Gefilte Fish Balls and Trees on Cakes By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow
A
n Inwood resident was paid $15 (Canadian) a number of years ago to be a waiter at a melaveh malkah in Montreal. The appetizer was gefilte fish balls with an orange-colored sauce. The waiter was carrying a large tray of individual serving plates with these gefilte fish balls on them when the keynote speaker said something quite humorous. Not wanting to drop the tray, the waiter placed it down while he laughed. The tray apparently wasn’t too secure, and it proceeded to overturn. The poor individual who happened to be sitting there was now wearing orange trousers; the orangeand-white gefilte fish balls exited their plates and started rolling away in all different directions as if they had minds of their own. Some of them made their way to the end of the room. The waiter now really burst out laughing but not at the speaker’s joke. For these fish balls to travel so far, they must have been well-rounded. Is there any problem on Shabbos or yom tov with making perfectly round kneidlach or gefilte fish balls? The Gemara (Beitzah 28a) says that on yom tov one may not fashion a handle on a piece of meat to make it easier to carry. Rashi explains that this wasn’t an elaborate handle but merely a hole through which one may stick his finger. According to Rashi, the Sages forbade this to demonstrate that commerce is forbidden on yom tov. The Mishnah Berurah suggests that Rashi would permit a cook at
home to fashion a similar hole in the meat. Restrictions were only placed on the butcher. However, other Rishonim suggest that fashioning a makeshift handle is itself problematic; it is akin to fashioning a utensil. Therefore, it is forbidden regardless of who makes the handle or hole. The Mishnah Berurah (500:15) concludes that all would permit making a hole in middle of the afikoman to hang on a wall! It seems from Rashi that it was not uncommon back then to walk out of a butcher shop carrying meat in one’s hands. As an added service, the butcher would sometimes carve the meat in such a way that a handle would be formed. When the politicians learn about this, they will outlaw disposable meat packaging. People will once again ask for holes in their meat to make carrying easier. The Gemara contrasts the previous halacha and rules that one is, in fact, permitted on yom tov to carve his meat into a shape. Rabbah bar Rav Huna was famous for cutting his meat into triangular pieces; he wanted to make sure his meat was not switched in transit. His family knew to only accept delivery of triangularly cut meat. However, the Mishnah Berurah (500:17) writes that this license does not extend to pictures or letters. On Shabbos and yom tov, one may not carve the meat into a meaningful shape or letter. Furthermore, this restriction is not limited to meat. One may not carve any fruit into a meaningful shape. For
example, one is not allowed to carve a watermelon into the shape of a bird or a cantaloupe into the shape of a basket. The reason it was permitted to carve meat into the shape of a triangle is because that is not considered a meaningful shape. A square, circle, or rectangle is not considered a meaningful shape that would be forbidden to be carved on yom tov. The Be’er Moshe (Vol. 8, 134) writes that it is permitted to braid challos on yom tov because no meaningful shape is made. He writes, however, that making a challah in the shape of a ladder or key would not be permitted on yom tov. The Chayei Adam (92:3) likewise rules that one cannot fashion challos on yom tov into meaningful shapes such as a bird, whether one shapes the dough by hand or uses a mold. (One of my relatives tries to shape her challah into different shapes corresponding with that week’s parashah or holiday. Her family argues that none of her challos ever come out in a meaningful shape.) Based on this distinction between meaningful and non-meaningful shapes, the Be’er Moshe writes that it is permitted to shape kneidlach or gefilte fish into round balls. Likewise, it is permitted to use a scooper to make perfectly round balls of tuna, fruit, or ice cream (Laws of Yom Tov, page 156). This same issue applies also to decorated birthday cakes. Birthday cakes are often decorated with squiggly lines around the edges or criss-
cross lines on the top. On Shabbos, it is permitted to cut through those lines, since they are not meaningful. One may not, however, cut through meaningful pictures such as roses or trees. So, too, one should not cut through letters written with icing on the cake. (This is the generally accepted custom; see M.B. 340:16–17). But, the Mishnah Berurah writes, one may bite into these letters or designs without cutting them first. He also rules leniently regarding cutting a cookie that has words engraved in it (e.g., a tea biscuit) or cutting a cookie that itself has a meaningful shape (e.g., a gingerbread man). Rav Shlomo Zalman, zt”l, offers an interesting distinction as to why one may not write letters on a cake on Shabbos, but one may bite into those very same letters. Generally, the prohibition of erasing applies wherever the prohibition of writing applies. Here, however, one who writes the letters on the cake is interested in those letters. One who eats the cake is only interested in eating and couldn’t care less if the letters were there or not. Therefore, the act of eating the cake is qualified as eating and not erasing.
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow is a rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. In addition, Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, NY. He can be contacted at ASebrow@gmail.com.
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The Wandering
Jew
Yomim Noraim in Warsaw 2017 Part II By Hershel Lieber
Mechel at the kever our great-great-grandmother Malka Pitzeles
O
ur train arrived in Krakow at 2 p.m.on Wednesday, September 27. Rosh Hashana at the Nozyk Shul in Warsaw was, baruch Hashem, very nice. I davened well, and the kehilla enthusiastically participated in the “rena and tefilla.” The seudos that we ate alone in our apartment and those that we ate together with the community were
In front of the Kupa Shul
The plaque for those who perished in our family at the bais olam in Bochnia
enjoyable. Our visits to many of our friends in Warsaw made our experience all the more pleasurable. But the best was still to come. Our son, Mechel, had expressed a burning desire to spend Yom Kippur with us and to hear me davening on this awesome day, something that he had not experienced in ages. I think he was also motivated by the fact that
my grandson, Eli Klein, was planning to join me in Warsaw for Yom Kippur. Pesi and I were thrilled about the prospect of Mechel and Eli being able to appreciate our annual experience of davening with the Polish Jewish kehillah. Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich was likewise encouraging and was excited that both Mechel and Eli would contribute to the davening
In front of the Bais Yaakov
Leaving the ohel of the Rebbe Reb Meilech
and to the entire atmosphere at the shul. Mechel made arrangements to fly into Krakow and meet us that afternoon. He would join us traveling through Galicia, with stops in Bochnia, Lancut and Lezajsk, as we make our way back to Warsaw for Yom Kippur. On Friday morning, erev Yom Kippur, Eli would arrive, and we
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בס״ד
SUKKOT 2021
IN YESHIVAH AT LAST Some people apply to yeshivah and get accepted. Others apply and wait. And wait. The stress and distress of parents trying with all their might and all their connections to get their children into a proper mosod chinuch is indescribable.
The magnificent shul of Lancut
would all be together for Yom Kippur From the train station, we took a taxi to The Klezmer Hois, a small hotel in the former Jewish district of Kazimierz. This boutique hotel celebrates the Yiddish culture that existed in prewar Krakow. They exhibit posters, photos, paintings, and artifacts, mostly in Yiddish, on every
that this unknown woman was none other than our daughter Chavi! Pesi and I were stunned and speechless. It took a few more minutes until all of this was absorbed by us. Yes, Chavi, too, joined Mechel in coming to spend this Yom Kippur with us in Poland. She also longed to be with us and to experience the next
It took me another couple of seconds to realize that this unknown woman was none other than our daughter Chavi!
facet of Jewish religious and secular culture. I was there a few years earlier where I sang at a concert for the elderly members of the small Jewish community of Krakow. We checked in, unpacked, and immediately got a call from Mechel that he had arrived and was in a taxi heading to the hotel. We went down to greet him just as he was arriving. We embraced and kissed, and our excitement was overwhelming. As we were heading back to our hotel, I heard a voice behind me calling, “Excuse me, excuse me.” We turned around and were facing a young woman with a large hat covering much of her face who continued her dialogue with “excuse me, what time is it?” She spoke with an unfamiliar accent which I thought was Hebrew. As I was giving her the time of the day, she removed her hat and quizzically added, “Abba, don’t you recognize me?!” It took me another couple of seconds to realize
few days including Yom Kippur in our company. All four of us went up to our room and prepared a small lunch. There were not many hours left to the day, so we rushed downstairs to see what we could still accomplish until nightfall. I am quite familiar with the Jewish sights of Krakow and know my way around Kazimierz. Our itinerary began at the Remu Shul and the surrounding bais hachaim. There we said Tehillim and placed kvitlech by the kevorim of the Remu, the Tosfos Yom Tov, the Bach, the Rebbe Rav Heschel, the Megaleh Amukos, and by my great-great-grandmother, Malka Pitzeles, who was buried in that cemetery. Then we went to the Wisla River to say Tashlich. We continued our tour by visiting the Stare, the Izaak, and the Kupa synagogues with a final stop at the Temple. We passed by the prewar homes of my father, mother,
Such was the fate of one particular family. They were trying to find a yeshivah that would take their two sons. Despite facing particular challenges, the boys were both fine and ehrlich. Still, all doors seemed closed. Not a single yeshivah placed them on the class lists. So the summer zman passed. Two boys sat at home, no yeshivah in sight. Terrified of what the future would hold for her children, the pained mother picked up the phone and in a tear-choked voice gave over the names of her two bachurim. “Have us in mind; we should find an appropriate yeshivah for them,” she pleaded. The powerful words of Tehillim did their work quickly. Not long after, the parents received a message from a well-known yeshivah that their bachurim would be accepted for the upcoming winter zman. The mother called the Tehillim Kollel office again with one more request, “During these yemei harachamim, beg with your Tehillim that my precious children should find their place in their new yeshivah, that everything should work out the best possible and that we should constantly see Yiddish nachas from them…”
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Mechel at the kever of the Rebbe Reb Meilech
ous trips. We topped off the evening by going to the Rynek Glowny (Main Square) and the colorful souvenir shops at the 13th century Sukiennice, where we bought a number of gifts to bring home. It was a long day indeed, but one that will remain in our memories forever. The next morning after davening Shacharis at the Izaak Shul, we headed to the Miodowa bais hachyim where we said Tehillim by the kevorim of the Maor V’Shomesh, his
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great-grandfather and great-greatgrandmother. We then rushed back to the Izaak shul, which had a pizza and falafel shop in the rear and ate a quick supper. We davened Mincha-Maariv at the shul with Rabbi Eliezer Gurary, the Chabad shliach whose activities are centered there. The minyan included Chief Galician Rabbi Chaim Baruch Gluck, Rabbi Avi Baumol of the JCC, Kuba Kowalik, Mordechai Tomala, Yakov Gluck and Mechel Mandel, people whom I knew from my previ-
Davening at the kever of the Tosfos Yom Tov
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son Rav Kalman, Rav Shimon Sofer, my great-grandmother Miriam Lieber and my great-aunt Reizel Berger, who was killed in a pogrom that took place in Krakow right after the war. We returned to our hotel to check out and took our designated driver and traveled for about an hour to Bochnia. My parents spent time in the Bochnia Ghetto during the war, where my father’s mother and two of his sisters and their children were killed during a Nazi “Aktzia.” My parents managed to bury them all in a mass grave at the Jewish bais olam. Miraculously, my parents were allowed to leave the Ghetto by showing proof that they were born in Czechoslovakia, which was true. Their birth certificates were used as prototypes to forge other documents on behalf of my mother’s parents and for members of the Bobover Rebbe’s family, which allowed them all to get out of the Ghetto. Being outside the Ghetto they managed to smuggle themselves into Slovakia and eventually into Hungary. Unfortunately, my mother’s parents were caught hiding under a false bottom of a coal truck and were killed on the spot. Their bodies were also brought to the bais olam and are buried there. About thirty-five years ago, I put up a plaque commemorating the names of our family that were resting there. I did everything with the guidance of the Bobover Rebbe, Rav Shloma, zt”l. While driving to Bochnia, I retold the entire story in great detail to Chavi and Mechel. It is a saga that my parents would retell year after year during the Seder. When we arrived, we went over to the area where my plaque was affixed on a mass grave memorial, which was very likely the place where my parents buried their family members. We
At the kever of the Remu
said Tehillim and I sang the El Moleh. As tears streamed from our eyes, we recalled the tragedies that took place almost eighty years before, at that very place. We continued on to Lancut where we said more Tehillim in the Ohel of the Ropshitzer Rebbe. We also visited the magnificently decorated synagogue there. I told my children the story of how I took part in the restoration of the two dozen wall frescos consisting of Tehillim and tefillos. Our next stop was Lezajsk and the kever of the Rebbe Reb Meilech. When we arrived, the bais olam was locked. There was an Israeli cell number on the gate, but no one answered when I called. We went into Hachnosas Orchim building, which was open but deserted. We were nearly ready to leave without entering the Ohel when I got a call from Israel from the person in charge. He immediately made a call to a local Polish man who came running to open up the gate and Ohel. We entered with reverence, lit candles, recited Tehillim, read aloud the famous tefillah that the Rebbe wrote and placed our kvitlech on his kever. It was already late afternoon and we still had about a four-hour drive to Warsaw. We arrived at 10 o’clock in the evening to our apartment ecstatic, with a sense of fulfillment that our mission was accomplished. The next day, erev Yom Kippur, Eli arrived. We decided that for the next two nights we all would stay at the Radisson Hotel since we needed a more comfortable place to stay for Yom Kippur. The only thing we all did that day was a short visit to the extraordinary Polin Museum. We returned and rushed to shower and dress for yom tov. While the women
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With Rabbi Guary, Mechel, Mordechai Tomala, and Kuba Kowalski
were getting ready, Mechel, Eli and I went to the mikvah and davened Mincha at the shul. We then went together to eat our seudah at the Community House. After returning to the hotel to pick up all our Yom Kippur paraphernalia, we headed to the Nozyk Synagogue. The shul was overflowing with people that night. Kol Nidre and Maariv, which I davened, were beautiful and meaningful to all. Mechel and Eli harmonized and sang with gusto, which inspired the congregants and greatly enhanced the level of davening. After davening, we sat and talked awhile in the hotel lobby before head-
Rabbi Schudrich, Pesi and Chavi breaking their fast
ing to our dark rooms to sleep. On Yom Kippur day, there were less people in shul, but with the help of Mechel and Eli the tefillos were rousing and extra special. Rabbi Schudrich spoke movingly before the solemn Yizkor prayers. Eli davened Mincha, which was very much appreciated. After blowing the shofar and Rabbi Schudrich’s joyous Havdalah ceremony, spontaneous dancing broke out to the words of “L’shana habah b‘Yerushalayim.” Everyone went over to Kosher Delight restaurant where a full dinner was served to all. Pesi and I were presented an award as “Honorary Lifetime Members” of the Warsaw community, and I thanked
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Motzei Yom Kippur with Eli and Mechel
the kehillah for giving us the opportunity to serve them for so many years. Having Chavi, Mechel and Eli there was really a source of pride for us as we were able to introduce them
to our friends. They, in turn, really began to understand our attachment to this community and our desire to continue to dedicate our time and energy on behalf of Polish Jews.
Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
ed a reas e n ’t get tog on n s o s t i n eth e o t B u t j u cas e . . . er tif. yum
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Camp Maaminim invites all campers and staff to join the head staff of camp at a beautiful, fun and uplifting evening
סוכות תשפ”ב
חול המועד
and amazing chol hamoed entertainment! 4th day of Chol haMoed
Sunday, September 26 5:00-7:00 PM 523 Cedar hill Road faR RoCkaway, Ny
Fathers of Maaminim campers are welcome to stay and enjoy!
deliCiouS food SeRved by
the wandering Que aweSoMe eNteRtaiNMeNt
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My Israel Home
Buying an Existing Home 11 Ways to Protect Your Rights By Gedaliah Borvick
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eal estate attorney Nicole Levin recently shared with me important thoughts regarding protecting buyers’ rights when purchasing an existing home. 1. Title search. Your attorney should do a title search to ascertain that the seller is indeed the owner of the property. This search will also reveal whether the property is encumbered by mortgages, liens, or debts of any kind. 2. Engineer’s report. As the property is not new, the engineer’s report will enumerate what needs to be repaired – and will give a cost estimate. In a few cases, the apartment may be structurally unsafe, or the repairs too costly for your budget. If you are interested in building an addition to the apartment, the engineer can determine if your ideas are structurally viable. 3. Zoning. If you want to make an addition, get zoning advice to verify what is permitted to be built. Even if you are not contemplating an expansion, you may want to retain a zoning specialist to find out (1) whether the
neighboring property is permitted to build another floor, which may obstruct your views, and (2) if there is a vacant lot across the street, what the zoning laws allow to be built. 4. Budget for additions. If you would like to build an addition, find out the expected “hard costs” for construction and also the “soft costs” such as preparing the permit request, receiving the permit, municipal fees, and betterment taxes. 5. Financial planning. If you need a mortgage, you should apply for a loan before you sign the contract. Unlike overseas, contracts are not “subject to” financing. Therefore, before contract signing you need to confirm how much you can borrow and what the monthly payments will be. 6. Negotiate. When you have all the information you need, your lawyer will negotiate many important conditions of the contract, such as the payment schedule and the closing date. This is where a lawyer with strong negotiation skills shines. 7. Understand the deal. Before you sign the contract, your attorney
should explain all the details to you. In addition, if your agent hasn’t already educated you, your lawyer should break down all expenses you will incur above and beyond the purchase price. 8. Register a cautionary note. After the contract is signed and the first payment has been made, your attorney should immediately register a pledge, or “he’arat azhara,” in the Land Registry. This prevents the owner from selling the apartment to someone else and protects your rights against other encumbrances that might get registered after the contract is signed. 9. Escrow. Transactions often close before all the documents required for the transfer of rights are received. In this situation, your attorney should require that a portion of the funds owed to the seller are held in escrow until all the required documents are received. 10. Sign closing documents at contract. Your attorney should make sure that all documents necessary to register the property in your name upon closing are signed by the
seller at contract signing, including an irrevocable power of attorney to your attorney. Doing so will ensure that if something happens to the seller and she is unable to sign additional documents, your attorney will be able to sign on her behalf and complete the transaction. 11. Registration. After the closing, your attorney should proceed immediately to register the property in your name. When this process is finished, you will receive a deed to your property which proves your ownership and protects your rights.
Nicole Levin is an outstanding real estate and zoning attorney. If this article inspires any follow-up questions, please contact her at nicole@levinlawoffices.co.il or visit her website www.levinlawoffices.co.il. Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail. com.
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BENNETT’S PLAN FOR A GLOBAL CYBER DEFENSE SHIELD BY SHAMMAI SISKIND
In
November 2019, then-Defense Minister Naftali Bennett took to Twitter to lay out one of his more unconventional ideas. At the time, a massive, nationwide protest movement was bringing bedlam to Iranian cities. For a period of about six weeks, tens of thousands of protestors, enraged by government corruption and ineptitude that had brought skyrocketing costs of living including a two hundred percent increase in fuel costs marched across the country. Many events turned violent. Dozens of military bases, hundreds of state-owned banks, and even several religious schools were attacked and destroyed. The regime’s response was swift and brutal. Police, Revolutionary Guards, and other paramilitary units were deployed in the hundreds to quash the demonstrations. Of course, the use of force was not limited to rioters. Large, peaceful
demonstrations in cities including Tehran, Mashhad, and Shiraz were routinely dispersed using deadly force. In the wave of violence that ensued, about 1,500 Iranians were killed by security forces and thousands more were maimed and injured. Beyond the sheer brutality, perhaps the most egregious tactic by the regime was the shutting down of internet access across the entire country on November 16. This was, of course, done in order to prevent communication and coordination by demonstrators. Even after web access was partially restored about two weeks later, nearly all social media and voice-over apps remained inoperable. According to international cyber watchdog NetBlocks, the blackout was “the most severe disconnection tracked in any country in terms of its technical complexity and breadth.” It was at the very time the crackdown was reaching its peak in Iran that Bennett delivered his live mes-
sage. “Here’s a crazy idea,” said Bennett in a video taken in his Defense Ministry office, “How about every techie in the world – Israelis, Arabs, Iranians, Americans, Europeans and everyone else – unite for one purpose: to help the long-suffering Iranian people gain open access to all social media? A worldwide hackathon for freedom.” Emphasizing his sympathy for the Iranian people, Bennett asked, “How scared must a regime be of its own [citizens] that it doesn’t allow them to access social media?” He concluded the video urging anyone with rudimentary software skills to “call up your friends, grab some Red Bull and code through the night.” It was a bit interesting, to say the least, for a sitting official to openly call for coordinated action against another government. Yet, on the whole, Bennett’s idea was received welcomely. The video was circulated by several international outlets and
was even picked up by a few prominent Iranian dissidents around the world. Despite the enthusiastic pitch, Bennett’s hackathon scheme never gained traction. Shortly after he uploaded the tweet, internet access began returning to Iran and business returned as usual. But while Bennett’s idea two years ago didn’t materialize, it was a purview of some other things to come.
The
strength of Israel’s cyber echo system hardly needs elaboration. The nexus of an advanced military, bustling private industry, a wealth of human capital, and a government more than willing to fund R&D has produced over the past two decades the most innovative IT sector in the world. Every year, the industry breaks foreign investment records. This included 2020, a year in which other areas of the economy were reeling from the COVID pandemic. In the first
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Tel Aviv’s Cyber Horse, constructed of infected technology, was on display during Cyber Week half of 2021, Israeli tech companies brought in $3 billion in funding – that figure accounted for forty percent of global cybersecurity investment. For many years now, Israeli firms as well as government agencies have been organizing international tech events. These get-togethers haven’t been limited to marketing gimmicks or buyers’ conventions. Many of these gatherings have working objectives and are designed to attract the best and the brightest to collaborate on finding solutions to hard problems. In the last four years, socalled hackathon events in Israel (no, Bennett was not the first to use the term) have tackled challenges ranging from improving outpatient care for the autistic, to unreliable remote banking services, to battling Australian wildfires. Seeking to capitalize on Israel’s solid reputation as an IT collaboration epicenter, Bennett – now Prime Minister Bennett – recently called for a worldwide cyber defense initiative coordinated by the Israeli government. Speaking at the annual Cyber Week conference at Tel Aviv University two months ago, Bennett called for a “global cyber defense shield,” or GDS, to bring together governments, private companies, and even individual developers from
around the world. Speaking to a gathering of guests from a dozen countries, Bennett laid out his case for why the GDS plan was necessary. “Everything is under attack. Our water, our electricity,
explained, is not exempt from these concerns. “This makes me worried. As prime minister of Israel, I view this as one of the top threats of national security.” What Bennett drove home was the important shift taking place in the cyber threat landscape. The digitization of all basic utilities, public resources, and modes of communication have changed the nature of cyber-attacks. What used to be largely a data loss concern – i.e., the threat the hackers would steal proprietary data or gain illicit access – has become a real-world security one. And this has made cyber an attractive option for many seeking to wreak havoc quickly and cheaply. “Today the best ROI is a cyberattack,” he noted. “You just need a brain, knowledge, experience, and an internet line... I believe cyberattacks have become one of the significant threats to world peace.” Of course, Bennett was not speaking theoretically. In recent months, Israel has experienced a string of hacks – all, incidentally, linked back to Iran. The trend culminated in attacks on the Israeli Water Authority in April and again
“IF YOU TRY TO FIGHT ALONE, YOU’RE GONNA LOSE. IF YOU FIGHT TOGETHER, YOU’RE GONNA WIN.”
our food, our airplanes, our cars. Everything is vulnerable. Why is that? Because it’s easy.” The newly installed PM explained the “asymmetric” nature of cyberwarfare, an arena that gives relatively weak and resource-poor countries a leg up. “If you want to attack, the best, easiest and cheapest method is through a cyber-attack. That is why it will increase as time goes on.” Israel, as Bennett
in July, days before Bennett’s speech at the cyber conference. According to intelligence assessments, the goal of the attacks was to release high volumes of chlorine and other chemicals into the country’s drinking water. There was also a chance the attack could have triggered a fail-safe mechanism that would have left thousands without drinking water until a reboot was possible. In fact, the second attack in July did
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succeed in temporarily disrupting agricultural irrigation channels run by advanced computerized systems. Although the attacks were both thwarted, it raised serious questions about the ability of civilian agencies such as the Water Authority to protect themselves against such incursions. Israel’s Military Intelligence Wing, Aman, delivered a report shortly afterward delineating the risk to public utilities and other digitized infrastructure. According to the Aman chief General Tamir Hayman, Israel’s defense capabilities at the civilian level were good but could certainly be better. “We are able to deal with most of the threats through advanced defense capabilities,” said Hayman, but “additional steps must be taken to preserve Israel’s [tactical] superiority over our enemies.”
Israel
has not been the only one to experience firsthand this growing threat to critical infrastructure. On the eve of July 4, the U.S. logistics firm Kaseya was the target of a massive ransomware attack at the hands of the Russian hacker group known as REvil. Kaseya provides IT management tools for some 40,000 customers worldwide. The company has said that REvil managed to target only about 40 of its clients but that some of those are Managed Service Providers (MSPs) that may each work with hundreds of businesses. In all, around 1,500 businesses worldwide were affected by the attack that left tangible real-world effects, from disrupting supply chains, to disabling computerized cash registries. The event brought back recent memories of the SolarWinds hacking campaign last December. In that coordinated attack, the U.S. software firm SolarWinds was used as a springboard to compromise a raft of federal government agencies. Commenting on the incident in a 60 Minutes interview, Microsoft president Brad Smith stated unequivocally that SolarWinds experienced the “largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen.” Israel’s GDS plan seems to offer a networked approach to this increasingly dangerous problem. Israel’s
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achievements in the IT field are the result of private innovation, government cooperation, and military/intelligence application all coalescing together. The GDS seeks to export that model and maybe even bolster it a bit at home. Less than a week following the July attack on its water systems, Israel signed an agreement with the Israeli cyber firm SIGA to bolster its current defense systems. The deal with SIGA was not meant merely as an extra layer of defense. SIGA is in many ways the quintessential Israeli cyber firm, with private and government clients in the U.S. the Gulf, and Europe. As cyber by its very nature is not confined by national borders, cooperation with private firms with international business relationships is essential. Bennett explained this point with a crude but rather on-target example. “Imagine you’re on a bus, a very crowded bus. And there’s a pickpocket who is trying to steal your wallet. Well, there’s one option, you can be silent, and that same pickpocket will go on to the next guy and try to pickpocket him, and the next guy. Or, what if you took out red spray and sprayed his face with red, and you said, ‘Here’s a criminal.’ And everyone said, ‘Oh, there’s a criminal,’ everyone can then defend themselves. “The national cyber agency is that spray and that megaphone that tells everyone, ‘Here’s the bad guy.’ This agency also works on an ongoing basis with all our defense agencies, the Mossad, the Shin Bet, [and] Unit 8200,” referring to the army’s signals intelligence group. “And now the big news is we’re going global. The same national network that is working so well at the national level, we’re opening up, announcing the global cybernet shield where we’re using the very same principles of connectivity because the main thing is if you try to fight alone, you’re gonna lose. If you fight together, you’re gonna win.” If successful, the GDS would provide, through Israel’s management, a worldwide network with which to defend against global distributed attacks in real time. “Usually, the bad guys and the bad nations work on multiple attacks. Let’s say they’re attacking a
Chilean water facility and an Indian water facility three minutes later. If they all share information on the modus operandi – how are they doing it, where is it coming from – immediately you can differentiate between the good signals, which are noise, and the bad guys,” Bennett explained. “That’s the idea of the network. And then, in real time, you can alert, you can investigate together, with joint resources. We’re [basing this on] principles of connectivity because the main thing is if you try to fight alone, you’re gonna lose. If you fight together, you’re gonna win.” According to reports, the GDS scheme is already well underway. The plan is currently being initiated by Israel’s National Cyber Directorate headed by Yigal Unna, a longtime veteran of the cyber defense establishment and one who has been sounding the alarm on the risk to critical infrastructure for years. The Directorate could not have picked a better time to launch the program. In wake of the July 4th ransomware attack, companies around
think about that. “Today, we invite all like-minded, good countries across the world, good nations to join forces in the global cyber defense shield.”
A
discussion on a program like GDS wouldn’t be complete without highlighting what it means
“THE NATIONAL CYBER AGENCY IS THAT SPRAY AND THAT MEGAPHONE THAT TELLS EVERYONE, ‘HERE’S THE BAD GUY.’” the world are looking for ways to reliably protect their operations from the real-world effects of cyber assault. A slew of countries has already become partners in the GDS plan. “We’re already in touch and we’ve already signed MOUs with dozens of countries,” said Bennett in closing his speech. “But we’re bringing it to the next level of online, real-time defense. A global network shield –
for Israel’s broader strategy in engaging the world. For a long time now, Israel has made a concerted effort to portray itself as an asset on a global scale, offering vital assistance and critical solutions on the world’s most pressing problems. But this is no longer just about Israeli companies pumping out innovative products. It is about Israel becoming an indispensable partner that the world can look to during serious challenges.
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The world was reminded of this theme back in June following the Surfside condo tragedy in Miami. Within twenty-four hours of the residential building’s collapse, Israel’s Defense Ministry approved the deployment of a Home Guard Corps search and rescue team. This was not a mere gesture on the part of Israel. The team, led by Colonel Golan Vach, played a key role in the planning and execution of the mission. Reportedly, the teams studied the structure of Champlain Tower while still in Israel and built 3D models of the 40-year-old high-rise. The team then carefully replicated the manner in which the tower appeared to have collapsed, sharing these findings and instructing other units on the ground on how to excavate the site with the highest probability of finding survivors. When asked candidly by a reporter why the United States, typically not lacking expertise when it comes to these matters, required Israel’s assistance, Vach answered: “It’s not that we have better resources necessarily, we just have much more experience.” Indeed, for better or for worse, Israel has garnered some pretty unique experience during its short history. With often dire necessity driving its innovation, many sectors of Israel’s society today have invaluable assets to share with the world. It is initiatives like GDS that are pushing forward an important trend. Let us hope it will continue to be received as well as it has.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
Home of the Famous 456 Central Avenue 516.791.1925
Non-Iron Shirt
BALTIMORE • BROOKLYN • CEDARHURST • CHICAGO • LAKEWOOD • MONSEY • TORONTO
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A Few Minutes with the Tape Man BY NATE DAVIS
I
t’s another icy Sunday morning in February as I drive back home from my thousandth carpool. But there are rays of sunshine – the Super Bowl was two weeks ago, we are a week from March and the feeling of Purim is starting to permeate the air. Did we survive another winter? Is the end in sight? As I pull onto my block, I see him – the Tape Man. Standing in front of my house, pulling pads out of his pockets, with his two tattered suitcases in tow. I break out into a grin. “The Tape Man is back! We made it…. Spring is coming! Spring is coming!” I am greeted by Reb Tzvi Rubenstein’s broad smile as if he has been waiting twelve months to ask me how I liked the “two Shwekey CDs that you bought last year,” and of course to tell me that he loved my wife’s spinach kugel from last year and is wondering, “Do you still have any left over from Shabbos?” I learned about a dozen years ago that there is no way to prevent the suitcases from coming into the house – they are BOTH coming in and are each being slowly unzipped, revealing those now ancient objects called CDs and DVDs. I also learn that Uncle Moishy just came out with his 43rd album which I must get for my kids (who are no longer keeping up with Uncle Moishy and no longer know what a CD is). “It’s really good…Oh yeah! That one is great! Your kids will love it!” Well, this time, instead of the usual chit-chat with Reb Tzvi about the weather, I finally decide to interview him. I hit record and Reb Tzvi takes off his coats…yes, coats…and we get to know each other a little better. After hearing about his favorite hobby, I decide to keep this interview for our Sukkos issue, in honor of Simchas Torah. Why? Well, you will see.
Reb Tzvi, how long have you been fundraising for? Since 1982.
So during the week you fundraise at night? Yes.
How many houses do you hit a year? Thousands…maybe ten thousand.
How often do you go out fundraising? I go Sunday through Thursday.
How many hours a night do you go out during the week? Like 3½ hours. How long do you go out for on Sundays? I start at around 10AM and I end at around 9:30PM.
Do you remember everyone’s names? Some names I remember by heart, but I have it written down also. I know you by heart.
