Five Towns Jewish Home - 10-14-21

October 14, 2021

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

‫בס"ד‬

is pleased to announce that preschool registration is now open for the 2022-2023 school year Give your child an education that will stay with her for a lifetime.

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Avraham Mayer Executive Director

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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‫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

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Rabbi Nosson Neuman, Menahel Mrs. Ruchie Sokoloff, Principal Their kindness and compassion for every talmidah, combined with their quest for excellence in education, are legendary in our community.

High School

OPEN HOUSE October 20th Beth Sholom 390 Broadway, Lawrence, NY

7:30 PM Looking forward to greeting you

ENTRANCE EXAM

Sunday, November 14th 10:00 AM

(details to follow)

Rabbi Nosson Neuman Menahel

Mr. Isaac Zafir President

Mr. Eric Stern Chairman of the Board

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

T

he yahrtzeit of Rochel Imeinu is yudaleph Cheshvan, which falls out this year on Sunday. Isn’t it interesting that we don’t commemorate the yahrtzeit of the other Imahos – or even the Avos? It’s only Rochel Imeinu’s yahrtzeit that is remembered and elicits an outpouring of tefillah each year.

Why is that? Why is Rochel Imeinu – out of all of the Imahos – seen as the “communal mother” of Am Yisrael? Why is she worthy of such a distinction?

Each of our Imahos and Avos had certain qualities and middos that were foremost in their persona and defined their lives and that which we emulate. For Rochel Imeinu, her compassion and selflessness guided her decisions in her life. Giving over the signs to Leah before her marriage to Yaakov Avinu showed an ultimate level of mercy and compassion for her sister. She couldn’t live with the thought that her older sister would be embarrassed in front of Yaakov Avinu. Instead of allowing her sister to bear one night of shame, she preferred to forgo her marriage to her destined partner.

Isn’t that a defining trait of a mother? Isn’t that what all mothers do? Put aside their needs for the happiness of their children?

As mothers, and as women, we do that all the time – and we don’t even realize that so many of our decisions throughout the day

are influenced by our inner desire to actualize that middah of compassion. It’s how we wake our children in the morning, and help them with their homework, and prepare supper for them at night. It’s how we greet our husbands at the end of a long day and how we facilitate successful business meetings and assignments. The underlying trait in all those actions is compassion and selflessness and giving of oneself.

It’s interesting to note that Rochel Imeinu died doing one last act of giving. As she passed away, she gave birth to the last of the Shevatim, Binyomin. Her last act was of building Klal Yisroel.

That’s also a trait that she passed down to her children. She taught us that the ultimate mission in this world is building our Nation.

It is of raising children who are imbued with a calling to better the world. It is of shaping ourselves and the people around us into happier, more developed human beings.

Rochel Imeinu is, of course, remembered as the only one who could “persuade” Hashem to “remember” His children and bring them back from galus. Those same middos that she personified in her lifetime are helping to bring the redemption to her children – may we be zocheh to see it in our days.

Wishing you all a wonderful week, Shoshana

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll Community Happenings

8 34

NEWS

24

Global

12

National

23

That’s Odd

30

ISRAEL Israel News

20

World Builders

76

Middle East Musings by David Billet

78

Rochel Imeinu is Here for Her Children

82

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

68

Same Place, Worlds Apart by Rav Moshe Weinberger

70

Is Greatness Only for Superheroes? by Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

72

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

74

PEOPLE TJH Speaks with Jeff Weinberg, Author of Faith At Work Jewish Heroes During World War II by Avi Heiligman

80 110

HEALTH & FITNESS Risk and Fear Calculations by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

94

Drinking by Cindy Weinberger, MS RD CDN

96

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Onion Soup

102

LIFESTYLES Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW 90 Parenting Pearls

98

Dear Editor, I read your newspaper every week and I compliment you on the many varied and interesting articles featured in your publication.

In your September 17 th issue, you printed two articles with seemingly opposing perspectives about Jews visiting Poland. The Middle East Musing written by David Billet expressed the opinion that “rather than visiting the concentration camps and supporting the economy of the country that despises our people, we must instead focus on supporting Israel touring Yad Vashem and educating ourselves in Jewish History.” On the other hand, Hershel Lieber, the author of The Wandering Jew column, writes about the feeling of fulfillment that he experiences during his annual visits to Poland where he davens with the Polish kehillah and tours synagogues, kivrei Gedolim, yeshivot, museums and other locations that have historical ties with Jewish people both past and present.

To be sure, I appreciate the feelings that were expressed by both of these authors. There is no question in my mind that, as David Billet points out, Poland can be recognized as one of the most anti-Semitic countries in Europe. However, I do not believe that by abandoning the locations of our past history, we can better educate ourselves in Jewish History. I believe that there is great merit in supporting Israel always by visiting Yad Vashem and spending time in our beautiful country or,

better yet, making Aliyah. Yet there is also tremendous value in visiting Jewish sites in Poland, especially if, like myself, you have family members who were murdered there. My grandparents are buried in a mass grave in Mszana Dolna, Poland.

There is no museum visit that can for me compare in importance to visiting the matzeivah at the site of the August 19, 1942, mass murder of the 881 Jews of Mszana Dolna.

Visiting Kever Avot is an important mitzvah and to ignore it because the grave is located in Poland does not make sense to me. Likewise, it is probably cathartic for many children and grandchildren of victims of the Holocaust to visit the exact location where their family members suffered. For me, there will never be closure for the suffering and the brutal murder of my grandparents, Natan Stern, z”l, Leibe Feige Stern, z”l, and my uncle Naftali Stern, z”l (whose exact place of death remains unknown), however to see pictures in a museum is not the same as visiting the town where my family spent the last miserable months of their lives.

As is typical of most marked mass graves, there are no names recorded on the matzeivah. The documentation appears in the meticulous records that were created by the Nazis. In order to further memorialize my family, I had Stopersteine (stepping stones) installed in front of the home in Berlin from which they Continued on page 10

JWOW! 100

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Your Money

116

Back in the Dog House by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS 118

HUMOR Centerfold 66 POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

104

The Woke Mob Runs into a College Teacher Who’s Fighting Back by 107 George F. Will How Regional Realignments are Helping Depressurize the Middle East 108

by David Ignatius CLASSIFIEDS

112

Do you prefer to have a “go back” or “pause” option on your life?

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%

Rewind

25

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Pause

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 8

were expelled. On these stones, their names and circumstances and dates of their demise are written. These Stolpersteine are visited every year on the yahrtzeit, vav Elul, by members of the Berlin community, both Jews and non-Jews whom I met and befriended on my trip there.

In Mszana Dolna, a large memomrial ceremony is held each year at the matzeivah on August 19, which is attended by students and dignitaries. Furthermore, Mrs. Urszula Antosz-Rekicka, a local theology teacher, has collected photographs, documents, and bios of many of the Jews who lived in the town. Her dedication to the preservation of the Jewish history of Mszana is remarkable. In addition, she educates students about the history and the culture of Judaism. Furthermore, her volunteers are involved in restoring the matzeivot in the 18th century Jewish cemetery there, which was in a state of major disrepair.

My wish is that my children and grandchildren will always be active, staunch supporters of our beloved homeland, the state of Israel, but that they will also find occasion to visit both the kever in Mszana Dolna, Poland, and the memorial stones in Berlin, Germany, and familiarize themselves with their personal connection to the Holocaust.

Leba Stern Sonneberg Dear Editor, I confess that it has been a while since I’ve picked up a copy of your newspaper. To my disappointment, all five political cartoons in your Oct. 7th edition shared the same partisan sentiment. In this respect, what makes your publication different from other Orthodox Jewish print media? Rather than to inform, your Notable Quotes section merely confirms the views of most Orthodox voters, who vote Republican.

I would like to remind your readers that in this democracy there are two political parties, both of which

care deeply about the welfare of this country and its people but with different policies in achieving this goal. It would be nice to see balance in your political coverage of local, state, and national politics.

Sergey Kadinsky Dear Editor, President Biden and Congress raising our national debt ceiling by $480 billion more is nothing to be proud of. Both continue to ignore our national debt, which is will now exceed $29 trillion by December 2021.

This averages $86,710 per citizen or $228,999 per taxpayer. (Source: October 10 National Debt Clock). Our legal debt limit will officially run out in early December, due to our excessive current rate of spending. This doesn’t include the $1.2 trillion proposed Infrastructure or $3.5 trillion Build Back America package.

There are thousands of employees who are familiar with the details of our federal budget. How difficult can it be to find billions in savings?

This could assist in reducing our frequent raising of the debt ceiling.

Millions of Americans cut their household budgets to make ends meet. It is time for Washington to live within its available existing revenues without excessive borrowing, just like millions of ordinary citizens.

The President and Congress have forgotten the old saying – a penny saved is a penny earned. Americans should send both a penny to remind them that it is not a sin to save. Unless we change our ways, America is on the road to losing our status as the world’s No. 1 superpower to China. Just like mighty ancient Rome before the collapse, we are going down the path to become the world’s super debtor.

Sincerely, Larry Penner Great Neck, NY Dear Editor, Recent actions by world governments continue the pattern of overreach from governments in the past year and a half. Many governments

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Be part of TJH’s weekly poll.

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have decided to make unscientific vaccine mandates on businesses and people. At the same time the government makes such policy, governments are promoting vaccines as the best solution to Covid. The contradictory sentiment of forcing everyone to get a vaccine while saying the vaccines are very effective is simply ridiculous. Study after study has confirmed the efficiency of the vaccine.

It is true that vaccinated people have been infected and have died from Covid nevertheless, but the likelihood is very low. According to NBC News, as of July 31st, 2021, .08% of those vaccinated in the U.S. still got Covid, and an even smaller number of them died. The likelihood of getting Covid and it being serious is extremely low. Governments making vaccines mandated is simply an act.

The lack of governments to recognize the efficiency of natural immunity is further proof of the charade government is putting on. A recent Israeli study confirmed that not only does natural immunity provide the same protections as vaccines, but in some situations, more protection.

One has to wonder: why are the United States and other countries currently not recognizing the benefits of natural immunity?! Anthony Fauci can predict months in advance if people have to stay home or not but is clueless on natural immunity!

Governments are eroding the public trust of institutions for political reasons. It was only last month that Joe Biden made a vaccine mandate, despite months earlier saying that he wouldn’t. According to the Congressional Research Service, no federal law grants Biden the power to enact his order. If so, what are Joe Biden and other world leaders up to with their unscientific mandates and messaging?!

The answer can only be the continuance of their new-founded power. As a health official in Australia recently said about Covid restrictions, they are part of the “New World Order.” Joe Biden and Boris Johnson ran on the slogan, “Build Back Better.” The United Nations also recently revealed a campaign called “The Great Reset.” All these phrases have one thing in common: governments are the ones building back. Have people forgotten that democracy is by the consent of the people, or is that just a figment of the imagination? People need to rise against the nonsensical, unscientific, and undemocratic orders that their “New World Order” tyrants are

unleashing against them before they are part of “The Great Reset.”

Sincerely, Donny Simcha Guttman Dear Editor, On Unilever’s Hellman’s Mayonnaise jar is a question: “Something to tell us?” Well, YES! We called the number and found out that Unilever has designated a separate phone line (407-734-3032) to receive calls about the decision by Ben and Jerry’s to boycott 800,000 Jews in Israel who live in 140 different communities in Judea and Samaria.

According to Yifa Segal, Chief of Staff for the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and former director of the International Legal Forum, this means that, de facto, their products will not be sold in Israel – all of Israel – not just in Judea and Samaria. No similar announcement has ever made by Ben and Jerry’s about any other country or region in the entire world where they allow their products to be sold (including human rights violators Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China). Ben and Jerry’s products can be found everywhere but they will no longer be in Israel.

Unilever has complete legal control over its Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream subsidiary despite its claim to have relinquished policy control over to the founders of Ben and Jerry’s.

It is critical that Unilever hears from us. This was our message: “We love Hellman’s mayonnaise and Dove soap but it’s getting harder and harder to purchase these items knowing that Unilever has not reversed the decision by Ben and Jerry’s to boycott Jewish communities in Israel or divested itself from this anti-Semitic, terrorist-sympathizing company. Unilever’s refusal to act means that it is complicit in corporate anti-Semitism. The Holocaust began with boycotts against Jews based on lies.”

Our voices need to be louder than the chorus that is calling for companies to stop doing business with Israel. Registering a complaint against corporate anti-Semitism has never been easier. Please call Unilever at 407-734-3032 and urge everyone on your lists to do the same.

Our silence is not an option.

Lynne Bursky-Tammam and Nessim Tammam Yom Hashoah Mobilization Committee

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

More TRAFFIC or More TAXES?

Both are UNACCEPTABLE & if we dont SPEAK UP NOW both will happen!

The Town of Hempstead / IDA (Industrial Development Agency) is facilitating mega developments throughout the Five Towns, causing more and more traffic, and costing our community tens of millions of dollars in taxes.

Tell the Town of Hempstead THIS MUST STOP NOW!

LAWRENCE

ROCKAWAY TPKE

INWOOD

RAYMOUR & FLANIGAN

AMAZON FULFILLMENT CENTER

HEATHERWOOD DEVELOPERS

Local community now funding an estimated $10 MILLION in tax breaks to support company's new 150k sq ft distribution center

Local community now fundingan estimated $20 MILLION in tax breaks for development of 422k sq ft warehouse

Town of Hempstead / IDA now looking to tax the community an estimated $50 MILLION to support private developers of a five story 313-unit apartment complex

These Projects Are Driving Up Our Taxes And Increasing Traffic With Hundreds Of Additional Cars And Trucks On Our Local Roads Every Day.

Tell the Town of Hempstead NO MORE Backroom Deals with Developers!

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED TOWN OFFICIALS NOW!

Supervisor Don Clavin IDA Exec Dir Frederick Parola

Community Coalition of the Five Towns

Councilman Bruce Blakeman Councilman Anthony D’Esposito For more info, email: info@cc5t.net

Join on WhatsApp

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

Oil Prices Skyrocket

U.S. oil prices on Monday finished at over $80 a barrel for the first time in almost seven years. That day, crude oil gained 1.5%, ending the day at $80.52. Also on Monday, the national average price for gasoline hit $3.27 a gallon. According to AAA, the new price signifies a rise of seven cents in the past week alone.

The new prices symbolize a $120 rise since April 2020, when they

crashed to a negative $40 a barrel and gas prices hit $1.77 a gallon.

According to Citigroup, crude oil will likely hit $90 at times, and a “very cold winter” could mean Europe may be “running out of gas”

by February. At the same time, the Bank of America has warned that a cold winter could boost oil demand by half a million barrels per day, raising the price of Brent crude to $100 a barrel.

“We may just be one storm away from the next macro hurricane,” Bank of America strategists wrote recently to clients.

Chinese coal prices have hit record highs due to flooding in northern China that forced dozens of coal mines to close. Now, China is battling power shortages, prompting the government to ration electricity during peak hours.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, noted, “Looking out on the horizon, I really don’t see an organized drop in prices. The market is starting to feel explosive. The fundamentals are there for that to continue.”

He added that gas prices are likely to rise to $3.30 nationally.

Journalists Take Home Nobel Peace Prize

Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.

Ressa is the CEO of Rappler, while Muratov heads the Novaya Gazeta.

Both have faced legal and physical threats during their careers due to government crackdown efforts.

Announcing the prize in Oslo on Friday, Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said, “Free, independent, and factbased journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies, and war propaganda.”

She added that Ressa and Mura-

tov are “representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.”

The choice of these two journalists, she said, was intended to “underscore the importance of protecting and defending these fundamental rights.”

During Friday’s ceremony, Reiss-Andersen said, “Freedom of expression and freedom of information help to ensure an informed public.

These rights are crucial prerequisites for democracy and protect against war and conflict.”

Meanwhile, Ressa is the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize this year.

Six staffers at the Novaya Gazeta have been killed since Muratov co-founded the outlet in 1993.

“The newspaper’s fact-based journalism and professional integrity have made it an important source of information on censurable aspects of Russian society rarely mentioned by other media,” the committee added, noting that Muratov has “consistently defended the right of journalists to write anything they want about whatever they want, as long as they com-

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

ply with the professional and ethical standards of journalism.”

Speaking to Russia’s TASS media outlet, Muratov said, “I worked, I was busy. They called me from the Nobel Committee, but I didn’t pick up the phone. I didn’t even have time to read the entire text. I’ll tell you this: this is not my merit. This is Novaya Gazeta. These are those who died defending the right of people to freedom of speech.”

“I am in shock,” Reuters quoted Ressa as saying during a live broadcast by Rappler.

On Thursday, a day before the prize winners were announced, Ressa told CNN, “I have covered this country since 1986, I’ve never been the news but the only reason I’ve become the news is because I refuse to be stamped down, I refuse to stop doing my job the way I should.”

She asserted, “I’m not fighting against the Duterte administration.

I’m fighting for my rights. I’m still idealistic,” she said.

Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, congratulated the two, saying that Ressa and Muratov are “two fearless journalists and symbols of the struggle for press freedom.”

ISIS Leader Arrested

Iraq’s interim prime minister announced on Monday the arrest of a suspected high-ranking financial leader of ISIS who was detained outside of Iraq.

Mustafa al Kadhimi, Iraq’s interim prime minister who came to power last year, tweeted the news that Sami Jasim was in custody.

“While our ISF heroes focused on securing the elections, their INIS colleagues were conducting a complex external operation to capture Sami Jasim, who was in charge of Daesh finance, and a deputy of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi,” the tweet read. “Long live Iraq, and our brave heroes.”

The United States said it was awarding up to $5 million for information on Jasim because of his alleged role in the finances of the terrorist organization. The bounty is part of the State Department’s “Rewards for Justice“ program.

“While serving as IS deputy in southern Mosul in 2014, Jasim reportedly served as the equivalent of ISIS’s finance minister, supervising the group’s revenue-generating operations from illicit sales of oil, gas, antiquities, and minerals,” the State Department’s website said.

Jasim was first aligned with Iraqi al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi before he met ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi in 2012. He held various positions within ISIS, including within the judiciary and industry ministries. He became a deputy to Baghdadi in 2015 when he moved to Syria to join ISIS. He remained with Baghdadi until the U.S. successfully killed Baghdadi in 2019.

The news comes as Iraq faces a democratic election to choose their next prime minister; Kadhimi is not running for reelection.

UN Investigation Ends in Yemen

The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on Thursday voted to end its investigation of war crimes in Yemen. The vote was 21-18 against a resolution to continue the probe by the Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen for two years.

The vote was the first time in the Council’s history that a resolution had been defeated.

In a statement, the group said the vote is a “major setback for all victims who have suffered serious violations.”

“The negative vote taken yesterday by Council members further underlines the Group’s assessment that there is a lack of political will to address the situation in Yemen,” the group added.

The group’s mandate will end when the UN Human Rights Coun-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

cil’s 48th session ends on Monday.

In 2015, a civil war broke out between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels. In the years since, over 8,218 civilians have been killed, including 2,270 children, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights told the Council.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, over four million Yemenis have been displaced since the start of the conflict.

In a statement, the Human Rights Watch said failure to renew the mandate would be “a stain on the credibility of the Council and a slap in the face to victims.”

“Rather than allowing any party to the conflict to evade scrutiny for its own violations, HRC member states should stand with the people of Yemen by renewing the GEE’s mandate at this critical time,” the group said.

his condition.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi tweeted that he was “deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan.”

“He helped us develop nation-saving nuclear deterrence, and a grateful nation will never forget his services,” the president said.

Father of Pakistan’s Bomb Dies

Guatemalan police found and released 126 migrants who had been abandoned in a locked shipping container last week.

The group was discovered by the side of a road between Nueva Concepción and Cocales after locals heard screaming and shouting coming from inside the container.

According to a police spokesperson, “We heard cries and knocks coming from inside the container.

We opened the doors and found inside 126 undocumented people.”

It is believed that the migrants were abandoned by smugglers paid to guide them to the U.S. via Mexico.

In a tweet, local police said that the majority of those in the container were from Haiti, while 11 were from Nepal and nine were from Ghana. All of them were provided with medical assistance and taken to a shelter run by the Guatemalan Migration Institute.

According to Alejandra Mena, a spokesperson for Guatemala’s migration authority, the migrants had first arrived in Honduras with the intention of completing the journey to the U.S. They will be moved back to the Honduras border and left with the authorities.

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Abdul Qadeer Khan, the “father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb,” died at age 85.

Khan, whose death was announced on Sunday, is accused of illegally sharing nuclear technology with Iran, North Korea, and Libya.

An atomic scientist, he was seen by his fellow Pakistanis as a national hero who turned Pakistan into the first Islamic nuclear power and was viewed by Westerners as a dangerous man responsible for smuggling nuclear technology to rogue states, including Iran.

He was placed under effective house arrest in 2004, after admitting to running a proliferation network with the three countries.

According to the state-run PTV, Khan had been hospitalized with COVID-19, and died after being transferred to the KRL Hospital in Islamabad while suffering from lung problems. He had also been admitted to the same hospital in August, for COVID-19. However, several weeks after being permitted to return to his home, Khan was transferred back to the hospital due to a deterioration in B”H IN OUR

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16 Killed in Russian Plane Crash A Russian plane carrying parachutists crashed after takeoff early

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Sunday, leaving 16 dead and six injured.

The plane reached an altitude of 70 meters (nearly 230 feet) before pilots reported an engine failure.

mittee has said it opened a criminal investigation into suspected safety regulations violations.

Austrian Chancellor to Step Down

According to Tatarstan’s governor Rustam Minnikhanov, the crash occurred after the plane’s wing hit a Gazelle vehicle, a minivan vehicle, as it attempted an emergency landing near the city of Menzelinsk and flipped over.

The Health Ministry confirmed that 22 people, including 20 parachutists, were on board the aircraft at the time of the crash. The six people who survived the crash are in serious condition.

The plan, a twin-engine Let L-410 Turbolet, was a short-range transport aircraft owned by an aeroclub in the city.

The club said the investigation into the incident is ongoing. At the same time, the Investigative Com-

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Saturday evening announced that he will leave office. The announcement follows a raid on his office by Austrian prosecutors investigating him and close team members on suspicions of bribery and breach of trust.

In a televised address on Austrian TV, Kurz said, “I want to make space to guarantee stability.”

He added that the corruption allegations were “wrong.” Kurz is under investigation due to claims government money was used to ensure

positive coverage in a daily newspaper. The paper has rejected the accusations and denied wrongdoing.

Nine other people and three organizations are also under investigation in the case.

According to public broadcaster ORF, Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will replace Kurz in his seat as Chancellor.

Kurz “enjoys the full support of the people’s party,” a spokesperson for the Chancellor said. Kurz, the spokesperson said, is resigning so “the coalition can continue to work in the interest of the Austrian people.”

The spokesperson emphasized that none of the house raids “concerned Kurz himself.”

Kurz is set to stay on as chairman of the OVP and head of the parliamentary caucus.

France to Ban Plastic Fruit Packaging France will ban plastic packaging for nearly all fruit and vegetables from January 2022 in a bid to reduce

plastic waste, the environment ministry said on Monday.

Implementing a February 2020 law, the government published a list of about 30 fruits and vegetables that will have to be sold without plastic packaging from January 1. The list includes leeks, eggplants and round tomatoes as well as apples, bananas and oranges.

“We use an outrageous amount of single-use plastic in our daily lives.

The circular economy law aims at cutting back the use of throwaway plastic and boost its substitution by other materials or reusable and recyclable packaging,” the ministry said in a statement.

It estimated that 37% of fruit and vegetables are sold with packaging.

French fruit sellers federation president Francois Roch said switching to cardboard will be difficult in such a short time.

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“Also, selling loose produce is complicated as many customers touch the fruit and people do not want their fruit to be touched by other customers,” she said.

The packaging ban is part of a multi-year government program to phase out plastic. From 2021, France banned plastic straws, cups, and cutlery, as well as Styrofoam takeaway boxes.

Plastic packaging will be banned by the end of June 2023 for cherry tomatoes, green beans and peaches, and by the end of 2024 for endives, asparagus, mushrooms, some salads and herbs, as well as cherries.

By June 2026, raspberries, strawberries and other delicate berries must be sold without plastic.

Saudi Group Buys UK Soccer Team A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has purchased a struggling soccer team in England’s Premier League, the league confirmed on Thursday.

The sale, though, has rubbed many

people the wrong way.

According to a CNBC report, the purchase of Newcastle United for $409 million terminates billionaire Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership of the team. The team is now 80% owned by the consortium, while 10% is owned by PCP Capital Partners and the other 10% by developers Simon and David Reuben.

The deal follows a 2020 attempt which was abandoned due to the consortium’s inability at the time to prove enough separation between itself and the Saudi government.

In a Thursday statement, Amnesty International UK’s CEO Sacha Deshmukh protested the sale.

“Ever since this deal was first talked about, we said it represented a clear attempt by the Saudi authorities to sports-wash their appalling human rights record with the glamour of top-flight football.

“Instead of allowing those implicated in serious human rights violations to walk into English football simply because they have deep pockets, we’ve urged the Premier League to change their owners’ and directors’ test to address human rights issues.”

Meanwhile, according to Reuters, a survey by the Newcastle United Supporters Trust found that 94% of its members supported the takeover.

In a statement, PIF said, “Today’s announcement is the conclusion of a thorough and detailed process that has allowed the Investment Group to arrive at a deal that benefits all stakeholders and will leave Newcastle United well-placed to pursue a clear, long-term strategy.”

The Premier League said it received “legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control” the team.

In its statement, the League explained, “All parties have agreed the settlement is necessary to end the long uncertainty for fans over the club’s ownership. All parties are pleased to have concluded this process which gives certainty and clarity to Newcastle United Football Club and their fans.”

Abraham Accords Caucus

The Knesset on Monday launched a new caucus dedicated to the Abraham Accords. The caucus is headed

by MK Ofir Akunis (Likud) and MK Ruth Wasserman Lande (Blue and White).

Attending the event were Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, as well as former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking at the event, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said, “The fact that we prevented a unilateral annexation enabled the Abraham Accords to solidify and move ahead.

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“I am happy these peace agreements were signed, and I am sure they will be broadened and drive change in the Middle East, because this is peace between peoples.”

He added that Jerusalem “is acting to expand the agreements and even add more agreements,” emphasizing that “we must not forget the important peace deals with Egypt and Jordan, which are an asset to the State of Israel. We have a duty to develop all the peace agreements and also to continue to work to achieve peace with the Palestinians.”

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said, “We renewed relations with Egypt, we opened embassies, we improved our relations with the U.S. I call upon the Palestinians, and every Arab nation that is listening: We seek peace.

Peace is not a compromise or a weakness but rather an embodiment of the human spirit. Those living in the Middle East are welcome to look around and see which countries are in a better position — those who seek peace, or those who seek war.

“One of the subjects [that will come up] in my trip to Washington [departing] tonight is expanding the number of nations that are in this agreement,” Lapid said during the event, referring to his upcoming trip

to the U.S. “I want to thank President Trump for his role in the agreements and thank opposition leader Netanyahu, who did a great thing with these agreements,” he added.

Netanyahu, who met Trump and Kushner ahead of the event, said, “As long as people said peace can’t be made with the Arab world without peace with the Palestinians, we couldn’t have achieved peace.

We broke the Palestinian veto and brought four historic peace deals.”

Ban Upheld on Jewish Prayer on Temple Mount

A Jerusalem judge on Friday upheld a police order barring a Jewish man from visiting the Temple Mount for a period of 15 days, after he was caught praying at the site.

Jews are not allowed to pray, even silently, on the Temple Mount, but a landmark ruling by Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Bilhah Yahalom said that the man’s prayer was quietly, not openly, and could not therefore pose a security risk.

However, on Friday, the Jerusalem District Court’s Judge Aryeh Romanov said that the fact that the man was caught proved that his prayer was noticeable and therefore forbidden.

“What is important…is the fact that there was someone who noticed the appellee praying, which evidently shows that the prayer was overt. If it was not overt, no one would have noticed it,” Romanov wrote in his ruling.

He added that the police officer who removed the man exercised the proper discretion and that the Magistrates Court had not had sufficient grounds to intervene in the case and lift the two-week ban.

At the same time, Romanov refrained from discussing what “openly” praying means, or whether there was room for flexibility on the matter.

