Five Towns Jewish Home - 8-31-17 by The Jewish Home

August 31, 2017

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HURRICANE HARVEY HITS HOUSTON HARD pg

40 Cross River Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eighth Annual Golf and Tennis Outing to Benefit Madraigos

Back to School 44 Chazaq Gives Official Invocation at City Hall

Page 75

The WFC Girls Club Kickoff Event See page 103

Tips for your High Schooler

Heading to Sem? Keep This in Mind

School Lunch vs. Home Lunch

A Taste of Yummy from Home

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

HALB

‫ישיבת לב‬

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

T H I S S u N DAY

‫י בה דרך‬ ‫ששי מרן רבי אברהם יפה’ןאזיצ’’תן‬ ’’‫ע‬ ‫ל‬

Yeshiva of Far Rockaway

‫עצרת הספד‬

‫וכנס התעוררות‬ ‫לזכרו של מנהלנו הנערץ‬

‫ז”ל‬

‫הרב ר’ אהרן מרדכי בראפמאן‬ ‫ישאו דברים‬

‫ראש הישיבה‬ ‫הרב הגאון ר’ יחיאל יצחק פאר שליט”א‬ ‫הרב הגאון ר’ משה בצלאל בראון שליט”א‬ ‫הרב הגאון ר’ שלום קמינצקי שליט”א‬ ‫אחיו ר’ בנימין בראפמאן נ”י‬ ‫בנו הרב אברהם ברוך בראפמאן נר”ו‬

‫תתקיים בהיכל הישיבה‬ ‫ביום ראשון לסדר כי תבא‬ ‫י”ב אלול תשע”ז‬ ‫ בערב‬8:00 ‫בשעה‬

‫יה”ר שזכות אישיותו הדגולה תעמוד לישיבתנו ולמשפחתו החשובה‬ ‫ולא ישמע עוד שוד ושבר בגבולנו ומחה ה’ אלקים דמעה מעל כל פנים‬

Hesped & Gathering of Hisorerus mARKINg THE pETIRA OF OuR bELOVED mENAHEL

Rabbi Aaron Brafman z”l AT THE YESHIVA �� HICKSVILLE RD. FAR ROCKAWAY, N.Y. SuNDAY, SEpTEmbER 3, �� :�� pm

THE gATHERINg WILL bE ADDRESSED bY

Harav Hagaon Rav Yechiel Yitzchok Perr Rosh Yeshiva Harav Hagaon Rav Moshe Brown Harav Hagaon Rav Sholom Kamenetsky Mr. Ben Brafman Rav Avraham Boruch Brafman

mAY THE ZECHuS OF THE ILLuSTRIOuS RAV bRAFmAN STAND FOR THE YESHIVA AND HIS DEAR FAmILY AND mAY WE KNOW OF NO mORE SORROW mEN & WOmEN WELCOmE YESHIVA DERECH AYSON OF FAR ROCKAWAY . (��) 3��-��

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

HUVYSGALLERY.COM

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

the Meyerland area had waters flooding into their homes during the storm. But there is another frum community in Houston, around 15 minutes away from the Meyerland area. In that community, only about four families had water enter their homes. Baruch Hashem, that community, not located on the bayou, was safe from Harvey. And so, seeing their friends and neighbors in the midst of devastation, the community pitched in to help. There is a sign-up list for them to do laundry for those whose homes were inundated with water. They are cooking for them. They are giving them shelter, offering empty beds to those in need. Men and boys are helping them to start rebuilding. It must be so comforting for those who were hurt by the storm to know that their friends and neighbors are there for them in their time of need. I remember years ago, when Hurricane Sandy hit our area, many families were in need of many things. I was sending my child to a playgroup on Seagirt Blvd in Far Rockaway and the teacher’s home was hit by the storm. After she opened the playgroup again, a mother of one of the toddlers asked her if she could give the teacher some toys. “We have so many of them. Perhaps you’d appreciate some toys for the children?” she asked. I was so impressed. Food, clothing, furniture – those things I knew they needed. But toys? That mother truly felt for her neighbor. She felt the pain of a family devastated by loss. It is my hope that the Houston community – all its thousands of residents who were hit by Harvey – will be able to rebuild quickly, safely and peacefully.

henever someone mentions “Houston” there is one person I always think of. Truthfully, she is the only person I really know from Houston, so she’s really my only connection there. When reports came in over the weekend about Hurricane Harvey, my thoughts jumped to Rachel. I hesitated, though, before contacting her. I didn’t want to be bothering her in her time of need. Perhaps she and her family were stranded or were awaiting rescue. Would my call be intrusive in the midst of the disaster? Rachel and her family, b”H, were able to wait out the storm in their home. She told me that the waters at one point came to their door, which was frightening for them, but then they thankfully receded. On Wednesday, many people expressed delight when the sun finally shone through. It had been days since they saw the sun’s healing rays. But even after Harvey finally leaves, the people of Houston will be feeling its impact for many months. Over 30,000 people found refuge in the evacuation centers during the storm. When they finally make it to their homes, what will they find? Will they be able to rescue their cherished photos, their children’s first shoes, their baby blankets knitted so lovingly by Grandma? Will they be able to salvage anything? How will they be able to rebuild? It seems that this is not the first time part of the frum community in Houston was flooded. The community in the Meyerland area is located right on the bayou. And so, the area was flooded last year and the year before. Most people who rebuilt their homes built them on many feet of concrete. But still, the waters of Harvey rushed over the concrete stands. Some people were still in the midst of rebuilding before Harvey hit. And now, the rebuilding will have to start again. Almost every person in

Wishing you a great week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman MANAGING EDITOR

ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Shoshana Soroka EDITOR

editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Nate Davis Editorial Assistant Nechama Wein Copy Editor Berish Edelman Mati Jacobovits Design & Production Gabe Solomon Distribution & Logistics P.O. BOX 266 Lawrence, NY 11559 Phone | 516-734-0858 Fax | 516-734-0857 Classifieds: Deadline Mondays 5PM classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com text 443-929-4003 The Jewish Home is an independent weekly magazine. Opinions expressed by writers are not neces sarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly.

Shabbos Zemanim

Weekly Weather | September 1 – September 7

Friday, September 1 Parshas Ki Teitzei 1

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Sunny

Partly Cloudy

71° 57°

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Candle Lighting: 7:08 pm Shabbos Ends: 8:07 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 8:37 pm

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The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

Community Happenings

36 NEWS

Global

National

Odd-but-True Stories

Hurricane Harvey Hits Houston Hard 62 ISRAEL

Israel News

Strike Out by Rafi Sackville

PEOPLE The Heroism of War Correspondents by Avi Heiligman

PARSHA Rabbi Wein

Take the Battle to the Enemy by Rav Moshe Weinberger

JEWISH THOUGHT Ping Pong Ball Meets Bowling Ball by Eytan Kobre

Once Upon a Time by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

Giving Jewishly by Rabbi Dr. Naphtali Hoff

Dear Editor, Now that the summer is winding down, the amazing experience that I and my fellow Far Rockaway and Five Town riders for Tour de Simcha is still fresh in our minds. The men in our neighborhood just completed Bike for Chai and it’s safe to say that everyone who participated in the ride was transformed. Your article about the local women who rode in Tour de Simcha highlighted our physical prowess which, with siyata dishmaya, enabled us to complete the ride of almost 75 miles. But what was glaringly missing in the article was our efforts that, with Hashem’s help, raised almost $300,000 for Chai Lifeline! Mrs. Esther Lebovic raised over $23,000 and Mrs. Deborah Katz, who created a “Miles for Mimi” campaign, raised over $104,000 as a zechus for a refuah shleimah for her mother (Rachel bas Zillah) who is battling metastatic cancer. Yes, Tour de Simcha is an incred-

ible experience of camaraderie and fitness. Plus, we ladies have a really good time training for it. But let’s not forget to keep our eye on the prize. We did it to support the children who attend Camp Simcha in the summer. My hope is that by publicizing our true goal to the community we can raise even more next summer . Better yet, may Rachel bas Zillah and all the campers who attend Camp Simcha experience a refuah shleimah with all cholei Yisroel. Best, Chaia Frishman Dear Editor, I appreciated Ms. Tzivie Pill’s article in this week’s issue about nutrition and children’s weight. She speaks about not speaking about children’s weight with them and not talking to them about weight loss. I agree with her. I would like to add one thing. When going for annual check-ups, I find that pediatricians tend to address

JEWISH HISTORY

Continued on page 14

Memoirs of a Forgotten Rabbi: The Troubled Life of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ferber by Rav Pini Dunner 58 HEALTH & FITNESS Elul Again by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

Is There Something Fishy about Mercury? by Aliza Beer, MS RD

Is Home Lunch Better than School Lunch? by Leah Wolofsky, MS, CDN

FOOD & LEISURE

The Aussie Gourmet: Chicken Satay

A Taste of Yummy from Home

LIFESTYLES Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW 66

Headed to Israel for Seminary? Top Tips for Maximizing Growth by Rabbi David Goldwasser

Back to (High) School by Chaim Homnick

Your Money

101

Another One Opens by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

102

HUMOR Centerfold

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

Robert Lee, no E. by Kathleen Parker

CLASSIFIEDS

Americans worked 12-hour days seven days a week during the 19th century. Around how many hours do you work, on average, every week?

More than 40 hours

9 % 28 % 24 % 8 % 31 %

20-40 hours

10-20 hours

Less than 10 hours

I don’t work

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Sale Dates: September 3rd - 8th 2017

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1099

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Assorted - 32 oz

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Dagim Tilapia Fillets McCain French Fries

Original Only - 36 oz

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NOW 2 locations!

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

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

Sale Dates: September 3rd - 8th 2017

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399 ea.

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AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 10

weight issues with parents during the visit. That is great – but it’s really not. Because the parents are in the same room as the children. And when the doctor is chatting with the parent about Junior’s weight, Junior is hearing the same thing. So when Junior comes home and asks his mother if he is fat and she’s wondering where that is coming from, it could be that he heard the pediatrician tell his mother, “You know, we should make sure to watch things with Junior. Only eat healthy and limit the carbs...” Kids are very smart. They pick up signals, even if you are speaking in a roundabout way. I would suggest that instead of doctors discussing weight in front of parents they should either give them a note at the end of the visit or do a follow-up call or email. Yes, it may take a bit more time but in the end we will end up with healthy, well-adjusted, self-confident children who will grow up to be healthy adults. Chana Baum Dear Editor, Every day I am hearing news about the catastrophe in Houston,

how homes are flooded, people are trapped and some have even died due to the storm. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering from this trauma. Even so, it is hard for me to put myself into their tzaar. And then I remember what happened to our community just a few years ago. So many of us lost so much. And even those whose homes were not flooded were left stranded without power for days. We wondered why we weren’t getting the proper aid and the proper support. Now it is our turn. We need to reach out to those in Houston to help them, to feel their pain, to extend our assistance. Don’t forget how we suffered and appreciate that it is a miracle to be on the giving end of things. A Far Rockaway resident Dear Editor, What does spending every summer upstate for the last 40 years or going to the country for just one day this summer have in common? Am I safe if I went upstate for only one day or should I only be worried if I spent most of the summer in the country? What am i talking about? I am talking about the possibility of get-

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ting Lyme disease. I want to draw attention to our entire dear community about the chances of getting Lyme disease, even if you were only in the country for one Shabbos this summer! I want everyone to be on the alert for the signs and symptoms. Most people are aware of the bull’seye rash. But I would like to inform you that the bull’s-eye rash does not appear in about 40% of the cases. Lyme disease symptoms are usually non-specific, and it is therefore not suspected until too much damage is done. Symptoms are flu-like symptoms, chills, and muscle aches. This can progress to fatigue, headaches, and stiff neck. But initially it can only be as non-specific as flu-like symptoms! If you know of anyone who is not feeling well and has been in common deer areas such as upstate, Monsey or Lakewood and has exhibited flu-like symptoms this summer, tell them to please see a doctor and ask to be tested for Lyme disease. Time is of the essence in being cured quickly, rather than a drawn-out illness if detected late. If you want more information,

please contact Chai For Lyme at (347)927-6198. Someone who cares Dear Editor, Dr. Lightman’s article on the importance of reading is spot-on. There is so much hurt that comes with a learning disability. And even more than that, our teachers are sometimes not equipped to recognize a reading problem. With a class of almost 30 youngsters a child can easily mask their reading incompetence. It is many times up to the parents to be in touch with schools to help with any problems. Some parents may not realize at what level their children should be in certain areas. And that’s where communication with teachers come in. Be in touch with your child’s teachers. What level is he or she supposed to be on? Should he or she be reading fluently? If he mixes up certain letters is that OK? How can I make sure they are understanding what they’re reading? When teachers and parents work as a team they can hopefully save any child before they start to fall through the cracks. Hadassah G.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

The Week In News

Israel: Iran Building Missile Sites in Syria

According to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran is building sites in Syria and Lebanon to produce precision-guided missiles. He charges that the Persian regime is turning Syria into a “base of military entrenchment as part of its declared goal to eradicate Israel.” Iran has been supporting Assad’s troops in the Syria war and it also backs Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement. The Israeli leader warned that “this is something Israel cannot accept.” Netanyahu made these comments while speaking to UN Secretary General António Guterres in Jerusalem. This is the first time Guterres has been in the region since taking office in January. Two weeks ago, the Israeli satellite imagery company ImageSat International published photographs it said appeared to confirm a report by a Syrian pro-opposition newspaper that a missile factory was under construction in north-western Syria under Iranian oversight. ImageSat International said the facility in Wadi Jahannam, near the Mediterranean coastal town of Baniyas, bears a close resemblance to a missile factory near Tehran. While speaking with Guterres, Netanyahu also pressed the UN secretary general on the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, Unifil, which Israel alleges has failed to prevent Hezbollah building up its supply of weapons since they fought a war in 2006. In response, Guterres promised to “do everything in my capacity” to ensure Unifil fulfilled its ob-

ligations. “I understand the security concerns of Israel and I repeat that the idea or the intention or the will to destroy the state of Israel is something totally unacceptable from my perspective,” he added. Unifil’s mandate is up for renewal at the end of the month. Earlier on Monday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin urged Guterres to work to end what he called “the discrimination against Israel in some branches” of the UN. Guterres said the UN would “always be very frank in the dialogue with the State of Israel,” but also is “very committed to make sure that anti-Semitism doesn’t prevail and that equality in the treatment of all states is fully respected.”

Seven Die in the Alps

On Sunday, seven climbers lost their lives in two separate incidents in the Alps. Five of the climbers died in the Austrian Alps, Zell am See provincial government chief Martin Reichholf said. Two others were killed as they climbed in a group roped together in the Italian Alps. A sixth climber in the Austrian Alps – a 60-year-old man – is in intensive care at the hospital, but his injuries are not life-threatening. In Italy, a man and woman who appear to be in their mid-30s were killed as they climbed the Adamello glacier in the Trentino Alto Adige region, according to the emergency rescue center in the town of Trento. They were part of a group of nine Italians from the city of Brescia. The climbers were connected by three ropes. They fell when those on the lowest rope slipped on the glacier, dragging down others higher up the slope, according to the rescue center. Two other climbers were seriously injured, including a 14-year-old boy who is being treated in Trento hospital.

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Canada Deporting Record Numbers of Illegals

Canada is stepping up its illegal immigrant deportations. Since January, 5,529 people have been deported, compared to 7,357 from all of 2016. Deportation of Mexicans, who have flocked to Canada since a visa requirement was lifted in December, are up 66 percent in the first eight months of 2017 than the entire previous year. Haitians have also been entering illegally in large numbers, hoping to avoid deportation from the United States. So far, Canada has deported 474 Haitians in 2017, compared to 100 in 2016. To be fair, the government did lift its own ban on deportations to Haiti that had been in place since a devastating earthquake

rocked the country in 2010. The rise in asylum-seekers from the United States has been called “unsustainable” by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has been trying to warn people away from entering in the first place, worried about another big surge in asylum claims. More than 10,000 asylum seekers have walked across the border into Canada so far this year. Canada provides health coverage and work permits for those that come into the country seeking asylum once their claims are processed. The process takes many weeks or months to get underway, and many are not willing to wait that long. The country is on track to record the highest number of refugee claims in a decade.

NK and Syria Bonding over Chemical Weapons In the past six months, member states of the United Nations have

intercepted shipments from North Korea to Syria’s agency in charge of chemical weapons. A report has been submitted to the UN Security Council in which experts wrote that “the panel is investigating reported prohibited chemical, ballistic missile and conventional arms cooperation between Syria and the DPRK (North Korea).”

According to the report, “Two member states interdicted shipments destined for Syria. Another member state informed the panel that it had reasons to believe that the goods were part of a KOMID contract with Syria.” KOMID stands for the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, which had been blacklisted by the Security Council in 2009 and is described as North Korea’s key arms dealer. KOMID also exports equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. Two KOMID

representatives in Syria were also blacklisted in March 2016. UN experts have said that they are investigating activities between Syria and North Korea, including cooperation on Syria’s scud missile program and the repair of Syria’s missile defense system. North Korea has been under sanctions by the UN since 2006 due to its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. In the past months, they have incurred increased sanctions due to their conducting five nuclear weapons tests and four longrange missile tests. Syria has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. During the country’s six year civil war, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has confirmed that banned spin nerve gas has been used at least twice, and the use of chlorine as a weapon has become very common.

Sword Attack in London A man attacked the guards at Queen Elizabeth II’s Buckingham Palace residence in London with a

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

FROM

"THE WORLD IS ARTSCROLL'S CLASSROOM"

THIS LIFE-CHANGING SERIES CONTINUES 0 0 0 , 0 0 1 NEARLYIN PRINT! COPIES The Living Emunah series has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people. Its short, and wise daily readings have become a vital part of their lives. They show us how emunah can change our response to something as small as a traffic jam on a busy day, or as great as a major life challenge.

By Rabbi David Ashear

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The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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four foot sword while shouting, “Allahu akbar” last Friday night. The 26-year-old attacker was arrested under the Terrorism Act.

Police reports said that the terrorist was driving towards police in his car and when he was challenged by officers, he “reached for what we now know to be a four-foot sword which was in the front passenger foot well. The man, who repeatedly shouted Allahu akbar (G-d is greatest), was incapacitated with CS spray.” While they were detaining the man, three of the officers were injured; two of them went to the hospital to treat their wounds. The attacker is from Luton, a city 30 miles north of London. “Officers from the Counter Terrorism Command are now investigating and searches are being carried out in the Luton area today,” said Dean Haydon, the police head of counter-terrorism. On Sunday, another man was arrested in the connection with the attack. Since March, 35 people have been killed by extremist terrorists in London and Manchester. Two of those attacks were car-rammings and the third was a bombing at a Manchester pop concert in May which killed 22 people, including children.

Sweeping Sanctions for Venezuela

Venezuela has been hit hard with sanctions by the Trump administration. The new rules ban banks from

making any new financial deals with the government of the state-run oil giant PDVSA. The White House released a statement explaining the sanctions, saying that “these measures are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuela’s corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance.” The sanctions do not ban the import of Venezuelan oil that is crucial to U.S. oil refiners and the Venezuelan economy. They do stop anyone from dealing in new debt and equity issued by the government of Venezuela and its state oil company. The ban extends to certain public sector bonds and dividend payments to the government of Venezuela. Vice President Mike Pence took to twitter to talk about the move. “The birthright of the Venezuelan people has always been and will always be liberated,” he wrote, using the Spanish word for “freedom.” He also said that the U.S. “will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles.” Venezuela has seen a lot of political and economic upheaval in recent months. President Nicolas Maduro government has become increasingly more authoritarian. Maduro’s assembly has ousted the nation’s chief prosecutor, taken power from the “opposition Congress,” and created a “truth commission,” which many predict will be used to target opponents. The oil-dependent economy of Venezuela has shrunk by about 35 percent in the past three years. Those numbers are more acute than the United States’ economic problems during the Great Depression.

Canada: Tear Down Those Statues? It’s not just in the United States that tensions are enflamed over statues and monuments. In Canada, the name Sir John A. Macdonald is emblazoned across the nation. He has a highway named after him, a street named after him, and even schools named after him. His face adorns the Canadian $10 bill, as he was the nation’s first prime minis-

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

ter and chief broker of the deal to create the country 150 years ago.

