Five Towns Jewish Home - 2-28-19 by The Jewish Home

February 28, 2019

Distributed weekly in the Five Towns, Long Island, Queens & Brooklyn

Your Favorite Five Towns Family Newspaper

VACCINATIONS

THEIR IMPORTANCE AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY See page 7

TJH Speaks with Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev

PAGE 9

Around the

Community

46 Celebrating 41 Years of HAFTR

A Jewish “Black Belt” at Rambam Dinner

Parshas Vayakhel 24 Adar I 5778 Candle Lighting Time 5:27 pm Sponsored by

See page 78

Helping our Children Become Happier People pg 96

Passover Vacation Section Starts on page 113

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Dear Readers,

have frequented the same hairdresser for decades. They go to church every Sunday, where they greet their friends and neighbors. Sure, they’d love to live in a cleaner, safer place, but they don’t want their bubble of routine to be popped. They don’t want to be misplaced or have to move because developers will be taking over their homes. They’re scared for their future. They’re also scared of the unknown. Most of the people living in those areas aren’t developers or builders. They’re not in the business of buying up real estate, finagling with bureaucracy, and smoothing out issues that arise. And they’re concerned that because of their naivete they’ll be taken for a ride. One person yelled out at the meeting, “It’s all about the almighty dollar!” We can’t fault developers to want to make a buck, but they don’t want to feel hoodwinked by those carrying a fatter wallet than them. Change isn’t always easy but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad. When politicians say they’re working to clean up our neighborhoods, we should be open to listening to what they have in mind. In the next few weeks I hope to feature a more in-depth piece about what Councilman Blakeman envisions for our area. This way, you can make your own decision about what the future of these areas will be.

ears ago, when Brachs was still open, on some days when the weather was nice I would walk from my house to Brachs to do my shopping and then have my groceries delivered. Being able to get in some exercise and do my weekly shopping was a win-win for me, and I enjoyed spending extra time outdoors. But walking down Lawrence Avenue to Burnside Avenue is not pleasant – even if it is in the middle of the day and the sun is shining. As you walk, you pass by empty lots, foreclosed homes, crumbling warehouses, and little bodegas that may or may not be selling something more than groceries. I’d pass by just a few people who were also out on the street, some walking their dogs, as I stepped around broken bottles and blighted sidewalks. Last night, I went to a presentation given by Councilman Bruce Blakeman of the Town of Hempstead. The councilman has a vision to revitalize the areas around the Lawrence and Inwood railroad stations. The idea is to build mixed-use and residential housing along the railroad stations and the areas around it. Adding higher-end businesses to the mix and cleaning up the area would lead to a fresher, cleaner, and safer place to live. Tempers were roiling at the meeting, and I understood why. For many people living in North Lawrence and Inwood, these areas have been their homes for many years. They’ve brought their children up there and

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

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

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

Community Happenings

44 NEWS

Global

National

Odd-but-True Stories

ISRAEL Israel News

Mud in My Eye by Rafi Sackville

26 88

PARSHA Rabbi Wein

Embarrassment to Teshuva and Holiness by Rav Moshe Weinberger 82 Parsha in Four by Eytan Kobre

Flying to Falling by Shmuel Reichman

PEOPLE The Godfather of the IDF by Avi Heiligman

124

HEALTH & FITNESS Vaccinations: Their Importance and Our Responsibility

Adar, Progeny, and the Pursuit of Happiness by Beth Perkel

The Hidden Obstacles in the Dating Game by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

102

The Keto Diet by Aliza Beer, MS RD

106

Please, No Bumpers by Dr. Hylton I. Lightman

108

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Carrot Ginger Soup

110

LIFESTYLES Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

Your Money

133

That Was a Doozy by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

134

Dear Editor, Wow! Just finished reading the article on the Israeli Special Forces unit in this week’s issue. I knew that something like this must have existed but I never knew to the extent that it is being used in the Jewish State. Kudos to those brave soldiers who spend many months preparing themselves with these herculean roles. We owe them a great deal of debt for risking their lives for us. Mark Lewin Dear Editor, I am writing in response to all the letters that are circulating all over the world about girls not getting into seminaries. While I have several friends whose daughters have not been accepted into seminaries and it is devastating to them, there are some local options that are available. What I would like to know is why in this Five Towns/Far Rockaway community are there still at least 2 dozen boys that don’t have a high school to attend in September. While there are two new boys’ high schools opening in September and two more have opened in the last two years, why do 13- and 14-year-old boys have to go through this traumatic experience? I have spoken to parents of boys in several of the local yeshivos and they are saddened that in this chessed-oriented community this is still going on. Boys attend yeshivos from nursery through 8th grade and then they have no high school to attend because perhaps they don’t have straight alephs? Or perhaps their parents don’t have extra money to

donate to these schools? Where are our rabbonim to make sure that each boy has a school to attend? Why is it that our schools are taking in boys from outside this immediate area and then the locals can’t get in? Is this fair? Sincerely, A broken mother Dear Editor, A “vort” to the wise It was a Tuesday morning when I arrived in my shul in Flatbush and ran into a fellow mispallel, Chaim. “Beryl,” he said, “I get a mazel tov. My son became a chosson!” “That’s wonderful news,” I told him. “May you have much glick and nachas.” But before I could get away from him, he said those dreaded words: “Please join us at the vort tonight in the kallah’s house in Lakewood.” Needless to say, I was not in the mood to schlep to Lakewood after a hard day’s work so I said what every sharp husband would say: “I have to check with my wife. She may have something going on that I don’t know of.” When I got home and told my wife about the engagement and the vort, she said, “Well, I think we have to go. Chaim’s wife, Malka, considers herself to be a close friend of mine and she will be very hurt if we don’t come.” “But we hardly have anything to do with them,” I countered. “Besides, I wished him a mazel tov already in shul this morning.” Continued on page 10

HUMOR Centerfold 78 Gefilte Giggles by Jon Kranz

122 POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

112

Amazon Blowup Shows Economic Illiter-

86 CLASSIFIEDS

acy by Marc A. Thiessen

118

Trump’s Syria Reversal is a Significant Win by David Ignatius

120 128

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The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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Continued from page 8

As expected, my wife got her way, and an hour later we were en route to Lakewood. She convinced me that we would just stay at the vort for a few minutes and that we would leave for home real soon. But traffic was unusually heavy that night and by the time the snowstorm started, we figured that we were too close to our destination to turn back, and so we went on for another 30 minutes or so. It took us a while to find a parking place and at least another 20 minutes to push our way through the crowd to get to the baal simchas and wish them a mazel tov. They seemed happy to see us, but that lasted for maybe two minutes. Then their attention was diverted to others that were there. By this time, we were starving. We made our way to the buffet and found it practically bare. We shoveled some nuts into our mouths and headed out. We had a real problem finding our black car because all of the dozens of cars parked around the house were white, freshly covered with snow. Brushing off the snow took longer than we expected, and our hands and feet were frozen. It was 40 minutes later that we finally drove off. The way back was treacherous. The traffic was stop and go – more stop than go – and to top it off, when we got home, we realized that Chaim and Malka never even thanked us for coming and that we were never even introduced to the mechutanim. And so, for the eighth time this year, we promised ourselves that we will not attend vorts anymore – especially those outside of our immediate neighborhood. I hope the next time I have the fortitude to stick to my convictions.

So to all of you out there, please accept this “vort” to the wise. The next time you have an out-of-town vort call the baalei simcha on the phone and stay home. You’ll thank me. Just Venting Dear Editor, Last week Y. Chesner wrote an extremely negative letter directed at Moshe Gladstone. The letter stated that “Shaindy Klein ought to get a Nobel Peace Prize for tying the Jewish People together instead of dividing them.” There are some blatant hypocrisies in this statement. First of all, you can’t have unification if you don’t recognize the division. Second, Moshe Gladstone is Jewish, too. Therefore I think that this appalling letter falls into the category of “dividing them” not “tying (them) together.” Another point I would like to address is that after the atrocities that Robert Kraft committed, I really feel that he’s a horrible person but that Y. Chesner is just too bigoted and narrowminded to see it. Thank you Moshe Gladstone for writing such an insightful letter that, unfortunately and unjustly, drew such contemptible feedback. Thank you, E. Shuter Dear Editor, I find the news tidbit on Darij Krajcic of Slovenia who stepped down from Parliament in his country last week because he shoplifted a sandwich to be appalling. Which honest person would walk out of supermarket with a sandwich because they didn’t like how they were being treated? There is something really wrong with this guy – and it’s a lot more than just about a sandwich. Shulamis Berman

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.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

ATTENTION INCOMING NINTH GRADERS

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The Week In News

All Eyes on Vietnam

The Vietnamese capital of Hanoi found itself at the center of the world’s attention as the site of a high-profile summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un which started on Wednesday of this week. The two-day meeting, which follows a previous one in June, comes amid talks between the two countries that aim to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The first summit between the two was unprecedented, as no U.S. leader has ever met with his counterpart from the rogue nation. Following that summit, President Trump said that North Korea “is no longer a nuclear threat” and predicted that a peace deal would follow. Despite their assurances, the reclusive state has since moved forward with its nuclear weapons programs and has failed to stop ballistic missile development, raising fears that North Korea was simply playing for time while gaining legitimacy by meeting with Trump. Analysts say that possible outcomes from this week’s meeting include a commitment by Pyongyang to allow inspectors to visit certain nuclear sites and an agreement to shutter the nuclear reactor at Yongbyon nuclear research center. U.S. officials say that the final goal is for North Korea to agree to give up its nuclear arsenal, similar to an agreement the U.S. signed with Libya in 2003. Should such an agreement occur, the U.S. will establish full diplomatic relations with North Korea, something that would effectively end

the Korean War. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN that he remains “hopeful” that the two leaders “will make a big step towards” ridding North Korea of the most dangerous weapons known to mankind during their summit. “I don’t want to get into the details of what’s being proposed, what the offers and counteroffers may be. But a real step, a demonstrable, verifiable step, is something that I know President Trump is very focused on achieving,” Pompeo said. Trump, meanwhile, tweeted from Hanoi that “without nuclear weapons” North Korea “could fast become one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World.” He added, “Because of its location and people (and him), it has more potential for rapid growth than any other nation!”

UN: UK to Give Up Chagos Islands

The United Nations’ top international court ruled this week that the United Kingdom must relinquish control of the disputed Chagos Islands, the latest twist in a 50-year legal battle. The International Court of Justice said that London must give up its ownership of the islands, which are located in the Indian Ocean, “as rapidly as possible.” The court accepted claims by Mauritius, which told the court that it was forced to give away the islands to England in 1968 as a condition for getting independence. In his ruling, Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said that England’s occupation of the Chagos Islands was “an unlawful act of continuing character” and added that the UK is obligated “to bring an end to its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible.” The ruling was summarily rejected by the UK, which said through the Home Office that the ruling was an

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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“advisory opinion, not a judgment.” The decision is not legally binding according to international law. The UK says that it needs the islands for security purposes and will return it to Mauritius at an undetermined time in the future. “The defense facilities on the British Indian Ocean Territory help to protect people here in Britain and around the world from terrorist threats, organized crime and piracy,” said the Home Office.

Measles Outbreak in Costa Rica

An unvaccinated French child is being blamed for causing Costa Rica’s first measles outbreak in half a decade. Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health

said in a statement that the 5-yearold had come to the tropical island with his parents on February 18. The child’s mother confirmed that he was not vaccinated and studied at a school in which many other students fell ill with the disease. The child has been quarantined along with his two parents at Monsenor Sanabria Hospital in Puntarenas. Now, Costa Rica’s Health Ministry is frantically trying to track down anyone who had come in contact with the aforementioned family in an attempt to stem the spread of the disease in the nation. “The Ministry of Health requests that if you know of someone who has symptoms of measles (fever, nasal congestion, cough, conjunctivitis, skin rash that starts in the head and expands through the body to the feet, reaching the hips around the second day), it is vital that they notify the health authorities as soon as possible,” said the Health Ministry in a statement. The last domestic case of measles in Costa Rica was in 2006, while the most recent case of imported measles was in 2014. Measles in extremely contagious and can be spread through the air alone, making it crucial for authorities to find suspected

measles cases as soon as possible. Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined vaccination hesitancy among the top 10 threats to global health in 2019 as measles cases continue to rise around the world. “Vaccination hesitancy – the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases,” said the WHO. “Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease – it currently prevents 2-3 million deaths a year, and a further 1.5 million could be avoided if global coverage of vaccinations improved,” the organization urged.

Trump Waives China Tariffs as Agreement Nears U.S. President Donald Trump has delayed scheduled tariffs on Chinese imports amid reports that an end to the bruising trade war between the two nations is imminent. Substantial taxes on Chinese

products were slated to rise from 10% to 25% starting from March 1.

Trump wrote on Twitter about “productive talks” between Washington and Beijing, adding that “I will be delaying the U.S. increase in tariffs now scheduled for March 1.” On Monday, Trump also said during a meeting of U.S. governors that the two countries “are going to have a signing summit” if a deal ends up being hammered out. “Hopefully, we can get that completed. But we’re getting very, very close,” he said. The president’s remarks come as negotiations between U.S. envoy Robert Lighthizer and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He intensified over weekend, with the two counties coming closer to an agreement regarding Beijing’s intellectual property violations. Negotiators have huddled over the past two months in an attempt to end the trade dispute, following

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an initial ceasefire hammered out between Trump and his Chinese counterpart in December at the G-20 meeting in Argentina. The two economic giants have been locked in a trade war since President Donald Trump slapped $200 billion of sanctions on Beijing. Trump notes that China steals technology and intellectual property from U.S. companies in their quest to replace the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy. “Trump clearly wants a deal and so do the Chinese, which certainly raises the probability that the two sides will come to some sort of negotiated agreement, even if it is a partial one, in the coming weeks,” Cornell University economist Eswar Prasad told the Financial Times.

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On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to retaliate against India after India conducted airstrikes on an alleged terrorist training camp across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region, in a significant escalation of hostilities between the two nuclear armed powers. “India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing,” Khan’s office said in a statement. The apparent strike took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning and came in response to what India said was “credible intelligence” about potential terrorist attacks, Indian foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale related. Gokhale said the alleged camp was run by Jaish-e-Mohammed, the group India blames for a suicide car bomb attack in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers on February 14. It was the worst attack

on Indian forces since the beginning of an insurgency in the region in the late 1980s, according to analysts. At an election rally a few hours after the airstrikes, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not refer to the attack directly, but spoke about protecting India. “I want to assure my countrymen that the country is in safe hands,” he said. The Indian government had been weighing how to respond to February’s terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, conducting raids over the past two weeks to weed out militants hiding in the region. Harsh V. Pant, a professor in international relations at King’s College London, told CNN that for the past few decades the Indian government had chosen not to retaliate after terror attacks in Kashmir. But India is now at a point where it is choosing to escalate the situation, he said. In a statement released Tuesday, India said “a very large number” of militants were “eliminated” in the operation. It said the alleged camp was a military training facility headed by Maulana Yousuf Azhar, the brother-in-law of Masood Azhar – the chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed. Pakistan denied that numerous militants had been killed, calling it “a self serving, reckless and fictitious claim” by the Indian government, according to the statement from Khan’s office. “This action has been done for domestic consumption being in election environment, putting regional peace and stability at grave risk,” the statement read. Tuesday’s movement of Indian Air Force planes across the de facto border between the two countries is the first such instance since the India-Pakistan war in 1971. Kashmir, a largely mountainous region located between India and Pakistan, has had a tumultuous history. The region has been bitterly contested by both India and Pakistan following the partition of the two countries in 1947, leading to three wars and numerous other skirmishes. The February attack came more than two years after armed militants entered an Indian army base in the garrison town of Uri, about 63 miles (102 kilometers) from Srinagar, killing 18. India later said it had used ground troops to strike terrorist targets across the LoC in response to the Uri attack, something which Pa-

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smallest moon, is named for the sea monster from Greek mythology, said to have a fish’s tail attached to a horse’s body. It’s only about 21 miles in diameter; Neptune, by comparison, is 30,599 miles in diameter. This latest discovery was made by Mark Showalter, a senior research scientist at the SETI Institute, and his team, using observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. The Voyager 2 spacecraft conducted a flyby of Neptune in 1989 and spotted six small inner moons – but not Hippocamp. This makes Hippocamp the seventh inner moon found around Neptune, bringing the planet’s total moons to 14. Hippocamp is in close orbit to Proteus, the largest and outermost of Neptune’s inner moons. Researchers believe that Hippocamp is a fragment of Proteus. Since the discovery of the small inner moons, scientists have believed that they are younger than Neptune and that they formed after Neptune captured its largest moon, Triton. They also thought these inner moons were fragmented due to impacts by comets. Neptune is the eighth and farthest

kistan denied. Days after February’s attack, four Indian army personnel were killed in a gunfight with militants in the Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir. Separatist violence in the region has killed more than 47,000 people since 1989, although this toll doesn’t include people who have disappeared due to the conflict. Some human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations put the death toll at twice that amount.

Neptune’s New Moon

According to the journal Nature, a tiny new moon has been found in orbit around the planet Neptune. Hippocamp, now known as Neptune’s

known planet from the sun in the solar system. It is the fourth-largest planet by diameter, the third-mostmassive planet, and the densest giant planet. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times the mass of Earth and slightly larger than Neptune. Neptune orbits the sun once every 164.8 years.

Iranian FM Javad Zarif Suddenly Resigns

Speculation is swirling after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif suddenly announced his resignation without providing a clear reason. “I sincerely apologize for the in-

capacity to continue serving and all shortcomings during the service,” Zarif posted on Instagram. “Be happy and upbeat.” Zarif had not given any prior indication that he had planned on stepping aside. The diplomat’s sudden announcement caught the regime by surprise, with government sources initially denying that the resignation indeed took place. Arab news outlets spoke of Tehran being rocked by chaos on Monday following Zarif’s decision to step down, with other diplomats reportedly preparing to join him. In his first public remarks following his resignation, Zarif said on Tuesday that he had stepped down “in hopes” that the move would “spur for the foreign ministry to regain its proper statutory role in the conduct of foreign affairs” and urged other diplomats not to resign as well. “I advise all you dear brothers and sisters in the foreign ministry and embassies to resolutely follow your duties in defense of the country and refrain from such acts,” said Zarif. According to Iran’s FARS news agency, Zarif had a falling out with Iran’s leadership regarding its foreign policy, which peaked in the decision

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to invite Syrian President Bashar Assad to visit Tehran earlier in the week. Assad had flown into the Iranian capital and met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) elite Quds Force. Zarif had reportedly fiercely opposed the visit and was notably absent in the summit between the Iranian and Syrian leaders. Zarif had also been known to oppose the IRGC’s influence in Iranian foreign policy. As foreign minister, Zarif had played a central part in Iran’s foreign policy and served as Iran’s chief negotiator in the talks leading up to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015. An academic that was educated in the United States, Zarif was seen as one who gave the Islamic Republic a more moderate international image. Yet Zarif has come under biting criticism within Iran for his role as the architect of the Iran nuclear deal. Hardliners accuse him of selling out Iran’s interests in exchange for vague promises by the world powers, accusations that only escalated since President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions.

Argentine Chief Rabbi Attacked The chief rabbi of Argentina was brutally assaulted by a gang who broke into his apartment early Monday morning. Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich was

hospitalized with serious injuries, including nine broken ribs, according to the Jewish political umbrella DAIA President Jorge Knoblovits.

“We know that you are the AMIA (Jewish center) rabbi,” the assailants shouted before beating Rabbi Davidovich. Rabbi Davidovich’s wife was home during the attack, which happened at approximately 2 a.m. in the Jewish neighborhood of Once in the Argentine capital. The attackers restrained her and stole money and belongings from the apartment. The attack was a “brutal anti-Semitic aggression,” DAIA said in a statement issued on Monday night. The statement, which was signed by Knoblovits, said the attack “is framed on the anti-Semitic events that are taking place in different European countries, which threaten coexistence and democratic values.” A statement issued by AMIA condemned the attack but did not specifically call it anti-Semitic. Davidovich has served as chief rabbi since 2013. The office of the rabbinate is located in the AMIA building in Buenos Aires. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

two swimming pools, a tennis court, a panic room, a vault, and 34 parking spaces for Escobar’s collection of vintage cars and motorcycles.

In January 1988 the building was hit by a car bomb, in the course of the war between the Medellin and Cali drug cartels. It has remained unoccupied since then but was frequented daily by tourists visiting locations connected to Escobar’s sordid history. Mayor Federico Gutierrez had been pushing to raze the building and create in its place a park and memorial museum honoring the thousands of people – including four presidential candidates and some 500 police officers – murdered by Escobar’s men.

Chaos Reigns in Venezuela

Netanyahu sent wishes for a quick recovery to the rabbi and his wife. “We must not let anti-Semitism rear its head. I strongly condemn the recent acts of anti-Semitism and call on the international community to take action against it,” Netanyahu said. The World Jewish Congress said it was “shocked and incensed by the brutal attack.” “It is not yet clear whether this was a targeted crime of hateful anti-Semitism or a barbaric criminal act, but we

trust that the authorities will continue to do everything in their power to determine the motive and bring the perpetrators to justice,” its CEO, Robert Singer, said on Monday.

Pablo Escobar’s Home Razed Drug lord Pablo Escobar’s white eight-story concrete mansion in the Colombian city of Medellin was de-

molished in an official government ceremony this week. The explosion took place at 11:53 local time on Sunday, sending a cloud of dust tens of meters into the air. Escobar and his family lived in the building – named “The Monaco” – during the 1980s, when he controlled up to 80 percent of the world’s cocaine trade and amassed an estimated $30 billion fortune. His wife and son lived in one of the building’s twelve apartments, and the rest of the building included

Juan Guaido, Venezuela’s self-declared interim president, proposed on Saturday night that Washington consider “all options” to oust Nicolas Maduro after Maduro’s troops violently prevented foreign aid convoys from entering through the country’s borders. Maduro has refused to cede the presidency to Guaido after recent elections. At least two people were killed and about 300 injured in clashes at the border crossings, and humanitarian aid headed for Venezuela was set on fire, apparently by troops loyal to Maduro. Colombia said 285 people were wounded at the border crossings. The most serious incident occurred at the Santa Elena de Uairen crossing point on the southern

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border with Brazil. Two people were killed and 31 were wounded when troops blocking the entry of aid trucks opened fire on civilians hoping to salvage medical supplies and emergency rations, according to rights group Foro Penal. “Today’s events force me to make a decision: to formally propose to the International Community that we must have all options open to secure the freedom of our country, which fights and will keep fighting,” said Guaido before meeting with the

Lima Group of regional leaders in Bogota on Monday. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence also attended the meeting. After the meeting on Monday, Pence announced additional sanctions on Venezuelan officials and urged Latin American neighbors to freeze assets of the state oil company. The American vice president warned countries in the region that they cannot remain neutral in this fight, singling out Mexico and Uruguay. “We believe there can be no by-

standers,” he said. “No one on the sidelines of this, particularly in our hemisphere.” Guaido violated guidelines set by Maduro’s regime when he flew to Colombia to attend the meeting. Maduro has called Guaidó a coup plotter and a Trump administration lackey, and has described the humanitarian aid effort as a pretext for an American invasion directed from Colombia. He broke relations with Colombia on Saturday in retaliation.

At least 150 people have died in India and some 200 others have been hospitalized – some in critical condition – after drinking tainted alcohol. Police said on Saturday that the deaths, in Assam state’s Golaghat and Jorhat districts, were traced to batches of local moonshine laced with methyl alcohol. “We have arrested two people, but we are still investigating their role in the incident,” said Partha Pratim Saikia, a senior police official in the Golaghat district in the northeastern state of Assam. This is the second mass outbreak of alcohol poisoning in India in the last two weeks. As many as 100 people died in Uttar Pradesh and neighboring states earlier this month after drinking liquor that was described as unusually milky in color and smelling like diesel fuel. The illegal bootleg booze, known as “country liquor,” is widespread in India. It can be bought in most villages and is much cheaper than branded, regulated alcohol.

The Future of Northern Ireland?

The debate around Brexit – the plan to make Britain independent of the European Union – has stoked tensions between Britain and Ireland and poses a risk to the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have been volleying verbal barbs at each other, and the hostility has become fetid on some occasions. Ireland stands to lose much if Brit-

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

ain exits the EU unilaterally without an agreement, since it could mean the return of a strong international border between the countries, with dire economic impact for Ireland. The 500-km border separates Northern Ireland — which is part of the United Kingdom — from the Republic of Ireland, which is an independent country and a member of the EU. That border was heavily militarized during decades of fighting in Northern Ireland, but a central pillar of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended that conflict involved softening the border. The European Union brought relations between Britain and Ireland even closer: the watchtowers and checkpoints along the border disappeared. Whether it will stay that way is a major issue in Brexit negotiations between Britain and the EU. Once the split takes place, the Irish border will be the only land border between Britain and Europe.

A Suicide Drone The Kalashnikov Group – the Russian company that created the

highly successful AK-47 assault rifle – has unveiled a new drone that may make sophisticated military suicide drones widely and cheaply available.

A model of the miniature exploding drone was on display this week at the major IDEX-2019 defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi. The propeller-driven KUB-BLA drone could target enemy air defenses. “KUB-BLA is designed to destroy remote ground targets,” Kalashnikov stated. “An unmanned aerial vehicle delivers a special load to the coordinates of the target, which are set manually or in the image from the [drone’s] guidance system.” KUB-BLA has been compared to a small, slow and inexpensive cruise missile. It apparently is similar in design to Israel’s veteran truck-launched Harpy drone, but the jet-propelled Harpy is much heavier than KUB-BLA and carries a 13kg warhead – compared to KUB-BLA’s

2.7 kg warhead. “The advantages of the system are hidden launch, high accuracy of the shot, noiselessness, and ease of handling,” according to Kalashnikov. The company hopes that making the drone small and cheap will ensure that it becomes as ubiquitous as the AK-47. The AK-47 is the standard issue military rifle for over 85 nations all over the world, as well as for a slew of terror groups and militias due to its low price and easily replaceable parts.

Tensions Escalate on Temple Mount Tensions escalated on Friday on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount after thousands of Muslims forcibly took over a part that has been closed off by Israel

since 2003 and a prominent Muslim cleric was subsequently arrested.

In what is known as the “Status Quo,” the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic trust) has maintained administrative rule over Judaism’s holiest site since its capture in the 1967 Six Day War. The Waqf harasses non-Muslim visitors on the Mount and has banned Jewish visitors from praying there. On Friday, thousands of Muslims forcibly took over the Gate of Mercy, which had been closed by Israeli Police since 2003. Yelling “Allahu akhbar” (G-d is great) and radical Islamic slogans, the worshippers easily overran Israeli barriers and threw fireworks and rocks at police. The gate had been closed in 2003 after Israeli intelligence discovered that the Waqf subcommittee managing the site was riddled with members of the Hamas terror organization. It is unclear what caused the rever-

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sal in policy and what lay behind the decision by police to stand down on Friday after being challenged by the hostile mob. Following the takeover, jubilant Arab leaders said that it was the beginning of a widespread struggle to remove Israel’s control from the disputed site. Upon visiting the site, Arab-Muslim Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi told those assembled that penetrating the Gate of Mercy was “an important and significant step” and called for a Temple Mount “without the entry of settlers and Jewish politicians from the right.” On Sunday, detectives arrested Waqf head Sheikh Abdel-Azeem Salhab and his deputy Sheikh Najeh Bkeirat over what police said was the key role they played in recent clashes at the site. A Waqf official said that the early-morning arrest was extremely unusual for police, who usually try to avoid detaining Waqf officials due to the sensitivity of their positions. “He’s the most senior Jordanian figure in the Palestinian territories,” the official told Haaretz. “Twenty years ago, if the police wanted to interrogate the mufti, they would call and invite him, but coming to a 75-year-old’s home like that at 5 A.M. is unacceptable.” Authorities say that the current atmosphere on the Temple Mount is the most volatile that it has been since Israel installed metal detectors on the Temple Mount back in the summer of 2017. Following the murder of two Israeli policemen at the Al Aqsa Mosque, police had erected metal detectors at all of the entrances to the sensitive site in a bid to prevent the Temple Mount from turning into a terrorist stronghold. The move enraged the Waqf, who refused to allow Muslims to enter the Temple Mount until the metal detectors were removed. Fearing mass riots by Israeli Arabs, the Israeli government dismantled the metal detectors after only a week, handing the Waqf a significant victory.

Bibi Brings Kahanists into the Knesset A host of U.S. Jewish organizations have condemned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for working to bring the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party into the Knesset.

Netanyahu had arranged for Otzma to run together with the Religious Zionist Jewish Home and National Union factions. The premier’s actions stemmed from a fear that Otzma would take away votes from other parties yet not cross the electoral threshold, which stands at 4 Knesset seats.

Otzma is known as an extreme right-wing party headed by followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, a rabbi and former lawmaker whose Kach party was outlawed by the Knesset in 1986 for racism. After the merger was approved, a slew of Jewish organizations in the United States released strong condemnations for enabling what they called a racist movement to return to Israel’s parliament. The American Jewish Council (AJC) said in statement on Friday that while it “does not normally comment on political parties and candidates during elections” it was forced to do so because “the views of Otzma Yehudit are reprehensible.” The statement added that “it is up to Israel’s Central Elections Commission to determine, as it has done in the past, whether Otzma Yehudit can be listed on the ballot on Election Day.” The AJC’s statement was also shared on Twitter by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in what is a rare rebuke of Israel’s government by the powerful Israel lobby. More declarations poured in from the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and the Reform movement, with leader Rich Jacobs likening Otzma to “the KKK.” However, some Orthodox Jewish organizations bucked the condemnations and made it clear that they did not oppose the move. The National Council of Young Israel, which represents 175 synagogues, said that it “understands what Prime Minister Netanyahu did, and he did it to have ministers of the national religious and national union parties in his coalition.” The Zionist Organizations of America (ZOA) blasted Jewish organizations opposing Otzma Yehudit as “Nazi name-calling against Jewish

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

candidates.” With polls showing the right and left wing bloc’s tied ahead of the upcoming elections in April, Netanyahu brokered the merger between Otzma Yehudit and the Jewish Home and National Union factions out of fear that all three parties would otherwise fail to make it into the Knesset. To move the merger forward, Netanyahu promised the Jewish Home that it would receive the Education and Housing Ministries should he form the next government and added Jewish Home MK Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan to a realistic spot on the Likud’s Knesset list. Amid rising criticism over the move, Netanyahu pointed out the “hypocrisy” of the left for opposing Otzma Yehudit while remaining open to including anti-Israel Arab parties such as Balad in a future left-wing coalition. “Such hypocrisy and double standards from the left,” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter on Saturday evening. “They condemn a bloc on the right with right wing parties while the left worked to bring extremist Islamists into Knesset to create a bloc.… The height of absurdity.”