Meanwhile, Public Security Minister Omer Barlev said he had appealed the Magistrates Court’s decision, which was also appealed by the police. In a Friday statement, Barlev warned that “a change in the existing status quo will endanger public peace and could cause a flare-up.”

“The State of Israel advocates freedom of worship and prayer for all, however, in view of the security implications, the status quo must be observed,” he said.

The Jordanian Waqf, which runs the Temple Mount, said the Magistrates Court’s ruling had been a “flagrant violation” of the Temple Mount’s sanctity and constituted a “clear provocation.”

Mosque director Sheikh Omar alKiswani told AFP, “This decision also has no legitimacy because we do not recognize Israeli law on Al-Aqsa.”

The World Will “Throw Israel to the Dogs”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir believed the world would “throw Israel to the dogs,” according to newly released documents about the early days of the Yom Kippur War. The documents number around 1,300 pages and include notes from top-level security discussions and previously-classified cabinet meetings. They were published on the 48th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. Included in the documents, released Wednesday by Israel’s State Archives, is a transcript of a conversation in which military officers tell Meir on October 7 that “the situation is unsympathetic on both fronts.”

Responding to this, Meir ordered that the officials immediately call then-U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and “tell him SOS.” “The little help we have from the international community will disappear; they will throw us to the dogs.

They don’t like Jews, let alone weak Jews,” she said.

“They will attack. Move from one line to another and keep attacking,” Meir predicted, as the Arab armies continued to advance. She is also recorded as having repeatedly told the meeting’s participants, “We need to give them severe blows.”

In another document dated October 19, 1973, then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said, “The results should not have been as they were and we should have stopped them.

We did not properly assess their combat capability.”

New Shabak Chief

The Israeli government on Monday approved the appointment of a new chief for the Shabak (Israel Security Agency).

Upon the government’s approval of the candidate, his name was cleared for publication: Ronen Bar, 55, is currently Shabak’s Deputy Chief. He will begin serving as its chief on Thursday.

Bar is married and is a father of three. He holds B.A. degrees in polit-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

ical science and philosophy from Tel Aviv University, as well as an M.A. in public management from Harvard.

Bar replaces outgoing Shabak chief Nadav Argaman, who took the position in 2016.

At the time of Bar’s appointment, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, “Ronen is a brave soldier and an excellent commander. I have no doubt that he will lead the agency to new heights of excellence for Israel’s security.”

Angela Merkel Visits the Holy Land

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday emphasized that the State of Israel’s security would always be a top priority for the German government.

Merkel, who is ending 16 years in office, made her statement at Jerusa-

lem’s King David Hotel, during what is expected to be her last official visit to Israel.

Ahead of her visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, Merkel said, “After the crimes against humanity of the Shoah (Holocaust), it has been possible to reset and to reestablish relations.”

She added, “I want to use this opportunity to emphasize that the topic of Israel’s security will always be of central importance and a central topic for every German government.”

However, she said that the twostate solution “should not be taken off the table,” emphasizing that the “Palestinians” should “be able to live securely in a state” and that Israeli “settlement” activity was not helpful to the goal of peace.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett praised Merkel as “Europe’s moral compass,” calling her “a dear friend of Israel.” He added, “We certainly remember history, and look with optimism toward a better future.”

Merkel, he stated, “paved the way for Germany’s continuing commitment to Israel’s security, which we value greatly.”

Responding to her statements on the two-state solution, Bennett said,

“We are not ignoring the Palestinians. They are our neighbors. They’re not going anywhere; we’re not going anywhere.

“At the same time, we have learned from experience that a Palestinian state means that it is highly likely that a terror state will emerge seven minutes away from my own house.

“I am a very pragmatic person.

We are undertaking a series of actions on the ground in order to make things easier for everyone, for Jews, for Arabs, in Judea and Samaria, and in Gaza.”

During her visit, Merkel also met Israeli hi-tech leaders and entrepreneurs and received an honorary doctorate from Haifa’s Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Nazi Hunter Neal Sher Dead at 74 Neal Sher, former U.S. chief Nazi hunter whose formula led to the de-

portation of dozens of Nazis, died on Sunday in Manhattan at age of 74.

Sher led the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI) for 11 years and served as a former director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Sher’s approach, developed during his years at OSI, transformed the Justice Department’s Nazi-hunting system from one which relied on tips to one which systematically examined Nazi-era German records against U.S. immigration records.

Under this system, the office has removed 69 former Nazis since 1979, in most cases revoking their citizenship for lying about their past during the immigration process.

In one instance, Sher proved that former United Nations Secre-

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tary-General Kurt Waldheim had not disclosed his past as a Nazi officer and succeeded in convincing the U.S. government to bar his entry into the U.S. Other instances saw Sher uncover Archbishop Valerian Trifa’s instigation of a pogrom against Bucharest’s Jews, and Arthur Rudolph, a NASA scientist who directed a German wartime factory in which he worked Jews to death.

In a 1983 interview with CBS, Sher said, “For these people to live freely in the United States is contrary to everything this country stands for.”

Defending his work, Sher asserted, “There’s no statute of limitations for mass murder.”

Sher began working with OSI after its founding in 1979, and in 1983 became its director, serving in the position until 1994. Between 1994-1996, Sher served as AIPAC’s director; he resigned his position after both sides decided it was not a good fit. In 1998, Sher became the first Chief of Staff for the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims, a position he was forced to resign in 2002 after the Baltimore Sun exposed him for filing more than $100,000 in false expenses, which he later repaid.

TX Bans Vaccine Mandates

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order this week prohibiting any entity, including private businesses, from imposing COVID-19 vaccination requirements on employees or customers.

“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced,” Abbott said in a statement.

Abbott, a Republican, said in his order that it was prompted by the Biden administration’s vaccination mandate, which he said was federal overreach.

President Joe Biden announced a mandate last month requiring companies with 100 or more employees to ensure that their workforces are

vaccinated or regularly tested.

Abbott issued executive orders over the summer banning local governments and school districts from requiring either masks or vaccinations, issuing $1,000 fines to those who failed to comply. School districts in San Antonio and Dallas have challenged the order in court. The Legislature also passed a bill in June banning private businesses from requiring proof of vaccination from customers.

Other Republican-led states have taken similar approaches. Montana passed a bill banning vaccination requirements by employers.

Florida also banned businesses from requiring proof of vaccination this year.

Throngs of Haitians Heading to U.S.

The White House is tracking nearly 20,000 Haitian nationals in Colombia while pushing efforts to control the flow of migrants headed towards the U.S. According to a senior administration official, the group in Necocli, Colombia, is “forming a human bottleneck” which is “even bigger than some of the recent migrant logjams on the U.S.-Mexico border.”

The official added that Washington is in “very close communication” with both Colombia and Panama but that there needs to be a “collaborative approach.”

“We’re shifting to having a regional conversation,” he told the Washington Examiner. “You want a functioning border, but you also want to create alternatives to individuals that are taking that dangerous journey.

“We’re not just making sure that governments have secured their borders but are also upholding their own asylum and refugee obligations.”

Necocli, a small town on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, is a key transit point for migrants preparing to head to Panama’s Darien Gap on their way to the U.S. Migrants crossing the

Panama-Colombia border usually spend a few weeks in Panama before continuing north to Costa Rica; Panama authorities facilitate northbound migration so long as the travelers hold a valid passport.

Most of the migrants are Haitian or Cuban.

Earlier this week, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine JeanPierre said, “We do have a system in place that we’re going to continue to follow. We continue to have the push factors and telling folks, ‘This is not the time to come,’ and we’re going to continue to do what we’ve been doing in the past.”

No Gifted Learners in NYC

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday unveiled a plan to replace the city’s gifted and talented programs with more accessible accelerated learning.

The programs for elementary school children have come under fire for what some claim is discrimination against Black and Hispanic minorities. Under the current program, four-year-olds are given an optional exam, and those who do well – just 2,500 each year – are placed on a path to attend the city’s top middle schools and high schools.

Now, de Blasio’s “Brilliant NYC” will expand the pool of students who are offered accelerated learning.

In a statement, de Blasio said, “The era of judging 4-year-olds based on a single test is over. Brilliant NYC will deliver accelerated instruction for tens of thousands of children, as opposed to a select few. Every New York City child deserves to reach their full potential, and this new, equitable model gives them that chance.”

Those students currently enrolled in the gifted and talented programs will remain in those programs, but no new students will be enrolled. Instead, NYC will evaluate third-graders’ schoolwork and receive input from their teachers, using that information to decide which students should be placed in accelerated class-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

es. Those students deemed gifted will spend several periods each day working on specific subject areas with specially-trained teachers.

The city will also train all kindergarten teachers to provide accelerated learning in various areas.

Not everyone is applauding de Blasio’s initiative.

State Senator John Liu, a Queens Democrat who chairs a panel on NYC schools, tweeted, “Gifted and talented programs have been an integral option for generations of schoolkids.

Bill de Blasio promised intensive public engagement about it but now wants total elimination.”

Lauri Kirsch, president of the National Association for Gifted Children Board of Directors, said, “Though we support several aspects of Brilliant NYC, such as increased teacher training and the elimination of a single gifted identification exam, we are not confident that accelerated learning by itself will meet the needs of our gifted learners equally. Moving forward, I’m hopeful that the mayor and New York City Department of Education will reconsider this plan and keep the best interests of our gifted children in mind.”

Yiatin Chu, co-president of PLACE NYC, a New York City advo-

cacy group, said, “The elimination of the G&T program is just another example of this administration’s continued assault on high achieving students and accelerated learners.”

Kids Not Sicker from Delta

The Delta coronavirus variant does not appear to cause more severe illness in children than earlier forms of the virus, a UK study suggests.

The research has not yet been peer-reviewed and further research is needed to corroborate the findings.

The findings echo a study conducted earlier this year on the Alpha variant’s effects on children.

In their research, scientists compared 694 school-age children infected with the Alpha variant between December 2020 and May 2021 with 706 children of similar ages who

were infected with Delta between May and July 2021.

According to a Thursday report on medRxiv, children infected with Delta had slightly more symptoms, but very few children in either group required hospitalization or suffered long period of illness. Across both groups, half of the children were ill for no more than five days.

However, the researchers did not have information on factors such as possible effects of lockdowns or the different seasons, which might have influenced the results.

Concluding their study, the researchers wrote, “Our data suggest that clinical characteristics of COVID-19 due to the Delta variant in children are broadly similar to COVID-19 due to other variants.”

Meanwhile, a study published Thursday in Nature showed that vaccine-produced memory B cells are less robust than those produced by natural infection. At the same time, COVID-19 vaccines produce more antibodies than natural infections do.

Both types of antibodies wane in some people after about six months, but memory B cells allow the body to produce new antibodies if there is new exposure to the virus.

However, the researchers cautioned against avoiding the vaccine in an effort to gain natural antibodies.

In a statement, study leader Michel Nussenzweig of Rockefeller University said, “While a natural infection may induce maturation of antibodies with broader activity than a vaccine does, a natural infection can also kill you. A vaccine won’t do that and, in fact, protects against the risk of serious illness or death from infection.”

Nuclear Spies

They seemed like a regular American couple. But Jonathan and Diane Toebbe, of Annapolis, Maryland, are being accused of trying to sell U.S. nuclear submarine secrets. They are

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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being held by officials out of concerns that they may try to flee the country rather than face life sentences.

The Toebbes, who have two children, were arrested on Saturday, in Jefferson County, W. Va., during what officials said was their latest “dead drop” of information to a person they thought was their foreign spy service handler.

Authorities had been tracking them for nearly a year. The couple allegedly sent thousands of government documents about nuclear submarine propulsion systems to the purported handler — who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent gathering evidence against them.

Several times this year, the Toebbes hid small data cards in everyday items — a Band-Aid wrapper, a chewing gum package, half a peanut butter sandwich — to be picked up by the foreign spy operative they thought was paying for details about U.S. nuclear submarine technology.

“Although most spy cases don’t involve peanut butter and Band-Aids, the facts alleged follow a familiar pattern: Insider within the U.S. government approaches a foreign power to sell U.S. secrets for money, is compromised despite their best efforts at

tradecraft, and — to their surprise — is subsequently arrested,” said David Laufman, a former senior Justice Department official.

Perhaps what’s most interesting is that Jonathan, attempting to ensure that he was really dealing with a foreign country, asked them to show a signal from their embassy in Washington over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The FBI arranged to have the signal placed at the embassy — suggesting the foreign government may have not just tipped off the United States to the alleged spy attempt but that it also helped the FBI build its case.

The Toebbes are charged with violating the Atomic Energy Act, which makes it a crime to share “restricted data” and is a separate and in some ways easier-to-prove charge than sharing classified information.

People who knew the Toebbes were shocked by their arrest.

Diana was known to be a passionate teacher who loved knitting. She was a great teacher who encouraged her students to think in different ways.

“Hearing that one of my teachers is involved in something like that? That’s just insane,” said Malin

Deutsch, who graduated in 2019 and is now a junior at the University of Vermont. “I only really ever saw her as an English teacher. I didn’t think she could do something — or possibly do something — like that.”

The Toebbes moved to Annapolis in 2012, the same year Jonathan joined the U.S. Navy as a nuclear engineer.

Toebbe served for five years on active duty, mostly as a Navy nuclear engineering officer at the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP) in Arlington, Va. The program oversees the design, operation, and maintenance of nearly 100 nuclear reactors throughout the Navy, according to recruitment documents. More than 60 aircraft carriers and submarines in the fleet or under construction use nuclear energy rather than gas turbines for power.

Toebbe left the military in 2019 after serving as a human resources officer in the Navy Reserve. He was not assigned to any ships and did not serve on any deployments. Out of three awards he received, two were given for joining the military, and another — the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal — is commonly earned for finishing a term of service.

Toebbe “seamlessly” continued his work in a similar capacity as a civilian at NNPP after he left active military service in 2017, according to a U.S. defense official.

Southwest Stays Grounded

If you’re flying Southwest Airlines this week, you’re going nowhere fast.

On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines was again experiencing a fifth straight day of widespread cancellations. Early numbers showed 7% of Southwest flights were cancelled that day. On Monday, 435 Southwest flights were canceled, bringing the total above 2,000 since Friday.

It’s not clear what is causing the disruption but the delays and cancelations began shortly after the pilot’s union tried to block Southwest’s new COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

When asked by CBS News if there was any chance the disruption could have been caused by pilots calling out sick over the company’s vaccine mandate, Capt. Casey Murray, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, said that was not the case and that the airline’s pilot sick rate for this weekend was “right in line with what was occurring this summer.”

The airline is blaming weather and air traffic control issues for all the cancellations, although no other airlines have been experiencing cancellations over the past few days.

CA Requires Ethnic Studies

uation requirement in California, ensuring that historically marginalized communities will see their own stories reflected in California high school education. We thank Governor Newsom for caring about the Jewish community’s concerns.”

Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, director of AMCHA Initiative, a group focused on anti-Semitism on college campuses, said most school districts will use the first draft of the curriculum, rather than the updated third draft, in their ethnic studies classes.

“This bill could and should have been stopped at the legislative level and must not be forced on the Jewish community to fight in each of California’s 1300 school districts,” she said.

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‫ ﻤ‬SUNDAY ‫ﻤ‬ California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed into law a bill requiring students to pass at least one course in ethnic studies in order to graduate from California high schools.

Under the new law, schools will be required to offer at least one class in ethnic studies by 2025. The graduation requirement will go into effect four years later, in 2029.

The new curriculum was the subject of extended debate, as well as criticism for the earlier drafts of the curriculum.

The first draft of the curriculum was intended to teach students about the historic and current challenges faced by minority groups in the U.S., but several Jewish and other groups pushed for changes to the draft, pointing out that they were unfairly excluded from the curriculum.

Although it did not include a section on American Jews as a minority group, the initial draft did include anti-Israel and anti-Semitic material.

The third draft, however, omitted the anti-Semitic material and included two lessons focused on American Jews.

In a joint statement on Friday, several Jewish groups from the Bay Area said, “Today Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 101 into law, which makes ethnic studies a grad-

October 17th 9:15 – 11:45 AM The New York Times on Friday issued a correction after a reporter claimed that 900,000 children have been hospitalized with COVID-19 across the U.S. The true number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. is 63,000.

The misinformation was supplied

by Times reporter Apoorva Mandavilli, who in May claimed that the theory that coronavirus was manmade in Wuhan, China, has “racist roots.”

In its correction, the Times wrote, “The article misstated the number of Covid hospitalizations in U.S. children. It is more than 63,000 from August 2020 to October 2021, not 900,000 since the beginning of the pandemic.”

In addition, the article “described incorrectly the actions taken by regulators in Sweden and Denmark.

“In addition, the article misstated the timing of an FDA meeting on authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children. It is later this month, not next week,” the paper added.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz criticized Mandavilli, tweeting, “She just isn’t willing to investigate or report on anything that might hurt her tender feelings.”

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Rephael Miller

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

New U.S.-UKAustralia Alliance

China, Russia, and North Korea have expressed opposition towards a new security arrangement in the Pacific. The new arrangement was made between the United States, the UK, and Australia, but the three other powers see it as a threat to regional stability.

Speaking last week at the 29th Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed “the U.S.-invented Indo-Pacific strategies embodied in the foursome Quad – the United States, Japan, India and Australia – and the recent creation of the bloc [known as] AUKUS.” According to Lavrov, “The Indo-Pacific concept is aimed at breaking up this system that relied on the

need to respect the indivisibility of security and has openly proclaimed that its chief objective is containing China.”

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian echoed, “That’s very well-put indeed!

Foreign Minister Lavrov’s views reflect the shared concern of the vast majority of ASEAN countries. The U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, AUKUS and Quad are all closed and exclusive cliques informed by the Cold War zero-sum mentality with strong military security undertones. They will spur regional arms race, aggravate tension and undermine regional unity and cooperation.”

Zhao added, “The U.S. practice of ganging up against a third party runs counter to regional countries’ common aspiration to seek shared development through dialogue and cooperation and advance regional integration.

“It wins no hearts and has no future. Many ASEAN countries have questioned and opposed to various degrees these moves.”

China is not a member of ASEAN, but both China and the U.S. often work with the bloc.

In a Wednesday statement by the North Korean Foreign Ministry,

Division Director of Korea-Europe Association Choe Yong Un said, “It is not a new move on the part of Britain when considering the fact that Britain has been servile to the U.S. to frequently find fault with us. However, as this move is tantamount to a guilty party filing a suit first, this cannot be overlooked.

“The international society has recently witnessed the British announcement early this year of its plan to increase the number of its nuclear warheads from present 180 to 260, and its agreement with the US to transfer sensitive cutting-edge nuclear technology to Australia.

“It is the universal comment in this regard that it is Britain that is certainly a threat to the world peace and the regional stability.”

Tire-less

An elk in Colorado is finally rid of his spare tire.

Two years ago, wildlife officer Jared Lamb noticed that a bull elk in the Rocky Mountains was walking around with a tire around its neck.

Since then, wildlife officials have endeavored to catch the animal and free it from its rubber and steel yoke.

But it’s been hard. The animal had been hard to catch; officials need to be just 20-40 yards away from the animal while tranquilizing it. This elk, it seemed, didn’t want to part with its adornment.

This week, though, a homeowner noticed the elk in the cameras at the back of his property. He alerted officials, who managed to tranquilize the 600-pound, 4.5-year-old animal.

Once the elk was no longer alert, officials sawed off bits of its antlers and then cut off the tire.

They found about 10 pounds of wet pine needles, dirt, and other debris in the bottom half of the tire and estimated the elk was about 35 pounds lighter once it and its antlers were removed.

If only it was that easy for me to get rid of my spare tire.

100 and Flying High

A World War II Air Force veteran was able to celebrate his 100th birthday back in the sky last month, and he was flying high. The flight was sponsored by Dream Flights, a nonprofit “dedicated to honoring seniors and military veterans.”

Bob Cwiak was flown in a WWII biplane at the Baxter Regional Airport in Midway, Arkansas. He was “taken aback” with the 22-minute experience, saying it brought back memories of his days during World War II. It was his first time back in the sky since 1963. However, 1945 was the last time he flew bombardier for the U.S. Air Force while stationed in Spinazzola, Italy. The bombardier stood or knelt down at the nose of the plane and was in charge of releasing the bombs.

Cwiak, who eventually became a 1st Lieutenant, and his crew mainly flew missions over Nazi-occupied central Europe.

“The acceleration of being back in the air was great…the wind in my hair,” Cwiak said of the birthday flight. “I would like to be up there again.”

His wish may very well be granted. Dream Flights said that because Cwiak turned 100, he’ll be eligible for free flights on every subsequent birthday.

Not bad for turning a century old.

18 and Flying High You don’t have to be 100 years old to enjoy the sunny skies.

A British teenager became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo when he completed his

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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flight at age 18 years, 150 days.

Travis Ludlow took off May 29 from an airport in the Netherlands and returned to the country 44 days later, after making stops in Poland, Russia, the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Britain, Ireland, Spain, Morocco, France, and Belgium.

Ludlow originally planned to set off on his flight in May 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

His postponed trip still took place in time for him to set the Guinness World Record for the youngest person to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo.

The teenager’s stop in the United States allowed him to meet with previous record-holder Mason Andrews, who was 18 years, 163 days old when he completed his circumnavigation flight in October 2018.

And you’re scared to let your teen drive down Central Avenue on a Friday.

Going Nuts

Bill Fischer is at war – with a squirrel.

The pesky rodent has been filling Fischer’s car with nuts for eight years, and Fischer hasn’t been able to do anything about it.

Last month, the red squirrel set a new record: Fischer found and removed 348 pounds of walnuts from his truck.

American red squirrels are small but mighty — about 12 inches long with sharp, curved claws — and they can do some major damage.

The animal’s ingenuity forces Fischer to spend hours removing the walnuts from various nooks and crannies in his truck in what has become a yearly nuisance.

“I have been dealing with the red squirrel since 2013. This has now become a sort of ritual, with it filling my truck with nuts and me trying to re-

move them.”

Nearly every part of the truck has been stuffed with walnuts. The squirrel has even made its way into the hood and hidden nuts all around the engine. It also managed to get into the front bumper, wheel well, and parts of the doors.

Interestingly, the squirrel only makes an appearance once the walnuts near Fischer’s tree begin to ripen.

“The most I had ever pulled was four buckets, so with seven buckets this year, the squirrel was on a mission,” Fischer said.

Fischer has sprayed the truck with tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper. Still, the squirrel this year seems to have become immune to the harsh smells.

“I have to have a sense of humor about this after so many years,” Fischer admits.

“I put in as much hard work as the squirrel when I have to take my truck apart just to remove bucket after bucket of walnuts!”

Sounds like a tough nut to crack.

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Looking to make a huge salad?

Here are some giant vegetables to use for your next dinner party.

This week, Guinness World Records confirmed that there are now new winners for four giant vegetables: heaviest eggplant, heaviest marrow, heaviest broad bean pod, and longest leek.

Nottinghamshire, England, farmer Peter Glazebrook broke the record for the world’s heaviest eggplant, when he presented a 6-pound, 14-ounce vegetable at the event in Malvern.

The new record-holder for the heaviest marrow (a type of zucchini) was grown by Vincent Sjodin, from Wales’ Barry Island, and weighed in at 256 pounds, 9.8 ounces – beating the previous record by 50 pounds.

The world’s heaviest broad bean pod, also known as a fava bean pod, was grown by Joe Atherton of Man-

sfield, England. The large legume weighed in at 3.74 ounces.

Atherton also captured the record for the world’s longest leek, when his vegetable was officially measured at 4 feet, 5.5 inches.

These records are no small potatoes, you know.

Return to Sender?

Cops in Florida are trying to return someone’s very precious possessions.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey wrote on Facebook that his department is endeavoring to find the owner of 700 pounds of marijuana, hoping to “return” it.

“Since at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office we always strive to do the right thing, our Narcotics Agents are trying to identify the rightful owner of the approximately 770 lbs. of marijuana that was seized from a mini-storage facility in Viera,” Sheriff Wayne Ivey wrote. “I mean, trying to identify the rightful owner of the property is the very least we can do, especially since it has a street value of roughly two million dollars!!”

Ivey continued with the tonguein-cheek post, “Once we properly identify you as the rightful owner, we will gladly return your property and also make sure that both you and your property are kept in a secure area so that no one can try to rip you off!!”

He even offered a “staycation” for the owner to think about “exactly how much your lost property means to you.”

The sheriff has made extensive use of social media during his tenure as “the most politically incorrect sheriff in the country,” using humor to engage the public. On YouTube, Ivey runs a number of joke programs to showcase various cases and aspects of his job, most notably his “Wheel of Fugitive” where he spins a wheel of fugitives to determine the “fugitive of the week.”

Sounds like the joke’s on them.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

Discover Your Future

Open House

Wednesday evening October 27, 2021 7:00 PM

Entrance Exam Sunday morning October 31, 2021 9:00 AM

636 Lanett Avenue, Far Rockaway 718.327.1300 mshsopenhouse@tagschools.org

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Around the

Community One Night; One Daf

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ith Simchas Torah barely in the rearview mirror, Aish Kodesh kicked off the winter zman with a unique event: “Just one night! Just one daf!”

Over 200 men and boys participated on Monday night, starting and finishing Maseches Shabbos as a Chabura. This tremendous initiative, which was arranged by Rav Yoni Levin, began with a 15 minute shiur in the sugya of hotzaa from Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, followed by the learning of the masechta and concluding with a siyum and inspiring divrei Torah from Rav Levin. Rav Levin explained that although one may think one daf or one hour is relatively inconsequential, this event solidified the limitless potential that each person has upon approaching Limud HaTorah and a new zman.

The evening concluded with 13-year-old Yeshaya Levin and Eitan Agbashoff leading the Chevra with a niggun and dance.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

LEARNING TORAH

LIVING TORAH Please join our

OPEN HOUSE

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31ST AT 3:00 PM Pre-register and more information:

WWW.NETZACHHATORAH.COM/OPENHOUSE Also scheduling in-person tours and meetings.

office@netzachhatorah.com 111 Irving Place, Woodmere, NY 11598 (516) 374-6777 Rabbi Yitzchok Yurman, Menahel Rabbi Yoni Mitteldorf, S'gan Menahel Rabbi Yirmiyahu Lebowitz, General Studies Principal

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Prestigious Honor for DRS Students

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RS is immensely proud of seniors Ari Zelefsky and Eli Radinsky who have both qualified as Semi-Finalists for the National Merit Scholarship, as well as Zeeshe Gross, Elisha Weissman, Ephraim Boczko, and Zachary Rosenberg, who have been recognized as National Merit Scholarship Commendees.

This is an extremely prestigious honor, and it reflects the high level of education that DRS strives to deliver to their students, as well as the level of commitment and work they expect from them. The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by

National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Students who later qualify as

a Finalist have an outstanding academic record, are endorsed and rec-

ommended by school officials, and earn extremely high PSAT scores.

were given the tools and insights to face challenges with a positive outlook and energy.

The program generated much more than stimulating discussions.

Women were enthused about connecting with their rebbetzins and with like-minded women in the community. They enjoyed the practical tips and the time to bond and laugh together. And their enthusiasm is now leading to another innovative event.

The Jewish Women’s Leadership Council, JWLC, was the group that spearheaded the Power of Positivity event. They are now offering “Prisms of Positivity,” a six-week series to be held on Zoom on Tuesday evenings at 8:30pm. Each week will feature another well-known and engaging speaker, who will give over a short idea and concept connected to the theme of positivity and optimism. After the 15-minute talk, the speaker will open up the forum for discussion among participants – a guaranteed opportunity for women to re-connect and relate. Prisms of Positivity will kick off on online on Tuesday, October 19 at 8:30 pm. Rebbetzin Aviva Feiner will be speaking on the topic, “Be the Sunshine in Your Morning.” Rebbetzin Malka Trump will be facilitating the program on that evening.

Other speakers in the series include Rebbetzin Lisa Septimus,

Rebbetzin Elisheva Kaminetsky, Rebbetzin Chanie Wolowik, Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, and Rachel Pill, LCSW. There is no charge for the event, and all women are welcome. Register at www.guraljcc.org/prisms-of-positivity. Join for one week or all six!

