Five Towns Jewish Home - 1-27-22

January 27, 2022

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Inspiring stories, uplifting chizuk, and practical advice on shidduchim

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hen I was 17 years old, my parents and my uncle the Chazon Ish worked very hard to find a shidduch for me. Yet, shidduch after shidduch did not come to be... Now, consider this. When the search for my zivug began, my future wife Batsheva was not yet bas mitzvah! She was certainly not ready to begin shidduchim, but since she was my ‘basherteh,’ Hashem caused those who were suggested for me to not want to proceed...”

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

I

recently read an article that highlighted the topic of “other-care.”

Our generation seems to be obsessed with self-care. We are urged to devote time to ourselves, to take care of our needs. That, of course, is important.

If we are not taking care of ourselves, how do we have the energy or wherewithal to take care of others? But sometimes it seems that “self-care” becomes an excuse for thinking only about ourselves.

Jamil Zaki, a Stanford University professor and author of “The War for Kindness,” believes that self-care is not the key to happiness. Instead, he opines, we need to be focused on others in order to become more whole, happier people.

Zaki notes that studies have shown that those who are focused outward, who are connecting with others and helping others, are that much more happy than those who focus inward. In fact, he says that when people are feeling lonely and stressed, they tend to “circle the wagons” and focus more on themselves. But after spending all that time by themselves and focusing on their needs, they end up feeling even more lonely than before.

So what should we be doing to become

happier people? First, we need to take care of ourselves. But after tending to our needs, we need to be thinking of others and devote time to “other-care.”

Truthfully, we don’t need Zaki to tell us about the importance of giving to others.

Our community and our lives are based around chessed. At a young age, we teach our children to focus on others. They learn about tzedakah and bikur cholim and helping their friends and family before they can even utter full sentences. As Jews, we intuitively know that thinking of others is fundamental to our lives. As a community, we are driven to help those in need. And as individuals, we endeavor to support and give to others throughout our days.

So what drew me to this article? Perhaps it was nice hearing about the importance of chessed from an outside source who documented the benefits of helping others. But truthfully, I like the term “other-care.” It seems like a next, obvious step on the road to fulfillment: first, take care of yourself. But then, make sure to take care and reach out to those around you.

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Yitzy Halpern PUBLISHER

publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com

Yosef Feinerman MANAGING EDITOR

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Contents Letters to the Editor

8

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll Community Happenings

8 38

NEWS

ISRAEL

84

Global

12

National

26

That’s Odd

36

Israel News

20

My Israel Home

63

The Blessings and Challenges that Farmers See in Observing the Shemittah Year

66

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

56

Producing Polished People by Rav Moshe Weinberger

58

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

60

PEOPLE The Wandering Jew

62

Top Tankers During World War II by Avi Heiligman

96

HEALTH & FITNESS Growth by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

80

Intuitive Eating by Aliza Beer, MS RD

82

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: No Carb Vegetable Soup

84

Dear Editor, Re: “A Memorable Shabbos in Kishinev” What a surprise to see my photo in The Jewish Home this week. My grandson, Chaim Leib Greenberg, actually found it and pointed it out to me. I remember the photo (with me, center left) being taken for the Neshei of Agudas Yisroel.

I’d like to use this opportunity to not only thank The Jewish Home and the author, who explains beautifully about our efforts during the trip, but also to thank the West Hempstead Jewish community for turning out

Clarification In the interview with Arsen Ostrovsky that was printed in the January 13, 2022 issue of TJH, please note that Arsen was born in Odessa, which was in the Soviet Union at the time.

His family was the last of his immediate family to flee.

Additionally, when describing the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism, Mr. Ostrovsky should have been quoted as saying, “It says very explicitly that criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country is not antisemitic.”

generously for the Motzei Shabbos fundraising event I coordinated on my return.

Naomi Schubin Greenberg West Hempstead, NY Dear Editor, Aliza Beer made several wonderful points regarding nutrition and aging in her article this week. Incorporating those foods into one’s diet can certainly be wonderful to help stave the aging of the brain.

I’d like to also point out that exercise is so important for people as they age. Even if it’s just a walk around the block a few times a week, moving your body is good for you both physically and mentally. Yoga, light aerobics, walking…these are all relaxing activities that strengthen your muscles and bones and are wonderful for your mental health as well – at any age!

Sincerely, Roberta Gross Dear Editor, I cannot agree more with the panelists in this week’s dating panel.

Speaking with friends about your shidduchim and dating life is never a good recipe. Friends are well-meaning but they have biases and experiContinued on page 10

LIFESTYLES Teen Talk

72

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW 74 Parenting Pearls

80

Your Money

82 101

Here’s a Tip by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS 102

HUMOR Centerfold

54

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

86

What do you listen to in the car?

News................................... 33%

92

Music.................................. 34%

The Marines are Establishing a Beachhead for Needed Change by David Ignatius 93

Shiur...................................... 7%

As Invasion Looms, Ukrainians are Calmly Defiant by David Ignatius 90 Biden Can’t Blame Republicans for His Failures by Marc A. Thiessen

CLASSIFIEDS

96

Talk radio.......................... 26%

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Continued from page 8

ences that will govern their advice to you. Speaking with friends who are dating right now is insensitive, even if they seem to have tons of dates and are masters at dating. They are not experts at what is needed in a marriage and cannot possibly give you the right advice needed for entering a good marriage. It’s also a terrible idea to discuss guys you have dated with your friends, as your information will influence what they think about these men if they are redt to them. That’s unfair to your friends – who may come into dating these guys tinged with your experience – and unfair to these guys, who are starting to date someone without a clean slate.

In any case, when dating, one needs to sometimes talk things over or get advice from people. That’s when parents, teachers, mentors, dating coaches, and rebbetzins or rabbis come into play. Use their advice and life experience to guide you into making the right decision.

And don’t forget your own intuition! Trust your gut – it will tell you if something feels right or not.

Sincerely, Leora Rabinowitz

Dear Editor, “Blessings and Gratitude” by Sara Rayvych (January 6, 2022) was the perfect forum to bring up modeling appreciation for Hashem’s beautiful world.

These is so much beauty in this world, brought to us by our Creator.

As parents, it is our job to point out these blessings.

When parents model appreciative behavior, children will do the same. I see this in my store all the time. When adults say “thank you,” their children mimic them and thank me as well. But it’s up to the adults to model good, appreciative behavior. If not, we’re setting ourselves up for ungracious adults in the upcoming generations.

A Reader Dear Editor, This letter is intended to help the community at large understand the job of the single mom. To help people wrap their minds around the job that it is. To help the community grant grace in abundance to the single moms in their carpools, children’s classes, their workplace and during vacation time.

In a typical 2-parent household,

there are traditional roles that each spouse has assigned to them. Even in a family where the lines of traditional roles are blurred and responsibilities are shared, there’s almost always someone that can be relied on (even when they’re not completely reliable) to fill a gap, to pick up a late night item from the grocery, to take a sick child to the doctor, and even to deal with the difficult phone calls.

In the home of the single mom, every task belongs to 1 parent. One person must take on every responsibility. Even roles that are traditionally shared become the job of the mom. She must run every carpool, arrange and attend every doctor visit, keep track of and pay every bill, make sure the house is well stocked with groceries; the moms fix every boo-boo and every broken toilet.

Every haircut and every emergency call to the electrician. They must shovel the snow, fix the old car, and make all vacation arrangements.

Sometimes we wonder why the single moms can’t “pull it together.”

We must grow an extra mental muscle, an empathy like none we’ve ever had to tap into. We should work on understanding that having to be everything to everyone, everyday, is a Herculean task.

Esther Miller Project Director Success Space for Women at JCCRP Dear Editor, 2021. 2022. The world has been so absorbed with so many issues on global and personal levels. And, throughout these difficult days, there has been a group of people who continue to suffer their own issues. Imagine the pain of those who have been waiting anxiously, davening, and doing all their hishtadlus for the yeshua of having their own children. And, it’s just the two of them. Too hard to talk to others about their struggles. Too difficult to bring up with their own parents. Always aware of their situation and not wanting to be “nebached” by others in their shuls, jobs, supermarkets, etc. Who were the ones who helped them through these trying times?

The incredible team at ATIME. We all know someone struggling with infertility, and we all want to do something about it. Is there a greater zechus than limud Torah?

Can you imagine the merit of learn-

ing the entire Shas?

On Sunday, February 6, our community will be strongly represented in joining hundreds of lomdim for a vigorous day of learning, and together we will finish the entire Shas in one day under one roof! Each lomeid has been preparing his 10 blatt for the past few months. We are represented this year by Team Far Rockaway. Many people on these teams are your neighbors, relatives, and friends.

The Shasathon was created by the organization called ATIME. This wonderful tzedakah helps these young couples with their struggle providing many services, many too delicate to mention. Couples who have gone through this nisayon have said that they could not have made it without ATIME. The founders of ATIME themselves suffered through infertility at a time when there was no one to talk to and help them. To learn more about this organization, check out their website https://www.atime.org.

You too can be a part of this amazing zchus! Go to the shasathon. org website and find who in your neighborhood is learning and sponsor him. When the couples who are suffering see how many people care enough to learn or support, they feel that we really care for them.

Thank you for your involvement, and we forward to you the unspoken thanks of those couples who are surrounded by too-clean walls and too-quiet rooms every minute of their lives. The hope and dreams your support will enable is more potent than one can fathom.

Sincerely, Rabbi Moshe Shonek Member, Team Far Rockaway

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

Coup in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso’s army took control of the country on Monday, deposing President Roch Kabore, dissolving the government and parliament, suspending the constitution, and shuttering its borders.

The coup was announced on state television by Captain Sidsore Kader Ouedraogo, who said the military had seized power in response to the “ongoing degradation of the security situation” in the country and the “incapacity of the government” to unite the population.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, a senior military officer, was introduced to the people of Burkina Faso as their new leader.

Damiba was promoted in December by Kabore to commander of the country’s third military region, which is responsible for security in the capital Ouagadougou. He studied at a military academy in Paris, and recently authored a book titled “West African Armies and Terrorism: Uncertain Responses?”

Kabore has not been seen in public since fighting broke out on Sunday around the presidential palace in Ouagadougou. He had been detained early Monday by soldiers that had taken control of a military base before storming the palace grounds and firing shots near the president’s home. Supposedly Kabore signed his resignation and is being kept in a “safe place” in the West African country.

Plans for the military coup have been underway since August, hatched in encrypted messaging apps and countless secret meetings held outside the capital, one of the coup leaders said. The soldiers are angry at the government’s handling of jihadist attacks in the country and

believe Burkina Faso is better off under military rule right now.

Civilians gathered on the streets honking car horns and cheering in support of the military following Monday’s announcement.

“People are fleeing their homes and people are dying everywhere because of terrorism. The situation is not solved. If the army takes the lead I think things will go back to normal,” said Oumar Junior Bahoro, who was protesting in downtown Ouagadougou.

Burkina Faso has been wracked with violence linked to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda that has killed thousands and displaced 1.5 million people, according to UNHCR. The military has been hard hit; last month at least 50 security forces were killed in the Sahel.

The turmoil in Burkina Faso comes after successful military putsches over the past 18 months in its West African neighbors Mali and Guinea, where the army removed President Alpha Conde last September.

West Africa, which until recently appeared to have shed its reputation as Africa’s “coup belt,” remains susceptible to unrest.

The military also took over in Chad last year after President Idriss Deby died on the battlefield there.

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in West Africa – despite being a gold producer.

Ghana: Explosives Level Town

At least 17 people were killed last Thursday in western Ghana when a truck carrying explosives collided with a motorcycle. Another 59 people were injured in the blast.

According to police, most of the victims have been admitted to various hospitals and clinics. In a statement, police said, “The police and other emergency service providers have activated a full emergency recovery exercise. We urge all to remain calm as we manage this unfortunate situation.”

They added, “The public has been advised to move out of the area to

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

nearby towns for their safety while recovery efforts are underway.”

Speaking to local media, Isaac Dasmani, municipal chief executive for the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal Assembly, said, “The reports that I’m getting from the bureaus, hospitals, is that [there are] roughly about 17 people that have passed away.”

Apiate, a small town in western Ghana, was leveled nearly completely from the blast. According to Kwabena Owusu-Ampratwum, a press officer for Chirano Gold Mines, the explosives in the truck were being delivered to a nearby mine when the collision occurred.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and the rescue efforts,” Owusu-Ampratwum added.

Afghanistan Worst Persecutor of Religion Afghanistan is now the world’s worst persecutor of religion, according to Open Doors USA’s annual World Watch List.

Nigeria closely follows on Afghanistan’s heels, and Christianity

is the world’s most persecuted faith, with over 360 million followers at risk. Of those, 312 million Christians, or 1 in 7, suffer “extreme” levels of persecution.

For the past 20 years, North Korea has held the top spot for religious persecution, but the Taliban takeover drove Afghanistan to overtake North Korea. Though North Korea fared worse in the 2021 report, it did not retain its top spot due to Afghanistan’s deterioration following the U.S. military withdrawal.

According to Open Doors USA President and CEO David Curry, “Every Christian in Afghanistan is either in hiding or on the run…. Christian women are the most vulnerable group in the world today.”

The report’s survey period stretched from November 2020 to September 2021. The report rated

countries based on family, community, private, church, and national freedoms and gave it a violence index as well.

It listed the world’s top violators as Afghanistan, North Korea, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, Eritrea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, India, and Saudi Arabia. Next in line was Myanmar, which rose six spots to number 12 on the list.

Chasing the Northern Lights

Fascinated by the Northern Lights, some people will stand in freezing weather to watch and “capture” them.

Called “aurora hunters,” these people will come out in their pajamas to watch. The lights, which often seem to dance, peak in cycles of about every 11 years.

Michelle Cumming, 42, lives on Scotland’s northeast coast and saw the Northern Lights for the first time in September 2020. Speaking to BBC, she said, “I’ve made last minute dashes in my unicorn PJs. And I’ve had my backpack and flask prepared to go aurora hunting. I often take my dog Dexter with me, wrapping him up in a fleece blanket while we stand and watch the aurora. There have been several 1 a.m. excursions.”

She added that she first saw the lights while walking on a beach, recalling, “That night blew me away.

Not only did the aurora show, but it danced. What I remember most vividly from that night is not only my awe at seeing such a sight, it was the chorus of wonder from the spectators in the darkness further down the promenade.”

Jacquie Murray of Aberdeenshire shared, “I have at times seen myself standing in the freezing cold in minus temperatures a good four to six hours either waiting or watching. You have to be keen and willing to drive to areas where there is little or no light pollution, check for clear skies, be patient – and look north.”

Chris Cogan of Sutherland in the Highlands said, “Some nights I will watch the green arc of the aurora

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form, grow bigger and spread nearer to me, and I will wait until she ‘lets go’ – aurora spotters’ term for when it starts dancing and putting up huge beams. This can be a few hours waiting.”

He added, “To the human eye, they’re just white light, like fog with stars on the horizon, but a camera or phone pick up the color. Some very powerful auroras, the human eye can see the green or orange.”

The auroras are natural light displays, mainly seen in high-latitude regions like in the Arctic and Antarctic. These lights can appear as brilliant spots of colors in shapes of rays, spirals, curtains, or flickers covering the sky.

An Imminent Russian Invasion?

The UK Foreign Office on Saturday said in a statement that it has information that the Russian government is planning to “install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine.”

According to the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, “The former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.”

The statement also named four other Ukrainian officials, adding, “Some of these have contact with Russian intelligence officers currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine.”

In a statement, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, “The information being released today shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine and is an insight into Kremlin thinking.

Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy. As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs.”

Russia, meanwhile, has denied

that it plans to attack Ukraine.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised a harsh response if “a single additional Russian force” enters Ukraine “in an aggressive way.”

Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Blinken said, “If a single additional Russian force goes into Ukraine in an aggressive way, as I said, that would trigger a swift, a severe and a united response from us and from Europe.”

Last week, U.S. President Joe Biden promised to sanction Russia if it invaded Ukraine.

On Sunday, Blinken said, “When it comes to sanctions, the purpose of those sanctions is to deter Russian aggression. So if they’re triggered now, you lose the deterrent effect.

All of the things that we’re doing, including building up in a united way with Europe, massive consequences for Russia, is designed to factor into President Putin’s calculus and to deter and dissuade them from taking aggressive action, even as we pursue diplomacy at the same time.”

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said, “We do need to go ahead and impose sanctions on Russia now. We need to show them that we mean business and we will be there for Ukraine should [Russia] invade.”

He added, “Once an invasion happens? Lives are lost. You can’t go back from that. So those sanctions need to be put in place now.”

Pakistan’s First Female Supreme Court Justice

Ayesha Malik’s swearing-in on Monday as a justice on Pakistan’s Supreme Court was a landmark moment for the Islamic nation where women often struggle to get justice.

She is the first woman to sit on the nation’s highest court.

Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmad administered Malik’s oath-taking in Islamabad. The event had been a controversial development for Pakistan’s male-dominated judicial system. Malik’s appointment, con-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

firmed last week by Pakistani President Arif Alvi, silenced some of her critics who opposed her promotion on technical grounds.

Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted, “I wish her all the best.”

The process to elevate Malik from the Punjab provincial high court, which she joined in 2012, had been unusually contentious. A nine-member judicial commission recommends judges for promotion.

Five members of the commission supported Malik’s appointment, while the other four opposed it.

Malik’s allies hope her appointment clears the way for more promotions of women in Pakistan’s courts.

Women in Pakistan struggle to get justice – especially in cases involving assault. Authorities and society cast doubt on the victims in many cases.

Malik previously worked at the Lahore High Court, the second highest court in judicial system.

Malik received her early education from schools in Paris and New York and later earned her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she was named a London H. Gammon Fellow for outstanding merit.

Frenchman Gets 8 Years in Iran Jail

An Iranian court has sentenced a French man to eight years in jail on spying charges.

Benjamin Briere, 36, is the only Western detainee known to be currently held in Iran who does not also hold an Iranian passport. He was also given an additional eight-month sentence for propaganda against Iran’s Islamic system, his lawyer Philippe Valent said in a statement.

His family says that Tehran is using him as a “hostage” in talks with the West.

Briere, who is being held in the prison of Vakilabad in the eastern city of Mashhad, was arrested in May

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“This verdict is the result of a purely political process and...devoid of any basis,” Valent said.

Slamming the trial which began on Thursday as a “masquerade,” he added that Briere “did not have a fair trial in front of impartial judges” and noted he had not been allowed to access the full indictment against him.

Briere is one of more than a dozen Western citizens held in Iran, described as hostages by activists who say they are innocent of any crime and detained at the behest of the powerful Revolutionary Guards to extract concessions from the West.

His verdict comes as world powers and Iran discuss a revival of the Iran nuclear program.

Briere’s sister Blandine said that her brother is a “political hostage” subjected to a “parody of justice.”

“It is a political trial, and it is useful to Iran, which is sending a message to the French government,” she said.

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Beijing, China, is preparing for the winter Olympic games, while attempting to ensure that the games do not spark an outbreak of COVID-19.

The games are scheduled to begin in two weeks and will bring thousands of Olympic athletes, along with journalists, officials, and support staff, to the country.

In an attempt to prevent an outbreak, Beijing has created a “closed loop” preventing the arrivals from interacting with the city’s larger population. As of Friday, over 2,000 people had already arrived in the city.

According to a statement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), “All cases so far are within 5 days of arrival and are therefore assessed as being imported (contracted prior to arrival in Beijing). No infection has occurred within the Closed

Loop.”

It added, “All data to date provides confidence that daily PCR testing combined with the isolation and close contact policies in place means that the Closed Loop is very safe and there are no infectious participants within it.”

The “closed loop” includes stadiums, conference centers, and over 70 hotels, as well as its own transportation system consisting of 4,000 vehicles. Those inside the loop will remain separate from spectators, who will also have their own transportation and entrance to events.

Those entering the loop must be fully vaccinated or quarantine for 21 days upon arrival in Beijing. After entering the loop, they will be tested for COVID-19 on a daily basis and be required to wear masks at all times. Anyone who tests positive will be removed from the Games immediately, with asymptomatic participants taken to an isolation facility.

Symptomatic patients will be taken to a hospital. Re-entering the bubble will require two consecutive negative tests, or the disappearance of all symptoms.

Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, said, “Given the high transmissibility of the new variant, I’m sure there will be some infections at the Games. The question is whether those flare-ups will develop into outbreaks in the bubble – or even worse, spill outside the bubble and cause outbreaks in the city and beyond.”

But Huang Chun, an official with the Beijing Organizing Committee, emphasized to a news conference, “The overall situation remains under control.”

Anti-Semitic Incidents Increased in 2021

The lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe led to a dramatic

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

od in 2020.

Austria also recorded a double number of incidents in the first half of the year (562 incidents between January and June 2021, compared to 257 in the same period in 2020).

In Germany, 1,850 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded between January and October 2021 (10 months), compared to 1909 cases reported in all of 2020 (12 months). In states that were formerly associated with East Germany (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Saxony), the number of anti-Semitic crimes has steadily and significantly increased over the past four years (580 crimes in 2021, compared to 330 in 2017). In Berlin itself, in the first half of 2021, 522 anti-Semitic events were recorded, with an increase of about 27% compared to 2020, with 410 recorded incidents in the first half of the year.

In contrast, the declining trend in the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Russia has continued, according to reports from the local Jewish community, although the ability to provide sufficient documentation in that country is not readily accessible.

The first cases of Havana syndrome were reported over five years ago, by personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba. Since then, dozens of cases have been reported in over a dozen countries on nearly every continent. However, it is not clear how many of those reports were medically confirmed diagnoses.

In a statement, CIA Director Bill Burns said, “We are pursuing this complex issue with analytic rigor, round tradecraft, and compassion and have dedicated intensive resources to this challenge. While underlying causes may differ, our officers are suffering real symptoms.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote to his staff that “those who have been affected have real stories to tell – their pain is real.

There is no doubt in my mind about that.”

A declassified internal government report showed that the State Department moved too slowly to address the problem when it was first reported in late 2016. At the same time, the CIA assessment found that “previously undiagnosed illnesses, environmental factors, reporting out of an abundance of caution” were responsible for most of the Havana

syndrome cases.

According to them, “Many of the reports came in following growing workforce awareness of AHI’s (anomalous health incidents) – after requests by departments and agencies for personnel to come forward.

This finding doesn’t call into question at all the fact that our officers are reporting real symptoms and experiences. It’s just that there’s not one single cause that can be explained.”

Attorney Mark Zaid, who represents over a dozen of the affected employees, told ABC News, “The CIA’s interim conclusions are incredibly disappointing, insulting to those who are suffering and highly suspect. Once again, it is demonstrated that the failure of the government to produce a uniform, expert report only causes further controversy rather than resolution.”

Meanwhile, a senior CIA official said that “a couple dozen” of the “core group” of cases are under investigation and may still involve a “foreign actor.”

He emphasized, “We’re not ruling it out in specific cases. We’re still looking. There are no patterns or linkages at this stage.”

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increase in anti-Semitism, along with an increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents that occurred in May 2021 during Israel’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, a new report said.

Ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the Fight against Antisemitism on the 27th of January, the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency published their annual Antisemitism Report of 2021, and the statistics are not encouraging: The average number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021 was more than ten incidents per day.

Sadly, the actual number of incidents is actually significantly higher, since many incidents are not reported by the victims out of fear and due to the lack of surveillance and prosecution of local authorities and law enforcement agencies.

The main anti-Semitic incidents were vandalism and destruction, graffiti, and desecration of monuments, as well as propaganda. Incidents of physical and verbal violence accounted for less than a third of all anti-Semitic incidents.

According to the statistics, 2021 was the most anti-Semitic year in the last decade, but at the same time, thankfully, no Jew in the world had been murdered on anti-Semitic grounds last year.

The report also shows that there is a correlation between the occurrence of current and calendric events around the world and the rise in the number of anti-Semitic incidents.

Close to 50% of all anti-Semitic incidents take place in Europe, with the United States following with about 30% of anti-Semitic incidents.

In Canada and Australia, there was a dramatic increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, compared to the previous year.

In the United States, New York recorded a 100% increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents with 503 incidents in 2021, compared to 252 in 2020. According to official Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) data, in the first six months of 2021 (January-June), there was a 59.2% increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents compared to the same period in the previous year.

The UK recorded a 49% increase in the first six months of the year (January-June 2021), with 1,308 incidents versus 875 in the same peri-

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The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believes that a “majority” of Havana syndrome cases can be “reasonably explained by medical conditions or environmental and technical factors,” a CIA official said.

According to the CIA, it is “unlikely that a foreign actor, including Russia, is conducting a sustained, worldwide campaign harming U.S. personnel with a weapon or mechanism.” At the same time, a foreign actor has not been ruled out “in specific cases.”

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nean Seismological Center (EMSC), the quakes measured 4.1 and 3.9, respectively.

The quakes were felt both in Israel and Jordan. Jordan felt at least 10 aftershocks.

Earthquakes Shake the Holy Land

Two earthquakes shook northern Israel on Saturday and Sunday.

The first quake, which, according to the Geological Survey of Israel, measured 3.8, had its epicenter under the Jordan River, just south of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). It occurred late Saturday night.

Less than a day later, on Sunday afternoon, a second quake shook the same region, this one measuring 3.6.

According to the Euro-Mediterra-

Compensation for Meron Tragedy

Israel’s government ministers on Thursday agreed to provide 500,000 NIS ($160,000) in initial aid to each of the families of the 45 people who died in the Meron disaster last year.

The proposal still requires government approval.

In a statement, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) and Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar

(New Hope) said, “The pain cannot be eliminated, but we will do everything in our capabilities to provide the maximum response for the families, and we will take all precautions to prevent the next disaster.

“The tremendous loss experienced by the 45 families in Israel and the Jewish Diaspora cannot be compensated for. The least the government can do is make sure that a case like this doesn’t happen again and to economically assist the families that were harmed.”

Liberman added, “The catastrophe that happened at Meron is of a national magnitude and the feeling of deep loss and pain are experienced first and foremost by the families and, with them, the State of Israel. The financial assistance plan we’ve put together is necessary and important.”