Israel is the 10th Healthiest Country in the World

The Bloomberg Healthiest Countries Index has ranked Israel as the 10th healthiest country in the world, a drop of one position from last year’s rankings. The index lists 169 countries according to various factors that influence the health of its citizens. Bloomberg says that it “grades nations based on variables including life expectancy, while imposing penalties on risks such as tobacco use and obesity. “It also takes into consideration

environmental factors including access to clean water and sanitation.” Topping the list was Spain, followed by Italy, Iceland, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Singapore, and Norway. The United States ranked far below at number 35, with the report noting its dropping life expectancy due to “drug overdoses and suicides.” Want to live healthily? Bloomberg credited Spain’s “Mediterranean diet, supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts” for its high ranking and predicted that the average lifespan would rise to 86 by 2040, the world’s highest. The United States, meanwhile, is expected to see its average lifespan drop to 80 due to obesity and its drug epidemic. Israel’s health system has long been lauded by experts for its mix of affordable yet professional healthcare. Last year, Bloomberg found that Israel’s health system is the sixth most efficient in the world, behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Italy and South Korea.

Was Bibi to Blame for Slow Internet?

A new investigation by the Times of Israel details how an alleged illicit deal hatched by Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu left Israelis citizens to suffer from one of the slowest average internet rates in the world. In what is known as the Case 4000 investigation, police say that Netanyahu exploited his position of communications minister, which he served in addition to his job as the prime minister from 2014 to 2017, to halt a regulatory reform that would have hurt the Bezeq communications behemoth in exchange for fawning press from the Walla online news platform. Both Bezeq and Walla are owned by Shaul Elovitch, a wealthy Israeli businessman who police recommended be indicted as well as Netanyahu. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is expected to announce

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RENAFORTEENS@GMAIL.COM his indictment of Netanyahu next week, in a move that is likely to shake up Israeli politics. The reform in question would have forced Bezeq to lease out its mammoth internet infrastructure to competing businesses in an effort to open the market to competition. Formally a government-owned company, Bezeq has a virtual monopoly on broadband internet connections, with a market share topping 95%. Communications Ministry offi-

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cials had long attempted to pass the reform, which they said would have allowed Israelis to enjoy faster internet speeds. Due to the lack of competition over the years, Bezeq has refrained from upgrading its infrastructure, leaving Israelis to lag behind the rest of the world. According to a report by the think tank M-Lab published this past August, Israel ranks 70th in overall internet speed and is quickly losing pace in the rest of the world. Among

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in 2015, the reform stalled; Filber ordered an extended review process before scrapping the regulatory reform entirely. The appointment of Filber had raised eyebrows when it was first announced. A senior political aide, Filber had no experience in communications. With a CEO without any professional experience in the industry and without a full-time communications minister, police now say that Filber’s appointment was solely intended to enable him to scrap the proposed reform in exchange for the favorable press coverage. Filber has since turned state’s witness and his testimony has been central to the case against Netanyahu. As Mandelblit gears up to indict Netanyahu for his illicit quid pro quo, experts are left shaking their heads and wondering what might have been. “Filber gave Bezeq an advantage,” a senior Communications Ministry official told the Times of Israel, “because it leaves the monopoly with Bezeq, as it controls the only assets that reach the homes of the users. Once competitors deploy their fibers within the Bezeq ducts, they can offer consumers higher speeds and a better quality of products, which would force Bezeq to do the same. But this never happened. And that was detrimental to consumers. It harmed their interests and their ability to gain faster internet speeds. “Today Israel is lagging behind developed countries in the deployment of fiber to the home installation. We are lagging behind in the jump to the next generation of internet speeds.”

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GIRLS ENTERING 6TH-8TH other things, the report found that the Jewish State has an average download speed of 7.64 megabits per second, far behind the global average of 9.10 Mbps. The proposed reform had been in the works for years and was expected to improve Israel’s economy tremendously due to the upgraded internet speeds the competition would bring with it. Yet after Netanyahu appointed his close confidant Shlomo Filber as Communications Ministry CEO

Former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz’s Hosen L’Yisrael party and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid are now united and will run together in April’s elections in what is turning out to be a significant threat to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decade-long rule. The joint list, which is titled “Blue and White,” was joined by ex-IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who commanded the military from 2007

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

until 2011. Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, another former IDF chief of staff and defense minister, already merged with Hosen L’Yisrael last month. The union of the two center-left parties into one general-heavy list came following marathon negotiations managed by Ashkenazi, who pushed Lapid and Gantz “to put aside their egos for the sake of the country.” The merger was announced on Thursday morning, just ahead of the final deadline for parties to submit their list for the April 9th elections. Polls show that the united party is expected to get between 34 and 36 seats, more than the estimated 30 seats surveys show the Likud pulling in. Upon announcing the new Blue and White party, Gantz said that his party will finally topple Prime Minster Netanyahu from power. Netanyahu has been prime minister since 2008, the second-longest ever term for an Israeli leader. “Today we are changing the face of Israel,” Gantz asserted. “In the past decade something has gone wrong. Israel has lost its way. “The government has incited division in Israeli society; it’s a government that divides and rules. We’re here to say, ‘enough.’ Instead of di-

vision, we want unity,” added Gantz. “Instead of extremism, we want dignity. Instead of fraction, we propose national reconciliation.” “We are creating a ruling party. The Israeli public will go to the polls on the 9th of April to choose what kind of country they want, what sort of country their children will live in: a country of investigations, corruption and incitement or a country of hope, resilience and a promise for the future,” said Yair Lapid. “Netanyahu chose Rabbi Meir Kahane’s people as his partners. We choose each other, and more than that, we choose the citizens of Israel.” Lapid was referring to Netanyahu’s successful efforts to persuade the Religious Zionist Jewish Home party to unite with the radical Otzma Yehudit faction, who are led by followers of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. Under the terms of the agreement, the Blue and White party will be led by Gantz for the first two years of the four-year term. After that period, Lapid will take over as prime minister while Gantz will replace him as foreign minister. Ya’alon is expected to return as defense minister, a post he held from 2013 until resigning in 2016 due to a falling out with Netanyahu.

Jared: Trump to Pressure Israel to Cede Land

U.S. Special Envoy Jared Kushner confirmed during a rare television interview this week that the Trump administration expects Israel to support a Palestinian State and concede parts of the West Bank as part of the “Deal of the Century.” Kushner has been tasked with hammering out the aforementioned deal that attempts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While exact details are unknown, Kushner and his partner, Jason Greenblatt, are said to be attempting to gather support for a comprehensive move that would force other regional heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia and

Bahrain to normalize relations with the Jewish State and form a broad anti-Iran coalition. Speaking with Sky News in Arabic on Sunday, Kushner said that “the American peace plan is very detailed and will focus on drawing the border and resolving the core issues. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been used for years to incite extremism,” Kushner added. “For years, resistance to the nation of Israel has united the region but now it is changing.... We see that Iran is the greatest threat in the region.” The usage of the words “drawing the border” is seen by observers as key, as it provides hints that the Trump administration expects Israel to relinquish the West Bank, which it captured in 1967, to the Palestinian Authority and establish a Palestinian State. Trump has said that he will roll out the peace plan after Israel’s elections on April 9. The plan is expected to face wide resistance from the ruling Likud party, with Prime Minister Netanyahu recently warning that “a Palestinian State poses an existential threat to the State of Israel.”

Boro Park………..………3817 13th Ave. Flatbush………..….……..1511 E 28th St. Williamsburg….…….146 Spencer St. 5 Towns…………..…..…..85 Elderd Lane Monsey……………………….….. 7 Twin Ave. Monroe………………52 Bakertown Rd. Lakewood…………………………130 1st St. Queens……………..………72-38 Main St. Upstate………..…..36 Forestburgh Rd. Jerusalem………..…..… Rav Shefa Mall

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

geles-bound college students have “panicked” because they don’t think their professors will accept their excuse for missing class.

Relief for Stranded Train

Teacher Strikes Rock the Nation

On Sunday, an Amtrak train hit a tree that had fallen on the tracks in Eugene, Oregon. Thankfully, none of the passengers – there were almost 200 onboard – were hurt, but the train was stuck in the snow for 36 hours after the collision. Finally, on Tuesday, the train began to be pulled by a Union Pacific locomotive back towards the station. It took crews many hours to clear the tracks so the train could be moved. The severe weather was a particular problem for the train. Stuck on the locomotive, passengers could see nearby Oregon Highway 58, closed due to snow and ice. The town of Oakridge had no electricity due to the weather. At least a foot of snow had fallen during those 36 hours passengers were stuck on the train. Eugene, home to the University of Oregon about 45 miles northwest, had a record-setting 9.5 inches Monday, the weather service said. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told CNN that none of the 183 passengers and dozen crew members were injured, but that after the accident “conditions further deteriorated with numerous track blockages from snow and fallen trees.” Passengers kept themselves upbeat despite the draining ordeal. “It’s just been like a giant kumbaya party,” Rebekah Dodson told CNN early Tuesday. “Strangers are playing cards. A teenager played his ukulele to kids to get them to sleep. Ladies who have never met before were dancing in aisles.” The train had power, and there was enough food onboard to feed the passengers. Even so, people have places to go and being stuck on a train is no fun. Some Los An-

Last week, all of Oakland’s 2,300 teachers walked off the job amid a pay dispute with the city. Oakland’s educators are not alone. From California to Colorado to West Virginia, teachers all across the United States have gone on strike in recent months in a phenomenon that only seems to be spreading. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, 400,000 teachers participated in work stoppages over this past year, making 2018 the biggest year since 1986 for teacher strikes. There is no one reason that stands behind the slew of work stoppages. Teachers all across the U.S. are voicing a litany of complaints, from low salaries to demands for a smaller class size and larger education budgets. Yet according to Randi Weingarten, who heads the American Federation of Teachers, educators are finally standing up for themselves after suffering for years from low pay and substandard conditions. “Nobody believes that striking is a first resort,” Weingarten told CNN. “It is a last resort. Nobody is strike-happy. But they get to it.” Weingarten added that teachers are fed up with being tasked with an increasingly heavy workload without an accompanying rise in pay or resources. “We expect public schools to do everything right now,” she says. “We’ve expected them to basically be the only institution in America that is about the aspirations of every single child.” The low pay that educators suffer from can be seen in the numbers. A study by NPR found that teachers make less than anyone else possessing similar experience and education, with millions not covered by Social Security. More than a million

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

teachers aren’t covered by Social Security. The study also found that 59% of teachers were forced to work a second job to make ends meet, while 86% said that they had to lay out money for classroom supplies. Work disputes in Oakland and Pennsylvania are also caused by the aforementioned state’s embrace of charter schools, which has rankled teacher unions. While state officials say that charter schools cut costs and expand parent choice, teachers at the schools say that they suffer from the same conditions as their public school counterparts with the additional burden from a lack of union representation. “We charter school teachers face the brunt of privatization. As you know, we’re forced to work weekends, have huge workloads, bad benefits, no public pension, and we’re often paid less than even the lowest paid public school teachers. Enough!” wrote the Oakland Education Association website.

lations show PFAS levels in drinking water in excess of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency health advisory levels. While the problem was identified many years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that for the first time it would launch regulatory action on the matter. Residents of eight communities who live near current or former military installations will have their blood and urine examined by government officials. The testing will determine the extent of the residents’ exposure to PFAS, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The eight communities are in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia, the CDC said. Assessments will begin this year and continue through 2020.

Water Contamination at Military Bases

$21M for 39 Years in Jail

The U.S. Defense Department has admitted that it allowed a firefighting foam to contaminate drinking water systems at military bases around the globe. As a result, tens of thousands of Americans were exposed to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of synthetic chemicals known as PFAS, which have been linked to cancers, immunity suppression, and other serious health problems. Studies have also shown that PFAS may affect the growth, learning, and behavior of babies and children or interfere with the body’s natural hormones. The DoD has reportedly identified at least 400 active or closed military installations with potential PFAS contamination. In some cases, the chemicals may also have filtered into the groundwater. The Pentagon said that at least 36 military instal-

Craig Coley, who spent 39 years in jail for a murder he did not commit, will receive $21 million in compensation from California’s Simi Valley. Coley, 71, was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly murdering Rhonda Wicht and her 4-year-old son in 1978. He was cleared on appeal in 2017 after spending nearly four decades behind bars due to new DNA evidence. Now, Simi Valley says that it will pay Coley a staggering $21 million for his wrongful imprisonment in what is the longest sentence ever overturned in California. $4.9 million of Coley’s total $21 million payout will come from Simi Valley, while the rest will be paid for by the city’s insurance.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Clean out your closets before Pesach!

Please remember the thousands of aniyei Eretz Yisroel this neighborhood has helped with the gently used clothes we have sent. Over the past few years, we have sent gently used clothing to aniyei Eretz Yisrael in a biannual clothing drive. ALL COSTS are paid by anonymous sponsors, and collection and distribution is undertaken by UNPAID volunteers. This is a special opportunity to perform the tremendous mitzvah of tzedakah without incurring any expense. Last October, we shipped over 10,000 garments to distribution centers, both chareidi and chiloni, in Yerushalayim, Kiryat Sefer, Bet Shemesh, and other communities.

Keren Minchas Shlomo

Volunteers from local Yeshivas sorting clothing

City officials said that it had decided to settle the lawsuit instead of bringing the case to court due to the high personal toll the “travesty” took on Coley. “While no amount of money can make up for what happened to Mr. Coley, settling this case is the right thing to do for Mr. Coley and our community,” City Manager Eric Levitt said. Coley received a pardon from then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017 and was awarded another $2 million by the California Victim Compensation Board a year later – $140 for each of the 13,991 days Coley was held “illegally behind bars, away from society, employment, and (his) loved ones.” Police had suspected Coley after Wicht and her son were strangled to death at their Simi City home. Neighbors told police that they saw him leaving the apartment shortly after the murders occurred. A jury agreed, sentencing him to life in prison without parole. Throughout his long prison stay, Coley never stopped proclaiming his innocence, and jailers said that he was a model prisoner. In a later interview with the LA Times, Coley described the feelings of loneliness he experienced during his sojourn behind bars and the hardship he experienced as one imprisoned despite knowing he was innocent. “It’s not something you can describe other than it’s painful,” Coley shared. “I went four decades not being able to grieve the woman and child I loved.”

First Saudi Female Amb. to U.S.

Ready to go to port

The Keren is responsible when it reaches E”Y, and the Israeli government inspects the container to make sure we comply with the rules and regulations. WE ARE SENDING ONLY GENTLY USED CLOTHING (no shoes, hats, or undergarments). Please select garments that you feel are appropriate and that our needy brethren in E”Y will be proud to wear. Please ensure that all clothing is stain-free and in very good condition. Thank you for the last drive! Our community’s drive continues to be the most successful this organization has in terms of the quality and quantity of clothes we send to Eretz Yisrael. Help us do it again!

The clothing drive will BE"H take place

Sunday, March 31 | 10am-3pm at PRECISION AUTO BODY

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Saudi Arabia has appointed a woman to be its ambassador to the United States, the first time the Islamic nation has permitted a female to hold such a sensitive position. Riyadh announced on Saturday that Princess Reema bint Bandar

will replace Prince Khalid bin Salman as its envoy to the U.S. Prince Khalid, a former fighter pilot and the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), was recalled back to the gulf state to take up his new post of vice defense minister. Princess Reema bint Bandar is the daughter of Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s longtime ambassador to Washington and one of the most powerful people in the kingdom. She grew up in the U.S. and is known for her charity activism in Saudi Arabia. “I will work with G-d’s permission to serve my country, its leaders, and all its children, and I will spare no effort to that end,” tweeted Princess Reema after her appointment was announced. Princess Reema’s appointment to the sensitive position is unusual, as Saudi Arabia commonly avoids putting women in senior positions. The Islamic state is known for a slew of laws that critics say violates the rights of women, including the requirement that all woman be accompanied in public by a male unless receiving a special permit. Reema’s appointment comes as relations between the U.S. and Riyadh find themselves at a nadir following the recent killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian national and contributor to the Washington Post, was killed in the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Istanbul back in October 2018. According to reports, his body was cut up with a saw and smuggled out of the compound in several different parts before being buried in an unmarked grave. Ever since his murder, U.S.-Saudi relations have deteriorated, with American lawmakers from both parties demanding to know what role Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman played in the murder. Last month, the U.S. Congress voted to censure Saudi Arabia for its role in causing a humanitarian crisis in Yemen resulting from its battle against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The House is also investigating whether the Trump administration is secretly selling Riyadh nuclear technology that could be potentially exploited to build a nuclear weapon.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Blast from the Past

This story is really personal, I mean, purse-onal. When crews began to demolish Jeffersonville High School in Indiana, they stumbled upon a few findings. One of them was a purse. Inside the handbag was an ID, which showed that the purse belonged to Martha Ina Ingham. Using social media, they tracked down the purse’s owner – who is now 82 years old. “Lost and Found Alert: Martha Ina Ingham’s handbag from 1954 has been found in the demolition,” Greater Clark County Schools posted on Facebook. “We would love to return it to her or her family!”

An eagle-eyed relative saw the post and reached out to Ingham, now living 1,000 miles away in Florida. Martha said the purse bought back fond memories of her youth. “It brings back a lot of memories and a lot of people I haven’t heard of in a long time,” she said. “What a good time we had in high school.” Inside the purse Ingham found a track meet ribbon, lipstick, and a Juicy Fruit gum wrapper, minus the gum. The greatest discovery, however, was a letter from a boy asking Martha to the junior prom. “Dear Marty, I’ve heard that Paul has asked you to go to prom with him,” the letter reads. “If he hasn’t, I would like very much to take you.” Reading the note 65 years later, Martha remembers that she turned the young man down. But she hopes he didn’t take it purse-onally.

Return of the Bees The world’s largest bee has a 2.5inch wingspan and enormous man-

dibles, so you would think that it would be easy to spot. But Wallace’s Giant Bee hasn’t been seen since 1981, and scientists thought it was extinct.

Now, researchers say that they’ve spotted the bee in January in the Indonesian province of North Maluku on the Maluku Islands. They detected a solitary female bee after investigating the region for five days, and a photographer captured the first-ever images of a living Wallace’s Giant Bee (Megachile pluto) at the insect’s nest in an active termite mound. “It was absolutely breathtaking to see this ‘flying bulldog’ of an insect that we weren’t sure existed anymore,” photographer Clay Bolt, who captured the images of the giant, said in a statement published by The University of Sydney in Australia. Little is known about these

elusive insects’ habits. The bees’ dark-colored bodies measure about 1.5 inches (3.5 cm) in length — about as long as a human thumb — and they build communal nests on termite dwellings in trees, Adam Messer, a researcher who was with the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia in 1984, wrote in a study published then in the Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. Messer was the last scientist to document the supersize bees in the wild — until now. Let’s just hope it stays out of our sukkahs.

Robot Homework Helper A student in China beat the system when she had her pet robot do her homework for her. The homework assignment was given over the Lunar New Year break and involved copying Chinese phrases dozens of times. The assignment was meant to help students

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

read and write in Chinese but this student was perhaps smarter than everyone else.

her owners, although it is not known if they live in a straw or a brick house.

$100 Doughnut

The teen spent 800 yuan – around $120 – to buy a robot that mimicked her handwriting. She then had the robot copy the phrases for her to complete the assignment – which took two days to do. But all good things must come to an end. The teen’s mother, noticing that her teen was finished with the assignment quickly (I mean, could a two-day assignment be considered “quick”?!), entered her child’s room and discovered the robot. She subsequently smashed the machine to bits. On social media, complaining about her genius/lazy daughter, the mother wrote: “It can help you with homework, but can it help you on tests?” The real test, you know, is the test of life.

Cookies for a Pig

Next time you want to pig out, reach for a box of Oreos. Charlotte, the pig, would totally understand. Authorities in Ohio had to think outside the box when a pot-bellied pig wandered away from its home. Charlotte’s owners, desperate to get her back, reached out to officers and told them that the crème-filled cookies were the pig’s favorite snack. “We had to take this pig into custody, he was involved in a disturbance...someone was tryin’ to blow his house down,” police wrote on their Facebook page. Officers used Oreos to lure Charlotte close enough so they could attach a leash around her neck. Safe and sound, Charlotte was brought huffing and puffing back to

For those who need to spend money frivolously, consider the Gold Cristal Ube Donut, which is made by Enter Through the Donut Shop in Miami Beach, Florida. Ordering the pastry will set you back a cool $100 for a circular piece of dough. But it’s not an ordinary fritter you’ll be frittering away your money on. This doughnut contains 24-karat gold and Cristal champagne. Bjorn Delacruz, the pastry chef at the eatery, said the Gold Cristal Ube Donut is loaded with luxurious ingredients. “It’s created from a base of ube, which is a sweet purple yam from the Philippines,” he explained. It takes 90 minutes to create each doughnut. “Within the ube mousse we suspend little bits of Cristal gelee, basically Jell-O shots made from Cristal. We cover it with Cristal icing. I airbrush it with some gold, and then I guild it with about with six to nine sheets of edible gold,” he added. Each doughnut costs $100, although you can save some dough if you buy a dozen – that’ll set you back a mere $1,000. Customers say the doughnut is sweet but not over-the-top, although you may want to split this indulgence with a friend – gold always tastes better when you have someone to share it with. And yes, I’m available to come down to Florida with you for a taste this weekend.

Giant Jenga Attempting to set a Guinness World Record, construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar took out their big blocks to play Jenga. Chad Cremeens, field operations manager and Caterpillar Inc., con-

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Lyons, Caterpillar Brand creative director. He added, “Hasbro and Caterpillar have long recognized and celebrated ‘the builders’ among us, and this project was a natural fit,” he said. Sounds like they’ve not playing around.

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ducted the world record attempt as part of the company’s educational initiative. The attempt featured a 320E excavator, a TH514C telehandler, a 277D multi-terrain loader, a M316D material handler and a 349E excavator being used to manipulate the 27 laminated pine beams, which each measured 8 feet long, 2 feet and 8 inches wide, and 1 foot and 4 inches high.

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Each block weighed about 600 pounds. Playing with blocks of that size is no easy feat. In addition to the heavy planning that went into the attempt, safety was also a concern. The game went on for 28 hours and ended up with 13 layers, for a maximum height of about 20 feet. “When we were conceptualizing unique ways we could showcase Cat machines at work and someone sug-

gested a game of Jenga, the room erupted in excitement,” said Archie

Ever sit next to a crying infant on a flight to Florida? How about to Israel? Or to Korea? A mother of an infant decided to preemptively apologize to all those who would be disturbed by her fourmonth-old’s crying on a recent flight from Seoul, Korea, to San Francisco, California. The new mom handed out goodie bags to all 200 passengers on the ten-hour flight before it got off the ground. “Hello, I’m Junwoo and I’m 4 months old,” the note included with the goodie bags read. “Today, I am going to the U.S. with my mom and grandmom to see my aunt. I’m a little bit nervous and scary because it’s my first flight in my life, which means that I may cry or make too much noise. I will try to go quietly, though I can’t make any promises. Please excuse me. So my mom prepared little goodie bag for you! It was some candies and earplugs. Please use it when it’s too noisy because of me. Enjoy your trip. Thank you.” The bag included earplugs and candies, but it was more about the touching gesture by the mother who was concerned for her fellow passengers. Of course, babies being babies, you always need to expect the unexpected. On this flight, despite the goodie bags and sweet note, baby Junwoo slept the whole time. So everyone on the flight was able to sleep too. Junwoo, you’re invited to sit next to me anytime.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

25 BNOS BAIS YA AKOV

25th Annual Dinner

0 ‫ט‬3‫ש ע ״‬.‫ ת‬1 ‫ב ׳‬7 ‫ד ר‬. ‫ א‬1‫ י ׳‬9 ‫׳‬

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Have you made your reservations yet? 718.337.6000 EXT. 450 EMAIL: DINNER@BBYSCHOOL.ORG WEB: WWW.BBYDINNER.ORG

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the

Community

The first grade classes at HALB celebrated the 100th day of school with many fun and exciting activities including dressing up as 100-year-olds

Morah Miriam and Morah Laura’s class at HANC ECC was so excited to welcome Yakira Eis’ grandmother, Choni Gutterman’s father, Reva Kesselman’s mother, and Ben Gottlieb’s mother to share a story and their professions with their class. The children and their guests had so much fun.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Honorees, Families and Friends Express Gratitude to HAFTR at School’s 41st Annual Dinner PHOTOS BY JASON MEYERS PHOTOGRAPHY

undreds of HAFTR parents, teachers, staff, administrators, friends and family filled the beautifully-appointed Seawane Club this past Saturday night to share in their appreciation for HAFTR at its annual dinner. The school paid tribute to Hinda and Robert Mizrahi, Guests of Honor; Sarah and Josh Glatt, Young Leadership Awardees; and Morah Fran Kohn, Educator of the Year. What made the evening even more special was how each of the honorees thanked HAFTR and shared their personal appreciation for the school and its powerful impact on their children and students. HAFTR president, Yaron Kornblum, emceed the evening and graciously welcomed everyone. “HAFTR’s future could not be brighter,” exclaimed Mr. Kornblum, noting 41 years of academic excellence at HAFTR. He surprised guests with the great news that, despite the recent fire in the Lower School, administrators, working with the local municipality and fire department, are ahead of plans to bring students back in the coming weeks. “We will build bigger and better!” Mr. Kornblum called Mr. and Mrs. Mizrahi to the podium where they shared how HAFTR provided their son, Matthew, with a rich and well-rounded education from the time he entered the Early Childhood program all the way through High School. “We feel privileged to be able to publicly thank our dedicated principals, educators and administrative staff who tirelessly work every day to instill in our son confidence, a thirst for knowledge, the ability to explore different avenues of interest, and love for his heritage and religion. It is their devotion and love for education that enables

Ari Solomon, Neil Wiener, Sarah Glatt, Joshua Glatt, Yaron Kornblum, and Cal Nathan

Neil Wiener, Cynthia Goldberg, Fran Kohn, Ari Solomon, and Yaron Kornblum

Matthew and all our children the ability to be a walking kiddush Hashem whether they find themselves at a Shabbat meal, museum, camp or job, amongst Jews or non-Jews, people more knowledgeable or less knowledgeable than them, and they can proudly say, ‘I am a HAFTR student.’” Mrs. Mizrahi led a standing ovation in a show of gratitude for “the real honorees” – HAFTR’s principals, teachers and educators, which also brought applause and excitement. HAFTR parent and board member Cal Nathan introduced the Young Leadership Awardees, Mr. and Mrs. Glatt. Along with being fellow HAFTR parents, Nathan and Glatt are childhood friends and colleagues at New York Fun Factory. Mr. Glatt shared how the school’s traditional Siddur Play is “a microcosm of our children’s lives at HAFTR”

and praised the dedicated teachers and administrators for demonstrating the love of Torah and Eretz Yisroel building a strong foundation for students. “Our children need a strong backbone to be around and deal with anti-Semitism.” Mrs. Cyndy Goldberg, director of HAFTR’s Early Childhood Program, introduced Mrs. Kohn, affectionately known as “Morah Fran,” the much beloved and esteemed Pre-K teacher. Mrs. Kohn accepted her honor by saying, “I want to thank the academy...the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway...” and filled the room with laughter. Then she shared how grateful she is to the school. “My HAFTR/Hillel family, you have enriched my life in countless ways. Thank you for letting me do two things that I never did as a child: I now attend yeshiva

Lawrence Mayor Alex Edelman with Robert and Hinda Mizrahi

Joshua Glatt, Jonathan Glatt, Cal Nathan, Rabbi Siff, and Evan Small

and I also go to day camp in the summer!” “I’m very flattered and grateful to HAFTR, my second home. The children are wonderful,” said Mrs. Kohn. “Baruch Hashem, the HAFTR/Hillel team successfully fosters pride in our Jewish past, pride in our Jewish present, and because I am the child of a Holocaust survivor, most importantly, I believe, it cultivates a commitment to our Jewish future! How proud I am to be part of that team!” Mayor Alex H. Edelman of the Village of Lawrence and local firefighters were also in attendance and were later awarded for their incredible community support and help during the fire. Mayor Edelman commented, “I’m glad to be here for a worthwhile organization in the community.” Deputy Chief Michael Beilinson of the Lawrence-Ce-

darhurst Fire Department said, “It’s been a long road for them (HAFTR), and we’re there for them every step of the way. We’re neighbors.” Neil Wiener, HAFTR’s chairman, was pleased with how parents united under one roof to thank the school. “It is very fulfilling to see how everything came together despite the challenges we’ve had these last few months. I’m very grateful to our HAFTR family for coming out tonight and celebrating together.” “This was a wonderful opportunity for our HAFTR family to shep nachas for our children and celebrate the people who make it all happen,” added Mr. Ari Solomon, HAFTR’s executive director. All in all, HAFTR’s awardees are yeshiva Oscar winners that positively influence and inspire our children yesterday, today and for generations to come.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

A Few Minutes with Shulamith HS’s New Principals

hulamith High School students and faculty are excited about the upcoming school year. Incoming principal Mrs. Sara Munk brings with her experience and enthusiasm. Incoming assistant principal Mrs. Danyel Goldberg brings her inimitable love of learning. The two principals sat down and answered some of our questions to help the community get to know them better. What are your top three priorities for starting a new year with a new community of students and parents? SM: Relationships, relationships, relationships DG: Mrs. Munk said it perfectly: 1) Having an open and honest relationship with parents and students; 2) Ensuring that classes are engaging and challenging; 3) Making sure that the faculty feel appreciated. You are currently a principal and teacher. What is your favorite part about the job? SM: As a principal, I love watching a student graduate after seeing their growth over four years. There’s no greater feeling of satisfaction. DG: As a teacher, I love

the relationships I develop with students and when I see them get excited about history. Nothing makes me happier than hearing something like, “I didn’t know Dolley Madison was this interesting!” In terms of school leadership, what is your vision? SM: My vision is to create the best possible high school for girls – a school where the teachers and staff create a culture of giving and collaboration for the betterment of the students, a school where young women can maximize their potential in all ways – academically, religiously, socially and emotionally. DG: I have to agree with everything Mrs. Munk said. I am excited to continue to build upon the foundation that was established, creating a culture of communication and growth for all. What three characteristics do you think makes a good teacher? SM: Dedication Preparation Presentation DG: Enthusiasm Approachableness Motivation

What is your favorite subject to teach? SM: Jewish history. There is nothing more exciting than helping students understand and appreciate the past in order to learn for the future. DG: I love to teach history, all history, but my favorite would be early American history. I also love to teach ancient theology and Greek literature. How do specialties (Art, Dance, Cooking, STEM, etc.) contribute to student achievement? SM: G-d has given each of us different strengths, and it is up to us to tap into what is uniquely ours. Once that happens, every aspect of life is better. Specialties help students get in touch with their Divine gifts. This gives them an incredible feeling of self-confidence, which undoubtedly carries over to every aspect of school and home life. DG: I won’t go into all the studies that show how important extracurricular activities are or how they actually help students succeed academically. I will only speak for what I have seen for myself – when students see themselves doing well creatively or athletically, it gives them the most import-

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ant thing: confidence. Being on a team also gives people a sense of comradery. What is your favorite book? SM: The Prime Ministers, by Yehuda Avner DG: The Things They Carried, by Timothy O’Brien

If you could meet anyone from history, who would you meet and why? SM: Definitely Menachem Begin. I think he is the paradigm of strong leadership. From all I have read about him, he stuck to his principles all the time and never forgot where he came from. How many people can say their ideals have governed everything about their lives? DG: That’s a hard one for a history teacher. I am going to have to say Dr. Joseph Warren. He sacrificed himself at Breed’s Hill at the beginning of the American Revolution, knowing he would die in the hopes of America becoming independent and free. I would like to thank him.

