Five Towns Jewish Home - 6-10-21 by The Jewish Home

June 10, 2021

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Community Sulitz, an Iconic Center of Growth, Warmth, and Tefillah

62 Strong Support at Madraigos Annual Breakfast

62 Community Comes Out for Rabenstein Learning Center

Remembering Rabbi Kelemer’s Life of Chessed

58 PAGE 9

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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Dear Readers,

une tends to be a busy month. Suddenly, the days are longer, and the kids are itching to enjoy the outdoors after a long day at school. There are graduations and end-of-the-year celebrations. Weddings and sheva brachos and bar mitzvahs dot the calendar. And camp looms in the not-so-distant future, and with it, all that packing and shopping that must get done. But when I look at my bulging to-do list, I think back to last year. Remember how weddings were limited to just close family and a friend or two? Remember when bar mitzvahs were drive-by events and when graduations were outside – if at all? We are grateful to be at this point and to be filling our days – and our nights – with simchos and celebrations. June is a month that straddles two seasons. There’s the school season, filled with finals and end-of-the-year assignments and report cards. Teachers work in a whirlwind, getting in last-minute lessons and cramming in tests while staying up late filling in report cards. The last day of school is perhaps the most climactic, anti-climactic day. It’s the day that kids look forward to practically all year. They chant, “No more teachers, no more books” for weeks before school ends. And then, when the last day of school

comes along, there’s a sadness, sort of a letdown. It’s hard to part ways with teachers and rebbeim with whom they’ve forged cherished and strong relationships for the past ten months. Day after day, week after week, they looked up to their teachers and rebbeim standing at the front of the classroom, drank in their guidance and encouragement, and imbibed their lessons. And suddenly, it’s time to say goodbye. But with that goodbye – or perhaps, an until-we-meet-again – from school and teachers comes a hello to summer and camp season. Nothing can compare to the breath of fresh air – literally and figuratively – that children enjoy over the next two months. There’s a break from the pressures of school and studying and sitting in a desk for hours on end. There’s a chance to showcase other talents, an opportunity to shine in other areas. And there’s a way to get to make other friends and connect with mentors while not in a classroom. We are grateful that Hashem has given us an about-face from last year and that we can look back to a year ago and now breathe a sigh of relief. May this summer bring with it continued simchos to keep our days and nights busy with celebrations. Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

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Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY 8

Readers’ Poll Community Happenings

40 NEWS

Global

National

That’s Odd

ISRAEL Israel News

World Builders

Too Much Change in the “Change Coalition”?

JEWISH THOUGHT Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

Turning Toward the Source of Light by Rav Moshe Weinberger

The Downfall of Korach by Shmuel Reichman

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

PEOPLE TJH Speaks with Terri Liftin, Candidate for NYC Comptroller Israeli Ace Pilots by Avi Heiligman

86 112

HEALTH & FITNESS Little “T” Trauma by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

Another Reason to Cut Out Sugar by Cindy Weinberger, MS RD

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Goat Cheese and Pear Salad

102

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

Your Money

Dear Editor, Since the inception of Success Space for Women, a project of the JCCRP, I have interviewed approximately 70 divorced women. They represent a drop in the bucket of what’s out there, but they tell a very interesting story. These women are majority, single moms and entirely, the heads of their households. The women describe an utter lack of support within the community. I hear “If I had cancer, people would cook meals for me, check in regularly and help with my kids.” Or “If I was a widow, there would be so much sympathy for me and for my children and not the scorn and judgment we contend with daily.” It’s time to stop placing the Scarlett Letter of shame on every divorced woman and on children of divorced parents. It seems that the thought of becoming a single mom in our community is so overwhelmingly unbearable, we actually encourage the women to stay in abusive marriages. After all, at least then they know where the next punch is coming from. Esther Miller Project Coordinator Success Space for Women Dear Editor, I was very surprised to see that no mention was made in the news section about the Tulsa, Oklahoma

Black Wall Street massacre that was kept under wraps for 100 years. I would think it’s a piece of news that’s more important than chocolate cicadas. A reader Dear Editor, Karaite ideology can be traced back to Korach. Korach was a man who relied upon his own reasoning to defy Moshe: the symbol of the Oral Law. Korach’s logic might have had merit, but he failed in one key area: comporting with the mesorah. Korach claims a cloth of all blue should be exempt from tzitzit. In bold fashion, he confronts Moshe with a mitzvah that’s just been commanded and presents a logical argument to discount its true meaning. Korach set the stage for the Karaite movement that created their own standard for interpreting G-d’s Torah. They took the Written Law at face value and ignored the Oral Law: the mesorah. The Karaites “took” (vayikach) the Torah, as Torah is referred to as a kicha – “a taking” in evaluating the “korach” – bald spot, not requiring peyot and they “took” the Torah in terms of not having to wear tefillin on the arm and head, based on logical considerations. Though the greatest gift we have been given is to deduct sevara’s and postulate chiddushim from the body of Torah to reach deep understandContinued on page 10

118

I’m Wearing Mine by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS 119

HUMOR Centerfold 70 POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

104

Democrats Want to Dictate Sweeping Election Changes in All 50 States 108 by George F. Will The Antidote to Today’s Political Dogma May Be Boredom by George F. Will

109

Democrats Need Manchin More Than He Needs Them by Marc A. Thiessen

110

CLASSIFIEDS

114

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ings, this analysis can never infringe on Torat Moshe that demands a symbiotic relationship between the Written and Oral law. Steven Genack Dear Editor, I have to disagree with the letter writer this week who heaped praises upon the wealthy in Klal Yisroel. Perhaps he’s talking about a wealthy individual whom he knows. But not all wealthy people are the same. For instance, I know many people with loaded bank accounts who don’t pay attention to their families. Having money allows them to hire ample amount of help to do for their families while they spend time on their businesses and other activities. He writes, “They beautify all mitzovs in concordance with ze keli v’anveihu. Expenses are overlooked when it comes to beautifying all mitzvos as money, to them, is a mere vehicle to serve G-d on the highest level.” It sounds like he drank some Kool-Aid before he wrote this letter. Just because they have more money than others does not mean that what they spend on beautiful menorahs, sukkahs, tzedakah, matzah, etc. is worth more than the other person’s. On the contrary! When a wealthy individual spends loads of money on certain mitzvos, they need to be careful that they’re doing it l’shma (very hard to do) or just doing it because they have the funds to cover it. If someone with limited funds spends a lot on their matzah for Pesach, their selflessness is to praised, for sure. Not everyone is “well-versed in Torah,” as he writes. Being wellversed in Torah has nothing to do with someone’s bank account. It requires time, effort, dedication, and a

drive to learn more. Additionally, the letter writer says that wealthy people are “incredibly reliable in that they return phone calls and emails immediately” and immediately help others in distress. Halevai that that should be true! He writes that “their humility is unprecedented.” Again, there are people who are humble and there are people who are not humble. I don’t think that all wealthy individuals are humble. If they are, all the praise to them when people are fawning over their bank accounts. That brings me to another point he wrote: about being beloved by their community. If they give generously and with humility and are constantly there for others, then yes, their community loves them. But if they hold onto their wealth and are stingy and thirsty for honor, then, no, the “love” their community has for them is just for their money. Lastly, he writes that their businesses are viewed as a “tool” to help community institutions running. My bracha is that all of Klal Yisroel should be so altruistic when it comes to wealth. In conclusion, I think that the letter needed clarification before printing. It needed to be written to ensure that readers understand that these points were made about specific individuals and not about a group as a whole. Additionally, I would love to see a letter written about “non-wealthy” individuals in Klal Yisroel and how they use their time, devotion, resources, and talents to help their nation. Clearly, there are many wonderful people in Klal Yisroel – regardless of their bank accounts. Sincerely, Menashe Goldring

Views expressed on the Letters to the Editor page do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jewish Home. Please send all correspondence to: editor@fivetownsjewishhome.com. 347.572.8973 Instagram: miriamjacobovitsphotography

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The Week In News

Cost of Food Reaches Highest Level in a Decade

Food prices around the world have risen at their fastest rate in over a decade, the United Nations (UN) reported. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) follows prices around the globe on a wide range of food, including oilseeds, dairy products, meat, sugar, and cereals, and found that prices jumped 39.7% in May – the largest month-on-month rise since October 2010.

The rates are based on a broad index of local food costs, which have risen for 12 months consecutively, BBC reported. The rising costs are affected both by disruptions to production, labor, and transport, leading to concerns regarding inflation and how higher grocery bills may impact consumers, many of whom are still smarting from the pandemic. BBC noted that all five components of the UN index rose, following the increased costs of grain, sugar, and vegetable oils due to renewed demand and a production backlog. At the same time, according to the FAO, a record global increase in cereal production is expected this year, and this may somewhat ease the upwards trend.

Operation Trojan Shield A massive international sting involving 16 countries, including the U.S., has netted more than 800 suspects, the seizure of 8 tons of cocaine and more than $48 million, officials announced on Tuesday. The FBI and Australian law en-

forcement developed and operated an encrypted device company, called ANOM, that was then used to gain access to organized crime networks in more than 100 countries, according to Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union.

“Operation Trojan Shield is a shining example of what can be accomplished when law enforcement partners from around the world work together and develop state-of-the-art investigative tools to detect, disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations,” said Calvin Shivers, the assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, in a press conference in The Hague, Netherlands. ANOM’s users believed the devices to be secure. Access to the communications of those involved in criminal networks meant that law enforcement

agencies were able to read encrypted messages over the course of 18 months. The criminals communicated in 45 languages about trafficking and drugs, arms and explosives, armed robberies, contract killings and more. The Australian Federal Police began developing the technology nearly three years ago. In addition to the arrests and seizures of drugs, weapons and money, the operation was able to mitigate over 100 threats to life. The access to criminals’ networks also enabled law enforcement agencies to see photographs of hundreds of tons of cocaine concealed in shipments of fruit and canned goods. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this week that the operation “struck a heavy blow against organized crime – not just in this country, but one that will echo around organized crime around the world.”

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Nathaniel Veltman, 20, rammed into five members of a Muslim family on Sunday in London, Ontario, after he drove over the curb. Veltman has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. The four people who died were Syed Afzaal, 46; his wife, Madiha Salman, 44; the couple’s 15-yearold daughter, Yumnah Afzaal; and Afzaal’s grandmother. Syed Afzaal and Salman’s 9-year-old son, Faez Afzaal, is currently hospitalized with serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries. “Everyone who knew Salman and the rest of the Afzaal family know the model family they were as Muslims, Canadians and Pakistanis,” a statement from the victims’ extended family read. “They worked extremely hard in their fields and excelled. Their children were top students in their school and connected strongly with spiritual their identity. “This young man who committed this act of terror was influenced by a group that he associated with, and the rest of the community must take a strong stand against this, from the highest levels in our government to every member of the community,” they added. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called the attack an “act of terrorism” and an indication of “growing Islamophobia in the West.” “I am deeply saddened by the murder of a Pakistani-Canadian Muslim family in the London area of Ontario,” he tweeted. “This reprehensible act of terrorism is a sign of the growing Islamophobia in the West, which needs to be addressed by the international community as a whole,” Khan wrote.

Graft Accusations in S. Africa This week, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa placed the

country’s health minister on “special leave” over alleged links to a corruption scandal involving coronavirus communications funding. Zweli Mkhize, hailed for his handling of the pandemic, took a hit last month after graft investigators opened a probe into two of his close aides.

The pair – Mkhize’s former spokeswoman and his ex-personal assistant – are accused of pocketing public funds set aside to fund South Africa’s coronavirus response plan. Around 90 million rand ($6.6 million) were allegedly siphoned off using a front company, Digital Vibes, which was awarded a 150 million rand tender in March 2020 to handle the health ministry’s communications campaign. Revelations about alleged mishandling of coronavirus funds surfaced last year and have since led investigators to believe that billions of rands have fallen into the hands of politically connected companies, sparking public outrage. The SIU last week said that 63 government officials had so far been handed over for prosecution, while 87 companies will be blacklisted. Mkhize has previously denied any involvement with Digital Vibes, claiming he had no knowledge of the company or the tender process. He wrote to the ruling African National Congress party last week to request a meeting of its integrity committee to state his case. Mkhize has been health minister since 2018 and spearheaded South Africa’s campaign against Covid-19. He gained popularity through his handling of the pandemic and is touted as one of the potential successors to Ramaphosa.

Russia: Opposition Leader Leaves Russian opposition politician Dmitry Gudkov said on Sunday he had left Russia following warnings of

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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arrest if he stayed. According to a report by Reuters, the warnings came from people close to the Kremlin.

rests such as Gudkov’s are not connected to politics.

China to Vaccinate 3-Year-Olds

Gudkov, 41, is a former member of Russia’s Parliament. He was detained by law officials last Tuesday over allegations that he failed to pay a debt on a rented property. Gudkov, who has denied the allegations, was released on Thursday but remains a suspect in a criminal case. According to him, the purpose of the investigation was to bar him from September’s election. On his Telegram account, Gudkov wrote, “I’m approaching Kyiv where I have long-planned meetings and TV appearances. Several sources close to the presidential administration circle said that if I do not leave the country, my fake criminal case would be taken further to the point of my arrest.” The Kremlin has stated that ar-

China has approved the emergency use of a Covid-19 vaccine for those as young as three, making it the first country to offer jabs to young children. Since the coronavirus first emerged in central China, Beijing has mostly managed to bring the country’s outbreak under control, and has administered over 777 million vaccine doses. A spokesperson for Sinovac told AFP its vaccine had been approved for use on children. “In recent days, the Sinovac vaccine was approved for emergency use in three- to 17-year-olds,” the spokes-

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person said. Despite the approval, the spokesperson did not confirm when the young children would be able to start receiving the shots. The schedule for the rollout will be decided by the National Health Commission “according to China’s current epidemic prevention and control needs and vaccine supply.” The company has completed early phase trials of the vaccine in children and adolescents, with results to be published shortly in the Lancet scientific journal. Chinese officials have said they are aiming to inoculate 70 percent of the population of 1.41 billion by the end of this year. The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved both the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines for emergency use in adults aged 18 and older. Both vaccines are being administered in several countries around the world. While the WHO does not currently recommend vaccinating children against coronavirus, the United States, Britain, Singapore and the European Union have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those as young as 12. China reported 33 new Covid-19

cases Tuesday, including 19 in southern Guangdong province where authorities have been battling a local outbreak.

Turkey Deals with Sea Snot

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to save his country’s seas from their largest-ever outbreak of “sea snot,” Business Insider reported. “Sea snot,” or marine mucilage, is slimy green or gray sludge which can endanger the fishing industry and marine life. First discovered in 2007, it forms when algae are overloaded with nutrients due to changes in temperature and water pollution. According to BBC News and Sky News, the current outbreak is believed to be the largest in history. “We will save our seas from this

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mucilage calamity, leading with the Marmara Sea. We must take this step without delay,” Erdogan asserted. Speaking to BBC, Professor Bayram Ozturk of the Turkish Marine Research Foundation warned, “Due to the overgrowth of the mucilage, several species are under threat [including] oysters, mussels, sea stars. “It’s a real catastrophe.” The Turkish government has reportedly sent a team to inspect the potential sources of pollution in the sea.

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Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau killed himself during a fight against rival jihadists from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), AFP reported, based on an audio obtained from the group on Sunday. Boko Haram has not issued an official comment on the death, but the Nigerian army said it is investigating the claim. In the audio, a voice resembling that of ISWAP leader Abu Musab Al-Barnawi can be heard speaking in Kanuri, saying, “Shekau preferred to be humiliated in the hereafter to getting humiliated on Earth. He killed himself instantly by detonating an explosive.” In the audio, ISWAP described how fighters were sent to Boko Haram’s Sambisa enclave, where they found Shekau sitting at home. “From there, he retreated and escaped, ran and roamed the bushes for five days. However, the fighters kept searching and hunting for him before they were able to locate him,” the voice said. ISWAP fighters urged Shekau to repent, but he refused and killed himself. “We are so happy,” the voice said, calling Shekau “the big troublemaker, persecutor and destructive leader of the nation. “This was someone who committed unimaginable terrorism and atrocities. For how long has he been

David Dushman, the last surviving Soviet soldier to take part in the liberation of Auschwitz, died on Saturday at 98 at a Munich hospital, the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria said. Charlotte Knobloch, a former head of Germany’s Central Council of Jews, said, “Every witness to history who passes on is a loss, but saying farewell to David Dushman is particularly painful. Dushman was right on the front lines when the National Socialists’ machinery of murder was destroyed.” As a young soldier in the Red Army, Dushman flattened the electric fence around Auschwitz with his T-34 tank on January 27, 1945. Earlier in the war, he took part in some of the bloodiest battles of World War II, including those at Stalingrad and Kursk. Thrice during the war, Dushman suffered serious wounds. He was one of only 69 soldiers in his division of 12,000 to survive the war. After the war’s end, Dushman helped train the Soviet Union’s women’s national fencing team for forty years and was witness to the terror attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, in which 11 Israelis were slaughtered. Dushman also visited schools to share his story, telling students about the horrors of the Holocaust. Dushman lost his wife, Zoja, several years prior to his own death.

Welcome Lilibet Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave birth to her second child, a daughter,

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

last week, Meghan and her husband Harry announced on Sunday. The couple’s first child, Archie Harrison, is two years old.

In a statement, the couple wrote: “It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world. “Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. “Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home,” the statement added, noting that Lilibet weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces at her birth. “Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”

ing a suppression order; the information published was banned from publication in Australia until February 2019. According to AP, the companies pleaded guilty to 21 charges as part of a February plea deal in Victoria’s Supreme Court. However, Justice John Dixon on Friday said that the guilty pleas did not show remorse, though they were enough to prevent convictions of the individuals facing potential prison sentences. No foreign news outlets have been charged with breaching the suppression order. Pell was a top financial adviser to Pope Francis and was regarded as the Vatican’s third most senior cleric when he was convicted of abuse. However, his five convictions have since been overturned, and he returned to the Vatican following 13 months in prison. Though none of Australia’s media outlets published a direct report on the convictions, some directed their audiences to international reports, and at least one said it could not publish more details.

CandiDate Candid Conversations about Dating and Relationships

PRESENTING OUR FIRST TEN PODCAST EPISODES Becoming Masters, Not Disasters Rabbi Dr. Ari Sytner Bashert: My One and Only? Rabbi Dovid Bashevkin The Great “Friend or Matchmaker” Debate Mrs. Mindy Eisenman & Mrs. Malky Galler What ARE You Thinking? Be a Mindful Dater Rabbi Reuven Boshnack, LMHC Too Much Information? Genetic Testing for Daters Estie Rose of JScreen How to Have a Conversation Mr. Charlie Harary

Many “Firsts” in Australia Fines New Coalition 12 Companies for Gag Order

Dating Anxiety: From Stress to Success Prof. Naomi Nechama Klapper Are You Ready? Dr. Avi Muschel An Inside View of Matchmaking Lisa Elefant of Adopt a Shadchan and Efrat Sobolofsky of YUConnects

A Melbourne, Australia, judge on Friday ordered 12 Australian media companies to pay fines ranging from $766 USD to $345,000 USD for violating a gag order. The companies were also ordered to pay prosecutors’ legal costs, amounting to $498,000 USD. The companies had published references to Cardinal George Pell’s since-overturned convictions for child abuse, AP noted. In the ruling, the companies, reporters, and editors were initially charged with contempt and breach-

Israel’s proposed coalition, headed by Yesh Atid chief MK Yair Lapid and Yamina chief MK Naftali Bennett, will mark the first time Israel has a religious prime minister. It will also be the first time the prime minister stands at the head of a party with just a single-digit number of seats, and the first time the sitting prime minister is not the one who was tapped to form a government. Bennett, at 49 years old, will be Israel’s second-youngest prime minister: only Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was younger when he assumed the role in 1996. The Times of Israel noted that a record of eight women are likely to

Breakups Rachel Hercman, LCSW Thank You to Our Hosts Rabbi Shmuel Ismach & Rabbi Larry Rothwachs

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become ministers in the proposed government, and there will be eight Arab MKs in the coalition, which is also the first in which an Arab party has played an influential role in the formation of the government. At least one-third of the government’s members are of non-Ashkenazic origin, analysts noted. A record eight parties will be in the coalition, and four of them – Labor, New Hope, Meretz, and Yesh Atid – are led by former journalists. What’s not predicted is how long this coalition will last.

Bennett to PM: “Don’t Leave Scorched Earth”

Yamina Chairman MK Naftali Bennett, who will serve as prime minister if the new government is sworn

in, called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening to “let go” of the country and not leave “scorched earth” behind him. In his speech, Bennett said that the new government “is not a catastrophe, it’s not a disaster – it’s a change of government.” He added that “Israel is not a monarchy. No one has a monopoly on power” and claimed he had heard Netanyahu encouraging incitement against him. Turning to Netanyahu, Bennett said, “Let go. Let the country move forward. People are allowed to vote for a government even if you do not lead it – a government which, by the way, is 10 degrees to the right of the current one. “Don’t leave scorched earth in your wake. We want to remember the good, the great deal of good you did during your service [as prime minister], and not, G-d forbid, the negative atmosphere you would leave upon your departure.” At the same time, Bennett pressed Knesset Speaker MK Yariv Levin (Likud) to hold the vote on the incoming government on Wednesday this week, instead of delaying it until next week. For his part, Netanyahu told

Channel 20 that Bennett is a “habitual liar” and accused him of holding a “liquidation sale of the country.”

Hamas Releases Gilad Shalit Video

Al Jazeera on Sunday evening published new footage from former IDF soldier Gilad Shalit’s time in Hamas captivity, as well as an audio of a person claimed to be held by Hamas. The footage of Shalit shows him working out, tying his shoelaces, playing with a ball, and getting a shave. In the new audio recording, an unidentified individual identifies himself as “an Israeli soldier” and “wonders if, and hopes that the State

of Israel still exists.” The voice adds that he dies “every day anew” and begs listeners to “please help.” Israel’s government coordinator for prisoners and missing persons Yaron Blum said the audio recording is a “cheap manipulation by Hamas.” The former coordinator, Lior Lotan, confirmed that the working assumption is that Avera Mengistu, the mentally ill Ethiopian held captive by Hamas, is still alive. However, when asked if the voice is Mengistu’s, Lotan told Kan Reshet Bet, “I am not authorized to determine this. I have my opinion but it is very important in these things to rely only on the system.” Meanwhile, Mengistu’s mother, Agarnesh Mengistu, told Kan News, “I can say unequivocally that it’s not my son; that’s not his voice. I’m waiting for my son, and I hope to see him soon as I have been promised.” Shaaban al-Sayed, the father of the mentally ill Bedouin Israeli who is being held by Hamas, told Kan News: “We will not busy ourselves with speculations. This is not our son. “They said on their program that they are protecting the captives and that already makes us feel better. The recordings are just psychological stressors.”

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Police Arrest Sheikh Jarrah Activists

Israeli police on Sunday arrested Muna al-Kurd and Mohammad al-Kurd, 23-year-old twin activists from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah for “participation in disturbing the peace and in riots,” the Jerusalem Post reported. The two were released Sunday night after having been taken into custody. In the past several weeks, the alKurd twins have gained popularity by posting videos on social media platforms and giving dozens of interviews to media outlets and international organizations. Muna al-Kurd boasts 1.2 million Instagram followers; both she and

her brother claim to be “journalists” and are said to be the force behind the #SaveSheikhJarrah hashtag, the Post reported. Muna was arrested one day after she filmed the detention of Al Jazeera’s Givara Budeiri, who was released several hours later. The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is built on privately-owned Jewish land. Eviction orders for the Arab tenants who had refused to pay rent for 40 years were issued earlier this year. Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah had called for the al-Kurds’ immediate release from Israeli custody.

Bus Bomber Freed

A Palestinian-Jordanian terrorist jailed in Israel after planting a bomb

on a bus that wounded 13 civilians in 2000 was released Tuesday after serving his 20-year sentence. Abdullah Abu Jaber, 46, was welcomed with flowers and shouts of joy by his family after he entered Jordan across the Sheikh Hussein Bridge. Jaber hid a bomb on a bus in Tel Aviv on December 28, 2000, detonating it remotely and wounding 13 people. He was arrested the following day. “Twenty years ago, I made a journey not for tourism, but of resistance,” Jaber said, draped in Jordanian and Palestinian keffiyeh headscarves. “I have done my duty as a Palestinian, because it is the land of Palestine and we must liberate it as quickly as possible,” he said. He called for rival Palestinian factions Fatah and the Hamas to end their long division and form a common front against Israel. “I hope that the Palestinians will be united again,” he said. Yunis Abu Sil, a member of the Palestinian National Council, the PLO’s legislative arm, said he was “very happy” and called Jaber a “hero.” Around half of Jordan’s population of 10 million is of Palestinian origin, including some 2.2 million refugees registered with the United Nations.

plan and current date, the march is not approved” and that the issue would be re-examined if a new date or plan is requested. Srugim quoted Yehuda Wald, one of the march’s organizers, as saying, “It seems the side that ended up deterred after Operation Guardian of the Walls is the State of Israel, which caved to the threats of terrorists and is not allowing a march of Israeli flags through the capital of the State of Israel.” MK Bezalel Smotrich, who chairs the Religious Zionism party, said the police decision is “an embarrassing capitulation to terror and to Hamas threats.” MK Itamar Ben Gvir of the Otzma Yehudit party said, “It is unacceptable for the Israeli government to surrender to Hamas and allow it to dictate the agenda. It is the right of every Jew to march throughout Jerusalem.”

Looking into Intelligence Officer’s Death

Jerusalem Flag March Cancelled

On Monday, Israel Police refused to approve a pre-planned parade through Jerusalem, over fears that it would anger the Arabs. The parade had originally been scheduled for May 10, but Operation Guardian of the Walls forced its delay. Initially, the parade – part of the Jerusalem Day celebrations – had been rerouted away from areas of friction, but it soon became clear that the parade would not be allowed to take place at all. On Monday, Jerusalem police denied canceling the parade, insisting in a statement that “with the current

The intelligence officer who died under mysterious circumstances in a military prison last month was accused of causing significant damage to national security and admitted to many of his crimes, according to the military, after partially removing the gag orders on the still heavily classified case. Key details are still under the gag order, including the officer’s identity and the exact nature of his alleged crimes. This decision was upheld by a military court on Monday, following a hearing on the matter, despite the fact that the serviceman’s name and photograph have been widely shared online in recent days. However, the military has permitted for publication that the officer served in a technological unit in Military Intelligence. Friends and coworkers of the officer have described him as an incredibly skilled computer programmer, a prodigy who began working in the field as a teenager.

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According to the IDF, the officer was indicted in September 2020 and had been accused of “knowingly committing a number of actions that seriously harmed national security.” “The officer cooperated in his interrogation and admitted to most of the acts he was accused of,” the military said. The IDF noted that he acted alone and committed the acts out of “personal motivations.” According to the IDF, the officer had access to a senior military defense attorney who had full access to information regarding the charges against him. He had not been convicted at the time of his death and was in the process of negotiating a plea deal, before the beginning of the evidentiary portion of his trial. The officer was found in serious condition in his cell – which was under round-the-clock security camera surveillance – on the night between May 16 and 17 and was pronounced dead in a nearby hospital a short time later. Following the soldier’s death, two internal investigations were launched into the matter within the IDF Manpower Directorate, one of them looking at the specific case of the soldier and another looking more generally at the military’s prison system, specifically “prisoners with special characteristics,” the IDF said. The serviceman was buried in a civilian cemetery plot and will not be recognized as a fallen soldier. The IDF said this was the case as the soldier had been formally discharged from the army while in prison and was therefore not eligible for a military funeral.

Drastic Shift to the Left

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If the new coalition will come to fruition, Naftali Bennett will move forward to implement a resolution creating a state-recognized egalitarian prayer section at the southern end of the Western Wall. Implementing the Western Wall

deal was put in the coalition agreement at the request of Yisrael Beytenu, whose leader, Avigdor Liberman, voted against cancelling the deal in 2017. All parties in this coalition support it. The Western Wall deal called for a large, state-recognized egalitarian section that would be created at the southern end of the Western Wall and would be accessible from the main Western Wall complex and run by a board, including “progressive” Jewish representatives and members of the Women of the Wall organization. Bennett built a plaza at the southern end of the wall in 2014 that was set to be upgraded as part of the Western Wall agreement, which was written by current Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit when he was Netanyahu’s cabinet secretary. The coalition agreement will also include the immediate formation of a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge to probe the Meron disaster, ironclad guarantees that the rotation between Bennett and Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid would be implemented, and a bill that could prevent Netanyahu from returning to power, according to Channel 12. The bill would institute a four-year cooling-off period for anyone who has served eight years as prime minister. According to the Likud, the proposed bill is draconian and belongs in regimes like Iran, Syria and North Korea. “Prime Minister Netanyahu fought against Iran, and Bennett is bringing an Iranian-style bill,” the Likud said in a statement. “Bennett is crossing every redline in his crazy pursuit of the premiership at any price.” The coalition agreement reached by Yamina and Yesh Atid gives significant powers to party leaders Bennett and Yair Lapid in running the government together, sources familiar with the negotiations revealed on Monday. Bennett will serve as prime minister and Lapid as alternate prime minister until August 2023, when they will switch positions, according to the deal, but they will make key decisions together regardless of who is in power. For instance, every bill supported by the coalition will require the approval of both the prime minister and the alternate prime minister, who will have mutual veto power. The votes of the right-wing bloc,

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Yamina and New Hope, will have the same weight as those of the other six parties in the coalition combined in the cabinet and the Ministerial Committee on Legislation. In the security cabinet, there will be 12 ministers, six each from the Right bloc and the remaining six parties, to keep the two blocs equal. The coalition agreement also calls for updating the Norwegian Law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers to resign from the Knesset to be replaced by the next candidate on their party’s list, to give the coalition parties more MKs to work for them in the Knesset. If the ministers quit their posts, they would return to the Knesset automatically. New Hope and Meretz, which have six seats each, could have three new MKs enter the Knesset. Yamina, Labor and Yisrael Beytenu, which have seven seats, and Blue and White, which has eight, could have four MKs join, and Yesh Atid, which has 17, could have five. Each party will decide on its own how and when to implement the law. But every party in the coalition is expected to implement it at least partially.