But despite all that he did for his country, there are many who say that MacDonald was racist toward Canada’s indigenous population. His policies included a forced schooling program for more than 100,000 children that a national commission recently declared “cultural genocide.” Now Kingston in Canada, the place where he is most honored, has become ground zero in a debate over how – or if – to commemorate his legacy. Perhaps Canadians are more civilized than those in the United States; for now, there has been no violent clashes between the two camps. A union of elementary schoolteachers in Ontario passed a resolution this

month calling on school boards to strip Macdonald’s name from the nine schools in the province, Canada’s most populous, that bear it, a move that outraged many Canadians and drew sharp criticism from some politicians. John Baird, a minister in the previous Conservative government, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that scrubbing Macdonald’s name from schools was “crazy and ridiculous,” an example of “trying to erase Canadian history in the guise of an extreme and radical political correctness.” But Perry Bellegarde, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Canada’s largest indigenous organization, said that removing Macdonald’s name from schools could be part of the program promised by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reconcile with Canada’s indigenous people for wrongs like forced schooling. MacDonald believed that if indigenous children were educated in their neighborhood, they are “simply a savages who can read and write.” Educating them in boarding schools would turn them into white men, he said. As such, over a period of roughly 100 years, about 150,000 indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to schools administered by

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churches. Many of those children were abused and the teachers there were found to be incompetent or worse. Macdonald also cleared the path for a transcontinental railway in the 1880s in some areas by withholding food relief for indigenous people during a famine until they moved to government-established reserves. The residents of several reserves were confined to them unless they could obtain a pass from a government agent to travel. In Kingston’s leafy City Park, a statue of Macdonald, who led Canada from 1867 to 1873 and then again from 1878 until his death in 1891, has become a center of celebrations and protests. Kathleen Wynne, the premier of Ontario, said in a statement that the call to remove Macdonald’s name from schools “missed the mark,” and she urged the local school boards responsible for the decision not to take the step. “We need to teach our children the full history of this country – including colonialism, indigenous peoples and their history, and about what our founders did to create Canada and make it the country it is today,” Wynne said.

N. Korea Accused of Stealing Missile Plans

Back in 2011, two North Korean spies were caught trying to steal missile plans in what turned out to be an elaborate sting operation by the Ukrainian government. The two are currently serving eight year prison sentences in Ukraine. Surveillance footage was shared with CNN as Ukraine responded to a New York Times report that claims North Korea may have bought advanced propulsion technology on the Russian or Ukrainian black market. The video is slightly foggy, but it clearly shows two people in a dim and dusty Ukrainian garage in the town of Continued on page 20

Ripped from the Headlines: A Review of Recent Israel News and Its Impact on the Real Estate Market

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Zhytomyr, about 90 miles west of Kiev, photographing what they think are top-secret missile designs. The New York Times’ claim is based on a report released by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) which says that advances evidenced in North Korea’s recent missile tests potentially came from Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye Design Office in Dnipro. In another report, CNN said that five North Koreans were deported for “assisting North Korea’s intelligence work in Ukraine” as recently as 2015. Ukraine has firmly denied any connection to North Korea’s missile program, suggesting that Russia may be involved. In the meantime, Russia has denied supporting North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

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Jay Y. Lee, the billionaire head of Samsung, has been sentenced to five years in jail on bribery charges. The verdict put an end to a sixmonth trial which is seen in South Korea as an indictment of the economic “royal families” that dominate the country’s family-run conglomerates. The bribery charges were at the center of the scandal that brought down former South Korean President Park Geun-hye as the court ruled that Lee paid Park for favors. Lee was also found guilty of hiding his assets abroad and of embezzlement and perjury. Lee is heir to one of the world’s largest corporations. Samsung is the world’s leading smartphone and chip maker. The diverse company has divisions that sell home appliances, hotels, insurance and pharmaceuticals. Seoul Central District Court Judge Kim Jin-dong said that Lee “stood to benefit the most” from Park’s political favors being granted to Samsung. Lee denied any wrongdoing and has sworn to appeal. The case is likely to be heard in front of the country’s Supreme Court next year.

A Plot to Depose Kim Jong Un?

It’s no secret that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will do whatever it takes to remain the all-powerful leader. Since he came to power there have been many suspicious deaths in his cabinet. In 2011, Kim Jong Il died, and Kim Jong Un, his son took the crown. He was quick to purge senior officials and relatives that he felt were a threat. Un is allegedly responsible for the deaths of his uncle and his half-brother. Kim’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, was executed in 2013 when he was accused of being a “traitor” and committing a series of “hideous crimes.” Earlier this year Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, was assassinated in an airport. It is claimed that he was involved in a Chinese-backed plan to overthrow Kim. He was ambushed in Kuala Lumpar airport in Malaysia by two women who smeared his face with the toxic and fatal VX nerve agent. The two women are being charged in his death, although they claim that they were told they were involved in a harmless prank for a hidden-camera TV show. The reasons behind these assassinations may explain Kim Jong Un’s distaste for China. Media outlets have claimed that in August 2012 Un’s uncle met with then-Chinese President Hu Jintao and “proposed a plot to oust Kim Jong Un and replace him with his elder half-brother” with China’s support. Reportedly, Hu didn’t give Jang a clear answer but a member of the Chinese government and an ally of Kim, Zhou Yongkang, informed the North Korean leader about the plot. Kim then “flew into a rage” and branded his uncle “worse than a dog” and “despicable human scum.” Zhou was sentenced to life in jail in China after being charged with bribery, abuse of power and “intentionally leaking state secrets.” Kim Jong Nam was not thought to be seeking influence, but his position as eldest son of the family that has

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

ruled North Korea since its founding made him a threat anyways. He had also previously spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of the nuclear-armed nation. A few weeks ago, China issued an order to carry out the United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea, giving Kim Jong Un yet another reason to be wary of his neighbor.

Bibi: We Won’t Evacuate Settlements

Days after meeting with a U.S. delegation to once again restart the peace talks with Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that his government will never evacuate another settlement. At an event celebrating 50 years of Israeli settlements in Samaria Netanyahu told a crowd of thousands, “We are here to stay forever. There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the land of Israel.” He added, “This is the inheritance of our ancestors. This is our land.” He also stressed the dangers Israel would face if it withdrew from the West Bank, a key demand of the Palestinians in any future peace deal. “Samaria is a strategic asset for the State of Israel,” the prime minister said. “It is the key to our future. Because from these high hills, the heights of Mount Hatzor, we can see the entire country, from one side to the other.” He said that Israel had withdrawn from settlements in the past but received nothing in return. “We’ve uprooted settlements. What did we get? We received missiles. It will not happen again,” the prime minister said, referring to Israel’s 2005 withdrawal

from the Gaza Strip. “To those who want to uproot what we’ve planted, [I say] we will deepen our roots.” “Imagine that on these hills were the forces of radical Islam,” Netanyahu said that he tells world leaders. “It would endanger us, it would endanger you, and it would endanger the entire Middle East.” The prime minister also gave his recollections of the first time he came to Samaria, as a soldier, and said that he felt he was walking in the footsteps of the patriarchs, walking the hills with

a Tanach in his hand. “I remember the excitement that gripped me when I came to Shiloh, the place where the biblical kingdom of Israel stood,” he said. Netanyahu has spoken at three events in the West Bank in the last two months. Earlier in August, he addressed a ceremony marking the establishment of a new neighborhood in Beitar Illit. And in June, he spoke at a ceremony inaugurating a new medical school at Ariel University, which was funded by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.

Netanyahu’s comments came days after the visit of a delegation from U.S. President Donald Trump, who is looking to get the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Nabil Shaath, a former Palestinian negotiator, speaking to the official Voice of Palestine radio, said the Palestinians had reiterated their demands that Israel end settlement construction and withdraw from the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War. Despite Bibi’s words, some are

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

national Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya has shown that of the 68 million refugees currently seeking shelter across the globe, Palestinians are – by far – given the most aid and financial support.

The United Nations has the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). UNRWA provides assistance only to Palestinian refugees. In 2016, UNRWA spent an average of $246 on the 5.3 million Palestinians compared to the UNHCR spending only $58 per refugee. UNRWA also employs 30,000 people, while UNHCR, which is meant to handle tens of millions of cases every year, only employs 10,000. The United States tried to lower the budget for UNRWA last month. In response, the Palestinian contingent sought to transfer control of the budget to the UN General Assembly. Thanks to pressure from the U.S., the budgeting responsibilities stayed as they were. UNRWA has always had an anti-Israel agenda. A few weeks ago, a spokesman for the organization admitted that Hamas has dug tunnels under UNRWA schools in Gaza. He also admitted that during Operation Protective Edge, UNRWA workers transferred weapons and ammunition to Hamas through their facilities.

Ancient HalfShekel Found – or Not? concerned. Israel demolished the Amona outpost in February after a 10year legal battle during which the High Court determined it had been built on private land. A statement from the residents of the Netiv Ha’avot outpost, which is slated to be demolished in March, expressed skepticism. “The prime minister thinks that people who are expelled from their homes… were not uprooted,” they said, referring to the

Amona evacuees. “From our point of view, the unnecessary destruction of homes is the same as uprooting, and we will not make it easier on this government.” Fifteen homes are slated to be demolished in the Netiv Ha’avot neighborhood in the settlement of Elazar after the High Court of Justice ruled that they had been constructed on private Palestinian land.

Unparalleled UN Aid to Palestinians Compared to refugees out of Syria, Iraq or any African country, Palestinian refugees receive four times as much UN aid. A new study conducted by the Abba Eban Institute of Inter-

A little girl was very excited to have found an ancient coin dating back 2,000 years last week. Unfortunately, her excitement was dashed when the half-shekel she found

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

turned out to be a souvenir from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Many international media outlets reported the story of 8-year-old Hallel Halevy who came home from picking up her sister from daycare with what she thought was an old coin. Her father sent the coin to experts at Bar Ilan University, who confirmed that the coin was a half-shekel from the end of the second Beis Hamikdash. The coin was, in fact, a very excellent fake that was minted sometime during this century as a child’s take-home prize from the museum. Dr. Haim Gitler, chief curator of Archaeology and the curator of Numismatics at the Israel Museum, made the public aware of the coin’s origin after being contacted to help verify its authenticity. “There is no chance that it is authentic; it is not an ancient coin. Even to call it a coin is to exaggerate what it is,” Gitler said. Gitler said he is positive that the coin is from his museum because the markings on the coin match the minting mold that the museum has 100%. “Whether it was 2016 or 2015, that’s more the question,” said Gitler. The museum offers children the chance to mint their own “ancient

coin” every Chanukah. The coin found by young Hallel is an exact replica. Her coin was found near a 2,000-year-old archeology site. The site is called Chubalta, and its proximity to where the coin was found definitely may have contributed to even experts being duped. Bar-Ilan University Prof. Zohar Amar, who is a specialist in the history of nature and daily life in ancient Israel and served as the head of the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology in 2004-5 and 2009, identified the coin originally as authentic. He said that “to the naked eye, the coin appears authentic, but it’s impossible to know what it really is until it’s been checked in the labs.”

Brutal Killer’s Family Indicted The family of the terrorist who stabbed three Israelis to death in the Halamish settlement last month has been convicted of failing to prevent the attack. Omar al-Abed left his home in Kobar and traveled to the nearby settlement on July 21 and

brutally slaughtered Yosef Salomon, 70, and two of his children, Chaya, 46, and Elad, 36, to death. Yosef’s wife, Tova, survived that attack with many stab wounds. According to the Judea Regional Court, the terrorist’s family members “knew of [al-Abed’s] intention to carry out the attack and did not work to inform the security services as needed to prevent it.” Two brothers and an uncle of the killer were sentenced to eight months in jail, while his father was given a two month sentence. His mother received a one month sentence. Abd al-Jalil, the killer’s father, who was arrested after the multiple homicides, told reporters that his son’s “actions were understandable.” His mother was also found guilty of incitement after praising her son’s actions in a widely publicized video. The Israeli Police investigated the allegations against the al-Abed family and handed over their findings to military prosecutors who indicted them. On August 16, the military demolished the family’s home in Kobar as an additional punishment. There has been a strong push by many to seek the death penalty for Abed, including the vote of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the Military Advocate General’s

office, which will try the case in IDF court, has said that the death penalty is not Israeli policy and will not be sought, although it is permissible under Israeli law.

Official Status for Jews of Chevron

Official status to the Jewish community of Chevron was granted on Tuesday by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. The move will unite the Jewish residents from a municipal perspective so that they will not be reliant on the Palestinian Authority’s Hevron municipality, as is stipulated in the Hevron agreement of 1997.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

Among other things, it was decided that the Hevron Municipal Committee would be entitled to purchase and hold land, as well as to enter into contracts and tenders. The committee will become a local administration and will be authorized to promote the economic, social, cultural, health, and educational issues of Chevron residents, and to collect fees and levies from them. The committee’s authority will extend to buildings and assets owned or held by the Jewish residents. It was further determined that in the case of road hazards and the like in the PA-controlled section of the city, the head of the municipal committee would inform the mayor of Chevron to deal with it. Should the matter not be dealt with within a reasonable period of time, the municipal head may deal with the matter himself with the approval of the Civil Administration. The Jewish community in Chevron welcomed Liberman’s decision to grant them municipal status and thanked Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, who worked in recent months to promote the initiative.

moved in. The Abu Rajab family has claimed that the family member that sold them the building did not have the right to sell the building. They petitioned the High Court for their removal. The families were forced to move out by the IDF until they were able to register it with the State. After five years of bureaucratic delays and appeals, the property has yet to be registered. Last month, the settlers took up residence in the building, claiming that since the IDF gave them permission to buy the property, they did not need to wait until the legal proceedings were finished. “The state’s position is unfounded and has no basis in law,” a spokeswoman for the families said. The law does not require registration before possession, she said.

Amb. to Egypt Returns to Cairo

Chevron House to be Evacuated

The State of Israel has informed the High Court of Justice that it will be evicting fifteen settler families that have taken up residence in a three-story Chevron apartment building called Beit Hamachpela. The inhabitants will have one week to leave the premises before being forcibly removed. The apartment building is across the parking lot from the Maaras Hamachpela. Chevron, a city of 220,000 with only 1,000 Jewish residents, is under Israeli military control. In 2012, the fifteen families said they had purchased the building from the Abu Rajab family and

After eight months away, this week Israel’s ambassador to Egypt returned to his post. David Govrin and eight staff members flew back to Cairo on Tuesday. They were expected to resume work at his suburban Cairo home. The Israeli embassy in Cairo has been closed since protesters stormed it in 2011. On September 9, 2011, several thousand protesters forcibly entered the Israeli embassy in Giza, Cairo, after breaking down a perimeter wall to the compound. The protests began in response to the inadvertent killing of five Egyptian security guards by IDF soldiers during an attempt to catch terrorists who had ambushed and killed eight Israelis along the Israel-Egypt border. Prior to their departure in mid-December, the ambassador and his staff routinely flew home on Thursday and returned to their post on Sunday. Israel, which is a bitter enemy of the Hamas terrorist group in the neighboring Gaza Strip, sees Egypt as an important ally in the battle against

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

trict Court with accessory to murder. He was also indicted for being an accessory to a terror attack, using a weapon for the purposes of terror, obstruction of justice, and planning to commit a crime.

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Islamic militant groups in the region, and the two countries have close security and intelligence ties. Govrin, who speaks fluent Arabic, took up his post in July 2016. He posted a video at the time on the internet in which he addressed the Egyptian people and spoke of his hopes for developing ties. Egypt is battling extremist Islamic terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula, some of whom are aligned with the Islamic State group. Hundreds of police and security forces have been killed in attacks that have also targeted civil-

ian sites. There have also been deadly attacks inside Cairo. Israel’s embassy in Amman, which was evacuated in July following an incident involving a security guard there, remains shuttered.

Another Arrest in Temple Mount Attack Last month, two Israeli police offers were murdered on Temple Mount

by three Arab gunmen. On Thursday, an Arab Israeli man was indicted for assisting the terrorists. The Shin Bet security service said the suspect, Amjad Muhammad Ahmad Jabarin, 35, from the city of Umm al-Fahm, is responsible for transporting the three terrorists to Jerusalem. He also discussed their plans with them ahead of time and “even offered to join them in carrying out the attack on at least two occasions.” Jabarin was arrested nine days after the attack on July 23. He was formally charged in a Haifa Dis-

Authorities believe that Jabarin trained with the terrorists prior to the attack. He went with them to practice shooting their improvised “Carlo” submachine guns. The night before the attack, he drove the three terrorists to a soccer field in Umm alFahm, a pickup location for a shuttle to the Temple Mount. At that time he knew they were armed and had plans to carry out the shooting. Jabarin also hid evidence after the attack. According to the indictment, he hid some of the terrorists’ belongings, including cellphones and car keys. On July 14, at approximately 3:00am, the three gunmen, all of whom were named Muhammad Jabarin, arrived at Temple Mount from Umm al-Fahm for prayers with guns and a knife hidden under their clothes. The weapons had been smuggled into the site by an accomplice. The threesome “prayed” at the holy site for four hours before exiting and heading towards the Muslim Quarter at around 7:00am. There they opened fire at Haiel Sitawe, 30, and Kamil Shnaan, 22, two police officers stationed at one of the entrances to the Temple Mount. Their colleagues opened fire at the terrorists and killed them at the scene. This attack prompted the metal detector drama that lasted several weeks and led to unrest in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Following the Friday morning shooting, Israel shut down the complex for the remainder of the day for the first time in almost 50 years. Friday is the most popular day of prayer for Muslims. The site reopened two days later, with police-installed metal detectors at the holy site. Local Muslim officials decried the security measure and accused Israel of trying to changing the arrangement regarding Temple Mount. The weeks that followed saw numerous bloody clashes between police and East Jerusalemites, who refused to pass through the detectors and held violent protests outside the Old City. Eventually the

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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police inspected their textbooks. Outside of Temple Mount, Israel does not examine the textbooks of any Palestinian schools.

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Israel Bars Some Palestinian Textbooks Schools around the world are preparing for a new school year, but a

Palestinian school in Jerusalem will not be getting their textbooks in time. On Thursday, Israeli police banned a Palestinian school on the Temple Mount in the Old City from being able to receive textbooks bearing the Palestinian Authority logo. Students carrying the books were stopped before reaching Temple Mount. According to the official Palestinian news outlet Wafa, students at the Al-Aqsa Sharia High School for Boys were prevented from enter-

ing the site and their school with the books in their possession. In an attempt to beat the system the schools distributed the books outside Temple Mount. Officially the law is that no books bearing the Palestinian logo can be distributed to students on Temple Mount. Israeli police stopped individual students. The school posted images on its Facebook page showing students lined up outside of the Gate of the Tribes entrance into the Temple Mount as

On Tuesday, Wafa reported that Israeli police prevented the entry of textbooks onto the Temple Mount destined for two high schools and a kindergarten. The Palestinian school year began on Wednesday. The Palestinian Education Ministry slammed what it said was Israel’s “fierce war” against the education sector in East Jerusalem. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld explained that the books were not permitted to enter the Temple Mount because “the materials have to be examined and looked into in order to ensure they are not connected to any materials that are illegal or incitement.” There are four types of school that East Jerusalemite students can attend: Israeli schools, Israeli-sponsored schools, schools run by the Palestinian Authority or schools run by the Jerusalem Waqf, a body of the Jordanian government that administers Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. The schools on the Temple Mount are run by the Waqf. In its report on Tuesday, Wafa accused Israel of “trying to ban the use of Palestinian books in occupied Jerusalem and replace them with Israeli-issued textbooks, which Palestinians strongly oppose because the Israeli books distort and misrepresent Palestinian history and culture.”

Visa Restrictions for Recalcitrant Countries The Trump administration has not been shy about their stance on

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

immigration. Since Trump took office there has been controversy regarding the wall he plans to expand along the Mexican border, banning the entry of travelers from majority Muslim countries, and deporting hundreds of illegals.

Recently, several Asian and African nations have refused to take back their citizens who are being deported from the United States. In response, the White House has said they will impose harsher restrictions on those countries. The countries – said to be Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone, although their names have not yet been confirmed – will soon be subject to sanctions. Under federal law, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson can stop all or specific types of visas from being issued to such nations. Although it is unlikely that Tillerson will ban all visas, many are predicting that he will target government officials and their families. The Homeland Security Department said last week it had recommended the State Department take action against four nations out of a dozen it considers recalcitrant. Asked for comment, the State Department confirmed it received the Homeland Security Department’s notification. It wouldn’t identify the nations by name, saying only that each one has “refused to accept or unreasonably delayed the return of its nationals.” It will make public the exact penalties after affected governments are informed. “Our goal is to get countries to agree to accept the return of their nationals,” DHS spokesman Dave Lapan explained.

Price Hike to Help You Quit It’s one way to help people kick the habit. Next year, on June 1, 2018, the price of a pack of cigarettes in New York City will be the highest in the nation. The minimum price for a

pack of cancer sticks will be at least $13 and the number of places you can buy them will go down as a result of legislation signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday. “We are sending a loud and clear message that we will not let their greed kill any more New Yorkers without a fight,” de Blasio said at a bill signing ceremony at a Brooklyn hospital. “These new laws will not only help reduce the number of smokers in our city, but also save lives.” Currently, the minimum allowed price per pack is $10.50. The planned price hike is one of seven bills the Democratic mayor signed Monday aimed at pressuring the city’s 900,000 estimated smokers to quit.