What do you do for your 9 to 5 job? I work at the Worker’s Comp board. I’m an examiner.
Let me give you a random name. Do you know the S--- family [name redacted for privacy. -ed.]
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I have six siblings; three of them are religious.
What are you going to do about that? Well, when it stops, I’ll just go fundraising, that’s it. I’m not going to worry about it.
They were in the camps? My father, who was from Poland, he was in the woods, and my mother came [over] during the war.
It looks like you have some new suitcases. How long does the average suitcase last? Usually, they last for around six months.
How did they get to Michigan? They actually met in Pittsburgh and then went to Michigan.
Wow! How about your shoes? I switch them every day; I don’t wear the same shoes two days in a row.
Were your parents religious before the Holocaust? Yes. Were they chassidish? I don’t know exactly; my father’s father had a beard. Did your parents talk about the Holocaust and their experience during the Holocaust? Not really.
That’s right! Now, you certainly know my parents. Do you remember where I lived when I was a kid? Sure, on Hicksville Road in Far Rockaway. Oh, by the way…is your father home now? Can you find out for me? Sure. Wait a minute, let’s finish this first. Do you have a photographic memory? Not photographic. But I remember things, Baruch Hashem…I’m very good with numbers. Where did you grow up? In Detroit. How did you become religious? When I was in high school, we had to do book reports. So I read The Chosen by Chaim Potok, and it talks against the chassidim. So I wanted to see what chassidim were. There was a Chabad nearby, so I went there. Then I went for Shabbos and I ended up joining the National Guard. Then I got out of there by going to yeshiva…in Morristown, New Jersey. That’s how it started. Are your siblings religious too?
nologies.
It’s interesting for a non-religious family to have seven kids. My parents came from the Holocaust.
Were you brought up affiliated at all? Totally not.
in Brooklyn? Sure, they are at 3355 Bedford Avenue.
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Were they around when you and your siblings became religious? Yes. Were they proud of that? Yes, they were. Did they ever come see the Rebbe? Yes. When my oldest had an upsherin, they came. The Rebbe spoke with them. Did you ever meet the Rebbe one-on-one? Never one-on-one, but baruch Hashem I went to a lot of farbrengens. Did you go to every farbrengen? Not every single one, but I went whenever possible. So your family is now Chabbad? Yes, baruch Hashem… I have four boys and four girls. What’s the most CDs that you ever sold on a single visit to a family? Around 20. Are there certain families that buy a lot every year? Now it’s slowing down because of the new tech-
Why not? Because it’s better for your feet and the shoes. Do you have a lazy bone in your body? No. You definitely don’t. Do you ever say, “It’s just too cold for me to go fundraising today”? I never used to, but when I get older, it might change. What is the coldest weather that you went out in? Like zero degrees. Does your wife ever try to stop you from going out in the freezing cold? No, no, no. She supports the tzedakah. What are the most popular CDs? MBD and Avraham Fried used to be the most popular. But now it’s probably Shwekey. Benny Friedman and Mordechai Shapiro are also popular. I see that you are very into health. Yes, I eat healthy and do a lot of walking.
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Do you write down when you came to my house last? No, every year I come around the same time. I have a routine.
What advice would you give a first time hagbah-doer? They should have someone next to them to guide them.
Which neighborhood is the most generous out of all the neighborhoods that you visit? Lawrence.
So you do hagbah every Shabbos? Yeah, yeah. I bought hagbah for the year.
What else do you think is interesting for me to ask you? Well, you can ask what my favorite hobby is. OK then, what is your favorite hobby? Doing hagbah is my favorite hobby. Ding! Ding! Ding! That’s a first! So you are a hagbahist? Yeah, yeah. Explain, please. I don’t know, I just feel good when I do it. It puts me in a good ruchniyus mood. What is your favorite hagbah season – Bereishis? Devarim? The middle? The middle is the easiest. How many columns do you show during your hagbahs? Usually three. Aha, so you are not a wide hagbah guy. No. It’s all in the knees, right? Absolutely. But also the wrists. Your body has to be able to balance the Torah.
How much did it cost you to buy for the year? Well, actually, I have two other partners. Are there ever conflicts between the partners about who should do it? No, the partners want me to do it. Do you guys have the ownership rights to galilah as well? We do, but we let anyone do it. What is the most hagbahs that you ever did in one day? I did at least eight in one day.
I learned about a dozen years ago that there is no way to prevent the suitcases from coming into the house – they are BOTH coming in and are each being slowly unzipped, revealing those now ancient objects called CDs and DVDs.
That’s pretty good. Yeah, because on the yahrtzeit of the Frierdiker Rebbe everyone gets an aliyah, so there are a lot of Torahs. That’s gotta be a record. I just love doing it. I don’t do it to show off. Now, you do it Chabbad style so you are actually picking up the Torah twice and you have to put it down twice. So your record of eight, is like sixteen for Litvish people! Yeah, yeah.
You may even make it to the Guinness World Book of Records, if you tried. Maybe, you never know. Wait, you would make it for how many hagbahs you have done. You certainly would make it for walking the most distance in New York with luggage. That’s for sure. You would also make it to the Guinness World Book of Records for having the oldest pocket-notebook. Maybe. You would make it for…when did you get your driver’s license? When I was sixty. OK, so you are hitting on the World Book of Records for that too, perhaps. Yeah, probably. There has to be a couple of others… I probably sold more CDs to houses than anyone else did. Definitely. You would make it to the World Book of Records for that. And, you will make it as the last guy that is selling CDs. That’s true; nobody does it anymore. So you have a lot of world records. Yeah, write it down! It’s all written down! OK, Reb Tzvi, we are going to make you a famous Guinness World Book of Records champ! I can’t wait. Reb Tzvi, you are a lot of fun to talk to. Baruch Hashem…thank you!
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TJH Speaks with Councilman
BRUCE BLAKEMAN,
Candidate for Nassau County Executive BY SUSAN SCHWAMM
Councilman, you’re running for Nassau County Executive in November, but there are so many layers of government that some people don’t even know what the county executive does. First and foremost, let’s talk about what the role of the county executive is. The county executive is like the mayor. Nassau County has about 1.3 million people, and the County is responsible for law enforcement, the jail system, social services, highways, parks and recreation – different from the town. Towns usually are responsible for sanitation and public highways, etc. There are a lot of different layers of government, but the county is more the equivalent of, let’s say, the city of New York. It would be like the city government. Currently, the Nassau County Executive is Laura Curran. She is a Democrat but some people would
say she acts, policy-wise, a little bit like a Republican. What are your thoughts on that? That is absolutely not true. She likes to pretend that she’s a moderate but she is not. She’s with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. She’s raised taxes. She has reassessed the county in a very, very haphazard manner that’s resulted in two-thirds of the people in this county getting a large tax increase. She’s the first county executive who is responsible for raising school taxes. If you raise the county tax, which is about 18% of your tax bill, it doesn’t have the same impact that a reassessment would have. There are people who got $10K and $15K increases in their property taxes, and they can’t make ends meet. So that’s just one instance of how she is definitely with the Democratic Party. The other is that she says she’s pro-police but she’s said, on tape, and we have it, that she wouldn’t rule
out defunding the police. As a matter of fact, she said, “I absolutely would not rule out defunding the police.” She also vetoed a bill that would give protection to police officers who are injured in riots and by people who committed violent crimes. She vetoed that. So that’s not somebody who is a moderate. She has refused to denounce Talib, Omar, AOC. How can you be a Democrat and say that you’re a moderate and not demand that they be thrown out of the party for being anti-Semites? They claim they’re anti-Israel, but they’re anti-Semites. So while Laura is a nice person – and I like her personally – she’s a progressive. She’s surrounded by progressives, most of the people who work for her in the executive offices are from New York City. They’re De Blasio types. So the reality is that she presents herself very well and she likes to say when she comes to certain commu-
nities that she’s a moderate, but you have to listen to what she says in other communities. On her record, she is a progressive liberal, and, unfortunately, if she were reelected, she would be the deciding vote on redistricting. The redistricting is going to be taking place soon. Yes. Right now, the only reason why we haven’t gone farther left in Nassau County is because of the Republican majority in the Legislature. But if the County Legislature went Democrat, and it most likely would if she won reelection, then you’d have one party rule in Nassau County like you have in Albany, like you have in Washington, D.C., and we would go far left. In addition, Laura Curran is going around the state saying that she would like to run for governor if she’s reelected. We know that to win a Democratic primary, she would
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have to take a hard left turn. I don’t believe she’s a moderate. She’s a nice person but she has a liberal agenda that’s not good for Nassau County. You mentioned the position of the governor. What do you think about our neighbor in Suffolk County, Lee Zeldin, running for governor? I fully support Lee Zeldin for governor. We’re working together. He’s supporting me for County Executive. As a matter of fact, he’s coming in and doing a fundraiser for me in October. The fundraiser is going to be local on October 3. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, Congressman Andrew Garbarino, and former Congressman Peter King will be hosting it as well. You’ve been in politics for so many years. What now is foremost on people’s minds when it comes to politics? Well, I think there are really two main issues in this election. Taxes is number one. The reassessment of taxes, like I said, hurt so many people. Two-thirds of people got a massive increase in their reassessment. They can’t afford. We have to fix the reassessment, and I have the experience and the background, both in the public sector and the private sector, to fix it. The other issue on everyone’s minds is crime. Shootings are up 39% in Nassau County. In one week, there was a shooting in New Hyde Park, a shooting in Rockville Center, and a home invasion in Garden City. We’ve never had that before in Nassau County. In addition, there were two shootings in the last 10 days in Inwood. It’s a situation where crime is out of control. Again, Laura Curran fashions herself as a moderate but she’s not.
She’s not opposed to the Bail Reform Act, or as I call it, the get-out-of-jailfree act, which has resulted in people committing crime after crime and not having to serve in jail pending their court trial or at least post a bail or a bond so that they return to court. I think it’s going to come down to trust in this election. Now, who do you trust? Do you trust someone who is a consistent conservative, or do you trust somebody who says one thing in one neighborhood and something completely different in another neighborhood? Talking about crime and the getout-of-jail-free card, what are your thoughts on Todd Kaminsky running for Nassau County District County? Well, it’s very perplexing that he would run for district attorney because, basically, he was the author of the Bail Reform Act, which is the getout-of-jail-free act and it’s resulted in just such an uptick in crime – violent crime. The 3,000 prisoners who were let out due to Bail Reform Act in the Metropolitan area committed 9,000 new crimes. It’s crazy! His opponent Anne Donnelly is a seasoned prosecutor. She’s been a prosecutor for over 25 years. She’s prosecuted murder cases, rape cases, very complex criminal fraud cases. Todd is a nice guy, a friend of mine, but he’s a career politician and not a prosecutor. What’s the makeup in Nassau County of Democrats versus Republicans? There is a decided advantage of registered Democrats in the County. But of those registered Democrats, I would say there’s a good 20% of them that are really moderate and are swing voters.
In reality, it’s a purple county. It goes both ways, when it comes to elections. Sometimes it goes Republican, sometimes it goes Democrat. This year, I believe it’s going to go Republican. Why? For a very important reason. Every election is decided by independent voters or blank voters. They register blank. They don’t want to affiliate with a party. They’re the largest growing group, and they’re the ones that decide the elections here in Nassau County. This year I’ve talked to so many independent and blank voters, and they say they’re voting Republican. They’re fed up, they’ve had enough, they’ve seen what happened in Washington D.C., they’ve seen what happened in Albany, they’ve seen what’s happening in New York City, and they know that Laura Curran basically is with the Democrats. She doesn’t denounce the Democrats. I mean, how can you say you’re a moderate when you have someone in your party like AOC or Talib or Omar, and you don’t demand that they be thrown out of the party? She said nothing when the new governor, Kathy Hochul, appointed a defund-the-police Democrat senator from New York City. Do you feel that what’s happening in New York City will affect Nassau County voters come November? Absolutely. So many people are moving to Long Island from New York City because, quite frankly, they’ve had it. They’ve seen what one party rule has done. They’ve seen a progressive, liberal, socialist agenda, and they don’t want it. They don’t want to be part of it. People should be aware that you’ve got to dig deeper than the
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surface. People say nice things, and Democrats will come visit your schools, and they’ll come to community events, and that’s all well and good. But what are their policies? What have they done? What do they stand for? My opponent stands for the Democratic Party. She stands with Kathy Hochul. She stands with the defund-the-police lieutenant governor. She stands with Mayor Bill de Blasio. She stands with AOC, Talib, and Omar until she actually demands that they be thrown out of the party. Can you imagine me as a Republican, if there was an anti-Semite in my party, how the media would be after me? The media is giving all the Democrats a pass, and they get away with it. And I put Bernie Sanders in there, too. I think he’s an anti-Semite. I know he comes from a Jewish background, but I think he’s an anti-Semite as well. The County Legislature passed a bill that would give police officers the same right as regular citizens that if they’re injured by a criminal act, such as a riot or resisting arrest, that they would have the right to sue the person who attacked them. And that’s a right enjoyed by everybody. The legislature passed the bill, and Laura Curran vetoed it. That was an opportunity for her to stand up for the cops but she didn’t do it. She cited some constitutional reason, but it was just basic legal gobbledygook. When you mentioned all these people moving from New York City, is that a help or a hindrance? Many of those who are moving are liberal and are moving because they’re fed up with the homeless situation and the crime situation in NYC. Do you think that’s going to turn Nassau County less purple? Well, it would be very foolish to
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move to Nassau County and continue your voting patterns that created the mess in New York City. I’m hoping they’re smart enough that they realize that they moved out here for a reason. They like the way we live out here. But our way of life is really in jeopardy. Shootings are up, taxes have gone through the roof, and there’s a mentality of a very liberal, progressive agenda here. You know what’s on people’s minds? It’s the petty crimes that we’re experiencing. You leave your car doors unlocked, and it’s an open invitation for criminals. Bicycles are being stolen; packages are being swiped off of porches in broad daylight. What can be done on a county level to help with that? We have to elect a Republican County Executive, who then will be someone who represents one of the largest counties in the state, who will go up to Albany and demand that they change the law so these criminals don’t get arrested and are released to commit another crime right away – and another and another and another. It’s turnstile lack of justice, and it’s a big, big problem. The Nassau County Executive can have a voice in that. Number two, we need to take the state back. The way you take the state back is you take Nassau County back first. Lee Zeldin, in my estimation, is the Republicans’ best chance to win the governor’s race. I am supporting him 100%, and he is supporting me. He has said many times, you can’t take the state back unless you take Nassau County back. Lee Zeldin has said that the county executive race in Nassau County is the most important race in the state this year. It’s the only major county that a Republican has a chance to win. And we’re going
to win this year. We’re going to win for a lot of different reasons because Republicans are energized. Independent voters are with us. Moderate Democrats are with us. And – fun fact – in the last 24 years, the county executive candidate who won in Nassau County was in the opposite party of the sitting president. So there’s
a lack of American leadership. Did you ever meet Trump? Many times. He’s not everybody’s cup of tea as far as personality. But he did some amazing things as president, and his word was his bond. He did what he said he would do, whether it be mov-
“Because of redistricting, their vote in November will essentially determine what the county is going to look like for the next 10 years.”
typically a backlash, and especially this year because President Biden is doing such a miserable job of leading this country, I think people are going to take it out on all Democrats this year.
ing the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or saying what he would do with tax policy. I thought he was an excellent president. And I’m disappointed that he’s not serving another four years.