Kamala: OK I’m Not at the Border

Vice President Kamala Harris pushed back on criticism that she hasn’t visited the U.S.-Mexico border in an interview aired on Tuesday by arguing that her travel had been limited during the early days of the Biden administration. In an interview that took place in Guatemala during Harris’ first foreign trip since taking office, NBC’s Lester Holt asked Harris whether she had plans to visit the U.S. Southern border. “At some point, you know, we are going to the border,” Harris said. “We’ve been to the border. So this

whole, this whole, this whole thing about the border. We’ve been to the border. We’ve been to the border.” Holt responded, “You haven’t been to the border.” “I, and I haven’t been to Europe. And I mean, I don’t – I don’t understand the point that you’re making,” Harris said with a laugh. “I’m not discounting the importance of the border.” Harris has been tasked by President Biden to lead efforts to stem the flow of migration from Central America. Her comments come as Republican critics have tried to make Harris the face of the Biden administration’s response at the border, where a record number of unaccompanied children crossed into the U.S. this spring. “I care about this, and I care about what’s happening at the border. I’m in Guatemala because my focus is dealing with the root causes of migration,” Harris said. “There may be some who think that that is not important, but it is my firm belief that if we care about what’s happening at the border, we better care about the root causes and address them.” Harris met with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday and flew to Mexico on Tuesday to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Cicada Causes Car Crash

A man in Ohio crashed his car on Monday after a cicada flew into his car through his open window. The man was driving near Cincinnati when the insect flew in through an open window and struck the driver in the face. He was temporarily stunned and crashed into a utility pole. Thankfully, the driver was wearing a seatbelt. The airbag also helped to mitigate the harm, although the car was totaled. Cincinnati Police Department noted, “The heavy swarm in the area and dead cicada on the floorboard proved he wasn’t lying.” In a tweet, the police used a hashtag that said: “Nothing good happens with cicadas.”

As a result, Cincinnati drivers have been warned to “remember to keep [their] windows rolled up until our little red-eyed friends are gone.” Cincinnati police have noted that “cicadas have historically been attributed to car crashes when they emerge.” Cicadas are at or near their peak in Cincinnati, Ohio. Brood X cicadas appear every 17 years after living underground. Billions of cicadas are appearing in the Cincinnati area and will remain for a few weeks before dying off in late June and into July. Cicadas will also be emerging in Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Monopoly Game Leads to Most Fights

One of five people have banned a board game for causing problems on game night, Study Finds reported. In a recent survey of over 2,000 U.S. residents, 20% say game night is “often” or “always” disrupted by competitive or unfriendly behavior. Typically, this is because someone is losing (46%), accusing someone else of cheating (44%), or at least two people are arguing (44%). Among those who have banned games, the most common games that have been banned are Monopoly (44%), Uno (37%), and Sorry (27%). According to data compiled by OnePoll on behalf of Z-Man Games, just 11% of respondents have witnessed a physical fight. However, 22% of respondents banned certain games, and another 22% have had to ban a player. In addition, 13% of respondents confessed to being the problem player “every time” or “most of the time.” Among those over 57 years of age, 71% are “never” the problem player, while among those aged 41-56, just 57% are “never” the problem player.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

Among respondents aged 25-40, just 38% say they are never the problem player; and just 24% of those aged 18-24 can say they never cause the problems. Younger players are also more likely than older players to ban participants, the survey showed. The survey also showed that the coronavirus pandemic caused a 13% drop in game nights last year in comparison to previous years, partly due to the rise in remote gaming. Finally, when asked why they play games, 41% said winning is important, but just 29% said they are actively concerned with “beating everyone else”; 75% of respondents are in the game just to have fun.

Feds Recover $4.3M Ransom

The federal government has recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency paid in ransom to cybercriminals whose attack prompted the shutdown of the country’s largest fuel pipeline and gas shortages across the southeastern U.S. last month, the Department of Justice announced on Monday. On May 8, Colonial Pipeline paid a ransom worth roughly $4.3 million in bitcoin to the Russia-based hacking group known as DarkSide, which had used malicious software to hold the company hostage. Paying the ransom allowed Colonial to restore fuel transport through its pipeline, which stretches from Texas to the Northeast and delivers 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast. According to Justice Department officials, the FBI was able to track and recover 63.7 bitcoins, currently valued at about $2.3 million. The operation marks a rare ransom recovery for the critical infrastructure company that fell victim to the devastating cyberattack, as the “ransomware-as-a-service” business model booms. It marks the first recovery by the department’s new Ransomware Task Force. “Earlier today, the Department of Justice has found and recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network,” Dep-

uty Attorney General Lisa Monaco said on Monday. “Using technology to hold businesses, and even whole cities, hostage for profit is decidedly a 21st-century challenge, but the old adage ‘follow the money’ still applies.” Justice Department officials said investigators tracked the bitcoins on the cryptocurrency’s public ledger and identified the virtual currency account known as a “wallet” used by DarkSide to collect payment. The FBI obtained the wallet’s private “key,” enabling agents to seize the funds under a court order by a federal judge in the Northern District of California. “Today, the FBI successfully seized criminal proceeds from a Bitcoin wallet that DarkSide ransomware actors used to collect a cyber ransom payment from a victim,” FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said. “Since last year, we’ve been pursuing an investigation into DarkSide, a Russia based cybercrime group. The DarkSide ransomware variant is one of more than 100 ransomware variants that the FBI is currently investigating.” Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray likened the threat of ransomware to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Justice Department also issued a memo to federal prosecutors elevating ransomware probes to the same priority level as terrorism investigations. During the Colonial attack, the hackers threatened to publicly release company data, prompting the company to shut down operations. The stoppage led to fuel shortages in more than a dozen states, sending gas prices soaring and threatening to halt airline travel. Last month, the Biden administration said pipeline companies must report cyber incidents to federal authorities. The directive required pipeline owners and operators to designate “a 24/7, always available cybersecurity coordinator” to coordinate with both the Transportation Security Administration and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in the event of a cyber incident, but fell short of addressing other critical infrastructure sectors.

Jewish Athlete Forced to Eat Pork A high school in Canton, Ohio, has fired seven football coaches af-

ter a Jewish athlete was forced to eat pepperoni pizza as punishment for missing a team weight-lifting session, Newsweek reported.

According to Edward Gilbert, the student’s father and attorney, the Jewish student was forced to sit in the middle of the gym and eat an entire pepperoni pizza in front of the rest of the team. If he refused, he was told that his standing on the team would be in jeopardy and his teammates would be forced to run extra drills. Gilbert added that the football program was aware of the laws of kosher and that the student observed them. In a press release, the Canton City School Board announced: “In a 5-0 vote, the board determined that Head Football Coach Marcus Wattley, along with six assistant coaches, Cade Brodie, Joshua Grimsley, Romero Harris, Frank McLeod, Zachary Sweat,

and Tyler Thatcher, will no longer be coaches at Canton McKinley High School or anywhere else in the district. No contracts will be renewed.” In a statement, Board President John Rinaldi said, “The Canton City School District holds our coaching and general staff to the highest professional and ethical standards. Anything short of these standards is unacceptable and will not be permitted.” On Tuesday, Gilbert told ABC News 5, “This is a First Amendment issue, and yes, there will most likely be a lawsuit. The coach was inappropriate in the way he handled this. It was a stupid act.”

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dustry, and the indigenous people who live there has been contested for more than a decade. Although many of Alaska’s elected officials have supported mining there, an unusual coalition of environmentalists, Republicans, commercial fishermen, and Alaska Natives helped persuade the Trump administration to block an open-mine gold and copper project last year. For those with ties to the small

village of Pedro Bay on the shore of Lake Iliamna, the state’s largest lake and a natural nursery for Bristol Bay’s spawning salmon, the threat that some future version of a mine could damage this precious salmon habitat remains a chilling possibility. “The salmon sustained us for how many thousands of years,” said Sarah Thiele, vice chair of the Pedro Bay Corp.’s Board of Directors. “So you really have to be very conscious that

education and cultural programs for those in the village. The deal will make it difficult for backers of a massive open-pit gold and copper mine to carry out their project because the new protections cover a portion of a critical route the Pebble Limited Partnership plans to use to transport ore from the mine. Pedro Bay residents would retain ownership of their land and be allowed to access it for subsistence hunting and fishing as well as cultural practices and some forms of economic development, such as tourism, said Larry Selzer, president and chief executive of the Conservation Fund. For the Conservation Fund, the “primary objective” of the agreement is to protect the critical salmon habitat, but a secondary benefit is “to eliminate the threat of the potential construction of an industrial transportation route as part of the proposed Pebble Mine project.”

you don’t disturb their habitat.” Late last month, nearly 90 percent of the corporation’s shareholders voted to let the Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit organization, buy conservation easements on more than 44,000 acres and make the land off limits to future development — including the mining road. In exchange for the surface rights, the corporation would receive nearly $20 million, including $500,000 for

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen secured an international tax agreement last week and now faces the challenge of passing it through Congress, The New York Times reported. The Biden administration is banking on collecting over $3 trillion in tax increases levied on corporations and wealthy Americans and plans to use the funds to pay for jobs and infrastructure proposals. On Saturday, Yellen convinced the Group of 7 advanced economies to agree to a global minimum tax of at least 15% for companies – regardless of where they are based. In a Sunday interview, Yellen defended U.S. President Joe Biden’s plans to raise corporate taxes from 21% to 28%, saying, “We think it’s a fair way to collect revenues.” She added: “I honestly don’t think there’s going to be a significant impact on corporate investment.” Acknowledging that a compromise on the issue of corporate tax maybe

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

necessary, Yellen expressed hope for a bipartisan infrastructure agreement, despite the Republican resistance to changing the 2017 law which lowered corporate taxes to 21%. It is not yet clear if Republicans will support the international agreement, which critics have said cedes authority to other governments. If the legislation does not pass, negotiations regarding the global agreement will be in vain.

Hoover Dam Losing Water

The Hoover Dam, located on the Arizona-Nevada state line, is facing a severe water shortage, USA Today reported. Built for purposes of flood control, irrigation, water storage, power, and navigation and completed in 1935, the dam towers over 700 feet above the Black Canyon, taming the

Colorado River. But years of severe droughts and rising temperatures have caused the water level in the dam’s reservoir, Lake Mead, to drop approximately 140 feet since the turn of the century, placing it at approximately 37% capacity, USA Today noted, adding that the reservoir is headed for its first-ever official shortage. With the reservoir headed towards its lowest-ever level, the water supplies of cities and farmlands may be at stake: The reservoir has decreased over 16 feet during the past year, and is expected to drop another nine feet by the end of 2021, reaching below an elevation of 1,066 feet – below the federal government’s “red line” of 1,075 feet, when a shortage is declared. If the reservoir drops below 950 feet, it will no longer be able to generate power. Hoover Dam’s normal capacity is 2,074 megawatts, enough for around 450,000 households. However, the current level provides only 1,567 megawatts of electricity, enough for around 350,000 homes. Every foot of water lost leads to a decrease of around six megawatts of power-generating capacity. At 950 feet, the lake would be able to produce around 650 megawatts of

power. Water can still be pumped down to a level of 895 feet.

Tennis Upsets

Serena Williams fell behind in the fourth round at Roland Garros, losing 6-3, 7-5 to Elena Rybakina. Williams’ defeat came just hours after Roger Federer withdrew, saying he needed to let his body recover ahead of Wimbledon. Williams has won the French Open three times. She has also won 23 Grand Slam titles, while Federer has won 20. The game was the last in the tournament for both parties, who will turn 40 later this year. For Rybakina, 21, who is ranked 22nd, this was the seventh Grand Slam appearance and the first time she has made it past the second round. “I am so happy with my match today. It was amazing,” said Rybakina, who is from Kazakhstan. “Of course, I was nervous. I was not serving that well before. But I’m just happy that I just managed.” Rybakina now faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who advanced with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.

FDA Approves Drug for Alzheimer’s

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a drug to treat the process of Alzheimer’s, marking the first time the organization has done so. The new drug, Aducanumab,

has been shown in studies to lower the rate of clinical withdrawal in early-stage Alzheimer’s patients. It received FDA approval despite opposition from the FDA’s independent advisory committee and some Alzheimer’s experts, who claim there is not enough evidence that the drug is helpful. The drug will be sold under the brand name Aduhelm and is administered via intravenous infusion once a month. Produced by Biogen and Japan’s Eisai Co., it does not reverse Alzheimer’s but is designed to slow cognitive decline. Clinical trials showed that those taking Aducanumab experienced a 22% lower decline in their thinking skills than those who received a placebo. Due to failed trials, however, the FDA approved the use of Aducanumab only so long as Biogen performed a new clinical trial. The new trial will continue over the next few years, and during that time, the drug will be available to patients. If the post-trial study does not prove its efficacy, the FDA can revoke its approval. According to Biogen, the new drug will cost approximately $56,000 per year of treatment, and the price will remain stable for four years. The follow-up trial is expected to be completed in 2030.

Jeff Bezos Heads to Space

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will travel to space next month when his company, Blue Origin, launches its first passenger-carrying mission, Bloomberg reported. Bezos, 57, will travel together with his brother Mark, the Amazon chief announced on Monday on Instagram. Takeoff is scheduled for approximately two weeks after Bezos retires from his position at Amazon.com Inc. In an Instagram post, Bezos wrote, “Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.” Blue Origin is auctioning off a seat on its New Shepard rocket, Bloomberg added. The 11-minute trip on July 20 to suborbital space will reach an altitude of approximately 62 miles. Customers will enjoy a four-day experience, including three days of pre-flight training at the launch site near Van Horn, Texas, the company promised. Bidding will end on June 12 and proceeds from the sale will go to a Blue Origin foundation promoting math and science.

SCOTUS Rules on Non-Citizens

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the U.S. government may block non-citizens who are in temporary status from applying for a Green Card if they entered the country illegally, CNN reported. The case under discussion concerns Jose Sanchez and Sonia Gonzales, a New Jersey couple who arrived in the U.S. illegally in 1997 and 1998, and who now have four children, the youngest of whom was born in the U.S. and holds American citizenship. According to CNN, in 2001, following a series of earthquakes in El Salvador, the pair applied for and received Temporary Protected Status, offering them protection from removal from the U.S. In 2014, the couple applied for Green Cards. However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied their application, claiming they were ineligible because they had entered the U.S. illegally and had never been formally admitted to the country. On Monday, Justice Elena Kagan ruled that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) does not confer admission, and since there is “no dispute” that the couple had entered the U.S. “unlawfully,” the government may deny the applications. “He therefore cannot become a permanent resident of this country,” Kagan wrote of Sanchez.

1,500,231 Pushups

Nate Carroll is pushing the limit. The father of three recently set a world record for most pushups done in a year. How many of those exercises did Carroll perform? A whopping 1,500,231. The pushups weren’t just meant to give Carroll more muscles. Carroll used his exercise to raise money for the families of fallen first responders. He broke the record on the 50yard line of MetLife Stadium in front of first responders during half-time of the 48th Annual Fun City Bowl, an annual showdown between the New York’s fire and police football teams. “It was awesome to be on the field, to be cheered on by so many first responders,” said Carroll. The dad said he was motivated by his family, and he wanted to “demonstrate to my kids what goals that seem impossible look like when they are broken down into daily manageable chunks.” The record for most pushups in 365 days had interested Carroll for a few years, but “I understood if this challenge was going to be taken on, there had to be more depth to it besides just breaking a record.” He spent the last year raising money for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s Fallen First Responder Program, which pays off the mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty and leave behind young children. “Averaging over 4,000 pushups a day certainly develop muscle in the arms and core,” Carroll acknowledged. “However, what was most noticed was my awareness of how my body felt and responded to the stress of thousands of pushups each day,” Carroll said but noted that the “most dramatic change was … mental strength and the understanding that the body is a phenomenal creation, and if properly cared for and

conditioned, can endure significant physical stress and accomplish tremendous feats.” Carroll advises, “Set a goal, and get after it. Make it who you are, not something you do. That way, when it gets hard and life throws obstacles in your way and offers you convenient excuses to stop or says it’s too difficult, you find a way to endure and persevere and keep after it. Winning those mini-battles each day builds strength and shapes one’s perspective of what is possible.” Carroll is still not done. His 12-month quest isn’t over until June 13. He said he wants the final total of pushups to feature the numbers 911, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Carroll said he is just getting started. He may be middle-aged but his journey is just beginning. “In the past 15 months, I’ve ran 50 miles around my house, finished 3,000 pushups during a marathon, 5,000 pushups during a 31-mile trail race, and completed over 1.5 million pushups in 365 days. I’m 45 years old and not getting any younger…” That makes me feel old.

Sleeping with the Fishes

Want to spend the night among salmon, sharks, and Sebastian the crab? Mattress brand Beautyrest is giving someone the chance to spend the night at the Long Island Aquarium in August as a way to promote its new Harmony Lux Hybrid mattress. The person – and one guest – will get to test out the new mattress, meet penguins, dive with sharks and get a private tour of the Riverhead aquarium from August 19 through August 20. The guests will also receive a champagne dinner, a seaweed wrap pedicure, breakfast on the water, and a private, guided kayaking tour of the Peconic River. The exclusive stay will be available for a first-come, first-serve booking on World Oceans Day, June 8, on the Long Island Aquarium website. According to Beautyrest, its new

Harmony Lux Hybrid mattress uses fabric made with recovered ocean plastics. “We’re proud to provide another option to help people find their best fit for a good night’s sleep that provides both luxury and sustainability,” Jessica Goldberg, Beautyrest’s senior brand manager, said in a statement. “This overnight experience provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy all that the Harmony Lux Hybrid has to offer in a once-in-a-lifetime environment.” Let’s dive right in.

$1.5M of Whale Vomit

Whale vomit just made a group of Yemeni fishermen rich. The ambergris, also known as whale vomit, came from a sperm whale carcass in the Gulf of Aden. Inside the floating whale’s stomach was 280 pounds of ambergris, which is a solid digestive substance that’s used in the fragrance industry for scent stabilization. The material is created when a sperm whale can’t digest beaks from squid and cuttlefish, according to recent theories that believe ambergris is regurgitated as a protective mechanism following intestinal irritation. Thirty-five men reeled in the deceased whale under the suspicion that the whale contained ambergris based on its smell, one of the fishermen explained in a video interview with the BBC. The 280 pounds of ambergris was reportedly sold for $1.5 million to a trader in the United Arab Emirates. The fishermen split their seven-figure catch and bought cars, homes and boats with their loot while also making charitable donations to their village. Whale vomit has made others rich as well. In 2016, Gulf News reported that three fisherman in Oman found and sold 176 pounds of ambergris, which was worth nearly $3 million. Four years later, a Thai fisherman found and sold 220 pounds of ambergris that is worth around $3.3. And that’s something to gag about.

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

100 & Fabulous

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Elaine Foster and Evelyn Lowe celebrated their 100th birthday earlier this year. The twins grew up in Prince George’s County in Maryland. Recently, the county threw a drive-by birthday celebration for the centenarians as part of the Office of Community Relations’ annual “100 Events of Summer” initiative. Foster and Lane, who were born and raised in the county, received flowers, balloons, gift baskets, and gift certificates to their favorite restaurant at the celebration. They are planning to use the gift certificates for sangria. The women live together fairly independently in a house in Bowie, Maryland. When asked by the “Today” show earlier this year about turning 100 on March 31, Foster said, “I just feel normal.” “You’re right about that,” Lowe agreed. Questioned about their secret for a long life, Foster said, “I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t know how I happened to live as long as I have.” “I have not the vaguest idea,” Lowe echoed. Well, they must be doing something right.

Pricey Park

If you thought parking in New York City was getting expensive, don’t go to Hong Kong. A parking space in an affluent Hong Kong neighborhood recently sold for $1.3 million – a new world record. The parking space at the luxury Mount Nicholson residential project was sold to an unidentified buyer. The whopping $1.3 million price

for the 134.5-square foot parking space amounts to about $9,500 per square foot. The sum beat the previous world record for the most expensive parking spot: a $969,000 space sold at the 79-story Hong Kong office tower The Center in October 2019. So much for complaining about the parking situation on Central Avenue.

Alligator Plays Piano

We know we got you with that headline, and we admit that it was a bit deceiving. The alligator playing the piano in the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand is acutally 11-year-old Seenlada Supat. She wears an alligator costume as she tickles the ivories for animals at the zoo. Visitation to the zoo has been low due to Covid; Supat is entertaining these animals so they’re not too bored. “I’m playing music to soothe the animals to help them feel relaxed and give them company so they are not too lonely,” Supat told Reuters. She wears a bright green alligator costume to blend in with her audiences, which have included music-loving lemurs, meerkats, hippos and zebras. Supat’s music ― a medley of Thai folk and pop songs ― seems to be striking a chord with the zoo animals, especially the lemurs who often hop on the keyboard. Supat is happy that her audience is enthused by her music. “I wanted them to be involved with me while I’m playing music,” she said. “I don’t mind – it’s as if they’re playing music with me too.” Zoo director Tawin Rattanawongsawat said the animals are giving Supat’s recitals positive reviews. “We noticed that the animals were reacting,” Tawin said, according to Reuters. “They became curious while others appeared to be enjoying the music.” And that’s music to our ears.

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Around the

Community A Spirited Alef-Bais Siyum at Siach Yitzchok

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

Around the Community

Sulitz – An Iconic Center of Growth, Warmth, and Tefillah Sulitz, noun (sűl′ĭts) warmth, connection, tradition. hese words were not taken from a dictionary. They were taken straight from the mouths of members of the Sulitz Beis Midrash in Far Rockaway. These words define Sulitz. Some of the members moved to different neighborhoods as long as 25 years ago, but these were the memories which the word Sulitz instantly evoked. Other common words were vaaremkeit, farbrengen and derhoiben, which was surprising. After all, Sulitz is in the heart of Far Rockaway — not exactly a chassidish community. But the close-knit 100+ members of Litvish, Yekkish and Sefardi Yidden who proudly call Sulitz their shul speak this language. It’s a language they’ve grown to bask in. An atmosphere they’ve grown to relish. A mesorah they’ve grown to value. What is the secret of this beloved abode called Sulitz?

Citadel of Chassidus In 1951, when Yidden were emerging from the dark and transplanting their roots, the Sulitzer Rebbe, Rav Shmuel Shmelke Rubin, zt”l, moved to Far Rockaway. Far Rockaway was a dawning community, yearning for the flame of Yiddishkeit. When the Sulitzer Rebbe arrived, he brought life and warmth, sharing the mesorah of his noble dynasty with those who clung to his style. They had never encountered chassidus before and the Rebbe wasn’t on a mission to spread chassidus, but the people came to embrace it. Once they tasted it, they craved the warmth and realness it had to offer.

And so, he built Far Rockaway’s first mikvah – and never charged users a penny. Still today, 70 years later, when his gabbaim urge Rabbi Rubin, shlita, the Rebbe’s son and successor, to install a turnstile to cover the mivkah’s upkeep, he refuses. As his father instituted, a humble sign invites donations but nothing more. Tower of Chessed Sulitz boasts an open-door policy, not only in the literal form. There is no lock on the front door of the familiar building on the corner of Beach 9th and Roosevelt Ct. Despite the members’ urging the Rebbe to make a more secure front door, the Rebbe unwaveringly quotes his father, “Men shlosst nisht a Beis Midrash – you don’t lock a Beis Midrash.” Because a mikdash me’at and makom Torah should be available to all, no questions are asked. And so, many Yidden, young and old, have stepped over the threshold of that open door and emerged richer. It is an open door...in the nurturing form, with a table loaded with mezonos goodies in the foyer every day. Many baalei batim grab a snack on their way out to work from Shacharis, while bochurim and kids pop in on the way past, to collect a quick treat. It is an open door...in the spiritual form, with heartfelt, unhurried tefillos every day that start their day off on the right note. The elevating Sheves Achim tish raises their Shabbos to another level – the timeless zemiros and heimish delicacies nourishing their body and soul. So attached and close-knit is the Sulitz membership, that even after they marry and move away past members flock in on special days like Rosh Chodesh or Hoshana Rabba, to bask in the emotionally-stirring tefillos of

the Rebbe – a master baal tefillah. It is an open door...in the emotional form, with people unloading their deepest woes to the Rebbe and coming away buoyed with sound, sensible advice. It is an open door...in the financial form, with the shtiebel’s generous loan gemach and grocery-voucher distribution. In fact, in Far Rockaway’s early days, Sulitz was the community’s launchpad of chessed. The Rebbe, zt”l, was one of the pioneers for Hatzolah in Far Rockaway. The local Bikur Cholim was founded by the late Rebbetzin, a’’h. Her legendary chessed is maintained by today’s Rebetzin, in many forms. She hosts many guests for Shabbos – some of them resident fixtures for over twenty years – as well as feeding needy visitors three nutritious meals a day, many of them strangers. This is the way in Sulitz. Everyone’s welcome, no matter their background or status. There are Roshei Yeshiva rubbing shoulders here with wandering yidden, and there is respect and shalom among all. Fortress of Tradition Tradition has been the bedrock of the Sulitz Beis Midrash since its founding in 1951. The Rebbe does not make a move without reflecting on what der Tatte, zt”l, would have done. Every dvar Torah starts with ‘Der Tatte hot gezugt – my father would say…” Every decision is based on his father’s approach. And so it was with the previous Rebbe. Which grants the members an authentic old-world Yiddishkeit fin der heim, albeit on modern American shores. “It doesn’t matter what’s popular,” relates Moshe Mandel, longstanding member who walks in from Law-

rence every Shabbos. “It doesn’t matter what ‘the flavor of the month’ is. All that matters to our Rebbe is the mesorah. It’s an emesse place. And this talks to me tremendously.” A thriving kollel, a heartwarming avos u’banim, a busy schedule of minyanim are but some of the sought-after aspects of the Shul. The Rebbe, zt”l, also started and supports a Tehillim kollel at the Kosel – way before it was “in style” – to daven for the wellbeing of the community. There are no hefty membership fees or fancy board committees. It’s a close-knit shtiebel, exactly as it was when it began – only it has grown in membership and demand. After decades of uninterrupted operation serving three generations, the building needed extensive refurbishment. A $1.7 million renewal project was launched, to fund the urgently needed new roof, plumbing, HVAC, restrooms, windows, and the interior of the first-level Beis Midrash and adjacent multi-purpose room. The shul moved into temporary trailers, to allow for the works and, b’’H, thanks to generous benefactors, the beautiful crowning edifice is now nearing completion. However, the kehilla is still $360,000 short of the final funds. Help complete this historical gem and ensure the continuity of this center for Torah, mesorah and warmth, while gaining valuable zechusim.

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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Meeting with a Local Hero

n Tuesday, June 1, juniors at HANC High School participated in a roundtable post-Memorial Day discussion with Retired US Air Force Lieutenant

Colonel Rabbi Alan Kalinsky who discussed his experience in the U.S. military. Principal Rabbi Eli Slomnicki moderated the talk as Rabbi Kalinsky is his father-in-law.

Shaaray Tefila’s Annual Dinner

n Wednesday evening, June 16, Cong. Shaaray Tefila in Lawrence, NY, will pay tribute to Rabbi Yussie & Zahava Nussbaum as Guests of Honor at the Lawrence Country Club. It is a zechus to be able to celebrate Shaaray’s 111th Annual Dinner after so many months of separation due to Covid. Our honorees, Yussie & Zahava Nussbaum, are people who bring the community together with their zest for chessed, warmth, and friendship. Yussie, a Torah Vodaath graduate, is a financial services attorney for JP Morgan. He is the beloved gabbai of the Nusach Sefard minyan and shares his penchant for chassidus in divrei Torah throughout the year. Zahava serves as a social worker for the

Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. She has spearheaded many youth and Sisterhood events, carrying on her family’s illustrious relationship with Shaaray Tefila of over three and a half decades. It is a special sight to see three generations of Twersky/Nussbaum women davening together in the Ezras Nashim. A Scroll of Honor will be produced as a keepsake of this momentous occasion. Please make every effort to attend on Wednesday, June 16 at the Lawrence Country Club. Donations and dinner reservations can be made by calling Shaaray Tefila at (516) 2392444, ext. 101 or by emailing office@ shaaray-tefilah.org. Your participation will ensure its success!

SHS End of Year Banquet

he end of the school year is bittersweet, best described by A.A. Milne, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” The year was a tumultuous one to say the least, and yet despite it all, SHS had an incredible school year. Concluding on Friday, SHS held its annual banquet, a catered event that gave closure to faculty and students alike. Principal Mrs. Sara Munk opened the event with an important message we learned through Parshat Shlach: “We can surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it.” Kalev used the words, aleh naaleh, Mrs. Munk explained, let us rise and let us go up – if we see ourselves as capable, we can do this. “My bracha to all of you is that you take the message of Kalev with you into the summer, next year and for the rest of your lives. Rise up, know you can do it, and remember we are always here to encourage you along the way,” she said.

Afterwards, freshman Leorah Shetrit earned a Middot Tovot award and Dina Kolodny an Academic Achievement award. Sophomore Talya Sharoni and Junior Ruthie Alon were also well-deserved recipients of Middot awards. The SHS Chessed Heads, Meira Goldstein, Tamar Jansensen, Tamar Newman, and Bailey Weinberger, recognized students who went above and beyond, over the required chessed hours, noting them as members of the “Impact Society,” as they are impacting the world, one chessed hour at a time. Finally, faculty members wrote “So Proud” cards for each and every student. They stated at least one reason we are so proud of each student, their accomplishments, and how far they’re come. Every student had a moment to shine and feel pride at their accomplishments this year. A light lunch followed where students and faculty had a chance to celebrate the year and say goodbye.

from a socializing perspective, the role of tefillah and music, and how synagogues are a pillar of Torah and chessed (charity). To sign up to register to attend the lecture series, please visit: http://returntoshul.eventbrite. com. “Every synagogue in America is working to restore its programming and services as more congregants are vaccinated and the pandemic is subsiding. But it is a struggle. COVID-19 had a profound impact on our lives, and we would be kidding ourselves to think that all we need to do is flip the lights back on and people will return in droves to the syn-

agogue,” said the BACH’s Rabbi Benny Berlin. “With our friends at the Lido Beach Synagogue, we believe this lecture series is one of the steps we can take to inject creative and innovative programs back into our offerings to get congregants back into the synagogue.” Lido Beach Synagogue’s Rabbi Elly Krimsky echoed Rabbi Berlin’s points. “COVID adversely impacted us, traumatized our kids and it’s critical that we now revert to the days when the synagogue was the center of our religious, social and spiritual lives. COVID was an anomaly, not a paradigm shift. We need to come home to shul.”

BACH & Lido Beach Synagogues’ Summer Lectures

s synagogues grapple with the challenge of encouraging congregants to leave backyard minyans and return to shul following the COVID-19 pandemic, the BACH Jewish Center and Lido Beach Synagogue have joined together to launch a five-week summer lecture series with local and nationally renowned experts addressing a variety of key elements of synagogue life.