Who was your role model growing up? Who is your role model now? SM: My parents were huge role models for me growing up. They are ba’alei teshuva and were (and still are) so open to growth. My current students know I have a top 5 list of people I admire. The list includes Menachem Begin, Rebbetzin Machlis, Daniel (from Tanach), the Abarbanel, and Sarah Schenirer. DG: My parents were definitely my role models growing up and continue to be today. In addition to my parents today, I find I most often look to my fellow teachers and current administrators. Collaborating and throwing ideas and scenarios around is how I have grown as a teacher.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? SM: I would have to say a tie between unlimited patience and being in more than one place at the same time. DG: Healing powers, no question. Do I get a cape and a cool name?

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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MTA Debate Team Takes First Place By Rafi Saperstein and Noam Mayerfeld

n Thursday, February 14, the MTA Debate Team participated in a debate meet with other yeshiva high schools. After weeks of preparation, MTA was ready to win. Held at Yeshiva of Flatbush, the topic of the debate was whether or not lifetime tenure for federal judges should end. After eight hard-fought debates, MTA emerged victorious with the First Place School Award. Benny Mermel (‘19) and Yeshurin Sorscher (‘21) also received the Third Place Team Award.

TAG Annual Dinner

nce again, it’s time for the TAG family to join together on Tuesday, March 12th to celebrate their 56th Annual Dinner. According to Dinner chairmen Eliyahu Berger and Moshie Horn, this year’s Dinner promises to be one that should not be missed. In addition to our worthy honorees, this year marks the tenth yartzheit of Harav Moshe Weitman, z”l. It was Rabbi Weitman who planted the seeds of Bais Yaakov in our community which produced the TAG chinuch which is, baruch Hashem, still flourishing today. A special commemorative video will be shown at the dinner. Journal co-chairmen Dr. Ernest Isaacson and Dr. Yakov Lowinger were delighted to announce that this year’s guests of honor will be Ephram & Ilana Ostreicher.

Guests of Honor The expression, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” certainly holds true in the case of Ephram & Ilana (Ganger) Ostreicher. Their parents, Yussie & Susie Ostreicher and Yitzchak & Shani Ganger, were both involved in TAG and worked with dedication to ensure the growth of the school. Ilana, who graduated in 1993, fondly remembers those wonderful years filled with special memories. TAG is proud to share nachas with them, as we educate their daughters, Raizy, currently in 8th grade, and Esti, currently in 2nd grade. Their daughter, Miriam, a recent Machon Sarah High School graduate, is currently learning in Meohr Seminary in Eretz Yisroel. Mrs. Ostreicher is a very involved board member of TAG’s Women’s League and has become a valuable

asset. The Ostreichers have a lovely home which is often used for tzedakah events, as well as for hachnosas orchim. This family lives their lives based on a solid foundation of Torah, avodah and gemilas chassadim. Baruch Hashem, their own tree is blossoming with the seeds of chessed that they have planted. Rabbi Moshe Weitman z”l Memorial Award Rabbi Mordechai & Mrs. Sara Liba Stern, who certainly reflect the hashkafos and derech hachaim of Rabbi Weitman, are undoubtedly a most appropriate choice to receive this prestigious award at the Dinner. As the Mora D’asra of Bais Medrash Heichel Dovid, Rabbi Mordechai Stern inspires not only his kehillah but our entire community as well. The kesher between both Rabbi Stern and Mrs. Stern with TAG is deep and lasting. Mrs. Sara Liba (Brown) Stern is a TAG alumna, and Rabbi Stern’s sisters attended TAG as well. His mother, Mrs. Sara Stern, is a popular teacher in Machon Sarah High School. We now have the pleasure of being chinuch partners with them as we educate their daughters, Yehudis in 5th grade and Shifra in 1st grade. We look forward to welcoming Rivka who will be entering our kindergarten next year as well as their future TAG talmidah, Rachel Miriam. Educator of the Year Award No one will be second guessing TAG’s choice for Educator of the Year Award, as veteran 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Anita Davis, fits the bill so perfectly. Mrs. Davis started her TAG ca-

reer in 1982 and has been educating, inspiring and empowering her many lucky students who emerge from her class both competent and confident. Her warmth, her caring nature, and her expertise join together to produce a happy TAG young lady. Mrs. Davis earned her BA in education at the City College of New York

while also attending Yeshiva University’s Teachers Institute to earn her Hebrew Teachers diploma. After receiving her Masters in elementary education from Bank Street College, she decided to concentrate on teaching secular studies. TAG and her many students have certainly benefitted from that decision.

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Rambam Celebrates Its 27th Annual Dinner

Dr. Alex and Mrs. Ilyse Sternberg Guests of Honor

r. Alex and Mrs. Ilyse Sternberg where Guests of Honor and Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Estee Lichter were Parents of the Year at Rambam’s annual scholarship dinner this week. Joining them were Mr. Michael Edery, Man of the Year, and Rabbi Avi Herschman, Alumnus of the Year, who celebrated along with his fellow graduates of the Class of 2009. Members of the Class of 1999 were also in attendance to support their alma mater. After Maariv, Yosef Kuperman, a Rambam senior, led everyone in the anthems and Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal opened the program

Mr. Joey and Mrs. Estee Lichter Parents of the Year award

as MC, introducing Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, the Rosh Mesivta. Rabbi Friedman spoke about the upcoming celebration of Purim, the significance of remembering that miracle and how recounting those events can teach us about our potential to live life as a better, more complete people enabling us to better serve Hashem. Avi Herschman was introduced as “a real character when he came for his student interview.” Fast forward 15 years, Rabbi Hershman now has an office of his own. He currently teaches Tanach and AP Economics, is the hockey coach, and serves as Direc-

THE PURIM CONNECTION MASHIACH and the END OF DAYS RABBI LAWRENCE HAJIOFF

Inspiring lecturer, author, Judaic Studies Prof. at Stern College

Former Ed. Director of Birthright, Member of OU Speaker’s Bureau

Sunday, March 3rd, 26th Adar A, at 10 a.m. Cong. Beth Sholom – 390 Broadway Joel Shiff Beit Midrash (enter street level) This month’s lecture is being sponsored by:

DR. DOVID & LAYA RHEIN li”n Frayda bas Ze’ev & Rochel bas Betzalel Elisha The HAGLER, KWESTEL, SCHREIER and SIMPSON Families Li”n Rivka Henna bas Shimon Halevi & Hendel Devora bas Avraham Shlomo THIS LECTURE IS OPEN TO MEN AND WOMEN

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tor of Admissions. Rabbi Herschman gratefully accepted the award and read a letter from a graduate currently learning in Eretz Yisrael who, looking back, said how much he learned and appreciates the education he got at Rambam. “I feel the exact same way, having had the benefit of a great Rambam education, and I hope to be here for many, many more years,” said Herschman. Mr. Michael Edery was presented with a Man of the Year award for the ongoing chessed he does for so many Jewish causes. Upon receipt of the award he spoke about how much he appreciates the chinuch his son Yonatan gets at Rambam. “They clearly know my son and his potential, and work to bring it out. It is a school that knows and nurtures each talmid.” Mr. Joey and Mrs. Estee Lichter were given the Parents of the Year award. They have been proud Rambam parents for eight years. Their oldest daughter, Tamar, is currently pursuing a PhD degree in mathematics after having been named a Fulbright mathematics scholar. She attended and graduated Rambam’s sister school, MSH, while her brothers Isaac and Dovid attended Rambam. They were accurately described as “doers,” who get the job done and then recede into the background. They too spoke glowingly about the educational experiences that each one of their children received, expressing the sentiment that each one is different and yet greatly benefited from the program which recognized their talents and enabled them to reach their potential. The lightest part of the evening came when Rabbi Friedman introduced the guests of honor, Dr. Alex and Mrs. Ilyse Sternberg, explaining to those assembled that Dr. Sternberg “was my karate Rebbe at the Young Israel of Far Rockaway when I was

Mr. Michael Edery Man of the Year

a kid.” In addition to presenting the Sternbergs with a beautiful award, Rabbi Friedman announced that he was going to give Dr. Sternberg a “special award – a Jewish black belt…” and presented him with a gartel! Dr. Sternberg, representing his wife Ilyse, who is also a black belt, spoke about the special education and experience his son Yonatan receives at Rambam. “We sent Yonatan to Rambam because of the unique education and political activism there and we are all so happy with the choice.” Rabbi Yotav Eliach offered remarks at the closing of the program outlining the core values that Rambam works to transmit to its talmidim and called upon all assembled to appreciate the wonderful life and opportunities we have as Torah Jews living in this day and age. In addition to the guests that attended Rambam’s dinner to help raise money for its program, approximately 30 alumni joined for an informal get-together to mark the occasion of the 10th and 20th anniversary of their graduation. Food, schmoozing and time spent with their former rebbeim was certainly the highlight of the evening. Additionally, a game of Kahoot with Rambam trivia brought smiles to the crowd. Most alumni remembered fondly the answer to the question, “What was Rambam’s hallmark snack given out on special occasions?” The answer was “Snapple and donuts!” However, most were stumped when asked, “In the past 27 years how many donuts were given out in Rambam history?” The answer: “Over 50,000” but who’s counting? The warmth and camaraderie that permeated the atmosphere was palpable and truly reflected the tremendous bonds created between the talmidim during their years in high school.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Achdus at Rambam Basketball Tournament

he Rambam Mesivta Schoolwide 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, February Madness, now in its 18th year, culminated in a Slam Dunk Contest, 3-Point ShootOut, and an epic championship game that saw the two captains of Rambam Ravens Varsity Basketball clash head-to-head in a showdown watched by the entire school. The two-day extravaganza was filled with buzzer-beaters, clutch shots, and lockdown defense provided by all members of the school, 9th through 12th graders. Prior to the championship game, the school administration as well as members of the student body judged the Slam Dunk Contest that featured seniors Aaron Azose, Ethan Aaron, and sophomore Binyamin Werner. Werner scored big on points for creativity and Azose brought the crowd to its feet with his 360 slam! It was Ethan, however, who took home the

trophy with an alley-hoop to himself for the dunk! The 3-Point Shoot-Out was also hotly contested with Dovi Breuer and Shmuel Siegel tying for second and Bentzy “Buckets” Schaffran winning it all. In every game the young men had the chance to display their basketball prowess while also exhibiting leadership, middos, and sportsmanship. Everybody gave it their all, but at the end of the day, only one team walked away with the glory of champions. That was the team led by MVP Ethan Aaron, which was comprised of Eliyahu Boord, Yonatan Simantov, Saul Rogotsky, and Eli Weiss. It was lost on no one that 40% of the championship team was comprised of members of the Rambam Writers’ Guild. Overall, February Madness was an awesome experience. Thank you to Coach Steve Howard for organizing, planning, and running the event.

Rambam Duo Beat the Odds

tatistically, the chances of being named a National Merit Semi-Finalist is less than 1%. Approximately 1,600,000 high school students are entered into the competition for this prestigious award and approximately 16,000 are so named. Rambam is small by design, admitting only 40 students to each class. Based upon these numbers, statistics warrant that Rambam would have less than one candidate. However, Rambam’s small size is specifically the reason that it continues to outperform and over-deliver at all merit-based exams. This year, two (full) students, seniors Yehuda Goldblatt and Benjamin Weiner, met the qualifications to be National Merit Semi-Finalists. They built on the strong education they received in Rambam and their respective elementary schools, as well as the love of learning instilled in them in the homes in which they were raised. Merit Finalists are even more

rare... (only .5) 1/2 of 1% reach that much coveted academic goal. This week, Rambam Mesivta was notified that Yehuda and Benjy once again have earned the distinction of being named candidates to the next stage, entering in the pool of just 7,500 students some of whom will finally be chosen to be a National Merit Finalists. In order to qualify, all students must demonstrate involvement in community activities, outstanding academic records, superb SAT scores, and receive recommendations from high school administrators which accompany the comprehensive application that the students must submit. Among other benefits, student finalists will share in approximately $32 million of academic scholarships. Yehuda and Benjy anxiously await the outcome of this arduous process which will be announced in the next few months, knowing that they have already beaten the odds.

Sulitza Bais Medrash Preparing for its 68th Melave Malka

e are at the threshold of a milestone in celebrating sixty-eight years of Bais Medrash Sulitza - Kehilas Yakov in this community. The resounding success of all our endeavors and achievements of this makom kodesh is due to the outstanding rabbinic and lay leadership of the Rebbe and Rebbetzin, zt”l, who stood at the helm all these years, and is under the leadership of the present Rebbe, shlita, and the Rebbetzin who continue to follow in that hadracha. We are pleased to present to you the roster of this year’s honorees. We are privileged to announce Mr. Aron Shmiel & Mrs. Julie Schorr as

our Guests of Honor. Mr. Aron Shmiel, son of our dear loyal and respected Gabai Mr. Pinchas Schorr, grew up in our Bais Medrash and is (very extremely) devoted to the bais medrash, the kehila, and the Rebbe, shlita. With their tireless effort and unbelievable willingness and dedication Mr. & Mrs. Schorr remain part of the Sulitza Bais Medrash heart and soul. We wish them many healthy and active years in their work l’tovas ha’kollel. The deserving Shem Tov Award of this year, Mr. Shmuel (Sam) and Reva Zomber is very unique, for it is in recognition of a very special neshama, their son Elchono, a”h. Elchonon was highly respected by everyone that

came in contact with him, an inspiration of middos tovos and anavah. Mr. & Mrs. Zomber are members, close friends and mispallelim of our Bais Medrash for over 40 years. We are very fortunate to be able to use this occasion to bring an aliyah nishmaso of their beloved son, a”h. Our deserving Chessed Awardees: Dr. Eli and Mrs. Sheila Adler who have kindly opened their home for the Sulitzer Tehillim Kollel breakfast this year. It is with this honor presentation that we can openly acknowledge the devotion to chessed by Dr. Eli and Mrs. Sheila Adler, who are known to be a vessel for doing an abundance of chessed to many community mem-

bers and their strong support for kol davar she’b’kedusha taking place in our community. May they merit many more healthy years of achievements. We once again call upon our friends and members to assist in the support of our holy mosdos by “sponsoring” or “soliciting” a Diamond, Sapphire, Bronze, Emerald, or Gold Page ad. Your generous support will help our institutions and honor your friends as well. The Melava Malka will take place, iy”H, on Motzoei Shabbos Kodesh, Parshas Vayakhel, Parshas Shekalim, March 2, 2019 at the Bnos Bais Yakov School, 613 Beach 9th Street, Far Rockaway, NY.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

SULITZA BAIS HAMEDRESH

ANNUAL MELAVE MALKE

Congregation Kehilas Jacob – Sulitza under the spiritual leadership of the Sulitzer Rebbe ‫שליט"א‬ requests the honor of your presence at the 68TH

 in honor of our devoted friends

Guests of Honor: Mr. & Mrs. Aharon Shmuel Schorr ‫נ"י‬ Shem Tov Awardees: Mr. & Mrs. Shmuel (sam) Zomber ‫נ"י‬ In memory of their dear son Elchonon ‫ע"ה‬ Chesed Awardees: Dr. & Mrs. Eli Adler ‫נ"י‬ WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IY”H MOTZAI SHABBOS PARSHAS VAYAKHEIL - MARCH 2, ‘19 8:30 in the evening

At the Bnos Bais Yakov Hall 613 Beach 9TH Street West Lawrence NY 11691

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Judaism, America and Our Era of Civic Breakdown

n Motzei Shabbat, January 5, Fleetwood Synagogue offered its 15th Annual Charles Sidlow Memorial Lecture Program. The program was titled, “Judaism, America and Our Era of Civic Breakdown,” and featured two wonderful speakers: Rabbi Shay Shachter and Rabbi Ari Lamm. Rabbi Shachter serves as rabbi and Rosh Beit Midrash at the Young Israel of Woodmere, while Rabbi Lamm is the special advisor to the president of Yeshiva University. The Scholar-in-Residence Program is sponsored by Robert Sidlow, Richard Sidlow, and their families, and is dedicated to the memory of their father, Charles Sidlow, a”h. The memories of their

father’s intellectual curiosity, his passion for learning, and his love of Judaism have inspired them to establish this program as a fitting tribute to his life. Past events have featured a wide variety of presenters, including Rabbi Jeremy Wieder, Rabbi Natan

Slifkin, Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Kanarfogel, Dr. Mordechai Kedar, and Senator Joseph Lieberman. After the two Shiurim, guests were invited downstairs for a dairy dinner and a chance to learn more about this growing commu-

nity. Fleetwood Synagogue is a close-knit Orthodox shul located in Mount Vernon, in lower Westchester County between Riverdale and New Rochelle. The shul and community has a distinctly “own of town” feel to it (i.e. warm, participatory, a place where everyone is important,) yet is truly “in town.” From the Fleetwood station (only two blocks away from shul) one can ride the Metro North to Grand Central Terminal in only twenty five minutes; in addition, Fleetwood sits at the intersection of four major highways, providing easy access to Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, Bergen, and Rockland Counties. Given its close proximity to schools in Bronx, Westchester and Connecti-

Incredible MTA Energy at Family Melave Malka

he incredible MTA energy was felt throughout Washington Heights on Motzei Shabbos, February 23, at the yeshiva’s Family Melave Malka featuring Eitan Katz. MTA welcomed more than 400 people to this exciting event, including current talmidim and families, as well as incoming families from the Class of 2023. The tremendous ruach and achdus that MTA is known for radiated during the entire evening, as talmidim, rebbeim, fathers, brothers, and friends, sang and danced together to the inspiring music of Eitan Katz. Watching the pure simcha and joy on the faces of everyone present made it a truly unforgettable evening.

cut, no compromises need to be made regarding educational choices for children. The small community meets the diverse needs of all its congregants and offers daily minyanim, an eruv that is forever expanding, and reasonable costs of living. Given these highlights, it is no wonder Fleetwood has a growing membership base and is attracting the attention of Orthodox families looking to move to suburban Westchester – but remain close to it all. For further information on Fleetwood Synagogue and its neighborhood, please contact Rabbi Rosenfelt at rabbirosenfelt@fleetwoodsynagogue.org.

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8th Grade YOSS Far Rockaway Shabbaton

n what has become a tradition at South Shore, the eighth grade class of Rabbi Yisroel Munk once again joined their rebbe in Far Rockaway for the annual class Shabbaton. The boys had a jam-packed Shabbos filled with both ruchniyus and gashmiyus. Each of three Shabbos meals were held at Rabbi Munk’s house. Besides for the amazing dishes, each meal was full of singing, divrei Torah, and good cheer amongst friends. On Friday night, the boys davened at the Agudah of West Lawrence where they heard special divrei chizuk from the rav, Harav Moshe Brown. He explained to the boys how each of us already has our chelek in Torah inside of us and that we each just have to bring it out. After the seudah, the boys went to the home of YOSS eighth grade rebbe Rabbi Moshe Shonek for a wonderful oneg Shabbos. They listened intently to Rabbi Shonek’s insights on the parsha, and then enjoyed an oneg Shabbos with singing and dancing. The boys davened the Shacharis in Yeshiva of Far Rockaway where they were experienced the wonderful “yeshiva davening.” The ruach in the air of a lofty davening left quite an impression on many of them. At

the yeshiva they heard a dvar Torah from Harav Moshe Perr, 12th grade rebbe in YFR, and had a seder with their rebbe, before heading back for the seudas Shabbos. The Shabbaton experience continued in the afternoon, as they met with the menahel of Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, Rabbi Mordechai Miller, a YOSS alumnus! He answered questions from the boys on a variety of hashkafa topics and answered them in a way that left the boys with a plethora of new knowledge. The Shabbaton wrapped up Motzei Shabbos with basketball at the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway gym and then a pizza and ice cream Melave Malka at Rabbi Munk’s house. Many people in the community shared how impressed they were with the boys and the middos tovos they displayed over Shabbos. The boys thanked Mrs. Munk, who worked tirelessly preparing the delicious food and arranging many aspects of the Shabbaton. They also showed appreciation to the families who hosted them. Baruch Hashem the boys really had a wonderful time and made an amazing kiddush Hashem!

“For you, running for professional help is as typical as running to the gym in the morning.” -Tova Wein, “Dating Dialogue,” page 98

The seventh grade science class at YOSS visited an interactive workshop at The Cradle Of Aviation Museum as part of their physics curriculum. The boys learned about lift, drag, velocity and friction as they charted the history of aviation and space exploration

Conference for a Cause

n Thursday, February 7, ninth and tenth grade students at DRS had the opportunity to schedule 6 minute “student-teacher conferences” with their teachers. The purpose of this event was to be both reflective and collaborative: students reflected on their challenges and successes with their teachers, and with their teachers’ guidance, they set goals for the

spring semester. Focused on the big picture, students felt empowered, advocating for their own academic success. With the positive buzz of students and teachers meeting and conversing in our Beit Midrash during conferences, we trust that our ninth and tenth grade students’ second semester is off to a great start!

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Names, Not Numbers at HANC

PHOTO BY IVAN H NORMAN

A parlor meeting for Yeshivas Medrash Chaim of Lakewood was held on Sunday at the home of Mr. & Mrs. Shimon Vogel in Far Rockaway. Pictured here, L-R: Mr. Shimon Vogel, host; HaRav Yehoshua Kalish, Rav of Bais Medrash of Harborview-Bais Pinchas, guest speaker; HaRav Raphael Moshe Gettinger, Rosh HaYeshiva; and Rabbi Tzvi Lang, administrator

ur eighth grade had an amazing experience this week. The grade was divided up into groups and had the opportunity to interview Holocaust survivors. The students prepared extensively for these interviews. The students studied their survivor’s bio and used it to prepare questions which would discuss the survivor’s memories from before, during, and after the war. The experience was one the students will never forget. As each survivor entered the building, he/she was greeted by our students. The interactions were wonderful. One of the highlights of the program was the intergenerational component. Seeing the faces of the survivors light up and seeing the students’ faces respond in kind was nothing short of magical. The survivor was escorted upstairs to the interview room which was turned into a real set complete with video, sound, and light

equipment. Each student took turns in the roles of interviewer, sound, video, and observer. The students were trained and directed by the Names, Not Numbers© production crew. We thank Michael Puro for all of his hard work with the project. The interviews themselves were most memorable. There were so many poignant moments. I do not want to play the role of spoiler so everyone will have to wait until the movie comes out with the interviews. One of the highlights of the week was hearing from HANC High School rebbe, Rabbi Tsvi Selengut, discussed the importance of emunah as it relates to the Holocaust. The students were mesmerized by Rabbi Selengut’s stories and insights into this topic. Special hakarat hatov to Mr. Dov Rosenberg and Mrs. Tova Rosenberg for all of their help in making this week so special for the students.

Success at the National Jerusalem Science Competition

RS is proud to announces that sophomore Marcus Bluestone, senior Ari Braun, and freshman Ari Zelefsky placed 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the esteemed National Jerusalem Science Competition! The competition is open to Jewish high school students throughout North America. It introduces students to a specific scientific discipline that changes every year. A rigorous independent research curriculum is introduced with the goal of subject matter mastery, as well as understanding the contextual relationship and framework as mandated by the Torah and its commandments. This year’s topic was Molecular Biology. In this competition students were tasked with taking seven self-

study exams, a comprehensive final examination, and writing a research paper. The finalists are invited to Chicago to deliver their research presentations at a formal awards ceremony at the Walder Science Center, an international science research organization. During the trip to Chicago, the winners were treated to a personal tour of the prestigious Argonne National Laboratory (“Argonne”), a leading Department of Energy-funded research facility. The finalists also earned a ten-day trip to Israel which will take place in May. This annual competition enables students to learn and make connections between the science and Torah worlds, furthering their knowledge in both Torah and science.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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BYQ Sees Eye to Eye

he Pre 1-A classes in the Bais Yaakov of Queens Early Childhood Center continue to explore their community. Pre 1A-W showed a good deal of interest in eyeglasses and the human eye and were therefore thrilled to be

invited to the office of Dr. Batsheva Summers, optometrist. After an exciting bus ride to Jackson Heights, the children were given a full tour of the well-equipped office. Clipboards in hand, the young researchers asked the doctor their many

questions ranging from “Why do we need to check our eyes?” to “Why do we have to get eye drops?” The children were then given the opportunity to check each other’s eyes and to sketch things of interest in the office. They left with a gift bag full

of treats from their new friend, the eye doctor. Thank you Dr. Summers for helping our students to expand their knowledge and learn more about our amazing eyes!

gave the students a much more detailed and personal understanding of the leadership and operations of the movement to bring African Americans to freedom and their hopes for social, political, and economic equality. Two fabulous receptions of the Shevach group followed. The first was at the Maimonides school in Albany where the students in grades eight through eleven had set up a beautiful and warm welcome in their main lobby. There was a giant handmade “Shalom Shevach” banner, plentiful delicious refreshments, and a creative game. After greetings by Rabbi Rubin and Mrs. Leah Rubin, the girls in both schools had the opportunity to meet each other and schmooze. After davening Mincha at the school, the Shevach seniors made their way down to Kingston, the final stop of the day. The visit to the shul in Kingston was the result of a generous invitation by Mrs. Shirley Crystal. Mrs. Crystal is the grandmother of Cha-

va Crystal, one of Shevach’s seniors. Mrs. Crystal runs the N’shei group at the shul, and she and fellow N’shei member Rosemarie Lewis arranged a beautiful dining area for the students’ dinner, providing drinks, desserts, and a happy family get-together. Rabbi Avrohom Boruch Itkin energetically addressed the students with an uplifting dvar Torah perfectly suited to the Hebrew date, which was Rosh Chodesh Adar I. He also described the Jewish history of Kingston and the area’s recent revival. The ride back to New York City found most of the seniors tired but certainly glad they’d made the journey upstate! Special thanks to Mr. Barry Grossman, instructor of AP U.S. History, Government and Economics, for coordinating this outstanding trip under the guidance of Mrs. Nechama Mirsky, Associate Principal, General Studies. Yasher koach to the Shevach students for making a wonderful kiddush Hashem far away from home.

Shevach Seniors Head North

uesday, February 5 dawned bright and…not so cold! That was a good thing since the Shevach High School senior class was heading up to Albany, the capital city of New York State. The trip was planned to learn more about the workings of state government as well as the region’s history, including, of course, about Jewish life past and present. Arrival in Albany was right on schedule, at eleven in the morning. Following security clearance at the Capitol building, the students were ushered to a conference room where they were privileged to meet with Senator Simcha Felder. The Shevach contingent appreciated Senator Felder’s modest and often humorous replies to their questions. These questions and responses addressed the very significant issue of substantial equivalency and yeshiva education, daily responsibilities and dedication to public service, and the challenges faced by an Orthodox Jew in a position of government.

A fascinating tour of the Capitol building was next on the agenda, as knowledgeable and engaging guides reviewed the history of the Capitol and pointed out the breathtaking masonry, grand staircases and halls. While seated in the gallery of the Senate chamber, the students were able to listen and watch as senators addressed their colleagues. The electronic voting equipment and tally screens were noted in the Assembly chamber and illustrated the modern approach to democracy. A reunion meeting with Senator Joseph Addabbo, who had visited Shevach in November, as well as a surprise greeting by Member of the Assembly Daniel Rosenthal, capped off this segment of the trip. It was a busy day in the Capitol with several lobby groups there to advocate for their positions, and so the atmosphere overall was indeed “stately” and, at the same time, reflective of the voice of the people. The next stop was the Underground Railroad Museum. Educational workshops and presentations

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Around the Community

Up Close with Elana Jacobs, Women’s Entertainer and Creator of The Shpiel

n Sunday, March 10, Five Towns women and girls are invited to experience an evening of laughter in honor of Purim, at The Shpiel. A short, one-hour comedy interwoven with some drama and music, The Shpiel will be performed at TAG Elementary School at 8 p.m. The play features ten talented local women actresses and focuses on different types of frum women who work together to overcome an obstacle and the lessons they learn along the way. The Shpiel was written and produced by Elana Jacobs of Far Rockaway, a limudei kodesh teacher at HANC Elementary School who spends her days among a household of lively boys. Jacobs, who says the funniest person she knows is her twoyear-old son Chaim, talks about her latest production and opens up about her comedic passions and inspiration. Were you interested in comedy as a child or is this a recent passion? When I was around 14 years old, I did my first comedy skit at an NCSY Shabbaton. I couldn’t believe the laughter that filled the room! It was an eye, or should I say, ear-opener. I never realized until that point that I had the ability to make people laugh. In the years since, I have written and produced various skits and shows, truly enjoying performing on stage. Most recently, I have been writing and acting short comedy skits for various school functions and events in the area. I decided it was time to take this to the next level by creating a professional show and performing on stage for a larger audience.

