Five Towns Jewish Home - 2-7-19 by The Jewish Home

February 7, 2019

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STATE OF THE UNION See page 7

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Rav Schustal Inspires at Motzei Shabbos Learning Program

President Trump: “We Must Choose Between Greatness or Gridlock” pg

Do You Really Think Tom Brady is Happy?

Dedication of Ari Block, z”l, Basketball Court

Special Appreciation for Daveners of the Month

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An O-Fish-al Chessed PAGE 9

Passover Vacation Section Starts on page 107

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

‫בס”ד‬

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

Union you see that when the president’s opposition needs to get their point across and they’re not able to speak, they do it with their eyes, their mouths, their arms, their papers. They’ll smirk, they’ll roll their eyes, they’ll shake their heads, they’ll cross their arms, they’ll shuffle meaningless pieces of paper – just to show their displeasure. Gestures matter. Words matter, too. You see, when you are trying to get your point across, it helps to engender a feeling of appreciation from the other side. When President Trump broached the horrific topic of infanticide, he attempted to create an emotional sentiment from his detractors when he spoke of the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant after taking off from work after birth. As Democrats cooed at the stirring vision, he then pointed out that by killing a newborn, they are effectively murdering a young child. Lesson number 3: speaking to a person’s emotions may just help to sway their views (although in this case, sadly, I doubt it’s going to work). Last but not least, it was funny to watch members of Congress standing – or at least considering to stand during the speech. When President Trump spoke about women in the workforce, women in the audience should have applauded and lauded the president for the strides he’s been making for their gender. But the sea of Democratic women dressed in white was tepid at first. Should they stand or should they continue sitting? You could see the indecision on their faces and bodies as they hovered over their seats. But then, once one woman stood, the others followed because, you know, if she’s doing it, I should be doing it too. So lesson number 4: peer pressure is alive and well, even when you’re in Congress. Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

egardless of which side of the aisle one stands, the State of the Union address is one of the more pomp-and-circumstance events that we have in the United States. Absent a royal family, we aren’t privy to a king or queen (thank G-d) waving his or her hand from a balcony as the royal guard marches below. Instead, we’re treated to a president who is greeted by the people vying to shake his hand as he slow-walks down the carpet to the podium. The vice president sits behind him on his right; the speaker of the House sits on his left. The Supreme Court justices are there. So are the army’s top brass, members of the president’s Cabinet, and members of Congress. Special guests are invited and sit near the First Lady and the president’s family. And the whole country watches as the president addresses the nation. I learned a few things from watching Tuesday’s night speech – and that’s aside from what the president said. I asked a friend of mine on Wednesday morning if she watched the speech. Replying in the affirmative, she told me, “I loved it. But we all knew that he did all those things. Why do they always need to say it again?” In a way, I heard what she was saying. She follows the news and so she knows that the economy is doing well, the U.S. is asserting itself when it comes to China and Russia, and that Trump is gung-ho about building a wall. But not everyone follows the news. And even if you do, sometimes it’s good to toot your horn here and there. So here’s my lesson number 1: it’s OK to talk about your accomplishments. Both your detractors and supporters will benefit from a little reminder of what you’ve done. Lesson number 2: gestures matter. Yes, we all are well-versed in hilchos lashon hara and know that facial expressions matter just as much as what comes out of our mouths. Watching the State of the

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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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Friday, February 8 Parshas Terumah Candle Lighting: 5:03 pm Shabbos Ends: 6:05 pm Rabbeinu Tam: 6:35 pm

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

VACATION IS OVER

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COMMUNITY 8

Readers’ Poll Community Happenings

40 NEWS

Global

National

Odd-but-True Stories

State of the Union

ISRAEL

Israel News

My Israel Home

PEOPLE 90

The Wandering Jew The Stormy History of Piracy on the Seas by Avi Heiligman

124

PARSHA Rabbi Wein

Making it a Habit of Hischadshus by Rav Moshe Weinberger

Parsha in Four by Eytan Kobre

HEALTH & FITNESS Be a Man by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn

103

Your Shabbos Guide to Healthy Eating: Side Dishes by Cindy Weinberger, MS RD CDN 104 Diet Baggage by Alice Harrosh

106

Friendships and the Early Years of Life by Hylton I Lightman, MD

108

FOOD & LEISURE The Aussie Gourmet: Beer Glazed Wings

112

LIFESTYLES You Think Tom Brady is Happy?

Dear Editor, I noticed a parallel in both Rav Moshe Weinberger’s article in this week’s issue and Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe’s article in this same issue. Rav Weinberger speaks about how G-d is in the details and how we need to remember that every piece of halacha is important. Rabbi Yaffe spoke about the importance of being a role model for our children and for being able to apply what we’ve learned to “real life.” Both of these articles talk about the importance of the small things in life. So many times, we may think that no one sees if we come a bit late to davening or raise our voices a bit louder to our family members or cut someone off when driving. But it’s all about the little things in life. Hashem is always watching, and if we keep that in mind, we’ll be mindful of the minutiae in our lives and act accordingly. L’havdil, our children are always watching too. We need to model good behavior and show them how they should be acting at every hour, every day, with every person, in business and at home. A growing person is one who is mindful of the little things in life. All the best, Adam H. Dear Editor, As I was reading your article last week and your letters to the editor, I felt like you were trying to paint a good picture of Robert Kraft and how they love Israel. “Robert Kraft and Sheldon Adelson are the biggest

influencers in the kiruv community,” one reader wrote. If Robert Kraft is so Jewish and great, wear a yarmulke, wear tzitzis, keep Shabbos, eat kosher. This article made me think lowly of Robert Kraft. And I am sure a lot of people agree with me. Moshe Gladstone Far Rockaway, NY Dear Editor, Democrats: The Party of Infanticide In years long past, they were the party of slavery, Jim Crow, the Black Codes, the KKK and segregation; this was the sordid and disreputable history of the Democrat Party. In an apparent effort to eclipse their own abysmal history, they’ve now fervently embraced one of the most hideous practices ever in civilized history: infanticide. Democrats are now perfectly complacent with the murder of babies merely seconds prior to birth. If that doesn’t sufficiently perturb you, and you’re still obstinate in your euphemistically-named position “prochoice,” you’re an evil and execrable person who deserves no respect and are a pathetic excuse for a so-called “human” being. Anyone who’s still affiliated with the Democrat Party at the present juncture should be utterly ashamed of themselves. Rafi Metz Dear Editor, Two days ago from when I am write this letter, the Senate overContinued on page 10

Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW 100

108

Tribe Tech Review

126

Your Money

130

Confusing Messages by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS 134 HUMOR

Centerfold Charmingly Chopped

80 128

POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

114

Democrats Strive to Forget Fragile Peace by David Ignatius

120

Schultz is Calling Democrats Out by Marc A. Thiessen

122

CLASSIFIEDS

131

Would you rather go into the past and meet your ancestors or go into the future and meet your great-great-grandchildren?

68 32 %

Past

Future

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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why did you ask Senator Al Franklin to step down without due process (not a fan of him, but still)? All you are is full of hate and selfishness. Even the Democratic leader in the senate, Senator Schumer, whom I don’t like, voted against BDS. Madam Senator, it’s time for you to start thinking for “we the people.” Stop advancing your own personal agenda, but instead start advancing your constituents’ agenda who elected you. Sincerely, Donny Simcha Guttman Dear Editor, Wow! Rabbi Yaffe’s article this week, “Applied Integrity,” should be required reading for anyone who has children. There is so much that our children learn in school but what they see at home and from their parents is so much of a greater influence. If only we remembered that little eyes are watching every word, action, tefillah, etc. we would be so much more careful. After all, don’t we want our children to grow up to be menschlech individuals we can be proud of? Sincerely, Adina Gerber

Continued from page 8

whelmingly voted against the disgusting, hateful BDS movement. But 17 Democratic senators voted in favor of BDS. One of these shameful senators was our own senator, Senator Gillibrand. Whether you disagree politically with her or not, once upon a time she was a pro-Israel Democrat. She has gone so far left now that she voted against her own constituents, the Jewish people, which comprise around 1 million New Yorkers.

Senator Gillibrand is running for president next year and just remember that she has voted in favor of the Iran Deal and BDS. This is outrageous and Jews that vote for her are shameful. We can’t support these crazy people who vote against their own constituents. If Senator Gillibrand reads this, this is my message for you: “Shame on you. What you continue to do is despicable. Starting with you lying to New York that you wouldn’t run for president to flip flopping on the issues.”

We, as Jews, no matter Republican or Democrat, must support each other as it’s shameful to see people’s own agendas get in front of morality. We, as Jews, are Am Yisrael and it’s embarrassing to see a senator that represents the biggest Jewish population in America vote against us. Senator Gillibrand has said that even though she’s “against” the BDS movement, she needs to support it because we have to give them the right to speak. And if you are such a proponent of our systems all a sudden, then

Dear Editor, My late relative, Rav Avraham Genechovsky zt”l, provided me with the following phenomenal drash relating to Purim. The Gemara (Taanis 29a) states, “Mishenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha, when Adar arrives, one should rejoice.” Rav Avraham related this to another Gemara (Beitzah 15b) that says, “One who plants a tree called ‘Adar’ is guaranteed that his property will endure. “Therefore, as Adar is symbolic of happiness, we may say that one who “plants” happiness into his heart will endure. I heard a topically related thought from Rabbi Kornfeld shlita, rosh kollel of Kollel Iyun Hadaf in Israel. The Gemara says, “A pumpkin is only shown in a dream to one who fears Heaven with all his might” (Berachos 56b). He explained the meaning of this passage in profound fashion. The characteristic of a pumpkin is that the more it grows, the deeper it sinks into the ground. So too, the true sign of one who fears G-d is that as he grows and becomes greater, he sinks lower into the ground, ensconced in humility. In summation, planting happiness within and falling in humility as you grow could be the right plan to prosper. Steven Genack

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

S E R V I C I N G T H E F I V E TOW N S

the country’s president must be a Christian, the prime minister’s slot is reserved for a Sunni Muslim, and only Shi’ites can be appointed parliamentary speaker.

A New Govt in Lebanon

Australia Suffers from Extreme Heat

Lebanon managed to establish a governing coalition late last week, breaking an 8-month deadlock that added to the country’s economic woes. Sa’ad Hariri will stay on as prime minister and will lead the 30-minister government. Following the first government meeting, Hariri said that he would focus on rehabilitating Lebanon’s dismal economic outlook by accessing billions in foreign aid to pay back the national debt. The current debt is twice as large as the economy, which has stagnated over recent years with only 2% average annual growth. “There are difficult decisions in all areas that we must take,” Hariri noted. “We are facing economic, financial, social and administrative challenges.” He added, “It has been a difficult political period, especially after the elections, and we must turn the page and start working.” Lebanon’s political system had been deadlocked ever since the most previous elections in May regarding the inclusion of Sunni politicians allied with the Hezbollah terror militia. Hariri, a fierce Hezbollah opponent, had initially refused to give Hezbollah-allied lawmakers a cabinet position, only to back down last week. Under the new agreement, MP Hasan Mrad will be appointed Minister of State in what analysts see as a clear win for the Iran-controlled proxy. Despite being designated by the United States and Israel as a terror group, Hezbollah now control’s Lebanon’s fourth-largest budget. Political gridlock has defined Lebanon for years stemming from its large Sunni, Shiite, Maronite Christian, and Druze minorities. By law,

While many of us are shivering in our boots, folks Down Under are sweltering in temperatures that are soaring. Farmers have been forced to feed livestock by hand as crops haven’t been growing. They worry about planting for the next season after all the heat and winds have dried out their fields. Week after week, temperatures in Australia have continued to rise with all of the country’s eight states and territories affected. Across the country, roads have melted, infrastructure has failed, and both animals and fish have died en masse. The southern city of Adelaide experienced its hottest day on record on January 24, reaching 46.6ºC (116 F). On Friday, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology announced it had been the country’s hottest January on record, describing the weather as “unprecedented.” In temperatures above 40ºC (104ºF) the human body begins to experience heat exhaustion. Once the temperature exceeds 41ºC (105ºF), the body starts to shut down. Health warnings have been issued throughout Australia advising people to stay indoors during the hottest part of the day, minimize physical activity and keep hydrated. A viral video circulating in the country in January showed two farmers in a river holding up two huge dead fish. Mounds of fish have been dying en masse due to the extreme temperatures and drought conditions, as fish suffocate for lack of oxygen. Fish are not the only animals affected. Dozens of wild horses were found dead surrounding a dried up

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watering hole last month. At least 2,000 flying foxes were found dead due to heat stress. Authorities and infrastructure have been struggling to keep up with the extreme weather’s disastrous side effects. Dozens of bushfires broke out across the southern state of Tasmania, destroying homes and wilderness as hundreds of firefighters sought to get the blazes under control. Facing pressure from Australians desperate to escape the heat, the country’s power grid even began to buckle. Hundreds of thousands of homes were sporadically left without power in Victoria and South Australia amid surging demand as residents turned up air conditioners and fans. Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman on Wednesday warned that conditions would “worsen.”

Syria Guilty in Death of War Correspondent A U.S. judge has found Syria responsible for the death of journalist Marie Colvin and has ordered the

Assad regime to pay $302 million in damages to her family.

Syria was ordered to pay $300 million in punitive damages while the other $2.5 million was for pain and suffering. Colvin, 56, was killed in 2012 during an artillery barrage in the Syrian city of Homs while on an assignment by England’s Sunday Times. In a 36-page ruling, D.C. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that the Assad regime had specifically targeted the building Colvin had taken shelter in for the purpose of silencing the press from reporting on the war-torn country. “She was specifically targeted because of her profession, for the purpose of silencing those reporting on

the growing opposition movement in the country,” wrote Judge Jackson. The justice also noted testimony from a Syrian defector with knowledge of the artillery strike who alleged that “officials at the highest level of the Syrian government carefully planned and executed the artillery assault on the Baba Amr Media Center for the specific purpose of killing the journalists inside.” Jackson added that “the targeted murder of an American citizen, whose courageous work was not only important, but vital to our understanding of war zones and of wars generally, is outrageous.” The ruling was welcomed by Colvin’s family, which had first filed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2016. “It’s been almost seven years since my sister was killed by the Assad regime, and not a day goes by when I don’t think of her,” said her sister Cathleen. “It is my greatest hope that the court’s ruling will lead to other criminal prosecutions and serve as a deterrent against future attacks on the press and on civilians.” While Syria never responded to the lawsuit, President Basher Assad argued that his military played no role in Colvin’s death during a 2016 interview with NBC. “It’s a war, and she

came illegally to Syria; she worked with the terrorists and because she came illegally, she’s responsible [for] everything that befell her,” Assad said. Colvin had been a celebrated journalist known for the eye patch she wore following the loss of her eye from shrapnel in 2001 while reporting from Sri Lanka. She worked for the Sunday Times from 1985 until her death and was known for venturing into high risk conflict areas for stories. Colvin first rose to fame in 1986 when she became the first person to interview Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi after the U.S. bombed his country in an assault known as Operation Dorado Canyon. A feature film chronicling her life was later released in 2016.

Paris’ Deadliest Fire in a Decade Was Arson On Tuesday, Paris was struck with its deadliest fire in over a decade, in which ten people were killed. Residents clamoring to escape the flames fled to the roof and across balconies as the fire engulfed their nine-story

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apartment building. A 40-year-old female resident of the building, said to have a history of psychiatric problems, was arrested on the street in the hours after the 1 a.m. blaze, as French police opened a criminal investigation into voluntary arson resulting in death. Police say she was drunk.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter: “France wakes up with emotion after the fire in rue Erlanger in Paris last night.”

Multiple neighbors said they heard the suspect and her neighbor, an off-duty firefighter, arguing over the woman’s music before the fire broke out, and then heard the woman cry out: “So you’re a firefighter? Here’s a fire.” Police had responded to the dispute earlier in the evening. The firefighter and his friend told officers they were going to leave the building because she was dangerous. Tuesday’s fire was the deadliest fire in Paris since the April 2005 hotel fire near the capital’s famed Opera that killed 24 people. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner spoke to reporters at the scene on Tuesday morning, as plumes of smoke speckled the sky. “I want to salute the huge mobilization of the Paris firefighters,” he said. “More than 250 people arrived immediately and, throughout the night, saved over 50 people in truly exceptional conditions.” Over 30 people were being treated for “relatively” light injuries, he said. Among the injured were at least eight firefighters. The building is on rue Erlanger in the 16th arrondissement, one of the calmest and priciest districts of Paris. It is close to the popular Bois de Boulogne park and about a kilometer from the Roland Garros stadium that hosts the French Open tennis tournament and near the Parc des Princes stadium that’s home to Paris Saint-Germain, the country’s top soccer team. Paris police said the street was blocked off and neighboring buildings were also evacuated as the firefighters worked to put out the blaze. It was extinguished by mid-morning.

A major Canadian cryptocurrency exchange is in the spotlight following the sudden death of its founder, which has left customers unable to access $190 million in funds. Gerald Cotten, the 30-year-old founder of QuadrigaCX, died in India on December 9, 2018, due to complications from Crohn’s disease, according to a sworn affidavit by his wife, Jennifer Robertson. At the time of his death, Cotten was the only person with the password to access customer funds. Robertson says that she has received online threats as a result of the bizarre situation. Cotten’s death has also fueled conspiracy theories, according to his widow. “There has been a significant amount of commentary on Reddit and other web-based platforms about the state of Quadriga, Gerry’s death (including whether he is really dead), and missing coins,” Robertson writes, in her affidavit, which was obtained by CoinDesk. The CEO’s death certificate was attached to Robertson’s affidavit. The Globe and Mail reports that Cotten signed a will on November 27 that included a $100,000 provision for his two pet chihuahuas. The diligent preparation of the will and the apparent lack of contingency planning around the customer funds has left many people scratching their heads. In the turmoil following Cotten’s death, QuadrigaCX has applied for creditor protection in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. A preliminary hearing on the application is scheduled to take place this week. “For the past weeks, we have worked extensively to address our

Cryptocurrency Chaos

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liquidity issues, which include attempting to locate and secure our very significant cryptocurrency reserves held in cold wallets and that are required to satisfy customer cryptocurrency balances on deposit, as well as sourcing a financial institution to accept the bank drafts that are to be transferred to us,” QuadrigaCX said in a statement posted on its website on January 31. “Unfortunately, these efforts have not been successful.” Citing court filings, the Chronicle Herald notes that “cold wallets” harness technologies such as USB drives and electronic devices that are not connected to the Internet. “A cold wallet or cold storage is located offline and is a safe space to secure coins,” explains Robertson, in her affidavit. In her court filing, Robertson notes that Cotten’s laptop is encrypted and she does not know the password or recovery key. “Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere,” she writes. A security expert has also been unable to unlock Cotten’s laptop and an encrypted USB key. Cryptocurrency experts have ex-

pressed their surprise at the unusual situation. Taylor Monahan, CEO of cryptocurrency specialist MyCrypto, says that the deadlock highlights the need for a “multi-signature wallet” where a number of people have access to sensitive data. Cotten was in India to open an orphanage when he died.

Tonga InternetFree for 2 Weeks

After almost two full weeks of being plunged into proverbial darkness, residents of the island-nation Tonga regained internet connectivity as of February 2. Tonga, located roughly 1,000 miles northeast of New Zealand, is connected to high-speed internet in

Fiji via an underwater fiber-optic cable. When the cable was severed on January 20, the population of about 100,000 residents couldn’t access the internet, make international calls, or even process credit card payments. For those twelve days, long lines formed outside the headquarters of Tonga Communications Corporation, the national internet service provider, for access to internet “rations.” For small business owners, the loss of internet was quite harmful to their livelihood. Tony Matthias, the owner of a tour company and guesthouse, said he had been waiting in the line twice a day, often for several hours, because quick response time to potential customers is how he keeps his business running. “I always respond to messages as soon as I see them – that’s been my policy,” he reported. “I don’t wait. If I get up in the middle of the night, I check my email. I get up first thing in the morning, I check my email. And then during the day, I check it many times to reply to messages. But I can’t now.” Tonga, which has only been wired for high-speed internet since 2013, never imagined that such a thing could happen. Piveni Piukala, a di-

rector of Tonga Cable Limited, said the company believed that a large ship had cut the cable in multiple places by dragging an anchor along the seabed, according to The Associated Press. “We don’t need a rocket scientist to tell us we need a better plan,” Piukala said, adding, “The cost of a backup is huge, and for a country like Tonga, we don’t have the luxury of money to put aside for a disaster like this.”

FB Removes 800 Fake Iranian Accounts

Facebook recently announced its removal of almost 800 “inauthentic” Iranian accounts that were part of a large-scale manipulation campaign operating in over 20 countries, including Israel.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

The various pages, groups, and accounts were part of a campaign to promote Iranian interests in numerous countries by creating fake identities of residents of those nations, according to a statement by Nathaniel Gleicher, head of cybersecurity policy at Facebook. The operators “typically represented themselves as locals, often using fake accounts, and posted news stories on current events,” including “commentary that repurposed Iranian state media’s reporting on topics like Israel-Palestine relations and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen,” Gleicher said. “Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our manual review linked these accounts to Iran.” According to Facebook, the fake accounts operated in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, U.S., and Yemen. Facebook first began looking into these kinds of activities after the revelations of Russian influence campaigns during the 2016 U.S. election, which were aimed at sowing discord. Iran is considered one of the world leaders in information warfare and has been caught multiple times managing fake news mills whose goal is to influence people all over the world. In November, Reuters released a bombshell report with the Israeli cybersecurity company ClearSky detailing an Islamic Republic’s operation that operated 98 websites in 25 countries to shape public sentiment in a way that favored Iranian interests. All in all, Iran’s bundle of websites spread consistent propaganda across the Arab world and the West mocking Donald Trump, the United States, and trumpeting anti-Israel material. The expose caused Facebook to remove hundreds of pages it identified as fronts for Iranian information operations.

U.S.-China Tensions Escalate The already-tenuous relations between the United States and China deteriorated further after the Justice Department filed criminal charges

against Chinese tech giant Huawei. The charges come as Washington and Beijing attempt to find an end to the trade war stemming from tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

The U.S. had filed charges against Huawei for what it said was its rampant theft of intellectual property. The indictment detailed the extensive methods Huawei utilized to target the U.S. telecommunications firm T-Mobile, including paying employees to steal sensitive information from their competitors. Key to Huawei’s efforts was the technology underlying a robot T-Mobile developed to test cellphones known as “Tappy.” Huawei allegedly schooled its employees who were permitted to enter T-Mobile’s lab containing the robot to copy its measurements and tasked a Huawei scientist with stealing the device for engineers to examine. Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was also charged with assisting other corporations to skirt the sanctions on Iran. Meng had been arrested in Canada in December after the U.S. filed an extradition request, and her continuous confinement has ratcheted up tensions between Canada and China. “Today we are announcing that we are bringing criminal charges against telecommunications giant Huawei and its associates for nearly two dozen alleged crimes,” Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said last Monday. “China must hold its citizens and Chinese companies accountable for complying with the law.” FBI Director Christopher Wray added in a press conference that Huawei “relied on dishonest business practices that contradict the economic principles that have allowed American companies and the United States to thrive. “The prosperity that drives our economic security is inherently linked to our national security,” Wray continued. “And the immense influence that the Chinese government holds over Chinese corporations like Huawei represents a threat to both.”

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

China strongly protested the charges, which it alleged was an effort by the U.S. to use “its state power to smear and crack down on targeted Chinese companies in an attempt to kill their normal and legal business operations.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called on the U.S. “to stop its unreasonable crackdown on Chinese companies, including Huawei.” “The U.S. should immediately withdraw its arrest warrant on Ms. Meng and refrain from making a formal extradition request to avoid walking farther down a wrong path,” he said. The indictments come amid an effort by the United States to crack down on China’s rampant efforts to steal or copy sensitive U.S. technology. Observers say that Beijing’s intellectual property theft causes billions in damages to U.S. corporations due to lost income and allows Chinese corporations to undercut their U.S. counterparts.

26, 2018 in the Bethel neighborhood-and-church house has ended,” said Bethel in a statement. “The political agreement that was concluded on Tuesday offers the Armenian family Tamrazyan a safe future in the Netherlands.” Over 1,000 people took part in 96-day service in an effort to stop the deportation of the family, which saw 450 pastors arrive from around the country to participate in the effort. “We are extremely grateful for a safe future for hundreds of refugee families in the Netherlands,” said Theo Hettema, who serves as the chairman of the General Council of Protestant Ministers in the Netherlands. “For months we have held up hope, and now that hope is taking shape.”

El Salvador’s New Prez Makes History

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A Dutch church declared victory after its marathon 96-day church service saved a family from being deported. The Dutch government had sought to deport the Tamrazyans, an Armenian family of five that has lived in the country for nine years. Exploiting a law that forbids law enforcement from entering houses of worship during services, the Bethel Church in The Hague held ongoing services starting on October 26. After 2,237 hours of round-theclock rites, the Dutch government gave in and announced that the Tamrazyans will be granted permanent residency along with hundreds of other families under a new amnesty measure. The Bethel Church hailed the government’s decision to grant amnesty to the family. “On January 30, 2019, the continuous church service that has been held since October

Nayib Bukele, a former mayor, coasted to a landslide victory in El Salvador’s presidential elections on Sunday. Winning 54% of the vote, Bukele won more than the other two candidates combined. Runner-up Carlos Callejas came in a distant second with 32%, followed by former foreign minister Hugo Martinez of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. In surpassing the 50% mark, Bukele avoided potentially heading to a runoff in March. “We have full certainty that we have won the presidency, and we have won in the first round,” declared Bukele before a raucous crowd. Bukele, a social media-savvy politician who frequently snaps selfies with his supporters, ran on a strong anti-corruption platform. Among his campaign promises were pledges to stamp out crime, eliminate bribery, and crack down on the gang warfare

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that has made El Salvador one of the most violent nations in the world. Bukele, 37, burst onto the local political scene in 2015 when he was elected mayor of San Salvador. His frequent criticism of senior members of his then-FMLN faction led to his expulsion, and he joined the small Grant Alliance for National Unity party. Bukele’s win marks the first time a president has been elected who does not belong to the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) or the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), something he noted in his victory speech. “This day is historic for our country. This day El Salvador destroyed the two-party system,” Bukele told supporters.

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A senior lawmaker in Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid faction has confirmed that talks are underway to possibly run together with the Hosen L’Yisrael party headed by former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz. “Conversations are being held between Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz, and a decision will come in the next two weeks,” confirmed MK Ofer Shelah. The lawmaker cautioned, however, that any such union would have to be headed by Lapid and not by Gantz. Shelah added that “the most established government alternative in Israel is Yesh Atid led by Yair Lapid, and it needs to lead those who want to change the government.” The revelation comes as Gantz has surged in the polls following his maiden political speech last Wednesday, with surveys showing that the general is siphoning support off Yesh Atid. Gantz, who had commanded

the IDF from 2010 to 2015, had broken his long media silence and announced in a widely-viewed speech that he intended to replace Prime Minister Netanyahu in the coming April elections. “Instead of serving the people, the government looms over the people and finds the people to be a bore,” alleged Gantz. “It does not see the working man and the working woman. It does not see families moaning under the cost of living and the young people who cannot buy an apartment.” Initial surveys after the speech found that Gantz’s Hosen L’Yisrael party surged from the 12 Knesset seats it has been averaging to anywhere between 21 and 24. In another poll by the Hadashot television channel, Gantz and Netanyahu were tied in the polls as most suitable to be Israel’s prime minister, the first time someone has tied Netanyahu in more than a decade. Meanwhile, Yesh Atid dropped from its average of 15 seats to the single digits. However, numerous surveys found that a Yesh Atid-Hosen L’Yisrael union would become Israel’s largest party with 36 seats, five more than the 31 the ruling Likud party is expected to receive. Previous talks between Lapid and Gantz had stalled due to Lapid’s demand that he remain number one and be the bloc’s candidate for prime minister, something to which the general had previously refused.

Unit 669 Trains Citizens Around the World

A new report by the Times of Israel details a new effort by members of Israel’s 669 unit to train people around the world in emergency first aid. 669 is considered one of the IDF’s most elite units. A Search and Rescue team attached to the air force, 669 is tasked with rescuing downed pilots from behind enemy lines. Recruits are only accepted following a punishing week-long tryout, and its

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

24-month rigorous training regimen is the military’s longest after its pilot’s course. As the unit deals mainly with rescuing wounded soldiers, every operative is a trained medic, making 669 the only combat unit in the IDF where members must pass a medics course. Other than first aid, 669 personnel are also trained in advanced counterterrorism tactics, as well as hostage rescue, hand-to-hand combat, and urban warfare. Now, a new initiative made up of 669 alumni aims to train civilians around the world to perform emergency first aid wherever it may be needed. Known as the 669 Alumni Association, it runs programs teaching rudimentary medical skills that they learned on the battlefield, such as how to treat heart attacks and tying a tourniquet. The initiative also hosts a medical conference every year and distributes special first aid kits modeled after the ones 669 troops use during their military service. The effort was founded by Bar Reuven, a Tel Aviv native who spent five years in 669. He told the Times of Israel that he was struck by the idea after witnessing a woman collapse on a subway platform in Brooklyn, New

York. “After the medics came and took her to the hospital, I got back on the train, and people clapped for me,” Reuven recalled. “Like I was a hero. But all I did was respond. And I realized how many people are afraid to help because they don’t know what to do. “My teammates and I have years of experience saving lives,” added Reuven. “Once we leave the military, that experience is not fully utilized. How can we pay it forward and teach other people how to save lives too?” The 669 Alumni Association has already trained hundreds in the basics of first aid. With its board comprised of influential figures such as former Israeli Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, members of the association hope that they can utilize their clout to expand their life-saving activities. “The 669 organization is just at the beginning of its life and there is a huge horizon for it to expand into,” said David Ben Eli, a 669 alum and current New York City firefighter. “Just look at the dramatic improvement in cardiac survival rates in Washington, for example, after the state mandated the teaching of CPR in high schools.”