The two synagogues are funding the program with proceeds from the Orthodox Union’s prestigious “Challenge Grant.” The program was designed to support innovative programs in synagogues around the country to stimulate congregants to re-em-

brace synagogue life. The first lecture will be held on Sunday, June 13 at the Lido Beach Synagogue at 8:00PM on the topic of “The Need to Return to Normalcy.” It will feature Dr. David Pelcovitz, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt and Mrs. Leah Girnun. They are noted experts in the medical, psychological, and pedagogical factors that the community faces as the country emerges from the pandemic. The panel discussion will be recorded and available for other synagogues around the country. Subsequent lectures will feature relevant discussions revolving around synagogue functions, including the importance of kiddush

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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At the vort of Moshe Feitman and Adina Chaya Rosenberg

L-R: R’ Refoel Rosenberg, father of the kallah, HaRav Mordechai Respler, L-R: R’ Refoel Rosenberg, Rav Eitan Feiner, Rav Yaakov Feitman, Rav Yaakov Feitman, father of the chosson, and Rav Daniel Glatstein and the chosson

L-R: R’ Refoel Rosenberg, Rav Kenig of Tzfas, the chosson, and Rav Yaakov Feitman

L-R: Rav Moshe Tuvia Lieff, Rav Yaakov Feitman, R’ Refoel Rosenberg, and the chosson

L-R: Rav Yaakov Feitman, the chosson, Rav Yechiel Perr, and R’ Refoel Rosenberg

SHS Seniors Head to Virginia Beach

By Talia Ben-Simhon

his year’s senior trip has been one that will be hard to forget. We began our trip by loading the busses and heading to Virginia Beach. On the way, we stopped in Maryland for an awesome game of paintball. The activity encouraged us to bond and work as a team just like we always did over the past four years. The bruises and stained clothes were worth it. After shooting paint guns at each other, we arrived at the La Quinta

hotel where we got settled, showered, and ate dinner. We ended off the night by heading to the AMC theaters and watched a movie that led us to tears of sadness and laughter. The next morning after davening and eating breakfast, we headed off to white water rafting. In my opinion, this was the highlight of the trip. It may have required lots of energy, multiple applications of sunscreen, and drinking lots of water...but that just added to the fun. It allowed us to let loose, have fun, and just be ourselves. We learned a lot about the different birds

and sea creatures we saw over the three hours of rafting. The best part was gliding over the large rapids and taking a dunk into the cool water. As if rafting wasn’t enough of a workout, we were taken to rock climbing shortly afterward. Rock climbing was difficult, but it motivated us to encourage each other. Personally, while climbing one of the walls, I’ve received so much support from my classmates. We ended off the day by washing up, eating dinner, and walking around the cute shops along the

boardwalk in Virginia Beach to relax. The next morning some of us opted to sleep in, while the others took a stroll on the beach and near the boardwalk. A couple of us even woke up early enough to watch the sunrise. Afterward, we loaded the bus to head home. On the way home, we stopped at a farm and went strawberry picking! We picked up lunch and dinner as well. Overall, our senior trip was fun, entertaining, and a great bonding experience. Thank you SHS for planning such an incredible trip!

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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Gesher’s Blue Room enjoyed delicious doughnuts in honor of completing their “Beat the Teacher” charts

Seudas Preidah & Siyum at MTA

TA celebrated the incredible learning accomplishments of all of the yeshiva’s talmidim at its annual Seudas Preidah and Siyum on Thursday, June 3. Talmidim and rebbeim participated in the event in-person, and parents, grandparents, and family members joined via livestream. The evening began with inspiring remarks from Head of School Rabbi Joshua Kahn and Yeshiva University President Ari Berman (‘87), followed by the siyum. Five siyumim were made on masechtas Megilla, Makkos, Tamid, Pesachim, and Shas Mishnayos by student representatives Elie Husarsky (‘24), Yosef Weiner (‘23), Ezra Schechter (‘22), Aryeh Manevitz (‘23), and Shneuer Agronin (‘21) on behalf of all of the talmidim who completed them. The event also culminated MTA’s Shalsheles Hamesorah Mishna Project, a program that provides grandparents and their grandchildren, parents or other relatives and children, with the meaningful opportunity to take advantage of the shalsheles hamesorah (the chain of tradition), and increase Torah learn-

ing in the MTA community. The program, which began on Pesach and finished on Shavuos, enabled talmidim to learn a masechta or part of a masechta of Mishnayos with a grandparent, parent, or other relative over this time period and everyone who participated had the opportunity to make a siyum on all of Shisha Sidrei Mishna at the Seudas Preidah. The event also featured a moving kumzits with Boruch Levine, divrei hisorirus from YU Rosh Yeshiva Rav Moshe Tzvi Weinberg, divrei chizuk from MTA Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael Taubes, and a d’var Torah from Aryeh Kolber (‘21). The evening ended with each shiur receiving awards and special seforim from their rebbeim. “The evening was a true celebration of the intense Torah learning that takes place in our yeshiva all year,” said Associate Principal Rabbi Shimon Schenker. “Our talmidim and rebbeim share a true ahavas Torah and their joy and excitement for learning was truly palpable at the Seudas Preidah, just as it is in our Beis Medrash and classrooms every single day.”

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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HANC ECC Graduation

azal tov to our sensational HANC ECC students on their graduations. What an amazing year we shared despite all of the obstacles! The children learned, developed beautiful middot, made new friendships, had special guest virtual visitors and programs, and became experts on Zoom –just to list a few of the exciting times that they had. Yasher koach to their outstanding morot who made all of this happen.

Dor L’Dor Links at Central

The “Write” Stuff at Shulamith ECC

arlier this school year, Central applied for and was awarded the prestigious Jewish Education Project Microgrant. The school received grant money for the project proposed by Programming Director Mrs. Hadassah Frankel, which was called the “Dor L’Dor Links Fellowship.” In this fellowship, Central students had the opportunity to connect with grandparents who may have felt isolated due to the pandemic, while learning and exploring their family heritage. Seven Central students were accepted to this fellowship, which was fully funded by the grant. The experience kicked off with a talk from British author and Mishpacha magazine columnist Riki Goldstein, who spoke to the students about the process of interviewing, transcribing, and writing a biography. The students then spent months interviewing their grandparents and prepared their grandparents’ stories for print. Each student designed her own book, and the books were professionally printed and bound.

On Friday, June 4, the fellows each received two copies of the book they created, one for each student and another copy to give to their grandparents. At the concluding program, two participants, junior Eliana Brand and sophomore Maytal Chelst, spoke about their experiences as part of this program. Eliana shared that “over the past couple of months I have been FaceTiming my grandmother for over an hour each week to talk about her parents’ experience surviving the Holocaust. She told me things about my great-grandparents that I’ve never heard before. This fellowship gave me the opportunity to connect with my grandmother during this difficult year. I will forever cherish the memories I’ve made talking and learning from her, and value the stories she told me.” The fellows then celebrated this momentous project by serving some food of Jewish mesorah, potato kugel and Moroccan cigars, with the students and faculty on their way out of the building for Shabbos!

he Pre 1A children at Shulamith ECC were thrilled to welcome the famous author, Meish Goldish. The talk by one of their favorite authors was the culmination of many weeks of hard work writing their own books. Mr. Goldish, the author of more than 500 children’s books, spoke to the girls about what it takes to be an author. He read them one of his books and explained where he got his ideas from. He described his failed attempt at being his own illustrator and how an author works with an editor to make the book as good as it can be. Mr. Goldish then read another one of his books and explained how he chose the main character and how he made decisions about the content of the book. As Mr. Goldish spoke, the young authors of Shulamith ECC, nodded their heads knowingly. They had gone through a similar process under the guidance of their outstanding morot, Morah Chana Fox and

Morah Deena Yarmush, when writing their own books. They had to think about the content of their stories as well as the illustrations. They also knew how special it feels to have their name on the cover of a book. The girls were excited when Mr. Goldish asked some of them to describe their books and explain what happened in the books they wrote. They were honored when he said he would like to read their books and find out what happens. The girls felt like real authors in the company of a more experienced colleague with a good deal of wisdom to share. They laughed at Mr. Goldish’s spoon trick and had a lot of fun singing with him as well. A publishing party featuring the famous author Meish Goldish, along with the opportunity to share their own published books with their friends, was a wonderful way to end a Pre 1A year full of learning and growth at Shulamith ECC.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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Shulamith Middle School Awardees Hadassa Klahr Valedictorian Hadassa Klahr is honored to be named the Valedictorian of the Shulamith School for Girls eighth grade class of 2021. She has attended Shulamith since Pre-1A and is the fifth girl in her family to graduate from Shulamith School for Girls. Hadassa resides in Lawrence with her parents and five older siblings. Throughout her years at Shulamith, Hadassa has grown both academically and spiritually. She is intellectually curious, a diligent student, and a caring and loyal friend. Hadassa enjoys playing piano in her free time and spending time with her family and friends. Hadassa is very grateful for the many opportunities that she was given at Shulamith. She served as one of the captains of her school Torah Bowl team and led Shulamith to the championships both this year and last year. She is also a member of the Math Olympiad team and one of the Memories editors for her grade’s yearbook. Hadassa was also a winner of the Shulamith 2021 spelling bee. Hadassa is extremely appreciative of her dedicated principals and teachers. They have provided an excellent education and created such a warm and supportive environment for Hadassa and her classmates over the years. Hadassa is confident that the passion for Torah and commitment towards Am Yisrael and Medinat Yisrael that she has developed in Shulamith will continue to guide her throughout her life. She feels fortunate to have made such wonderful friends and wishes them mazal tov and much success, as the Shulamith eighth grade class of 2021 moves on to high school. Talia Schupak Salutatorian Talia Schupak, Salutatorian of the Class of 2021, resides in Lawrence with her parents, two sisters, and two brothers. She has been attending Shulamith School for Girls since pre-school. Talia has spent the last ten years in Shulamith growing and learning. Over the years, Talia has advanced academically in both Judaic and General Studies. She has worked ambitiously to achieve her goals. Talia truly earned her title and is very grateful to her teachers, prin-

Hadassa Klahr

Talia Schupak

cipals and friends for their contributions to her success. Talia is a hardworking student who strives for excellence in all things she participates in. She was a proud member of the Torah Bowl team of 2020. She worked hard to study parshiot and competed with other schools in the community. Talia was also a business manager for the eighth grade yearbook. Along with her fellow business managers, she organized sales to raise funds for the yearbook and eighth grade graduation trip. In addition to in-school activities, Talia’s favorite hobby is baking. She has a baking business called Treats by Talia, where she bakes and sells desserts. Talia has a tremendous feeling of hakarat hatov to all the amazing principals and dedicated teachers in Shulamith who have taught and supported her over the years. While Talia is looking forward to high school this fall, she will truly appreciate the valuable lessons she learned while in Shulamith. She has made so many great memories and friendships, and wishes all of her classmates hatzlacha and mazal for their futures. Talia is thankful to her family, friends, and classmates who were each an integral part of her elementary school journey. Raizy Bokow Keter Shem Tov Awardee Raizy Bokow is proud to be a part of this year’s Shulamith eighth grade graduating class of 2021 and humbled to have been chosen as one of the recipients of this year’s Keter Shem Tov Award. Raizy resides in Cedarhurst and is the second to youngest of four girls with an older brother in her family. Her two older sisters each graduated from Shulamith, and her younger sister is in the seventh grade. Raizy is thankful for all of her family’s love and support throughout the years. Raizy was honored to be a Chesed Head this year and enjoyed orga-

Raizy Bokow

Chaya Gluck

nizing the entertainment for Zoom visits with the JCC seniors. She also was instrumental in helping the JCC with an MLK Day event which had Shulamith Middle School girls creating packages of food for people in the Five Towns. Raizy is known for her “water bottles Gemach.” If someone is in need of a water bottle, they can go to Raizy and be assured that she will give them one with a smile on her face. She also devotes much of her time to helping her fellow classmates with various subjects in school, as well as creating videos for many school functions. Raizy’s love of chessed and fine middot led to her receiving the Keter Shem Tov award this year as well as in the sixth grade. Raizy, who has attended Shulamith since nursery, attributes much of her academic and spiritual growth to her teachers and principals. They have all been strong role models in middot tovot and avodat Hashem. Raizy has personally gained tremendously from them as well as from her classmates. Raizy feels very fortunate to have gone to a school that has helped her become the person she is today. Raizy is grateful to Shulamith for giving her a strong foundation. She plans on taking with her all she has learned, along with many fond memories, as she looks forward to attending high school in the fall. Raizy would like to wish all her classmates mazal tov and hatzlacha rabba.

Chaya Gluck Keter Shem Tov Awardee Chaya Gluck lives in Woodmere with her parents and three siblings. She is both honored and humbled to have been selected by her classmates and teachers at Shulamith School for Girls to be the recipient of this year’s Keter Shem Tov award. A student at Shulamith since pre-school, Chaya has been fortunate to have been educated by wonderful principals and teachers who personify middot tovot. She has developed a reputation as a sweet, kind and caring individual, always seeking to greet others b’sever panim yafot and do chessed for those in need. Last year, in honor of her birthday, she worked with a local tzedaka organization to help raise money for families that were struggling as a result of the pandemic. Chaya is a diligent, hard worker who takes her studies seriously. Her academic accomplishments include winning first place in the annual spelling bee on multiple occasions and being a member of the Torah Bowl team. She is also on the design team for the eighth grade yearbook. In her spare time, Chaya enjoys drawing, playing sports, and hanging out with friends. Chaya has much hakarat hatov to her parents, grandparents and siblings for all of their guidance, love, and support in bringing her to where she is today. She is grateful to her principals and teachers throughout the years at Shulamith for the outstanding education she received in Torah, mada and derech eretz. She looks forward to continuing her education at Shulamith High School in the fall. Chaya would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of her friends and wish them a big mazal tov and success in high school and beyond.

Did you know? In the year 2000, a 600-mile-long picnic was arranged in France, on July 14, to showcase their support and celebrate the first Bastille Day of the new millennium

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

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Flag Football – Touchdown!

hat a season of the 5 Towns Flag Football League presented by FM Home Loans! Under the leadership of Rabbi Eli Brazil and Larry Gross, the league has just finished its 10th season. Congratulations to the champions in each division. The season and playoffs were beyond amazing as many of the games were decided in the final seconds/overtime. The league, which is open to 1st8th grade boys in the Five Towns and surrounding areas, had five divisions with over 30 teams. The ability to play competitive flag football in a structured and safe environment makes this league such a great success. Boys play with middot and respect for every player. Plans are underway for next season, which will hopefully begin in the beginning of September. We would like to thank the league sponsors: FM Home Loans, Gourmet Glatt, S. Adelsberg & Co. Certified Public Accountants, Maidenbaum Property Tax Reduction Group, and Plainview Healthcare Partners.

MTA Seniors Culminate 4 Incredible Years

TA seniors and their rebbeim headed off for an adventure-filled three-day trip to mark the end of their

high school journey together. The trip, which took place on Tuesday, June 1 through Thursday, June 3, was based at Camp Dora Golding and

included an unbelievable array of activities and events. From Six Flags Great Adventure, whitewater rafting, paintball, hiking, end-

less sports, and midnight BBQs to lively minyanim, kumsitzes, divrei Torah, shiurim, and chavrusahs, everyone had an incredible

time. Seniors truly enjoyed this final opportunity to solidify the friendships they built with one another over the past four years as well as the strong relationships they developed with their rebbeim and teachers. The trip culminated with MTA’s Yeshiva-Wide Seudas Preidah & Siyum, where seniors had one last chance to celebrate their learning, spiritual growth, and development as b’nei Torah with the entire yeshiva and all of the rebbeim who made an impact on their lives throughout their four years at MTA. It was a truly memorable experience that they will take with them after graduation.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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SKA Mock Trial Team are Queens of the Court

By Jenny Lifshitz and Chani Rabinow

azal tov to the Stella K. Abraham Mock Trial Team! On May 23-25, SKA competed against the winners of each of New York’s counties. With SKA representing Nassau County, the team swept the semifinals, and out of 242 teams, came in second place in the New York State Finals! In an email, Honorable Kim O’Connor, who judged the semi-final round, stated that the SKA students “were all very prepared, thought well on their feet, and are incredibly talented.” We are incredibly proud of this tremendous accomplishment and wish continued

success to the Mock Trial Team. A big thank you goes to Attorney-Coach Brynde Berkowitz, who tirelessly mentored the team and conducted individualized practices multiple times a week. Additionally, we thank the Captains Chani Rabinow, Priva Halpert, and Ariella Borah, who were constantly available for personalized questions and expertly coordinated every detail for the competitions. Congratulations to team members Miri Aronovitz, Talia Cohen, Avital Davidowitz, Rachel Hirt, Dassie Jaffe, Anni Laufer, Jenny Lifshitz, Rachel Loike, Tamar Rabinovitz, Menucha Ross, Aviva Schreiber, Lea Septimus, Atara Shleifer, Sara Stein, Talia Traub, and Shira Yehoshua.

Lemonade for a Cause

rs. Aliza Goldstein’s class at IVDU LI hosted an outstanding lemonade stand for the community to support IVDU LI. The students shopped for all the ingredients, picking out snacks that others would enjoy and getting lessons on how to pick the juiciest lemon. They then squeezed the lemons to make the lemonade, following a recipe to create the deliciously refreshing lemonade that they then sold. The students were great salesmen, offering drinks and snacks to passersby. All the other IVDU LI students had the opportunity to pick out a snack and drink, pay for their items, and enjoy their refreshments. These skills are so important for

our students to learn as they are the prerequisite skills to so many daily activities that happen. The students from Little Friends Gan came out to support our students with each child purchasing a snack and drink, sold to them by our students. It was a real honor to have so many IVDU LI parents come out to show the students their support, donating money while enjoying watching their children shine. We appreciate the opportunity our students were afforded and the tremendous support that was shown. We would like to thank all of those that came out to show our students how valuable their efforts are.

Live Teleconference on COVID-19 Vaccination By Henya Wald

his past Wednesday night, over 200 participants tuned in live to a special town hall for the Far Rockaway and Five Towns communities to learn more about COVID-19 vaccines. The event was co-hosted by a coalition of local organizations including Bikur Cholim of Far Rockaway and the Five Towns, Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County, JCCRP, and JOWMA. Rabbi Tzvi Flaum, Rosh Yeshiva of the Torah Studies Network and Mashgiach Ruchani in Landers College for Women, opened the event with words of Torah. He shared that when the polio vaccine became available, Rav Aharon Kotler, zt”l, “publicly rolled up his sleeve” in order to demonstrate the halachic obligation

not only to treat disease but to prevent it as well. Dr. Michael Oppenheim, an Infectious Disease Specialist and Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer for Northwell Health, addressed concerns about vaccine safety and long-term effects. Dr. Oppenheim explained that in general vaccine side effects occur within the first few weeks to months after administration, after which point the vaccine matter disappears from the body and doesn’t exert effects. He also suggested that the brief hold on J&J vaccines was actually “the biggest sign of vaccine surveillance success,” noting that the CDC was able to launch a thorough investigation of six identified cases of blood clots mere weeks after the vaccine’s release. Dr. Deborah Lief-Dienstag, a

well-known community pediatrician, spoke about vaccination in teenagers. Dr. Dienstag reassured listeners that reports of myocarditis after vaccination are being monitored closely by the CDC and the Israeli government, while also pointing out that “all viruses themselves can cause myocarditis” including COVID-19. She emphasized that young people can “develop serious complications” from COVID-19 or become “long-haulers.” Dr. Dienstag also acknowledged the importance of vaccinating younger people to stop disease transmission to other vulnerable populations. Dr. Valerie Altmann, OB/GYN at Northwell Health, shared the latest data on COVID-19 infection and vaccination in pregnancy including a study examining the placenta in vaccinated mothers which showed no

adverse effects from vaccination. Dr. Altmann recommended vaccination for all women (and their spouses) who may become pregnant in order to protect both the mother and baby from the complications of COVID-19. When asked about effects on fertility, Dr. Altmann said that rumors of infertility after vaccination “boggles the mind” as there is no plausible mechanism connecting the two. The event was skillfully moderated by Bikur Cholim Director of Special Events and Associate Dean at Touro School of Health Sciences Rivka Molinsky, PhD. Other topics discussed during the town hall include alternative treatments, antibodies, herd immunity and the new myth of “vaccine shedding.” The conference was recorded and is available at www.vaxfacts.live.

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

MAY Awardees Dovid Samson Limudei Kodesh Valedictorian The phrase “Samson never loses” wasn’t created at random. Dovid is Co-Captain of the Torah Bowl team and plays a major role on both the Varsity Football and Softball teams. But it is not his success that makes him so well-liked. Dovid is a good friend who is always interested in what one has to say and is always there to laugh at your jokes – even if it is not deserved. He is the editor of the Ateres Yaakov Star student newsletter, a vaccinating volunteer for the JCCRP and a valued friend. Not only does Dovid display his genius in the classroom, he also uses it to win every fantasy league imaginable. With his combination of brilliance and kindness, Dovid is sure to go far in life. Dovid will be attending Yeshivas Sha’alvim next year. Yosef Rabinow General Studies Valedictorian Yosef Rabinow is a ceaselessly working, never tiring individual. A

member of multiple sports teams, publications, chessed initiatives, and all honors classes, Yosef’s work ethic and leadership abilities are sights to behold. Yosef founded the peer tutoring program at MAY, spearheaded both the student newspaper, Ateres Yaakov Star, and the weekly Torah publication, Ateres Hashavua, served as G.O. Treasurer and Arista President, all while taking eight AP courses in the last two years of high school. Yosef is as well an AP Scholar, ba’al koreh, and co-captain of Torah Bowl team. We look forward to seeing Yosef’s inevitable success as he will surely succeed in anything he puts his mind to in the future. Avi Statfeld Limudei Kodesh Salutatorian Avi Statfeld is one of those people who stands out and makes a difference. He always goes above and beyond for everyone, student and faculty alike. As President of the G.O., Avi placed the yeshiva and the student body ahead of himself dozens

Dovid Samson

Yosef Rabinow

of times. His excellent middos and calm, respectful demeanor make him fun and easy to be around. He is an integral member of the Varsity Softball, Football and Volleyball teams and a four-year member of the Arista National Honor Society. A sought-after chavrusa, Avi will be attending Yeshiva Aderes HaTorah next year in Yerushalayim. Yeshayahu Leff General Studies Salutatorian Yeshayahu Leff is a wonderful young man whose talents shine in many areas. Ranging from his pitching talents on the Softball team to his clear understanding in shiur,

Avi Statfeld

Yeshayahu Leff

Yeshayahu is always at the top of his game. His rapport with friends and rebbeim brings a ruach to whatever he is a part of. He is a prolific writer who contributes regularly to the weekly Ateres HaShavua Torah publication and is a member of the Torah Bowl team. Quick to get the guys talking with a joke or comment, he strives to make those around him smile. A four-year member of Arista and a yearbook contributor, with his unbridled confidence leading the way, he is sure to succeed in any area he applies himself. Yeshayahu will be attending Yeshivas Yishrei Lev in Tel Stone next year.

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The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

HALB seventh graders built musical instruments all made of recycled materials in their science class. Students incorporated their knowledge of sound waves, frequency, pitch, and amplitude.

DRS Graduation Awards

Rav Yitzchok Hauer, maggid shiur in Mesivta Chaim Shlomo, addressing a siyum at the Yeshiva

Marcus Bluestone

Eli Rockoff

Marcus Bluestone Valedictorian Marcus Bluestone is a gifted student whose natural aptitudes allow him to grasp academics on a more complex and abstract level than most. His heart is just as important to you as his academic gifts, and he derives tremendous joy from supporting others in their academic endeavors. Both his head and heart are leading him on what will no doubt be his life’s extraordinary journey to acquire wisdom by asking difficult questions and finding their answers. Marcus will be learning in Yeshiva Shaalvim next year. Eli Rockoff Salutatorian Chazal tell us, “Emor me’at v’asay harbay.” Eli Rockoff lives by this dictum. Eli has accomplished so much in his four years at DRS. As salutatorian of the grade, he achieved great heights in his Judaic and Academic courses. Eli was editor-in-chief of Devarim Hayotzim,

Yosef Fertig

Yale Math League, College Bowl, Science Olympiad, Math team and Model Beis Din and captain of the Debate team as well. But even with all these accomplishments what sets Eli apart is his sweet and humble personality and his stellar middot tovot. Eli’s trademark smile will for sure be treasured next year in Yeshivat Hakotel. Yosef Fertig Keser Shem Tov Yosef Fertig is a thoughtful and authentic young man. He can be both soft-spoken with his friends and a musical leader at a DRS tish. When Yosef joined DRS in 10th grade, it was clear that he was a natural fit in class. He was immediately comfortable in the Beis, and with his soulful nature, he could be found learning late at night, editing for Devarim Hayotzim, or helping out at iShine. Yosef is self-effacing and confident, and for that reason, others are naturally at ease with him. DRS is sure that his “good name” will serve him well at Shaalvim next year!

Rozic Allocates Funding to Queens Synagogues & Jewish Institutions

ssemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) recently announced that she allocated funding to four synagogues in her district to help fund programming and continuing education services. The synagogues that received funding include Beit Eliyahu Fresh Meadows Bukharian Synagogue, Flushing Fresh Meadows Jewish Center, Young Israel of Hillcrest, and Torath Emeth. “Over the course of the pandemic, synagogues stepped in to fill essential needs within their communities going above and beyond to provide for struggling families and enhancing lives,” said Assemblywoman Rozic. “With this increased funding, we

are ensuring our local temples have the resources they need to continue providing educational and communal resources and human services to our communities.” Rozic has been a longtime champion of the Jewish community – ensuring social service funding for Holocaust survivors, increasing funding for public safety and security, passing legislation to aid in the recognition of hate crimes, and ensuring compliance with Holocaust education requirements. This latest round of funding is in recognition of the essential services synagogues and institutions have been providing the community throughout the pandemic.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

MAGIC Mentors at SKA

ow in its fourth year, the MAGIC Mentoring program of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls has been an enormous success. Each year, SKA students in grades 9-12 have been matched with mentors, women who are professionals in STEM careers. These productive relationships have resulted in the students learning a tremendous amount, in different disciplines ranging from cybersecurity to computer science to mechanical engineering. Using their new skills, knowledge, and passion, the girls completed unique, authentic projects that are incredibly sophisticated for high school students! This year, seven students participated in the program and worked with mentors – five of whom are SKA alumna – on their projects which

were presented on Wednesday, May 26. They are: Breindy Berger (12th grade) who worked with her mentor, SKA alumna Leeba Erlbaum, on her website Bookfinder after learning about web design and cybersecurity; Talia Cohen (9th grade) who worked with her mentor, SKA alumna Naomi Rosenbach, on her psychological study The Effects of Friendship on Mood During the High School Transition; Rachel Hirt (9th grade) who worked with her mentor, Lea Speiser, on app design and developed her app My Health Profile; Batya Kimyagarov (10th grade) who worked with her mentor, SKA alumna Dr. Mindy Levine, on her psychological study Stress and Music;

Anni Laufer (12th grade) who learned about chemical engineering with her mentor, SKA alumna Ariella Himmelstein, and presented her project on Aspirin Plant Design; Atara Razi (10th grade) who worked with her mentor, Dr. Adena Burnstei,n on her meta-data analysis Incidence and Risk Factors for Pulmonary Complications Following Lumbar Fusion; and Aliza Zilberberg (10th grade) who used mechanical engineering with her mentor, SKA alumna Aviva Oppenheim, on an Infusion Pump Case and Projector. Twelfth grader Breindy Berger shares that she learned so much through the MAGIC program. “My mentor was excellent, and I’m really proud of the project we built together. It was really cool to see all of the dif-

SKA 10th grader Aliza Zilberberg with her mentor, SKA alumna Aviva Oppenheim

ferent projects in the end. Everyone did such a great job!” Our thanks go to Dr. Chana Glatt, SKA Science Department head, and the Magic Mentors for this remarkable program.

OU Brings First Group of American Young Adults to Israel After Covid Hiatus

fter a year without Birthright Israel trips for young adults from across the United States, the first group arrived in Tel Aviv late-May organized and operated by the Orthodox Union’s (OU) Israel Free Spirit. The group, made up of 17 fully vaccinated young adults from diverse Jewish backgrounds, 14 of them from the U.S. and 3 from Israel, traveled for eight days throughout Israel, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Masada, the Golan Heights and Dead Sea. The U.S. participants hail from Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Israeli participants joined as a way for participants to better connect with and understand daily life of their counterparts. In compliance with the COVID-19 Israel border entry guidelines, each tour group, or “bus,” was reduced in size to a maximum of 20 participants, and all individuals who joined were required to be vaccinated, present negative PCR test results before flying, and undergo serological testing upon arrival in Israel. “This has been 15 months where many college students and young adults were isolated at home. Combined with the recent rise in an-

ti-Semitic attacks here in the United States, it only reinforces how vital it is for our young adults to feel connected both to each other and our homeland, which is precisely the reason this program is so essential at this time,” said OU President Moishe Bane. “In our most anxious moments, the Jewish people have turned their hearts, minds, and prayers towards Jerusalem, the city that connects us to each other. How apropos that now, after surviving a pandemic and as we begin to see both a frightening resurgence of antisemitism and challenges to the sense of the Jewish collective, these young adults will be able

to feel a connection to the Jerusalem they’ve now seen from up close,” said OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer. “Israel Free Spirit’s trips provide unparalleled experiences that help young adults build direct connections with the land and people of Israel, thereby tying them to their heritage. These times of uncertainty have only made these trips more vital,” he added. The Orthodox Union’s Israel Free Spirit has been an official Birthright Israel trip organizer since 1999. The organization provides free trips to Israel for young Jewish adults of any background. For many, the trip

serves as their first time connecting with Israel and their Jewish identity in a deep way. Israel Free Spirit looks forward to continuing to welcome groups throughout the summer and beyond now that Israel’s borders have opened for Birthright Israel tours. “We’re thrilled to be the first organization, and Birthright Israel group, granted entry to Israel after such a long break,” said Director of OU Israel Free Spirit Yael Tamari. “This trip is a gift for the participants and our team worked hard to ensure a safe, meaningful, and fun trip for them.”

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community HAFTR Early Childhood’s 3-year nursery students performed their endof-the-year show virtually for audiences filled with parents, grandparents, and adoring fans! They did a wonderful job showcasing all the knowledge they have amassed this year and songs they have learned. Mazal tov!