Another new rule will reduce by half the number of retailers licensed to sell tobacco products. About 8,300 businesses now have a license. Other laws will ban the sale of all tobacco products in pharmacies, require licensing of e-cigarette retailers, and require all residential buildings to have smoking policies that are given to all current and prospective tenants. Some residential buildings will be required to ban smoking in common areas like hallways. The fight against cigarettes began with former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who worked to drive up prices of cigarettes and enforced laws to curtail smoking in certain public places. Smoking rates in the city have declined from 21.5 percent in 2002 to about 14.3 percent in 2015. City health officials said they believed the new restrictions could decrease the rate to 12 percent by 2020. Opponents of the price increase say it may push many smokers into buying untaxed, unregulated cigarettes on the black market. So-called butt-leggers already evade taxes and price minimums on a widespread scale by hauling in cases from lowcost states like Virginia and North Carolina, or even from elsewhere in New York.

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Best Places to Retire

By the age of 66, two-thirds of Americans retire from the full-time workforce. Perhaps many retire at this age because that is considered Full Retirement Age, when one qualifies to receive 100% of their Social Security retirement benefit. It will remain that age until 2020, but beginning in 2021 the age will increase to 66 and 2 months for those born in 1955, 66 and 4 months for those born in 1956, etc., until the full retirement age reaches 67 in 2027. Retirement brings along many changes to one’s finances and lifestyle. It is not uncommon for retirees to sell their homes and seek other low-key cities to settle down in. This year’s Forbes list of the 25 top U.S.

retirement cities and towns factored in housing, cost of living, state taxes, crime rates, weather and air quality, doctor availability, and opportunities for an active lifestyle. Out of the twenty-five best places to lay down your hat, two were in Florida – Port Charlotte and The Villages. No cities in New York or in the tristate area made the list. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was the closest city to our area for retirees to enjoy. Most of the cities on the list were located in the South. Hey, we all love warm weather – whatever the age.

an order of the court” by failing “to ensure his subordinates’ compliance and by directing them to continue to detain persons for whom no criminal charges could be filed.” Arpaio had not yet been in prison; he was scheduled to be sentenced in October. Arpaio was looking at up to six months behind bars. He was accused of racially profiling Hispanics regarding deportation issues.

don of Susan Rosenberg, a member of the militant left-wing Weather Underground, and Obama’s commutation of the sentences of FALN terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera and former Army soldier Chelsea Manning, who leaked classified data. “Sheriff Joe is a patriot,” said Trump.

FBI Nabs OPM Hacker

Trump’s Pardon Sparks Outrage Joe Arpaio, 85, is a free man, and he has President Donald Trump to thank. The former Arizona sheriff was pardoned last week. Arpaio, who served as sheriff for 24 years, was found guilty in July of this year of criminal contempt of court after ignoring a judge’s order regarding an immigration case. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton wrote that Arpaio had “willfully violated

On Friday evening, President Trump offered Arpaio a reprieve when he pardoned him. But not everyone agreed with Trump’s decision. House Speaker Paul Ryan criticized the president, saying that he “does not agree with this decision... Law-enforcement officials have a special responsibility to respect the rights of everyone in the United States. We should not allow anyone to believe that responsibility is diminished by the pardon.’’ Arpaio’s lawyer, Mark Goldman, said, “The sheriff is greatly saddened to see the anger and hostility being expressed. He sincerely hopes that this divisiveness will end and the angry rhetoric will quiet down.” There were several Republicans who supported the pardon. Kelli Ward, a potential challenger to Sen. Jeff Flake in next year’s GOP primary, cheered Arpaio as a “patriot who did the job the feds refused to do” in a tweet. Gov. Doug Ducey and Rep. Andy Biggs, both Republicans, also supported the pardon. On Monday, after facing much criticism, Trump defended his decision by referring to other pardons given by other presidents, saying, “President Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, who was charged with crimes going back decades, including illegally buying oil from Iran while it held American hostages, selling to the enemies of the United States. He was pardoned after his wife donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Clintons.” He mentioned the Clinton’s par-

Yu Pingan, a Chinese national, was snatched by the FBI in Los Angeles International Airport last week while on his way to a conference. Yu is linked to the massive data breach that targeted the Office of Personnel Management back in 2014 to 2015. At the start, the government suspected that the hackers were from China, although authorities from the Asian country denied it. Yu was charged with accusations of conspiracy to defraud the United States under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The FBI believes that Yu, also known by the hacker name “GoldSun,” runs a site selling malware, including Sakula, a rarely used Trojan that security firms believe was used to infiltrate OPM’s computers. The massive data breach compromised the information of 21.5 million government employees and applicants, as well as their spouses and close relatives. The attackers made off like bandits with close to 30 years’ worth of info, including people’s SSNs, fingerprint data, bank account numbers and other confidential information. “GoldSun” is also accused of being involved in other cyberattacks on four U.S.-based companies. Feds uncovered manuscripts of him discussing using a remote access Trojan to infiltrate companies as far back as June 2011. In 2013, one of his accomplices allegedly used Sakula to hack a company in Massachusetts. In response to what is regarded as one the most far-reaching hacks in U.S. history, the government created the National Background In-

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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DNC was Biased Against Sanders

Keren Minchas Shlomo Over the past few years, we have sent gently used clothing to aniyei Eretz Yisrael in a biannual clothing drive. ALL COSTS are paid by anonymous sponsors, and collection and distribution is undertaken by NON-PAID volunteers. This is a special opportunity to perform the tremendous mitzvah of tzedakah without incurring any expense. Last April we shipped over 10,000 garments to distribution centers, both chareidi and chiloni, in Yerushalayim, Kiryat Sefer, Bet Shemesh, and other communities. The Keren is responsible for the clothing when it reaches E”Y, and the Israeli government inspects the container to make sure we comply with the rules and regulations. WE ARE SENDING ONLY GENTLY USED CLOTHING (no shoes, hats, or undergarments). Please select garments that you feel are appropriate and that our needy brethren in E"Y will be proud to wear. Please ensure that all clothing is stain-free and in very good condition. Thank you for the last drive! Our community’s drive was the most successful this organization ever had in terms of the quality and quantity of clothes we sent to Eretz Yisrael. Help us accomplish this great chessed again right before the Yomim Noraim!

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There is no comparison between learning about a place and standing on that ground. It is a life-changing experience. Page 82

vestigations Bureau within the OPM specifically to take charge of background checks. Unlike its parent agency, the NBIB doesn’t keep data in OPM’s computers anymore. The Pentagon now stores any info the NBIB gets from current government employees and applicants in a cloudbased system designed specifically for that purpose.

Although the presidential election of 2016 is long over, the drama sure isn’t. Shortly after Hillary Clinton won the Democratic National Nomination, in June 2016 supporters of Bernie Sanders filed a class action lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and its former Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz for rigging the primaries in favor of Hillary Clinton. This accusation led to the resignation of Schultz. The lawsuit sought to force the DNC to admit their scheme and to perhaps offer Bernie Sanders’ supporters, who provided him with millions of dollars in contributions, with restitution for being cheated. Last week, on August 25, Federal Judge William Zloch dismissed the lawsuit after several months of litigation. During the trial DNC attorneys contended that the DNC would be well within their rights to rig primaries so that they can choose their candidate. “In evaluating Plaintiffs’ claims at this stage, the Court assumes their allegations are true – that the DNC and Wasserman Schultz held a palpable bias in favor Clinton and sought to propel her ahead of her Democratic opponent,” the court order dismissing the lawsuit stated. This ruling is an example of how sometimes politics can just evade the law. Despite the acknowledgement that wrongdoing was done, the DNC’s own rules regarding the primary election cannot be enforced by a court. The court order then explained why the lawsuit would be dismissed. “The Court must now decide whether Plaintiffs have suffered a concrete injury particularized to them, or one certainly impending, that is traceable to the DNC and its former chair’s conduct – the keys to entering federal court. The Court holds that they have not.” The court added that it did not consider this within its jurisdiction. “Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, possessing ‘only that

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

power authorized by Constitution and statute.’” The court continued, chastising the DNC in the way it behaved, “For their part, the DNC and Wasserman Schultz have characterized the DNC charter’s promise of ‘impartiality and evenhandedness’ as a mere political promise – political rhetoric that is not enforceable in federal courts. The Court does not accept this trivialization of the DNC’s governing principles. While it may be true in the abstract that the DNC has the right to have its delegates ‘go into back rooms like they used to and smoke cigars and pick the candidate that way,’ the DNC, through its charter, has committed itself to a higher principle.”

Sentencing in VW Case

James Liang, 63, once held a top job at a huge company but he will now spend the next 40 months behind bars. On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox in Detroit sentenced the former engineer to 40 months in prison for his role in Volkswagen AG’s scheme. The company sold diesel cars that generated more pollution than U.S. clean air rules allowed. Cox also demanded that Liang pay a $200,000 fine, 10 times the amount sought by federal prosecutors. Cox said the goal in the harsh sentencing was to deter other auto industry engineers and executives from similar schemes to deceive regulators and consumers. Liang was part of a long-term conspiracy that perpetrated a “stunning fraud on the American consumer,” Cox said. “This is a very serious and troubling crime against our economic system.” Liang pleaded guilty to misleading regulators and had cooperated with U.S. law enforcement officials investigating Volkswagen. Last week, prosecutors recommended a three-

year (36 months) prison sentence, reflecting credit for his months of cooperation with the U.S. investigation of Volkswagen’s diesel emissions fraud. Liang could have received a five year prison term under federal sentencing guidelines. Liang’s lawyers had asked for a sentence of home detention and community service. Back in March, Volkswagen pleaded guilty to three felony charges under an agreement with prosecutors to resolve the U.S. criminal probe of the company itself. It agreed to spend as much as $25 billion in the United States to resolve claims from owners and regulators and offered to buy back about 500,000 vehicles. The company confessed to using software to deceive regulators in the United States and Europe from 2006 to 2015. The ruse allowed the automaker to sell diesel-equipped cars and sport utilities without installing emissions control systems that could have compromised performance or posed an inconvenience to customers. Eight other Volkswagen executives were charged in connection to the cheating probe. Liang is one of the lowest-ranking executives charged so far. Another executive, Oliver Schmidt, has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in Detroit on December 6. Under a plea agreement, Schmidt could face up to seven years in prison and a fine of between $40,000 and $400,000 after admitting to conspiring to mislead U.S. regulators and violating clean air laws. Liang is still employed by Volkswagen but no longer works as an engineer.

Mary Poppins – with a Twist For those of you looking to fill a live-in nanny position, this sounds like a dream job. The nanny for a London-based family will earn a respectable salary of $130,000 a year, will have his or her meals cooked by a Michelin star cook, and will have access to multiple luxury cars, including a Porsche, Range Rover and a Maserati, in which to run errands. But the luxury will come at a price. According to the woman in the

family in an advertisement for the position on a U.K. childcare website, “I feel it is best to be upfront – the role is demanding. Our children are home-schooled and require constant attention and supervision, even when they are with their teachers.” Uh oh, cue the Little Rascals on steroids.

The four children are ages 2, 5, 7 and 15 and will require supervision six days a week from 7am to 8pm. The nanny will be required to travel frequently between the family’s home in London, Barbados, Cape Town and Atlanta. According to the ad, “The applicant therefore must be comfortable with flying regularly, as they may be required to travel internationally up to three times a week, depending where the children are.” Who are these kids?

Aside from a degree in child psychology and 15 years’ experience in childcare, the nanny will be required to be trained in self-defense. Don’t have a black belt? That’s fine. The family will spring for classes to brush up on your Krav Maga. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before applying. “If you do not have ALL the necessary qualifications, skills and experience for the role then we would politely request that you do not even bother making an application as it is a waste of our time and yours,” the family wrote in the updated ad. So far at least 1,000 people have applied for the job. And don’t think you’ll become part of this family when you take the position. After all, you are the hired help: “My husband and I are often absent due to work and social commitments, but when we are home we like to have time alone with our children. Therefore, there will be periods where we ask our nanny to take leave to allow us to have quality time as a family.” Oh, and if they do hire you for the post, you’ll have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Which means we’ll never know who these brats are.

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

A Fan to the End

Recently, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Buffalo Bills in a preseason game. Jeffrey Riegel, 56, was able to see it. But just a week after the victory, Riegel passed away. He was an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan, despite their lack of Super Bowl victories in his lifetime. In Riegel’s obituary, the longtime season ticket holder had one last request before he died: “He requested to have 8 Philadelphia Eagles as pall bearers so the Eagles can let him down one last time.” Riegel’s friend Lou Jiacopello said that Riegel told him to check out the obituary before he passed away. “The last time we spoke, he told me to check out the obituary,” Jiacopello said. “He wouldn’t tell me what it said, but he knew I’d get a kick out of it.” Now if only those Eagles could score a touchdown, we’d all get a kick out of that.

Lucky, the Lettuce Frog

Did you know you could buy a frog at Target? Well, you may have to buy a salad first, but they do have frogs in the store. That’s what Becky Garfinkel from California discovered recently when she bought a baby spring salad mix from Target. Becky was about halfway through eating her lunch when she saw the lettuce move. “As I’m pulling to go stab another bite, I see a frog sitting in my salad plate after I’ve eaten almost the entire salad. Completely freaked out – screamed. I threw up afterward because I was traumatized. I’m a vegetarian and I couldn’t believe there was a frog in there,” Garfinkel said.

After rescuing the critter and rinsing the salad dressing off Mr. Kermit (balsamic vinegar and oil do not go well with amphibians), Becky noticed that the frog was not in good health. Her husband performed mini chest compressions on it and brought it back to life. After the trauma, the couple decided to keep the frog as their pet. They are calling him Lucky. Becky said she’s “petrified” and will never eat salad again. Because you never know what other pets will be lurking.

The Air Awards

Congratulations to Matt “Aristotle” Burns who just won his second consecutive guitar award. Well, it wasn’t really a guitar championship. Burns, who traveled to Finland to defend his title, successfully beat out all his 15 competitors at the 22nd Air Guitar World Championships. Air guitar is not simple, you know. The competition is equal parts dance and guitar pantomime. Burns, who has won three U.S. championships and has three world championships second-place finishes under his belt, is the fourth-ever competitor to win back-to-back world championship titles. This year he beat Patrick “Ehrwolf” Culek of Germany and Alexander “The Jinja Assassin” of Australia, who tied for second place. Japan’s 15-year-old Show-Show placed third. Burns, who hails from Staten Island, said last year that his song choices help him stand out from the crowd. “When I first started, everybody was doing glam rock or metal,” he told the New York Post. “I based my whole character around a younger guy playing pop punk.” Wonder if he gets an air trophy.

A Dollar and a Pipedream Last week, Mavis Wanczyk went from rags to riches overnight. The 53-year-old Massachusetts woman was the sole winner of the $758.7

million Powerball jackpot, the largest haul in North American history for a single winning ticket.

“It’s just a pipe dream I’ve always had,” Wanczyk told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. “It’s just a chance I had to take.” Wanczyk bought the Powerball ticket at a store near where she works in Chicopee, located some 90 miles west of Boston. The winning numbers for the jackpot drawn Wednesday night were 6, 7, 16, 23, 26, and the final number, called the Powerball, was 4. Wanczyk, who works at Chicopee Medical Center, said she bought two quick-pick tickets and a third ticket for which she picked out the numbers herself, and the latter was the lucky one. Some of the numbers she chose were birthdays, one was her lucky number 4, and others were random, she said. A colleague was with her at the time she checked her numbers and told her she had won the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot, the second-largest in the game’s history. Wanczyk, a mother to a 31-year-old daughter and a 26-year-old son, said she was in shock. “I couldn’t drive anywhere, I couldn’t do anything,” she related. The odds of matching all six numbers are only one in 292.2 million. In addition to the single jackpot winner, there were 9,397,723 other players who won non-jackpot prizes totaling $134,981,575. California had the most winners by far, with 1,172,477. Massachusetts was home to two other winning tickets worth $1 million. The $758.7 million amount reflects the annuity payout option, in which the winner receives 30 payments over 29 years, increasing 5 percent annually. Wanczyk took a lump-sum payment of $480 million, leaving her $336 million after taxes. Police have said they are available for Wanczyk, who will now have a lot of unsolicited visitors to her simple home. Sounds like the lottery is a prize – and a curse.

Food to Fit the Mood

If flying makes you nervous, irritable or anxious, you may need to fly Monarch Airlines. Other airlines may present you with a mini bag of peanuts and stale water to soothe your nerves but Monarch has come up with another idea. The company has created a snack box to ease passengers’ hunger and anxieties. The foods are tailored to help passengers keep their spirits and their immune systems up while flying. The “Monarch Mood Food” snack box contains snacks chosen by Oxford University’s Professor Charles Spence. The experience starts before takeoff, when passengers are served echinacea and licorice ice cream to help reduce the symptoms of coughs and colds. The ice cream is black, but still delicious. Next on the menu is lavenderand green tea-flavored rice cakes. The snack is designed to help with relaxation and to counteract jet lag. Blends of herbal teas are served to prevent bloating. Still hungry? Or hangry? Enjoy an umami seaweed biscuit. Last but not least, right before landing, the final course includes a caramelized bar covered in umami mushroom and tomato powder. According to Professor Spence, umami is a special flavor to imbibe while flying. “Reduced air pressure, dry cabin air, and engine noise all inhibit taste perception, but umami is the only one of the basic tastes that manages to cut through these barriers, which is why so many passengers order a tomato juice or Bloody Mary on-board,” he explained. “Using umami tastes alongside our other flavor combinations will be comforting and satisfying for passengers.” Umami or no umami, what can do you about that kid kicking the back of my seat?

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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Available at your local Hebrew bookseller or at www.artscroll.com • 1-800-MESORAH (637-6724)

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Community

Ruach Day Camp said goodbye to summer with color war, a gala barbecue banquet, an awards ceremony, and the “Wild and Wacky Challenge.” What a great summer!

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

Around the Community

The Power of All: Easing the Tuition Burden, Together

Senator Joe Addabbo discussed local and governmental issues with his constituents during an outreach event along Main Street in Kew Gardens Hills last weekend At the bar mitzvah of Elimelech Feitman

Rav Yerucham Olshin, Rosh Yeshivas BMG, with Rav Yaakov Feitman, zaida, and Elimelech Feitman

know you, our parents, are overwhelmed by tuition bills and ensuring that your children get the education, in both limudi kodesh and chol, that they so deserve. I know you, our school principals and administrators, are overwhelmed with the stress of running a school, making payroll, managing staff, providing quality education, and ensuring our children’s futures. Real change is afoot but, unfortunately, it continues to go unnoticed. Askanim continue to focus on the potential opportunity of voucher programs and other proposals. However, the likelihood that such proposals will, in fact, become law is hardly clear. No one can promise that such proposals will become reality. But what we can point to is what we’ve already done and how you can help. Through building and leveraging political opportunities, we’ve been enormously successful. Last year, thanks to the tireless efforts of our volunteers and our member schools, Teach NYS successfully advocated for the most innovative piece of legislation to benefit our schools in generations. For the first time in our country’s history, we persuaded a state government to partially reimburse schools for the costs of the essential parts of a secular education. The State will soon begin reimbursing schools for some of the cost of science and math teachers. This program holds unparalleled and unprecedented potential for our schools and our parents, but we need your help to grow it in a meaningful way. The current State allocation for this program won’t be sufficient to cover the demand for this revolutionary program; we need your help to

make it grow. These successes mean that your yeshiva, Bais Yaakov, or day school can apply to the State for assistance in partially covering the cost of limudei chol teachers, enhancing the education of all of our children. These successes mean that for the first time we have an established and real pathway to pursuing transformational state funding levels for our schools. How did we really pave this path? By uniting the state’s top schools, partnering with the best professional strategists and political experts, garnering the support of State legislators across the political spectrum, and dedicating ourselves to the cause. We are still missing one major, powerful element of our cause: You. This year, as our precious children head back to school, know that real change is already happening. Know that we are counting on your help to reduce this tuition crisis. This past year, over 600 community members joined us in Albany to make our voices heard and press the legislature for increased funding for our schools. It was the largest group from our community to ever lobby, with one voice, in the halls of Albany. It was truly a remarkable experience, but we need to show an even stronger base. It is your support that will ease the tuition burden. We urge every parent and grandparent to become registered voters and to vote in every election, including primaries. We need our schools and communities active, firmly engaged with local legislators, at home and in Albany and City Hall, about the importance of tuition affordability and what it means to us. You can make a difference.

If you don’t include a variety of colors, textures, and flavors as part of kids’ lunches, they’ll be more inclined to head toward the snack machine to satisfy their creative palate. Rav Yaakov Feitman and Rav Yitzchok Starshefsky, zaidas, talking in learning with Rav Yerucham Olshin at the bar mitzvah

Page 74

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

8th Annual Cross River Golf and Tennis Outing to Benefit Madraigos

STEP BY STEP HELPING OUR YOUTH OF TODAY BECOME THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

Thank you!