82 Ethiopian Immigrants Land in Israel

A group of 82 Ethiopians immigrants landed in Israel on Monday evening, the first of some thousand members of the Jewish community to be allowed to move to the Jewish state under a cabinet decision made in October 2018. There are about 8,000 Ethiopian Jews still in Ethiopia, most of whom are “Falashmura,” meaning their ancestors converted to Christianity, often under duress, generations ago. Only members with first degree family already in Israel were included in the October decision. They are able to bring their partners and any

unmarried children who do not have children of their own. Although a cabinet decision in 2015 promised to bring the entire Falashmura community to Israel over a five-year period, the government has not budgeted the approximately NIS 200 million ($55 million) per year to absorb the new immigrants. Just one Ethiopian Jewish family was allowed to immigrate to Israel in 2018, Israel Bible Quiz participant Sintayehu Shafrao and his family. At least 1,000 immigrants are expected to come to Israel in 2019, but the fate of the rest of the community is uncertain. On Monday evening, the group of new immigrants was welcomed at Ben Gurion Airport by Immigration and Aliyah Minister Yoav Gallant and Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog. Many of them were reunited with their relatives living in Israel, some of whom had been waiting for their loved ones for many years. “This is an exciting moment, and the whole of Israel is embracing you. The land of Israel is embracing you,” Herzog said on Monday, calling on the government to bring the rest of the Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Alisa Bodner, spokeswoman for an Ethiopian-Jewish activist group, criticized the decision to only bring 1,000 of the thousands waiting for permission to come to Israel, calling it “a cruel game that forces parents to make an inhuman decision between their kids in Israel and their kids in Ethiopia. “We are far from content with the partial and superficial fulfillment of the decision adopted by [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in 2015,” she said. “While the Israeli government begs other communities in the world to make aliyah, it is ignoring its decisions regarding Ethiopian Jewry and thus continues the discrimination against members of the Ethiopian community,” she added. Because the Interior Ministry does not consider the Falashmura to be Jewish, they cannot immigrate under the Law of Return and therefore must get special permission from the government to move to Israel. About 135,000 Ethiopian Jews currently live in Israel. Some 22,000 of them were airlifted to Israel during Operation Moses in 1984 and Operation Solomon in 1991.

IDF to Demolish Home of Ofrah Terrorists The IDF signed a demolition order last week for the destruction of the home of Salah and Asam Barghouti, who are responsible for the recent deadly terror attacks in Ofrah and Givat Assaf. An appeal by the family to spare their home was rejected. The IDF Central Command’s signature caps off the legal battle to destroy the Barghouti brothers’ home. The IDF had issued the demolition order on January 20 but its implementation had stalled due to numerous legal appeals by the Barghouti family. Israel commonly demolishes the homes of terrorists in order to deter future attacks. Salah and Asam, who grew up in a prominent family affiliated with Hamas, had shot seven Israelis on December 9 after the brothers opened fire at a hitchhiking post near Ofrah, about a half hour drive from Jerusalem.

Among those shot was Bet El native Shira Ish-Ran, who was 30 weeks pregnant with her first child. Doctors at Jerusalem’s Shaarei Tzedek Hospital performed an emergency caesarean section in an attempt to save the baby but the newborn passed away three days later. Salah was killed three days later during a shootout with Israeli special forces in his hometown of Kobar. The next day, Asem shot and killed Sgt. Yosef Cohen and Staff Sgt.

Yovel Mor Yosef while they guarded a bus stop at Givat Assaf, only a mile away from the attack in Ofrah. Another soldier was seriously wounded in the attack and remains in critical condition. Asam successfully evaded a massive manhunt until he was nabbed in a joint operation by Israel’s elite Yamam SWAT team and the Shin Bet in the village of Abu Shukheidim north of Ramallah.

Construction Begins on New Border Wall Israel began constructing a massive 20-foot wall that will wall off the Gaza Strip from the Jewish State last week. The hulking 40-mile steel edifice will be built by the Defense Ministry

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

and aims to prevent Gaza-based terrorists from infiltrating into Israel. Costing an estimated NIS 3 billion, the fence will be erected on top of the underground 100-foot barrier Israel has been building to stop Hamas’ terror tunnels from crossing its borders. The barrier weighs six tons and is slated to be finished in 2019.

“On Thursday, we began work on the final component of the Gaza Strip border barrier project. The obstacle is unique and specially designed to protect against the threats from the Strip and to give a superior solution to preventing infiltration into Israeli territory,” said Brig. Gen. (res.) Eran Ofir, who is tasked with overseeing the project. The IDF says that the fence will be a significant upgrade from its

predecessor, which is dilapidated and falling into disrepair. In recent months, dozens of Gazans have infiltrated into Israel through the current fence, including three Palestinians who managed to elude an IDF manhunt for over 12 hours in 2017. In contrast, the new fence will sport state-of-the-art technology, including pressure sensors and video cameras and will be topped by remote-controlled machine guns. The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the fence “is similar to the one on the Egyptian border, but it has significant improvements and includes innovative security elements.” Prime Minister Netanyahu invoked the fence during his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. “At the end of last week, we began the construction of the barrier on the Gaza border,” said Netanyahu. “The barrier will prevent the infiltration of terrorists from Gaza into our territory. Those in Gaza have to understand that if they do not keep quiet, we will not hesitate to act.” The imminent construction comes amid Israel’s success with a similar barrier that was constructed in recent years on its border with

Egypt. Built to stem both the flood of illegal immigrants from Sudan and Eritrea and to prevent Islamic terrorists from infiltrating into Israel, the barrier caused infiltrations to drop from 14,669 infiltrations in 2013 to only 14 in 2016.

INF Treaty with Russia Falls Apart

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country would develop new weapons after the United States suspended compliance of the Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Inked at the height of the Cold War back in 1987, the accord bans the U.S. and Russia from using medium- and short-range missiles. “Our American partners announced that they are suspending their participation in the treaty, and we are suspending it too,” said Putin. “All of our proposals in this sphere, as before, remain on the table. The doors for talks are open.” Among the weapons Putin said Russia would develop are the seabased Kalibr missile and hypersonic rockets. Putin said, however, that his country did not intend to launch a new arms race with the U.S. and would refrain from deploying medium-range missiles unless the U.S. did so first. The United States announced that it would suspend compliance after compiling evidence that Russia had flagrantly violated the treaty on a consistent basis. According to the U.S., Russia’s new SSC-9 rocket falls within the 500-5,500km (3103,400 miles) range outlawed by the INF. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. has given Russia 60 days to resume honoring the treaty or the U.S. would pull out of the accords entirely. “Russia has not taken the necessary steps to return to compliance

over the last 60 days,” noted Pompeo. “It remains in material breach of its obligations not to produce, possess, or flight-test a ground-launched, intermediate-range cruise missile system with a range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.” Pompeo added that “the United States has gone to tremendous lengths to preserve the INF Treaty, engaging with Russian officials more than 30 times in nearly six years to discuss Russia’s violation, including at the highest levels of government.” The U.S. had signed the deal with Russia in 1987 amid concerns that the Soviet SS-20 rocket could devastate Europe. Within five years, 2,100 rockets were destroyed under the terms of the INF, which played a crucial part in ensuring that Europe remains free of nuclear weapons until today.

First Female U.S. Fighter Pilot Dies

Capt. Rosemary Mariner, the first woman in the United States to become a fighter pilot, passed away following a long battle with ovarian cancer last week. She was 65. Born in Texas to a U.S. Air Force pilot, Mariner got her pilot’s license at 17 and went on to break a slew of aeronautical records during her 24year career in the U.S. Navy. In 1973, she was a member of the Navy’s first all-female pilots’ course and became the first woman to become a fighter pilot a year later. In 1982, Mariner was the first woman to deploy on an aircraft carrier and rose to become the first woman appointed to command a tactical air squadron. In 1997, Mariner retired at the rank of captain after logging more than 3,500 flight hours in 15 different aircraft. The U.S. Navy honored Mariner’s accomplishments by performing an historic “Missing Man” flyover in her honor, a formation reserved to honor aviators who perished in combat. The five female pilots flew their F/A17 “Super Hornets” over Mariner’s grave in Tennessee on Saturday.

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Mariner’s husband, Navy Cmdr. Tommy Mariner, said that his deceased wife would have enjoyed the first-ever all-female flyover but “certainly would not say that that component is necessary.” “It’s wonderful that the Navy can do that and it’s good that they have that many women where they can fill out all the cockpits with women,” he said. “But that would not be a requirement for Rosemary.”

U.S.’s LargestEver Fentanyl Bust The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) made its largest-ever bust of the drug fentanyl when it recently intercepted a 254-pound shipment on the Mexican border. The deadly narcotic was concealed in the floor of a tractor-trailer that

was transporting narcotics across the Nogales Crossing. CPB Port Director Michael Humphries says agents were alerted when the vehicle’s load was abnormally heavy and a drug-sniffing dog soon uncovered the stash. “They like to use vehicles with hidden compartments that they’re able to track between ports of entry,” said Humphries. Other than the fentanyl, agents also found a large stash of meth. The fentanyl shipment had a street value

President Donald Trump praised the CPB for nabbing the stash in time, tweeting, “Our great U.S. Border Patrol Agents made the biggest Fentanyl bust in our Country’s history. Thanks, as always, for a job well done!” The previous biggest fentanyl interception by U.S. law enforcement occurred when the DEA nabbed 145 pounds in Queens back in August 2017. The seizure comes as fentanyl has become the biggest cause of overdoses in the U.S., surpassing other popular drugs such as OxyContin. In 2017 alone, fentanyl and similar substances were responsible for the deaths of 29,000 Americans, a rapid rise from the 3,100 lives the drug claimed in 2013. Central to the number of overdoses are the drug’s high potency; a bag the size of a sugar packet is sufficiently toxic to kill 500 people. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) warns that “fentanyl is potentially lethal, even at very low levels. Ingestion of doses as small as 0.25mg can be fatal.” Fentanyl’s potency in small amounts is a boon for drug traffickers, who can easily ship the substance in the mail without fear of getting caught.

U.S. Cracks Down on Birth Tourism

U.S. federal agents arrested 19 people during a raid last week targeting “birth houses” that enabled foreign citizens to grant their children

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

foreign citizenship by giving birth on American soil. Those detained are facing charges of immigration fraud and money laundering, as well as fraud. Prosecutors said that the scheme assisted pregnant Chinese women with coming to the United States under phony pretenses in order to give birth in the U.S. By giving birth on U.S. soil, their children would become American citizens under the 14th Amendment. The indictments detailed how birth tourism operators would coach their clients how to lie on interviews at the U.S. Consulate in Beijing in order to receive the necessary approvals. Customers were commonly told to say that they were only planning to stay in the U.S. for two weeks and instructed to avoid tight-fitting clothes in order to hide their pregnancies. Often, customers were given a guide titled, “Strategies to Maximize the Chance of Entry,” which listed strategies such as telling border officials that they had reservations at a “5 star hotel” such as “Trump International Waikiki Beach.” “These cases allege a wide array of criminal schemes that sought to defeat our immigration laws – laws that welcome foreign visitors so long as they are truthful about their inten-

tions when entering the country,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna. “Some of the wealthy clients of these businesses also showed blatant contempt for the U.S. by ignoring court orders directing them to stay in the country to assist with the investigation and by skipping out on their unpaid hospital bills,” he noted. The raid is considered the first time U.S. law enforcement has targeted foreigners who arrive in the United States for the purpose of obtaining citizenship for their children. In addition to the alleged immigration fraud, authorities said that the scheme posed a national security risk, as children with U.S. citizenship can enable their parents to receive a Green Card upon turning 21. Speaking with reporters, Department of Homeland Security official Mark Zito said that it was possible that China would have exploited birth tourism to flood the United States with foreign nationals. “I see this as a grave national security concern and vulnerability,” said Zito. “Are some of them doing it for security because the United States is more stable? Absolutely. But will those governments take advantage of this? Yes, they will.”

U.S. Marines Cleared of War Crimes Charges

Following a long 12-year battle to clear their names, a group of former United States Marines will be cleared of war crimes charges that have dogged them for years. On March 4, 2007, retired Marine Major Fred Galvin was leading his team of elite Marine Special Operations near the Afghani village of Bati Koti when they were attacked by a suicide bomber. Following the blast, Galvin and his men were involved in an intense firefight that left their six-vehicle convoy in flames, yet managed to repel the Taliban insurgents. After returning to base, they found that the clash had become an

international incident after the Taliban claimed that U.S. troops had killed innocent civilians. Exhibiting bullet-riddled corpses they said were killed by the Marines along with bombed out ambulances, the Afghani insurgents exploited the firefight as proof of American brutality towards innocent villagers. Despite discrepancies in the Taliban’s story, the U.S. military condemned Galvin’s men in an apparent effort at damage control. A criminal investigation was opened immediately, and senior U.S. military officers leaked disparaging information about Galvin’s team to the media. A subsequent report compiled by the Pentagon found that the Marines had acted improperly during the firefight. Galvin was relieved of command, his team was kicked out of Afghanistan, and some operators even faced negligent homicide charges. The damage the fallout caused to the elite Marines was considerable, with some saying that it caused them to suffer from PTSD. In January, however, a new report completely exonerated Galvin and his men, capping off the long battle they waged to clear their names. According to the Board for Corrections of Naval Records, the initial criminal

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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gan told the Washington Post. Morgan had taken part in a panel in 2008 that cleared Galvin’s men of wrongdoing yet watched as his findings were later buried by the Department of Defense. “Fred has finally come out on the right side of things, but it has come at a very steep price,” Morgan said. “The lies. The deceit. That makes me so mad. That kind of behavior doesn’t inspire confidence in the ethics of our military’s leaders. It corrodes public trust in the institution.”

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lars in backpay. Galvin hailed the decision to clear his name following years of effort to revisit the facts of the case. “Speaking for the Marines and corpsmen of Marine Special Operations Company Foxtrot, the senior civilian leaders from the Pentagon who composed the board made a courageous decision and their 12-page report reflects their integrity and thoroughness

from reviewing all of the facts in this case,” Galvin told the military newspaper Task & Purpose. The fate of the Marines following the 2007 bombing and resulting shoot-out had rankled members of the U.S. military community for years due to feelings that the senior command had thrown the operators. to the wolves. “This was a big betrayal,” retired Marine officer Steve Mor-

While many football fans were left disappointed by the low scoring in Sunday’s Super Bowl, it appears that the game left advertisers disappointed as well. New data shows that the contest between the New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams suffered from the lowest Super Bowl ratings in a decade. The sports match-up got only a 44.9% rating, the lowest ratings the Big Game has received since 2009. Despite suffering a 5% drop from last year, the game still pulled in a big audience, as a 49.9% rating translates into more than 100 million viewers. Preliminary ratings are notoriously inaccurate and only measure viewers watching from home, excluding central viewing places such as restaurants and bars, so these numbers may not be correct. The Nielsen ratings also do not include sports fans who stream the game from the internet, something that has become increasingly popular in recent years. Super Bowl 53 was seen by many as possibly one of the least interesting contests in NFL history, as the Patriot’s 13-3 defeat of the Los Angeles Rams was characterized by an anemic offense by both teams and frequent punts. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady

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earned his sixth Super Bowl ring with the win, a record for an NFL quarterback. The 41-year-old Brady also made history as the oldest quarterback to start a Super Bowl, beating out Peyton Manning, who won Super Bowl 50 at the age of 39. Brady has appeared in nine Super Bowls over his career, something that is unmatched by any other football player past or present. “It probably won’t sink in for a very, very long time,” Brady said following the victory. “I’m just so blessed to play with the best teammates through the years from our ‘01 team and all the way through now,” he added. “I love all those guys. That’s what makes this special, man. It’s a brotherhood. All these relationships are so important in my life, and I can’t cherish it enough. It’s going to be a celebration tonight.”

5 Killed in CA Plane Crash At least five people were killed after a plane broke apart midair over

the suburban California neighborhood of Yorba Linda on Sunday. Besides for the pilot, four other people were killed when the house they were staying in went up in flames caused by falling debris. Lt. Cory Martino of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department told reporters that two of the deceased owned the home and were watching the Super Bowl with friends when a fire engulfed the structure. Television footage showed an airplane wing burning near the home while a neighbor attempts to extinguish it with a garden hose. Eyewitnesses said that the 1981 twin-engine Cessna 414 broke apart in midair and turned into a flaming fireball before hurtling to the ground. “The plane blew up about 100 feet off of the ground. The plane blew up in the sky,” Yorba Linda resident Jared Bocachica told KTLA news. “I come out.... It’s raining plane parts from the sky.” The small Cessna had taken off from Fullerton Municipal Airport shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday and flew for 10 miles before suffering from engine trouble. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials said that the air-

craft climbed as high as 7,800 feet before spiraling out of the air. The NTSB also said that the plane left a debris spread of over four blocks long and that it would take up to a year to carry out a full investigation.

Hawaii: Ban Cigarettes from Anyone Younger than 100?

The state of Hawaii has some of the most restrictive cigarette laws in the nation. In 2016, it became the first state to raise the age to buy the cancer sticks to 21. Now, a new bill introduced in the state’s House calls

for raising the cigarette-buying age to 30 by next year, up to 40, 50, and 60 each subsequent year, and eventually to permit cigarette sales to only those older than 100 by 2024. “The legislature finds that the cigarette is considered the deadliest artifact in human history,” the new bill states. In other words, by the time the bill runs its course, Hawaiians won’t be seeing any cigarettes on their stores’ shelves. Unless, of course, some tourist wants to bring them in. Rep. Richard Creagan, who is the bill’s sponsor and is an emergency room doctor, told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, “Basically, we essentially have a group who are heavily addicted – in my view, enslaved by a ridiculously bad industry – which has enslaved them by designing a cigarette that is highly addictive, knowing that it highly lethal. And, it is.” The age limits would not apply to e-cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco. Federal law requires states to set the minimum tobacco-purchasing age at 18, and the government enforces the measure by withholding FEMA grants from states who don’t

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

comply. Currently, most states allow 18-year-olds to buy cigarettes; four have raised the minimum age to 19. The bill notes that Hawaii “is suffering from its own addiction to cigarettes in the form of the large sums of money that the State receives from state cigarette sales taxes,” to the tune of $100 million annually. In 2015, the National Academy of Sciences released a report that argued that increasing the age to buy tobacco to 21 would have a “considerable impact” on the age at which someone takes their first puff. The report also suggested that “if someone is not a regular tobacco user by age 25, it is highly unlikely he or she will become one.” Creagan told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald he’s confident the bill will survive any court challenges, as the U.S. Constitution does not recognize smoking as a fundamental right. In 2012, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling against a smoker who challenged an anti-smoking ordinance in Clayton, Missouri, on grounds that it violated his constitutional rights.

is worse than we had anticipated,” Cuomo said at a state Capitol news conference in Albany on Monday after referring to the fiscal situation as being “as serious as a heart attack.” The extreme dip in collections has made Cuomo’s $175 billion state budget proposal, which he offered just last week, “unsupportable,” he said. He added that he plans to make adjustments in the coming weeks. Trump’s 2017 act was not the sole cause of New York’s budget fiasco, Cuomo said. He added that the stock market drop in December may have had an impact and also struck a blow to the bonuses given to Wall Street traders, which adds a considerable amount to the state’s annual tax collections. Cuomo warned against imposing increased taxes on the wealthy in New York as a solution, which is already home to the nation’s second-highest taxes on millionaires, according to North Country Public Radio. “This is the flip side,” Cuomo said. “Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich. The rich leave, and now what do you do?”

(28 percent) say their job obsession is more than just a strong desire to succeed – it stems from financial necessity. The survey, commissioned by The Vision Council, also showed just how much the modern workaholic is looking at a computer, phone, or other digital device. The average participant was found to log 7.5 hours of screen time daily, though 35 percent say they spend more than nine hours each day focused on a screen. “The human eyes were not designed to look at digital devices – not to mention nearly as long as modern individuals do,” says Dr. Justin Bazan, practicing optometrist and medical advisor to The Vision Council, in a statement. “With Americans’ screen time hours nearing the double digits, and them spending their entire workdays – and more – on digital devices, it’s imperative that individuals take a serious look at the implications on the eyes, especially, as they’re the organs taking the brunt of all this screen time.” The survey was conducted by market research firm OnePoll.

Cuomo: Rich Fleeing NYS

Americans are Workaholics

NJ Rain Tax

“With all the salt that we’ve had on roads recently, that’s all running into the sewer systems. So you can’t ignore problems because they don’t go away,” Senate President Steve Sweeney said. Sweeney said most states already have storm water utilities that collect and filter runoff from storms. In New Jersey, the runoff goes directly into streams, rivers and bays, carrying with it pollution like lawn fertilizers that contaminate the waterways. “A lot of our economy is based on, obviously, the shore. We gotta make sure we keep it that way,” former governor and current state Senator Richard Codey said. Homeowners are not too pleased with the extra tax burden. Some Republicans have dubbed the bill the “Rain Tax,” saying another tax makes New Jersey even more unaffordable. State Sen. Tom Kean Jr. agrees. “We all want to protect our environment. We all want to preserve it for future generations. But this is a weighted tax. The citizens of New Jersey…really with no oversight have no way to defend themselves against tax increases at local levels,” Kean said.

Ford’s AntiSemitism Results in Firing This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo admitted that taxing the rich is not a good strategy for New York State. The Empire State is facing a $2.3 billion budget deficit, which the governor blames on the Trump administration’s tax reforms. President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which takes effect for the 2018 tax year, places a cap on the state and local tax deduction (known as SALT) that Americans can take. Residents of largely blue states with relatively high state and local taxes are adversely affected, Cuomo says, by the new cap of a $10,000 deduction. New York state’s average SALT deduction was around $22,000 before the law changed. “We’ve set up reserves, but this

A new survey finds that about half of employed Americans consider themselves to be workaholics. The average American says that they work four hours a week for free and think about their job another four hours. More than half – 53 percent – were stressed out from work, even while completing the survey. What makes these people workaholics? Researchers found that worrying about work on an off day, feeling too busy to take a vacation, and checking emails immediately after waking up (something 58 percent of the respondents say they do) were the top three symptoms of suffering from workaholism. But nearly three in ten people

Now, when it rains in New Jersey, residents are going to pay. A new bill in the Garden State will tax residents and businesses more when the weather turns dreary. The bill calls for the creation of local or regional storm water utilities, giving local counties and municipalities the power to collect a tax from properties with large paved surfaces such as parking lots, CBS2’s Meg Baker reported, which includes businesses and homeowners. The bill passed in the Senate and the Assembly and is now headed to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk.

The Dearborn Historian’s editor-in-chief found himself out of a job last week after publishing a wide-ranging expose of auto pioneer Henry Ford’s anti-Semitism. Bill McGraw had written a 3,700word report on Henry Ford’s hatred for Jews in the magazine’s January issue. The article chronicled Ford’s admiration for Adolf Hitler and quoted Ford as saying that “the Jew is a race that has no civilization to point to, no aspiring religion, no great achievement in any realm.” McGraw also called out Detroit’s

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historical reluctance to focus on Ford’s hatred of Jews due to the role he played in building up the city. “In general, metro Detroit and its institutions tend to treat Mr. Ford gently when it comes to his dark sides,” McGraw wrote. “But his anti-Semitism is much more than a personal failing.” The report was too much for Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly, who oversees the Dearborn Historical Society which prints the magazine.

The mayor ordered the post office not to mail out the issue and summarily fired McGraw. O’Reilly said that Dearborn’s large Arab population rendered it too sensitive to be stirring up ethnic tensions in between groups. “It was thought that by presenting information from 100 years ago that included hateful messages — without a compelling reason directly linked to events in Dearborn today — this edition of The Historian could become

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a distraction from our continuing messages of inclusion and respect,” he said in a statement. 35% of Dearborn residents are Arabs, and the city is seen as one of the largest Muslim-dominated cities in the U.S. In opposition, the Dearborn Historical Museum Commission called on the mayor in a non-binding resolution to overturn his order forbidding the magazines from being sent out. McGraw, who has called Dear-

George Washington is best known for being the first president of the United States but now his hair is making headlines. This week, a lock of Washington’s hair sold at auction for more than $35,000. The hair was sold by the family of Alexander Hamilton, who served under the first president of the United States as secretary of state. The final bid for the hair was $35,763.60. Also included with the piece of hair was a letter dated March 20, 1870 from James A. Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton’s son. The auction house said the strands that were sold are about 5.31 inches long, are gathered together with string, and are affixed to a card with sealing wax. The New Jersey-based auction house said the lock is unusually hefty, unlike other locks of hair from famous people which can break down over time. “Generally, we have stayed away from ‘hair’ because of the lack of strands and insufficient authentici-

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ty,” the auction house, Lelands, said in a lot description on its website. “This piece is the exception.” Let’s hear it for the hair.

Tunnel Thieves

Although it wasn’t titled “Ocean’s 11,” this caper seems like it should be something in the movies. On Sunday, authorities were baffled when they arrived at the BNP Paribas Bank in Antwerp, Belgium, in response to a security alarm going off. When they came to the bank, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The vault doors were secured, and there was no sign of any activity. But looks can be deceiving. Upon entering the vault, author-

ities were greeted by 30 empty deposit boxes, a hole in the floor, and a tunnel reaching into the city’s sewer system. For now, the robbery is under investigation, as authorities attempt to piece together what exactly was stolen. The tunnel was dug from a home several hundred meters away and into the sewage system. From there, the thieves then had to make their way through tight sewers – less than a meter wide – towards the bank, while risking the prospect of being flushed with water or harmful vapors. Upon arriving at the bank, the criminals had to dig another tunnel to get into the vault of the bank. The bank is located in the famed largest diamond district in the world that claims an annual turnover of $54 billion. This story gives new meaning to the saying “A diamond in the rough.”

Vanilla Ice How long will the ice last? That’s the $500 question in Vermont. Officials have launched an annu-

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

al contest where contestants guess how long the ice will last on Lake Memphremagog. For its “Ice Out” contest, Newport Parks and Recreation will put a large, wooden depiction of a bottle of vanilla extract on a platform attached to a time clock. It will record when the facade, called “Vanilla Ice,” drops into the water.

or $5 for two or $10 for five tickets. Each ticket bears a date and time that the contestant predicts will be the time the wooden vanilla sculpture will plunge into the lake. If the fake vanilla bottle crashes through the ice at that time, the winner gets the cash. The deadline to submit predictions for this year is April 1, or when the ice goes out. Sounds nice to get a prize for a slice of ice.

Durian, Durian

The lucky person who predicts the closest time will win 50 percent of the contest pool, which usually totals around $500. The rest of the proceeds will benefit the Gardner Memorial Park Playground and Splashpad project. Tickets are going for $3 a ticket

201.47.purple

An Indonesian variety of the durian – a pungent, spiky fruit considered a delicacy across many parts of

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Asia – has been sold in a store on the island of Java for a hefty $1,000 per fruit. The “J-Queen” durian was selected by a panel of farmers in a region of central Java because it was deemed to have a special taste and texture, said Sudarno, the farmer who grew the fruit. Two of the rare durians, which were displayed in a case in a store in Tasikmalaya in the neighboring province, were sold for 14 million rupiah ($1,002) each, said Sudarno, who uses one name like many Indonesians. Asked why anyone would pay such a high price, he said the harvest from this particular tree had failed in past seasons, but a new fertilizer helped to produce fruit this year. “It’s sweet…fluffy and delicious,” Sudarno said, describing the texture as creamy like butter. Sudarno said of the 20 durians that grew from his tree, only four were able to be sold. Two of them had to be discarded before being sold after they rotted. Durian are often grown in family orchards or small-scale farms and are hugely popular in many parts of Asia. But despite their delicious taste, durians are known for their horrible odor, often smelling like an open sewer or turpentine when ripe. The fruit is banned in some airports, on public transportation and in some hotels in Southeast Asia because of the smell. Sounds like they’re going bananas over a piece of fruit.

He’s a Snake

Want to name someone special after a slimy reptile? An Australian zoo is offering people the opportunity to name a snake after someone whom they feel is perfectly fitted for the reptile. The Wild Life Sydney Zoo launched a competition to name a brown snake, one of the most venomous species in the world, in honor of the winner’s least-favorite friend.