Turning Saturday Night Into Motzei Shabbos By Susie Garber

uring the pandemic a year ago, Mr. Robby Neuman, founder of Chickens for Shabbos, approached Mr. Robbie Aboff, Events Coordinator for Chazaq, and suggested that klal Yisrael needed to turn Saturday night into Motzei Shabbos. We needed a special program to elevate our Motzei Shabbos. This suggestion catapulted Robbie Aboff to reach out to Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, well-known speaker and author, and Dr. David Lieberman, well-known speaker and author, and the amazing Chazaq program, “Turn Saturday Night into Motzei Shabbos,” was born. Baruch Hashem, this program has reached its one-year anniversary with wonderful feedback and results. This past Motzei Shabbos, Robbie Aboff interviewed Rabbi Goldwasser and Dr. David Lieberman about their thoughts and reflections about the past year’s Motza’ei Shabbos programs. Rabbi Goldwasser shared that an overarching theme was teshuvah. He praised Robbie Aboff and Chazaq for facilitating this platform, and then he shared one story that stood out for him. A 13-year-old boy called and informed Rabbi Goldwasser that he is not allowed to attend yeshiva. He then asked him if this program every week can be considered a shiur and if it could be considered that he is listening to a rebbe. Rabbi Goldwasser responded yes. He then asked Rabbi Goldwasser if he would be his rebbe. Rabbi Goldwasser shared that he doesn’t think there can be a greater accomplishment than that. Dr. Lieberman shared that the theme that kept coming up was that the choices we make determine the quality of our life. “If you want to change your life, you have to change

your choices.” A goal is to empower people with small steps so that they can move forward. Feeling you are a victim of circumstances is so demoralizing and paralyzing. It’s valuable to feel we can move forward. Hashem wants us to move forward, and teshuvah is a means of taking responsibility. The more a person does t’eshuvah, the more he comes to life. Robbie Aboff noted how one of the biggest lessons in Judaism is consistency. He asked how this program, which is running week in and week out, has impacted each of the speakers. Rabbi Goldwasser responded that it’s a victory. When Robbie first called and asked him to do this program, he assumed it would be for three or four weeks. Then it went on and on. “The beauty of this is that it just continues like Daf Yomi. It’s such a bracha. Thanks to Hashem, we’re able to do this. It’s a staple in people’s lives.” He added that “it is beautiful, all the Torah that people are getting, as well as the treasure of psychological help from Dr. Lieberman. It should just continue. When Mashiach comes, the program will focus on that. It’s a weekly part of people’s schedules. It’s transforming.” Dr. Lieberman shared that the fact the program comes every week demonstrates that the power of consistency is extraordinary. Following through separates the good from the great – whether it’s a diet, working on a middah, etc. Consistency is the key. “You’ve got that water dripping on a rock that eventually makes a difference.” Next, Robbie asked about feedback or calls that were memorable over the past year. Rabbi Goldwasser noted how in Pirkei Avos we learned to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. There was a call from a rebbe who had just

heard that shiur and he had a question. He said there was a student who refused to bentch. Rabbi Goldwasser said that doesn’t mean he’s trying to be rebellious. Maybe he has a reason. After all, we have to judge everyone favorably, which includes our spouse, children, parents, etc. He suggested that the rebbe have a talk with the student and ask him about it. It turned out that this student could not eat bread due to an allergy and he was embarrassed, so he went through the motions of washing, even though he couldn’t eat bread. He knew it was forbidden to say Hashem’s name in vain, so that was why he didn’t bentch. This rebbe called Rabbi Goldwasser and asked him what he owed him for this. Rabbi Goldwasser told him to donate to Chickens for Shabbos and Chazaq or TorahAnytime. He added, “It was so important, that call, knowing we could make a difference in one boy’s life!” This writer had the honor to interview Rabbi Goldwasser and Dr. Lieberman, reflecting on the impact of this program over the past year. Rabbi Goldwasser shared some main lessons learned from Pirkei Avos over the year. One was that middos are not just something nice but they are rules like mitzvos. The idea of not displaying anger, removing arrogance and jealously, and refining our personality are requirements. Middos are about character development. During the course of the year, people called with questions about these laws of character development and interpersonal relationships. He received questions like: Can I hate someone? Do I have to ask mechilah if I’ve been wronged by someone? In the area of shalom bayis, people called and said the ideas taught them that they needed to adjust their behavior. Rabbi Goldwasser explained that Pirkei Avos teaches us about shalom

in families, shalom with the outside world, and shalom within oneself. Rabbi Goldwasser emphasized, “Torah is our direction. It keeps us plugged in and gives us chinuch. Torah trains us in all areas of our life.” Dr. Lieberman shared main messages learned about relationships over the year. In our relationships, we have to remember that people don’t move forward from criticism or guilt but from knowing that we appreciate them and value what they do. The more we acknowledge what they do, the more they will be willing to do. The next important idea is helping others to be heard. If someone comes with a complaint and we jump in with a solution or minimize the situation or we blame them, this is totally the wrong approach. We need to empathize and validate their feelings. We need to show that we understand they are in pain. This is powerful and healing to know someone is hearing us. We need to think how we can be more effective in our relationships by making small changes. He said, “This program is fantastic if people are being helped. I do it to reach people.” He thanked Rabbi Goldwasser and Robbie from Chazaq. Klal Yisrael thanks Chazaq, Rabbi Goldwasser, and Dr. Lieberman for providing this beautiful healing platform. Hashem should bless you and all of us with continued success and clinging to Hashem and its merit should bring protection to klal Yisrael and Moshiach now! Thank you, TorahAnytime, for streaming this program. To watch previous episodes from this series, go to TorahAnytime.com/Saturdaynight. Join us every Saturday night during the summer at 10 p.m. to be inspired by this series, by watching live at TorahAnytime.com/Chazaqlive or by calling 718-298-2077 (extension 46).

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

HANC Remembers Rabbi Kelemer’s Chessed

he community of West Hempstead suffered a tremendous loss in January in the passing of its beloved Morah D’Atra, Rabbi Yehudah Kelemer, z”l. While he was known for his sweet nature, delightful sense of humor and incredible depth of Torah knowledge, the middah that he was most remembered for was his chessed. When a congregant or friend was in need, no matter whether it was daytime or the middle of the night, Rabbi Kelemer always made himself available to help, to visit a sick person, to pay a shiva call, to help solve a problem, or whatever was required. There were no bounds to how far he would travel to provide comfort, guidance and chizuk to anyone in need. HANC’s Samuel and Elizabeth Bass Golding Elementary School wanted to perpetuate Rabbi Kelemer’s memory and developed a chessed program called C.A.K.E. (Chessed And Kindness Everyday) so that all of the students of the school could emulate this remarkable rabbi who had such a profound influence on the community, the school and the world at large. For Morah Elana Jacobs, a fourth grade morah who grew up in West Hempstead and was a student in HANC as a child, this was an important mission due to her personal experience of having Rabbi Kelemer as a teacher and rebbe. “Rabbi Kelemer was someone who impacted our entire community on a daily basis through his chessed,” she said. “How do we give back to someone who gave us so much? By following in his ways and becoming more like him with the middah of ahavat chessed. by performing acts of chessed in his memory, his neshama will have an aliya.” Morah Jacobs met with the students via Zoom weekly to focus on a particular type of chessed that Rabbi Kelemer was known for. Each week, a different person shared a story about how Rabbi Kelemer helped them through his selfless acts of chessed. Morah Jacobs also shared ways for the children to help each other in school and how to be helpful and caring at home as well. In the older grades, the students studied examples from the Torah, including how Moshe and even Hashem exhibited chessed. Each student was provided with a sticky note pad on which they could record their acts of chessed and each grade was designated an area on the wall going up the steps to the second floor classroom upon which to display their notes. Some of the examples that the children wrote included: I went over to a girl who looked sad and made her feel better. I told my friend he has a nice smile. I asked someone if he needed help. I told my friend he is good at sports. I gave a friend my snack because she said she was hungry. My brother got hurt so I went over to him to help him get up. I smiled and said hello to a classmate and made her smile. As the wall filled up with chessed notes, the children were encouraged to find even more ways to help their friends, teachers and family members, all in memory of Rabbi Kelemer. At the end of each week, the grade that had the most C.A.K.E notes won a special cake treat for their grade. As the end of the school year approached, HANC invited the Kelemer family to join a school-wide Zoom meeting to share what the children have been doing l’zecher Rabbi Kelemer, z”l. Morah Jacobs complimented the children on all of the chessed they have been doing and explained to them that “each time you perform an act of chessed, you become a better person, a better Jew and you are doing what Hashem wants you to do.” Rebbetzin Kelemer connected with the students and staff, and was joined by her son, Rabbi Berel Kelemer. On behalf of the family, he thanked the children for everything they have been doing in his father’s memory and expressed appreciation from the entire family. He explained that the Jewish people do chessed because it is a fundamental part of who we are, and this was modeled by our ancestors in the Torah. He also shared some family history with the children that was particularly enlightening. In 1930, when his grandfather was learning in the Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva, someone was looking for a shidduch for his daughter, Tzivia. The Rosh Yeshiva recommended Shmuel as a perfect match. Shmuel was a kind man, known for his chessed and particularly for finding warm winter coats for any-

one who needed one. He was also a passionate davener, and was spotted once davening to Hashem in the forest, pleading for a refuah shleima for a boy who was ill. Shmuel and Tzivia were married in 1932, and Shmuel happened to be Rebbetzin Kelemer’s grandfather. In 1938, the family moved to the United States and years later, while her brother was learning in the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, he proclaimed to his parents that he found the perfect shidduch for his sister. His name was Yehudah and he was also a student at Telz, known as a baal chessed and a friend to everyone. It became so evident that chessed and kindness are pillars of the Kelemer family. Rabbi Berel Kelemer encouraged the children to continue doing acts of chessed and told them that if they contact him and share what they did to help someone, he will send them a token of his appreciation. HANC was truly blessed by having Rabbi Yehudah Kelemer, z”l, as a guide during his 38 years in West Hempstead and will continue to find ways to honor his memory and continue his legacy for many years to come. HANC wishes to thank Morah Jacobs, Rabbi Michael Merrill, Assistant Principal of Judaic Studies, and Morah Michal Wasser for creating this meaningful program. May Rabbi Kelemer’s middot and memory continue to have a positive influence on our school, the community and K’lal Yisrael for many years to come.

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The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

At the Breakfast Reception for the Rabenstein Learning Center & Weiss Vocational Center PHOTOS BY NAFTOLI GOLDGRAB

Dr. Willie Neuman, son-in-law of Nechemia Rabenstein a”h; Elisha Brecher, host; Rav Yaakov Bender; and Ronald Lowinger

Rav Yaakov Bender addressing the assemblage

Strong Show of Support for Madraigos Annual Five Towns Breakfast

he beautiful home of Cirri and Ushi Shafran was filled with friends and supporters of Madraigos this past Sunday morning, June 6, for the Annual Five Towns Breakfast. With the theme of the morning Encourage, Support, Guide – Every step of the way, the community banded together for youth, families, and adults who are serviced by Madraigos throughout the year through innovative prevention programs and critical intervention and support services. Rabbi Dov Silver, founder and Executive V.P. of Madraigos, extended warm words of praise and appreciation to Ushi and Cirri Shafran for their gracious hospitality in making this year’s event enjoyable, meaningful, and successful in every way. Rabbi Silver remarked, “The existence and growth of Madraigos is a result of sincere, committed friends like the Shafrans. I am touched by their genuine sensitivity to the special needs of our

teens and young adults and I am deeply humbled by their warmth and dedication.” Nosson Ginsbury, Breakfast Committee Member, commented, “What an amazing turnout by the community to help support the amazing work Madraigos does – hosted by Ushi and Cirri Shafran. Seeing so many community leaders giving their support by stopping by shows how important the need is.” “From our clients to our supporters to the staff members, there is a genuine care and personalized concern

that embodies every interaction. The atmosphere at the Madraigos Breakfast did not feel like a business event. It felt like a room full of good friends and family celebrating and enjoying together. And that feeling is what makes Madraigos entirely unique,” Mindi Werblowsky, LCSW, Clinical Director, said. To the credit of Cirri and Ushi Shafran and the devoted members of the event committee, Madraigos was introduced to many new friends, from the Five Towns and surrounding communities.

Attendees learned about the scope of Madraigos’ services offered to families in our community and beyond. Madraigos was also honored to have the presence of Councilman Bruce Blakeman representing the 3rd District of the Town of Hempstead. He shared words of support and presented a citation for community service. “We are sincerely grateful to Cirri and Ushi Shafran for making this year’s Breakfast a great success. They truly believe in our mission and actively shared their passion with others,” said Mrs. Sha-

ron Gross, Executive Director of Madraigos. “We hope to build upon these relationships as we grow even stronger, effectively serving the needs of families in our community.” For more information about Madraigos, please see www.madraigos.org or call the office at 516-371-3250. The community can still participate in the Annual Breakfast by visiting www.rayze. it/Madraigos.com or contact Mrs. Gross at 516-371-3250 ext. 103.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccines: What You Need to Know

H #1 YT

I can get COVID from the vaccine.

Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association

H #5 YT

The Science: The coronavirus vaccines cannot give you COVID-19 because they do not contain live SARS-CoV-2 virus. H #2 YT

The Science: SARS-CoV-2 infection presents a health risk to everyone. Young people can get seriously ill and even die. Even

The vaccine changes your DNA.

after recovering from COVID-19, they can experience symptoms months after infection and are susceptible to other long-term effects.

The Science: Neither the mRNA nor DNA-based COVID-19 vaccines interact

with, integrate into, or alter your DNA. H #3 YT

H #6 YT

The COVID vaccine has not been tested enough to prove it is safe.

H #4 YT

If I had COVID, I do not need to get the vaccine. The Science: The strength and length of natural immunity varies from person to person and cannot be predicted. New variants also make people more vulnerable to reinfection. Therefore, the CDC recommends people

The Science: All vaccines receiving FDA emergency use authorization in the United

who had COVID-19 in the past to still get vaccinated.

States have been tested in preclinical, phase I, II and III trials to determine safety and efficacy with tens of thousands of participants. Since then, over 100 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the US and over 448 million doses worldwide.

I’m young and healthy, I don’t need the vaccine.

H #7 YT

My community has “herd immunity” so I don’t need to get the vaccine.

The COVID vaccine causes infertility.

The Science: “Herd immunity” doesn’t protect every individual from getting

The Science: There is no factual or

COVID-19 and can drop when individuals start losing immunity or the community is exposed to a new variant.

theoretical evidence that the COVID vaccine affects fertility.

For more information about COVID-19 and the COVID vaccine, check out JOWMA’s Preventative Health Podcast, available on all major podcast platforms. Or, call the JOWMA Preventative Health hotline at 929-4-GEZUNT. All New Yorkers age 16 and above are now eligible to receive the vaccine. To find a vaccination site near you, visit: VaccineFinder.org

This content is for general educational purposes only and not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment about your particular condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association

qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Zachary H (12) and Jordan P (13), of Great Neck, along with their family and friends, coordinated a local car wash and raised more than $10,000 as a donation to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF)

Senior Dinner at Central

eniors returned to Central for a memory-filled evening last Wednesday night at their senior dinner. The theme of the evening was “Road Trip,” and as you entered the gym doors, the entire room was transformed into memory lane! Students arrived elegantly dressed, took pictures with their friends and teachers, and enjoyed a delicious dinner. Following bonding, eating, and yearbook signing, the seniors and their teachers were invited to write a postcard to a friend or teacher, grab their new Central luggage tag, and head down to the program. Nava Sturm opened the evening and welcomed fellow committee members to take the class down memory lane through each year at Central. Freshman year was captured by Leah Hersh and Rachel Schulman, sophomore year was de-

picted in a poem by Rebecca Mermelstein and Eliana Sicklick, junior year was revisited by Rivka Boniuk and Leah Eisenbach, and senior year was celebrated through memories, stories, and an incredible four-year recap video by Gabriella Steinberg. While the seniors reminisced, laughed, and sang closing this chapter in their lives together, they also took the time to stand in appreciation for each and every faculty member, expressing personalized hakarat hatov for all that they have done. A huge thank you to the entire senior committee, led by Mrs. Rivka Alter, Mrs. Aliza Gewirtz and Mrs. Danielle Wyner. It was a beautiful trip down memory lane, and we wish each and every senior so much hatzlacha on their road trip of life. Up next: graduation!

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

HANC High School Announces Top Honors

he Hebrew Academy of Nassau County is proud to announce the Class of 2021 Valedictorians and Salutatorians. Menahel Rabbi Eli Slomnicki proudly remarked, “Our co-valedictorians Rena Max and Aviva Friedman have distinguished themselves in their scholarship both in general and Judaic studies. They synthesize passion for 21st century learning with a strong pursuit of the humanities and literature. They are surely emblematic of an ideal HANC student. Co-salutatorians Nava Lippman and Moshe Wieder are authentic scholars in the Torah U’madda sense. Their commitment to Torah lishma along with the pursuit of general knowledge set a tone of aspiration for their peers.”

*** Valedictorian Rena Max is the definition of Torah U’madda at its finest. Her passion for her heritage is evident in the way she comports herself on a daily basis. For the past two years, Rena was a national finalist in the international Jerusalem Science Competition and was a repeat finalist this year after finishing 2nd last year. She is also a national finalist in Chidon Hatanach and has served as captain of the Torah Bowl team. Throughout high school, Rena served as Captain of the College Bowl team and was a member of the winning Hackathon team and Mathletes. She has also published many articles as a staff writer for the “Fresh Ink for Teens” section of The Jewish Week contributing articles which range from word games to the “Wizarding World of Judaism.” She has also contributed articles to HANC’s STEM Journal and Midreshei HANC. Last summer, Rena participated in Stony Brook University’s Robert Green Journalism program, resulting in an internship with Stony Brook’s Media Department. Rena is a member of the National Honor Society, an Honor Roll regular, an AP Scholar with Distinction and a National Merit Commended Student. She was the recipient of the YU Book Award and HANC’s 2019 Nechama Leibowitz Passion for Education Award.

Rena Max, Co-Valedictorian

Aviva Friedman, Co-Valedictorian

After her gap year in Midreshet Lindenbaum in Israel, Rena will be attending the University of Maryland where she will study Computer Science as a member of the ACES Honors program. *** Though reserved in demeanor, Valedictorian Aviva Friedman has a strong quest for knowledge. A critical thinker, she enjoys the thrill that comes with solving a complex math problem. Her writing skills are a testament to her ability to critically analyze issues. She is known as a trustworthy source of academic support to others. Aviva has received numerous awards including the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award, AP Scholar with Distinction, and is a National Merit Commended Student. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and is a constant on the Honor Roll. Passionate about art and music, Aviva has been playing piano since the age of five and recently has learned to play guitar. Her leadership is evident as a member of the champion Mathletes team where her competitive side shines. As the highest scorer on the team, Aviva would have been HANC’s first all-star in the state competition if not for the pandemic. She is a member of the Robotics team, as well as, a contributor to the STEM Journal. Her love of learning continues on by teaching herself advanced math and physics. She is an avid reader and has served as a youth group leader at her shul. Aviva will be attending Binghamton University next year where she will be majoring in math.

Nava Lippman, Co-Salutatorian

*** Salutatorian Nava Lippman is a 21st-century young lady, the combination of intelligence, grace, and humility. She’s a pioneering teenage innovator on the scientific frontier with a creative and exceptional mind. Nava consistently challenges herself with a rigorous course load of Honors, Scholars, and AP’s. She has been named as an AP Scholar with Distinction and was recognized as a National Merit Commended Scholar. Nava was inducted into the National Honor Society, was selected as a recipient of the Nechama Leibowitz Passion for Education Award, as well as the Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award. She is also a winner of the Moshe Flescher Holocaust Scholarship Essay Contest. Nava has spent her summers volunteering at the Cold Spring Harbor Lab. In her spare time, Nava has made a name for herself with her custom shoe designs and hyper-realistic portrait paintings. She has presented and competed in multiple art exhibitions. Her piece entitled “Contact” was voted as “People’s Choice” and was displayed in Congresswoman Kathleen Rice’s office. She was also featured with honorable mention in the Nassau County Juried Art Competition for her portrait entitled “Talya.” Nava served as Co-Captain of both the Hockey Team and Mathletes, as well as Co-Leader of HPAC. She was a weekly contributor for the STEM Journal, a member of our Robotics, Mock Trial and Torah Bowl teams and of the Peer Tutoring program. Nava represented HANC at the 2019 AIPAC High School Summit and the National

Moshe Wieder, Co-Salutatorian

Policy Conference. After a year at MMY, Nava plans to study Biology at Cornell University. *** Salutatorian Moshe Wieder is an affable young man. He stands out for his honesty, trustworthiness, respect, and keen sense of humor. Academically, Moshe has challenged himself with Honors, Scholars, and AP level courses and has been named an AP Scholar with Distinction. His outstanding character and commitment to academic pursuits has garnered the respect of students and staff alike. Moshe was elected as Historian of the National Honor Society and was the recipient of the Keter Shem Tov Award. His commitment to Torah was further highlighted as a recipient of the 2020 YU Book award. Moshe has been active in many extracurricular activities. As Co-Captain of the Chess Team, Moshe previously worked his way up from “Helper” to competitive chess player. He is also a force to be reckoned with on the Torah Bowl team and was integral in helping the team attain victory at the 2018 National Torah Bowl Championships. He serves as Head Gabbai at his Shul, as well as at HANC. His motivational leadership is paralleled on the court; as a Starting Defenseman on the Varsity Hockey Team. Outside of school, Moshe manages a division of BMR Merchants. After a year at Yeshivat Sha’alvim, Moshe plans to pursue mathematics as a student in the Yeshiva University Honors program. Mazal tov to the awardees and to the entire Class of 2021!

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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Around the Community

Congress Delegation Decries Anti-Semitism and Hails Dirshu’s Strengthening of the Moral Fabric of America By Chaim Gold

“W

e need to stand in solidarity with our Jewish brothers. Thank you, Rabbi Hofstedter and Dirshu for taking the mission to Washington!” This sentence was tweeted by former Governor of Arkansas and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee last week. What was the story behind this tweet? Just after Shavuos, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, Nasi of the Dirshu Torah Organization, was invited to Washington by a group of congressmen to express their solidarity with the Orthodox Jewish community and their commitment to preserving freedom of religion and its sacrosanct nature. What was the impetus behind this unusual invitation and how did it play out, especially taking place when anti-Semitism in America was reaching a fevered pitch due to the fighting in Gaza? From a Day of Jewish Unity to a Congressional Invitation The impetus behind the meeting was the aftermath of an earlier effort by Governor Huckabee. Every year, right before Rosh Hashana, on the Chofetz Chaim’s yahrtzeit, Dirshu holds a Yom Torah and Tefillah, a day of davening and chizuk. The Yom Torah and Tefillah is meant to encourage Jews to walk in the path of the Chofetz Chaim who taught about the terrible scourge of lashon hara and slander and the importance of promoting unity and brotherhood among Jews. In the Orthodox community, the day is marked by extra tefillah and recitation of Tehillim along with learning choice excerpts from the teachings of the Chofetz Chaim. In addition, Dirshu has seen fit mark the Chofetz Chaim’s yahrzeit to promote what has been labeled “An Annual Day of Jewish Unity” in the secular world. Having heard about the day of Jewish Unity, Governor Huckabee was so impressed by the concept that he wrote an important op-ed article in Fox News, praising and commending this effort. In the article, he opined that not only Jews, but non-Jews as well, could benefit from learning from the teachings of the Chofetz Chaim and engaging in promoting unity as the country is being torn apart by in-

Rav Dovid Hofstedter with Congressman Ronny Jackson (R-TX)

Congressman Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) and Rav Dovid Hofstedter

ternal strife and slander in an unprecedented manner. Furthermore, he hailed Dirshu as the largest organization in the world promoting the study of Torah. This article caught the attention several Congressional leaders, including some from New York and New Jersey, where many of those who learn in Dirshu’s programs, live. Amazingly, it also caught the eye of many members from states that do not necessarily have a large frum population but are deeply troubled at the moral direction in which America is heading and respect the values and ideals that Dirshu espouses. Indeed, perhaps more than anything, the visit of Rav Hofstedter to Washington, his meetings with lawmakers, and his important speech before an impressive congressional delegation was a colossal kiddush Hashem. The members of Congress expressed their tremendous appreciation for the value of Torah learning and also their concern for the double standard to which the Orthodox community was held during the pandemic.

themselves stems from raw anti-Semitism,” he said. “And what we have seen domestically in recent months is a manifestation of that same form of anti-Semitism, in the form of hate crimes against the Jewish People – which continue to rise in volume across the United States. For this reason, it’s as important as ever that the Jewish People be aware that our public servants in the halls of Congress are committed to ensuring that those perpetrating these crimes are held accountable; and that there is no room in any one of your many districts for these types of vicious and vile acts. As the son of Holocaust survivors, this troubling trend has made me acutely concerned about the direction of our nation’s public discourse.” Rav Dovid continued, “There is yet another incredibly troubling trend experienced and witnessed by many of us in the faith-based community during the Coronavirus pandemic. That is the blatant double standard that the faith-based community had to endure in terms of the restrictions imposed upon us and our respective institutions and houses of worship during the Coronavirus pandemic. It is wholly unacceptable that the leadership of the governments of NYC and NYS, which have the largest population of Orthodox Jews in the nation – and an immensely sizable population of members of our organization – had to be subject to an inexplicable double standard. When a government passes rules and regulations, those rules must be evenhanded. For in elected officials in New York and elsewhere to have shown such blatant heavy-handedness toward the Orthodox Jewish community when our families were already enduring the pandemic and all the natural difficulties associated with it, is nothing short of a disgrace… I am encouraged by the sentiments I have

The Son of Holocaust Survivors Addresses Hate Crimes and Double Standards During his seminal speech, Rav Hofstedter first addressed recent events in Eretz Yisrael and the concern about the intellectual dishonesty and moral equivalence from much of the media and sadly, from fringe elements in Congress who engaged in anti-Semitic tropes when talking about those events. He then addressed the rising anti-Semitism throughout America. “Sadly, in my years of leading the single largest Torah organization in the world, I have come to realize that much of the negative sentiment directed toward Jews who desire defend

heard since arriving in Washington today, where many members of Congress clearly share this outrage. “To lend some context as to why this sort of double standard strikes such a personal chord with me, I’d like to take a moment to share my own personal life story. As the son of Holocaust survivors, I have always viewed the greatest revenge against Hitler and the Nazis as revitalizing Jewish scholarship and education to the high levels predating the Holocaust. I have made this objective my life’s mission.” The Impact of the Visit on Influential Members of Congress Rav Hofstedter’s words had a profound impact on the lawmakers and a number of them followed up by sharing their impressions of the visit with Dirshu. Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York issued a statement: “It was a pleasure to meet with Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, leader of the world’s largest Torah organization. We engaged in thorough dialogue about the importance of preserving freedom of religion. I commend Rabbi Hofstedter for the work he has done to restore Jewish scholarship levels with Dirshu and will continue to advocate for individuals’ sacred right to freely exercise their faith without fear of persecution.” Rep. Randy Feenstra, a congressman from Iowa, said, “I enjoyed meeting with Rabbi Hofstedter, and I am excited to work together moving forward. We both deeply appreciate the importance of preserving the freedom of religion – one of the most important and fundamental rights we are blessed to enjoy in this country...”Congressman Jeff Van Drew, who represents the Second District of New Jersey, put it succinctly when he said, “The spike in hate crimes against Jewish people across America and elsewhere across the globe is an issue that must be expeditiously dealt with. There is no room whatsoever for this sort of vitriolic hate and violence. We in the United States Congress will continue to stand up for the Jewish People. As you rightfully pointed out, perhaps at no time since the 1930s have we found ourselves in as precarious a situation when it comes to Jewish lives being threatened both domestically and on a global scale. “Under your leadership, Dirshu is continuing to fight the darkness and moral confusion emanating in the world with light.”

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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1. *

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Centerfold

Commencement Quips ▶ ▶ Commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that outgoing college students should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated. - Garry Trudeau

▶

I have never been jealous. Not even when my dad finished fifth grade a year before I did. - Jeff Foxworthy

Without education we are in a horrible and deadly danger of taking educated people seriously. - Paul Freund

▶

▶ ▶

▶

A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car. But if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad. - Theodore Roosevelt It is indeed ironic that we spend our school days yearning to graduate and our remaining days waxing nostalgic about our school days. - Isabel Waxman When you start to think about how grateful you are to be out of school, think about how grateful your teachers are to be away from you. - Paul Merton My school days were the happiest days of my life; which should give you some indication of the misery I’ve endured over the past twenty-five years. - Larry David

A professor is someone who talks in someone else’s sleep. - W.H. Auden

Now that you’ve graduated, just remember: bosses don’t usually accept notes from your mother. - Melanie White A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that “individuality” is the key to success. - Robert Orben Of course, there’s a lot of knowledge in universities: the freshmen bring a little in; the seniors don’t take much away, so knowledge sort of accumulates. - Lawrence Lowell Your families are extremely proud of you. You can’t imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money. - Gary Bolding

Riddle me This? You got me for free, but I am impossibly expensive. I was supposed to help you make money, but now I take away your money. You were told I would be temporary, but I will never go away. What am I? Answer on next page

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Graduation Trivia 1. Aside for Kentucky, which of the following states share the highest high school graduation rate, at 94%, based on the 2019 school year? a. Iowa b. Alaska c. Florida d. Vermont 2. According to Investopedia.com, what is the average amount of student loan debt that college graduates have upon graduation? a. $12,393 b. $37,584 c. $52,500 d. $100,200 3. Michael Kearney, who suffers from ADHD, has two Master’s degrees and a PhD. He also holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest college graduate ever, after he earned an anthropology degree from University of South Alabama. How old was he when he earned that degree? a. 6

b. 8 c. 10 d. 14 4. What is the average age of students in graduate school? a. 22 b. 27 c. 30 d. 33 5. How did the tradition of tossing caps during graduations start? a. It is a Latin tradition dating back to the 12th century b. In 1952, there was a pigeon stuck on a wire above the Tulane University graduation ceremony. It was chirping, and students began throwing caps at it to get it to stop. A video of the event was on America’s Funniest Home Videos and went “viral.” The next year, many college graduations tried repeating that scene with the students tossing up their caps c. It was started by JFK who was giving a commencement

address at Harvard University in 1962 and told the students to throw off their caps d. It started in 1912 at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation

Answers: 1. A 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. D Wisdom Key: 4-5 correct: You are a knowledgeable college graduate. Congrats! Now it’s time to leave your parents’ basement and get a real job. 2-3 correct: Not bad. Your knowledge and your $37,584 in debt are going to really take you places…start at the thrift shop. 0-1 correct: You must have tossed some of your cerebellum along with your cap!

You Gotta be Kidding Me! A young man hired by a supermarket reported for his first day of work. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, gave him a broom, and said, “Your first job will be to sweep the store.” “But I’m a college graduate,” the young man replied indignantly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that,” said the manager. “Here, give me the broom – I’ll show you how.”

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Answer to Riddle: Student loans

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Torah Thought

Parshas Korach By Rabbi Berel Wein

he Torah teaches us in this week’s reading that one should never underestimate the power and inﬂuence that ego and arrogance can play within the lives of people who are otherwise seen as wise, capable, and even moral. Throughout the ages, the commentators have asked themselves the famous question, quoted by

Rashi and based on midrash: “What drove Korach to commit such a foolish act?” Rashi points out that Korach understood that his descendants in future generations would be prominent people of great leadership. He could not imagine that they would achieve such a status of power and recognition

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when he himself was not able to boast of such an achievement. While this explanation certainly cast some light on the issue, it does not fully resolve the problem. There are many instances in life and history when later generations of a certain family rose to power and inﬂuence, even though their origins were humble. Most commentators fall back on the idea that it was the great wealth that Korach possessed that drove him to this folly of behavior.

ites in the land of Israel were subject to public service. Their income was based upon the goodwill of their Israelite neighbors, who would grant them their share of the food ordained by the Torah. I imagine that no matter how much of the tithe any given Levite would have received, the feeling of being wealthy – certainly, exceedingly wealthy – would not ever be experienced. People who are dependent upon the goodwill of others never feel them-

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Wealth and money many times do strange things to otherwise normal people.