To all our sponsors and participants for your tremendous support. Your efforts ensured that the our Golf and Tennis Outing was a great success. May we continue “step by step” to help our youth of today become the leaders of tomorrow.

financial asset management

516-371-3250 • www.madraigos.org • 936 Broadway, Woodmere, NY 11598

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Cross River Bank’s Eighth Annual Golf and Tennis Outing to Benefit Madraigos

n Monday, August 21, Cross River Bank held its Eighth Annual Golf and Tennis Outing to Benefit Madraigos at Trump National Golf Club of Westchester. Known for its challenging course, spectacular grounds, and majestic waterfall on the 13th green, it proved to be the perfect backdrop for a beautiful day of golf, tennis and networking. Madraigos was thrilled to be selected once again by Cross River and its Board of Directors to be the sole beneficiary of this most successful outing. Madraigos owes a sincere debt of gratitude to Cross River Bank for their extreme generosity and genuine vote of confidence. Madraigos also has profound gratitude to all those who very generously participated in the outing. Major event sponsors included Harborview Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs, Davis Polk, Affirm, Marlette Funding, Infinity Land Services, Beechwood, Symphony, Grand Healthcare, GreenSky, Exigent, Freedom Financial, Gourmet Glatt, Sunlight Financial, Triplenet, Hunton & Williams, Vantage Point, Mastercard, TransUnion, Republic Valuations, Singer Environmental and Weatherproof Garment Company, to name a few. Guests began arriving well before

9 AM, as many people were eager to use the grounds, tour the clubhouse, and enjoy the generous giveaways that Cross River presented to each registered golfer and tennis player. The Premium Giveaway, sponsored by Cross River and Infinity Land Services, was the Amazon Echo Show which was extremely well received by all participants. The golf umbrella was sponsored by Goldman Sachs and the jacket by Weatherproof Garment Company, both huge hits as well. The participants were also given a gym bag filled with items valued at well over $750, including a gift certificate for the Trump National Golf Club Pro Shop. Hunton & Williams sponsored the Vpar live golf scoring, a cutting edge feature which enhanced the experience throughout the day with action photos and live stats while ensuring accuracy in scoring. Golfers enjoyed the hand-held devices and seeing their foursome photos on the large TV leader boards in the clubhouse and at the BBQ. Following a lavish breakfast sponsored by Wachtel Missry, the 36 foursomes began to prepare for a competitive day of golf. Many of the event participants expressed their enthusiasm for the scenic golf course, with its world class manicured greens, and

Pro golfer Michael Michaelides from Charity Golf International (center) with golfers Ray Chan, David Aidi, Joe Toms and Dharma Naik

Rabbi Dov Silver, Founder and Executive VP of Madraigos, presenting service award to Rabbi Josh Zern with Efraim Kutner, Chairman of the Madraigos board

particularly to come out in support of such a vital cause for the community. “This is the best golf tournament in the New York metro area. We are happy to support Madraigos, especially for all they do for our youth,” said Mr. Robbie Satran, an event sponsor. Justin Goldberg, Principal at Bridgeport, CT-based Navarino Capital Management, added, “Cross River Bank definitely plans and executes the best event of the summer. It’s a testament to the incredible work that Rabbi Silver and Madraigos does. All around a lovely experience!” Remarked Mr. Adam Goller, Executive Vice President of Cross River Bank, “The 2017 outing was truly remarkable in that it provided an amazing experience to those who attended, while also promoting and supporting such a worthy cause. The client feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. While full in prior years, tennis this year was oversold and is now another attraction to this one of a kind outing.” The BBQ lunch, sponsored by Exigent and GreenSky, was already being served as the golfers began their play on the 18-hole course. The participants were treated to lamb chops, cold drinks and icy refreshments, and a misting tent and massage station provided by Zeel. Many guests came to the golf course throughout the day to enjoy the scenery and festivities and to be a part of this spectacular event. In excess of 150 additional people joined for cocktails and dinner, where elegant tables were set to accommodate the 300 people who had come together to network with the industry’s finest and to show their support for Madraigos. The wine

tasting was provided by Mark Glicksman of Atlantic Beach Wines. This year’s event was highlighted by the centennial solar eclipse as golfers and tennis players, equipped with special glasses, stopped their activities for a brief moment to admire the exceptionalism of the natural phenomenon. Food at the outing was provided by Richter Catering, who worked tirelessly to prepare delicious, unique, and eye-catching dishes. The dinner/

Participants watching the solar eclipse

cocktail was sponsored by Harborview Capital Partners. During the short dinner program, golf and tennis awards and trophies were presented. Rabbi Josh Zern proceeded with the raffle drawing of dozens of prizes valued in excess of $50,000 in donated gifts. Special raffle prizes included Bugaboo Boxer luggage, US Open tick-

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

Around the Community ets, golf vacations at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, Florida, 5 day stay at the oceanfront Casa de Campo Resort/Spa in beautiful southeastern Dominican Republic, Andrew Lock custom suit, London Jewelers gift certificate, and a gift certificate for a foursome at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester. However, a Grand Raffle Drawing for 2 tickets to “Hamilton” on Broadway attracted the most attention and excitement. Madraigos expresses its appreciation to Bentsion Janashvili of Graphic IQ for his outstanding work and expertise in marketing and graphic design of the elegant brochures, printing materials and web services. Kenneth Brown of Photographic Excellence immortalized the day with great action shots which also captured the magnificent scenery. Rabbi Dov Silver, Founder and Executive Vice President of Madraigos, said, “We are grateful beyond words to Cross River Bank and its Board of Directors for the tremendous constant flow of generosity and commitment, enabling Madraigos to serve the community of people that need our resources and services.” Rabbi Josh Zern was presented

Tennis players at the event

with a special award by Mr. Ephraim Kutner, Chairman of the Board of Madraigos, and Rabbi Dov Silver, as a token of the organization’s appreciation for seven years of excellent service as Madraigos’ executive director. The guests bid him a warm farewell as he engages in a new career. Rabbi Silver concluded the pro-

gram by welcoming Mrs. Rivka Lock as Director of Development and wished her a long and successful career at Madraigos. Funds raised at the event will assist Madraigos in providing valuable services to our community, including a 24-hour Support Line, Community Education, Crisis Intervention, Case

Management, Assessments and Referrals, School-Based Services, Educational Enhancement Program, The Lounge, GNO, Shabbatonim, Job Placement Program, Support Groups, and Yom Tov Retreats, including this year’s inspirational Rosh Hashana program which will take place at Hudson Valley Resort in the Catskills.

of Arts at Hebrew Theological College and earned her Master of Education degree in School Administration from the New England College. She is the recipient of the 2006 Milken Family Foundation Jewish Educator Award and helped create the Schlesinger Genesis STEM Academy at YULA. She is a student-centered innovator who inspires trust and confidence in students, parents and faculty.

We are proud that Mrs. Drebin will be joining the members of the SKA administration led by Mrs. Helen Spirn, Head of School; Ms. Elana Flaumenhaft, associate principal; Mrs. Deena Kobre, associate principal; Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky, director of religious guidance; Rabbi Yosef Zakutinsky, director of student programs; and Mrs. Sandi Pomerantz, assistant administrator.

Mrs. Bluma Drebin Joins SKA Administration

he Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls family is pleased to welcome Mrs. Bluma Drebin to the SKA administration in her new position as principal, general studies, for the 2017-2018 academic year. Mrs. Drebin shares SKA’s commitment to academic excellence and our mission of nurturing and empowering young women to maximize their strengths while taking personal responsibility for their learning and growth. We are deeply impressed with Mrs. Drebin’s educational vision, her commitment to personal learning, her sincerity and humility, her passion for teaching, and her extraordinary dedication to her students’ academic, personal, and spiritual growth. Mrs. Drebin is an outstanding and dynamic Jewish educator and leader who has spent the last twenty years

of her career at YULA Girls’ High School in Los Angeles, most recently as principal of general studies since 2010, and previously as Judaic studies department chair and grade level counselor. A proponent of ongoing teacher training, Mrs. Drebin has served as a Professional Development Instructor at the Online School for Girls and recently presented at the Prizmah Educators’ Conference as an Avi Chai participant in the Better Lesson program for personalized professional development. She will guide the faculty in continuing to develop and incorporate 21st century learning strategies such as blended learning, flipped classrooms and differentiated instruction while modeling new learning experiences for teachers and students alike, in her own Tanach and mathematics classes. Mrs. Drebin received her Bachelor

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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The “Summer Vacation Yeshiva” That Has Transformed Secular Youth into Bnei Yeshiva

Rabbi Chemed Grossman addressing the Acheinu Yeshiva Tefillah gathering in Kiryat Sefer

By Yosef Sosnow

hen Israel’s leading secular news channel decides to devote an entire segment of its news coverage to a story that decries your organization’s efforts to promote teshuva among youth, you know you are being successful! That is exactly what transpired last week, when Israel’s Channel 2 broadcast an “exposé” on Acheinu’s Yeshivas Chofesh Hakayitz in Modiin Illit. While the secularly biased Channel 2 bemoaned the fact that so many secular Israeli youth were using their summer vacation to increase their knowledge and observance of Torah, those who care about the kavod of Hashem and His nation celebrated! Acheinu, the kiruv arm of Dirshu and one of Eretz Yisrael’s leading kiruv organizations, places a special focus on mainstreaming those who they are mekarev by slowly integrating them into Chareidi yeshivos.

Among Acheinu’s most successful programs are its summer vacation programs where they reach out to non-religious teens during the two-month long summer vacation from school and infuse them with Torah learning. Whereas in past years Acheinu’s energetic mekarvim would set up small enclaves of shiurim in various communities where non-religious youth lived, this year they tried something different … and met with astounding success. Transforming Days of Boredom to Days of Growth Acheinu established a full-fledged summer yeshiva, called Yeshivas Chofesh Hakayitz -The Summer Vacation Yeshiva. The yeshiva, established in the Chareidi community of Modiin Illit, offered the teens an opportunity not only to be immersed in Torah learning but also to experience the totality of Torah life as lived in the Torah community of Modiin Illit. To say that

the full immersion had a profound impact on the secular youth would be a tremendous understatement. In fact, according to Rabbi Chaim Goldberg, a R”M at Acheinu’s Yeshiva and one of the primary organizers of the program, “We had over sixty teenagers from six different cities. They were totally non-religious youth who until now had attended secular schools. As of this Rosh Chodesh Elul over twenty of them have enrolled in yeshivos kedoshos and we hope that many more will follow suit. The impact of the yeshiva has been nothing short of remarkable.” Rabbi Goldberg adds, “The success of Acheinu’s newest innovative program, Yeshivas Chofesh Hakayitz, was not formed in a vacuum. For years Acheinu has organized ‘Battei Chizuk,’ small chizuk centers in strategic locations throughout Israel where Israeli secular kids can meet with Acheinu avreichim in an unthreatening atmosphere, shmuz, ask questions, enjoy

a game and a small shiur on basics in Yiddishkeit. Those same boys who come and spend time at the battei chizuk were a primary source for the summer yeshiva.” What the Kedusha of a Blatt Gemara can Do for a Child One of the great difficulties facing secular youth in Israel in the summer is dealing with the boredom of a tenweek hiatus from school. The lack of structure can lead to all kinds of negative behavior. Acheinu decided to step into the breach and created a program that would offer the teens both structure, thereby keeping them off the streets, while simultaneously enriching them with the life-giving waters of authentic Torah. “You would be amazed at what the kedusha of a blatt Gemara can do for a child! Just learning about ‘shnayim ochazim b’tallis’ infuses them with an unfathomable ruach tahara,” explains Rabbi Goldberg.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

Around the Community “After years in kiruv rechokim and observing what has worked for them and other organizations, Acheinu concluded that the ultimate key to success is aggressive follow-up and personal attention to each talmid. They sought out some of the most talented yungeleit from Modiin Illit who are learning in Yeshivas Mir Brachfeld and other yeshivos and kollelim and assigned one avreich for each talmid. Each avreich learns with his talmid, advises him and serve as his mentor, sounding board and so much more! These young people are undergoing a metamorphosis and they need a person who will help them not only learn Torah but also to navigate difficult social questions and make sure they maintain an upbeat, positive relationship with their parents, even as they embark on a lifestyle of which their parents may not initially approve.” At Acheinu they recognize that teshuva is a work in process and is not accomplished overnight. With that in mind, they provide many recreational activities for the children as well. “I remember,” related Rabbi Yisrael Layush, another member of Acheinu’s staff, “we were once slated

to go on a trip up north which was to include banana boating on the Kinneret. One talmid told me, ‘If we don’t learn for three hours before we leave, I feel we have not really earned the trip!’ I was so moved that this teen, who as of June 20 had been in a totally secular public school, already had such a heightened sense of the importance of limud haTorah after barely six weeks in our summer yeshiva!” Acheinu Enrolls Thousands of 8th Graders in Yeshivos The Acheinu summer yeshiva is just one component of Acheinu’s general programing. This summer, in addition to the yeshiva in Modiin Illit, Acheinu continued its longtime summer program entitled “Project Toronto.”Project Toronto is a program designed for boys who have learned in religious Chinuch Atzmai schools, usually in communities far from the main Torah centers. Although they have learned in religious elementary schools many of these boys come from traditional homes that are not completely Torah observant. After 8th grade, they stand at a crossroads. Should they go to yeshiva or continue

Property Tax Exemption Extended to 30,000 More Seniors and Disabled Homeowners

ew York State’s Senior Citizen Homeowners Exemption (SCHE) or Disabled Homeowners Exemption (DHE) programs offer a welcome tax break for tens of thousands of senior citizens and people with disabilities who own a home but struggling with finances.

One should never stand too close to the edge of any precipice, whether moral, physical or spiritual. Page 48

Now, a new law co-sponsored by Senator Felder and his Senate and Assembly colleagues will extend this valuable tax break to an additional 30,000 households. The state law was signed by Governor Cuomo earlier this month. A local bill legislating these programs was recently passed by the New York City Council and signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio on August 25th. Eligibility for the SCHE and DHE programs is based on the annual household income, which in past years, was capped at $37,400. The new law increases the cap to $58.400. “It’s our responsibility to make sure seniors or people with disabilities live with dignity and minimal financial stress,” said Senator Felder. “By making these valuable tax exemptions available to as many people as possible demonstrates the priorities and principles of New York State lawmakers and all of its citizens.”

in non-yeshiva high school? Acheinu appoints avreichim to befriend the boys and their parents and impress upon them the importance of choosing a yeshiva education. Over the past twenty years that Project Toronto is in existence they have been responsible for sending tens of thousands of children to yeshivos kedoshos! Rabbi Aharon Yadler, one of the Acheinu’s devoted avreichim, related, “While they are in 8th grade we develop a personal relationship with each boy. We visit them twice a week and explain to them what a yeshiva is. We take them on trips to check out yeshivos and spending Shabbos in the yeshivos. This year alone we have enrolled hundreds of boys into yeshivos – boys from communities such as Kadima, Ramat Hasharon, Herzliya and many other small yishuvim.” New Building for Acheinu’s Yeshiva L’Tze’erim Another very exciting Acheinu project that is becoming a reality as these words are being written is the new building for Acheinu’s Yeshiva L’Tze’erim being erected in the town of Kiryat Sefer. Acheinu realized that

there is a tremendous need for a yeshiva for young baalei teshuva such as those who come from Project Toronto. These young people need support in their first few years in yeshiva and cannot get the service and support they need in existing yeshivos. Acheinu’s Yeshiva L’Tze’erim is just the framework that they need. Recently a special tefillah gathering was held at the construction site of the yeshiva that is in the advanced stages of completion. The Nasi of the Yeshiva, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, addressed the gathering which was attended by both the bachurim and the staff of the yeshiva. Last year, at the hanachas even hapinah for the new Acheinu yeshiva building, HaGaon HaRav Shimon Baadani, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Torah V’Chaim and a member of the Shas Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah, emotionally exclaimed, “I have a special, abiding love for Acheinu! Why? Because Yeshivas Acheinu is unique. Many other yeshivos seek only metzuyanim, outstanding bachurim who will reflect well on the yeshiva. Acheinu just wants to work with bachurim and bring out the best in them!”

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

At the invitation of the New York City Council, Chazaq came to City Hall to open the August 24th session of the New York City Council with the official invocation. As the meeting was formally opened, R’ Yaniv Meirov, the operations manager of Chazaq, rose before the Council and gave a sermon thanking our hardworking lawmakers for their efforts. Councilman Rory Lancman and Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz also spoke, lauding Chazaq for the good they do for the community.

Avigdor’s Helping Hand Making a Difference By Susie Garber

“H

ashem protects strangers, orphan, and widow…” (Psalm 146) This year, once again, on Labor Day we have the opportunity to show our support to an amazing chessed organization, Avigdor’s Helping Hand. This unique organization brings succor to families that have lost a breadwinner and also helps orphans or geirim make a wedding. Avigdor’s Helping Hand reaches out to Jews in our community and all over the United States. If a family loses the father or mother, aside from the tremendous emotional pain, there are often financial difficulties. Even when there is life insurance it may not kick in until six months to a year later due to red tape. Avigdor’s Helping Hand steps in and helps the family with their financial obligations during that first year for the first six months. Amazingly, over the past 12 years since its inception, this organization has raised $5.4 million for bereaved families. It has helped 300 families and made 725 weddings for orphans and geirim. All of this was accomplished with zero overhead. AHH does not pay rent, salaries, or expenses. It operates with the help of 30 volunteers. AHH consists of 30 volunteers from all over New York including the West Side of Manhattan, Borough Park, Flatbush, Queens, the

Five Towns and Miami. Mr. Glaser said, “It’s amazing all the work these volunteers do.” Volunteers vet cases that are referred to AHH. Every bereaved family needs two letters from rabbanim in their neighborhood. All information is verified by speaking with the family’s rabbi. “I feel a responsibility to the tzibbur who are trusting us with their holy tzedkaka money to make sure it goes into the right hands. We do due diligence,” Mr. Glaser imparted. Some volunteers deal with credit card deposits. Some deal with writing checks for families. Mr. Michael Elias, a friend of Avigdor’s, created the website for AHH and crafts the flyers and advertising. What a zechus it is for his son Avigdor, a”h, who was niftar in September of 2005. Avigdor’s Helping Hand was started by his friends and family as a way to carry on his name and as a zechus for his neshama. The idea of the organization was born when, at that time, another bereaved family needed help with necessities. They saw a niche and decided this was an ideal way to keep Avigdor Glaser’s memory alive. The opening dinner (barbeque) took place on Labor Day of 2006, at the White Shul in Far Rockaway. “The turn-out was beyond our expectations,” states Mr. Glaser. “So, we opened a division to make weddings

for orphans and geirim. Today we are one of the largest foundation that helps make chasunahs for yesomim and also assists almanos.” Avigdor’s Helping Hand is based out of Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, and the Five Towns. Mr. Glaser stated, “We help every Yid from anywhere in America who comes for help.” The organization began a wonderful initiative of matching simchas. You can donate to a yesoma or yosam who is celebrating a simcha the same time as you. All donations are anonymous, so the donors and the receivers do not know each other’s identity. However, they are given each other’s Hebrew names to daven under the chuppah. What a beautiful way to spiritually elevate our simchas. In 2007, David and Bilhah Moradi of Lawrence, New York, reached out to AHH and offered to open their home for the Labor Day event. They have hosted this event selflessly for the past 11 years. Imagine having one thousand-plus guests at your home for a barbeque. Who is like Am Yisrael? When asked about his vision for the organization, Mr. Glaser shared that he hopes to one day be able to help families for the whole first year after a loss of a breadwinner. We would love to increase our role in the life of widows and orphans to expand different programs like bar mitzvahs.

We would need the support of the community to do this. This year’s event is scheduled to take place at the Moradis’ home on Labor Day, September 4, at 7:00 p.m. The address is 72 Muriel Avenue, Lawrence, NY. Donations to Avigdor’s Helping Hand are welcome and appreciated. This year’s barbeque will include an amazing Chinese auction with fabulous prizes such as: jewelry, tickets to sporting events, restaurants, art from Huvy’s gallery in Yerushalayim, high tech electronics, and a special surprise grand prize. Delicious catering is provided by Michael Schick. AHH is an IRS registered 501C3 recognized charitable organization. The organization’s rabbinic board headed by Rav Noach Isaac Oelbaum includes Rabbi Henoch Savitsky, Rabbi Peretz Steinberg, and Rabbi Yaakov Friedman. You can donate online at the website, avigdorshelpinghand.org. Checks payable to AHH can be sent to 138-45 78 Drive, Flushing, NY 11367. Anyone interested in volunteering or bringing a family to AHH’s attention please call 718-568-9720. The community is truly honored to have such an important organization in our midst. May the time come very soon when it will no longer be needed because Moshiach will be here!

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

TJH

Centerfold

You gotta be kidding “Dad,” said Little Johnny, “I want to play with my friends outside. Would you please do my homework for me?” Johnny’s father answered irately, “Son, it just wouldn’t be right.” “That’s okay,” replied Little Johnny, “but you could at least give it a try, couldn’t you?”

Dear Dad, $chool i$ going grea t. I am made lot$ of friend$ and am $tudying $o hard. Thing$ are great $o far, I $imply can’t th ink of anything I need, $o if you would like, yo u can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear fr om you. Love, Your $on.

ics, and Dear Son, Omy, ecoNOm N Or ro st a t a th p even an hoN e e I kNOw k to h g u O y are eN e pursuit oceaNOgraph forget that th t O N o D . sy u ou b n never student like y sk, and you ca ta le b O N a is e of kNOwledg . g u study eNO h Love, Dad

Riddle me this?