Deri Resigns from Knesset MK Aryeh Deri, who chairs the Knesset’s Shas party, submitted his resignation to Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid) on Sunday morning. The resignation took effect within 48 hours.

Despite his resignation, however, Deri will maintain leadership of the Shas party.

Under the plea deal, Deri pleaded guilty to minor tax offenses and will pay a fine of 180,000 NIS ($56,541.91). Though he resigns from the current Knesset, Deri will not be required to serve jail time and will be allowed to run in the upcoming elections. In addition, the issue of moral turpitude will not be pursued.

In 1999, Deri was convicted of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, and served three years in prison. He returned to the Knesset in 2012.

Bibi: I Won’t Sign Plea Bargain Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday

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evening responded for the first time to reports that he might sign a plea bargain.

Turning to the Israeli public, Netanyahu said, “Dear and beloved

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citizens of Israel, in recent days you have proven once again that I do not walk alone and that millions of you walk with me. You moved me greatly.

I will continue to lead the Likud and the national camp to lead the State of Israel – on your behalf.

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dia about things I allegedly agreed to, such as the claim I agreed to admit to moral turpitude. This is not correct.”

He added, “Your mobilization and tremendous support has warmed my heart and the hearts of my family members, and it gives me more strength to continue to lead you and fight for our path, truth and justice.”

Had Netanyahu agreed to admit to moral turpitude, he would be forced to resign from the Knesset and barred from running in elections for seven years.

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Thursday adopted an Israeli resolution to combat Holocaust denial, making it the second time that an Israeli resolution managed to pass.

The resolution uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of Holocaust denial and provides expectations for actions that signatories agree to take in order to address the phenomenon. It also demands social media networks remove posts which fall under the IHRA definition.

The resolution passed with 114 in favor. Only Iran directly opposed.

Introducing the resolution, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said, “Holocaust denial has spread like a cancer. It has spread under our watch. It has spread because people have chosen to be irresponsible and to avoid accountability.”

He added, “As the number of Holocaust survivors diminishes, Holocaust denial is growing at a terrifying speed.

“As the number of survivors dwindles, the younger generations are being indoctrinated on social media to doubt reality and trust deception.”

The resolution, which was introduced and passed on the 80th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference organized by the Nazis to coordinate the implementation of Hitler’s Final Solution, has no enforcement mechanism. But Erdan hopes that it will set an “international standard” for what constitutes Holocaust denial and how social media companies are expected to respond.

Justice Naor Dies Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their last respects to former

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Supreme Court chief justice Miriam Naor as she was laid to rest on Tuesday after dying earlier this week at the age of 74.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett began his eulogy, “Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard.”

He noted, “This is what Miriam Naor did. In the decades she served, her words were wise and clear, and they were heard calmly.” He added, “One of the most significant judges of our time.”

President Isaac Herzog said, “A little over four years ago, when she left the Supreme Court, Miriam said the following: ‘Even today, as the decades have passed and I have served in all the courts, I am grateful that my path led me to being a judge.’

“Now that we say goodbye to you prematurely, we can fully say that you have fulfilled your role to the end, spreading light into the distance. You will be remembered by the future generations of Israel as the queen of justice.”

Naor, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2003, served as head of the court from 2015 to 2017, when she retired.

In recent months, Naor was serving as head of the state commission of inquiry into last year’s Meron disaster, during which 45 people were killed in a crush at a religious festival, in the worst civilian disaster in Israel’s history.

During her 14-year tenure on the Supreme Court, Naor oversaw some of the most significant cases in Israel’s history, including striking down legislation that sought to delay drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army; barring the state from deporting African migrants against their will; allowing mini-markets in Tel Aviv to operate on Shabbat; and forcing the government to recognize private conversions to Judaism for the sake of citizenship.

“I will remember Miriam Naor

as someone who insisted on demolishing homes in [the West Bank settlements and outposts of] Ofra and Amona and Netiv Ha’avot,” MK Bezalel Smotrich told Radio Galey Yisrael after Naor died.

He also criticized her decision to refuse to send a judicial representative to a state ceremony in 2017 marking 50 years of the settlement enterprise.

“In short, just another [Supreme Court] president in a long line of those…who destroyed a once glorious institution,” Smotrich added.

China is Israel’s Biggest Importer China became Israel’s largest source of imports in 2021, surpassing the United States, according to data released by Israel’s National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

Last year, Israel imported $10.7 billion in goods from China, compared with $7.7 billion in 2020, a nearly 40% increase.

Israel’s imports from the United States, previously its largest import source, totaled $8.2 billion, a slight increase from 2020. The United States remained Israel’s largest export destination.

Israel’s largest trade deficit was also with China, totaling $6.6 billion.

The new data comes shortly after Israel vowed to keep the Biden administration in the loop on any major trade deals with China, in an effort to avoid further tensions.

Both the Biden and the Trump administrations have expressed concerns about the warming relationship between Israel and China as the latter’s ties with Europe and the United States have soured.

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Sheldon Silver Dies at 77 Defeat the Mandate March

Several thousand people marched in Washington, D.C., on Sunday against vaccine mandates. They called for “freedom” against the “tyranny” of forcing Americans to procure the Covid-19 vaccine.

A number of major U.S. cities including D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Boston have implemented citywide rules requiring residents to show proof of vaccination at certain establishments, such as restaurants and gyms.

The peaceful protest started around noon at the Washington Monument and headed to the Lincoln Memorial, where it remained while a series of speakers took to the steps to share their experiences of the past year and their reasons to call for an end to the vaccine mandates.

“Mandates and freedoms don’t mix, like oil and water,” one speaker said.

“Breathe. Inhale G-d, exhale fear,” another said.

Between 30,000 and 35,000 people attended the protest, demanding an end to vaccine mandates and passports and a call for reasonable debate and the power of informed consent.

“You’re going to hear a lot of people talk about on the left say this is a big, anti-vax rally – it’s people coming in to deny science,” march organizer Will Witt, an author and political commentator for nonprofit PragerU, said last week before the rally.

“But this march is about the mandate, and this march is about the Draconian measures that we’re seeing all across this country right now, especially in places like D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco.”

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver died in federal custody this week at the age of 77.

An Orthodox Jew and Democrat who represented New York’s Lower East Side, Silver died at a hospital near Otisville Correctional Facility in upstate New York, where he had been serving a 6 1/2-year sentence on federal corruption charges. He had been treated for cancer and recently had back surgery at a federal prison hospital in Massachusetts.

Silver had been serving time for using his clout in state government to benefit real estate developers, who rewarded Silver by referring lucrative business to his law firm.

Silver’s 2015 arrest and conviction sent shockwaves through New York’s Jewish establishment, where he was well-known and generally highly regarded.

Silver first won a seat representing Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1976.

He became Assembly speaker in 1994, a powerful position that made him one of Albany’s “three men in a room” negotiating annual budgets and major legislation with the governor and state Senate leader. He was known to observe Shabbos even during the marathon negotiation sessions that preceded annual budget deadlines and the end of legislative sessions.

In all, Silver served as speaker during the tenure of five New York governors, from Mario Cuomo to Andrew Cuomo.

“For more than two decades, he held back a tide of repressive legislation while advancing an agenda that provided equity, justice and opportunity for all,” Democratic Assembly member Kevin Cahill of the Hudson Valley said in a statement.

Silver gave up his leadership position following his arrest in January 2015 and lost his legislative seat

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

upon his first conviction that November.

Silver was furloughed from prison for several days in May before federal authorities denied him home confinement.

Judge: Family of Otto Warmbier Deserves Compensation

ment. Following the hour-long trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years hard labor.

After 17 months of imprisonment, Otto was eventually returned to the U.S. in 2017, in a coma. An MRI found extensive brain damage and showed that his brain had been deprived of oxygen at some point in the past. Six days after his return to the U.S., Warmbier died.

In 2018, a U.S. federal court found the North Korean government liable for Otto’s torture and death, in a default judgment in favor of Warmbier’s parents after North Korea did not contest the case.

Changes to the SAT A federal judge in New York has ordered over $240,000 in North Korean bank assets be paid to the family of Otto Warmbier.

In the ruling, Judge Lawrence E. Kahn ordered $240,000 in seized assets from the Kwangson Banking Corporation, which is connected to the North Korean government, be transferred to the Warmbier family within 10 days.

Initially, Cindy and Fred Warmbier had sought over $1 billion in damages from the regime. In 2018, a judgement by a D.C. federal court found North Korea liable to pay the Warmbiers over $500 million.

Otto Warmbier, who was Jewish, was scheduled to undertake a studyabroad program in Hong Kong in early 2016 and decided to visit North Korea en route over the New Year period. He booked a tour with Young Pioneer Tours, a China-based budget tour operator that said that their tours were safe.

On December 29, 2015, Warmbier flew via Beijing to North Korea with his tour group, which included ten other U.S. citizens, for a five-day New Year’s tour. The group celebrated New Year’s Eve and returned to the hotel, where some continued to drink alcohol. Otto was accused of taking a propaganda poster from a staff-only area of the hotel at around 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day. He was arrested on January 2, 2016, at Pyongyang International Airport while awaiting departure from North Korea. Two guards tapped Otto on the shoulder and led him away.

Otto was then tried for committing a hostile act against the govern-

The College Board on Tuesday announced a slew of new changes to its SAT college admissions exam.

The new test will be given completely online.

“The digital SAT will be easier to take, easier to give, and more relevant,” said Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at the College Board.

“We’re not simply putting the current SAT on a digital platform – we’re taking full advantage of what delivering an assessment digitally makes possible. With input from educators and students, we are adapting to ensure we continue to meet their evolving needs.”

Additionally, the new test will take two hours to complete instead of three.

Students can use calculators for the entire Math portion. Previous versions prohibited calculators in some sections.

The passages featured in the Reading section will be shorter and will include only one question each.

They will more closely resemble works that students are taught in their classrooms.

In another change, scores will be made available to students and their teachers in days instead of weeks.

The new digital-only version of the SAT will begin being distributed internationally in 2023, with U.S. distribution beginning in 2024.

Sinema Censured

The Arizona Democratic Party’s executive board on Saturday announced that it would formally censure Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema for voting to maintain filibuster rules.

Sinema and West Virginia’s Senator Joe Manchin were the only two Democrats to join Republicans in upholding the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster on legislation. The other Democrats had attempted to change Senate rules to allow legislation to pass with 51 votes.

In a statement, Arizona Democratic Party Chair Raquel Terán said, “While we take no pleasure in this announcement, the ADP Executive Board has decided to formally censure Senator Sinema as a result of her failure to do whatever it takes to

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ensure the health of our democracy.”

She added, “I want to be clear: the Arizona Democratic Party is a diverse coalition with plenty of room for policy disagreements, however, on the matter of the filibuster and the urgency to protect voting rights, we have been crystal clear. In the choice between an archaic legislative norm and protecting Arizonans’ right to vote, we choose the latter, and we always will.”

Sinema’s spokesperson Hannah Hurley responded, “During three terms in the U.S. House, and now in the Senate, Kyrsten has always promised Arizonans she would be an independent voice for the state – not for either political party. She’s delivered for Arizonans and has always been honest about where she stands.”

Problems with 5G Rollout The U.S. government failed this week to avoid a collision between U.S. telecom companies and airlines over the rollout of 5G cellular networks.

The failure led to a last-minute scramble which threatened to cancel thousands of flights.

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The 5G signals are liable to pose a risk to aircraft, but the concern has been dismissed by both the telecom industry and its regulator. On Tuesday, after international airlines threatened to cancel some U.S.bound flights, AT&T and Verizon Communications agreed to limit 5G signals near major airports.

According to the communications companies, real-world experience in other countries shows that aircraft are not disrupted by 5G signals. This view is backed by the Federal Communications Commission. It is not, however, backed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is responsible for air safety.

“We have, in this case, two very different industries that have different ways of looking at risk, and I think over the last couple of months, we understand each other much better than we did before,” FAA Ad-

ministrator Steve Dickson said last Wednesday. “Keep in mind, the telecommunications companies, we’re not their regulator.”

In 2019, FAA concerns grew after a research group flagged potential 5G interference issues. In 2020, the RTCA Inc. nonprofit group published test results, suggesting that altimeters may be vulnerable.

On Tuesday, AT&T and Verizon agreed that any cell tower within two miles of a major runway would not use 5G signals.

RIP NYPD Officer Rivera and Mora

New York police are mourning the death of Officer Jason Rivera, 22, after Rivera was shot and killed on Friday while responding to a domestic

violence incident in Harlem.

A second officer, Wilbert Mora, 27, was critically injured in the same incident, NYPD reported. He succumbed to his wounds on Tuesday.

The shooter has been identified as Lashawn McNeil, who was also in critical condition. McNeil died on Monday from his injuries.

According to police, five NYPD officers have been shot this month, but Rivera was the first to die.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams plans to “immediately” reinstitute “a newer version of ... a modified plainclothes anti-gun unit.”

“I talked about this on the campaign trail,” the new mayor said.

“Our team has done the proper analysis, and now we’re going to deploy that.”

On Sunday, Adams stressed, “We have to go after those laws that are not realistic on understanding what’s happening on the ground. We have to stop the flow of guns. We are removing thousands of guns off our streets, and it appears as though for every gun we remove from the street, five are coming in. That’s unacceptable.”

The gun used in Friday’s shooting was stolen from Baltimore in 2017, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig noted.

Hundreds of NYPD officers stood shoulder-to-shoulder on Sunday as Rivera’s casket left the medical examiner’s office and the procession made its way to Riverdale Funeral Home in Inwood. He is scheduled to be buried on Friday.

Rivera joined the force in 2020.

He was married only a few months ago.

Judge: NYS Mask Mandate Not Legal

On Monday, New York State Supreme Court Judge Thomas Rademaker ruled that the state’s mask mandate cannot be enforced, noting that the Department of Health didn’t have the legal authority to do so. The Mineola judge added that it is up to the state Legislature to decide.

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measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives,” she said.

Zeldin, who is running for governor, accused Hochul of being on a “power trip.”

“Hey Kathy, Masks are OPTIONAL!” Zeldin tweeted.

The state plans to appeal the decision. The mandate will remain in force until higher courts rule.

Youngkin On a Roll

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In response, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) hailed the ruling, which essentially scrapped the order reinstituted by Gov. Kathy Hochul amid concerns about a winter surge of COVID-19 cases.

The mandate, which remains in effect until February 1, covers businesses and venues and schools, public transit, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and health care settings.

Nassau County Executive Bruce

Blakeman signed an executive order earlier in January telling local school boards to vote on the mandate, instead of blindly enforcing it in area schools.

New York Republican Rep. Stefanik, the influential No. 3 GOP leader in the House of Representatives, slammed Hochul and called the ruling a “win for small businesses, parents, students, and the freedom of all New Yorkers.” “(The) authoritarian mandates were crushing New York small busi-

nesses that already have faced unprecedented challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said in a statement.

The decision will now go to an appeals court and from there to the state Court of Appeals, which is the highest court in New York state.

Gov. Hochul vowed to fight the ruling and pursue all options to reverse the legal decision.

“My responsibility as governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, has made it clear during his first week in office that he is there to enact change, The Washington Post reported.

Youngkin, who has a two-point margin, has already drawn a lawsuit from parents in Chesapeake over his executive order ending mask mandates in public schools. His executive order banning teaching critical race theory or any “inherently divisive concepts” has spurred the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus to claim he is waging a “war on Black history.”

On Friday evening, Youngkin’s office issued a formal list of legislative priorities, specifying both bills and budget amendments that he aims to carry out. But the list requires action by the General Assembly and buy-in from Senate Democrats to become law.

Youngkin, meanwhile, has received at least 24 requests to headline GOP fundraisers in other states but has turned them down, an adviser said.

State Sen. Emmett W. Hanger Jr. (R-Augusta) said that Youngkin is “off to a good start.”

“The thing that impresses me about him is he’s a great salesman,” Hanger said. “Of course, he’ll have to at some point be realistic about the politics of the moment and work for what’s doable.”

Del. Lamont Bagby (D-Henrico), head of the Black Caucus, told the Post, “I can’t find any other word to describe it other than ‘dangerous propaganda.’ I am surprised that he’s doubling down on these bad

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

ideas, and I really was hoping that Virginia was far past this, but this administration is taking us back rather quickly.”

Frozen Border Crossing

Four people – two adults, a teen, and an infant – froze to death while being smuggled across the U.S.-Canada border.

The bodies were found approximately 40 feet from the border, as they were being smuggled into North Dakota from Canada.

According to the report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, together with law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security, performed a traffic stop on January 19 on a 15-passen-

ger van. During the inspection, the officers found two undocumented Indian nationals from Canada, the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said.

Law enforcement also encountered and apprehended five other undocumented Indian nationals crossing the border by foot, RCMP added. One of them was taken into custody wearing a backpack containing children’s items, the U.S. Department of Justice said. He told the authorities he was carrying the backpack for a family that had been traveling with him but that they had been separated during the night.

A search by RCMP and coordinated with U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed the bodies of four people on the Canadian side of the border. The four were found “frozen,” Canadian authorities said, and it is believed they died of exposure.

DoJ quoted the group of travelers as saying that it took approximately 11 hours to cross the border.

Two travelers were transported to a hospital with injuries.

The U.S. citizen from Florida who drove the van was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol and charged with one count of knowing or in reckless

disregard of the fact that an alien had come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law, having transported and moved or having attempted to transport and move such aliens.

showed.

The number of migrants arriving in the U.S. dropped during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but picked up later in 2020. It then jumped again following U.S. President Joe Biden’s entry into office.

3 Firefighters Killed in Baltimore

Three Baltimore firefighters have died and one remains in critical condition after battling a blaze in a vacant home early Monday in Baltimore, Maryland. The three-story townhouse partially collapsed while firefighters were fighting the fire.

The four firefighters were trapped inside.

Lt. Paul Butrim, Firefighter/ Paramedic Kelsey Sadler, and EMT/ Firefighter Kenny Lacayo died. The fourth EMT/Firefighter, John McMaster, remains at the hospital in critical but stable condition. He is on life support.

Ironically, three firefighters were injured at the same location in 2015 battling a fire.

“This is a gut-wrenching tragedy for our city, the Baltimore City Fire Department, and most importantly the families of our firefighters.

There are no words to describe the pain and the severity of the losses we have suffered today,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon M.Scott said.

2M Migrants Caught on Southern Border A record nearly two million migrants have been apprehended attempting to illegally enter the U.S. from Mexico in 2021.

Of those, 178,840 of them were apprehended during the month of December 2021, official figures

Though the summer months usually mark a drop in the number of attempts to cross the border, approximately 200,000 attempted to illegally cross from Mexico into the U.S. over the course of July 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

The arrivals pose a challenge to U.S. authorities, especially since the current administration has promised not to send unaccompanied minors back to Mexico.

Navy Jet Mishap

A U.S. Navy fighter jet attempting to land on an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea had a “landing mishap” on the ship’s deck on Monday that left seven sailors injured, including the pilot, according to the Navy.

The pilot of the F-35c fighter jet was able to eject safely and was recovered from the waters where the carrier, USS Carl Vinson, is operating.

The F-35C “had a landing mishap and impacted the flight deck and subsequently fell to the water during routine flight operations.”

“The pilot safely ejected the aircraft and was recovered by helicopter,” a statement added.

Of the seven sailors injured, four received medical treatment aboard

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

the carrier, while the other three, including the pilot, were medevaced to a facility in Manila, Philippines, and are in stable condition, according to the Navy.

Three of the four Sailors who received medical care aboard the carrier have been released.

The damage to the carrier’s deck was “superficial and all equipment for flight operations is operational” which enabled the resumption of flight operations, said Lt. Mark Langford, a Seventh Fleet spokesman.

The crash occurred while the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson Strike Group was involved in a high-profile naval exercise with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group, the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group, the USS America Amphibious Ready Group, and a Japanese Maritime Self Defense helicopter carrier.

The participation of so many air capable and amphibious U.S. Navy ships operating together in the South China Sea highlights the U.S. Navy’s capabilities in a region where China continues to make maritime territorial claims.

Donation Doughnuts

In an effort to encourage Americans to donate blood, Krispy Kreme doughnuts announced that it would be giving away free pastries to those who donate the life-saving liquid.

This week, the chain will give away a dozen original glazed doughnuts to people who donated blood to the American Red Cross. The promotion comes after the organization recently announced that it’s dealing with the worst blood shortage in over a decade, with the organization seeing a 10% decrease in donations since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

To receive the free dozen, cus-

tomers have to order in-person at a Krispy Kreme shop and show their donation sticker or confirmation of their donation on the Red Cross blood donor app. Donating to other blood donation organizations besides the Red Cross will also qualify for the free dozen of doughnuts.

This is not the first time Krispy Kreme used its doughnuts as an incentive for Americans. Last March, the chain began its giveaway to encourage people to get vaccinated with a free doughnut a day. It gave away nearly 4 million doughnuts in its effort.

Sounds like you can have your cake and eat it, too.

gelo VA Clinic.

“For me to present [the diploma] to him, it was an honor,” Principal Litterer said. “Yes, it’s his diploma, but also, I’m handing it to a gentleman who put his life on hold to sacrifice for what our country needed in 1943. And those guys, they’re heroes in my opinion.”

Flying High

A Whopping Fake Burger

Graduating at 98

Donald Huisenga just received his high school diploma, and it’s been a lifetime achievement.

The 98-year-old was supposed to graduate from high school in 1943.

But his graduation plans were curtailed by World War II, as Huisenga was drafted into the U.S. Army. He went to fight the enemy just weeks before his graduation, eventually being held in a prisoner of war camp for months.

This month, 79 years later, the nonagenarian finally received his cap and gown.

Tess Gooding was the force behind obtaining Huisenga’s diploma.

The social worker heard from Huisenga that he never received it and set out on a quest to gift Huisenga the certificate. She contacted Huisenga’s high school to start the process.

The board there voted unanimously to give Huisenga his much-deserved certificate.

The high school reached out to a special printer so that Huisenga could get the same diploma as others who graduated in 1943. Before the ceremony, Huisenga got his affairs in order, getting a new hearing aid and the batteries in his pacemaker replaced.

On January 5, Huisenga finally received his diploma at the San An-

to the homeless.

No word on if they added fries on the side.

Fake burgers beware. There is a new vegan sandwich in town.

Finnebrogue Artisan, a U.K. meat producer in Northern Ireland, broke the world record for the largest vegan burger in November.

The company, which also sells vegan and vegetarian products, used its “Naked Evolution Burger” recipe for its world record. According to the press release, the world’s largest burger is the equivalent of 1,274 regular-sized “Naked Evolution Burgers.”

Meat-eaters take note. According to Guinness World Records, all the ingredients of the 358.3-pound burger were verified as vegan.

But this was no ordinary burger. The toppings on the fake burger included 22 pounds of tomatoes, 10 pounds of lettuce, 15.4 pounds of cheese, 4.4 pounds of tobacco onions, 11 pounds of pickles, 11 pounds of vegan bacon slices, and 11 pounds of “Naked Burger” sauce.

It took Finnebrogue Artisan almost nine hours to cook the burger patty. The vegan bun was provided by a local bakery.

“We were set a target weight of 100kg (220 pounds), but we knew from the outset we wanted to exceed that,” Sean Kearney, Finnebrogue Artisan’s innovation process manager, shared. “The team included representatives from NPD, marketing, and engineering; and together we designed and built everything, including a swing to aid [in] turning the patty during cooking. That was perhaps the most challenging part of the record as we didn’t want to break the patty.”

After recording the feat, the company distributed the giant sandwich

Zara Rutherford is one independent teenager. The 19-year-old Belgian recently set a world record for the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.

Zara finally came home on Thursday after spending 155 days on her mission.

“Go for it. It takes a lot of time, patience, a lot of work, but it is incredible,” she advised.

Rutherford’s journey took her from the frozen tundra in Siberia to typhoons in the Philippines and the stark beauty of the Arabian desert.

There were many hours spent in solitude flying alone overseas or desolate land.

Now that she’s home, Zara will be spending time with family.

“We will celebrate this by being as a family together, at first,” her mother Beatrice said. “I think Zara wants to celebrate by sleeping about two weeks.”

Zara broke the Guinness World Records that had been held by 30-year-old American aviator Shaesta Waiz since 2017. The overall record will remain out of Rutherford’s grasp, since Briton Travis Ludlow set that benchmark last year as an 18-year-old.

Zara’s global flight was supposed to take three months, but relentless bad weather and visa issues kept her grounded sometimes for weeks on end, extending her adventure by about two months. Her 155 days on the road extended to five continents and 41 nations.

Zara fit in her adventure in between high school and university.

“I thought, actually, this is the perfect opportunity to do something crazy and fly around the world,” she said.

Now, she’s off to university to study electrical engineering.

We’re sure she’ll pass with flying colors.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Around the

Community Chevra Mishnayos at YOSS Mechina

T

he Chevra Mishnayos at YOSS is a volunteer learning program that was adopted by the eighth grade. The goal of the program is to help the students gain bekius in Mishnayos that are not generally taught as part of their curriculum.

Students that are part of the program learn a new Mishna every day and review the previous 3 days’ Mishnayos. This waym each student is learning 4 Mishnayos every day. Shabbos is meant to review all the Mishnayos from the week. The students are required to find their own time during the day to do the learning, and it cannot impact their regular classes.

Nine weeks ago, when Rabbi Neuman, eighth grade Rebbe at YOSS, started the program, he didn’t know what to expect. How many students will sign up? Will the students be able to keep up?

Baruch Hashem to date with the majority of the 8th grade signed up, the students have already learned over 10,000 Mishnayos collectively, with the goal of completing Seder Nashim, Nezikin, Moed, and Kodshim.

“It’s a beautiful sight to see boys learning on their free time,” said Rabbi Zev Davidowitz, Menahel HaMechina. Whether it’s after Shacharis, during breaks, and even during recess, you can always find some of the Chevra Mishnayos learning.

The Chevra Mishnayos is treated to a Carlos and Gabby’s lunch each month. This month, Shmuel Wind and Aaron Weinstein, eighth grade students, spoke at the lunch and expressed hakaras hatov to Rabbi Neuman and the Yeshiva for starting the

program and recognizing how much they have already gained by learning Mishnayos.