Women have come to my shows and have told me afterward, “I laughed so hard the tears were streaming down my face! It felt so good.” I have always been inspired by the story of Rav Broka asking Eliyahu Hanavi to tell him who in the marketplace was a ben Olam Haba. Eliyahu Hanavi answered that the two men who are able to use humor to help sad people become happy are the ones who are bnei Olam Haba. Be-

ing able to reach people through humor and lighten their mood and day is a unique gift from Hashem. I strive to utilize my unique koach to bring simcha to others through my comedy. Was there an experience in your life that prompted you to turn to comedy? I have always enjoyed mixing growth in Yiddishkeit with a healthy dose of humor and fun. The balance of setting serious priorities and enjoying life at the same time is what I strive to attain. I noticed over the years that events for women often offer serious and important messages through shiurim and informative lectures but a component that’s lacking is an element of humor – one that makes you smile and laugh. I wanted to create an outlet for women to grow in their Yiddishkeit while relaxing and having a good time as well. Who is your role model in entertainment? My family. My brother, Ari Goldwag, is a singer who brings inspiration to thousands. While he may be called an “entertainer” he doesn’t focus on himself as singer, it’s more about creating moving moments for the people who listen to his music and grow along with him. Beyond entertaining his audience, he tries to connect and reach people in a deeper way and inspire growth. I feel the same way. It’s not about creating an “entertaining show,” but rather about stimulating growth through the medium of comedy. My father, Murray Goldwag, aka Murray the Sockman, is someone who has a unique ability to make others happy through humor. I have always admired his joke-telling abilities and the way he can lighten any situation through humor. My husband also has this same koach to make others laugh. I have always appreciated this quality in both of them and have tried to impact others and make them happy in my own way. Additionally, I’ve been writing comedy with my good friend, Miriam Goldstein, who is now a Rebbetzin in Columbus, Ohio. We have been

collaborating since high school, and this is a way we have bonded over the years and stayed in touch. She never fails to make me laugh! Why do you think it’s important for frum women to get in touch with their lighter side? We are all so busy! Many women feel they never have a minute to breathe, that their lives seem upside down, and it’s as though they are running on a treadmill – the house...the kids...work...laundry, etc. If only we realized we are all in the same boat, it would lighten our load. Laughter helps us function better, and joy in our homes positively affects all our relationships. That is what I try to achieve with my comedy shows. How can women infuse a little laughter and humor into daily life on a regular basis? Every so often when I get overwhelmed and, dare I say it in a public forum, when I yell at my kids, my kids will burst out laughing. At that moment, when they start laughing, so do I. Suddenly I realize that I have reached that breaking point where

humor is the only solution! If we could just step back sometimes and see the humor in the mess and stress, whether it’s figurative or literal, it would go a long way in helping us get past all the small stuff that weighs us down. What are the ticket prices and how can people purchase tickets to The Shpiel? Tickets are $18 for students and $25-$50 for adults. They can be purchased in advance at theshpiel. eventbrite.com or womenshpiel@ gmail.com. They may also be purchased at the door. Is there anything else readers should know? Proceeds of The Shpiel will benefit Zichron Ruchama, a tzedaka fund that assists local women meet basic needs with dignity. Zichron Ruchama is under the auspices of HaRav Naftali Jaeger, shlita. Special thanks to my good friend Basha Mindell who contributed hours of her time and much of her theatrical talent to bring my script to life and serve as director of The Shpiel.

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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ast Saturday night, 50 people of all ages came out to Young Israel of Oceanside for a very different sort of Purim party. It was a letter writing and packing party for mishloach manot being sent to Jewish members of the U.S. armed forces, through Kosher Troops. Koshertroops is a Monsey-based organization founded 10 years ago to help improve the morale and welfare of the U.S. troops, by showing appreciation for their commitment. They send care packages to over 300 locations worldwide, including items to help service members celebrate the Jewish holidays and Shabbat, so that they feel connected to the Jewish community while away. The taste and smells of home – as well as personal messages of support – demonstrates care, honor and respect for our fellow Americans. Rabbi Jonathan Muskat of the Young Israel of Oceanside shared, “There are two schools of thought regarding why we must give mishloach manot on Purim. The Terumat Hadeshen explains that the goal is to enable that every person has sufficient means to hold a proper Purim feast. In his Sefer Manot Ha-levi, R Shlomo Alkabetz suggested that the goal of mishloach manot is to increase friendship to rectify the divisiveness that Ha-

man observed among the Jewish people. Participating in the Koshertroops program is a beautiful opportunity to support both of these goals. We are making donations and preparing food packages for Jewish U.S. service members which they can use towards their Purim feast. Additionally, our participation is sure to bring about greater feelings of achdut and unity for Jews everywhere as Jewish U.S. service members stationed abroad will know that Jews everywhere are appreciative of their sacrifices for us and that we are family.” This is a letter from a grateful Koshertroops recipient: “I wanted to personally say thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing us to celebrate this special holiday with our Jewish military family here in Kuwait. Without your support and gifts it would not have been the same. I’m proud to serve our nation but I’m more proud to be a Jewish soldier serving knowing I have brothers and sisters on the other side supporting us as well. Words can’t express my gratitude and I humbly say thank you again for what you have done to give us some ‘home’ while we serve overseas.” Learn more about Koshertroops and for ways to get involved at Koshertroops.com.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

MTA juniors had an incredible time on their two-day, action-packed junior trip. From golf, indoor sports, and ax throwing to a midnight BBQ, bowling, broom ball, lively minyanim, and inspirational shiurim, talmidim had a blast bonding with each other and their rebbeim

Rabbi Judowitz’s 7th grade shiur at YOSS recently received a hands-on demonstration of tefillin making. Hilchos tefillin came to life as the talmidim were able to see each step of the process

“America’s Yeshiva” Biography of a Century By Channi Feuer

he year 2019 is a significant one for the olam hayeshivos of America. One hundred years ago, Yeshiva Torah Vodaath was founded and the future of Torah Jewry was secured on the North American continent. Torah Vodaath had a strong influence on the character of Orthodox Jewry across the nation. It’s not a stretch to say that most bnei Torah today have been shaped by Torah Vodaath, either directly as talmidim of the yeshiva, as children of men who were mechanech in Torah Vodaath, or as talmidim of alumni who spread across America establishing yeshivos and building kehillos. In the early years, the legendary Menahel, Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz sent some of the best talmidim of the Mesivta to help build the fledgling Lakewood, Telshe and Baltimore yeshivos. He encouraged entire neighborhoods in Brooklyn to send their sons to strengthen Mesivta Chaim Berlin when it first opened rather than enroll in Mesivta Torah Vodaath. In 1944, Rabbi Avrohom Abba Freedman was a 24-year old bochur when he was sent by Rav Shraga Feivel, together with Rabbi Sholom Goldstein, to establish a yeshiva 620 miles away in Detroit, Michigan. In 1953, Rav Simcha Was-

serman opened a Mesivta in Los Angeles that began as a satellite of the Yeshiva with bochurim of Mesivta Torah Vodaath. And the story goes on and on. The Yeshiva had a vision to spread Torah throughout America, and history has proven that they achieved this ambitious goal. Torah Vodaath continues to produce roshei yeshiva and rebbeim, rabbonim and spiritual leaders of congregations, officers of religious institutions, and leaders of almost every Torah observant organization in America. For a century, Torah Vodaath has molded Torah education and shaped the Torah landscape in America.

A cursory glance at some of the prominent leaders in chinuch today illustrates the significant and continuous impact of Torah Vodaath on the yeshiva world. Rav Yaakov Bender of Yeshiva Darchei Torah (Far Rockaway), Rav Elya Brudny of Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn), Rav Yeruchem Olshin of Bais Medrash Govoha (Lakewood), Rav Yitzchok Scheiner of Kaminetz Yeshiva (Eretz Yisroel), and Rav Ephraim Wachsman of Beth Medrash Meor Yitzchok (Monsey) are all Torah Vodaath alumni – amongst many others – who are influencing myriads of talmidim that are carrying forward the mesorah. The publication of “America’s Yeshiva,” will portray in vivid detail the

journey from America’s beginning as a spiritual wasteland to the flourishing center of Torah learning that it is today. More than a biography of one individual, this is a biography of American Torah Jewry. With personal vignettes, photographs, and fascinating historical memorabilia, this book will bring the entire history and continuity of American Jewry to your dining room table. This relatable and fascinating history is the story of our families – our parents and grandparents, our uncles and cousins. It incorporates names, streets and locations that are familiar to our children. Like the classic game of “Jewish Geography,” everyone will find someone they know in the stories it has to tell. Join us in creating this historic masterpiece and have your family participate in this magnificent experience. Dedication opportunities of every size and budget are available. The deadline to secure your sponsorship is less than a month away – don’t delay! Reach out to Rabbi Yitzchok Gottdiener at 718-941-8000x210 or through the Yeshiva’s website at www.torahvodaath.org/centennial. Participate and help strengthen the Yeshiva as it begins a second century of powerful, impactful Torah chinuch in America.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Around the Community

Children and adults helped to pack mishloach manos for Jewish troops at the Shaaray Tefila Family Mitzvah Day on Sunday which was sponsored by the Belsky family and Rabbi Avraham and Leah Farber

On February 22, Senator Todd Kaminsky presented West Hempstead resident and Yeshiva University High School for Girls student Estee Ackerman with a framed proclamation for her table tennis achievements following an amazing win where she won gold at the AAU Junior Olympics and multiple other medals at various other tournaments. She is also a three-time Gold medal winner in the Women’s Hardbat singles

VIProperties Celebrates 20 Years By Natalya Mikinberg

am extremely proud to announce the 20th year anniversary of VIProperties – a significant milestone that very few local non-corporate companies have achieved. To my employees, customers, clients, colleagues, and friends, I thank you all for your continued support and belief in VIProperties. Without you all, there would be no us. I started out in the real estate industry in 1993, working for Smolinsky Properties, after falling in love with the process of searching for and buying my first home in the United States. In 1998 I received my Brokers license, and VIProperties was born on February 9, 1999 in the basement of my first home. At this time, we were among 10 or so other independent brokerages. In 2001, I moved out of my basement to an office space in Woodmere. By that time, I had two agents who I am proud to say are still working with me to this day. Finally, in 2004, we moved to our current office at 1208 Broadway, in Hewlett, and with over 40 members, we have been expanding our team ever since. In a corporate world, it is most certainly not easy to continue operations as a local boutique and thus I recognize how important it is to stay

up-to-date with the latest technology. With that being said, VIProperties has been and will continue to be the leading independent brokerage in the Five Towns and surrounding areas. I also realize the importance of being active in my community. I strive to continue working with local businesses, schools, and religious organizations, helping them in any way that I can. We have experienced many ups and downs during the years but that hasn’t stopped us from excelling. With that being said, I am very appreciative of my team and my family for always being on the same page with me, always surrounding me with positive attitude, and never letting me doubt myself. I am truly grateful and honored to be serving this wonderful community for 20 years, and I look forward to continuing providing my services and seeing smiles on our customers’ and clients’ excited faces.

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Scholastic Award Winners

RS was delighted to receive notice that seven of our students were selected from thousands of entries as winners in the prestigious Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards Contest (Northeast Region). The highest honors, a Gold Key, was awarded to Junior Eitan Gutenmacher for his painting entitled, “My Brother.” Silver Keys were awarded to senior Yaakov Fuchs for his Personal Essay, “Marching to the Drumbeat of Esau,” junior Aaron Nassir for his journalism piece, “From the Origins to the Boom of Bitcoin,” senior Shlomo Schwartz for his personal essay, “My Great Grandfather,” and junior Dani Sturm for his personal essay, “The Shepherd’s Staff.”

Honorable Mention Commendations were awarded to senior Yehuda Fuchs for his personal essay, “Just Be Nice,” and senior Joe Greenberg for his memoir, “Learning What Not

To Do.” We wish Eitan Gutemacher the best of luck as his Gold Key Entry is now judged on the Scholastic National Level. We are so proud of

our young men who shine in Torah learning, secular academics and creative endeavors.

Using a Comfort Approach with Advanced Dementia A Bikur Cholim Conference By Leah Goldstein, MHC and Elisa Stern, LCSW

n Thursday, February 14, Bikur Cholim Chesed Organization organized a successful eldercare conference at Margaret Tietz Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Queens, which has a long history of sensitively caring for Holocaust survivors. One-hundred geriatric and medical professionals from a wide range of work settings – home care companies, community agencies, hospices, hospitals and nursing homes, as well as family caregivers – learned about a comfort approach with people who have advancing dementia. This approach has been pioneered by the Comfort Matters (R) accreditation program in Phoenix, Arizona. Comfort is widely accepted as best practice in advanced dementia care. Time and time again, studies have shown its effectiveness in making the lives of seniors with advancing dementia better, ranging from dramatic reductions in sun-downing and other challenging “behaviors,” significantly less need for and use of psychiatric medications, fewer hospitalizations, less frequent use of dietary supplements instead of eating “real” food, to much lower staff turnover. Also notable are improved measures of satisfac-

tion of both family members and staff. However, the best way to measure this movement’s success is to speak to a family member whose relative has benefited from this approach. Thursday’s symposium focused on using a comfort approach to take good care of people with advanced dementia in their home, wherever their home may be. It also gave special attention to the needs of people with advanced dementia who experienced earlier life trauma, through the prism of exploring sensitive care of aging Holocaust survivors with dementia. Most Holocaust survivors prefer to grow old in familiar settings, with assistance from multiple care givers and home visiting professionals, who help them age in place. The first speaker, Ann Wyatt, MSW, consultant for CaringKind, (formerly Alzheimer’s Association’s NYC Chapter), presented about comfort principles and techniques. She explained that since people with dementia often can’t express or communicate what is distressing them with words, caretakers need to view behaviors as communication and work to figure out what is being expressed. While there is no cure for dementia, the best approach is to bring comfort – and we can’t provide comfort until we understand what is causing discomfort. For example, Mr. Cohen fights with his helper

when it comes time to get dressed in the morning but after learning about how signs of distress are communication, his attendant sits down with the family to explore what might be going on. It turns out that Mr. Cohen has arthritis and takes his pain medication after he dresses. They decide to help him with medication half an hour before dressing, and the result is Mr. Cohen is happy to dress because he is no longer in pain. The second speaker, Ms. Elisa Stern, LCSW, ACSW, director of Supportive Services at Bikur Cholim Chesed Organization’s Project for Holocaust Survivors, used the comfort framework to explain the importance of understanding the individual’s trauma history to recognize, understand and avoid potential PTSD triggers. She gave a brief explanation of the Shoah (as some professional audience members did not have familiarity) including a range of experiences survivors may have lived through. Examples of common triggers for Holocaust survivors were discussed, along with comforting response tips for caregivers. Attendees were each given a handout with corresponding information to take back to their work setting. Although more Jewish and non-Jewish facilities around the country are becoming accredited in

Comfort Matters (R) every year, no kosher facilities in NYC have taken this leap forward into the future of dementia care. As a community, our hope is that this will change with time. Recently, the Jewish Community Housing Authority’s Weston Assisted Living Residence in Whippany, NJ, became accredited by Comfort Matters (R). Comfort Matters (R) tools and techniques not only teach positive ways to deal with a difficult disease but provides renewed hope to all those involved. This professional symposium also took place in Rockland County a day earlier, on Wednesday, February 13, with another 100 eldercare professionals. Bikur Cholim of Rockland County, CaringKind - The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving, Foundation for Quality Care (an affiliation of New York State Health Facilities Association), Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York, Margaret Tietz Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, and Rockland Jewish Family Service partnered with Bikur Cholim Chesed Organization in this educational initiative. To receive a copy of the handout on common PTSD triggers for Holocaust survivors, please email sbloxenheim@ bicco.org, or call S. Bloxenheim of Bikur Cholim Chesed Organization, at (718) 438-2020, ext. 7432.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Math Comes Alive at IVDU LI’s 100 Day Celebration

he students at IVDU Long Island celebrated a significant milestone this week: the 100th day of school. To mark this momentous occasion, the classes joined together for a special activity. Each student cut strips of paper labeled 1-100. The students worked together to put the 100 rings in order and constructed a beautiful paper chain, which was then hung up in their classroom. The celebration continued with exciting class wide activities. Students counted everyday items, such as pencils, popcorn kernels, and paper clips, up to 100 and discussed how 100 “looks” with different items. The students enjoyed forming a “human 100” by laying down to form the numbers with their bodies, and they had fun decorating “100 days of school” glasses. Using small items which were brought in from home, everyone had a chance

to visualize 100 items in a counting chart using such items as Cheerios and Winkies. To round off the day of fun and learning, a photo booth with assorted “100 days” props captured the excitement and memories. At IVDU, math comes alive with our hands-on curriculum called Equals Math TM which places a strong emphasis on counting and number sense using manipulatives to make learning fun for students of all abilities. The students of IVDU LI truly enjoyed celebrating the 100th day of school, a significant and exciting milestone.

Dr. Monte Miller and Dr. Lee Gherman came to HANC ECC and taught the children all about taking care of their teeth in honor of the February Health Month unit

HANC Hosts Busy in Brooklyn Blogger

Sushi Nachos prepared at the event

ANC Plainview hosted Chanie Apfelbaum, creator of the Busy in Brooklyn food blog and author of the Millennial Kosher cookbook, this past Sunday night, February 24. The event was part of the school’s “Parent Camp” Initiative created by Director of Admissions, Francie Goldberg, which is designed to have educational and recreational programming for the parent community to come together a few times a year. Because Ms. Apfelbaum has such a huge following on social media, the entire Plainview community was invited and some of her fans outside of the HANC parents reached out and were able to be included in the fun. One attendee, Meryl Chaitovsky, said it best, “It was really nice to have a community event for men and women, older and younger, to come together for a night of delicious food and a good time.” The attendees learned how to make

Francie Goldberg, organizer, with Chanie Apfelbaum

three appetizer recipes from Millennial Kosher: Kabocha Squash Miso Soup, Spiralized Beet Salad, and Sushi Nachos. All the ingredients were generously donated by the local ShopRite in Country Pointe. “We are so fortunate to have a ShopRite with a kosher bakery, fish and meat counter in addition to the kosher products sold in the store and this sponsorship was our opportunity to publicly thank them for being for being pillars of our local Jewish community,” said Ms. Goldberg. The school PTA also donated new items that the school did not already have in the kitchen so that Ms. Apfelbaum had a complete set of cookware to work with. Ms. Apfelbaum also stayed after the demonstration for pictures and autographs for people who brought or bought copies of Millennial Kosher. Everyone left with a full stomach, recipe cards with the recipes demonstrated that evening, and new knowledge of tools and techniques to bring into their own kitchens.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Around the Community

Freshmen Bonding

BREATHTAKING? ORDER YOURS TODAY!

he freshmen at Central enjoyed a lovely grade shabbaton last weekend in West Hempstead. The theme was friendship, and in many sessions and discussions over Shabbat the freshmen were able to reflect on the friendships they had formed over the past few months, as well as learning about creating meaningful relationships in the future. There was also

plenty of time for games and fun to promote grade bonding. Yael Bassali and Rachel Koenig shared beautiful words of Torah, as did Ms. Leah Moskovich and Rabbi Joshua Goller. Mrs. Aliza Gewirtz, freshmen grade dean, opened her home for a spirited seudah shlishit. The freshmen returned to school energized for second semester!

Bucket Filling

Timeless designs and fine craftsmanship are characteristic trademarks that set Today’s kitchen apart from all others. Whether your plans include a new home or a home improvement remodeling project, we welcome the opportunity to create the design of your dreams and turn it into reality.

he second grade at Cheder Chabad Girls of Long Island had an exciting program this week. Using technology to help facilitate learning, the girls participated in a live video chat with Mrs. Rivka Fishman, who lives in Texas and is the author of Sara The Bucket Filler. Mrs. Fishman did a read-aloud of her book with the girls, discussing together the concepts of bucket filling and how you feel when your

bucket is empty or full. Together they brainstormed on different ways to fill each other’s buckets and came up with some great ideas. The girls took these ideas back to class and together with their teacher, Ms. Lubin, they created their own buckets to hang up in their classroom. They are excited to work on filling up each other’s buckets, which will fill up their own as well!

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Impressions from the Siyum on Talmud Yerushalmi Held at Yeshiva Darchei Torah

he bachurim of Yeshiva Darchei Torah’s Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid could glean many lessons from the siyum on all of Talmud Yerushalmi held at the yeshiva two weeks ago. This rare feat was accomplished by Rav Dovid Moshe Geller, the mashgiach ruchani of the Beis Medrash and an alumnus of Darchei. The primary lesson is undoubtedly the most obvious one: the power of diligent hasmada and review to both shape a man into a talmid chacham – which Rav Geller undoubtedly is – and enable him to learn and master great portions of the infinite Torah. Having completed Shas Bavli many times, Rav Geller is no stranger to siyumim. Another aspect of the same lesson, which was brought out by the siyum’s guest speaker, Rav Uri Deutsch, the rav of the Forest Park shul in Lakewood, was the imperative for every yeshiva bachur to utilize his time in yeshiva to the fullest. Although the primary purpose of Darchei’s Beis Medrash is to train the bachurim to develop in iyun – indepth immersion in each sugya and its mefarshim, to gain a clarity in the Gemara and hone their lomdus skills – they are also encouraged to broaden their horizons by covering parts of the masechta that are not the focus of the main sedarim. (The result of these efforts are visible each year at the Yeshiva’s grand Siyum Hagadol,

PHOTO CREDIT: YK IMAGES

when close to 200 high school and Beis Medrash boys finish masechtos.) A lesson in kavod haTorah was surely absorbed as the bachurim scanned the room at the siyum. Present were not only Rav Geller’s extended family; the Rosh HaYeshiva, Rav Yaakov Bender; the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky; menahalim and rabbeim of the Yeshiva; kollel yungerleit; and alumni; but distinguished guest roshei yeshiva as well, with whom Rav Geller enjoys a personal connection: Rav Moshe Brown and his son Rav Ezriel, Rav Elya Brudny and Rav Naftoli Jaeger. The attendance of such distinguished guests served as testimony to the immense value and respect that they ascribe to a Torah accomplishment of such magnitude. When Rav Geller delivered his drasha – a tour de force about the historical and halachic impact of Rav Yochanan and his talmid, Reish Lakish – the bachurim caught a glimpse of the scope, perfection, and interconnectivity of the Torah. And as he weaved example after example into the larger tapestry of his presentation – quoting “chapter and verse” from throughout Yerushalmi without glancing at his notes – his talmidim saw that Rav Geller’s three-and-ahalf years of learning Yerushalmi was anything but superficial. Rechava hi mini yam – Torah is vaster than the sea. And that real learning means comprehending and retaining what

Rav Dovid Geller, right, dancing with Rav Shlomo Avigdor Altusky. At left, Rav Moshe Mandel

one studies. But another pivotal lesson came towards the end of his speech – just before the guest speaker and the subsequent spirited dancing – when Rav Geller expressed his gratitude to a long list of people who helped get him to this day. It included his wife, whose superhuman dedication enables him to learn, grow, and influence a new generation of budding talmidei chachomim; his parents, in-laws, and cousins; his talmidim, past and present; and the hanhala, including Rav Bender, who was his own menahel at Yeshiva Darchei Torah in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and Rav Altusky, who has led the Beis Medrash since its inception – when Rav Geller also first joined the faculty of this illustrious yeshiva gedolah that has gained global renown. And then Rav Geller mentioned an unexpected person, who was seated right in front of him at the head table: Rav Moshe Mandel, a first grade rebbi in Yeshiva Darchei Torah who was also Rav Geller’s first grade rebbi there, back in 1978. He thanked Rav Mandel not only for teaching him his first pesukim of Chumash, but also for introducing him to the power of chazarah for the first time because at the end of first grade, Rav Mandel had his talmidim review and memorize a song about the 13 Ani Ma’amins, the fundamentals of our emunah – in Yiddish, no less – for a performance attended by the boys’ parents.

Rav Dovid Geller speaking before his Siyum on Talmud Yerushalmi

At that moment, the bachurim got a fundamental lesson: the pivotal importance of hakaras hatov, of recognizing and expressing appreciation for the benefit one has gained from another. It was a long way from his first forays in Bereishis to the incredible phrase “Hadran alach Shas Yerushalmi.” Yet at this milestone on his journey, Rav Geller remembered the first steps of that trek – and the rebbi who helped him take them. This message of hakoras hatov was also a larger, implicit message about middos, perfecting one’s character, a lifelong mission that is indispensable in the development and makeup of a ben Torah – and it was not lost on the bachurim. Perhaps it was the most profound lesson of all.

Rav Yaakov Bender dancing with Rav Dovid Geller

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Around the Community

YCQ’s Future Engineers

MISSION TO

ALBANY 2019

TUESDAY MARCH 12, 2019 THE ALBANY CAPITAL COMPLEX Arrival in Albany at 9:00am Departure at 4:30pm

he students at Yeshiva of Central Queens have been learning about engineering. The first and second grade students have been learning about engineering and how engineers use biomimicry to study nature to help design and build things to make our lives easier. They looked at birds and discussed what may have been built by studying the shape of the bird, its different body parts, and how it acts. Using a design sheet, they designed airplanes based on what they learned about birds by mimicking the birds’ looks and behaviors. They will build model airplanes using their designs. In the seventh grade science classes, the students are learning about the engineering process. They are making sketches of their own designs to gain an understanding

of the steps an engineer takes from idea to design to construction. The eighth grade STEM ClubSET³ students have been studying rollercoasters and what makes them work. They learned about potential energy, kinetic energy, inertia, gravity, and friction. They then worked in teams to design and build rollercoasters using marbles, straws, paper, glue and, most important, teamwork. Beginning engineering in the early grades teaches students not only the concepts for future careers but it gives them the ability to problem solve and use their creativity and imaginations, as well as gain an understanding that if something does not work it is an important part of the process to try it again, make changes, make improvements, and most importantly never give up.

A Message in the Mud -Rafi Sackville, page 88

Join us as we head back to the Capitol and continue the fight to provide the best and safest education for our children and communities. Spend the day meeting with state legislators and advocating for increased government funding for nonpublic schools!

$36 for non Teach NYS members* (includes 3 meals)

Free of charge for students and chaperones attending as part of a Teach NYS member school delegation *to become a Teach NYS member please contact Annie Watman at watmana@teachcoalition.org

To sign up today visit: teachnys.org/albanymission For more information, please contact nymission@teachcoalition.org

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

HANC HS Stock Market Club Trade Visits the NYSE

YOSS Mechina talmidim celebrated scoring a 90 percent and above on their Masmid Hachofesh learning with an ice cream party. This year, they learned the practical applications of the 39 melachos and were tested on real life scenarios that can come up each Shabbos.

Pink Day at SKA

here was pink everywhere at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls on Pink Day, Wednesday, February 13. Sharsheret Pink Day is a worldwide initiative by students to raise awareness of breast cancer and cancer genetics. Pink Day at SKA is celebrated with raffles, doughnuts, hot chocolate, kugel, babka, and even pink manicures. The color pink dominated the walls, clothing and rooms of the school. The students were honored to hear from a breast cancer survivor who shared her story. There was silence in the SKA Library as the

speaker delivered an open and honest account of how she dealt with her diagnosis; everyone appreciated hearing her words as she entreated them to have yearly checkups. Her inspirational words made Pink Day at SKA very meaningful. SKA’s Pink Day highlighted the need for awareness and education as Ashkenazic Jews are 10 times more at risk for hereditary cancers than the general population. Yashar koach to faculty member Dr. Neera Kimmel, who also volunteers for Sharsheret, and her hardworking Pink Day committee members for organizing such a successful event.

n Tuesday, February 19, twelve students from Mrs. Denice Halpern’s Stock Market Club at HANC High School took a trip to the New York Stock Exchange, located in lower Manhattan. Mr. Gerard Petti, the director of operations for all HANC campuses, escorted the group to the stock exchange where he previously worked for 31 years. Mr. Petti, known as Gerard at HANC, was in charge of some of the highest revenue-producing companies at that time. On the ride into NYC, Gerard gave some real world examples of the risk and rewards of investing (or not investing) in the stock market. When the group entered the floor of the NY Stock Exchange they were greeted by many different size computer screens. Each screen displayed the various numbers associated with individual stocks. The group was divided into three, and each group met with a trader. While the trader was

actively buying and selling hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks they answered any and all questions. The traders explained that only 15 years ago stocks were traded by pen and paper. Each trader we met with, formally as part of a group, or informally as one of Gerard’s old colleagues, all described life before computers as “organized chaos.” In addition to seeing and speaking with the traders, the group also saw a live segment of CNBC, filmed from the floor of the exchange, and a live segment, in Italian, for an Italian channel. Following our tour of the stock market floor, we walked over to Bravos Pizza where we enjoyed lunch and each other’s company. Thank you to Gerard and to Mrs. Halpern for organizing this informative trip and to Dr. Steven Levey for chaperoning. It was an experience these students won’t soon forget.

Aliza Beer addresses the keto diet craze Page 106

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Around the Community

Kosher Fun at 5 Towns JSL Hockey League

his past weekend the 5 Towns JSL Hockey League wrapped up its annual fall season with amazing championship games. The season was phenomenal, culminating in excellent teamwork, competitive gameplay, and exciting matchups. Already in its third year, the JSL Hockey League has taken the community by storm, featuring close to 250 boys, ages kindergarten through eighth grade from various parts of

the community. “We are both Camp Munk guys,” says founders and directors Tuli Urbach & Nachi Gordon. “We realized there was a void during the long school year where kids and teenagers were missing the competitive and fun experience of playing sports in a fun, kosher, and healthy environment that they experience during the summer months. “We know how important and valuable it is for children and teenag-

ers to have healthy, fun, and kosher outlets, and we wanted to provide that niche to as many children in the community as possible. “Baruch Hashem, we have seen tremendous growth since we founded the league three years ago, and we have received such wonderful feedback from parents, mechanchim and from even the boys themselves about how much of a difference our league has made on their personal growth throughout the school year.”

The JSL Hockey League hosts its games in the Lawrence Middle School and offers leagues both in the Fall and spring seasons for boys in kindergarten through eighth grade. Spring season begins March 10. For more information and to register for the upcoming spring season, visit their website at 5tjsl.com or email 5townsjsl@gmail.com.

Searching for Balance in a Hyper-Connected World By Malkie Klein

s human beings, we seek connection. If we are thoughtful, we seek meaningful connections – to the Divine, with our loved ones, our extended family, our friends. Every time we interact with someone or something, we forge some kind of connection. We kiss our child goodnight. We thank the cashier when he hands us our receipt. We honk the horn at the car in front of us if they idle too long after the light turns green. I am writing this article on my computer. At this moment, I have a connection with my MacBook. My relationship with my computer is inherently neutral. It is not good or bad. It just is. But what if I told you that it is currently 2 a.m., and although I have spent most of my day in front of my computer, very little of it was actually spent writing. I was supposed to submit this article hours ago, but I got busy with other things. The distractions may have included several trips to the refrigerator and an excursion out of the house to attend an engagement party; but it also may have

included some online shopping for things I don’t need, and more-thana-little time scrolling through social media. Does all the time I choose to “waste” by definition make my relationship with my computer an unhealthy one? I am connected to many devices with screens. There are several televisions in my home, two printers that allow me to copy, scan, and fax (although admittedly I cannot recall the last time I used the fax feature), security cameras with monitors, an iPhone, and the aforementioned MacBook. I can logically argue that each and every one of these devices make my life infinitely easier than it would be if I didn’t possess them. But I would be less-than-truthful if I didn’t acknowledge that sometimes I feel like they possess me. I grew up as a child in a pre-cellphone world. My children grew up with not-so-smart cellphones, and today’s children have access to supercomputers in their hands. The preceding three sentences are facts. You, dear reader, can imbue my statements with positive or negative connotations.