The competition website calls on entrants to make a $1 donation to the zoo and to explain in 25 words or less why their former friend deserves to have a snake share their name. “Not only will you know that your ex has a snake named after them, but you will also receive a certificate and the opportunity to visit the snake for FREE every day for the next year,” the website boasts. The winning entry, which will be chosen by the zoo’s reptile zoo, will be announced by February 14. Ssss-sounds ssss-spectacular.

Sausage Hotel

Love sausages? Head to the world’s first sausage hotel. Claus Boebel, a fourth-generation butcher in Germany, is celebrating his favorite food with the opening of the bratwurst bed-andbreakfast. He opened it near Nuremberg in a converted barn adjacent to his family butcher shop. Boebel Bratwurst Bed and Breakfast, which features sausage imagery in nearly every aspect of the decor, has attracted guests from around the world during its first four months of operation. “I want to bring tourists from all over the world to Rittersbach, my home village,” the 48-year-old explained. The restaurant on-site is not for vegetarians. It features one dish: bratwurst, served in many different styles. “I serve not steaks with onions – I serve bratwurst with onions. I serve not the German schnitzel, I serve bratwurst schnitzel. I serve many different styles of bratwurst with chili, with horseradish, or with chocolate or coffee inside,” he said. Guests who head to the hotel are bombarded with sausage-themed wall art, pillows and other meat-related decorations. Sounds like the “wurst” hotel ever.

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the

Community HaRav Dovid Schustal Inspires All at the YOSS Motzei Shabbos Learning Program

his past Motzei Shabbos, Yeshiva Toras Chaim - Bais Binyamin at South Shore was privileged to host the Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Dovid Schustal, shlita, at its Motzei Shabbos Learning Program. The large crowd of tinokos shel beis raban and their fathers (and in many cases, grandfathers, as well) had the great zchus of seeing Rav Schustal and hearing his penetrating message overflowing with ahavas haTorah and ahavas Yisroel. Rabbi Avraham Robinson, menahel of the elementary division of the Yeshiva, in his introduction described the lineage of some of the gedolim responsible for building Torah in America. Namely, Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky, zt”l, whose son, Rav Binyamin, zt”l, founded Yeshiva of South Shore, and Hagaon Rav Aharon Kotler, zt”l, who was responsible for planting Torah in America by founding Beis Medrash Gavoha, Lakewood, where Rav Schustal is one

Rav Schustal with Rabbi Robinson and Rabbi Drebin

of its Roshei Yeshiva. Rav Schustal was beaming as he looked into the crowd of kinderlach and expressed his delight at seeing such a beautiful gathering of teiyera

neshamos filling the Beis Medrash learning Hashem Yisbarach’s Torah! His message to the olam was crystal clear. “How fortunate we are,” he thundered, “that we are Hashem’s

chosen nation, the Am Kadosh, different than the nations around us. Hashem chose us to receive the most special gift ever to be presented in the entire history of the world, His precious Torah!” Yeshiva of South Shore has a learning program each Motzei Shabbos throughout the fall, winter and early spring. Attendees say it’s the highlight of their week. To accommodate as many lomdim as possible, the Yeshiva has three satellite locations: the Shteeble in Cedarhurst, Kehillas Tiferes Tzvi and its newest location at Sha’arei Emunah. This week’s program is one that will not soon be forgotten by the many who were fortunate enough to be in attendance. It was a night that our children witnessed the grandeur of Torah. After the program concluded, the boys and fathers lined up to give shalom to Rav Schustal and to receive his warm brachos.

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Rav Yerucham Olshin, Rosh Yeshivah of Bais Medrash Govoha, visited Mesivta Shaarei Pruzdor this week. He gave divrei bracha and davened Mincha with the boys.

Rambam Rallies Against Abbas

hree days before final exams were about to end and vacation was about to begin, Rambam received a call from a well-known Jewish activist, Sander Gerber, saying, “Abbas is going to speak and be feted at the UN in 72 hours.” Mahmoud Abbas, the president of a self-proclaimed Palestinian State, was invited by a group of 135 nonaligned countries which represent 80% of the world’s population. That group voted unanimously to name Abbas as the president of their group since they recognized him as the president of the State of Palestine. The plan was to confer legitimacy upon Abbas, hailing him as a leader these 135 countries, which would pave the way for Palestinian Statehood on the world stage. Palestinian media reported this as an important step towards eventual UN recognition of the Palestinian State. Mr. Gerber and Rambam recognized the need for immediate action in response to this turn of events. Arrangements were fast-tracked, and the final exam schedule was rearranged so that the Rambam talmidim could speak out against injustice. A rally was planned for Tuesday, January 15 at 1PM, to coincide with the exact time that Abbas was scheduled to announce being proclaimed as leader of this world organization. Students arrived by the busload and soon heard from Rabbi Friedman who introduced the program by thanking the NYPD and led the stu-

Stuart Force, Taylor Force’s father, is seen in the foreground

dents in the chant of “G-d Bless America.” When word that Abbas’ motorcade had arrived, chants quickly turned into “Kick him out,” “No more pay to slay,” “Your hands are drenched in blood,” and “Stop the lies stop the hate.” After brief remarks, Rabbi Friedman introduced Mr. Stuart Force, whose son, Taylor, was brutally slain by a Palestinian terrorist in 2016. Taylor graduated West Point and served a tour of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Upon completion of his service he enrolled in a master’s program at Vanderbilt University and was visiting Israel on an educational program when he was stabbed to death. His killer was shot by police, but under the Abbas administration was accorded martyr status which entitled his family to a lifetime of bonus payments for

their son’s “work.” Mr. Sander Gerber contacted Stuart and his wife, offered his heartfelt condolences, and began to work on and implement a plan to reduce and even eliminate American funding of the Palestinian Authority. With nonstop commitment they were able to pass legislation aptly named “The Taylor Force Act,” effectively cutting back on funding of the PA. Stuart spoke passionately about his son and about the fact that terrorists are being rewarded and encouraged to kill by Abbas. Bassem Eid, a noted Palestinian human rights activist, spoke next. He openly criticized Abbas for misappropriating and diverting funds from building hospitals, schools, and infrastructure to payments of “Pay to Slay.” Erin King Sweeney, Councilwom-

an from the Town of Hempstead, talked about the unique U.S./Israel relationship and criticized Abbas and the UN. Councilman Bruce Blakeman closed the program by saying, “Taylor’s spirit continues to live on and saves American lives by the legislation passed in his memory.” He thanked and lauded Mr. Eid, a Palestinian Muslim, “for his courage and speaking out against the Abbas regime.” The rally concluded with the direct message to the participants upstairs who had invited Abbas. Students chanted, “You let terror win when you let Abbas in.” The rally attracted both local and national news outlets and emphasized the value of the Jewish obligation to speak out against anti-Semitism.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Dedication to Ari Dovid Block, z”l

The game’s MVP

or those of you who knew Ari Block, z”l, you probably knew that he was serious about learning and Torah. However, he also loved basketball, but we’ll get to that shortly. Ari, z”l, was born in La Palma, California, and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended the Phoenix Hebrew Academy (PHA) for elementary school, a true “out-of-towner.” Like many out-of-towners, he found himself in New York in 2001, after a year and a half in yeshiva in Eretz Yis-

roel. He spent several years in Yeshiva Sh’or Yoshuv. In 2006, he married Faigy Ludmir from Brooklyn. At that time, he was learning in the kollel and the smicha shiur in Sh’or Yoshuv while earning his master’s degree in Special Education from Touro College. In April of 2007, they had a son, Avrohom Yeshaya Block. In May of 2007, 25th of Iyar, Ari Block, z”l, left us very suddenly, yet, he left a lasting impression on all of his family and friends. When

Ari's son cutting the court's ribbon while Ari's parents look on

a family sits shiva, they get to hear story after story of how the person who left this world has impacted so many people. It is difficult to fathom the extent of influence a person has on other people. Recently, Ari Block’s effect on others was made clear. A fellow alumnus of Ari’s from the Phoenix Hebrew Academy spearheaded a campaign throughout the Phoenix Jewish community to dedicate the school’s newly renovated basketball court to Ari’s memory. This was a court that produced a lot of memories for Ari and his family. Ari’s father, Dr. Robert Block, was the coach for the PHA’s Thunderbolts for many years, and Ari was named Most Valuable Player in 1996. Ari

was a great basketball player and, as the donor plaque, reads, “This new court will serve as inspiration for our students to play like Ari did: with courage, integrity, and a winning spirit.” On January 27, 2019, about 300 people gathered together at the PHA for a beautiful basketball court dedication ceremony. There were many speakers which included Dr. Robert Block, Noah Goldstein (Ari’s brother-in-law), Rabbi David Rebibo (dean of the PHA), and Rabbi Weiner (principal of the PHA), among several others. As Dr. Block noted in his address, “Ari’s greatest achievement was his transformation in leading, assisting, and scoring in his

hasmada and absorption of Torah and mitzvos.” There was a touching ribbon-cutting ceremony, cut by Ari’s, z”l, son, Avrohom Yeshaya Block, who currently attends Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway. Lastly, they held an alumni basketball game, the “older” versus the “younger” alumni, Dr. Block coaching the “older” alumni. That’s right, the “older” still got it and beat the “younger” 29-26. At the end, Avrohom Yeshaya Block was unanimously voted “Most Valuable Player” by both coaches and all players on the very court that his father, Ari, z”l, played so many games, made so many memories, and won the same award years ago.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Rav Yerucham Olshin, Rosh Yeshiva Beth Medrash Gavoha of Lakewood, on his recent visit to Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island

Chaverim Member Appreciation Dinner

n Thursday, January 29, over 40 members of Chaverim of Five Towns and Rockaways gathered at their annual Member Appreciation Dinner held at Traditions Eatery in Lawrence, NY. The dinner celebrates the Chaverim participants, all of whom are volunteers who give hours of their time to help motorists in need. Before the delicious buffet dinner, Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony P. D’Esposito addressed the members and described his great admiration for Chaverim. In his own words, “Imagine a frigid cold night, much like tonight, and you experience a flat tire, dead battery, run out of gas or lock your keys in the car or home. What would you do? Thankfully, here in the Town of Hempstead, we are blessed with Chaverim of FiveTowns and Rockaways – a volunteer organization with over 75 members – people

PHOTO CREDIT: THOMAS S STANWOOD, PINCHAS LIPSKY AND NAFTOLI FEITMAN

with huge hearts who leave the comfort of their home to help their neighbors. With my career in the NYPD and my years as a member of the Island Park Volunteer Fire Department, I can truly appreciate and understand the work these individuals do”. He continued, “I entered into this room, which is packed with volunteers – those who respond to incidents and those who man the dispatch center 24/6 – to simply say THANK YOU!” A special mention of appreciation to Rabbi Zvi Ralbag, rav of Congregation Bais Ephraim Yitzchok, who gave an inspiring dvar Torah to the members about the importance of the work they do for our community. In addition, Cedarhurst Mayor, Benjamin Weinstock spoke to the members and gave Chaverim a plaque. We would also like to thank Village of Lawrence Mayor Alex Edelman and Cedarhurst Trustee Israel Wasser

Binyamin Lipsky, Shlomo Feldman, Zevi Goldstone, Ahron Slater and David Sharifan

(L-R) Cedarhurst Trustee Israel Wasser, Binyamin Lipsky, Chaverim Coordinator, Rabbi Mayer Kramer, Chaverim Founder, Cedarhurst Mayor Benjamin Weinstock, Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony P. D’Esposito and Lawrence Mayor Alex Edelman

for stopping by and showing their support for Chaverim. Another award was presented to Unit F27, Shlomo Feldman, who went above and beyond the call of duty this past year. Following the awards and speeches was the highly anticipated entertainment, featuring mentalist Alain Nu. He performed some mind-boggling mentalism and interactive games which left everyone in hysterical laughter and

amazement. A great time was had by all. Most importantly, the members came away inspired, knowing that what they do makes a real difference in the community and is greatly appreciated. 2018 was a very busy and successful year for Chaverim. We received over 3,000 calls - a record for Chaverim, with over 90% of a response within 5 minutes or less. We also run Defensive Driving Class programs and car sseat safety inspection

events throughout the year. Chaverim is also planning to begin a program to teach many basic car functionalities to new drivers in high schools throughout the community. The upcoming defensive driving class will take place on February 24 at 7p.m. at the Marion & Aaron Gural JCC, 207 Grove Avenue in Cedarhurst. To sign up, email info@chaverim5t.org or call 516-331-1460.

Hempstead Town Councilman Anthony P. D’Esposito speaking

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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Oncology Doctor Runs for Team Lifeline in Memory of Beloved Patient

very once in a while, someone comes into your life and changes you forever. For Dr. Andrew Silverman, oncology fellow at Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian at Columbia University Medical Center, that someone was a boy named Eli. In 2005, young Eli underwent a heart transplant, following a difficult fight with heart failure, induced by a congenital heart defect, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Though this procedure was intended to alleviate the difficulties Eli had already been facing, he continued to have complication after complication. Dr. Silverman first met Eli, a Chai Lifeline client, in July of 2016 following another complication of his heart transplant. For over two years, Dr. Silverman oversaw Eli’s care, providing 12 different lines of therapy, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplant, and immunotherapy. Eli’s contagious smile and positive energy left a lasting impression

on Dr. Silverman. He always looked forward to seeing Eli and his family members. Sadly, despite his arduous and brave fight, Eli succumbed to his illness in in November of 2018, passing away in the loving arms of his mother and sister. When Dr. Silverman asked Eli’s mother what kept her going all these years, her answer was that “G-d, family, doctors, nurses and Chai Lifeline helped them get by.” Dr. Silverman saw firsthand all that Chai Lifeline had done for Eli’s family and for other children under his care in the hospital. He was drawn to Chai Lifeline’s mission of providing social, emotional and financial support to children

with life-threatening or lifelong illnesses and their families – and was inspired to give back. An avid runner, Dr. Silverman decided to join Team Lifeline, an endurance training program that brings teams of people to destination races across the country to raise funds and awareness for Chai Lifeline. On Sunday, January 27, Dr. Silverman and Eli’s sister, Yehudis, ran the Miami Half Marathon together in memory of Eli and to make a difference in the lives of other children and families living with pediatric illness. “The run was wonderful,” said Dr. Silverman. “Along the way, people would come up to us during the

half marathon and provide words of encouragement, sympathy and love. It truly was beautiful. This weekend was an awesome experience and I plan on coming back next year with Eli’s family and my own to raise some more money on behalf of Chai Lifeline!” Dr. Silverman and Yehudis ran alongside 300 fellow Team Lifeline runners, the largest charity team on the course. Each year Team Lifeline participates in the Miami Marathon/ Half Marathon, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon/ Half Marathon/ 10K, and NYC Marathon. To learn more about Team Lifeline, visit www. teamlifeline.org.

MTA Takes Second Place at CIJE Hack-a-Thon

TA took second place at the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education (CIJE) Hack-A-Thon. The event, held on Wednesday, January 30 at Yeshiva University, presented teams of students from 13 different schools with the challenge of developing

technology to assist the elderly at the Jewish Home at Rockleigh. Each team had just 4.5 hours to strategize and create a prototype. MTA team members created a distance-sensing wheelchair to help provide independence for an elderly, blind woman. The wheelchair uses

ultrasonic sensors to detect its position and notifies the woman by increasing the rate of vibrations with a motor as it moves closer to an object. It also includes a button that allows her to directly contact her nurses via a website. Students also built the website and coded the ability for it to

send messages from the wheelchair regardless of its location. MTA’s team members were excited to participate in this unique initiative and felt they learned a lot from the experience.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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An O-Fish-al Chessed PHOTO CREDIT BENJAMIN KANTER

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Shea Langsam, owner of Fish to Dish, Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein, and Yossi Heimen, owner of Yossi’s Fish Market

n Sunday, February 3, Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein presented an official citation to Mr. Shea Langsam, owner of Fish to Dish, to commend him for his kindness in welcoming a competitor, Yossi’s Fish Market, into his store following a fire that destroyed the building that housed Yossi’s Fish Market. Following a destructive fire on January 12, Yossi Heiman, owner of Yossi’s Fish Market located at 13th Avenue and 54th Street in Borough Park, Brooklyn, was left without a location from which to operate his business. That night, Eichenstein coordinated short-term housing for the residents of the apartments above the store. At the same time, Shea Langsam, owner of Fish to Dish, immediately reached out to Mr. Heiman to generously offer that he operate his business from a section of Langsam’s store, Fish to Dish, located just a few blocks away at 1280 43rd Street, in Borough Park, Brooklyn. “While we are a community that is known for its chessed, the act of offering a direct competitor into your own storefront truly goes above and beyond,” said Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein. “Fish to Dish is setting a new bar for what it means to be a neighbor and business owner in our community.” “I want to express my deep appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Shea Langsam from Fish to Dish

for what he’s done,” said Yossi Heimen, owner of Yossi’s Fish Market. “As soon as Shabbos was over, Mr. Langsam reached out to me to offer use of his store so that I could continue serving my customers. I also want to thank Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein for the work he’s done in helping his constituents affected by the fire.” “As soon as I heard after Shabbos that Mr. Heiman had a fire, I immediately called him and offered to help,” said Shea Langsam, owner of Fish to Dish. “When he said that he needs a facility to process and deliver orders for his customers, I said, ‘Why not join me in my store?’ As fellow community members we all try to help each other as much as we can.” The citation reads as follows: “Citation is presented to Shea Langsam Fish to Dish in recognition of your kindness for opening your doors to a neighboring merchant, Yossi’s Fish Market, after a fire destroyed their location on January 12, 2019. This act of welcoming a competitor into your workplace goes beyond what is expected of a business person. This exemplifies what we should all strive to be like as New Yorkers. It is with great pride, as a Member of the Assembly from the 48th District, that I call attention to your kindness and thank you on behalf of the entire community. Simcha Eichenstein, Member of Assembly”

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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HALB Sukkah Fair

Rabbi Medetsky’s sixth grade class at Yeshiva Darchei Torah enjoyed the unseasonably warm temperature on their trip to Seasons Express this week

HAFTR Hawks Score

T W

hat a weekend for HAFTR Athletics! The JV basketball team traveled to Boca Raton this past weekend to play in the 2nd annual Katz Yeshiva/Step It Up JV basketball tournament. After beating the #1 seed host team, the Katz Storm, in the semifinals on Friday, the table was set for the Championship game on Saturday night vs. the Frisch Cougars. In the finals, HAFTR found themselves down by 10 midway through the 2nd quarter. But the Hawks went on an impressive 18-3 run to go up 5 at the half and set up what was to be an exhilarating second half. The entire second half saw the lead change hands numerous times with the Championship trophy up for grabs. Up by 1 point with 12 seconds to go, the Hawks had a defensive lapse

and gave up the go-ahead basket to the Cougars. After a Hawks timeout and 5 seconds remaining on the clock, the ball was in-bounded to Haimy Salem who took it in strong and hit the game winner as time expired. With the game and tournament over, HAFTR once again proudly and deservedly hoisted the Championship trophy. Congratulations to our JV boys who won this tournament for the second year in a row and to Haimy Salem who was named tournament MVP. This was an exciting experience for the boys and, once again, the HAFTR Hawks not only showed their strengths on the court, but also their middot and sportsmanship in their behavior throughout the tournament. Special thanks to Coach Ari Witkes for all his hard work for the team!

his past Sunday, HALB 5th graders participated in the 10th annual Sukkah Fair. After learning the intricate laws of Sukkah, the boys constructed their own models. The models were based off of different cases that are brought up in the 1st and 2nd perakim of masechet Sukkah. The effort and attention to detail was obvious to all in attendance. Sukkot of all shapes and sizes were built along with information boards and PowerPoint presentations. Mr. Altabe addressed the crowd with the emotional story of U.S.

Army Chaplain Colonel Jacob Z. Goldstein building a sukkah on an army vehicle during the days that followed the 9/11 attack at Ground Zero. The students and parents connected to the story and appreciated the timeless message of the trust we have in Hashem when we sit outside in the temporary home of our succahs. The children also had the opportunity to reflect on the halachot of sukkah and that attention to detail is crucial. Thank you to Rabbi Steinberg and Rabbi Lieberman for putting together such a wonderful program.

A straw mattress, wet carpet, and a hijacking Hershel and Pesi’s trip to Russia Page 90

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Over 1,000 Attend Grand Opening of Kāmin Health Urgent Care at OHEL Ganger Family Medical Center

L-R: Mel Zachter, OHEL Co-President, Sonny Ganger, and Yussie Ostreicher at the Ganger Family Medical Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

ith much fanfare, over 800 members of the community attended the Grand Opening Day of The Kāmin Health Urgent Care at OHEL at the Ganger

Medical Center, held on Sunday, January 13, 2019. Set to a backdrop of carnival- like entertainment, games and a beautifully orchestrated concert, Sonny and

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R-L: Nachum Weingarten, OHEL Medical Director; Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein; Barbara Kaminetzky; Montee Kaminetzky, Kāmin Health Urgent Care; David Mandel, OHEL CEO; Marc Katz, OHEL COO

Shani Ganger and their family led a ribbon cutting ceremony of the new medical center. “It’s not just a medical appointment, it’s a relationship.” Nachum Weingarten, OHEL Medical Director, defines the underlying approach of care. “Our Center provides state-ofart urgent care to individuals of all ages, from pediatric to adult to eldercare medical services.” Kāmin Health Urgent Care at OHEL serves the entire Flatbush/ Midwood and surrounding community’s urgent medical needs. While the Grand Opening has passed, there is still the opportunity for members of the public to simply walk-in and preregister and receive a voucher for a free pizza and soda at “J II” for every person registered. The benefit of preregistration is that it ensures that whenever one needs urgent care services, one can be seen in minutes. David Mandel, CEO of OHEL Children’s Home and Family Services, reflects, “The provision of medical services now available at OHEL represents yet another milestone as OHEL begins to celebrate its 50th anniversary. These medical services now ensure that the community can benefit from the most advanced healthcare under one roof at the new OHEL Jaffa Family Campus in Flatbush.” The campus is located at 1268 East 14th Street, Brooklyn, NY. Kāmin Health Urgent Care at OHEL is open daily from 8:00 am

until 9:00 pm with convenient hours on Saturday night and Sunday. No appointments are needed. Free parking is offered. The center works on a walkin basis and patients are seen within minutes. Kāmin Health Urgent Care at OHEL prevents unnecessary visits to the emergency room. Urgent Care Services include the treatment of illnesses such as strep, flu, viral infections, MRSA infections, and UTI’s. The center also does stitches, blood work, x-rays and vaccinations such as flu and tetanus shots. From the moment one enters the center and receives the warm reception, one will immediately appreciate the personal quick service, state-ofthe-art equipment, x-rays and medical devices to ensure that patients receive the best medical care. The waiting room boasts a free beverage center with gourmet coffee, tea and ice cold bottles of water for patients to enjoy free of charge. There is also an impressive children’s play area which keeps children busy during their short stay. There is no need to switch one’s PCP before a visit to Kāmin Health Urgent Care at OHEL and most insurances are accepted. If an insurance is not accepted, self-pay rates are very affordable. For questions or comments about Kāmin Health Urgent Care at OHEL, please contact Debbie Gorin at 718686-3344 or email dgorin@kaminhealth.com.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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SKA Keeps Up Torah Inspiration i-Shine at Make It Too Over Winter Break By Devora Schreier SKA ‘19

ver the past winter vacation, students of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls had the opportunity to keep the Torah “spark” alive with a special learning initiative. The SKA SPARKS committee, a Torah lishma student program, with the help of Rabbi Isaac Rice, head of the Torah She’baal Peh Department, organized a WhatsApp group which sent shiurim from many different speakers each day of the break, as well as a Mincha reminder, safeguarding Torah inspiration over vacation. Approximately 150 SKA students joined the chat and took part in this amazing project. It was really beautiful way to enable students to learn to bring Torah into their everyday lives, and im yirtzah Hashem, this creative spark will carry us through an extraordinary second semester!

or the past 11 years, HAFTR has hosted i-Shine, Chai Lifeline’s afterschool program for children living with illness or loss in the family. When a recent fire caused a temporary closure in the school, Sharona Hoffman, owner of Make It Too in Cedarhurst, stepped in and offered to host the entire group in her store. The children enjoyed ceramic

The SKA SPARKS initiative WhatsApp group

and canvas painting, soap making, face painting and more. “Our i-Shine children had a blast and we are so appreciative to Sharona Hoffman for her huge heart, generosity and for always going above and beyond for Chai Lifeline,” said Andy Lauber, director of i-Shine Five Towns.

Science and Torah at HANC Rabbi Ehrenfeld’s Bioethics class tested themselves with PTC strips in their study of genetic screening

By Courtney Isler, Senior

ANC provides a well-rounded education and continuously looks for innovative and unique learning opportunities for its high school students. Over the past few years, the limudei kodesh department has created elective courses based on student and teacher recommendation that focus on relevant and interesting topics in Judaism. Courses include Jewish Snopes, Living as a Jew 24/7, Creating Your Best Life, Women in Halacha, Business Ethics, Bioethics, and the like. This semester, a group of junior

and senior girls began a course in Bioethics and Halacha. The course, taught by Rabbi Etan Ehrenfeld, will explore many important and contemporary topics in the field of bioethics and how they intersect with halacha. Sources are introduced from a multitude of Torah scholars to further discuss the topics and the conflicts surrounding them. Some of the topics include organ donation, vaccinations, and surrogate motherhood. The course exemplifies how the worlds of Torah and science intersect in our classrooms and in the lives of students.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Rabbi Yaakov Yankelewitz, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Chaye Olam in Monsey, giving a shiur to the bochurim in Mesivta Shaarei Chaim this week

Shevach Students Awarded Honorable Mention in Project Witness Nationwide Competition

his past October, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Project Witness announced a nationwide competition for middle and high school yeshiva students. The focus was to be the themes of “Rebuilding from Destruction,” “The Power of Tefillah” and “The Kedusha of our Shuls.” Students were encouraged to create original works of literature, art, craft, and music, and the judging took place on Asara b’Teves. Twenty-two students from Shevach High School participated in the competition and submitted pieces in various categories. The projects reflected great effort, creativity and deep reflection on the themes of the competition. Prior to the nationwide deadline, Shevach held its own inhouse competition with an exhibit and judging of the submissions by the Shevach faculty. An impressive nine Shevach students were awarded Honorable

Mention in the nationwide Project Witness competition: Nechama Ribowsky and Hadassah Gottesman for craft; Liora Karshigi, Esty Altman and Leah Scheiner for art; and Rikki Friedman, Ruchie Kops, Esti Levant, and Rivky Tannenbaum for literature. The winners of the Shevach competition included” Grand Prize winners Elinor Murdakhaev and Rachel Yakubov, for their model of the Baden Shul that was destroyed during Kristallnacht; first place winners Rikki Friedman, Esty Altman, Leah Scheiner, Rivky Tannenbaum and Esti Levant; and second place winners Aviva Keller, Ruchie Kops, Hadassah Gottesman, Nechama Ribowsky, Liora Karshigi, Batyaya Kateyev, Geulah Pinchasov and Rochel Wagner. Ms. Sara Nasirov, a history teacher at Shevach, served as the school’s liaison for the nationwide competition. She worked with the students

Get ready to laugh about liver Page 128

to provide feedback and coordinated the school’s in-house exhibit and judging guidelines under the direction of Mrs. Nechama Mirsky, Shevach associate principal of general studies and lecturer for Project Witness. As a follow-up to the competition, students shared some of the takeaways they gained from participating in the competition. For some, it was an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of both the destruction and the courage it took for survivors to rebuild and the tenacious survival of the Jewish nation throughout history. Esti Levant expressed how working on her project encouraged her “to think about and gain a deeper awareness of the strength that it took for survivors to rebuild Jewish life after the devastation of the Holocaust.” Liora Karshigi wrote, “Sometimes I feel like pictures can describe emotions better than words. I chose to submit a charcoal drawing of a shul that was ransacked by the Nazis, ym”sh, during Kristallnacht to try to capture the dark, depressing atmosphere of how the Jews must have felt at that time. I also submitted a drawing of a Magen David with shuls that were destroyed during Kristallnacht in each of its six sides and a beautiful shul that stands in Romania today in the center of the Magen David, rep-

resenting the survival of the Jewish people. I wanted to emphasize the fact that despite the death and destruction we’ve faced, Hashem always sustains us and enables us to continue to practice Judaism no matter how many times our enemies try to destroy us.” Reflecting on the tremendous loss and unspeakable devastation during the Holocaust, Rivka Lavian conveyed that the project inspired her “to be grateful for all of her possessions and to be appreciative for everything.” The tremendous koach of tefillah was another theme. Geulah Pinchasov explained that she and her partner, Batya Katayev, chose to make a replica of the Zabludow Shul and decided to paint it entirely gold to reflect the purity and kedusha of the shul and the many tefillot that were recited there. Aviva Keller added, “Tefillah is not only something that connects us to Hashem, but it connects us to all past and future generations because tefillah is the link in our mesorah and no matter how buried in sins we are, we can always speak to Hashem.” All of the participating students are to be congratulated for their hard work, unique abilities, and for enriching our understanding of the competition themes.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Bais Yaakov of Queens Champions at Spelling Bee

asher koach to Abby Harris, a Bais Yaakov of Queens 8th grader, who won the Jewish Education Project Spelling Bee. After achieving first place at the school’s 4-8 grade spelling bee, Abby represented BYQ and was the champion! She will continue in the next round at the Daily News Spelling Bee. We wish her much hatzlacha.