Writing Assignment Cheat Sheet Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary. An exaggeration is a billion times worse than an understatement. One should never generalize. One-word sentences? Eliminate. Who needs rhetorical questions? capitalize every sentence and remember always end it with a point Do not put statements in the negative form. Proofread carefully for typoes. Don’t never use a double negation. And don’t start a sentence with a conjunction. Comparisons are as bad as clichés. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. Don’t overuse exclamation marks!!!! Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies. If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. Proofread carefully to see if you words out. Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague!

Three teachers show up to school the first day: Mr. Brown, Mr. White, and Mr. Red. The three are wearing ties that are the three colors of their last names, although no man’s tie matches his name. Mr. Brown asks the man with the white tie if he likes red and he answers that he does not. What is the color of each teacher’s tie?

Answer to riddle: Mr. Brown can’t be wearing a brown tie (because the tie can’t be same as his name). He is not wearing the white tie either so he must be wearing the red tie. Mr. White’s tie can’t be white and can’t be red (because Mr. Brown is wearing the red tie), therefore he is wearing the brown tie. That leaves Mr. Red with the white tie.

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Let’s Brush Up on Math Trivia (No. 2 pencils only) 1) What is the fear of numbers called? a. Numbphobia b. Mathaphobia c. Arithmophobia d. Gocrzyfromnumbersphobia 2) You are offered a job as a school janitor for the month of September. The school administrator offers to pay you $73 dollars a day or if you want he will put you on the penny plan, which is he will pay you one penny the first day and double your salary for each subsequent day for the entire month. What will you do? a. You’ll take the $73 dollars a day because if you go on the penny plan you wouldn’t even make that amount the whole month b. You’ll take the penny plan c. The Trivia Commissioner is trying to be tricky because it’s obvious that you’d be better off with $73 a day but the Trivia Commissioner is trying to trip me up with a silly question! d. You don’t want to work for a boss who is trying to get you to take pennies….good luck finding someone! 3) The school candy machine sells only two things: Reisman cookies and potato chips which together cost $1.20. We know that the cookie costs $1 more than the

potato chips. How much does the bag of chips cost? a. $0.50 b. $0.25 c. $0.20 d. $0.10 4) I am a three-digit odd palindromic number that ends in 9. The sum of my individual digits is 24. Which number am I (hint: I am the age of the oldest person in the Torah, Mesuselach, when he died)? Sorry, can’t make this question multiple choice… If you don’t like it go complain to the Trivia Commissioner, which happens to be me… Hahhahahhahhahha

ANSWERS 1) C- The fear of numbers is called arithmophobia. The only time I get it is when I go on the scale.

2) B- If you took the $73 dollars a day you lost your chance to be-

come a millionaire. If you took the penny plan then you would have made $5,368,709.12 by the thirtieth day (that’s right, over $5 million!). Oh, and by the way, if it was a 31 day month then you would have walked home with a total of $10,737,418.24 (because remember: your salary doubles every day). So you $73-dollar-a-day-guys, you ought to brush up on your math or go buy a lotto ticket! 3) D-T he cookie costs $1.10 and the potato chips costs $0.10. That is the only way there is a dollar difference between the price of the two items. 4) The number is in the form of 9_9. So we will just have to fill in the blank. 24 - 9 - 9 = 6. So 969 is the number we are looking for.

Report Card 4 correct: The Trivia Commissioner thinks you’re a wacky genius, are you? 2 or 3 correct: You may be smart, but if you took the $73 a day then your smarts were useless when it was needed most. 1 correct: Not bad. The school year is starting, just pay attention in math class and things will come along – we hope. 0 correct: Maybe my arithmophobia is kicking in but what percentage did you get right? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around all the zeros.

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AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Torah Thought

Parshas Ki Seitzei By Rabbi Berel Wein

but illicit venture. However, there are times when these outside inhibitions are not present to deter one from succumbing to the temptation presented. At such times the Torah seems to imply that it will be very difficult to deny the temptation completely. During war and battle, the soldiers’ inhibitions are released. The Torah therefore proposes to channel the

he Torah deals with temptation in this week’s reading. Temptation is a constant factor in human existence. Usually we do not carry out the acts that tempt us simply because of lack of opportunity and not necessarily because of our piety. People are watching, the police are in the vicinity, the circumstances currently conspire against us being successful in this tempting

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fulfillment of this temptation rather than attempt to deny it completely. Because of this unusual set of circumstances, occasioned by war and its attendant violence and human callousness, the temptation of a defenseless attractive woman captive will be so overriding that the Torah restricted it but did not deny it completely. There is too much opportunity present here. The Torah is well aware of the frailties and weaknesses of human behavior. It never demands the impossible from G-d’s creatures. But it does impose a set of rules and a sense of discipline regarding all area of life’s activities. The set of circumstances posed by the Torah at

son who perpetrates them. This is true in commercial life as well as in personal affairs. One should always restrain one’s self from pushing the envelope too far. Every act of human behavior potentially carries with it unseen and far reaching consequences. The rabbis always advocated caution in all matters in life – in speech, in behavior and in decision-making. One should never stand too close to the edge of any precipice, whether moral, physical or spiritual. Everyone’s life experiences validate this wisdom of the sages of Israel. Don’t sit too close to the fire lest one be singed by it. Don’t lean over the fence lest one may fall. Don’t al-

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Don’t sit too close to the fire lest one be singed by it.

the onset of this week’s reading is a paradigm example of the Torah’s attitude and instructions in all other like matters. Yet in spite of all of the above, the Torah warns the Jewish soldier that there are unpleasant results and sad consequences to one’s succumbing to temptation even in “permissible” circumstances. No stable and lasting family life can be built upon such wanton initial behavior. Even acts that cannot be initially categorized as being forbidden or illegal can engender dire results later for the per-

ways justify giving into convenient temptation for there will always be unforeseen and, in most cases, very negative consequences. In a world that somehow overvalues risk taking, prudence and caution are not especially favored. Yet this week’s Torah reading illustrates, in a graphic fashion, the wisdom of restraint. The advent of the month of Elul only serves to reinforce these ideas in our hearts and minds and, most importantly, in our behavior. Shabbat shalom.

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From the Fire

Parshas Ki Seitzei Take the Battle to the Enemy By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

ashem has blessed us this Shabbos with the holiness, of Elul and the holiness of a Jewish battle. As it says in the pasuk at the beginning of the parsha (Devarim 21:10), “When you go out to war against your enemy and Hashem, your G-d, delivers them into your hand...” This pasuk promises us absolute victory. This differs markedly from the description of war found in Parshas Beha’alosecha (Bamidbar 10:9), where it says, “When war comes to your land against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall blow the trumpets...” The pesukim there describe desperate pleas to Hashem for salvation in the war. Why are we assured a smooth victory here in Parshas Ki Seitzei but the victory seems so hard-fought in Parshas Beha’alosecha? The Kotzker explains that the war described in Parshas Beha’alosecha is one where we have waited passively for the enemy to enter our land. That is why we have to blow the shofar and beg and plead for victory. But in our parsha, where we bring the battle to the enemy, we do not allow them to enter Eretz Yisroel. Instead, we initiate a preemptive strike. Therefore, “Hashem, your G-d, delivers them [easily] into your hand.” The mussar seforim, and particularly Michtav Mei’Eliyahu, speak of three territories in any war. Those territories are (i) the enemy territory, which is completely in the ene-

my’s hands; (ii) the territory which is completely under one’s own control; and (iii) the battleground which is up for grabs by both sides. The goal with respect to the battleground is first, not to let the enemy’s forces increase their territory, and second, to push forward deeper and deeper behind enemy lines to increase one’s own territory. Similarly, in our war with the evil inclination, there are certain areas which are completely under our control and over which the evil inclination does not even attempt to fight, such as keeping Shabbos, putting on tefillin, fasting on Yom Kippur, etc. Such matters are completely within our domain. On the other hand, there are matters which, although they are part of halacha, seem to be within the domain of the evil inclination and over which we feel that we are not yet ready to fight, such as, for many of us, constant awareness of Hashem’s Presence, saying every bracha with intense concentration, etc. While we hope to master these areas one day, for all practical purposes, these areas are completely in enemy hands for now.

Free Will Battleground We also have the “battlefield,” the aspects of our service of Hashem which are challenging but attainable. This area is called the nekudas habechira, the point where our ability to choose is most pronounced. If one is honest with himself about the

matters in this battlefield, he knows that if he pushes himself a bit, he can conquer more of this territory from his evil inclination. This is the battleground into which we can “go out to war against the enemy,” out of our comfort zone, into enemy lines and push the enemy further from the home front. When one takes the initiative and fights those big battles, it automatically brings a number of smaller matters in the conquered territory safely into one’s own dominion as well. The main thing is to bring the battle to the enemy and not wait passively for the inevitable onslaught of the evil inclination. This is discussed by Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the Ramchal, in Mesilas Yesharim, which every Jew should study in its entirety. In the first chapter, the Ramchal writes: Indeed Hashem placed man in a place with many obstacles which push a person away from Hashem, i.e., the physical desires which, if one allows himself to be drawn after them, distance a person continually from the true good. It is therefore apparent that man is truly placed in the midst of a fierce battle. All matters of this world, whether difficult or pleasant, are a test for man; poverty on one hand and wealth on the other. As Shlomo Hamelech said in Mishlei (30:9), “Lest I be satisfied and deny [Hashem] and say, ‘Who is Hashem?’ and lest I become im-

poverished and come to steal...” [Similarly, there is] tranquility on one hand and suffering on the other. Indeed, one is beset by battles on all sides. If one is valorous and is victorious in the battle on all fronts, he will become the perfected man who will merit to cling to his Creator. The bar mitzvah is the beginning of this life battle. That is why, starting at the bar mitzvah, one is called a bochur (young man), which has the same letters as bichur, which means to choose. That is when one’s obligation to fight these battles in the area of free choice, the nekudas habechira, the battleground of free choice, starts in earnest. Rav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev has a powerful lesson based on the mitzvah of shiluach ha’kan, sending away the mother bird before taking her young, mentioned in this week’s parsha (Devarim 22:6). He says that the chicks symbolize those of us who are too weak or lack the intellectual capacity to take the initiative to awaken ourselves spiritually to grow and push ourselves to get closer to Hashem. The mother bird (the “tzipor,” which is related to the word “ziprah,” meaning, the clarity of morning) is Hashem’s Presence which is “laying on the chicks,” delivering Divine Inspiration to keep her children connected and inspired even if they cannot initiate inspiration and growth on their own. The Torah tells us to send away the mother bird. Does this then

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mean that we should send the Divine Presence away? It does not mean that we should send away the Divine Presence, but rather we should not rely on our parents, rebbeim, or even Hashem to take charge and bring us closer to Him. We must go out to battle, take the initiative, and draw ourselves closer to Hashem. Then “Hashem your G-d will deliver your enemy into your hands,” and make sure that we accomplish the growth we set out to achieve. Every young man, bochur, (or young woman) must be a bichor, one who takes the initiative and chooses to engage in battle with the evil inclination by bringing the war to the enemy’s territory and fighting on his own terms, rather than the enemy’s. He should not rely on his wonderful parents, grandparents, rebbeim, or anyone else. He should be one who chooses, and not a boreach, one who runs away from the battle. Instead of waiting passively for the battle to come to him, he should stand on his own two feet and enter the battle. This is everyone’s battle, especially in the month of Elul.

he Gemara (Shabbos 88a) teaches that when the Jewish people stood ready to accept the Torah, “Hashem turned the mountain over their heads like a barrel and said, ‘If you accept the Torah, it is well. And

be a real Jew.” The pasuk is teaching us that the attitude of “over there” is death, it is our grave. A very wealthy Jew once came to the Chofetz Chaim and said, “I have a business proposal for you. I have six sons. In

When one takes the initiative and fights those big battles, it brings a number of smaller matters in the conquered territory safely into one’s own dominion.

if not, there, will be your grave.’” The tzaddikim ask why it says your grave will be “there.” It should have said your grave will be “here.” They explain that the greatest grave in the world is “over there.” Sometimes, a person says, “I can’t really serve Hashem here, where I am right now.” Such a person says, “Over there.” He pushed things off and says, “One day, when I make aliya/when I get married/when I get a new job/ when I can go to that yeshiva, then I can

my will, I will divide up my estate into seven portions. Each of my sons will receive one portion and one portion will be for myself, which I will give to the yeshiva on the condition that you, the Chofetz Chaim, will learn Mishnayos for the sake of my neshama during the first year after my death.” The Chofetz Chaim answered, “Why wait until after your death to give one seventh of your property to the yeshiva? Why not give it now, and instead of me learning Mishnayos

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for the sake of your neshama, why don’t you learn those Mishnayos right now?!” The Midrash Tanchuma (Beshalach 15) comments on the pasuk in Devarim (10:12), “And now, Israel, what does Hashem, your G-d, ask of you...” and notes that the word “now” implies teshuva. Why? Because the key of doing teshuva is recognizing that the time is “now!” The secret to truly living and not descending to the grave of “over there” in this world is taking the initiative. In those areas of life that are within our grasp to conquer, we must not be afraid of the battle, and we need to bravely take the battle to the enemy’s territory. When we do that, then Hashem will help us conquer that enemy territory. In the merit of our bravery in battle, may we merit complete victory against the evil inclination and the coming of Moshiach soon in our days. Amen. Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and has served as Mashpia in Yeshiva University since 2013.

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Between the Lines

Ping Pong Ball Meets Bowling Ball By Eytan Kobre

The amount of effort needed at the start pales in comparison to what your momentum can ultimately produce in the end. -Lincoln Paltz

o demonstrate the power of momentum, a motivational speaker once was asked to offer impromptu, inspirational words to a large group of employees at a team-building corporate bowling outing. The speaker borrowed a ping pong ball from the bowling alley’s arcade and then placed an adult size and weight bowling ball at the head of a lane. The employees crowded around that lane were in total disbelief when the speaker boasted that he could get the bowling ball down the lane with the help of only the tiny ping pong ball. “Mind you,” he continued, “the bowling ball weighs about 2,000 times as much as the ping pong ball.” Quieting the dubious crowd, the speaker threw the ping pong ball against the bowling ball several times until the bowling ball started to roll ever so slowly, gradually picking up speed until it made it all way down the lane (albeit ending in the gutter). Turning to the bewildered em-

ployees, the speaker declared triumphantly, “Momentum.” There is momentum in everything we do – the question is whether our actions build momentum in the direction we wish them to go. Although permissible, we are cautioned not to marry a non-Jewish woman captured in battle, for one who does so likely will have two wives (one beloved and one detested) and the product of that union will be a rebellious and wayward son. All this, because “sin begets sin” – committing one sin (however trifling) invariably leads to more (Devarim Rabba 6:4; Tan-

chuma, Ki Seitzei 1). It is for this reason that we are to “run to a ‘light’ commandment as to a stringent one, and flee from sin, because one good deed begets another good deed, and one sin begets another sin; because the reward for a good deed is (another) good deed, and the ‘reward’ for a sin is (another) sin” (Avos 4:2). In other words, don’t underestimate the ping pong ball; with momentum, it can move even a bowling ball. One Shabbos, the Koznitzer Maggid bumped into his table, inadvertently causing a candle to fall and extinguish itself. The Maggid

was visibly upset. When his son tried to console him by reminding him that it was just an accident, the Maggid explained, “I am not upset about this unintentional violation. I am concerned about what sin this unintentional violation may cause in the future.” What begins as a small, even unintentional, infraction can snowball rapidly into far more and far worse. “Praised is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and in the sinful path he does not stand, and in the company of scoffers he does not sit” (Tehillim 1:1). Now, if one doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, how would he come to stand in the sinful path? And if one does not stand in the sinful path, how would he come to sit in the company of scoffers? Ah, but that’s the point. “If he walks, he will stand; if he stands, he will sit; and if he sits, he will scoff” (Avoda Zara 18b). That is momentum for the bad. But momentum also can be a powerful force for good. Performing the positive commandment of dispersing the mother bird from her nest (so as not to see the demise of her offspring) leads to fulfilling the positive commandment of building rooftop guardrails, which, in turn, leads to fulfilling the laws regarding im-

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proper mixtures, and, ultimately, the positive commandment of wearing tzitzis (Devarim Rabba 6:4; Tanchuma, Ki Seitzei 1; Rashi, Devarim 22:8). Indeed, listening to G-d’s commandments prompts us to do so again and again (Berachos 40a). The more we listen to Him, the more we will continue to do so in the future. One good deed

“It is well known that ‘sin begets sin.’ Tell me, the people you criticize for praying belatedly, are they running off to become sinners? Of course not. It must follow, then, that their conduct is not sinful.” The Satmar Rebbe famously invested extraordinary time and effort into collecting funds with which to save Hungarian Jewry

With time and persistence, momentum has the power to run right through almost anything.

spawns another. Upon completion of the Chachmei Lublin yeshiva building, throngs of Jewish dignitaries and laypeople from all across Europe joined its inauguration and cornerstone dedication. The Boyaner Rebbe sidled up to the wealthy donor honored with laying the cornerstone. “I am not jealous that you are laying the cornerstone for this yeshiva; I am jealous of whatever other good deeds you must have done previously that merited this honor of laying the cornerstone.” The force of momentum also explains why “one who sits and does not sin is rewarded as if he performed a good deed” (Kiddushin 39b). By remaining idle and stalwart in circumstances where momentum would otherwise sway towards sin, we resist the momentum towards bad and create a new momentum towards good. It is altogether fitting, then, to be rewarded as for a good deed. And if one deed truly precipitates those that follow, we should be able to assess the value of prior deeds by the character and quality of later ones. A misnaged (early opponent of the Chassidic movement) once approached a certain Rebbe and asked how it was permitted for his followers to spend so much time preparing to pray that they would miss entirely the appropriate time for praying. The Rebbe explained:

during the Holocaust. When two of his followers were embroiled in a financial dispute, the Rebbe convinced both parties to donate the money at issue – a small fortune – to his fundraising campaign. Both men agreed to do so, provided the Rebbe blessed them on account of the immense donation. It was not long before another fight broke out as to who rightfully deserved the Rebbe’s blessing, each claiming that it was really their donation that warranted a blessing. The Rebbe told them, in characteristic fashion, “It is a well-known teaching that one good deed begets another good deed. So if you want to know who got the credit for the last donation, let’s see who is prepared to make the next donation.” *

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It is a law of physics that objects at rest tend to stay at rest, whereas objects in motion tend to stay in motion. What separates the former from the latter? Momentum. With time and persistence, momentum has the power to run right through almost anything. All it takes is a ping pong ball moving in the right direction.

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

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The Observant Jew

Once Upon a Time By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

recently came upon a book of stories that had originally been shared at Melave Malka, the traditional “Farewell to the Shabbos Queen” meal held on Saturday nights. It seems that there is a custom at this meal to tell stories of great and righteous people. One story stuck out in my mind, presumably because of a personal family connection. Before my great-grandfather came to America in 1898, he went to get a blessing from R’ Chatzkeleh Shinover, R’ Yechezkel Halberstam, z”l, famed son of R’ Chaim Sanzer, z”l. The story I read involved him. It seems that his much younger brother, Shulem Lazer Halberstam, Hy”d, had a special table in his home which he valued so much that he moved it with his belongings whenever he moved, despite it having a broken tabletop. In fact, it wasn’t despite the table being broken, but because of it. The story goes that one day R’ Chatzkeleh had used the facilities and was saying the Asher Yatzar prayer afterwards, praising Hashem for the miracles of the human body. He stood there for some time with his eyes closed, brow furrowed, and lips moving. It was assumed that after Asher Yatzar, he had continued with the other morning brachos, which would explain the lengthy time he spent in prayer. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “…rofeh chol basar u’mafli laasos! Healer of

all flesh Who does wondrous things!” the end of the Asher Yatzar bracha. As he did so, he clapped his hand to the table in emphasis and he broke the tabletop! His brother kept this as a proud memento of his brother’s greatness. After reading this story, and thinking about it, I found it impressive that someone had so much concentration in the bracha of Asher Yatzar that he was infused with such passion and energy. Then something else bothered me. If he was so passionate about this bracha, shouldn’t there have been many broken tabletops? Obviously, since there was only one, this was likely the only time he said it with such conviction and energy that it manifested itself in this way. And it was memorable. R’ Shimshon Pincus, z”l, wrote about this type of event. He suggested that we grab flashes of greatness. If guarding one’s speech constantly like the Chofetz Chaim did is greatness, then guarding our speech even sometimes is a flash of greatness. It’s something to be treasured and not ignored. We shouldn’t feel, “I can’t learn Daf Yomi every day so what’s the point?” Learn whatever days you can and you’re ahead. Have you ever heard of someone saying he was unable to go to work one day so he just gave up on the whole week? Of course not. Whatever we do is important.