We are aware that wealth and money many times do strange things to otherwise normal people. The Talmud always pictured money – coins – as being made of ﬁre. They can warm and illuminate, or they can burn and destroy. That certainly is true of the nature of money and how it aﬀects individuals, especially those who have become wealthy over a short period of time. Our world is full of examples of wealthy people who suddenly become experts in all sorts of disciplines in life, whereas before they were wealthy, they did not claim such expertise. It is interesting to note that the Torah sought to limit the potential for any of the Levite families from becoming exceedingly wealthy. Lev-

selves as secure as those who possess great wealth. The truth is that no one is secure and that even great wealth can disappear in an unknowing and unpredictable fashion. Nevertheless, when a person knows that he or she does not possess great wealth, that person is more careful and circumspect in advancing opinions and demanding honor. The combination of the natural ego that exist within all of us, and especially those like Korach who have aristocratic bloodlines combined with the largess of great wealth, can oftentimes be a lethal mix that leads to disaster. That certainly was the case regarding Korach and his group of followers. Shabbat shalom.

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From the Fire Parshas Korach

Turning Toward the Source of Light By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

very year, when we approach Parshas Korach, we attempt to understand the nature of Korach’s rebellion against Moshe and Hashem. The Parsha begins (Bamidbar 16:3), “And they gathered against Moshe and Aharon and they said to them, ‘You have more than enough! The entire congregation is holy, and Hashem is among them. Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?’” Rashi there explains that Korach’s complaint was that “they all heard the words from Hashem’s mouth.” In other words, the entire Jewish people are prophets because they heard “I am the Hashem your G-d” and “You shall have no other gods before Me” from G-d’s mouth, so why do they need Moshe Rabbeinu? The Yismach Moshe said that he remembered three of his previous lives. He remembered that one of those lives was during the generation of the desert. He remembered that Korach was a very big person and not simply an honor seeker. Korach spoke of very exalted concepts, and he remembers that it was a very difficult test to avoid following Korach. The Yismach Moshe remembered that, with much difficulty, he avoided taking sides in the dispute between Korach and Moshe. Although it was extremely tempting, he did not follow Korach, though he did not support Moshe either. A simple reading of the pesukim yields the impression that Moshe was all alone with no supporters. The Gemara, however, tells us that the sun and moon came to defend Moshe Rabbeinu. According to the Gemara (Nedarim 39b), “The sun and the moon ascend-

ed from the heavens and said before [Hashem], ‘Master of the World, if you justify [Moshe] ben Amram, we will illuminate, and if not, we will not illuminate” and the world will be plunged into darkness. We must understand why it was the sun and moon in particular that came to Moshe’s defense. In addition, we see that Moshe’s challenge to Korach was set for the following morning, the intersection between day and night, during the transition between the time of the sun and the time of the moon, as it says (Bamidbar 16:5), “In the morning Hashem will make it known who He has chosen.” In order to understand how the sun and the moon connect to the dispute between Korach and Moshe, we must first understand how the Jewish people received the Torah on Sinai. The Gemara (Shabbos 82b) tells us, “When Moshe ascended to the higher world, the ministering angels said before Hashem, ‘What is this child of a woman doing among us?’ Hashem said to them, ‘He

has come to receive the Torah.’ They said, ‘You seek to give this treasure which has been hidden for nine hundred and seventy-four generations to flesh and blood!’” We see from this episode that the Torah is so lofty and exalted that it is completely unfathomable that a human being can have any connection to the Divine wisdom of the Torah. The biggest miracle in history, bigger than the splitting of the Red Sea and the plagues in Egypt, is the fact that Moshe brought Divine wisdom down to earth and that we still have it today. The angels’ claim sounds true. How is it possible that Hashem’s thoughts, as embodied in the Torah, can be understood or remembered by man? Although it seems as if such a thing is not possible, we know that this is indeed what transpires when a Jew studies Torah. And this only happens through the process outlined in the introduction to Pirkei Avos, “Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Yehoshua....” The miracle of

our connection to the Torah only exists because of the unbroken chain of the mesorah, the tradition from Moshe Rabbeinu who brought the Torah from the heavens until today. Therefore, if a person separates himself from his rebbeim, teachers, the gedolei Yisroel, and the tzaddikim, who serve as his link to Moshe and Har Sinai, then he has no way to affect the miracle of the Torah’s connection with his mind. Without a connection to the unbroken chain reaching back to Moshe Rabbeinu, the miraculous link between heaven and earth, his mind once again becomes a piece of flesh and blood that can no longer contain the Divine wisdom of the Torah. When we nullify ourselves to our teachers and the tzaddikim, the masters of the mesorah, the tradition leading back to Har Sinai, we connect to the unbroken chain connecting us to Moshe Rabbeinu and the Giver of the Torah Himself. It is said that the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, zy”a, had a chavrusa with the author of the Minchas Chinuch. Although both men were giants in Torah, their study sessions were “not going.” After discussing the issue, they decided that their chavrusa was not succeeding because there was no mashpia/mekabel, giver/receiver, relationship between them. As we said above, the Torah was meant to be transmitted from rebbe to student throughout the generations. Because both giants in Torah were on equal footing, there was no “giver/receiver” dynamic in their chavrusa and it was not working out. They therefore decided that every day they would switch off so that one day, the Divrei Chaim would be the “rebbe” and the

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Minchas Chinuch would be the “student,” and the next day it would be the opposite. Only then was their chavrusa successful. We can now understand the problem with Korach. Because he said, “We are all neviim, prophets, so we no longer need Moshe Rabbeinu,” he severed his connection to Har Sinai and the Giver of the Torah. He lost everything. The Jewish people are compared to the moon (See Sukkah 29a, Bereishis Raba 6:3), which can only give over the light it receives from the sun. It has no light of its own. If the moon were to consider itself self-sufficient and say that it does not need the light of the sun, it would no longer have any light at all. Every month on Rosh Chodesh, the moon “runs out” of light and once again turns to the sun to receive its light and then begins to shine again till it reaches its fullness in the middle of the month. Similarly, when Korach said that the Jewish people no longer needed Moshe, his claim threatened to sever the link between the Divine and mankind, which would have had cataclysmic consequences. That is why the sun and moon told Hashem that they would not shine if Hashem failed to justify Moshe in his dispute with Korach. If the Jewish people lost the giver/receiver relationship connecting them to the source of Divine light, the sun and moon would also cease their giver/receiver relationship and the world would be deprived of physical light as well. If the giver/ receiver, rebbe/student, or parent/child relationship is broken down, we no longer have any true existence. The sun would never rise, and the moon would disappear. The Gemara in Bava Basra 74a relates a story in connection with this point in one of the wondrous tales told by Raba bar Bar Chana: [The Arab merchant] said to me, “Come, I will show you the hole in the ground which swallowed up Korach.” I went, and I saw two cracks which were emitting smoke. He took a few pieces of wool, soaked them in water, put them on the tip of a spear, and inserted them into the cracks. When he took them out, they were singed. He said to me, “Tell me what you hear.” [I put my ear near the cracks in the ground,] and I heard them saying, “Moshe and his Torah are true, and we are the liars!” The Arab said to me that every thirty

days, they are shaken up in Gehinom and brought to this place like meat that is being stirred in a pot and they say, “Moshe and his Torah are true, and we are the liars!” According to the Rashbam, when the Gemara says that every thirty days, Korach and his followers call out, “Moshe and his Torah are true,” it means they make this proclama-

though he was reluctant to get involved in the affairs of a non-Jewish family, he agreed in order to simply do someone a favor. When he met with the girl, she insisted that she wanted to convert. He tried to explain to her that everyone grows up in a certain way and that she should follow in her parents’ ways. Judaism does not seek converts, and she

Korach now recognizes every Rosh Chodesh that the Jewish people are nothing without Moshe Rabbeinu, who serves as the link to Har Sinai and Divine wisdom.

tion every Rosh Chodesh. Just like the moon recognizes on Rosh Chodesh that it needs the sun in order to have light, Korach now recognizes every Rosh Chodesh that the Jewish people are nothing without Moshe Rabbeinu, who serves as the link to Har Sinai and Divine wisdom. Korach now realizes his mistake. Just like it is obvious that the moon has no light if it does not turn to the sun, if a Jew turns away from his rebbeim, teachers, and the tzaddikim like Korach did to Moshe, that Jew has no existence. The yahrtzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zy”a, is on Gimmel Tammuz. I would be remiss if I did not tell over a story about the Rebbe. Recently, I asked a talmid of mine who is a Lubavitcher for a story about the Rebbe that I had not heard before, and he told me the following: The well-known philanthropist and businessman, R’ Yosef Gutnik of Melbourne, Australia, is the son of an important rav and talmid chochom in Melbourne, Rav Chaim Gutnik. Approximately 45 years ago, a non-Jewish man called Rav Gutnik asking for help. He explained that his fourteen-year-old daughter learned about the Holocaust in school and became obsessed with it. She began reading books about the Holocaust and Judaism and now insisted that she wanted to become a Jew. He asked if Rav Gutnik could please “talk some sense into her” and convince her not to abandon her family’s ways. Al-

could live a righteous life as a gentile following the seven Noachide laws. If she wanted to consider conversion as an adult, that was another matter, but she should follow her parents as long as she was living in their home. She compliantly agreed, and he thought that was the end of it. But a few weeks later, the man called Rav Gutnik again complaining that his daughter was crying every day that she had to become Jewish. He asked if the rav could speak with her one more time. He agreed and met with the girl. After trying to convince her once again to listen to her parents, she refused to listen, saying that she simply had to become Jewish. Rav Gutnik then made the following proposal. He told her about the Lubavitcher Rebbe in New York. He told her that the Rebbe speaks English and that she should write about her predicament to the Rebbe and that Rav Gutnik would support whatever the Rebbe advised her to do. He gave her the address, she agreed, went home, and wrote the letter. A couple of weeks after his last meeting with the daughter, the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s secretary called Rav Gutnik with a message from the Rebbe. The Rebbe told Rav Gutnik that he should stop speaking with the girl’s father and should instead speak with her mother. Because the Rebbe had said so, he dutifully called the family, explaining that although he did not know why, the Rebbe in New York told

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him that he should meet with the girl’s mother. A few minutes after the mother sat down to meet with him, she began crying and confessed that she was really Jewish, that she had survived the Holocaust, and that because of her horrific experiences, she wanted to run away from everything Jewish, fled to Melbourne, and hid the fact that she was Jewish. She told him that even her husband did not know she was really Jewish. Rav Gutnik now understood the girl’s connection with Yiddishkeit. And the irony of the fact that it was the Holocaust which caused the girl’s mother to run away from Yiddishkeit and which caused her daughter to become interested in Yiddishkeit was not lost on Rav Gutnik. Amazed that the Rebbe knew to tell him to speak with the girl’s mother, the next time he was in New York, he asked the Rebbe how he knew that he should talk to the girl’s mother. The Rebbe told him that it was not ruach hakodesh, Divine inspiration (although no Lubavitcher would believe that). Instead, after reading the passionate letter written by this girl, the Rebbe felt that it simply could not be that such a letter was written by a nonJew. He therefore assumed that she must already be Jewish. That is why he said that Rav Gutnik should speak to the girl’s mother. A Jew can try to sever the giver/receiver relationship, like this girl’s mother did. But such a life is not a life at all. Only two things can happen if someone severs the connection. The person must either reestablish the connection and once again draw from the Divine light (as the woman’s daughter did) or the person’s existence will be completely negated and will fade away from any connection with the Jewish people. May it be Hashem’s will that we all renew our connection to the baalei hamesorah, those who connect us to Moshe Rabbeinu and the Giver of the Torah so that we will renew ourselves by turning to the Source of the Divine light, so that we will be “renewed in the future like the moon” with the coming of Moshiach, may he come soon in our days.

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

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Think, Feel, Grow

The Downfall of Korach By Shmuel Reichman

ave you ever felt on top of the world, energy pulsing through your veins, ready to take on any challenge that comes your way? Most people, at some point in their lives, have felt invincible, unstoppable, almost godly. And yet, at other times, these very same people have felt weak, incapable, deﬂated, and worthless. If we take a step outside ourselves, and realize that everyone experiences this, we are likely struck by how strange and paradoxical this phenomenon is. How can we feel so capable and then so powerless, so brilliant and then so worthless, so full and then so empty, in such a short span of time (or maybe even simultaneously)? There is a fundamental idea that lies at the root of this experience, one that sheds light on the inner meaning of a strange event in Parshas Korach.

The Story of Korach The story of Korach is often considered one of rebellion, but it can also be seen as a case of mistaken

idealism, a philosophical challenge, or misplaced spiritual yearning. At the most basic level, Korach attempted a coup, rallying supporters from amongst Klal Yisrael in an attempt to overthrow Moshe and Aharon’s leadership. However, Chazal add multiple mysterious layers to Korach’s attempted rebellion that far surpass the idea of a typical attempt to seize power. The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 18:3) fills in the background behind Korach’s contentions, detailing the specific arguments that Korach brought to support his case. Korach challenged Moshe: “Should a room full of sefarim require a mezuzah on its doorpost?” In other words, should a room full of holy objects require the finishing touch of a mezuzah aﬃxed upon its doorpost? Similarly, Korach asked: “Should a four-cornered garment made completely of techeiles require techeiles in its strings.” After all, if the garment itself is made completely of

techeiles, why should it require additional techeiles in its strings? These questions preface Korach’s main question: “If the entire Jewish Nation is holy and exalted, “kol he’edah kulam kedoshim” (Bamidbar 16:3), why should you, Moshe and Aharon, hold uniquely exalted positions of power? In other words, why do we need you as spiritual leaders if we are all spiritually perfect? Although there may be elements of truth in Korach’s claims, his approach and arguments are critically ﬂawed and ultimately lead to him being punished severely. The ground opens up, and, like a mouth, consumes Korach, his followers, and all their possessions. This punishment is unique, and strikingly so – a fact that is not coincidental. As Moshe stands up to Korach’s claims against his leadership, he specifically asks Hashem to punish Korach in a new, unique, and unnatural way to prove that Moshe indeed acts only as a messenger of Hashem. Moshe says that if Korach dies a nat-

ural death, then Moshe was not sent by Hashem. If, however, Korach dies because “briyah yivrah Hashem” – Hashem creates something out of the ordinary and the ground swallows them alive, along with their possessions – it should stand as proof that Korach and his followers were in the wrong, acting against Hashem’s will (Bamidbar 16:30). The nature of this punishment is quite strange. Why does Moshe emphasize that Korach must be punished by something completely novel, and why is the ground swallowing them up the proper punishment for their crimes? In order to answer these questions, we must delve into Korach’s argument and better understand where he went wrong.

Three Spiritual Perspectives There are three main approaches to the relationship between the spiritual and the physical world. The first approach is that of monotheism, which centers around the concept of

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one G-d. Within this classical worldview, Hashem is both completely perfect and completely transcendent. He exists beyond the universe of space and time, completely detached from this physical world. The second approach is that of pantheism, which asserts that the entirety of the physical universe is itself G-d. In other words, there is nothing that transcends this world. This is a completely immanent perspective of Hashem. What results from this theory is actually quite startling; if Hashem is the world, and He is “nature,” then humanity literally is part of Hashem. The common understanding of pantheism is that Hashem is the “soul” of the universe, the physical world is the expression of Hashem, and there is nothing more of Hashem than what we see expressed in the universe. The problem with this perspective is that it places limitations on Hashem, positing that Hashem is nothing more than the universe itself. Furthermore, this breaks down the concept of boundaries, and consequently, challenges the validity of halacha (Jewish law). If one is part of Hashem, then one can easily claim that whatever he or she does is the will of Hashem! Lastly, with pantheism comes a complete breakdown of distinction and difference. There is no difference between you and another human being, or between you and this rock, or even between you and Hashem; after all, we are all Hashem anyways. The third approach is a deeper, more holistic form of monotheism, a synthesis of these first two polar extremes. This is the worldview of most Kabbalistic and mystical thinkers. According to this view, Hashem is both transcendent, as in traditional monotheism, and immanent, as in pantheism. While at root Hashem is transcendent and infinite, He also manifests and expresses Himself in the physical world. This differs from traditional monotheism, as it posits that Hashem is not only transcendent but rather that the physical world itself is also connected to and an aspect of Hashem, that Hashem manifests and expresses Himself within this world. It differs from pantheism, because while it sees the physical world as a manifestation of Hashem,

Hashem Himself is completely beyond the physical world. In essence, it is a deeper and more holistic form of monotheism.

Korach’s Sin As many Jewish thinkers explain, Korach’s sin lay in his pantheistic view. He believed that the physical world, as well as all the people within it, are part of Hashem Himself, and therefore already spiritually perfect. Korach says, “Kol ha’edah kulam kedoshim” – the entire nation is holy. There is no difference between me

his punishment. He claimed that there is nothing outside the limited framework of the physical world, that nothing new can be added, as a result, Hashem created a new punishment just for him. We must still ask, though, why did Hashem specifically choose to have the earth swallow Korach up? Is there a deeper meaning to this specific punishment?

Korach’s Pitfall Korach’s sin can be most clearly defined as gayvah, haughtiness. In

Korach’s ego and haughtiness sunk him, quite literally, to the lowest, most insignificant level possible.

and Moshe, or me and Aharon, or the Jewish People and their leaders. Everything is Hashem, everything is one. Within pantheism, there are no boundaries or distinctions and nothing higher to connect to. Hashem is only connected to the here and now, and therefore we do not need to look for anything transcendent, higher, or beyond this physical world. We can now understand why Moshe asked Hashem to create a “chiddush” – a completely novel punishment for Korach. From a pantheistic viewpoint, everything in this world is already perfect, as it is Hashem. Consequently, there can be no chiddush, there can be absolutely nothing new. The logic behind this is simple: If there is nothing outside the system – no transcendent force beyond the physical world – there can be nothing new that comes into the world. Once the system is fundamentally and inherently limited to what it already is, with no higher outside force that can affect it, nothing new can be added. Therefore, Moshe asked Hashem to add something new to the world, a novel phenomenon, thereby punishing Korach middah kineged middah (measure for measure). His very claim would be disproved through

essence, Korach claimed that he, and all of Klal Yisrael, were no different from Hashem. Korach singlehandedly raised himself up to the level of perfection, of G-dliness. While there is a kernel of truth in this idea, as we are all created b’tzelem Elokim, in the image of Hashem, Korach distorted this principle and took it to the extreme. This is why Korach’s punishment was so appropriate. He claimed that he was perfect, and in so doing raised himself up to infinite heights. As a consequence, Hashem opened up the earth, swallowing Korach and sending him to the very lowest of depths imaginable. Korach’s ego and haughtiness sunk him, quite literally, to the lowest, most insignificant level possible. The pasuk in Tehillim (Perek 92) says, “Tzaddik katamar yifrach,” the righteous will bloom like palm trees. The last letters from each of these words spell Korach. While Korach was swallowed up by the earth, he was like a planted seed that would later sprout fruits. As a matter of fact, Chazal state that Korach’s children survived Korach’s punishment, as they did teshuva as they were being swallowed up (Megillah 14a). Can you think of anything more profound and inspiring than this? Korach’s entire

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claim lay in his belief that humans are equal to Hashem and are therefore already perfect. Since we are perfect, we not only don’t need to change and grow, but we can’t. Something that is perfect cannot change or grow, it must remain static. The children of Korach survived by doing teshuva. Teshuva is the ultimate expression of the human ability to change, to grow, to transform from one state of being to another. The seed was planted, and the righteous palm trees sprouted. It is no surprise that, many years later, Shmuel Ha’Navi came from the seed of Korach, a tzaddik who devoted his life to ascending the spiritual ladder of growth and traveled across Eretz Yisrael inspiring others to do the same (See Bamidbar Rabbah 3:11).

Becoming Perfect We aren’t perfect, we are becoming perfect. This is why we can feel so capable and then so powerless, so brilliant and then so worthless, so full and then so empty, in such a short span of time. We are on a journey of becoming, of actualizing our fullest potential. Sometimes we feel and fully embrace the G-dliness within us; sometimes we feel the void, realizing our shortcomings, and yearn to become more. We aren’t Hashem, but we are meant to strive every day to come closer and closer to Him. Korach’s pitfall resulted in his actual “pit-fall.” May we be inspired to learn from Korach’s mistake and harness the beauty of being human. Our humanity is our unique G-dliness. We have the ability to grow, to become, to change, to evolve, to actualize more and more of our tzelem Elokim, and achieve our destiny in this world.

Shmuel Reichman is an inspirational speaker, writer, and coach who has lectured internationally at shuls, conferences, and Jewish communities on topics of Jewish thought and Jewish medical ethics. He is the founder and CEO of Self-Mastery Academy (ShmuelReichman. com), the transformative online course that is revolutionizing how we engage in self-development. You can find more inspirational lectures, videos, and articles from Shmuel on his website, ShmuelReichman.com.

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Delving into the Daf

Multiple Mezuzos? By Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

oruch and Shimon take a day trip to visit some of the quaint bungalow colonies located in the scenic Catskill Mountains. Of course, when newly built, they were a pristine vacation destination. Now, some look like they are a prime example of poverty in America. While walking around one colony, they notice rusty bikes and scooters. Wanting to peek inside a bungalow, they walk on the porch. Boruch: Wow, this bungalow is sporting a new mezuzah! Shimon: The owner of this bungalow must learn the Daf. Boruch: Why do you say that? Shimon: Didn’t you notice that right next to the new mezuzah there is an old mezuzah covered up by years of paint? Boruch: Nice. Your reference is, of course, to the curtain in the Beis HaMikdash that had years of blood on it. Rebbe Elazar ben Rebbe Yosi miraculously cured the Caesar’s daughter who had been possessed by a demon. As a display of gratitude, the Caesea let him enter his treasury and take whatever he wanted. He tore up the parchment that contained evil decrees against the Bnei Yisrael, thereby nullifying them. While there, he spotted the actual paroches from the Beis HaMikodash that had been plundered, r”l, by the Romans. (Quoted by Rashi in Yoma on 57a.) Nice, Shimon, your mind is always on Torah. Shimon: Nice, Boruch, for remembering that. Actually, you got the right Daf, but I was referring to something else. Boruch: Same Daf? Maybe you are referring to Rebbe Chanina’s statement that no matter how far we strayed or what we have done, Hashem still rests his Divine Presence among us? Even in this forlorn bungalow colony? Shimon: Cute, but no. I’m refer-

ring to the double mezuza! Boruch: Hmmm, now that I think about it, I see it may be an issue. Putting up two mezuzos on one doorpost is an apparent violation of the issur min haTorah of baal tosif. One may not add to the mitzvos of the Torah, like putting five parshiyos in tefillin instead of four. Also, one may not add a fifth variety to the lulav on Sukkos. Putting up two mezuzos instead of one is likewise forbidden. That’s a nice observation, Shimon, but what in the world does that have to do with the Daf that primarily discusses the service in the Beis HaMikdosh on Yom Kippur? Shimon: The Gemara discusses the possibility that the blood of the sacrifices may have gotten mixed up on Yom Kippur. The Kohen Gadol is supposed to perform two sets of sprinkling – one with the blood of a goat and one with the blood of a bull. The sprinkling of the blood of the bull is supposed to take place first.

Unfortunately, the kohen doesn’t know which receptacle contains bull blood and which contains goat blood. So how does the Kohen Gadol ensure that the bull blood sprinkling takes place first? Boruch: Yes, that was a nice riddle. The Gemara explains that he sprinkles three sets as opposed to two. Whichever receptacle he starts with, he also finishes with. The result is that he either sprinkled bull-goatbull, in which case the last sprinkling is meaningless, or he sprinkled goat-bull-goat, in which case the first sprinkling is meaningless. Either way, he certainly fulfilled the mitzvah by sprinkling the proper sequence of bull-goat, either as the first and second set or the second and third set. Shimon: Didn’t it bother you that the Kohen Gadol on the holiest day of the year is violating the biblical prohibition of baal tosif?! The Torah told him to sprinkle two sets, and he

is doing three! Boruch: Wow, good point. I seem to recall that the Tosfos Yeshanim suggests that since he is only performing the third set, not to add to the mitzvah but only as an ingenious way to escape his predicament of the mixed-up blood, it’s permitted. Still, what does that have to do with putting two mezuzos on the same doorpost? Shimon: I suspect the resident of the bungalow was not sure if the first mezuza was kosher or not. Therefore, he put on the new mezuza to get out of a situation of doubt – not to add to the mitzvah. He relied on the tosfos yeshanim! Boruch: It’s nice that you are always judging everyone favorably. Still, this exact case was discussed by the Pischei Teshuva (YD 291:2). He says that one should not put up a second mezuza to escape from checking the first one. It is a serious issue of baal tosif. Shimon: Perhaps, the resident of the bungalow mentally decided not to use the first mezuza, and when he put up the second mezuza, he is actively showing that he is just “storing” the first mezuza there and not using it for the mitzvah? Boruch: Someone actually suggested this trick to Rav Moshe Feinstei,n zt”l. (Igros Moshe YD 1:183). He refused to accept it. He reasoned: “If it worked, why didn’t the Pischei Teshuva suggest it?” Moreover, he brought proof from a seemingly similar situation. The Shulchan Aruch (OC 10:6) discusses a situation about one who wishes to change his tzitzis strings. He attaches the second set while the first set is still attached. The result is that he has 8 strings on every corner, instead of 4. The Rema writes that even if his intention was to nullify the first set of strings, his tzitzis are invalid until he removes the first set. So too, the second me-

The Jewish Home | JUNE 29, 10, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 2015

zuza is invalid until he removes the first, even if his intention was to nullify the first mezuzah. Shimon: That teshuva rings a bell. I seem to recall that the Beis Yosef said that Rashi argues this point. Boruch: Yes, but we hold like the Rema, and the Shulchan Aruch didn’t even cite that opinion. Moreover, paradoxically, that opinion actually holds that when you intend to nullify the first set, you are yotzei, but only with the first set of strings and not the second set! So whatever reason you had for putting up a second mezuza, it would be meaningless anyway. (The reasoning behind this is somewhat perplexing. See there.) Shimon: Perhaps, he held that a bungalow is not obligated to have a mezuza and was just putting up a mezuza as a hiddur. Boruch: Yes, there is an opinion that a crowded and non-winterized bungalow is not obligated in mezuza if the husband doesn’t live there during the week. Rav Moshe Fein-

stein didn’t accept this opinion, but perhaps the resident did. Shimon: I seem to recall that when the Minchas Elazar rented a certain dwelling for more than thirty days, he put up a mezuza, although there was one there already.

galow surmised that a sixty-year-old mezuza left on the outside of the bungalow was most likely invalid. It’s unclear if Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, would accept that rationale. He said that even if it would be an expense to unearth an existing mezuza, one

Even if it would be an expense to unearth an existing mezuza, one should take it off and check it and not simply affix another one.

Boruch: That’s a good point. The Shut Betzail HaChochma (4:165) explains that the situation was that the Minchas Elazar knew that most, if not all, of the mezuzos in that establishment were invalid. It could be likewise that the resident of the bun-

should take it off and check it and not simply affix another one. However, he wasn’t discussing a case where it was definitely invalid. Shimon: Can there be an issue of baal tosif if the mezuza is definitely invalid?

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Boruch: It’s not unheard of. There are two well-known opinions as to the proper way to make tefillin – Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam. According to Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam’s tefillin are invalid and vice versa. Yet, putting them both on simultaneously runs afoul of baal tosif. However, there we say that the intention to only fulfill the mitzvah with one helps. (SA OC 34:2) Shimon: Let me guess, you’re going to say that eating in a sukkah on Shemini Atzeres is baal tosif as well. Boruch: Sorry, for that you’ll have to wait until the Daf gets up to Masechta Sukkah on the 29th of Tammuz.

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.

JUNE 10, 2021 | The Jewish Home

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

World

Builders

Mother of 8 Saves Lives By Raphael Poch

alton resident Orly Ezra is a woman of many talents, in addition to running her own tourism business and renting out tzimmerim (guesthouses) in her hometown of Dalton, she is also a mother of eight children aged 1127 and volunteers as an EMT with United Hatzalah in a number of capacities. In addition to being a volunteer first responder who drops whatever she is doing and rushes out to respond to medical emergencies whenever they occur in her area, Orly also volunteers with the organization’s Ten Kavod project as well as the Emergency Room assistance project. As part of the Ten Kavod (Giving Honor) project, Orly visits an elderly person who lives on their own at least once a week. She spends an hour with them, checking their medical status as well as being social with them so as to alleviate the feeling of loneliness that they feel. “This project was especially important during the Covid-19 pandemic in Israel when many of the elderly were cut off from the rest of the world for fear of contracting the virus,” said project director Ariel Ben David. “Many of the elderly in Israel, including Holocaust survivors who are part of the project, didn’t leave their homes at all during the entire year of the pandemic and the only social interaction they had was with volunteers who visited them – volunteers like Orly.” As part of the Emergency Room Assistance project, Orly, like some 500 other volunteers across the country, does at a minimum two shifts a month, each for 3-4 hours in the emergency room of a local hospital. Orly works with Ziv hospital in Tzefat. As part of the project, she assists the nursing staff at the hospital with patient triage and intake, as well as performing numerous vital tasks in caring for the patients. Orly

and other participating volunteers are responsible for some of the basic care that the incoming patients receive in the emergency room, and by doing this, they alleviate the pressure felt by the medical teams during peak intake times. “I’ve been volunteering for more

hiking trail of Nahal Amud. Those keep us pretty busy, as do the home child-births that take place because women can’t make it to the hospital in time,” Orly explained. “We have lots of other medical calls as well – pretty much everything that can take place does.”

“It took me three minutes to arrive, and within six minutes of getting there, the baby was born in my arms.”

than three years as part of United Hatzalah, and I love it,” said Orly. “I live in an area without a lot of first responders, and as the towns are fairly far apart, ambulance response times can be slow, especially if the other volunteers aren’t around when an emergency occurs,” explained the seasoned EMT. “We have a lot of car accidents here due to the windy roads and a lot of hikers get stuck on the nearby

Orly recalled an emergency birth that took place entirely in six minutes. “I remember the most dramatic child-birth experience that I had was when I responded to an incident of a woman in the early stages of labor. She was still having early contractions when her husband called for an ambulance. It took me three minutes to arrive, and within six minutes of getting there, the baby

was born in my arms. Thankfully, the mother and baby were both well, and a new baby boy was born. It was pretty dramatic how quickly things developed, and thank G-d I was there with another volunteer, otherwise, the husband would have had to deliver his own wife and would have waited a long time for the ambulance to arrive.” Orly recounted another incident involving two young men who were involved in a motor vehicle accident. One of the men was driving a car and the other an all-terrain-vehicle ATV. “It was a serious accident involving a young man who was in critical condition. He was transported by helicopter to Rambam Hospital. He was suffering from a serious head condition. The second young man was in serious condition with an open bone fracture,” she recalled. “Had we not been there to treat them, they would have waited too long for intervention and may not be here today. Currently, they are both recuperating and hopefully will make a full recovery.” In spite of running her own business, Orly is very thankful to be a volunteer with United Hatzalah and have the opportunity to save lives. “I am very thankful that I entered into this line of volunteering,” she said. “I believe that anyone who can should pick up the gauntlet and become a volunteer EMT and first responder, no matter what you do. “I have eight children and run my own business, and once I had the opportunity to do this, I jumped at it. It makes such a difference to those around me, as well as to me and my children and husband as well. The work is so vital and important, and it really saves lives. Those who love give to others, and they give to others without expecting anything in return. This is what we do as volunteers in United Hatzalah.”