Innovation for Shulamith Girls at CIJE-Tech Hackathon

or those looking for a tech challenge, look no further than the CIJE-Tech Hackathon. Just ask Basya Vishnepolsky, Ariella Fohrman, Aliza Weiss, Leah Chaya Gluck or Chavi Feldman, the tech-savvy students that represented Shulamith High School at the CIJE Hackathon, and they’ll tell you that the program definitely pushed them to think outside the box and flex their creativity. Last Wednesday, Jan 30, at 10 AM, the girls arrived on the Yeshiva University campus for The Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education’s first annual Hackathon. Along with teams from various other schools, the Shulamith team sat and listened as they were addressed by The Jewish Home Family, an organization that provides care for the elderly. It was The Jewish Home Family that presented each team with the challenge that they would have to solve. The organization described four different real-life scenarios that each pose a unique challenge to an elderly person. The students’ challenge was to come up with a tech-based solution. For example, one scenario depicted an independent elderly man who wants to live at home. However, he tends to be forgetful, especially when it comes to taking his medicine. This makes living independently complicated. Is there a way he can safely live at home? The students’ solution couldn’t be theoretical, though. It needed to be tangible. The teams were required to design and build a technological product as well as create a website for its remote monitoring. Shulamith’s team tackled the chal-

lenge by building a prototype for a device that dispensed pills automatically. At the judging event, Shulamith girls presented their solution which included a motor for the pillbox that, when activated, opened the slot in the pillbox to release the prescribed number of pills. Under the slot they included a scale which measured the weight of the pills, ensuring the correct amount was indeed dispensed. The scale also functioned as a sensor, the data from which was fed into a processing website created by the students. It recorded every weight the scale measured such that on a given day, this man’s doctor would know (by looking at the website) that the man had taken his pills and is managing independently. It’s pretty unbelievable that the girls managed to do all this in five hours. Shulamith students continue to think big and push limits.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Around the Community

Young Israel of Long Beach Annual Robert Chiger Scholarship Concert

he Young Israel of Long Beach will be holding their annual scholarship concert on Motzei Shabbos, February 23, 2019 at 8:00 PM. It will take place at the new Long Beach Hotel at 405 East Broadway, Long Beach, New York 11561. The concert will feature Uri Davidi, who will entertain the audience with his vast repertoire of popular and Chassidic Jewish music. Known as one of the most dynamic performers to have made their mark on the Jewish music scene over the last several years, Uri Davidi continues to wow audiences at weddings and concerts all over the world. A truly versatile singer whose unique ability to connect with his audience has made him one of the most in demand vocalists today, Uri’s trademark warmth and energy are evident every time he steps up to the microphone. From the emotional to the electric, Uri does it all, logging approximately 600 appearances since 2013. Uri got his start singing at chuppahs at friends’ weddings, earning one job after another with his heartfelt performances and, in the process, finding himself with a career in music. His recently released debut album, “Halevai,” has delighted listeners worldwide, bringing Uri’s music to an even wider audience. Born in (1989) and bred in Los Angeles, Uri and his wife Rikki live in New Jersey and are the proud par-

ents of three. The Young Israael of Long Beach is the cornerstone of the Orthodox Jewish Long Beach community and is led by Rabbi Dr. Chaim Wakslak. Rabbi Wakslak and Joseph Langer, a past shul president, conceptualized this scholarship concert over twenty-one years ago. Since that time, the proceeds from this scholarship concert has allowed many local community youngsters to attend yeshiva and/or overnight summer camps. Twelve years ago, following the untimely petirah of Robert Chiger, z”l, a young vibrant member of the congregation, it was decided that his memory would be most appropriately perpetuated by re-naming this scholarship fund The Robert Chiger Scholarship Fund. Bob had a unique connection to the youth of the synagogue and cared for their religious and character development. He was also a strong proponent of the YILB youth and sports programs. This concert is strongly supported each year by Beth Chiger and Neil Sambrowsky and Beth’s children, Michele & Eric Ehrenhaus, Andrea & Ariel Gantz, Elliot & Chana Chiger, and David & Rachel Chiger. General admission tickets can be purchased for $30. For further information or to order tickets please call (516) 431-9715 or look at the website www.yilb.org.

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Rav Moshe Krasnow’s seventh grade talmidim at Yeshiva Darchei Torah recently celebrated a siyum at their rebbi’s home

Rav Uri Orlian, rav of Shaaray Tefillah and father of one of the talmidim, was the guest speaker

Tending To Our Seedlings in Gan Chamesh

hough Tu B’Shvat took place over winter vacation, Gan Chamesh, Chabad’s Early Childhood Center, took inspiration from this beautiful day to continue to

explore Hashem’s miraculous natural world. The children enjoyed a unique Tu B’Shvat fair that promoted handson learning through real life experiences. The fair gave the children an

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opportunity to manipulate natural materials. The young students experimented with soil, seeds, twigs, acorns and pinecones in individual sensory bins. They enjoyed a “Create a Forest” station, replete with real tree stumps, leaves, branches and grass. The children experienced pattern-making with fruit kabobs and tree-making at the light table, among other exciting activities. The children gained a deeper appreciation of Hashem’s beautiful natural world and truly internalized the message of

Tu B’Shvat. The fun continued in the classrooms as Box Week, an important part of the Gan Chamesh recycling initiative, coincided with the Tu B’Shvat fair. Toys in the classroom were replaced with boxes. Imaginations soared as the young students turned into engineers and architects while using the boxes to design elaborate play structures. It is these “out of the box” activities that continue to make the children in Gan Chamesh love learning.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Communitywide Active Shooter Workshop

ollowing the horrific tragedy in Pittsburgh and rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes, community members from all different backgrounds came together for a life-saving educational evening, an NYPD active shooter training workshop. The event was coordinated by devoted community leader Councilman Donovan Richards (NYC Council D-31), chair of the Public Safety Committee. Chaim Leibtag, representing the White Shul administration, opened up the evening by thanking the NYPD for their protection and involvement. Chaim then welcomed everyone to the White Shul and introduced the executive director of the JCCRP, Moshe Brandsdorfer. Moshe spoke briefly, thanking Councilman Richards for expediting the workshop, a training that was in high demand and therefore had a long waiting list. Moshe remarked, “We applaud Councilman Richards and his staff for putting this workshop together in record time. We all

Officer Gibbons of the NYPD Counter Terrorism Unit presenting at the workshop

know that the further away we get from a tragic event the less serious people take the follow-up measures. The Councilman and NYPD recognized this factor, and we are most appreciative toward them.” The introductory speakers included Councilman Richards, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, who was a co-host of the event, and Deputy Inspector Vincent J. Tavalaro, Commanding Officer of the 101 Precinct. The Deputy Inspector spoke about taking proactive steps to ensure that your school, workplace and shul are safe. “We have units devoted to conducting security assessments for your facilities. Take advantage of these free services,” DI Tavalaro urged. Councilman Richards spoke about the strong relationship that exists between the local NYPD precinct and the community, one that everyone benefits from. The Councilman spoke about being proactive and vigilant with security measures, something everyone can do.

Deputy Inspector Vincent J. Tavalaro, Commanding Officer of the 101 Precinct

The interactive program was then presented by Officer Gibbons of the NYPD Counter Terrorism Division. Officer Gibbons covered many of the various scenarios and statistics surrounding active shooters in the past number of years. The officer presented many real situations, educating everyone on what to do if they are in an active shooter situation. Officer Gibbons also spoke about measures that can be taken to prevent an active shooter situation. For example, generally, each active shooter displayed 4 to 5 concerning behaviors over time that were observable to others around the shooter. The most frequently occurring concerning behaviors were related to the active shooter’s mental health, problematic interpersonal interactions, and leakage of violent intent. Being aware of these changes in behaviors can be very effective in thwarting an attack. The session ended with an interactive and lively Q & A session. Attendees included many members of the local Shomrim, RNSP, a

community organization that works together with NYPD to ensure the community is a safer place to live. Elkanah Adelman, one of the RNSP coordinators, commented, “This training was super-informative. It touched upon natural reactions to dangerous situations and how one should act.” The community is very appreciative to the NYPD, 101 Precinct, and all of the political leaders that hosted the event including NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo (D-15th NYS Senate District), NYS Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-10th NYS Senate District) Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-23rd NYS Assembly District), Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-5th Congress District), Councilman Donovan Richards (D-31st NYC Council), and his dedicated chief of staff, Manuel Silva. It is everyone’s hope and prayer that this workshop was conducted only for educational purposes and that the information will never need to be utilized.

Councilman Donovan Richards speaking

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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The Magic of Science Research

n January 4, Mrs. Ruth Fried’s AP Biology and Mrs. Miriam Chopp’s AP Chemistry classes attended the Queens College Open House sponsored by the Garcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces. Professor Michael Hadjiargyrou, of the Life Science Department at NYIT, presented an intriguing lecture, “Will Tissue Engineering Supply Organs?” Senior Eliana Ellerton said, “The day began with a fascinating lecture on the work of 3D printing in the creation of usable organs. I had previously heard of technology like this existing, but to hear from a man who worked in this field on a day-to-day basis was incredible. Innovations like this will change the medical field as we know it, and it was really cool to listen to.” Our YUHSG Science Institute was well-represented

by Michal Auerbach (‘14), who spoke eloquently about her summers of research experience at Garcia. The physics magic show highlighted at-

Tu B’Shvat Shuk at YCQ

mospheric pressure, sound waves and the particulate nature of light, and the girls enjoyed Non-Newtonian fluids and “playful polymers”

(aka Silly Putty). Students returned to school excited and inspired by the potential inherent in scientific research.

MTA Sophomore Lobbies in Albany By Sam Verstandig (‘21)

M PHOTO CREDIT: ARIANA KALANTAROV & OLIVIA KANDINOV

By Sarah Owadeyah

n Wednesday, January 16, the sixth grade girls at Yeshivah of Central Queens created a shuk for Tu B’Shvat. The girls worked hard learning and memorizing their songs about the different foods that were sold at the shuk. They also decorated boards and set up booths according to what food they had. The girls dressed up like waitresses with a white top and dark bottom and wore aprons and hats. All of the elementary students came to visit the shuk. The girls sang their song for all the visitors. Every student was given dollars and a passport in his or her classroom. When they arrived at the

shuk they exchanged their American dollars for shekalim so that they could buy different foods and drinks at the booths that the girls set up. Aylin Soofirzadeh was part of the vegetable group. “I really enjoyed singing for the little kids,” she said. Eliyahu Babayev, grade 1, said, “I thought it was so cool that I felt like a went to Israel. And I liked learning about the different kinds of foods in Israel. I liked the fruits the best.” The girls’ morah explained to them about all the different parts of a shuk. The experience gave the sixth graders and the visiting students a great way to learn about what a shuk in Israel is like, while celebrating Tu B’Shvat.

TA Sophomore Sam Verstandig spent his winter vacation in Albany meeting with State Senators and Assembly members to discuss the opioid crisis. Sam made his first trip to Albany as an 8th grader to lobby for anti-bullying legislation. Since then, he has made many return trips, accompanied by his parents, to push for legislation that he feels is important. On this trip, Sam met with Washington Heights Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa, Senator Robert Jackson, and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. He also attended a Senate session, which began with his father, Rabbi Stuart Verstandig (YC ‘80, FGS ‘83, RIETS ‘84), delivering an invocation reflecting on how the 10 Commandments of Leadership coincide with Parshas Yisro. Sam had the honor of meeting newly-elected Senator Anna Kaplan (SCW ‘85 and CSL ‘90) on the Senate floor. Sam was also introduced on the Assembly floor by his local Kew Garden Hills Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal. “I watched our government in ac-

With Senator Anna Kaplan

tion, as the hallways of the Capitol building were filled with lobbyists and protesters due to the signing of multiple bills by Governor Cuomo,” said Sam. “I hope to pursue a career in politics one day and appreciate the opportunity to continue learning about how our local New York State government works.” As founder of MTA’s New York Political Action Club and an intern at Yeshiva University’s Office of Government Relations, Sam enhances MTA’s civic spirit curriculum by sharing his experiences with his fellow students.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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Light refreshments will be served

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Central’s Ulpana Program Returns

ixteen sophomores returned last week after spending a month in Central’s Ulpanat-Tzvia Exchange Program in Israel. Their cohort was the biggest yet, and they returned with new understandings of Israeli culture and history, wonderful new friends, and an infectious enthusiasm about their experiences. As exchange students at Ulpanat Tzvia in Maale Adumim, the students had the unusual opportunity to live in a dormitory with their Israeli peers and join their Judaic studies classes, as well as to travel to the Old City, Har Herzl, and other important sites around the Jerusalem area. One participant, Leora Muskat, reflected, “Some of the best parts for me were the meals and free time with the Israelis. I got to be really immersed into their culture. I saw my Hebrew grow as my conversations with the Israeli students grew from just asking how many siblings they have to more meaningful conversations.” She added, “Just last night, an Israeli girl I had just met pulled me

aside and said, ‘Leora, at Yisraelit (you are Israeli)!’ I was ecstatic – it was like a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to be Israeli and I guess after a month of living here, there is something Israeli ingrained in me.” Eliana Wachstock added, “Every night I would call my parents and tell them how grateful I am to be given

this opportunity. It truly is once in a lifetime. Living in America, I would never experience living an Israeli life or have the opportunity to create bonds with all these new girls.” Both students also reflected, at length, on the deep meaning of learning and practicing Judaism in Israel, the warmth of their Israeli counterparts,

and the fascination in being exposed to a completely different high school culture. Luckily, the experience is not over; some of the Israeli students from Ulpanat Tzvia will be joining Central this coming Sunday. Welcome back, sophomores! You were missed.

Rambam Commemorates Warsaw Ghetto

pproximately 120 community members joined students in Rambam Mesivta in learning more about the detailed history of the Warsaw Ghetto. Together, they viewed the newly released film by Nancy Spielberg, “Who Will Write Our History,” which was brought to Rambam with the generosity of Mr. Larry Gordon and the coordination of both Dr. Alex Sternberg and Michele Justic. Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman introduced the movie by stating the importance of learning about our past. He quoted the words of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveichik in stating that a true Jew must be aware of the destiny of our people. “Knowing where you come from and the past travails of our people’s history forges who you are today,” said Rabbi Friedman. The documentary film focused on daily life in the ghetto and included actual archival footage taken during that time. Tragically, the pictures and video footage were taken by the Nazis with the express purpose of creating a narrative which would justify

the murder of our people. Images of well-dressed women were juxtaposed next to starving children to demonstrate the callousness of the Jews. In all cases, these images were posed and forced upon us by Nazi henchmen. Warsaw, which contained 350,000 Jews and comprised 1/3 of the city’s population, became the center of the Nazis’ plan to exterminate the Jews of Poland. Through the forced resettlement program, the city was divided into sections, and 500,000 Jews were forced into closed, oftentimes uninhabitable living quarters. Deportations from the ghetto sent Jews to Treblinka and other killing camps. A handful of courageous Jews led by Dr. Emanuel Ringelblum recognized that the Nazis’ plan was the total eradication of the Jewish people. Ringelblum also understood the Nazis’ nefarious plan to justify their crimes and create an anti-Semitic narrative. Dr. Ringelblum and his group courageously recorded and docu-

mented daily life in the ghetto; recording the hunger, beatings, the shootings and the eventual deportations of the half million Jews brutally confined to that small area. They called their group Oyneg Shabbos and took great care to hide all their writings and documents in metal canisters beneath buildings. After approximately 440,000 Jews were deported and exterminated, the remaining 60,000 Jews decided to fight against all odds against the Nazis oppressors. Using homemade Molotov cocktails and sheer will, the Jews courageously held out against the Nazi onslaught for 30 days. The Nazi murderers decided they would burn down the ghetto with flamethrowers and forcibly capture Jews hiding in the sewers. Dr. Ringelblum himself was betrayed by the Polish police and murdered by the Nazis. Most Jews who worked with Dr. Ringelblum were murdered and only two survived. Post-World War II, based upon the information of Hersh Wasser who actually hid the canisters, the documents were

unearthed from beneath the rubble of Warsaw. The documentary paid tribute to the Jews by recounting the tragedy in their own words. Community members who came to see the movie included Rabbi Herschel Billet and Rabbi Yitzchok Goodman. Mrs. Irene Hizme, herself a survivor of Auschwitz and a victim of Mengele’s horrible experimentations on twins, was also present. Concomitant with this assembly, a group of approximately 35 students met privately with Rabbi Yotav Eliach who gave them an important synopsis of the rise of Nazism, the Wannsee Conference, and an overview of the Holocaust. He spoke about Jewish physical and spiritual resistance and provided a platform for students that felt that the documentary being shown might be too graphic and jarring. The mood was somber as students and community members exited the building. Those present understood the responsibility and burden of Zachor.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

MTA Welcomes Yeshivat Makor Chaim Talmidim

“Kaytzad mirakdim…” R’ Yehudah Deutsch had the boys of Learn & Live dancing with laughter with his presentation of merakeid last Sunday. This coming Sunday iy”H “Need 2 Knead” will be presented. For more information regarding L&L/Pirchei of Far Rockaway, please email learnandlivefr@gmail.com or try the L&L hotline 641-715-3800, pin 932191#.

Senator Felder Saves Taxpayers’ Money

enator Simcha Felder led a successful effort to increase the NYS Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. Passed as part of the 2017-18 New York State Budget, the increased tax credit is now available for the 2018 tax year to help New York taxpayers with their childcare expenses. 200,000 New York families are expected to qualify for the increased tax relief saving them Senatorannually. Felder Saves Taxpayers’ Money a combined $47 million Senator Simcha Felder ledfamilies a successful effort to increase Child andso Dependent Care Tax “Many New York have more than the twoNYS children, why should the Credit. Passed as part of the 2017-18 New York State Budget, the increased tax credit is now tax credit stop at two?” said Senator Felder. “By expanding the child care tax available for the 2018 tax year to help New York taxpayers with their childcare expenses. credit, we are it expected easier for middle-class parents to work raise 200,000 New Yorkmaking families are to qualify for the increased tax relief savingand them a a family in$47 New York.” combined million annually. Senator Felder’s legislation expanded the tax credit in two important ways. “Many New York families have more than two children, so why should the tax credit stop at Under theSenator new parameters, the tax cantaxnow cover upmaking to 5 children, two?” said Felder. “By expanding thecredit child care credit, we are it easier forinstead of just 2, and increases the expenses can claim. The average credit middle-class parents to work and raise a family in Newyou York.” amount nearly doubled for middle class families.

TA is excited to welcome a group of talmidim from Yeshivat Makor Chaim (YMC) in Israel. MTA’s unique Makor Chaim Israel Exchange Program enables a group of MTA sophomores to spend a month learning at YMC and a group of YMC juniors to spend a month learning at MTA. The YMC talmidim infuse MTA with the ruach

and spirituality that their yeshiva is known for. Throughout the month, they can be found greeting MTA talmidim with live music, singing, and dancing. They also host a Likrat Shabbat celebration every Thursday night, where they help the entire yeshiva get into the Shabbos spirit, in addition to bringing interactive Torah learning to every shiur.

YOSS ECC Learns all about Brachos

Senator Felder’s legislation expanded the tax credit in two important ways. Under the new parameters, the tax credit can now cover up to 5 children, instead of just 2, and increases the EXAMPLE: NYS Child & Dependent Credit expenses you can claim. The average credit amount nearly doubled for middle class families.

for Family w/ 5 Children ($9,000 in expenses)

NY AGI $15,000 $50,000 $75,000 $150,000

Credit Amount Prior to Changes $2,310 $1,194 $240 $240

After 2017 Changes $3,465 $2,092 $1,080 $1,080

Difference $1155 $898 $840 $840

Taxpayers are eligible to claim the Child and Tax Credit Taxpayers are eligible to claim the Child and Dependent CareDependent Tax Credit toCare help offset the coststo help offset costs caring child under of 13, a disabled spouse of caring for athe child underofthe age of for 13, aa disabled spousethe or aage disabled dependent. or a disabled dependent. “As every parent knows, children can getchildren very expensive, The expansionvery of “As every parentraising knows, raising can very get quickly. very expensive, this tax credit allows parents to keep more of their hard-earned money, period,” concluded quickly. The expansion of this tax credit allows parents to keep more of their Senator Felder. hard-earned money, period,” concluded Senator Felder. To learn more eligibility and claims and you can visit the New Yorkvisit Statethe Tax New Department’s website To learn more eligibility claims you can York State Tax at https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/credits/child_and_dependent_care_credit.htm. Department’s website at https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/credits/child_and_dependent_care_credit.htm.

tarting with a grape juice taste test, followed by comparing different breads and grains, the Pre-1A boys at the Early Childhood Center at Yeshiva of South Shore are enjoying a month-long

Brachos Experience. Over the next few weeks, the boys will cook, bake, taste and learn all about each of the brachos, with an exciting Brachos Hunt at Gourmet Glatt to end the whole unit.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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Pruz at Gesher: Bringing in the Adars B’Simcha

he children of the Gesher Early Childhood Center were treated to a very special treat in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar I. World famous singer Michoel Pruzansky led the students and faculty at this month’s super lively Rosh Chodesh assembly. The simcha was palpable, with each class excitedly

dancing in circles with their morahs. The children were given glow glasses and glow sticks, and the neon atmosphere was sparkling. Halfway through the concert, Michoel Pruzansky asked the children to sit and then led them in a heartfelt rendition of “V’zakeini,” the mother’s tefillah to see her children shine ut-

tered each week when lighting Shabbos candles. The waving glow sticks overhead in the darkened room created a very moving scene. The concert continued with more dancing and was followed by the monthly birthday celebrations that are typically shared at the assembly. Gesher would like to thank the

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HAFTR Middle School celebrated Davener of the Month awardees with a special breakfast. Each student was also presented with a certificate. We hope that they continue to pray with the same heartfelt kavana throughout all their lives.

Protecting Long Island: Senate Democrats Fight Against Offshore Drilling

enate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins joined Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, Senator Todd Kaminsky, and members of the Senate and Assembly Majority Conferences to announce support for historic legislation to ban oil and natural gas drilling in New York’s coastal areas. The legislation (S.2316), sponsored by Senator Kaminsky, will protect Long Island and New York from the Trump Administration’s offshore drilling expansion efforts. The Senate Majority will pass this critical legislation on Tuesday, February 5. “The Senate Majority will not stand by as the Trump Administration plans to drill off Long Island shores,” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said. “Long Island’s natural resources and communities’ quality of life are under threat. I applaud Senator Todd Kaminsky for his swift action to protect Long Island and for his leadership on protecting

New York State’s environment. The Senate Democratic Majority will stand up for Long Island families and fight against any efforts to drill anywhere near New York’s coastlines.” Senator Todd Kaminsky, bill sponsor and Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, said, “It is essential for tomorrow that we protect our planet today—especially the vital natural resources here

on Long Island and across our state. We are taking two big steps toward a more sustainable future for New York. I am proud to work with Leader Stewart-Cousins and our Senate conference on prioritizing and protecting Long Island’s environment. Offshore drilling is dangerous to the local environment, and would reverse progress toward our climate change goals—it must be prohibited. And by

curbing the over-fishing of menhaden, we are conserving an extremely important species in our Atlantic Ocean ecosystem.” The legislation advanced by Senator Todd Kaminsky and supported by the Senate Democratic Majority will update New York State’s decades-old laws regulating oil and natural gas drilling. Specifically, this legislation prevents conveyances, leases, and acquisitions of land

for offshore oil and gas. Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris said, “Protecting New York’s coastal communities is critical to our future. We must value our natural resources and put people before energy company profits. Banning off-shore drilling will do just that.” Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. said, “I am proud to stand with my colleagues in advancing this vital legislation to prohibit oil and natural gas drilling off of New York’s coast. Permitting this kind of misguided and potentially disastrous drilling would endanger our environment, and threaten fish and wildlife, while negatively impact tourism and the economy in coastal communities. At worst, it could result in potentially devastating spills and widespread irreversible contamination of our waters, beaches, homes and businesses located on or near the waterfront. It’s time to just say ‘no’ to this ill-advised activity in New York State.”

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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HANC Spelling Bee Glick’s amazing workshops combine skill and talent for your Glick Guy or Glick Girl. The kids enjoyed recent shows and magicians to make Sunday even more fun

n Monday, HANC’s Samuel and Elizabeth Bass Golding’s Elementary School held its annual schoolwide spelling bee. Under the leadership of Mrs. MaryAnn Harold, the fourth, fifth and sixth grade students participated in a class contest from which two winners were chosen in each class. These children demonstrated their spelling skills at Monday’s “School Championship.” As the champion spellers showcased their exemplary abilities, they were cheered by their classmates. Even after a word was misspelled, the disappointed contestants were met with applause and hugs of encouragement. The participants were: fourth graders, Jamie Blass, Sam Edery, Yosef Chaim Hilsenrath, Aiden Jerome, Ilana Nenner, Jenny Schwartz and Ruby Tilis; fifth graders, Kayla Brukner, Stephanie Macagno, Jonathan Paimony and Tara Sebbag; and sixth graders, Shoshana Eisner, Matan Galanti, Azi Goldstein, Emily Mark, Mark Rosenstock and Jaden Stavish. After an admirable job on the part of all the contestants, it came

Spelling Bee winner Kayla Brukner with Mrs. MaryAnn Harold

down to a hard-fought duel between Jaden Stavish and Kayla Brukner. However, in the end, only one could be declared the winner, and it was Kayla Brukner who will move on to the next phase and potentially participate in a Regional Spelling Bee. We wish Kayla much success in the upcoming competition. It was heartwarming to see how all the participants held their own and were so supportive of one another. Congratulations to all of the contestants for a job well done!

Genetics Research Fair at Shulamith

ast week, 11th and 12th grade genetics students at Shulamith High School for Girls participated in a Genetics Research Fair, presenting their term projects for faculty members and peers. Throughout the term, under the guidance of their teacher Ms. Tzivia Brandwein, students experienced

the process of building an academic research paper, interviewing experts and consulting with primary resources. At the fair, students showcased their findings, sharing developments and horizons in areas such as neurogenetics, molecular genetics, immunogentics, cancer genetics and medical genomics.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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An azkara was held in Eretz Yisroel for Rabbi Chanina Herzberg, zt”l, last Motzaei Shabbos. Ahron Herzberg, R’ Avi Lieberman, R’ Chaim Avrohom Weber and Rabbi Moshe Shonek spoke about Rabbi Herzberg.

Siach Yitzchok’s Shalsheles Melava Malka

he Shalsheles Melava Malka at Siach Yitzchok – an opportunity to focus on the transmission of our mesorah from one generation to the next – was a beautiful affair. Students, alumni, fathers, grandfathers, and rebbeim joined together for this memorable occasion that took place in TAG Elementary’s main dining hall. The crowd was first addressed by Rabbi Schon. He related that the Seforno tells us of a special segulah. When grandparents learn with their grandchildren, the grandchildren grow up to be successful. Reb Dovid shared a story of the roshem that a father can have on his children. Rabbi Feifer, rav of the Agudah of Bayswater and a sought-after speaker for Siach Yitzchok events, emphasized the incredible power of tefillah. He pointed out that if a person davens well, Hashem will answer – and will even give the person things that he didn’t ask for. A few stories illustrated this concept Heartfelt, inspiring niggunim and

spirited dancing were, as always, key features of this event. Aside from the wonderful memories, each student also received two gifts. One was a “standard” melava malka door prize: a double-sided frame with pictures of Reb Moshe Feinstein and Rav Steinman to in-

spire the boys to learn lessons from these gedolim and incorporate them into their lives. The second was photo magnets; a photographer took pictures of each family and the magnets were produced on the spot so that the boys were able to bring them home that very night.