It was really heartbreaking to hear that 13 U.S. servicemembers were killed in the Kabul airport blast. I have a son serving in the Marine Corps right now. He’s a yeshiva boy who joined the Marine Corps. It was lifelong ambition of his to join the Marine Corps. He’s serving in the aviation division of the United States Marine Corps. What’s going on is very troubling to me and his mother. He’s stationed in Cherry Point, North Carolina. He’s been to Djibouti. He’s been to Afghanistan. In the four years that President Trump was President, we virtually had no war, and in six months of President Biden, the whole world is a mess because of
Do you think he’s going to run again? I’m not sure. I think the next six to eight months will tell whether he jumps in the ring. But I think he’d make an excellent candidate. I think Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley would make great candidates as well. I think we have a lot of great candidates on the Republican side. When you look on the other side, you have Joe Biden, Kamala Harris – she must be in the witness protection program because I haven’t seen her in six months. It’s a sad commentary. Let’s talk about the past year and a half of COVID. What are your
thoughts about how Nassau County combated it? I think my opponent’s leadership was lacking during COVID-19. The Town of Hempstead was the first to have mobile vaccinations. We partnered up with Mount Sinai Hospital; we partnered up with Northwell. Now, granted, it’s a large town – it’s the largest town in America. But where was the leadership from the County? Laura Curran didn’t start talking about vaccinations and their availability until I talked about it. Number two, masks. I think masks should be optional for schoolchildren. I don’t think schoolchildren should be mandated to have masks. There’s no science to support that. And by the way, children rarely get seriously ill from COVID-19. Now, adults rarely get seriously ill because of all the treatments. When I had COVID in April, I had it very bad. But because of Regeneron, within two to three days, I was feeling better. I didn’t have to be hospitalized. I also don’t think they should mandate vaccinations. I think it should be up to the individual and their physician. Not by the government. Do you agree with what New York City’s doing in terms of requiring vaccinations in restaurants? No, no. They’ve trying to kill their hospitality industry in New York City. What we did in the Town of Hempstead during COVID – and I was the one who initiated the resolution – we allowed restaurants and religious institutions to be able to put up tents and nonpermanent structures in parking lots and places without having to have a hearing and without having to go before the board of zoning appeals. All they had to do was
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come in with an architect’s plan, and we’d stamp it and approve it because A, the restaurants were going through a terrible time. We were losing them. B, the economy was going south. And C, I heard from rabbis, ministers, and priests that people needed spiritual nourishment during the pandemic. And they weren’t getting it because they weren’t allowed to go to a house of worship. It was ridiculous. You were able to have hundreds of people in Costco but only ten people in a synagogue. I saw a recent headline where a non-Orthodox rabbi saying that they were cancelling Rosh Hashana services because of fears of anti-Semitism. That is completely wrong. We should never let anti-Semitism stop us from being proud, being courageous, and being religious. I have a reputation for fighting back. I twintown the Town of Hempstead with the Shomron. I was told by our town attorneys that it’s a violation of international law to twin-town with the Shomron. And I told them, well, we don’t follow international law here in the Town of Hempstead, so we’re doing it. I have very close relationships with the leaders in the Shomron. I obviously have family in Israel. I’m buying an apartment in Israel outside of Beit Shemesh. You have to be a proud Jew. And you’ve got to be a tough Jew. You’ve been in politics for how many years? Since I was five years old. My father was the state assemblyman in this area. I grew up in politics, and it got in my blood at an early age. I love politics because it gives me the opportunity to solve people’s problems, which is very gratifying.
How many people can say that every day they get an opportunity to do a mitzvah? And every day, I get an opportunity to do a mitzvah. When you look at the Five Towns area, I think there’s virtually no synagogue, or very few, that I didn’t have a part in helping them get their building permit, capping their fees, making sure that their building plans were examined expeditiously, so they didn’t
were five, so it’s been many, many years. What would you say are some of your major accomplishments? Well, again, I think establishing the Hewlett House was very important. I established the first Childcare Council in Nassau County to inventory and promote daycare so that working parents have a place to bring their children that are safe. I think that my work in law enforce-
“How many people can say that every day they get an opportunity to do a mitzvah?” have to wait a long time. I get calls all the time. And those are the things that I think are important. I established the Hewlett House, the first breast cancer Learning Resource Center in America here in Hewlett. There are over 60,000 women who have been treated there since we established it back in 1999. People in this community should ask my opponent how she feels about tax credits for private schools and religious schools. She won’t tell you where she stands. I will tell you. I’m for tax credits. She won’t tell you where she stands with respect to vouchers for private schools and religious schools. I’m for them. She’s afraid to say it because she’s afraid of the New York City Teachers Union and the progressives who are against religious schools. So again, that’s another difference between us.
ment and homeland security has been very important. And certainly in this community, helping religious institutions get through the red tape of government when they want to establish places here or expand – I think my track record is great. If you look at all of the yeshivas and congregations that have opened up here, we probably have the most vibrant Orthodox Jewish community in the United States right here. And the best. And I tell that to people all over – whether they’re in Chicago or LA, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, Miami. I say we have the best Orthodox Jewish community here. It’s important that people vote in this election. They don’t realize that because of redistricting, their vote in November will essentially determine what the county is going to look like for the next 10 years.
You’ve been in politics since you
I know you’ve been so busy over the
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past few weeks campaigning. What do you do to relax? I used to play golf. But now that I’m running for county executive, I haven’t been able to golf for quite some time because I’ve been so busy. I exercise three to four times a week. And I live in Atlantic Beach and like to walk on the boardwalk and clear my head. I love looking at the ocean, any time of day. I also love hanging out with my kids. I have three kids. They’re so great to hang out with. I love taking them out to dinner. I’m a big dinner person. I like to go to Prime Bistro, Doma, Cork & Slice, Coffee Bar – there are so many great places to eat around here. I’m a pretty intense person, but I know how to chill. You mentioned to me one time that you like to dunk in the ocean. I love it. I actually did it yesterday. I literally walk to the ocean, jump in, swim for five minutes, and walk out. It clears my head. I always say that I have saltwater in my veins – I love the ocean. You mentioned that you’re involved in many community organizations and with many shuls in helping to get them off the ground. Yes. I try to help in any way I can. You know that shul we were talking about before? One guy called me up and told me that they couldn’t get their permits approved because of COVID. So I called the mayor of Cedarhurst and asked him to help them move things along. And we were able to get it done. And that was the mitzvah for the day. Yup. That was the mitzvah of the day.
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Dating Dialogue
What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters
Dear Navidaters,
I was dating a girl seriously (I’ll call her Eliana) for two months to be exact. I’ve taken her on expensive and thoughtful dates, bought her gifts, and we even started talking about the future. She abruptly ended things after I told her a private piece of information about myself when I was in high school.
Even though we were on our own and dropped the shadchan, the shadchan called it off, and I never got closure from Eliana herself. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. I think I deserve better, and the way I have been treated after being vulnerable makes me sick. I want to demand a phone call to clarify things – if she really wants to end things, she should do it to my face, not through a third party. Do I not deserve that after all I’ve done for her? Side note: she doesn’t have much of a clean slate herself and has been through her own fair share of things in high school. How dare she judge me and drop me like a hot potato, and my parents agree. How should I go about this the right way? Thanks in advance -Jacob*
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
The Shadchan
already burnt; use new ingredients to make a new one.
Michelle Mond Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.
J
acob, I hear your hurt and feel for you. Eliana did not end the relationship with grace and maturity. She took the easy route by going through the shadchan. She could have followed up with a call and conversation. Nonetheless, the language you are using – dare, drop me like a hot potato, makes me sick, demand, for example – tells me that you are really angry. The beginning of a new year gives you an opportunity to communicate, clean the slate, and move on. Yes, and forgive her even though she hurt you deeply. But you must do so with sincerity and calmness. I would suggest that you work on two things to help you accomplish this effectively without flying off the handle. You have to be ready emotionally, however. One, prepare and edit a text to send her shortly before the chag. In it, you can write something like this: as the year closes and we both move forward in our lives, I think it would be appropriate to offer each other mechila and commitment to maintain confidentiality about the private things we have shared. Can we arrange to have a civil, respectful phone conversation to put the past to rest? Two, prepare a script, edit it, and practice it so it comes out with the content and seriousness you wish. Preparing your lines and really thinking through what you want to say about the past and future will help you keep your emotions in check even if some triggers are activated. Insist on a phone conversation. If you must, say something about Yorm Kippu not atoning for interpersonal relationship issues and layer on the Torah. This time of year has special properties for forgiveness and personal growth. Go for it!
D
ear Jacob, I hear the pain in your letter loud and clear and am so sorry you are going through this break-up. Break-ups are the worst on so many levels. This was someone whom you have invested time, effort, and energy in. You have given physically as well as emotionally. You have opened your heart to vulnerability only to have that vulnerable part crushed. Lack of clarity after a break-up feels like an emotional amputation. This all being said, the anger that’s apparent in your letter worries me. Using terms like “demand” and “she’s been through her fair share,” “deserve better,” “how dare she” – as a whole it makes me wonder about your personal emotional thermometer. Is it possible she saw signs of brazenness, harshness, anger, impatience, or narcissism that made her scared to break up with you directly? Think about it. It could be I am completely off base; you are the only one who can answer this question because we are responding to an anonymous letter. It could be that she felt this way for a while but was scared to act on it. I do not know you or your situation personally, and would not have suggested this had it not been for the underlying tones in your letter, but I wonder if this could be the missing piece. One thing is for sure: Jacob, you must move on. I know how hard it is to start over again but when you meet the right one you will understand why this one was not meant to be. Furthermore, make this experience an opportunity to grow as an individual, to work on your patience and bitachon. Give yourself the opportunity to be able to sit alone with yourself. Sit and tell your inner child that you are worthy, capable, and will make an amazing husband – to someone else. No need to stir up a pot of soup that’s
The Single
You deserve more than to be running after someone who is not interested.
Rivka Weinberg
J
acob, when I began reading your letter I had tears in my eyes and could not even imagine the pain you must be feeling. We all crave relationships where we have the freedom and comfortability to be vulnerable, with the hopes of feeling accepted and loved. With that said, I would like to give you a huge yasher koach for taking that leap and putting yourself out there in a vulnerable way. You should know that in general vulnerability leads to authenticity, which generates real healthy relationships. I am sorry that Eliana was not mekabel what you told her and felt the need to end the relationship. I agree with you that she should not have done that through the shadchan, rather she should have spoken to you herself. This action of hers alone says a lot about her and her (lack of) communication skills, so hopefully that gives you some degree of clarity. I also think it is interesting that the shadchan was okay with the way this played out, but then again there are always three sides to a story – hers, yours, and the truth. When it comes to break-ups, people usually run for the “closure” card. While I do believe to some extent that a conversation with Eliana may have helped you, real genuine closure comes from within. You need to be enough for yourself to be able to say that you tried your best and gave 120% to the relationship, because that’s all anyone could ask from you. Take this time now to discover yourself and learn about what you really need in a relationship. As cliché as it sounds, time will heal. You deserve more than to be running after someone who is
not interested, because you are better than that. We all deserve to be accepted and appreciated. However, the use of your word “demand” when discussing the closure and clarity you wish you receive actually makes me sick. Did you proofread this before you sent the question in? I cannot possibly understand why you think that is a normal thing to say. Healthy people do not “demand” others to do things for us, especially when it comes to apologizing. Even more so, just because you are hurt and offended, does not mean you can take shots at Eliana and her past as well. You need a big reality check, my friend. The right way to go about this is by putting yourself in therapy and working through your own problems. It is one thing to want external closure and clarity, although I don’t believe it to be helpful, but it is another to think demanding such information is normal. Your current language makes me nervous for you and the potential girls you will date, as you don’t seem to express yourself in a healthy way.
The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler
T
here’s a lesson here for all high school students reading this column. Oh, how our mindless, youthful indiscretions can come back to haunt us years afterwards… Jacob, when I first read your letter, I had one opinion; then, I re-read it and had a very different opinion.
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At first, I shared your anger and disbelief. What kind of shadchan would ever agree to do that? What kind of ungrateful young lady would end a relationship with such callous disregard for your feelings? Shouldn’t your date have spoken to you directly, in person or over the phone? Initially, I thought that, perhaps, you had revealed this high school misdeed badly, by boasting about the incident, instead of explaining how you regretted your adolescent blunder.
And that now, perhaps, you deserve an opportunity for closure by discussing the issue with her. Then, I re-read your letter, and realized how very, very angry and upset you are. This is not healthy. Instead, focus upon how the young lady has displayed very poor middos by not giving you an opportunity to explain yourself. She has not ended this relationship nicely, and has revealed that she is really not quite mature enough to be in a long-term relationship. You have dodged
Pulling It All Together
a bullet. Dr. Dana Hodkin, Clinical Assistant Professor at the NYU Langone Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, taught me the concept of “Radical Acceptance.” If you Google that term, you will find the following explanation: “Radical acceptance is when you stop fighting reality, stop responding with impulsive or destructive behaviors when things aren’t going the way you want them to, and let go of bitterness that may be keeping you trapped in a cycle of suffering.” So, Jacob, please accept this reality, and avoid a lot of self-inflicted suffering and pain. It is time for you to move
Healthy people do not “demand” others to do things for us, especially when it comes to apologizing.
on. Please memorize the ending of the poem, Why So Pale and Wan Fond Lover: …If of herself she will not love, Nothing can make her; The devil take her.
The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists
D
ear Jacob, I’m so sorry this happened to you. Eliana did not handle the situation properly at all, and I think if we are honest with ourselves, most human beings would have the same reaction that you and your parents are naturally having: shock, disbelief, anger and wanting answers. Eliana has put you into a state of cognitive dissonance. Things were going so wonderfully, and then suddenly she has vanished. This business of “ghosting” is truly terrifying, and to be ghosted once a serious relationship has been established is nothing short of traumatic. We may have a cute name for it like “ghosting,” but what we are really talking about is abandonment. I completely understand all your feelings surrounding this trauma. They are all valid and make complete sense. You will need time to process
t his loss a nd heal. Before you contact Eliana, I ask of you to think of the greater picture and what your goal is in contacting her. What are you hoping to accomplish? And do you think that this phone call will accomplish that goal? While I understand the need for understanding (to relieve your brain of this dissonance and pain), I don’t know that you will feel at peace from having contacting Eliana. Do you want to get back together with Eliana? Would you take her back if she apologized and stated she wanted to give it another go? Do you want to contact her to share your feelings with her? Sometimes getting in touch with someone who caused us an inordinate amount of pain can be healing...and
sometimes it can cause more heartache. If you feel fully prepared to handle whatever comes your way, then reaching out to express yourself and ask for an answer may be beneficial. If you are not prepared to handle whatever comes your way, then please think about this for a while. Sit with it. Being that Eliana has not reached out to you to give you clarity, tells me she is either immature and not ready to date, inconsiderate or unable to empathize with how her actions make another person feel. If any of the aforementioned is true, you already know that you deserve so much better...so much more. Whatever you decide, try to wish Eliana well and release her. I have recently been listening to meditations by Louise Hay on YouTube. She has wonderful relationship meditations which focus on self-love and affirming what we deserve. You may find her to be an incredible resource during this
trying time. Again, I am truly sorry this devastating and sudden loss has happened to you. It will take time to heal from, but you will get through it. When the time is right, G-d willing, you will meet an incredible woman who will love you and care for you deeply. Wishing you and all the readers a happy, healthy, sweet new year filled with self-love and compassion. To all of those seeking their basherts, may Hashem reveal him/her to you this coming year. Keep doing you. Keep focusing on yourself and your own growth. Protect your energy, have healthy boundaries. Pay attention to your intuition. If something feels wrong, it’s wrong. Fill up your lives with happiness and fulfillment, keep putting yourselves out there, take breaks as needed, and be kind to yourselves. And, as they say, when you least expect it, he/she may walk right into your life. Sincerely, Jennifer
Jennifer Mann, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and certified trauma healing life coach, as well as a dating and relationship coach working with individuals, couples, and families in private practice at 123 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst, NY. She also teaches a psychology course at Touro College. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 718-908-0512. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email JenniferMannLCSW@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.
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Dr. Deb
Why You Need to Do Marriage Counseling Alone By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.