I think there’s more to it as well. Why did R’ Chatzkeleh’s brother treasure that table? Because it showed the heights to which his brother could ascend, even sporadically. When we act as our very best selves, even once in a while, it is a reflection of who we truly are and who we can be. Think of the time you were tempted in an argument to say something hurtful and nasty, but you felt it was going too far and you bit your tongue. There may have been other times that you didn’t bite your tongue; times when you said something you ought not to have, but that doesn’t take away the fact that you are someone with the innate ability to control yourself. Every spiritual victory is to be savored, but it should also be a reminder to us of just how much greatness we can achieve. During Elul and the Aseres Yemei Teshuva, we try to be on our best behavior. We try to accept things upon ourselves to improve, and when we write correspondences we end with a blessing for a good new year, showing a love for each other. It is brought down in Shulchan Aruch that we do not eat pas palter (bread baked by a non-Jew, even commercially) during the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Even if we know we will not adhere to these additional actions later on, it is not hypocrisy. On the contrary, we are taking the opportunity to grow and show our-

selves what we’re really made of. I even think of it like a bagel. Some people like to order a bagel “scooped out.” Much of the inner bread is removed, thus lowering the carb/calorie count. However, when it is being filled with tuna fish or egg salad, the “scoop out” allows the bagel to hold more of the food. When we do things that stretch our souls, I feel like we’re scooping out the physicality and making more room for the G-dliness. Even if we don’t do these things all the time, we’ve carved out a channel in our being for the flow of kedusha. So, revel in the moments of greatness, knowing that they matter tremendously, and that each one brings us closer to the ideal of who we should want to be…even if it’s only once or twice upon a time.

Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. You can find him at www.facebook.com/ RabbiGewirtz and follow him on Twitter @RabbiJGewirtz. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion. Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@JewishSpeechWriter. com and put Subscribe in the subject.

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A Fulfilled L fe

Giving Jewishly By Rabbi Naphtali Hoff, PsyD

few years ago, I attended a presentation by ISM (Independent School Management). The presenter shared much independent school-related data, associated with such matters as strategic planning and enrollment trends, including the impact (or non-impact) that the current recession has had on national independent school enrollment. When the question of tuition pricing came up, he shared a “rule of thumb” that he normally uses to advise clients, that tuition prices should be set at 95% of the cost to educate a child. Fundraising will make up the small difference. However, he did note one exception, one that was very much germane to those assembled in the room. The exception was Jewish day schools, which, he said, can get away with charging 85% of the cost of educating a Jewish child. For us, philanthropy is so central to our culture and such a core value for even the largely disconnected and unaffiliated Jew that we can manage to educate our children

while charging parents a significantly lower percentage of core tuition costs than any other denomination. Where does this charitable spirit come from? The answer is obvious enough. The Torah made giving, whether to each other or to our shared spiritual institutions, a central part of Jewish life. R’ Assi said: “A man should never neglect to give the third of a shekel [for tzedaka] in a year, as it says, ‘Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our L-rd.’” (Nechemia 10:33) R’ Assi further said: “Tzedaka is equivalent to all the other mitzvos combined, as it says, ‘Also we made ordinances’: it is not written, ‘an ordinance’, but ‘ordinances.’” (Bava Basra 9a) But another factor, undoubtedly,

in our nation’s largesse was the fact that our patriarchs’ lives (particularly those of Avraham and Sarah) were filled with acts of loving kindness. In Ruach Chaim, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin notes the slight change in terminology between Avos 5:4, which refers to Avraham by the term “avinu” (our father), in contrast to the preceding Mishna, where the title is omitted. He states that the reason for the distinction is due to the fact that the previous Mishna focuses on pure genealogy, namely the ten generations from Noach to Avraham. In that respect Avraham was not decidedly more of a paternal figure for our nation than was Noach, from whom all of humanity originates. What distinguishes Avraham as our collective father, says R’ Chaim, is the fact that he successfully completed a series of tests – the focus of the subsequent Mishna – that strengthened and internalized his deep sense of belief. That belief he bequeathed to future generations, as if through our genetic code, becoming our progenitor on a

much deeper level. Numerous illustrations bear out this point. Take, for example, the issue of self-sacrifice. Why is it, asks R’ Chaim, that so many Jews, even the irreligious, have been willing to sacrifice their own lives for the sanctification of heaven? The answer: Because of Avraham’s readiness to choose death in a fiery furnace rather than acquiescing to the sacrilegious demands of King Nimrod. We see this again in relation to our historic connection to the Holy Land. To what can we attribute a Jew’s ever-present longing for his national homeland, even after nearly two millennia of life in exile? To Avraham, who hearkened to Hashem’s voice and left his extended family and homeland for a faraway, unknown destination (Canaan, i.e. Israel). Yet another application of this idea is the Jewish penchant for physical and spiritual endurance. What has allowed Jews to develop tolerance for even the intolerable, assured that all

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Moav’s heinous act, as if to indicate that it trumped Balak’s hire? According to Ramban, these two nations each owed Bnei Yisrael a tremendous debt of gratitude for all of the kindness that Avraham had shown their ancestor Lot. Avraham saved his nephew twice, from the four kings (Bereishis 14) and from the upheaval of S’dom. By refusing to acknowledge the good that was bestowed upon them, and “returning the favor” with attempts at destruction or displays of hardheartedness, it was clear that Lot’s descendants had internalized their own form of spiritual DNA, one that would never mesh with the fundamental kindness

That belief he bequeathed to future generations, as if through our genetic code, becoming our progenitor on a much deeper level.

An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the L-rd; even the tenth generation shall never enter the assembly of the L-rd. Because they did not greet you with bread and water on the way, when you left Egypt, and because he [the people of Moav] hired Bilaam the son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim against you, to curse you. (Devarim 23:4-5) It is certainly logical that a nation that was willing to hire a potent prophet for the sake of destroying the Jewish people, G-d forbid, should be precluded from marrying into said nation. The fact that they were long lost cousins only exacerbated the problem. But should the fact that the people of Ammon neglected to offer their Jewish cousins bread and water as they traveled wearily through the desert warrant such a harsh, eternal consequence? And why did Hashem place Ammon’s refusal even before

and charitability of Avraham’s progeny. And while we may be able to excuse away the people of Moav due to the foolishness of their king or the perceived sense of danger that they faced, Ammon had no such excuse. In fact, Ramban points out that they were even worse than Eisav’s offspring, who at least brought food to their boundary for the Jews to enjoy. Ammon did not even do that. We all know the power of tzedaka. “And teshuva and tefilla and tzedaka remove the evil decree.” May the merit of our nation’s generosity, one that allows us to defy the natural limitations of educating our children, serve as a merit for us as we approach our days of judgment. Rabbi Naphtali Hoff, PsyD, is an executive coach and president of Impactful Coaching & Consulting. He can be reached at (212) 470-6139 or at nhoff@ impactfulcoaching.com. Learn more about his soon-to-be-released book, Becoming the New Boss and download a free chapter at BecomingtheNewBoss. com.

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The Ribnitz Rebbe Took Care of Me “I’d like to share with you the reason why I chose a Tehillim Kollel membership at the Tzion of the Ribnitz Rebbe. When I was a young boy, I was born into a beautiful family, filled with Talmidei Chachamim. My fathers, my brothers, they all excelled at their learning. But I was different. I tried really hard but I could never be like them. I wasn’t born with the same talents. My father was always disappointed in me. During the years of my struggle, I frequently visited the Ribnitz Rebbe and poured out my heart and all my pain. The Rebbe was always warm and encouraging, and by the end of the visit, I felt uplifted and comforted. My father never knew about these times.” “Later on, I went to learn in Eretz Yisroel and I continued to maintain a personal connection with the Ribnitz Rebbe. I was very saddened by his Petirah, feeling like I lost a person who truly cared about me.” “One day, my father called me and asked, “You know the Ribnitz Rebbe?” I was so surprised. I asked, “Why, how do you know?” He shared with me that an old friend from his yeshiva days, who he hadn’t seen in 20 years, called him up, with regards for me from the Ribnitz Rebbe. This friend had a dream in which the Ribnitz Rebbe told him, “Call up your friend Avraham and tell him that his son Shmuel is going to be okay. He is a good boy and he will see a lot of nachas from him.” “My father is Avraham. I am Shmuel. The Ribnitz Rebbe continued to take care of me and look out for me, after his Petira! And that’s why I chose a membership at his Tzion. I am sharing this story so that others know. If you develop a connection with the Rebbe, if you daven at his Kever or send messengers to daven for you through Tehillim Kollel, he will take care of you too.”

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would eventually work out for the best? Again Avraham, who, despite the crippling famine that greeted him upon his arrival in Canaan, never once questioned the divine plan. These and other spiritual qualities – including a life devoted to charitable giving and chessed – were transmitted directly to the Jewish people due to the self-sacrifice and fundamental faith of Avraham Avinu. It is perhaps for this reason that the Torah takes such a strong stand against the men of Ammon and Moav, who were permanently forbidden from entering into the Jewish nation (through marriage).

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Jewish History

Memoirs of a Forgotten Rabbi The Troubled Life of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ferber By Rabbi Pini Dunner Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ferber (1883-1966) was a Lithuanian-born Torah scholar who spent fifty years as the spiritual leader of a small community in the West End district of London. In several previous articles Rabbi Dunner introduced us to Rabbi Ferber’s memoirs, allowing us to glimpse the life of this revered rabbi for the very first time since he began recording it in vivid detail in 1938. After a brief hiatus, Rabbi Dunner is continuing his translation of Rabbi Ferber’s memoirs. The narrative continues with the story of Rabbi Ferber’s family and early life experiences. The translation is not a word-for-word rendition of the original Hebrew. Rabbi Dunner has stuck as closely as possible to the original, except where the Rabbinic Hebrew makes an exact translation difficult, or where ambiguities need to be corrected. The material has also been abridged where necessary, or expanded where more details are required.

MORE MEMORIES OF MY FAMILY AND TEACHERS My Late Brother’s Children After my brother, Rabbi Eliezer Lipman, passed away, his four younger children – Dovber, Moshe, Eidel, and Yaakov – moved in with my parents so that they could receive a proper Jewish upbringing, and my father fully supported them, even though he was experiencing financial difficulties in his old age. The children moved in after my sister-in-law, Chaya Gitel, married again on the advice of her brother-in-law, Rabbi Yitzchak Sapir, who had replaced my brother as the rabbi of Koznitza after he passed away. My brother’s eldest son, David, was a wonderful boy – bright and sharp, a Torah scholar, and so polite and well-behaved. He did not move in with my parents. His mother sent him to Volkovisk, in the Suwalk region, to study at the yeshiva there. One day, as he was sitting at the table of the shochet with whom he ate his meals, he suddenly keeled over and died. It was just before the month of Kislev, in 1896. Everyone assumed David’s passing was caused by the pain and depression he suffered after his father’s death, compounded by the anguish

he felt at the sale of his father’s precious library and the loss of his father’s manuscripts, which were neglected by people who were unaware of their true value. David was treated very respectfully after his passing; Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ma-Yofis, the distinguished rabbi of Volkovisk, personally delivered a stirring eulogy at his funeral. When we eventually heard the terrible news of young David’s death, we were all overcome with grief. What a tragedy! He was definitely the finest of all my brother’s children – such a magnificent boy in every way. He was only 18 when he died, and I always make a point of mentioning his name together with the names of my parents and other family members when reciting memorial prayers. Meanwhile, after spending some time at my parents’ home, the other children were sent to Texas. It was all the fault of my sister-in-law. She had married a wealthy, respectable man from Grodno called Isaac ... but as a result of the marriage her children were all sent away. The new husband inverted the verse (Devarim 22:7), “Send the mother away, and take the children” – instead, he sent the children away, and took their mother. At the time, I was still young and

foolish, and I wrote him an extremely rude letter in which I indelicately quoted the verse from Bereishit (20:3) that records G-d saying to the King of the Philistines, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken…” It was a terrible thing to have done, particularly because – to my great embarrassment – he died shortly afterwards. In any event, my sister-in-law married a third time – but soon afterwards her third husband also died, so she went off to join her children in Texas. It was too late, and she derived no joy whatsoever from her children. They had grown up without a father and mother and had consequently drifted very far away from their late father’s ways. After some time in Texas my sister-in-law also passed away. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Orlianski – a remarkable public speaker and noted author, who as a young man had been a student of my late brother and a frequent guest at my sister-in-law’s table – traveled all the way from New York to deliver a eulogy. After she died, the children sent me some money to publish a small selection of my late brother’s writings that I had managed to rescue with the help of his brother-inlaw, Rabbi Sapir. Meanwhile, I am glad to say that

Title page of “Divrei Eliezer” by Rabbi Eliezer Lipman Ferber

my brother has not been forgotten. After his death, some members of his community paid to have a small tomb structure built over his grave, and whenever something bad happens in Koznitza they visit his graveside and pray there. Even all these years later they still sing his praises, referring to him as the “tzaddik” (righteous one), and they continue to revere his memory.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

Life at Home after My Brother’s Passing My brother’s death at the prime of his life took a terrible toll on our family. We felt his absence with every step we took. We had lost our pride and glory. Only my brother David and I remained at home with our parents, and we were filled with sorrow and sadness. My father was physically weakened by our brother’s death – firstly, because he had lost his son, but also because he initially had to take care of the young orphans, and he was no youngster. He was also short of money, as he was no longer able to work and earn as much money as he had when he was younger. Despite all these problems, my parents continued to host Torah scholars for all the meals at our home and labored unbelievably hard to raise my older brother, David, and me, in the proper Torah way. My mother personally took me to yeshiva each day, and from one yeshiva to another, and I can remember her taking me to study with a teacher called Rabbi Avremchik and another one called Rabbi Leibchik Cherness, who was an incredible Torah scholar, the father of Rabbi Yaakov Dovid Luria, the current rabbi of Glasgow, Scotland. My mother also took me to study at the private yeshiva of a great rabbi, Rabbi Tzvi Hirschel Levitan. At Rabbi Levitan’s yeshiva there was a fantastic teacher, a devout and saintly man called Rabbi Shaul Porush, who had a profound impact on me and particularly on my public speaking ability. He was a first-class preacher, effortlessly fluent in scripture and Midrashic narratives, and with an encyclopedic knowledge of the great homiletic rabbinic works. He literally had a sermon ready to deliver for every occasion. Rabbi Shaul was a fiery opponent of Jews who had abandoned their faith, against whom he would rail mercilessly in his public speeches. But on every other subject Rabbi Shaul was an uplifting, inspirational speaker. He recognized my unique homiletic talent, and he even included some of my ideas in his writings, as I discovered after he died, when the manuscripts came into the possession of Rabbi Joseph Levitan,

Rabbi Tzvi Hirschel’s son. Rabbi Shaul was a tall man with a long flowing beard, and he had a very strong presence. He was totally destitute, and apparently nobody had ever bothered to concern themselves with his material needs, until one day he unexpectedly became ill and

mourning houses; we simply can’t handle so much ‘good!’” Kovno’s itinerant preacher, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Hacohen, gave the next eulogy, and then it was the turn of Rabbi Shabbetai Marim, the community rabbi in Slabodka, who based his eulogy on the verse from Isaiah

Suddenly he cried out: “We have had more than enough of the ‘good’ of visiting mourning houses! We can’t handle this abundance of ‘good’ anymore!”

died shortly afterwards. It was the summer of 1896, and I don’t think he was even sixty-years-old, despite the fact that his beard was more white than black. Rabbi Shaul’s death really upset me – he had loved and favored me so much as his student. We had often taken long walks together, and I had so enjoyed listening to him share his wonderful Torah ideas while we walked. He had a large, respectable funeral and was eulogized by the rabbi of Slabodka, Rabbi Moshe Danishevsky. I distinctly remember what Rabbi Danishevsky said that day. He began by quoting the verse in Kohelet (7:2): “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting.” “Does that mean visiting a house of mourning is a good thing?” he asked, rhetorically. “How would that make any sense?” Suddenly he cried out: “We have had more than enough of the ‘good’ of visiting mourning houses! We can’t handle this abundance of ‘good’ anymore! We recently lost the patriarch of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, and we visited his house of mourning. Then we lost Rabbi Menachem Shraga, the rabbi of Ferman, who came to Kovno for medical treatment and ended up dying here, and we had to visit his mourning house. Then there was Rabbi Yehoshua Yosef Preil, also here for medical treatment, and he died too – and we went to visit his mourning house. And now this! Enough with the

(57:1), “The righteous are taken away because of the bad.” “This verse,” he began, “can either be interpreted to mean that the righteous are spared from seeing evil in the future, or that they are taken from us as penance for evil in the world.”

Rabbi Marim paused and looked around, and then began sobbing uncontrollably, finally crying out: “I say that in this case it means that the righteous man died to be spared from his dreadful situation, from his poverty and destitution.” He compared the loss of Rabbi Shaul to a rich man who has lost his wealth and is forced sell everything – his home, his land, his furniture – until eventually he has nothing left to sell besides for his Torah scroll. Rabbi Marim was crying bitterly. “We have lost everything,” he wailed, “we have descended to the depths, and now we have been forced to sell our Torah scroll, the righteous Rabbi Shaul – woe is to us!” In next week’s column, Rabbi Ferber describes more of his siblings and their families.

Rabbi Pini Dunner is the Rav of Young Israel North Beverly Hills in California.

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AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Israel Today

Strike Out! By Rafi Sackville

nless a teacher is working in a private school, he or she is required to join a union. There are two teacher unions in Israel: junior high school is run the by Histradut; high school teachers are a part of the Irgun. The latter is run by the ubiquitously visible Ran Erez, who never misses a chance to make headlines. Mr. Erez is accustomed to sending out emails on such a regular basis that many teachers have become immune to his cries. This has been an exceptionally loud year, with threats of strikes and other actions arriving in our mailboxes with the persistency of a long Israeli summer. A few years ago while on a school trip a student tragically lost his life. The formal inquiry exonerated the teaching staff accompanying the students of negligence. Not happy with the official report the parents took the teachers to court. The union reacted quickly, but not efficiently; they now forbid teachers to accompany students on school trips. This put an end to most excursions; those trips which were booked well in advance were allowed to go ahead due to the loss of the deposit. In effect this meant there are some trips that take place and others that don’t. That was last year. This academic year got underway this year without a hitch, but suddenly in early November the union re-instituted the ban on teachers accompanying students on trips. In the background to all this are an outstanding number of complaints the unions have with the

Ministry of Education relating to the sad fact that approximately 4% of registered teachers are not paid on a regular basis. It was at the end of November and the beginning of December that the two aforementioned issues found themselves on the front pages of the country’s newspapers. The state student union threatened to strike if a resolution to the matter of school trips was not found. The strike loomed. The students sat down with the ministry of education and resolved their differences. The following week Mr. Erez went into action. As if his thunder had been stolen from underneath him, Mr. Erez promptly called for a partial strike until the outstanding issues of salary and a plethora of other matters were resolved. On the first Sunday night in December word went out that a strike would be called for the following day until 10 in the morning. This was going to prove very difficult for our school. The 10th grade was scheduled to take a major exam between 8:30-10:00. It would mean rescheduling. Some teachers were wily enough to send out messages to their students along the lines of “In case of breaking news, check the news updates before you go to sleep and early in the morning...” I suppose that most people go to sleep at a reasonable hour. If school starts at 8:30, I assume students are asleep, or on their way there, by midnight at the latest. Not wanting to disrupt the country’s educational system the Minister of Education, Naftali Bennet, took

the teacher’s union to court. The court placed an injunction against the union taking any strike action. The decision went into effect at 12:30 Monday morning, while the world was sleeping peacefully. I include myself among those peacefully snug under warm blankets at midnight. I awoke the following morning assuming the strike was still on. I didn’t check the news outlets; I should have. I didn’t call any colleagues; I should have. I got to school at the same time, 7:20a.m. Fifteen minutes later the math department arrived as they usually do, with good cheer and bonhomie. The strike is off, Uriel announced. Imagine the confusion as each teacher walked into school. Most had no idea the strike was off. Regardless of who knew, what is worse is that some teachers had no idea a strike had actually been called in the first place. There’s a difference between students in the top classes and the strugglers. The former are naturally conscientious. They are the type of kids who, unlike me, will check their phones for updates. They do the right thing all the time. Kids like this turned up to school en masse, on time. What eventuated among these classes was total attendance. The other classes weren’t as busy. Some students wandered in an hour late. There are some students who are regularly late, understood the strike had been called off, and so applied their natural law of consequences to this strange day in school: meant to start at 10am, they wandered in like lost and innocent sheep any time af-

ter that hour. There were some students who didn’t arrive at all. I tried contacting several of my homeroom students, a few who finally contacted me much later in the day. Why weren’t they in school, I asked. That was the first mistake I made, for the plethora of reasons defy logic, including the obvious: there’s a strike today. Mr. Erez was quick to respond to the court injunction and sent out a longwinded email restating the teachers’ claim, as well as pointing out to Mr. Naftali Bennet that, even if he thinks he’s played the union like an orchestra leader, we haven’t gone away and will continue to fight for what is right and what is ours, and what, what, what. During the penultimate week of 2016 all local municipal councils called a strike. This included all schools. Ran Erez sent out a letter of support for the strike suggesting teachers come to school, but not to teach. Our principal sent us a late night email explaining how our school wouldn’t be affected because the chain of schools we work for is an independent body. That was the last email. So far there have been no sounds of discontent or unrest. We are hoping for an entire school year without disruptions. The world of education is not holding its breath, however. Israel is like cowboy country, where anything goes. Rafi Sackville, formerly of Cedarhurst, teaches in Ort Maalot in Western Galil.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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s of Tuesday afternoon, over 11 trillion gallons of rain had been dumped over the state of Texas by Hurricane Harvey. It is predicted that by the time what is now called Tropical Storm Harvey finally leaves the state, 14 trillion gallons more will have fallen. That’s a total of 25 trillion gallons of rain that will deluge Texas and surrounding areas. Between midnight on Friday and 9:20am on Tuesday a whopping 49.20 inches of rain fell on the Lone Star state – a record for continental U.S. from a land-falling tropical cyclone, the National Weather Service said. “The word catastrophic does not appropriately describe what we’re facing,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents much of Houston. “We just don’t know when it’s going to end.” Hurricane Harvey hit Houston as a category 4 hurricane – that’s out of a scale of 5 – with winds reaching 130 miles per hour on Friday night. The unprecedented damage that took place is due to the fact that Harvey hadn’t seem to want to leave the area. Instead of moving on to other areas and distributing its floods of water, the storm has stayed put in Houston for most of its cycle. Aside from the rain, several small tornadoes have been created from Harvey’s power, adding more chaos and tragedy. Harvey’s rain and subsequent floods pummeled Houston for

many days, and many were forced out of their homes as rising waters swamped their belongings and families. In just 15 hours, Houston 911 received 56,000 calls for help. More than 3,400 people were rescued from their homes. Each family rescued is a family that knows that, even if they will be coming back to their homes in their near future, they will be facing disaster – rotting food, damaged furniture, destroyed mementos, crumbling walls. Many Houston residents

presumed to be dead after the van they were using to flee was swept into a river and sank. The driver of the van, the children’s great-uncle, Samuel Saldivar, managed to escape. The others, Manuel Saldivar, 84, his wife Belia, 81, Devy Saldivar, 16, Dominic Saldivar, 14, Xavier Saldivar, 8, Daisy Saldivar, 6, are all believed to have drowned. Samuel told the children to open the back doors to the van before they went under, but they were unable to do so. “I’m just hoping we find the bod-