May we be zocheh to many more Siach Yitzchok events of hisorirus. A special thank you to parents Mr. Aryeh Pinchasov for supplying the food and Mrs. Soberman for coordinating the many details of the event and coming early to set up after Shabbos.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Around the Community PHOTO CREDIT: IVAN H NORMAN

Baruch Hashem L’Olam: An Innovative Avos U’Banim Program

abbi Leib Geliebter Memorial Foundation, renowned for innovative Holocaust education programming for children and adults, has launched a new intergenerational study program “Baruch Hashem L’Olam” for the works of the legendary Gaon of Plotzk, Moreinu HaRav Aryeh Leib Tzintz, zt”l (1768-1833). The Maharal Tzintz was a Gaon and Tzaddik about whom, Rav Akiva Eiger, zt”l, wrote: “One of the greatest of our times.” The Maharal Tzintz promised to be a meilitz yosher in Shomayim on behalf of anyone who reprints and studies the 100 seforim he authored! “We have fulfilled the first phase of our mission by recording the stories of the survivors and perpetuating their testimony to future generations” says Dr. Joseph Geliebter, the director of the Foundation. “Now we are focusing on the future, ensuring that our children and grandchildren connect to our Gedolim from the past. The foundation is a pledge to the generation that was lost; we will not for-

get them, and we will not forget their dreams” The approach of the foundation is especially poignant in that it is disseminating the Maharal Tzintz’s Torah to Jewish children, giving the Maharal Tzintz the “children” he never had. This project is for the aliyas neshamos of the one and a half million Jewish children who were cut off in the prime of their lives and killed by the Nazis, yimach shimam, and will be a way of reclaiming the lost potential of these children and the Torah that they could have learned. At Sinai, when Hashem asked who is going to guarantee that you will keep the Torah, we answered, baneinu areivim lanu – our children will be our guarantors. Thus Avos Habanim is enshrining this as our guiding principal. Baruch Hashem L’Olam is named in honor of Bella Liba bas Rav Avrahom Mannis, a”h, mother of Dr. Joseph Geliebter, the director of the Foundation. Mrs. Geliebter, a”h, was a Holocaust survivor from the

HaRav Yochanan Bechhofer and Dr. Joseph Geleibter with the Bostoner Rebbe, HaRav Yaakov Horowitz of Lawrence

city of Pietrokov, Poland, and was saved by the Radoshitzer Rebbe, Rav Yitzchok Finkler, zt”l, who she was a bas bayis by after the passing of her father when she was only 12. Her whole life was dedicated to the principles of tzedakah, and she always felt that Hashem guided her in every point in her life; hence, Baruch Hashem l’Olam was her motto. In 1933, her father passed when she was just 12 years of age. She chose to leave the Bais Yaakov, sacrificing her own education, to help support her

family, so that her older brother, the only son in the family, could continue studying in yeshiva. In the zchus of the Heiliger Maharal Tzintz, Rav Aryeh Leib Tzintz ben Moshe, yogen aleynu, we should have much hatzlocha. The project is already spreading from the Bostoner beis medrash across the USA and all the way to Eretz Yisroel. For more information, call 718338-0679, email info@yizkereim. org or visit www.yizkereim.org.

Yeshiva Har Torah Fourth Graders Tackle Bullying

s part of a yearlong focus on empathy, Yeshiva Har Torah’s fourth graders created and performed an original show about how students can deal with potential bullying situations. The show was the culmination of StandUp/SpeakUp, a drama-based bullying prevention program by Envision Theater. The production started as a series of workshops in which fourth graders discussed how to approach difficult bullying situations. The students brainstormed various solutions, problem solving in teams, and using dramatic role play. The students then wrote a play based on those ideas, using directed drama activities and creative writing to dramatize and teach other students how to

be an upstander when they see someone being bullied. According to Rebecca Lopkin, Envision Theater’s founder and artistic director, Envision is “thrilled to be partnering with Yeshiva

Har Torah. We developed StandUp/SpeakUp several years ago to address the bullying issue in schools. Under the guidance of Envision Theater’s Teaching Artist, Jen Winkler, students use

this safe space to take risks, ask questions, and practice being an up-stander. These students can now use these real-life skills on the playground, bus or anyplace they may see bullying.”

The workshop is part of YHT’s comprehensive, homegrown middot curriculum, created by Principal Ms. Pesha Kletenik. This year’s theme is #YHTyouandme with a focus on empathy and friendship through monthly projects, and Jewish and General Studies lessons. Weekly “Table Talks” are sent home to help parents guide discussions connected to the middot lessons at school at their Shabbat tables. Assistant principal Sara Duani noted that the program is a natural fit with YHT’s curriculum. “Teaching empathy is a core value at Yeshiva Har Torah and using drama through our partnership with Envision Theater was a way to bring a different approach to that.”

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

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Protein Bracelets at Shulamith

hulamith High School 11th and 12th graders in Mrs. Gross’s nutrition class explored amino acids and the proteins they make by creating protein bracelets. Chevi Charlap, current Shulamith senior, said, “We really enjoyed discovering how 20 monomers can yield hundreds of thousands of different types of polymers. It was so cool to see proteins come to life.” After the project was completed, the students exchanged and gifted each other protein bracelets based

on their functions, such as health, support, strength and wellness.

Debate Stars at MSH

he MSH Debate Stars’ first debate of the year, hosted by North Shore Hebrew Academy, discussed the topic of “Citizens United v. FEC,” a Supreme Court court case involving indirect corporate contributions to political campaigns, and if it should be overturned or not. The MSH Debate Stars spent weeks researching the case and working on presentations for their respective sides. Senior Penina Spearman and junior Esther Conway sided with the affirmative, arguing that that the case must be overturned in order protect the people from corporate interests. Debate captain senior Sarah Spielman and sophomore Elisheva Conway, the MSH negative team, argued that the case must be upheld because it protects a corporation’s fundamental rights. After three intense rounds of debate against various yeshiva high schools, the MSH

negative team was victorious, winning the award for second best team of all the teams at the competition. Sarah Spielman won Best Overall Speaker, and Elisheva Conway won Second Best Overall Speaker. The topic of the second debate of the year was something on all students’ minds: should a school week be four days instead of five. The negative team, sophomore Elisheva Conway and junior Staci Steinfeld, and affirmative team, seniors Penina Spearman and Eliana Hirsch, were completely undefeated! Both teams won both of their rounds. The negative team bested SAR and KTA, and the affirmative team was successful against Flatbush and KTA. We are so proud of the hard work and preparation all the girls put in to achieve these impressive results and to faculty advisor Mr. Ira Schildkraut for all his work in helping them!

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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Yeshiva Gedolah of the Five Towns 16th Anniversary Dinner

dinner is an appropriate time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year. Equally important, it provides an opportunity to look ahead and assess what lies ahead. The Yeshiva Gedolah of the Five Towns is exemplary in what it has been able to accomplish thus far. However, it’s the still bright future that provides such excitement and reveals how much is still left to achieve. The Yeshiva remains committed to its founding principles of keeping a warm and close relationship with each and every talmid, yungerman, and community member who chooses to use its services. The mesorah of the rebbeim is felt in every act, connection and relationship with the talmidim and families. Since its inception, the Yeshiva has become a sought-after makom Torah for young men returning from learning in Eretz Yisroel. The Yeshiva is known for the high level shiurim given by the prominent rebbeim as well as for its energetic atmosphere and unique hashkafah. The Yeshiva continues to accommodate the increasing demand for students, and specifically those who dorm, due to the reputation it has earned locally and across the globe. The Yeshiva, however, is a multifaceted institution. In addition to having become a prominent makom Torah for its talmidim and Kollel yungerleit, it also serves the Five Towns community in various ways. The eruv is maintained by the Yeshiva, which includes sending people to check its status and fix it on a weekly basis, irrespective of the weather conditions. The Yeshiva provides numerous shiurim to baalei batim, ranging in topic and skill level, to accommodate the varied needs of its constituents. Its doors are open to all who wish to learn in its inspiring atmosphere. The Yeshiva’s yungerleit are available as chavrusas for interested baalei batim. Young boys and girls have a growing number of opportunities to come and share in the growth sought by all those who enter the Yeshiva’s doors. In the coming days at the Yeshiva’s 16th Annual Dinner, the greater community will once again come together to celebrate YGFT’s growing accomplishments and put faces on some of those who have graciously shared in the responsibilities towards facilitating its success. The three sets of hon-

orees, Dr. and Mrs. Joshua Fox, Mr. and Mrs. Zev Hertz, and Rabbi and Mrs. Nesanel Snow, have contributed and continue to contribute towards the Yeshiva’s efforts in expanding the reach of Torah within our community in varied ways, through ahavas haTorah, ahavas chessed and mesiras nefesh. Guests of Honor – Dr. Joshua and Mrs. Shiffy Fox The strong kesher of Dr. Josh and Shiffy Fox, our Guests of Honor, with YGFT began when their son Yitzy joined the yeshiva. The relationship strengthened when their son Bentzy followed a few years later and eventually evolved into so much more. We proudly chose this remarkable couple as our guests of honor since their home is permeated with mesiras nefesh for Torah and dedication to the klal. Dr. Fox is the director of Advanced Dermatology and the Center for Laser and Cosmetic Surgery. He has developed a skin research foundation and his innovative techniques in dermatology have been published widely. Dr. Fox has served on the board of many mosdos, both locally and in Eretz Yisrael. He was president of Congregation Shaaray Tefila in Lawrence and is one of the four founders of Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island. Many do not know that he received semicha from Bais Medrah L’Torah in Chicago prior to becoming a doctor. Despite a busy schedule, Dr. Fox makes time to learn several sedarim throughout the week. Shiffy Fox has served as president of the women’s league of several institutions and chaired events for many Jewish causes. Mrs. Fox maintains a choson/kallah apartment in the Fox home, allowing young couples to get on their feet in the early stages of marriage. She uses her leadership skills to help manage her husband’s medical practice and supports her husband’s endeavors on behalf of klal Yisrael. Shiffy, an occupational therapist by profession, currently dedicates her time and energy to raising their beautiful children and grandchildren. The Foxes truly exemplify a couple steeped in chessed and dedicated to a life encapsulated in Torah. They are the proud parents of their four married children, as well as their children who are living at home. Their children are marbitzai Torah in Eretz Yisrael,

Dallas, Monsey, and Far Rockaway. Dr. and Mrs. Fox are ardent supporters of the yeshiva and partner with the Yeshiva in the chinuch of their children. Yitzy continues to learn in Yeshiva Gedola while studying for smicha and pursuing his CPA. Bentzy learns in Yeshiva as well while pursuing a degree in psychology. We are proud to have such exemplary bochurim in our Bais Medrash. We are proud to have Dr. Josh and Shiffy Fox both as parents and loyal friends of the yeshiva, and we are grateful to have this opportunity to recognize this special family at this year’s dinner. Having accomplished so much, the Foxes maintain a very palpable humility, and we thank the Foxes for accepting the call at this year as Guests of Honor. Torah Leadership Award – Zev and Leba Hertz As years pass, it is often hard to maintain strong connections with all those who have entered an institution’s doors. However, when the identification is so strong to begin with, it makes the ongoing connection that much easier. Zev, who grew up in Miami and later moved to LA, accomplished a tremendous amount in his 3+ years in Yeshiva. After coming to the Yeshiva from such noteworthy establishments such as Ohr Sameach, Mir, Lakewood and Ner Yisroel, Zev found a home for himself in the Yeshiva. His hasmada and seriousness were assets for him and the Yeshiva during his tenure here. Zev continues to maintain his connection to the Yeshiva and its rebbeim but, more importantly, maintains that focus on learning and Yiddishkeit despite his busy work day in the family’s real estate business. Leba, who grew up in LA but also spent time at Yavne in Cleveland, is a staunch supporter of Zev’s learning. Her selflessness and passion allow the family to raise their children to the highest standards. Leba, when she is not busy raising their family, teaches in Toras Emes, where all of their children attend as well. The two of them are the leaders in their very quiet way in representing Torah and the impact it has in every aspect of their lives. To watch them is to be inspired by them. It is with great pride we present them with the Torah

Leadership Award this year. Harbotzas Torah Award – Rabbi Nesanel and Adina Snow It is always rewarding when alumni move on and are so productive and integral to their new communities. It is, as much as anything else, a testament to the Yeshiva, its rebbeim, and overall environment. The Snow family, who settled in Woodmere after their time in the Yeshiva’s Kollel, is continually offering the Yeshiva opportunities to take pride in their accomplishments. Their collective dedication to the Yeshiva and the growth of Torah is an inspiration to us all. Nesanel learned in Yeshiva and excelled first as a bochur and later as an avreich in our kollel. As a young boy, he grew up in Woodmere, attending the South Shore Yeshiva, then Rambam followed by Ohr Yerushalyim, subsequently entering the Yeshiva Gedolah some 15 years ago. More recently, Nesanel moved on to work in the administration of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns, continuing his avodas hakodesh in a significant way. On top of that, he finds time and energy to run a morning seder in the Yeshiva before the early minyan, as well as a night seder program after a long day at work. It’s this type of dedication to learning and teaching Torah that has made him a standout in Yeshiva over the years. Adina (aka Feit) Snow grew up in Staten Island. After completing her schooling, she spends her day as a speech therapist in Crown Heights. If that were not enough to keep busy, she cares for their children whom attend Siach Yitzchok and Bnos Bais Yaakov respectfully, while also having a baby at home. Both Nesanel and his wife come from parents and homes that embody ahavas chessed and are machshiv Torah. It is certainly a zchus to have them in our Yeshiva and even more of a zchus to be able to recognize them this year. Please join us at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, February 13 at the White Shul in Far Rockaway, NY, as we recognize these special families for their tireless service and dedication to the yeshiva, their communities and klal Yisrael. For more information please call the Yeshiva office at (516) 295-8900x4 or go online to www.ygft.org/dinner.

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Football Withdrawal Syndrome Tips Useful tips to get over Football Withdrawal Syndrome Introduce yourself to the lady and children that you find inside your house...they are your wife and kids. Think about how long the off-season is. Now think about how long the off-season will be for Rams coach Sean McVay and count your blessings. When your kids talk to you, act like you are a football player talking to the media. Gather all the pairs of socks from behind the couch. (Make sure to wear your hazmat suit, please.) Invite your friend over and tell him that you want to hear all the stories he has been telling you on Sunday nights (i.e. about the time he was stuck in traffic for two hours; how his cleaners lost his favorite shirt, etc.) because they sounded so interesting during the final drive of football games all season that you just want to hear them again.

Change the lightbulb that your wife has been “constantly” reminding you about every six months. Go to the gym and work off the 20 pounds of chili you ate during the season…so that when next season comes around you can put 20 pounds back on. If you are a Jets fan, meditate to the numbers 4 and 12… Because that was your team’s record last year and will likely be their record next year. Read a book. (Start with Dr. Seuss and work your way up to Curious George. By that time, the next football season will certainly be upon us.) Get into basketball and watch the Knicks. They will win at least 12 games this season…which wouldn’t be bad if they were a football team. Consider getting into alternative sports such as competitive eating. (You are probably a natural fit.)

You gotta be kidding A mother and daughter are washing dishes while the father and son are watching football. Suddenly, there is a crash of breaking dishes and then complete silence. The son looks at his dad and says, “It was Mom.” “How do you know?” wonders the dad. The son responds, “Because Mom didn’t say anything.”

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Facebook Trivia See what do you know about the $170 billion social media company that just turned 15 years old

a. $1 b. $8 million c. $14 million d. $140 million

a. $750 million b. $1.7 billion c. $4.3 billion d. $19 billion 4. According to a study, the average Facebook user has 150 friends. According to that

 Answers

1. B

2. What is Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s annual salary?

2. A

d. Albert Einstein

3. D

c. Alexander Graham Bell

4. B

b. Al Pacino

5. A

a. Elvis Presley

3. Before co-founding WhatsApp, Brian Acton interviewed and was turned down by Facebook. He tweeted, “Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to life’s next adventure.” Well, his next adventure, WhatsApp, was eventually purchased by Facebook. How much money did Facebook pay for WhatsApp?

6. D

1. When Facebook started, the site displayed a header image featuring a man’s face obscured behind the binary code. The identity of the man could not be seen clearly, but it later came to light whose face it was. Whose was it?

same study, in a time of need, how many of those “friends” would the average user turn to? a. 0 b. 4 c. 19 d. 150 5. Why is Facebook’s dominant design color blue? a. Because founder Mark Zuckerberg is color blind and has a hard time distinguishing between other colors b. Because Mark Zuckerberg had a blue car when he founded Facebook and since it was the first photo he posted, he wanted the homepage to match

the photo c. Facebook polled its first 1,000 users regarding which color to use and blue got 57% of the vote d. Because blue is the easiest color to see on a computer screen 6. A recent study in the Journal of Applied Biobehavioural Research found that the more time one spends on Facebook the more they become: a. Happy b. Popular c. Fulfilled d. Depressed

 Wisdom Key 5-6 correct: You spend a lot of time on Facebook...thumbs down for you. 3-4 correct: You only spend a moderate amount of time on Facebook...you must be only moderately desperate. 0-2 correct: You are probably not even on Facebook. What do you do all day? Read? Play ball? Play an instrument? Paint? Look at real sunsets? And do you mean to tell me that you actually talk to people?

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Torah Thought

Parshas Terumah By Rabbi Berel Wein

The Nozyk Synagogue in Warsaw

ven though the L-rd requires no building or special place in the universe that He created, the Jewish people are commanded in this week’s reading of the Torah to donate special materials and talented labor to begin the construction of such a building, where the spirit of the L-rd, so to speak, will reign. There have been many ideas advanced over the ages as

to why such a building was ever necessary for a G-d that prohibits idolatry and is purely a spiritual entity. But this is not the subject of my few words for this Sabbath. Wherever the Jews have found themselves, in every far-flung corner of this world, they have always constructed houses of worship and of learning upon which to base their communal

life and societal survival. Most of these buildings – those that remain and have not been destroyed by time, changing demographics or wanton evil perpetrated by humans – are no longer serviceable as synagogues, for the Jewish communities that once populated them are gone. So these buildings have become at best museums and in many, if not most cases, buildings now used for purposes other than Jewish worship services. Nevertheless, these buildings, even if abandoned or not used for their original purpose, stand as mute testimony to the loyalty of the Jewish people and their perseverance in the face of terrible odds and hostile societies. Many of

have abandoned the synagogue and its worship service. Statistics in the United States, for instance, show that the highest proportion of any religious group in that country that does not attend worship services regularly are the Jews. What has resulted is the disintegration of the Jewish community in that country. Synagogues may be merely buildings constructed of bricks, cement, steel or wood. But buildings alone certainly do not guarantee any sort of Jewish future. Wherever these synagogue buildings existed, the Jewish community was able to bring forth generations and remain vital and productive. It is as though the Torah in this

The buildings have become representatives of Jewish continuity and survival.

these buildings are now visited by Jewish tourists, and some of them are even official national landmarks protected by the governments of those countries. They all stand as testimony to the onetime presence of a vibrant Jewish community that was determined to continue to worship G-d in its own way and according to its millennia old tradition. The buildings have become representatives of Jewish continuity and survival. One of the great tragedies of current Jewish life is that so many Jews

week’s reading senses this truth and commands that such buildings be built from Jewish funds, talent and effort. The blueprint for a synagogue building is a very ancient one, and it also details what a synagogue should look like and for what purpose it is to be built and attended. The synagogues and their buildings that exist throughout the world are the signposts of Jewish existence and the eternal witness to the spirituality of its people. Shabbat shalom.

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From the Fire

Parshas Terumah Making it a Habit of Hischadshus By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

he pasuk says, “You shall setup the Mishkan k’mishpato, according to its mishpat, as it was shown to you on the mountain” (Shemos 26:30). The Yerushalmi (Shabbos12:3) asks on the lashon of k’mishpato, according to its law, is there a mishpat, a specific law, for some pieces of wood? People have laws; wood and objects do not. The Yerushalmi answers that the beam that merited to be placed on the north side of the Mishkan would be marked and always had to be placed on the northern side every time the Mishkan was set up. So too, the beams that were placed on the south side of the Mishkan would always be placed in the south. The mishpat was that every beam had to always be placed on the side where it was set up at the initial building of the Mishkan. This teaches us k’vius, that there is a seder in the Mishkan. This Yerushalmi applies this l’halacha regarding a tallis. The Magen Avraham in Orach Chaim (68:6) brings in the name of the Shla HaKadosh that the source of the minhag to have an atara on a tallis comes from this din in the Yerushalmi. The purpose of the atara, which can either be some silver or an extra piece of material, is to make sure that there is k’vius by a tallis – that the tzitzis that belong in front, are always worn in front, and that the tzitzis that belong in the back

will always remain in the back. We learn from the Mishkan the chashivus of k’vius. However, we see from the avodah of the kohanim in the Bais Hamikdash the very opposite of k’vius. We know from the Mishnah in Yomah (82) that there was a paiyyis, a goral, a lottery, every day to make sure that the avodah of the kohanim would not become kavua. We further know from the Mishna in Sukkah (5:6) that the same kohen who did the avodah on one day was not eligible to perform the avodah the next day. We see that this is the exact opposite of k’vius, and it was also in the Bais Hamikdash! This question is asked by the Chasam Sofer who wrote that the rule of k’mishpato is to establish each beam in its proper place because the idea of k’vius only applies to the physical structure, to the wood and beams of the Mishkan. We know that the physical Mishkan in this world corresponds to the Bais HaMikdash Shel Ma’alah, the Bais HaMikdash on high, where the avodah is performed by malachim, angels. We know that the angels are called omdim, meaning that they cannot change their role. They are fixed, kavua, in their roles. But regarding people in this world, things are completely different. There is a tendency in this world for people to grow accustomed to certain things and certain behaviors.

Here the challenge for us is to avoid falling into a state of hergel, things should not become habit. As Hashem says through the Navi Yeshaya (29:13), “As the people have drawn close with its mouth and lips they honor me, yet they have distanced their heart from me and their fear of me has become like rote.” In order to prevent the pitfall of hergel, Hashem wanted a different kohen to be involved in each avodah by way of a daily drawing of the lots. This was done in order that the kohanim should merit to do the avodah with simchas ha’lev, joy, and hislavus, excitement.

Aharon’s Greatness This was the greatness of Aharon HaKohein. As the pasuk states (Bamidbar 8:3) regarding the lighting of the menorah, “And so Aharon did… just as Hashem commanded Moshe.” Rashi, quoting the Medrash, says on that pasuk that the words, “Vya’as kein Aharon, and so Aharon did,” tell us that the praise of Aharon was that he was unchanging. The Gedolei HaChasidus were bothered by this Medrash. They asked why Aharon’s obedience to Hashem’s word is Aharon’s praise. If Hashem would have whispered words into our ears, we would all follow Hashem’s instructions without the slightest deviation. Why does Rashi

bring this Medrash which says that Aharon’s unchanging fulfillment of this mitzvah was his praise? Aharon’s unchanging fulfillment of this mitzvah was a very high madreiga. The koach of Amalek is k’rirus, coldness. “Asher karcha ba’derech,” (Devarim 25:18). The koach of Amalek is to try to make us feel comfortable and accustomed to doing our avodas Hashem. Chazal say that nobody knew how to speak loshon hara like Haman HaRasha who said to Achasverosh (Esther 3:8), “There is one nation that is scattered and dispersed between the nations.” Haman specifically used the word yeshno, which is lashon shina, changing. Haman also used to word yeshno (related to shayna, sleeping) to imply that Hashem was sleeping and old and that the Jewish people do not excite Him anymore. The word shina is also related to the idea of repetition, as we see from the pasuk, “V’shinantem l’vanecha,” (D’varim 6:7). Now we can understand that the praise of Aharon was that despite the fact the he lit the menorah every day, he nevertheless was not impaired by the middah of Amalek, hergel; it never became a habit or stale. Each time he lit the menorah was with the same excitement as the very first time. The way of life is for a person to lose the excitement and to take things

for granted. Imagine if every time we looked at our children, we would see them with the same excitement that we had when they were born. If only a husband would look at his wife with the same excitement he had when he saw her by the chuppa. We tend to grow accustomed to seeing our parents in the same way – they were there the moment we opened our eyes and continue to always be there for us. We should always try to think of our parents with renewed excitement and should not take them for granted. This was Mordechai Ha’Yehudi. He was called Ish Yehudi, a lashon of hoda’a, giving thanks. Mordechai took nothing for granted and was constantly thanking Hashem with renewed excitement for what he was given. R’ Yaakov Yitzchak from Lublin was known as the Yid HaKadosh. He earned his name because every day he was filled with renewal when he made the brach,a “She’lo asani goy.” That is what made him into the Yid

HaKadosh – each day he was renewed in his service of Hashem. He felt he had just become a Jew. Once upon a time there was such a thing as shul Yidden. There were peo-

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a chiyus! There is a story of an old Rebbe in Europe in a poor little shtetl who never left his Bais Medrash to go anywhere else. One day, the chassidim decided that they wanted to do

Imagine if every time we looked at our children we would see them with the same excitement that we had when they were born.

ple who stayed in the same shul for 40,50 and 60 years. They were in the same place, sat in the same seats and even had the same arguments year after year, but they were filled with

something special for the Rebbe and send him and his Rebbetzin on a vacation. They collected money together and they came to the Rebbe and said, “Rebbe, we were thinking that

it would be a good idea for you to go on a vacation.” The Rebbe listened and said, “You know, I was thinking the same thing!” He then picked his Gemara and sat down one seat over from his usual place, looked around, and said, “Aahhh! This is a mechaya!” That is what hischadshus means. It means being kavua while also finding renewal in that which is kavua. It means finding a new perspective on what you’ve always had, finding a new taste in old wine. The malachim in the Beis Hamikdash Shel Ma’alah above are omdim, they do not have to change. However, down here in this world, we have to constantly work on ourselves and always renew ourselves in order to prevent things from becoming old and stale.

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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Parsha

in 4

Parshas Terumah By Eytan Kobre

Weekly Aggada Speak to the Jewish people, that they should take for me an offering, from each man whose heart motivates him you shall take my offering (Shemos 25:2) Have you ever encountered an item for sale where its seller is sold with it? G-d said to the Jewish people, “I have sold to you my Torah, it is as if I have been sold with it.” As it says, “That they should take for me an offering” (i.e., it is as if G-d told the Jewish people to

take Him). This is comparable to a king who had a daughter, an only child. One day, the prince of a foreign land came and married her. Then he wanted to take her to his homeland, a faraway country. The king (the father-in-law) said to the prince, “My daughter is an only child. To be without her, that I cannot do. To prevent you from taking her, that too I cannot do. But do me this favor: wherever you take her, leave one room for me so that I can come live with you, because I cannot be without my precious daughter.” So it was with G-d and the Torah.

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G-d said to the Jewish people: “I have given you the Torah. To be without it, that I cannot do. To tell you not to take it, that too I cannot do. But wherever you go, leave a space for me so that I may come dwell with it. That was the Mishkan. As it says, ‘And let them make for Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them’” (Shemos Rabba 33:1).

Weekly Mussar

“the image of a child’s face.” It all depended upon their environs. While all people are affected by their surroundings, children are even more acutely so. All children have the capacity to be either “angels of destruction” or “the image of a child’s face” – it all depends on their surroundings.

Weekly Anecdote

And you shall make two golden cherubs, of beaten work you shall make them, at the two ends of the ark cover (Shemos 25:18)

Speak to the Jewish people, that they should take for me an offering, from each man whose heart motivates him you shall take my offering (Shemos 25:2)

Containing the luchos and placed in the Holy of Holies, the Aron was the focal point of the Mishkan. It was adorned on top with the keruvim – two golden cherubs – described as “the image of a child’s face” (Rashi, Shemos 25:18). An angelic, peaceful image, to be sure. But this is not the Torah’s only reference to keruvim. When G-d banished Adam from Gan Eden, the Torah describes how “G-d drove the man out, and he dwelled to the east of the Gan Eden, the keruvim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the Tree of Life” (Bereishis 3:24). There, too, the Torah speaks of keruvim, but they are described as far less innocent “angels of destruction” (Rashi, Bereishis 3:24; Chizkuni, Bereishis 3:24). So what were the keruvim: angelic cherubs or angels of destruction? In fact, the keruvim were both “the image of a child’s face” and “angels of destruction”—it depended on the environment. When the keruvim were given a “fiery ever-turning sword,” they were “angels of destruction”; when they were placed atop the Aron next to the luchos in the Holy of Holies, they were

The donations of the Jewish people to the Mishkan are described famously as “takings” (rather than “givings”), because one who donates to charity really ends up taking, whether in the form of Divine reward or spiritual protection or financial return (see e.g. Alshich and Apiryon, Shemos 25:2). One man from a town near Kozhnitz found out firsthand just how rewarding charity can be. Our man made it a habit to collect charity for others, particularly those too embarrassed to ask for themselves. While he was ridiculed regularly by those he solicited, he carried on dutifully, knowing he was doing G-d’s work. One day, a desperate man came to him and poured out his soul. He could not afford to feed his young children or to pay for medication prescribed by doctors for his sick wife. He was at his wits’ end. But the collector was conflicted. On the one hand, this man was so destitute and so desperate, and he truly wanted to assist; on the other hand, he had already used up all his good will with the local townsfolk, having made three rounds of collection just the prior day. In the end, he simply could not ignore

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the poor man’s plight. He prepared himself for the barrage of insults he was sure to receive, and he went out to start collecting. His first stop was the local used clothing shop. “You? Again?” the shopkeeper asked. “You were just here yesterday? Stop bothering us!” Several of the shopkeeper’s confederates were there too and decided to have some fun at the collector’s expense. “We don’t want to turn you aside empty-handed,” they told him. “So we will give you all the money you need, on one condition. Here is a priest’s garb. Don this and walk the streets of town without uttering a word. Do that, and the money is yours.” Well, our good-natured collector did as the pranksters demanded. As he walked the streets of town dressed like a priest, the locals mocked him and jeered at him and threw rotten vegetables at him. But he trudged on until, at long last, the torture was over. The pranksters handed him the money, which he promptly turned over to the

poor man. And then, just like that, he collapsed and died. The decision was made to bury him in the priest garb. Sometime later, the collector’s grave was opened inadvertently. To the amazement of all present, his body was found fully intact and undisturbed. The townspeople feared that this man may have been one of the generation’s hidden righteous ones, and they regretted treating him so horribly. They asked the Maggid of Kohznitz to tell them if the collector was indeed one of the hidden righteous ones. “He was not,” answered the Maggid. “But the priest garb he used for that poor family years ago attained a certain sanctity because of the charity he collected, and it serves as a shield for him to this day.”