Your argument could be valid by the dictates of pure logic, whatever position you choose to take. Technology has made my life much simpler in many ways and much more complicated in many other. Some days I struggle to find a healthy balance, as I define it for myself. I am an adult, and by definition, should have more impulse control than a toddler, child, or teenager. I believe I do. I often wonder, however, how hard it would be for me to find balance, if I was born with a smartphone in my hand and one of my earliest displays of age-appropriate hand-eye coordination was the ability to swipe a phone open and scroll through pictures and videos. Today’s children face the choice of constant electronic stimulation that did not exist when I was young or even when I was raising young children. I do not know how much technology is too much technology. I imagine that experts disagree wildly on this topic. What responsibilities do we have to limit or increase our children’s access to technology? As parents, grandparents, teachers, rabbis, and mentors, do we have a communal obligation to

make sure we are modeling healthy behavior for our children? I feel confident in my ability to ask these questions of myself, my friends, and family, but I readily admit I have few answers. For that, I invite you to attend an exclusive viewing of the award-winning documentary Screenagers this Saturday night, March 2 at the Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst. This community-wide event is cosponsored by Kav L’noar, MASK, and Shalom Task Force. The documentary will be followed by a discussion with mental health experts, Dr. Rona Novak, Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration; Dr. Shana Frydman, executive director of Shalom Task Force; Dr. Binyamin Tepfer, PhD; and Dr. Ronnie Wachtel, founding director of Kav L’noar in Jerusalem. The program is free of charge and begins at 8 p.m. and promises to be both enlightening and informative. Malkie Klein is a longtime resident of the Five Towns and a member of the board of Kav L’noar in Jerusalem.

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Pre1A Gesher Parents Deliver During Career Week

s the children of Gesher have been learning about the building of the Mishkan, there has been a focus on individuals using their talents for good use. The Pre1A took that lesson to a new level. Career Week gave the children the opportunity to learn about various occupations in a very hands-on manner. The first day’s presenter was Mrs. Tali Ruzorsky, who is an aunt to a Gesher student. She taught the children about being a nurse and how grateful she is to have the chance to help people every day. The children enjoyed listened to their hearts beating and their lungs filling with air though the stethoscope. Mrs. Chava Popack showed the class how to style a scarf in a fun way and gave a hair styling demonstration.

She prepared berets for each child to give them a sense of fashion coordination The next presentation was delivered by Mrs. Sara Trachtenberg as she described her typical day as an occupational therapist. As part of her demonstration the children were given a chance to create their very own fidget. One of the careers that everyone familiar with was marketing, delivered by Mr. Moshe Rossen. He brought

in a copy of the Five Towns Jewish Times and showed the children the many ads. The class enjoyed creating their own ads and are ready to do business. The last presenter

was Mrs. Gila Vinitsky, who explained the role of a payroll manager. She led the class in a fun make-yourown-paycheck activity. ouldn’t everyone want to make up their own paycheck?

Parents, teachers, and students all enjoyed sharing the chance to appreciate how many opportunities a person can find to use their talents and interests in a productive and meaningful way.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

FEBRUARY29, 28,2015 2019| |The TheJewish JewishHome Home OCTOBER

TJH

Centerfold

Rubik’s Cube Facts All of the following facts are true except for one fact. Can you figure out which one is not true? In 1974, 30-year-old Ernő Rubik, a professor of architecture in Hungary, invented the Rubik’s Cube when he had the idea of constructing a handheld puzzle game based on geometry that could help students understand spatial relations.

Speedcubers needs quick fingers and an even faster brain. Plus, of course, the right tools. Speedcubes are different to regular Rubik’s Cubes. They look the same – but a speed cube is lighter and easier to turn, making it faster to use.

The first Rubik’s Cube was sold in 1975 in a Budapest toy shop. At that time, it was called the Magic Cube. It was renamed The Rubik’s Cube is 1980.

In 2003, Dan Knights, a Cube enthusiast, jumped from a plane at 12,000 feet, giving him roughly 45 seconds of free fall time to solve the Cube before his parachute would have to be opened. (He drilled a hole in the Cube and tied it to a loop on his wrist so it wouldn’t fall.) The jump was successful: Knights solved it in 32 seconds.

Every legal way of solving the Rubik’s Cube can be done in 20 moves or less. Last May, 22-year-old Feliks Zemdegs, of Australia, captured the Guinness World Records title for the fastest time to solve a Rubik’s Cube, after he managed to solve it in just 4.22 seconds. In 1981, 12-year-old Patrick Bossert authored a book, You Can Do the Cube, which taught people how to solve the Rubik’s Cube. The book, originally meant for Bossert’s friends, ended up on the New York Times bestsellers list and quickly sold more than 750,000 copies. In 1995, Diamond Cutters International created a fully-functional Rubik’s Cube made out of 185 carats of diamonds. Its estimated current value is $1.5 million.

Riddle me this? There is a mixture of purple, orange, and yellow crayons in a crayon box. The total number of crayons is 60. There are four times as many orange crayons as yellow crayons. There are also six more purple crayons than orange crayons. How many crayons of each color are there? See answer below

Over 400 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold worldwide – making it the bestselling toy of all time. In a 2012 interview with CNN, Professor Rubik admitted it took him more than a month to solve the Cube when he first invented it. A Rubik’s Cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible configurations. (Just in case you never counted that high, that’s more than 43 QUINTILLION possible configurations. If you had 43 quintillion dollars, you can spend a trillion dollars a day for the next 118 thousand years.) The TJH Centerfold Commissioner can solve Rubik’s Cube in 4.23…days. (Answer: I wish. Can’t solve it in 4.23 months.... AAARRGGGGHHHH!)

You gotta be kidding Maurice calls his doctor’s office for an appointment. “I’m sorry,” says the receptionist, “we can’t fit you in for at least two weeks.” “But I could be dead by then!” says Maurice. “No problem,” replies the receptionist. “If your wife lets us know, we’ll cancel the appointment.”

Answer to Riddle Me This: There are 30 purple crayons, 24 orange crayons and 6 yellow crayons.

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The 28, 2015 2019 TheJewish JewishHome Home| |FEBRUARY OCTOBER 29,

March Crossword Puzzle 1

Down 1. Houdini 2. Jack Ruby 3. Camp David Accord 6. Andrew Johnson 7. March Madness 8. Yellowstone 9. Uncle Toms Cabin 12. Alcatraz

Across 4. Daffodil 5. Ronald Reagan 10. Albert Einstein 11. Van Gogh 13. Spring 14. Peace Corps 15. Et Tu Brute 16. Ulysses S. Grant

Answers: 12 13

Clues: Down

Across

Born as Erik Weisz in 19874, he went on to be a true escape artist and magician 2. Killer of JFK’s assassin 3. Israeli Egyptian peace agreement 6. First president to be impeached by the House of Representatives 7. College basketball tournament 8. First national park in the U.S. 9. The novel that helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War 12. Prison on an island called “The Rock”

5. 10. 11. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Official flower of March, they grow perennially in bulbs, and are usually yellow Shot in 1981, he declared, “Honey, I forgot to duck” His theory of relativity led to new ways of thinking about time, space, matter and energy Dutch painter who sold only one painting during his lifetime and whose first painting was “The Potato Eaters” It’s finally here, after a long winter Established as a civilian force by JFK “You too?!” General of the Union army

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Torah Thought

Parshas Vayakhel By Rabbi Berel Wein

he Torah reading of this week opens with a review and reiteration of the concept and laws of Shabbat. The rabbis of the Talmud used this juxtaposition of Shabbat and the detailed description of the construction of the Tabernacle to derive and define what type of work was forbidden on Shabbat. This is certainly very noteworthy as it forms the basis of understanding the values of Shab-

bat as they apply to us, especially as it provides a rest from the stresses of modern life. However, there is another insight present in this discussion of Shabbat. The first word of the Torah reading indicates that it took place in a public venue with all gathered to hear Moshe explain this concept for them and for all their generations. We are thus informed that among the many facets of

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the diamond of Shabbat, there is not only the private one that is observed within the home and the synagogue but also the public one at can be seen and recognized and felt even on the street and in general society itself. For a long period of time in Jewish history, over the past two to three centuries, both facets of Shabbat were seriously challenged within the Jewish world. With the growth of the Orthodox community, especially over the last 60 years, the pride in the Shabbat has been salvaged. Unfortunately, even though the majority of the Jewish people are not really Sabbath observers today, there are entire sections of the Jewish people that have preserved the Shabbat in all of its beauty and allowed its holiness to invest its homes and families. The struggle for the public Shabbat

no traffic on Shabbat nor any visible public desecrations of the holy day. However, here in Israel the public Shabbat is, and has been for the past century, to a strong bone of contention between the religiously observant and secular elements of Israeli society. In cities such as Jerusalem and even Tel Aviv there is no public transportation that operates on the Shabbat. However, there is a constant demand from secular groups for this element of the public Shabbat to be eliminated and for the Sabbath to be confined to the home and the synagogue. But it is the public Shabbat that is most necessary in Jewish society. It is the public Shabbat that defines us and reminds us of who and why we are and what our mission of service and devotion in life truly is. It is unfortunate that the public Shabbat, like many other

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is being waged here in Israel and wherever large Jewish communities exist in the world. There are entire neighborhoods in the Diaspora where the population is overwhelmingly made up of Orthodox Jews and the public Shabbat is observed and visible. In these Jewish neighborhoods there is practically

truly spiritual and apolitical values, have been hijacked by politicians of all stripes and turned into contention and misunderstanding. I am confident, though, that the Shabbat will always win out, as it always has â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even the public elements of Shabbat. Shabbat shalom.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire

Parshas Vayakhel Embarrassment to Teshuva to Holiness By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

e must understand how the events at the end of last week’s parsha, parshas Ki Sisa, and the beginning of this week’s parsha connect to one another. After Moshe obtained forgiveness for the Jewish people from the sin of the Golden Calf, he descended from Har Sinai with rays of light shining from his face. The Jewish people were afraid to look at Moshe’s face so he covered it with a mask (Shmos 34:29-35). Then, at the beginning of this week’s parsha (ibid. 35:1), Moshe gathered the entire Jewish people together. He commanded them about the mitzvah of Shabbos (ibid. 35:2-3) and finally Moshe commanded them regarding the donations of gold, silver, and copper, and other materials to the Mishkan (ibid. 35:4 et seq.). The Ohr Hachaim (on ibid. 35:1) offers a straightforward explanation of the connection between the end of last week’s parsha and the beginning of this week’s parsha. The Jewish people distanced themselves from Moshe because of his great holiness which was apparent because of the rays of light shining from his face. Moshe therefore had to gather them back to him at the beginning of Vayakhel. With the Ohr Hachaim’s foundation, we can now begin to understand why these events were followed by the mitzvos of Shabbos and the donations to the Mishkan.

Erev Shabbos like Erev Yom Kippur The seforim hakedoshim explain the importance of teshuva on erev Shabbos. It is known that erev Shabbos in the home of the Rebbe Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk, zy”a, was like erev Yom Kippur. It has been related by a woman who worked in the kitchen of the Rebbe’s home that the Rebbe came into the kitchen every erev Shabbos to beg for forgiveness for anything he may have done to hurt or offend them. She related that the spirit of teshuva overtook the whole home, and everyone cried and begged forgiveness from each other. Whenever we approach someone or something whose holiness we appreciate, we are overcome with feelings of unworthiness and, consequently, teshuva. This pattern of approaching holiness, being filled with regret, and then doing teshuva is built into the nature of creation. The word for embarrassment, boshes, has the same letters as the word for repentance, teshuva, because when one is embarrassed about his past, he is moved to do teshuva. And once he has done teshuva, he then merits to reach the holiness he was initially too embarrassed to approach. That holiness is personified by Shabbos, which also comes from the same letters as those two words. When a person looks back at his week, he thinks, “Is this how a

Jew spends his week?” He is embarrassed and so he does teshuva on erev Shabbos and that embarrassment/ teshuva process is precisely why he merits the holiness of Shabbos. According to this, we can understand why Moshe gathered the people to him. They saw the holiness on his face and looked at themselves, disgusted that they sunk to the level of the sin of the Golden Calf. Moshe therefore drew them close as if to tell them, “I understand that you are embarrassed to look at me because of what you have done. But you know that it is precisely your feeling of unworthiness that makes you worthy to come closer.” Approaching a tzaddik has the same effect as approaching Shabbos. My father told us that he remembers lining up with others to see the Ahavas Yisroel of Vizhnitz, zy”a. He recalls how the anticipation of seeing such a tzaddik caused everyone in line to cry and wail, literally like erev Yom Kippur. The way to merit contact with holiness is contemplating how distant we are from that holiness. Ironically, we come closer by focusing on how far away we are. We see in the parsha how we merit to approach Shabbos and a tzaddik through the embarrassment/teshuva process. But how do we see this played out in the way we merited the Mishkan, the medium through which the Divine Presence rested on earth?

Men’s vs. Women’s Donations The Ramban comments on the difference between how the Torah describes the men’s versus the women’s donations to the Mishkan. With regard to the men, the pasuk (Shmos 35:22) says, “Every man who waved a waving of gold to Hashem.” But with respect to the women’s donations, the pasuk merely says (ibid. 35:24) that they “brought” their donations. We can understand the difference between these descriptions based on a teaching of the Rebbe Reb Simcha Bunim of Peshischa, zy”a. He explains the phrase “who chooses musical songs” from Yishtabach on a homiletical level. The word for musical, b’shiray, is related to the word for “left over,” sherayim.. According to the Rebbe Reb Bunim, Hashem gets great nachas from what He “chooses,” that which is left over after our songs, after our davening. What does this mean? After a person finishes davening, learning, or doing a mitzvah, if he is sensitive, he has a leftover feeling that he did not do everything that he could have done. When someone finishes davening, he has a lingering feeling, “Did I daven the way I was supposed to? How much was I thinking about Hashem and the words I was saying just now? How much was I thinking about everything else under the sun?” And when a person

The 28, 2015 2019 TheJewish JewishHome Home| |FEBRUARY OCTOBER 29,

finishes learning daf yomi for the day, he may feel, “Did I actually learn anything? How would I feel if someone tested me on the simple meaning of the Gemara and Rashi right now?” And after Shabbos, when a person makes havdalah, does he feel, “Did I immerse myself in the holiness of Shabbos? How much of the time did I spend thinking about weekday matters instead of learning, davening, singing, and spending more time with my family?” The Rebbe Reb Bunim teaches us that these leftover feelings are extremely precious to Hashem. The Chidushei Harim, zy”a, expands on this teaching of the Rebbe Reb Bunim based on the pasuk (ibid. 36:7) regarding the donations to the Mishkan: “the work was sufficient for them…and to leave over.” After the people finished donating to the Mishkan, there was something left over. They remained with the feeling that “I wish I gave more! I wish I gave with a greater feeling of love. I’m so embarrassed that I didn’t give with loftier intentions.” Hashem gets great pleasure, He “chooses” those feelings when His children give with a desire to do more. That leftover feeling of broken-heartedness after a mitzvah gives Hashem so much nachas. We can now understand the difference between the Torah’s description of how the men gave to the Mishkan versus how the women gave. The pasuk (ibid. 35:22) says that “the men came to the women.” Rashi explains that this means that the men came with the women. But the Chidushei Harim offers an amazing explanation. He says that the women never committed the sin of the Golden Calf, so all of their gold was still available to donate to the Mishkan. The men, however, had already donated their gold to the appeal held for the building of the Golden Calf. They had nothing left to give to the building of the Mishkan! Humiliated, they had to approach their wives and ask, “Do you think I could borrow a ring or necklace?” The men brought whatever little gold they were able to borrow from their wives and daughters and brought it to Moshe with such embarrassment and broken-heartedness. The Torah simply says that the

women “brought” their donations. The women brought their donations in a normal way because they had nothing to be ashamed of. The embarrassment and feeling of unworthiness with which the men brought their donations, however, caused a great stir in Heaven. That is why, with regard to the men, the pasuk describes more of a tumult when “every man who waved a waving of gold to Hashem.” Through their embarrassment/teshuva, they achieved a high level of holiness and merited to draw the Divine Presence down into the Mishkan. The desire to give and do more sometimes means even more than

the money for his daughter and that he would do whatever he could to pay it back. Reb Moshe lent the money, though it was such a sizable sum for him that he truly needed to be repaid. The wedding passed and weeks and months went by. As often happens when one person owes a debt to another that he cannot repay, Reb Yankel began davening at a different shul from Reb Moshe because he could not bear to look at him in the face without the money to repay him. Desperate to get his much-needed funds back, Reb Moshe visited Reb Yankel, but every time, his wife told Reb Moshe that Reb Yankel was “not

The desire to give and do more sometimes means even more than one’s actual accomplishments.

one’s actual accomplishments because it comes with that leftover feeling of embarrassment and teshuva that makes a person worthy to touch holiness. The power of desire even when one does not have the ability to attain his goals is illustrated beautifully by a well-known story about Rav Yitzchak Vorker, zy”a. The Rebbe had two chassidim who were neighbors, Reb Moshe, who had some money, though he was not wealthy, and Reb Yankel, who was extremely poor. Reb Yankel borrowed money from Reb Moshe from time to time when he was in need. Sometimes he paid him back and sometimes he was not able to. When he did pay him back, it was sometimes sooner and sometimes later, though it was usually later. Reb Yankel approached Reb Moshe one day with a special request. Reb Yankel needed one thousand rubles to marry off his daughter. This was an exorbitant sum for Reb Moshe but Reb Yankel promised him that he desperately needed

home.” One day, Reb Moshe saw the Rebbe, Rav Yitzchak Vorker, paying Reb Yankel a visit at Reb Yankel’s own home! Seeing his opportunity to ask for the Rebbe’s assistance, Reb Moshe walked over to Reb Yankel’s house and knocked on the door. The Rebbe himself answered the door, asking how he could help Reb Moshe. Somewhat embarrassed, Reb Moshe said, “Rebbe, I feel bad bringing this up but I saw an opportunity for a private moment with just the Rebbe and Reb Yankel. You see, Reb Yankel borrowed a thousand rubles from me to make a wedding for his daughter. I am not a rich man by any means, and I very much need these funds back. Is there anything the Rebbe can do to help?” The Rebbe turned to Reb Yankel and asked if Reb Moshe’s words were true. Reb Yankel confirmed everything Reb Moshe said and admitted sadly that he wanted more than anything to pay his friend back but that he simply had no money to repay the

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loan. The Rebbe then told Reb Yankel to scour the house and search for every kopek with which to pay back Reb Moshe. Reb Yankel began searching every corner of his little house like he was searching for chometz before Pesach. Eventually he brought the Rebbe everything he was able to collect – fifty-seven kopeks, not even a single ruble. Yet the Rebbe exclaimed, “Reb Yankel, amazing! This is even more than I expected. Let us sit down together to count out the money so you can repay Reb Moshe.” When they were seated at the table, the Rebbe began counting the kopeks one by one: “One, two, three, four…” He continued counting, “fifty-five, fifty-six, fifty-seven…” But instead of stopping there, he continued counting the same coins as if there were more there: “fifty-eight, fifty-nine…” He continued counting: “ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one ruble!” But the Rebbe did not stop there. He continued counting the same rubles for a couple of hours until finally he said, “nine hundred ninety-nine rubles and ninety-nine kopeks, one thousand rubles!” He then turned to Reb Moshe, handed him the fifty-seven kopeks, and said, “Here you go Reb Moshe. Full repayment of the one thousand rubles from Reb Yankel and even a bit extra…” It goes without saying that Reb Moshe soon built a great fortune with Reb Yankel’s fifty-seven kopeks. Just like Reb Yitzchak Vorker taught Reb Moshe, Reb Yankel’s desire to repay Reb Moshe produced much more “profit” than the actual money Reb Yankel could repay. We too should not dismiss our davening, Torah, or mitzvos as inadequate. Rather, we must embrace our embarrassment at not being able to do more and realize that it is precisely that feeling that makes us worthy to approach Hashem. May that feeling of embarrassment and the teshuva we do because of it make us worthy to draw down Hashem’s ultimate dwelling place, the Beis Hamikdash, may it be rebuilt 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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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Parsha

in 4

Parshas Vayakhel By Eytan Kobre

Weekly Aggada And Moshe said to the Jewish people, “See, G-d has called by name Betzalel son of Uri son of Hur of the tribe of Yehuda” (Shemos 35:30) This is comparable to a king whose legions rebelled against him. When the king’s army general opposed the insurrection, the legions killed the general. The king later searched for his general, but to no avail. When the king learned that his general had been killed by his legions while trying to stave off the rebellion, the king re-

flected on his general’s final act of sacrifice. Had my general merely made me wealthy, common gratitude would dictate that I repay him for the good he did for me. Surely I must repay him for sacrificing his life on my behalf. What can I do for him now that he has been killed? I will make all his descendants officers of my court. So it was with Chur. When the Jewish people made and worshipped the Golden Calf, Chur opposed them and ultimately paid for it with his life when the masses killed him. G-d said to him, in effect, “By your life! I will make sure to give all your descendants a good name in the world.”

Hence, “See, G-d has called by name Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur of the tribe of Yehuda, and He filled him with the spirit of G-d, with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge” (Shemos Rabba 48:5).

Weekly Mussar And all the congregation of the Jewish people departed from before Moshe (Shemos 35:20) While there can be no doubt that “the Jewish people departed from before Moshe” after he finished addressing them, this seems to state the obvious. We know “Moshe assembled all the congregation of the Jewish people” before him (Shemos 35:1). Isn’t it self-evident, then, that when he was finished the Jewish people departed from before him? In seeming to restate the obvious, R’ Elya Lopian explains, the Torah emphasizes the potency of influence. Just as when a drunk staggers across the street reeking of alcohol, it is fair to assume he has come from a bar, so too, conversely, when a student departs from his rebbi, it should be apparent to those around him that he was just in the presence of his rebbi. The student’s behavior and demeanor should be altogether different and elevated. So, of course the Jewish people departed from before Moshe – they had just been standing before him. But the Torah emphasizes that the Jewish people departed from before Moshe because, even after they had left his presence, it was still apparent – judging by their refined behavior and uplifted spirits – that they had been in the presence of a spiritual giant. The challenge is twofold: first, to ensure that we surround ourselves with people whose influence will leave us with a positive mark; and, second,

to carry their positive influence with us as we venture out into the world.

Weekly Anecdote Six days work shall be done, and on the seventh day there shall be for you a holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest for G-d, all who do work on it must be put to death (Shemos 35:2) The holy R’ Hillel of Paritsh (17951864) was wont to roam the Russian countryside spreading ethical and Chassidic teachings and inspiring his fellow man to betterment. On one such journey, R’ Hillel came to a town where several Jewish-owned taverns remained open on Shabbos (r”l). R’ Hillel was shocked and dismayed. He met with the owners of those taverns and implored them to close their businesses for Shabbos, and his words of rebuke and encouragement were well received – they agreed to close for Shabbos...on one condition: R’ Hillel must convince the one Jewish tavern owner not present, the prosperous Yankele, to do the same. For Yankele’s tavern was quite popular, and if Yankele continued to operate his tavern on Shabbos, it would put the other taverns out of business. R’ Hillel agreed, and he summoned for Yankele at once. Yankele, however, refused to come. R’ Hillel summoned him a second time and even a third, but still Yankele would not budge. R’ Hillel decided to remain in town for the coming Shabbos. On Shabbos morning, Yankele began to experience severe stomach pains, which only increased in pain and intensity. Yankele’s wife, far more G-d fearing than her husband, worried that her husband’s pains were brought on by his outrageous disrespect for the righteous R’ Hillel. So she made her way quickly to R’ Hillel to intercede on

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her husband’s behalf. She arrived at R’ Hillel to find him in the middle of his Shabbos day meal, flanked by his followers. With tears streaming down her face, she implored R’ Hillel to grant her husband a blessing for a speedy recovery. But R’ Hillel said nothing. Although his followers pleaded with him to at least offer the traditional blessing for one who suffers from illness on Shabbos – i.e., “It is Shabbos, one may not cry out, and healing will soon come” (Shabbos 12a) – R’ Hillel refused. Yankele’s wife left, disappointed and emptyhanded. And her husband’s pains grew yet worse. After Shabbos, Yankele’s wife returned to R’ Hillel and again begged him to pray for her husband’s recovery. Now, R’ Hillel did offer the traditional blessing for one who is ill on Shabbos. “It is Shabbos, one may not cry out, and healing will soon come.” This mystified his followers. On Shabbos itself, when such a blessing

would have been appropriate, R’ Hillel refused to offer it; now, when Shabbos had passed, he offered this blessing? To explain his behavior, R’ Hillel offered another interpretation of the blessing. “If Shabbos itself no longer has reason to cry out against him (Yankele), then recovery will soon come. Tell your husband that if he resolves solemnly to close his tavern on Shabbos, he will be healed.” Yankele promised to close his tavern for Shabbos from that day on. He made a speedy recovery. And the sanctity of Shabbos in the town was preserved.

Weekly Halacha And they came, the men in addition to the women; all those generous-hearted, they brought nose rings, and earrings, and signet rings, and girdles, all gold vessels; and every man who brought an offering of gold to G-d (Shemos 35:22)

e info@pickpurple.org w www.pickpurple.org We now accept clothing, shoes, accessories, linen and towels in usable condition

The description of these donors as “generous-hearted” is an allusion to the notion that one’s vows may be annulled (Chagiga 10a). For the Torah describes not only the donors’ initial inspiration as the product of generosity but also their subsequent act of bringing as the product of generosity too, the implication being that generosity only in the initial pledge would be insufficient because that pledge could be annulled (Torah Temima, Shemos 35:22). The nullification of one’s vows (hataras nedarim) is performed before three individuals (who act as “judges”), provided they at least know how the nullification process works (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deiah 228:1; Shach, Yoreh Dei’ah 228:2). One may not annul vows in front of his rebbi or someone greater than him without permission (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Dei’ah 228:2). Generally, the petitioner should stand while the judges should sit (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Dei’ah 228:3-4; Shach, Yoreh Dei’ah 228:9; Taz, Yoreh Dei’ah 228:7). Two or three individuals

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can annul their vows simultaneously before the same set of judges (Rama, Yoreh Dei’ah 228:2). Nullification should be performed in a language understood by the petitioner (Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 128:16; Rama, Yoreh Dei’ah 228:3). Nullification of vows is required not only for purposeful vows but also when one performed a good practice three times – without designating it as having no binding effect (e.g., saying “bli neder”) – and thereafter wishes to nullify any vow made unwittingly in the process (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Dei’ah 214:1). The Weekly Halacha is not meant for practical purposes and is for discussion purposes only. Please consult your own rav for guidance.

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

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Think, Feel, Grow

Flying to Falling The Raging Battle Within Us All By Shmuel Reichman

his is the story of life: struggle, sometimes with small defeats, and other times small victories. Most of life is fighting for inches. We take a step forward, then two steps back; three steps forward, another one back. This being the case, we need to take a deeper look at the Chet Ha’Egel and how it connects to this week’s parsha, Parshas Vayakhel. The Chet Ha’Egel, the sin of the Golden Calf, is perhaps the most infamous event in the Torah, a sin compared to the original sin of Adam Ha’Rishon. Yet, what is so striking about this sin is not only the act itself, as much as the timing. The Jewish people had just experienced the miracles of yetzias Mitzrayim, leaving Egypt, the wonders of Kriyas Yam Suf, the splitting of sea, and had just received the Torah from Hashem Himself. They were elevated to the angelic state of Adam Ha’Rishon before he ate from the Eitz Ha’daas, and were therefore able to eat the angelic food of manna, which the Ramban explains was crystalized Shechinah. As Rashi quotes (Shemos 15:2), even a maidservant, at Kriyat Yam Suf received prophecy and had a higher level of understanding of Hashem than Yechezkel, who saw an image of Hashem Himself. If so, then how could the Jewish people commit such a terrible sin at this moment?

Even worse, they not only committed this sin immediately following Matan Torah, but in the very same spot, the very place where we married Hashem! Chazal compare this to a kallah, a bride, who betrays her husband under the chuppah itself! As the pasuk says (Shemos 32:8), they strayed “quickly,” their abandonment was immediate. How could Klal Yisrael fall so rapidly and drastically right after Matan Torah? This completely contradicts our starting principle which states that spiritual falls occur slowly, in small steps. How did this happen?

Slow & Steady Some commentaries, such as the Ramban and Rav Yehuda Ha’Levi in sefer Ha’Kuzari, suggest that the Jewish people didn’t commit true idolatry. Rather, after Moshe Rabbeinu failed to descend from Har Sinai, the Jewish people believed that their leader, who served as the medium of connection between them and Hashem, was gone forever. In desperation, they attempted to create a new physical medium of connection, the Golden Calf. This idea itself is not inherently wrong, as we see in this week’s parsha that the Jews are told to build an aron, a physical vessel, to serve as a connection between them and Hashem. The aron had two keruvim, cher-

ubs, on top of them, and the Torah states explicitly that Hashem spoke to Moshe through the keruvim. The Ramban and Rav Yehuda Ha’levi therefore explain that the problem was not the motive, but the method of achieving their goal. Because Hashem did not command them to do it, it was inappropriate. The Ramban and Rav Yehuda Ha’levi clearly downplay the severity of the Chet Ha’Egel. However, many commentaries, including Rashi, believe that the Chet Ha’Egel was genuine idolatry, that immediately following Matan Torah, the Jewish people fell prey to the worst sin imaginable, avodah zara. They failed to source themselves back to Hashem, which is the very essence of idolatry. According to this line of thinking, we are back to our original problem: how did the Jewish people, who had achieved such great spiritual heights, undergo such a rapid and tremendous fall? In Michtav Mei’Eliyahu, Rav Eliyahu Dessler analyzes one of the foundational underlying concepts of human experience. He explains that while human beings have free will, the locus of free will (nekudas ha’bechirah) exists only at specific points, unique to each of us. The average person does not struggle with the desire to push an old lady walking on the street and steal her purse. Similarly, most of us do not

feel an overwhelming compulsion to murder. We do not live at such a base level, and we have no desire to. At the same time, most of us are not yet at the level where we can attempt to have complete control over every thought that enters our minds or to refrain from speaking a single unnecessary word. We simply do not live on such angelic and transcendent planes. Most of humanity falls somewhere in the middle. Our point of free will is located in the decision sphere of whether or not to gossip, to hit snooze, to give charity, to smile, to eat right. These are the battles of inches, and with these, sometimes we win and sometimes we lose. Each time that we confront one of these challenges, we engage in this internal battle. On the outside, we may give nothing away, but within each of our minds exists a brutal battle for spiritual ground, a battle of will, a battle for eternity. If we push hard enough at one of these fronts, they will eventually become second nature, and what was once a struggle will become a constant victory. But if we lose the battle, we move back a step or two. This battle is constant, a series of tiny gains and losses. None of these has a major impact on our spiritual level, but if we garner enough of these successes we can maintain steady progress forward. This road

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is a slow one, but if we continue to push, we slowly grow. The same is true about spiritual falls: slow and steady. However, there is one exception to this model.