“Nobody’s ever seen anything this long. Nobody’s seen this kind of water. Probably, there’s never been something so expensive in our country’s history.”

don’t have proper flood insurance. Faced with this devastation they will be forced to dig into their pockets or go into debt in order to rebuild.

side from the material losses suffered as a result of Harvey, at least 15 people have lost their lives in the catastrophe. Sadly, a family of six is believed to have perished as they tried to escape the unprecedented flooding. Four children and their two great-grandparents are

ies,” Virginia Saldivar, a relative, said. Another victim, police Sgt. Steve Perez, perished in the storm. On Sunday, in an effort to get to work in the early morning hours, Perez spent two-and-a-half hours driving to his station. But the 34-year Houston police veteran drove into an underpass during the flooding and drowned. He was just two days shy of his 61st birthday. Perez’s body was recovered on Tuesday morning.

Before going to work on Sunday morning, Perez’s wife had begged him to stay home. “I’ve got work to do,” he told her before heading out. On Monday, a woman in her 60s was napping in her bedroom when a large oak tree landed on her home. Rescue workers waded through waist-deep water to rescue the woman. By the time they found her, though, she was already dead.

n an effort to save as many people as possible, volunteers struggled through oceans of filthy floodwater to rescue those who were stranded. Their rescue vehicles differed: some used fishing boats, others drove in large SUVs, one volunteer was spotted using a dump truck to save survivors. Residents stood on rooftops or waded in waist-deep water before being rescued. People were told to hang sheets or towels on their homes to signal that rescue was needed. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated the entire Texas National Guard, roughly 12,000 Guardsmen. Some residents became desperate as they waited for help. Volunteers in rescue boats have said that people rushed to get into their boats, even though they were full. Clyde Cain of the Cajun Navy, a Louisiana-based rescue force that gained fame during Hurricane Katrina, said that after one of his team’s boats broke down, people tried to steal the inoperable watercraft while

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

the crew sought shelter in a delivery truck, “They’re making it difficult for us to rescue them,” he said earlier in the week. “You have people rushing the boat. Everyone wants to get in at the same time. They’re panicking. Water is rising.”

tories of kindness in the midst of the disaster have been circulating. In one instance, Annie Smith, who was preparing to have a home birth, went into labor as her house was surrounded by rising waters on Sunday. She and her husband, Greg, are doctors. When they realized that they needed to go for help, Greg began collecting supplies for the birth – scissors, sewing needles – from around the house and asked his mother to boil water. Fifteen people came to the apartment to help with the delivery. Numerous calls to the National Guard went unanswered until finally Annie called the director of her fellowship program. He was able to get in touch with a rescue crew. Finally, a flatbed truck came to the Smiths’ door. But at that time, the water was too high, and neighbors and firefighters formed a human chain to help Annie to the back of the truck. The Smiths finally got the hospital, and their newest addition, Adrielle, was born twelve hours later. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces.

till, the catastrophe continued. On Tuesday, three days since Harvey took landfall, Houston’s Addicks Reservoir overflowed and breached a levee in nearby Brazoria County. The county sits between the Gulf of Mexico and Houston. Floodwaters from the reservoir deluged nearby streets. “Get out

now!” Brazoria County official tweeted. Even if residents did leave, officials were at a loss as to where they should go. According to county spokeswoman Sharon Trower, “The Brazos River is being pounded, and all of that water is coming down from the tributaries and creeks into the river,” she said. “All the roads around us are flooded. We don’t have any evacuation routes to tell people to take.” More than 9,000 evacuees had gathered in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center – almost double the amount of cots available. Those without cots were given pillows and blankets by the Red Cross to sleep on the floor. Jim McIngvale, who owns furniture stores in Houston and Richmond and is known as “Mattress Mack,” pitched in to help those displaced from the storm. On Sunday, he opened up his two stores to evacuees. “Houstonians have a safe, dry place to take shelter at Gallery Furniture so if they can get here they are welcome,” McIngvale said in the store’s press release. “We hope to give them some comfort in this incredibly difficult time.” “We have tons of mattresses in our warehouse, and we can provide them with a blanket,” Mattress Mack told CNN. “We have a restaurant inside the stores, and we are feeding them for free.” It didn’t take long for over 400 people to fill his stores, enjoying relative comfort and three meals due to McIngvale’s generosity. McIngvale also opened up his doors to 200 evacuees during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005. In contrast to Mattress Mack, televangelist Joel Osteen faced enormous criticism after he post-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

ed that his 17,000-seat megachurch was closed to evacuees due to severe flooding conditions. The internet was filled with condemnation for Osteen, with one person posting a video of themselves walking up to the doors of the church on Monday. Another person posted, “Joel Osteen has a net worth of $56M and lives in a $10M home. Opening your home to people in need shouldn’t be a problem.” The Osteens finally got the message, and on Tuesday Osteen tweeted, “Victoria and I care deeply about our fellow Houstonians. Lakewood’s doors are open and we are receiving anyone who needs shelter.” He added that he was looking for donations and volunteers. Even when people were able to find shelter, there were health concerns to consider as well. Take, for example, those who were stuck in floodwaters or had to jump into rescue vehicles during the storm. Some of them have been experiencing trauma in connection to what they went through. Social worker Brittany Burch told NPR, “A lot of people are really overwhelmed, stories of having to jump in a boat or get a helicopter out, wade through waist-high water, losing everything,” she said. “So just a lot of people in shock, trying to adjust to what’s happened and what happens from here.” Others have been suffering from before the storm and are in dire need of their medications. Some people with mental disorders are uncomfortable coming forward to volunteers for help with their illness. Additionally, there is a sizeable amount of people who are on dialysis. DaVita, a leading provider of dialysis services

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017 OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Evacuees sleeping on the floor of the George R. Brown Convention Center

President Trump in Corpus Christi

nationwide, says the company normally serves approximately 6,700 patients in Houston. About a third of their 100 or so centers in the city are still open for all patients who need dialysis, according to Chakilla Robinson White, who oversees operations at DaVita’s dialysis centers in Texas and neighboring states. The company is trying to call their patients to help them to get their treatments. For those who are undergoing dialysis missing treatment for even one day can be extremely dangerous, especially for the heart. DaVita has been working to get staff into their crowded dialysis centers. “We’re working on bringing in boats to actually get our teammates in some of the neighborhoods where they’re unable to escape through the flood,” White says. “It’s amazing how many teammates have had hardships themselves, losing part of their homes and still showing up to treat our patients.”

ome have asked why Houston, which is flat and susceptible to flooding, was never put under an evacuation order before Harvey hit. Mayor Sylvester Turner has stood by his decision. “You literally cannot put 6.5 million people on the road,” Turner said in a press conference on Sunday. “If you think the situation right now is bad, you give an order to evacuate, you are creating a nightmare.” Over the few days of storm, certain counties and areas were told to evacuate. Most of the orders issued were mandatory; others were voluntary.

As is the case with other disasters, looting was a concern as people fled, and stores and homes were flooded. But on Tuesday, Police Chief Art Acevdeo made it clear that Houston will not tolerate any looting. “This is the state of Texas,” he said. “We’re a welcoming city, but we are not going to tolerate people victimizing, especially committing armed robberies in our community. We’re going to catch you, and I promise you this: We are going to push hard – I’ve talked to the district attorney – to seek the fullest prosecution possible available for any crime that is committed.” He added that he will urge judges and juries to give any looters the toughest sentences. “So word to the wise: Don’t come to Houston,” Acevdeo warned, “because you’re going to be caught. And I guarantee you when you take advantage of people and prey on them in these circumstances, that’s despicable behavior and we’re all going to push hard to make sure you don’t see the sunlight anytime soon.” 14 looters were arrested in the past few days. “Under Texas law, punishment increases for crimes such as assault, robbery, burglary and theft if they are committed in a county declared a disaster area by the governor,” the Harris County District Attorney’s Office warned. “Burglarizing a home would normally bring a penalty of two to 20 years in prison, but now brings five years to life.” Mayor Turner imposed a 10 o’clock curfew to prevent any looters from pillaging homes.

Thousands of cots filled the floor of the Geroge R. Brown Convention Center

n Tuesday, Tropical Storm Harvey hovered over the Gulf of Mexico. It was expected to dump another 15 inches of rain on southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, including Houston. Later in the week, rivers in east Texas, rushing with water, are expected to crest. Dallas is preparing to host evacuees from Houston, but as of Tuesday, with the airport flooded and roads submerged, it is impossible to get residents to Dallas. Towards the weekend, as the waters recede, Dallas will be able to welcome its neighbors to provide shelter, food and a bit of comfort. On Tuesday, President Trump traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas, to survey some of the damage inflicted by the storm. The president had been pushing aides to arrange a trip to Texas since the hurricane made landfall on Friday. The team chose Corpus Christi because it was the closest the commander-in-chief could get to the storm-ravaged areas without disrupting rescue efforts. After a meeting at a firehouse with state and federal officials, Trump flew to Austin for another meeting with officials involved in the flooding before flying back to D.C. In Corpus Christi, Trump urged the team gathered there, “We want to do it better than ever before. We want to be looked at five years, 10 years from now, as this is the way to do it,” Trump said, adding the storm was “of epic proportion.” In Austin, the president warned of the long-term effort and stiff costs that will be needed to rebuild the

region. “The sad thing is that this is long-term. Nobody’s ever seen anything this long. Nobody’s seen this kind of water. Probably, there’s never been something so expensive in our country’s history.” He reiterated his pledge to work with Congress to secure disaster relief funding to help Texas with that long-term recovery. “What I learned is that we can count on the President of the United States and his staff,” said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after Trump’s visit. “The President and his Cabinet remained in constant contact with me and my staff and they all had one thing to say: ‘Texas, what do you need?’” Abbott added that Trump was engaged in preparations as much as 10 days before the storm hit and said Trump has “shown character and compassion” throughout the recovery efforts.

n Houston, the waters of Harvey will hopefully recede over the next few days. But even as water levels go down and residents are able to go back to their houses, many of them will be facing devastation and destruction. Some of them will have totally lost their homes; a few of them will have lost their family members; and others will have lost their belongings. For all Houstonians, it is their sense of security that will be shaken as they begin to rebuild, slowly, piece by piece. It is our hope that they will have strength and fortitude as they navigate the destruction that Hurricane Harvey left in its wake.

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Dating Dialogue

What Would You Do If… Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW of The Navidaters

I don’t consider myself a shallow person, though I do believe that many members of my family are very shallow. They are very into looks, dress, and impressing others. I’ve always kind of been the black sheep of the family – resisting the temptation to care about these things. Yes, I like nice stuff, but up to a point. I would never put on a designer label article of clothing or pocketbook. On principle! When I started dating, I specifically told the shadchanim that I didn’t want to be set up with someone from a fancy family who would expect me to look a certain way. I wanted to meet someone with great middos similar to mine, but someone who was very low key in appearance, with a family to match. I see myself living out of town and getting away from all this flashy stuff that I see around me. I’ve been dating for a little while and have worked very hard to not focus on looks, clothing and outer trappings. I feel sticking to these values elevates me and makes me feel good about myself. Recently I was set up with Shlomo, who came very highly recommended. Whoever we checked with had amazing things to say about him in every way possible. Here’s the problem. Shlomo is pretty bad looking. Maybe some people might even call him ugly – I hate to say. He’s shorter than me, heavy and doesn’t have very nice features. I’ve been pushing myself to go out with him again and agai, because he really is such an amazing person and there is so much about him that I admire so greatly. However, the lack of attraction on my part is definitely troubling. I want to be “bigger” than that and not let looks influence my decision to continue dating him. I tell myself that I’ll get used to his looks and it won’t be a big deal eventually. My mother thinks I’m kidding myself and though she agrees that I don’t need to marry an Adonis, if Shlomo is a turn-off, that is significant and I don’t have to prove anything to myself by continuing on with him. But I never want to believe that I was shallow and regret ultimately making a decision because of his looks. Do you think I should push myself to overcome these feelings and possibly marry him because he is beautiful on the inside?

Dear Navidaters,

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions. Our intention is not to offer any definitive conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

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The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S.

o not push yourself to overcome your distaste for Shlomo’s looks. You need to find a person attractive as well as compatible to consider getting serious. Principles about shallowness, materialism and superficiality have nothing to do with it. A relationship should include shared values but that’s not the only thing. Ignoring what you see in front of you and not paying attention to your reaction is not about being “bigger.” G-d created us humans with eyes, not just as intellectual creatures with brains. Accept that and begin to pay attention to some of the things your mentors and teachers have spoken to you about when discussing dating. If

you don’t remember what they are, go back to them to learn about relationships, real life and depth. Stop with the guilt and principles. You should not be pushing it further than it can go. You may want to seek some more help in sorting yourself out. You may also want to spend some time doing it before you consider marriage. Life is not only about principles, even if they seem like idealistic ones. Life is about living, growing and meaning.

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A.

eauties marrying Beasts are the stuff of Disney movies.

By your description, it seems your concept of marriage is akin to taking a vow of asceticism. Eschewing designer labels, not marrying for money or looks does not mean you are more virtuous if you marry someone homely and live in squalor. In fact, according to halacha, a couple is prohibited from marriage if they do not meet one another first. I infer this to mean the Torah places emphasis on the importance of physical attraction in marriage. If Shlomo’s looks are a “turnoff,” your heart is telling you he’s not the one. Congratulations, you are actually human! One note of caution. Your approach to dating seeking the anti-materialist seems a bit skewed. Maybe it’s time to revisit your mentor, rav, or qualified dating coach to discuss your concept of marriage, happiness in a relationship, and setting priorities while in this critical shidduch parsha.

The Shadchan Michelle Mond

t seems to me that you are more committed to the idea of going to the opposite of your parent than being committed to your personal needs in a marriage partner. Due to the materialistic environment you were brought up in, you have vowed to never let materialism get in the way of your decisions. While this sounds lofty and idealistic now, I fear that down the road you might regret it. It is 100% true that looks can grow on a person, if there is some attraction potential to begin with. Many times I hear these and similar statements from singles I set up, “He’s cute, but a little shorter than I had imagined I’d go for” or “He’s nice looking but not the look I’m usually into.” I refer to comments like these as the “Barbie and Ken syndrome.” Some people have a detailed image of the spouse they want, but

Some people have a detailed image of the spouse they want, but many times their true bashert will differ from the original image that they had in their minds.

many times their true bashert will differ from the original image that they had in their minds. In those cases, singles should definitely continue dating to see how the attraction grows. As long as there is a basic attraction there, assuming that his fine character, personality and middos shine, along with how he treats her, he will become more and more attractive in her eyes. However, you are describing something far different. It seems you are completely unattracted to him – you have even used words such as “ugly” and “very bad looking” in describing his looks. Having a basic attraction is crucial and if you squander that in order to spite your parents’ materialistic upbringing, you may seriously regret it. Only you know your true feelings; tap into them and make a decision taking your personal needs into account.

The Single Tova Wein

hough I’m no therapist, it seems to be as though you are so busy trying to prove a point to yourself and your family that you are completely misguided and missing out on the most basic stuff. No one says you have to shop for

designer clothing. No big deal. But isn’t it quite a stretch to look for a husband who is clearly hanging on the 90% marked-down rack? Do you think this makes you noble in some way? Above and beyond mere mortals who actually want to feel attracted to the person they are going to marry? It sounds to me as though you are

lumping everything together in the same basket. You may not want to emulate your family’s need for materialistic perfection, and clearly see yourself as different from the rest of them, but it’s not fair to yourself and equally not fair to Shlomo to continue on with him if, in fact, you think people would consider him ugly. You both deserve so much more!

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

hysical attraction has nothing to do with “flashy stuff.” Couples living outside of flashy neighborhoods find each other attractive. First and foremost, I think you need to work on separating some of your thoughts. They seem to be tangled together. You’ve weaved your distaste of materialism and opulence with the chemistry that should be felt between a man and a woman. If you would only consider marrying the most gorgeous of men, then we’d do a little reality testing and help you broaden your net. Your net, however, is so wide that you went fishing for a tuna and caught a dolphin. You’re considering keeping the dolphin but I think you could benefit from spending some time learning how to fish. There is nothing petty, selfish, shallow, self-serving or glitzy about being with a man who you find attractive. As a matter of fact, whenever I hear a plight like yours (and they’re fairly common, unfortunately) I don’t understand the notion of moving forward with someone who you think is outright ugly and for whom you have zero attraction. Would you want to be with someone who found you unattractive? Probably not. That wouldn’t be fair. I have met handfuls of couples over the years who were encouraged to look

past a complete lack of chemistry and, I have to tell you, it usually doesn’t bode well. Intimacy is something people look forward to sharing once they are married. It is a deeply significant part of a relationship; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If the thought of being intimate with Shlomo is repulsive to you, then the real question in my mind is, how could you stay? Yes, feelings grow and people can look past physical attributes they do not find attractive. For some people, when there is a certain chemistry, be it spiritual, romantic, intellectual, etc., they can look past the physical (sometimes). But you and Shlomo do not have a chemistry. You find him repulsive. There is a big difference. In other words, if you had true feelings for him, you would already be looking past the physical. You admire him, he’s wonderful and lovely, and will make someone else happy. But you’re not the one. Let him go and move on. You may want to speak with a trusted mentor, a friend, a rebbetzin or a therapist to learn the difference between being shallow and the importance of chemistry and feelings, and also to truly accept your right to be physically and emotionally attracted to a man. Sincerely, Jennifer Mann, LCSW

I think you need to reevaluate what it truly means to not be a shallow person, free and clear of going completely out on a limb to prove your point. There are much better ways to resist temptation. Marrying someone you are not attracted to is not one of them.

You’re considering keeping the dolphin but I think you could benefit from spending some time learning how to fish.

Esther Mann, LCSW and Jennifer Mann, LCSW work with individuals, couples and families in Hewlett, NY. As The Navidaters, they specialize in dating and relationship coaching. To set up an appointment, please call 516.224.7779. Sessions are held in the

office or via Skype. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email thenavidaters@gmail.com. Visit their website, thenavidaters.com for dating and relationship advice and to learn more about their services. Follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram. Check out the hit web series Soon By You, and be sure to tune into the Navidaters After Show!!