Weekly Halacha And you shall set upon the table showbread before Me always (Shemos 25:30)

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At each Shabbos meal, there is an obligation to recite a blessing over two whole loaves of bread (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 274:1; Rama, Orach Chaim 291:4). This obligation – commonly referred to as “lechem mishneh” (“double portion”) – recalls the double portion of manna that fell for the Jewish people in the desert each Friday, one for Friday and one for Shabbos (Rashi, Shemos 16:22). We therefore use two whole loaves at each Shabbos meal (Shabbat 117b; Rambam, Shabbos 30:9; Rama, Orach Chaim 291:4). Still, it is not necessary that one eat from both loaves; it is sufficient that only one be cut and eaten from (Mishna Berura 274:4). There is a custom to place twelve loaves on the table at each Shabbos meal representing the twelve lechem hapanim (“Showbreads”) placed on the Shulchan in the Mishkan (Be’er Heitev, Orach Chaim 274:2). While some regard this as a biblical obligation (Aruch HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 274:1; Taz, Orach Chaim 678:2;

Shaar HaTzion 271:11), others maintain that the obligation is rabbinic (Magen Avraham 254:23). Both men and women are obligated (Mishna Berura 274:1). During the Shabbos night meal, the bottom loaf is sliced first; during the Shabbos day meal (and all other meals on Shabbos), the top loaf is sliced first (Shulchan Aruch and Rama, 274:1). Some have a custom to make a shallow slice in the loaf one intends to cut prior to reciting the blessing to minimize the delay between the blessing and the eating of the bread (Mishna Berura 274:5). 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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Living it up

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The Wandering

Jew

Return to Russia PART I

By Hershel Lieber

esi and I returned to Russia in 1993, after an absence of eleven years. The last time I was there in 1982, the vast country was known as the U.S.S.R. Not that I didn’t attempt to travel there since, but the KGB was not interested in having me come and would not approve my visa application. In 1982, as a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel, I was there twice. The first time was in January, together with Pesi and Rabbi Mordechai and Alice Neustadt, on a fact-finding mission to determine how we can help Soviet Jews connect to their Jewish heritage. The second time was in December with Zolly Tropper to give shiurim and chizuk to the fledgling baal teshuva movement started by Ilya Essas. The U.S.S.R. fell apart in December of 1991, and fifteen countries emerged in its place. The Vaad that was clandestinely sending shlichim there for the past ten years to teach Torah and Yiddishkeit saw this as a great opportunity. Religion was not taboo

The yeshiva in Tbilisi, Georgia

Novominsker Rebbe and a group of philanthropists. Our previous trips and hands-on knowledge would enable us to rally support for the Vaad’s efforts to rebuild Yiddishkeit in the former Soviet Union. We had already made plans to travel to a Jewish summer camp in Poland for two weeks in mid-August where I would lecture and teach. Being that the group was leaving in late July, we readily accepted to join them for what turned out to be a most memorable and challenging journey.

The Vaad arriving in Baku, Azerbaijan

anymore, and the opening of educational institutions was now permitted. The Vaad established several mosdos in Moscow and St. Petersburg (Russia), Tbilisi (Georgia), Baku and Kuba (Azerbaijan), and Kishinev (Moldova).

To raise funds for these projects, they organized trips for potential donors to familiarize them with the existing circumstances and the Vaad schools. In 1993, Pesi and I were invited to participate on a trip headed by the

After stopovers in Amsterdam and Stockholm, we finally arrived in Moscow. The group stayed in a more exclusive hotel, but we wound up in the shabby Hotel Minsk on Tverskaya Street. The next day, after Shacharis at the Choral Synagogue, the entire group walked around Red Square and visited the Kremlin. During our previous trips, we hid our Jewishness and hoped we would go unnoticed. In stark contrast, on this trip, our very noticeably Jewish group, many with beards,

Jews from Kuba greeting members of the Vaad

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Gala Melava Malka at the summer camp near Moscow

payos and yarmulkes, walked freely and fearlessly on the very cobblestones that the cruel Czars and ruthless dictators Lenin and Stalin had treaded. Shabbos we spent at a boys’ camp, a forty-minute drive from Moscow. The camp was run and financed by Rabbi Naftoli Zucker. Aesthetically, this place left a lot to be desired. It was probably our first and hopefully last time we slept on straw mattresses and pillows. Despite the austere surroundings, this Shabbos was such a spiritual high; it was an experience we still remember. The davening, the festive seudos, the lively zemiros, the inspirational speeches, the singing and the dancing amid a sea of children of all ages was emotionally rousing! Many of these participants eventually became yeshiva students and today are proud and ehrliche Yidden. There were shiurim for the guests and opportunities to study and connect with the children. A melave malka concert by Reb Abish Brodt wrapped up a Shabbos which was me’ein olam habah. On Sunday, we left by plane to Azerbaijan and landed in Baku. There our whole group boarded a large helicopter and flew to the small town of Kuba. Kuba was divided by a river,

The Chacham of the Jewish community in Kuba

where Muslims lived on one side and Jews on the other. Stalin had murdered all the rabbis, except for one, who had kept the traditions of the community alive. The community was to a great extent ignorant about Torah and halacha, but whatever Yiddishkeit did exist was nothing short of a miracle. As the helicopter landed on the dried riverbed, the entire town came streaming down the hillsides to greet us. Men and women, boys and girls, all smiling and laughing, with faces glowing with joy. I cannot forget the scene of all the townspeople surrounding our helicopter, welcoming the Rebbe and our group. It was a scene that I imagine we would see when Moshiach will arrive, b’mheira b’yameinu. Our adventure began when we were flying back from Kuba. Suddenly, I saw that we were landing in a deserted plateau, and we were told that we must refuel. We saw no gasoline fa-

The deligation from Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel headed by the Noviminsker Rebbe in Red Square

humor of the situation did not escape us. After a while, some members of the group negotiated a more realistic amount and paid the ransom.

We started out in Moscow, refueled in Volgograd, landed in Baku, flew with the helicopter to Kuba, were hijacked and returned to Baku, and now we finally arrived in Tbilisi.

cilities, so we were a bit confused. We were told that we must leave the plane while refueling, which we naively did. Once out on the rocky plain, we were told that if we want to return to Baku, we must give them a lot more money. Basically, we were being hijacked and blackmailed. It was surreal. We had contrasting emotions. On the one hand, we were frightened, and yet the

Finally, we boarded and flew back to Baku. Though our original plans called for us to spend a few hours visiting our school there, it did not happen. At the airport we saw flashes of light in the sky and heard loud thunder-like sounds in the direction of the city. We were then informed that there was a gunfire battle between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and it was not safe to

enter the city. We waited awhile and then boarded again for our next destination: Tbilisi, Georgia. It was an awfully long day. We started out in Moscow, refueled in Volgograd, landed in Baku, flew with the helicopter to Kuba, were hijacked and returned to Baku, and now we finally arrived in Tbilisi. We were extremely tired and kvetchy and could not wait to take a shower and get into bed. After our first night in that shabby, roach-infested hotel in Moscow, followed by two nights on strawfilled mattresses, we really needed a good night’s rest. We thought we were seeing a mirage when our bus pulled up to a brand-new, tall, luxury hotel with a mahogany embellished and well-lit lobby. After a few minutes of unabashed excitement, we realized that this hotel was reserved for those who made special arrangements and paid the premium to stay there. The rest of us were driven and deposited at a three-story rundown, wooden edifice surrounding a courtyard. The building was straight out of a 17 th or 18th century inner city slum. This was going to be our hostel for the night. We

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Our dilapidated hotel in Tbilisi

dragged in our heavy luggage (since we were going to be in Europe for four weeks) into our first-floor room, and as we walked around, we realized that the rug-covered floor was soaked in water. I called the manager who explained that the room is on top of a Turkish bathhouse and steam vapors are causing this to happen. The other option, which we took, was a thirdfloor room where we had to schlep our luggage up an open-air staircase. There, although there was no water on the rug, there was also no water in the shower. Needless to say, we did not have a very pleasant night but we were too tired to care. The next day we visited both the Sephardi and Ashkenazi synagogues. We stopped at the kosher butcher and inspected the mikvah. We davened at the yeshiva and saw the students learning Torah. We had a traditional breakfast of tandoori bread, tomatoes, olives and spicy dips as we listened about Jewish life in Tbilisi from Chief Rabbi Ariel Levine. Our group was very impressed and an appeal to help maintain our projects was made on the spot. Our donors came through by enthusiastically pledging considerable

support for the Vaad mosdos. Our successful trip was winding down, but not over yet. That afternoon we again boarded a plane, which took us to our final stop: Kishinev, Moldova. There, unbeknown to us, we faced another adventure and challenge. To be continued… Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.

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At a Motzei Shabbos concert at summer camp

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My Israel Home

Combating Illegal Construction By Gedaliah Borvick

ver since the founding of the State of Israel, the country has been in growth mode. Despite the seemingly endless construction nationwide – the joke is that Israel’s national bird is the “crane” – Israel has a shortage of over 100,000 apartments due to the country’s expanding population. Thankfully, a few years ago the Israeli government implemented new systems to expedite its antiquated rezoning and permitting process. Now that the accelerated program is up and running, the government has taken the next step and, on December 20, 2018, implemented new laws to combat illegal construction.

– to complete. Upon conclusion of the suit, the violator would only be penalized up to 15,000 NIS (under $4,000), a mere slap on the wrist. Understandably, it didn’t pay for the government to act, due to the length of litigation and the paltry penalty sums. The only issue that gave buyers pause was financing: the conser-

government has computerized the building permit process, the building process has been moved online, and it now takes significantly less time to receive building permits. In addition, new regulations have been implemented to make enforcement easier. For example, the municipalities can bypass the court system to mete out penalties – to

The joke is that Israel’s national bird is the “crane”

Background For many years, Israel’s rezoning and development process was truly arduous, and builders would endure a lengthy bureaucratic process to obtain building permits. Because it was so challenging, homeowners who wanted to expand their homes – such as enclosing balconies – usually nixed the drawn-out application process and illegally added the space. The government lacked the manpower to enforce the laws to curb this illegal activity and, in the few times that the government decided to sue the property owners, the lawsuits took years – sometimes even decades

vative banking industry limited mortgage amounts to the value of the property’s legal space, and the illegal space would not be attributed financial value. This constraint occasionally motivated owners to legalize the space, but the deep-pocketed purchasers who did not require financing were understandably less affected.

New Systems Over the past few years, as the

both the builder of the illegal space as well as the apartment owner – and the penalties are large: a 1,400 NIS daily fine for up to 90 days, plus up to 300,000 NIS, depending on the amount of space illegally constructed.

What It Means for You Before buying a home in Israel, you must do your homework to ensure that the property has no illegalities. Your attorney should retain

the services of a zoning and building permits professional to review the building plans and permits and confirm that the existing space is legal. If there are illegalities, you must ascertain whether they can be legalized and their accompanying cost. If it cannot be legalized, then your attorney needs to determine how the illegality is expected to be perceived by the municipality: as an acceptable annoyance or as a major irregularity that is subject to a fine, and what the potential liability is. By investigating thoroughly, you will be armed with the knowledge necessary to make sound legal and business decisions prior to purchasing your apartment. Disclaimer: This article was meant for informational purposes only and should not be construed to come in place of using legal counsel and hiring professionals to carry out all due diligence, including reviewing all legal and planning issues, prior to purchasing an apartment. Gedaliah Borvick is the founder of My Israel Home (www.myisraelhome.com), a real estate agency focused on helping people from abroad buy and sell homes in Israel. To sign up for his monthly market updates, contact him at gborvick@ gmail.com.

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State of the Union 2019

President Trump: “We Must Choose Between Greatness or Gridlock” By Susan Schwamm

olitical theater was on full display on Tuesday night when President Trump delivered his second State of the Union address in front of a divided Congress. With the Democrats holding a majority in the House of Representatives and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi seated behind him, Trump reached across the aisle. “I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans,” the

president declared. In a speech which many anticipated would bear more of a resemblance to a political wrestling match than a civilized discourse, the president struck a gracious tone and asserted, “Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country.” He also touched on the vitriolic hatred of him that Democrats and the media has by declaring, “We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance, and retribution…. We must choose

between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction. “Tonight,” the president said, “I ask you to choose greatness.” Mr. Trump touted the economy and noted that, since his election, the U.S. has added 5.3 million new jobs, including 600,000 new manufacturing jobs; nearly 5 million people have stopped collecting food stamps; and more people are working now than at

any other time in our history. He noted that just last month 304,000 jobs were added. “An economic miracle is taking place in the United States,” he noted, “and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations.” In perhaps the most direct swipe at his adversaries he declared, “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn’t work that way!”

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For a president who is usually shielded by his twitter feed, Tuesday night was the first opportunity in a long time for millions of Americans to see Mr. Trump in an official setting, rather than at an impromptu press conference with helicopter blades humming behind him. If he is really an unread, unhinged, undisciplined and unpresidential fool – as the talking heads in the media portrays him to be – well, it was not on display on Tuesday night. Rather, what Americans saw was a president who is very much in command of the issues, has a vision for the country, and – perhaps most surprising to some – was able to deliver a speech with the same finesse as his silver-tongued predecessors. Although Democrats entered the Chamber with dour looks on their faces and early on during the speech sat on their hands, towards the end of the speech they joined Republicans in singing “Happy Birthday” to an 81-year-old Holocaust survivor and survivor of the Pittsburgh massacre who was in the audience. Mr. Trump then ad-libbed to Judah Samet, “They would never do that for me; they would never do that for me.” Samet, in turn, waved and blew a kiss to the president. Another Holocaust survivor was in the audience on Tuesday night. Joshua Kaufman was in Dachau when he saw American soldiers roll in on tanks. Mr. Trump recalled Joshua’s thoughts at the time. “To me…the American soldiers were proof that G-d exists, and they came down from the sky.” Seated next to Joshua at the address was Herman Zeitchik, an American soldier who helped liber-

“Under my Administration, we will never apologize for advancing America’s interests.”

ate Dachau. When Mr. Trump highlighted that more women are employed today than ever before, a few dozen Democrat females, wearing white as a symbolism of female power, jumped to their feet and began laughing and pointing to themselves, as if to indicate that the reason more women are working is because of newly elected Democrat women who swept their party into power. Mr. Trump smiled, turned to the Democrat women, and said, “Remain standing because you are going to like this next line,” before declaring, “We also have more women serving in the Congress than ever before.” With the recent government shutdown and back-and-forth over a border wall having delayed Mr. Trump’s address for one week, the president made a passionate plea for common sense. “No issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class than illegal immigration. Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards,” he noted. “Meanwhile, working class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal migration – reduced jobs, lower wages, overburdened schools and hospitals, increased crime, and a depleted social safety net.” He underscored, “Tolerance for illegal immigration is not compassionate – it is cruel.” Mr. Trump pointed out that one in three women are assaulted while making the journey over the border and that children are exploited. “Tens of thousands of innocent Americans are killed by lethal drugs that cross our border and flood into our cities – including meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. The savage gang, MS-13, now operates in 20 different American states, and they almost all come through our southern border. Just yesterday, an MS-13 gang member was taken into custody for a fatal shooting on a subway platform in New York City. We are removing these gang members by the thousands, but until we secure our border, they’re going to keep streaming back in,” the president told Congress and Americans around the country.

Along the same lines, the president vowed, “Now is the time for the Congress to show the world that America is committed to ending illegal immigration and putting the ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers, and human traffickers out of business.” The president noted that walls have worked to provide security to our nation. He pointed to San Diego, which used to have the most illegal border crossings in the country. Since a border wall was erected, the illegal crossings have ended. Mr. Trump also mentioned the border city of El Paso, Texas, which used to be pummeled by high rates of violent crime and was considered one of the nation’s most dangerous cities. But now, with a wall in place, residents there experience peace and security. “Simply put, walls work and walls save lives,” the commander-in-chief noted. “So let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.” Mr. Trump also took on the new wing of the Democrat Party which openly advocates for socialism. “Here, in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence – not government coercion, domination, and control.” As the cameras panned the audience and focused on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a proud socialist, who was squirming in his seat, the president declared, “We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” Sanders glowered while chants of “U.S.A.” could be heard from Republicans in the chamber. Mr. Trump turned his focus to trade and American progress. He noted that his administration has been working to stem the tide of Chinese theft of American intellectually property and spoke of tariffs imposed on the Asian country as a result. He also mentioned NAFTA and said that although other politicians promised Americans a “better” deal, “no one ever tried – until now.” Speaking about an emotional topic that has recently garnered headlines, the president pulled on people’s heartstrings. “There could be no greater con-

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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin gives the president a thumbs up during his speech

Judah Samet, survivor of the Holocaust and the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, blows a kiss to President Trump during the speech

Bernie Sanders called Trump’s speech “racist”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez looked dour as Trump wowed America

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trast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our Nation saw in recent days. Lawmakers in New York cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments before birth. These are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their love and dreams with the world. And then, we had the case of the Governor of Virginia where he basically stated he would execute a baby after birth.” Mr. Trump asked Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of “children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb. “Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children – born and unborn – are made in the holy image of G-d.” Towards the end of his speech, President Trump spoke about his mission to protect the United States’ national security. “Under my Administration, we

will never apologize for advancing America’s interests,” the president asserted. He mentioned China and Russia and reiterated his desire for peace on the Korean Peninsula. Speaking about meeting with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam on the 27 th and 28th of this month, the president noted, “Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not

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been a missile launch in 15 months…. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one.” President Trump has consistently shown his understanding of the Middle East and America’s enemies there. He said that he “proudly” opened the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for this reason and pledged to walk back American troops from battlefields in Syria and Afghanistan. “The hour has come to at least try for peace,” he declared. Speaking of Iran, which he said is the “world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” the president said, “We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants death to America and threatens genocide against the Jewish people. We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism, or those who spread its venomous creed. With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs.” Trump ended his address to the nation on a high note, urging members of Congress to remember the accomplishments of those who came before them and to be inspired by what they can achieve. “Think of this Capitol – think of this very chamber, where lawmakers before you voted to end slavery, to build the railroads and the highways, to defeat fascism, to secure civil rights, to face down an evil empire,” he urged. “Here tonight, we have legislators from across this magnificent republic. You have come from the rocky shores of Maine and the volcanic peaks of Hawaii; from the snowy

woods of Wisconsin and the red deserts of Arizona; from the green farms of Kentucky and the golden beaches of California. Together, we represent the most extraordinary Nation in all of history. “What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered? “I ask the men and women of this Congress: Look at the opportunities before us! Our most thrilling achievements are still ahead. Our most exciting journeys still await. Our biggest victories are still to come. We have not yet begun to dream.” Urging both parties to come together, the president said, “We must choose whether we are defined by our differences – or whether we dare to transcend them. “We must choose whether we will squander our inheritance – or whether we will proudly declare that we are Americans.”

“No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together.” He added, “This is our future – our fate – and our choice to make. I am asking you to choose greatness.” Bringing Congress and the nation to its feet, President Trump proclaimed, “No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together. We must keep America first in our hearts. We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America’s destiny – that one Nation, under G-d, must be the hope and the promise and the light and the glory among all the nations of the world. “Thank you. G-d bless you and G-d bless America.”

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DO YOU REALLY THINK TOM BRADY IS HAPPY? By Noam Fixler

you answered, “He’s certainly not happy,” to the title question, you are right – and you should probably put down this article and turn the page. For the rest of you, I apologize for the title – it was just a way to get rid of that guy who shouldn’t be reading this. Mission accomplished. Regardless of whether Tom Brady is happy or not, I am happy that he won the Super Bowl last Sunday because it is the rare time that I can point to a sports superstar and highlight his qualities to my children. Now, just in case the guy from above snuck back in and is reading this, let me say: Of course, we have plenty of excellent role models within Yiddishkeit and there is absolutely no need to look outside of our ranks for role models. But the fact is that many of our children follow sports and know a lot about these

sports players’ lives and characters. The information they’re fed and the character traits they’re looking at are usually negative. So, it’s nice for a change to have a sports star who has certain positive character traits that we can highlight. Yes, my children have tens of books about gedolim, which is their primary reading material and what we hope they model their behavior after, but sometimes you can reach a child by coming from a different angle. I think Tom Brady is the perfect conduit. Just to be clear, I don’t know anything about Tom Brady’s personal life but what we can emulate involves how he goes about succeeding in his professional life.

Before

the NFL draft, pro-football scouts analyze and investigate every aspect of the prospective draft choices. The

p l a y ers are put through rigorous physical tests, and the game-film of every game they ever played from college to middle school is scrutinized. Tom Brady was picked late in the 6th round of the 2000 draft. That means that he was passed over 199 times before finally being chosen. Nineteen years later, he holds the record for most regular season wins by a starting quarterback (207), most division titles (16), most playoff wins (30), most Super Bowl appearances (9), most Super Bowl wins (6), and most Super Bowl MVPs (4). Additionally, at the age of 41, he is also the only player from the 2000 draft that is still playing in the NFL. It’s common for players who are selected high in the draft to not live up to their potential. But it’s un-

heard of for a player to go from the bottom of the heap to the top. And Brady went to the top of not only his class but is arguably the best or one of the best players to ever play the game. So how did the NFL scouts get it so wrong? The answer is that they didn’t. Brady just rose above his natural abilities. How he did that is what we can all learn from. SELF-BELIEF According to Brady’s roommate at Michigan, when Brady was a third string quarterback in college he would constantly say, “I’m going to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.” Brady’s roommate told ESPN that several years later, in 2001, Brady was a backup quarterback on the Patriots and they were together

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

at an event. Brady said, “You know, I think I have a great shot at being quarterback this year,” and he proceeded to explain how it was going to happen. Someone at the event quipped, “There’s [Drew] Bledsoe, there’s Michael Bishop. What is Tommy even thinking?” Sure enough, Brady ended up as the starting quarterback and led the Patriots to their first-ever Super Bowl victory. The Lubavitcher Rebbe used to always say, “Tracht gut un es vet zein gut, Think good and it will be good.” Brady is certainly not a Lubavitcher but his positive thinking and his self-belief have indisputably played a role in his success. HARD WORK There are countless anecdotes about how hard Brady works. In a recent interview, a Patriots executive recalls leaving the Patriots facility late one Friday evening in March several years ago. As he was driving out, he noticed that the lights on the practice field were on. He thought that it was odd that they forgot to shut the lights on the field that day, so he turned around and went to shut the lights. Sure enough, he observed Tom Brady on the field alone throwing footballs into a net. Brady was caught throwing balls late at night – after everyone left the facility. That is impressive enough. But more than that, this event took place in March, just a few weeks after the football season was over. Brady practicing late at night in March is akin to a Jewish mother deep-cleaning her home two weeks after Pesach or a teen burning the midnight oil studying algebra days after the regent. Most football players spend the time after the season basking in the sun or lying in the sand. Brady? Fuhgeddaboudit. He’s still at it, as if the playoffs are days away. Former Patriot Rodney Harrison told ESPN a story about how hard Brady works: “When I first got to New England, we [Harrison and Brady] had become friends, and we were in the weight room. I show up around 6:30 in the morning and he says to me, ‘Good afternoon!’ So the next day, I get the hint, and come

in 15 minutes earlier. Same thing: He says, ‘Good afternoon!’ Then the

responded, “Who’s my hero? That’s a great question... Well, I think my

“BEFORE HE COULD SAY ANYTHING TO ME, I LOOKED AT HIM AND SAID, ‘MAN, I DON’T [CARE] WHAT YOU SAY, TOM, I’M NOT COMING IN EARLIER THAN 5:30!’” next day it’s 5:45 in the morning, and he makes sure to say it twice: ‘Good afternoon! Good afternoon!’ So I make it at 5:30 the next day and before he could say anything to me, I looked at him and said, ‘Man, I don’t [care] what you say, Tom, I’m not coming in earlier than 5:30!’ We both laughed at that.” Brady goes to sleep at 8:30 p.m. so he can get up at 5:30 a.m. to start his day. “I don’t go to bed at 1 a.m. and wake up at 5 a.m. and say, ‘Let’s see if I can get this done today,’” Brady told ABC News in 2016. “Because my career is so important, I think I make a lot of – I wouldn’t call them sacrifices – but just concessions for my job.” Early mornings, late nights, working harder than anyone else… those values translate into success. FAMILY In most post-game interviews, before answering the reporter’s first question, Brady looks at the camera and says, “Hi, Mom and Dad, I love you.” Some may think it’s an act, but under Brady’s high school yearbook photo it says, “Family, I love you all.” That was before he became famous. Now, with six Super Bowl rings, Brady has not forgotten from where he came. When asked last year who his hero is, Brady got choked up and

dad is my hero, because he’s someone I look up to every day.” For children who are reading this

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article, remember that your parents, siblings, and grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins will always love you and will always be there for you. Don’t forget from where you have come. There are so many role models within your family whom you can – and should – look up to for guidance and direction. Even when you spread your wings, remember that your parents are the ones who have helped you to learn to fly. As for the adults reading this piece, well, don’t you want your children to call you their hero? Now’s the time to impart the important lessons of life to your children. Do it with love and acceptance; show your children that you believe in them; show them that they have what to be proud of. Our children will be navigating their own worlds soon and – whether they’re holding the Lombardi Trophy or not – they too should draw strength from the love and lessons that they have received from those who will love them forever.

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Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters,

I am a 23-year-old Ashkenaz young woman. Normally, I wouldn’t point out to anyone that I’m Ashkenaz, but it relates to my question. A friend of mine recently married a young man who is Sephardi. She is trying to set me up with her husband’s good friend, who is also Sephardi.

I never really considered dating anyone from such a background. I have an aunt who got married to a Sephardi man many years ago and eventually got divorced, claiming that their cultural differences were too much, but even more important, she never really felt that her in-laws and their very tightknit extended family and friends ever really accepted her and her family. She was forced to spend most holidays with her in-laws, and her family felt like second class citizens. The man my friend wants to set me up with sounds wonderful, but I can’t help remembering all the talk about what my aunt went through and wonder whether it makes any sense at all to even get started with someone like this. I know that in general, the Sephardi community is very closely connected and tend to stay with their own. But I’m wondering whether times are changing and there is a greater acceptance of people like myself, who are from an Ashkenaz background. Any advice as to whether I should stay clear or whether I should give it a shot?

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

Our intention is not to offer any definitive

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

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The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. t’s easy to give a simple answer to this question. My response is to do serious soul searching and begin a mindful process. Don’t give an answer right away. You can tell the person setting you up that you need some time to think about this. Some of the things to consider are your past experiences with other Jewish cultures. Do you live in a monolithic community? Have you always stayed within your cultural group of origin? Have you spent Shabbos in other kinds of Jewish homes? Have you spent extended periods of time with other kinds of Jewish adults and observed differences in mindsets, practice, norms, relationships, family roles, and traditions? Are you an easy adapter to major changes? Keep in mind that Jewish families and life are centered around Shabbos and holiday celebrations. That means that they are closely connected on a regular basis. A marriage between members of distinctly different Jewish cultural groups is not just about the couple’s relationship; it’s about dealing forever with being an outsider and newcomer in a group you need to actively join. It’s about a lot more than having your minhagim take a backseat. It’s about being active and embracing a lot of values and expectations that you cannot understand until a while later. A number of years ago, I wrote a magazine article on Jewish “mixed marriages.” I interviewed several long-married couples as well as veteran therapists who do couples counseling. Expectations were a big subject. Extensive advance discussion about how things are done in each culture should be done so that there are fewer disappointments. The marriage partners need to have personal strength. Parental involvement has the potential for complicating things more so than with

marriages within the same culture, pointed out one professional. If the couple has a chance to work things out on their own or with objective outside help, the differences will be smoothed out and both will reach a level of comfortable accommodation of each other’s background. I vividly remember a South American native who married a Midwesterner telling me that one’s relationship and one’s home should be an impregnable fortress. In-laws, dominant cultures, and expectations must remain on the outside. Are you mature enough to deal with the above in an ongoing process that continues for years? You are the only one who can answer this question.