Plummeting to the Bottom When you lose your identity, your sense of self, you can go from great to nothing in an instant. You don’t climb down the rungs of the ladder one at a time. You skip all the rungs completely and go from top to bottom in a split second. This is because the battle of will includes two forces: your higher self which tries to raise you up and your lower self which tries to drag you down. Normally, these two are pushing at full force, leading to the constant battle for inches in the journey of growth. Sometimes your higher self gains ground, sometimes your lower self does. However, in times of panic, moments of emotional or psychological instability, and instants of complete self-doubt, we tend to completely fall apart. In these moments, you completely lose your sense of identity, you lose with it your entire sense of purpose and foundation of self. Your positive force of will disappears, and all that’s left in its wake is the overwhelming drive of the lower self. In this rare instance, your lower self asserts its influence, and there is nothing to push back against it. The results are cataclysmic: you will plummet faster than you imagined possible into the very lowest state of existence. It is true that the Jewish people were on the highest level imaginable. They had just witnessed Hashem Himself and had received the Torah on Har Sinai. Yet, they lost their identity, their sense of self, their very foundation. They thought that Moshe, their leader, had just died. After the Jewish people went through the transcendent experiences of yetzias Mitzrayim and Matan Torah, they truly were on the highest level imaginable. They had just experienced open revelation and had cemented their special bond with Hashem, their Creator. However, immediately following this, they underwent a challenge that shook their world, that

robbed them of their identity, their sense of self, their very foundation. When Moshe failed to descend the mountain, the Jewish people believed that they had lost their teacher, their leader, who had just taken them out of Egypt to receive Hashem’s Torah. Moshe served as their link to these events, and

One slip turns into a snowballing cascade, an eternal tumble into increasingly darker states of existence. He therefore continues to endlessly fall deeper and deeper into the abyss of nothingness. A tzaddik, however, catches his fall. He stumbles, fights to find his footing, regains composure, redirects his consciousness,

They lost their identity, their sense of self, their very foundation.

when he disappeared, they felt as though they had been cut off from that which made them great. When they experienced this loss of identity, they experienced a moment of sheer panic, internal chaos, and lost all sense of self. With such a negative force and no positive force pushing back, they fell straight from greatness to the lowest depths and did the unthinkable: they practiced idolatry, a complete abandon of their entire spiritual ideals.

Succeeding Despite Failure The worst part of these dramatic falls is that once it begins, it’s very hard, in fact seemingly impossible, to halt its progress. Even after a small failure, many people tend to give up. They fail, but then make the mistake of branding themselves as a failure. They mistaken their action of failure as a new identity, a personification of failure. When they look in the mirror, they see failure. This is the brilliant strategy of our yetzer hara – he hits you while you’re already down. Once we slip up, he grabs the opportunity to convince us that we are a failure. This is the explanation of the pasuk (Mishlei 24:16), “A tzaddik falls seven times and rises.” We all fall. The key to greatness is not preventing the fall, since it’s all but guaranteed to happen at some point in our lives. The key to greatness is how we respond when we fall. A rasha, a sinner, is someone who falls once, but then never picks himself up.

and then begins to climb again. Like a cat who always lands on its feet, a great person always positions himself to bounce back from a fall. He is not great despite having fallen seven times; he’s great because of them. These falls helped him learn more about who he was, trained him to

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persevere, and brought out aspects of his potential that he never even knew existed. May we all be inspired to push forward in life, to embrace the internal battle of will that exists within each of us, and to rise up every time we fall. We will fall, that it not the question. The question is whether we’ll get back up or get depressed; whether we’ll learn from it or beat ourselves up; whether we’ll rebuild momentum or tumble endlessly into nothingness. Let’s choose greatness, let’s assert our willpower, and let’s endlessly strive for more.

Shmuel Reichman is an inspirational speaker who has spoken internationally at shuls, conferences, and in Jewish communities. You can find more inspirational shiurim, videos, and articles from Shmuel on Facebook and Yutorah.org. For all questions, thoughts, or bookings, please email shmuelreichman678@gmail.com.

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Israel Today

Mud in My Eye By Rafi Sackville

mall towns face a conundrum that they don’t always see coming down the pike. They begin with a few hundred families and then, like flowers in spring, blossom into the thousands. With the increase in population, schools are built, and after twenty years, the schools are burgeoning with students. By the time a city like Ma’alot is almost forty years old, over a thousand students are enrolled. One of two things then happens. The first is that other small towns and villages expand and build their own schools, which siphons away students that came to learn. The other problem that occurs is that, unless there is an effort to build new neighborhoods, the population will outgrow the schools. A town that is between 20 and 50 years old does well until the population stops having

children. The school where I am employed in Ma’alot is 30% smaller than it was 15 years ago. Empty wings and classrooms are the stark reminder of what once was. Since moving here from New York in 2013 the start of the construction of three new neighborhoods has begun. They are, however, a few years away from being completed. In the meantime, our school is continually on the initiative to attract outsiders to attend, as well as bending over backwards to keep kids from leaving. I walk around the neighborhood at least five times a week. Because I like diversity, I seek out new paths. The road to one of these neighborhoods is in the middle of being laid. For months I trekked over dirt, gravel, and red soil flattop. They are not far away from paving the road in as-

phalt. To access it, I walk down a set of 70 steps that divides one road from the next. On the steps, during one of my walks, were two students I recognized from school. One was from the junior high, the other one of my homeroom students in the high school. They were hanging out midway down the steps, talking and kicking a soccer ball to each other. We said, “Hey.” They went on shmoozing, and I continued on my walk. At the bottom of the steps I turned right until I came to the beginning of the new road that was being laid. Checking its surface before traipsing its length is a prerequisite; one doesn’t want to find oneself falling down a drainage hole without help in sight. The first half mile of road was hard, straight and safe, so I ventured

on. The ground that had been hard, suddenly wasn’t. I found myself ankle-deep in fresh, red mud and cement. My shoes were totally ruined. There was little choice but to turn back for home. At the bottom of the steps I noticed the boys still hanging out. My student, Ma-or, waved, and in doing so missed his friend’s football kick. It passed him and began cascading down the steps towards me. The ball landed at my feet. I stopped it with my foot, and, not thinking ,kicked a perfect chip shot to Ma-or’s friend. It sailed quietly through the air in a perfect, soft arc. He put out his hands and caught it right in front of his face. He seemed to do a double take. He continued to hold the ball out in front of him. Then he slowly lowered it and turned it over a couple of times. He put it on the ground, then wiped his

face and shirt. He had been splattered by red mud and cement. He looked me over with total disgust. He never said a word. He just looked me over. Ma-or looked at his friend, then to me, at my shoes, to the ball, at me again, and broke out in a fit of uncontrollable, hysterical laughter. He has a sharp, flat voice. He sounded like a sea lion barking. Trying to apologize did little to mitigate his friend’s disgust or my embarrassment. He didn’t seem to hear me. He simply stared at me, at my shoes, and back at me again. By this time Ma-or was on the ground crying from laughter. I once more offered my apologies, walked back home as quickly as I could, and washed my shoes in the laundry sink. Two weeks later our school had an open night for next year’s potential incoming 10th graders. I was in the English room welcoming parents and students. Every few minutes another group would come through to hear

me talk about what we offered and what made us the best choice in the area. At around 7 p.m. the last group walked in. It wasn’t until I had been speaking for a minute when I heard one of the mothers say, “Get up. Listen

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of his head came into view. By the time the rest of his face was visible I had turned deep crimson. Gone was the splattering of mud, the filth caught up in his hair, gone were his stained fingers and dirty elbows. There he stood before me. How

Ma-or looked at his friend, then to me, at my shoes, to the ball, at me again, and broke out in a fit of uncontrollable, hysterical laughter.

to what the teacher is saying. Don’t be rude.” She was obviously addressing a child. We waited as the young boy slowly stood to face the front of the classroom. “Hello,” I said, as the top

was I going to sell this kid about our school? Why would he want to enroll when a misguided walker like me could be one of his potential teachers? Although he wasn’t there, I could hear

Ma-or’s laughter ringing in my ears. The boy whispered in his mother’s ear. Her look said it all. Ugh, I said to myself. To think I had the folly to go for a walk with the problem the school has enrolling students! Ma-or has a major problem with attendance. Sometimes days go by without a Ma-or sighting. On the first occasion he saw me after the incident I thought he was going to faint from laughter. I tentatively asked him if his friend (his name is Benny) was going to enroll next year. He shrugged his shoulders and told me he loved me. I’ve been into the main office a couple of times to check on the incoming class. Benny’s name has yet to appear. I still go walking, but make it a habit of avoiding mud, footballs, Maor, and Benny.

Rafi Sackville, formerly of Cedarhurst, teaches in Ort Maalot in Western Galil.

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VACCINATIONS Their Importance and Our Responsibility

TJH Speaks with Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev

Recently,

after the news of several outbreaks of measles in the frum community, TJH reached out to Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev of John Hopkins University to learn more about vaccinations and the importance of vaccinations in our lives. Dr. Bar-Zeev is an expert in this field and is deputy director of the International Vaccine Access Center and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has studied diseases, mortality rates, and vaccines and their effectiveness in preventing diseases, particularly in low income areas, like Malawi. At the moment, he is working on two clinical trials in the country. Dr. Bar-Zeev was born in Australia and grew up in Israel, although he continued his education in Australia, completing medical school and his post-school training Down Under. He trained in general medicine and then pediatrics, and then specialized in infectious diseases. After completing a masters in public health with an area of expertise in infectious disease epidemiology, he completed a masters in statistics as well as a PhD in epidemiology. Working for the WHO – the World Health Organization – Dr. Bar-Zeev spent time in different countries in the Pacific and in East Asia, like Cambodia, Vietnam, Mongolia and the Pacific Islands, and he has worked in Kenya and Tanzania. He eventually focused on Malawi, a small country in Africa bordered by Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, where he spent time studying the impact of vaccines on a population that suffers from lack of proper nutrition and diseases such as HIV. At the time, he worked clinically as a pediatrician in infectious disease at one of the largest pediatric hospitals on the African continent. He was also employed at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom – where he was living at the time – and in 2017 moved to Baltimore, Maryland, for his position in John Hopkins. We caught up with him one morning after he interviewed candidates for a project he was working on in Malawi.

Dr. Bar-Zeev, you have been involved in vaccine research for many years. What has been the proudest moment you’ve experienced in all your research and study that you’ve been doing so far? Although vaccines save lives, it’s actually quite challenging to determine accurately the effect on mortality the vaccine has. With the rotavirus vaccine – which is the vaccine that’s effective against the commonest cause of diarrhea disease – we wanted to demonstrate its effectiveness against the mortality rate by rotavirus. And so we conducted large field studies and recently published the results of the widescale study. We found that for infants in Malawi the rotavirus vaccine actually reduces rotavirus diarrhea mortality by about a third. That was a really important finding because it means you can advocate for this vaccine in other countries where they have a high mortality rate by this virus in the population – China, India, Nigeria. In other words, the rotavirus vaccine is very effective in preventing deaths by the virus. Thankfully, India has recently introduced policy to start using rotavirus vaccine in the country, which will have a huge impact on the population of that country and even, in fact,

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a large percentage of the population of the world. This can have a global affect. Other countries should be adopting this too. To me, the access to vaccines is so important. It’s not fair that children still die from preventable infectious diseases. And countries should make an effort to prevent those deaths. Children really need these vaccines to prevent diseases and deaths. Vaccines should be made available to all children, and we need to communicate fairly and openly the benefits and the risks of the vaccines so people can make the right, informed decisions to best protect their children. What are different challenges that you see in vaccination rates in the U.S. as opposed to in other counties? In countries like Malawi, where people have immediate experience with disease and even death due to infectious diseases, there is a very high vaccine acceptance. Ironically, it is in wealthier countries that have benefitted from vaccination and have seen decades of declining disease rates, and rarely see infection-related deaths, it is in such societies that vaccine hesitancy has been on the rise. Really? That’s interesting. Yes, in Malawi they have a dedicated system for delivering vaccines even to the most remote places. People are delivering them in the back of a bicycle in a cold box. They go into villages to make sure everyone is vaccinated and people turn up to be vaccinated because everyone knows someone who had a severe infection – pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria – so they understand the substantial impact an infection can have on someone. We did a specific study looking to see who are the infants that are left behind in Malawi – which families still don’t have access to vaccines. This study was led by a Malawian colleague of mine, Hazzie Mvula. He found that often single or young farming mothers, who have to work the land to feed their children, have real challenges accessing healthcare. When it is your own hard labor that produces the food you give your children, it is difficult to leave in the midst of the harvest season, and take the children by foot to re-

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ceive vaccination. I think the priority in countries where they have good vaccine coverage is that they need to remember to target the most vulnerable people in their community, those who may be forgotten or difficult to reach. In the United States, we have fantastic vaccine delivery systems and easy access to vaccinations for everybody. We can also get information about vaccines quite easily. But because there’s false information or misinformation, ironically, in the United States, we’re seeing that certain diseases that were previously eradicated or eliminated are returning, and this is a real shame. It’s very upsetting for me as a pediatrician and as a father. There’s absolutely no reason we should be seeing

viral – so it needs to maintain a very fine, delicate balance to respond to something but not too much so it won’t affect something else in the body. The immune system has a memory of its own, and it learns from exposure. For example, if someone were to get measles and survived, then they will generally have lifelong immunity against measles. But if someone gets whooping cough and survives, the immunity for that is not very long-lasting, probably only a few years, and even then, it’s not very strong immunity. So certain vaccines need to be repeated, just like the immunity that the body produces against certain diseases doesn’t always have a long-term, permanent effect. For influenza, well, it’s a very clev-

“THERE’S ABSOLUTELY NO REASON WE SHOULD BE SEEING CHILDREN SICK LIKE THIS. IT’S TERRIBLE.” children sick like this. It’s terrible. And they are potentially at-risk, with really severe outcomes. It’s a tragedy that that’s happening. What is the vaccination rate in the U.S.? It’s very high. Each jurisdiction and state in the U.S. releases their rates separately so I can’t give you the vaccination rate for each state across the country. There are pockets in the U.S. where the vaccination rates can go as low as 60%, 68%, in some communities or in different schools. From what I’ve seen, in the Jewish community in the U.S., it’s somewhere around 90% or higher. Can you explain why some vaccinations need to be taken yearly – like the flu vaccine – and other vaccinations need to only be administered once or twice in a lifetime. The human immune system is very complex, and it’s designed to balance different responses against toxins, allergens and infections – bacterial,

er virus. And it changes its outer appearance every so often. Imagine that one day you meet influenza, and it is wearing a blue coat and the next year it’s wearing a red coat and then the following year it has on a yellow coat. It changes all the time. Once enough people start recognizing its coat, influenza will shift to another coat. As more of the population becomes immune to influenza, this will drive it to change so it can keep infecting people. So every year we need to administer a new vaccine to target the different “coat” the vaccine is wearing. This is a specific issue for influenza, but does not apply to all infections. I was recently listening to a program on NPR which was detailing a vaccine that is being worked on now which will give people lifetime immunity against the flu, as the vaccine will just target any “coat” the flu is wearing and not just the “color” of its coat. Yes. That’s very exciting. And there’s another important

point you’re making. Sometimes people say that those who are producing vaccines are in it only for the money. Developing vaccines is a very long and costly process. Unlike medicines that are used every day, vaccines are used only a few times in a lifetime. Current influenza vaccines are to be used every year, but in this example you raised, the development of a long term flu vaccine when there already exists an annual product seems to make not great financial sense. If I make a product only for profit I might want to make something people use as much as possible, not something they use once or twice and never again. This example shows that those in the vaccine industry are working for something that’s medically beneficial and are not motivated only for the financial bottom line. Are there any other breakthroughs on the horizon in the industry? There are always wonderful things being developed and there’s one right now in advanced development which is exciting and that is the RSV vaccine. RSV is a very major cause of viral pneumonia in children all over the world, and is of particularly high risk to preemies, children born early. There were very real safety concerns when the vaccine was put out some 50 or so years ago. Because of these concerns, scientists went back to the drawing board and they worked on it for many decades, and slowly, now, they are at the stage of human trials, and it is hoped that a safe and efficacious vaccine could be available in the next few years. This would be really wonderful. This is given to infants? There are different versions of the RSV vaccine. A current real possibility is that it will be given to the mother in pregnancy; they give it to the pregnant woman and it helps to protect the newborn infant in their early life. We hope that it will be efficacious, and that’s only a few years away. Let’s talk about the topic that’s on all of our minds: the measles vaccine. There are a few people – very few – in our community who don’t want to vaccinate their children. Let’s first talk about vaccine safe-

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

ty. Vaccines reduce disease and save lives. They also cause common side effects that are mild. Very rarely they can cause more significant adverse effects. Ensuring vaccines are safe is of utmost importance. There are literally hundreds of candidate vaccines that go through trials, animal trials, etc. and they never make it to market because they’re deemed unsafe. So safety is first and foremost in the vaccine industry. No one wants to use something on their own children that’s unsafe. Our children get the same vaccines as everyone else’s children. Safety is paramount in this field. The worse thing we can do would be to release something that’s unsafe because it would damage the belief and trust people have in our vaccination systems. Safety is a priority at every stage of a vaccine’s development. We just mentioned the RSV vaccine, which was withdrawn many years ago for safety concerns. I’ll give you another example of how important safety is in this industry. Around 18 years ago, the rotavirus vaccine was withdrawn – we spoke earlier about the rotavirus vaccine and its importance. That vaccine that I worked on was a new generation of the vaccine. A previous version was withdrawn for safety concerns that were raised in the United States. It took another 10-12 years before the new generation of rotavirus vaccines, which have been shown to have a much better safety profile, was introduced. For the decade or so from when the old vaccine was withdrawn and the new one introduced, about 516,000 children died from rotavirus each year around the world. Now, that number is around 200,000 children who die each year from the disease, but it will further drop as more children are given the vaccine. Now, as you said, there are a few people who don’t vaccinate. And among those there are different groups, some are strongly opposed to vaccination, and some are just unsure what to believe. This uncertainty is understandable, but can be made worse by seeing misguided or inaccurate information that can be frightening and concerning. An example of this is the MMR vaccine – measles, mumps, and rubella. A paper was published in the UK years ago that said that the MMR vaccine causes autism. This is not true. The paper has been debunked numerous

Dr. Naor Bar-Zeev has led research and vaccine trials in numerous countries

times by subsequent studies. Studies have shown that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism. But people who read this false paper were scared, and so vaccination rates dropped and people began becoming vulnerable again to those diseases. And so we’re seeing measles again emerging globally. The current measles outbreak reemerged in Europe, and then cases started to be seen in Israel. The vaccination rate in Israel is generally high, but among some communities, rates can be quite low, making these communities susceptible to the disease. And then from Israel, the disease was introduced in Jewish communities in the UK and the United States. It is well known that a child in Jerusalem was niftar from the disease. The Israeli press has reported on a small number of other very severely affected cases. Baruch Hashem, these are not very common events, but each one is an absolute tragedy. Very sadly, measles has now re-emerged globally, and new cases will continue to arise. Most people who have measles will get through it, and hopefully won’t have any long-term effects or injuries and will lead whole, fulfilling lives. But a substantial minority of measles cases will have some complication, and a smaller percent of those will have more profound complications, like severe pneumonia, encephalitis, which is a severe infection in the brain, and about 1 in a 1,000 will, lo aleinu, die from contracting measles. All these problems

are avoidable through vaccination. Two doses of the vaccine provide about 98% protection against this infection. It is very upsetting to keep hearing of new cases of measles occurring in the frum community in the United States. In our community, we have, baruch Hashem, high birth rates – this means that there are a large number of infants but as they are too young to be fully vaccinated, they remain susceptible to this infection. And we also have many young children who are too young to have yet received the second dose of the vaccine. The second dose is needed to provided optimal protection against the disease. So there is still some vulnerability that they have up until they get that second dose. We also travel a lot between Israel and the U.S., and so you’ll see a lot of new introductions of the disease from across the ocean. We’ll keep on seeing sporadic events of new cases of the measles over the next few months. It’s very important for our community to protect itself. Of course, every person should be treated with respect, and all are part of Klal Yisroel, regardless of any person’s view on vaccination or any other matter. But we also should respect persons who feel vulnerable and concerned about the current outbreak. Respecting dissent but ensuring optimum safety and communal security takes wisdom and good judgement. Teshuvos of gedolei Yisrael are widely publicized that navigate this delicate balance with absolute commitment to

halacha and with deep love and concern for klal Yisroel. The voice of our gedolim is almost unanimous in that it is an important obligation to vaccinate one’s children and that schools or other congregational settings are within their right to demand vaccination over attendance. This is a really delicate issue and should be handled with great respect and genuine love, by all sides. I think that the claim that some people make that them that everybody has the right to complete freedom of choice – this does not, in my humble view, reflect a Jewish value. In the general world, people’s freedoms are curtailed by potential harm to others. Pluralism and tolerance also have limits of reasonableness. This idea is enshrined in law in but not all where r childthey are notdKal va’chomer in the Jewish community, where we are responsible for one another, the idea that I do what I want and you do what you want is referred to as middas Sdom. We are responsible for one another and are obliged to protect one another. You know, almost all the gedolim in our generation have said very strongly that it’s a chiyuv to vaccinate and it’s an aveira on multiple levels to not vaccinate. We need to protect our children and protect our fellow Jews and do what’s right. There are voices heard that say that this situation is a nisayon, some kind of test of our bitachon in Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Is it halachically justified to put other vulnerable people’s wellbeing at risk for my own desire to improve my middas bitachon? What’s the incubation period for the measles? From when a person has been exposed until symptoms develop can be 2 to 3 weeks, but it can be a little more and a little less than that. People can be infectious before they develop signs and symptoms. Early symptoms include a cough, runny eyes, and even without the typical rash, persons are highly infectious even though they may not realize they have measles. That’s the hard part – people can infect others without even knowing. The virus itself is extremely infectious – one of the most infectious viruses known. The next few days, after the cough and runny eyes, people develop a rash and then they remain infectious, of course.

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Is the MMR vaccine safe for those who are immunosuppressed? We generally don’t give a live vaccine to those who are immunosuppressed. They generally are not given this vaccine, so they remain vulnerable. The rest of us need to be responsible to get the vaccines to help them stay healthy. What do you tell those who don’t yet vaccinate? You are the biggest expert in this field in the entire Jewish community – and I’m not exaggerating when I say that. Can you tell readers why getting vaccinations, especially the MMR vaccine, is so important? You know, rather than speaking, we have to listen. And my responsibility is to understand what people’s concerns are and what their fears are and to genuinely understand where they’re coming from. It’s not about pontificating and pointing a finger and telling them that they’re doing the wrong thing.

That’s not going to help anything; it’s not going to do any good. People say they’re concerned about vaccines’ safety. And that concerns me also. Because everything I do, we do, is to make sure that vaccines are safe

For example, the MMR vaccine can cause a mild rash or fever a few days after vaccination. You need to be aware that those side effects can happen. Very rarely can there be other side effects but those are exceptionally uncommon.

“WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE ANOTHER AND ARE OBLIGED TO PROTECT ONE ANOTHER.” for people – that’s my most important priority, to make sure they’re safe. It would be wrong to say that we can prove that vaccines are 100% safe. Because inherently, they can be unsafe. But they are unsafe to a very small degree. Vaccines can cause mild adverse effects, and these are transient.

Some people are concerned about the long-term effects of the vaccine and everything we know today suggests that there are no long-term adverse effects from the vaccine. It is important to remember that there are real risks also from not vaccinating. Today we’re seeing that if we

Can You Answer These Estate Planning Questions?

don’t vaccinate, that it is inevitable that new cases of the disease will emerge. Vaccination has mild side effects. It also provides protection to ourselves and to those who are too young or have some other reason that they cannot be vaccinated. Not vaccinating protects us from the side effects of vaccination. But it leaves us and those around us vulnerable to the re-emergence of diseases once eliminated from the United States. These diseases can unfortunately be serious. As parents we need to make the best judgment with reliable information that is available. We have to make the best and safest judgment that we can. My own children received many more than the usual vaccines, since we took them around the world to many places. I knew that the vaccines we were giving them were safe, and I also knew what side effects would (and did!) occur. I also knew that vaccinating my children is the safest and best thing for them.

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Adar, Progeny, and the Pursuit of Happiness Part I By Beth Perkel

dar – it’s our “happiness month.” We are told, “Mish’nichnash Adar marbim b’simcha.” The question becomes, though: how can we force ourselves to be happy? Is that a magic trick that hasn’t quite gotten past the state of illusion yet? The truth is that thinking about active steps to attain a greater level of happiness isn’t just relegated to the month of Adar alone. Happiness has literally become a scientific pursuit in our generation. Courses, speeches, handbooks, blogs – it seems that everywhere we go “learned happiness” is peddled as an industry. And yet, I’d like to suggest that, by and large, the “happiness craze” has passed over the most important cross section of the population if we ever want to get at the root of undoing our modern day unhappiness. We are focused on enlightening

ourselves but are still stuck in the mentality that our children will somehow come upon happiness naturally. Chalk it up to idealism, overreliance on the innocence of youth, or even just the desperate hope that we are giving our children the most privileged childhoods of any generation, so hey, what do they have to complain about? But the reality is that children in our society are missing the boat on the right mental attitudes as well. As a fellow parent recently told me, “My child has everything he needs, but all he can focus on is how he doesn’t have the right Pokémon cards.” According to the APO in their report “Consumerism and its Discontents” by Tori DeAngelis, the average American has twice as many cars per person, eats at restaurants twice as much, and of course enjoys endless devices to simplify their lives compared to Americans in

1957. And yet, today’s young adults are growing up with less happiness and are at much greater risk of depression and assorted social pathology. Why? I believe that the answer is that there are unique challenges that come with abundance, just like there are unique challenges that come with deprivation. But are we educating our youth and equipping them with life skills to address and combat these challenges or are we still sticking our heads in the sand and pretending that happiness is something that “should just come naturally”? David Brooks, in a June 2009 New York Times column directed at high school graduates, points out that, at least formally, we are definitely employing the ostrich approach. “Society,” he writes, “is structured to distract people from the

decisions that have a huge impact on happiness in order to focus attention on the decisions that have marginal impact on happiness.” He cites the abundance of courses and guidance that are offered to young adults on the decision of where to go to college, while there is no formal training in how to select a spouse or make and keep friends, all life skills that have been shown to be inextricably tied to one’s happiness. Positive psychology has emerged as a powerhouse of the 21st century: researching happiness, providing empirical proofs for its methods and disseminating its knowledge to the masses. Our children are ready for it, too. They are searching for something deeper, waiting for us to explain the world to them and make sense of it all. The thing is, happiness has to actively be taught. As an example, Dr. Tal Ben Shahar instituted a program within certain

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schools in Israel where the language of positive psychology became an integral part of school culture. The results were higher GPAs and diminished rates of anxiety, depression and violence, to name just a few key results. We create our children’s realities. The question becomes how can we actively work to select and form those realities rather than letting them happen on their own. The answer can be uncovered through understanding Judaism’s secrets to happiness which overlap considerably with positive psychology. And what better month to start planting these insights than Adar? In this two-part series, I highlight a few tools from my “Light at the Beginning of the Tunnel” online article series that discusses resiliency, mindfulness, deep-seated gratitude, the power of perspective, purpose, positivity and self- acceptance. The first lesson I want to expand upon comes from the story of Alexander the Great at the Gates of Paradise. My husband was telling it over to my son at dinner one night and his inquisitive blue eyes were completely entranced. Alexander the Great alighted to the Gates of Gan Eden and banged on the door, demanding to be let in. He was answered with the verse from Psalms 118: 20, “This is the Gate of G-d, only righteous people may enter.” But Alexander was undeterred. “But I’m a king! They call me great!” And so, G-d gave him something by way of explanation for his denied entry. It was a round circular object and, not knowing its meaning, Alexander decided to literally weigh its importance in the only way he knew how. He put it on one side of the scale and put all his valuable possessions on the other side. No matter how many things from his various conquests he added, the small circular object outweighed them all. The object was an eyeball. It outweighed every valuable object that Alexander had ever pursued and amassed because no matter what a person does or acquires, the eyeball is never satisfied. Shocked, Alexan-

der asked the rabbis to prove to him that the object was an eyeball. They placed dust on it to render its vision useless and suddenly the scale tilted completely to the side of the riches. There are many lessons I see in this story that relate to the pursuit of happiness. But what I want to hone in on here is the lesson of what comes from endless conquests, not in terms of objects, but in terms of expended time. We live in a society where the pace of life is, dare I say, crazy. Most of us run around as if someone has pressed the fast-forward button. We try to pack every possible pursuit, experience, and “necessity”

Downtime (of the non-electronic variety) is so important for reflection, inner peace and happiness. In fact, just this month, the New York Times featured an article heralding the childhood benefits of boredom, which include spawning creativity and teaching self-sufficiency. The other piece of all this is that children simply don’t appreciate being hurried in the first place. Many are rushed not because their schedules make things busy, but because our schedules make everything busy. Time pressure makes them even more stressed than it makes us. The reason for this is because we at least have control over

Lose the rush in your life before the rush makes you utterly lost.

into every day, and the same pace trickles down to our progeny. Many of our children are over-scheduled and doesn’t leave enough downtime and opportunities for imaginative play or creativity. As adults in a high-pressured, competitive society, we want to give our children every possible edge and if we don’t provide every opportunity and enrichment out there we are often made to feel like we have done them a disservice. But what if the disservice is that we are actually making them feel too much pressure at too young an age? I recently attended a lecture where I heard a fascinating homiletical take on the phrase in Shema, “Va’avadtem meheira.” Normally translated literally as “You will be lost quickly,” the homiletical interpretation quoted was an allusion to slowing down the pace of our lives: “Lose the rush!” Putting these literal and non-literal meanings together I see a message of: lose the rush in your life before the rush makes you utterly lost.

our schedules so we know what is happening next but they often have no idea what is coming! Suddenly going from being in a world of imaginative play to being herded into a car can be quite disorientating and frustrating. Personally, I find it helps to let my kids know 5 to 10 minutes ahead of leaving time so they can wrap up what they are doing instead of suddenly getting the dreaded “get in the car now” summons. We used to live on the top floor in a condo where the “boarding process” of getting all my kids to the car used to take fifteen minutes, a fact that my brain didn’t want to accept. As a result, I would ultimately reach my car in a state of shock, annoyance, and extreme lateness each time – none of which are ingredients for success. Once we clamored in, my the three- year-old son would ultimately throw a fit about wanting to buckle himself (another numerous minute process) and by then I would lose it. “We are so late, it took too long to get downstairs.