S
ome smart aleck recently told his wife, “I don’t need therapy. I’m a therapist!” He isn’t, but even if he were, who understands themselves so thoroughly that they can catch the bad moods before they take over, recognize their triggers at the moment they’re happening, and soothe their inner children when they react because of those triggers? Who, in short, has so much self-leadership that they could do all that and have themselves figured out – without hurting anyone’s feelings – within minutes of the bad moment coming over them? I can tell you that Dr. Schwartz says in his newest book, “No Bad Parts” (I recommend it), that he himself meets daily with all his parts just to be sure they’re functioning as helpers to him, enhancing his day, rather than taking over and destroying his grip on self-leadership. And for years he’s had a colleague who acts like a chavrusa to be sure he hasn’t missed something. Now, why would Dr. Schwartz himself, the big guy, miss something? The answer is because that is exactly the nature of parts. Our parts have been doing their jobs for a long, long time. And one of those jobs is to
keep us from feeling pain. They do that through ignoring it, distracting ourselves from it, minimizing it, analyzing and rationalizing it, and even pooh-poohing it. In other words, if it’s human to not want to suffer, then why would Dr. Schwartz himself, or any other therapist, or any person, actually, not use these valuable (though mistaken) tools for dealing with their pain? They wouldn’t. Which is why it takes a lot of thought, reflection, and introspection to catch moods (i.e., parts) taking over before they actually succeed. And why it might in addition take a more objective observer to help. So what does this have to do with marriage help? I don’t have to tell you what havoc is wreaked when you get triggered by the person you’re married to. You’ve most likely experienced any or all of these: • Feeling unloved • Feeling like a victim • Feeling mistreated • Feeling angry • Feeling scared or anxious • Feeling depressed or hopeless • Feeling frustrated • Feeling along, misunderstood
• Feeling neglected • Feeling misjudged And so much more is possible, right? These feelings could have been triggered by something your spouse did. But the bad piece of the story is that then your reaction can trigger them back. And it escalates from there. Whether it’s excessive fighting or feeling like roommates or like “ships passing in the night” as someone once remarked, the bad feelings engender worse ones. So how do you get rid of the bad feelings? According to IFS (Internal Family Systems), you don’t. You don’t want to get rid of parts of yourself. They are all parts of you that came to your aid and assistance when you needed it most in your life. They always mean well, even the very disruptive ones that make people say and do things that are dangerous. Those, too, are kids inside of you, many as young as five years old. So, of course, their behavior’s no good. But they are good. They are the well-meaning children still living within us all and often making big mistakes out of not knowing what
else to do. Now picture a therapy room with a couple trying to be grown up and mature but not at all succeeding because each has triggered some child parts of the other: The part that stomps out of the room, the part that coldly uses logic you can cut with a knife (ten-year-olds can be very good at that), the part that cries, and the part whose heart has turned to steel. Exactly how far will that therapist get? Not very. It is for that reason that the first step in marriage therapy has to be each person • Recognizing the parts that unexpectedly turn up • Knowing when and why in your life that part was needed to come to your aid in the first place. • Valuing and appreciating the roles that these parts have played for you, however misguided. (Remember, they’re kids.) • Having the desire to be in Self, a state of inner peace, wisdom, seeing the big picture, and knowing just what the right path should be. • Having the ability to get back into a state of Self when the parts hijack us.
• Having the ability to separate from parts, listen to them with respect and attention, absorb the weight of their message. • Having the ability from a place of Self to reassure these very parts that although their concerns are valid, you, your Self, can run your inner life. • Rescuing exiled child parts who have been shut down for far too long so that you hear their pain and you never, ever ignore or dismiss them again. • Maintaining that growth of Self and loving being in that state even under pressure and triggers from spouses. Even that is not enough. Because the truth is that the only person in the world who can get under your skin is the person you were once so vulnerable to that they actually know your deepest and darkest secrets. So it’s not sufficient to be able to be in Self and exercising its leadership. Self has to be so large and so full of who
you are that Self can hear the child parts of your partner and love them, too. Rather than be triggered or intimidated by the “difficult” parts of a spouse who has somehow gotten triggered, your compassion and un-
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be shared. That is: one day my parts need your nurturing and another day yours need mine. This is the essence of a true relationship, a true friendship that a marriage is supposed to be.
It takes a lot of thought, reflection, and introspection to catch moods taking over before they actually succeed.
derstanding can rise to the top like cream, filling your heart and your head with wisdom and mature action. There’s more. In a relationship in which each person – separately – has gotten to this level, that ability to nurture and comfort the unavoidable child parts of the other person must be able to
So how do you get there if you’re working alone? When each person working alone expresses themselves in a way that shows understanding, love, and compassion, they will feel differently inside. They will know that, somehow, they’re “there.” Getting into Self won’t be so hard; it will feel good and come
easily with all the compassion, wisdom, understanding and love that goes along with it. That’s when couples therapy can begin. And that’s when couples learn to discover what’s behind actions that once seemed confusing if not intimidating. That discovery process, from a place of Self, brings on the intimacy that everyone was afraid to share and show before. All this means that if you’re not married, you’re still going to take the same steps forward in understanding yourself as couples do. But married couples get the bonus of someone to share the process with – once they’ve gotten to the end of it.
Dr. Deb Hirschhorn is a Marriage and Family Therapist. If you want help with your marriage, begin by signing up to watch her Masterclass at https://drdeb. com/myw-masterclass.
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Health & F tness
Sukkos the Easy and Healthy Weigh By Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN
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eptember is a busy month. It’s back to school, back to work for some of us, Labor Day, and back to back yomim tovim. After Rosh Hashana, when we daven over two days for a healthy, sweet new year, comes Yom Kippur, a day of atonement when we fast and daven an entire day. Luckily for us, then comes Sukkos, a
joyous yom tov when davening is not terribly long and we can eat lunch at a decent time. We sit in our beautifully decorated sukkahs and enjoy quality time with our friends and families. On chol hamoed, we go on trips and fun adventures. Then comes Simchas Torah and Shmini Atzeres, another two days of yom tov to celebrate the Torah
and our relationship with Hashem. Yes, September is an extremely busy month. Now, throw cooking for all of these yomim tovim into the mix, and it becomes even busier! It doesn’t have to be so busy. For yom tov, we prepare elaborate meals with festive delicacies, which take up a lot of time and not to mention energy. Yet these delicacies tend to be a dieter’s challenge. The simpler the foods, generally, the less calories they contain. For example, think of the time and effort it takes to make a broccoli kugel vs. the time and effort it takes to make roasted broccoli. And which one is healthier?! My point exactly. Instead of working so hard and gaining ten pounds in a matter of weeks, let’s try cooking lighter, simpler, and healthier meals over this holiday season. 1. Menu planning: Preparing a yom tov menu that is elegant, yet low in calories can be a hard balance. • The first step is to nix any fried foods. Standing over a frying pan and flipping food is a lot more tedious than throwing the food into the oven. Fried food is irresistible – there is no denying that. However, consuming fried foods is linked to obesity, heart disease, and stroke. Fried foods are more calorically dense, and the oil from frying raises your cholesterol levels. The easier and healthier way would be to bake your food instead of frying. Most fried foods can be baked instead and still be just as delicious. • Second, the more fresh and simple your foods are, the less calories they contain. Sauces tend to be high in calories and sugar. Try moving away from using sauces and reach for a
spice rub instead. A spice rub over fish, chicken, or meat tastes delicious and is a healthier option than heavy sauces. Even when recipes call for making your own sauce, chances are the sauce contains ketchup, brown sugar, honey, duck sauce, or sweet chili sauce. Each of these condiments have a high sugar content. Many sauces also call for melting sugar and sauce together and continuously stirring over a flame which is time-consuming. The easier and healthier way would be to throw some spices together instead to flavor your food. Some olive oil and a spice rub over meat or chicken is easy, light, and delicious. Lemon juice and herbs over fish is fresh and lovely as well. • Staying away from kugels is the next big tackle. Kugels often call for margarine, a lot of oil, eggs, flour, and even mayonnaise. They also involve multiple steps and peeling vegetables too. The easier and healthier way is to roast vegetables. Roasted vegetables or fresh salad is the healthiest and most ideal side dish option. There are so many light and delicious ways to make whole grains as well, such as brown rice, quinoa, or buckwheat. 2. Concentrate on quality not quantity: It is not necessary to have multiple main dishes at each meal. It is definitely more work to prepare more food, and nobody needs to eat three different main dishes! The easier and healthier way would be to prepare one main dish and eat that as your protein source for the meal. If you do have multiple main dishes, don’t eat too much of one food item. Try sampling small amounts of the foods you want instead of taking a full portion. For
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example, do not eat a slice of brisket, plus a chicken leg, already after you had a whole portion of salmon (yes, even though these are great sources of protein, it is still too much protein for one meal and already an abundance of calories). This does not even include the challah and the side dishes – not to mention dessert. Therefore, my suggestion is to have the full portion of only one protein source. The healthiest options are fish and poultry. Or, have a half a piece of each of your mains. If you want a piece of fish and a piece of chicken or meat, take a half portion of each so that together you are still only eating one portion of protein. Then have only a small piece of the side dishes that are rich in calories. Feel free to load up on the vegetables being served. 3. Eat slowly: Before you reach for seconds, wait twenty minutes to see if you are still hungry. It takes time for your brain and stomach to communicate and decide if you are satisfied. Once you finished eating your allotted portions, instead of focusing on the
s t ay c a t I o n s
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food that your stomach is craving more of, focus on socializing and/or serving and clearing the table. 4. Portion control: Make sure your protein portions are not larger than the size of your palm. 5. Don’t skip meals: On yom tov, people tend to skip breakfast and come to lunch with a big appetite. Starting a meal when starving will promote overeating. Instead, eat a healthy breakfast and then a balanced lunch. A small breakfast such as a yogurt, cottage cheese or a banana will help balance your blood glucose and satisfy your appetite until lunch. 6. Smart snacking: Snacking leads to unaccounted for excess calories. Instead of going for the cookies and cake in the afternoon, trying to have an excuse to make an extra bracha of “lesheiv b’sukkah,” choose fruits and fresh vegetables to snack on in between meals. Having a fruit or vegetable platter prepared in advanced and left on the table is a great way to ensure appropriate snacking. Cutting up
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a fruit or vegetable platter may not be so easy, but it is definitely the healthier way. 7. Drink water: Alcohol and sugary drinks add much more calories than you think. Yom tov is about the good food; you don’t need to consume more calories through a drink. Drinking water will also help fill you up during meals and limit your food intake. 8. Plan physical activity into your day: The typical yom tov day involves davening, meals, and a good snooze. More often than not, physical activity gets ignored. However, including physical activity into your day will make you feel more energized and will burn off some calories from your feasts. You can take a walk after the meals or briskly walk to and from shul. Of course, intense exercise is forbidden on yom tov, yet light physical activity is always advised. 9. Planning Chol Hamoed trips: Packing meals for chol hamoed trips can be tricky, especially when
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trying to avoid hamotzie or mezonos food if lacking a sukkah. Eating onthe-go “shehakol foods” the easy and healthy way include: • salad with tuna • salad with egg salad • salmon with vegetables • grilled chicken cutlets with vegetables • corn cakes as opposed to rice cakes with peanut butter, cheese or chumus • all fruits – fresh and dried I wish all of my readers a gut g’bentsched yuhr, a chag kasher v’sameach and a delicious and nutritious Sukkos! Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN, is a Master’s level Registered Dietitian and Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist. She graduated CUNY Brooklyn College receiving a Bachelor’s in Science and Master’s degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences. She is currently a private nutritionist. She can be reached at CindyWeinberger1@gmail.com or at 917-623-6237.
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Parenting Pearls
Simcha on Sukkos By Sara Rayvych, MSEd
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espite the harsh environment of the desert, Hashem protected us with the Ananei Hakavod. Irrelevant of how harsh the outside world was, our ancestors could take comfort in their personal divine protection. We celebrate this special relationship and gift each year as Sukkos rolls around. It’s easy to think that what happened in the midbar stayed in the midbar but that isn’t the case. Our children are surrounded by complicated and painful surroundings. It’s our job as parents to create those clouds of protection for them. While we can’t, and shouldn’t, protect them from every negative, they need to be kept shielded from the full extent of the onslaught. We, too, can provide a home of protection and love for our children. While we can’t stop arrows or snakes with our bare hands, we can do our best to create a fortress of protection for our family and help each member grow, in a safe environment, to their full potential.
Experience the Mitzvos Children learn best from doing rather than lectures. Hands-on is the way to go, particularly with the youngest of learners. These yomim tovim are such an enjoyable way to experience the mitzvos. Shaking the lulav, smelling the esrog (when permitted), living in the sukkah, banging the hoshanos, and dancing with the Torah are all active and fun ways to experience the mitzvos. Take advantage of having such an automatic learning environment surrounding you. Allow your child to have a blast, all while serving Hashem. By creating positive associations to the mitzvos, we are giving them a gift both for now and the future. In general, it can be a challenge to get kids involved and interested. We know that we often want our children
child to do in the sukkah and don’t underestimate how much they will feel from the experience.
Hakafos
to feel connected and take part in the festivities, but they can be hesitant. Over this week you have so much at your fingertips for children to enjoy that it’s worth taking full advantage of it. I have a video from last year of my toddlers relishing the banging of the hoshanos. Who knew banging branches on the front steps could be such a thrill?! With a little creativity and focus, we can attempt to make each minute count the most. Don’t forget to have fun alongside your child, too. You put the work into cooking, cleaning, building the sukkah and all the other necessities of the yom tov, and you deserve some enjoyment out of it, not just exhaustion. Plus, your children will appreciate everything more with you beside them.
Simcha in the Sukkah The sukkah can be so much fun. Kids spend hours building tents and forts with their blankets and here they have a real one in their backyard! While obviously the sukkah has more kedusha than their bed linens, the sukkah is easily an enjoyable experience. I grew up where we were one of
the few Jewish families in our immediate radius. There was a church on the corner, and most of my neighbors’ children attended the church’s school next to it. My neighbors were, for the most part, overwhelmingly respectful of us being Orthodox Jews. I still remember how much the neighborhood children anticipated our sukkah. Yes, they looked forward to seeing it in our backyard and were thrilled when “the hut holiday” arrived. There is something truly special about a sukkah that nearly everyone can feel. Take advantage of that natural enthusiasm and make your sukkah experience one they’ll remember. Sing and dance in the sukkah. Do projects there and play games. We used to make popsicle stick sukkot as a project each year. As they made their miniature, wooden models we were able to discuss the halachos and requirements of a kosher sukkah. Some years I purchased board games so we could enjoy family game time in the sukkah. The sukkah can easily be the initial infrastructure necessary for amazing family together time. Think of what would be special for your
You might ask what could be said about hakafos. Dancing, singing, and candy are a popular combination for most kids that it almost seems not worth discussing. For most kids, this is the highlight of their year, competing only with Purim. For other children, there are reasons to be hesitant. Some kids have serious difficulties in large crowds or noisy environments. Other kids may have limited attention spans or other concerns. One of our precious children was exactly that way, and we were challenged with how to give him an enjoyable hakafos experience without overwhelming him. We found a wonderful yeshiva hakafos that had plenty of space for dancing. My husband walked in the circle, holding our son’s hand, as our son walked along the outer perimeter. Our son enjoyed the dancing so much that he chose that as his first choice for hakafos for over a decade, long after the original issues were resolved. You don’t need to dance where we dance but, with a little research, you can hopefully find a comfortable environment for your child on Simchas Torah. While some children enjoy the loud and crowded shul, others prefer the more spacious and roomy location. Forcing your child to go far out of their comfort zone might cause them more pain than love for the mitzvah, chas v’shalom. Many families really want to dance in their usual makom tefilla and that is beautiful. If it won’t work for your child, then don’t impose your makom on them. Find a solution that works for everyone. Maybe that means dancing in your special place without your child while finding a few
minutes to bring them to a location that is geared to them. It might mean limiting their time in your makom. Think through your various options ahead of time and be flexible on Simchas Torah itself. Smaller kids can have smaller attention spans. Some years my little ones felt fulfilled after only a few minutes of hakafos; longer than that and they were crawling on the mechitzah – literally. As adults, we assume that children will definitely enjoy the festivities yet we can overestimate our child’s tolerance. Watch your child and recognize when they’ve reached their limits. Once they’re no longer enjoying it, then it’s time to leave or go outside for a breather. Additionally, hungry children and tired children won’t enjoy the merriment as much, so it’s usually beneficial to take care of those needs first. Something as simple as a quick, healthy snack before leaving can make a big difference.
Most kids won’t require these accommodations and will party with the crowd. For those who need a little adjustment, you can make the changes that will give them the joy they deserve, too.