The JWLC was created to help strengthen the Jewish community in the Five Towns by uniting the women leaders to collaborate and address issues, trends, and concerns impacting our community. So far, they have sponsored an evening of “Love and Laughter” with comedian Ashley Blaker, Dr. David Pelcovitz and Rachel Pill, LCSW. They also presented a special Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul program with renowned speaker Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi. The Power of Positivity event connected 650 women from 18 shuls in the community. Prisms of Positivity, the six-week series which is its outgrowth, is also sure to be inspirational, conversational, and insightful.

Register for the Prisms of Positivity event at www.guraljcc.org/ prisms-of-positivity. A Zoom link will be sent to registrants prior to the event. Sign up today!

If you have any questions about the Prisms of Positivity six-week series, please contact Rachayle Deutsch at rachayle.deutsch@guraljcc.org.

Prisms of Positivity

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few months ago, more than 600 women from 18 shuls across the Five Towns and Far Rockaway community joined

together for a unique program. “The Power of Positivity” was an interactive program in which women, led by their shul’s rebbetzin or facilitator,

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community PHOTO CREDIT BEN SOMMER

Hundreds Join for Yahrtzeit of Piazecna Rebbe, zt”l

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or the yahrtzeit of the Piazecna Rebbe, zt”l, on 5 Cheshvan, hundreds gathered in the famed Cong. Aish Kodesh of Woodmere, named after the stirring Sefer

by Kalonymus Kalman Shapira of Piazecna. They joined together from

all over the tri-state area on Motzei Shabbos, to be with their Rebbe, Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, for chizuk and to commemorate the Rebbe’s life and teachings. They came to connect to and celebrate the tzaddik, the Aish Kodesh, and the world that was.

The legendary R’ Yosef Karduner flew in from Eretz Yisroel to lead the niggunim for an astounding 21st year in a row. After Rav Weinberger shared some profound feelings and thoughts about the holy Piazecna Rebbe, the participants were treated to a special brand new song produced by the TYH chevra, dedicated to Rav Weinberger, in honor of the yahrtzeit of the Aish Kodesh. Those assembled were then blown away when Far Rockaway/5T very own legend R’ Eitan Katz joined Yosef Karduner for a few exhilarating songs, that brought

everybody to their feet.

The Katz family, back in the neighborhood after a one-year Sabbatical in Eretz Yisroel, joined the Woodmere community for this special “hilula” Shabbos. The welcome mats were rolled out, as R’ Eitan led an electrified Aish Kodesh tzibbur

through the beautiful Shabbos davening and a spirited Shalos Seudos l’kavod the yahrtzeit. For now, Eitan is here in New York with us, but G-d willing, we should merit to all be together for the yahrtzeit next year in Yerushalayim, with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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Around the Community

MTA Meets with Bahrain Undersecretary of State

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delegation of MTA talmidim and alumni had the unique opportunity to meet Dr. Shaikh Abdulla Al Khalifa, Undersecretary of State and Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Defense Council of the Kingdom of Bahrain, on Monday, October 4 at a special luncheon hosted by Yeshiva University. The event, which marked the celebration of one year to the Abraham Accords Normalization Agreements, featured a discussion with the Shaikh, who shared the Warm Peace Strategy of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the implementation of the Abraham Accords and learned from YU leadership, faculty, and students about American Jewry.

“Meaningful opportunities like this, which are not typically avail-

able to high school students, are one of the many advantages of MTA’s unique location on the YU campus,” said Head of School Rabbi Joshua Kahn. “It’s also a great way for our current talmidim to see firsthand the successes our alumni are achieving post-high school. At this particular event, our alumni represented the largest group of YU Honors Program participants from any high school.”

Dr. Shaikh Abdulla Al Khalifa serves as Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Defense Council of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as Chairman of Derasat, Bahrain’s leading think tank. In this capacity, Dr. Shaikh Al Khalifa led on Bahrain’s historic Normalization Agreement with Israel within the Abraham Accords and visited Isra-

el three times – twice secretly and once publicly in July 2021. He now leads on the design and implementation of Bahrain’s Warm Peace Strategy, which includes building stronger ties with American Jewry. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla Al Khalifa received his masters in law from the prestigious Queen Mary College in London and his PhD in International Relations and Diplomacy from Ecole des Hautes International in Paris.

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Yeshiva Eitz Chaim Inaugural Breakfast

Rabbi Boruch Oppen, principal

Central Shabbaton

Rabbi Menachem Landau, board member

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ith much gratitude to Hashem Yisborach and with much Siyata D’Shamaya, this past Sunday, Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim held its inaugural fundraiser breakfast, and the support was overwhelming.

Rabbi Gedaliah Oppen, Rosh Yeshiva, expressed in his opening remarks the importance of being focused on the needs of each talmid and to be prepared to educate each one accordingly. Rabbi Boruch Oppen, principal, introduced a creative, impressive, and captivating video where one was able to feel the simcha and growth of the students in such a short time.

Following the video presentation,

Mr. Menachem Landau, board member, explained why he and the other members of the board felt the urgency and need to create and build Yeshiva Eitz Chaim.

Yeshiva Eitz Chaim offers each talmid an opportunity to grow as a ben Torah while at the same time recognizing and understanding that the traditional academic path is not always geared for each student. Yeshiva Ateres Eitz Chaim provides an individualized academic schedule, as well as assisting in matching a talmid to a relevant internship program that will provide hands-on experience with the ins and outs of a noble occupation of their choice.

entral students and faculty were very grateful and lucky to be able to attend our annual school Shabbaton at Camp Kaylie this past weekend. The full threeday programming began with a trip to Chelsea Piers in Stamford, CT, where students were able to choose from a myriad of activities, like ice skating, gymnastics, and rock climbing. Mia Lebowicz, a junior from West Hempstead, said that she was grateful for the opportunity to meet and befriend people from other grades through these activities.

On Thursday evening, students enjoyed a costume party chagigah, featuring a Silent DJ, where each grade came dressed in a unique costume! An inspiring Shabbos program planned by our incredible seniors centered around the theme of “Thank You, Hashem!” showing our gratitude that we can have Shabbatonim again and for all the small and big things in life that Hashem blesses us with. Teachers on the Shabbaton led “schmoozes,” with topics ranging from appreciating the big and small things in life, to prais-

ing Hashem during the high and low points of our lives, to many personal stories in their own lives where they felt an immense sense of gratitude.

The singing, divrei Torah, and overall ruach were inspiring and memorable for all.

Of her first Shabbaton experience, freshman Tali Amar, a freshman from Woodmere, said, “It gave us the chance to meet everyone and make new friendships. It was really fun.”

Senior Yael Mirzayev from Queens was sad, but grateful, for her final school Shabbaton experience, saying, “Despite Shabbaton not being in its typical form, Central made my last school-wide Shabbaton one to remember!”

Mrs. Yael Axelrod, Programming Director and new to Central, said that “the camaraderie and bonding between teachers and students was inspiring to see and be a part of. It was a beautiful Shabbos together.”

We at Central are looking forward to a year full of fun, inspiring events like this one. Thank you, Hashem for making it happen!

Chai Lifeline Appoints Three New Board Members

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hai Lifeline is pleased to announce the recent appointments of Mayer Fischl, Moshe Klein, and Shalom Stein to its Board of Directors. The three Lakewood, NJ, residents are all longtime supporters of Chai Lifeline and have played active roles in the organization over the years.

Mayer Fischl is the CFO of The Premier Network/BlueGrass Health.

In 2018, he and his wife Chaya Riv-

ka served as guests of honor at the Chai Lifeline national gala and dedicated its Children’s Services. From their personal involvement in Camp Simcha and Achim B’Yachad (Chai Lifeline’s division serving the Chassidic community) to their hosting of Chai Lifeline New Jersey’s Kidz and Tweenz Konnect programs, the Fischls’ commitment takes a hands-on approach.

Moshe Klein is vice president at

Sol Klein PA, Inc. In 2020, he and his wife Chanie were guests of honor at Chai Lifeline NJ/PA’s Annual Dinner.

Shalom Stein is the CEO of Complete Care Management and has raised significant funds for Chai Lifeline over the years through his participation in Bike4Chai.

“We are delighted to have Mayer, Moshe, and Shalom join the Board of Directors,” said Rabbi Simcha Scholar, CEO of Chai Lifeline. “Their ex-

perience, expertise and dedication to the children and families we serve will help us strengthen and further the mission of Chai Lifeline.”

A leading children’s health support network, Chai Lifeline provides critical assistance to children with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses and their families, through more than two-dozen, free year-round programs. Learn more at www.chailifeline.org.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

Are you behind on rent due to the pandemic and live in Queens?

We are here to help Queens residents who are behind on their rent and at risk of becoming homeless to access the NYS Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). ERAP can also provide temporary rental assistance and help with unpaid utility bills.

Eligible residents must meet the following criteria: • Household gross income at or below 120 percent of area median income, which varies by county and household size.

• A member of the household received unemployment benets or experienced a reduction in income, incurred signicant costs or experienced nancial hardship, directly or indirectly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The applicant owes past due rent at their current residence For help applying in Queens or to talk to a representative, visit ccbq.org/ERAP or call 347-464-0485.

Tenants and Landlords can get info and apply by going to otda.ny.gov/programs/emergency-rental-assistance or call 844-NY1-RENT (844-691-7368).

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Around the Community

Learning Takes All Shapes and Colors

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ast week, HAFTR Early Childhood students learned about Parshat Noach. The children were taught the importance of listening to Hashem and always doing mitzvot. In addition, the parsha came alive in so many ways! The children learned special parsha related songs with Morah Leah, learned about mixing primary colors to get secondary colors with Morah Farrah, and of course, learned all about the parsha itself during their daily maagals.

Did you ever eat a rainbow? We did!

Our bright and yummy fruit salad had colors and vitamins from one end of the rainbow to the other. And for a special treat, many classes baked their very own teyva cakes, rainbow cookies, and animal cookies…YUM! And speaking of animal cookies,

in honor of the parsha, we had a visit from some furry, slimy, and fuzzy friends, including a tortoise, a Belgian rabbit, a bullfrog, and a laugh-

ing kookaburra, just to name a few.

Everyone had a chance to pet the tortoise and the rabbit, which was a great sensory contrast between the

hard shell and the soft fur. Bringing classroom discussions to life was a great hit with all the children!

itable cause with the people we love the most. For Makor residents and families, this day means the world to them. With limited opportunities for them to engage in similar events, it will be a day that lives in their hearts forever. A day of fun, love, and belonging.

This is key to Makor’s mission as a lifespan organization – where members are given the support and opportunities they need to lead fuller, more meaningful lives. Founded in 1978, as Women’s League Community Residences, Makor Disability Services strives to meet the residential, therapeutic, social, medical, developmental, and spiritual needs of individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities – from the moment they enter this world until they leave it.

The 5th Annual 5K will resume for the first time in person since the pandemic. With the health of Makor families in mind, last year’s event was moved to a virtual platform. While it was wonderful seeing everyone’s faces online, nothing can replace the sheer joy of standing side-byside with your father, mother, sister, brother or best friend.

Life has been increasingly difficult for everyone this past year. This has been especially true for people with disabilities, who thrive on connection and routine. Being isolated from their families and unable to engage in the activities they love makes this day even more essential to their overall happiness and wellbeing.

To register or donate, please visit www.Run4makor.org.

Makor’s 5th Annual 5K Event

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his day is EVERYTHING for our family. Every year, I take all of my kids, so they can run together with their sister and have this tremendous bonding experience as a family. The whole family, together. Just seeing the look on my daughter’s face when we’re all there, it’s beyond words. You can’t know until you’re there.”

-Mother of a resident

After a difficult year for many, Makor members are excitedly preparing to join their families at the 5th Annual 5K Event taking place Sunday, October 17 at Marine Park, Brooklyn.

The event will be a rare opportunity for families to have fun with their children since the pandemic began.

All Makor residents, regardless of their ability, are encouraged to participate together with their loved ones and caregivers – making it a collaborative and exciting morning for all.

It will be a day of fun for the whole family. With activities and highlights just for kids, there will be something for everyone to get excited about.

Each runner will be sponsored with $180 by a sponsor, who once worked as a direct support professional and has stayed involved with the agency.

Swag bags will be given to each participant and will include thematically designed caps, t-shirts, fanny packs in addition to delicious post-run snacks.

The event is critical to opening up access to a life experience many of us take for granted: walking for a char-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

Times are changing.

It’s never been tougher for our girls. How do we insulate them and motivate them to truly connect to our mesorah, to their mission?

How do we shape them to be frum, healthy, and well-adjusted members of our community, to flourish as wives, mothers, and professionals in the workforce?

Heart.Works

We know our girls need more today.

What does a girl really need in 2022?

You are cordially invited to join us as we explore the Shevach approach to education with Mrs. Shulamith Insel Menaheles, Shevach High School

Open House Sunday, Oct. 31 11:00am–1:00pm 75-09 Main Street Queens, NY 11367 Office: 718-263-0525 admissions@shevachhs.org

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

SHS Colors the Town

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hat an incredible first full week at Shulamith High School! After an inspiring Rosh Chodesh featuring a special breakfast and words of inspiration from Rabbi Heshy Blumstein, the annual Club Fair, and opening Mishmar program, the week ended on a truly colorful note with the first ever SHS Parshat Noach Color Run. Students picked up their white SHS shirts, grabbed their water bottles, and waited at the start with handfuls of SHS color chalk. As girls walked or ran the course around Cedarhurst Park, teachers were stationed along the way with buckets of color to shower upon their students.

At the finish line, each girl enjoyed refreshing rainbow ices, divrei Torah, and Shulamith style song and dance led by Esty Munk. Feelings of

unity and excitement were in the air as well as true SHS pride.

This part of the year is indeed a marathon of sorts – a long stretch of

learning before Chanukah. This run demonstrates to our students that through resilience, dedication, and absolute support from teachers, any-

thing is achievable. Like the colors of a rainbow, a brilliant reality appears when we all come together.

OU-JLIC Honors First Responders 20 Years After 9/11

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ore than 2,000 first responders in the New York tri-state area enjoyed a well-deserved breakfast and outpouring of support from Jewish college students and young professionals recently to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of 9/11. The initiative, which honored first responders in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, was organized by the Orthodox Union’s Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (OU-JLIC).

The OU-JLIC community at NYU has run similar programs for the past five years. This year, six other campuses including Columbia University, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Queens College, Cornell University and University of Pennsylvania, also joined the initiative.

More than 250 donors across all seven campuses contributed to the cause and about 100 volunteers distributed the breakfasts.

Since 9/11 fell out on Shabbat this year, students held the official event on Friday, September 10.

Students and young professionals from the campuses donated $9.11 through Venmo, and the money went towards bagels, coffee, and

donuts. Volunteers, who came from the same group, then distributed to local firefighters, police officers and homeless shelters in the local areas.

“This program helps to foster a stronger understanding within our participants about the impact they can have on our local communities even outside of the walls of the classrooms and the borders of their campuses,” said Rabbi Joe Wolfson, co-director of OU-JLIC at NYU and the program’s national chessed coordinator. “It trains them to look beyond their own immediate environment to see how they can help others and gives them a sense of agency that they don’t have to be passive but can actively contribute to society.”

Surplus funds were donated to Tuesday’s Children, a non-profit organization that provides support to families have lost a loved one to mass violence, terrorism, or military service since 9/11.

“Two of the most central tenets of our faith are sanctifying G-d’s name and expressing thanks. We are extremely proud of our OU-JLIC students and alumni for launching this program and continuing to expand it year after year,” said Orthodox

Union President Moishe Bane.

OU-JLIC’s mission is to strengthen and transform Jewish life for Jewish day school graduates on secular college campuses. The program places Orthodox rabbinic couples on campuses, to help Orthodox Jewish

students navigate the secular environment while remaining dedicated to their religious practices. Currently 25 colleges and universities have OU-JLIC programming.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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B'EZRAS HASHEM AUDITIONS WILL TAKE PLACE AFTER CHANUKAH For girls grades 5-8

Under the direction of Mrs. Evy Guttman

BENEFITING JEP OF LONG ISLAND

TORAH EDUCATION FOR ALL

For more information & sponsorships: jenr@jepli.org JEP of LI/Camp Nageela 516-374-1528 Ex.240 110 Rockaway Tpke, Lawrence NY 11559

jepli.org

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

A Chessed of Happiness

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t Shulamith, the eighth grade girls are studying various mitzvot that fall under the category of bein adam l’chaveiro in Morah Fischman’s halacha class.

From tzedakah to hachnosas orchim to hashavas aveidah, the girls learn the source for the mitzvot from the Torah and then study contemporary sources, in the hope of applying their learning to their everyday life.

We are blessed to live in a community with a plethora of organizations and innumerable chessed opportunities. Our eighth grade girls, in conjunction with the mitzvot that they are learning, look for ways to get involved in different aspects of chessed. The goal being that the students will learn these mitzvot and then make the mitzvot become a reality while simultaneously appreciating the amazing community within which we live.

This past Wednesday night, there was one such chessed opportunity under the category of hachno-

sas kallah, providing for a bride.

There was a couple getting married in Lawrence who flew in from Israel and needed friends and young people to help enhance the dancing and just be a presence at an otherwise very small wedding. Morah Fischman shared the invitation with the eighth grade girls and immediately they were all discussing how they would try their best to come. Baruch Hashem, over 20 Shulamith girls attended the wedding and truly made a significant difference. From holding the arches, to dancing with and before the kallah, the Shulamith girls brought their learning to reality. The kallah was touched, but each and every student explained that their own personal simcha at being able to make an impact and bring simcha to a kallah was tremendous.

May the Shulamith girls, and all our children in our community, continue to learn in our institutions and then live the Torah that we work so hard to instill in their hearts.

Gan Amy West Hempstead learned all about Parshat Noach last week. The petting zoo came to school. The yeladim petted goats, sheep, bunnies, and chickens. We were treated to pony rides and were pulled in a horse-drawn wagon. We strung fruit loop rainbow bracelets, crafted Noach’s Ark, and matched up animals 2 by 2.

SKA’s National Merit Students

Atara Sicklick

Did you know?

“Scraunched” and “strengthed” are the longest monosyllabic words in the English language.

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ongratulations to SKA’s students who will receive recognition in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Atara Sicklick is a Commended Student in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students are being recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding

Aviva Klahr

performance on the qualifying 2020 PSAT. Aviva Klahr is a Semifinalist in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program and will have an opportunity to continue in the competition and advance to the finalist level.

Mazel tov to both students on this esteemed recognition!

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

Chag HaSemikhah 5782 Five Towns Community Shabbaton October 22—23, 2021

Rabbi Hershel Schachter

Rabbi Menachem Penner

Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz

Rosh Kollel and Rosh Yeshiva, and Nathan and Vivian Fink Distinguished Professional Chair in Talmud, RIETS

Max and Marion Grill Dean, RIETS

Abraham Arbesfeld Chair of the Director of the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Semikha Program

Rabbi Larry Rothwachs

Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman

Director of Professional Rabbinics

Rosh Yeshiva, RIETS Press Editor-in-Chief

Shabbat Schedule Young Israel Woodmere Rabbi Larry Rothwachs Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman Rabbi Jacob Bernstein, ’18R Rabbi Robbie Schrier, ’19R

Aish Kodesh

Rabbi Hershel Schachter

Young Israel Lawrence Cedarhurst Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman Rabbi Hershel Schachter

Beth Sholom Rabbi Menachem Penner Rabbi Hershel Schachter

Irving Place Minyan

Beis Medrash of Woodmere

Rabbi Larry Rothwachs

Rabbi Yoni Bindiger, ’19R

Bais Haknesses North Woodmere

Congregation Anshei Chesed Rabbi Larry Rothwachs

Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz Rabbi Menachem Penner

RIETS is proud to honor more than 150 musmakhim at this year’s Chag HaSemikhah, including many with connections to this community, including Rabbi Yaakov Abramovitz • Rabbi Jacob Bernstein • Rabbi Yoni Bindiger • Rabbi Evan Genachowski Rabbi Chezkie Glatt •

Rabbi Eli Kirsch • Rabbi David Kornbluth • Rabbi Kalman Laufer • Rabbi Joshua Levine

Rabbi Tyler Pere • Rabbi Kevin Perlitsh •

Rabbi Moshe Radinsky • Rabbi Baruch Schonbrun • Rabbi Robbie Schreier

Rabbi Robbie Schrier • Rabbi Gary Slochowsky •

Rabbi Yitzchak Sprung • Rabbi Jonah Steinmetz

Rabbi Motti Sturm • Rabbi Dovid Tribuch • Rabbi Yoel Unger

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Around the Community

Are You Ready For Some Jewball?

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ike any great fraternity worth joining, Jewball has its traditions, rituals, codes, and culture. What started as a random pick-up football game in Queens’ Flushing Meadows Park somewhere in the early to mid-‘90s, has become a random phenomenon since moving to the Five Towns in 2003.

Travel the country or the globe, and you will run into fellow Jewballers.

They are old and young; of all backgrounds, races, and religions. The connection between those who have played is immediate and electric, even if they have never met before.

It is estimated that over a thousand players have participated at one point or another over the 30 year existence of the league.

Jewball separates itself from other disorganized games with made up rules in that it attracts the very best people; focused on playing the game the right way and creating a closeknit society that rewards above all loyalty, creativity, and commitment. In recent years, as the game

has grown, the group has managed to enrich the Jewball experience off the field, with charitable efforts and events. Last season, thousands of dollars were donated to various charities to merit the refuah shelamah of a fellow Jewballer’s daughter, Sofia Sarah bat Ilana.

The 2021-2022 season kicked off a few weeks ago with a Draft Party event at the home of our Assistant Specialist, Rabin Rahmani. We were honored to host one of our biggest fans (as the feeling is mutual), Nassau County Executive Laura Curran! We would like to congratulate Menachem “Munch” Stein for (not surprisingly) being selected as the overall number one pick. The twenty-week Jewball season continues this week as the powerful Cronies take on the ill-conceived Feit Club in the early game, while the brazen Lionhearts battle the beloved Birds of Pray following Game 1.

Jewball would, of course, like to thank its sponsors of the upcoming season: The Kosher Guru, Miller Re-

alty – Miri Roberg, Chickies, Warren Levi Martial Arts, Hemp Supply Plus, and Gourmet Glatt. Finally, we thank Yaron “Bron” Markfeld,

YCQ Remembers 9/11

By Eyal Traeger

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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.

Moshe “PJs” Spern, and David “Daveo” Floumanhaft for producing the Draft Party event. Here is to another successful Jewball season!

PHOTO CREDIT: MAXINE LIPSHITZ

There is not a day that goes by when I do not think of them. Their sacrifice 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 remember 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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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Color Study at Shulamith ECC

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ed and orange, yellow, green, shiny blue, purple, too. All the colors that we know are up in Hashem’s rainbow!”

Parshat Noach found Shulamith ECC bursting with color as our young scientists learned about colors and color mixing.

The children were delighted to discover that all of the colors in the rainbow can be made by mixing the three primary colors. They joyfully mixed primary color fingerpaints directly on the tables and then lifted prints on paper. Eye droppers and

liquid watercolors provided another medium for exploration. Primary color paint at the painting easel provided a palette for the creation of beautiful artwork. The children even experimented with chromatography using coffee filters and squirt bottles.

As they worked, the children sang the “Rainbow Song” with gusto. As the week went on, they seamlessly switched over to singing it b’Ivrit, in Hebrew.

The Pre 1A classes studied the work of Piet Mondrian, a Dutch artist, who created amazing art using primary colors. They tried their hand

at creating their own art in the style of Mondrian. The results were stunning.

The study of color gave the chil-

dren at Shulamith ECC a greater appreciation for all of the beautiful, colorful things that Hashem gave us in the wonderful world we live in.

Clavin Announces Ping Pong Seminars with Nationally-Ranked Table Tennis Phenomenon Estee Ackerman

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stee Ackerman, an Orthodox Jewish teen hailing from West Hempstead, had made it all the way to the USA Olympic trials for ping pong but there

was one problem: the date of the competition fell on Shabbos. After pleading with no avail to the USA Table Tennis Committee to host the tournament on a Thursday, Fri-

day before sundown, or Sunday, Estee doubled-down on her beliefs and chose faith over competition.

Cheering on the determination and athletic skill of a fellow resident of America’s largest township, Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin and the Town Board invited the young prodigy to Hempstead Town Hall to recognize her ping pong prowess and her strength in her beliefs. What’s more, they partnered to announce upcoming table tennis seminars to be held at town facilities, instructed by the championship-winning, nationally-ranked ping pong phenomenon Estee Ackerman.

“Estee was faced with a difficult decision when it came to competing in the Olympic Games,” said Clavin.

“Although she is hungry for competition and a tremendously skilled player, she admirably stuck to her faith and did not compete in the Olympic trials. We are proud to call Estee Ackerman a Town of Hemp-

stead resident and we applaud both her commitment to her religion and her superior ping pong skills.”

Supervisor Clavin was also joined by Councilman Tom Muscarella at the event.

The ping pong seminars will be held for primarily for youth and adults with a keen interest in the table tennis sport. They are set to begin towards the end of the year. Updates and dates for the classes will be posted on hempsteadny.gov when they become available.

The announcement featured a one-sided exhibition match against Supervisor Don Clavin, where Estee demonstrated her talents at table tennis. Not discouraged in the slightest, Estee announced that she is proudly pursuing the next Olympic Games: Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028. Presenting Estee with a complimentary Town of Hempstead ping pong paddle featuring the Town Seal, Clavin assured Estee that she had the entire support of the township.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

OPEN HOUSE 9:00amm 12:00p

Sunday, October 17th

291 Meadowview Ave. Hewlett Bay Park

TO PRE-REGISTER FOR OUR OPEN HOUSE VISIT halb.org/skaopenhouse MRS. ELISHEVA KAMINETSKY, PRINCIPAL, JUDAIC STUDIES

MRS. BLUMA DREBIN, PRINCIPAL, GENERAL STUDIES

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

YOSS Knows P.I.E.!

Rosh Chodesh at Gesher

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his week at Gesher we had our first kick-off Rosh Chodesh assembly, and it was a smashing success! In honor of Parshas Noach, the children were treated to an exciting reptile show with snakes, turtles, lizards and more!

The children had an opportunity to interact with all the reptiles and even hold them. What a fun way to celebrate Rosh Chodesh!

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hat do budding authors like more than pie? When teaching students about an author’s purpose, we at Yeshiva of South Shore use the famous acronym P.I.E. (Persuade, Inform, Entertain). Mrs. Mayer and Mrs. Davidovits’s third graders tackled this new concept with an exciting “craftivity.”

There are many reasons why authors

put pen to paper. It is important that our students possess the necessary tools for identifying these different reasons and intents. After familiarizing themselves with the three main authors’ purposes, the students used old Scholastic book orders to go on a book hunt in order to categorize them.

Now the students are ready to “take a bite” out of the author’s writing!

Emunah’s Virtual Annual Dinner on November 1

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munah of America will hold its virtual annual dinner on Monday, November 1 at 8:00 p.m. The program will be hosted by actress Rona-Lee Shimon, known for her work in the acclaimed Israeli show Fauda, and include Israeli mentalist Lior Suchard, Broadway star Alex Brightman and Belz Hasidic singer Shulem Lemmer. Our esteemed Honorees, deserving volunteers who embody the theme “Changemakers,” will be celebrated by recognizing their outstanding efforts in support of Emunah’s mission to help families in Israel break the cycle of distress.

National President Debbie Bienenfeld said the honorees were chosen for their lifelong commitment to Emunah. “The honorees tonight have dedicated themselves to the Emunah cause. In addition to leading busy, active lives within their professions, communities and families, these wonderful volunteers still find time to help our most worthy organization. We could not accomplish our mission without them.”

Johanna Guttman Herskowitz, Chairman of the Board, said, “As Israel struggles to emerge from

the pandemic, we must support the vulnerable families who, more than ever, are losing their place in society.

The annual Emunah dinner raises much needed funds to help provide the resources, education and therapy needed for this challenge. We also want to honor our members who work tirelessly on behalf of Emunah.”

Emunah operates over 160 projects including five residential homes for children at-risk, 125 day-care centers, 11 crisis counseling centers, 4 high schools for girls, a women’s shelter, a senior social center, and a women’s art college, serving over 10,000 individuals daily.

Shifra (Drazin) and Dani Bendheim of Teaneck, New Jersey, are the recipients of the Dor L’Dor Award.