Special thanks to Mr. Brian and Mrs. Gila Gluck for sponsoring water bottles and sweatshirts for the Chevra Mishnayos.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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Around the Community

Remembering Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan NCSY Republishes Collection of His Selected Works

O

n the occasion of the 39th yartzheit of Rabbi Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan, NCSY – the national youth movement of the Orthodox Union – has launched the NCSY Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Library. The reissuance of Rabbi Kaplan’s illuminating writings is designed to help preserve his unique legacy and introduce it to contemporary youth.

Rabbi Kaplan, one of the central figures in the American Jewish spiritual awakening “teshuva movement” of the 1960s, was one of NCSY’s foremost thinkers who influenced thousands of unaffiliated Jewish teens over the course of several decades.

The physicist-turned-rabbi’s prolific output of books, essays, pamphlets, and translations of complex Kabbalah works were clear and compelling.

Most notably, perhaps, Rabbi Kaplan synthesized his extraordinary understanding of Jewish law, mysticism, science, and other disciplines to make them accessible to a wide Jewish audience, especially teenagers – a notoriously underserved demographic.

NCSY Director of Education Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin spent two years editing the collection of Rabbi Kaplan’s writings, which comprise 10 volumes. Other than searching for typographical errors or fixing an occasional grammatical misstep, he found he didn’t need to update the words themselves to make them relevant and relatable to today’s Jewish teens.

“Rabbi Kaplan had the unique gift of making complex ideas accessible to the masses, which is even more incredible when you consider

Rabbi Micah Greenland and Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin with members of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s family, including his wife, Tobie, at the the launch of the NCSY Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Library

that he himself did not grow up religious or receive a yeshiva day school education,” said Rabbi Bashevkin.

In fact, it was a chance encounter as a teenager saying Kaddish for his mother that Rabbi Kaplan was introduced to Orthodox Judaism.

From learning Hebrew and studying at Brooklyn’s Yeshiva Torah Vodaath to earning rabbinic ordination at Jerusalem’s Mir Yeshiva and being recruited to teach and disseminate Torah to teens through NCSY, Rabbi Kaplan’s journey demonstrates that anyone, no matter how humble his or her Jewish background, can become learned.

It was with this thought in mind that Rabbi Bashevkin determined to time the re-publication of Rabbi Kaplan’s works with NCSY’s annual Yarchei Kallah, which took place recently in Stamford, Conn.

The five-day retreat draws public school teens who forgo more traditional winter break plans such as ski trips and Florida vacations to instead

learn Torah with fellow teens. This year, Yarchei Kallah included teens from across the country and as far away as Argentina.

Following a short presentation of Rabbi Kaplan’s life and legacy, teens broke out into 10 different experiences designed to correspond with the 10 different books of the anthology. Programs included how social media can be leveraged to share Torah ideas, how to create moments on Shabbat, and understanding what Rambam’s 13 Principles of Faith means to teens.

One of the experiences included an exercise taken directly from If You Were God. During the event, Rabbi Bashevkin introduced Rabbi Kaplan’s wife, Tobie, and some of their children and grandchildren, who were present at Yarchei Kallah as honored guests of NCSY. Upon their introduction, the teens, unprompted, gave the Kaplan family a standing ovation.

Said NCSY International Direc-

tor Rabbi Micah Greenland, who attended the Yarchei Kallah, “Rabbi Kaplan’s books are as relevant today as ever. It was incredibly gratifying to see these teens reading, on their own, a copy of Sabbath: Day of Eternity or If You Were G-d.

Said Rabbi Bashevkin “Any time you republish a book, there’s a lot of minutiae involved that prevents you from appreciating the grandeur of the overall project until much later, but that wasn’t the case here. There was something inherently magical about working on Rabbi Kaplan’s writings to help reintroduce them to a new audience, a process of rediscovery that Rabbi Kaplan stood for in his lifetime. I can think of no greater tribute to his memory, and I’m honored to have had a hand in it.”

To purchase The Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan Library of Jewish Thought or for more information, please visit: https://www.ncsy.org/kaplan.

Did you know?

Silver Lake, Colorado, received 75.8 inches of snow in a 24-hour period back in 1921.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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Around the Community

On Tuesday, January 18, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman joined Town of Hempstead Clerk Kate Murray, Village of Lawrence Trustee Michael Fragin, and other officials to congratulate David Scharf and welcome the Esplanade of Woodmere to Nassau County. The Esplanade of Woodmere is a beautifully renovated vibrant senior living community that offers kosher dining and a distinctive dementia care program for Nassau County seniors with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.

JSL Sports Corner: Week Two Recap

JSL Regular Season Kicks Off!

O

n Sunday, January 16, JSL’s regular season began. The league is sponsored by FM Home Loans and plays in the spacious Lawrence Woodmere Academy Gym. The K/P soccer league enjoyed an exciting week of clinics and games with the players from all 4 teams teaming up to play a joint match.

Simcha Day Camp/KolSave beat Rebbe’s Choice/Camp Funshine 2-0 behind 2 goals from Avi Gordon.

In 1st/2nd Football, The Designer’s Group won 5-3 over Krauss Dentistry. PIP Printing defeated The Rebbe’s Choice 4-1.

In 2nd/3rd soccer, both games were shutouts. John’s Automotive won 6-0 over Maidenbaum. Krauss Dentistry won their game 3-0 against Home and Stone.

The Basketball Leagues raced out to a fast start. In the 3rd/4th Division, RestoMax defeated Maidenbaum 20-6. Island Roofing beat PEYD 18-12.

In the 5th Grade Division, AutoClick beat Wisnicki-Neuhauser 2613. Triple Net Group defeated 5Towns Central 24-13.

In 6th-8th Basketball, Gourmet Glatt defeated John’s Automotive 5224. Home & Stone beat JRM Devel-

opment 37-16.

In 4th/5th Hockey, Alpert and Associates held on for a 3-1 win over Executive Dry Cleaners. Believe and Achieve opened strong with a 5-1 win over CNSLT. MVPs Avi Gordon Eliyahu Ruzohrsky Ezra Dinowitz Shaul Nathan Yosef Bryks Eli Schattner Avraham Blumenkrantz Mickey Aryeh Tzvi Tempelman Aaron Newman Gavriel Abittan Men’s Recap The Men’s JSL division played their 2nd week of the regular season.

Alpert & Associates beat Hewlett Auto Body 54-36. Rentastic defeated Home & Stone 53-48 with Judah Dvir pouring in 33 in the win and Aaron Azuse scoring 33 in the loss!

Maidenbaum defeated Built By Nate 50-43. Executive Dry Cleaning beat PIP Printing 59-45. Island Roofing cruised past RestoMax 60-36. Aaron Azuse leads the league in scoring

average.

Island Roofing, Maidenbaum and Executive Dry Cleaning lead the league so far at 2-0 each.

Basketball Fun Fact The slam dunk was banned just before the 1967-1968 season until the 1976-1977 season.

Game of the Week Alpert and Associates won their hockey game 3-1 behind 2 goals from Gavriel Abittan and some solid defense!

JSL can be contacted at 5townsJSL@gmail.com and more info can be seen at 5tjsl.com or on Instagram @5townsJSL

Did you know?

The biggest snowball fight took place in Saskatoon, Canada, in January 2016.

More than 7,600 people took part.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

YSZ Celebrates Tu B’Shvat

T

u B’Shvat: the birthday of the trees! But wait...looking out the window, the trees don’t look like they are being born, in fact, they actually look quite dreary.

Why do we celebrate Tu B’Shvat it in the middle of the frigid winter and not in the spring when the trees are blossoming? We explored that very question at our Tu B’Shvat program at Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion. Even though outside it may look cold and gray, deep inside of the trees, a transformation is taking place. The sap is starting to rise, beginning the process of growth. This teaches us such an important lesson about our growth.

We may not see change in ourselves and others right

away, but it’s happening, bit by bit, deep inside.

All the girls were treated to exciting Tu B’Shvat activities. The Pre-1A and 1st grades decorated special picture frames using pastels. The 1st grade had a bonus activity of making baskets with dried fruit with Morah Pinkhasov. The 2nd5th grades enjoyed making

edible flowers with the help of our 8th grade student Meira Sofiev. The 6-8th grade classes participated in Tu B’Shvat Canvas Painting led by Mrs. Sharon Halali where each girl proved to have lots of artistic talent!

Each YSZ student is growing, flourishing, and reaching new heights and we can’t wait to watch them grow!

Celebrating Tu B’Shvat at Shulamith ECC

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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Around the Community

Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky in Eretz Yisrael

With married alumni

With Rav Velvel Soloveichik

With Rav Asher Arieli, Maggid Shiur at Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim

With Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch

With Rav Matisyahu Lesman

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

4th Graders’ Knowledge & Creativity Shine at Yeshiva Darchei Torah Sukkah Fair PHOTOS BY YK IMAGES

Rabbi Menachem Hildeshaim with Betzalel Feldstein

Rabbi Yair Weinstein with Yitzy Bazov

Rabbi Ephraim Seidenfeld with Boruch Sebrow

Rabbi Shalom Rosen with Zevi Herman Rabbi Mordechai Reich with Shuey Hoffman

Rabbi Moshe Waxman with Avi Lowinger

Rabbi Eliahu Milstein with Binyomin Shanin

Rabbi Nechemia Weiss with Aaron Vogel

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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Around the Community

Klal Yisroel Comes Together During Shas for Shidduchim

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his past Tu B’Shvat, Monday, January 17 th, 2022, marked an incredible event filled with Torah learning, words of inspiration, and z’chusim for shidduchim.

Between Sunday evening and Monday evening, over 400 lomdim took the time to come together and learn in the z’chus that singles across Klal Yisroel may merit a shidduch. Young and old gathered at Agudas Yisroel of West Rogers Park in Chicago where the learning proceeded throughout the day of Tu B’Shvat, resulting in the completion of the entirety of Shas over those 24 hours.

Newly introduced this year was the Shas for Shidduchim Jr. program, during which children finished Shas Mishnayos as well!

Additionally, Chicago Chesed Fund was joined by the Zisa Zimmerman Chicago Aneinu, which coordinated a Women’s Tehillim for Shidduchim event on Sunday evening. Participants joined in-person and virtually to finish Sefer Tehillim

multiple times as a z’chus for shidduchim. The in-person event in Chicago featured Rabbi Efraim Twerski, rav of Congregation K’hal Chasidim, who inspired attendees with his fascinating and thought-provoking lecture.

All efforts culminated in a grand Siyum which took place at Yeshiva Ohr Boruch-The Veitzener Cheder.

The Siyum featured live music, dancing, delicious food by Zelda’s Catering, as well as incredibly inspirational remarks from several speakers, including Dayan Shmuel Fuerst and HaRav Yissocher Frand.

“We have to realize,” Dayan Fuerst stated, “that there’s no bigger z’chus in this world than Limud HaTorah. And certainly, the z’chus of Limud HaTorah, for helping with shidduchim, is very big! Limud HaTorah is the yesod of Klal Yisroel throughout our generations!”

Later in the event, attendees were gripped by Rabbi Frand’s moving speech in which he emphasized the mitzvah of the lomdim and their decision

Dayan Shmuel Fuerst addressing the Shas for Shidduchim Siyum

to “share the burden” of their fellow Yid. “When you bear the burden and you schlep for a yid, you are invested with kedusha!” HaRav Frand boldly proclaimed, lauding the lomdim and those who sponsored a daf.

All who were present soaked in these words and were delighted by the singing and dancing during the grand Siyum.

The tzedaka of the many generous sponsors’ donations to support Chicago Chesed Fund’s shidduchim initiatives, coupled with the z’chus of the lomdim’s Torah learning, made for a wonderfully inspiring event that is sure to be remembered by all who participated.

May Shas for Shidduchim merit singles across Klal Yisroel with a z’chus to meet their zivug!

Chicago Chesed Fund is a non-profit organization founded by Dayan Shmuel Fuerst, committed to helping families in crisis throughout the Chicagoland area. It provides critical assistance in the form of goods, services and financial support in an environment that maintains the dignity and integrity of each and every recipient.

Assemblywoman Rozic Spearheads Assembly Holocaust Remembrance Day Resolution

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his week, Assemblywoman Nily Rozic spoke on the New York State Assembly Resolution commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day, which she authored.

The resolution recognizes the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. The date was established by the United Nations General Assembly as International Holocaust

Remembrance Day in 2005.

“Holocaust Remembrance Day ensures that we remember a painful past and ‘never forget’ the horrors of the Holocaust. Even today, we need to give New Yorkers the necessary tools to combat Holocaust distortion and trivialization, recognizing its connection to the antisemitism affecting Jewish communities,” said Assemblywoman Nily Rozic. “We have a communal responsibility to

speak out on behalf of the oppressed and denounce antisemitism and intolerance in all its manifestations.”

“On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we commemorate the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp,” said Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein. “It’s important to remember the atrocities of the past so we can learn their lessons for the present and future. We must educate our children about the dangers of an-

tisemitism and all forms of hate. We must never forget.”

Rozic has led efforts to secure funding in the New York State Budget to provide social services and programming for Holocaust survivors across New York. Rozic also sponsors state legislation to ensure the Holocaust is adequately taught in New York schools’ curriculum, in compliance with the existing requirements.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

YCQ Holds Meaningful Grade 1 Siddur Presentations

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resenting a Jewish student with their first siddur is a momentous occasion, filled with anticipation, celebration, and ceremony. At Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ), siddurim are presented as gifts to Grade 1 students with much fanfare. On January 9th and 16th, Grade 1 classes performed songs and

skits for their families, rebbeim, and morot. Rabbi Mark Landsman, YCQ principal, led each class in davening from their own personalized siddurim. Rabbi Landsman and Rabbi Michael Ribalt, Elementary School Assistant Principal of Judaic Studies, took pictures with each student to mark the special occasion.

Rabbi Ribalt said, “This is a moment where we continue our rich and beautiful mesorah and pass it along to our students. Most importantly, they are provided with a tool that they will use for the rest of their lives, a way to directly connect to Hashem. The students have begun to experience the beauty of tefillah,

and the receiving their first siddur is a culmination of their first experiences of talking to Hashem. Our bracha to them is that they should use their siddur every day to engage in a meaningful tefillah, where they can speak and ask Hashem anything.

This experience is a very meaningful one for all involved.”

OU Women’s Initiative Culminates First Nach Yomi with Siyum

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ore than 150 women gathered at Congregation Beth Sholom this past Sunday, January 16, to celebrate the culmination of the first two-year cycle of the OU’s Women’s Initiative Nach Yomi program. Additionally, over 1,000 women participated via streaming from across the country. The livestream was sponsored by Deborah Schick Laufer. A gourmet lunch, musical performance, and inspiring speakers rounded out the beautiful event.

The Torat Imecha Nach Yomi program began in January 2020 and has featured daily downloadable audio shiurim by female Torah scholars on Nach - Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). More than 6,500 women subscribed to receive the daily learning modules, which total 742 individual shiurim, and more than 1,000 women have completed the full series. The program is meant for women of all ages and religious and educational backgrounds to learn on their own schedules.

The in-person, women-only event kicked off with light refreshments and opening remarks by Rebbetzin

Dr. Adina Shmidman, founding director of the OU Women’s Initiative.

Rebbetzin Shmidman congratulated participants who completed Nach through the program and welcomed those considering starting the new cycle starting this month.

“Yehoshua opens with the words Chazak v’ehmatz [go and be strong.

Be strong and be courageous]. It takes a lot of courage to start a twoyear program, but if you think about it as a once-a-day endeavor, recognize that you will be connecting with holy words…and you will see that the resonating messages are eternal.”

Etta Brandman Klaristenfeld, national vice president of the Orthodox Union, spoke about her aunt, Malka Esther Bat Tzvi Yosef, in whose honor her family sponsored this first, 2-year cycle. Because of many tragedies in her life, Mrs. Klarinstenfeld’s aunt never had children of her own, but through the learning of thousands of women in her merit, “Each of you with your learning have become children for my aunt” and fulfilled her lifelong dream.

Rabbi Moshe Hauer, Executive Vice President of the OU, spoke about

the importance of the program and how it has created “a community of learners.” Educators Michal Horowitz, Rachel Besser, and Pamela Simonsson also spoke.

Guests watched a video featuring women from different communities who participated in Nach Yomi and their reflections on what this learning experience meant to them.

A sumptuous catered lunch followed, and guests enjoyed music by Sorah Shaffren, who sang her original Nach-themed compositions.

Participants said the event had the energy of a family simcha. Hundreds of women excitedly talked amongst themselves about how they were able to finish the entire program.

Also open to streaming guests, the siyum welcomed approximately 460 virtual participants.

“It was such a lovely event. It was the perfect culmination of this 2-year journey. It has allowed me to learn parts of Nach that many people don’t delve into. Everything from the presentations to the delicious food and music was just beautiful. I was so excited to be there,” says Judi Rosenfeld who traveled to the event from

Brooklyn.

Each attendee received an added surprise – a copy of the Maggerman Edition of the Koren Tanakh graciously dedicated anonymously by a family from Los Angeles, CA, in honor and memory of their loved ones.

“Koren worked with us to create a special run of the Tanakhim in honor of the siyum with Torat Imecha imprinted on the cover,” explained Adeena Mayerfield Program and Operations Manager of the Women’s Initiative. “The edition has tabs for each sefer to make it easier to navigate.”

The next cycle of Nach Yomi begins with Sefer Yehoshua on January 20 and already has over 2,800 new participants and is sponsored by Mrs. Nechama Wolfson.

“Each sefer and shiur will have a new lineup of teachers and educators, so even if one has finished the cycle once, this is a chance to learn it from a new perspective,” noted Dr. Shmidman.

To learn more and sign up, visit https://www.ou.org/women/nachsiyum/next-cycle/

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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Around the Community

Gerer Chassidim in the U.S. Gather in Support of “Ichud,” Affirm “Eternal Bond” Amid Simcha in the Court

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n an evening filled with fiery elevation, emotionally-charged with feelings of connection and pining to their spiritual center – the Gerer Rebbe and the court of Ger – thousands of chassidim gathered on Sunday evening in Boro Park for an evening of support for the “Ichud,” as the week-long celebration of a simcha in the Rebbe’s court came to a rousing conclusion.

Ichud Mosdos Gur is the umbrella organization that encompasses a world of Torah and chassidus, dozens of yeshivos, schools, and chessed organizations of every kind throughout Eretz Yisroel, serving the chassidus which numbers more than ten thousand, ka”h.

The American community has always seen in this central organization their connection to all that they hold near and

R’ Yonasan Borenstein Head of Igud Mosdos Gur addressing the event on a live hookup from Eretz Yisroel

dear, a vehicle by which to do their part to assist the Gerer Rebbe, shlit”a, in his holy work of building Torah and chassidus in Eretz Yisroel – a feeling that brought out the heightened pride and emotion at the dinner Sunday evening.

The event coincided with the last sheva brachos for a grandchild of the Rebbe, and participants would be privileged to receive wine sent by

the Rebbe, shlit”a, directly from the chasuna –bridging continents with connection and brachos.

The legendary Mendy Hershkowitz Orchestra, along with Lev Voices, provided the musical backdrop for the evening, giving voice to the feelings of togetherness, of pining, and of the essence of every Gerer chassid; to continue building the golden chain of the chassidus that has experienced such a remarkable rebirth since the near annihilation of its existence in prewar Poland, where it was spread across hundreds of shtetlach.

Special guests from Eretz Yisroel included Rav Yitzchok Meir Tauman, one of the closest confidantes of the Gerer Rebbe and a respected mashpiah within the chassidus. In a fiery address, he recalled the rebirth of Ger after the Holocaust by the Beis Yisroel of Ger who restored the unique derech of Ger, of Torah, in kedusha and tahara – and the way the chassidus has continued to thrive in the most miraculous way atop these very foundations. He also provided glimpses into some of the remarkable growth of the institutions around the holy land.

A special address was also given by the Rosh Yeshiva of the Gerer yeshivos in America, Rav Yisroel Moshe Olewski, a son of the unforgettable Rosh Yeshiva and mashpia, Rav Dovid Olewski, zt”l, who

was one of the leaders of the Gerer chassidus in America.

Having resided in Eretz Yisroel many years, until his arrival to take the place of his father, Rav Yisroel Moshe had a unique vantage point to the massive scope of the Ichud and its activities.

A special video presentation of the “days of joy” in the holy court was shown on massive screens, virtually transporting the audience, which drank one every moment of the holy sites of the rebbes simcha, into the wee hours of the night.

In addition, a presentation was shown of the recent journey that the Rebbe took to the United States last summer.

The ripple effects of this historic journey, when the Rebbe took the unprecedented step of holding the wedding of a grandchild in New York, are still felt very strongly among the American chassidim almost six months later.

The sights and sounds of this historic visit reawakened the chizuk and the inspiration with even greater strength.

Among the prominent rabbanim from Eretz Yisroel as well as from America gracing the large dais were: Rav Avrohom Binyomin Zilberberg, Rosh Yeshiva of Sifsei Tzaddik in Chatzor; Rav Yaakov Abramowitz; Rosh Kollel in America, Rav Meir Widislavsky; Komarna Rebbe; Rav Dovid Kompinsky; Rav Yehuda Aryeh Segal;

Rav Yisroel Rubinfeld; Rav Yehoshua Lefkowitz; Rav Yosef Aurbach; Rav Krakower; and Rav Menachem Pesach, a mechutan of the Rebbe, shlit”a; a delegation from the Belzer building committee which facilitated the event; a delegation from Ichud Mosdos Gur, which included Reb Dovid Kuperberg from Antwerp, Reb Yitzchok Meir Lev, Reb Shmiel Weinreich, and Reb Avrohom Shafranowitz.

The event was coordinated by Green Events and Yanky Kohn Productions, and Mr. Klein from Tiferes Rivka Halls, facilitating a celebration of everlasting connection, a kesher shel kayama, opening their hearts and wallets to a cause that is so dear to them.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Historic Bipartisan “Caucus for the Advancement of Torah Values” Launched in Washington Rav Dovid Hofstedter, Nasi Dirshu, Addresses Leading Members of Congress

By Chaim Gold

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oday, the inauguration of the ‘Torah Caucus of the United States Congress’ shows the vitality of American democracy. The fact that, less than a century after the Jewish people were almost obliterated, here in Washington, lawmakers are coming together to advance Torah and its ideals is nothing short of remarkable. This development is great for the Jewish people, but it is also great for America!”

Those were the powerful, poignant words of Rav Dovid Hofstedter, Nasi of Dirshu, at a historic and momentous event in Washington earlier this month in which the Torah Caucus was launched. The Torah Caucus, short for its full name, “Caucus for the Advancement of Torah Values,” is an amazing development that promises to be a great

Rav Dovid Hofstedter speaking with Rep. Daniel Meuser

force in ensuring the preservation of Torah values for the Jewish community and beyond. It is a biparti-

san, new caucus that has pledged to advocate on behalf of Torah values in the corridors of American power and beyond.

The bipartisan group of lawmakers at the inaugural event, included congressional stalwarts such as Congresswoman Kat Cammack of Florida (R), Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania (R), Congressman Henry Cuellar of Texas (D), Congressman Don Bacon of Nebraska (R), Congressman Brian Steil of Wisconsin (R), and Congressman Dan Mueser of Pennsylvania (R).

The chairman of the event highlighted the event’s unique character. “We are here to inaugurate the Congressional Caucus for the Advancement of Torah Values – a Congressional Member Organization for the 117th Congress. We live in a world filled with darkness. Not only because of the Coronavirus; but also because of the moral decay and erosion of values we continue witnessing around us. Values that all decent people cherish and hold dear. This is a concerning trend that needs to be properly challenged.

And it’s through this very darkness that Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, the leader of Dirshu, the largest Torah organization in the world, has chosen to play an instrumental role in helping establish a caucus dedicated

Rep. Don Bacon addressing the Torah Caucus

to ensuring these very same values are preserved.”

The Urgent Need for a Bipartisan Caucus The vital importance for a bipartisan caucus of this sort and the need to mobilize a force in Congress that is dedicated to preserving Torah values has perhaps taken on even more urgency in light of the increasingly poisonous political climate that emboldens anti-Semites on both the far right and the far left.

Additionally, it is no secret that there are forces in the United States that are dedicated to assaulting religion and eroding the freedom of religion that has been such a hallmark of American life since the establishment of the United States of America. We need only to look at the recent past when shuls and yeshivos were closed, often in an arbitrary way. We saw how easily long-standing religious freedoms were compromised by power hungry politicians and executives who had little appreciation for the lifegiving ideals provided by religious institutions.

Congressman Dan Bacon: A Pledge of Friendship In his remarks as co-chair of the Torah Caucus, Congressman Don Bacon, a true friend of the Jewish community and an obvious ohev

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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Around the Community Yisroel, said, “I deeply admire Rabbi Hofstedter and what he has done for scholarship through the Dirshu organization. The purpose of this caucus is to pledge our friendship to our Jewish brothers and sisters.

This is not only about friendship to Israel but to pledge that through this caucus we resolve to fight anti-Semitism from wherever it comes, both the right and the left.

“I want to highlight something else that deeply inspired me,” continued Rep. Bacon. “I have learned such a profound lesson from Rabbi Hofstedter’s background. Both he and his wife are children of Holocaust survivors who suffered so much. What has he done with that?

He has taken inspiration from his parents and that generation and resolved to restore Jewish scholarship.

He has taken an event of unspeakable evil and decided not to just sit complacently but to do something so that some good would be able to emerge…”

Congressman Henry Cuellar: We Must Distinguish Between What is Moral and What is Not Moral” In his very warm remarks, Congressman Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas, focused on morality.

“We must distinguish between what is moral and what is not moral,” he said. “It is important to come together in a bipartisan way to fight anti-Semitism. Sometimes it is obvious but sometimes it is more subtle.

It is vital that this caucus take on these issues.”