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doesn’t mean they should have it. If you don’t know if it’s safe for any particular child, then hold off until their adult approves. Also, find out the food/allergy policy of the location before bringing in any food. While
By creating positive associations to the mitzvos, we are giving them a gift both for now and the future.
There are tons of treats to make the dancing even sweeter. I will remind adults to be careful before giving snacks or food to children they don’t know. Besides the different hechsherim that exist, not all of which are accepted by everyone, you have the major issues of food allergies. Just because the child wants it,
parents of allergic children know to watch their sensitive child, you’d be surprised how easily allergens fly, and parents may not be on their full guard if the shul prohibits the item in question. One of my children had a potentially serious reaction after eating a crumb from the floor one year. A parent of an allergic child might
assume nuts or other items won’t be present if the shul has a strict policy against that particular allergen. Parents of allergic children should never rely on that assumption. I’ve been to a strict nut-free location and saw an actual tube of peanut butter there; a parent thought it would be a great snack for their child. I don’t mean to scare you; I simply want to remind you to be extra vigilant and not to rely on policies. Sukkos and Simchas Torah are such special days. After the seriousness and intensity of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we get the chance to celebrate and serve Hashem with that extra dose of joy. Have a wonderful yom tov along with your child and enjoy!
Sara Rayvych, MSEd, has her master’s in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 10 years in Far Rockaway. She can be contacted at RayvychHomeschool@gmail.com.
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A Blend of Jerusalem & L.A., Ashkenaz & Sephardi, Lemon & Za’atar TJH Speaks with Sina Mizrahi, Author of Good Food BY SUSAN SCHWAMM Sina, you just came out with your first cookbook, Good Food. Tell us about us a bit about your background. I’m from Montreal originally, and I grew up with a mother who was always cooking and always in the kitchen. That was my normal. My mother never really let me into the kitchen, so I never really cooked myself. But in my head, I would think to myself: “When I get married, I’ll be just like my mother,” because that’s what I knew. But when I did get married, I wasn’t like my mother. I didn’t know how to cook at all. I literally called my friend and asked her how to make pasta. And it was just very funny. But I always felt this connection to making a meal and connecting around the table through good food. That’s how I grew up. Eventually, I started cooking a lot. I would cook with my mother on the phone all the time and was always asking people around me for recipes. I always had this desire to be able to be comfortable in the kitchen. And then, I became not just comfortable, I started being creative in the kitchen, because most of my family doesn’t cook with recipes at all. They just tell you what they did, what they put in, and you have to figure out the measurements, etc. by yourself. So that’s how I grew into cooking. When I had two kids, I felt like I needed to express myself creatively. I started learning photography. I would usually take photos of my kids, but they started disliking it, and I was frustrated. So I discovered this thing called a food blog. When I saw it, I felt, “Wow, that was exactly what I’d love to do. Photography, cooking, writing – everything together.” And so I started a food blog. What year did you start your blog? In 2011.
Ten years. That’s amazing. Yes. In September, right before Rosh Hashana. You just jumped in and didn’t know if it was going to take off or not. What were your feelings then? For me, it wasn’t even about taking off or not. That wasn’t even in my head. It was more like I was like, “Wow, there’s this medium where you could share things” – kind of like some people share their crafts or their knitting or whatever. For me, I felt, “I can share this part of me. Whoever wants to join, whoever wants to stick around, whoever wants to share with me can join.” But I wasn’t thinking about it at all in the sense of how is this going to grow? I wanted to enjoy the process. And I was really enjoying it. And, then, obviously, I started making connections, meeting other Jewish culture food bloggers. Then Instagram took off, and everything just evolved one after the other. Truthfully, I always had this dream in the back of my head. I would say to myself, “Wow, I love books. Imagine making a cookbook.” And, b’ezrat Hashem, it happened, eventually. But along the journey, and still today, you write recipes for magazines. You wrote for Binah. You write for Mishpacha. Once I started blogging more consistently and really sharing my things, I thought it would be great to be published. I reached out to Binah, and that’s how I started. I worked with them for many, many years – five, six years. And then when I came from Israel to Lakewood, I actually switched over to working with Mishpacha. I felt that it was just a better fit in terms of the audience and having connection to my recipes, because my recipes are not so “heimish”; they’re much more,
honestly, Sephardi and have that kind of modern edge to them. The truth is, Middle Eastern food has become very mainstream in the last 10 years or so. When did you concretize the idea that you wanted to write this cookbook? It was always in the back of my head. Food bloggers have this as a benchmark: “I want to write a cookbook.” It just feels like it’s a milestone. But it really only came into fruition when I was actually working on a different project. I was going to write something with a different blogger, and it didn’t come to be. And then I said to myself, “You know what? I really want to focus on making a cookbook.” And then when I moved to Lakewood, I found that this was a great time to start, because all my kids were out of the house during the day. I decided to put it out there and see if they were interested in publishing a book that I would write. Baruch Hashem, they were, so here we are. How long did it take, start to finish, to create this book? From the day I signed the contract with ArtScroll, it took a year. What’s so impressive about your book is that besides for writing the recipes, which is an art and an avodah of itself, you also did the photography. Yes. I did. Photography, I guess, is your first love. But how did it work out to write the book and to also photograph the food along the way? It was very, very intense. When you flip through a cookbook it looks a little effortless, like, “OK, you make a recipe, take a photo. You’re
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done.” It’s really not like that at all. I don’t have to tell you. It was really hard. For most people, when writing a cookbook, they get to focus on the recipe development and the writing, and then somebody else comes and takes over the creative aspect of food styling and prop stocking and setting everything up and taking the photos. That all requires such different skills. But for me, I have a very particular style and aesthetic, and it’s really, really important for me that my food represents that because everything works together. When you look at the photo and you read the recipe and you read the title – I needed everything to just really represent me and my cooking. So I had to do it all. Truthfully, it worked better for my lifestyle, because having a family, I was able to, in a sense, have control over everything timing-wise. I was also very grateful that I have the skills to be able to do both things. And you do it so well. This book has me drooling. Your kids must have eaten really well while you were writing it. Speaking of your children, what are some of your kids’ favorite dishes from this cookbook? My kids love Hearty Bean Stew – that’s a staple in our house. They love a lot of the meat dishes, like the steak and the roast, because they don’t get that on a weekly basis. So that they were super excited about, like, “Wow, Mom’s writing a cookbook. We get all this really good stuff.” Interestingly, my kids aren’t so big on desserts but they did enjoy some of the brownies and the blondies. I like what you did with the Happy Birthday Chocolate Cake with the different toppings for each square. That’s pretty cool. Yes. It has all different sprinkles. It was my daughter’s birthday, and it was a really fun way to incorporate what I was working on and also celebrate her birthday. Absolutely. What recipes do you pull off the shelf when you have to make a quick supper for your family on a super busy day? The funny thing is that obviously most of the book is very Middle Eastern, but I also included those kind of weekday staples that I turn to because I felt that it was important for my cookbook to be more well-rounded. Also, for some people, when they see za’atar and sumac in my recipes, I wanted them to feel like they have something to cook from the book as they ease into the other recipes. So that’s why I include a mix of recipes in my book. But I will say the Fish Tacos are absolutely a staple. My kids love, love, love them. The Working Mama Meatballs, that’s something super-quick you can throw together, even last minute before dinner, because it comes together very fast. Schnitzel is a staple in my house. The schnitzel I included in the book is my mom’s schnitzel
recipe. The Monday Grilled Chicken, that’s also something I always turn to. And salads. I incorporated salads in a few of the other parts of the book. Like the Pan Seared Salmon, that salad also makes its way into some of the other meals that I make. You have a real intricate heritage and background. You’re French Moroccan. Your mother’s Libyan, your father’s Moroccan. Your husband has Moroccan, Turkish, and Syrian heritage. Besides for all those cultures, you lived in Israel. You lived in L.A. You lived in Montreal. You live on the East Coast. Tell us how you were able to meld all these different influences in your life in the cookbook. Every single part of where I live influenced my cooking. When you live in L.A., it’s literally a lifestyle in Los Angeles to go to a farmers’ market once a week, once every two weeks, because you really get the best produce in the world over there. That had a huge impact on my cooking. Living in Jerusalem put everything for me together, all of my cultures, all of my husband’s cultures. Being exposed to so many different types of Jews, having access to all the spices in the world, and even Jerusalem has its own culture regarding food. And I loved just how it con-
“Every single part of where I live influenced my cooking.”
nected to me even historically and culturally. I really connected to that. It made me go back to foods that I grew up with, with a lot of Moroccan cooking. I started cooking a lot more traditional living there. I was also exposed to the restaurants there and how they smelled. Jerusalem cooking is really, really a melting pot of so many cultures – it takes from a lot of Middle Eastern countries, more than the European ones, from all the Jews that came there. So, I think those are the two main influences in my cooking: mostly living in L.A. and having that component of freshness, of the amazing produce, and then living in Jerusalem and really connecting more to my culture. I loved learning about the history of food and how it came to be and how it was traditionally used
and celebrated. You mentioned that you like to use different spices in your cooking and love the freshness of L.A. cooking. I see a lot of lemons, a lot of herbs, and a lot of spices in your recipes. What spices should an Ashkenazi cook – or any cook – purchase that are most essential for good cooking? That’s a great question. And because of that, I wrote the spice section in the back of book. I felt like people might see those recipes and be like, “Oh, I don’t have the spice.” I wanted to give them a small introduction to what the spice is, where it comes from, what it tastes like. But I would say that my top spice includes ground coriander, which is not a very assertive spice. I don’t think that you need an acquired taste to enjoy ground coriander. I would say cumin is essential, and za’atar, which is a little bit, let’s say, more of an earthier, more savory flavor, so some people need time to get used to it. Sumac has a really nice, tangy, bright flavor. I think it adds so much flavor to dishes. I think people will find a lot of ways to use it. Paprika in oil, which is a Moroccan staple, and it gives a deeper flavor on paprika and it gives a much brighter red color to food because it’s processed with oil. And it’s more flavorful because of the oil. I have some of these spices, but not all of them, so I got to get cracking. What recipes should someone try from your book to get her (or him!) started on their Sephardic cooking journey? First try the Moroccan Fish Balls. It’s really an incredible recipe. And I think that most people will be attracted to it in terms of the flavor and how it comes out. It’s very simple to make. Moroccans serve this every Friday night – they either
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serve the fish balls or the actual fish fillets, but the sauce is the same. It’s a Friday night staple, although some people make it during the week. I actually only make it on Friday night and we’ll eat the leftovers through the week. They should also try the Za’atar Grilled Chicken and the Keftas. But I also think they should start with the salads because I think Ashkenazis love all the different salads in Sephardi cuisine and all the different flavors in each one. What was the hardest recipe for you to get right for this cookbook? I get that question often. I’ll tell you the truth that, because I was doing everything and the process was so intense, if something didn’t work after two tries, I moved on. I had so, so, so many recipes, and I actually cut out like 50 recipes from the book –things that I knew wouldn’t fit, but ideas that I had. I included food that were family recipes, staples, things that shows up on my table consistently, because that works, that has amazing flavor, and that’s very approachable. Did you not have to make up any recipes specifically for the book? A few of them I did. They’re, I guess, more creative. The Harissa Fish with Cherry Tomatoes I came up with one Friday inspired by the Moroccan Fish, but it’s an easier version and faster, too. I came up with that and wrote it down and saved it for the book. But once I started working on the book consistently, most of the recipes ended up being ones that I had been making for a long time. You styled the food so beautifully in the book. Where do you keep all your props? I have a prop closet.
But I really don’t have that many props. A lot of the props in the book I rented. There’s a prop rental place in Manhattan, which was really amazing, to be able to go there and pick whatever I wanted. But for the most part, when I work on things for my blog or my Instagram page, I reuse things that I already have. When serving, it’s not just about how food tastes; it’s also about how it looks. What tips do you have for people to serve their food beautifully? I think that that’s really important. When
“Living in Jerusalem put everything for me together – all of my cultures, all of my husband’s cultures.”
serving, it’s always nice to have nice serving pieces. But I think it’s also very important to use fresh herbs. Use a few toppings on your dishes, depending on the dish, obviously, but it could be anything from a pine nut or pistachio – that brings that bright green hue. It could be pomegranate arils because they add a fruity, tangy flavor and they’re just so beautiful, they make everything else pop. When it comes to meat, that’s very brown, but you can always use greens to give it a pop of green to make it more appetizing. This way, the food doesn’t just taste great, it looks good, too. There have been so many changes in the kosher food industry. I always find that the kosher food industry lags a little bit behind the mainstream food industry, which is normal. But I’m excited to see a lot of more health-focused foods, and a lot of things that are more fresh. I love all the different types of lettuces that are being offered now – different greens, different herbs. I would love to see “kosher” fresh Brussels sprouts and “kosher” raspberries. You know, I really love, love fresh food. And I love focusing more on the freshness that the food brings along with the colors and the flavors.
What recipes from the book should be part of people’s Sukkos menus? First of all, I’m definitely making the Chicken Barley Soup. It’s super cozy to have in the sukkah. It’s just filling and nutritious. It’s also warm and comforting, and I think it’s so perfect for Sukkos, because you have so much food – it’ really a meal on its own. There’s barley and it’s a little tangy from the lemon juice as well. It’s so delicious. On Sukkos, I make a lot of food that is stuffed. I am going to be making the stuffed onions. There is pomegranate molasses in it – it’s so perfect for Rosh Hashanah or Sukkot. It incorporates the flavors of the season and is really, really delicious. It’s light but also filling. It has jasmine rice in it. It’s one of my favorite things. It’s a little bit more involved, so I save it for a yom tov meal. I usually make a roast for yom tov. I put a chuck roast in the book, the Red Wine Chuck Roast, but you can make it also with different kinds of meats, like a brick roast or even a brisket, and use the same sauce. It’s a great dish; you can save some for another meal. And it’s so easy to prep. You sear the meat. You make the sauce. You put it in the oven. You’re done. We also eat a lot of chicken. I always make some kind of braised chicken dish, either chicken legs or Ktsitsot, which are like chicken patties. They’re so simple to make and are so good. I also always make the leek patties for Rosh Hashanah. They are so good. They’re a little sweet and a little tangy, and the sauce gets thickened because of the semolina that the patties are fried in. It’s a really, really good recipe. For dessert, for Sukkos, I always make the Poached Pears. They’re warm. They’re cozy. They have the cinnamon and the brown sugar, which is no-fail, in my opinion. And it looks impressive, and it’s easy to make. You can serve it just as is or with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream. It’s one of my favorites. I also make a lot of the Moroccan Cookies, because we usually have tea after the meal, and it just goes perfectly with cookies. You won’t see a lot of desserts in Moroccan cooking. Mostly the desserts in Moroccan cooking are either dry cookies, just like you see in the cookbook, or you’ll see celebration desserts, like I like to I call them –Moroccan cigars stuffed with marzipan and dipped in a honey-orange blossom sauce. Those are usually made for life cycles, like weddings, engagements, bat mitzvahs, bar mitzvahs…. Sina, it’s fascinating how different cultures have different ways of doing things. It was such a pleasure speaking with you. I feel like I got to know you a lot through the book and through this conversation. And I’m looking forward to taking some of these delicious recipes and adding them to my cooking over the holidays.
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some good food BY SINA MIZRAHI
Tabbouleh with Pom Seeds This Lebanese salad is lemony (love), herb-packed (love more), and dotted with fine bulgur for heft and chew. It’s fresh and crisp and most of the work is chopping the vegetables finely. Fine bulgur, also called j’rish, drinks up liquid, so it’s a no-cook situation. You can substitute with cooked grains or even cauliflower rice, if needed. I add pomegranate arils for a burst of fruity tang.
Ingredients » ½ cup fine bulgur, rinsed » 1 cup boiling water » 2 ripe tomatoes, finely diced » 2 Persian cucumbers, finely diced » 1 bell pepper, finely diced » ½ red onion, finely diced » 1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced (optional) » 2 cups parsley leaves, finely chopped » ¼ cup loosely packed mint leaves, finely chopped » 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil » 2 Tbsp lemon juice » 1 tsp sea salt » ½ tsp coarse black pepper » ¼ cup pomegranate arils
Preparation Place bulgur into a medium bowl. Pour in boiling water; cover. Set aside to allow bulgur to absorb moisture and plump up, 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Toss to combine. Taste; adjust seasoning.