Shifra is on the presidium of the Emunah Libby Kolb chapter and has helped to organize numerous events including teas, boutiques, and a cookbook luncheon. She is originally from Montreal, Canada, and grew up in a family that has supported and voluntarily given their valuable time to Emunah over the course of several generations. Shifra and Dani’s son, Sam, has continued the tradition by

volunteering as a summer counselor in the Kol Hanearim summer program in Emunah’s residential homes.

Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz, Senior Rabbi of Temple Sholom in Greenwich, Connecticut, will receive Emunah’s Community Service Award. Rabbi Hurvitz and the Greenwich community have been long-time supporters of the Emunah Sarah Herzog Children’s Center in Afula, Israel. He has visited the home many times, and together with his community has raised significant funds for the children-at-risk living in the Afula residential home.

Our Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to Shirley Singer, a”h, posthumously, will be accepted by her children, Sharon Katz and Pauline Reimer. With the support of her husband Jack Singer, a”h, Shirley worked tirelessly and was a stellar fundraiser for Emunah. She volunteered initially for the Crown Heights Emunah Rachel Bergmann Chapter and then became involved with the Sarah Herzog Chapter in Brooklyn.

She held many leadership positions in Emunah including Executive Director, Executive Vice President and Senior Director of Philanthropy.

Shirley helped build Emunah from its early years to where it is today.

This year’s dinner also introduces Emunah’s Changemaker Kids, celebrating today’s youth, who are making a difference for children in Israel. These amazing Changemakers completed chesed projects to raise money for kids who are less fortunate. Liz Gindea, Dinner Co-Chairs, added: “The most rewarding thing to see is that these fine young men and women have modeled their behavior on the values taught to them by their parents and grandparents.”

Careena Parker of Englewood, Dinner Co-Chair, said the decision to hold the dinner virtually was made to ensure the safety of the thousands of Emunah supporters throughout the country who want to participate. “The virtual format allows us to continue sharing our support for Emunah together. Our outstanding entertainers and worthy Honorees will ensure a meaningful and entertaining evening.”

To register for the Emunah Virtual dinner, visit www.emunahdinner. org.

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Around the Community

Shabbat parties at Gan Amy West Hempstead are always special. We read many books and sing our favorite songs including “Bim Bam,” “Hashem is here,” and “There’s a dinosaur knocking at my door.” The children help set the table for Shabbat with challah, grape juice, and a kiddush cup

A Petting Zoo at IVDU

The Yeladim in HANC ECC are learning about Parshat Lech Lecha – Avraham Avinu and his family traveling to Eretz Canaan as well as Hashem’s promise that His children will be as numerous as the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Women of Distinction

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arshas Noach was taught extensively in the classrooms at IVDU LI, with Rabbi Lipka teaching the students about the animals that Noach brought onto the Teiva. In order to bring that experience to life, IVDU LI had a petting zoo come, where the students were able to feed and touch the animals.

The children got to experience first-

hand what Noach had to do, keeping busy and taking care of the animals’ needs.

At IVDU LI, the children gain a tremendous amount learning in the classroom, but it is equally important for them to gain the knowledge while experiencing things hands-on outside of the classroom as well.

ssemblywoman Missy Miller (R ,C ,I-Atlantic Beach) hosted her annual Women of Distinction event, where she honored 11 women from the 20th Assembly District. These women were recognized for going above and beyond for our community, using their time, and considerable talents in service to selflessly help others and those around them.

“It truly is such an honor to be able to recognize these amazing, talented women in our district,” said Miller. “They exemplify the qualities we should all be aiming for – community, selflessness, service and strength.”

The 2021 Women of Distinction

honorees are: Jodi Applebaum, Atlantic Beach; Blanca Bran, Inwood; Patricia “Patti” Dunham, Long Beach; Eileen J. Goggin, Long Beach; Dr. Ruth Jacobs, Woodmere; Donna Johnson, Long Beach; Alison La Ferlita, Long Beach; Yvonne M. Murphy, Oceanside; Kelly Nevins-McCabe, Oceanside; Yolanda Robano-Gross, Woodmere; and Dr. Shoshana Weiner, Cedarhurst.

“As our state continues to feel the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s wonderful to see so many leaders in our community step up to do their part and help others,” said Miller. “It was an honor and privilege to recognize these devoted community leaders and advocates.”

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Around the Community

HALB Hosts Special Guests

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ALB students had some visitors in honor of Parshat Noach. Party Pets visited Lev Chana and HALB Elementary, and students got to pet and hold various animals and reptiles. For 5th and 6th grade, Center One Therapy brought their pet therapy animals

to teach the students that animals can have healing effects on people, alleviating stress and promoting relaxation.

Students had a great time petting and holding all the different animals!

JEP/Nageela Plans for HARMONY JR. in March 2022

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his year, HARMONY JR., with a cast of girls grades 5-8, is tentatively slated for a spring performance, with auditions held after Chanukah. While the local school district made every effort to accommodate Harmony’s Sunday morning rehearsals and tentative February performance dates, mandates from Albany made it impossible. Like many plans that got waylaid

by Covid restrictions, the fall kickoff of HARMONY ‘22 will now be an early winter one, but the ruach will be as warm and welcoming as it has always been.

“The goal of the Kol Reyus Production company in bringing the Harmony series to the community

was always about achdus and using talent to bridge our parts to a unified whole,” says Mrs. Batya Travis, Director Emeritus. For over two decades, Harmony has done just that – created a space of energy and achdus

fueled by dance and song. Over time, participation by the community’s girls grew under the direction of Mrs. Evy Guttman, with nearly 450 girls performing in Harmony ‘20.

“We look forward to partner-

HAFTR Middle School Welcomes Cheshvan

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AFTR Middle School took the “mar” out of “Mar Cheshvan” with a week filled with fun and exciting activities.

On Thursday morning, the students gathered in the gym where a lavish breakfast was awaiting them. Once everyone was satiated, the students benched together and then started to dance.

“Watching the students enjoy Rosh Chodesh was truly a reward-

ing experience for the entire middle school staff,” shared Director of Student Life Ms. Ariana Wolfson.

Later that night, Middle School seniors gathered for an outdoor movie night on the HAFTR field. The students came decked out in their favorite jerseys to watch Space Jam! Provided with personalized blankets and snacks, the students spread out and had an amazing time “Jammin’ Under the Stars.”

ing with Harmony Jr.,” said Rabbi Dovid Shenker, Director of JEP/ Nageela. “It’s a perfect synthesis of the two parts of our mission – producing proud Jewish leaders and encouraging Jewish education. The participants in Harmony will gain confidence and leadership skills that will help them in life. And the funds raised will provide Jewish education for so many Jewish families who want to connect.

To sponsor HARMONY JR. and give your business exposure to thousands in the community through advertising and the exclusive Harmony Playbill, please contact 917-715-2415 for more information.

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

A N Y WAY YO U L O O K AT I T, YO U C A N S E E E T E R N I T Y.

View from Yeshiva campus

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 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

‫לע”נ מוהר”ר יחיאל מיכל‬ ‫בן ישראל יהודה ע”ה‬

MR. & MRS. YITZCHOK & SHOSHANA GANGER

MESIVTA BEIS MEDRASH

ANONYMOUS

MR. & MRS. BENZION & MIRIAM HEITNER

ANONYMOUS Residence Hall Cornerstone

Entranceway to Mesivta Beis Medrash Building

‫לע”נ נחמן יהודה בן יעקב דוד ע”ה‬ ‫ואשתו לאה בת יהודה אשר ע”ה‬ ‫ולע”נ יעקב ליב בן שלמה ע”ה‬

‫לע”נ ישראל הלוי לעווין ע”ה‬ ‫ואלישבע בתיה קפלן ע”ה‬

Dedication of Rosh Kollel’s Office

Beis Medrash Vestibule Entrance

MR. & MRS. MOTTY & HADASSA JACOBOWITZ

MR. & MRS. URI & ESTHER KAUFMAN

Promenade Vestibule

Mr. & Mrs. ‫לע”נ‬ ‫דוד בן משה ע”ה‬ Simcha ‫ & הר‘ משה נתן בן יחזקאל ע”ה‬Shani ‫וישראל בן אברהם ע”ה‬ Applegrad

Mr. & Mrs. Berel & Sherry Daskal

Mr. & Mrs. Naftoli & Chani Einhorn

THE BLOOM FAMILY

‫לע”נ ר‘ ישראל‬ ‫בן ר‘ בנימין הכהן ע”ה‬

MR. & MRS. SHMULI & MIRIAM MENDEL

Sha’ar of New Beis Medrash

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

Mr. & Mrs. Mr. & Mrs. Chaim Sholom David & Rivky & Sima Leibowitz Rosenfeld

Get in on the ground floor of this monumental project.

MESIVTA OTZAR HASEFORIM

THE SCHRON FAMILY

Mr. & Mrs. Dovid & Chani Roll

To choose from a wide selection of sponsorships at all levels, please contact:

Entrance of Beis Medrash Building

Sha’ar of New Beis Medrash

Basketball Court in Elementary School Gym

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew & Stephani Serotta

Mr. & Mrs. Morris & Devora Smith

Beis Medrash Building Vestibule

Mr. & Mrs. Yehuda & Mindy Zachter

Rabbi Zev Bald 718.868.2300 ext. 232 zbald@darchei.org

‫ לע”נ‬The children,

bochurim and all 45 neshamos of the Miron tragedy, Lag Baomer 5781

‫לע”נ זעליג‬ ‫בן מרדכי ע”ה‬

Rabbi Baruch Rothman 718.868.2300 ext. 706 brothman@darchei.org

darchei.org

View from Seagirt Boulevard

57

58

OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Community members were able to meet with police officers on Sunday at the National Faith in Blue event at Beth Sholom.

Nassau Commissioner of Police Patrick J. Ryder and County Executive Laura Curran attended the event well.

Shevach Students Enjoy a “Heavenly” Rosh Chodesh Breakfast

R

osh Chodesh Cheshvan was celebrated with excitement and inspiration at Shevach High School. A special breakfast was coordinated by Shevach Educational Administrator Mrs. Devorah Kovitz, assisted by G.O. heads Miriam Shira Chanales, Nechama Feintuch, Kayla Hoch, Malka Neuman, and Leah Sdayeb.

After everyone enjoyed the delicious spread, Shevach Principal Mrs. Shulamith Insel addressed the students and spoke about the theme of stars, stressing how each student

is a star in her own right and valued for who she is. This idea was projected further by the transformation of Shevach’s multi-purpose room into an eye-catching galaxy of stars and planets, with each star bearing the name of a Shevach student. Kudos to the Rosh Chodesh committee for all their hard work and creativity in this project: Blimie Katz, Eliana Kakuriev, Chaya Sara Kessler, Elinor Murdakhaev, and Tanya Saiedian.

A special guest speaker, Rabbi Eliezer Krohn, then addressed the students on the topic of the internal

strength of the Jewish woman. The month of Cheshvan appears to be an understated month, since there are no Yomim Tovim in Cheshvan. But it is in actuality a continuation of Tishrei, when we are immersed in tefilla and teshuva and growing spiritually.

In a similar vein, Rosh Chodesh is a yom tov for women. The challenge of the woman is to enhance herself internally, in ruchniyus, as that is the true essence of a person.

The Rosh Chodesh committee then sang an original song presenting their theme for the year of “Re-

vealing Treasures,” and introduced a hakoras hatov project. This connected to the idea that Mar Cheshvan, hints to the many raindrops and myriad brachos that Hashem sends our way, for which we should always express our appreciation.

As the students take on the long fall and winter ahead, they were left with much to think about and work on. All certainly came away saying that this Rosh Chodesh event was truly “Out of this World.”

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

59

Around the Community

Mesivta Shaarei Chaim made a siyum on Sunday on Seder Moed Mishnayos in honor of founding board member Richie Jedwab’s z”l first yahrtzeit (l’ilui nishmas Yerachmiel ben Elazar). The yeshiva was honored to have Rabbi Shmuel Lichtenstein, a close friend of Richie, come and speak.

A Special Siyum

O

n October 11, Rabbi Dworetsky and Rabbi Hecht of HANC Middle School made a siyum on Masechet Beitzah as part of the Daf Yomi cycle. Rabbi Hecht opened the siyum by speak-

ing about his father, a”h, whose funeral was on the day of the Siyum Hashas, January 1, 2020. Rabbi Hecht decided to dedicate the learning to his father. Rabbi Dworetsky finished the Masechet and gave a

MTA Seniors Named National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists

Mordechai Fox

M

Emmett Weisz

TA is proud to announce that seniors Mordechai Fox of Teaneck, NJ, Michael Wein of Flushing, NY, and Emmett Weisz of Teaneck, NJ, have been named Semi-Finalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

All 16,000 Semi-Finalists will have the opportunity to continue the competition for the chance to win one of 7,500 National Merit Scholarships, worth nearly $30 million, which will be offered in the spring.

“We are extremely proud of Mor-

Michael Wein

dechai, Michael, and Emmett and this outstanding achievement, which is a true testament to their hard work over the past four years,” said Head of School Rabbi Joshua Kahn. “In addition to their academic accomplishments, these three talmidim are also student leaders who are involved in our additional Torah learning opportunities outside the classroom as well as a variety of extracurriculars.

We look forward to celebrating their continued success.”

beautiful explanation of the last piece of the Gemara. Rabbi Hecht said the Hadran and the Kaddish.

He also took the opportunity to introduce a new Mishna Yomi program at HANC Middle School. Each

day, after davening, students will learn Mishnayot for a few minutes with Rabbi Dworetsky. This will be an extra opportunity to learn Torah l’shma.

OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

‫ל‬

‫כ‬ ‫בוד‬

‫ה ותנו‬ ‫ת ור‬ ‫חת‬ ‫שישו ושמחו ב ש מ‬

‫ו רה‬ ‫ת‬

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March 3-6, 2022 | ‫ ג׳ אדר ב׳‬- ‫ ל׳ אדר א׳‬,‫פ׳ פקודי‬

The Shabbos Convention will mark the completion of the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha cycle and feature a Grand Siyum on Seder Moed.

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‫כ״ו אדר א׳‬

‫ראש חודש אדר ב׳‬

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‫י״ח שבט‬

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‫בוד‬

‫רה ותנו כ‬

‫תו‬ ‫חת‬ ‫שישו ושמחו ב ש מ‬

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

At the rosh chodesh seudah for the junior high bochurim at Siach Yitzchok

Clubs at HANC

N

ew for this year, HANC Middle School had its first ever club period for students to actively engage in one of the various clubs offered. HANC Middle School is committed to offering students varied opportunities for extracurricular participation. We believe that participation in extracurricular ac-

tivities enables students to develop talents that may find little expression in the classroom. Students could be seen enjoying every club around the building – outside frisbee club was in full swing, art and cooking were engrossing students, and mathletes and debate club were showing students a range of fun topics.

The Ganger Early Childhood at TAG was so excited to return to Movement with (TAG alumna) Morah Racheli Newman. The talmidos pretended to travel using all different types of transportation, in honor of Parshas Lech Lecha

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Achiezer at 13: Achiezer’s Groundbreaking Financial Management Program Part 13 of a Series

By Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger

T

hose who have the read the recent series of articles marking Achiezer’s 13th year are familiar with the many and varied departments of this truly remarkable organization, whose programs and efforts touch virtually every aspect of contemporary frum life in the Five Towns, Far Rockaway, and its environs. But there is perhaps no department or undertaking at Achiezer that is as important or far-reaching as its Westwood Financial Management Program.

And it’s not because of the hundreds of thousands of dollars given out each year. Indeed, it’s not just about handouts. Far from it. It’s about so, so much more.

“There are times when families come in just to budget,” says Mrs. Aliza Wartelsky, who leads Achiezer’s Financial Management Program. “They may be earning a parnassah, but they need help organizing their finances. We provide that guidance – and so much more.”

Hundreds of families have been helped through the Westwood Financial Management Program since its inception. Whether it’s a father of six who is unemployed, a couple unfamiliar with budgeting, or a breadwinner earning a respectable salary who desires financial direction, Achiezer’s Financial Management Program is there to help.

Newlyweds who are seeking advice on how to begin their marriage on a proper financial footing and prospective retirees looking to leave the workforce in a responsible fashion also find the advice they need at Achiezer.

The process begins with Aliza conducting a brief interview to get acquainted with the applicant’s challenges. She can then assess the best approach to help them. Aliza pairs the families up with a financial consultant, who helps applicants gain the skills necessary to achieve and maintain financial stability and

independence for the long term.

Budget counselors and certified accountants are available to guide families in maintaining control over their finances.

“The focus here at Achiezer is bringing financial planning to the forefront of the frum mind,” remarks Stacey Zrihen, Achiezer’s Senior Financial Advisor and a Certified Financial Planner. “Our services are not just for those who are struggling. We provide investment planning and retirement planning, too.”

“Those who are struggling financially sometime hesitate to contact Achiezer,” says Achiezer President Rabbi Boruch Ber Bender. “They say, ‘I’m not making ends meet. What’s the point of meeting?’ But they often realize their error when they finally do come seeking advice from Achiezer. Our fabulous team of experts offers clarity, encouragement, and guidance that can be life-changing. The families learn – very often for the first time – that they are not the only ones in this situation. There are others like them. Just hearing this makes a colossal difference.”

Rabbi Bender recalls one particular case of a breadwinner who was struggling to make ends meet.

Achiezer met with this applicant, learned about his situation, and considered various ideas to alleviate his financial burden. After breaking down the numbers, it was determined that the person needed a few thousand dollars annually to cover his shortfall.

“We reached out to this person’s boss,” remembers Rabbi Bender, “and we explained the situation, negotiating a raise on his behalf. It was a true nachas to have been able to help someone in this fashion.”

Confidentiality is of utmost importance at Achiezer, ensuring that an applicant’s privacy is not compromised at any time. As a result, Aliza carefully interviews each family, learning about where they live and what they do, so that they can be paired up with a consultant who is

not from their social circle, making it a more comfortable fit.

The advice that is offered is as varied as the people seeking it. Some people may need budgeting help.

Others might be looking for investment planning, as mentioned. Yet others may require assistance finding more lucrative employment or even debt negotiation. There’s nothing Achiezer won’t do to find some solution for each applicant.

“It’s really all about empowerment,” remarks Aliza. “We empower people to analyze their circumstances and have the courage to work with us to find answers. When Covid hit, many were hit hard financially, no one was embarrassed to talk about their finances, because seemingly everyone was struggling. Our goal is for people to always feel that comfort level, not feeling any stigma when it comes to receiving financial guidance and assistance.”

On that note, Stacey comments that Achiezer has been devoting time and resources toward getting advice to younger clients.

“We want financial education to reach young marrieds, and even single young adults, so that they approach this stage of life prepared and informed,” says Stacey. “We don’t want people to be caught off guard. As a community and a nation, we prepare and educate for so many things, but somehow, so many are getting married and raising families with no knowledge of budgeting and finances.”

How do people find out about Achiezer’s Financial Management Program?

There are many ways. “Some have read articles about the program,” says Rabbi Bender. “In other cases, a rav will call Achiezer and inform us of a family in his kehillah that is struggling mightily and can benefit from our services. Sometimes, a wife will call us and tell us what a toll her family’s financial situation is taking on her beleaguered husband. For a husband and father, there’s nothing harder than being unable to pay his bills.

“Achiezer is there to say that there is so much we can do to help.

Indeed, there’s so much that can be done through a program like ours, working with our world-class financial advisors.”

Those who receive direction and counseling from Achiezer often benefit in unexpected ways.

“When a person organizes his finances and has a clearer idea of how his earnings are being spent, he can approach a tuition committee differently, knowing with greater certainty what he can and cannot afford,” says Stacey. “We’ve seen how schools are more willing to accommodate those who have an accounting of their finances.”

“All in all, Achiezer’s Financial Management Program is literally changing lives on a weekly basis,” says Rabbi Bender. “Financial stability impacts every component of family life, including shalom bayis and chinuch. We recognize how important parnassah is and will thus continue to do all we can to assist families, one at a time, with the personalized approach for which our staff is famous.”

4.5” x 11.25”

65

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

Around the Community ‫בס״ד‬

OCTOBER 2021

Tefillos for a Mother, a Child, a Sibling… or a School

On Sunday morning, October 10, the Sisterhood of the Young Israel of Far Rockaway gathered to plan for the coming year. There are so many exciting things to look forward to at the Young Israel.

Coordinating the start of the new school year is a colossal job. Ask any principal of a large school and you’ll hear how challenging it is to find suitable teachers and staff, among other logistics. The hope is that each and every grade be gifted with an educator who is capable and competent in the classroom.

“This year,” says the principal of a large Satmar school in the tristate area, “I didn’t have a problem hiring staff. Even at a time when so many schools were finding it difficult to fill the positions, in our school, we found excellent teachers for every single class.”

Perhaps not a coincidence. The tefillos of Tehillim Kollel were among the zechusim…

This principal signed up for a membership for the entire year. She wanted Tehillim Kollel, especially the branch that davens daily at the kever of the Satmar Rebbe, zy”a, in Kiryas Yoel, to be mazkir the students of his mosdos.

In particular, she wanted to find the best teachers for them, with the least agmas nefesh.

Sure enough, a few days after the school year began – this Elul 5781 – the principal called in excitedly. “Baruch Hashem, we saw a special siyatta d’Shmaya! We began the new school year with every position filled – and each came about in an amazing way that could never have been predicted.”

Rabbi Tzvi Krigsman, Menahel of Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island, giving a shmuess to the boys at Yeshiva Kol Torah this week

Did you know?

You have a 1 in 1,461 chance of being born on leap day.

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66 30

OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

1.

TJH

*

Centerfold

Returning to Office Routine?

Remember These Rules





When getting into an elevator, make sure to hit the button multiple times,

even though the button is already lit up,

Pre-plan

your

fake

evening plans so you

don’t stumble even for a

otherwise the elevator just

second when your col-

won’t stop at the correct

leagues ask if you want

floor.

to join them for dinner



after work.

When you ignore an



important

email for days on end, always start your re-

eat your egg sal-

ad sandwich – please!!!!!

ply by explaining that



“somehow this ended up in my spam folder.”



Go to your car to

When you are printing some-

thing and the printer jams, make sure to quickly When searching for your phone before you

raise your fingers to your temple and say, “Oy!”

leave the office for the day, check if it’s in

making it obvious to all that you must get back to

your hand before moving on to the next phase of

your office for a conference call with the compa-

your 20-minute search.

ny’s most important client.



Make sure that your fake laugh closely resembles your real laugh…especially since

your “really funny” colleagues have 19 months of jokes stacked up and ready to go.





Do not turn around when entering the building because a colleague may be trail-

ing you by 25 feet. If that happens, you will have to hold the door open and feel guilty for making the person run. Even worse, you will have to talk

Although you have 17 suits, put 14 of them

about how you got no rest over the weekend and

in storage because you know that only

can’t wait for next weekend and how in three

three fit anyways.

weekends there’s a legal holiday so it’s a long weekend, yadda, yadda, yadda.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

I Have a Bridge to Sell You 1. Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the world’s longest continuous bridge over water.

How long is it? a. 23.8 miles b. 32.4 miles c. 47.1 miles d. 118.5 miles 2. What is the official color of the Golden Gate Bridge? a. Bronze b. Scarlet red c. International orange d. Rust

3. Approximately how many bridges are there in Venice? a. 50 b. 140 c. 400 d. 12,000 4. The highest bridge in the world, the Beipanjiang Bridge, opened in the Guizhou province of China in 2017. How high above ground is it? a. 700 feet b. 1,854 feet c. 3,050 feet d. 6,000 feet 5. How many bridges are there over the Amazon River? a. 0 b. 4 c. 12 d. 76

6. Where is the original London Bridge located today? a. London b. Moscow c. Arizona d. Netherlands

Answers: 1-A 2-C 3-C 4-B 5-A 6-C Wisdom Key 5-6 correct: You must haver spent a lot of time learning about bridges. What are you doing now that you were forcibly retired from your toll-booth-man gig?

3-4 correct: Need to bridge your knowledge a bit, but otherwise not bad.

0-2 correct: Your brain suspensions may need some finetuning.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me! Jimmy, Bobby, and Timmy are drunk on an is-

al labor.” He turns into a Nova Scotia Boat Builder,

land and can’t figure out how to get back to the

makes a sleek sailboat, and lets the wind take him

mainland. They find a genie on the island who of-

off the island.

fers them each one wish.

Jimmy says, “I wish I was smart enough to get off this island,” so the

Timmy says, “I wish I was smarter than both of them!” So, he turns into a sober person and takes the bridge.

genie makes him into an outdoors * * *

man; he proceeds to cut down a tree, makes it into a boat, and rows off the island.

Bobby says, “I wish I was even smarter than Jimmy so I don’t have to do so much manu-

A guy goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, doctor, I think I’m a bridge.”

“What’s come over you?” asks the doctor.

The guy replies, “Three cars, a van, and a box truck.”

67 31

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OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

3

Torah Thought

Parshas Lech Lecha

By Rabbi Berel Wein

W

e recognize that in many ways our father Abraham was an innovator, a oneof-a-kind individual, someone who was original, unique, and fearless in his quest for the betterment of the human race and the creation of the Jewish people. Among all his other achievements, if we look carefully at

the opening chapters of the Lech Lecha, we find that our father Abraham is also the first human being recorded as having a normal conversation with his Creator.

Adam, the original man, makes excuses for his failings but does not engage G-d in a discussion regarding the essence of sin, reward, and punish-

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ment. His son, Kayin, whines and complains to justify his murderous behavior, and does not understand the true nature of his sin, and cannot relate properly to the criticism of Heaven.

Even the righteous man, Noach, the father of the only family that survives the Great Flood and through whom humankind will be rebuilt and repopulated, does not engage in a conversation with the Creator regarding the impending flood and its aftermath.

risks involved in so doing. He even disputes the decision of Heaven regarding destruction of the cities of Sodom. He even argues that the G-d of justice in such a fashion that it be visible and understood by ordinary mortals.

We are witnesses that Abraham has a complete attachment with G-d, a relationship that cannot and will not be severed or compromised. That is the basis of Abraham’s founding the Jewish people, who will also maintain such

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All the twenty generations, prior to Abraham’s arrival, apparently have nothing to say to G-d.

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In fact, we hear almost nothing from Noach, except for his statement about his future and destiny.

All the twenty generations, prior to Abraham’s arrival, apparently have nothing to say to G-d. They may fear His power and even rebel against His rule, but they have no thoughts or communication about the relationship of how human beings can coexist with infinity and G-d.

Throughout the description of Abraham’s life, he seems to be constantly in communication with Heaven. He obeys its orders to leave his homeland and circumcise himself at an advanced stage of life. He proclaims the name G-d – one and only G-d – wherever he travels, no matter the

a relationship of attachment overall of the centuries of human civilization.

Whereas previous generations were afraid to deal directly with the Almighty, this became the basis for oral paganism and other religions that always rely upon intermediaries, Abraham and the Jewish people attach themselves inexorably and directly to the Creator for good or for better, no matter what the circumstances are that exist at that very moment. This fundamental difference in approach to the relationship between human beings and their G-d remains, until today, the identifiable hallmark that differentiates Judaism from other philosophies and beliefs.

Shabbat shalom.

69

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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64 70 64

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire Parshas Lech Lecha

Same Place, Worlds Apart

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

R

av Pinchas Koritzer frequently said that until Parshas Lech Lecha, before Avraham Avinu, the world was in a state of confusion.

When Avraham came into the world, however, kindness and Hashem’s salvation entered the world. Let us see how Avraham’s life brings clarity to our world.

Without any introduction, Hashem began speaking to Avraham with the words, “Lech lecha, Go!” With these words, our history began abruptly and without any preface.

Hashem did not even tell him exactly where he was going. We know now, however, that Avraham was being sent to Eretz Yisroel, the land of Israel. The beginning of our parsha seems to imply that Hashem suddenly gave Avraham a new commandment, to leave his birthplace of Ur Kasdim and travel to Eretz Yisroel. The remarkable thing is that just a few pesukim earlier, at the end of Parshas Noach, we learn that Avraham had already left his birthplace and was already on his way to Eretz Yisroel.

He had merely been waylaid in Charan. The pasuk says (Bereishis 11:31), “And Terach took Avram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Avram his son, and they went out of Ur Kasdim with them to go to the land of Canaan [Eretz Yisroel]...”