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A. rue confession. I am the product of a mixed marriage. My father came from Galicia; my mother from Klausenberg. Back in the post-War era, their imprudent Polishe-Hungarian alliance seemed hopelessly condemned to marital friction and discord. Instead, their marriage was harmonious, lasting more than forty years. When it was my turn, I duly “married out” – squelching my warm, neo-Chassidishe background to marry a Litvak. No biggie, you say? The first time I confronted kneidlach (gebrokts!) on Pesach, I trembled in fear of an imminent lightning bolt descending from On High, cracking the seder plate and striking me speechless if I so much as tasted those forbidden orbs bobbing in fragrant broth. Polish marrying Hungarian? Litvaks marrying Chassidim? Ashkenazim marrying Sephardim? Puleeze! So many of the cultural biases of earlier generations seem so outdated and irrelevant by today’s standards. The year is 2019, my friend. Kib-

beh is served alongside kugel. Traditional Ashkenazic yeshivas are home to thousands of Sephardic students. Ashkenazim and Sephardim, like your friend and her husband, socialize and intermarry every day and – what’s more – get along very well. Sure, cultural compatibility is a positive force in marriage; there’s less room for misunderstanding when two people “speak the same language” or “get” where the other’s coming from. Still, it’s not everything. Think about it: your aunt’s unfortunate marriage was destroyed by her primitive, meddlesome in-laws, not her Ashkenazi-ism. If culture was everything, same-race couples would rarely split. If you and your family can get past the Sephardic factor, I encourage you to meet this “wonderful young man.” Is he defined by his Sephardic-ness or is he a baal middos who happens to be Sephardic? If you feel there is merit (i.e., respect, sincerity, intelligence, attraction) in this match, prepare for some focused conversations. Talk to the young man about rituals and traditions, his relationship with his parents and his prospective in-laws, his thoughts about sharing chagim, his ethos about raising a family. Take your time to get comfortable with both him and his culture. You know, now that I think about it: rice on Pesach? Even better than kneidlach!

The Shadchan Michelle Mond ou are correct in your perception that many Sephardic families live a very different lifestyle than Ashkenazim. Shana rishona can be hard enough, and, depending on how you grew up, the nuances and intricacies of the cultural norms can be enough to make this kind of mixed marriage difficult to navigate. I will not downplay your concern that marrying into a different culture will likely be diffi-

Polish marrying Hungarian? Litvaks marrying Chassidim? Ashkenazim marrying Sephardim? Puleeze!

cult to get used to. While there are many culturally Sephardic families, there are also some who consider themselves “Sephardic by chance.” It sounds like you are turned off by your aunt’s extreme experience many years ago. Much has changed in the past few decades. You can’t compare your aunt’s ex-husband from so long ago to a shidduch prospect coming up right now. At the same time, it is understandable to be cautious. Your first step should be calling references to find out more about the boy and his family. After all, there must have been a good reason your friend thought of this shidduch! Are they a family that is a few generations American who happen to eat rice on Pesach? You won’t know until you ask. Based on the information you hear, you can make an informed decision about whether you are ready to meet this young man despite your differences.

The Single Tova Wein hough it’s never good to generalize, for the sake of your questions, I feel that it is the only way to begin my answer. From my own ex-

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periences, I have to agree that there are very obvious differences between typical Ashkenaz and Sephardi families. Aside from certain observances, expectations within families are also very disparate. Some of my Sephardi friends that I knew growing up spent every Shabbos meal and yom tov with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. At the time, I thought they were so lucky, having such a huge extended family always around them. But as I got older, I started wondering

what it must be like to never be allowed to move far away from family and experience some autonomy. I also began to wonder what would happen when they married and the in-laws lived far away. As it happens, both of my two friends wound up marrying men who lived within their tightknit circle, and so the pattern continued smoothly. Entering into such a dynamic would therefore probably not be easy.

I feel that as an Ashkenazi, you would feel like the outsider, always looking in and having to make concessions. And these concessions would probably also affect your immediate family as well. Now that I’ve talked in general terms, there are always exceptions to every rule. Maybe this young man comes from a Sephardi family that operates very differently and subscribes to values that are much more similar to the ones that you are familiar with. It’s possible, and therefore, if you’re truly interested in exploring this opportunity,

What unites us is far greater than what divides us.

ask around. See if he has any married siblings and learn as much as you can about the way they live and whether it is something that could feel right for you. Either way, go into it with your eyes wide open so that you are not ultimately unpleasantly surprised.

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

’m so glad you wrote in. This is a delicate question and a sensitive topic. My intention is twofold: I want to be culturally sensitive and explore your concern. If you were a Sephardi woman writing in with concerns about dating an Ashkenazi man, my answer would be along the same lines. Over the years, I’ve had a handful of clients who have been in your shoes. Unfortunately, as with most big decisions, there is no one right answer and no crystal ball to tell you whether this will work out. Anyone you ask for advice who offers you a “yes” or a “no” in the way of telling you what to do will be advising you based on their own life experiences or stories they’ve heard, both positive and negative. I am so sorry that your aunt wasn’t in a great marriage. When we intimately witness a loved one go through any harrowing event or disturbing long-term situation, we are, in a way, living through it as well and it can inform our own future decisions. Had her marriage been wonderful, you may be more inclined to say, Of course I’ll date this guy. My aunt has the best marriage. There are Ashkenazi/Sephardi

marriages that don’t work out due to cultural differences, extended family dynamics, lack o f respect, etc. And there are Ashkenazi/ Sephardi marriages that work beautifully; they are culturally sensitive, openminded and loving. There is an ability and willingness to focus on the person, not the heritage. There is the idea that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. Personally, I have a very hard time with sweeping generalizations, and I encourage my clients to keep an open mind when being set up. However, if marrying someone outside of your culture is an absolute non-negotiable clause, that is a personal choice that I usually do not challenge. I think there are two considerations here. The first is: how do you feel about change? The second is related to finding out how he and his family welcome Ashkenazim into their home and family. Some food for thought on the subject of change: How do I feel about change?

How do I feel about compromise? As I think about change, what is coming up for me? Whatever that is, am I willing to look at it, explore it and work through it? Am I open to a different culture and customs? How do I feel about the notion that Mr. Right could potentially be Sephardi? Some things to look out for should you decide you are open to change and begin to date: How do I feel around him? Is he respectful of my culture and values? Am I respectful of his? Does his family treat me well? If they don’t, what does he have to say about it and how does he handle it? As several of the panelists already mentioned, should you decide to date people outside of your culture, it is very important to pay attention to the way the family receives you. More often than not, families do not pull a “bait and switch.” Yes, people are on their best behavior (hopefully) while their children are dating. But, if you pay close attention, you will get a good feel for the way the family feels about you and your culture. I will share that I grew up with Ashkenazim and Sephardim. I would say my school was 50-50. My best friend was Sephardi. I knew lots of children

whose families were “blended.” I loved being at my best friend’s house. They were the warmest family, and I couldn’t get enough. Saturday night sleepovers were the best because of Sunday morning breakfasts filled with the most delicious food I ever ate. When my mother would pick me up, my friend’s mother would give her a giant bear hug, call her name with exquisite delight, and invite her in to eat too. Ultimately, should you decide to date this “wonderful” guy from a different culture, it will be a tremendous learning opportunity. The worst that will happen is that it will be another life experience under your belt. Keep in mind two things. First, if he is willing to date you, then we have to consider that he is openminded. (A wonderful trait!) Second, it’s just coffee and a danish, not tanaim. 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.

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Dr. Deb

Be a Man By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

his guy was pretty unhappy. He said he didn’t want to think about the possibility that his wife would end their marriage. He spoke with great pain about that fight they had in which the horrible “D” word was uttered. As we were going through the call and I was trying to understand the chronology of how things went down, I made the – incorrect – assumption that this bad fight had happened in the last few days. Wrong. “So when did this happen?” I casually asked about a half hour later. “Oh, that was two years ago.” What?? Two years ago??? “Why did you wait ‘til now to reach out to me?” “Well, I thought things would get better.” How? How could things get better when you do not know what made them bad? How can things get better when very clearly your wife must have been frantic with pain and frustration two years ago? And did things get better? Of course not. Why would they? He described the icy wall he lives behind, the things that maybe she was doing that he was terrified to look into further. Guys, wake up! The women are tired of waiting for you to not step up to the plate. If only that were the only man who said the same things. But it seems like droves of them are doing the exact same thing – which is

nothing. Waiting. Hoping things will change based on absolutely no new learning, no new behaviors, no new attitudes, no new demonstration of a willingness to get help. My hair is turning gray from these men! And I imagine their wives’ hair is too. Oh, yes, there is one step they often take to show they want things different. They say, “Come to marriage counseling with me.” Well, I

the problem. The man does not wait two years to get around to reaching out for help. Okay, that’s not you. I understand. These are skills that were not necessarily given out to every man at birth. That’s why there are people like me who are here to help you. I’m sitting here, waiting for you to reach out for help. Only you can do it. I can’t do it for you. But instead, the men just wait. For what? I cannot imagine. How did men get this way?

How could things get better when you do not know what made them bad?

have news for you, men: the women aren’t going for the same reason that they aren’t explaining to you what the problem is and that happens to be the same reason that they have built a wall and are heading out the door: They want you to be the man. The man knows what to do. The man takes leadership. The man understands their needs. The man understands his own needs and how to articulate them. The man “gets” them at the deepest core. The man takes action immediately to resolve

I think they’re afraid to be aggressive. And that is the good part. They should not be aggressive. That would be like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. One guy explains that his mother yelled a lot so he learned to cow to women early in life. Another man explains that his mom left the family so he is terrified of making a move that will scare off his wife. I get that, but his non-move is chasing away his wife anyway. When there is nothing left to lose, c’mon, man, stick your neck out!

A third man tells me his father just “took it” from his mother, and that is all he knows. Men, it’s time to learn differently. It’s time to become different. You cannot remain a wilting lily. You cannot remain scared of being who you were meant to be. You cannot sit back and keep expecting your wife to do the heavy lifting in the relationship. It’s not going to happen. Her muscles weren’t made for that. You’ve got to learn to do it. If you don’t, the thing you fear most will happen. And it will happen because of you. It’s better to face your fears and be the man. Without aggression, of course. If that puzzles you, I get it. Book a call to get some help. But, please, do not bother if you can’t make a decision. Do not bother if you will not be 100% committed to making the changes you need to make. So, yes, part of the change must take place before you book: plan to become the decisive, committed person you were meant to be.

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

How to Approach Shabbos the Healthy Way Side Dishes By Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN

hen it comes to side dishes for Shabbos meals, think beyond the traditional favorites. Sure, the symbolic foods of a Shabbos meal include potato kugel, farfel, lokshen kugel, and deli roll, but however good they may be, they are not the best choices for your Shabbos side dishes. These foods are high in calories and low in nutritional value. Especially at this point in your meal, you can afford to spare all of these extra calories. Side dishes at a Shabbos meal can be tricky. By the time you are up to the main course, you most probably had your allotted starches, proteins and most definitely fat for the meal. Essentially, your only allowance is vegetables. You might have some wiggle room for starches if you ate mindfully prior to the main course. Therefore, my recommendation is to stick to vegetables as side dishes. During the week, where you have more leeway, you can stretch your dishes to be more creative, however, at a Shabbos meal where already used up your starches and fats and will most probably be hitting the

caloric bar, your best bet is to stick with veggies. When I say vegetables, I mean all types and every type. Your vegetables can be made from fresh or frozen vegetables. You can eat them raw, cooked, roasted, broiled, grilled – however you

ories. Eating vegetables are essentially freebies. By cutting out the kugels and carbs as side dishes, you are not only saving yourself extra calories, but by eating the vegetables you are actually gaining (not weight hopefully). You’re getting antioxidants and other benefits,

If you’re making broccoli or spinach kugel, don’t think it’s “healthy” because the main ingredient is a vegetable.

like – but not in a kugel. That completely defeats the purpose. Yes, there are some kugels that can be made healthier than others, and we’ll get to that later. Why do I stress the importance of eating vegetables as a side dish? Not only do vegetables offer nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, they are low in cal-

while filling up at the same time. My suggestion is to serve cooked/ roasted vegetables on Friday night since they are better when hot. One great way of preparing vegetables that is so versatile and easy is grilled vegetables. Grilled vegetables are a classic. If you don’t favor one vegetable, try an-

other. Try peppers, zucchini, eggplant, onions, mushrooms…you name it! I like grilling portobello mushrooms. Marinate mushrooms in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, mustard and fresh herbs for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Grill mushrooms for about 5 minutes on each side. Serve with tomato, onion slices, and lettuce. Or cook mushrooms with wine, olive oil, and spices. Another great idea is to baste vegetables such as red peppers, eggplant, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms or onions with olive oil and season with herbs and grill them. Other types of veggies aside from the traditional ones include asparagus, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, roasted root vegetables, eggplant, cooked zucchini, lecho, and carrots. These can all be made with a simple, quick recipe of throwing on salt, pepper, garlic, olive oil, and roasting in the oven at 400ºF until ready. For Shabbos lunch, the number one side dish is a salad. Everyone will appreciate a salad. If you want to make it more fun, make a variety of small sal-

ads. Start with a traditional vegetable salad (you can add in grilled chicken or turkey and use this as your complete meal). Others might enjoy a crunchy cabbage salad too. Spinach salad is another great option. Kale and arugula are very trendy as well. Trust me, you won’t be hungry. If you’re having guests and you want to make foods that are healthy that you can enjoy too, make an array of salads – as if you are at a shawarma salad bar. Your guests will absolutely love this. Prepare a carrot salad, a beet salad, cucumber salad, tomato salad, three-bean salad, pickled vegetables, Israeli salad, guacamole… any salad that comes to mind that does not contain a mayonnaise-based dressing. If you need a starchy side dish, go for a quinoa salad, quinoa patties, whole wheat noodles with cabbage, brown rice, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, corn on the cob, whole wheat linguini salad, or whole wheat angel hair pasta salad – these are basically a starchy vegetable or a whole grain starch.

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stead of white flour. Instead of sugar, use honey or even a sprinkle of cinnamon. I advise making individualized small kugels either in muffin tins or small ramekins so that your portion size is controlled. One piece of kugel would be considered your starch and some fat (depending on the type of kugel) for that meal. At this point you are so full, who could even think of dessert? For those who always have room for dessert, read the next installment in this series to learn about some of the best options for dessert.

If you insist on the kugels, make substitutions. For potato kugel, cut back on the oil or, even better, use coconut oil. Use egg whites instead of whole eggs. If you’re making broccoli or spinach kugel, don’t think it’s “healthy” because the main ingredient is a vegeta-

WITH AN EMPHASIS ON

SHABBOS, YOMIM TOVIM AND SIMCHOS DIET PLANS GROUP SUPPORT RECIPES

EAT BETTER.FEEL BETTER.

ble. Yes, the broccoli or spinach alone is healthy, but when mixed with oil, flour, mayonnaise, and eggs, the healthy part fades away. As mentioned above, use less oil, light mayonnaise instead of real mayonnaise, and egg whites. Try almond flour or whole wheat flour in-

Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN, is a Master’s level Registered Dietitian and Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist. She graduated CUNY Brooklyn College receiving a Bachelor’s in Science and Master’s degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences. She is currently a dietitian at Boro Park Center and a private nutrition consultant. She can be reached at CindyWeinberger1@gmail.com.

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Health & F tness

Diet Baggage Do You Have It? By Alice Harrosh

ave you ever heard this term “diet baggage”? I don’t know if it exists or if I made it up but it’s real. I can tell within ten minutes of meeting with a new client whether he or she suffers from this “condition.” Symptoms may include (but are not limited to): • Confusion about what diet to trust or choose, even after choosing one • Thinking some food groups are always bad, even if limited • Thinking some food groups are always good, even unlimited • Frequent switching from plan to plan in the hopes of finding “the best one” • Reading up on diets from non-reliable sources such as the internet or magazines • Inability to commit or stick to something long term in the hopes of finding something better • Inability to trust the practitioner If you recognized yourself in two

or more of the above, you may have diet baggage. Diet baggage comes from having been on many different diets and being so burned out that you no longer trust or are fully willing to give yourself over to a new plan. Someone who has diet baggage also has many ideas and principles accumulated from past dieting and is unwilling to let them go, even if they weren’t working. As one of my favorite sayings goes, “The definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results.” Here are some scenarios (names have been changed): Lizzie tells me during the initial visit that she has always eaten very healthily and has no idea why she gained 40 pounds in the last year. She exercises, drinks water, doesn’t have any junk in the house, and only eats healthy foods. Upon further inquiry, I discover Lizzie has been eating a very high fat diet, all stemming from healthy fats. She adds

chia seeds to her morning smoothie, a whole avocado to lunch, several spoons of olive oil to her salads, and snacks on full fat peanut butter with apples daily. When I tell Lizzie we have to cut out her fats, she objects, saying healthy fats are good for you. Moshe is an all or none kind of guy. He’s either extreme dieting or completely out of control with food. He weighs 350 pounds on consult day. Most of the food planning goes well until I happen to mention that he can drink diet soda in moderation. Moshe gets all upset that I would even suggest that when this is supposed to be a healthy plan and everyone knows soda isn’t healthy. I try to explain to Moshe that he didn’t get to be 350 pounds from drinking diet soda and that perhaps one of the reasons his other diets didn’t work out is because they were too restrictive. Maybe now with some “normal” allowances, he would actually stick to the plan and lose weight. After all, being 350 pounds is a lot more dan-

gerous than drinking some diet soda. While the two above scenarios were food beliefs related, some people have diet baggage about their weight capabilities. They get stuck on a number that they feel they can’t go under or even over. Did I just confuse you? I’ll give you an example for each Mindy has always been a size 2. Even after all four babies she quickly got back to herself without much effort. Now, after baby number five and struggling to lose the weight for almost a year, she came to me for help. When I explain to Mindy that she will have to follow a plan, drink enough water, and see slow loss since she has very little to lose, she gets frustrated. In her mind this should be as it always was: super easy and require minimal effort. She expects to be 105 pounds again and fast, without much effort. Lest you think Mindy is being ridiculous, she’s simply having (lack of) diet baggage in the sense that she’s expecting things to be as they always were, without

much effort. Chaya has always been overweight, even as a child. At her wedding 12 years ago after strict dieting she managed to get to a size 12 and felt amazing. Twelve years and five kids later, she is 40 pounds heavier. When I ask Chaya her goal weight, she says, “I would love to be a size 12 again but it’s probably not possible so I’ll settle for 20-25 pounds down.” I don’t argue with anyone’s personal weight goals. I put a BMI chart in their packet, and they can clearly see whether it’s within range. After six months, Chaya exceeds her goal and is almost back to her wedding weight. She tells me that there is “no way” she can get even lower than her wedding weight because • It’s been 12 years • She’s had five children • She’s older • Her body changed • She got to that size 12 with extreme dieting and now she’s eating normally

I explain to Chaya that for her height she can definitely lose more and just because she’s never been there doesn’t mean she won’t get there. So, as you see from the two above scenarios, diet baggage applies to

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When you suffer from diet baggage, you have a hard time giving your all or submitting yourself to the plan you’re currently on. Picture being in a restaurant, ordering something delicious, having it right in front of you and even enjoy-

Trust the person you’re working with, commit yourself to one plan, and succeed!

weight expectations too, low or high. What makes diet baggage even worse these days? The internet! “Dr. Google” tells people all kinds of things that they add to their diet baggage list. What’s wrong with having diet baggage?

ing it but in the meantime wondering if you should have ordered something else or gone to the restaurant you went to last week instead… You already chose this place, your delicious food is in front of you, you even have to pay for it… why not just fully be present?

If you choose a program, stop mixing and matching. Stick to one program. Fully. How to get rid of diet baggage: While it’s OK to hold back a little in the beginning of a new plan and be afraid to fully trust it, once you see it’s working for you and makes sense long term, trust it. Stop being afraid of specific foods or methods. Trust the person you’re working with, commit yourself to one plan, and succeed! Alice Harrosh is a nutrition counselor and manager of the Lakewood, Queens and Five Towns locations of Nutrition by Tanya. Alice knows that making healthy decisions is not always easy. She understands that tempting foods can be hard to resist because she has been through the struggle herself. As an optimistic person, Alice’s favorite quote is: “It’s never too late to start eating better. If you have a bad morning, make it a better afternoon.” She can be reached at alice@NutritionByTanya.com.

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Health & F tness

Friendships and the Early Years of Life By Hylton I. Lightman, MD, DCH (SA), FAAP

n the cuteness scale of 1-10, it’s a 12. I’m talking about watching toddlers and small children play together. Or two children are on the same mat, each doing his own thing. It’s a delight to behold. These friendships and relationships are an important part of a child’s development. They are so important that they can impact (negatively and/or positively) a child’s psycho-social development and have reverberating implications for future development. Studies show that attributes such as social confidence, altruism, self-esteem and self-confidence are positively correlated to having friends. It is human nature for people to want to attach to other people. This is a universal concept and is not gender specific. Let’s start by saying most children and adolescents have the one proverbial “best friend” and several “good friends.” Infants and toddlers also have friends but their relationships are not as differentiated as older children’s. They have regular playmates and play harmoniously. For the most part.

As much as you may see the playdate as a time for kids pushing mini-strollers and playing with blocks with likeminded friends, the reality is this social time for young children is also an arena for experimenting and learning. They don’t interact the way teenagers do, let alone how we adults relate. Often, they will bang on the table. But even when they are playing sideby-side with different toys, they are eyeballing and even mimicking one another. This is the beginning of friendship. Children between the ages of 18 months to 2 years playing together display cavemen-like qualities. One moment, they can be sharing a toy and it’s completely peaceful. In the next moment, one could be bopping the other on the head with the same toy. Please don’t expect empathy at this age. Forget about social graces like apologizing and sharing. There’s no way you can expect 2-year old Sima to stop, pause, scratch her head, and think, “Wow. Shlomo is playing with a truck that I really like. I’m going to sit and wait patiently until he is finished.” The

more likely scenario is Sima will see a toy in Shlomo’s hands and she needs that toy NOW. She will then charge ahead and grab that toy from Shlomo. It is well within the realm of possibility that she will push and shove until she gets what she wants. And the “perpetrator” does not have anger management issues. She’s simply 2 years old. The challenge is heightened because toddlers have short attention spans. Don’t let me hear you even suggest that Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder (ADHD) is an issue at this stage and then ask for medication. Toddlers have short, and even nonexistent, attention spans. Period. It’s normal. How can you, Mommy and Tatty, facilitate playdates for your toddler to aim for a “win-win”? Timing is essential. Make sure the two toddlers have napped, have clean diapers, and are not hungry. Limit the number of participants to two; two-year-olds should play in groups of two children only. Get it? Less is more. Also, try having similar toys so when one is fixated on his toy and the other eyeballs

it, Ima or Daddy can swoop right in and give the other a similar toy. This will minimize the occurrence of meltdowns. Speaking of parents, it is nice to sit by and chitchat while the playdate is in progress. You may even glance (occasionally) at your phone or iPad. Honestly, though, you have work here. You can minimize the squabbles with “toy intervention.” See the paragraph above. Sometimes, you need to guide them from one activity to the next. Reading to your little ones a book or two is almost always calming and welcoming. Sometimes, the playdate may last only 30 minutes. That’s okay. The scenario changes when 2-3-year-olds play together. First, you can see the beginnings of empathy. If a child gets hurt, G-d forbid, the other child will want to make him feel better. These feelings are usually innate in children. Also, a two-year old begins to grasp what sharing is about. He might not be capable of it but watch him charm his 5-year-old sibling into sharing. At a minimum, he will talk about the concept of sharing.

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Older toddlers begin to express an affinity and even affection for specific peers within their social universe and will gravitate towards them. It might be based on shared interests. Often, there is a genuine like between the two young buddies. When two buddies hit it off, it’s not uncommon for them to find their own space and spend lots of time there, building and creating whatever. Parental supervision is still required.

navigate friendships. What if your child and his buddy fight or have a falling out? Focus on what your child is feeling and help him to process those feelings. Impart advice about the ups-anddowns of friendships. Never let your pain, Mommy and Tatty, become his pain. Respect your child’s personality when it comes to friendships. Some need to be in the thick of things, surrounded by scores of people. Others

Respect your child’s personality when it comes to friendships.

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Once you know that your young child has a friend or two, it is time to have playdates between the homes. Your child should feel secure in the other home as the other child should feel safe in your home. Parental supervision is still required. Expending physical energy is an important part of getting together. Creating something like art projects is also an important outlet. And a great time to bond. At this stage, it is vital that parents spend time with children discussing feelings. Encourage them to take others’ feelings into account and listen to others. Sensitivity to other people and their feelings can never be underscored enough. This can be supported by organizing opportunities for your children to meet many people. As your children moved into elementary school, help your children to develop their own interests. Piano. Painting. Martial arts. Violin. Dance. You get it. Choosing friends who share similar interests is a good thing. Do you have a child who is shy and does not know how to connect with people outside the family? Role play with them, discreetly, of course. And let them see how you

need just two or three good friends. There is no one digital footprint for all child in this area. A word about sharing. We all know the adage, “When we share, we show we care.” It’s true. But there is more to this. Not all children want to share, and that’s okay. Here’s an example. Your five-year-old has a toy that your niece wants to play with or “borrow.” Encourage your five-year-old to share. However, if he resists, respect it. Unless you guarantee him that his toy will be returned in the condition in which it was “lent,” and if not, you will replace it, leave it alone. He has his worldly possessions, and that is it. Helping your child to navigate friendships is not always an easy task. It requires time, patience and the fortitude to know when to step in and when to be more quiet. Separating from your own issues is essential. But always maintain that bond with your child. 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.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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In The K

tchen

Beer-Glazed Wings Meat • Yields 10 servings • Freezer friendly By Naomi Nachman

I knew I had to have wings in my new cookbook because my husband, Zvi, always orders wings when we see them on a menu. Often wings are thrown onto a BBQ grill or fried, but I wanted to make it easy; I bake them in the oven and glaze them with a fabulous sauce. These are perfect to serve at a get-together with family and friends.

Ingredients Baked Wings 4 pounds chicken wings 2 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp garlic powder

Beer Glaze 2 cloves garlic, crushed ¼ inch ginger, grated or 2 frozen ginger cubes ½ tsp red pepper flakes 1 cup stout beer ½ cup honey 1 TBS Dijon mustard 4 TBS tomato paste

Preparation Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, toss together wings, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Place wings in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, turning once halfway through the baking time, until browned and crispy. Meanwhile, prepare the beer glaze: Combine all glaze ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a boil; lower heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Toss baked wings in glaze to fully coat. Recipe from Perfect Flavors by Naomi Nachman shared with permission from Artscroll Mesorah Publications. Photo by Miriam Pascal.

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

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The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

That’s a $2.3 billion drop in revenues. That’s as serious as a heart attack. This is worse than we had anticipated. This reduction must be addressed in this year’s budget. This is the most serious revenue shock the state has faced in many years. - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo acknowledging this week that New York’s policy of constantly increasing taxes on the rich has caused many to leave the state and has led to lower tax revenue for the state.

This is the flip side. Tax the rich, tax the rich, tax the rich. The rich leave, and now what do you do? -Ibid.

I also happen to believe that the Hispanics should work harder at assimilation. That’s one of the things I’ve been saying for a long time. You know, they ought not to be just codified in their communities but make sure that all their kids are learning to speak English, and that they feel comfortable in the communities. And that’s going to take outreach on both sides, frankly. - Former NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw on “Meet the Press,” resulting in widespread condemnation from the media

Tom Brokaw was long one of the most respected men in America. He anchored the “NBC Nightly News” for 22 years. He’s 78 years old now. He ought to be enjoying a happy retirement, fly fishing every morning. Instead, Tom Brokaw just made a terrible mistake – he expressed an unauthorized opinion in public. You can’t do that. During a live television show Brokaw said that assimilation is good and that immigrants should try to learn English.

So great to watch & listen to all these people who write books & talk about my presidential campaign and so many others things related to winning, and how I should be doing “IT.” As I take it all in, I then sit back, look around, & say, “Gee, I’m in the White House, & they’re not!” - Tweet by President Trump after Chris Christie made the TV rounds and criticized him in order to sell his new book

I know he’s working very hard to serve the best interest of the country. - Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft on “Fox & Friends,” talking about President Trump

I ate Jeni’s ice cream and watched Netflix for three straight days. -New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton disclosing how he dealt with his team’s heartbreaking loss in the NFC Championship

- Tucker Carlson, Fox News

American Indian Pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk is launching his own fashion line that will include hoodies, T-shirts, flannels and carpenter pants. It’s great – if you love hearing your wife say, “No. Change.” — Seth Meyers

- The race listed on a recently unearthed 1986 Texas State Bar registration card of Senator Elizabeth Warren, who according to a recent DNA test is 1/1064 Native-American

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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This past weekend, the Super Bowl-bound New England Patriots held a rally for their sweatiest fans at Gillette Stadium. Brady gave a speech. It ended…unnervingly. WE’RE STILL HERE! WE’RE STILL HERE! Obviously, Brady is referring to his aging, decrepit, cheating…squad’s progression to the big game. But, imagine you didn’t know anything about football, or who Tom Brady was, or anything like that. You would think that you were watching some square-jawed grifter throwing red meat to the hogs at an alt-right rally, screaming at the libs who thought Nancy Pelosi and her gender warriors were gonna keep DECENT AMERICAN FOLKS from BEING HERE. - From an article on liberal website Daily Beast, arguing that the “Patriots are the preferred team of white nationalists”

The whole institution of Boston sports, from root to stem, is tinged with the sort of racism that brought Trump into office. The Boston Red Sox were the last MLB team to desegregate, more than a decade after Jackie Robinson entered the league. The Sox’s first owner, Tom Yawkey, was an infamous racist whose speech was peppered with racial slurs. Larry Bird became a symbol of white resentment during his time in the NBA, his jersey appearing as a symbol of white entitlement to black spaces in Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.” His large teammate, Kevin McHale, was spotted at a Trump rally during the election.