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Let’s go!” One day, as he struggled with his small fingers to maneuver the web of car seat buckles probably safety-complaint enough for a NASA spacecraft, he turned to me and sternly said, “You are always rushing me, and it makes me feel bad.” From then on, I made it a point to leave our condo 5-10 minutes early. With that small shift in our schedule, I set myself up for success to leave the rush behind us and this made so much of a difference for him going off to school happily and feeling accomplished. As it says in Kohelet, “The eye is never sated with seeing.” There is always more to do and pursue. That is the nature of existence. Lose the rush, though, and you’ll begin to see how much you gain. Pick a few things to pursue for your children’s enrichment, development and even entertainment but don’t try to do it all. Try to slow down the pace of your family life, even if it means waking up five minutes earlier in the morning to make the epic morning struggle to get ready go smoother. Or tell your kids the list of that whole day’s schedule so they know what will be expected of them when and where so they won’t feel so rushed. At some point, all our eyeballs will be covered with dust, and we too will be knocking on the door of Gan Eden. Let us learn from Alexander the Not-So-Great’s mistakes and not forget that while we are here on this earth, endless pursuits are not necessarily the best end in of themselves. To be continued in next week’s issue.

Beth Perkel is the author of the Light at the Beginning of the Tunnel online series about teaching children happiness (https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/author/beth-perkel/). She was published in her first national and international magazines by age 17, won her first writing award at age 18 and had her writing featured in a New York Times bestselling book by age 19. Since then, she has continued to write articles, stories, web content, blog posts and first-person essays for over a dozen online and print publications.

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Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

I’ve been dating Chavie for several months. Things are looking pretty good, but we definitely have a couple of areas that I think are potentially problematic – maybe not super serious, but I really want to iron out all of the wrinkles before I actually ask Chavie to marry me. My parents have always been very into therapy in general. Any problem with any of the children, and we were off to speak to a professional! And I think they had the right idea. I guess they figured they didn’t have all of the answers or skills to deal with everything and figured a professional did. All in all, I think it was helpful for all of us growing into the adults we are today. Chavie comes from a background where the thought of going to a therapist is taboo and reflects something “crazy” about the person. I’ve tried to explain to her otherwise, but somehow she’s not changing her view. She refuses to go with me to a therapist to talk through our few little differences, saying that no marriage is perfect and that we’re smart and mature enough to work things through on our own. Should this be a deal breaker for me? She’s not budging, and though my concerns aren’t major in any way, I also worry that if once we’re married and we do have serious issues, she won’t be willing to go to a therapist with me and that could be a real problem. Should I just let it go, continue pushing, or decide that maybe Chavie may not really be the one for me since we have different attitudes when it comes to working on ourselves and relationships in general?

Disclaimer: This column is not intended to diagnose or otherwise conclude resolutions to any questions.

Our intention is not to offer any definitive

conclusions to any particular question, rather offer areas of exploration for the author and reader. Due to the nature of the column receiving only a short snapshot of an issue, without the benefit of an actual discussion, the panel’s role is to offer a range of possibilities. We hope to open up meaningful dialogue and individual exploration.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. es, this is definitely a deal breaker. It is super serious in my opinion. Someone who is not willing to budge and unwilling to entertain the possibility of seeking professional help from trained therapists is rigid and unrealistic. This is not about differences between her family background and your family culture. She has no concept of negotiating differences as well as no negotiating skills. She is not a communicator nor is she open to hearing input from others – and you! Her beliefs about marriage seem to be skewed and negative. She isn’t either mature enough nor smart enough to work things out with a partner and is not willing to work at marriage. It’s my way or the highway is her modus operandi. Get out of her lane!

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A. ’m sorry to do this. Cover your eyes; I’m turning the spotlight full tilt on you. With all the money your parents poured into your emotional health – paying “professionals” to help you deal with the stressors of childhood and adolescence (e.g., Lego Envy, Sports Inferiority Complex and post-Bar Mitzvah Blues), you haven’t learned a dang thing. I’m not surprised. In her classic books, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee and The Blessing of a B-minus, Dr. Wendy Mogel, the renowned child psychologist, warns of the potential harm when parents over-analyze, over-indulge, and over-protect their children from the inevitable growing pains and bruises of childhood. She cautions that children who are not allowed to experience frustration, disappointment, and

challenges will not grow into self-reliant, resilient adults. You, my handsome snowflake, are a perfect example. Despite all the time spent on therapists’ couches, basking in mental massage, you lack the confidence and coping skills to deal with the problematic areas – the minor “wrinkles,” you call them – in your budding relationship with Chavie. From your vague reference to these areas, I take it these trivial issues could most probably be resolved with open communication, respect and empathy – grown-up tools that both you and Chavie own and operate. Believe in yourself; prove to yourself (and your future wife) that you can talk and listen, give and take, request and compromise. The process may not be script perfect or psychologically endorsed but you will undoubtedly emerge psychologically stronger, with increased self-awareness and assurance that you’ve got the emotional wherewithal to be a great husband. Then, if all else fails, there’s always 1-800-Dating Coach.

Another Shadchan Tziporah Feldman don’t necessarily see this as a “deal breaker,” but I do think there are a few issues with your situation that should be addressed before you immediately run for the exit door. To begin with, since the little issues that you recognize between you and Chavie are not terribly big deals (and which couples don’t encounter a few hiccups along the way?), to begin with, you used the wrong language when you suggested speaking to a professional. Though Chavie and her family’s feelings about therapy are terribly old-fashioned and small-minded, perhaps using the word “therapy” triggered something scary for Chavie, making her believe that the little issues your referenced

are very serious and require serious intervention. You should have used the word “coach” when discussing getting some outside thoughts about your issues. It’s very possible that Chavie would have had a different reaction to the idea of meeting with a coach before taking things to the next level. I happen to believe that all couples who are getting serious would benefit from meeting with some sort of dating coach once or twice, just to sort out any present or potential obstacles that may be hanging around and unnecessary. This would be a great time to work them through. My second concern is that you two haven’t been able to talk through this difference successfully. You pulled from your background, Chavie pulled from her background, but there was no apparent ability to

For you, running for professional help is as typical as running to the gym in the morning.

understand one another better, any ability to challenge respectfully each other’s belief system and be able to come up with a compromise that respects but also confronts ideas from each of your childhoods. Before taking this relationship further, it’s important to know that you both have the ability to give a little, in order to reach a compromise.

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The Single Tova Wein can understand why Chavie is having a strong and negative reaction to the idea of going to a therapist. For someone who grew up in a home where it was viewed as a last resort for “crazy people,” her knee jerk reaction seems normal. She clearly doesn’t see your issues as something so serious that the two of you shouldn’t be able to

work out on your own. After all, there was a time when couples and families figured things out on their lonesome. And I’m sure they were successful much of the time. Maybe it’s time you built a bit more backbone and confidence and see if just maybe you, together with Chavie, can figure out how to resolve your little differences on your very own. But the fact is that you and Chavie come from polar opposite sides of the spectrum on this. For you, running for

professional help is as typical as running to the gym in the morning. For Chavie, it reflects something very extreme. You two probably don’t need to speak to a therapist right now if your issues are as minor as you say. But your question does make a very good point. If you should marry, and life should happen, as it often does, you two may be dealing with some situations that you couldn’t possibly resolve on your own without a professional getting involved. Then what? Will Chavie stubbornly say “never!” Or can she relent to the idea that there may be a time and a place where working with a professional is not only

Flexibilty from both partners is very important in a relationship. an option but very necessary. Without alarming Chavie at the moment, this conversation is something she may be willing to talk about in the safety of a dating coach. Somehow, that term shouldn’t be and isn’t threatening in any way. But if Chavie refuses even that idea, you might have your answer right then and there.

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

et’s begin with the families. Chavie’s family doesn’t believe in therapy. Lots of people don’t. I’ve heard my share of So, what do you do again? You tell people what to do? They can’t figure it out on their own? I would never tell a stranger my problems! This, in and of itself, is not inherently bad. Issues can arise when there is a serious problem in an individual, couple or family’s life that persists and persists, affects the functioning and health of the person or family and the individual or family refuses help. You grew up in a family where mental health and wellness was spoken about as much as “what’s for dinner?” And unless people use therapy to create problems that aren’t there, therapy is wonderful. It is so healthy to see a mental health professional, as needed. What concerns me is the way you conveyed Chavie’s inflexibility on the matter. You wrote, “She is not budging.” Now, if I am reading too much into this, forgive me…but this strikes me. Not because Chavie is wrong per se about not wanting to go for therapy but because this is something that she knows is important to you and “she is

not budging.” I understand that when people write in, their letters often d o not capture the entire story or as they write they are feeling passionate and “it’s not really that bad” in reality. Does Chavie ask you why therapy is important to you? Is she curious about why you and your family went to therapy or what you learned or gained in therapy? Does she show you that even though it is not something she grew up doing, she understands its importance to you? Is this the only area where Chavie won’t budge, or are there other areas in the relationship where Chavie won’t budge? Are you able to validate her thoughts about therapy and find out what her concerns are about speaking with someone? Flexibility from both partners is very important in a relationship. And a shared vision is important as well. The happiest marriages that I see, both professionally and personally, are the ones where both partners want to budge and are excited to budge for each other and are working toward a shared vision. I know

it STINKS to have to deal with this now (frustration, fear of it ending, hope for a future, etc.). But the truth is that you two will either come out of the next few conversations with conviction that you are meant to be or you will realize that there is little flexibility in your different visions. If you haven’t already (and this was unclear to me), ask Chavie what will happen if a serious issue should arise down the road when you are married. Ask her how she feels about seeing a therapist then. See how she responds. Give her a lot of validation, showing her that you understand where she is coming from. Then, talk about your needs and see if she gives you the same in return. If she gives you the validation and is able to em-

pathize, there is a path forward, if you want to walk it. If she cannot offer you these vital nutrients essential to any healthy relationship, then that, in my opinion, may be a red flag. All the best, Jennifer

Esther Mann, LCSW and Jennifer Mann, LCSW are licensed psychotherapists and dating and relationship coaches working with individuals, couples and families in private practice in Hewlett, NY. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 516.224.7779. Press 1 for Esther, 2 for Jennifer. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information. If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email thenavidaters@gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

Dear Readers, Have you ever read our column and thought, “She forgot to mention...” or “I completely disagree!?” Well, now it’s your turn to respond! Once a month we will have our “Reader’s Respond” section. You can be a panelist! Email thenavidaters@gmail.com to let us know that you would like to participate. We will forward you the entry we receive and you will be printed in the What Would You Do If? column alongside our regular panelists. Anonymous entries are welcome. Content is subject to the discretion of The Navidaters and The Jewish Home. We encourage you to be honest while maintaining sensitivity to the author of the entry. We can’t wait to hear from you! Esther and Jennifer

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Dr. Deb

The Hidden Obstacle in the Dating Game By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

ating can be the worst nightmare. There are the people who say inappropriate things, do stupid things, make clumsy efforts at conversation, or don’t seem to have a clue what to say. I’ve heard stories that make me want to cry. There is the story one young lady told me of the boy who took her to Barnes & Nobles (yes,

a while ago when there was B & N) and left her while he wandered off to read books. Yes, I’ve heard too many stories of the rude things people do to one another. Or the time a girl complained that the boy took her to her house, dropped her off without getting out of the car, and sped away. Or the girl that was insulted by the request for a picture. “What?”

she asked indignantly, “Is he not interested in who I am?” The tears were brimming on her eyelids because, from a purely objective point of view, this girl was stunning. Drop-dead gorgeous. And she hated it. She wanted to be loved for herself. (I once had a model, a real, bona fide fashion model, come to therapy for this exact reason.) As I would think about this, it seemed to make no sense. It just isn’t possible that all the people out there are duds, rude, stupid, insensitive, mean, and superficial. It just can’t be. Statistically speaking, that is not reality. And I know it because I end up

es?” It’s the same answer! Not only is it the same answer, but if these daters don’t “get” this now, before they marry, then even if they do somehow magically find a mate in spite of not discovering the answer, they could be in for trouble later on in their marriage. The answer is simple and also profound: we all do this when we feel afraid: we build walls. As we know from the news, walls are highly protective. They prevent enemy infiltration. They’ve cut down on fatalities by 99%. Except the person you’re dating is not your enemy. And neither will he or she be your enemy when you’re

This is an opportunity to participate in your own destiny in a meaningful way.

having deep conversations with all the duds, rude, insensitive, “mean,” superficial people who come to me asking for help, and they’re not. Not at all. So what’s going on? Are they or aren’t they? And if they’re really not then why for Heaven’s sake are they acting as if they were? The answer is the exact same answer to the question “why do nice people act so mean or superficial, rude or insensitive in their marriag-

married. That view of self-protection, however normal, is bringing upon you the very problem you’re trying to overcome. You want to know whether this individual is your bashert, right? So you sit there and evaluate during the date: hmm, he walks with a slouch. Is he lacking confidence? She didn’t put on eye makeup. Does she not want to look her best? He has nothing to say. What is he, stupid or tongue-tied? I don’t

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want to be with someone like that! I need someone to talk to. Because guess what? While you’re doing all that evaluating, so are they. And you don’t look good, either! You’re hiding behind the wall. They can’t see the real you. And you have no intention of ever letting them. Five whole minutes have passed, and you’re so thoroughly disappointed that you don’t even mind being rude on the date. You don’t need to talk! There’s nothing to say to someone like that. Here’s the problem. In a scientific research experiment with human subjects, the experimenter can’t be part of the experiment. His or her own presence in the experiment alters the outcome. That is why all good research with human subjects has the experimenter “blind” as to who is in which experimental group. Just knowing this can cause the researcher to convey subtle cues to the subjects. Or it

can bias his or her interpretation of results. Let’s look at this from a different perspective, a perspective that recognizes the yad Hashem in your life and in Life itself. This person you’re with is a tzelem Elokim (a likeness of G-d). They have parents who love them. They have goals and dreams of their own. They have wants and desires. Yes, under their own walls and disguises, they have passions just like you do! Your job on the date is to be yourself. Stick your neck out. Be who you are. And put it on the table, too, that this is difficult and you imagine it is also difficult for them. Be real. And respect that person as someone that G-d created, wants here on Earth, and wants here with you right now at this moment. For a Reason. This is an opportunity to participate in your own destiny in a meaningful way. Don’t go hiding! Be brave!

Be yourself and use this time as a gift to discover who another human being really is. Because the reality is you do not know. Not yet. Not after five minutes or one hour. Or two. Or even three. There’s lots you do not know. And you will not find out if you’re both in hiding. What if you do all this and then you tell me, “Dr. Deb, this boy really was a dud. I put it on the table; I was myself, and it was a waste”? It’s never a waste to be real. It’s never a waste to be a giver. When G-d created the universe, He did it with rachamim (mercy). There’s a reason we learn this. We are supposed to bring that same rachamim into our lives, every day. It might be that that person truly was not your bashert. So what? They might have benefited enormously from your kindness and sincerity, from just treating them with the respect due to them being another fellow human being. Is this difficult to keep putting

out there, day after day, date after date? Yes and no. You can look at it as unrewarding when you think in terms of your need to find that match. But when you think in terms of being the mensch that you were meant to be, in service to our Creator, then no, it’s not difficult at all. You’re simply doing your job of serving G-d by being who you were meant to be. You’re being a giver. And you will be rewarded for it. I promise!

Dr. Deb is a Marriage & Family Therapist. Book a consultation with her to get clarity on the issues in your marriage and learn about her innovative program at: https://drdeb.com/book. To book a call with Dr. Deb, go to her scheduler, https://drdeb.com/book, but if you want more information about her new program, please first watch the Masterclass on “Getting The Marriage You Want” at http://drdeb.com/ myw-masterclass.

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Health & F tness

The Keto Diet What They’re Not Telling You By Aliza Beer MS, RD

ne thing the food and health industry has shown us is that there is no shortage of miracle-claiming fad diets. A new (despite being rather old) addition to the ever-growing list is the high-fat, low-carb ketogenic or keto diet. Boasting to revamp your body’s method of fat and energy metabolism, the keto diet has gained popularity. Its worshipers swear by keto’s results, claiming that if the effects of this diet were in pill form, they’d be a multi-billion dollar supplement. Other health professionals are not as convinced and claim the diet’s short-term positive effects and long-term adverse ones rule it out as a lifestyle that should not even be considered. So, what exactly is the keto diet? A basic day on the Keto diet consists of 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbs in contrast to the generally recommended distribution of 50% carbs, 30% protein, and 20% fat. The bulk of the ketogenic diet’s calories come from foods like butter, avocados, eggs, cream, oils, some meat, and minimal amounts of non-starchy fruits and vegetables like spinach or broccoli. The diet is designed to force your body into a state called ketosis. Ketosis occurs when we don’t eat carbs and deprive

our bodies of energy from glucose. Glycogen stores deplete, and we begin to use fat as energy, instead. The concept of the ketogenic diet is not a recent discovery. Neurologists have been using high-fat, low-carb diet plans to reduce epileptic seizures in children as far back as the early 1900s, and the results have been positive. The Atkins diet, introduced in the ‘70s, claimed that limiting carbs would improve health and even involved a 2-week ketogenic phase. However, ketosis has been recently adapted into a full-on lifestyle diet craze with celebrities endorsing it without proper research, credentials, or studies to back it up. Many people don’t realize forcing your body into a state of ketosis comes along with some health risks and side effects, especially when not done properly. Aside from that, the diet’s weightloss results are slightly controversial in nature. Here are a few possible reasons you should think twice before pouring heavy cream into your morning coffee and opt to keep the sweet potato around a little longer: • Fast but Fleeting – The keto diet is often praised for its rapid results in weight loss. Those on the diet see an initial reduction in the number on

their scale and therefore are sucked in. However, that drop can be attributed to loss of water weight. When we stop eating carbs, we get rid of the water retained in our usual glucose and glycogen stores. The healthiest diets are those that can be sustained for years. Extreme diets that eliminate an entire food group don’t really fall into this category. One slice of bread can throw off the keto diet completely. The unsustainable nature of ketosis ends up causing weight regain after it’s abandoned. You’re more likely to see long-term success with a diet that’s less restrictive and easier to stick to. • Calories In, Calories Out – People tend to cut out junk food when beginning a new diet. Adherence to a regimen is maintained at the onset of the diet, and we tend to eat much healthier than before. Like any fad diet, keto eliminates junk. Eliminating junk generally leads to weight loss. Keto or not, fast-burning carbs and simple sugars are never good for you. One study that attempts to promote the keto diet states that obese patients on the keto diet lost an average of a pound and a half a week. However, the study fails to highlight that the patients’ daily intake was cut about 400 calories, which was probably the reason for their weight

loss. Another study comparing equal caloric intake in the keto diet and regular carb intake diet showed similar results with weight loss favoring the latter. • Keto Flu – Keto affects more than just your weight. Many people report feeling nauseous, dizzy, and achy after being on keto for a few days. It takes about three days for your body to enter a state of ketosis and begin using ketones for energy. Normally, fat is a very secondary source of energy and the body reserves them for instances like fasting and starvation. The shock your body endures switching to a new source of energy can cause flu-like symptoms. Many people go on a lowcarb diet before a wedding or event so they can squeeze into a dress or look good for pictures. Is it worth the risk of feeling like all you want to do is curl up and go to sleep? Your body really likes carbs. It’s a convenient source of energy, not the enemy. Too often carbs get a bad rap because of their refined counterparts, the simple sugar. Like I mentioned before, simple sugars like pasta, sweets, and white bread should be avoided in general. They’re quick-crashing sources of energy. Foods like fresh fruit, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes will keep you full

take which can lead to overconsumption of saturated fats or trans fats. Typical American diets are high in these bad fats and should typically be avoided. The keto diet does not directly promote them but most people on the diet do not differentiate between fats when they are following it. Any diet could be high in bad fats but when such a large

because of the fiber they contain and boost your energy levels. • Nutrient Deficiencies – Many people who promote the keto diet do not have an adequate view on the biochemical relationships of food in the body. The food we eat does not only account for our weight. Our intake is responsible for the upkeep of many metabolic processes in the body. As I mentioned, cutting out one food group can cause deficiencies even if weight loss occurs. Specifically, cutting out carbs reduces fruit and vegetable intake, which limits the amounts of potassium, magnesium, folate, and vitamin C consumed. Potassium deficiency or hypokalemia is the most common side effect and can result in weakness, muscle aches, and mood changes. Many people on keto report muscle fatigue throughout their diet experience. • Raising LDLs – LDL refers to “bad” cholesterol and HDL refers to “good” cholesterol. The keto diet, nicknamed the “cardiologist’s nightmare” by some, does not put a limit on fat in-

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suming a mostly plant-based fat diet, this was less of a concern. Diet and nourishment of the body are important. Popular fad diets generally like to focus solely on weight loss while ignoring other crucial processes. Every food group is important and cutting out one completely may cause irre-

The shock your body endures switching to a new source of energy can cause flu-like symptoms.

margin is left for fat, it’s easy for people to include lesser quality ones. Studies have found that people who were following a low-carb diet were at a higher risk for developing heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions. If con-

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versible long-term effects on our health and well-being. In certain medically supervised circumstances, however, the keto diet was found to be beneficial. As I mentioned, the diet has been used to keep epileptic seizures at bay

in suffering patients. Some dietitians will also prescribe the diet to patients having trouble losing weight in the traditional manner. The main praise of the keto diet comes from its rapid pound-dropping results, which may not be that sustainable and if not adhered to properly will result in weight regain. The strictness of the diet isn’t for everyone and that’s true with anything in life. What works for one may not work for another. A person should never jump on a fad diet bandwagon because of what they hear, read, or see on the internet. A dietitian or doctor should always be consulted before making extreme changes to one’s diet.

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

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Health & F tness

Please - No Bumpers By Hylton I. Lightman, MD, DCH (SA), FAAP

y way of transparency, I’m reviewing here. Several years ago, I wrote about pretty crib bumpers and how they enhance the look of your baby’s room. Yet I underscored their danger and urged parents not to use them. The bottom line remains the same – please do not use crib bumpers. By now we have a new generation of parents (baruch Hashem), and it is time to review protocol and share updated information with you all. Let’s start with the lunch line – I respectfully request that you refrain from indulging in crib bumpers, also known as “bumper pads” used in infants’ cribs. True confession: all seven Lightman children luxuriated in cribs festooned with bumpers. The youngest Lightman was born in 2003, two years before the 2005 recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) against bumpers. While spring cleaning several years ago, my wife found and destroyed them and then bagged them for the garbage. There’s no way we would endanger other babies. Thank G-d,

our grandchildren’s parents have chosen not to have bumpers in their cribs either. Intuitively, crib bumpers feel like a way to protect babies from injuries. In reality, a safe crib without bumpers is the best way to go because bumpers increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A brief background is in order here. Fact: Between 1985 and 2012, there were 48 infant deaths and 146 injuries related to suffocation, strangulation, and entrapment. In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released guidelines that all babies be placed on their backs to sleep. The result: deaths from SIDS decreased. Such deaths have plateaued in recent years, while sleep-related deaths from other causes including suffocation, entrapment and asphyxia have increased. In 2005, the AAP recommended against the use of crib bumpers. This was part of its campaign for safe sleep and SIDS prevention for babies. The guidelines state that crib bumpers carry a potential risk

of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment because infants lack the motor skills or strength to turn their heads should they roll into something that obstructs their breathing. Dr. Rachel Moon of the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and chairperson of the AAP SIDS Task Force explains that in 2005 there were concerns about crib bumpers but not much evidence of a real problem. “Since then,” Dr. Moon says, “there have been some published studies looking at bumper pads, and we concluded that if there’s no reason for them to be in the crib, it’s better to just have them out of there, particularly in light of the deaths that have been reported, that have been associated with the bumper pads.” In the September 2007 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, results from a study of crib and bassinet bumpers were announced. Based on information from a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) conducted from 1985-2005, the study showed reports from medical examiners and coroners of 27 accidental deaths of children ages 1

month to 2 years. These deaths were attributed to suffocation because babies were wedged against a padded bumper or strangled by a bumper tie around the neck. This study stated, “These findings suggest that crib and bassinet bumpers are dangerous…. Because bumpers can cause death, we conclude that they should not be used.” Numerous reports by news agencies and consumer advocates against bumpers followed, including a January 2011 article in the Chicago Tribune that delineated the dangers of bumpers. The same article also reported that, since 2008, the federally funded National Center for Child Death Review received 14 reports of infant suffocation in which a bumper was relevant in the death. In response, the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association (JPMA) asserted that other factors like babies sleeping on their stomachs or a crib filled with pillows might have been a factor in those deaths instead of the bumpers. In reaction to this and other news reports and consumer advocates, the CPSC announced it would take a closer look at crib bumpers. Subse-

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quently, both the CPSC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned parents of the dangers of infant sleep positioners, some of which had been marketed to reduce the risk of SIDS, but had in fact caused up to a dozen suffocation deaths of babies in about as many years. When crib bumpers are used or there are other objects in the crib, a baby may put his face in it while sleeping. This means the baby may inhale stale air, which is not a healthy thing. With these facts, why do many parents use bumpers? Bumpers were first designed to cover the space between crib slats so babies couldn’t fall out or get their heads, arms or legs stuck between the bars. Regulations changed in the 1970s, and now crib slats can be no more than 2-3/8 inches apart. Safety-wise, while it is possible for a baby to get an arm or a leg stuck between crib slats, it’s virtually impossible to break a limb by doing so: the

experience will be uncomfortable and upsetting until a caregiver arrives, but it will not life-threatening. Further, parents buy bumpers because they think they’re supposed

is on his/her back, alone in a crib that has a fitted sheet on the mattress. There should be no soft objects or loose bedding, as they pose hazards.

The best way for a baby to sleep is on his/ her back alone in a crib that has a fitted sheet on the mattress.

to. Walk into most baby furniture stores and you’ll see shelves laden with attractive bedding for the crib – and many are sets which come with bumpers. After all, a bumper set lends the crib a finished look and that can be hard to resist. The best way for a baby to sleep

Most babies do not move around the cribs until they are about 3-4 months old. Even when moving, it’s highly unlikely a baby will generate enough force to harm himself. Between 4-9 months, a baby can roll head first into a bumper. This poses some risk for suffocation, and

my advice is to not even go near the possibility of it. The consequences are too horrific to contemplate. After 9-10 months of age, many infants can pull themselves to a standing position in the crib and can step on the bumpers to fall out of the crib. Again – too horrific to contemplate. I urge you to put the bumpers in the garbage or leave them on the stores’ shelves. Knowing that your baby sleeps on his/her back in a crib with a fitted sheet only should give you the peace of mind to sleep well at night – until they become teenagers and start driving. Then you make sure the car has strong bumpers. As always, daven. Dr. Hylton I. Lightman is a pediatrician and Medical Director of Total Family Care of the 5 Towns and Rockaway PC. He can be reached at drlightman@totalfamilycaremd.com, on Instagram at Dr.Lightman_ or visit him on Facebook.

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In The K

tchen

Carrot Ginger Soup By Naomi Nachman

When I first got married, a friend gave me this recipe and I’ve been making it ever since. My kids call it the orange soup. I use the large loose carrots which are much sweeter and more flavorful. Ingredients 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 ½ pounds carrots (6-8 medium), peeled and sliced 2 teaspoons sugar 3 fresh thyme sprigs 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped 6 cups vegetable stock, or enough to cover 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation In a medium to large saucepan over medium-high heat, add oil, carrots, sugar, thyme and potatoes and sweat until carrots soften a bit, about 10 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and simmer 15 minutes (until potatoes and carrots can be crushed with a spoon). Add ginger. Puree and strain. Season with salt and pepper 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.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

Listen, I feel like I was fair and good. You can’t make everybody happy. You’re not going to buy people’s ability to be OK with you, and this seems to be a social media issue more than anything. I think it shouldn’t be, knowing that there was a complete, agreed-upon deal that not only did I meet but exceeded. So I certainly don’t lose sleep over this. This is something that I’m quite happy with, and I was really happy for him to have a great week and make a good sum of money. Making $5,000 is a great week. - Pro golfer Matt Kuchar in an interview on the Golf Channel, defending paying his caddie $5,000 for his services (caddies normally get 5% to 10% of earnings) after Kuchar took home $1.296 million for winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic

My dear departed grandmothers...as well as my deceased parents, must be turning in their grave right now to see their family’s name, reputation and proud Jamaican identity being connected, in any way, jokingly or not with the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker and in the pursuit of identity politics. Speaking for myself and my immediate Jamaican family, we wish to categorically dissociate ourselves from this travesty. - Presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris’s (D-CA) father’s statement expressing dismay at his daughter’s recent comments that smoking pot is good because it brings joy and saying, “Half my family is from Jamaica, are you kidding me?” when she was asked about her position on drugs

I remember being told that now I can no longer host the Super Bowl. I think the words were, “You’ve crossed the line,” and my thought was, “What line have I crossed?” -Sportscaster Bob Costas disclosing on ESPN that he was not allowed to do the NBC Super Bowl broadcast last year because he commented on air that football is linked to brain injury

Our planet is going to face disaster if we don’t turn this ship around. And so it’s basically like, there is a scientific consensus that the lives of children are going to be very difficult and it does lead, I think young people, to have a legitimate question. Ya know, should – is it okay to still have children? – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Dem/Socialist- NY) in a social media rant

3,700 - The amount of border walls that could be built for the same cost as Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal

Let me just say one thing. When Benedict Arnold gave the plans to West Point to Major Andre and they captured Major Andre, they did not have any real information linking those plans to Benedict Arnold, other than the fact that it was in his presence at one point during that day. But everyone knew it was treason when they caught the man, and they hung him. So at some point, there is going to be a bridge of data here that is going to be unassailable. - Malcolm Nance of MSNBC, responding to the Senate Intelligence report that stated that there is no evidence that Trump colluded with Russia

Tucson’s never seen anything like this before. We’ve gotten lots of calls about a white powdery substance all over. As soon as we find out what this is we will let you know. Please don’t go out in this. - Tucson Police Sgt. Pete Dugan in a video tweeted by the department, after a rare snowstorm in Arizona

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I think we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and I look at this as not just as a moral issue. I actually look at it as an economic issue. When you look at, in my state, we need workers for some of the jobs, especially in rural areas. We have a 2.8 percent unemployment rate. – Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), on Fox News

GDP is great, unemployment is at an alltime low, African-Americans are doing well, Hispanics are doing well, wages are rising at the fastest pace in ten years -blah, blah, blah. -Rep. Gwen Moore, (D-Wis.) attempting to mock Pres. Trump’s economic accomplishments during a Congressional hearing

Can they count? I’m sure they can. Let them count the speed and the range of the weapons systems we are developing.