We therefore see that it was Terach’s idea to leave Ur Kasdim and move to Canaan before Hashem ever spoke to Avraham. Why does the Torah present “Lech lecha, Go!” as if it were a commandment to do something that Avraham was not already on his way to do?

In addition, we must understand why Hashem tells Avraham to leave

his birthplace. As we saw earlier, Avraham was no longer in his birthplace of Ur Kasdim. He was already in Charan, on the way to Canaan!

Finally, we must understand why Terach calls Eretz Yisroel “Canaan,” but Hashem does not call it by name, but instead calls it (Bereishis 12:1) “the land that I will show you.”

It is clear that there are two ways go to the same destination, Eretz Yisroel: there is “Aliyas Avraham” and “Aliyas Terach.”

Why did Terach decide to “make aliyah”? The Torah makes a point of omitting the reason, perhaps because there are numerous reasons someone may move from one country to another. He may have moved for economic, political, or cultural reasons. Alternatively, he may have moved to escape something in Ur Kasdim. There are numerous reasons why Terach may have wanted to move to Canaan. But Avraham moved to Eretz Yisroel for one reason: it was Hashem’s will.

There was no natural, rational reason for Aliyas Avraham. Eretz Yisroel, to Avraham, was only defined as “the

land that I will show you,” the land where Hashem wants him to live.

Even later on (Bereishis 22:14), Avraham names Yerushalayim “Hashem appeared” in order to show “Hashem appeared on this mountain.”

Terach, however, called Eretz Yisroel “Canaan” because it had absolutely no spiritual significance to him. For him, Canaan was simply a destination to which he could flee and nothing more. For Avraham, every inch of Eretz Yisroel was a revelation of G-dliness, another opportunity for (Bereishis 17:1) “and you shall walk before me.” Everywhere he went, he built altars. Canaan and Eretz Yisroel were the same place, but for Avraham and Terach, they were worlds apart.

Throughout history, our people have made aliyah in two different ways. Even when the Jews left Egypt to go to Eretz Yisroel, there were two types of aliyah, as we see in the pasuk (Bamidbar 33:2), “Motza’eihem l’maasa’eihem… maasa’eihem l’motza’eihem, their going out for their travels... their travels for their going out.” For some Jews, their aliyah was

just “their travels for their going out,” meaning that they only wanted to go to Eretz Yisroel because they just wanted to escape the slavery of Egypt.

For many, however, it was “their going out for their travels,” their departure from Egypt was not for its own sake.

They were leaving primarily because they wanted to go to Eretz Yisroel and not simply because they wanted to leave Egypt behind.

Referring to this idea, the pasuk in Yeshayahu (60:8) says, “Who are these who are blown like a cloud and like doves returning to their nests?”

Rav Kook taught that some people come to Eretz Yisroel like clouds simply blown by the winds of anti-Semitism. There are others, however, who feel compelled to return to Eretz Yisroel like hatchlings returning to their mother, back home to their nest. The aliyah of Terach was the aliyah of being blown in by the clouds from some other place. Avraham’s aliyah was one of “a dove returning home to its mother, to its home.

Hashem told Avraham to “Go!” as if it were a sudden command to do something new because He wanted to emphasize to Avraham that his aliyah to Eretz Yisroel was not a continuation of Terach’s journey to Canaan. It was to be a completely new type of aliyah with exactly the opposite purpose of Terach’s. For Avraham’s aliyah, he was told to go “from your birthplace, from your father’s house.” Avraham had to leave behind his father’s attitudes and travel to Eretz Yisroel with a new purpose.

For Avraham, the connection between the people of Israel and the land of Israel is not about some particular quality or advantage of the land. It is based on the will of Hash-

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em. Hashem chose this place as the land where His unbreakable connection with the people of Israel would be manifest. That is where the three parts of one whole are united as one: Hashem, Eretz Yisroel, and the Jewish people.

That is why, in his covenant with Avraham (Bereishis 15:9-10), Hashem told him to take “three calves, three goats, and three rams” and cut them in half. There are three types of animals and three of each animal because of the inseparable relationship between the three partners, Hashem, the Jewish people, and Eretz Yisroel.

They were cut in half to show that none of them can exist separately from the others. They would be incomplete. The connection between them cannot be broken because they are united by Hashem’s will. The Jewish people and the land of Israel are chosen by Hashem and are therefore eternal.

We understand that for those who made aliyah not in order to return

home to the special place where we can reunite with Hashem but merely to escape anti-Semitism, the search for a “national Jewish homeland” does not have to be in Eretz Yisroel – it could be in Uganda or anywhere else in the world.

But for anyone with a sense of Avraham Avinu’s connection to Eretz Yisroel, which is based on the fact that Hashem chose Eretz Yisroel and the Jewish people, Eretz Yisroel is our only “homeland.” Such a person could no more give away part of Eretz Yisroel to another nation than he could cut off part of his own body.

Even in the times of Rav Kook, and his closest student, Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap, there were discussions about whether we should not insist on possessing the entire land of Israel in exchange for “peace” with our neighbors.

In opposition to the “land for peace” concept, Rav Yaakov Moshe wrote the following amazing words in a letter printed in the first volume

of his sefer Mei Marom: There is no doubt that if anyone would feel the need to sign an international treaty which would have the effect of giving up even the smallest rights to a portion of the land of Israel, it would be better for the signatories to such an agreement to cut off their own thumbs and not cut away any of the plantings of Hashem’s garden, (Tehilim 50:2) “from Zion, which is entirely beautiful, where Hashem appears.”

Just like if one says that the entire Torah is from heaven except for one letter, he is a heretic, so too, anyone who says that all of Eretz Yisroel belongs to the Jewish people except for one inch of it, he uproots the sanctity of Eretz Yisroel and denigrates the soul of the Jewish people...

Indeed, what dispensation do they have to agree to tear Eretz Yisroel into shreds by setting a hand upon the sanctuary of G-d and defiling a portion of the Divine gift which was given to us as an eternal inheritance? …

The land of Israel is the land of the life of the Jewish people such that we draw our entire sustenance from Eretz Yisroel. It is a part of the body of the Jewish people without which we could not survive. To take away a piece of Eretz Yisroel is to pierce the heart of the Jewish people.

While there may be differing halachic opinions on the matter, such words could only be spoken by someone who recognizes the inseparable connection between the land of Israel and the people of Israel because of Hashem’s choice of Eretz Yisroel and the Jewish people as His portion.

May we merit to see the return of the entire nation of Israel to the land of Israel as an eternal inheritance 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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Self-Mastery Academy

Is Greatness Only for Superheroes?

By Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

T

he path to greatness seems simple enough. But when we look around, how many people do we see who are on that path to greatness? How many people do you know who are pushing their limits, living at their peak, and achieving the extraordinary? Shockingly few, probably. This begs the question: Why are there so few people who are living this way, at their highest level?

While studying at Harvard, UChicago, and Yeshiva University, I saw many of my colleagues striving for greatness. But even at these great institutions, so many of my colleagues were simply trying to survive and get by. While some were writing books, conducting ground-breaking research, and planning their futures, others had no idea why they were there to begin with. After speaking around the world and coaching countless clients, I found so many people who struggled to even begin the journey towards their greatness.

The more I thought about this question, the more fascinated I became by this enigma. From both research and experience, I found five different reasons that come up again and again for why people don’t become great, which we will cover in the next few articles. When we understand and think about these obstacles, we can ensure that we are armed and ready to overcome them as we embark on our own journey towards greatness.

No Identity; No Destination Many people have never even begun the journey towards greatness, simply because they don’t know who they are. Imagine waking up in a hos-

pital bed with amnesia; you haven’t the foggiest clue who you are. You try to recall your most recent memories and how you may have gotten here, but you can’t seem to remember. After a few seconds, you come to realize that you truly have no idea who you are. Just then, a group of men enter the room and deliver some shocking news. They tell you that you are the leader of the country, and that once you’re feeling better, there are some important issues for you to deal with.

How would you feel? You’d probably hold your head up high, feeling important and respected. But what if instead of addressing you as a world leader, these same people inform you that you are the hospital janitor; instead of awaiting your return to the presidential office, they’re awaiting your return to the bathrooms on the second floor. How would you feel then? What would you think of yourself?

Even without amnesia, many of

us allow our identity and sense of self to be dictated by others. We begin life undeveloped, without an inner identity or a clear sense of purpose and direction. Instead of going through the process of discovering who we are and what we can accomplish with our lives, we allow our sense of self and direction in life to be dictated by others. When we are young, we crave the attention and approval of our parents; as we age, we desire the acceptance and love of our friends; and as we continue to mature, we yearn to be accepted by society. At this stage in our development, we are trapped by living in accordance with what we think other people think we should be. (We don’t know what they want us to be, so we’re actually living in accordance with what we think they think we should be.)

We don’t choose our inner identity or our life’s direction, and we never spent time getting to know who we are, what we’re in this world for, and

what our true purpose really is. Instead, we become chained to the will and acceptance of those around us, walking on glass and hoping that we are playing the right game.

If we never wake up from this act, we spend our entire lives enslaved to a game where we are playing a role we were never assigned. We feel fake, because we are. We say what we think we’re supposed to; we eat, dress, think, and talk the way that we think we’re supposed to. We act on the outside, but it’s not a true expression of what’s within; mostly because we don’t know what’s within, because we never sought to find out.

We were too scared to try because what if people don’t like us? What if they reject who we are? We fear being rejected so much that we never even accept ourselves. We adapt and mold, giving others what we think they want, never even beginning the journey to our true selves, never even opening the door and walking into ourselves, into the wonders of self-awareness and self-exploration.

And often, this shackling of self can last a lifetime. I remember speaking at an event, and an elderly gentleman came over to me with a grim face and tears in his eyes. He told me that he had recently come back from a funeral, where he buried his closest friend. At the funeral, he and his colleagues had described their friend and his legacy. He told me that he had spent the past few days thinking about his life and came to the somber realization that he had no idea who he was or what he stood for. He was standing right in front of me but realized that he stood for nothing.

How many of us struggle with this? How many of us have never chosen our own identity?

However, it’s never too late. We always have the ability to take ownership of our life and begin to live independently, as our true selves, on the journey towards greatness and self-actualization.

Every day, we need to choose who we are, what we believe in, and how we are going to live our lives. Each morning, we get to create our identity. We are never stuck in the patterns of our past; each day we begin anew.

As Avraham Avinu said, “Anochi afar v’efer,” I am but dust and ashes (Bereishis 18:27). This is generally understood as a statement of extreme humility. However, there is a fundamentally deeper explanation of this statement as well.

Ashes represent an elemental breakdown, the most basic particles of an object. Dirt is the starting point of growth, the place where seeds are planted and given life. In a deeper

sense, Avraham Avinu was saying that every day he would “ash” himself, breaking his very “self” down into its elemental, root form, and he would then plant himself anew. In other words, Avraham Avinu would

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cause he was used to it. Avraham Avinu challenged himself daily, constantly pushing himself to become the very best he could be. But the very first step is to choose. Choose who you are going to be by peering

Even without amnesia, many of us allow our identity and sense of self to be dictated by others.

recreate himself every single day.

Each and every day, he looked deep within himself, examined and broke down every aspect of his “self” and then recreated himself for the better, taking the next step in his spiritual growth. Avraham Avinu never continued living the same way simply because it was comfortable or be-

deep within yourself and engaging in the process of self-discovery.

As you continue the journey of self-awareness and self-discovery, continue to mold and embrace your ever higher and greater sense identity and purpose.

In our next column, we will delve deeper into this topic and explore

the other factors that hold people back from striving after their greatness.

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman is an author, educator, speaker, and coach who has lectured internationally on topics of Torah, psychology, and leadership. He is the founder and CEO of Self-Mastery Academy, the transformative online self-development course that is based on the principles of high-performance psychology and Torah.

After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from Yeshiva University, he received semicha from RIETS, a Master’s degree in Jewish Education from Azrieli, and a Master’s degree in Jewish Thought from Revel. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Chicago and has also spent a year studying at Harvard as an Ivy Plus Exchange Scholar.

To find more inspirational content from Rabbi Reichman, to contact him, or to learn more about Self-Mastery Academy, visit his website: ShmuelReichman.com

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Delving into the Daf

Be Our Guest

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

T

he pasuk says (Bereishis 18:3), “And he [Avraham Avinu] said: ‘My master, if I found favor in your eyes, please pass not away from your servant.’”

Rashi on Shavuos says that the simple explanation of “My master” is that he was addressing the middle of the three guests. It seemed to Avraham Avinu that he was their leader, and if he would stay and consent to being his guest, then the two other guests would stay as well.

However, Chanina ben Achi, Rebbi Yehoshua, and Rebbi Elazar ben Azariah understand the pasuk differently. Avraham Avinu was in middle of talking to Hashem when he saw the three strangers. He asked Hashem to not depart from him while he attended to his guests. The Gemara explains that the statement that “entertaining guests is greater that greeting the Divine Countenance” follows this view.

Avraham Avinu had two choices – continue speaking to Hashem or tend to total strangers. He chose the latter because that is what Hashem wanted him to do. The Chochmas HaMitzpun points out that this illustrates the halacha in Yoreh Deah that if someone is growing spiritually by learning Torah and there is a chessed that cannot be performed by others, he should interrupt his spiritual growth to do the chessed.

It is interesting to note that this statement that “entertaining guests is greater that greeting the Divine Countenance” is accepted as practical halacha. This is evident from the fact that the Rambam rules that the word “My Master” should be written in the sefer Torah with the intent of writing a Divine name.

One time, when the Chofetz Chaim invited some travelers to his home for Friday night, he came home with his guests and promptly recited Kiddush. He skipped the recital of

Shalom Aleichem, the song that is sung to welcome the angels that accompany an individual to his home on Shabbos night. Later in the meal, when everyone had already partaken of some Shabbos food, Shalom Aleichem was sung. Rabbi Yehuda Leib Chassman, who witnessed this event, asked his rebbi what the rationale for doing this was.

The Chofetz Chaim explained: The guests had traveled all day and must not have had the opportunity to eat, especially since they were in a hurry to arrive before Shabbos. If serving guests comes before greeting the Divine Presence, then it certainly comes before greeting angels! Anyway, angels are not hungry, and they can wait until after the first course.

People who are hungry should not be made to wait.

The Dvar Avraham offers a different rationale for the Chofetz Chaim’s conduct based upon our Gemara in Rosh HaShana (6a). Rava says that if one vows to give money to poor people and fails to fulfill his pledge immediately, he transgresses the biblical injunction against delaying one’s vows. While Rava’s statement is codified as practical halacha, the commentators say it doesn’t apply in all situations. (See the Rema YD 257:3.)

The Chofetz Chaim reasoned that if one invited poor people to his house for the Friday night meal, in essence he made a vow to provide them with charity in the form of food. If one delays his meal, he may run afoul of the transgression of delaying the fulfillment of one’s charity vows. Therefore, the Chofetz Chaim made Kiddush and started his meal immediately upon returning home if he had poor guests to steer clear of this issue.

The Dvar Avrohom offered a defense to those who sing Shalom Aleichem even when they have poor guests. He reasons that the invita-

tion to the Friday night meal is to be understood as an invitation to eat when the family normally eats.

Since the family always sings Shalom Aleichem, the invitation/vow was to provide food after Shalom Aleichem was sung.

Rav Moshe Sternbuch opines that while it is true that the original meal invitation was somewhat conditional, however, now it is irrelevant. If the poor guest is starving at your table right in front of you, you have a mitzvah to feed him right then!

Still, the Dvar Avrohom’s defense doesn’t apply to irregular delays. If someone happened to meet someone in shul and decided after davening to catch up on old times, this would be an unexpected delay and the Dvar Avraham’s defense would not apply.

HaRav Elchonon Peretz notes that the Gemara says that caring for one’s children is considered tzedakah.

Therefore, he suggests that delaying any scheduled family meal could potentially run afoul of the prohibition of delaying one’s vows. However, the Taz in Yoreh Deah (149:1) states that the Gemara certainly didn’t mean to equate feeding one’s children with charity. For example, one cannot use maaser money to buy food for his family. Therefore, perhaps in this regard too, one should not equate a family meal with charity. Consequently, one would not transgress the prohibition of delaying the fulfillment of one’s vows by coming home late and delaying a family supper. However, try telling that excuse to your kids and see how well it goes over.

It is interesting to note what the

Chofetz Chaim writes about this subject in the Mishna Berura (271:1). It is preferable to make Kiddush immediately after nightfall on Friday night.

Nevertheless, the Chofetz Chaim says that one may delay Kiddush if he is not hungry. His delay will enable him to enjoy the Shabbos meal more and thereby fulfill the mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos in a choice manner. However, the Chofetz Chaim cautions, “If the delay will affect Shalom Bayis, or he has kitchen or wait staff who will be inconvenienced by the delay, or he has guests, especially poor ones, he should definitely not delay his meal.

You cannot make them wait just because you want to fulfill a mitzvah in the choicest manner.”

Similarly, the Chofetz Chaim notes that some Acharonim rule that on the first night of Sukkos, when it is raining, one should wait until midnight to see if the rain subsidies (639:35). However, the Chofetz Chaim notes that if one is tired or hungry, one should not wait (SH 67).

Then he notes further that certainly if one has poor guests, one should not wait. The poor guests aren’t obligated to fulfill the mitzvah in the best manner. Therefore, if one causes them to wait for their meal, one might actually transgress the prohibition against delaying tzedaka.

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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Builders

An Emotional Reunion

By Raphael Poch

Akiva, Avi, and Eran

A

bout a month ago on a Friday night, Eran, a man in his early thirties suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in Ramat Gan. United Hatzalah volunteers Akiva Kaufman and Avi Bismut, from the Ramat Gan-Givatayim branch, were situated at the United Hatzalah volunteer house when they were alerted to the emergency. The two trained EMTs rushed to the scene on their motorcycles and arrived in just 90 seconds.

They arrived first to the home of the man whom they found sprawled on the floor by the entrance to his home and performed a prolonged resuscitation effort, at the end of which the patient was evacuated to the hospital with a steady pulse and breathing. However, volunteer EMT Avi Bismut mentioned that, at the time, they were not sure whether Eran would make it or not because they did not know how long he was without a pulse before they started CPR. Avi had also found out that

the man was still unconscious even after arriving at the hospital. Five days later, the patient’s wife texted the volunteers and told them that her husband had finally woken up that morning. Eran returned to his home a short while later.

broad smile etched on his face.

Avi spoke about the heartfelt meeting. “We are still in shock and unable to grasp how a person who was literally dead, without a pulse and breathing, is standing in the same spot at the entrance to his

“We are still in shock and unable to grasp how a person who was literally dead, without a pulse and breathing, is standing”

In a special and exciting meeting organized by Eran’s wife this week at their home in Ramat Gan, the volunteers who participated in the resuscitation, Akiva and Avi, met with the family for the first time after saving the man’s life. Eran opened the door and welcomed them inside with a

house where he was sprawled out on the floor just a few weeks before.”

Avi continued, “I remember looking at Eran as we were doing CPR and trying to communicate with him saying, ‘Don’t go; you have a wife and a baby boy who needs his dad to raise him.’ It was so important to

me that we bring him back.”

Akiva said, “Coming back to this house and meeting with Eran is so emotional for me. It’s as if I was transported back to the night of the incident. I can almost hear the small baby crying from his room and sense his wife’s panicking all over again.”

During the emotional reunion, the two volunteers spoke with Eran and told him about the resuscitation process which they performed on him during his cardiac arrest.

They showed him the defibrillator, which was a crucial part of the procedure and which was responsible for restarting his heart. Then Eran told them about his rehabilitation process and his rapid improvement.

After the meeting, both Eran and his wife thanked the dedicated volunteers profusely and with great excitement. ““You gave me my life back.”

Eran told them. “Thanks to you my child has a father.”

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Middle East Musings

Israel is the Homeland of the Jews

By David Billet

Members of Hashomer posing on October 1, 1907 in the Upper Galilee during the Ottoman rule

“I

srael is stolen land and rightfully belongs to the Palestinians.”

This is a leading anti-Semitic and anti-Israel trope that has come to dominate university campuses, the radical left-leaning media, and tragically, even the halls of Congress. It is also argued that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can never come to an end until all Palestinian refugees are allowed to return to a land that they claim is rightfully theirs.

Although these claims have grown in society today, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of history can recognize that the land of Israel has been the homeland to only one nation: the Jewish people.

Over the past 2,500 years, the Jews are the only people to have ruled over the land of Israel as a sovereign state.

The first Jewish Kingdom, the Davidic Dynasty, arose in 1030 BC, and the First Temple was built by King Solomon between 930-970 BC. Although the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC, the Jewish Kingdom of Judea continued to survive for another 136 years until the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Shortly thereafter, the Persian Empire conquered the Assyrian Empire and ruled from 586-333 BC. The Greeks, led by Alexander the

Members of the pre-Haganah defense movement in their guard post on November 3, 1938 in Kibbutz Givat Brenner

Great, conquered the Persians and ruled from 322-167 BC. Soon afterwards, the Israelites, led by the Hasmoneans, regained control of the land and ruled from 167-37 BC, until they were eventually captured and defeated by the Romans.

The Byzantines conquered the Romans and ruled from AD 324-638, until the Muslim Empire conquered the Byzantines and ruled until 1099. The Crusaders continued this endless merry-go-round of conquerors and defeated the Muslim Empire and ruled until 1260. The Mamluks then defeated the Crusaders and ruled until 1517, when they were conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were eventually destroyed, and the British gained control of the land and declared it to be the British Mandate of Palestine. The British controlled the land from 1917 until 1947, and soon thereafter the Jewish state was formed.

It is crucial to recognize that even while conquerors have come and gone, a Jewish presence has never left the land and that Jews around the world have been praying to return to their homeland for thousands of years.

A brief glimpse into history clearly proves two essential points: 1) that the Jews are the only People to establish a sovereign state in Israel, and 2) of all

Jewish children playing in Holon on July 1, 1946, during the British Mandate of Palestine

the nations in the world, the Jews have the oldest claim to the land of Israel in history.

Even after recognizing that the Jewish people are undeniably connected to the land of Israel, many claim that this connection was formed more than 2,000 years ago and lacks any relevance today. Karl Marx, the founder of communism, visited Jerusalem in the 19th century and provided an eyewitness account of the Jewish population in Jerusalem. Marx, who was a virulent anti-Semite, had stated that the Jewish people were a majority in Jerusalem as early as 1854. For all those doubting the legitimacy of the Jewish right to the land of Israel, the Jewish people were a majority in 1854 and have only grown since then.

Furthermore, ever since the Israelite Kingdom was defeated and the Jewish People were exiled, the land lay as a desolate, barren wasteland that was uninhabitable to all. As early as 1267, Rabbi Moses ben Nachman fled from persecution in Spain by finding a new home in the land of Israel. Rabbi Nachman stated in a letter to his son that “many are Israel’s forsaken places, and great is the desecration. The more sacred the place, the greater the devastation it has suffered. Jerusalem is the most desolate place of all.”

If we fast forward almost 500 years, Mark Twain also stated in a written account that the land lay as a barren wasteland, essentially as fruitless and dangerous as Rabbi Nachman saw 500 years earlier. The land rejected each conqueror just as a human body may reject an organ that is not its own.

The land of Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish People, as proven throughout history. While the Davidic dynasty may have come to an end, no other sovereign state arose in the land until Israel was reborn in 1948. The land of Israel lay as a barren wasteland while patiently waiting for the Jewish Nation to return home.

While life may often pose questions that we will never be able to answer, one eternal truth continues to persist: the land of Israel is the only homeland of the Jewish People.

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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A Lifeline of Inspiration Throughout the Day TJH Speaks with Jeff Weinberg Author of Faith At Work

BY NACHUM GREENBERG

When I heard that Jeff Weinberg, a busy Five Towns guy, was publishing a sefer, I was intrigued. When I heard that the focus was work related, I was even more intrigued. We spend most of our lives working and if someone can offer me insight into how to elevate my workday, I’m sold! I sat down with Jeff, learned more about him and his upcoming book, Faith At Work, and am now excited to get back to the office to put these concepts to work (possible exaggeration here).

Jeff, thanks for meeting with me. I am curious to hear more about you and your book. Can we make a formal introduction here?

Sure, thanks for your time. I grew up in Canarsie in Brooklyn. I attended BTA for high school and graduated from Yeshiva University and have lived in Woodmere with my family for the past 28 years. I’m a proud member of Congregation Aish

Kodesh and have sent my kids to our fabulous local yeshivos. I was one of the cofounding partners of Meridian Capital group in 1991 and have been working within the commercial mortgage business since then.

So, you’re not a rabbi or a writer and yet you

authored a book. Are you transitioning jobs or is this a midlife crisis?

Neither, baruch Hashem! Many years ago, when I started working, I tried to find the time to learn and listen to shiurim, as well. I would sit in shul or listen to tapes and was captivated by messages of Torah hashkafa, emunah and avodas ha’middos. However, when I headed back to

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the office, there was a strong disconnect. With demanding deadlines, and the regular stress associated with pressure and expectations, the lessons and inspiration were buried under a pile of work. I was greatly bothered by my spiritual inertia. If the topic of last night’s shiur was emunah, why was I disappointed that I didn’t get the deal?

If the rav at shul gave a passionate discourse on shmiras halashon, why was I meekly partaking in office banter? I wasn’t living what I was hearing, and it bothered me greatly.

In an effort to bridge the divide between my spiritual life and my work life, I began scribbling down, and taking notes of the divrei Torah and divrei chizuk that specifically applied to the life of the working individual. These thoughts, these jotted down messages of inspiration, have provided me with a lifeline throughout the years, and I wanted to share with others what can be life transformative.

Would you say that this book is primarily for those with stressful jobs who desperately need to work on emunah, anger management and patience? What if I’m self-employed and own an ice cream shop?

I love that question! While this book does address what I mentioned above, there is another focus as equally important. The ice cream store owner may not deal with difficult business associates (although hungry kids may count), however, he still may ask himself this existential question, “Is my job meaningful? Is my life meaningful if I spend so many hours away from the Gemara?” Many stories, thoughts, and divrei Torah in this book address this concern. Our job, what we spend most of our life doing, is also precious to Hashem if done as a ben/bas Torah. There is inherent kedusha in whatever environment we find ourselves in, when we conduct ourselves as ehrliche Yidden.

he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tents.”

Rav Bezalel Rudinsky of Monsey, New York, asks the following. We know that Zevulun was the one who went out to work in order to support Yissaschar. Isn’t the main joy of work when we return home at the end of a long day with our paycheck? Why does the Torah tell Zevulun to rejoice when he goes out?

There are challenges and sometimes we feel like we are wasting so much time. The joy is usually felt later on. However, based on the theme of this sefer, this pasuk can be easily understood.

When we work to serve Hashem, wherever we find ourselves, be it in shul or at the office, it is all avodas Hashem. There is great joy that comes from the total awareness of fulfilling my mission, whatever it may be. When I leave each morning I can skip to work, knowing that the day is open

“When I leave each

On a personal note, is it all smooth sailing for you? Do you need to read your own book at this point or have you fully internalized these lessons?

As long as we live and breathe, constant chizuk is needed. My gut reactions at work and throughout the day, if left unchecked and unleashed, would not reflect these thoughts. But with much avodah, and constant learning and practicing, I’m at times able to feel joy that comes from overcoming the day-to-day struggles and living with the knowledge that Hashem is in control. In any investment, a profit – regardless of how big or small – is considered a success. So too, regarding this investment, even if we can show small and steady gains, we can feel a sense of accomplishment.

morning I can skip to work, knowing that

Absolutely! My brother-in-law, Steven Spira, is someone whom I respect and admire deeply for his attitude towards work. He is a highly successful executive in the entertainment industry, and yet, he humbly attributes his success to Hashem.

He once sent me a quote, “Worrying is an insult to G-d,” and he truly personifies that motto. I’ve learned so much from him through the years.

the day is open with limitless potential to serve Hashem.”

So is this book going to address the Kollel vs.

Work discussion?

I hope that it will serve as a springboard for meaningful conversation and open our eyes to understanding that no Jew is a second class citizen because he works. However, when it comes to working versus learning, there are so many other variables and factors that play into that decision, therefore, each family should discuss it with their rav.