In hindsight, Congressman Cuellar’s remarks were deeply meaningful because just days later, in his state of Texas, not far from his district, a terrible hostage-taking incident transpired where a radical Muslim targeted Jews and expressed his hatred for the Jewish people in the process. Thank G-d, it ended with all the hostages being saved but that deeply troubling incident just highlighted the importance of a congressional force that will

highlight matters of anti-Semitism and the scourge of Radical Islamism.

Rav Hofstedter: “Every Nation is Based on its Values!”

Perhaps, however, the remarks of Rav Hofstedter at that inaugural meeting were most significant because they highlighted the role that the caucus must play beyond anti-Semitism and that is trying to protect the moral values upon which the country was built and that are today under assault.

He began by praising the unique democracy that is the United States to the congressmen and many of their congressional aides who attended the event.

“Nevertheless,” Rav Hofstedter cautioned, “when we look at the United States today, we see a nation with a tortured soul. Is its heritage a source of pride or shame? Today America struggles to protect the ideals upon which it was founded and the dreams of its youth. It seems unsure of whether to continue leading the world or to withdraw into itself?

“Why is it undergoing such a struggle?”

Rabbi Hofstedter explained that it is all about values.

“Every nation is based on its values. Those values build nations and reflect its aspirations. The values of the great nation of the United States – many of them values that are rooted in the Torah – are under assault and attack. This has been going on for years. Basic values upon which this great nation was built such as deep respect for religion, for human dignity, honesty, charity, compassion and empathy, have been under attack for years. These attacks undermine the very foundations upon which America was built,” exclaimed Rav Hofstedter emphatically. “A country that does not combat hate and anti-Semitism is not America! A nation that does not fight for religious freedom and to allow those institutions that promote religion

Did you know?

It has snowed at least three times in Los Angeles, including up to 2 inches in 1932.

and religious teachings to flourish, is not America! A nation that does not stand by its friends with devotion through thick and thin is not the United States of America!”

“We Need Torah Values” Rav Hofstedter went on to address the disunity and hateful rhetoric that sadly permeates much of our discourse.

“We need Torah values to resist venomous and acrimonious speech, particularly in the public realm.

Yes, we are living in tough times, but the strength of a country is measured by how it responds to difficult challenges.”

Rav Hofstedter concluded by saying, “Let us embrace the mandate and mission of the caucus of Torah values and promote freedom of religion and all of the deep-rooted values that have made this country so great!”

An Extension of Dirshu’s Mission Although at first glance, askanus in Washington seems a bit inconsistent with Dirshu’s primary mission

of promoting and facilitating limud haTorah and yedias haTorah at the highest levels, in truth this is just an extension of that mission. It is becoming increasingly clear that as America descends into moral decay, without trying to stem the tide by cultivating Torah values with lawmakers who can make a difference, our very ability to live as frum Jews keeping Torah and mitzvos and learning uninhibited by government decrees and fiat is in jeopardy.

Dirshu’s establishment and promotion of the Caucus for the Advancement of Torah Values will better enable the American Torah community to combat the forces of moral decay and anti-Semitism that threaten the long-term viability of the Torah community in the United States and beyond.

Reaching out in a bipartisan way to those with influence is a manifestation of hishtadlus that will empower many more Shas Yidden and Shulchan Aruch Yidden to thrive in this country uninhibited by religious persecution and hate and appreciated for the moral values that they represent.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

Late Harvest For vineyard farmers, Shmitah starts now.

In vineyards, the fruit of the first few months is considered part of the sixth year’s harvest. Now, following Tu B’shvat, it’s time to prune and prepare the trees for the eighth years growth, over 150 vineyard farmers enter their Shmitah year looking for your support.

BUY YOUR SHTAR SHOW YOUR SUPPORT Partner with a farmer.

Share the bracha.

Fulfill Mitzvas Shmitah by purchasing a $1,200 shtar ($100 a month), which gives you halachic and legal partnership in a farmer’s land.

888.675.6694 | kerenhashviis.org 1125 Ocean Avenue, Lakewood, NJ 08701 partners@kerenhashviis.org

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JANUARY OCTOBER 27, 29, 2022 2015 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home

1. *

TJH

Centerfold

SNOW TRIVIA 1. On average, one inch of rain is equivalent to how many inches of snow? a. 10 inches b. 1 inch c. 5 inches d. 1 foot 2. Which state’s license plates have the slogan “Greatest Snow on Earth”? a. Vermont b. Utah c. Montana d. Colorado 3. What is the record for the most snowfall on the U.S. mainland over a 24-hour period? a. 38 inches b. 54 inches c. 76 inches d. 101 inches

4. What causes a snowstorm to be defined as a blizzard? a. It’s an instinct. When people go to the store and buy ice cream, doughnuts, chips, and any junk food they can find because “tomorrow is an off day,” that’s when you know a blizzard is coming. b. When 12 or more inches of snow falls in a 24-hour period. c. Snowfall which is caused by an offshore front combined with a downward air mass (usually coming from Canada or the north) which causes a vortex followed by an arctic blast which causes atmospheric pressure wind system and cloud depression

Answers: 1. A 2. B 3. C- On April 14, 1921, in Silver Lake, Colorado, it snowed 76 inches over 24 hours.

The storm raged for a total of 32.5 hours straight and ultimately left 95 inches (8 feet) of snow, which is the record for one continuous snowfall. Silver Lake is at 10,220 feet and about 40 miles west of Denver.

4. D 5. A- The 2007 Siberian orange snow was oily to the touch and reported to contain four times the normal level

thereby creating inflow humidity which results in surface saturation causing whiteout conditions. d. Sustained wind of 35 miles an hour winds and falling snow which causes visibility to be reduced to less than ½ of a mile.

5. What color snow fell over an area of 580 sq. miles in Siberia on February 2, 2007? a. Orange b. Black c. Pink d. Yellow 6. What is the average yearly snowfall in the New York City area? a. 9 inches b. 17 inches c. 34 inches d. 55 inches

of iron. Although an official cause for this phenomenon was never determined, it is believed that it was caused by a heavy sandstorm in neighboring Kazakhstan.

6. B Weather Report: 5-6 correct: WCBS 880’s weatherman Craig Allen better watch out for you.

3-4 correct: You are OK…a bit of brain freeze, but that’s understandable, considering the weather.

0-2 correct: When are you going to realize that these deep conversations you have with your snowman are not going to make you any smarter?

The Jewish Jewish Home Home || OCTOBER JANUARY 27, The 29, 2022 2015

Total Michiganers

In Florida, people name their boats; in Michigan, the Department of Transportation names its snowplow trucks. The following are some of the real names of Michigan’s snowplow trucks.  Big Bertha

 Dr. Plow Good

 Blade of Glory

 Drift Crusher

 Blizzard Boss

 Ice Force One

 Dreams of Summer

 Shock & Thaw

 Fast & Flurryous

 Ice to Meet You

 Austin Plowers

 Flake Michigan

 I’d rather be at the Beach

 Below Zero Hero

 Almost Summer

 Ol’ Seven Fingers

 Clearopathtra

 Barry Salt-and-Sanders

 Pillsbury Plowboy

 Dolly Plowton

 Ctrl Salt Delete

 Plower Power

 Edgar Allan Snow

 It’s Snow Problem

 Polar Patroller

 Frosty The Snowplow

 Licensed to Chill

 Road Warrior

 Hipplowpotomus

 Plowasaurus Rex

 Salt Salt Baby

 Lighting McClean

 Mission Implowsible

 Snowdown Please

 Marco Plowo

 Saul T. Streets

 Storm Slayer

 Melton John

 Snow Worries

 Blizzard T Snowplow

 Will B. Snowday

 Still Shorts Weather

 Catch My Drift

 Aaron Birr, Sir.

 Weird Plow Yankovic

 Close Shave

 Clearing Present Danger

 Whiteout Wrangler

 Coldfoot

 Derek Sleeter

 ThawSome

You Gotta Be Kidding Me! Yankel and Moishe are sitting in shul. Yankel says to Moishe, “Oy, is it cold.

I mean who would have thought that it would be 14 degrees?”

Moishe replies, “Vat do you mean it’s 14 degrees? You must be getting very old? De vedder is beautiful.”

Yankel says to Moishe, “Moishe, Moishe, I’m telling you I saw on the TV the weatherman standing with a thermometer outside that said 14 degrees!”

“Oh, OK, maybe outside,” Moishe replies.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

3

Torah Thought

Parshas Mishpatim

By Rabbi Berel Wein

T

he Torah presents us with great moral principles and a profoundly unique value system. These are meant to propel us through life and make us feel that we are members of a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Yet, we are all aware that perhaps the most difficult challenge in life is translating our core beliefs and high moral aspi-

rations into practical daily behavior.

In a world where there would be no desire for undue riches or the accumulation of vast property, it would be simple to understand that one should not steal, cheat, or covet. In the practical world that we live in, there exists the desire for acquisition of wealth and goods, power and influence, fame, and fortune, all built

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within our basic DNA structure.

Stealing, cheating, and coveting all require no specific legal definition to be of value in the practical world.

And because of this element of human nature, there exist all the great moral values that are represented in the Ten Commandments, which should define our lives.

All sorts of questions arise as to what the true definition of theft is.

How does advertising and persuasive sales techniques fit into the moral world that we are trying to construct and live in, and does this describe theft? What about stealing to be able to survive? And countless other questions that undoubtedly arise when we

happen, whether they be the products of negligence or pure happenstance.

How are we to judge liability and responsibility in that massive gray area where most human behavior finds itself? The Oral Law is a continuing process that deals not only with an ox that gores a cow but also teaches us how to deal with issues in air travel and even ventures into space. Without clear definition of the original value system upon which the moral code of Judaism is based, human behavior can be seen as merely a collection of good intentions and human platitudes.

The study of the Oral Law, beginning with the books of the Talmud

How are we to judge liability and responsibility in that massive gray area where most human behavior finds itself?

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approach the problem of defining behavior that we wish to accompany our lofty moral goals.

All the laws that appear in this week’s Torah reading are discussed at length (and width) with precise analysis in the tradition of the Oral Law that governs Jewish life. It is in those large volumes of scholarly research and opinion that the practical flesh and sinews of Jewish law are draped upon the skeleton of the moral world that we hope to attain.

We live in world where mistakes

and continuing through the latest works of Jewish legal scholarship of today, become the necessary foundation to creating a just and moral society that we all endeavor to live in.

I have always maintained that when we proclaim ourselves to be the people of the book, that book is not necessarily the Written Torah itself, but, rather, it is the Talmud, which makes the Written Torah come alive, practical, relevant, and trustworthy throughout all generations.

Shabbat shalom.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire Parshas Mishpatim

Producing Polished People

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

PHOTO BY M.D. YARMISH

A

ll of the commentaries ask why, immediately following the Jewish people’s exalted experience of receiving the Torah at Sinai, Hashem suddenly descends into the detailed civil laws of Parshas Mishpatim. We drop, without warning, from lightning, thunder, and Divine revelation to slaves and compensation for thievery. It seems like quite a letdown.

The Midrash explains that Hashem created the world and gave the Torah because “the Holy One desired to have a dwelling place in the lower world” (Tanchuma, Nasso, 16).

Next week’s parsha, Terumah, is all about the building of the Mishkan, the sanctuary in which Hashem dwells. The Midrash (Shmos Rabah 33) expands that the purpose is the Mishkan is: “Do me this favor: wherever you go, make Me a small dwelling-place so that I may live [adur – which is related to the word Adar] with you.” That is the ultimate goal of the giving of the Torah. So why did Parshas Terumah not follow immediately after the giving of the Torah? Why is Parshas Mishpatim first?

The Gemara (Makkos 23b-24a) teaches us that there are certain principles which form the gateway through which we can access the entirety of Yiddishkeit. The most well-known is “Chavakuk [HaNavi] placed them [the fundamentals of Yiddishkeit] on one idea: ‘A tzaddik lives with his emunah’” (Chavakuk 2:4). But the Gemara also says that “Micha came and placed them on three ideas: ‘He has told you, O man, what is good and what does G-d seek

from you? Only to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your G-d’” (Michah 6:8).

This is a puzzling statement. It seems so pareve, so noncommittal, so generic. In fact, when I went yeshiva as a child, there was a Reform Temple around the corner, and this was the pasuk they inscribed on the building. It is perfect for them.

They would never post the pasuk, “And you shall observe Shabbos to keep it holy.” They love the pasuk in Michah because it makes no specific demands. Yet how can we, who understand that Michah meant to teach that the three things he listed were the key to successfully actualizing all aspects of Yiddishkeit in our lives, understand why Michah listed “doing justice,” observing the laws in Parshas Mishpatim, as more than mere details? In what way are

they the key to all of Yiddishkeit?

Rav Shmuel Berezovsky, shlita, the present Slonimer Rebbe, teaches an idea in the sefer Darchei Noam (5775), which gives us the key to answer this question. He quotes a Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 942) explaining the pasuk (Devarim 32:2), “My teaching will drip like rain, my words will fall like dew, like storm winds on vegetation, and like delicate raindrops on grass.” The Midrash explains the nature of these delicate raindrops as follows: “Just as these delicate raindrops descend, refine, and polish the grasses, so, too, the words of Torah refine and polish.” The Torah has the power to change a person. How? The purpose of the fine raindrops, according to this Midrash, is to put the last finishing touch on the grass – to give it a certain spar-

kle. That perfect finish adds a level of grace and charm that makes the vegetation in Hashem’s world so beautiful to look at.

The Darchei Noam explains that the Torah is meant to do the same thing to us. It is meant to refine and polish those who study it. That is why the detailed laws of Parshas Mishpatim precede the building of the Mishkan in Parshas Terumah.

While the purpose of the Torah is indeed to facilitate the creation of a dwelling-place for Hashem in this physical world through the Mishkan, the fact is that even the Mishkan is only a means to an end.

The pasuk says at the beginning of Parshas Terumah that “they shall make a Mishkan for Me and I will dwell among them” (Shmos 25:8). As the Alshich and the Shlah HaKadosh explain, “It does not say ‘in it.’ But instead, ‘in them’ – within each and every person.” The final goal in the building of the Mishkan is not only that the Divine Presence rest in it, but rather, it is a means to allow Hashem’s Presence to dwell within each and every Jew. Accordingly, we must first refine and polish ourselves so that we will be fitting vessels for Hashem’s light.

We must make ourselves the kind of refined people with whom Hashem wants to spend more time. That is why the fine, detailed raindrops of the halachos of Parshas Mishpatim must precede Parshas Terumah.

The essential theme of all of the laws in Mishpatim is: do not harm, damage, or hurt others. This sensitivity comes from incorporating the Torah into our lives. It must polish

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

and refine us to the point that our exalted nature expresses itself even in how we treat our own and others’ property. One cannot keep someone up late at night by leaving his light on while he studies the Alter Rebbe’s teaching in Torah Ohr regarding Hashem’s desire to have a dwelling-place in the lower world chassidus and kabbalah and think that he has even touched what Hashem is looking for a Jew. Awareness of and sensitivity to others is how one knows when he has become a refined vessel for G-dliness through his Torah learning.

Hashem set things up such that we must live with and around people who are very different from ourselves. Why else would He create a world in which men and women, who are as different as night and day, must live together for a lifetime? Torah’s purpose is to refine us so that we learn to respect others’ sensibilities and property. We do not cross the street against the traffic light, thus making cars wait.

We do not make noise late at night outside, thus keeping people awake.

I spoke with one woman who cannot have children. Whenever she gets together with her sisters-inlaw, the only thing they talk about is their children. They have absolutely no awareness of the effect of their words have on their childless sister-in-law. It does not occur to them to tone down the child-oriented conversation so that she will not go home and cry in her pillow once again that night.

We see from the Midrash that those who study Torah in the right way – for the purpose of growing spiritually and connecting to Hashem – become refined, noble people.

They become the ultimate vessels for Hashem’s Presence in this world, giving G-d a magnificent dwelling-place on earth.

The qualities of consideration and refinement are indicative of a person who has allowed himself to be influenced by Torah and thereby become a vessel for G-d’s Presence.

That is the quality of the tzaddikim that is so endearing. Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, was the greatest posek of the generation, but he had such sensitivity toward others. Watching

him, one saw how he was constantly recalibrating how he was talking to people, always adjusting the way he treated people out of a sensitivity to who they were and their sensibilities.

another person dares to “shush” or glare at them. “How dare he try to quiet me down? Does he think he’s so much better than me!”

Let us face facts. Even without

The final goal in the building of the Mishkan is not only that the Divine Presence rest in it, but rather, it is a means to allow Hashem’s Presence to dwell within each and every Jew.

Hashem placed Parshas Mishpatim before Terumah because he wants us to know that He wants to live with sensitive, refined people. We must first make sure not to harm others before we can think about attaining higher spiritual levels.

Unfortunately, one need go no further than his shul to find people who have studied Torah without internalizing its polish and refinement. Listening to a message such as the Darchei Noam’s regarding sensitivity and refinement, such people respond, “But that’s not who I am! Why should I change how I act just because someone else is uptight? That’s their problem!”

This approach is not the way of the tzaddikim and is not the way of the Torah. It is not the way of the gentle raindrops of the Torah.

Let us consider those who talk during davening, putting aside how wrong it is spiritually and how the Zohar (Terumah, 131b) says that one who talks in shul has no portion with the G-d of Israel. Let us also put aside the fact that the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 124:7) says that the sin of one who talks during the repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei is “too great to bear,” using the same language Kayin uses to describe the severity of his sin when he murdered his brother (Bereishis 4:13). Let us consider only the issue of consideration for other people. There are people who are incredibly offended if, while they are talking in shul,

all of the spiritual weight behind those who elect not to talk in shul, it is a synagogue – a place for prayer.

So if there is a dispute between two people regarding whether to talk or not, the non-talkers should win.

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They are the home team. How oblivious of one’s environment and other people’s feelings and sensibilities must one be to talk when people are trying to daven or listen to the Torah reading? How has none of a person’s Torah learning made him an even minimally sensitive and considerate person?

May we merit to study Torah for Hashem’s sake such that it polishes and refines us, bringing out the latent nobility we carry with us as children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. May we thereby become sensitive, respectful people with whom Hashem wants to spend time!

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and serves as leader of the new mechina Emek HaMelech.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Delving into the Daf

A Drive-Thru Eiruv

By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

C

an you find the fallacy in the following story?

The Katzenstein family follows all the stringencies of the Chazon Ish. Mr. Katzenstein asks his son Yossele, “Please go to the store and buy some bread; make sure it is pas Yisrael. We also need some chalav Yisrael milk. I just remembered we need some tuna. Please make sure to only buy the mashgiach temidi brand.

Oh, how could I forget canned chickpeas? Please make sure to only buy bishul Yisrael. Mommy needs barley for her wonderful soup. You know to only buy yoshon, of course. Lastly, please buy two pounds of apples but only the ones without a shellac-based coating.

Shellac is an insect derivative – I’m sure you know.”

Yossele replies, “Sure, Tatty. I would love to fulfill the mitzvah of kibbud av, but since the shopping list is so long, can I please take the car?”

Mr. Katzenstein answered, “Sure, you can take the car, but Avi has all his textbooks in the car, and transporting them can be considered hotza’ah, so please call the eiruv hotline to make sure the eiruv is up.”

Yossele calls the hotline and is off shopping.

Did you spot the fallacy? Presumably most people will say it’s rather obvious: You can’t drive and shop on Shabbos, so why would he be calling the eiruv hotline? Actually, that’s not the fallacy, being that the above story takes place on chol ha’moed Sukkos.

Chol ha’moed? Why would anyone call the eiruv hotline on chol ha’moed?

The permit to do melachah on chol ha’moed is based on an inclusionary list. One can only perform melachah actions if they fall under one of five

categories: (a) festival food needs; (b) other festival needs; (c) public needs – even if non-festival related; (d) when necessary to prevent a loss; and (e) those performed by a destitute worker who needs funds.

The Chazon Ish reasons that since hotza’ah or carrying is one of the 39 melachos, one may not carry on chol ha’moed except within one of the above categories. The Chazon Ish used to check his pockets before he went out onto the street on chol ha’moed. He was afraid that he might have placed an item in his pocket for which there was no festival need. This is a well-accepted halacha on Shabbos, but the Chazon Ish even followed it on chol ha’moed.

The sefer Amudei Ohr likewise ruled that carrying for non-festival needs on chol ha’moed is forbidden.

The story goes that when someone showed the Chazon Ish that sefer, he rejoiced to see another posek who concurred with him.

In the above anecdote, the Katzenstein family had no need to transport textbooks on chol ha’moed. Consequently, Mr. Katzenstein first told his son to call the eiruv hotline. Since the eiruv was up, no additional melachah was being done for the textbooks. The car had to be driven to the store anyway to fulfill the yom tov food needs, so no extra exertion was involved; the only question was the melachah of transporting the textbooks. Since the eiruv was up, there was no melachah.

(In that case, you may be wondering what was the fallacy of the above story? Surely such a family who followed all the stringencies of the Chazon Ish would not rely on the city eiruv!)

The Shevet HaLevi disagrees with the Chazon Ish and says that the

melachah of hotza’ah is inapplicable on chol ha’moed. One does not need to ensure he carries only items that fulfill a festival need. He proves his point from the Nemukei Yosef. The Mishnah (Moed Kattan 13a) says that one should not move all his belongings from one house to another house on chol ha’moed. The Nemukei Yosef says the reason is due to excessive exertion. Why didn’t the Nemukei Yosef say that one cannot transport items on chol ha’moed because of hotza’ah?

Presumably some of the items being moved are not necessary for the festival. It must be that hotza’ah is inapplicable on chol ha’moed. Indeed, the Meiri clearly says that there is no prohibition of hotza’ah on chol ha’moed.

Further, the Shevet HaLevi says that the minhag ha’olam was always to be lenient in regard to carrying on chol ha’moed.

Even though most are lenient and don’t restrict their carrying on chol ha’moed, this discussion does serve to highlight two common misconceptions. The first is that chol ha’moed has no restrictions and is like a regular weekday. Besides hotza’ah, the other melachos are applicable on chol ha’moed. To perform melachah, one has to make sure it fits into one of the five aforementioned categories.

The second misconception is that one may carry freely on yom tov. Even if one may carry on chol ha’moed for a non-yom tov need, one may certainly not do so on yom tov itself. The Shevet HaLevi only disagreed with the Chazon Ish regarding chol ha’moed. There is no disagreement regarding yom tov.

There are significant restrictions to carrying on yom tov where there is no eiruv. For example, one should l’chatchilah not carry extra keys on a key ring that he doesn’t need for yom tov. One should not even carry the key to one’s home if he has other means of gaining entrance, such as a Shabbos lock or another occupant who can unlock the door. Further, even if one has a legitimate yom tov need, he may not necessarily carry every item.

Some poskim rule that, where there is no eiruv, one may not carry Tylenol or Advil, as this is not considered a universal need.

This issue requires much discussion. The intent here was simply to raise awareness of some serious halachic issues.

As a final note, perhaps the Shevet Halevi would categorically disagree with the example above of unnecessary textbooks. He rules that if someone is pushing a stroller on an actual day of yom tov, he does not need to check if there are unnecessary items being carried. So someone pushing a wagon on yom tov would not have to remove unnecessary textbooks. However, there are those who disagree. It would seem that Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, certainly disagreed with that ruling.

Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow is a rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. In addition, Rabbi Sebrow leads a daf yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, NY. He can be contacted at ASebrow@gmail.com.

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The Wandering

Jew

Odessa, Ukraine

By Hershel Lieber

M

y overwhelming involvement with the Yeshiva of Kishinev began during the Pesach that my family spent there in 1996. This meant that I was involved with everything from hiring the rosh yeshiva and his staff to making judgments concerning the curriculum. It also included overseeing our non-Jewish manager, Sergei, and determining how to spend our limited budget. Above all, it meant raising funds for our schools. All these obligations presented a multitude of problems. Our most important, yet very difficult, goal was to recruit Jewish children between twelve and fifteen years of age for our boys’ and girls’ schools.

The 2003, 2004, and 2005 school years were extremely hard for us. Being that many Jews from Kishinev had immigrated to Israel, Germany, and the United States, it became quite challenging to find parents who would want to send their children to our yeshivos. Hiring staff, especially a rosh yeshiva, was an arduous undertaking. The ones we had hired during those years were not up to the task, and, at times, they were completely incompetent. Raising funds also became a formidable task, as potential donors tired of helping Russian Jewry and directed their charities to other causes. We were at a standstill, yet we wanted to continue our objective in bringing Yiddishkeit to the remaining Jews of Moldova.

As we were heading through the darkness of the tunnel, a ray of light suddenly appeared. I do not remember who had made the first connection with Rabbi Shlomo Baksht of Odessa, but it could have been either Rabbi Mordechai Neustadt or Rabbi Zeev Rothschild of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel, who met Rav Shlomo in Israel. The bottom line was that they asked him to take over our

With Yeshiva boys in Gibraltar

project in Kishinev.

Rabbi Baksht came to Odessa in 1993 and founded many Jewish institutions in that former heavily Jewish city. Besides starting a yeshiva and boarding schools, he was involved with the return of the Great Choral Synagogue to the Jewish community. He was also responsible for the building of a mikvah and the opening of a kosher restaurant. Together with Rabbi Refael Kruskal, who joined him in 1999 as deputy head rabbi and CEO of Tikva Children’s Home, they represented the new face of a revitalized Jewish life in Odessa.

The distance between Odessa and Kishinev is about 110 miles and just under three hours by car. Taking over our project could be viewed as an extension of their successful activities. Rabbi Baksht and Rabbi Kruskal were extremely capable people, had great contacts in the world of philanthropy, and had relationships with many Russian-speaking Orthodox Jews who would have the skills to teach and manage our schools.

After the Vaad’s initial suggestion, it was decided that I should go

to Odessa to meet Rabbi Baksht and Rabbi Kruskal. My aim was to see their projects and assess the possibility of assigning our yeshivos to be administered by them. The second part of my mission was to travel with both of them to Kishinev, so they could evaluate our schools and decide whether they could undertake this proposal. My trip was scheduled for the end of May 2005, so that if we can come to a mutual agreement, they would take over our schools starting the fall semester.