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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Too Much Change in the “Change Coalition”? BY SHAMMAI SISKIND

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in late March, Yamina party chairman Naftali Bennett was interviewed by the religious-Zionist outlet Arutz Sheva. With the latest round of elections completed only days earlier and coalition-forming efforts then fully underway, Bennet left no room for ambiguity for what his political intentions were. Following the election, the Yesh Atid party, headed by center-left politician Yair Lapid, passed the polls with seventeen parliamentary seats. With the results in, it became crystal clear any government that would present an alternative to Binyamin Netanyahu – whom Bennett has repeatedly denounced and called for his replacement over the past year – would be formed by Lapid. Bennett was adamant he would take no part in such a coalition. “I am a man of the Land of Israel from the womb and from birth,” Bennett said, “as I have already promised: I will not lend my hand to a government headed by Lapid, not even in a rotation, because I am a right-wing man. Period.” The Yamina chairman went on to dismiss accusations from Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Likud party that he would help the left rise to power. “I will never help Lapid become prime minister because his positions are the opposite of mine.” Little more than two months after that interview, Bennett transgressed the very red line he so clearly laid out. On June 3, Bennett announced that he had reached a deal along with seven other parties to form a government with Yair Lapid, whom he warmly referred to as “my friend.” In the late night hours the previous evening, Lapid informed Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin he had succeeded in reaching a deal.

(L-R) Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, Yamina chair Naftali Bennett, New Hope chair Gideon Sa’ar, Blue and White head Benny Gantz, Ra’am chair Mansour Abbas, Labor head Merav Michaeli and Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz at a meeting of the heads of the would-be-coalition in Tel Aviv, June 6, 2021. (Ra’anan Cohen)

ABBAS IN THE ALLIANCE The recently announced coalition pact is almost too strange to believe. The list of “political firsts” the new government will bring in is long indeed. Two years ago, Naftali Bennett became the first religious MK to head the Defense Ministry. With the official vote to establish a new government set for Sunday, it seems Bennett will again make history as the first observant prime minister of Israel. Similarly, never has there been such a thinly spread variety of parties that have taken part in forming a coalition. The new government will house the full gamut of

Israel’s political spectrum: from religious-Zionists to leftist radicals, from conservative-leaning secular right-wingers, to ardent socialists. It also presents a seismic rattling of the political landscape in Israel, the likes of which haven’t been seen for decades. Among the many intriguing aspects of this weird alliance, two in particular stand out. First and foremost is the unprecedented participation of the Ra’am party headed by Mansour Abbas. Ra’am’s support of the coalition marks the first time an Arab party will be vital to forming an

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER The Jewish Home | JUNE 29, 10, 2015 2021

Israeli government. Abbas himself made sure to bring up this fact after the coalition deal was announced. This is the first time that an Arab party is part of the process of forming a government. “We, of course, hope that it works and that a government will rise after four rounds of elections,” Abbas said in an official statement. Of course, the involvement of Ra’am, a self-defined Islamist party, is a touchy issue in Israel and speaks to the heart of the conflict between Israel identifying as a Jewish state and a democratic one. Over the decades, most governments were able to avoid this issue by simply not bringing Arab parties into their coalitions. At other times, as was the case in the ‘50s and ‘60s when Ben Gurion’s Mapai party still dominated politics, Arab parties were simply satellites of the ruling party, with barely any influence on policy. This, however, is a very, very different scenario. The “change coalition,” as it has come to be known, is seeking a significant shift of power in Israel’s governing and administrative bodies. Without Ra’am, it simply doesn’t have the numbers to do so. What this means is that this time an Arab faction will be instrumental in bringing about decisive change. All of this brings up uneasy history from three decades ago, when the Rabin government pushed through the infamous Oslo Accords, a radical change in the Arab-Israeli conflict. In 1993, Rabin’s government survived a vote of no confidence with the help of two non-Zionist parties with primarily Arab constituencies – Hadash and the Arab Democratic Party. Both of them were not coalition members. In 1995, the votes of three Hadash Knesset members allowed the Oslo Accords to be ratified by a vote of 61 to 59. The ensuing debate which tore the country apart cemented a belief among a majority of Israeli Jews that important decisions relating to security or foreign affairs must rely on a Jewish majority. The very idea of seeking political change by relying on the support of Arab parties became an anathema. Polls reveal that as late as 2019, less than 20 percent of Jews approved of incorporating Arab parties into coalitions. While the severity of the Arab participation question cannot and should not be dismissed, it is important to keep the particular development involving Ra’am in perspective. The less-than-earth-shattering nature of Abbas’s participation in the government is underscored by the outrage toward it in much of Palestinian media. Nationalist-oriented Palestinians – i.e., those with the explicit goal of amputating parts of the Jewish homeland to form their own state –see Abbas as nothing less than a traitor to the cause. Take the most recent editorial by the Palestinian Chronicle, an outlet that toes the violently anti-Israel party line narrative in its entirety. In a June 7 piece entitled, “Power at Any Cost: How Opportunistic Mansour Abbas Joined Hands with Avowed ‘Arab Killers,’” regular contributor Ramzy

Baroud lambasts the Ra’am chairman for selling out Palestinian interests. “Sadly, the unprecedented success of the Arab [MKs] following the March 2020 elections has now culminated to a tragic end, where the likes of Abbas become the unwelcomed ‘representative’ of a politically conscious and awakened community.” Put in plain English, Abbas’s readiness to collaborate on the latest coalition deal is, according to Baroud, betraying the hopes and dreams of the Arabs he claims to represent. However, this accusation against Abbas is simply based on a false premise. Abbas isn’t interested in advocating for “politically conscious and awakened” Palestinians – at least his policy agendas aren’t showing that. During the recent round of flareups in Gaza and throughout the country, Abbas, to the ire of Palestinian hardliners, did not participate in the riling-up of the Arab population

Abbas’s readiness to collaborate on the latest coalition deal is, according to Baroud, betraying the hopes and dreams of the Arabs he claims to represent. and called on his supporters to “respect the law.” Despite the opportunity he had to bring to the fore any nationalist sentiments he had, he didn’t. This is for the simple reason that, as Baroud wrote, Abbas’s “political narrative is almost apolitical as he insists on reducing the national struggle of the Palestinian people to the mere need for economic developments.” In other words, Abbas is not interested in pursuing a nationalist cause, only a social one. This, it is worth noting, is not fundamentally different from Netanyahu’s own “economic peace” proposal that Bibi advocated over a decade ago. During a 2008 plenary of the United Jewish Communities General Assembly, Netanyahu stated

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that any peace process needs to focus on economic issues and not political disagreements. “Instead of talking about contentious issues such as the status of Jerusalem, the first step to a lasting peace needs to be the fostering of the Palestinians’ economic situation,” he said. Obviously, it would be naive to think that all enemies of Israel can be bought off by improving their “economic situation.” There will always be those who will despise Israel, view it as a colonialist occupier, and treat it as such – even if that occupier can provide better paved roads and air-conditioned supermarkets. But this is the very point. Abbas is not seeking to placate those voices. On the contrary, even if Mansour Abbas does harbor dreams of a free Palestine in his heart of hearts, fighting that fight does not serve him politically. His voters sent him to the Knesset for one reason – to improve their quality of life at the material and legislative level. Abbas’s whole platform from the outset of his career has been a socio-economic one. Demands from his new coalition partners didn’t involve surrendering territory to the Palestinian Authority or freezes to settlement construction in Judea and Samaria. What they did involve was funding – funding for the social and infrastructural issues his constituency so desperately seeks. This is what Abbas hammered home when the news broke that his party would be part of the new government. “We have reached a critical mass of agreements in various fields,” Abbas told reporters. “[These] serve the interest of Arab society and that provide solutions for the burning issues in Arab society – planning, the housing crisis, and, of course, fighting violence and organized crime.” Abbas promised that many of the benefits would flow to the Negev region in southern Israel. Ra’am’s base is among the traditional Bedouin communities in the Negev Desert. The so-called “change bloc” agreed to a whopping NIS 53 billion ($16.3 billion) in budgets and government development plans for Arab society. According to a statement by

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Ra’am officials, Bennett and Lapid pledged NIS 30 billion over five years in unspecified economic development funds, as well as another NIS 2.5 million ($770,000) to fight violence and organized crime in Arab society. Furthermore, three Bedouin villages – Abda, Khashm al-Zena, and Rakhma – are set to be legalized in a government decision, according to Ra’am. The heavy and explicit focus Abbas has placed on his social and infrastructural agenda has the potential to bring about a much-needed change in Israeli political discourse, namely the untethering of social agendas from nationalistic ones. For much of Israel’s history, all Arab political agendas have been seen by Israelis as an effort to attack the state’s legitimacy or subvert it in some way. Efforts to improve the conditions of Palestinians and/or Israeli Arabs were conflated with the more general aim of undermining Israel. If there were complaints, for instance, about the quality of public services in Arab population centers, it was really just a pretext to fight the occupation. To be sure, there was much truth to that perception. But Abbas’s explicit shift away from nationalist issues could bring a clear distinction to these two categories. Abbas, a longtime veteran of Arab Israeli politics and activism knows better than anyone how much security concerns play a role in the derelict state of his voters and the communities they live in. Whether it’s the “no-go zones” of East Jerusalem or the lawless swaths of Israel’s south, the lack of police, basic services, and vital infrastructure is due largely to the fact that it is too costly from a safety perspective for Israeli authorities to operate there. Thus, for Abbas to achieve his most important programs, it is in his interests to convince his supporters to cooperate with the state. Fostering this cooperation has been part and parcel of Abbas’s policy stances. So far, his behavior has reflected it as well. Let us hope that continues to be the case. BYE-BYE BIBI The second noteworthy factor of this newly-formed coalition – the one that has been most covered by mainstream media in the West – is the “dethroning” of Netanyahu, the longest serving prime minister in the country’s history. Netanyahu’s reign has not only been due to the dominance of his Likud faction, a party which has enjoyed an average of 30 parliamentary seats for nearly twelve straight elections. It is also the result of Netanyahu’s incredible skill at forming political alliances – and laying waste to opponents. To put it bluntly, Bibi is the most highly skilled politician ever to emerge on the Israeli scene, a fact even many of his detractors reluctantly admit. And this has led to his incredibly long hold on power. Over the years, however, Netanyahu’s tactics, especially his legendary rigidity and unwillingness to share power or credit, has incurred a cost. And it seems now the debt has finally caught up with him. It is truly remarkable that every major figure

on the Israeli Right today was, at one point, a Netanyahu confidant. All experienced along the way a major falling out with the longtime premier: head of the recently formed New Hope party Gideon Saar, Israel Beteinu’s Avigdor Liberman, Naftali Bennett, even the Likud veteran Zev Elkin, all came up in the ranks either working for, or closely with, Binyamin Netanyahu. His former allies all tell a similar story. That Netanyahu has lied to everyone about everything, publicly and shamelessly, and furthermore –and this is the really damning line – the retention of power has become his priority, not promoting the rightwing Zionist values he claims to hold. For two years now, four consecutive elections have been essentially battles between pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu camps. Despite the

To put it bluntly, Bibi is the most highly skilled politician ever to emerge on the Israeli scene, a fact even many of his detractors reluctantly admit.

uncompromising zeal of the “change-bloc,” its lack of numbers has kept Israel in a political purgatory, with Netanyahu clinging to the prime minister’s seat and his opponents unwilling to budge. FLIP-FLOPPING Which brings us back to Bennett’s commitment to never sit in a government with Yair Lapid and his blatant reversal on that promise. While he has not addressed the issue explicitly, Bennett is very much aware of how glaring of an about-face he took. According to Bennett, however, the decision to form a “unity government” with Lapid was of existential importance. Israel has not had a stable government in four years. It has not had a state budget in over two. This deadlock, enforced by the irreconcilability of every party’s respective campaign promises, has become intractable. “What we didn’t accomplish in four elections, we will not accomplish in the fifth,” said Bennett in his speech announcing his coalition deal with Lapid. According to Bennett, his efforts to form a deal with Netanyahu were in vain. The Yamina head asserted that Netanyahu is no longer able to produce

real rightwing governance since staying in power has become his only concern. “Mr. Netanyahu is no longer trying to form a right-wing government because he knows full well that there isn’t one. He is seeking to take the whole national camp, and the whole country, with him on his personal last stand,” said Bennett. Some critics say Bennett rejected coalition offers from Netanyahu only in order to reach the Prime Minister’s office. This fury against Bennett’s decision has come out in running protests near the homes of Yamina party members and persistent threats from right wing activists –which have caused Bennett’s security detail to be increased in recent days. But an equally plausible reason for Bennett’s move is his sincere belief that substantive change in Israel’s governmental make-up is the only way to ensure any measure of political stability. Another important point to consider is that the new government may be able to accomplish feats Netanyahu’s governments were not. Indeed, due to the strictures in Bibi’s political maneuvering, many of the issues close to rightwing voters have been left neglected. These include restructuring of the Justice Ministry (long seen as a tool of Leftist political agendas) and the protection of additional areas in Judea and Samaria – regions dubbed “Area C” – falling under Palestinian control. Both of these have been addressed in the coalition deal. Other important issues relating to business law, long championed by Bennett, including regulation reform, have the greatest chance of being addressed with Yamina in a position of power. But perhaps the most important element the new government will bring to the table is a marked change to the factionalist atmosphere that has come to define Israeli politics. All party heads have committed to setting aside their vast fundamental differences and focusing on basic issues that they all can agree on – rehabilitating the post-Covid economy, for example. In a statement released a few days ago, Yair Lapid vowed the new government “will work to serve all the citizens of Israel [...] and do everything in its power to unite all parts of Israeli society.” These commitments were not just empty rhetoric. Written into the coalition deal was a provision to allow any additional party to join the coalition after it is sworn in even without the approval of all coalition parties. One Israeli outlet reported that Bennett’s goal is to get one of the ultra-Orthodox parties to join. This open invitation shows how all the parties actually value political unity even at the potential expense of their political agendas. To be sure, there is much cynicism that can be laid onto the incoming government. It is fragile, is composed of seemingly incompatible ideological camps, and required the reneging on more than a few commitments by party leaders. But for many Israeli voters, the possibility of finally escaping a two-year standoff, and perhaps bringing forth some substantive across-the-aisle cooperation, makes for a welcomed and refreshing proposition.

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Bringing Her Experience to the City TJH Speaks with Terri Liftin, Candidate for NYC Comptroller BY SUSAN SCHWAMM

Terri, when did you decide to run for New York City comptroller? I have various friends in my neighborhood, on East 67th in Manhattan, who are very involved in politics. One of my friends ran for city council and state assembly. Since last August, I had been fielding calls about the comptroller’s race and how desperate the city’s financial fiscal situation was, how it was going to get much worse in the coming years, and that it was really time to bring in someone, a professional. There is a need to bring someone in with a finance and asset management background, someone who would understand what it meant to be a fiduciary, and someone who would have the courage to speak up against some of the spending practices. It took me a while to fully appreciate that what I was being asked is whether I would run, and I finally made the decision over the Thanksgiving holiday to run for NYC comptroller. We officially announced my run in early January. So it’s been a crazy half a year

for you – crazier than most people’s, I guess. Can you tell readers what exactly the New York City comptroller does? Broadly speaking, the comptroller is the chief fiscal officer of New York City. There are a few primary responsibilities. Number one is that it’s a fiduciary to the city’s five pension funds. It’s the final say on all contracts with the city – the comptroller ensures that there’s integrity in those contracts. The comptroller has the authority, under the city charter, to audit every city agency every four years. The comptroller also dispenses with, and otherwise deals with, all litigation brought against the city and by the city. And then finally, the comptroller provides general oversight and counsel to the city, the mayor, and the city council on the budget. It sounds like somebody with your experience – and we’ll get to your experience in a few minutes –would be the perfect candidate for this position. Why do you think the comptroller position has become more of a

political position, as opposed to a position based on merit? I love that question because it’s something that I’ve been thinking about as well. When people ask me, I’m trying to make the point that the comptroller really shouldn’t be a political position. I do appreciate the fact that the person who should run for election needs to be independent and needs to be a check on the mayor and city council and spending. But I think, at its core, the office really should be held by a professional. In terms of why politicians generally end up with the position of comptroller, I would say, the answer is twofold. One, I think the hardest part of becoming a politician is your first run. And once you’re in office, you have the infrastructure you need to stay in office, and then to run for other offices. Now, for myself, because I have never been involved in politics, I’m finding a lack of infrastructure, constituency, and a fundraising support base does make it difficult for outsiders. If you’re already in political office, you have relationships with the press and other politicians. So it’s

easy to get noticed and covered and raise money and endorsements. And, two, some people say the comptroller’s office is a stepping stone for mayor, although, there haven’t been too many comptrollers that have been successful. I think the last one was Abe Beame.

Well, Scott Stringer is running for mayor now, so I guess he sees it as that stepping stone. That’s right. But we’ll see whether he gets there. Because of Scott running for mayor, I think it’s become a big question in this race. And it’s a fair question: How many of the candidates running for comptroller are running because they’re bumping up against term limits and they need another political job? And how many of them see it as a stepping stone to mayor? Political ambition is not an attractive quality, I have to tell you. Wanting to do the job because you want to do service for New York City – that’s what it should be about. You bring a lot of experience to

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the position. Tell readers a little bit about your experience in this area. Let me start with my background. I grew up in Great Neck, right over the Queens border, and I went to Great Neck South, a public school. In 1986, I moved to Manhattan, where I attended Barnard College. As I was telling some members of the Orthodox community earlier, I was remembering Shabbats on Friday nights. I’m not Jewish, so I was always the one who turned off the lights and the oven after Shabbat dinner. And when they let me, I would eat in the kosher dining room because the food was always so good. After Barnard, I worked for a while as a paralegal. And then I went to NYU to get a Masters in Economics. After NYU, I worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as an economic analyst. I analyzed macroeconomic behavior and the interaction with the economy. I was actually in the World Trade Center the first time the attempt was made. I worked in One World Trade. And then after the Port Authority, I went to Brooklyn Law School on a scholarship. After I graduated from Brooklyn Law School, I worked at two different law firms. The first law firm I worked at I was in the litigation department, and I learned the anatomy of a legal case. I learned when to fight and when to settle. And then I moved to a second large firm in the securities and regulatory practice, where our clients were investment managers and broker-dealers. I now have been married for 22 years, but at the time, my husband and I decided to start a family. And I just knew that working long hours at a law firm wasn’t consistent with how I wanted to raise my family, so I moved in-house to the investment management business. That’s where I’ve worked for 15 years. I worked my way up to be the chief legal officer, chief compliance officer at investment management firms, firms that manage pension assets – state private pensions, state, city, and union pensions. I know what it means to be a fiduciary. I have negotiated billions of dollars in investments. I’ve negotiated beneficial terms for pension investors with underlying investments. I’ve reviewed hundreds of contracts. I have experience making sure that contracts were tailored to the right level of services and that payment was always based on success

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gap in 2021 and for 2022. The federal relief package, roughly $15 billion, is all being all spent over the next two years. And as a result, we’re going to face deficits again in a couple of years of $4 billion or more. We really need someone with the courage to speak out and make sure that doesn’t happen.

and performance metrics, not just a promise to deliver services. I’ve had litigation experience. Additionally, when I was in-house, I was involved with settling cases. As a chief compliance officer, I was really accountable to the SEC, a federal regulator. I always made sure I put monitoring programs in place, where we would track expenses and follow the money, making sure every dollar that was spent was spent in line with what we could spend, according to the documents. That’s what I’ve been doing for

ed to step up. The homeless weren’t being taken care of. There seemed to be more mentally ill people who just weren’t getting the services they needed. I also felt that we were being pulled apart and that we were just being pitted against one another. And then COVID hit. My boys love the city, and my husband and I do, too. I decided, “I’m going to stay here, and I’m going to fight and I’m going to make it better.” If that’s what you were thinking

The next comptroller has to stand up and have the courage to speak out against what’s going on. the last 15 years. Now, it’s time for me to hand over my service to New York City. I love the city. It’s given me every opportunity. And now, it’s my time to give back. I’ve been extremely frustrated over the last few years, prior to COVID. I started thinking to myself, “Something is just not right. Our leaders, our city politicians, our mayor are spending so much money.” And when I looked around, it just seemed like we weren’t getting the return on our tax dollars. Whether you lived on the Upper East Side or the Lower East Side or anywhere in the city, the streets were dirty. The transportation wasn’t reliable. Crime had start-

before COVID, I’m sure COVID wrecked the city’s finances even more. I wasn’t reviewing the budget prior to COVID, but that’s the feeling I was getting as someone who lived and worked in New York City since 1986. I’ve seen the effects of a national recession. I lived through the dotcom bubble bursting in the late ‘90s, 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, the global financial crisis. As we emerge from COVID, we have a long way to go to come back, although the fiscal situation turned out not to be as bad because personal income taxes and property taxes were much higher than the city anticipated. We were able to cover the

When you’re speaking with voters, what’s primary on their minds? They really are craving new and competent leaders. They’re tired of the current political leadership. They’re tired of politicians promising but not delivering. They’re tired of communities being pitted against one another based on social factors, whether it’s race or money. Politicians are always blaming somebody else for the problems, instead of trying to come up with solutions. That’s what I’m hearing. When you get to office, what are the things you want to tackle first? Any time you come into an organization, it’s really important that you assess the current team. In the case of the comptroller, the current team is over 700 employees. I think that Scott Stringer has really top-notch people at all levels, but he probably has too many people. The second priority is to make sure that we’re investing our pensions based on the best risk adjusted returns. Right now, there’s an equal weighting put on different social factors and social screens. I think that social programs are really important, but belong in the city’s budget. When it comes to investing in the pensions, the primary decision has to be made based on performance because right now – we’re underfunded by 40-plus billion dollars. Every year, pension contributions are $10 billion, and a part of that amount is to reduce that underfunded amount, or at least, to keep us even. And that’s billions of taxpayer dollars. Next, we need honest and transparent accounting. While Scott Stringer has done a very good job in making sure the comptroller’s website is chock-full of information, I think the way it’s presented is not always clear and concise. Checkbook NYC is a link to where you can see all of the city’s spending by budget and expense line on third party contracts. A lot of times there are miscellaneous lines

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or other lines, and we really need to make sure that we’re providing full disclosure. With respect to third-party contracts, we should disclose material terms on the website, so that they can be viewed by the public. The public has a high level of distrust right now for the procurement process. They don’t really believe that the bidding and the procurement review is done with any type of fairness. We have to remedy that. And, finally, I am determined to stand up for small businesses. The current administration, Scott Stringer’s administration, put together a Red Tape Commission back in 2015, which brought together small business owners and city agency employees responsible for regulating small businesses. The Commission produced a report listing all of the different complaints from small businesses, and also came up with really great recommendations, 60 recommendations – tightening timeframes, eliminating the use of expediters, stopping to use fines as a way to bludgeon compliance. I agree that there should be a more productive relationship between city agencies and small businesses, and unwind the red tape. Once the report was finished, though, it was left on the table, and the small businesses didn’t know how to move forward on the recommendations. We need to dust off that report because when I walk the streets, the business corridors, and the business improvement districts, the small businesses are talking about the same things. They’re being strangled by the bureaucracy. They talk about the arrogance of city agencies, the Byzantine codes, the overlapping inspections. They’re really hurting. The next comptroller has to stand up and have the courage to speak out against what’s going on. I want to talk about taxes a little bit. Taxes are big problem for New Yorkers, especially high earners in the city. How much do you think that’s going to hurt the city, when we wake up and realize that a lot of people with bigger pocketbooks have left for places with lower taxes? Oh, I think it’s hurting the city already, and that’s why I’m not optimistic about the current budget proposal and the projected revenue

estimates from income tax and property tax. I think the predictions are too rosy. I think people will come back – the next mayor will play a huge role here – but I don’t think it’s this year, and maybe not next year. So yes, I do think tax rates motivate behavior. And some people who left during COVID are not coming back. Eric Adams was talking about this tonight on the mayoral debate stage. He spoke about a small percentage of New Yorkers who pay an outsized portion of taxes and that we need those people to come back. Nonresident commuters also pay a lot of taxes when they come and work in New York City, as long as offices remain in the city. Now that coming to work is optional, that’s also going to hurt the city. The impact is real, and right now, our leaders are underestimating it. You are a mom to two boys. How do you juggle being a mother and working full-time? Well, I mean, I think the honest answer is you never quite feel like

a lot going on. So even if I were home, I still would have to take a phone call, etc., I just wanted to be more present for my family. I was lucky that I found a firm where I started working two days a week. And then I stepped up to three days a week. I grew as the firm grew, and at least initially, I was home more. I remember my sons were like, “Mom, you need to go back to work.” Like, “You’re spending too much time at home.” What do you enjoy most about campaigning? Talking to voters. That’s what I love the most. Being out on the street and speaking with voters. Could you explain to voters about ranked-choice voting? I think some voters are still not so comfortable with it, even though we had one or two elections with ranked voting in the neighborhood. The simplest explanation of ranked-choice voting is that each vot-

Wanting to do the job because you want to do service for New York City – that’s what it should be about. you’re doing it all. You always feel like at any given moment, you’re doing really, really well on one thing. And then you have to quickly shift focus and spend time on this other matter. How old are your children? One is going to be 13 this summer, and the other one is 18, so the juggling has become a little easier. I made a decision after my first son was born to move in-house to an asset management position. And that was great. The hours were reduced. I was able to leave every night at a good time. I wasn’t working weekends or traveling. And then about six years ago, I started at a new firm on a parttime basis because my older one was roughly 12 to 13, and my younger one was 7 to 8, and I thought, “I really need to be home more.” It wasn’t that I was working crazy hours. It’s just that I had become so senior, I just had

er gets to choose and rank five of his or her top candidates. You can vote for just one candidate, or you can vote for your top five. Voters should make sure that they don’t vote for the same candidate five times down the line. If one candidate in a race with RCV doesn’t receive 50%-plus-one vote, the ranked-choice system provides for an automatic runoff. The candidate with the fewest number one votes gets eliminated. And everyone’s ballots who voted for the candidate who gets eliminated get re-examined, and their second choice is then reallocated. It’s an iterative process. That happens until there’s one candidate who has 50%-plus-one of the votes. Do you feel like this ranked voting would help you or hurt you in this election? If I receive enough votes to stay in the race for the first or second round,

I will do very well. As we said earlier, there are so many elected officials running. People like David Weprin or Brian Benjamin or Brad Lander, they have their constituencies, but I also think that their voters would be attracted to someone like me as their number two. When I talk to voters, if they say, “Oh, I’ve known David Weprin for 35 years. He’s my next door neighbor.” I say, “Well, can I be your number two?” So it’ll be interesting to see. I think ranked-choice voting will certainly help me, in that case. I’m not running out of political ambition. I’m running because I want to turn my service over to New York City. I think competency matters, more than ever, in government today. The election is on the June 22, but people could start voting. Early voting starts on the 12th. That’s right. I urge New Yorkers to go out and vote. This is a very important election. One last question. You’re a blackbelt, am I correct? Yes, in Taekwondo. It was something that I did later in life. I did it while I was in law school, and I went to law school when I was in my late 20s. I really felt it was empowering. It was the exact opposite of law school, which is so cerebral, and you study so much your head hurts. It was just so nice to go and work out in an environment that’s so physical, but respectful. As a woman, it’s wonderful to feel like you’re not afraid, or to feel like you can defend yourself – it’s a great feeling.

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Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

First, let me begin by telling you that I’m a huge fan of your column and if I am going to turn to anyone for advice, I knew it was going to be here to get it straight and real from the Navidaters Panel. So here’s my “hairy”

dating dilemma. Last year, March 2020, I was sick with COVID and experienced quite a bit of hair loss. I went for months of hair loss treatments, and on the advice of my doctor recently stopped, as there was no improvement. I’m single, never married and I’m currently wearing a wig to cover the hair loss. It’s very obvious that I am wearing a wig, but I’m the type who has the confidence and does what I have to do for myself, not for others. My question to you is how do I or do I even present this to a shadchan/or future prospective match? What are your thoughts/suggestions?

Thank you in advance. Tehilla*

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 Shadchan Michelle Mond

irstly, thanks for your kind words about our column! It’s question-writers like you that keep our column going strong I’m so sorry to hear about your hairy dilemma; allow me to iron some details out. The Tehilla you were before you got COVID is exactly the same Tehilla as after you recovered. Just as my sense of smell has not fully returned since getting COVID many months ago, your hair has thinned out (and it will eventually return). You are wearing a wig as a short-term fix to your problem. Disclosing these details to shadchanim is, in my opinion, blowing things out of proportion. The shidduch system has conditioned singles to feel they must be vulnerable with complete strangers; this is not right. Share this piece of information with the boy when you feel comfortable doing so! Most young women these days wear extensions, which is basically a minor version of a wig. I will never forget the shidduch story a couple once told me. I had set them up on a date, and the girl’s extension got stuck in the car door as she closed it. The extension came out and the guy was horrified to see a thick chunk of hair sticking out of his Acura. They both started laughing hysterically. She spent the rest of the date trying to explain why girls wear strips of fake hair when they have perfectly good hair to begin with. He then convinced her to take all her extensions out and ascertained that he could not even see a difference. The moral of the story is: usually guys wouldn’t even notice! You do you. Don’t curl up in a ball of worry. Tell the guy your story when you get far enough along in the relationship at a point when you would disclose anything personal.

I hope my answer helps straighten things out, and if not, I’m sure the other panelists will get to the root of the matter. Hatzlacha!

The Newlywed Back This Week: Rena Friedman

ehilla, wow! COVID has been a vicious monster to us all, but it seems to have thrown you for an extra whirl. Dating is hard enough and having to deal with hair loss makes it feel even more impossible. I can’t imagine what you are going through. Your positive attitude is inspiring! It takes a very special person to have the confidence that you do. Everyone has their things to share and their baggage to display, and it all comes down to what their monster in the closet is. I received eitza from my rav that you should share something that could be a make or break it item by approximately the sixth date or whenever you’re at a point where you both like each other and you could see it going somewhere but aren’t head over heels in love and have the ability to make a clear decision. I believe that your situation falls into the category of something to share at that point with whomever you are dating, not shadchanim. It is none of their business. In terms of how to share it, I find that the open and honest method is always the best. Wait for the right moment on the date when you are both sitting down and have some privacy. This can be when you are in the car but not when he is driving. Tell him that you just wanted to share something with him that makes you a little vulnerable and nervous. Then tell him the story of having COVID and how you have

hair loss. Only give the information he absolutely needs and nothing more. Tell him that you have consulted multiple doctors and even offer for him to speak with them if he feels he needs to. Be receptive and open to his questions, and answer them to the best of your ability. Personally, I always felt comfortable when everything was out on the table, and I did not think I was deceiving or hiding anything from anyone. How he takes this news is also super indicative of who he is as a person and how he will be there for you in the future. Unfortunately, you are not the first person to have to share something, and you won’t be the last. At the end of the day, the right person will accept you for all that you are.