I love this message! It sounds like this is geared to the young adult who just graduated law school and the seasoned accountant, doctor or other professional. If I’m a stay-athome mom, or a high school student, will I find these messages meaningful as well?

Sure. In Parshas V’zos HaBracha, it says: “V’l’Zevulun amar, ‘Samech Zevulun b’tzeitzecha, v’Yissaschar b’ohelecha.’” And to Zebulun

ket. It’s safe to say that we all have different stressful life moments where lessons of emunah and focus will serve us well.

Do you have a role model in this area? Is there somebody that you’ve looked up to as your source of inspiration?

with limitless potential to serve Hashem. Just like the reward for Torah is for the effort, not the product, so too by work. The effort itself, regardless of the outcome – which, at times, can fall through – gives us reward.

Can we get a sample of what is found in the book? Please share a Dvar Torah that illuminates your point.

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Of course! Internalizing these divrei Torah will help you stay calm while driving down Central Ave of a busy Friday afternoon or when you’re on a long line at the bank. These thoughts are not just for those who clock in and clock out. We’re all on the clock…

I once heard Rabbi Wachsman say that our mood shouldn’t rise and fall with the stock mar-

Suppose you were asked to share the keynote address with a class of college graduates who clutch diplomas in hand, eager to take on the world. What would your message be?

When you are out there, in the big wide world, you carry a G-dly message! Every moment that you spend serving Your Creator with honesty and purity of heart is priceless. Even before you reach your desk, you have countless opportunities to create a Kiddush Hashem. It all depends on your yishuv ha’daas and menuchas hanefesh. Will you notice the parking garage attendant or security guard and treat him with dignity and give him a warm good morning, or will you be too concerned with your crushing deadline? With emunah, focus, and an understanding of the lofty avodah you have, your workplace can become a beis medrash, a sanctuary for the Shechinah!

This is exactly what we all need to hear to rise above the daily grind. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain and expound. I’m sure that you have a busy day ahead, but hey – all in a day’s work!

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Speaking Up for Rochel Imeinu

How a Group of Determined Women Took on the Establishment to Keep Kever Rochel Open for All of Klal Yisroel

BY SUSAN SCHWAMM

“Don’t

you know this is a firing range?” shouted the incredulous Israeli soldier at the dozens of women marching towards his station at Kever Rochel.

The women – mothers, grandmothers, and children in carriages – continued to proceed. Nothing would stop them from davening at their communal Mother’s grave on erev Yom Kippur.

The year was 2000, and Kever Rochel was closed to visitors due to the second Intifada, which officially started on September 29, 2000.

During those frightening first days of the Intifada, Kever Rochel, like many other holy sites, was shuttered. No one was allowed into the burial place of Rochel Imeinu. But this group of determined women was not to be deterred from reaching Rochel Imeinu’s tomb. On erev Yom Kippur, the courageous group, armed with their sifrei Tehillim, bravely walked from Gilo to Kever Rochel, demanding that they be allowed access to pray at their matriarch Rochel.

The Arabs, as they marched through Beit Lechem, were shocked into inaction by the temerity of the group.

Upon reaching the holy site, the soldiers guarding Kever Rochel were astounded too by the women who showed up to the locked tomb.

But the women were insistent. “It’s the Intifada. The Arabs are rising up against us. We need to beseech our Mother; we need to beg her to intercede on our behalf.”

Reluctantly, the soldiers opened Kever Rochel for the women. The group entered the tomb, which was dark and dank from disuse. But they davened and they sang and were reminded of the pasuk in Yirmiyahu, “Rochel mevakeh al baneheh v’ainenu,” Rochel Imeinu was crying because her children were not there.

After they left Rochel Imeinu’s burial site, they were determined to keep Kever Rochel open for Klal Yisroel. They wanted to beg the authorities to keep it open so the Jewish nation could pray to their Mother in their time of need.

And so, they reached out to Miriam Adani, the founder of the Kever Rachel Heritage Fund.

Although

Miriam created the fund in 1995, she was working on behalf of the women in Klal Yisroel and on behalf of Rochel Imeinu for many years before that.

“My vision was to unite all Jewish women from all around the world around the image of Rochel Imeinu,” Miriam explained.

Without any name recognition and without any money, twenty-six years ago, Miriam endeavored to create a huge gathering of women in Binyanei HaUmah for Rochel Imeinu’s yahrtzeit. Thousands of women attended.

“I worked with ratzon me’od chazak – with a powerful will – to put together this event,” she recalls. “It was my goal to unite all women with achdus. Hakadosh Baruch Hu, our Father, wants to see His children sitting together. And what would be the best way to get everyone together? Rochel Imeinu.”

Miriam chose Rochel Imeinu’s yahrtzeit as a

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forum for her event because she noted that Rochel Imeinu is the Mother of all of Klal Yisroel – regardless of where they live or what they’re wearing.

She quips, “If I would have said that it’s an event about ahavas chinam, people would have said I was part of the Rav Kook community. If I would have said that it’s an event about Moshiach and achdus, people would have said that it’s for Chabad. But I chose Rochel Imeinu because she’s for everyone.

Everyone sees her as their Mother. She is for all Jews.”

The event brought 3,000 women to Binyanei HaUmah for Rochel Imeinu’s yahrtzeit that first year. The event became a yearly gathering, inspiring, uniting, and uplifting thousands of women for the past 26 years.

People were inspired and begged Miriam to do more. And so, she began to create programs centered around Kever Rochel for all Jews to enjoy. In 1995, the Kever Rochel Heritage Fund was born.

In

2000, when the group of women who marched through the streets of Beit Lechem on erev Yom Kippur needed a spokesperson to approach the authorities to beseech them to keep Kever Rochel open despite the dangers, Miriam was the ideal person to intercede on their behalf.

“It was 41 days that Kever Rochel had been closed,” Miriam notes. “They closed Kever Rochel on Rosh Hashana, and Rochel Imeinu’s yahrtzeit is yud-aleph Cheshvan. Forty-one is in gematria ‘aim,’ a mother. We had to act on behalf of our Mother.”

Miriam called the general who covered the area of Kever Rochel and asked him to meet with her.

“Who are you?” he asked her.

“I am Miriam Adani. I am a regular woman, and I want to meet with you about Kever Rochel,” Miriam responded.

He asked her, “Are you from the Women in Green? Are you from the Women of Hebron?”

She assured him, “No, I am a regular woman, a woman b’mitbach, in the kitchen. I am a mother of seven children. I just want to meet with you.”

The general agreed to the meeting.

When Miriam showed up at the meeting at the Gush Etzion base, she was prepared to meet with the general. But there were many others at the meeting – commanders in the IDF, commanders from the police, a member of the Knesset. They started the meeting cautioning that only people in the government and the IDF could be privy to what was going on at the meeting. Miriam, though, was not asked to leave.

The conversation revolved around the dangerous situation surrounding Kever Rochel, which was getting worse every day. Arabs would target the holy site, creating a hostile security situation for those who wished to visit the tomb. The meeting, then, seemed to conclude with the declaration that Kever Rochel needed to remain closed.

But Miriam could not remain silent when the resting place of Rochel Imeinu was being shuttered.

“Can I say only one sentence?” she asked those in the room and was given the opportunity to say “just one sentence.”

Miriam looked the commanders in the eye and proclaimed in Hebrew, “Eretz Yisroel is the home of all Jews from around the world. V’bayit bli imma, zeh lo oto bayit – and a house without a mother is not the same house. Please, give all of the children of Rochel Imeinu the opportunity to come and visit their mother.”

Miriam’s words, said simply yet passionately, hit their intended targets. One of the generals, Marcelle Aviv, told Miriam that he would acquiesce to keep Kever Rochel open for a few hours each day.

But, he cautioned, those coming need to make the trek on bulletproof buses, which the army was not able to supply.

Miriam, sensing a golden opportunity, pledged to provide the bulletproof buses for those heading to Kever Rochel.

Bulletproof buses are not cheap. Each day that the buses ran – and they only allowed Kever Rochel to be open for four hours each morning – cost $250. But when Miriam heard that the army would allow Kever Rochel to be open for even a few hours, she immediately called friends in America, and together, along with her network of family, friends, and supporters, they worked to raise the necessary funds to provide the buses for those who wanted to pray at Kever Rochel.

A few weeks later, Miriam called Marcelle Aviv again.

“Remember the woman in the mitbach, in the kitchen?” she asked him. “It was such a busha, embarrassment, that Kever Rochel was closed on her yahrtzeit this year – this hadn’t happened in thousands of years! Please, allow us to open Kever Rochel on Chanukah at night so we can light the menorah at Kever Rochel.”

Sensing his hesitation, Miriam pressed on.

“Do you know what?” she asked him. “I have an idea. I want you and all the soldiers in your unit to come and to light the menorah. You will light the menorah the first day.”

Marcelle was touched and agreed to open Kever Rochel for the lighting of the menorah. Miriam invited MK Benny Elon and two buses of bochurim from Yeshivat HaKotel to join in the celebration. She bought menorahs and candles and doughnuts for every soldier. With the packages, she included a card with the brachos and a note that said that it was from their “friends in America” who helped to raise the necessary funds

Miriam looked the commanders in the eye and proclaimed in Hebrew, ”Eretz Yisroel is the home of all Jews from around the world. And a house without a mother is not the same house.”

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to bring this to reality.

There was singing, there was dancing, there was light – from the menorah and from the soldiers’ faces.

But Miriam wanted more. She told Marcelle, “You saw how it turned out well on Chanukah. Please, keep Kever Rochel open day and night.”

Amazingly, Marcelle agreed, but he reminded Miriam that he would provide the soldiers for protection and she needed to provide the bulletproof buses.

“No problem,” was Miriam’s swift response.

“I knew I was not alone,” she recalls about the expense that she agreed to take on. “I knew that our brothers and sisters in America and around the world were supporting me and wanted me to continue this project.”

For two years, Miriam and her group offered free bulletproof buses for all those who wished to daven at Kever Rochel.

Aviva

Pinchuk was one of those women who traveled to Kever Rochel on a bulletproof bus during those years.

Aviva has a special connection to the holy site.

Every year, she would visit Kever Rochel on erev Yom Kippur between the two seudos. The year of the start of the Intifada, Aviva was forced to stay home that day.

“I was so angry,” she recalls. “I was pacing my living room, so upset that I couldn’t daven at Kever Rochel.”

Some time later, Aviva took a bus sponsored by

Eternal Bride

It

was the night before her wedding. Nava Appelbaum’s wedding gown was hanging in her living room, ready for its owner to wear it as she walked down the aisle the next day. Nava, 20, and her father, Rabbi Dr. David Appelbaum, decided to go out for a latenight father-daughter chat before her nuptials. But then, as they walked into the restaurant, the busy streets of Jerusalem were shattered by the blast of a suicide bomber.

The bomb at Jerusalem’s Café Hillel that detonated on September 9,

the Kever Rochel Heritage Fund to Kever Rochel.

The buses used to transport people to Kever Rochel were the same buses used to transport children in Gush Katif to their schools each day. Aviva remembers that there was a fully armed soldier, with a rifle at the ready, standing on the bus giving instructions to the passengers. Only one person was allowed on each bench. In case of shooting, they were told to lay down on the floor as only the windows and sides of the bus were bulletproof. A jeep led the bus, and another armored jeep trailed behind the bus. The bus driver was only given the green light to proceed to Kever Rochel when a soldier in a watchtower was able to confirm that the road was clear.

“I remember looking through the window – even though we weren’t supposed to be close to the window – and seeing an Arab woman on the way holding her little daughter,” Aviva recalls. “The little girl looked so cute. She was wearing a pink outfit with a Disney figure on the front with pigtails in her hair. And I remember looking at this mother, with this cute little girl, thinking, this little girl, what does she know about what’s going on? But before I could finish my thought, this little girl raised her hand and shaped her fingers into a ‘gun’ and began ‘shooting’ at the bus with her pretend weapon, moving her lips in a ‘tat, tat, tat,’ sound.

“That’s when I realized that these children are engrained from birth to hate and to kill Jews.”

After Aviva’s first ride to Kever Rochel on the bulletproof bus, she wished to pay for her trip. But she was told that the bus was free and eventually was introduced to Miriam Adani.

Thus began a partnership. Aviva, who became co-director of the Kever Rochel Heritage Fund,

2003, killed seven people and injured more than 50 others. Nava and her father were two of those who were slaughtered by the terrorist.

Aviva Pinchuk’s family was close to the Appelbaums and are related as well.

“It took me a long time to be able to tell this story without breaking down into tears,” Aviva says quietly.

When she first heard the blast, Aviva said she thought immediately of Dr. Appelbaum, who was the head of the emergency room in Shaarei Zedek hospital. She knew he would be working on the victims

of terror through the night.

Little did she know that he and his daughter were among the victims.

“It was such a horrendous night,” Aviva remembers. “When I got to their house, I saw, through their big window, Nava’s wedding gown hanging in the room. I told someone, ‘Please take it away. They can’t come back home as aveilim and see this stark reminder of their daughter and what should have been her wedding.’”

Later, Aviva recalled once visiting a museum in Tzfat dedicated to the early yishuvim. At the time, she saw a piece of white fab-

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worked with Miriam to raise funds for the buses, eventually purchasing a bulletproof van for those wishing to visit Kever Rochel.

The

Kever Rochel Heritage Fund is not just about bulletproof buses. Since the founding of the fund, Miriam and her group have instituted programs to raise awareness about Kever Rochel and to encourage people to visit the holy site. In fact, Miriam quips that she is the first female “rosh kollel.”

At one point, Susan Roth, a woman from New Jersey, asked Miriam to help form a kollel in Kever Rochel. It was the first kollel in Kever Rochel and was comprised of many members. Now, there are five kollelim in Kever Rochel, along with a night kollel. The Klein family, from Cleveland, supports many people in the kollel there. (The Klein family also singlehandedly sponsored the restoration of Kever Rochel after hearing about the pressing need from Miriam. She calls them “shluchim of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.”) Many young girls feel a deep connection to Rochel Imeinu. Sensing this relationship, Miriam and Aviva instituted their bat mitzvah program, in which they bring girls – from Eretz Yisroel and from Chutz l’Aretz – to Kever Rochel for their bat mitzvah to celebrate with them. They “twin” the bat mitzvah girls with those who are less fortunate than them and help them to arrange a chessed project for the girls to do in honor of their bat mitzvah.

Paul and Drora Brody, activists from Great Neck, NY, and their family were the first American family to “twin” their daughters, Tali and Liat, with Israeli girls for their bat mitzvah at Kever Rochel.

“Every Jew in the whole world is a son or daughter of Rochel Imeinu - that is my connection.”

Paul described the celebration as “moving” and “inspiring.”

The Brody girls twinned with Israelis whose parents and grandparents were victims of Arab terror – Iska Lieberman, daughter of Hillel Lieberman, Hy”d, who was killed on the way to Kever Yosef to rescue sifrei Torah; and with Yehudit Kahane, the daughter of Binyamin Hy”d, and Tali Hy”d Kahane, the granddaughter of Rabbi Meir Kahane, Hy”d. After a moving ceremony at Kever Rochel, the Brodys brought the girls’ entire class of Itamar, in the Shomron, including the town’s mayor, from Kever Rochel via a bulletproof bus to the Kotel, including a tour of the then-new Kotel excavations, culminating in a gala celebration at the Colel Chabad Restaurant, overlooking the Kotel.

Such an experience is not to be forgotten. Miriam and Aviva personally attend each bat mitzvah at Kever Rochel. They decorate the side room and provide food and music.

Each girl receives a certificate from the city with their photo on it.

“It gives each girl a real connection to the universal Mother of Klal Yisroel,” Miriam explains.

But more inspiring than the food and the décor is the chessed that’s performed and the mitzvah of hafrashas challah that’s done at Kever Rochel. Miriam points out that hafrashas challah is the first mitzvah given to the Jews when they came to Eretz Yisroel.

During the bat mitzvah celebrations,  Miriam Adani at Kever Miriam and Aviva bring dough and

Rochel on Chanukah last year

ric on the wall and then was told that it was from a paroches made from the wedding gown of a girl who was killed in a pogrom in Tzfat the night before

her wedding.

“I remember, as a tourist, it shook me to the bone,” Aviva relates. “A girl to be killed the night before her wedding…”

But the image came to her after Nava’s petira, and she suggested to Mrs. Debra Appelbaum that Nava’s wedding gown could be made into a paroches.

Nava’s mother was taken with the idea. She only asked that the paroches should have something on it to symbolize Jerusalem.

The designer, Tal Levy, used gold silk for the arches that portrayed the City of Gold.

Kever Rochel was deemed the appropriate place for

Nava’s paroches to hang.

The day of the dedication was set for yud-aleph Adar, Nava’s 21 st birthday.

That year, it was also Taanis Esther.

Throngs joined in the dedication, remembering Nava and the goodness that she exuded.

At her levaya, Nava’s brother referred to Nava as “kallah l’netzach, eternal bride.” The words, so fitting, were embroidered onto the paroches.

Now, Nava’s paroches hangs at Rochel Imeinu’s final resting place, a source of inspiration and remembrance for all who pray there.

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 A bat mitzvah girl celebrating at Kever Rochel



A bat mitzvah celebration



A group of tourists from the States

ovens to the event. The bat mitzvah girl (sometimes a bar mitzvah boy celebrates his bar mitzvah at Kever Rochel – and he also does the hafrasha) says the special bracha and is mafrish the challah. Then they bake the challah in the special ovens so each participant could go home with a fresh challah.

Aviva recalls, “During the time of the bombings in Sderot, we brought a whole class to Kever Rochel, and we did the mesibas Chumash in Kever Rochel. Some of the girls acted out the story of Leah and Rochel for us. It was very sweet and moving.”

Miriam and Aviva helped arrange sheva brachos in Kever Rochel. They would arrange seder nights for chayalim who were guarding the holy site. Together, they would give tours of Kever Rochel – to tourists, to soldiers, to college students and even to non-Jewish ministers who wished to know of the significance of Rochel Imeinu to the Jewish people.

“Our primary purpose was to keep the whole idea of Kever Rochel alive in people’s minds,” Aviva explains. “At the time, Rabin was about to give it away during the Oslo agreements, and we couldn’t allow that to happen.

“We set out to publicize Rochel Imeinu’s significance to Klal Yisroel and her image of chessed, of being the mother to all Jewish people all over the world. That was really our goal,” Aviva says.

Although Miriam and Aviva did so much over the years, Aviva says that perhaps education was the most important element to all that they did.

Most significantly, Aviva feels that educating the chayalim, the soldiers, was paramount.

“So often, we had chayalim and chayalot who were stationed there, and they had no idea what the tomb was, who was buried there, and why she was important. But by the time we finished talking with them and showing them, boy, did they know!”

She recalls a group of soldiers – possibly a group of immigrant soldiers – who were stationed at the tomb.

“I approached one, and I said, ‘Do you know about Rochel Imeinu?’ And he had no idea. And then I said, ‘OK, let’s go back. Do you know about Avraham Avinu?’ And the soldiers didn’t even know who Avraham Avinu was! This,” Aviva opines, “was perhaps our most important job – teaching those who were guarding Kever Rochel who Rochel Imeinu was, teaching them about their mother and her chessed.”

Aside from the knowledge about who Rochel Imeinu was, they would give each soldier a Tehillim and a card with Shema Yisroel.

In addition to feeding the soldiers’ spiritual soul, Miriam and Aviva would cre-

ate connections with the soldiers by giving them special care packages. Before Rosh Hashana, they would prepare packages with apples and honey; before Chanukah, the soldiers would receive candles and menorahs and a card with the brachos.

They also were there for wounded soldiers, going to hospitals and providing them with gifts like sweatshirts and phone chargers – items they really need. At one point, Aviva suggested that they give out something for all those mothers who sit at the wounded soldiers’ bedsides.

“Like Rochel Imeinu cries for her children, these mothers cry for their children,” Aviva says.

They brought the mothers packages of lotions and creams and gave them each a Rosh Hashana machzor when they visited before the new year.

“It brought such chizuk,” Aviva recalls. “The nurses would sing and dance with them, and other mothers would ask us for machzorim – can you believe that a Jewish mother doesn’t have a machzor for Rosh Hashana?! It was such a zechus.”

Before

corona descended on the world, three thousand to five thousand people would visit Kever Rochel each day. Of course, over the past year, less people have been visiting, but this year, during Chodesh Elul and the chagim, around 10,000 people came to Kever Rochel each day.

For years, Miriam and Aviva would visit the Knesset to speak with government officials about helping to arrange logistics for Rochel Imeinu’s yahrtzeit on yud-aleph Cheshvan. Before corona, around 100,000 people would come to Kever Rochel on her yahrtzeit.

“There’s a lot to arrange,” Miriam says. “We would talk about food and water and bathrooms and security… Remember, the Kotel is a huge, empty space; Kever Rochel is a very small, enclosed space, so there’s a lot that needs to be arranged.”

When asked about her personal connection to Rochel Imeinu, Miriam laughs.

“People ask me if Rochel Imeinu revealed herself to me in a dream or if I ‘saw’ her at Kever Rochel, but my answer is that every Jew in the whole world is a son or daughter of Rochel Imeinu – that is my connection,” she says. “If we want to bring the geulah, we need to make a connection to someone big in a big way.”

Miriam notes that Rochel Imeinu is buried in Beit Lechem and that Dovid HaMelech was born in Beit Lechem. They both are connected in that they help to bring the geulah for Klal Yisroel. Rochel Imeinu was known for crying to Hashem through the tzaaros and for her children; Dovid HaMelech is known for singing about the galus and challenges he experienced. In Rochel Imeinu, we see the power of tears; in Dovid HaMelech, we see the power of song.

“At Kever Rochel,” she says, “we want to bring both of them together – the crying and the davening and the singing and the Tehillim in a very

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special place.”

She adds, “Nowadays, there is no one who doesn’t hear Hashem’s voice. He is calling us so powerfully. The Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of sinas chinam. In order to bring the geulah – the world’s geulah and each person’s private geulah – we need to change ourselves. We need to bring people closer to each other. Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, says that Moshiach is standing at the door.

He is already here. We just need to do our part.”

Miriam adds that Chazal say that if one wants to be saved from chevlei Moshiach, the birth pangs of Moshiach, they should increase their Torah and tzedakah and chessed.

“If we – all the women in the world – increase our bein adam l’chaveiro, then surely Hashem will listen to us, like He listens to Rochel Imeinu, and bring the geulah with middas ha’rachamim.”

Certainly, there are many people who have davened at the kever of Rochel Imeinu and have seen Hashem’s yeshuos.

Miriam recalls how one man called her, insisting on visiting Kever Rochel during those 41 days it was closed during the Intifada. Hoping to help him, she told him that the Nadvorna Rebbe from Bnei Brak had been given permission to visit Kever Rochel with 200 chassidim to daven at chatzos during Aseres Yimei Teshuva. She offered to connect the man with the Rebbe’s gabbai so he could also join.

But then she asked him what was so pressing that he needed to visit Kever Rochel so urgently.

He explained: At one point, his wife was terribly ill in Rambam Hospital. The doctors were flummoxed; they were not able to find out a diagnosis for what was ailing her. The situation was very dire.

But then, the man decided to go daven at Kever Rochel. He and his wife had two children. He thought that Rochel Imeinu, who also was the mother of two children, would be the right shaliach for a refuah for his wife.

And so, he went to Kever Rochel, and he cried, and said Tehillim, and davened, beseeching Hashem to bring his wife a complete recovery.

Upon his return to the hospital, he saw the doctors in a frenzy. Their agitation worried him – he thought that something had gone terribly wrong in his absence. No, the doctors told him, they had been looking for him because another doctor came and had a different approach on how to help his wife. They wanted his permission to proceed.

Slowly, the new medication worked its magic. His wife eventually opened her eyes, and months later, she was discharged from the hospital.

“Now, she is back at home, with our children. She can work. She is back to normal,” he expressed. “I need to go Kever Rochel to thank Hashem for answering my tefillos. I am sure that they were answered because I davened at Kever Rochel.”

There are many stories of those experiencing yeshuos after davening at Kever Ro-

chel. But Aviva cautions that we don’t truly know where yeshuos come from.

She adds, “We know that even though we daven and we cry, Hashem sometimes says, ‘No,’ or He tells us, ‘Not right now.’ A person shouldn’t think that davening is a guarantee that what we ask for will come to fruition. It’s guaranteed to be heard, but we may not always get the answer that we’re looking for.”

Miriam recalls a woman who told her, “Miriam, I have been coming to Kever Rochel every day, and where is my miracle?” She had been davening for children for many years.

Miriam assured her. “Hashem is listening to your prayers, and no prayer goes unanswered.”

This woman came to Kever Rochel every day and continued to daven. She would cry each time she came – her tears broke Miriam’s heart. But then, a few months later, this woman became pregnant. Her joy propelled her to make a neder, a vow.

She told Hashem that if she had a boy, she would make the bris at Kever Rochel.

During the next few months, the woman’s excitement mingled with apprehension – what if she had a baby on Shabbos and she needed to make a Shabbos bris at Kever Rochel?

Nine months later, her baby was born. It was a boy, and the bris was held – not on Shabbos – at Kever Rochel.

“I was at that bris,” Miriam relates. “And I saw many, many beautiful things in all the years at Kever Rochel. But this bris was so powerful. It was as if the gates of Shomayim were open for everyone there – I felt like it was Neilah on Yom Kippur at that time.

“I’ll never forget that powerful moment.”

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“If we - all the women in the world increase our bein adam l’chaveiro, then surely Hashem will listen to us, like He listens to Rochel Imeinu, and bring the geulah with middas ha’rachamim.”

If you’d like someone to daven for you or someone close to you at Kever Rochel on your behalf, submit your name at www.keverrachelheritagefund.org

 Tourists and soldiers guarding the holy site

 Soldiers holding up cards of thanks 

A Rosh Hashana package for a soldier

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COVID- 1 9 COMMUNITY HEALTH UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

URGENT MESSAGE FROM YOUR COMMUNITY PHYSICIANS: The more contagious COVID- 1 9 Delta variant is currently circulating throughout the world with a rise in cases and hospitalizations throughout the USA. Exposure to COVID- 1 9 is imminent.

COVID-19 vaccination in all eligible age groups remains the SAFEST and most EFFECTIVE method to reduce your risk of becoming infected or severely ill from SARS-CoV2.

We ask you to consider these important points when making your decision regarding vaccination: 5 BILLION DOSES of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered throughout the world. The mRNA technology has been studied for over two decades and the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been studied in humans for over a year. The Pfizer mRNA vaccine has received full FDA licensure for ages 16 years and up.

The majority of current COVID-19 HOSPITALIZATIONS, ICU cases and DEATHS are '& occurring in UNVACCINATED patients. Although rising cases of the Delta variant has caused breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals, the course of COVID-19 is generally milder in those who are vaccinated.

Ages 12 to 16 years old are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. While severe COVID-19 disease is rare in children, adverse events including myocarditis are much more likely to occur from infection itself than from vaccination.

Very few risks have been linked to the various COVID-19 vaccines (collectively including anaphylaxis, blood clots, Guillain-Barré, myocarditis). They are exceedingly rare and often treatable. In contrast, many of these same adverse events as well as severe disease, long COVID, and death are much more likely to occur from COVID-19 infection itself.

The vaccine does not cause infertility or harm pregnancy. In contrast, pregnant women and unborn babies remain at increased risk of complications from COVID-19 infection.

Third dose vaccines are currently recommended for the immunocompromised and other high-risk individuals and may soon be recommended for the general population.

IN PEOPLE WITH A HISTORY OF COVID-19 INFECTION OR ANTIBODIES, THE COVID-19 VACCINES SAFELY PROVIDE A BENEFICIAL BOOST IN IMMUNITY, REDUCING THE LIKELIHOOD OF REINFECTION AND SEVERE DISEASE. We are "( for a ' "& to all &' and for a decrease in suffering from this " .

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

COVID1 9 COMMUNITY COVID-19 COMMUNITYHEALTH HEALTHUPDATE UPDATE- -SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 2, 2, 2021 2021 Because of the pikuach nefesh, we we have released this statement with urgency.

Because ofinherent the inherent pikuach nefesh, have released this statement with urgency.