There was another project that I had in mind while traveling to Odessa. I made a stop in Gibraltar where my purpose was to make arrangements for a group trip which I was organizing in November to Spain and Gibraltar. The twenty participants were all people whom I knew very well. I needed to prepare airline reservations, hotel accommodations, coach travel, kosher food, restaurants, sightseeing and entertainment for this group. I felt that, since I would already be in Europe, it would be a lot easier to plan and book everything in person.

I spent two very busy days in Gi-

With Chief Rabbi Ron Hassid of Gibraltar

braltar and slept over one night by Chief Rabbi Ron Hassid, whom I got to know from a previous trip to Gibraltar. Baruch Hashem, I accomplished all my goals there in a relatively short time. I still had time to lecture about my experiences in Russia and about the renewed Jewish life in that part of the world. I addressed two classes at the girls’ high school and the combined older grades at the boys high school. I also spoke for a group of women at the Nefutzot Yehuda shul and then again at the grade school for the younger boys and girls. Indeed, it was a very hectic schedule but was a truly meaningful experience.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

With kindergarten children in Odessa

I was up at 6 AM on Thursday, May 26, and left from Malaga, Spain, with a direct flight to Kiev. Since I had a few hours to spare, I took a taxi into the city and went to the beautiful Brodsky Synagogue which I had never seen before. I met Rabbi Reuven Azman, the chief Chabad rabbi of Ukraine, and we had a short conversation in his office at the shul. I also went to eat at the King David Restaurant, which is located in the same building.

I then rushed back to board the small Soviet-era dilapidated airplane and flew into Odessa airport. Rabbi Korodovsky picked me up and took me to the cozy Hotel Mozart. After unpacking and finally catching my breath, I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.

Friday was a mostly hectic day.

Rabbi Baksht assigned two young men, Motty and Shmulik, to take me around and show me all the institutions that are part of his empire. We began our itinerary by going to daven at the beautiful Choral Shul that was refurbished by him. There, I met Nachman, who is the father of Leibel Simkhovich, who once learned in the Yeshiva of Kishinev and eventually married Leah, one of our students.

Nachman does a lot of business in Odessa and comes to the city a number of times during the year.

From there, we went to see the boys’ high school, where I ate breakfast, followed by a visit to the girls’ high school. Then we went to the kindergarten, where I joined in a Hadlakah in honor of Lag B’Omer. Later on, they took me to the grade school, where boys and girls are together in the classrooms. Our next stop was the

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With Rabbi Shlomo Baksht

girls’ dormitory. All of these schools were very impressive, and I was hoping that our Kishinev schools could be taken over by the efficient people who were running these Odessa institutions.

theless, I am glad to have seen this major port city which boasts the fifth largest population in Ukraine.

I rushed back to the hotel to get ready for Shabbos and still managed to stop at the mikvah. Rav Shlomo

The babel of languages included English, Hebrew, Russian and Yiddish, but we truly understood what we had in common

A trip to this major city would not be complete without a stop at the Black Sea. Although this city is renowned as a vacation destination for Russian and Ukrainian tourists, the area where we walked around was quite decrepit looking. Never-

picked me up, and we drove to shul to daven Mincha and Kabbalas Shabbos. I ate the seudah at the home of the Kruskal family and was joined

by Rabbi Baksht and Nachman Simkhovich and his wife. The food was delicious, the singing delightful,

With Motty and Shmulek at the Hebron Restaurant

the divrei Torah insightful, and the company charming. The babel of languages included English, Hebrew, Russian and Yiddish, but we truly understood what we had in common. We were all part of the revival of Jewish life in the former Soviet Union.

Rav Shlomo picked me up from the hotel Shabbos morning for the fifteen-minute walk to shul. There were many people there including boys from the boys’ dormitory. The davening was nice, and as we exited the shul, the street became full of mispallelim – a sight that was rare in the former Soviet Union.

I ate again with the Kruskal family, and our seudah took a long time, as Refael shared with me a lot of information about Jewish life in Odessa. After a mini nap in the hotel, Motti picked me up, and we went to the toddlers’ dormitory which serves abandoned or neglected Jewish chil-

At the Black Sea in Odessa

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With Nachman Simkhovich at Odessa’s Choral Synagogue

A classroom in action at the grade school

dren. The children were very friendly, showing me their books and their art and craft projects. I did not understand what they were saying, but somehow, they didn’t realize it. After Mincha, shalosh seudos, Maariv and havdalah, I was driven back to my hotel. After a small melava malka snack, I wearily went to bed.

Baksht and Rabbi Kruskal picked me up, and we drove together for a bit over three hours to Kishinev. There, I showed them our yeshiva building and the dormitory. I also took them to our girls’ school and dormitory as well. They were impressed with everything they saw but were not convinced that our problems could be solved by them taking over our institutions. They needed some time to think it over, and when they left at

On Sunday, I got up at 5 AM, davened in my room and packed. Rabbi

3 PM, they promised to get back to me very soon. I spent the rest of the day, as well as Monday, in Kishinev.

There were many issues that I had to address, and I could not leave immediately.

Within a few days I heard from Rabbi Baksht, who informed me that they were willing to take over the yeshiva for a one-year trial. They would staff the schools and run the entire project. They would also finance most

of the cost, but we would still carry the responsibility to provide some of the funding. I do not remember the percentage that we still had to obligate ourselves for.

They were true to their word and managed the yeshiva for the 2005/2006 school year but decided not to continue afterwards. In a future article, I hope to write about the final years of the Yeshiva of Kishinev, and why we eventually closed it.

At the girls’ school in Kishinev L-R: Rabbi Shlomo Baksht, me, Rabbi Shmuel Koren from Kishinev, Rabbi Refael Kruskal

Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit.

He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there.

Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

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My Israel Home

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

By Gedaliah Borvick

Refugees on the St. Louis being denied entry to Havana, Cuba, on June 1, 1939

I

n honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls out on January 27, let’s study the history of the Aliyah Bet, the code name for the illegal operation of refugee ships before, during, and after the Holocaust.

Throughout the dark period enshrouding the Holocaust, refugee ships were used to help Jews escape the Nazis. This operation continued after the war, as ships transported Holocaust survivors to British Mandate Palestine in violation of the infamous White Paper, which Britain had imposed in 1939 to impede Jewish immigration.

Like most important episodes leading up to the country’s establishment, streets in Ashdod, Kiryat Gat, Ashkelon, Netanya, Dimona, Lod, Ramla, and Zichron Yaakov were named in honor of the most famous ship, the Exodus 1947. Likewise, streets were named after other refugee ships, such as Pancho Street in Netanya, and streets across the country were named Aliyah Bet. Over 60,000 illegal immigrants were snuck into Palestine on refugee ships, but many of the rescue efforts were unsuccessful. Let’s focus on three

examples, which reflect activities prior to, during, and following World War II. The St. Louis In May 1939, 937 Jewish refugees left Hamburg, Germany, en route to Cuba. All of the passengers had landing certificates granting them entry into the country, but when the St. Louis arrived in Havana, Cuba’s president refused to honor the documents.

After leaving Havana, the ship sailed so close to the Florida coast that the passengers could see the lights of Miami. The United States, and then Canada, turned down the captain’s many pleas for humanitarian assistance and prohibited the ship from docking. The St. Louis returned to western Europe, and within a few months, the Germans overran western Europe. Over 250 of the passengers were killed by the Nazi death machine.

The Struma In December 1941, 767 Jews boarded the Struma in Romania, with plans to travel to Turkey, apply for visas to Palestine, and then continue to Palestine. When the Struma arrived in Istanbul, the passengers were informed that they would neither receive visas

Buchenwald survivors aboard an Aliyah Bet ship (WZO)

to enter Palestine nor be permitted to enter Turkey.

The unsafe and overcrowded ship was confined to Istanbul’s harbor for over two months, as the British would not consent to the Struma’s continued journey to Palestine. On February 23, 1942, the Turkish police towed the Struma out to sea and abandoned it.

The very next day, it sank and all but one of the passengers were killed.

The Exodus 1947 The Exodus 1947 is the most famous of all refugee ships, thanks in part to Leon Uris’ bestselling historical novel, which later became a hit movie.

In July 1947, 4,500 Holocaust survivors from displaced persons camps boarded the ship in France and attempted to sail to Palestine. British war ships intercepted the vessel, and a battle ensued between naval forces and the ship’s passengers. A crew member and two passengers were killed, and dozens more suffered injuries.

Attempting to discourage similar future illegal activity, British forces transferred the passengers onto three navy transports, which returned to Europe. When the ships landed in France, the passengers refused to disembark,

and the French authorities similarly refused to remove the refugees. Realizing their public relations gaffe, British authorities decided to wait out the passengers, whom they hoped would eventually voluntarily leave the ship.

The passengers responded by declaring a hunger strike, which lasted 24 days and made front page headlines worldwide. Mounting public protests across the globe compelled British authorities to find a solution. Exacerbating their blunders, the British government transported the refugees to Hamburg, where they were cruelly detained in British camps, causing international outrage.

This unfortunate incident had a silver lining, as it played a significant role in swaying global policymakers to adopt the UN Partition Plan a few months later on November 29, 1947, which led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel.

To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@gmail.com.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

BUILDING BLOCKS OF ETERNITY Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s new capital project will encompass a Mesivta Beis Medrash and its first-ever Residence Hall.

BEIS MEDRASH + CLASSROOM BUILDING Will serve 500 talmidim in grades 8-11 34,200 Total square feet 4 Stories 5200 sq. feet Beis Hamedrash for Mesivta 12 Classrooms

RESIDENCE HALL Will serve 271 talmidim in Mesivta & Yeshiva Gedolah 43,000 Total square feet 4 Stories 68 Dormitory Rooms 271 Beds 4 Student Lounges

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

T H E S E V I S I O N A R I E S H AV E A L R E A DY S T E P P E D F O R WA R D. W I L L YO U J O I N T H E M ?

MR. & MRS. BERISH & HANNAH FUCHS

THE BIVETSKY FAMILY SHAAR HATORAH

MR. & MRS. YUSSIE & SUSAN OSTREICHER

RESIDENCE HALL AND TORAH CENTER

‫ה ליב ע”ה‬-‫לע”נ שלום ראובן בן ארי‬

MESIVTA BEIS MEDRASH BUILDING

MESIVTA BEIS MEDRASH

ANONYMOUS

MR. & MRS. BENZION & MIRIAM HEITNER

MR. & MRS. DOVID & LEAH BRECHER

MR. & MRS. MATIS & YAEL NAYMAN

MR. & MRS. MOTTY & HADASA MENDELSOHN

Dedication Wall Mesivta Beis Medrash Building

Lobby, Mesivta Beis Medrash Building

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

Dedication of Rosh Kollel’s Office

MR. & MRS. MOTTY & HADASSA JACOBOWITZ Promenade Vestibule

Beis Medrash Vestibule Entrance

MR. & MRS. URI & ESTHER KAUFMAN

‫לע”נ זעליג בן מרדכי ע”ה‬ ‫לע”נ משה אלעזר בן נטע שלום ע”ה‬ ‫לע”נ דוד בן משה ע”ה‬ ‫הר‘ משה נתן בן יחזקאל ע”ה‬ ‫וישראל בן אברהם ע”ה‬ ‫לע”נ‬

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

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

MR. & MRS. CHAIM & BRACHA SCHULHOF MR. & MRS. NISSAN & SARAH GITTY PROFESORSKE

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

MR. & MRS. CHAIM SHOLOM & RIVKY LEIBOWITZ Associate Dean’s Office

DEDICATION OF CAMP ORAYSA CAMPUS

MR. & MRS. URI & DEVORAH DREIFUS

MR. & MRS. SHMULI & MIRIAM MENDEL Sha’ar of New Beis Medrash

Ner Tamid

DEDICATED ANONYMOUSLY

In Memory of Mrs. Marta Schron ‫ע” ה‬

GYMNASIUM WING

Residence Hall Cornerstone

THE BLOOM FAMILY

MESIVTA OTZAR HASEFORIM

THE SCHRON FAMILY

MEMORIAL EXHIBIT TO THE YESHIVOS OF PREWAR EUROPE

ANONYMOUS

Entranceway to Mesivta Beis Medrash Building

Camp Oraysa Sports Complex

MR. & MRS. BENJAMIN & JUDY LANDA

MR. & MRS. YITZCHOK & SHOSHANA GANGER

ANONYMOUS

Basketball Court in Elementary School Gym

Dedicated by Mr. & Mrs. Yaakov & Rivky Jacobovitch

DR. & MRS. YOSSI & ZIVIA SCHWARTZ

Cornerstone, Mesivta Beis Medrash Building

MR. & MRS. NACHUM & HENNY FUTERSAK

MR. & MRS. MENASH & MIMI ORATZ

‫לע”נ חוה בת דב ע”ה‬

MR. & MRS. ALON & CHANIE GOLDBERGER

MR. & MRS. NASSAN & DEVORAH TREITEL Preschool Cornerstone

MR. & MRS. NACHMAN & ESTHER GOODMAN

Sha’ar of New Beis Medrash

MR. & MRS. SHIA & ELANA OSTREICHER Beis Medrash Building Vestibule

Mr. & Mrs. Samuel & Beverly Goldberger Mr. & Mrs. Tzali & Chana Shira Gutman Mr. & Mrs. Ari & Aliza Haas Mr. & Mrs. Berel & Sherry Daskal Mr. & Mrs. Shlomo & Kayla Horowitz Mr. & Mrs. Binyomin & Leah Einhorn Mr. & Mrs. Menachem & Elisheva Jacobowitz Mr. & Mrs. Naftoli & Chani Einhorn Mr. & Mrs. Mordechai & Shana Jacobs Mr. & Mrs. Michael & Mimi Fragin Mr. & Mrs. Jeff & Tamar Landy Mr. & Mrs. Evan & Chaya Sara Genack Mr. & Mrs. Yosef & Vivi Moskowitz Rabbi & Rebbetzen Chaim Aryeh Zev & Avigail Ginzberg Mr. & Mrs. Yitzy & Rivky Orbach

Entrance of Beis Medrash Building

Plumbing Training Center Dedicated

‫לע”נ אברהם שלמה בן יחיאל מיכל הכהן ז”ל‬ ‫לע”נ הר‘ אברהם בן הר‘ חיים מנחם בן ציון זצ”ל‬ ALL BORO CONSTRUCTION

Mr. & Mrs. Simcha & Shani Applegrad

Mr. & Mrs. Ephram & Ilana Ostreicher

Mr. & Mrs. Barry & Paula Bokow

Mr. & Mrs. Mutty & Bracha Ribowsky Mr. & Mrs. David & Sima Rosenfeld Mr. & Mrs. Dovid & Chani Roll Dr. & Mrs. Zvi & Dina Schreiber Mr. & Mrs. Andrew & Stephani Serotta Mr. & Mrs. Morris & Devora Smith Mr. & Mrs. Yehuda & Mindy Zachter

Get in on the ground floor of this monumental project.

To choose from a wide selection of sponsorships at all levels, please contact: Rabbi Zev Bald 718.868.2300 ext. 232 zbald@darchei.org Rabbi Baruch Rothman 718.868.2300 ext. 406 brothman@darchei.org

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

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Sheva Brachos The Blessings and Challenges that Farmers See in Observing the Shemittah Year

BY PINCHOS FRIEDLANDER What is it that prompts farmers in Israel, many of them not even fully religious, to abandon their land on the seventh year? How do they get the courage to suspend their main source of income? What is their experience with keeping this challenging, yet rewarding mitzvah? And how does this reflect their relationship of love with the Land of Israel? Join TJH, as we speak with one of the “giborai koach” to find out.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Avichai Koch

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did not always observe Shemittah, in the full sense

of the word.

Though he is an observant Jew, years gone by, and he had always relied on “heter mechirah,” an old, yet controversial halachic loophole, which permits farmers to work their land on the seventh year. But last Shemittah cycle, in the year 2014, something changed.

Avichai’s son Erez was turning bar mitzvah.

Erez turned to his father with a request.

“Abba, for my bar mitzvah present, I’d like you to keep Shemittah this year.”

Something stirred in Avichai’s heart. He looked into his son’s eyes and said nothing.

Avichai Koch was born in Central Israel, on Moshav Chemed, which is located not far from Ben Gurion Airport. His upbringing was Dati Leumi, and Avichai still identifies as such to this day. He is married to his wife Karen, and they have three children. The oldest, Erez, is now 19.

Avichai feels a strong love for the Land of Israel, and much of his life revolves around that love.

His father is a farmer as well, and so farming the land is very much part of his blood.

Avichai originally started out in the workforce by training in IT and taking a well-paying position in that field. He soon realized, though, that his heart was in farming the land, though it was less lucrative a field (pun not intended).

He loves being surrounded by nature, especially the holy terrain of Israel, and working it. “Farming is man’s natural occupation,” he explains. Industry and technology are man-made, unnatural environments, not our organic habitat.

Additionally, in his words, “farming keeps the land.” He feels Jewish farms and Jewish farmers protect large swaths of land from being infiltrated or taken over by strangers and enemies. One farmer can tend to many acres of land, protecting it as well as actualizing its potential, thus preserving the land for future generations. As such, farming is very meaningful to him. Call it a higher calling, if you will.

In fact, his farm is located on Moshav Tekuma, in the north Negev, which is just four miles from the Gaza border. There is an Iron Dome battery not far from his home, which he often brings tourists to see.

Too often, Hamas terrorists shoot rockets into Israel, and the Iron Dome deploys to intercept their missiles. At times, the interception happens directly over Avichai’s farm. In his fields, many fragments of rockets and missiles lay scattered.

Once, a family from the U.S. came to visit his farm, and the wife discovered a fragment of a rocket, which had landed in Avichai’s field. The family took the fragment home with them, and they place the fragment near their Shabbos candles each week during candle lighting. They sent Avichai a picture of the fragment sitting there near the candles, which moved Avichai greatly.

Avichai explains that due to the great expense of each individual Iron Dome missile, they are set to only intercept missiles which are aimed at pop-

ulated areas. Farmland is not considered a populated area, and so, they stand unprotected.

I asked Avichai if that makes him nervous. After all, he is out there in those fields. He admitted it does. But, he says, “you get used to it.”

He does hope things will get better once the Israeli government’s planned new laser-based defense system is deployed. The new system is expected to be in operation within about two years or so. Avichai says it will be a game-changer.

Recently, though, things have been quiet, and Avichai and his family are enjoying the respite.

Avichai owns five acres behind his house, in addition to another five acres on a different lot. He

father should do the same.

But Avichai and Karen thought that idea was simply ludicrous. Avichai has workers, customers, a bank loan, and a business to run, and just ditching it all for a year seemed completely impossible.

Still, the idea did enter their hearts and percolated there for a few weeks. Finally, one day, Avichai and his wife related to each other about “how many Jews, of all the Jews in the world, have the opportunity to keep this special mitzvah of Shemittah?”

They took a deep breath and decided to go for it.

Some time later, a boy once asked Avichai, “How did you get the strength to do that?”

“You have to be like Nachshon [ben Aminadav].

You just jump in.” grows organic vegetables in greenhouses. He can grow almost everything, all year round.

His wife, Karen, is a teacher in Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, keeping hospitalized children upto-date with their studies, so they don’t fall behind while out of school for extended periods of time.

AVICHAI’S FIRST SHEMITTAH Avichai’s son Erez picked up an inspirational pamphlet in shul one Shabbos a few years ago.

It was a weekly distributed pamphlet geared for children, with stories and pictures, named Shalom L’am. In it was an inspiring story about a non-religious farmer who grew peppers in the Arava region who began keeping Shemittah and experienced great blessing, as the Torah promises. Young Erez was moved by the story and was convinced that his

Avichai told him, “You have to be like Nachshon [ben Aminadav]. You just jump in.”

SIMPLE, YET GREAT Avichai realized, though, that he could not remain on his farm during the Shemittah year. It would simply be too painful. He knew he couldn’t bear to see the plastic covers of his greenhouses blowing in the wind and weeds growing in his fields.

Even now, his second Shemittah already, it is still hard for him to watch that scene.

He decided to move to the U.S. for the year, to Englewood, NJ, where his wife got a job through the Jewish Agency, teaching in a school called Ben Porat Yosef, or BPY. Avichai found employment in New Jersey as well, working for the security de-

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Harav Berel Povarsky, Rosh Yeshivas Ponovezh, visiting Avichai and signing a Shemittah partnership

Avichai’s bountiful tomato crop

partment of El Al, in Newark Airport. His job was cargo security, screening all luggage headed for the El Al planes for security threats.

Soon, he ran into problems. He discovered that, unbelievably, and sadly, El Al was operating on the holy day of Shabbos, sorting and processing packages. (Avichai stresses that this was in the past and that changes have since been made at El Al.) Avichai approached the supervisor and calmly let him know that he had no intention of working on Shabbos, G-d forbid. He hadn’t committed to observing the Shabbos of the Land only to violate “Shabbos Bereishis.”

The supervisor was friendly and tried to cover for Avichai, but eventually his higher-ups caught on. The manager of the Newark chapter of El Al began putting a lot of pressure on him to crack down on Avichai.

But Avichai was not fazed.

The manager was in a quandary, however, as it is illegal (in the U.S., as well as in Israel) to fire an employee for refusing to work on Saturday. So, he opted for underhanded tactics instead.

Avichai soon began noticing baggage appearing with tiny, almost invisible, threatening symbols on them. He quickly realized they were planted there by the management. They were looking for an excuse to fire him, on grounds of his being “lax” at his job of screening for threats.

He also realized that there was nothing he could do. Sooner or later, one of the ‘threats’ would inevitable slip by him.

Sure enough, before long, he was called to the manager’s office. The manager informed him that there was a serious complaint against him, and he would have to meet with the “big boss” in Israel to see if he could keep his job.

Avichai had no choice but to get on a plane and meet “big boss” in Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

He was greeted frostily by the boss.

“Do you know why you are here?” the boss asked him.

“Of course, I do”, Avichai replied. “It’s because I won’t work on Shabbat.”

“No, no, no,” the boss replied, with feigned earnestness. He knew quite well that that would be illegal on his part. “It’s because you are not doing your job properly. You are missing the threatening symbols. It wouldn’t be safe to allow you to continue in your position.”

Avichai realized he wasn’t getting anywhere.

He told the boss, “If you want to fire me, it’s fine.

Don’t worry about me.”

The boss tried reasoning with him, telling him, “You have a family, rent, and mortgage. How can you say it’s fine?” His unspoken demand was that Avichai agree to come around and “cooperate” – in other words, work on Shabbos. But Avichai wouldn’t yield.

“OK, have it your way,” the boss retorted angrily. “You are fired.”

Avichai retells this story with this sense of calmness and serenity. Almost as if it’s some amusing story. I asked him, weren’t you worried? How

were you so easygoing about the whole thing?

Avichai explains that from when he began keeping Shemittah, he saw clearly, in one incident after the next, how he was experiencing a special protection from Hashem. Though initially he was quite worried about his livelihood for the year, he slowly became filled with a conviction that “everything with be all right,” and he felt a sense of security and peace that he cannot explain.

The boss still had a technical problem, though.

Officially, Avichai was not actually employed by El Al, but by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and only they had the authority to fire him. But the boss was confident they would cooperate.

“In two weeks, you will have a hearing at the Israeli consulate in Manhattan,” he told Avichai, “and then they will fire you.”

Avichai actually felt happy and relieved. He used the opportunity of his short stay in Israel to visit family and friends and then headed back that evening to his family in the U.S. When he arrived back in the U.S., out of the blue, Avichai received a call from Keren Hashviis.

They were looking for a Shemittah-observing farmer to go around to shuls and schools, telling people the story of keeping Shemittah in modern times and hopefully inspiring them to help this important cause. Would Avichai agree to be that farmer?

As he was now officially unemployed, Avichai gladly agreed. He certainly had plenty of time available, and he was happy to share the beauty of Shemittah with his American brothers and sisters.

Avichai feels that Shemittah is a strong connecting force between the farmers of Israel and the Jewish community of Chutz L’aretz. This attitude of his was born then and has only grown stronger over time.

And so, he and his wife Karen traveled the U.S., speaking in many communities and connecting with so many people.

JANUARY 27, The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2022 2015

71

Rav Benzion Kugler, chairman of Keren Hashviis in Israel, and Rav Avraham Rubenstien, mayor of Bnei Brak, visiting Avichai on his farm

Once, he spoke in Yeshiva Darchei Torah of Far Rockaway. After the speech, the boys lined up to receive a bracha from him.

Though Avichai insists emphatically that he is but a simple farmer, he cannot deny that he is engaged in something far from simple. Something big.

Indeed, he may be simple, but he is touching greatness.

Throughout this all, he was still receiving pay, as well as health insurance, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although practically speaking he had no job, he was technically not fired until his hearing would take place.

While it was supposed to be within two weeks, somehow, things dragged, and this situation continued for a few months. All the while, his paychecks were still arriving like clockwork. In his case, red tape was working in his favor.

Finally, around April time, the day of the hearing arrived. He arrived at the consulate, and there was his boss, looking very confident and eager for vindication. However, the woman who was to hear his case was very kind and sympathetic to Avichai.

She asked him what he was doing, now that he was not working.

Avichai described for her his recent activities; how he was going to town after town of American Jewry, raising awareness about Israeli life and Israeli farming and forging connection between the American and Israeli communities. The woman was deeply impressed by Avichai’s story, and felt he should be supported.

Avichai had initially only hoped for an extension of his visa; losing his job was a foregone conclusion. However, she insisted that his activities were a big help for Israel, and so his pay should be continued! And so, Avichai and his family were able to stay out the year, with relative financial stability.

Incidentally, on his way home to Israel, Avichai

Crops laying fallow

noticed his former manager on the same plane. It turned out that he, too, had now been fired and was now returning to Israel as well, with his tail between his legs.

Avichai stresses that much has changed in the management of El Al since this episode and that this story is no indication of the current state of affairs with the company. (I hope he’s right.)

FATHERS AND SONS When Avichai first began keeping Shemittah, by default, his father Yossi joined along for the ride, as Avichai managed much of his father’s fields as well. And so, it turned out that the inspiration born from Erez traveled up the generations, to his father and grandfather.

Yossi had a beautiful olive orchard in Moshav Chemed. This orchard would now experience its first “Shabbos.”