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Dr. Deb

Elul Again By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

hen I was a child, I was wracked with guilt. That was the preferred method my parents used to get me to behave and it really worked. I dreaded Yom Kippur, the day I had to squarely face all my terrible sins. And what a sinful child I was. Sometimes I disagreed with my parents. Can you imagine such a thing? Maybe I even had the

audacity to voice that disagreement. Shameful. There were times when I did not bring home an A. Can you imagine? Such a disgraceful thing to do to parents who loved you so much and gave you every – well, almost every – opportunity in the world. It was years and years until I came to appreciate Yom Kippur. Or, for that matter, the entire month of

Elul. Then there are people who aren’t bothered at all by the prospect of looking closely at their hearts and souls. That’s because they don’t do it. They are the “motions” guys and gals. They go through the motions of whatever the holiday demands of us without absorbing its meaning. The motions people do enjoy the good food that comes before and immediately after the fast. The fast itself is punctuated by jokes about the kinds of foods they like or more adult fare such as work and politics. The one topic of conversation that is off the table is themselves. They enjoy hearing the shofar during Elul and they certainly enjoy the delicious foods of Rosh Hashana. But if the truth be told, their real feeling is that there are too many days of yom tovim keeping them from doing their work which is the real meaning of life. I knew someone who genuinely liked the holidays but, to quote him, there were too many of them. (Why he didn’t just make aliya is another story.) He wanted, no, he ached, to get back to work. He had all sorts of financial goals and had his fingers in many pies. Unfortunately, he died right in the middle of all of them, the goals unreached. Was it worth it? He missed the beauty of every day, the beauty of just being alive, just inhaling the air. Maybe if he knew that he would die so soon, he would have enjoyed the little moments more. It was his death that taught me that very lesson. It flipped my perspective. It made me

connected to the reality that each moment is precious. Rushing after the wrong things, on the other hand, means you’ve actually lost the value of your life, like you’re living in a fog. I wonder how many funerals a person has to attend, how many hospital bedsides a person has to sit at, how many doctor visits a person has to make before it finally sinks in that everything here is a temporary gift, and a very nice gift at that. How much agony does a person have to see or read about in the papers before he gets it that this temporary life could be lived more fully, more joyously, more satisfyingly? Elul and the chagim that follow come to help us, not to burden us. It just seems like something yucky, to be avoided. How can we flip our perspective and gain the most from holidays that starve us – and make us look inside ourselves to boot?

uring this period, we are required to do a cheshbone hanefesh, an accounting of the soul. In modern terminology, we need introspection, or as the 12 Step advocates say, “A searching and fearless moral inventory.” The 12 Step programs originated with religious Christian alcoholics who wanted to become mentally and spiritually healthy again. They understood from their own experience that using alcohol is a way of escaping life but itself causes more pain. They created a set of steps to take to recover. I imagine they got this all from us. But we can benefit from the way they laid it out. They explain how they came to

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incorporate this “inventory” into their program: “A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. Taking commercial inventory is a fact-finding and a fact-facing process. It is an effort to discover the truth about the stock-intrade. One object is to disclose damaged or unsalable goods, to get rid of them promptly and without regret. If the owner of the business is to be successful, he cannot fool himself about values. “We did exactly the same thing with our lives. We took stock honestly. First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure. Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations” (A.A. Big Book, p. 64). In therapy, I just call this “introspection.” However, one way not to do it is to think about past incidents that caused mayhem in your family and conclude, “I did nothing wrong!

It was him (her)!” Uh-uh. That’s why the addictions professionals have it right: It’s a searching and fearless moral inventory. The focus has to be on oneself, on one’s own part in things. Then again, another way not to

you do it, you not only congratulate yourself for actually doing it, but you recognize that you are a courageous person. See, the moral inventory has positives in it as well. But why would anyone want to summon up the courage to have to

The focus has to be on oneself, on one’s own part in things.

do this cheshbone hanefesh is to beat yourself up over the mistakes you’ve made. The Step people anticipated this when they point out that a myth associated with this step (#4 out of 12) is that it is meant to tear you down. No way! You have to be able to look at yourself, recognize that you made mistakes, and use that knowledge to build a new you. This takes courage. The good part is that once

face one’s flaws? The answer is that we are here on Earth to build something good. As I learned from Esther Wein’s shiur (check out Torah Anytime), “bad,” ra, comes from the root, ra-u-ah, “wobbly,” as in a wobbly ladder. It won’t stand. The bad that we have done will never produce good in and of itself. We fool ourselves when we cheat, lie, and blame others instead of looking inside. This

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will not produce happiness or a feeling that we are truly alive. To help us look at our behaviors, values, and choices “fearlessly,” and make the decision to do things differently going forward, we just have to remember that doing ra is not doing “evil.” It is simply wobbly, shaky, a mistake. In fact, the shakiness of it is what gives it away that we goofed. That’s good. That means we have strong information that we need to change direction. In turn, that can lead to excitement and the joy of working on doing things differently – and better. That’s how Elul, done right, brings about real happiness and actually living your life instead of just going through the motions. Dr. Deb Hirschhorn is a Marriage and Family Therapist. She can be reached at 646-54-DRDEB or by writing drdeb@ drdeb.com.

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Health & F tness

Is There Something Fishy about Mercury? By Aliza Beer MS, RD

ercury is an important metal that is found in nature. Many human activities, from manufacturing to

farming, increase the amount of mercury in the air, which eventually ends up in lakes, rivers and the ocean, where it is eaten up by fish

and other marine animals. Once this mercury enters the food chain, it accumulates in larger quantities in the larger predators, which also obtain the mercury by eating smaller prey. This is called biomagnification. Mercury in the water is called methylmercury, and it builds up in the animals’ tissues over time. That’s why larger and older fish usually will tend to have more mercury. Therefore, eating certain types of fish that have a high level of mercury, and even eating too much fish with a lower level, are both harmful sources of mercury. People who consume too much mercury can suffer various health problems. Pregnant women should take extra care in avoiding mercury-laden fish. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that a fetus “may be at an increased risk of poor performance on neurobehavioral tasks, such as those measuring attention, fine motor function, language skills, visual-spatial abilities and verbal memory.” Most of our exposure to mercury comes from the methylmercury in consumed fish. Eating large quantities of mercury is not so healthy. In adults, it can cause damage to the nervous system, as well as the immune system and heart. However, the biggest health risk from ingested mercury is to fetuses, in-

fants and very young children. Even small amounts of mercury, which normally would not be harmful to an adult, in a pregnant or nursing woman’s blood can harm a fetus’ or infant’s developing nervous system. In fetuses and infants, the nerve cells are multiplying and growing at a fast rate, enabling mercury to be able to cause more damage, affecting memory, attention and language development. In addition to a fetus or young children, mercury can still be harmful for all people. Methylmercury has many neurological effects, such as anxiety, depression, irritability, memory issues, numbness, shyness, and tremors. Which fish are better than others? Flounder, herring, salmon, sardines, tilapia, trout, and whitefish contain the least amount of mercury. These fish are generally safe to consume frequently, and the FDA says that you are able to enjoy up to 12 ounces of low-mercury fish per week if you’re pregnant or nursing, which is about two or three servings. Recent studies suggest that pregnant women should still incorporate some fish into their diets, as the benefits and nutrients from low-mercury fish are important for the fetus. Besides for being lower in mercury, salmon, sardines, and herring also are high in omega-3

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acids, which are fats needed for proper brain development in babies and children and also important for brain health in adults. Bass, cod, halibut, mahi mahi, snapper, and tuna have moderate levels of mercury. It is recommended to have six servings or less of these types of fish per month. It’s usually safe to eat up to six 6-ounce servings each month. Tuna is the most common source of mercury exposure in the country. If you or your kids regularly eat canned tuna, stick to light or skipjack tuna, and limit it to less than two servings a week. A four- or five-year-old child should eat only about four ounces of light tuna per week. The rules change when it comes to albacore tuna. Children should avoid that fish altogether, and women of childbearing age should stick to no more than four ounces per week. Bluefish, mackerel, grouper sea bass, canned albacore tuna, and yellowfin tuna have high levels of mercury, and one should not eat more than three servings per month. The

highest levels of mercury content can be found in king mackerel, bigeye tuna, ahi tuna, swordfish, and marlin, which should all be avoided. There is no cure for mercu-

be enough to prevent the harmful effects of mercury. Moreover, most people have some level of a natural protection mechanism against mercury where the body gets rid of the

Besides for being lower in mercury, salmon, sardines, and herring also are high in omega-3 acids, which are fats needed for proper brain development in babies and children and also important for brain health in adults. ry poisoning. The most effective treatment for mercury poisoning is stopping your exposure to the metal. Studies are still being done as to the effects of selenium, another compound found in fish which may counteract some of the effects of mercury. Most fish have more selenium than mercury, which may

metal in a little more than a month. It is important to look for fish that are low in mercury, especially those who are pregnant or nursing, and to limit consumption of higher-level mercury-laden fish. However, it is important to keep fish as a staple in one’s meal plan because fish provide many key nutrients

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and have many benefits for both the heart and the brain. Many fish contain fat-soluble vitamin D, which is a nutrient that most people are deficient in. Fish also contain omega-3 fatty acids, which help the brain and body function. Studies have shown that people who eat fish regularly have a decreased risk of stroke, heart attack, and death from heart disease. One particular study found that people who ate one or more servings of fish each week had a 15% lower risk of heart disease. Thus, when eating fish people should be aware of the mercury content and the quantity of fish being consumed, but at the same time try to incorporate healthy amounts as part of a nutritious diet.

Aliza Beer is a registered dietician with a master’s degree in nutrition. She has a private practice in Cedarhurst, NY. Patients’ success has been featured on the Dr. Oz show. Aliza can be reached at alizabeer@gmail.com.

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Health & F tness

Is Home Lunch Better than School Lunch? By Leah Wolofsky, MS, CDN

ith the start of school just around the bend, nutritionists and moms alike have to contend with the age-old question: “What should I pack my kids for lunch?” Many mothers choose to send their children a home-packed lunch, rather than having them eat the school’s lunch, for reasons including the child’s dislike of school lunch, cost, convenience, allergies, and finally, because the school doesn’t serve a healthful lunch. If you choose to send lunch with your child, you’re not alone. Forty-one percent of Americans are right with you, packing lunch for their children regularly. In addition, 45% of Americans pack snack for their children. However, according to a study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, most packed lunches are shown to not make the grade nutritionally. In fact, many packed lunches are not only just as bad as school lunch, but even more nutritionally deficient. With the national school lunch program targeting childhood obesity and overall child health by focusing to make school lunches more nutri-

tious, many wonder if sending your child to school with lunch is a sound nutritional choice. School lunches under the national school lunch program are designed to meet objectives aligned with the 2010 dietary guidelines for America. This means school lunches should place a solid emphasis on fruits, vegetables and whole grains and must include 5 components: ½ cup fruit or fruit juice or an equivalent, ¾ cup vegetables, a serving of grain, a protein and the equivalent of a full cup of milk. In contrast, most home-packed lunches reviewed in the study were shown to contain a sandwich, snack food and drink item. Only a small minority of school lunches had any fruit (34%), dairy products (17%) or vegetables (11%). 24% of packed lunches contained sugar-sweetened beverages and only 27% of packed lunches contained three or more of the five components that lunches as part of the national school lunch program contain. That said, many schools are not enforcing the standards set in place. And even when a school is actually providing all of the components of a proper school lunch, the meal may still be quite cringe-worthy. A school’s

method of lunch preparation, often dishing out highly processed, commercialized, easy-to-prepare and cheap foods has many parents worried about the health consequences to their children. School lunches are too frequently fried and full of additives, and the substitutes available for children who do not like the school lunch (such as cream cheese sandwiches) are also a far cry from what kids should be eating. Moreover, though schools may serve all the components at a traditional school lunches, some school administrators say that children will only eat the starch component of the meal and leave the fruits, vegetables and protein parts untouched. As a principal of a boy’s school in Flatbush, Brooklyn, (name withheld) says, “Every day, we serve tuna, eggs, vegetables and fruits as part of lunch. These parts of lunch enter and exit the classroom. Kids will not eat it. No one can force them to eat what they don’t want to.” Dr Schulman, pediatrician and author of “Understanding your Child’s Health,” believes that the key to encourage more children to eat fruits and vegetables is to serve a better quality product and better

present it to kids: “I’ve spoken for years about the disappointing quality and presentation of school food. I think it’s so important to present fruits and vegetables in a way that children will eat it. If the salad looks unappetizing and is served in a way that kids dislike, they simply won’t eat it.” When packing home lunch, if you’re simply replacing school lunch with a home-packed kid-friendly alternative, you may not be doing much good for your children. Just because you are packing a homemade lunch does not automatically mean you’re packing a healthy lunch. Here are a few tips to make sure your children are getting everything they need from their lunch box: 1. If you are packing lunch, make sure it is balanced with protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. You should ideally have at least one serving of fruit, two servings of vegetables, a whole grain product and a high-quality protein source. A natural peanut butter on whole-wheat roll sandwich with an apple and baby carrots provides a balanced lunch that meets all your growing child’s needs.

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2. Focus on nutrient-dense foods. As children embrace their growing years, their needs for nutrients increase even more than does the need for calories. Therefore, you want to give your kids nutrient-dense foods. Nutrient-dense foods are foods that are high in their quantities of vitamins and minerals per calorie. For example, a fresh fruit would be high

in nutrient density because fruit are high in vitamins and low in calories. In contrast, sugared soft-drinks or other beverages are calorie-dense, but low in nutrients and are thus termed empty calories. Foods like nuts, dried fruit, whole grain crackers and tuna fish are all nutrient-dense options that are great for kids.

3. Don’t let your kids get the better of you. You might start off right, but as the days grow longer, you’ll find fried nuggets and chips replacing the once-upon-a-time turkey wraps with salsa. Make a conscious effort to stay healthy all-season long. You may need to swap things up a bit, and include the once-in-a-while sweet muffin, but make sure the ma-

jority of what you’re feeding kids for lunch are the things they should be eating. 4. Make lunch colorful, bright, and refreshing. Kids have vivid imaginations and easily get bored. If you don’t include a variety of colors, textures, and flavors as part of kids’ lunches, they’ll be more inclined to head toward the snack machine to satisfy their creative palate. Also, be sure packed lunch is something your kids feel comfortable eating in front of other kids. Anything strange-looking, odd-smelling, or simply hard to eat may make lunch time a dreaded activity for kids. 5. Finally, listen to your kids’ feedback. If your kids come home without having eaten the packed lunch and claim to not have eaten any component of the school lunch, you may want to speak with a healthcare professional about additional methods to make sure your children are meeting their nutrient needs. In addition, if you see signs of diarrhea, dehydration, or any other signs of disagreement with the foods your child eats, speak to your child’s pediatrician or dietitian to see if an allergy, intolerance, or other disorder is getting in the way of progress. Finally, if you wish to stick to feeding your child school lunch, speak to your school principals, teachers, social workers, or anyone involved with your school lunch and voice your concerns. Whether you’re on edge because the lunch is always deep-fried or simply not very appealing, you cannot blame schools for its school lunch problems if you did nothing in your power to notify them of the issue. It’s easy to brush aside responsibility for speaking up by rationalizing that your comment “will never make a difference anyway,” but if everyone would speak up, perhaps the school would implement the changes you want to see.

Leah Wolofsky is a New York State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist and nutrition professor with a private practice in Boro Park, Brooklyn. She can be contacted at 347-746-0453 or at boroparknutrition. com.

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In The K

tchen

Chicken Satay By Naomi Nachman

SATAY MARINADE Ingredients ½ cup brown sugar, brown loosely packed 4 TBS garlic chili paste 3 TBS soy sauce 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar 2 TBS mirin 2 TBS sesame oil 3 cloves garlic, peeled 4 limes (juice only) 1 cup canola oil 3 TBS ketchup ½ cup cilantro, chopped, or parsley Wooden skewers soaked in water for half hour 1 lb. chicken cutlets cut into long, thin strips Canola oil

I recently took a tour of the brand new kosher school, the Kosher Culinary Center, in Brooklyn with co-owners Chef Avram Wiseman and

Preparation

Perline Dayan. I was so impressed with the center and how they are fill-

Place all ingredients except oils and cilantro into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times. Run machine while adding oils. Add chopped cilantro last and pulse briefly to incorporate. Weave chicken pieces onto a skewer. Repeat until chicken is all finished. Heat a grill pan and add enough oil to cover the pan and cook 5-7 minutes on each side until chicken is no longer pink inside.

ing a void in the kosher world by training kosher chefs. Their mission at Kosher Culinary Center is to educate, innovate, and create. They offer career training for those seeking a career in the rapidly expanding kosher food industry. The state-of-the-art facility, centrally located on Flatbush Avenue, was designed to serve the Jewish community for educationally-based social events, such as bar/bat mitzvot, sheva brachot, birthdays, bachelor parties, and steak nights, to name a few, where the participants can receive a culinary education while enjoying a simcha. Chef Avram shared his recipe with me for satay chicken.

Naomi Nachman, the owner of The Aussie Gourmet, caters weekly and Shabbat/ Yom Tov meals for families and individuals within The Five Towns and neighboring communities, with a specialty in Pesach catering. Naomi is a contributing editor to this paper and also produces and hosts her own weekly radio show on the Nachum Segal Network stream called “A Table for Two with Naomi Nachman.” Naomi gives cooking presentations for organizations and private groups throughout the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan area. In addition, Naomi has been a guest host on the QVC TV network and has been featured in cookbooks, magazines as well as other media covering topics related to cuisine preparation and personal chefs. To obtain additional recipes, join The Aussie Gourmet on Facebook or visit Naomi’s blog. Naomi can be reached through her website, www.theaussiegourmet.com or at (516) 295-9669.

PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE Ingredients 12 oz. strong tea 8 oz. peanut butter 3 TBS soy sauce 2 TBS honey 2 TBS sesame oil 1 clove peeled, chopped garlic 1 TBS chopped peanuts, reserve for garnish

Preparation Prepare the tea by steeping 4 tea bags in boiling water. Chill the tea to under 50 degrees. Place peanut butter in bowl of a food processor. Add all the ingredients except the tea and run until well-blended. Clean the sides of the machine with a rubber spatula. Slowly add the tea with the machine running. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Serve in a small dish. Garnish with chopped peanuts and/toasted sesame seeds. Serve with grilled chicken.

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AUGUST 31, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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Headed to Israel for Seminary? Top Tips for Maximizing Growth By Rabbi David Goldwasser

“Make the most of every moment.” That was the message Rabbi David Goldwasser had for young women heading off to study in Israel. Rabbi Goldwasser, a Jewish media personality, is a professor of Judaic studies and the Director of the Center for Torah Initiatives at Touro’s Lander College for Women/The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School. Here he offers six tips for young women as they prepare to study in Israel. 1. Be open to all that happens around you. Attending classes at your seminary is only the start. Every moment offers an opportunity for learning and growth. Go to lectures and Shabbos meals at the homes of respected rabbis and teachers and take note of the way they live their values. Observe the people you pass on the streets; you will see both great leaders and people with great needs. It will prepare you to step out into the world as a young adult when you return to the United States. 2. Meet and hear from esteemed personalities. Every teacher, rebbi and rebbetzin has wisdom to impart; your responsibility is to take advantage of the guidance and instruction they offer. Seeing gedolei haTorah, visiting mekomos hakedoshim, spending Shabbos and yomim tovim with Torah mishpachos are unparalleled learning moments. 3. Visit the holy places and historical sites. Go to the Kotel, visit the City of David and Western Wall excavations, pray at Rachel’s

tomb, climb Masada and so much more. You will feel Jewish history coming to life. There is no comparison between learning about a place and standing on that ground. It is a

with the world later on in life as well. 5. Cultivate new friendships. You may have spent a lifetime with the same groups of friends at

There is no comparison between learning about a place and standing on that ground. It is a life-changing experience.

life-changing experience. 4. Become involved in chessed. Being in Eretz Yisroel is an auspicious time to become involved in a caring and sensitive way to help the people and the Land of Israel. Find an opportunity that is meaningful to you personally. You may choose to work with children with disabilities, pack care packages for soldiers, or work with families of terror victims. Making a difference as a young adult will change the way you interact

school, at camp or in your neighborhood. A year spent in Eretz Yisroel is a time to connect with people from all over the world. You will learn about different customs, backgrounds and types of homes. You will understand that we are a universal nation. And you will make friendships that have an enduring impact on your life. 6. Be aware that Eretz Yisroel is not a nisayon-free zone. The same nisyonos that can and do arise in chutz la’aretz occur

in Israel as well. There is heightened spirituality but also spiritual challenges. You must remain vigilant at all times and make sure that you continue to observe all the gedarim of halacha, as well as the rules and guidelines of your particular school.

Rabbi Goldwasser’s expertise encompasses a wide range of subject matters. He has shared advice including daily guides to Jewish living, personal stories of inspiration, and coping with eating disorders. Rabbi Goldwasser’s radio feature “Morning Chizuk” is heard daily on JM in the AM (WFMU-FM and jmintheam.org) and The Nachum Segal Network. He is a weekly columnist for the Jewish Press, has been featured in a special series on WABC, and has appeared on CNN and CBS Television. In addition to his roles at Touro College’s Lander College for Women/The Anna Ruth and Mark Hasten School, he is also the spiritual leader of Congregation Bnei Yitzchok in Brooklyn.

The Jewish Home | AUGUST 31, 2017

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