We apologize to alltothe whowho wanted to be of this statement but are not listed We apologize all physicians the physicians wanted to a bepart a part of this statement but are not listed

We the undersigned unanimously support the above statements: CALIFORNIA

MISSOURI NEVADA NEW JERSEY

COLORADO CONNECTICUT

OHIO

DC FLORIDA

PENNSYLVANIA

GEORGIA

NEW YORK

ILLINOIS

MARYLAND

TENNESSEE TEXAS

IRGINIA CANADA

ISRAEL

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

Dear Navidaters,

I was at a Sukkos program, and my family eyed a guy for me.

My father and brothers davened near his family, we ate meals near each other, and my mom and his mom became friendly. Turns out, he goes to a yeshiva only 20 minutes away from my house! Sounds like a dream come true, right? Until it’s not.

Over chol hamoed, my mom tried reaching out to his rebbetzin, whom I’ve met with for shidduchim before, who apparently manages his shidduchim. Her response was, “He’s busy as of now.” Now I know this is not true, because my mother spoke to his mother who said he is available. She did not want to make things awkward by telling his mother that this is what his rebbetzin said. His mother practically told my mother, “Let’s make this shidduch” but the boy only wants to go through his rebbetzin for shidduchim.

We’re all back to reality now and once again his rebbetzin told my mother he is busy. Both my mother and I do not think this is true and want to go around her somehow to make this shidduch happen. Is there any advice you could offer me to go about this properly?

Thank you!

-Devorah*

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.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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The Panel

The Rebbetzin

The Shadchan

Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

Michelle Mond

I

D

understand your desire to facilitate this shidduch with finesse.

Your mother and you understand that procedure, context, and respect for someone else’s preferences are in order. Yet you are running into an obstacle with the rebbetzin who is running the young man’s shidduchim saying he is unavailable and the mother saying he is available.

I would venture to say that the first thing to do is to understand why the rebbetzin is running his shidduchim. Are he and his parents not on the same page? Are their general standards aligned? Their goals in a shidduch for him? Is it the norm in his yeshiva that the rebbetzin runs shidduchim for the students? Is she a shadchanit? What is the background for this? The way to do this is to make inquiries about the protocols in that yeshiva.

Next, your parents might meet with the rosh yeshiva/rebbe to understand how they guide their students in shidduchim. Is there an advisor?

What are the goals of advisement?

Do they coach the boys during dating? During the engagement period? During shana rishona? In other words, let them learn about the general system in that yeshiva and then bring up the particular boy and the interest that developed at the yom tov program.

By meeting face to face, seeking to be informed, and then putting the particular boy’s name on the table, your parents will be able to ascertain what the situation is and how to proceed further. If they are as smart and perceptive as it seems, they will come home with information and impressions. Together, you can decide if you are still interested in him and how to secure a date.

evorah, your situation is very common and incredibly frustrating. People are constantly talking about the shidduch crisis, yet when innocent attempts are made to try and bring two lovely people together (and whose parents hit it off, no less!), they are shot down by this gatekeeper masquerading as a shadchan. The shadchan should be bending over backwards to facilitate this shidduch – after all, most of the beginning stages of work for her have already been done.

My theory based on your story is as follows: the bochur probably goes to a tight-knit yeshiva, and he is likely a ben-bayis or very close with his rebbi. I would venture to guess that his family might be a bit to the left of where he currently is religiously, so he feels safer latching onto his rebbetzin for suggestions and support. But who’s to say his parents can’t endorse a wonderful, shiach shidduch idea for their own son? What happened to the importance of keeping a close bond between the parents and their child?

I have seen this concept of nixing the shidduch by a third party way too often. It either comes in the form of an excuse (i.e., he’s busy) or an outright nix. Recently, I made a shidduch where the young woman was told by a friend not to go for it because she simply “didn’t see it.” Luckily, she told me about this conversation, and I talked her out of that nonsense mentality; b”H she went for the idea anyway.

For the Rebbetzins / Shadchanim / Dabblers & Community Members: Remember the viral and amazing program “Nix The Pix”? I suggest we start an innovative program called “Nix the Nix.” Take upon yourself for one month,not to nix a shidduch for someone else. If someone wants you

to redt a shidduch idea but you don’t necessarily see it, redt it anyway. Go ahead and tell the single that it was someone else’s suggestion if you think it might diminish your credibility – but do it and do it with a smile; let the singles decide! Nix The Nix! For you, Devorah, I suggest: Make a private meeting with the rosh yeshiva of this boy’s yeshiva and discuss the dilemma. The parents are on board, it seems shayach, that alone says a lot. What is in the way is a rebbetzin who either does not “see it” or simply does not want to redt it. Get the rosh yeshiva on the case to suggest the idea to the bochur; I bet he will listen very quickly! Remember, if this guy is the one for you, Hashem will make it happen – NOBODY can get in the way.

This does not undermine the fact that we as a community must do our hishtadlus to allow Hashem’s shefa to flow – we have to make it “easier” for Hashem to be mezavig zivugim, not chas v’shalom, make it more difficult.

Hatzlacha, and keep us all posted!

The Single Rivka Weinberg

G

o for it! Hustle and make it happen. I recently heard a story of a girl who wanted to date a guy, so she had herself redt to him through a few people. One person got back to the girl and said the boy said no, but the girl did not think the reason she was given was valid, so she had herself redt through yet another avenue. Long story short, they have been dating for a while, and baruch Hashem everything is going well.

When they put the pieces together, they realized the person who had originally said the boy gave a no was having a bad day and did not

I suggest we start an innovative program called “Nix the Nix.”

want to deal with it, so simply said no for him.

Saying yes or no for a single without his or her consent is never okay, but that’s a rant for another article. However, to answer your question, I suggest you either find another person to redt the shidduch or approach the boy’s mother and tell her what is happening from your perspective.

Devorah, Hashem has placed this boy in front of you at this exact moment for a reason, and it would be a shame if you did not push a little to make it work. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, Hashem has a plan and sees the bigger picture, so if you’re meant to end up with this boy, then his rebbetzin’s opinion, or anyone’s for that matter, will not interfere with that.

Turn to Hashem for clarity and with His help you should find your zivug at the right time. Much hatzlacha!

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler

A

m I the only person who wonders why intelligent and educated folks, like us, subject our children to such a convoluted, unwieldy, unnatural system for finding life partners?

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Perhaps, years ago, a secret committee met and invented this system.

Chairman: Okay, we have to decide how to marry off our young men and young women. Any suggestions?

Panel member #1: Why not have all the eligible singles meet each other in a nice, safe environment?

Chairman: Are you crazy? Trust them to decide with whom to spend the rest of their lives? Ridiculous!

Panel member #2: Perhaps we can trust their parents. How about letting the boys’ and girls’ parents meet and discuss if they think their kids would be compatible?

Chairman: Sounds pretty dangerous to give that much responsibility to peo-

ple who just happen to be parents.

I have a suggestion. Let’s invent a new job category. We’ll call them “Shadchans.” They can decide who our kids should date and marry.

Panel member #3: What a novel idea. How will we train these “Shadchans”?

Chairman: Train them?

Panel member #3: Yeah, you know, the same way doctors, lawyers, and hairdressers go to school and take licensing tests.

Chairman: Nah, let them learn on the job. Trial and error is the best education.

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here’s some practical advice. There are two possibilities here:

Pulling It All Together

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

Possibility #1 is that the boy really is “busy” with someone right now, and his mother simply isn’t that acutely aware of his current status.

Possibility #2 is that the boy is really not “busy,” but this is simply a nicer way of telling you that he is not interested.

What should you do? It’s probably not a good idea to try and circumvent this shadchan, because she, and not the boy’s mother, seems to be the one in control here.

Instead, try being perfectly honest with the shadchan. Tell her that the boy’s mother seemed to indicate that he is not “busy” right now, and you’d like to know, truthfully, if the boy is simply not interested in you.

And, if the boy is, actually, currently busy dating someone else, ask her when it

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There is no better feeling than going to bat for yourself.

would be okay for you to call her and check for an update. Don’t merely assume that she will call you of her own volition for an update. Do it yourself. She might be too busy to remember you, or she might have agendas with other young single women.

(And, if you’d like additional opinions, perhaps we can re-convene that secret committee and see if they have any advice for you.)

The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

T

hank you for writing into our panel! What a frustrating situation to have been put in. Here you are, cruising down the open highway with a nice and early ETA, only to be informed moments later that there is sudden standstill traffic. But you don’t see any traffic...and your car is stuck. Let’s try to get you unstuck here, because something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Either the guy you met is truly busy or not interested, or the rebbetzin has her own personal agenda for some unbe-

knownst reason.

If you don’t take action, the odds are that nothing will happen.

You will stay stuck. The panelists have given you excellent ideas as to how to make this move, and now you just have to choose the path you want to take. I like the idea of gently confronting the shadchan with what the guy’s mother told your mother; which is that he is single and interested. You’re not

trying to throw anyone under the bus, rather you are simply stating your confusion. If done respectfully, I don’t see why this should be a problem. I like the idea of your mom calling his. And, I like the idea of contacting the rabbi of this man’s yeshiva.

Life is too short to not act on something this important. If he is interested, then you will go out.

And if he is not interested, then you can move on and put this to bed. I hope you take action and when all is said and done, you feel great about having advocated for yourself. You

may feel “weird,” “awkward,” or “scared” when you think about doing this. Those feelings are natural as we contemplate doing something we are scared to do. I suggest you not give into these human feelings.

Don’t let them win. The truth is there is no better feeling than going to bat for yourself. Well, maybe not going to bat, but after you’ve swung. Take a few deep breaths, honor your feelings, take another few deep breaths, and start making some calls. You’ve got this!

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

Risk and Fear Calculations

By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

I

was talking to someone who really knew that he needed my help.

In fact, he said he found me by searching for the term, “When therapy doesn’t work.”

Wow. That’s kind of painful for me to hear, actually. Yes, I know that using IFS (Internal Family Systems) is going to work – it’s that powerful.

But to realize that people are out there in numbers who have been disappointed again and again with therapy, well, that hurts.

He and his wife had been to several marriage therapists, and nothing changed. He still had his outbursts; she still got defensive.

So they met with me to see if my approach would be different.

They convinced themselves that it sounded different but the husband remained skeptical. After all, if nothing worked up ‘til now, maybe they were fated to fail.

You would think that given the misery they were in and the fact that it had an impact – not a good one, either – on the children would cause them to grab something that sounded promising.

But no, they couldn’t bring themselves to do that.

Even while the husband, we will call him Jim, enumerated all the reasons why they desperately needed help, and even after telling his wife, “Whatever you decide,” he backed down when I asked him when he wanted to start.

This was a great example of a risk-averse person.

He knew that there couldn’t be a guarantee even though IFS has been thoroughly researched for over 30 years and has the stamp of approval of trauma expert, Bessel van der Kolk. He could not take another risk when he’d already put his heart

on the line with other counselors – making things even worse.

Next, he complained about the cost. I told him that PayPalCredit has a great deal because you don’t have interest for six months. “Oh, no, I don’t carry debt,” he told me.

“Why not?” I asked.

“I’ve learned to have a nice safety margin. Why I’m sure you know how many businesses went under due to COVID. You can over-extend yourself,” he concluded.

“I have seen that, yes. But I’ve also seen businesses cope by borrowing to keep afloat – and they’ve survived while the ones you’re speaking about went under,” I replied.

But the truth is that it’s pointless to argue facts with a risk-averse person because they are not governed by reason and logic. They’re governed by fear.

Ironically, the people who pride themselves in being most rational and analytical may also have great fears hiding right behind that logic.

When we left Mitzrayim and it

was clear that the Mitzrim were gaining on us, Hashem said that now is not the time to daven – it’s the time to jump in the water.

Yet, all of us hesitate, and some of us more so.

So this unfortunate man, who didn’t feel safe taking risks with yet another therapist, remained in the Hades that he already knew.

Am I saying it’s good to take risks?

Actually, yes. Up to a point, of course.

Risks and certainty lie at opposite ends of a continuum. Neither extreme is useful in navigating life.

At the fear end of the continuum, you are stuck in misery. Now this may sound bad, and I do think it is, but it has some benefits.

Research has shown that some people are “born pessimists” and this serves them well because they never get their hopes up, only to be dashed.

The same could be said for the risk-averse: If you take no chances, you will not fail; you will not be dis-

appointed.

But what kind of life do you live that way?

And perhaps the bigger question: Can you fulfill your potential – the reason you were gifted with a stay here on Earth – if you never reach for being more than you are now?

Mind you, I don’t have answers to this question.

Because at the other end of that spectrum are high-risk takers and they have lost all the money they ever had, many of them, taking those risks.

Then again, Jeff Bezos commented that with innovation comes risk-taking, and with that, the possibility of failure. “Our whole history as a company is about taking risks; many of which have failed and many of which will fail, but we’ll continue to take big risks,” Bezos said this past May when he stepped down and introduced his successor.

I have sitting on my desk a clipping I took many years ago when my children were in high school. It was written by Rabbi Akiva Grunblatt, the Rosh Yeshiva of Chofetz Chaim.

He noted there that Naomi tried to discourage both Rus and Orpah.

Rus persisted, and we know the rest of the story.

“Often,” he said, “that one extra attempt can spell the difference between a disastrous failure and overwhelming success.”

So, yes, risks can lead to failure.

Or to glory.

Maybe that’s the key to living life well.

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

Drinking: The Good, the Bad, and the Dangerous

By Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN

F

or years, researchers have been swaying back and forth regarding alcoholic beverages.

Some feel that drinking is beneficial and applaud a glass of red wine once a day, while others find it harmful and recommend staying far away.

For years, we’ve been under the impression that moderate alcohol consumption is beneficial and protects the heart. So which is it? Should we pour ourselves a glass of red wine with dinner or stick to water?

Experts believe that heav y drinking is overlooked and frequently masked by other complications. Many feel that alcohol-related brain damage is underdiagnosed and often mistaken for Alzheimer’s disease or simply old age. Recently, brain imaging is exposing how longterm alcohol abuse can change the structure of the brain. Alcohol has been shown to shrink brain cells affecting learning, decision-making, memory, and social behavior. At the same time, these brain cells tend to shrink as we get older, however, alcohol hastens the process. Longterm alcohol abuse also changes

how the brain regulates emotion and anxiety. What physicians may confuse for Alzheimer’s disease or dementia can actually be a consequence of long-term alcohol consumption.

So how much is considered too much alcohol? Researchers believe

7 drinks a week, respectively. Consistent with our previous notion, research demonstrates that men who drink 2 servings of alcohol daily, and women who drink 1 alcoholic beverage daily, have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and depression. Therefore, moderate drinking

Alcohol has been shown to shrink brain cells affecting learning, decision-making, memory, and social behavior.

that alcohol’s effects are highly individual and vary according to genetics, age, gender, health and patterns of consumption. Therefore, there is no recommended safe amount of alcohol. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse suggests that men and women limit alcoholic beverages to no more than 14 drinks a week, and

would be considered up to 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men. This amount is considered safe and is believed to be beneficial.

“Low risk” drinking would be up to 14 drinks a week for men, and 7 drinks a week for women. Anything more than that puts an individual at high risk for long-term cognitive

damage, memory loss, depression, cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure, stroke, type II diabetes, throat, esophagus, and breast and colon cancer, as well as drowning, falling and motor vehicle accidents.

Heavy drinking poses a serious threat to our health and is not something to be overlooked. Alcoholic beverages should be kept to a minimum and monitored. Those consuming a glass of wine with dinner to reap the benefits should make sure that this is the only alcoholic drink of the day. A glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away, but more than that will keep the doctors’ visits lined up!

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

A Few Words About Mental Health in Children

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

I

will be honest and say that this week’s topic is actually a bit beyond my professional credentials but one of the more important issues I will be addressing in this column.

I try to stay clearly within my field but I’m making a slight exception for two very important reasons. The first reason is that the topic needs to be discussed and brought into the open through various channels so our beautiful community becomes more accepting and comfortable with it. This is just one of the many opportunities to discuss it. The second reason is that while I’m not a therapist, and therefore not an expert in this field, as a teacher I can tell you that indirectly this topic is very much within my area of specialty as children with these issues will need extra assistance in the classroom. Meeting those needs is very much within my training.

Because I’m neither a psychologist nor a social worker I have made sure to have this article reviewed in advance by more than one mental health professional. It would be wrong of me to publicly (or even privately) disseminate incorrect information. Thank you to Aliza for suggesting this topic and to the professionals that took the time to look over this article.

To help the article flow more smoothly, I am bunching together everything such as mental health diagnoses (e.g. depression) along with trauma and challenging situations.

While they’re all different and each deserves its own article, I am combining them just to discuss the particularpoints being addressed in this article.

Yes, Kids, Too Yes, kids can have depression and mental health issues, just like adults.

Yes, children can be affected by trau-

ma. Yes, children can have trouble coping. As much as we associate childhood with innocence and fun, children can suffer from a shocking assortment of difficulties.

While you might think children can’t understand things well enough to have such difficulties, the truth is that children can have these serious issues without the coping mechanisms that adults have already learned. As adults, we are developmentally and cognitively far and beyond children who lack the full understanding of their situation and are often unable to express their concerns.

Some of these are medical and are based on brain biochemistry.

Depression, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD and trauma are all examples of diagnoses that are biologically based. Trauma is included in that list as trauma has been shown to alter how a person’s biochemistry works.

A child’s biological brain chemistry starts young and therefore all these issues can start from surprisingly young ages.

While the average age of onset for many of these disorders is typically closer to the teenage years, symptoms can arise much earlier than that. Others, such as trauma, can happen at any age. It’s incomprehen-

sible to think a child can experience a major, or even minor, trauma and walk away unscathed. Children lack the language to express themselves and can find great difficulty in processing their experiences. Some traumas, such as abuse, aren’t something children are even meant to comprehend.

The Teacher Knows Here is where I can professionally testify from personal experience. It might be tempting to think you can cover it up. I’ll be honest, your child’s teacher most likely already knows something is going on. It’s usually to your child’s advantage for you to inform those in your child’s daily school day. Rest assured that educational professionals are mandated to maintain confidentiality and respect your child’s privacy. I would’ve gotten into serious trouble if I ever, chas v’shalom, gave over any confidential information from any of my students.

Children are unable to compartmentalize and separate their pain from their daily experience. A child experiencing any of the above-mentioned issues will be bringing them along to class with them. This includes medical conditions, mental health diagnoses, trauma or any significant life changes in their home or

family environment. These can all affect a child’s mood and daily behavior. I was in a classroom when an adorable and self-assured youngster broke down during the lessons. He went from being his usual Mr. Confidence to becoming Mr. Incapable. It didn’t take much to realize something was going on behind the scenes.

Teachers don’t just teach classes; they also teach individuals. That’s part of the challenge of larger classroom size. Each child has unique needs and has to be taught differently. By not giving the teacher all the information it’s not much different than bringing the child to the doctor yet neglecting to mention what’s hurting. A teacher knows to respond to each child based on what that child requires. For example, any particular misbehavior could be interpreted multiple ways and having the diagnosis allows your teacher to understand their behavior appropriately.

Ignoring crucial medical information deprives your child of this educational advantage. I call it medical information for a reason – because it is medical information and should be treated as any other piece of their medical history.

If, for any particular reason, you’re uncomfortable discussing the issues with any member of your child’s team, you should still have enough other staff to assist your child in their stead.

The Role of Silence Another reason to refrain from hiding problems is that silence only makes it worse. Silence simply increases the stigma and shame, which only makes it worse for those already suffering. Any child going through this is feeling real pain. It’s not imagined, it’s not in their head, and it’s not just to get attention. That child is truly suffering and miserable.

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By forcing feelings of shame onto an already festering wound, we’re just increasing the pain exponentially.

Additionally, by refusing to discuss real problems, we keep others from getting the help they need. Just as we would never think to shame diabetics and deter them from getting their blood sugar levels stabilized, we should never prevent anyone from getting their emotional needs tended to.

Shidduchim Now we get to discuss the million-ton, bright neon elephant in the room. I’d like you to note that the elephant is crying.

Shidduchim are made by Hashem, and Chazal say it’s determined prior to a child’s birth. Your rav can tell you more about this as the Torah’s teachings on shidduchim are more under his realm of expertise. I am not going to go in-depth into the general topic of shidduchim as it’s beyond this article. What I will say

is that “shidduchim” is often given for the reason why not only are mental health issues not addressed but they’re actively hidden. I’ve been told this actually happens from a mental health professional – it isn’t just a line. The assumption is that if we cover it up, then nobody will find out.

Spoiler alert: there is a day after the wedding and it will be discovered.

I hope I don’t get into trouble for saying this next part. I may be a rebel by saying this – and I’m rarely a rebel – but it’s always been my motto that “I’d rather my children be marriageable than look marriageable.” Obviously, I don’t intend to make my children look problematic. I just strongly feel that it’s better to address any issues instead of hiding them. For example, rather than hide my head in the sand (and inhale those small, sandy particles), I’ve tried to consult with relevant professionals when we’ve needed to deal with issues that have come up. As another example, when relevant, I’ve mentioned my

wonderful niece in my articles. She is a part of our family, and we love her. If anyone chooses to not date my child because of how Hashem made my niece, then we don’t need that shidduch. I hope I can have emunah and bitachon when we actually reach that parsha. I know it’s easy to talk the talk and harder to walk that walk.

“Shidduchim” should never be a reason to prevent someone from doing the right thing for their child – and their child’s future spouse. It is a chessed to your child’s future spouse to take care of issues now rather than allow them to grow and become worse. Many people become even stronger after overcoming adversity. Give your future child-in-law the gift of a stronger spouse.

I’ve personally spoken to some of the in-laws of wonderful people diagnosed with mental health disorders. These conversations were unrelated to this article. They related what amazing people their children married and that they made incred-

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ible spouses and parents. Some even felt that the growth achieved through dealing with those challenges made their child-in-law that much better of a person. While not everyone with mental health issues will overcome them similarly, that applies to every nisayon we face. Do what you need to do for your child and leave the rest to Hashem.

This isn’t the first conversation on this topic, and I hope it won’t be the last. Let’s respect our children for who they are and for what challenges they encounter. Let’s guide them and hold their hand throughout, showing them the love and support they deserve. Let’s also daven for a time when this discussion will no longer be necessary.

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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jewish women of wisdom

Equal Opportunity

By Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz

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ou don’t have to be the parent of a special needs child to read this one. You don’t have to have had a parent who didn’t parent properly to connect to this one.

You don’t have to have experienced illness or a major trauma to absorb this one. But read on anyhow to eavesdrop on my conversation with Ilana a few years ago.

I don’t recall the conversation.

My active mental files are currently full of things to order, shiva calls to make, emails to send, and things to tell my husband when I have a chance. But I found a record of it recently, stashed inside the flap of an old address book.

It’s dated Tisha B’av eve and begins like this: Ilana wanted help from the rebbetzin. Our mutual friend Aviva K. called her. Aviva had attended a Torah class where she was told that it’s important to deeply wish that the Bais Hamikdash to be rebuilt. Anticipating and craving the coming of Moshiach should be an emotion.

“You’re the spiritual one,” she told Ilana. “Tell me how to do this.”

“She’s struggling with tzipisa leyeshua on a real level and wants help. Please help me help her,” im-

plored Ilana.

I told her the story of Rav Elchonon Wasserman, zt”l, in the Kovno ghetto. Refusing to remain in the United States after a fundraising trip, despite the impending Nazi danger, he had returned to his students in Baranovitch, Poland. When World War II broke out, Rabbi Wasserman fled to Vilna, and in 1941, while on a visit to Kovno, he was arrested with 14 other rabbis.

A survivor of the massacre of the Kovno Ghetto related what he had heard from Rav Elchonon when he was asked to explain why such horrors were befalling him as he faced imminent death at the hands of the Germans and their collaborators.

Once a man who knew nothing about agriculture came to a farmer and asked to be taught about farming. The farmer agreed as long as the man agreed to be patient. He took him to his field and asked him what he saw.

“I see a beautiful piece of land, lush with grass and pleasing to the eye.”

Then the visitor stood aghast while the farmer plowed under the

grass and turned the beautiful green field into a mass of shallow brown ditches.

“Why did you ruin the field?!” he demanded.

“Be patient, you shall see,” answered the farmer.

The farmer then showed the visitor a sack of fat wheat kernels t and said, “Tell me what you see.” The visitor described the nutritious, appetizing grain, and then, once more, watched in shock as the farmer ruined something beautiful. This time, he walked up and down the furrows and dropped kernels into the open ground, where he went and covered them with clods of soil. Outraged by the farmer’s behavior, the man remonstrated, “First you destroyed the field and then you ruined the grain!”

“Be patient, you will see!” was the answer.

Time passed and again the farmer took his guest out to the field where they saw endless rows of green stalks sprouting up from all the furrows, causing the visitor to smile broadly.

“I apologize, now I understand what you were doing; you made the field more beautiful than ever. This is truly marvelous.”

“No,” said the farmer, “we are not done yet; you must still be patient.”

More time went by and the stalks were fully grown and the farmer came with a sickle and chopped the rows down, and the visitor stood open-mouthed, seeing how the orderly field became an ugly scene of destruction. He then took the bundles of wheat to an area where he beat and crushed them until they became a mass of straw and loose kernels, then separated them from the chaff and created a mountain of grain. Always, he told the protesting visitor, “We are not done, you must be more patient.”

The farmer brought his wagon and piled it high with the beautiful, fresh grain, and transported it to a mill where it was transformed into formless, choking dust. Again the visitor complained that he had transformed all his work into dirt and was again told to be patient.

The farmer put the dust into sacks and brought it home, mixing some of it with water while the visitor marveled at the foolishness of making “white mud.” The farmer fashioned the “mud” into the shape of a loaf, causing the visitor to smile at the

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

well-formed creation. His smile did not last long, when he watched the farmer fire up his oven and put the loaf inside. “Now I know you are truly insane. After all that work, now you burn what you have created?!”

The farmer chuckled and said, “Have I not told you to be patient?”

Finally, the farmer opened the oven and removed a freshly baked bread, crisp and brown, with an aroma that made the visitor’s mouth water.

“Come,” said the farmer and led his guest to the table where he cut the bread and offered his now-pleased visitor a liberally buttered slice.

“Now,” said the farmer, “now you finally understand!”

took place. When Moshiach has finally arrived, we will know why all this had to be. Until then, we must be patient and have faith that everything — even when it seems destruc-

Rav Elchonon explained the parable. Hashem is the farmer, and we are the visitors who do not begin to understand His ways or the outcome of His plans. Only when the process is complete will the Jewish people understand why this whole process

tive and is painful — is part of the process that will produce goodness and beauty.

The words were uttered with great emotion before the rosh yeshiva’s own life and the lives of his entire family were cut short by the

Lithuanian Nazi collaborators. In this world we won’t necessarily, or usually cannot, hope to understand why such things befall our nation.

But we can be comforted in the fact

Until then, we must be patient and have faith that everything — even when it seems destructive and is painful — is part of the process that will produce goodness and beauty.

that there is a bigger picture, one that we shall one day understand.

Tell our friend Aviva who has a daughter with several disabilities to ask Hashem to bring the geulah and to answer all the questions she’s been swallowing since her daughter’s birth

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fifteen years ago, said I. Remind her that she has a list of personal whys – why did she give birth to a child who couldn’t talk or walk? Why did this happen to her when she was over forty? Why are the various physical therapies not working? Tell her that Hashem will answer them when He liberates us from galus.

I reminded Ilana, too, that she had her own list of whys. She was widowed after a brief marriage. Her only child was divorced, childless, and living far from family.

I reminded Ilana that I had my own pekel and that Hashem would explain every detail, every aspect of our pain, and every nuance of our personal challenges. And opening those folded lists of whys would open our hearts and tear ducts to the desire for geulah.

Join the conversation and email list of JWOW! by writing to hello @jewishwomenofwisdom.org.

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In The K

tchen

Onion Soup

By Naomi Nachman

The minute the temperature

drops, I pull out the big soup pots and get cooking.

We love making dairy soups with melted cheese on top. My kids

look forward to this onion soup recipe. I usually serve it with a quiche and a salad.

Ingredients ◦ 2 tablespoon olive oil ◦ 8 large onions, sliced into half-moon rings ◦ 1 teaspoon kosher salt ◦ ¼ cup flour ◦ ¼ cup miso ◦ 1 cup red wine ◦ 6 cups vegetable broth, water or wine

Preparation 1.