As mentioned, Avichai was traveling the U.S. on behalf of Keren Hashviis, speaking and inspiring many communities. One week, his speaking tour took him to Chicago, where he experienced a beautiful and uplifting Shabbos. As it happened, the rosh yeshiva of Ponovezh, R’ Berel Pavorsky, was also in the same hotel, and Avichai got to spend some time in close proximity to the venerable rosh yeshiva, who inquired who he was. When Avichai mentioned his father’s name, R’ Pavorsky exclaimed in surprise. He remembered Avichai’s father, as he had been a student in Ponevezh as a child, and R’ Pavorsky had taught him. R’ Pavorsky did not forget a single student, and he was overjoyed to hear that his student of long ago had begun keeping Shemittah.

Avichai called his father to inquire about this, and his father confirmed that, indeed, he had learned in the Ponevezh Yeshiva for a short time during his childhood, upon the urging of the local rav in the town in which he grew up.

R’ Pavorsky kept up contact with Avichai and his father. And this Shemittah cycle, he came to Yossi’s olive orchard to sign a partnership with him for Shemittah. This sort of partnership is an innovation which is facilitated by Keren Hashviis, to help support farmers, while also giving others an opportunity to have a portion in the mitzvah of Shemittah.

Avichai fondly recalls the day. There is a light in his eyes as he describes with emotion how the great Rosh Yeshiva sat under his father’s beloved olive trees and signed the partnership document to share in the mitzvah of Shemittah with his student of all those years ago.

FULFILLED BRACHOS Avichai shared some of his personal Shemittah miracles. He added that he has seen more than what he would share with us, but those miracles are of a more personal nature and he doesn’t feel it is appropriate to publish them.

He did share that, as many other Shemittah-observant farmers, he receives unusual blessing in the sixth year, exactly as the Torah describes. In fact, just recently, he planted pumpkins, and his crop yielded a full 200% of their usual output. The seed company simply would not believe his words and actually sent someone down to his farm to verify his story. Apparently, such a phenomenon is completely unnatural.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Speaking to the boys of Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Pumpkins of bracha before the Shemittah year

Avichai relates as well, that a virus has been affecting tomatoes growing in Israel, causing them to produce only a third of their usual yield and of a lower quality as well. The plant doctors are at a loss for a cure to this virus, other than letting the fields lie fallow for a year. In other words, observing Shemittah.

Avichai’s tomatoes have been unaffected by the virus, due to his keeping Shemittah.

Not long after last Shemittah, a wealthy farmer partnered with him. Since the farmer was new to organic farming, he wanted the help of Avichai’s experience and expertise. Avichai gladly partnered with him, and the arrangement was very profitable. However, he assumed that once the farmer would learn the ropes, he would end the partnership and go out on his own. But the other farmer would not stop. He only wanted to use Avichai’s farms and greenhouses, explaining that those fruits are of special quality and have an unusual bracha, which he would not like to lose.

Avichai has been working a new project for some years now. He wants to grow medical cannabis in warehouses. This could potentially be quite lucrative and benefit the general Israeli economy as well, by exporting the produce to other countries.

However, unfortunately, he has met with opposition from some jealous local board members, who tried to prevent him from getting clearance.

The legal process has been a long, tedious, and expensive struggle for him, and his partners in this venture abandoned him.

But just after Rosh Hashana of this year, shortly after Shemittah began, the Israeli Supreme Court finally ordered the board members to allow him to go ahead with the project. Avichai strongly feels that here, too, the power of Shemittah is at work.

THE CALLING OF SHEMITTAH Avichai and his wife are not the only ones. The number of farmers observing Shemittah grows from cycle to cycle, in large part due to the efforts of Keren Hashviis.

Keren Hashviis is an organization founded in the 1970s by Rabbi Binyamin Mendelsohn, rav of Moshav Komimius, to assist farmers who observe Shemittah and promote Shemittah observance by those who don’t yet observe it.

This Shemittah cycle, an exciting and historic milestone had been reached. Over 50% of private lands in Israel are lying fallow, in observance of Shemittah. This is a number unprecedented since the Churban Bais Hamikdash.

Rabbi Aaron Kagan of Keren Hashviis explains that Shemittah is more than just a mitzvah for farmers. Shemittah is Shabbos for the Land itself.

As such, we are all a part of it.

He relates that the legendary head of Agudath Yisrael, Rabbi Moshe Sherer, zt”l, was once approached by Rav Mendelsohn of Keren Hashviis for help with raising funds.

Rabbi Sherer instructed R’ Shmuel Bloom, himself a leader of Agudath Yisrael, to take of his precious time to devote himself to this cause. He

explained that the observance of Shemittah will define the very essence of our settlement in the Land of Israel, for better or for worse, and so, every effort must be made to strengthen the observance of this mitzvah.

Similarly, many of the farmers feel that they are not only observing Shemittah for themselves but are emissaries of the entire Jewish People.

They are giving Eretz Yisroel its Shabbos.

Many Shemittah observant farmers are not (yet) fully religious. Still, they feel a connection to Shemittah.

For many, it’s because of their love of the Land.

Though not fully observant, these farmers are strong in their emunah. Being a farmer does that.

There nothing like anticipating the next rainfall to come down from heaven and literally give life to your crops, to make awareness of Hashem real and tangible.

And the farmers realize that Shemittah is the spiritual connecting force between the Jewish people and our Land, as the Torah tells us. The merit of Shemittah ensures our stay in Eretz Yisroel, and the reverse is true as well. And so, even though Shemittah is one of the most difficult mitzvos, they are on board.

At the same time, the holiness of Shemittah strengthens them, too. With so many farmers, once they keep Shemittah, they grow in other areas of Torah observance as well.

And their children grow even more. Many simple farmers have children who are chashuve rabbanim and dayanim.

They don’t regret keeping Shemittah. One farmer’s wife told Keren Hashviis she would love it if there were another Shemittah year! Yes, the income factor is challenging. But, during the six years, her husband is extremely busy with a high-pressure and physically grueling job, working out in the fields the entire day. During Shemittah she finally has her husband back. Her children have their father.

Even many farmers who unfortunately do succumb to the difficult test and rely on heter mechira have confided to our Avichai that they feel they

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

have made the wrong choice.

What inspires farmers to join? Many farmers, who have yet not kept Shemittah, look around.

They see farmers keeping Shemittah. They see that they are happy. They see that, somehow, it ends up working out. They see that Shemittah farmers don’t just survive, they thrive. They experience a special blessing, which cannot be explained in natural terms. And, they want to join in as well.

THE POWER OF SHEMITTAH As it turns out, the power of the bracha of Shemittah is not limited to the farmers and their families. It actually flows forth to others as well.

R’ Shmuel Bloom relates the story of a woman named Elana Toweg. Her husband is a Shemittah-observing farmer, and somehow, a trend began in which other women would ask Elana to bless them in the merit of her and her husband’s Shemittah observance.

Elana gladly complies, blessing and praying for people as she lights candles. Once, a school came to visit them. There were two teachers from the school who wanted a bracha. One was married for a few years, and sadly, had not had any children yet. The other had children but hadn’t had any more for a number of years. Elana blessed both women warmly and prayed for them.

Unbelievably, they both had children, not long afterwards.

R’ Bloom relates another incident: One farmer needed to cut back sharply on his level of living, as Shemittah drastically reduced his income. His son’s bar mitzvah was coming up, but due to his financial situation, the whole bar mitzvah celebration was basically cancelled.

Keren Hashviis became aware of this and was

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danced at the chasuna” of the woman, who indeed got married that same year.

For us

in the United States, the experience of Shemittah may feel distant. Yet our heroes, the Shemittah farmers in Israel, have us

He describes with emotion how the great Rosh Yeshiva sat under his father’s beloved olive trees and signed the partnership document with his student of all those years ago. pained to hear about it. To “make it up” to the boy, they brought him to Rav Chaim Kanievsky, the gadol hador, along with his father and grandfather, for a special visit. During the visit, the grandfather mentioned that, unfortunately, he had an older daughter who was still single.

R’ Chaim assured him that in the merit of the awesome mitzvah of their observing Shemittah, with such self-sacrifice, the woman would find her shidduch that Shemittah.

R’ Bloom finishes off the story by saying, “I

very much in mind. They feel they are observing Shemittah on behalf of us all.

Can we connect with them as well?

Actually, we can. Keren Hashviis is the link.

By supporting farmers in Israel, we are not only helping farmers, but we are partnering with them.

And that means we have a part in Shemittah as well.

To get involved, call Keren Hashviis at 886-6756694, or go to kerenhashiis.org.

SOVRl'7J.o HELPLINE

Emotional Support For Victims Of Unwanted Touching 888-613-1613 Confidential & Anonymous

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ALONE Staffed by trained volunteers who provide help, support, information and referrals Under the auspices of Mount Sinai Beth Israel

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Teen Talk

By Rabbi Doniel Drandoff, LMFT

Dear Teen Talk,

I have a big problem, and I don’t know how to help myself. Simply put, I am awkward. It’s hard for me to remember exactly when I became aware of

Teen Talk , column in

a new

TJH, is geared to wards the teens in o ur commu nity.

Answered by a rotati ng roster of teachers, rebbeim, clinicians , an d peers (!), te ens will b e hearing answers to many que stions the had perco y lating in th eir minds wished th an d ey had th e answers for.

this, but it had to be sometime in middle school.

What is awkward about me? Everything! I always say inappropriate things to people in social situations, so I usually avoid them all together. People are always pointing out buttons missing from my uniform or a tear in my skirt. Why don’t I notice?

Oh, and I am clumsy, too.

My parents think I am the greatest kid ever. They adore me and would never understand my feelings about myself. They think I am beautiful and smart and see my good grades as a sign that all is well. They even view my clumsiness as being cute and “part of my charm.” But you know what? I’d rather not be cute or charming! Why can’t I just be normal?

-Baila, 16

B

aila, the most important message I want you to hear loud and clear is that you are perfectly normal. I am so sorry that you feel so down on yourself.

I know that it can be really embarrassing to feel clumsy or spacy. And it makes you feel like you have to avoid any type of social gathering. But I want to share some insights, and some advice, that may ease your mind and begin to help you see yourself in a completely different light.

The first thing that sticks out from your letter is your perception that “everything” is awkward about you. Now, surely there are qualities that you possess which are not awkward! I also noticed the words “always” and “never” a few times.

1. Step one is to recognize the allor-nothing, black-and-white extreme thinking. Very often such extreme

thinking is rooted in perfectionism. Do you find that you often hold yourself to a very high standard? You make mention of your good grades. I am willing to bet that you are very studious and that you do very well in school. I am also willing to bet that when your teacher returns your test with an excellent score of 99%, your immediate thought is, “What happened to the other 1%?!” You should know that this kind of thinking is not uncommon, but that at its root it is a sign of black and white thinking.

Perfectionism is dangerous because perfection is an unattainable goal. If our goals are impossible to reach, we will be living in a constant state of disappointment and perceived inferiority, so it is really important to have goals that are

fair and realistic.

When Yaakov Avinu was on his way to Charan, the Torah tells us of the dream he had. Hashem showed Yaakov Avinu a vision of a sulam mutzav artza v’rosho magiya hashamayma, a ladder planted on the ground with its top reaching the heavens. There is so much to be said about this incredible parsha of Yaakov Avinu’s dream. However, I want to focus on the nature of the ladder, particularly the way the Torah describes it. The top is in heaven, but it is firmly planted on earth. As the saying goes, have your head in the clouds and your feet firmly planted on the ground! Hashem is giving Yaakov Avinu an eitzah, a mission, as he is heading into the world to face Lavan. Keep yourself grounded! You must have lofty goals

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

but, at the same time, in order for success to be possible, you must remain realistic. You must be honest with yourself and know what your strengths and weaknesses are. Only then can you move forward in the world and fulfill your potential. So long as your head in the clouds is detached from two firmly planted feet on earth, you will remain frustrated by your lack of progress.

2. So how do you get there? The million-dollar question! Let’s start with something very practical. Every day, before you go to sleep, I want you to take some time to put your thoughts into a journal. Specifically, write out some of the thoughts you had about yourself that day. Do this for a week. Then, at the end of the week, look over the week’s entries and reflect upon the content and tone of your self-reflections. Were you fair to yourself?

Imagine that you were writing about your close friend or sibling. Do you feel that your words are balanced and honest? Are your words a true and full reflection of re-

Are you a teen with a question?

If you have a question or problem you’d like our columnists to address, email your question or insight to editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com, subject line: Teen Talk.

discount another truth. Namely, that you took a positive step.

When you are finished writing the second version for all of the week’s entries, take some time to reflect upon the differences between the two versions, in both content and tone. This is the first step in changing the way that you think.

I was recently speaking with an old client of mine. He was a teenager when we met, and, at the time, he was struggling with perfectionism. He had a very hard time making – and keeping – friends.

He was constantly doubting himself and questioning the motives and opinions of others. He really couldn’t accept the pos-

You must be honest with yourself and know what your strengths and weaknesses are. ality? If not, try to write each entry over in a way that is more fair and honest. Be kind to yourself. If on Tuesday you wrote, “Once again, I made a fool of myself at recess when shmoozing with girls in my class,” maybe upon reflection at the end of the week you can write, “I went out of my comfort zone at recess and shmoozed with some girls. It was a good step even though I wasn’t happy with something I said.”

See the difference a little kindness can make? We are not sugar-coating or making believe that problems aren’t real.

Rather, we are recognizing that there is something imperfect, but we are putting it into perspective. We are laying it down against a backdrop of reality, fairness, and kindness. Maybe you said something “awkward.” That truth does not

sibility that he was likeable or that his peers would want to hang out with him.

He felt that he had nothing to offer so why would anyone truly enjoy his company.

I met him at a bar mitzvah a few months ago, and he is now 22 and considering starting shidduchim. He shared with me that he feels better than ever and that he remembers his journaling as a life-changing activity. Obviously, there is a lot more to his story, but journaling stuck out in his mind.

It can be really powerful to process your feelings in writing, and then come face-to-face with those feelings by truly reflecting upon them and analyzing them.

3. Another point I’d like you to consider is that your perception of yourself does not necessarily reflect reality and that others may view you differently.

Even if you are a bit clumsy, it is unlikely that anyone judges you as harshly as you judge yourself. At the same time, it is unlikely that anyone notices all that you do that causes you to feel clumsy. And guess what? People who are clumsy are no less successful in life and in relationships. Because the number one indicator of success is self-esteem and self-regard. People who judge themselves favorably are far more successful than those who beat themselves up. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to be more aware and curb the clumsiness. If that is important to you and you want to work on it, then great! But accept yourself and love yourself first.

4. If you are able to love yourself, you’ll find it easier to work on some of those aspects that you aren’t entirely happy with. But just know that you are perfectly fine as you are! Being a little clumsy says nothing of your character and your self-worth. Which brings me to another important point. Spend some time considering your strengths and your positive qualities. I know you have many! But you have gotten into a pattern of only seeing the perceived negatives, while completely ignoring what makes you special and amazing. So get to work thinking about those special qualities that Hashem bestowed upon you. In doing so you will fulfill the Mishna in Pirkei Avos which says, “Hevi dan es kol ha’adam l’chaf zechus”.

Kol ha’adam means the entire person.

Judge the whole you! Not just the parts you perceive as troubling.

When you come to judge yourself, you must see the whole you. And I have no doubt that when you see yourself with all that makes you special and unique you will be forced to smile and say, “I’m great!”

Rabbi Doniel Drandoff is a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in the Five Towns/Far Rockaway community, as well as Clinical Director of My Extended Family. He works with teens, young adults, families, and couples. You can reach Rabbi Drandoff at Dndrandoff@gmail.com.

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Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

My son is eager to start shidduchim, and my husband and I are more than happy for him to start. The thing we are nervous about, though, is money.

We live in a very wealthy neighborhood, but we bought our home many years ago when the market was low. We truly cannot

afford to have a wedding that is the standard of our community. But it will be a complete and utter embarrassment to have a wedding that is the kind we could afford. My husband is suggesting that we scrimp and save for about a year, potentially renting out our basement so that we could have some extra cash for all the expenses of a simcha. He thinks that in the meantime we should hold off on taking any ideas. If it’s meant to be, he can meet the right girl at the right time. I do not agree. I think that our son should start dating, and if he’s meant to find his bashert, we’ll figure out how to make it happen. My husband agreed to present this idea to the Navidaters for some guidance.

Thanks in advance, -Not the Joneses (but trying to keep up)

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.

Y

our question is troubling on several levels but is honest.

My first concern is relationships.

I wonder about your communication with your son and your relationship with him as parents. He is not mentioned in your query. Are dating and an elaborate wedding only about your social standing? Either way, you have a problem on your hands. If he doesn’t need it and want it, it’s solely about you and your Jewish Jones-like social standing. It’s also unfair to do this to him. If he doesn’t need to keep up with the neighbors, consider yourself lucky that he has learned values from other sources. If he does want what you want, you have a serious family problem beyond just figuring out how to pay for a wedding. What kind of values are you living and teaching your children?

I am guessing that this is your first child and you have been living above your means until now to keep up with the vacations, eating-out culture, and name brand lifestyle.

Jewish parents know that family simchas will come and will cost.

Responsible adults budget long-term and short-term for these as well as savings, retirement, and regular life.

You probably need to have a twotrack approach, one that addresses values as well as finances. Sit down with a frum financial planner and figure things out so that you don’t fall into the trap of many frum families which neither save enough, nor plan for future needs, and live beyond their means. For decades, but especially now, Jewish media has cautioned members of the community to limit expenditures to what is reasonable within their means and have the courage to budget for regular and future expenses. As you work with a financial planner to figure out what you need to save and invest for re-

tirement, simchas, and emergencies, your need to re-examine your values will emerge. Open up to your religious mentor/rabbi and get the support you need.

Obviously, if you haven’t done this until now, your need is great.

Get started on this two-pronged process. You will need time and a lot of self-searching to examine the values you are living and modeling.

It will be time for a reset. Your children and nearest and dearest will respect you for your courage.

The Shadchan Michelle Mond

D

ear Not the Joneses, Thank you for trusting our column for guidance on your conundrum.

In your question, you do not state that you cannot afford a wedding.

You state that you cannot afford a wedding that is up to the standards of the community in which you live.

Think about this for a moment.

Your husband is the one who is putting a halt on your son’s dating, not you. This leads me to believe that hubby is terrified you will cave to the pressures of the community and not settle for anything less than your neighbors’ standards, so he is trying to prevent a financial catastrophe.

After all, you are the one writing in, saying that you could never afford a wedding similar to your neighbors’; however, you describe the type of wedding you could afford, to be, and I quote, “an embarrassment.” I believe your husband is putting his foot down here because he is so nervous that his wife will demand that same $20K custom gown, floating doves, and top caterer that everyone else uses.

I would surmise that if you could work on your confidence and determine that you will have a wedding within your budget, when the time arises, your husband will be on board

with your son starting to date. These days you don’t have to spend a lot to have a gorgeous wedding. There are “package” weddings which are subsidized and incredibly affordable such as one that they have at Ateres Elka in Baltimore. These are absolutely stunning simchas that don’t put the parents in debt.

Simple answer: don’t cave to pressure and societal standards. If there is anything we learned from coronavirus, it’s that simchas don’t have to be extravagant to be beautiful. Have we forgotten that, just two years ago, couples got married on driveways and in backyards? No country clubs. No orchard renting. No flying doves. No smoke machines. Simply a chosson and kallah under a chuppah starting their lives together. The simplicity of

Have we forgotten that, just two years ago, couples got married on driveways and in backyards?

the simcha made it that more beautiful. Those who attended truly mattered and those who did not watched from afar on Zoom. I guess what I am trying to say is, if there ever was

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a generation that understands functional, practical, simple weddings, it’s ours!

Side note: Who says your son will get married right away?

You are counting your eggs before they hatch, in my opinion! I hope that your son finds his bashert right away and that you and your husband have the insight to plan a beautiful wedding that is within your budget.

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler Of course, your son should start dating now.

I’m sure that my fellow panelists will discuss how you needn’t feel that you have to keep up with the Joneses, how there is nothing wrong with a modest wedding, how a simple wedding is even more appropriate in these COVID times, how potential in-

Pulling It All Together The Navidaters

laws will certainly understand your financial limitations, and how you mustn’t impede a young man who is ready to begin the shidduch process.

I’d like to focus, instead, on two issues: First, forgive me for pointing out that you may have been negligent in preparing for this moment. If you have a rentable basement, why didn’t you do so five years ago?! Why haven’t you been planning financially for this eventuality?

Second, there are many organizations that offer interest-free gemach oans to help families like yours. For example, my shul, the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst (516569-3324), has such a

The driving force here has to be what is in the best interest of your son.

program.

(A little boy asked his father, “Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?” His father replied, “I don’t know, son. I’m still paying for it.”)

Preparing for a simcha is certainly stressful but thank Hashem that you will have a wonderful simcha in your future!

Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists

T

hank you so much for writing into our panel. I will never forget the lecture on the subject of “shame” given by my favorite graduate school professor. We feel shame when we believe that another person has seen something inside of ourselves that we find personally embarrassing or reprehensible. It is something we do not want others to see or know because we ourselves are not comfortable with it. The professor, quite successful in his own right, had gone a little yacht cruise with incredibly wealthy people, all talking about their yachts. Never one to care about yacht ownership, he shared that his cheeks turned red, and he felt suddenly ashamed that he did not own a yacht. Believe me when I tell you that if this brilliant, successful man felt shame, then we all do from time to time…and what it is that shames us only makes us human…perfectly human.

Living amongst seemingly wealthy people who seem to be able to pay for tuitions, vacations, food, restaurants, expensive clothing, extracurricular activities for the kids, shul memberships, holidays, simchas, etc., all while living in extravagant homes can really be tough on people who don’t have the money to keep up. No one should feel ashamed for having the perfectly human emotions of jealousy and shame that often come along with living in an affluent area. There are so many people who leave because the lifestyle is simply unaffordable or they want to be exposed and/or expose their children to a different set of values. And some people are stuck in these affluent areas for various reasons (schooling, family, etc.).

Onto your situation…. I don’t think you should put a stop to your

son’s dating because of this. I have worked with many young people who are very frustrated because their parents are forbidding them from dating for their own personal reasons. If your son wants to date, think of his potential frustration. If he wants this and he’s ready, it’s really unfair to him. As painful and embarrassing as this wedding may be to your husband (hello!), the driving force here has to be what is in the best interest of your son.

I think that you and your husband should check into couples counseling for a bit because you will need emotional support to get you through this. Shame doesn’t go away because we tell it to. Shame needs a loving witness to disappear. It needs validation. And it is likely to keep popping up as, G-d willing, your son finds his potential soulmate, you meet her parents, and plan an engagement and then a wedding. It will be wonderful to have a professional to speak with to both support you, help with the em-

barrassment factor, and coach you through this.

Not that what I am about to write is the crux of the issue here, but there are many wealthy people who wouldn’t spend frivolously on a wedding. There are many ways to create a meaningful and beautiful wedding on a budget. The most important part of the wedding is the celebration of the marriage and the love and happiness of the couple.

Wishing your son an easy dating journey and wishing you both shalom bayis through this decision… and really hoping that as long as you make your son’s needs the top priority, you will make all the right decisions! I know it’s so very hard to keep our anxieties away from our children (none of us are perfect!) but as best as you can, try to keep this anxiety away from your son and between the two of you.

All the best!

Sincerely, Jennifer

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

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Dr. Deb

Growth

By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

“T

itchadash!” my now-Israeli daughter-in-law said when she saw the picture of my new freezer in our WhatsApp chat.

And I thought: What a lovely word. Its reflexive tense means “make yourself new,” “renew yourself.”

It made me feel good.

Because sometimes I feel very much the only one doing new things at my age. My peers want to take it easy, and I’m just getting revved up.

First of all, I went all online with covid, so you can blame that. But in truth, I was partially online for decades. When I left Florida, I wanted my then-clients to have the chance to continue working with me, so I kept two licenses for quite some time and moved from the occasional phone call to a bit of an online presence.

My husband, a”h, used to try to inspire me with pep talks as he spotted people creating online programs, “You can do that! Why don’t you?

You’ll be ten times better than they are!”

While I appreciated his kind vote of confidence, I didn’t believe it for one minute. Me? Create a program that people flock to? Naaah. I just didn’t see myself that way. True, my son who is married to the daughter-in-law who cheered on my new freezer already had made me my first website when he was in high school. (“Ima, in this day and age, you really need a website.”) But still, how do I explain it?

I think it has to do with identity.

You see yourself in a certain way. The way I always saw myself was sitting in a small room with one other person

or a couple, talking. I could not see past that. But, somehow, things kind of evolved. I guess it started in 2014 when I had to give up my office. Well, I didn’t have to, but I went ahead and just did. I’d broken a metatarsal in my foot in a car accident and was expressly told by the doctor that I could not walk up and down stairs for a while. Getting in my front door requires steps, so I invited clients to my home, and we sat in the living room for therapy sessions.

I got to like the convenience of that so even after the doctor gave me the green light to come and go as I please, I told the therapist I was renting from that I was giving up the office. But it wasn’t until covid hit that I plunged into online work. It was approximately at that time that someone, not a client, asked me an interesting question and I started expounding on the answer, until, twenty paragraphs later, I said, “Y’know, this would make an interesting course.”

So my husband’s dream for me started to take shape.

Of course, I had zero ideas how to let people know that I had this course.

Marketing? What’s that? That was alien territory. I think I’ve told you the story that when I was growing up, my parents would get the paper every Sunday and promptly throw out the Business section along with Sports because they weren’t interested in either. So what did I know about marketing?

So I struggled with it, tweaking the program, playing around with how I could reach people, discussing with people their objectives for taking such a course. I really learned a

lot. More, I think, than in graduate school, at least more about how people make their decisions, what frightens them off, what appeals to them, and – most important – who is likely to get the most benefit out of it.

You can’t learn that in graduate school or in private practice because you don’t get to discuss with people why they came for a few sessions and then didn’t show up anymore. Not often, anyway. You don’t get to compare the ones who keep coming, keep growing, keep metamorphosing, to the ones who drop by the wayside early on so you don’t know what caused the difference.