Recipes reproduced from Good Food by Sina Mizrahi with permission from the copyright holders ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, LTD.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
Pretzel Chicken Strips with Jalapeño Honey Serves 4-6 I felt quite ingenious when, ten years ago, I ran out of breadcrumbs and crushed the pretzels my toddler left over from his lunch to coat chicken strips. It made for a delicious coating and I patted myself on the shoulder for that clever move. I did not know it was already a thing; regardless, in my nest it was revolutionary. I upgraded it with a stroke of hot jalapeño honey (it’s barely spicy) and a dipping sauce. It is now complete. And my kids (and I) love it.
Ingredients Chicken » 2 cups salted pretzels » 1 egg, beaten » ½ tsp granulated garlic » ½ tsp granulated onion » ¼ tsp sea salt » ¼ tsp black pepper » 1¼ lb. chicken breast, cut into » ½-inch strips Jalapeño Honey 1 /3 cup honey ½ jalapeño pepper, sliced Dijon Dip » ½ cup mayonnaise » 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard » 1 Tbsp Jalapeño Honey
Preparation Preheat oven to 450°F. Place a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse pretzels until coarsely crushed, but some larger pieces remain; transfer to a shallow dish. In a large bowl, combine egg, granulated garlic, granulated onion, salt, and pepper. Add chicken; stir to coat. Dredge chicken in pretzel
crumbs; transfer to wire rack. Generously coat with cooking spray; bake until golden and the edges are crisp, 12 minutes. Flip, spray with more oil, and bake for another 10-12 minutes. Prepare the Jalapeño Honey: In a saucepan, heat honey and
jalapeño over medium-low heat until it reaches a light simmer. Remove from heat; steep for 5-7 minutes. Optional: Strain through a sieve to remove jalapeño and seeds. Prepare the Dijon dip: Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and
Jalapeño Honey in a small bowl. To serve: Transfer chicken to a serving platter; brush Jalapeño Honey on both sides. Serve with Dijon dip. Tip: Line the baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup.
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Date Roll Cookies Makes 40 cookies These cookies are perfect, and I don’t say that lightly. They are a bakery staple I grew up with but only love the homemade version. The tender shortbread-ish crust wraps around sweet, sticky date paste in a union that even chocolate can’t improve. Make them plain first. After that (because there will be repeats), load them with halva, nuts, marzipan, chocolate chips; they handle it all. The powdered sugar dusts them beautifully, like a fresh blanket of snow. One batch makes plenty, so share the love.
Ingredients » 6 cups (750 g) sifted allpurpose flour » 2 tsp (10 g) baking powder » ½ cup (100 g) sugar » 2 tsp (10 g) vanilla sugar » ¼ tsp (2 g) fine sea salt » 1 cup orange juice » 1 egg white » 1 cup neutral oil » ½ cup (100 g) solid coconut oil, cut into chunks » 15 oz (450 g) date spread » Powdered sugar, for dusting
Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla sugar, and salt. Add orange juice, egg white, oil and solid coconut oil; knead until a smooth dough forms. You can also use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Shape dough into a ball; cover and refrigerate 20 minutes. Divide dough into 4. On a lightly floured surface, working with one at a time, roll out into a 14x12-inch rectangle, smear with ¼ of the date spread and carefully roll lengthwise
into a tight log. If the dough tears, pinch it back in place. With a sharp knife, slice into 1-inch pieces. Place cookies on the baking sheet, close together. Repeat with remaining dough, adding preferred toppings over the date spread before rolling (see Try This). Bake until golden brown, 24-26 minutes. Remove from oven; allow
to cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar. Transfer cookies to an airtight container; they will stay fresh for up to 5 days. Or double wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Try This: Sprinkle chopped, roasted nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia, etc.), ground
coconut, marzipan, shredded halva, or chocolate chips over the date paste for extra flavor. You can use fruit jams, chocolate spread, or lotus or nut butters instead of the date paste. The possibilities are endless – have fun! Note: If necessary, you can omit the egg white.
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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”
A memorial which uses U.S. flags is especially insidious, as it does not recognize those who have fallen, but uses a symbol that was on the shoulders of those who are responsible for the deaths of 900,000 people, and uses the innocent lives lost during 9/11 as a political prop upholding American hegemony. Muslims such as I have faced fear, harassment, and Islamophobia from those who unjustly use the victims of 9/11 as a political cudgel. - Statement by Fadel Alkilani, a student at Washington University in St. Louis, after he was busted gathering and throwing out 2,977 U.S. flags that were set up for a 9/11 memorial
I saw last night on the football game, Alicia Keys sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which now I hear is called the black national anthem… I think when you go down a road where you’re having two different national anthems, colleges sometimes now have — many of them have different graduation ceremonies for black and white, separate dorms — this is what I mean! Segregation! You’ve inverted the idea. We’re going back to that under a different name. - Bill Maher, HBO
Tax the Rich
We have to be more honest about what 9/11 was and what it wasn’t. It was an attack on the heteropatriarchal capitalistic systems that America relies upon to wrangle other countries into passivity. It was an attack on the systems many white Americans fight to protect. We have to be clear that the same motivations that animated America’s hypervigilance and responsiveness to “terror” after 9/11 are now motivating the carceral state and anti-immigration policy. - Syracuse University assistant professor Jenn M. Jackson
- What was written on the dress worn by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(Dem/Socialist-NY) to the Met Gala, which cost $30,000 per ticket
AOC Now Selling “Tax The Rich” Caviar For Just $10,000 A Can - Tweet by The Babylon Bee
Twitter has no problem censoring Americans & giving a platform to the Haqqani network that has killed thousands of Afghan civilians and more than 10,000 Afghan soldiers & policemen — by conservative estimates. Has America surrendered to tyranny in all forms? - Tweet by famed war-front journalist Lara Logan
When people are able to make choices without government interference for themselves in terms of their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their family, in consultation with whomever they may choose, we’re a stronger society. - Vice President Harris bashing a new pro-life law in Texas, on the same day that the Biden administration announced mandatory vaccines for federal employees and others
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A woman can’t be a minister. It is like you put something on her neck that she can’t carry. It is not necessary for a woman to be in the cabinet. They should give birth. - A Taliban spokesman responding to U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s concern that there are no women in the “Taliban government”
The interim government named by the Taliban falls very short of the mark that was set by the international community for inclusivity... It includes many key members who have very challenging track records. - U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken, during a Congressional hearing
If you’re going to do a pizza review, eat the whole slice! – Comedian Michael Rapaport in a social media post promoting his own pizza reviews and “dishing” on his former boss, Dave Portnoy’s “one bite everyone knows the rules” pizza reviews
They’re paying us $20-30 million to dribble a basketball. Put on a good show! - Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal criticizing 76ers star Ben Simmons’ work ethic
Your decision is disappointing, but understandable given the need to distract from a news cycle that has you mired in multiple selfinflicted crises and plummeting poll numbers, including a rise in new COVID cases, a dismal jobs report, inflation, record amount of drugs coming across the southern border, and, of course, the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan that left hundreds of Americans and thousands of Afghan allies stranded under Taliban rule. - Former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway’s response letter to President Biden who demanded that she resign from the U.S. Air Force Academy board or be fired
President Biden’s Thursday speech to the American people about “the battle against COVID-19” had little to do with public health. Its purpose was to distract us from the unmitigated disaster he created in Afghanistan. What better way to accomplish this goal than to issue an imperial edict that would outrage anyone with a rudimentary understanding of the Constitution? Neither Biden nor any federal agency has the power to impose a vaccine mandate on private sector businesses or workers. If Biden fails to grasp this, the people who actually run his administration get it, but they want nothing more from Thursday’s speech than a change of subject. – David Catron, The American Spectator
MORE QUOTES
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I read that surgeons successfully removed a Nokia cellphone from a man’s body after he swallowed it whole. The kids were so embarrassed. They’re like, “Dad, please swallow an iPhone next time.” - Jimmy Fallon
He swallowed a Nokia phone. More like Choke-ia phone. - James Corden
His phone got wet and he needed to put it in rice immediately, but he had eaten all of his rice. - James Corden
Even worse, after four days, the man still had zero notifications. - Jimmy Fallon
Well, if one party could do it, I guess another party could do it. – Liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer warning against packing the Supreme Court, in an interview with Chris Wallace, Fox News
So they’re issuing this mandate for private sector employees but also for all federal employees, but … they’re exempting members of Congress and members of Congress’s staff? So how does that work? Can someone explain the science to me? – Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) responding to President Biden’s new vaccine mandate and exemption of Congress from that mandate
He has been able to reach the minority of voters in California who embrace his white supremacist worldview. - Los Angeles Times columnist Jean Guerrero on CNN talking about Larry Elder, an African American conservative who is the Republican candidate for California governor
Larry Elder cuts short Venice homeless encampment tour after hostile reception. - Tweet by the Los Angeles Times after Larry Elder was egged by a white woman wearing a gorilla mask
Let’s address a socialist candidate for New York City Council, Tiffany Caban, who, amid an increase in violent crimes and shootings, wants victims of violent crimes to work with their attackers in the name of restorative justice. By the way, if you see a word in front of “justice” other than “criminal,” you know you’re getting a dose of leftist nonsense. Legit justice requires law and order, something lefties hate more than soap and water - Greg Gutfeld, Fox News
I’m supposed to “develop an accountability and consequences plan” with the lowlife who flogged me with a car antenna, broke my eye socket, and stole my iPad? What do you want me to do next? Help him with his taxes? Work on his “to do” list? - Ibid.
Sorry – the only “restorative circle” I want to see is that perp encircled by his victims, and they’re “restoring” a beating on [him]. But here, instead of putting the guy in prison where he belongs, we make the victims his social worker. – Ibid.
He’s a huge hypocrite – he said he created jobs, and he’s destroying jobs. He’s said he’d love America and protect us, and then he makes friends with the Taliban and compromises our southern border. It’s unbelievable to me what he is doing. I had no idea anyone alive could wreck this country as fast as Joe Biden is. - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Fox News
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
WORK WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. DO YOU EVER ASK YOURSELF: I spend most of my time at the office; where do I find room for my Yiddishkeit? Why do I feel like I live in two worlds? How do I go back to my mundane job after an uplifting Shabbos or Yomtov? Why didn’t I get that promotion over that other candidate? I’m more qualified! DON’T WORRY, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
“
The Torah was not meant to be confined to the beis midrash. It is the key to an elevated existence in the home and in the office … I urge you to study and be inspired by this wonderful sefer. RABBI MOSHE WEINBERGER, RAV, CONGREGATION AISH KODESH OF WOODMERE
COMING SOON
With FAITH AT WORK, written by Jeff Weinberg, a co-founding partner of Meridian Capital Group, you will discover that you can turn your career, profession, or business into a spiritual endeavor — ensuring that you are living and making a living the way you should be! Spiced with beautiful stories from tzaddikim throughout history and anecdotes from Jeff’s vast personal experiences and those of his colleagues, FAITH AT WORK brings a refreshing, relatable approach that will appeal to anyone who has ever sat behind an office desk or worked in the field, trying to support their family.
VISIT US ONLINE AT MOSAICAPRESS.COM Mosaica Press books are available for purchase online or at your local Jewish bookshop.
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Political Crossfire
We Think About 9/11. But We Must Also Remember 9/12. By Marc A. Thiessen
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hen Patrick Dowdell said goodbye to his father on Sept. 9, 2001, he had no idea it would be the last time he would ever see his dad. A decorated lieutenant from the New York City Fire Department’s Special Operations Command, Kevin Dowdell spent his 21-year career saving people - passengers on a downed helicopter in the East River, a waitress trapped in a collapsed diner, victims of the 1993 World Trade Center attack. Patrick vividly remembers his father, driving him to a Little League game, stopping to pull someone from a vehicle in a car accident. He idolized his father, who taught him the values of hard work, duty and patriotism. They spent that early-September weekend together as a family, celebrating his brother James’s birthday and working on Patrick’s application to the U.S. Military Academy. Patrick had applied to West Point right out of high school but did not get in on his first try, so he enrolled as a freshman at Iona College. But Kevin told Patrick not to give up on his dream. That weekend, they went over his essay together and discussed all the steps he needed for reapplying to the academy. Patrick recalls that his father dropped him off at school, saying, “Love you. See you soon. I’ll talk to you next week.” Two days later, Kevin Dowdell raced across the Brooklyn Bridge with his fire rescue unit to the burning World Trade Center – and never returned. After the attack, Patrick spent months at Ground Zero, digging through the rubble with the men from Kevin’s firehouse, looking for his dad. “I have to be down there if we do find him,” he thought. “I want to be the one to carry him out.” But the only thing they recovered was Kevin’s Halligan,
Army Capt. Patrick Dowdell of Queens (left) with his brother, James
a fireman’s tool. “It was just amazing that something he was literally holding that day made it back to us,” Patrick told me this week. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get anything else.” Patrick was admitted to West Point. After graduating in 2006, he went on to serve with the 4th Infantry
class that signed up to serve after 9/11. “These guys saw what happened to my family and families like mine and said, ‘I want to go serve the country and make sure this doesn’t happen again.’” He felt a calling to do the same. Watching the events of the past few weeks in Afghanistan has been “very
After the attack, Patrick spent months at Ground Zero, digging through the rubble with the men from Kevin’s firehouse, looking for his dad.
Division in Iraq and Afghanistan, the country where the attacks that killed his father were planned. But revenge was never a factor in his decision to serve, Patrick said. Rather, it was the sense of duty his father instilled: “Someone’s going to go,” Patrick told me. “And why not shoulder that burden with them if I’m capable?” He noted that he graduated in the first
confusing to a lot of veterans,” Patrick said. Seeing the Taliban regime back in power is “a tough pill to swallow.” But for those who served, “We don’t understand why, first of all, wasn’t there a plan on this? Has anyone discussed how we’re going to do this at some point? And then what’s the plan on how to do it going forward, now that we’re in the situation that we’re in?”