The Single Rivka Weinberg

ehilla, I am so sorry to hear about your experience and hope you are feeling strong and well. Unfortunately, COVID had a tremendous impact on many people, which is why it is important to be sensitive around the topic. I would like to start by letting you know how impressed I am with your courage and confidence throughout this difficult time. You are an incredible person, and I believe this question strongly portrays your maturity and depth. Because you mentioned that it is very obvious you are wearing a wig, I would explain it to shadchanim, just as you did to the panelists in your question. Although it is not an easy conversation to have, I think your best bet is to put it on the table from the start, as to not allow others to make their own assumptions. You have the power in your hands to control what information you per-

You are the most qualified and informed individual to tell your own story.

sonally provide to people and what information they need to research themselves. From my experience, I have learned that if there is something that you feel would require a more thorough explanation, you are the most qualified and informed individual to tell your own story. You sound like an intelligent and poised individual, so the person you marry will most likely not be one-dimensional. He will appreciate your story and how it has enabled you to become the person you are today. The experiences we go through in life shape us and our perspectives, ultimately making a powerful and influential impact. B’ezras Hashem, at the right time, Hashem will send your zivug, and he will appreciate you and your journey.

The Zaidy Dr. Jeffrey Galler

he lingering aftereffects of COVID-19 are still poorly understood. Many recovering patients, like you, are experiencing hair loss. “Hair” are some suggestions that you might find helpful. First, do your homework and find a university-based dermatologist, who has experience with this relatively new phenomenon. The doctor that I found didn’t want his

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name published, but he and his research colleagues believe that: *The physical and emotional stress that accompanies a case of COVID-19 can lead to a reversible hair loss condition called telogen effluvium. *This hair loss is temporary, but it may take 6 months to a year for the hair to regrow. *Meanwhile, managing stress, having a healthy, nutritious diet, and not smoking might be helpful. Second, my wife, daughters, and granddaughters often tease me, because I usually cannot tell if a woman is wearing a wig. Today, wigs are so glamorous

and so natural-looking that most men are absolutely clueless when it comes to discerning if a woman’s beautiful head of hair is her own. The most gorgeous actresses and models often perform and pose while wearing wigs, because their wigs are far prettier than their own, natural hair. Third, I do understand that women take great pride in having beautiful, attractive hair and spend a lot of time and effort on it. I do understand that it is an extremely sensitive and emotional issue. But, when it comes to what physical attributes make a woman attractive to a man, hair is not as

important as one might think. A recent scientific study ranked, in order of importance, what men are most attracted to, physically, in a woman: *Smile *Eyes *Figure *Hair Note that “hair” was in fourth place. I do not see any reason for you to publicize your temporary condition. To summarize, remember that your hair loss is distressing, but only temporary; that most of the men you date won’t even notice that you’re wearing a wig; and that investing in an expensive wig may make you

Everyone has their things to share and their baggage to display.

even more glamorous than before. Don’t let hair loss cause you to lose your self-confidence or feelings of self-worth.

Pulling It All Together do deeply hope that this is the case for you. Dating and Relationship Coaches and Therapists If you are open to it, you may want to consider seeing a holistic practitioner who takes a total body ear Tehilla, approach. hair can be an emotionThank you for writing into our Tehilla, I don’t think this al and traumatic journey. column and for your kind feedback is something that is a shadThough I am not a doctor, I about our column. You put a huge chan’s business. I am fed this do know that hair loss can be smile on my face. Thank you! idea that we must be “perfect” in triggered by stress or illness. I Firstly, I can feel your fabulous order to date. This means: am sure you are no stranger to the energy through the screen. I love -No medical issues term “tellogen effluvium” by now. It that you are wearing a wig for your-No mental health issues can take a few months for the hair self, and you make personal deci-No quirks follicle to “wake up.” Many people sions that will benefit you without -Not too loud lose hope that will hair will never the hassle of worrying about what -Not too quiet grow back, and then one day, out of others might be thinking. -Not too funny left field, they begin to notice tiny, Secondly, I am so sorry that you -Not too polite little hairs growing. The body has had COVID and that you are deal-Not too charming a natural way of healing itself, and I ing with hair loss. Losing one’s

The Navidaters

-No odd family members -No past -No rough patches in life -No financial struggles -No student loans -No, no, no, no, and more no! Is there anyone left? Is anyone even dating? LOL! You have nothing to hide, but this is truly none of anyone’s business! G-d willing, when you feel a true connection with someone, at a certain point you will disclose your hair loss. But NOT as a test to see if he will still like you...rather, as a test to see his reaction to your hair loss. If he is judgmental or unsupportive, send him packing! If he is kind, sensitive and shows concern for you, he may just be a keeper! All the best, Jennifer

Jennifer Mann, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist and 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.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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Dr. Deb

Little “T” Trauma By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

picked up a book that I hadn’t read in over 20 years, and I was surprised by a statement in it. The author, Terry Real – who has made presentations in the Five Towns before COVID – is discussing the research of Catherine Steiner Adair of the Harvard Eating Disorders Center. She was researching the transition in our society for little girls who, at age 8, when asked what they want on their pizza, will clearly tell you, “extra cheese and some peppers.” But when those same girls get to 12, they suddenly “don’t know” what they want. And at 13 and older, they turn to the person asking and say, “What do you want?” Real has one word for this process of how a child grows to be a woman who has lost her voice: he calls it trauma. Terry Real is not a feminist. He’s a humanitarian. He also asserts that the way little boys in our society are trained to lose their emotions is traumatic, too. He tells the story of his own son, Alexander, who at 3 liked to dress up in various costumes. One day, his older brother’s friends came over and

Alexander appeared at the top of the stairs dressed as Barbie, in a beautiful silver dress. His brothers’ friends didn’t make fun of him; they were too well-brought up for that. But their gaping mouths “told” little Alexander that he had crossed a forbidden line. He ran up to his room, filled with shame and never wore that particular costume again. He got the message. At 3. Without words. So even if a person has not been abused, made fun of, neglected, or mistreated in any way, our society creates conditions to literally traumatize children, both boys and girls: boys by learning to adhere to the code of what makes a “man” (and that means never, ever acting like a girl and stuﬃng emotions) and girls by losing their voice, and ultimately their identity, to the will of those they are connected to. At that time, no one recognized any of this as trauma. We all thought of trauma as airplane crashes and attacks by strangers. But the evidence started piling up that trauma exists in the everyday lives of millions of people. Now, they’re calling this “little ‘t’ trauma.” Bessel van der Kolk started look-

ing into the concept of trauma with a little “t.” He initially was working with veterans who’d returned from Vietnam. Their PTSD very clearly constituted trauma, actually, big “T” trauma. However, when he moved on to study the civilian population in inpatient treatment facilities, he started seeing parallels between those people and the vets. He went on from there to make sense of the neuroscience underlying the same phenomena that he saw in both populations. But there were gnawing questions. It seemed like maybe there was a relationship between the terrible “Borderline Personality Disorder” (BPD) and trauma. Maybe it affected the other personality disorders, too. Van der Kolk and colleagues studied this with a survey of personality-disordered patients. They created a questionnaire which began innocently enough and gradually explored deeper and more personal topics. What they learned “stunned” them. To the question, “‘Was there anybody you felt safe with growing up?’ one out of four patients we inter-

viewed could not recall anyone they had felt safe with as a child.” (From The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.) “Imagine,” van der Kolk continues, “being a child and not having a source of safety, making your way into the world unprotected and unseen.” People went beyond the questions that were asked to open up their own stories. “Men and women reported lying awake at night listening to furniture crashing and parents screaming…. Others talked about not being picked up at elementary school or coming home to find an empty house.” So, wait a minute: Was this trauma at all? Doesn’t this happen to almost everyone? Why, Dr. Deb, are you making mountains out of molehills? Let’s follow van der Kolk – and others – a little more: We “realized that the BPD group’s problems – dissociation, desperate clinging to whoever might be enlisted to help – had probably started off as ways of dealing with overwhelming emotions and inescapable brutality.” They found that “81 percent of the patients diagnosed with BPD at

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Cambridge Hospital reported severe histories of child abuse and/or neglect; in the vast majority the abuse began before age seven. This finding was particularly important because it suggested that the impact of abuse depends, at least in part, on the age at which it begins…. Numerous studies have since replicated our findings.” Interestingly, if you asked these people whether they were abused, they often would have no memory of abuse. This is part of the brain’s protective mechanism. However, they clearly acted as if they had been victims: “They have trouble staying on tasks, and they continually lash out against themselves and others. To some degree, their problems do overlap with those of combat soldiers but they are also very different in that their childhood trauma has prevented them from developing some of the mental capacities that adult soldiers possessed before their traumas occurred.” Let’s say that one again: The “ordinary” abuse, neglect, and emotional pain suffered by the children who grew up to have BPD meant that they would not be armed with the coping skills that adult soldiers would have to prevent the effects of trauma on them in war. Van der Kolk and other concerned colleagues took all the data they had to Robert Spitzer who was preparing the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) for publication. Spitzer referred them to the specific workgroup associated with trauma. Nineteen out of the 21 people in that group voted for an “interpersonal trauma” diagnosis to be included in that DSM. But in May, 1994, when the DSMIV came out, it was not included. Neither was it included in the DSM-5, the most recent variation. We do not know why. This move did not stop van der Kolk and colleagues from continuing to explore the reach of trauma into everyday lives. In 1985, Vincent Felitti, chief of Kaiser Permanente’s Department of Preventive Medicine in San Diego, was doing a study on obesity. They created a set of questions called Adverse Childhood Experiences and added them to the usual intake forms, followed by in-depth interviews. “The ACE study revealed that trau-

matic life experiences during childhood and adolescence are far more common than expected. The study respondents were mostly white, middle class, middle aged, well educated, and financially secure enough to have good medical insurance, and yet only

like war and murder.” But, as Maté clarifies, that is, unfortunately, not the case. Nevertheless, when children try to cope, they manage somehow to create their own ways to survive. Those coping mechanisms may not serve us

The way little boys in our society are trained to lose their emotions is traumatic, too.

one third of the respondents reported no adverse childhood experiences.” Terry Real published his couples book, “How Can I Get Through To You: Closing the Intimacy Gap Between Men and Women,” in 2002, a dozen years before van der Kolk. Yet, in it, based on his own clinical observations, Real says, “When I first began looking at gender issues, I believed that violence was a by-product of boyhood socialization. But after listening more closely to men and their families, I have come to believe that violence is boyhood socialization. [Italics in original.] The way we ‘turn boys into men’ is through injury…. Disconnection is not fallout from traditional masculinity. Disconnection is masculinity.” Then, last week, I got an email from the IFS (Internal Family Systems) Institute. It features a film that they thought everybody should watch with a 7-day experience (which will be over by the time you read this) of interviews by Dr. Gabor Maté, an expert in trauma. The interesting title to the film is “The Wisdom of Trauma.” The point of such a title is to answer the question posed by the Italian co-directors of the film, Marurizio and Zaya Benazzo: “Why is our society experiencing an epidemic of mental illness, chronic disease, addictions? Dr. Maté traces the root back to trauma.” So what’s wise about that? The Benazzos laugh as they say they thought that they had had a happy childhood. They thought that trauma is caused by “really bad things

today, but they did back then, when we were children. That is why we are still here, still coping. That is trauma’s wisdom. This seems like important stuff, but trauma with a little “t” did not make it into the DSM, not because it shouldn’t have been there.

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Perhaps the ordinariness of abuse and neglect make it un-newsworthy and therefore not worth including in the DSM. Perhaps the fact that – as I mentioned some weeks ago that psychiatrist Ron Cohen said – “developmental issues and trauma aren’t affected by medication” means that there is no profit for the pharmaceutical companies (who have extra-ordinarily close ties to the psychiatrists in charge of publishing the DSM’s). I guess we can’t get away from politics. But that really doesn’t matter. The Benazzos are on a mission to educate everyone as to what trauma really is, along with Maté, van der Kolk, Real, and so many others. It is part of the human condition, and few people escape 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

Another Reason to Cut Out Sugar By Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN

here are many reasons to avoid sugar in your diet. High sugar consumption tends to lead to weight gain and obesity. Obesity increases your risk of developing other chronic diseases such as Type II diabetes and heart disease, not to mention all the cavities that can result from high sugar consumption. Sugar has absolutely no nutritional value – no vitamins or minerals, simply calories and carbs. Here’s one more reason to stay away from sugar. A study published in the journal of Cancer Research demonstrates an association between sugar consumption and an increased risk of developing breast cancer. Research on mice showed that high sugar consumption, such as the average American diet, increases one’s risk of developing breast cancer. Researchers believe that eating sugary foods causes the growth of certain enzymes and fatty acids in breast cancer cells. Eating sugary foods causes a rapid rise in blood sugar. The body then responds by producing more insulin. Elevated insulin levels can cause an increased production of a growth factor called IGF-1. IGF-1 stimulates the growth of tissues –

including breast tissue. Studies have found that insulin, along with IGF-1, fuel the growth of cancer cells. Another way that a high sugar diet contributes to cancer is sugar’s effect on body weight. As mentioned above, a high sugar diet increases body weight and one’s risk of obesity.

levels. None of that is controllable. Our diet, though, is something that we can control and by cutting down on the sugar, hopefully we can prevent the development of breast cancer in that way. Staying away from candy and cake is not enough. Sugar “hides” in almost

Most people get bombarded with the “hidden” sugars in foods and are consuming a lot more sugar than the recommended amount.

Obesity has been shown to have a link to breast cancer. The bottom line is that sugar is bad for your body in general. Being that we lack control over the prevention of breast cancer as most of the risk factors are not alterable, it is important to take control of what we can. The most common breast cancer risk factors are age, family history of breast cancer, genetics, and estrogen

all packaged, processed and refined foods in the U.S. and around the world. When purchasing processed and packaged foods, it is important to read the food label clearly and carefully analyze the sugar content. The American Heart Association suggests that women restrict their sugar intake to less than 6 teaspoons a day. To put that into perspective, the average 12-ounce soft drink contains about

9 teaspoons of sugar. But let’s face it: that’s never the only sugar we’re consuming daily. Most people get bombarded with the “hidden” sugars in foods and are consuming a lot more sugar than the recommended amount. The best option to lower your risk of developing breast cancer would be to cut back on sugar. Enjoy more whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, as well as exercising regularly. Try cutting back on the sugar in your coffee and tea and on the amount of sweet treats you normally eat. You’ll be surprised to find your taste buds will adapt and become more sensitive to the sweet taste. Cutting out sugar from your diet will also help you lose weight and leave your body feeling better energized. Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN, is a Master’s level Registered Dietitian and Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist. She graduated CUNY Brooklyn College receiving a Bachelor’s in Science and Master’s degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences. She is currently a dietitian at Boro Park Center and a private nutrition consultant. She can be reached at CindyWeinberger1@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram @EatBetterandFeelBetter.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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Parenting Pearls

Beyond the Classroom This Summer By Sara Rayvych, MSEd

ll you have to do is look at the community pages of TJH to see how much the schools pack into your child’s day. I received a wonderful yeshiva education years ago, and things have only gotten better since then. STEM is included routinely, while robotics and advanced art classes are no longer uncommon. Limudei kodesh, too, is taught with creativity and excitement. It’s a credit to the administration and staff that with all the necessary requirements they still make time to include what were once unexpected extras. This article is in no way meant to take away from all that the schools are offering. I can’t even imagine the challenges schools face trying to fit all the basic educational and government requirements into the day and to then include computer coding or Nach bekiyus on top of it. There is so much out there to learn that even if your child stayed in school from morning till night, they still couldn’t cover every topic. I mention this because often children will have an interest or educational passion that will never be covered in the regular framework. This isn’t a criticism; it’s just an honest observation. Each child is unique, and what appeals to one will bore the next. Schools can’t cover everything, and they shouldn’t be forced to. While for ease of writing I may mostly focus on secular topics such as science, everything I write applies equally to limudei kodesh topics, as well. We shouldn’t forget that learning Torah and our mesorah need not be something forced. Torah can, and should be, incredibly fascinating – particularly when it’s presented properly. I remember being taught Megillas Esther from the perspective of psychology and the motivations of the people in the story. I’ve never viewed the megillah the same since then.

pleasantly surprised how far they extend themselves. It’s a well-known but underappreciated reality that people study what interests them. Appreciate what interests your children. It’s another way of showing you appreciate and value them. Take an interest in their interest and be willing to help them bring it one step further. As much as you might find their topic boring and intolerable, you love your child and this is another way of showing that love. You may even find you can enjoy their passion when you see it through their eyes (no promises, though!). As the summer approaches, we have the opportunity to allow our children to explore topics and hobbies they wouldn’t have time for during an already busy school year. As this school year comes to a close and another exciting summer is about to begin, this is the perfect time to see if there is anything different our children could benefit from or enjoy.

Appreciate their Interests In school, children get exposed to a variety of topics and cover many of the basics. This exposure is wonderful, because it gives children a chance to have many of their bases covered and a chance to experience what interests them. In high school, I discovered I enjoyed both biology and Pirkei Avos. Ironically, my kids have for the most part found basic biology boring while zoology has interested them. It was a bit unexpected when we discovered that two of our kids took a big interest in forensics. Another one of my kids is a big engineering fan. My husband recently discovered a major interest in ancient Jewish history. I’m not a geography fan, but some of my kids enjoy maps. A friend enjoys languages and has become quite proficient in Japanese.

When you discover your child has a unique interest, it’s worth letting them pursue it. In fact, it may be worthwhile to encourage their passions. I’m not suggesting to let them drop the basics but the more advanced topics can often fuel the basics. The child that hates biology will study it when he realizes he needs it for forensics. The child that avoids math will take a greater interest once he realizes how much engineers depend on it. The child that didn’t pay attention during Chumash may take a new look at those pesukim once he can track them on his map. You never know what your child will end up studying or choosing as their long-term interests. Encouraging their educational hobby now could be setting them onto an enjoyable career path later. There are many people who studied what interested them, even when others scoffed, and turned that into a successful career. Additionally, allowing your child to learn what interests them is just a wonderful hobby. If your child wants to study Megillas Esther in depth rather than watch television, then you’re rather fortunate. Kids can learn so much when they research what interests them. As narrow as you might think their topic is, you might be

Bring Them to the Next Step As mentioned above, schools couldn’t possibly cover everything. Even though Pirkei Avos is rather mainstream, there still wouldn’t have been time in my school day for a separate class. Certainly, the schools can’t cover the in-depth halachos of the Parah Adumah as a full-time class. As their parent, you can help them find the resources to learn more about their unique educational pursuits. I will preface this by saying that your budget should not be broken to help them fuel their hobby. There are options for every price range, and children can be taught that there aren’t unlimited funds towards a hobby. One of my children came over very excitedly to show me a four-week class in engineering that he saw. Even as he asked, he knew that the price tag was too high and he understood when he couldn’t do it. While I am including possible resources to help fuel your child’s passions, this article won’t cover all your options and their interest will help determine which resources will best suit their needs. Whenever a resource is suggested, you should always check it first to ensure it’s appropriate for your child and meets your standards.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

WE'RE ALMOST THERE....

"ONE WHO SAVES

A SINGLE LIFE

IS AKIN TO SAVING THE

WHOLE WORLD."

DO YOUR PART TO SAVE A LIFE! Make sure to take the vaccine! All New Yorkers age 16 and older are eligible for vaccination. For more information, visit nyc.gov/covidvaccine.

WEAR A MASK Until you are fully vaccinated, wearing a mask outside your home prevents the spread of the virus to your family, friends and neighbors.

STAY HOME IF YOU'RE SICK Only leave for medical care and testing or other essentials.

AVOID LARGE INDOOR GATHERINGS This is another way the virus spreads quickly.

GET TESTED If you are showing symptoms of COVID-19, get tested right away.

Bill de Blasio Mayor Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc Commissioner

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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Books

Classes and Lectures

You knew this was coming because how could we have an educational article without books?! Books can be purchased, rented, or borrowed from the library. You can often find them digitally. Books are an easy yet efficient way for a child to study their interests further. Our son found many digital books at the library on forensics. He was able to access them all from the comfort of our home, and it cost me nothing. Some topics will be better suited to casual paperbacks, while others will require textbooks. I have purchased interesting textbooks for kids to enjoy as routine reading – you’d be surprised that some textbooks can be interesting to some readers. Look around and see what options there are, and you may be pleasantly surprised. Whatever interests your child, probably interests enough people to write books about it. I’ve seen articles and books on the most bizarre topics but clearly, they interest somebody!

While my son’s engineering class was too much money for us, there are many classes that may be within your price range or given free of charge. De-

lectures, and after some searching you may find more than your child has time for. There is so much quality content that whether your child is interested

Take an interest in their interest and be willing to help them bring it one step further.

pending on the topic, you might find educational institutions, libraries, or individuals that are giving classes. Some classes may be live, while others may be recorded. There are many online classes given as a series of recorded videos that might be appropriate. As an example, I receive the Yeshiva University emails. They have many shiurim available on a wide range of topics. Other institutions offer similar

in secular or Judaic studies you’re sure to find what you’re looking for.

Fellow Hobbyists As vague as their topic might seem to you, there are most likely many others that are avid enthusiasts, eager to share their knowledge. There are many groups that are available for various topics. Again, make sure it’s appropriate, but when used correctly,

it can be a fabulous resource. Years ago, I managed to find groups that shared patterns and tips on knitting woolen soakers. For those of you that are unaware – which is the majority of you – woolen soakers are a knitted or crocheted woolen cover worn over a cloth diaper. If that’s not a niche topic, then I don’t know what is. I think the group had over a thousand members frequently posting. Your child’s interest will lead you to which type of resource is best; I simply named a few of the more common ones above. Your child is a unique and creative person with their own talents and interests. You can help them expand the gifts Hashem has given them and get nachas from what they create.

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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In The K

tchen

Goat Cheese and Pear Salad By Naomi Nachman

Hooray for summer time and summer fruits! I look forward each year to the seasonal

summer fruits. We tend to eat much lighter

in the summer, and light salads such as this one are a go-to dish.

You can mix and match any fruits or cheeses you’d like in this salad.

Ingredients SALAD

b6 cups mesclun greens b1 pear, cubed b1 cup blueberries b1 4 oz. log goat cheese, crumbled (you can use feta if you don’t like goat) b1 cup sugared macadamia nuts

DRESSING b½ cup balsamic vinegar b½ cup good olive oil b2 teaspoons Dijon mustard b1 tablespoon raspberry jam bKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation 1.

Toss all salad ingredients in a bowl. Place the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the oil is incorporated.

2. Drizzle salad with dressing before serving.

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.

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Notable Quotes

“Say What?!”

Jeff Bezos just announced that next month he’ll be flying aboard his company’s first manned rocket to space. Yep, Bezos will be the first person in space to look down and say, “I actually can see my house from here.”

- Nate Carroll, 50, who set a new world record by completing 1,500,231 push-ups in one year, averaging more than 4,000 push-ups a day, in order to raise money for the Tunnel to Towers foundation

All this energy we’re wasting on – was it the lab? Was it a bat in the wild? Or at the market? Or whatever it is? These are the same people who are so curious now that they want to be right. At the same time that debate was happening early on, they were saying there is no pandemic, that it’s a hoax, that it’s just like the flu, that it won’t be a big deal here.

— Jimmy Fallon

That’s right, Bezos says it’s perfectly safe because he’s being packed by the same people who ship Amazon boxes.for all We must have the same level of accountability and justice — Ibid. victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the My favorite part of the story is Jeff Bezos’s Taliban. shipIlhan is auctioning off another seat for this – Tweet by America and Israel hater Rep. Omar (D- Minn.) – CNN’s Chris Cuomo arguing that it is not important to trip. Why? You’re Jeff Bezos. Just pay the investigate whether coronavirus was released from a Wuhan extra money to not sit with a stranger on a lab Oh, I don’t know. I think they publish it. I love fiction. tripshould to space! I mean, this isscience the culmination Everything took a turn for the worse after Donald Trump left office. – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who for months was the lone voice questioning Dr. Fauci’s of your childhood dream. You don’t want to credibility, tweeting a response to Amazon and others pulling his new biography Nothing makes me angrier than a white spend it fighting over the arm rest. For four there relative calm. For four years, the region person whoyears, tells me notwas to be angry, — Trevor Noah took a turn for the better, and for four years, sensible thinking about because they have not seen real anger yet. I Well, I’m concerned about that, more because it’s really very much Israel was becoming a reality. Everything stopped watching the news; once I started, about the region was And I know $2.8 million sounds like a lot of an attack science, I think, Rachel. becoming normalized. relations were being on renewed, I couldn’t stop. It was alsoDiplomatic a public service. money for a trip to space, but keep in mind, - Dr. Fauci on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” when asked if he is bothered by the criticism andfantasies with theof Abraham Accords masterfully orchestrated by the I had unloading a revolver into that’s basically how much it costs to change that he is facing due to a treasure trove of damaging emails which even caused Amazon and Barnes & Nobles stop selling his new book administration, the potential for regional peace wastono theTrump head of any white person that got in your flight on United. an idealistic mylonger way, burying their fantasy. body and wiping my — Ibid. bloody hands as I walked away relatively I didn’t have to commute to school, so that actually gave me a lot At thewith least,a abounce new balance of power and things guiltless in my step. Like Iwas did developing, time to be able to pick extra classes. If Iup were a Jew, I would be concerned about more stable than they had been in a longmore while. There were thewere world a [expletive] favor. Mike Wimmer, age 12, talking to the Today Show, after graduating highwar school andkilling college in my insatiable appetite for and what seemed problems, for example, the - Dr.still Aruna Khilanani, a Newlike York insurmountable based psychiatrist, this week spewing vitriolic speech Yale University defense of myself. desire of aracism largeduring parta of theatArab world to “drive the Jews into the - From a recently unearthed anti-Semitic blog post written sea.” I actually went into a little summer camp when I was really young, in 2007 by Google’s head of diversity strategy, Kamau Bobb

thethey’re post came to light this and my mom came to pick(Google me up“reassigned” the first him day,after and like, “Do Oprah The who? truth is, as much as you might not like to hear it, when Trump week) you know he can write his full name and do multiplication facts?” - Prince Edward’s witty response when asked by the UK was in office it was good for the Jews. Too bad most Jews just Telegraph about his nephew and Meghan Markle’s royalAnd she’s like, “Uh, yeah, is that not normal?” don’t know what’s good for them. rattling interview - Jackie Mason, The Times of Israel

- Ibid.

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

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Set a goal, and get after it. Make it who you are, not something you do. That way, when it gets hard and life throws obstacles in your way and offers you convenient excuses to stop or says it’s too difficult, you find a way to endure and persevere and keep after it. Winning those mini-battles each day builds strength and shapes one’s perspective of what is possible. - Nate Carroll, 50, who set a new world record by completing 1,500,231 push-ups in one year, averaging more than 4,000 push-ups a day, in order to raise money for the Tunnel to Towers foundation

We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity. We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban. – Tweet by America and Israel hater Rep. Ilhan Omar (D- Minn.)

Oh, I don’t know. I think they should publish it. I love science fiction. Nothing makes me angrier than a white person who tells me not to be angry, because they have not seen real anger yet. I stopped watching the news; once I started, I couldn’t stop. It was also a public service. I had fantasies of unloading a revolver into the head of any white person that got in my way, burying their body and wiping my bloody hands as I walked away relatively guiltless with a bounce in my step. Like I did the world a [expletive] favor. - Dr. Aruna Khilanani, a New York based psychiatrist, spewing vitriolic racism during a speech at Yale University

Oprah who? - Prince Edward’s witty response when asked by the UK Telegraph about his nephew and Meghan Markle’s royalrattling interview

– Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who for months was the lone voice questioning Dr. Fauci’s credibility, tweeting a response to Amazon and others pulling his new biography

Well, I’m concerned about that, more because it’s really very much an attack on science, I think, Rachel. - Dr. Fauci on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show,” when asked if he is bothered by the criticism that he is facing due to a treasure trove of damaging emails which even caused Amazon and Barnes & Nobles to stop selling his new book

I didn’t have to commute to school, so that actually gave me a lot more time to be able to pick up extra classes. - Mike Wimmer, age 12, talking to the Today Show, after graduating high school and college this week

I actually went into a little summer camp when I was really young, and my mom came to pick me up the first day, and they’re like, “Do you know he can write his full name and do multiplication facts?” And she’s like, “Uh, yeah, is that not normal?” - Ibid.