But when you’re interviewing people up front, you get a peek into their thinking patterns and you get some kind of an idea of who will be too scared to look inside – even though what they find turns out to be good, at least for all the people who did not drop out. (Of course, you could theoretically argue with me that since they dropped out, maybe what is inside of them is not so good after all and they were right to drop out. To that, I respond, “Malarkey!” Hashem made us all good. Very good, in fact.)

Creating this online course/therapy project also forced people to see it through to the end because they were not paying week by week. It was more like a semester of college than sessions of therapy. This was particularly a great addition to therapy because it helps people over the rough spots, usually.

And so, I grew.

The program grew; the number of people wanting it grew; and my availability for new people shrank.

And once again, I’m wondering: How did I get here? The most interesting answer to this question is that now I see myself differently. I don’t see myself in a room with one other person or a couple anymore. I got used to this new identity. Let’s say it grew on me.

This identity of more people wanting what I have than I have space in my calendar for them.

For some people, maybe growth and change are part of their identity.

They can make rapid shifts and be comfortable with them. I certainly couldn’t. On the other hand, maybe there was something in me that believed my husband’s pipe dreams. Or maybe just enjoyed the possibility.

Nah. I absolutely did not, as I think about it. I think it was simply him pushing me that got me here. He pushed me to think big.

So here I am, loving those precious moments with clients when I see the relief in their eyes after a big burden has been taken away. Or moments a formerly-abusive person lovingly looks their spouse in the eyes and expresses deep regret and a commitment to never do it again. That identity will probably never change.

But my practice is, indeed, growing, and the next thing I’ll need to do is bring another therapist on board.

Wow (me?). But now I can actually see it.

Dr. Deb Hirschhorn is a Marriage and Family Therapist. If you want help with your marriage, begin by signing up to watch her Masterclass at https://drdeb. com/myw-masterclass.

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Health & F tness

Intuitive Eating Following Your Hunger Cues

By Aliza Beer MS, RD, CDN

I

ntuitive eating is when a person taps into their body’s natural ability to tell them if they are hungry or satisfied. Contrary to what many people think, intuitive eating does not mean eating whatever you want whenever you want.

Instead, eating intuitively is eating like babies who stop to drink their milk when they feel satisfied. Regardless of whether there is milk left in the bottle, if they feel full, babies stop eating. It is as simple as that.

Through this power of intuitive eating, a person gains control of their body and its hunger signals.

Many people find intuitive eating very transformative. Instead of focusing on food all day, the brain is programmed to eat food when the body is hungry and to stop eating when the body feels full.

Unlike other diets, intuitive eating doesn’t decree eating any foods in particular or avoiding anything specific. Instead, it teaches the person to make their own food choices based on what their body is really telling them.

Intuitive eating has been shown

to have many physical and emotional health benefits.

1. Lower stress: When you eat intuitively, you ditch the diet mentality, and stress around food becomes less existent. This helps reduce overall stress levels because there is much less thought around food and eating. Eating becomes a positive experience where you want to fuel your body. Anxiety around when you can eat next or feeling like you can’t stop eating will decrease as you become used to this.

2. Lower risk of eating disorder: Research has shown that people who have followed their hunger and fullness cues are less likely to have an eating disorder. This is because eating while following your intuition will help foster a positive relationship with food.

3. More energy: When you don’t have to worry about what you are eating, you have more energy for other things in life. Obsessing about what and when you can eat next and dealing with cravings can be very draining. When you follow your body’s signals, food becomes

much less of a headache and stressor (i.e., eat to live, not live to eat).

Attaining food freedom allows time and space for many other things in life. Additionally, overeating to the point of being too full can make you feel sluggish. When you listen to your body’s cues, you will eat to the point that you feel energized.

4. Lower risk of depression: People who eat intuitively have higher self-esteem and overall well-being. Research has shown that intuitive eating during the teenage years is linked to better mental health. Overall, this way of eating is linked to improved body image and a lower risk of depression.

How can one practically implement intuitive eating in their life?

1. Say goodbye to diet mentality: Making peace with food and squashing the diet mentality are essential for successful intuitive eating. With intuitive eating, there is no such thing as “good foods” or “bad foods.” Saying goodbye to food guilt and restriction is necessary for successful intuitive eating. Making peace with food is key. However,

this method doesn’t mean you are entitled to three bags of potato chips if you’re craving it. The point of this way of eating is to foster a calmness around food and to help you feel your best by listening to your body.

Filling your body with nutritious foods when your body is signaling you to eat will ensure you feel good about yourself. It’s imperative to find the right balance between listening to what your body wants and fueling it with healthy foods.

2. Look out for fullness: The same way your body tells you it’s hungry, your body tells you it’s full. Listen to the cues your body gives you and stop eating when you feel comfortable fullness. Eating to the point of uncomfortable fullness does not fit into the framework of intuitive eating. If you feel you cannot put another piece of food in your mouth or you feel nauseous, that is a sign you ate too much.

For your next meal, a good idea is to eat some of your food, drink some water, stop eating for a few minutes, and then assess if you are still hungry. If your body is telling

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

you you’re still hungry, eat a little more and then assess again. Once you become accustomed to your body’s cues, this process becomes second nature. This is an integral part of intuitive eating. The body might be telling you it is full even if there is still part of your portion left on the plate.

3. Honor your hunger cues: According to many psychologists, the more we resist our hunger, the hungrier we feel. Instead, recognize your hunger and eat when your body is telling you it’s hungry. Hunger is a normal, biological process.

Learning how to tell the difference between eating out of boredom (or perhaps stress and emotions) and eating because of hunger is key.

Think of hunger on a scale of 1-10. If you feel you are at a 7 (10 being super-hungry), you are hungry and should eat. Distinguishing between physical hunger and emotional hunger is a crucial aspect of intuitive eating. Feelings of anxiousness, sadness, or boredom can cause emotional hunger and can often be mixed up for actually being hungry.

It is important to honor physical hunger and try to tame emotional hunger. Finding ways to cope with different emotions aside from turning to food will help you feel your best. Physical hunger is a biological hunger where your body needs to replenish its nutrients. This is the type of hunger where you need to focus on how your body is feeling and if it’s time to eat. The more you become in touch with your body and its signals, the easier it is to distinguish between the two types of hunger.

4. Increases body awareness: This method allows you to focus on the messages your body is sending you. When you learn to feel small sensations in the body like satisfaction and hunger, you become more attuned to your body. This will improve your relationship with your body and with food.

5. Enjoy the food you’re eating: Making eating a positive experience will help decrease food guilt and will ensure you are satiated from the food you are consuming.

Having a healthy relationship with every kind of food is so important

for your physical and emotional health. Food is there to enjoy and to derive pleasure from and this method of eating helps create a healthy relationship with all sorts of different food items.

you are trying to gain weight, eating to the point of engorgement is unwise and unhealthy. This is where following hunger and fullness cues can be very helpful. Because including this in your lifestyle will

When you listen to your body’s cues, you will eat to the point that you feel energized.

Both psychologists and nutrition professionals have studied intuitive eating and its effect on weight loss, mental health, and overall physical health. Research has shown that overweight and obese people who learned how to eat intuitively achieved significant weight loss or maintained their weight. Additionally, the studies have shown that participants had lower bad cholesterol. Overall, intuitive eating interventions were associated with fewer amounts of disordered eating behaviors. They have also shown that people who follow this method have improved psychological wellbeing, including better body image and improved self-esteem. Studies have shown that intuitive eating has helped people develop a healthier relationship with food and that, in turn, has contributed to many health benefits, both mental and physical.

As a dietitian who has worked with patients with an array of goals, I believe intuitive eating can be a helpful tool for living a healthy life. However, intuitive eating on its own is not a powerful weight loss tool. It can be beneficial and aid in weight loss because you will be more attuned with your body. Solely following this way of eating won’t necessarily lead to weight loss because weight loss is about the science between the calories you consume and the calories your body burns.

I do believe that intuitive eating can be a great addition to a healthy lifestyle, regardless of your goal. If

improve your relationship with food and help you get to know your body more, I think it can help you reach your nutrition goals, combined with other scientific approaches.

The goal of intuitive eating is to improve your relationship with food and to learn the difference between

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emotional hunger and physical hunger. Listening to your hunger and fullness cues will help you have a positive relationship with food. Eating this way has a large number of benefits. It can help reduce stress, foster a healthier relationship with food, and reduce the risk of depression. One of the most important aspects of this method is to ditch the diet mentality and focus on your body’s hunger and fullness signals.

Intuitive eating helps create a positive relationship with food, it fosters an enjoyment for eating, and it allows you to become attuned to the signals that your body sends countless times throughout the day.

Aliza Beer is a registered dietitian 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, and you can follow her on Instagram at @alizabeer

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Parenting Pearls

Sweatshirts and Cup Lids

By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

W

e tend to think of helping others and making a difference on a grand scale with great impacts. We then doubt what kind of difference we can make as a single individual. Certainly, we can doubt what our children can do being so young and seemingly less capable of performing grandiose acts.

There are a few problems with this attitude. Chessed is meant to be something everyone can do. When Hashem gives us a mitzvah, it means we can do it because Hashem only gives us what is within our capabilities, even if it may seem challenging. Additionally, we don’t want to get into the mindset of thinking we are mere “grasshoppers” and sell ourselves short. Even more than that, we want to raise the next generation to act and accomplish, not naysay all potential.

A few recent situations in our family brought out how powerful a small act of chessed can be in the life of an individual. We don’t need to move mountains to change someone’s day.

Scenario #1 It’s always amazing how the smallest of bodies can produce the loudest of noises. You’d think homemade hot chocolate would be enough of a treat on this below-freezing day. Sadly, the

drink is incomplete without a lid to cover it. He’s simply unable to enjoy a steaming, tasty beverage without the proper accessories, and the screaming continues. Two minutes later, my daughter saves the day when she presents to him her very own lid. He’s happy, and she asks if that chessed is deserving of a second cup of hot chocolate.

we need a serious food shopping trip but feel uncomfortable imposing that burden on anyone. A long-time family friend offers, insisting it wouldn’t be a bother, and my husband and I are relieved to have one less worry. She shops and delivers to us all we need to have a wonderful Shabbos in quarantine, and the kids discover she picks out better Shabbos treats than we do.

Scenario #2

Often, what makes the biggest difference in our day-to-day life isn’t the most earth-shattering of acts but the simplest of deeds. We can easily appreciate what someone has done for us, even as they neglect to notice the impact of their own actions. If we each took a few moments to think about how someone helped us we’d realize it’s often something seemingly minor that ends up being so meaningful.

Since the pandemic started, I feel this has become even more true. So often, we’ve found ourselves suddenly dependent on one other and able to assist in the simplest, yet most substantial of ways. Despite social distancing bringing us physically apart, chessed has brought us emotionally closer.

Personally, I found this to be extremely powerful. Even as limited as we may feel, we still have the ability to do greatness. Even more incredible is

I was surprised but not shocked when our family suddenly found out we were experiencing the Omicron wave. As my body forgot what it meant to maintain a normal body temperature, my shivering self was desperate for a warm, comfortable sweatshirt. I feverishly tried the online sites that offered quick delivery but couldn’t find anything appropriate with fast shipping. A quick text to my family resulted in my sister saving the day when mere hours later my new sweatshirt was handed to me. For the duration of the illness, I had something appropriate to recuperate in, and it made a tremendous difference in my personal comfort.

Scenario #3 After suddenly having our family thrust into quarantine, I realize

how empowering this can be for children. When you think about it, in the story above, just by giving her personal hot cup lid to her brother, my daughter was able to completely change her little brother’s mood. Simply reading a story to a younger sibling can create calm.

There is so much our children can do, all within their limitations.

Appreciate Their Contribution Children take their cues from us.

If we dismiss their accomplishments, then they will, too. But, if we point out their accomplishments and give them a sense of pride in their ma’asim tovim then they will recognize their potential and bring it one step farther.

Children who feel accomplished want that feeling to continue, and they will find more opportunities to procure that invigorating emotion. A child who realizes they can put a sibling to sleep with a story may volunteer again the next night. After all, they can be a big helper.

For many individuals, particularly the elderly, shoveling snow is not only difficult but outright dangerous. When a child gets praised by the neighbor for voluntarily shoveling their snow, that child can deeply feel what a contribution they made to the neighbor’s safety

and well-being.

When a child helps clear the table after the course, it may take them less than five minutes. To the one busy serving, clearing, and organizing, that’s one less step and frees them for the next task. Those five minutes just made the next course run exponentially smoother.

These are but a small sample of possibilities. Small contributions add up, and children can readily feel pride in their input. Mitzvah goreres mitzvah can have real meaning.

maturity, and personal talents will help influence the possibilities. Sharing their toys, hot cup lid, or other treasured item is something even the youngest of children can do (depending on their mood). Many children are able to play with a bored younger

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or take a desperate for fresh air little one to the park. They are nearly as capable as adults, and we need to seriously recognize what they can accomplish. I’m reminded of the post-Sandy period when our high schoolers stepped up and did everything from

Despite social distancing bringing us physically apart, chessed has brought us emotionally closer.

Make it Practical Guide children in how they can help and what possible results they can expect. It can be hard for a youngster to see where they can be of assistance.

Furthermore, it can be difficult for them to see how that will benefit another.

Give them practical ideas of things they can do. Show them any relevant steps; what’s obvious to an adult may be unclear to a child. Age, emotional

sibling, read a story, or help out with minor chores. They can branch out further as they grow.

Teenagers are far more capable than we give them credit for. A bar mitzvah boy can be the tenth at a shiva (or any) minyan, enabling the aveilim to say kaddish. Both genders can prepare for Shabbos when Mommy is sick

food service and apartment sanitizing to assisting displaced families.

Specify for them the results of their efforts. If they’ve managed to calm a screaming sibling, you can tell them how amazing it was that they can make someone else happy. If they’ve cleaned the table or an area, show them how much cleaner that location

is. If they shoveled your snow, thank them for giving you a safe walkway.

It’s easy for all of us to simply gloss over and minimize the impact of their actions. Making a conscious effort to not only mentally, but also verbally, acknowledge their contributions can take their behavior from “something nice” to “something special.” Only by being cognizant of the significance of their actions, and the immense benefit produced, can they appreciate that a small act on their part can yield an impressive result for the recipient.

Olam chesed yiboneh. Let’s continue to do many acts of small chassadim that add up to big differences. May Hashem grant us the ability to continue to help each other in good health and simcha.

Sara Rayvych, MSEd, has her master’s in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 10 years in Far Rockaway. She can be contacted at RayvychHomeschool@gmail.com.

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

In The K

tchen

No-Carb Super-Fast Vegetable Soup

By Naomi Nachman

As I write up this recipe, the temperature is

plummeting, and all I can think about is the

delicious soup I just made waiting for me in the

kitchen. It was so quick and easy to put together, and it cooks really fast. You can be done making this soup from start to finish in less than an hour. The title really says it all!

Ingredients ◦ 1 large onion, diced ◦ 2 tablespoons olive oil ◦ 2 packages cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced ◦ 4-6 medium zucchini, washed, not peeled, cut into chunks ◦ 1 large bag broccoli ◦ Water or vegetable stock ◦ 1 tablespoon kosher salt, or to taste ◦ ¼ teaspoon white pepper, or to taste

Preparation

1. In a large soup pot, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add onions; sauté for a few minutes, until they begin to soften.

2. Add mushrooms; sauté for a few more minutes. Add zucchini.

3. Add enough water to fill pot to just under vegetables. Don’t add too much liquid, or the soup will be too watery. Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until vegetables are soft, about 40 minutes.

4. Using an immersion blender, process soup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

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

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

Can you think of any other president that has done as much in one year? Name one for me. I’m serious. You guys talk about how nothing has happened. I don’t think there’s been much on any incoming president’s plate that’s been a bigger menu than the plate I had given to me.

- President Biden at last week’s press conference

You have a circumstance where people are paying more for a pound of hamburger meat than they ever paid. Well, one of the reasons for that is you don’t have that many folks out there that are ones that are — we’ve got the Big Four controlling it all.

– Ibid., insinuating that there is a hamburger cartel in the U.S.

It doesn’t pay to boycott Israel. I will bless those who bless you. And I will curse him who curses you.

– Tweet by Israel’s Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked in response to a report that Ben & Jerry’s parent company lost $26 billion in value since their boycott of parts of Israel

When the president of the United States says, “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” it’s because him and his constituents – which I don’t know how there are any if you watch any of his attempts at public speaking, but I guess he got 81 million votes… But when you say stuff like that, and then you have the CDC, which, how do you even trust them, but then they come out and talk about 75% of the COVID deaths have at least four comorbidities. And you still have this fake White House set saying that this is the pandemic of the unvaccinated, that’s not helping the conversation.

I had G-d as my co-pilot .

- Pilot Daniel Moore who crash-landed a medical helicopter without any loss of life last week

Asian Lives Matter - Words on some of the signs held up at a Times Square vigil for Michelle Go who was brutally shoved in front of a subway train and killed

I don’t usually play my fortune cookie numbers, but I tried them on a whim.

- Gabriel Fierro, 60, of North Carolina, who won the $4 million Mega Millions prize using the numbers from a fortune cookie that he ate before purchasing the ticket

- Quarterback Aaron Rogers in an interview with Kevin Van Valkenburg of ESPN

I’ll tell you the reason I kinda said it. How I explain it is I feel like, kinda saying something like that, you gotta back it up, and so after saying that there’s kinda no other option but to go out there and make it.

- Cincinnati Bengal’s kicker Evan McPherson explaining after last Sunday’s playoff game why right before kicking the game-winning 52 yard field goal he turned to a teammate and said, “It looks like we are going to the AFC championship!”

We are inspired by Hugo Chavez...Cesar Chavez. We are inspired by all of these leaders.

- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) while advocating for the Democrats’ election takeover bill, accidentally invoking deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose harsh socialist tactics destroyed Venezuela’s economy and turned it into a third-world country

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I’m not so sure he has, he’s certain, what he’s going to do. My guess is he will move in. He has to do something.

- President Biden at a press conference last week suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin will invade Ukraine

If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that’s a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies.

– White House Press Secretary Jenn Psaki, moments after President Biden’s gaffe

Russia will be held accountable if it invades, and it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera. But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.

- President Biden at last week’s press conference

We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power.

- Tweet by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

I said this a few years ago – it’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always what I want, it’s what we want as a family. I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next. Playing football I get so much joy from, I love it. But not playing football, there’s a lot of joy in that for me also now, too, with my kids getting older and seeing them develop and grow.

- Tom Brady talking about possible retirement on the SiriusXM Let’s Go! podcast, one day after losing in the Divisional playoff round

Coming from an immigrant family, I will be the first to say that I am a member of the NYPD, the greatest police force in the world.

- From an essay by NYPD officer Jason Rivera, 22, who was gunned down in Harlem on Saturday night

I know that something as small as helping a tourist with directions, or helping a couple resolve an issue will put a smile on someone’s face.

Stay in school. Don’t play with guns. Don’t rob people. Work for what you want.

- Ibid.

- A Philadelphia driver, who had a legal gun permit, talking to local TV reporters after he shot an attempted carjacker

This is the point we’ve been making for months. Look at the reaction and coverage tonight. Tear-jerker press conferences and proclamations of heroes coming soon… Being Black in D.C. is more dangerous than any job.

What a stupid question.

- President Biden when asked last Thursday why he is waiting for Russia’s Putin to make the first move on Ukraine

Stupid [expletive]!

- President Biden on Monday in response to a reporter’s question about inflation and lowering the prices of consumer goods

– Tweet by Black Lives Matter, D.C., hours after two young police officers were gunned down in Harlem on Saturday night

If you haven’t heard of Mr. Wittenstein, Google him. You’ll be amazed at the things that this man has done.

– A Delta flight attendant during an in-flight farewell to Jerry (Gerald) Wittenstein, a frum physicist and rocket engineer who worked with NASA, who had been a regular on Delta’s New York-Florida route and who is now making Aliyah

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

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I told him I had the money in the house, and I figured, he’s not going to fall for that.

Well, he fell for that hook, line, and sinker.

- A Long Island grandmother, 73, talking to local news after she outsmarted a group of scammers who wanted $8,000 from her by luring them to her house and having police arrest them

Resist the pressure to act immediately.

Legitimate business will give you time to make payments. Never pay with gift cards or wire money to an unknown person or business.

- Nassau County PD spokesperson Richard Lebrun providing tips on how to avoid being scammed

A year ago, Biden pledged to address Covid, the economy, climate change and racial injustice. And good news — after 12 months of tireless effort, we’re all getting three free masks.

— Jimmy Fallon

Does this mean snot-nosed censors at YouTube will come to my office…and admit I was right?

- Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged that cloth masks do not work as well against the coronavirus as N95 masks, an assertion that Sen. Paul made a year ago and for which YouTube suspended his account

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

As Invasion Looms, Ukrainians are Calmly Defiant

By David Ignatius

W

ith 100,000 Russian guns pointed at their heads, Ukrainians appear to take a stoical pride in not seeming rattled. They appear ready for what could be a savage war. Their main worry is that the United States and its allies will get so nervous they will yield to Russian pressure.

Driving through Maidan Square in a light snow on Friday afternoon, with traffic snarled and the lights of the city blazing, you could almost think this was normal life, on the eve of what could be a Russian invasion. Some people with money are buying dollars and property abroad.

But the restaurants are full, and Ukrainians appeared to get the jitters only when President Volodymyr Zelensky told them this past week not to panic.

Over several days of intense conversation here, I heard the same message of resistance. Russian President Vladimir Putin might imagine that Ukrainians share his almost mystical conviction that Russia and Ukraine are the same country, but if so, he’s wildly mis-

taken. Putin’s eight years of war against Ukraine, beginning with his seizure of Crimea in 2014, have made him nothing but enemies here.

Polls say that even a large majority of Russian-speaking Ukrainians oppose him.

“Don’t trust Putin. Don’t fear Putin,” said former president Petro Poroshenko on Friday during a conversation with a group organized by the German Marshall Fund. (I’m a trustee of GMF but came here as a journalist, along with Sylvie Kaufman of the French newspaper Le Monde and a half-dozen others, including two German parliamentarians and analysts from NATO and the European Union.)

It was partly bravado, but a defiant Oleksiy Danilov, the head of the national security and defense council, told our group: “Since 2014, we have been in a state of war with Russia. There are no people other than us who will defend us. Even if we don’t receive weapons [from the West], we will strangle them with our bare hands.”

Ukraine is where the dissolution

of the Soviet Union was ratified in 1991, when 92% of Ukrainians voted for independence in a referendum.

Putin has said that he regards the Soviet collapse as a tragedy that he is determined to avenge – and that resolve has led him inexorably toward this confrontation. He sent troops to the border in April, paused for a round of diplomacy with President Joe Biden in Geneva in June, and then stormed back to the Ukraine border in October with what U.S. intelligence concluded was a force ready to invade all the way to Kyiv.

As the Biden administration mobilized NATO resistance, Putin has doubled down repeatedly, saying that he wants to dismantle the post-Cold War architecture of Europe and insisting on promises that Ukraine will never join NATO. On Friday, against a firm NATO rejection of that ultimatum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went even further, demanding that the alliance withdraw its troops from Russian neighbors Bulgaria and Romania.

Putin has left little room for maneuver or compromise. He evidently feels that now is the time to strike – when the United States is politically divided, with what he apparently sees as a weak and compromising president. Biden did not help himself when he talked Wednesday about his expectation of a small Russian invasion – a suggestion of accommodation that he had to reverse the next day. It’s also unfortunate that NATO’s unity has appeared fragile this week with France and Germany both appearing uncertain about following the United States’ lead.

Putin has prepared well for this strategic moment. Russia’s financial reserves are substantial enough to ease the impact of sanctions, at least initially, and energy prices are high. And Russia’s military alliance with China hasn’t been this strong in decades. Putin’s popularity has been sagging, but given Russia’s prospects for long-term decline, it probably won’t get any better. For the Russian leader, this is a window of opportunity that won’t last.

“What I am concerned about is that Russia is putting itself in such a position that it can’t step back,” argued Dmytro Razumkov, a young member of the Ukrainian parliament who led Zelensky’s party there and has now formed one of his own.

A similar view that there might be no escape came from Ihor Zhovkva, the senior foreign policy adviser in Zelensky’s administration.

“Ukraine is not in a panic,” he told us. “We understand we will have to fight. This is our destiny.”

Over and over, here and in Warsaw, I heard an argument that the United States must stop being reactive in dealing with Putin. The Russian leader loves to provoke anxiety in the West, and he has shown with Ukraine that he’s ready to turn the dial way up. He’s apparently convinced that the United States and Europe in the end will prefer accommodation to an ever-escalating crisis.

“Putin wages war without any

rules,” says a senior Ukrainian defense ministry official, sitting across from a painting depicting a wild cavalry charge by warriors from several centuries past. The Russians have a name for Putin’s form of intimidation. They call it “bespredel,”

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I heard, echoed by the most thoughtful analysts in Kyiv and Warsaw, is that the United States and its allies must check the balance of intimidation – by taking action themselves rather than responding to Moscow.

Impose severe sanctions on Russia

The Russians have a name for Putin’s form of intimidation.

They call it “bespredel,” a Russian mafia term that means, “without limits.”

a Russian mafia term that means, “without limits.”

It falls to Biden to find a way to contain this bullying Russian leader without triggering an all-out war in the heart of Europe. The best advice

now, rather than after it has rolled into Ukraine. If Putin persists in covert actions in the West, match him.

“You cannot permit the Russians to believe you are afraid of an escalation. They will use it time and

again,” argued one of Poland’s wisest Russia analysts during a conversation on Wednesday in Warsaw.

“Restraint does not stabilize Putin.

It encourages him.” To paraphrase the analogy coined by the Brookings Institution’s Robert Kagan, Putin thinks that accommodationist Americans are now, similar to Europeans, from Venus – while warlike Russians are very much from Mars.

It’s a dizzying and frightening prospect, to imagine a war triggered by a doomed attempt to rewrite history. The most reassuring note is that Ukrainians, in the eye of the storm, don’t appear all that worried.