Heat oil; add onions and salt, then sauté very slowly for 1 hour in a large saucepan.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Add flour to coat the onions. Add the miso and mix well into the onions.

Add broth or water or wine. Simmer for 2 hours.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once you have poured the soup in a bowl, garnish it with some grated cheese.

◦ Salt and pepper to taste ◦ Grated cheese for garnish

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.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

National reunification by peaceful means best serves the interests of the Chinese nation as a whole, including our compatriots in Taiwan. Those who forget their heritage, betray their motherland, and seek to split the country will come to no good end; they will be disdained by the people and condemned by history.

- Chinese Pres. Xi Jinping chastising Taiwan for not willingly reuniting with China

Only place I get boo’d is at our home stadium. Then some of the same people want me to take pictures and sign autographs.

I thought Bills fans were the best in the world? Where’d they go? If the vaccine works, then why do vaxxed people need to be protected from unvaxxed?

- Buffalo Bills player Cole Beasley on Twitter

I think we not only came close to a full constitutional crisis; I think we’re still in it. They’re continuing attacks on the election and their refusal to say, “You know what? We’ve counted these votes, it’s over, we’re going to move on,” has sown so much doubt. And then you combine it with the disinformation network known as Facebook, and you’ve got a volatile mix. So yeah, we are still in the midst of a concerted, well-funded effort to undermine American democracy.

- Hillary Clinton on “The View,” serving as a reminder that whatever politicians do, they will accuse the other side of doing as soon as they are done doing it

We call for maintaining the status quo, and we will do our utmost to prevent the status quo from being unilaterally altered.

We hope for an easing of cross-strait relations and will not act rashly, but there should be absolutely no illusions that the Taiwanese people will bow to pressure. We will continue to bolster our national defense and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us. This is because the path that China has laid out offers neither a free and democratic way of life for Taiwan, nor sovereignty for our 23 million people.

- Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen in response

Well, I think you all could do a better job of selling it, to be very frank with you.

- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, at a press conference about the Democrats’ spending bill, responding to a reporter who asked, “Do you think you need to do a better job at messaging, and going forward, how do you sell this?”

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I’ll defend anybody who is chilled in their free speech. Anybody who wants to protest at school boards and is going to do it nonviolently, can count on me.

- Alan Dershowitz on Newsmax after the Justice Department promised to mobilize the FBI and U.S. attorneys to “investigate and prosecute” school board protests

It used to be we were able to count on the American Civil Liberties Union, but they’re dead in the water when it comes to issues like this. They ought to be protesting this as well.

- Ibid.

If you want to red-pill millions of parents, call them terrorists and use the government to prosecute them.

- Greg Gutfeld, Fox News, talking about the criminalization of school parents voicing their objections to Critical Race Theory and mask mandates

You are going to energize millions of people and what are you going to be left with? You’re not going to be left with the Tea Party, you are not going to be left with Black Lives Matter, you are going to be left with something bigger than both combined. I’m for it – I want to see the parents become politically reborn.

Facebook went offline yesterday for over six hours… Well, in a statement, Facebook said the cause of the problem was, quote, “configuration changes on the backbone routers.” Then they continued, “which caused the frontbone flexbox to dislodge the tungle switch and toggle the pixel dock florpcord, which then jolted the compshank’s codedox’s popknob causing a triple spanx zip-donk.”

— Jimmy Fallon

- Ibid.

It’s interesting, because I keep reading about the Build Back Better bill… We can’t — we don’t have enough workers, even if we passed it tomorrow. And because of all these supply chain problems, we don’t have building supplies. So, how are we going to build back better if we have no workers and no supplies?

- Bill Maher, HBO

I didn’t think that it was appropriate.

- Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. telling reporters why he walked out during Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s vindictive speech on the Senate floor after Republicans handed Schumer a victory and agreed to raise the debt limit ceiling

MORE QUOTES

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I’ve never been in favor of corporations imposing that kind of a mandate. I’m not in favor of that – never have been. But the executive order from President Biden mandates that all federal employees and then all federal contractors which covers all major airlines have to have a vaccine mandate in place by December 8.

- Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly on CNBC deflecting blame for mass flight cancellations which are supposedly due to pilots walking out in protest over the company’s vaccine mandate

My old Aston Martin, that runs now on waste products. It runs on – can you believe this – surplus English white wine and whey from the cheese process.

- Prince Charles in an interview with the BBC’s climate editor

I am happy there are Haredim, but we need to limit their political sway.

- Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Bennett at the Jerusalem Post Conference at the Museum of Tolerance

Since at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office we always strive to do the right thing, our Narcotics Agents are trying to identify the rightful owner of the approximately 770 lbs. of marijuana that was seized from a mini-storage facility in Viera. I mean, trying to identify the rightful owner of the property is the very least we can do, especially since it has a street value of roughly two million dollars!!

- Facebook post by the Brevard County Sheriff’s office

An illegitimate prime minister with six seats, who is barely scratching the electoral threshold in all the polls and represents only himself, wants to limit the influence of Haredim who represent a million people.

She leaves you pining for the authentic maternal warmth of Hillary Clinton; I mean, it’s that bad.

- Tucker Carlson, Fox News, talking about Vice President Kamala Harris, in response to a video showing her talking to a bunch of tweens, who turned out to have all been child actors

- Shas leader Aryeh Deri, in response

This is the same man who blatantly lies on topics that interest him at that moment. It is not surprising that Bennett also knows that he will not need us anymore, because this is his last term in the political system.

- United Torah Judaism party leader Moshe Gafni

Hey, this guy has an opinion on baseball, hockey, Tinder, and Christmas, but he was asked the other day about natural immunity that you acquire after the disease, he is like, “Oh, that is really interesting thought, I never thought about that. I don’t have an opinion because I haven’t thought about naturally acquired immunity.” He has and he is lying to you.

- Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) talking about Dr. Anthony Fauci

No, no, no – I’m just wearing it because I’ve got a Republican tracker here.

- Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Mich) response caught on video at an event when someone greeted her and asked her if he needed to wear a mask

Congress has reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling for two months. I’ll tell you what I think: Just do what Netflix does and raise the ceiling a little bit each month so nobody notices.

— Jimmy Fallon

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Political Crossfire

The Woke Mob Runs into a College Teacher Who’s Fighting Back

By George F. Will

E

nforced conformity in the name of “diversity.” Exclusion of intellectual heterodoxy to make campuses “inclusive.” Orwellian language is spoken in academia. At the UCLA Anderson School of Management, a debacle began with a Kafkaesque touch, an antecedentless pronoun: “we.”

The first words of a June 2, 2020, email, signed by one student, were: “We are writing to express our tremendous concern….” The writer, who is not Black, was tremendously concerned that the upcoming final exam in lecturer Gordon Klein’s class would injure “the mental and physical health of our Black classmates.” The writer said that “traumatic circumstances” – e.g., the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis – placed Black students at an “academic disadvantage.” So, for Black students, Klein’s final exam should count only if it elevated a student’s grade.

Klein, who has taught at Anderson for 40 years, consistently receiving fine reviews by students, as well as earning merit-based raises, considered the proposal patronizing toward Blacks, and illegal. (He is a lawyer.) Klein responded, however, by mildly posing Socratic questions for the writer of the email: How do I identify Black students taking my entirely online class? What about students with racially mixed parentage? How can there be a “no harm” final exam when this exam completely determines a student’s grade?

For the offense of corrupting Athenian youth, Socrates was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock. For the offense of offending some American youths (Klein’s emailed questions were quickly online) by not truckling to the

virtual mob that instantly formed, Klein faced the mob’s demand that he be fired.

The mob cited his “insensitive, dismissive and woefully racist response,” his “blatant lack of empathy,” “apathetic stance,” etc. These accusations were amplified by an online petition signed by more than 20,000 people.

One UCLA professor, a pillar of timidity, announced that he would give A grades to everyone because of the nation’s “current climate.”

When UCLA warned the Anderson School against immediately punishing Klein, the school did so anyway. On June 3, the next day, it placed Klein on involuntary administrative leave, accusing him of violating unspecified provisions of the university’s Faculty Code of Conduct. Antonio Bernardo, dean of the Anderson School, took center stage to preen about his sensitivity. He epitomizes the invertebrate academic bureaucrats who, oozing wokeness from every pore, pander to mobs clamoring for the unethical and

hoping for the illegal.

In a June 4 email to the “Anderson School Community,” Bernardo said Klein’s email was “an abuse of power” and that Klein demonstrated “disregard for our core principles.” Bernardo did not say which ones, perhaps because UCLA’s principles prohibit “evaluation of student work by criteria not directly reflective of course performance,” and do not countenance granting privileges on the basis of race. California’s constitution forbids race-based preferential treatment in education.

Bernardo characterized Klein’s conduct as “outrageous” and “inexcusable,” and the Anderson School suspended Klein from teaching and banned him from campus. Before he was reinstated, the Anderson School’s Faculty Executive Committee tried to propitiate the mob by announcing itself “saddened” by Klein’s “troubling conduct.” Most of Klein’s income comes from consulting to law firms and corporations, some of which severed their

contacts with him when Bernardo and others smeared him.

In Klein’s suit – the suit is the good news from this disgrace – against Bernardo and others, Klein says that on June 3, the Anderson School, which Bernardo leads, tweeted that Klein’s email was “deeply disturbing”: “We apologize to the students who received it and to all those who have been as upset and offended by it as we are ourselves.” In a slew of emails to those who had complained about Klein, Bernardo apologized “on behalf of Anderson” for Klein’s “very hurtful sentiments.”

Although the Internet is not capacious enough for even a catalogue of academics’ craven capitulations to mobs, the UCLA case merits special attention because some individuals, starting with Bernardo, might be held accountable for their malicious violations of rights.

Bernardo and academic conformity enforcers like him are fluent in woke-speak and relish the applause that comes to those who speak it. They engage in cost-free virtue-signaling at others’ expense. Now, however, such disagreeable people on campuses everywhere are on notice: They might be liable for the denials of constitutional rights, and for financial and reputation injuries, such as those about which Klein is suing.

The behavior of Bernardo and others at the Anderson School was clearly intended to have a chilling effect on speech. By his sturdy refusal to be chilled, and by his suit, Klein can help to deter such behavior. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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Political Crossfire

How Regional Realignments are Helping Depressurize the Middle East

By David Ignatius

W

ith the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, some subtle shifts are underway in a Middle East where countries are exploring new regional partnerships – and reckoning with a world where the leading superpower appears to have lost some of its sparkle.

These regional realignments are helping “depressurize” an area that has been dangerously stressed in recent years. Countries increasingly are trying to solve their own problems, through regional economic links, rather than depending on U.S. military might. The danger is that some countries may turn to China as a new security partner, to replace what they see as an unreliable United States.

The most notable diplomatic initiatives include Iranian talks with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and a UAE rapprochement with Turkey and Qatar. In each case, the shared agenda is trade and economic prosperity. U.S. diplomacy has encouraged this “deconfliction,” but its momentum is outside Washington’s control.

The new tone was evident during a tour of the region last week by Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser. Sullivan stopped in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Cairo. In each capital, officials expressed their desire for U.S. diplomatic and military support but voiced frustration with erratic U.S. policy, according to officials from all sides.

The region’s thorniest conflict is in Yemen. The United States is working with U.N. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg on a new peace plan in

which the Saudis would allow the United Nations to monitor the port in Hodeida and the airport in Sanaa.

In exchange, the Saudis want the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels to accept a cease-fire, a demand the Houthis haven’t yet met.

Yemen has partly been a Saudi-Iranian proxy war, so the diplomatic Riyadh-Tehran opening may aid the fledgling peace effort. Already, Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have ceased missile attacks against the Saudis, though the Houthis continue to launch missiles and drones from the south. U.S. officials hope that this month’s Group of 20 meeting, which Saudi Arabia will attend, may offer a forum for ending the catastrophic conflict.

Saudi contacts with Iran have been led by Khalid al-Humaidan, the head of Saudi intelligence, working through Iraqi mediators. The Iranians are said to have expanded these contacts under the new hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi. For both sides, it appears to be a pragmatic maneuver: the Saudis have concluded that the

United States isn’t going to topple the mullahs and that future stability will be enhanced by mutual investment – and eventually, a resumption of diplomatic relations. The Iranians are said to be ready to reopen an embassy in Riyadh immediately.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman remains the stress point in the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

Sullivan repeated warnings from previous U.S. visitors that MBS, as the crown prince is known, must accept responsibility for the murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA believes he authorized. MBS repeated his past denials of personal involvement but said he has taken steps to make sure that such an incident won’t happen again.

MBS complained to Sullivan that he gets no credit for modernizing the kingdom and expanding women’s rights. U.S. officials responded that there’s a bipartisan demand in Congress that Riyadh do more on human rights. In this stalemate, Saudi Arabia is likely to hedge its options, expanding ties with China and Russia with-

out breaking links with Washington.

The new Middle East catechism of “no enemies, no problems” was formulated in the UAE. Sullivan heard an explanation from Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the country’s de facto ruler, who’s known as MBZ. The United States withdrawal from Afghanistan has hit the UAE hard, in part because several sons of MBZ fought in the U.S.-led coalition there.

The UAE leader, troubled by what he sees as the unpredictable zigs and zags in U.S. policy, floated a provocative remedy. He suggested that the UAE’s future relationship with the United States might be more stable if it were anchored by a formal security pact – not a treaty alliance like NATO, necessarily, but a pact that had a congressional stamp of approval. U.S. officials are mulling this idea.

The UAE has a budding relationship with China, too. The Chinese have even talked of a port in the UAE as a key node in their Belt and Road Initiative for Chinese-led global economic development, according to media reports. Anwar Gargash, a top UAE diplomat, said last weekend his country was worried by “a looming Cold War” between the United States and China. “The idea of choosing is problematic,” he said.

For the Middle East, which has been buffeted by the United States’ 20 years of war in the region, the withdrawal from Afghanistan marked an inflection point. The United States’ traditional partners are still in the game with us, but the deck has been reshuffled. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Forgotten Her es

Jewish Heroes During World War II

By Avi Heiligman

 Stephen Saltzman shot down the first plane during the attack on Pearl Harbor

T

here are limited amount resources available to the public besides online research to look up soldiers and other servicemen and women who served in past conflicts.

Researching forgotten Jewish heroes can prove to be a challenge, but with the help of old newspapers, books printed decades ago, and written or oral testimonies, more stories come to light. Here are few more accounts of rarely told about Jewish heroes from World War II. There were many Jewish sailors, airmen, and soldiers present during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941.

One story came from an officer who only received his commission as an ensign eight months earlier. Half of the 250 man crew of the destroyer USS Aylwin (DD-355) was on board when the Japanese attacked the fleet.

Ensign Stanley Caplan from Elmira, New York, was the senior rank of the four officers who were on board, as the rest of the crew was on shore leave.

The destroyer shot back at the Japanese planes as she proceeded to get ready to get underway. A bomb missed about 75 yards from her bow, and just a few minutes later, she was heading for open seas. The commander of the ship and other officers tried to board from a motor launch, but the Aylwin was unable to slow down, as per orders. The ship continued shooting at

the Japanese planes while looking for enemy submarines lurking below the ocean’s surface.

Caplan was the senior officer in command for the next 36 hours until she returned to Pearl Harbor with minor damage to one of the propellers.

The Secretary of the Navy awarded Caplan a citation “for distinguished service in the line of his profession and utter disregard of the own … when being senior officer present on board USS Aylwin … he assumed command of the ship, took her to sea, and conducted operations for a period of about 36 hours in a most outstanding manner.”

Lieutenant Stephen Saltzman was with the Coast Artillery Regiment during the Pearl Harbor attack. At 8:25 AM, two Japanese Zero fighters came screaming in with guns blazing towards Schofield Barracks. Together with a sergeant, Saltzman calmly went to an exposed position armed with a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). As the planes approached, the two opened fire at just 100 yards.

They hit one of the Zeros, causing it to crash. Saltzman’s regimental commander claimed that it was the first Japanese plane brought down over Pearl Harbor, and Saltzman received the Silver Star for his heroics.

Lieutenant Albert Alop from Chicago was given the Distinguished Service Cross and the Soldier’s Medal for

The attack on Pearl Harbor 

heroism while serving with the 79th Infantry Division and the 463rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. During training in 1943 at Camp Haan in California, he assisted in the rescue of six airmen after their B-24 Liberator bomber had crashed after takeoff. On August 23, 1944, he was with an antiaircraft unit at Mantes-Gassicourt, France. He was looking for a downed enemy plane and noticed German troops preparing for an attack on American tanks coming up the road.

Alop ran to the tanks and mapped out another route so as to avoid the ambush. He then positioned himself in a forward area armed with just a carbine and started picking off German anti-tank and machine gunners one by one. Some Nazis managed to make their way towards the American lines, and Alop ordered them to surrender.

They ran, and a gunfight ensued with the American tanks blasting away at the Germans. Alop then went to each enemy foxhole ordering their surrender and shooting when they started fighting. This action resulted in over 100 dead Nazis, 30 prisoners of war, and a number of machine guns and anti-tank weapons captured.

Hundreds of thousands of airmen were needed as gunners on bombers that went on daily raids over German and Japanese targets. Sergeant Max Globerman from Detroit was a tail gunner on a B-26 bomber. His Dis-

tinguished Service Cross notes that during his 25 missions he used his guns with “telling effect” on German fighters trying to down the American bombers. He was awarded sixteen decorations for his actions in the sky.

In addition to the fighters, bombers and transport planes that took the war directly to the enemy, observation planes and pilots were needed to spot targets for artillery. The Piper Cub was a slow, low-flying yet versatile plane that flew countless sorties spotting targets just behind enemy lines.

Marvin Weinberg of Kansas City flew 150 missions in his Piper Cub and is credited with wiping out over two dozen enemy gun emplacements.

One time in Italy his plane’s engine cut out, and he was forced to make a crash landing in a clump of trees. He noticed that another plane happened to be nearby, and he climbed in to finish the mission.

These servicemen along with thousands of other Jewish soldiers, sailors and airmen showed incredible bravery during tough situations. Not all heroes get front page news coverage, which makes the ones that aren’t talked about Forgotten Heroes.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@ gmail.com.

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A RAMBAM MAN Never leaves a supermarket wagon in the parking lot. ♦ Recognizes the “Don’t” in “Don’t cut the line.” ♦ He is the one who offers the “first sip” through which he gives more than a soda. ♦ The first 10 in minyan. ♦ A Rambam Man is the one campaigning, not complaining. ♦ He doesn’t ask, “Is that everything?” he is the one asking, “What else can I help you with?” ♦ He is an idea which leads the chabura, davens for the amud, and gives shiur. ♦ He is the “r” that protects the word “Friend.” ♦ Recognizes the “Don’t” in ”Don’t forget the milk.” ♦ He is the one who wears a scarf to make his mother happy. ♦ Knows that you never take the last cookie. ♦ A Rambam Man celebrates a victory by shaking the other player’s hand first. ♦ He doesn’t ask, “Where’s the exit?” he knows where the fire extinguisher is. ♦ He is the husband who is present when he is there. ♦ Recognizes that you don’t just love Israel, you represent it. ♦ He is the space between “nowhere” and “now here.” ♦ Helps clean up after the simcha is over. ♦ A Rambam Man is first to be asked and the last to demand. ♦ He cheers for the other team too. ♦ The one calling at 12:00AM to wish you a happy birthday. ♦ Recognizes that you look for the pass before the shot. ♦ He helped pump out the basement regardless of whether the house had a mezuzah. ♦ A Rambam Man doesn’t ask, “Can I do it later?” he asks, “How about right now?” ♦ The one who reads the word “untied” as “united.” ♦ He calls his friend when he sees he isn’t in school... and photocopies his notes for him. ♦ The one who is always standing on the subway because he always gives up his seat. ♦ He is the idea that you put your siddur and chumash back after davening. ♦ He is the husband who turns around to check on you. ♦ The one doing the “don’t” favor. ♦ The one who carried the bags but refused the tip. ♦ A Rambam Man never leaves shiur without thanking the Rebbe. ♦ A Rambam Man never leaves class without thanking the teacher. ♦ He is an idea which makes partner, starts a company, heads a practice, and chairs a committee.

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

HELP WANTED

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Your

Money

Time is Money

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

I

n 1895, H.G. Wells launched his sci-fi career with a tale about a Victorian gentleman who travels to Earth in the year 802,701AD. The “Time Traveler” discovers that humanity has evolved into two different species: the Eloi, elfin descendants of the upper-classes, and the Morlocks, ape-like descendants of the working classes who live underground and feed on the Eloi. Wells’ story, The Time Machine, coined the term we now take for granted and popularized the notion of using such a device to travel back and forth in time.

Today, time travel is a Hollywood staple. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the spaceship Enterprise uses the sun’s gravity to slingshot back to present-day Earth, rescue a pair of humpback whales, and save mankind from an interplanetary doomsday probe. In The Terminator, John Connor sends a soldier back in time to rescue his mother so he can save mankind from Skynet, an artificial intelligence that (understandably? justifiably?) decides to exterminate humanity as soon as it achieves self-awareness.

But up until now, no one has tried to create an actual time machine – except, that is, for our friends in Con-

gress who write the tax laws, and our friends at the Treasury who enforce them. Read on and discover time travel so fiendish that you might just not be able to sleep tonight.

For several years now, the IRS has been crusading against abusive syndicated conservation easements.

deductions greater than 250% of cash contributions a “listed transaction” subject to special disclosures. But now Congress has introduced a bill that would deny deductions greater than that 250%, retroactively to 2016. The bill would also impose a new 40% “valuation penalty” on

This means you could make gifts in the future that get taxed as if you made them in the past.

These involve a group of taxpayers joining as partners to buy land and donate development rights to a nonprofit dedicated to land preservation.

Congress specifically authorized these deductions in 1976. However, the IRS argues that some syndicators have used inflated valuations to create illegitimate and fraudulent deductions.

The Service has been auditing and, in appropriate cases, penalizing individual promotors for years. In 2016, they made easements offering

disallowed deductions, retroactive 12 years. Yowza.

Those legislators aren’t the only ones looking to bend the space-time continuum. The Treasury Department reported last month that they would examine whether they can “claw back” taxes on gifts from investors who use certain kinds of trusts to clear out their estates before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s higher gift tax exemptions expire in 2026. This means you could make gifts in the future that get taxed as if you made

them in the past. (If you saw Tenet, and actually understood it, maybe you can follow that logic!)

Of course, time travel doesn’t always lead to disaster. Many real estate owners are familiar with a strategy called “cost segregation,” which lets you recalculate depreciation deductions back to your original purchase date – and catch up anything you missed in the year you do the study. It doesn’t create new deductions – but the time value of money means accelerating future deductions into today still creates real savings. (If the Terminator owned a four-family, that’s what he would do.)

Retroactive tax hikes and penalties sound terrifying. (Because they are.) They also set a terrible precedent by making it harder to plan.

But they don’t make it impossible, and we’re here to help you evaluate pros and cons for every choice you make. If you could see the future, you’d know just how much you could save!

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.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

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ou’re kidding?!

I’m back in the doghouse?

Somet imes we’re just destined to get it wrong. Whether with our mates, our kids, our parents, our neighbors… just fill in your personal blank.

It’s just a fact of life, just as breathing is an inevitability of living.

You are going to mess up in someone’s eyes. And it’s usually not in your own – which is a major part of the problem! Because if you could just freeze, and then see your part in it, no matter how big or small it is, you probably could avert the whole blow-up.

You know, getting up with someone is really easy.

But calming yourself – and them – down, well, that’s a whole other story. And it’s not a sweet, little fairy tale type of story, either.

More like a nightmare!

Unfortunately, we all have triggers, even though we avoid carrying any weapons.

We all have sensitivities, even though we don’t need special products to alleviate them.

And, we all want our side understood, even though we can’t seem to understand yours.

What’s a human to do?

We don’t want to stop having relationships. Because that’s the stuff interactions are made up of.

So the best idea is to work to do a little better all the time. To hone the discipline to stop yourself from going “there” as things are spiraling out of control. To take the time to see what’s going on from their point of view while you’re in the situation.

And if you can’t do that, well, the next-best thing would be to order some new furniture for your dog house, just to make it a little more comfy for that next time you find yourself stuck in it.

1014 BROADWAY, WOODMERE, NY 11598

516.423.2477

STEINDELMONUMENTS@GMAIL.COM

‫שומר שבת‬

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 14, 2021

119

120

OCTOBER 14, 2021 | The Jewish Home

g in all of in ic r p y a d y r Best eve Long Island! & s n e e u Q , Brooklyn AY!

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Free Parking

ERY D V E S T C U D O NEW PR

much

Over 150 Spaces!

TM

More for Less

Prices Good Sunday, October 17th through Friday, October 22nd, 2021

Cucumbers in Brine

Bring the taste of Israel home tonight Produced in Israel · Carefully selected for quality and taste

Post Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles

Assorted

2

79¢

$ 49 11 oz

Lieber’s Chocolate Covered Rice Cakes

6 Pack

CASE PACK

19 oz

12

660301

077028200668

Haddar Small Cucumbers in Brine 13-17

19 oz

12

660302

077028200675

Haddar Mini Cucumbers in Brine 18-25

19 oz

12

Haddar Funzels Pretzels

1

89¢ 1 $399

Assorted

1099

69

$

¢ 5.3 oz

Spring Valley Blintzes

2/$

$ 99 13 oz

Assorted

Sonny & Joe’s Hummus, Tehina & Babaganoush

Orogiallo Fresh Pasta

8

1299

$

4

$ 99LB

Chicken Breasts

8

$ 49 LB

LB

Wing On

2

$ 59 LB String Beans

Cortland Apples

89¢

2/$

Gimbal’s Sour Lips

2

$ 99 17.6 oz

Chuck Eye Roast

4

5

2/$

All Varie�es

1

Del Monte Pineapples

Sweet Blueberries

5

$ 89 10 oz

French Roast

$ 49 LB

2

$ 99

$ 99 20 oz

3

2

Minute Roast

1

26.4 oz

$ 99 16 oz

Except Cholov Yisrael

48 oz

Avenue A Flour All Purpose or Unbleached KolSave Fresh $ 99Popcorn 5 LB

Royal Gefilte Fish

32 oz

Edy’s Ice Cream

3

Mehadrin Co�age Cheese

Of Tov Chicken Nuggets, Dinos or Chicklicious

Bowl & Basket Greek Yogurt

$31.00

$ 79 12 oz

16 oz

5 LB

1

$26.40

Bowl & Basket Instant Coffee

Avenue A Flour All Purpose or Unbleached Shkedia $ 99Quinoa

$ 59 16.3 oz

$15.80

$ 19 16 oz

Nassau Yoshon Barley

99

PRICE

Heinz Vegetarian Baked Beans

1

$ 39 10 oz

Assorted

2

6

UOM

Bowl & Basket Peanut Bu�er

$ 99 32 oz

$ 49LB

DESCRIPTION Haddar Large Cucumbers in Brine 7-9

11

$

Bowl & Basket Strawberry Preserves

Roasted Almonds

UPC 077028200651

Tradi�on Chicken Cup-a-Soup

15 oz

Kosher for Passov er & year-ro und

660300

$ 49

PR Chic Peas

2

$ 59 18 oz

ITEM NUMBER

2

1

7

5

6 Pack

$ 59 3.1 oz

Haddar 18-25 Cucumbers in Brine

$ 99 1 Liter

16 oz

Poland Spring Sports Cap Water

Milk or Dark

69¢

Shwartz Extra Light Olive Oil

Allegra Pasta

Potato Blintzes

8 oz Nova Lox

1299

$

1

$ 29 LB

LB

6

6 Pack

$ 99 EA EA

1 Large BBQ Chicken + 1 LB Rice & Mushrooms

1799

$

EA

Keilim Mikveh on Premises | Pre-Shabbos Buffet Every Thursday & Friday!

Savings Plaza | 11 Lawrence Lane, Lawrence, NY | (516) 371-6200 | info@kolsavemarket.com | /kolsavemarket Hours: Sunday-Tuesday: 7am-8pm | Wednesday: 7am-10pm | Thursday: 7am-11pm | Friday: 7am-5pm We reserve the right to limit quan��es. No rain checks. Not responsible for typographical errors.