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

And I haven’t been to Europe. – Vice President Kamala Harris when NBC’s Lester Holt questioned her about not visiting the southern U.S. border even though she has been placed in charge of the border crisis

First of all, all of the land is ours. This was given to us by HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and I’m sorry if certain governments and the world, including the United States, don’t accept that fact but it is a fact. Perhaps people that take the Oath of Office on the Bible, certain people who are now president, should open up the Bible and look at Bereishit, and they’ll see exactly where our land comes from, where our ownership to the land comes from. – Jonathan Pollard in an interview with Arutz Sheva

Every year we kill more than 60 billion animals, excluding fish, whose numbers are so great that we only measure their lives by weight. What about their thoughts and feelings? - Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg of Sweden in a new video

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Political Crossfire

Ignoring the Constitution, Democrats Want to Dictate Sweeping Election Changes in All 50 States By George F. Will

uring the Nixon administration’s Watergate unraveling, Henry Kissinger’s mordant jest was, “The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.” But not long, say today’s congressional Democrats. Their “For the People Act” (FTP) is 800-plus pages of provisions convenient for them and their party, some constitutionally dubious, others patently unconstitutional. All laws regulating campaigns are enacted by people with conflicts of interest — interests in advantaging themselves and disadvantaging challengers. FTP would dictate sweeping changes to all 50 states’ election laws, contravening the Constitution’s stipulation that the “times, places and manner” of congressional elections are to be determined by state legislatures. Granted, the Constitution says Congress may “alter” such rules, but dictating, for example, how congressional districts are drawn does not pertain to the “manner” of elections. FTP reflects the perennial progressive desire to reduce the states to appendages of the federal government. FTP sweeps beyond elections by expanding regulation of “electioneering communication” to include any communication that mentions a federal official, even if only to urge support for a policy, not influence an election. Unsatisfied with their advantages in the mainstream media, Democrats aim to impede alternative forms of advocacy, especially by requiring disclosure of even small-dollar donors to organizations involved only in issue advocacy, not elections. This is sinister, given the ferocious vindictiveness of today’s virtual

mobs that hound people associated with controversial causes. Soon, the Supreme Court might issue a ruling strengthening its defense of the First Amendment right to speak anonymously. (In 2020, Joe Biden’s allies spent six times the amount of contributions from anonymous donors — what Democrats tendentiously call “dark money” — that Donald Trump’s campaign received.) The parties should insist that presidential candidates make public 10 years of their tax returns. But by making this a legal requirement, FTP would add a new qualification for the presidential office. In 1995, the Supreme Court, striking down a state law imposing term limits on Arkansas’s national legislators, held that the Constitution sets the maximum, not a minimum, of qualifications. Neither Congress nor state legislatures can augment them. FTP would compel states to count mail ballots received 10 days after the election, on the infantilizing assump-

tion that voters cannot be expected to meet an Election Day deadline. Also, FTP would give voters 10 additional days to correct mistakes on mailed ballots, further prolonging possible uncertainty about elections outcomes. Nationally, 73% of 2020 voters cast their ballots before Election Day. Almost 44% of Florida ballots were cast by mail, yet the state tabulation was completed on election night, which should be a national norm. Although 43 states and the District of Columbia allow early voting for between four and 45 days, Democrats propose to give federal government employees, a significant component of their party’s base, paid Election Days off at an estimated cost of $800 million every two years. Although New Hampshire has no mail-in voting, and requires voter IDs and in-person voter registration, it has been among the top five states in voter turnout in the five previous presidential elections. Actually, a modicum of inconvenience is a civic

benefit if, by drawing voters together in public places on a solemn day central to the national liturgy, election arrangements emphasize that more than just private considerations are at stake. For generations, there has been judicial enforcement of constitutional and statutory protections of voting rights. And in 2020, the states rose to the challenge of conducting elections compatible with pandemic-related public health protocols. And as Democrats rightly insist, the voting, which shattered turnout records, was without significant malfeasance. So, why 800-plus pages of revisions to electoral procedures and political practices? See above — the first sentence of the second paragraph. FTP reflects an appetite for constitutional vandalism that was displayed seven years ago when 54 members of the Democratic Senate caucus voted to amend the First Amendment to empower Congress to regulate the quantity, content and timing of campaign speech. They thereby implicitly acknowledged that the amendment (“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech”) is, by its text, and Supreme Court rulings, incompatible with their desire to strictly control campaign spending, all of which directly or indirectly funds political advocacy. Unable to alter the Constitution, Democrats now propose, with FTP, to ignore it. In the unlikely event that the For the People Act is passed, the Supreme Court will have multiple occasions for reacquainting its authors with what they ignored. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021 The Jewish Jewish Home Home || OCTOBER OCTOBER 29, 29, 2015 2015 The

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Political Crossfire

The Antidote to Today’s Political Dogma May Be Boredom By George F. Will

utgers University’s chancellor and provost, who are weather vanes in human form, lack the courage of their convictions, which they also lack. First, on May 26, they announced themselves “saddened” and “greatly concerned” about recent antisemitic violence. Soon, however, they crouched into the academic bureaucrat’s gush-and-grovel mode because Rutgers’ Students for Justice in Palestine objected. The two officials promptly agreed that their first statement, by failing to “communicate support for our Palestinian community,” did not serve the university’s “beloved community” as “a place where all identities can feel validated.” Rutgers’ president then denied that their second statement was an apology. It was headlined “An Apology.” This episode, illustrating academia’s familiar compound of vanity, mendacity and cowardice, was not startling. It followed the University of California Press, which was displeased with Israel’s response to Hamas’ rockets, proclaiming “Solidarity and Support for Palestinians in their Fight for Liberation.” And a Brandeis University dean, who is white, notifying the world, which had not sought her opinion, that “all white people are racist.” In California, indoctrinators posing as educators say that insisting on “getting the right answer” perpetuates the fiction of “objectivity” and “white supremacy culture in the mathematics classroom.” The U.S. Education Department urges school districts to use some of the $200 billion COVID-19 relief funds for “antiracist therapy for white edu-

cators.” A Madison, Wisconsin, high school invites parents to participate in a segregated discussion of “police brutality and violence,” one Zoom link for white parents, one for “Parents of Color.” What starts on campus does not stay there. The flag of Black Lives Matter, a political movement unenthusiastic about the nation, is given privileged status to fly at U.S. embassies. And so on, and on, and on. A glimmer of good news is that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has ruled unconstitutional the provision of the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund’s that grants racial preferences to minority-owned small restaurants. The bad news, which is more discouraging than the good news is encouraging, is that this provision was enacted 153 years after ratification of the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws. As “equity” eclipses equality as the Democratic Party’s aspiration, the infantilization of minorities as permanent wards of government has

become the policy of the party of “caring.” The unceasing torrent of political proclamations from people whose politics are not germane to their vocations raises a question. Why do people who have nothing intelligent to say insist on proving this? The urgent question, however, is whether the ideologies of the speakers, and the sensitivities of their anticipated auditors, have produced a new etiquette: Politeness is understood as genuﬂection at approved political altars. Today, veriﬁable truth is just one option among many, with a standing inferior to any ideological agenda that the truth inconveniences. Last month, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor deliberately misquoted — actually, expurgated — one of Justice Thurgood Marshall’s opinions. In her opinion for the court in an immigration case, she quoted from a 1987 Marshall opinion in which he referred to the rights of an “alien,” the term used in the statute at issue. She replaced this word with “noncitizen,” in brack-

ets. It has become impermissible in journalism to refer to someone who is residing indeﬁnitely in the country illegally as an illegal immigrant. Journalism, however, is written on water, so such curtsies to current fashion do not matter as much as historical documents do. When the highest court begins prettifying yesterday’s opinions to conform to today’s ideological delicacies, the question becomes: When will today’s pandemic of nonsense stop? Perhaps when the nation is rescued by the human capacity for boredom. In 1982, the sociologist and philosopher Robert Nisbet wrote: “Many an evil dogma, doctrine, or other intellectual continuity has in the end been undone, not by assault, but by boredom on the part of its victims. A secret weapon against the Soviet Union and the Marx-Leninist creed is the stupefying boredom that this creed induces in the minds of the second and third generations brought up under it.” Because today’s dogmas are ampliﬁed by ubiquitous media, their life spans from birth to boring can perhaps be compressed into a few years rather than generations. Tedium is the result when the nation is hectored by shrill claims that something (formerly, capitalism and the class struggle; today, “systemic racism”) explains why everything is dreadful. The bores, tuned out by their intended audience, might become akin to audible wallpaper — there, but no longer noticed. Bores will, however, always have the consolation of tenure. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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Political Crossfire

Democrats Need Manchin More Than He Needs Them By Marc A. Thiessen

emocrats are furious with Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W. Va., for announcing that he will oppose what he called their “partisan voting legislation” and that he will “not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.” Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., tweeted that Manchin was voting “to preserve Jim Crow,” while Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., called Manchin “the new Mitch McConnell” who threatens to block Democrats’ entire agenda. Even President Joe Biden publicly laid into Manchin last week, declaring he can’t get more done because Manchin is one of “two members of the Senate who vote more with my Republican friends” (the other is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona). Democrats should be careful; their Senate majority rests in Manchin’s hands. They need to decide: Do they want Manchin to be their party’s John McCain, R-Ariz. – a maverick who went his own way on issues but stayed within the party fold? Or do they want Manchin to become their party’s Jim Jeffords, the Vermont Republican who became the first senator in history to hand Senate control to the opposition by switching parties? In May 2001, Jeffords announced he was leaving the GOP to caucus with the Democrats. Then, as now, the Senate was split 50-50 – which meant his defection put Democrats into the majority. “Increasingly, I find myself in disagreement with my party,” he said in explaining his decision. “In order to best represent my state of Vermont, my own conscience and the principles I have stood for my whole life, I will leave the Republican Party and become an independent.” Do Democrats want to hear Manchin

utter similar words? Then keep right on attacking him. In resisting their radical agenda, Manchin is simply representing his constituents. West Virginia is one of the reddest states in the country – so red that its Democratic governor, Jim Justice, switched parties in 2017. If Manchin chose to do the same, he would be welcomed by the Senate Republicans with open arms. Like Jeffords before him, he would be given a plum committee chairmanship. And he would still be the decisive swing vote in the Senate – except with Republicans in control, he would have even more inﬂuence than he does today in setting the agenda. Instead of complaining that Manchin threatens their far-left policies, Democrats ought to recognize that voters did not give them a mandate to pursue so radical an agenda. They elected an evenly split Senate and gave Democrats a narrow majority in the House – one they are in danger of losing in 2022. The normal

reaction to this outcome would be to follow Manchin’s advice, temper their demands, and reach across the aisle. Instead, Democrats are acting like they won in a landslide, trying to ram through extreme partisan bills. If they had an actual mandate to do this, one conservative West Virginia Democrat would not be able to stand in their way. Rather than railing about Manchin, they should moderate their agenda and seek bipartisan compromises with Republicans that Manchin can support. The fact is, Democrats need Manchin more than he needs them – not just to preserve their Senate majority but also to stop their party from falling over a left-wing cliﬀ. Some elected Democrats are quietly uncomfortable with the leftward lurch of their party, but they’re afraid to push back for fear of provoking a progressive primary challenge. Manchin provides them cover. For example, the Biden administration’s proposal to raise the corporate tax rate to 28 percent

is opposed behind the scenes by multiple Democrats, including Sinema and Sens. Mark Warner (Va.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) – but Manchin takes all the heat. When Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., forced a vote on a $15 minimum wage – even though Manchin’s opposition made the vote moot – six Democrats and Angus King, I-Maine, joined Manchin in voting no. They much prefer it when his opposition stops such votes from ever taking place. Manchin serves as the lightning rod that attracts all the left-wing anger and allows other moderate Democrats the luxury of remaining silent – which is why they are silently grateful to have Manchin in their ranks. So, what might persuade him to defect to the GOP? The biggest obstacle might be Donald Trump’s popularity in West Virginia. Trump won the Mountain State by a nearly 70-30 margin in 2020, and Manchin voted to convict him in both of his impeachment trials. Republicans would have to convince Manchin that handing Senate control to the GOP would absolve him of that sin. House Republicans’ decision to remove Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from leadership, and Trump’s promise to defeat disloyal Republicans, doesn’t help. Manchin would need to be convinced that he has a better chance of getting reelected in 2024 as a Republican. Until Republicans can do so, he’s likely to remain a Democratic maverick. And Democrats should be grateful if he does. The more they make Manchin feel unwelcome, the more likely it is he will follow in Jeﬀords’s footsteps rather than McCain’s. (c) 2021, Washington Post Writers Group

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Forgotten Her es

Israeli Ace Pilots By Avi Heiligman

An Israeli Spitfire

erial dog fighting is a battle between two aircraft and was a major component of most 20th century wars. The first aerial clash came in 1913 during the Mexican Revolution and expanded greatly during World War I. In 1915, the word “ace” became known as the term for a pilot who achieved five aerial victories. Less than a month after Israel became a country in 1948 their fledgling air force scored their first victory. By the end of the year, they had their first aerial ace. In the coming decades, dozens of Israeli pilots would receive the prestigious title of ace. Here are some of their stories. The first Israeli fighter ace was American-born Rudy Augarten. He had been a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot during the Allied invasion of France in June 1944 and took a direct hit. After parachuting into the French countryside, he hid for several weeks before being captured by the Germans. Together with a British paratrooper, he escaped and had another escapade on the run that lasted several weeks. Finally, he and the paratrooper made it back to Allied lines. The army wanted to send Rudy home, but he wanted to continue to fly. By the end of the war, he had shot down two German fighters and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Rudy returned to the U.S. and a

The Avia S-199

few years later heard a lecture from the first Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Abba Eban. Israel was in dire need of experienced pilots, and Rudy was eager to help his Jewish brethren. Many pilots volunteering for Israel in 1948 trained in Czechoslovakia. The plane they used was the Avia S-199, which were patched together from leftover of German Me-109s. In an ironic twist of fate, they were to fight British-built Spitfires and Hurricanes that were given to the Arabs.

termined to add another kill to his record. A short burst was all that was needed to send the Spitfire into a tailspin, and it fell towards the ground. A few days later, Rudy was flying in a Spitfire and along with his Canadian wingman Jack Doyle, they both tallied one Egyptian Spitfire each with two more damaged. Also during the operation, Rudy and two other pilots bombed an Egyptian runway and used hand signals when their radios failed. Rudy’s total for the Israeli War

A short burst was all that was needed to send the Spitfire into a tailspin.

On October 15, 1948, the Israelis launched Operation Yoav. Rudy was attached to the 101st Squadron and was ready for anything. After flying south for a while, he spotted two planes in the distance. They were clearly Spitfires and, based on his knowledge of Spitfires in the area (the IAF had a few but most were undergoing repairs), he figured they were enemy planes, probably Egyptian. As he brought his plane into position for a shot, his wingman came over to help but Rudy was de-

of Independence was four planes shot down and with the two he shot down during World War II, he was an ace – Israel’s first. Many of the Israeli pilots that earned the title of ace took part in the many battles during the Six Day War, War of Attrition, and Yom Kippur War. Kobi Richter took part in all three wars and is credited with 11.5 “kills.” He was born in 1945 in Ramat Yochanon when it was still part of the

British Mandate. He graduated flight school in 1966 and was assigned to Squadron 107 while flying Frenchbuilt Dassault Ouragan fighters. During the Six Day War in 1967, Kobi took part in the attack of an Egyptian base in the Sinai Peninsula. After the war, he switched to 117 Squadron flying Mirage III fighters. During the War of Attrition (1967-1970), he scored his first six and a half kills. During an attack on a terrorist training camp near Damascus, Kobi shot down a MiG-17 with cannon fire (the Israeli preferred weapon during aerial dogfights). Later, he shot down an Egyptian MiG-21 with the first-ever kill using a Shafrir 2 missile. On May 15, 1970, he shot down a pair of Egyptian MiG-17s that came to attack Israeli forces. The first of these two kills made him an ace pilot. In a battle over the Golan Heights, Richter shared a kill with Yehuda Koren as they shot down a Syrian MiG-17. During the first five days of the Yom Kippur War (1973), he shot down three Syrian jet fighters and one helicopter. The second highest scoring ace pilot in the IAF is Avraham Salmon with 14.5 aerial victories to his credit (Giora Epstein is Israel’s most successful fighter with 17 kills). Salmon was born in Yerushalayim in 1942 and earned his combat pilot’s wings in 1961. In the

The Jewish Home | JUNE 29, 10, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 2015

Rudy Augarten, Israel’s first ace

months prior to the Six Day War, he joined the 119 Squadron that, at that time, were flying Mirage IIIC jets. There was some action before the start of the war, but it wasn’t until the start of the war that he downed his first enemy plane. From February to July 1970, during the War of Attrition, he shot down 5.5 enemy planes including 1.5 during Operation Rimon 20. This mission was not against an Arab

country but against Russian pilots that were stationed in Egypt. Twelve MiG-21s entered the battle as the aerial dogfight commenced with the F-4 Phantoms shooting off their missiles. The first to kill a MiG-21 was Salmon who launched an AIM-9D missile at the commander of the Russian formation, Nikolai Yurchenko. Salmon later shared an aerial victory with Iftach Spector. Both Salmon and Spector

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Giora Even is Israel’s most profilic ace

shot missiles at the plane but failed to bring it down immediately. Salmon poured cannon fire into the plane as it returned to base. Later, they found out it crashed. All of the Israeli pilots returned safely to base. Many of the IAF’s missions are classified, but as time goes on, more information becomes known. There may be more Israel aces, although by the time their stories are made pub-

lic, they probably won’t make headline news. The aces of the IAF are forgotten heroes as their stories are history that deserves to be told.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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SF MEDICAL OFFICE SPACE Available, Reception Area, Waiting Room, Kitchenette, 2 Consult, 4 Exam Rooms, 2 Bathrooms, 30 Car On-Site Parking, For Lease …Call Ian 516-295-3000 www.pugatch.com

WOODMERE: BEST BUY Spacious 2BR Apartment, Washer/Dryer In Bldg, Elevator Bldg, Open Floor Plan, 1st Floor, Close To All...$199K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000

ROCKVILLE CENTRE Flex Office Space / Light Warehousing 2540 S/F - Ready for move in. Competitively priced Ideal Location / Walk To LIRR & bus - Bank, Shopping, City Center. 917-822-0499

LOWEST PRICES IN TOWN! 500-7000 Square feet gorgeous office space with WATERVIEW in Inwood! Lots of options. Tons of parking. Will divide and customize space for your needs! Call 516-567-0100

VACATION RENTALS

INVESTORS WELCOME GREAT DEAL IN WOODMERE, amazing location, double lot, low taxes ,SD 14 Asking $599, won’t last 25 CONKLIN AVE, WOODMERE Call Alexandra at Realty Connect 1-516-784-0856

INWOOD Brand new bright and airy basement apartment near LIRR . Never used kosher kitchen , 2 bedrooms , LR/DR central air /heat ,full bathroom washer/dryer $2000 a month Call/text Yitzi (929) 225-3616

APT FOR RENT

VACATION IN JERUSALEM: Beautiful Short-term rentals in Jerusalem (Sharei Chesed, Romema, Hanevi'im – City Center) Contact today for great service: Shisha Realty 718-408-8070 vacation@shisharealty.com VACATION IN JERUSALEM: Beautiful 3 bedroom apartment with porch and view available for short term in the Kaduri – Jerusalem Heights project on the 8th floor. Shisha Realty 718-408-8070 vacation@shisharealty.com

HELP WANTED Education Asst. Admin. Education Assistant Administrator for Yeshiva-based Special Ed Program. Must have educational experience, good organizational, supervisory, and interpersonal skills, classroom management sk ills, computer skills and flexible hours. 5-Towns/Far Rock SpecialEd Program. E-mail resume to nnadata@gmail.com. HALB's Lev Chana Early Childhood Center is looking for warm, loving Assistant Teachers pursuing a degree in education or related fields. Resumes to rgreen@halb.org

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HELP WANTED DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT 5-Towns non-profit seeking energetic person to plan and coordinate fundraising events, cultivate relationships with donors and Rabbinic and community leaders, disseminate positive PR. PT or FT. E-Mail Resume and cover letter to dirdevjob@gmail.com. Yeshivath Gesher/Gesher ECC a growing school is looking for a • First Grade English teacher (special education or speech/ language background) • Preschool Teacher (special education or speech/language background) • Teacher Assistant for the upcoming 2021-2022 academic year Please submit resumes jobs@gesher-ecc.org

S H a lO m Ta S k FO r C e

You Are NoT ALoNe Confidential 888.883.2323 Call. Text. Whatsapp Hotline Call our Confidential Hotline to discuss any issues about relationships or domestic abuse. We provide a listening ear to all. Our referrals help our callers gain access to helpful resources, including legal assistance, counseling, and safe shelters. For more information and to speak with a trained advocate, please visit www.shalomtaskforce.org.

No oNe Deserves To Be ABuseD

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A PROMISING NEW CAREER? A positive work environment with a rewarding quality of life? Are you ambitious and goal-oriented? Now is the time to join our sales team! We are a thriving, established company looking to take you to the next level. No experience necessary, we provide all the training and support you need to be successful. Skills required: excellent communication skills, strong work ethic, desire to learn and succeed. To apply contact hr@arkmortgage.com SHEVACH HIGH SCHOOL is seeking a Global Studies teacher, Algebra teacher. Please email resume to Office@shevachhs.org CAHAL is seeking P/T Limudei Kodesh teachers for Grade 1-2 and Middle School.in a Bais Yaakov school in Far Rockaway. Send resume to shira@cahal.org. Call 516-295-3666 for information. Local Five Towns school is seeking an administrative assistant to run its office. Candidate should be proficient in both computer hardware and software, as well as have a background in design software. Applicant should be creative, personable, with good grammar and writing skills. Competitive salary. Email resume to: office@ykli.org

HELP WANTED Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island in the Five Towns, seeks experienced, dynamic and qualified teacher for 2 periods of 8th grade English Language Arts and a licenced, dynamic teacher 2 periods of 7th Grade Math for afternoon position (M-Th). To join our professional staff, please email resume to office@ykli.org CAHAL is seeking afternoon middle school secular studies teacher for boys’ class in a Five Towns yeshiva. Send resume to shira@cahal.org. ASSISTANT TEACHERS CAHAL, the Special Education Program in our community Yeshivas is seeking Assistant Teachers for the 2021-22 school year. FT or PT, AM or PM. Classes are located in yeshivas in the Five Towns/Far Rockaway schools. Send Resume to shira@cahal.org or call 516-295-3666 for information. The HALB Lower School (grades 1-5) is seeking FT and PT Assistant Teachers for 2021-2022. Candidates should be warm and committed aspiring teachers to support our students and faculty, while gaining handson-experience in a collaborative learning environment. Resumes to grusgo@halb.org Five Towns/Far Rockaway area school seeking third and fourth grade general studies teachers for the '21-'22 school year, Monday through Thursday afternoons. Supportive, warm environment. Competitive salary. Please send your resume to teachersearch11@gmail.com Yeshivath Gesher is looking to fill an Administrative position for the upcoming school year. Responsibilities include overseeing all non-academic components of the school. such as managing the budget, building maintenance, payroll, government programs and funding etc. Applicants should display commitment, excellent organizational abilities, and strong communication skills. Please send resumes to jobs@gesher-ecc.org

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021

HELP WANTED

SHULAMITH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS IN CEDARHURST, NY, a warm, supportive, collegial, growth promoting environment, has the following openings: Middle School Science Teacher: Professional, dynamic, highly skilled 6th or 7th grade science teacher with relevant degrees who is experienced in middle school earth science, biology, chemistry or physics and STEM. STEM teacher: Professional, dynamic, highly skilled individual to teach a once-a-week specialty class to grades 1-8 advancing the students' technological skills including Google Suite, Coding, Robotics. 6th and 7th Grade Chumash teacher: Fluent Hebrew speaker and writer who is dynamic, creative, committed, compassionate and passionate with relevant degrees and teaching experience to build skills and inspire life-long learning. 6th and 7th Grade Math teacher: Professional, dynamic, highly skilled 6th or 7th grade math teacher with relevant degrees and familiar with NYS standards. Salaries are competitive and commensurate with experience. Please send resumes to egross@shulamith.org

CATAPULT LEARNING Teachers, Title I Boro Park, Williamsburg and Flatbush Schools *College/Yeshiva Degree *Teaching experience required *Strong desire to help children learn *Small group instruction *Excellent organization skills Competitive salary. Send resume to: Fax: (212) 480-3691 ~ Email: nyteachers@catapultlearning.com

Downtown Manhattan CPA firm seeking office manager/bookkeeper. Must be proficient in excel, have strong typing skills and be able to multitask. Accounting background preferred. Send resume to officemgr613@gmail.com 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 ASSISTANTS NEEDED FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AFTERNOON SESSION. Email: fivetownseducators@gmail.com

FIVE TOWNS/ FAR ROCKAWAY AREA school seeking third and fourth grade general studies teachers for the '21-'22 school year, Monday through Thursday afternoons. Supportive, warm environment. Competitive salary. Please send your resume to teachersearch11@gmail.com SHULAMITH EARLY CHILDHOOD is looking to hire a full time teacher assistant for the current school year. Please email resume to earlychildhood@shulamith.org

Cabinet Hinge Repair

646-661-1388 info@nadlercabinet.com

Hinges | Tracks | Drawers | Soft Close | Alignment

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 BAIS YAAKOV IN FAR ROCKAWAY seeking permanent substitute for Preschool and Elementary school. Please call 718-868-3232 ext 211

MISC Elderly gentleman would like to purchase items or souvenirs from world war one or world war two Call: Bruce at 516-2397444 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 | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Your

Money

Rope, Shoot, Fry, Tax By Allan Rolnick, CPA

axes were in the news this Memorial Day weekend: the new administration leaked word that the higher capital gains taxes included in their American Families Plan would be retroactive to April when they first rolled out the bill. That’s drawn predictable fire from the usual suspects on Team Red and the editorial staff at the Wall Street Journal. Raising that rate from 20% to 39.6% is obviously a big deal. But even if it happens, it would only affect gains on sales for taxpayers making over $1 million in a single year. That’s pretty elite company – just three out of every thousand Americans report earning that much. And those folks are concentrated in a handful of high-income, high-tax states, including 72,470 in California and 50,800 in New York. Alaska and West Virginia managed to scare up just 710 million-dollar earners each. But what if we told you taxing the rich isn’t where the real action is? What if we told you the tax man was like a sleight-of-hand artist, distracting your eye with a flash of his right hand while he hides a rabbit in his hat with his left? Everyone knows that taxes are

higher in California than in Texas, right? California’s top income tax rate is 13.3%, while Texas charges (*checks notes*) nothing. That’s why half of California has moved to the Lone Star State in the last couple of years. Your mortgage dollar goes much farther

California’s income tax includes a generous refundable Earned Income Tax Credit for working families that wipes out a lot of the property and sales taxes they pay. For those reasons, the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and

What if we told you the tax man was like a sleight-of-hand artist, distracting your eye with a flash of his right hand while he hides a rabbit in his hat with his left?

in Austin than it did in Tiburon, too. (Californians looking to make Caitlyn Jenner the next governor might want to check if U-Haul is paying kickbacks to Gavin Newsom.) But for middle class earners, taxes are actually higher in Texas. How can that be? Texas raises most of its revenue from property and sales taxes, which hit upper-income earners less. Texas’s average property tax rate is more than double California’s. And

Economic Policy ranks Texas #2 in their “Terrible 10” most regressive state tax systems. (Don’t look so smug, Washington, you’re #1!) California ranks most equitable. Of course, the Golden State also serves residents an all-you-can-eat buffet of wildfires, earthquakes, floods, and mudslides. Life is full of trade-offs. You may be wondering how lowly sales taxes can make such a big difference between states. But they add up

fast. When was the last time you paid attention to the “sales tax” line on a register receipt? (If you’re shopping at CVS, you probably can’t even find it.) You can probably remember a time when online retailers like Amazon didn’t charge sales tax. But the Supreme Court’s 2018 Wayfair decision holding that states can charge sales taxes on out-of-state sellers, even with no in-state physical presence, opened the floodgates to new revenue. As for that proposal to nearly double taxes on capital gains, many observers have already pronounced it DOA – retroactive or not. The smart money says it may land somewhere in the neighborhood of 25%. That’s where we come in. We have a whole suite of strategies to minimize, defer, or even eliminate taxes when you sell your business, real estate, or other big-ticket assets. So call us regardless of where you’re planning to move, and we’ll help you take more with you!

Allan J Rolnick is a CPA who has been in practice for over 30 years in Queens, NY. He welcomes your comments and can be reached at 718-896-8715 or at allanjrcpa@aol.com.

The Jewish Home | JUNE 10, 2021 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

119 43

Life C ach

I’m Wearing Mine Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

elieve it or not, when I was a kid, no one wore bike helmets. Wait, I take that back. Rough and tough “ride on the road” motorcyclists did. But, they were truly part of the real traffic flow so that made sense to us. Then again, they looked so tough we thought even the road would be afraid to hurt them. Made you wonder why they actually needed protection?! Still, back then, no respectable two-wheel riding cyclist would ever think they needed a helmet! It just wasn’t on anyone’s radar...until someone figured out that the head housed the brain, even when riding a non-motorized bicycle. However, when they first started requiring it, people were like: no way. It was just not something anyone was used to. Then, eventually, it slowly caught on... And then they started pushing it for skiers, too. I mean, seriously, that was a tough sell – half the pizazz of skiing was your outfit and a big part of the outfit was your hat! It was a difficult adjustment to switch to a helmet but we got there.

Today, everyone recognizes it’s a better idea to wear helmets... Well, at least every parent does! You still see kids riding, rip-sticking, or rollerblading without one. And every parent kind of wants to run over to them and wrap

all the bravado they had as a kid turns into anxiety and neurosis as a parent. One minute you’re the wild and crazy, irresponsible adolescent, and the next minute, you’re the one controlling all the behaviors of someone else!

It just wasn’t on anyone’s radar... until someone figured out that the head housed the brain, even when riding a non-motorized bicycle.

something protective around their heads. But kids think differently. They not opting to wear it comes from the security and naïveté of youth. They just seem to feel immortal. And that is kind of funny, because that’s just when every parent feels like killing them! A person actually knows they’ve transitioned to being a parent when

It seems that kids just force you to grow up in so many ways. And then it gets even more complex because then the kids start controlling the adult’s behaviors. One of the most disturbing turning points is when kids start curtailing their parent’s actions -which comes with that famous line usually delivered by a maturing youth: “You’re embarrassing me.”

Suddenly, you are under their microscope and they are deciding what’s appropriate for you! When that happens, you know you can’t just be who you want to be anymore when they are around. They have an image of what adultlike behavior is and suddenly your spontaneity is no longer in your domain. There is a youth committee out on what’s appropriate behavior for you! Here it was, you thought you were teaching them to be appropriate youngsters. And they are, it seems, teaching you to be appropriate adults! Ultimately, you can say they are starting to make sure you know the rules of showing up in life safely. In other words, they are kind of checking that you have your helmet on. And not just whether it’s on – but if it’s on the way they think is right. So, hats off to parents for being the best parents to their kids.

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-7052004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com.

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With much gratitude to the Ribbono Shel Olam, Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam is excited to announce the opening of their

High School 2022 -2023

for the

Academic School year.

Under the warm and caring leadership of

Rabbi Nosson Neuman, Menahel We are pleased to appoint

Mrs. Ruchie Sokoloff, Menaheles Her kindness and compassion for every talmidah, combined with her quest for excellence in education, is legendary in our community. We are looking forward to providing the next generation of Imahos B'yisroel a ﬁrst rate High School in a pure Bais Yaakov atmosphere, with a Torah true chinuch education.

Menahel Rabbi Nosson Neuman

President Mr. Isaac Zaﬁr

Chairman of the Board Mr. Eric Stern

Five Towns Jewish Home - 6-10-21

Articles inside

Israeli Ace Pilots by Avi Heiligman

I’m Wearing Mine by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

Democrats Need Manchin More Than He Needs Them by Marc A. Thiessen

Your Money

The Antidote to Today’s Political Dogma May Be Boredom by George F. Will

Democrats Want to Dictate Sweeping Election Changes in All 50 States by George F. Will

Notable Quotes

The Aussie Gourmet: Goat Cheese and Pear Salad

TJH Speaks with Terri Liftin, Candidate for NYC Comptroller

Little “T” Trauma by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

Parenting Pearls

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

Another Reason to Cut Out Sugar by Cindy Weinberger, MS RD

Too Much Change in the “Change Coalition”?

That’s Odd

World Builders

Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

Delving into the Daf by Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow

Centerfold

The Downfall of Korach by Shmuel Reichman

Turning Toward the Source of Light by Rav Moshe Weinberger

National