I posed to Ukraine’s defense official the question asked by Gen. David Petraeus at the beginning of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, “Tell me how this ends.” He answered without hesitation: with Ukrainian sovereignty over all of its territory.

(c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

Biden Can’t Blame Republicans for His Failures

By Marc A. Thiessen

O

ne year ago, Joe Biden promised in his inaugural address to put his “whole soul” into “bringing America together.” Now the president who just compared Republicans to racists, segregationists, and traitors is blaming the GOP for his utter failure to deliver on that promise.

“Did any of you think that you’d get to a point where not a single Republican would diverge on a major issue? Not one?” Biden asked during his news conference Wednesday.

That, to put it gently, is a bunch of malarkey. Let’s review the history: On his first major initiative – passage of a “covid-relief” legislation – it was Biden who refused GOP offers of cooperation. On Feb. 1 – just days after Biden’s inaugural promise to reach across the aisle – 10 Senate Republicans led by Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) went to the White House and offered to give him the 60 votes needed to pass covid-relief legislation with a bipartisan, filibuster-proof majority.

Passing a bipartisan covid bill should have been a layup. After all, President Donald Trump did it five times. Until Biden came along, every single covid-relief bill had been approved with overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses. But Biden didn’t even make a pretense of pretending to negotiate. He held one meeting with Republicans and then effectively told them he didn’t need their votes. As all 10 Republicans explained in a statement, the White House “roundly dismissed our effort…in order to justify its goit-alone strategy.” Senate Democrats then used the budget reconciliation process to jam his $1.9 trillion plan through on a party-line vote.

Why did Biden refuse to cooperate? Simple: Because Democrats wanted to use covid relief as a pretext to pass all sorts of liberal spending projects that had nothing to do with the pandemic. Just before it passed, White House press secretary Jen Psaki boasted it was the “most progressive bill in American history.” A bipartisan bill would have required making concessions. Biden chose to get everything he wanted rather than compromise with Republicans.

Despite this, Senate Republicans returned to the negotiating table to forge a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Biden did his level best to sabotage it at every turn. In June, after Republicans and Democrats reached agreement on an infrastructure framework, Biden threatened to veto the deal if Congress did not first pass his massive Democrat-only Build Back Better social spending bill. Then, he issued an extraordinary eight-paragraph statement walking back his veto threat, promising not to link the two bills. Then he broke his word and urged members of his own party to

take the infrastructure bill hostage as leverage to pass Build Back Better.

With Biden’s blessing, they held up the bill for months.

In his news conference Wednesday, Biden claimed Trump had intimidated “an entire party where they’re unwilling to take any vote contrary to what he thinks.” Yet when Trump threatened to oppose any Republican “foolish enough to vote in favor” of the infrastructure bill, 19 Senate Republicans – including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – did so anyway. In the House, Biden did not have enough Democratic votes to pass it. The bill reached his desk only because 13 House Republicans crossed the aisle to save it.

That’s not all. In June, the Senate passed major bipartisan legislation to improve the United States’ ability to compete with China on technology, address the semiconductor shortage and supply chain issues, and prevent Chinese entities from engaging in cyberattacks or theft of intellectual property from U.S. firms. The bill passed the Senate by an overwhelm-

ing 68 to 32. But it has languished in the Democratic-controlled House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., refuses to bring it up for a vote.

Biden has barely lifted a finger to get it passed.

Or take electoral reform. This week, Biden forced a doomed Senate showdown over his partisan federal election legislation. Instead of accusing Republicans of standing with Bull Connor, George Wallace, and Jefferson Davis, he should be working with them to pass bipartisan legislation to reform how Congress counts electoral votes. But he’d rather lay the groundwork for claiming that the 2022 midterm elections were illegitimate than get something done in a bipartisan manner.

Biden blames Republicans for his failure to pass Build Back Better. But what killed that bill was his failure to compromise with Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., and other like-minded Democratic lawmakers. Manchin explained the reason he decided to oppose the bill is that “it hasn’t shrunk.” Biden won’t compromise with his own party’s moderates, much less Republicans.

The president’s first year in office was a calamitous failure not because of Republican intransigence, but because he allowed himself to be captured by his party’s progressive wing, which convinced him that he should be a transformational president. Americans didn’t vote for a transformational president. They voted for the unity, moderation, and compromise that Biden promised but failed to deliver. He can’t blame the GOP for that. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

93

Political Crossfire

The Marines are Establishing a Beachhead for Needed Change at the Pentagon

By David Ignatius

W

hen Gen. David H. Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, announced a radical new plan in 2019 to remake his service, many Marines figuratively rolled their eyes. For a combat force proud of its traditions, change can sometimes seem like the enemy.

Two and a half years later, Berger actually appears to have pulled much of it off. The Marine Corps is smaller and more agile, it has disposed of all of its tanks and many of its artillery pieces, and it looks like a force of the future, not the past. The era of counterinsurgency wars, along with the doctrine and equipment to support them, is over for the Marines.

Resistance to change was “less than I thought it would be,” Berger told me in an interview last month at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, Calif. The key, he said, has been to take the money and people freed up by discarding old systems and invest in new capabilities that can combat a modern, high-tech rival such as China.

“We cannot afford to retain outdated policies, doctrine, organizations, or force development strategies,” Berger wrote in his 2019 “Commandant’s Planning Guidance.” The heroic tradition of Marines storming faraway beaches from a few big amphibious assault ships was “illogical,” Berger wrote, “given the growth of adversary precision strike capabilities.”

For a Pentagon that has been agonizingly slow to shed legacy weapons systems – such as aircraft carrier task forces and fighter jet wings – Berger’s rethink of the Marine Corps has been encouraging. It’s one thing to demand

change but quite another to make it happen over inevitable objections from Congress, defense contractors, and the military’s own implacable bureaucracy.

To assess what Berger’s makeover looks like in practice, I talked with some of his senior commanders. They tell a similar story – of getting rid of venerable old systems to make way for newer ones that are small, elusive, and sometimes unmanned.

Maj. Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the commander of the 2nd Marine Division, illustrates the transition.

His division fought in the bloody amphibious assaults across the Pacific in World War II, at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Tinian, and Okinawa. They were in the first wave of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and fought in the bitter battle of Fallujah. The division motto is “Follow Me,” right out of a John Wayne war movie.

So, what does change look like for this fabled division, based at the legendary Camp Lejeune in North Carolina? First, the division shrank, from 18,000 Marines to 15,000. It lost two artillery batteries. It shed the heavy

bridging and engineering units that had constructed forward operating bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. It gave up a tank battalion, losing 44 M1A1 tanks and the Marines who had made tank warfare their specialty.

“Why would I want a tank, when I can kill a tank with a loitering [drone] munition?” Donovan bluntly asks.

The challenge, he says, was providing a “transition with honor” for Marines who had devoted their careers to tank warfare. The division helped them find new jobs, transfer to Army tank units, or retire.

How has the Marine Corps rebuilt its combat capabilities using different weapons and doctrine? I talked with Brig. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, the commander of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory at Quantico, Va., and a deputy, Brig. Gen. Eric Austin, who is director of capabilities development. (Both were nominated in December by President Biden for a second star.)

Watson described a future Marine Corps with a very different footprint.

Rather than sailing toward beachheads in big amphibious assault ships, the Marines of the future will be deployed forward, in smaller, more agile, harder-to-find units. Because China can easily target “stand-off” units stationed far from potential conflict, these will be “stand-in” forces that, says Watson, will be “operating persistently forward.”

If a conflict seemed imminent with China, say, these future Marines could move quickly from their forward bases to seize maritime choke points. They would operate closely with allies, such as Japan, with which the Marines just staged a big exercise called Resolute Dragon 21, and Australia, where Marines are based in Darwin on the northern coast.

The warfighting lab envisions littoral brigades that can operate quickly and stealthily, with many Marines replaced by unmanned systems – and using electronic-warfare tools that can hide the Marines’ presence and find the adversary. “This is the biggest change in 70 years for the Marine Corps, but we’re still the Marines,” says Austin.

Berger has forced the Marine Corps to learn a new vocabulary, and his best commanders speak the language of change with passion. But truly reinventing a combat force won’t be easy, and some of the new “standin” concepts sound to me nearly as vulnerable to a high-tech adversary as the old ones. Still, for a Pentagon where inertia has too often been a way of life, the Marines are showing overdue signs of movement. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Forgotten Her es

Pool and Abrams Top Tankers During World War II

By Avi Heiligman

Tank ace Lafayette Pool

O

ne of the most feared weapons in the Nazi arsenal during World War II were their Panzer tanks. The Tiger I and Tiger II heavy tanks and the Panzer III, Panzer IV and Panzer V Panther medium tanks were the workhorses for the German army. As the war progressed, the Allies began to realize that these tanks had vulnerabilities – but so did their own tanks. This led to epic tank battles during the war like the Battle of Kursk. Western Allies also had success against the Nazi tanks, but since the M4 Sherman had many problems, it was up to the skills of the tank commanders to use them effectively.

M-4 Sherman medium tanks were a mainstay in the American Army during World War II. While American manufacturers built other heavy tanks that proved to better on the battlefield, the Sherman was cheap to produce in large numbers. Close to 50,000 rolled off the production lines, and, coordinating with planes, they were able to defeat the German Army that had better but less weapons. When one Sherman tank was hit, another just took its place, and these proved to be the decisive factor after the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. The only thing stopping General George Patton and his tanks from driving into Germany during the fall of 1944 was the lack of gasoline reach-

Pool receiving the Order of the Legion of Honor in France in 1946

ing the frontlines.

Sergeant Lafayette Pool from Texas is known as the American tank ace of aces. A few months before the United States entered the war Pool joined the army and was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division. Noted for his effective training tactics, he was offered a commission but refused so he could stay close to his men on the frontlines. The 3rd Armored Division was deployed in September

Creighton Abrams with President Nixon during the Vietnam War

less rifle on June 29, 1944. His second tank lasted two and a half weeks before friendly fire from a P-38 fighter put it out of action. Both times the crew was able to bail out without major casualties. On September 19, while fighting on the Siegfried Line, Pool’s Sherman was hit twice by a German Panther, and the second round tipped the Sherman into a ditch. The driver was killed by the Panther’s round, and Pool was thrown from the Sher-

The only thing stopping General George Patton and his tanks from driving into Germany during the fall of 1944 was the lack of gasoline reaching the frontlines.

1943 in preparation for the invasion of France.

Pool was with the 3rd Platoon of Company I, 32nd Armored Regiment of the division, and during fighting from June to September 1944, he commanded three different M4A1 Sherman tanks. His crew remained basically the same throughout the battles, but his first tank barely lasted a week. It was hit by a round from a German anti-tank Panzerfaust recoil-

man’s hatch. The injuries to Pool were so great that his leg had to be amputated, and he wasn’t able to fight for the rest of the war.

During his 80 days in battle, Pool destroyed over 350 vehicles including 12 tanks, captured 250 German soldiers, and eliminated over 1,000 more soldiers. In his first engagement with the enemy, his Sherman, nicknamed “In the Mood,” destroyed three German vehicles and took out 70 enemy

fighters. “The Texas Tanker,” as he was soon called, had an excellent crew, and together they were able to detect and destroy targets in the dark (this was decades before night vision technology was available). One on occasion, they had driven into an area that was being used to stage elements from the 2nd Panzer Division. Pool knocked out at least four enemy vehicles and two German tanks during the chaotic battle.

For his bravery in battle, Pool’s awards included the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, French Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star and the Belgium Fourragere.

General George Patton was known as one of the best tank commanders in history but even according to him, “I’m supposed to be the best tank commander in the Army, but I have one peer – Abe Abrams.

He’s the world champion.”

Creighton “Abe” Abrams was a graduate of West Point and served with the 1st Cavalry Division before transferring to the 1st Armored Division in 1940. During World War II, he was with the 4th Armored Division and held several positions including commanding the 37th Tank Battalion and Combat Command B. Patton had Abram’s battalion as a spearhead for his 3rd Army and was one of the lead-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

A Sherman tank in battle

ing elements that broke through the German lines surrounding the 101st Division at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

One of the reasons Abrams was so successful using the Sherman over his German counterparts was that he made the most of the Sherman’s advantages. The Sherman was faster and had a greater speed than the German Tigers or Panthers, which, for most commanders, wasn’t enough to offset the German’s range,

Creighton Abrams on top of his command tank

accuracy, and better armor. Tankers in Abram’s unit recalled him being up on the frontlines in the thick of the toughest battles in his tank nicknamed Thunderbolt shooting as fast as the Sherman would allow.

During the tank Battle of Arracourt in September 1944 in France, Abram’s 37th Battalion lost 14 Shermans while knocking out a whopping 55 Panther and Tiger tanks. At the breakthrough at the Bulge, a correspondent reported that with the first

33 95

A M1 Abrams tank, named after the tanker ace

elements to make contact with the surrounded 101st “Colonel Abrams rode through – a short stocky man with sharp features – already a legendary figure in this war.” In 1980, the army named its newest main battle tank the M1 Abrams after the tank hero.

It takes a fully trained and experienced crew to man a tank successfully, and then there were those who could use an inferior tank to their great advantage. Pool and Abrams

were just two of these fearless tankers from World War II. While tanks aren’t used in battle as much as they once were, these heroes bravely fought for our freedom and deserve to be remembered.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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Classifieds classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com • text 443-929-4003

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HOUSES FOR SALE

COMMERCIAL RE

APT FOR RENT

HELP WANTED

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Job Opportunity Are you looking to make a difference in the life of someone special? This job may be for you!

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* Some of these time may vary for leining days, hodu/ brachos, and Rosh Chodesh. We have always shown the earliest time.

Weekday Shacharis Minyan Times 5:45 6:00 6:00 6:00 6:00 6:05 6:05 6:10 6:10 6:15 6:15 6:20 6:20 6:25 6:25 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:30 6:35 6:50 7:00 7:00 7:00 7:00 7:00 7:00 7:00 7:00 7:00

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7:00 7:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:30 7:45 7:45 8:00 8:00 8:00 8:00 8:00 8:00 8:00 8:15 8:30 8:30 8:30 8:30 8:45 9:00 9:00 9:00 9:00 9:15 9:30

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HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

GREAT JOB OPPORTUNITY! Special Care for families and children services is seeking energetic, exciting, and creative females to work at home and in the community:

DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT A multi-tasker needed for general office work. The ideal candidate is someone who is detail-oriented, responsible, and can take ownership. Looking for someone who is eager to learn, and expand his/her skill set while possessing the ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Experience with Excel required.

Five Towns location. In-office position only, not remote.

Please send resume to 5tpart.timecareer@gmail.com

Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, Woodmere NY seeks Limudei Kodesh and General Studies substitute teachers for grades 1-8.

Send resumes to hweiselberg@halb.org

HEBREW ACADEMY OF LONG BEACH, Woodmere, NY is seeking a part time Kriah teacher 8:00 am - 12:00 pm. Will train. Resumes to bkresch@halb.org

Female staff in Woodmere Need staff to work with a 12-yearold girl with an intellectual and developmental disability, during the week afterschool hours, Sunday and shabbos during the day Woodmere: 12-year-old girl with an intellectual and developmental disability, weekdays after school, Sunday, and Shabbos day

ASSISTANT REBBEIM and TEACHERS CAHAL, the community Special Ed program in Five Towns and Far Rockaway yeshivas has immediate openings available for: AM ASSISTANT REBBES for a 4th-5th grade class and a 6th grade class PM ASSISTANT TEACHERS for a 2nd-3rd grade class and a 6th grade class We have small classes and flexible hours.

Email resume to shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666.

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS CAHAL is seeking a secular studies MATERNITY SUBSTITUTE for February for a small boys 6th grade class and a PERMANENT AFTERNOON SUBSTITUTE. Email resume to shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666.

Queens: Sunday afternoons and/or weekday evenings for a high-functioning adult male 718-252-3365 ext:102 or renay@ specialcarefor.com Queens: Male Sunday afternoons and/or weekday evenings for man with disability Flushing 718-252-3365 ext:102 or renay@ specialcarefor.com

Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island has an immediate opening for a warm and caring full-time Kindergarten assistant.

Friendly environment and competitive salary.

Please email resume to preschool@ykli.org

ASSISTANT TEACHERS CAHAL is seeking PM Assistant Teachers for young classes in 5-Towns and Far Rockaway.

E-mail resume to Shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666.

Pessy Lefkowitz: 718-252-3365 Ext 113, Pessyl@specialcarefor.com

SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS CAHAL is seeking afternoon maternity leave substitute secular studies teacher for a small 6th grade boys class and PM secular studies permanent substitute.

E-mail resume to Shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666.

General administrative support needed for busy Five Towns office.

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Flexible hours.

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100

JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

BUSINESS MANAGER P/T (mostly) Remote Legacy 613, a dynamic Jewish outreach organization based in the NYC metro area, seeks a Business Manager.

The successful candidate will be responsible to oversee the budget.

We are looking for a dynamic selfstarter with excellent people and organizational skills.

Experience in not-for-profit Jewish organizations is a plus.

Excellent part-time opportunity with competitive hourly compensation.

Candidate will work with the director in developing budget and fundraising initiatives and generating reports to present to our Board of Directors.

Send resumes to info@legacy613.org

Job Opportunity Are you looking to make a difference in the life of someone special? This job may be for you!

Seeking: a female worker for a high functioning 6 year old female in Far Rockaway, twice a week from 2:30-5:00pm . Hours are flexible. Great pay!

Please call: 718-854-2747 Ext 1110.

Refer to job ID 6666

NEW YESHIVA IN QUEENS

Nursing Home Management Company in Brooklyn Looking to fill the following positions: Administrative Assistant MS office suite proficiency required Administrative Assistant experience required WE ARE LOOKING FOR AN EXPERIENCED FULL TIME BOOKKEEPER Excellent growth potential Frum environment Excellent salary & benefits Email resume to: resumetfs1@gmail.com Please put position title and FTJH in subject line

CERTIFIED MALE CAREGIVER FOR OVER 25 YEARS Expert full time care. Experienced with many conditions. Upscale references available. Will travel.

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TAILOR WANTED KGH dry-cleaners is seeking a tailor for p/t or f/t work.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday preferred, other days available.

Call or text 917-435-9753 SPEECH THERAPIST CAHAL is seeking a Speech/ Language Therapist for Special Ed classes in 5-Towns /Far Rock yeshivas. E-mail resume to Shira@ cahal.org or call 516-295-3666.

SHULAMITH EARLY CHILDHOOD is looking to hire a full time teacher assistant for the current school year.

Please email resume to earlychildhood@shulamith.org

SEEKING SECRETARY Must be detail-oriented, have great organizational skills, able to multi-task.

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Send resume to: office@yeshivatbneitorah.org or call/text: 347-351-4573 5 TOWNS BOYS YESHIVA SEEKING ELEM GEN ED TEACHERS Excellent working environment and pay. Only lic/exp need apply.

Email resume to yeshivalooking@gmail.com MDS REGIONAL NURSE: 5 Towns area Nursing Home

Special Care seeks patient Male or female com/hab worker 5:30-7:30 P.M. for 7-year-old boy with autism in Bayswater, full or partial coverage.

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management office seeking a Regional/Corporate level MDS Nurse to work in our office.

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MISC Gemach Zichron Yehuda In memory of R’ Yehuda Aryeh Leib ben R’ Yisroel Dov We have a library of books on the subjects of loss, aveilus, grief, & kaddish. We have sets of ArtScroll Mishnayos to assist with finishing Shisha Sidrei Mishna for Shloshim or yahrtzeit.

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

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101

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Your

Money

Offensive Tax Interference

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

A

fter eighteen long and grueling weeks, the NFL is finally into the playoffs. The Cincinnati Bengals proved they could finally win a playoff game after 31 years. The Buffalo Bills proved that the Patriots without Tom Brady are just another football team. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved that any team is a contender with the GOAT at quarterback, even if said GOAT is reaching an age where other men start contemplating Crestor prescriptions and AARP discounts.

Gamblers across the country look forward to this time of year with the same excitement as a dog with his head out a car window. They’ll dig through all sorts of statistics to squeeze out an edge: “team defensive yards per pass attempt allowed,” “average defensive starting field position,” and “penalty yards per penalty.” But would you believe “home state tax rate” can help predict winners and losers? Let’s go to the tape!

NFL teams play in 22 states, with tax rates ranging from zero in several states all the way up to 13.3% in California. Player salaries start at a $435,000 minimum, with an $860,000 average and a $45 million top end for Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes. Those state and local taxes are enough to intercept a real chunk

of any player’s salary. For example, when Tom Brady signed his $50 million contract with the Bucs, playing in zero-tax Florida saved him an immediate $2.5 million that he would have turned over to his previous home state of “Taxachusetts.”

found an R-squared value of 0.0385, whatever that means.)

FiveThirtyEight offers one reason why home-state tax rates may not have much effect. Specifically, most states (and cities with earnings taxes) impose “jock taxes” on visiting

When Tom Brady signed his $50 million contract with the Bucs, playing in zerotax Florida saved him an immediate $2.5 million that he would have turned over to his previous home state of “Taxachusetts.”

So, do those taxes really make a difference? In 2011, the Journal of Sports Economics published an article finding that NBA free agents performed better after moving to lower-tax teams than higher-tax teams. But a more recent study by the data aggregators at FiveThirtyEight.com found no correlation between average top income-tax rates and pro sports championships. (The regression test

players, which means they pay the same as if they were playing for the home team. Even a Miami Dolphin or Jacksonville Jaguar can pay tax on up to half of their games. The same rule applies to out-of-state training camps as well. And they don’t just apply to players! Coaches, trainers, and even broadcasters face the same challenge, except with lower salaries to pay for high-priced help.

Negotiating the jock tax rules

can be like trying to return a punt through a crowded backfield. Imagine living in tax-free Florida, playing for the high-tax Buffalo Bills, and visiting to play the average-tax Patriots. That was just “the day after the holidays” this year for running back Frank Gore. In 2018, Sports Illustrated reported: “One All-Pro’s 2016 filing was 400 pages long. He spoke with his tax accountant on a neardaily basis, calling before scheduling a bye-week vacation to income taxfree Florida that saved him $20,000.

And this is a guy who has played on the same team his entire career.”

The good news here is that, come game time this weekend, you’ll be able to focus on the stats that matter.

It’ll be much more fun to watch the 10-7 Bengals take on the 12-5 Titans than it would be to watch the 13.3% 49ers take on the 7.65% Packers.

And if you win enough on the game to make a difference on your taxes, we can help with that, too!

Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 years in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at allanjrcpa@aol.com.

102

JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

43

Life C ach

Here’s a Tip

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

W

hat does the word tip really stand for these days? It used to stand for “to insure promptness.” It was probably given before the fact because it certainly couldn’t insure promptness after you already got your service!

At one point, it was given after the job got done. Well, there went that meaning!

So it came to be an opportunity to decide if you wanted to add an extra gesture of appreciation to your waiter or waitress or service provider for services rendered. It hopefully incentivized the service provider to do a better job so that you and they both benefited. They got more money, and you got more service.

Not a horrible idea. Although it did come to be expected. So is it really your choice?!

And truthfully, you gave it after they rendered the service, so how smart was that? Could you actually be encouraging good service if they didn’t get paid till after? That was kind of backward!

But still, they did seem to try, I guess hoping you’d tip more generously or not withhold it, as some did!

And at least it was voluntary on your part. If the person did a really bad job you could not give it, if you so desired.

There was even a benefit to tipping after the meal. They couldn’t put any unidentified objects in your food if they didn’t like the tip.

The truth is, the effect of tipping

might not have always been about the one-time relationship. It was a cumulative concert. If someone got a bad tip often enough, hopefully they’d figure out that they had to up their game.

But tipping isn’t that way anymore!

Now it’s more like, Tip: Tricking Innocent Payers!

It certainly is not a way anymore for you to affect the service you get because it’s included!

Wait, but that’s not even the TRICKING part. A lot of the time the

in a mere employee on any information? You’re no longer in a position to affect your outcome. You’re not giving the server something extra in their hand or on the table. It’s all going on your bill, which goes straight to the establishment.

The whole thing seems kind of lopsided.

I think we should come up with some new ideas of how to handle the tip.

Tip: Tell If Pre-charged.

If one is committed to precharging a tip, at least tell the cus-

It’s not a predetermined menu, so why is it a predetermined tip?!

restaurant doesn’t even tell you that the tip’s been included and then they go and add an additional line on your bill for the tip. So you think, “Oh, I guess, it’s not included…”

With that you are getting insult added to injury. You’re overpaying, and the worker might not even be getting it. Because if the establishment doesn’t bother telling you that you paid a tip already, and they actually want you to patronize their establishment, why would they bother cluing

tomer. It’s the decent thing to do. He’s relinquished his evening to you. He’s not standing over you while you’re prepping. He’s not standing over you while you’re cooking. So why does he need to stand over you while you’re billing?! Let him know he has no influence over his experience right from the start. He gets what he gets, and he shouldn’t get upset!

Tip: Take It Please.

Allow your patron to decide. If the customer wants to hand the money

directly, let him. Maybe, even provide a redit card machine for the help staff to use. Let it be at the customer’s own price point with his own control.

Give your customer back his independence. It’s not a predetermined menu, so why is it a predetermined tip?!

Or, go wild with this one….

Tip: Thanks, It’s Pleasant.

Allow your customer to Keep their extra money. Customers instead use their words to show appreciation.

And you know what, customers? Be a sport! Spread it all around, compliment, compliment, compliment. Be so generous that there’s plenty to even get back to the establishment.

OK and you can still TIP extra – Throw In Pay for the staff to know they did a good job.

The idea is for us to get back to where a tip is about the service and not just another add-on burden. So TIP can mean Ten Is Perfect – let’s see if we can encourage people to be their best and do their best.

And then hopefully the customer will give their best TIP.

Rivki Rosenwald is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist working with both couples and individuals and is a certified relationship counselor. Rivki is a co-founder and creator of an effective Parent Management of Adolescent Years Program.

She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or at rivkirosenwald@gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 27, 2022

103

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JANUARY 27, 2022 | The Jewish Home

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