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I think that a lot of people need to know this. Because this is part of American history, which is not all good. You know, I think that when I was in public school in Brooklyn, New York, I was not told George Washington owned slaves. I was told that he chopped down the cherry tree and wouldn’t tell a lie. In 1492, this guy, this terrorist sailed the ocean blue. I mean, we have got to start teaching, I feel, my opinion, let’s be honest about our history and let’s move forward. - Filmmaker Spike Lee on MSNBC trashing President George Washington and referring to Christopher Columbus as a terrorist

Do I think that the country will accept the vision that I have? Do I think I can win? Do I think I have the ability to inspire people? You know, I think there is an untapped something, you know, in our country that our political leaders have not touched. Yeah, I’d vote for me.

But I can’t do that anymore – I can’t let things slip by. I’m watching you, white boy. And this time, I’m taking the screenshot.

- Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who is considering running for president in 2020, talking to reporters in Des Moines, Iowa

- Isis Davis-Marks (whose first name is appropriate for someone with vicious hatred and racism) writing in the Yale newspaper about how white people are bad

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FEBRUARY29, 28,2015 2019| |The TheJewish JewishHome Home OCTOBER

Political Crossfire

Amazon Blow-up Shows Economic Illiteracy By Marc A. Thiessen

he left complains that conservatives are “obsessing” over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Well, there is a reason for that: Ocasio-Cortez is driving the agenda of today’s Democratic Party – and her economic illiteracy is dangerous. Case in point: last week, Oca-

sio-Cortez celebrated the tanking of a deal negotiated by her fellow Democrats in which Amazon promised to build a new headquarters in Long Island City, New York, right next to her congressional district. Amazon’s departure cost the city between 25,000 and 40,000 new jobs.

Forget the tech workers whom Amazon would have employed. Gone are all the unionized construction jobs to build the headquarters, as well as thousands of jobs created by all the small businesses – restaurants, bodegas, dry cleaners and food carts – that were preparing to open or expand to serve Amazon employees.

No, you can’t. Ocasio-Cortez does not seem to realize that New York does not have $3 billion in cash sitting around waiting to be spent on her socialist dreams. The subsidies to Amazon were tax incentives, not cash payouts. It is Amazon’s money, which New York agreed to make tax-exempt, so the company

From this unschooled mind has sprung the most ambitious plan for government intervention in the economy since Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s train pulled into Petrograd’s Finland Station.

They are devastated by Amazon’s withdrawal. Ocasio-Cortez was not disturbed at all. “We were subsidizing those jobs,” she said. “Frankly, if we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district, ourselves, if we wanted to. We could hire out more teachers. We can fix our subways. We can put a lot of people to work for that amount of money if we wanted to.”

would invest it in building its new headquarters, hiring new workers, and generating tens of billions in new tax revenue. As New York Mayor Bill de Blasio explained, the Amazon deal would have produced “$27 billion in new tax revenue to fuel priorities from transit to affordable housing – a nine-fold return on the taxes the city and state were prepared to forgo to win the headquarters.” Unlike Ocasio-Cortez’s imaginary $3 bil-

TheJewish JewishHome Home| |FEBRUARY OCTOBER 29, The 28, 2015 2019

lion slush fund, that is real money that actually could have been used to hire teachers, fix subways, and put people to work. With Amazon leaving New York, that $27 billion leaves with it. Genius. Ocasio-Cortez does not seem to understand that by helping to drive Amazon away, she did not save New York $3 billion; she cost New York $27 billion. There is a difference between having bad ideas and not grasping basic facts. Reasonable people can disagree about whether New York should have offered Amazon $3 billion in tax incentives – or anything at all – to build its headquarters in the city. But that is different from not understanding that New York is not writing a $3 billion check to Amazon. Sadly, Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t learn from her mistakes. She made the same kind of error in December when she tweeted, “$21 TRILLION of Pentagon financial transactions ‘could not be traced, documented, or explained.’ $21T in Pentagon accounting errors. Medicare for All costs ~$32T. That means 66% of Medicare for All could have been funded already by the Pentagon.” But, as Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood told The Post, “DoD hasn’t received $21 trillion in (nominal) appropriated funding across the entirety of American history.” Once again, Ocasio-Cortez did not grasp that the Pentagon did not have a magic pile of $21 trillion in cash sitting in a vault somewhere. Her economic illiteracy matters because she is the principal author of the Green New Deal, which has been endorsed by most of the leading Democratic candidates for president. From this unschooled mind has sprung the most ambitious plan for government intervention in the economy since Vladimir Ilyich Lenin’s train pulled into Petrograd’s Finland Station. If Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t understand how tax subsidies work, how can she be trusted to plan the federal takeover of the health-care, energy and transportation sectors of our economy? Think she and her allies have any idea how to, as her now infamous talking points put it, upgrade or replace “every building in

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America” ... or replace “every combustible-engine vehicle” ... or connect every corner of America with high-speed rail ... or replace all fossil-fuel energy with alternative energy sources – all in 10 years’ time? Apparently, they think we just have

to find all the magic pots of cash the government is hiding. When this kind of ignorance is driving policymaking in Washington, America is in profound danger. Amazon left New York because Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow demo-

cratic socialists created a hostile environment in the city. And if Ocasio-Cortez has her way, Democrats are going to do to the rest of America what they just did to New York. (c) 2019, Washington Post Writers Group

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

Trump’s Syria Reversal is a Significant Win for Good Sense By David Ignatius

resident Trump, in a rare reversal of a decision, has decided to keep “hundreds” of U.S. troops in northeast Syria to provide “campaign continuity” and stability there as the fight against the Islamic State winds down, senior defense officials told me on Friday. “After studying it further, [Trump] has decided to take a different course” from the one he announced in December, which proposed a withdrawal of all the roughly 2,000 U.S. forces in northeast Syria by the end of April, the officials said. Instead, a smaller number of troops will continue their mission of training and advising the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast and countering terrorism. The United States will also maintain a small force at a base in al-Tanf, in the south. Score this as a significant win for good sense. Trump’s impulsive decision to withdraw U.S. forces from a successful, low-cost mission had been one of the most controversial of his presidency, and it had perplexed and worried key allies abroad. Trump’s December announcement was especially anguishing for senior military officials, who feared that the

United States was walking away from a battle that wasn’t yet finished and undermining its credibility with partners. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis submitted his resignation in protest in December, and Gen. Joseph Votel, the U.S. Central Command commander, took the rare step last week of saying

just in the Pentagon but also with key congressional supporters such as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C., who has campaigned to change Trump’s mind. Now that Trump has altered course, Pentagon officials are continuing talks with Britain, France and other key allies about keeping a small military

With Trump, decisions are never over until they’re over - and even then, they may not be over.

publicly that Trump’s decision had gone against the advice he would have given. Syria illustrates that with Trump, decisions are never over until they’re over –and even then, they may not be over. Over the past week, Trump has evidently been more willing to listen to military advice than his critics sometimes contend. He also seems to have recognized that opposition to his Syria decision was nearly universal, not

presence in northeast Syria, as well. The rationale, said one defense official, is “in together, out together.” European allies had resisted this initial request, until they were sure that Trump himself was prepared to keep a U.S. force on the ground. The continued U.S. military presence will upset Turkey, which has bitterly criticized U.S. support for the SDF, which Turkey views as an adjunct of a

Kurdish militia it regards as a terrorist group. The president had seemed willing to bow to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s demands in December that the United States pull out its forces, but Trump has since stiffened his spine. Trump’s agreement to support some residual U.S. military presence will avert what many analysts had feared would be a vacuum in northeast Syria that would be filled by Turkey, Russia, Iran and the Syrian regime, further complicating the Syria mess. Here again, Trump seems to have come around to the view pressed quietly by his top military advisers, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan. Now that Trump has agreed to a continued U.S. role in stabilizing Syria, the challenge will be leveraging this “campaign continuity” diplomatically, in a way that advances discussions about new political framework for rebuilding governance and security in that country. Pentagon and State Department officials say they plan talks with Russia about how best to enhance stability. (c) 2019, Washington Post Writers Group

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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Good Hum r

Gefilte Giggles By Jon Kranz

f someone offered you a cold, spongy and nondescript log of ground-up, low-grade fish, would

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Perhaps. But if someone offered you a piece of gefilte fish then, based on the name alone, you might would be excited and delighted. That is the magic of gefilte fish, a delicious Jewish delicacy that also has deep meaning and unexpected symbolism. Gefilte, of course, is not actually the name of a type of fish; it is a Yid-

carp and pike. Some scholars note that gefilte fish originally was served as a fishy stuffing that was crammed into fish skin, hence the gefilte moniker. Nowadays, most gefilte fish is not offered in a stuffed state; rather, it is routinely prepared in large logs, which means gefilte fish makers could fairly be described as culinary

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dish term that means “stuffed.” In typical Jewish parlance, Jews do not eat “gefilte cabbage” (even though we eat stuffed cabbage), “gefilte derma” (even though we eat stuffed derma) or “gefilting” (even though we eat stuffing). For reasons that are not entirely clear, the term “gefilte” is paired only with fish, i.e., gefilte fish, a dish commonly made by deboning, mashing up and combining similar types of fish including whitefish,

lumberjacks. Gefilte fish usually is served with a slice of carrot and a scoop of horseradish, a reddish relish that also features beets. That said, there is no statute, regulation or code requiring gefilte fish to be served with carrots and horseradish. Then again, there is no statute, regulation or code requiring bagels to be served with cream cheese and lox, but to serve bagels without either classic sidekick

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

would be tantamount to heresy. Some scholars believe that gefilte fish was born of necessity among European Jews living below the poverty line. (As an aside, if you cannot afford to buy a kiln, then you are living below the pottery line.) Since fish was deboned before it was gefilte-ed, it allowed Jewish families to eat it not only during the week but also on Shabbat when the picking of bones is prohibited. In that connection, the Talmud describes the “anti-sorting” prohibition as follows: “[On Shabbat], one may not select waste from food…. The typical method of selecting is the removal of waste from the food” (Shabbat 74a). Thus, the boneless gefilte fish solves this problem. It also is easy to serve and is thick enough to be stabbed with a toothpick during a chaotic kiddush. Many scholars suggest that gefilte fish is more than just a dish and actually has deeper meaning. Some point to the fact that in the story of Creation, the Torah uses the term “blessing” regarding the creation of only three items: humans (Adam and Chava), Shabbat and fish. For this reason, some suggest that eating fish on Shabbat is supposed to merit a triple blessing. (Speaking of triples, a Jewish triple threat if someone can sing, dance and make a quality gefilte fish.) If eating fish is a triple blessing, then it makes you wonder why on Shabbat Jews do not eat a meatless, fish-based cholent or what could be described as a Sabbath Gumbo or a Blessed Bouillabaisse. Some scholars note that the Hebrew word for fish, dag, has a numerical value of seven (7), which also coincides with Shabbat, the seventh day of the week. So, for this additional reason, eating gefilte fish on Shabbat is another way to honor the Sabbath. Since fish equates to the number seven, football fans should eat gefilte fish whenever their team needs a touchdown. (Yes, the obligatory carrot slice typically served with gefilte fish symbolizes the extra point.) Eating gefilte fish also is one way to fulfill the oneg Shabbat requirement, i.e., the obligation to enjoy Shabbat. (Eating herring on Shabbat has the same effect but wearing a herringbone suit does not.) There are other ways of enjoy-

ing Shabbat that do not necessarily have to do with food but many Sabbath-observing Jews are too busy eating or napping between meals to do anything else on Shabbat. Finally, some believe that fish are not subject to an ayin hara because

they spend all of the days underwater and thus out of sight. For this reason, some believe that eating a fish dish, including gefilte fish, is supposed to bring good luck or at least less bad luck. The irony, of course, is that a ge-

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filte fish dish certainly is not good luck for the fish. Jon Kranz is an attorney living in Englewood, New Jersey. Send any comments, questions or insults to jkranz285@gmail. com.

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Forgotten Her es

John Henry Patterson Godfather of the Israeli Army By Avi Heiligman

John Henry Patterson

ot all of the early Zionist supporters were Jewish. Several British officers who were stationed in Eretz Yisrael were important figures in helping the Jews of the Yishuv. Of these, Orde Wingate stands out as helping Haganah units perform special operations. These operators became the nucleus of IDF when the State of Israel was founded in 1948. The roots of the IDF can be traced all the way back to World War I, and another British officer who was vital in setting up the first Jewish fighting force since ancient times. John Henry Patterson went from hunting lions to being a major advocate for a Jewish country. Great Britain has sent forces all across the globe in the past three centuries. It was said at one point in time that the sun didn’t set on the British Empire. In 1898, John Henry Patterson was sent to Kenya and embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. Patterson, who was born in 1867, came from a devout Christian

Patterson, with Bibi Netanyahu’s parents

family in Ireland. When he was seventeen he joined the British Army in search of adventure and opportunity. While on a deployment to India, he shot tigers to protect his men, and this experience helped him in Kenya. Lieutenant Colonel Patterson arrived in Kenya to oversee the construction of a bridge over the Tsavo River. Work soon came to halt as some of the workers began to disappear. The worksite was spread over 8 miles and consisted of thousands of laborers. Soon it became clear that the workers were being hunted by maneless male man-eating Tsavo lions. Workers fled in panic while Patterson set about to trap and kill the lions. Reinforcements arrived, and ambushes were set. On December 9, 1898, Patterson shot dead the first lion and almost three weeks later the second one was killed. The lions had claimed at least 28 victims and were over nine feet in length when Patterson measured their carcasses. Work finally was able to continue after

these two man-eating animals were killed, and the bridge was finished in February 1899. At least three Hollywood movies were produced about the hunt. Patterson wrote a book in 1907 about this episode entitled The Man-Waters of Tsavo. After his adventures in Kenya, Patterson joined the Essex Imperial Yeomanry and served with them during the Second Boer War (18991902). Right before World War I he commanded a regiment during a crisis back in Great Britain. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, influential Jews, mainly Zeev Jabotinsky and Joseph Trumpeldor, were trying to form a Jewish military unit to fight the Ottoman Turks in Palestine. Their major roadblock was the British High Command but they found a friend in Patterson. The three met in Alexandria, Egypt, and while the overall British commander said no to a fighting force, a transport service was to be allowed. This is how Patterson came to command the Zion Mule Corps.

The unit had about 650 men, of which 562 were sent to serve in the Gallipoli Campaign. The commanding officer of the British Expeditionary Force, General Ian Hamilton, said of the corps, “The men have done extremely well, working their mules calmly under heavy shell and rifle fire, and thus showing a more difficult type of bravery than the men in the front line who had the excitement of combat to keep them going.” Six men were killed, 25 were injured, and Private M. Groushkowsky was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for delivering ammunition under heavy fire while preventing the mules from stampeding due to the loud noise. Trumpeldor himself was wounded in the arm but he refused to be evacuated and stayed with the corps until the end of the campaign (which ended in an allied retreat). After the retreat, the Zion Mule Corps was disbanded. The 120 men who remained still wanted to serve and were put into another British

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The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Patterson with the first Tsavo Lion he killed

battalion. However, there was major opposition to creating another Jewish unit. The main voice behind this opposition was Lord Herbert Kitchener, the British Secretary of State. Hashkacha pratis came into play a few days after Col. Patterson and Jabotinsky met. Patterson told Jabotinsky in response to hearing that Kitchener was creating problems, “Realities are stronger than Lord Kitchener.” A few days later, the ship carrying Kitchener was hit,

His final resting place in Israel

he drowned, and his body wasn’t recovered. The plan continued uninterrupted. Finally, in 1917, the formation of the Jewish Legion was approved by British High Command. Patterson was to lead three battalions of the Royal Fusiliers that had British Russian Jews and Jews from Palestine serving in their ranks. The 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers was created in July 1917 and the 39th was formed in April

1918. Thousands of Jews from Palestine also volunteered, and they were put into the 40th Battalion. In addition, the 40th had 92 Jews that were captured fighting for the Ottomans and wanted to enlist with the British. The 41st and 42nd Battalions were also made up of Jews but were stationed in England. The group was now ready for action and took part in the battles in the Jordan Valley and the Battle of Megiddo in 1918. The fighting in the Jordan Valley was 20 miles north of Jerusalem, and about 20 soldiers of the 38th Battalion were killed. However, the group as a whole succeeded in driving the Ottomans from the area. In September, the Jewish Legion fought in the Battle of Megiddo and was the nail in the coffin for the Ottomans in Palestine. Even though the Jewish Legion was disbanded completely in the 1920s, many of the volunteers gained valuable experience that was brought to the underground movements during the British Mandate. Until the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the former Legionnaires were the backbone of the Hagana that helped drive the British out of Eretz Yisrael. The Jewish Legion Museum, in Avihayil near Netanya, was created in the 1960s as a testament to those who served among their ranks and whose legacy lives on in the IDF. While Patterson was in the Jewish Legion, he had to deal with anti-Semitic officers who did not like the idea of a Jewish fighting force in the British Army. When he retired in 1920, many said that he sacrificed his career: he wasn’t promoted when he should have been, as he protect-

ed all the troops that served under his command. An avid writer, he wrote two books praising the Jewish Brigades called, With the Zionists in Gallipoli (1916) and With the Judeans in Palestine (1922). After the war, Patterson continued his advocacy for Zionism. As the Nazi party was rising in Germany in the 1930s, he did all he could to try and save as many Jews as possible. He first went to the British government and then the Americans to raise an army of 100,000 Jewish soldiers. His appeals fell on deaf ears. Disgusted with the British response to plight of the Jews, he moved to America. Patterson continued his support for a Jewish country in the U.S. and became close friends with many Zionists. One of these was Benzion Netanyahu, the father of Yonatan and Binyamin. A few months before the State of Israel was created, John Henry Patterson passed away. In 2014 the remains of Patterson and his wife were reinterred in Avihayil Cemetery near some of the men who had served in the Jewish Brigade. Prime Minister Netanyahu attended the ceremony and said that Patterson was the “godfather of the Israeli Army” and was “a great friend of our people, a great champion of Zionism, and a great believer in the Jewish State and the Jewish people.... I feel it is an obligation of our people, our State and mine personally to fulfill his testimony.” Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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Classifieds HOUSES FOR SALE

COMMERCIAL RE

APT FOR RENT

NORTH WOODMERE Beautiful spacious 4 bedroom colonial, finished basement, in ground pool, close to all. $879,000 Call 516-924-2971

5 TOWNS: LOOKING FOR: Restaurateurs & Professionals!!! Orthoptists, Podiatrists, Chiropractors, Physical Therapists, Dentists, or Obstetrician/Gynecologists. Spaces Available in Cedarhurst, Hewlett, Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Valley Stream area. For Lease... Call for More Details Broker (516) 792-6698

ROCKVILLE CENTRE Light Warehousing/Flex office space 8150 S/F - Built in Offices with Large Windows - 11' Ceiling clearance Indoor Loading Dock. Ideal Location / Walk To LIRR & Bus - Bank, Shopping, City Center. 917-822-0499

FOR RENT BY OWNER NO BROKERAGE INVOLVED. Beautiful, spacious 3 bedroom 2 bathroom, 2nd floor apt. for rent. Newly renevated, brand new stainless steel appliances, washer-dryer hookup. Located in Far Rockaway near many shuls/yeshivas. Near LIRR. For all inquiries, please call (718)-327-7889.

COMMERCIAL RE CEDARHURST 500-3,500 +/- SF Beautiful, newly renovated space for rent. Ideal for Retail or Executive offices. Prime location. Convenient Parking. Sam @516-612-2433 or 718-747-8080 INWOOD OFFICE SPACE 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 EAST ROCKAWAY: Retail Stores on Busy Corner, 1000SF& Up Available, Great High Visibility Location, For Lease… Call for More Details Broker (516) 792-6698

INWOOD 10,000 sq ft brick building. Offices and warehouse. High ceilings. Asking $16/foot. Owner: 516-206-1100 mark@mbequitygroup.com 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 for More Details (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 www.pugatch.com

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sold! Exp 5 BR ranch, 60x100 lot. Grnte/wd EIK, SS appl. Hdwd flrs, natural light. Lg closets, walk in attic, built-in shelving in hall, attached grg, deck. 2 br upstairs diviseable, well kept bckyd. New win, new bthrm, walk to shuls. Location!! $699K

4 br spl, 2 fl bth, EIK, oasis in bkyd, CAC, skylights, new boiler, hot water tnk, fl fin bsmt, new o/s W/D, pool, ing sprinklers. Porch, deck, updtd elctric panel, SD#15, low taxes, ABC blocks, walking distance to many houses of worship. $759K

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hewlett

sold!

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A 4BR- 3 full TH multi-level split on a quiet cul-de-sac with a circular driveway and a Gunite pool. This house features CAC, gas heating, plenty of living space, Dr, LR, MBR suite with full bath and Whirlpool. $699K

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woodmere

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Under Contract! A 4 BR Craftsman Dutch Colonial with EIK, All 4BR on one level. 1.5 bath, Gas heating and forced air, Large Country sized front porch, Hardwood floors, Crown moldings, low taxes on quiet block. School District 14. $579K

ROCKVILLE CENTRE Flex Office Space / Light Warehousing 3650 S/F - Ready for move in. Competitively priced Ideal Location / Walk To LIRR & bus Bank, Shopping, City Center. 917-822-0499

APT FOR RENT For Rent by Owner, No Brokerage Involved Far Rockaway -ground floor apartment 2 family house near darchei. 3 bedrooms plus playroom in basement, washer dryer hookup- 1.5 bathrooms. $2,100.00 plus heat 718 471-4502 FAR ROCKAWAY BASEMENT ROOM FOR RENT IDEAL FOR DORM OR OFFICE 718-327-8007

BAYSWATER FOR RENT 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Kosher kitchen, DR/LR, Closets, driveway, Close to all www.AllGoingRealty.Com GoingRealty@gmail.com

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Classifieds HELP WANTED DRIVER FOR QUEENS DRY CLEANER ROUTE. Options to drive Tuesday am/ Thursday pm. Also hours available Monday am , Tue am and pm, Wed am and pm and Friday pm. Must have own car. Use of company van part time. Competitive salary. Contact Marc for info 917-612-2300 EXPANDING BOYS SPORTS TRAINING BUSINESS LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCED, DEDICATED, AND

HELP WANTED OFFICE MANAGER Local school seeking Office Manager to oversee busy operation. Responsibilities include managing schedules, coordinating with employees, delegating responsibilities, and working with vendors. Communication, computer and organizational skills required. Good pay, benefits, Jewish and Secular holidays off. Part time or full time. Email resume to fivetownsschool@gmail.com

CREATIVE TRAINERS. Must have car and able to travel to clients home in 5-towns, Far Rockaway area and be available to work Sunday afternoon and most weeknights. Pay commensurate to experience. Call Meir at 347-666-2162 or send email to: meirparry@gmail.com ASSISTANTS NEEDED FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AFTERNOON SESSION. Email: fivetownseducators@gmail.com

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RECEPTIONIST Local school seeking Receptionist to oversee busy operation. Responsibilities include answering phones, making appointments, data entry, and secretarial tasks. Good communication and computer skills required. Good pay, benefits, Jewish and Secular holidays off. Part time or full time. Email resume to fivetownsschool@gmail.com SEASONAL BUSINESS SEEKING WORKER IN STORE FOR 2 WEEKS. Email info@labelitlabels.com.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Classifieds

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HELP WANTED

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OFFICE MANAGER Do you have good organizational skills? Office Manager position available at local school. Responsibilities: work with vendors, coordinate staff schedules, manage schedules, etc. Must have good computer and communication skills. Great pay and work environment. Email resume to manager5towns@gmail.com

IS LOOKING FOR AN EXPERIENCED SECRETARY to perform clerical work, be responsible for payroll and financial records. Full time position, flexible hours and ideal for a motivated, and capable person working without supervision. Maintain general company record systems to uphold accurate files Compose letters, memos and emails Perform administrative tasks Experience in bookkeeping, accounting and data processing Knowledge of QuickBooks, Word and Excel email resume to info@ ExecutiveLaundry.com

YESHIVA DARCHEI TORAH MIDDLE SCHOOL is hiring secular studies teachers for the Fall semester in all secular subjects; excellent working environment and salary; Monday-Thursday, 2:30-5:30 PM. Interviews being held now. Candidates should have prior teaching experience. Please send resume to mhorowitz@darchei.orF/T & P/T

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Classifieds HELP WANTED REGISTERED NURSE openings to work with adults who have developmental disabilities within residential settings in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Long Island. Current NYS RN, min 2 years hospital experience. OHEL: 855-OHEL JOB www.ohelfamily.org/careers Due to continued growth, the Yeshiva of South Shore is seeking Elementary School Teachers. Cert/Exp required. Please forward resume to monika@yoss.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

HELP WANTED Seeking full time PHYSICAL THERAPIST for Special Education school located in Brooklyn. Experienced preferred. Competitive salary. Room for growth. resumes@yadyisroelschool.org SHULAMITH EARLY CHILDHOOD is looking to hire a full time teacher assistant for the current school year. Please email resume to earlychildhood@shulamith.org 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 Seeking full time OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST for Special Education school located in Brooklyn. Experienced preferred. Competitive salary. Room for growth. resumes@yadyisroelschool.org

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The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Your

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Money

Don’t Worry, No One Will Notice By Allan Rolnick, CPA

ould anyone in their right mind sit down from scratch and develop the tax withholding system we have today? The IRS publishes tables telling employers how much to take out of everyone’s paycheck, depending on their income, their filing status, and the amount they guesstimate they’ll be claiming in deductions and credits. Then, at the end of the year, employees file their actual returns and hope it’s the IRS coming out on the short end. Lots of Americans use the tax withholding system as a piggy bank. Yes, letting the IRS hold your money for a year amounts to giving them an interest-free loan. And no, they won’t do the same for you. But with savings accounts paying just a hair over 1% right now, plenty of taxpayers decide the forced discipline is worth more than the interest they give up. In 2018, the average refund amounted to $2,782, which is enough to cover some bills, take a nice weekend trip, or maybe redo your family room for big-screen TV nirvana. But one enterprising 29-year-old named Christopher Blanchett found himself in a position to snag a refund worth writing home about. And when you

hear his story, you’ll realize that sometimes these stories of ours just write themselves. Two years ago, Blanchett sat down to file his return. He had a W2 from a Sizzling Platter restaurant where he worked in Utah reporting $1,399 in income and zero withholding. And somehow, he had a W2 from a Tampa nursing home showing $17,098

that check and deposited in Sun Trust Bank. Sun Trust suspected fraud (ya think?), froze the funds, and eventually sent the money back to him. So Blanchett took that check and deposited it into a credit union, as one does, “falsely representing that the funds were from the estate of his deceased father.” And what did Blanchett actual-

But where you or I might have thought, “Hmmmm, something looks off,” Blanchett smelled opportunity.

in wages and a million dollars in withholding. But where you or I might have thought, “Hmmmm, something looks off,” Blanchett smelled opportunity — and chose not to look his gift horse in the mouth. So Blanchett chose to file his return with a straight face, based on those W2s. In due time, the IRS sent him a check for $980,000. He took

ly do with his new-found wealth? He bought himself a used Lexus RC 350 sport coupe. Now that’s not a car to sneeze at. The Wall Street Journal calls it “a capering boulevardier with a soundtrack of cute, kitteny growls.” You can get one with allwheel drive, heated leather seats, and Apple Carplay® integration. But really … a Lexus? That seems like

an awfully mild play for a seven figure score. (Seriously, you’d think at least part of that windfall would find its way to a Ferrari dealer.) By that time, the IRS had realized maybe there was a problem with a guy getting back 53 times his income in a refund. Last month, they seized $919,251 that was left in his bank accounts, along with the Lexus. And they’re looking to take $809.94 that Blanchett’s insurance company refunded him when he canceled the coverage on the Lexus. Prosecutors haven’t filed charges against Blanchett, at least not yet. But it’s a fair bet this story won’t end well for him. There’s no real lesson in today’s story, other than don’t be a dimwit. But there’s a great way to give yourself a nice refund, and you won’t risk the IRS showing up with a tow truck and making off with your wheels. That answer, of course, is planning. So make sure you have a plan so you’ll be ready to save, and enjoy the ride!

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

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FEBRUARY 28, 2019 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Life C ach

That Was a Doozy By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., MFT, CLC

e all know this is true. Sometimes life sends you a giant doozy. Nevertheless, even on a daily basis, without a shocker coming our way, we can

remain stuck tuning into stuff that drives us crazy, is irritating us, or is giving us a reason to be down. The important question is: can we be big enough to tap into rea-

sons to be positive, optimistic, and upbeat? The gravity of how to navigate the doozy days are too difficult to address. That’s everyone’s private domain. But how we let go of them or not subscribe to them – that’s what I want to talk about. Someone once said that the painful pits in our lives don’t go away;

sweet kiss…. We have the power to turn our necks and focus on the fabulous or the fatal. That is the definition of choice. It’s about where we choose to focus. Thirdly, we must remember we have feet. We can actually walk in the direction we choose and totally embrace that constructive view.

We have the power to turn our necks and focus on the fabulous or the fatal.

we just learn how to go around them most of the time. So, if there’s going to be painful stuff in our lives, we don’t want to live perpetually in pain. And that’s the first decision we want to make: do we want to live in pain? Secondly, we want to recognize the gift of our neck! It can turn left and right. Imagine one direction has the traumatic ruins of an earthquake or the remains of a car pileup – you get where I’m going with this. But the other direction has a playground with laughter, the hall of a wedding, an ice cream sundae, your child’s

Now, I’m not saying another doozy can’t come our way. And it might. But then, when we are ready, we must remember we have that neck. And those feet. And we need to use them to be big enough to turn to the positive, optimistic, and upbeat. So, embrace choice – stick your neck out. And don’t be de“feet”ed!

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-705-2004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 28, 2019

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