He doesn’t understand how we could leave Americans trapped behind enemy lines. “There are Americans left in country, and we’re like, ‘Sorry, we’re not able to – not able to get them out. Sorry. We’re done’? … We’ve never seen that…. If there’s anyone left anywhere, we always go. We always go get them.” Patrick said he is most concerned about the loss of unity and resolve here at home that existed after 9/11. “Man, I remember driving down the West Side Highway heading towards Ground Zero to go work,” he said, and along the road there would be “these strangers standing out there with poster board and American flags,” chanting “USA!” “That sense of community as a nation is something that I think is missing” today, he said. We need to recover the spirit we had in the weeks and months following 9/11 when “we came together as a country for the greater good. Not just for America to protect Americans, but also to protect the innocent lives of people in other countries, Afghanistan included.” His mother, RoseEllen, still lives in the house his father built. “My brother works in the same firehouse that my dad worked in for many years…. He chose to follow in my father’s footsteps and carry the torch.” On Saturday, the family will gather at that firehouse for breakfast with Kevin’s rescue unit, like they do every year. “For us as a family, the 19-year reunion or the 21-year anniversary, it’s all the same,” he said. They think about 9/11 every single day. For the rest of us, Patrick said, “My parting wisdom, if you will, is remember 9/12.” (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group
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Political Crossfire
Biden Needs to Turn the Page from a Painful August By David Ignatius
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abor Day always feels like the start of a new year – as classes begin, the season turns, and the joys and miseries of summer recede. The Biden administration badly needs that sort of new beginning. This was a painful August for President Joe Biden. He promised competent government, restored international leadership, an end to the Covid-19 pandemic and a resurgent economy. But after last month’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan, a coronavirus spike caused by the Delta variant, and a slowdown in job growth, those pledges seem questionable. Polls show a significant drop in Biden’s approval rating. We’re living in a seesaw world. Biden got off to a fast start in his first six months, with coronavirus infections falling sharply and the economy rapidly gaining strength. After his June trip to Europe, Biden’s line, “America is back,” seemed plausible. But trend lines are fickle, with politics and pandemics. A bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan amplified other bad news, and Biden’s presidency suddenly seemed to be sputtering. “This administration is about Covid and competence, and we’ve got to show strength on both,” says a senior White House official. He argues that the administration overperformed on expectations in the first half of the year. “In August, maybe we underperformed,” he concedes. Biden knows he needs to restore confidence at home and abroad this fall to revive his presidency from the August doldrums. He plans a major speech on Thursday outlining new measures to deal with the pandemic – to boost vaccination rates, safeguard workplaces and bend the curve
on infections. The larger challenge for the White House is to show that government can function effectively, despite partisan divisions. That was Biden’s signature campaign theme, and the legislative test was Biden’s two-pronged attempt to “build back better,” as his slogan put it, through a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and a $3.5 trillion social spending plan. “We have to prove democracy still works – that our government still works, and we can deliver for our people,” Biden told a joint session of Congress in April, in proposing his two initiatives. That remains the challenge, but Biden doesn’t have a lot of time. The domestic budget negotiations, weirdly, seem to be the hardest part of the job. Forget about Biden’s early promises of bipartisanship; right now, he just needs to lead his own party. That means threading the needle between progressives who are demanding all of the $3.5 trillion in new social spending and moderates
who say they won’t support such a big package. The Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill in early August, and Biden ought to pocket that win. But moderate and progressive Democrats have been playing a game of chicken ever since over the size of the social spending package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has promised a vote on the infrastructure package by September 27, and Democrats would be very stupid if they let it slip away because of internal bickering. Biden’s task is to break the logjam and get a social-spending bill through the budget reconciliation process that will pass both houses. This ought to be his sweet spot, as a career politician and self-proclaimed dealmaker. The White House is keeping mum, saying nice things about progressives and moderates both, but soon it will be time for knocking heads and cutting deals. It seems obvious that a consensus budget deal will have to focus
on the things Americans appear to want most – my list would include greater tax fairness, measures to reduce climate change, lower costs for prescription drugs, greater access to community colleges and education, generally – and save some other measures for later. Passing such legislation might save the House and Senate for the Democrats in 2022. Otherwise, forget it. Competence begins at home. But the White House wants to demonstrate that despite anger overseas about the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, allies still need and want U.S. leadership. Look for a Biden push on vaccine diplomacy at the U.N. General Assembly this month, a major new initiative with “Quad” partners in Asia (India, Japan and Australia), and a new effort to galvanize the “techno-democracies” through the October meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The White House was battered last month by bad luck, bad policy, and bad implementation. The surprising thing, given this gut-wrenching reversal for an administration that had been riding high, is the relative lack of internal backbiting. In other administrations, the leaks by now would have been flowing like a fire hose. Biden’s inner team sometimes seems more like a Senate staff than a typical elbows-out administration. Congeniality has its advantages. But when mistakes happen, as they did in August, problems need to get fixed. Otherwise, the boss – and perhaps dozens of Democratic legislators – will pay the price. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group
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Tuition. Books. Food. You need all three to get your degree. Many students struggle to have enough food while going to college. SNAP may be able to help you buy the food you need so you can focus on school. The Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) can help you learn if you may be eligible for SNAP. NOEP can also help you complete and submit your application. Contact NOEP today. It is free and confidential.
Jewish Community Council of the Rockaway Peninsula NOEP Phone (718) 327-7755 Ext: 6127 info@jccrp.org
Prepared by a project of Hunger Solutions New York; funded by NYSOTDA and USDA/FNS. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
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Middle East Musings
Poland’s Unrelenting Dedication to Jew Hatred By David Billet
W
hile some forms of anti-Semitism are more challenging to identify, others are as clear as day. The Polish government has proven that they are just as anti-Semitic today as they were when my grandparents were forcibly placed in a slave labor camp during World War II. Poland’s Parliament recently passed a law that effectively bars all Holocaust survivors, and their descendants, from recovering property that was illegitimately taken during WWII. Is it not enough that almost three million Polish Jews were killed in the Holocaust? Now they also want to legitimatize the stealing of their property. A brief walk down memory lane can prove the absurdity of this law and how it is merely the expression of age-old Polish anti-Semitism coming to life in society today. Firstly, the Polish police played a pivotal role in supporting the Nazis during the Holocaust. The Polish police force was known as the “Blue Police” and ensured that all Jews lived in ghettos, were beaten when failing to comply with Nazi dictates, and were repressed when attempting to fight for their freedom. It has become widely recognized that the police were comprised of the pre-war Polish police force, and that if a Jew was caught by the Polish police, they would almost certainly be killed. It is estimated that approximately 90% of the 3.3 million Jews who were living in Poland were murdered during the Holocaust, thereby ensuring that their property was left behind for others to claim. Furthermore, acting against extreme pressure from the Polish political class, a variety of scholars and historians have worked to understand the role that Poland played in the Holo-
caust. Jan Tomasz Gross, a leading Polish American historian, has stated that the Poles had killed more Jews than the Germans during WWII, which led to his condemnation by many Polish political leaders. Mr. Gross highlighted an example of Polish anti-Semitism by discussing how, on one occasion, half of the resi-
the extermination of Polish Jewry. History will never forget the role that Poland played in ensuring that the soil of Europe will forever be stained with the blood of the Jews. Only twenty years after Jews were suffocatded in gas chambers during the Holocaust, the Polish communist party declared in 1968 that all Jews were
It is estimated that approximately 90% of the 3.3 million Jews who were living in Poland were murdered during the Holocaust.
dents of a village simply murdered the other half, leading to the death of sixteen-hundred Jews. Another leading Holocaust historian, Barbara Engelking, uncovered testimony that the prewar mayor of a Polish town led the Nazis to Jews who were hiding in a forest, which led to the death of twenty-two Jews. These are only a few examples of the explosive anti-Semitism that led to
the enemy of the state. This has become known as an anti-Semitic purge and forced approximately 20,000 Jews to flee Poland in only four years. Mass demonstrations were also held against Jewish officials, who were often accused of dual loyalty to Israel and were blamed for many of the country’s issues. If we fast forward to today, Poland
is recognized as one of the most anti-Semitic countries in Europe. In a recent survey by the Anti-Defamation League, almost 50% of Poles supported anti-Semitic views and 74% of the survey respondents stated that the Jews discuss the Holocaust too often. In 2019, Poland’s parliament passed a law that made it a crime to state that Poland was complicit in the Holocaust. The Israeli government, and all Jews around the world, must not cower in fear in the face of another political leader who relentlessly attacks our people. Anti-Semitism is a disease that only grows more rampant when fed, and we must not feed the anti-Semitism that has proven to pervade Poland’s political class. Rather than visiting the concentration camps and supporting the economy of a country that despises our people, we must instead focus on supporting Israel, touring Yad VaShem, and educating ourselves in Jewish history. As the generation of Holocaust survivors is slowly coming to an end, it has become more crucial than ever before for Holocaust education to become a focal point of all educational institutions. While historians often argue that anti-Semitism mutates in every generation, it seems that Polish anti-Semitism remains unchanged after all these years.
David Billet is a student at Fordham Law School, where he is an Associate Editor of the International Law Journal. In May of 2018, David graduated from Queens College, CUNY, with a B.A. in Accounting and a minor in Economics. David additionally writes articles that focus on foreign affairs, domestic policy, and global anti-Semitism. To date, his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Israel Hayom, and almost twenty other media publications.
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Forgotten Her es
Jewish Heroes in World War II By Avi Heiligman
2nd Division infantrymen on the march at the Battle of the Bulge
O
ver the centuries, countless Jewish men and women have answered the call to serve in their nation’s military. There have been some lists compiled of these servicemen and women in America, with most of their stories unknown to the general public. The heroism showed by these service members is incredible. Here are some of their accounts of their bravery under fire. Sergeant Max Globerman was from Detroit, Michigan, and joined the Army Air Corps in his upper 20s. He was the tail gunner on a Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber over Europe. In the course of twenty-five missions, he earned sixteen decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross for “commendable dexterity” while his plane was fighting off swarms of Nazi fighters. There were three Jewish soldiers named Edwin Wolf that this author has discovered, and they deserve mention for their actions during World War II. Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Wolf from Baltimore was with the engineers when they assaulted Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Amid the bloody and chaotic landing, he landed ashore, and his unit was supposed to direct truckloads of supplies onto the beaches. However, his commanding officer was hit by a mortar round, and Wolf then directed the amphibious vehicles amid the devastating German gunfire. He was wounded that day but continued fighting in other battles.
Landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day
He was awarded the Bronze Star as well as a French medal for his actions on D-Day. Another Edwin Wolf was active in interrogating captured Nazis and participated in recovering rare books stolen by the Nazis during the war. The third was a crewman on a B-25 bomber and was killed when it crashed on a ferry flight over Brazil. Colonel Ernest Lee was born in San Antonio, Texas, and was General Eisenhower’s aid-de-camp throughout the entire war. The Jewish officer joined the army in 1940 and was
Lieutenant Benjamin Grossman and some of his medals
in an effort to prevent the Allies from a breakthrough of the Siegfried line. Many new American units were in the Ardennes Forest sector when the surprise attack was launched, and they subsequently suffered heavy casualties. Veteran divisions such as the 80th Infantry Division were rushed to the front in a successful effort to turn the tide of the battle. Lieutenant Benjamin Grossman was with the 317 th, Regiment, 80th Division and was wounded in combat. During the next few months, he and the rest of the division pushed forward and pushed
They say there is no atheist in a foxhole and for Friedman that was especially true.
assigned to Eisenhower’s staff when the general was with the Third Army during training maneuvers. Eisenhower liked his work ethic so much that he invited Lee to come to Washington when he was reassigned. Lee was with Eisenhower during his travels throughout the war, including the invasions of North Africa and Western Europe. Lee was given several awards for his service including the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit. The Battle of the Bulge was a German offensive in December 1944 that depleted most of their reserves
back the Nazis across the Rhine River. In April 1945, Lieutenant Grossman’s company was shot at by a sniper from nearby woods. As he led the effort to clear the sniper, his unit encountered a much larger enemy force. Grossman was wounded a second time in battle but still led his unit to safety. He helped evacuate the wounded, and for his courage he was awarded the Silver Star. The fight against the Japanese was nothing like the Americans had ever seen before in combat. Japanese tactics were cunning, and they usually
fought to the last man – very few were captured uninjured. Corporal William Friedman of Brooklyn was on the island of Luzon in the Philippines as a gunner for a cannon unit during World War II. He was on a tank destroyer when they encountered Japanese tanks and a 47mm anti-tank gun. Friedman knocked out the gun and scored probable hits on a couple of the tanks. Then things took a turn for the worst when the Americans started receiving fire from a distance. A shell hit Friedman’s vehicle but only two soldiers were slightly injured and Friedman himself was unhurt. They say there is no atheist in a foxhole and for Friedman that was especially true. He grew up in an Orthodox home but wasn’t so religious himself. He said of his experience, “But ever since I have been overseas…there hasn’t been one single day I’ve missed my prayers.” Digging through records and outof-print books can bring up the stories of heroes that have long been forgotten. The courage and bravery shown by these servicemen and women are rarely written or talked about in the media. As this author digs through more records, more information will surface and these heroes’ stories can be told.
Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.
The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015
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The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Your
Money
Work on This By Allan Rolnick, CPA
B
ack in the early 1880s, American workers toiled as much as 12 hours per day at the coal mine or the bobbin factory. Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, proposed a parade followed by a picnic for a demonstration of the budding labor movement’s solidarity and a “general holiday for the laboring classes.” He proposed the first Monday in September to take advantage of good weather and break up the long stretch of work between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. Today, Labor Day is just another three-day weekend. It’s become the unofficial end of summer — an excuse to smoke ribs, host backyard barbecues, and maybe buy a new car or truck. Union membership has fallen from 35% in 1954 to just 10.3% today. Labor Day parades are mostly a thing of the past. And while the holiday traditionally marked the end of wearing summer whites, some savages still rock the forbidden color all the way up through Halloween. The men and women at the IRS are some of the hardest-working people in government. Budget cuts have left the IRS with just 76,000 full-time equivalents at the end of 2020, down
from 95,000 at the end of 2010. If you’ve ever tried to talk to an actual human to resolve a problem, you know how stretched they are. (Pro tip: don’t even think about calling on Monday. Better yet, leave the dialing to us!) President Biden has proposed giving the IRS an extra $80 billion over the next 10 years. But politicians rarely win elections by
trimmed the number of people who itemize down to just 10% of us. Most Americans working for the man pay tax on nearly their entire paycheck. Salaries and wages are also subject to regressive employment taxes. Currently, that amount is 15.3% on the first $142,800 of earned income, plus 2.9% on anything above that. Yes, your employer “pays half”
The fattest fat cats aren’t just lighting cigars with $100 bills — they’re lighting up with tax-free Benjamins.
giving more money to the tax man. It’s ironic, then, that the tax system the IRS enforces is so hostile to the laboring classes we just celebrated. Salaries and wages are taxed as ordinary income, at rates up to 37%, whether you earn it on the factory floor or in the executive suite. And while the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 nearly doubled standard deductions, it eliminated personal exemptions and
— but is there any doubt it’s really coming out of your pocket? If your earned income tops $200,000 (or $250,000 for joint filers), you’ll also pay a 0.9% “additional Medicare tax” on anything above those amounts. Meanwhile, in their mansions up on the hill, the “rentier” class gets a break. Tax on qualified corporate dividends and long-term capital gains is capped at 20%. There’s a “net
investment income tax” of 3.8% on investment income above the same $200,000/$250,000 thresholds. But the overall rate can still be far less than what a carpenter or coal miner earns with the sweat of his hands or his back. And billionaires like Jeff Bezos can borrow against their stock for completely tax-free cash. Bottom line: the fattest fat cats aren’t just lighting cigars with $100 bills — they’re lighting up with tax-free Benjamins. Peter McGuire and the other founders of the labor movement would not be happy. We don’t care if you make your money with your brain, your hands, or your portfolio. Our goal is to help you accomplish your financial goals with a minimum of interference from taxes. There’s always something we can do, even if it’s just more tax-free retirement income down the road. So call us to join the capitalists paying less!
Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 years in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at allanjrcpa@aol.com.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Life C ach
Open to See! By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS
T
epee, tent, bivouac, lean-to… Not exactly. It’s a sukkah! So, what makes it different from all these other flimsy dwellings? The
greater impracticality, of course. Yes, it’s not supposed to work for you. It’s actually a structure made to let sun seep through and falling rain in.
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meals prepared and served. Because we know exactly who is making that happen – there is absolutely no wondering there! In fact, let’s hear it for the woman who makes these holiday feasts possible, and all while juggling a million other things! I’m talking about the wondering about Who is running the bigger show! That is, the realities that we live each and every day, rain or shine. Yes, that is what our open-top
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We go “outside” to get some good “inside” information! Namely, we should not put our faith in a structure. It is not really what is protecting us. Because structures can give way; buildings can collapse, and homes can be permeated by man or elements. So, eat out in that sukkah. Sleep out in that sukkah. Hang out there all day if you like. But, whenever you look up, stop and have heavenly thoughts. And I don’t just mean wonderful ones. I mean wondering ones…. As to Who is running the show? And I’m not just talking about the show of getting these holiday
structure, our sukkah, is directing us to do. To create a replica of security. Yet, not to get fooled by it. We should know that we certainly can fortify our lives, enhance them, have an impact on them. We should and must attempt do this. Just as we must build our sukkah. Nevertheless, we must keep an open outlook from the top down. And thus remember that ultimate success is directed by the One Above!
Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com.
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 | The Jewish Home
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© Riverside
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חג שמח Figure it out: How many people are expected at this meal? How many adults? How many kids? What did they use to secure the sign to the door? What’s the older brother’s name? The younger brother’s name? Who made which decoration? What time do the lights turn off tonight? Which ushpizin will it be tonight? Hardball: Did they sleep in the Sukkah last night? Bonus round: Can you find the 10 Riverside logos? Solved it? Every submission wins. For details, submissions & supersized artwork email prizes@rsabstract.com