I’ve also been criticized for being a billionaire. Let’s talk about that. I’m self-made. I grew up in the project in Brooklyn, New York. I thought that was the American dream, the aspiration of America. You’re going to criticize me for being successful when in my company over the last 30 years, the only company in America that gave comprehensive health insurance, equity in the form of stock options, and free college tuition? And Elizabeth Warren wants to criticize me for being successful? - Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who is considering an Independent 2020 presidential bid, responding on MSNBC to Sen. Warren’s criticism of him just because he is a billionaire

My son Benny, I don’t know if he’ll watch one play in the game, but the fact that he gets popcorn and a bunch of junk food is what I think he looks forward to. - Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, talking about his kids’ plans for the Super Bowl

– Ibid.

My body is broken beyond repair and it isn’t letting me have the final season I dreamed of. My body is screaming at me to stop, and it’s time for me to listen. - Champion skier Lindsey Vonn, upon announcing her retirement

They can write whatever they want on their own cookie, and I can do that on mine. -Ken Bellingham, a Washington baker who made headlines for writing “Build That Wall” on one of his holiday-themed cookies

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With the wind chill warnings, we simply cannot have any criminals putting themselves in harm’s way at those temperatures. Avoiding crime and criminal activities is especially important during periods of inclement weather. Also during all other times. - Green Bay Wisconsin Police Chief Andrew Smith announcing a ban on crime in Green Bay last week due to the -20°F temperatures with windchills of -50°F

If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen: the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother. - Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in a radio interview last week advocating for a law which would allow a mother to terminate a baby post-birth, further blurring the lines between abortion and murder

I saw this as a psychotically incoherent speech with cookies and dog poop. – CNN’s Van Jones’s reaction to President Trump’s State of the Union Address

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Political Crossfire

Diplomats Strive to Forget Fragile Peace in Afghanistan and Yemen By David Ignatius

he handmaiden of peace is exhaustion. We are seeing that lesson in the killing fields of Afghanistan and Yemen.

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Fragile peace agreements are emerging in both conflicts, thanks to skillful diplomats. There are a hundred reasons why each negotiation

may fail, and in assessing Middle East conflicts, we should remember that, unfortunately, “pessimism pays,” as my former Wall Street Journal colleague Karen Elliott House observed nearly 40 years ago. But a process has started: Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special envoy, said Monday, “We have a draft of the [peace] framework that has to be fleshed out.” A senior Gulf official told a Washington gathering Monday

ance between saying (rightly) that the wars must end and (wrongly) setting a precise timetable for withdrawing U.S. military support. Ambiguity is the mother of peace deals. Body counts can be misleading, since they don’t measure the underlying will to keep fighting, but they suggest the awful human cost. President Ashraf Ghani said last week that more than 45,000 Afghan security personnel have been killed since he

War has a momentum that’s hard to stop, even when there’s a broad yearning to end a conflict.

night that because of U.N. mediation efforts, “We are at the beginning of the end in Yemen,” and that the war there is now moving from a military to a political phase. Recent diplomatic efforts are bolstered by fatigue and frustration at the existing, costly stalemates in both battlefields. The Trump administration (despite the president’s own clumsy statements) has found a bal-

took office in 2014. U.S. commanders say Taliban losses are even higher. Over the past 17 years, about 1,900 American soldiers have been killed in action and more than 20,000 wounded in Afghanistan. The Yemen war has been a special nightmare for civilians. Since the war began in 2015, more than 22 million people, or about 75 percent of the population, are now in need of

humanitarian assistance, 16 million now lack drinking water and sanitation, and 15 million are “severely food insecure,” according to congressional testimony last Tuesday by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Growing public outrage has been a factor in curbing both conflicts. In Afghanistan, a peace movement gathered strength last year, with marchers trekking hundreds of miles to attend rallies. Last year, the Taliban said it was ready for peace talks and the Afghan government issued a peace proposal. Ghani’s ceasefire during the Eid holiday in June was joined by the Taliban. In Yemen, humanitarian organizations have given voice to the millions of civilian victims there. War has a momentum that’s hard to stop, even when there’s a broad yearning to end a conflict. Gen. John Nicholson, who spent much of the last decade serving in Afghanistan, said last September as he handed over command to Gen. Austin Scott Miller, “It’s time for this war in Afghanistan to end” and “the time for peace is now,” a view shared by Miller. But generals don’t end modern wars; diplomats do. In an interview on Tuesday, Nicholson credited Khalilzad for being “the right man at the right time” to turn the broad aspiration for peace among exhausted Afghans into reality. “Relationships matter in this part of the world,” he said, and Khalilzad, who was born in Afghanistan and has known Ghani since he was a boy, has a unique set of contacts. Khalilzad’s offer to the Taliban: stop harboring international terrorists and America will withdraw its troops. That’s the same basic deal U.S. mediators have been floating for years, but in addition to battle fatigue, there’s now the added motivation of a shared enemy in the Islamic State. Just as there’s a ladder of escalation in wars, there’s a ladder of de-escalation, too. In unwinding the Yemen conflict, U.N. mediator Martin Griffith began with a ceasefire agreement in the port city of Hodeidah; next, perhaps, he can open the road to the capital of Sanaa; then, maybe, a ceasefire at Sanaa airport; then an exchange of prisoners. Eventually the momentum of conflict slows, and problems begin to be solved in a “po-

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litical box,” as the Gulf official noted. Democratic societies fight wars at a disadvantage. The public wants the decisive outcome of victory, but as wars grind on, and people watch the savage endgame live, they hate what they see. The wires get crossed: the

putative “good guys” appear to be savage killers; the terrorizing insurgents come to seem the innocent victims. What slows the killing machine are fatigue, popular rage at the human cost of continued fighting, and peacemaking formulas that allow

each side to claim a measure of success and avoid humiliation. These are the kind of delicate but essential deals that diplomats are struggling to craft in Yemen and Afghanistan. We should all hope they succeed. (c) 2019, Washington Post Writers Group

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Political Crossfire

Schultz is Calling Democrats Out By Marc A. Thiessen

emocrats are furious at former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz for announcing that he may launch an independent campaign for president. They fear he will split the anti-Trump opposition and help reelect the president. But what angers them even more is that Schultz is calling Democrats out for how radical their party has become. When Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., recently floated her new wealth tax, Schultz called it “ridiculous.” When Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said we should “eliminate” private health insurance, Schultz said, “That’s not American.” When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., proposed a 70 percent marginal tax rate, Schultz dismissed it, saying, “I don’t think we want a 70 percent income tax in America.” Indeed, Schultz has ripped the entire Democratic socialist agenda, declaring, “Free Medicarefor-all, government-paid free college for all – first of all, there’s no free. I mean nothing is free.” No wonder Democrats are fuming. Instead of debating Republicans, they may spend the next two years fighting a liberal independent who is slamming their far-left policies. Indeed, the neosocialist turn national Democrats have taken is precisely why Schultz decided to run as an independent. He calculated that he could not win the Democratic nomination running as a conventional, centrist Democrat. “I no longer feel af-

filiated [with the Democrats] because I don’t know their views represent the majority of Americans,” he says. Schultz is right. In fact, a recent Pew Research poll found that 53 percent of Democrats want the party to move in a more moderate direction, not embrace the radical policies of Ocasio-Cortez. That is precisely what the party needs to do if it wants to beat President Trump. Democrats should

all by taxing the very rich. That’s impossible, and Americans know it. But it is what the most rabid elements of their party are demanding. This is the problem with our politics today. Both sides have decided that the way to win is no longer to persuade those in the middle, but rather to throw red meat to their hardcore supporters and get them more worked up than those on the other side. Lost

Schultz is a visionary entrepreneur who saw a latent demand for a $3 cup of coffee before anyone else.

be trying to win back the millions of once-reliable Democratic voters who twice cast their ballots for Barack Obama but switched to Trump in 2016. But instead of tacking to the center to win back voters, Democrats are embracing leftist policies such as government-run health care, government-funded college for all, a government-funded job guarantee and a “Green New Deal.” Together, these programs would cost $42.5 trillion – about twice the national debt. And they are claiming they can pay for it

in the shuffle are millions of reasonable, persuadable citizens who are left to choose between two unpalatable alternatives. These are the new “forgotten Americans,” and Schultz is betting they are looking for a leader. He calculates that there is an underserved population of voters who hate today’s radical, polarized politics and want competent centrist leadership. His candidacy would pose an existential threat to Democrats in 2020, so they will attack him as an out-of-touch billionaire who does not

care about working people. It won’t work. As a chief executive, he took groundbreaking steps to make sure his employees shared in Starbucks’ success, giving his baristas stock compensation, offering full tuition at Arizona State University for an online bachelor’s degree, and providing even part-time workers with health plans. Schultz is betting this record and a platform of moderately liberal yet fiscally responsible policies can win the presidency. Is he right? Probably not. There is a reason no independent has ever won the presidency. But Schultz is a visionary entrepreneur who saw a latent demand for a $3 cup of coffee before anyone else. Maybe he is also a visionary political entrepreneur who sees the latent demand for centrist leadership that everyone else is ignoring. We will soon find out. Until then, he is doing the Democrats a favor by calling them back from the brink of fiscal and political insanity. After Schultz slammed Harris’s call to eliminate private insurance, Harris’s campaign backtracked, saying she has also supported more moderate options. Ocasio-Cortez and the neosocialists are pulling the Democratic Party to the left. Perhaps by threatening their prospects in 2020, Schultz can pull them back in the other direction. For that reason alone, he would do the American people a great service by running. (c) 2019, Washington Post Writers Group

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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Forgotten Her es

A Stormy History of Piracy on the Seas By Avi Heiligman

A painting depicting the Quasi War

An oil painting of Lt. Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the bombardment of Tripoli in 1804

Somali pirates off the coast of Africa

iracy has been a problem since the ancient Greeks (if not earlier). It is defined as an act of robbery or violence from one ship to another seaborne vessel. Most of the time, piracy involves the raiding of commercial cargo ships for monetary gain or to claim the vessel as a prize. Wars involving pirates and countries disturbing American commercial shipping have been taking place for well over 200 years. Actions against pirates have made the U.S. Navy the strongest in the world, with skirmishes going back to the 18th century. Besides some relatively lowkey Indian Wars and armed pesky protesters, the American government had their hands full in the years be-

tween the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. France was not happy with the Americans owing them tons of money and not siding with them in their conflict with Great Britain. The French were in the midst of a civil war, and the Americans said that they owed money to the previous government. Beyond annoyed, France let private ships known as privateers attack American shipping vessels. Amounting to the same as piracy, privateers did damage to the fledgling American economy and so the U.S. entered into an undeclared conflict known as the Quasi War with them. There were several naval engagements with the Americans capturing some French ships and freeing American

merchantmen and their vessels. The Retaliation was the only American ship captured and her commander, Lieutenant William Bainbridge, was able to secure the release of the ship and her sailors. The war lasted from 1798 to 1800 and ended with a treaty. The Americans were able to breathe easy and were free to roam the seas. According to the bibliography of the new Federalist Navy formed under President John Adams, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the (Quasi) war, the navy proved itself an effective instrument of national policy.â&#x20AC;? The Quasi War gave the American government a legitimate reason to spend money on a navy and soon this navy would see a lot of action off the coast of North Afri-

ca. The Barbary War (1801-1805) saw pirates from Algiers, Morocco, Tunisia and Tripoli continuously attacking American shipping along the Barbary Coast. The first merchant ship had been captured in 1784 and soon the Ottoman rulers in the region were demanding ransom money for safe passage. By 1797 the Americans were paying over a million dollars to the Barbary countries (under the overall but loose rule of the Ottoman Empire) but the pirate nations wanted more. In 1801, the pirates of Tripoli demanded that newly elected President Thomas Jefferson give them money for safe passage. Jefferson refused and sent four ships under Commodore Richard Dale to try to placate the pasha

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 TheJewish JewishHome Home||OCTOBER FEBRUARY29, 7, 2019 The 2015

of Tripoli. When this olive branch of peace was rebuffed, other American ships sailed to the region along with Swedish ships. Over the next four years, several battles ensued, and a peace treaty finally ended the hostilities in June 1805. Many early American naval commanders made a name for themselves in this war including Dale, Bainbridge and Stephan Decatur Jr. Ten years later, the Second Barbary War took place with Decatur capturing the Algerian flagship. Another treaty followed, and from then on, the Americans no longer paid tributes to the pirates. Piracy slowly ended in the Mediterranean Sea which had been plagued by pirates for two hundred years. The American Navy was now a force to be reckoned with, and although French ships continued to be the subject of piracy for the next twenty years, American ships were left alone. While American ships were now safe off the Barbary Coast, merchant ships were still being attacked by pirates in the early decades of the 19th century. From 1817-1825 the U.S. Navy fought a series of anti-piracy operations in the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico. Jewish French pirate Jean Lafitte was operating in the Gulf of Mexico when the USS Enterprise was dispatched to chase him out of the gulf. They were successful, and in May 1821, Lafitte left. However, he continued pirating merchant ships and was captured off the coast of Cuba. Lafitte was eventually released but was killed in a subsequent battle with Spanish ships. In November 1822, the USS Alligator fought a large band of pirates off the coast of Cuba. The American sailors recovered three ships that had been seized but the pirates escaped. Thousands of miles away, in the Aegean Sea, Greek pirates were plundering American merchant ships. In 1825, President James Monroe sent several ships under Commodore John Rodgers to lead convoys of ships safely through the troubled waters. They had no engagements until October 1827, when the USS Warren captured a sixteen-gun brig and captured over

Operation Ocean Shield was implemented to combat maritime piracy

a dozen pirates. A couple of weeks later the USS Porpoise saw a British ship attacked by 250 pirates in five ships. The Americans gave chase, and a boarding party headed for the captured ship, the Comet. In the ensuing battle over 80 pirates were killed including eleven singlehandedly by a steward. The pirate leader was killed, and the British ship was saved without a single American casualty. In early 1828, the pirates’ home base was attacked by French and British ships, but by the end of the year piracy was no longer a threat in the Aegean Sea. Chinese pirates off of Hong Kong had been harassing Western ships for many years. In 1855, the U.S. and the British navies sent warships to rescue several merchant vessels taken by pirates. The Battle of Ty-ho Bay ended in a success as seven merchant ships were liberated during the battle. For the next 150 years, pirates, privateers and buccaneers posed little threat to American merchant ships. Piracy off the coast of North Africa has been well-documented. Starting around the year 2000, international merchant ships have been attacked in and around the Gulf of Aden. Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa’s Operation Ocean Shield – was NATO’s response to piracy in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea. The U.S.

Navy was a major participant and in April 2009 initiated the rescue effort on the hijacked Maersk Alabama. This was the first time in close to two centuries that an American flagged merchant vessel had been pirated. Navy SEALs op-

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erating from the USS Bainbridge (named after the same officer who countered pirates some 200 years earlier) successfully killed three Somali pirates and rescued the captain of the Maersk Alabama. In at least four other incidents, Somali pirates tried to attack U.S. Navy ships and, needless to say, were beaten quite badly in each case. Piracy still exists today but attacks have decreased since the early 1800s. Modern ships, technology, and updated operation tactics have made it extremely difficult for pirates to operate and receive ransom money. The U.S. military has been closely monitoring pirates since the navy’s inception, and in many respects its anti-piracy operation helped the U.S. Navy gain world recognition. Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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OCTOBER 29, 2015||The TheJewish JewishHome Home FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Tribe Tech Review

Muting Your iPhone When Entering Shul By Dov Pavel

n the last article in this series, we discussed the two issues we all face regarding tefillah and smartphones. The first is stopping your phone’s notifications from disturbing your own tefillah when using your phone as a siddur (which is best to only be used outside of a shul where there

are no shelves filled with siddurim). The second is turning off all noise from your phone (ringer and vibration) when entering a shul so that it does not disturb you or anyone around you. We presented a solution for Android phone users using the IFTTT platform (If This Than That) where

the phone’s Do Not Disturb Mode can be triggered automatically when entering your shul. You can find this IFTTT recipe as well as my growing list of other recipes for the shomer Shabbat home at www.ifttt.com/p/ TribeTechReview. Now for many of you that are using an iPhone, I present to you the Apple side of the story. Instead of embracing the popular IFTTT platform and integrating the iPhone in a robust manner, Apple chose to compete with its own app called Shortcuts (previously known as Workflows). Shortcuts is like IFTTT in many ways and perhaps offers even more flexibility out of the box but with significantly less third-party integrations (besides Apple). Additionally, the ability to trigger events automatically, something fundamental, is lacking. I have seen online discussions about automatic triggers of Shortcuts, and some believe this feature will be added later. However, I believe that this feature may be counter to the Apple strategy. Apple wants you to use Siri or your HomePod to call Shortcuts. Additionally, Apple’s rebranding of the app to the name Shortcuts specifically implies the need to do something to get there quicker, not something that is fully automated. Apple’s strategy around its ecosystem is to provide a closed and secure platform. Thus, I understand how allowing third party apps like IFTTT to control IOS devices may be counter to that strategy. How-

ever, Shortcuts is an Apple service, so I am surprised it is missing this feature. Regardless, I believe that I have a solution/hack that will get you as close as possible to an automated trigger. I created a Shortcut on the platform that will simply turn your iPhone’s Do Not Disturb mode on. You can then have your iPhone remind you when you enter shul to turn on Do Not Disturb Mode. The reminder itself can have the Shortcut embedded so that a quick tap of the reminder is all you need to mute your phone, making it quick and easy to implement. You will need to install the Shortcuts App, create the Shortcut to set your Phone to Do Not Disturb (or import mine), and have your synagogue with its address added as a contact. You will also need to have IOS 12 or greater installed. After installing the Shortcuts App, download the Shortcut “Mute iPhone for Tefillah” from my blog at TribeTechreview.com. Then open the Shortcut from your Library by clicking on the three dots “…” to edit the Shortcut. You will see that the Shortcut turns on the Do Not Disturb mode until you leave. With this screen open (that’s important!) speak to Siri and say these magic words: “Hey Siri, When I arrive at shul, remind me to run this.” Siri will respond with a reminder that has the Shortcuts logo embedded. Now when you enter your shul’s address, a reminder to run the Mute iPhone for Tefillah Shortcut will appear. There are few caveats to be aware of. First, when the reminder appears,

The 2015 TheJewish JewishHome Home||OCTOBER FEBRUARY29, 7, 2019

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to remind people to stop talking in shul. Dov Pavel is a tech enthusiast who reviews personal technology and home automation through the lens of a shomer Shabbos consumer. He is not affiliated with any of the companies whose products he reviews

and the opinions he expresses are solely his own. Dov is not a halachic authority and readers should consult their own rabbi as needed. Dov lives in Teaneck with his wife and three children. Previous articles an be found at TribeTechReview.com. Follow @TribeTechReview on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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to your goal of silence. Of course, this Shortcut can also be used if you want the same functionality when you enter school, library or work. If your goal is to mute your phone when entering a location, this Shortcut will work for you. Now, if there was only a Shortcut

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do not complete the reminder. Simply run the Shortcut so that the Reminder will appear again the next time you enter shul. Second, please go to your Settings and ensure that your sounds for reminders are set to none. Having this reminder setting off a chime would certainly be counter-productive

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

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FEBRUARY 7, 2019 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Good Hum r

Charmingly Chopped By Jon Kranz

any Jews love chopped liver. In fact, chopped liver is so popular that they also make a widely-available vegetarian version for the less carnivorous among us. That is rather astounding when you consider that few other meat dishes are routinely and widely sold in a vegetarian version. You do not often see vegetarian brisket, vegetarian roast beef or vegetarian helzel (stuffed chicken neck skin). Chopped liver, in its meat form, normally consists of liver from a cow or chicken that has been broiled or sautéed with schmaltz (rendered chicken or goose fat). It is then mixed together with other ingredients – usually onions, eggs, salt and pepper – so that the consumer cannot actually tell that he or she is eating liver. Then again, it’s sort of impossible to avoid that fact given the dish’s overt, in-your-face and completely unapologetic name: chopped liver. A compelling argument could be made that more people would eat chopped liver if it had a more appealing and appetizing name or at least a softer and subtler one. For example, instead of calling it chopped liver, we could refer to it as “awesome organ,” “excellent entrails,” “incomparable innards” or “great guts.” Of course, an equally compelling argument could be made that a name that does not clearly refer to “liver” would be misleading and possibly false advertising, especially for an innards initiate or a guts greenhorn. Even if that were the

case, however, there arguably are far better liver-based names than chopped liver. For example, the average consumer might be prefer monikers such a “loveable liver,” “luscious liver,” or “legendary liver,” you get my point. Some purists might argue that it is equally important to convey that the liver has been chopped. Even if it is necessary to do so, isn’t there a less harsh way to describe the preparation? Couldn’t we call it something softer-sounding like

comes to liver presentation, liverwurst is the best. In the interest of completeness, we also must mention foie gras, a fancy French dish that involves liver of a specially fattened goose or duck. The strange thing is that foie gras and chopped liver have an awful lot in common yet only one of them is considered a luxury item. If foie gras is for the prince, then chopper liver is for the peasant. If foie gras is for the refined, chopped liver is for the rough. If foie gras is for the

If foie gras is for the nouveau riche, chopped liver is for the nudnik.

“minced liver,” “diced liver” or “refined liver.” Aren’t all of these options better than the blatant and flagrant “chopped liver”? For the record, chopped liver is not the only form of liver consumed around the world. Many liver-eaters also enjoy liver steaks and onions, sautéed chicken livers, and liverwurst. No, the latter does not refer to the worst type of liver imaginable. Liverwurst refers to liver that comes in sausage form, often available either as a hard or soft delicacy. In fact, one could argue that when it

nouveau riche, chopped liver is for the nudnik. Regardless of the form, liver must undergo a special process before it is deemed kosher. The liver must hail from a kosher animal that has been properly shechted (slaughtered), the gall bladder and all fats must be removed, and all blood must be extracted. Thus, producing a kosher piece of liver is not so easy to de“liver.” As for the blood extraction, the typical soaking and salting method will not suffice because the liver contains higher

levels of blood. As a result, it must be broiled to ensure that all blood is effectively cooked out. This must be done to every s“liver” of liver. I know what you’re thinking. How did chopped liver find its way into one of the most confrontational and insecure retorts of all time, i.e., “What am I, chopped liver?” Some say that the expression is based on the fact that liver is not always the most sought-after and valued item. Others explain that chopped liver often is served as an appetizer or side dish and never as the main attraction. For these reasons and possibly others, chopped liver developed a rather pronounced insecurity, growing more self-conscious and self-loathing with every serving. Of course, there are many other things in life that sometimes feel slighted and thus a similar “What am I,…?” expression could apply to them too. For example: When it comes to the High Holidays: “What am I, Chol Hamoed?” When it comes to synagogue: “What am I, a past president?” When it comes to Passover: “What am I, Pesach Sheini?” When it comes to baked goods: “What am I, dietetic kichel?” Final thought: What do you call a person who delivers chopped liver in his car? A chopped livery driver.

Jon Kranz is an attorney living in Englewood, New Jersey. Send any comments, questions or insults to jkranz285@ gmail.com.

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

Your

Money

It’s All Chinese to Me By Allan Rolnick, CPA

n January 1, we switched our calendars from 2018 to 2019. But in China, February 5 is the date for setting off fireworks. This year, we’re ushering in the Year of the Pig. The pig is the last animal in the Chinese zodiac — according to one Chinese legend, he overslept for the Jade Emperor’s great meeting of the animals in heaven. Men born in the year of the pig are optimistic, gentle, and focused. Women born in the year of the pig are full of excitement, trustworthy, and have good fortune with wealth. (No fortune cookie jokes, please!) We’re 20ish years into the new millennium now. Driverless cars are starting to take to the streets, and Amazon is working on drone deliveries. So you might think naming a year after a barnyard animal is silly. But hey, just in the last month, Chinese scientists planted cotton on the dark side of the moon, while here in the U.S. the government counseled furloughed employees to pick up side gigs babysitting and pawning their kidneys. Who’s to say the Chinese aren’t onto something? Naturally, the Year of the Pig got us wondering just how piggy the Peoples’ Republic gets with taxes. You’d probably expect them to be pretty high, considering the communists

have been running things since Truman was president. But it’s been a long time since any real Marxists have been in charge. It turns out that communism is bad for business! (Also, jokes about communism aren’t funny if everyone doesn’t get them.) So you might be surprised at just how much China’s tax system has come to look like ours. Chinese employers withhold income and social security taxes just

10,000 yuan/month, you don’t have to file a tax return. Business owners pay 5-35% on their earnings. (What would Chairman Mao think of that?) Individuals also pay 20% on investment income and capital gains, including real estate sales. Individual tax returns are due on March 31, with extensions granted under special circumstances only. Husbands and wives file individually; there are no joint returns.

Then there are “behavioral” taxes that include a vehicle and vessel use tax, a license-plate tax, a slaughter tax, and a banquet tax.

like here. Income taxes start at 3% on salaries up to 1,500 yuan/month (about $225) and top out at 45% over 80,000 yuan ($12,000). Social security varies from city to city, with employers generally contributing 33% and employees paying another 11%. If your only income is salary under

Corporations typically pay 25% on their profits. However, the World Bank reported in 2017 that China’s total corporate tax burden, including property taxes and value-added taxes, swallows about 68% of profits. And China appears to impose some indirect “taxes” that our Congress

would have a hard time passing. For example, Poland and Canada have just arrested executives from telecom giant Huawei for espionage, which suggests the People’s Republic is “taxing” companies for more than just cash. China also imposes a grab bag of value-added taxes, consumption taxes, and property taxes. Then there are “behavioral” taxes that include a vehicle and vessel use tax, a license-plate tax, a slaughter tax, and a banquet tax. (We’re pretty sure the poor piglet is jazzed about those last two.) And China is on the forefront of using facial recognition software to monitor citizens, so you’ve got to imagine they’re pretty good at rooting out tax cheats. Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by drinking Guinness and Cinco de Mayo by drinking Corona. So why don’t more of us celebrate Chinese New Year with a Tsingtao or two? That’s food for thought for you as you look through your own taxes and prepare for April 15.

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

The Jewish Home | FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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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.org

Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, Woodmere, NY is seeking the following Maternity Leave positions: Rebbe or Morah for grades 6-8 Tanach and Halacha (PT). Resumes to: ulubetski@halb.org Seeking full time PHYSICAL THERAPIST for Special Education school located in Brooklyn. Experienced preferred. Competitive salary. Room for growth. resumes@yadyisroelschool.org SHOMER SHABBOS WOODMERE OFFICE LOOKING FOR A MATURE FULL-TIME SECRETARY. Computer knowledge (Word Perfect, Excel, QuickBooks, etc...) and communication skills a must Please email resume to info@ UHCofNY.org 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 ASSISTANTS NEEDED FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, AFTERNOON SESSION. Email: fivetownseducators@gmail.com SHULAMITH EARLY CHILDHOOD is looking to hire a full time teacher assistant for the current school year. Please email resume to earlychildhood@shulamith.org 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

F/T & P/T 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 BAIS YAAKOV IN FAR ROCKAWAY SEEKING FIFTH GRADE LIMUDEI KODESH TEACHER to start immediately. Please email resume to teachingpositions1@gmail.com. Due to continued growth, the Yeshiva of South Shore is seeking Elementary School Teachers. Cert/Exp required. Please forward resume to monika@yoss.org Seeking full time OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST for Special Education school located in Brooklyn. Experienced preferred. Competitive salary. Room for growth. resumes@yadyisroelschool.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

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▷ Daily Mincha Minyan (Maariv) ▷ 10 minutes from Five Towns and West Hempstead ▷ Unlimited parking ▷ Five minute walk to LIRR station (30 minute direct train to and from Penn Station) ▷ Labcorp, Quest, and Sunrise medical labs in building

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Life C ach

Confusing Messages By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., MFT, CLC

e often wonder why we are not getting through to our kids. Are we just not speaking their language or are we sending mixed signals? Well, I’ve been wondering if we are sending them confusing messages. People these days often want understanding from their kids. They state, “It’s difficult for us because we are part of the sandwich generation.” Then they go out and relish eating tons of salads and fruits and rarely a sandwich. How’s a kid to understand their parents are talking about being pulled by the generation above and below? After all, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t a sandwich a food? Perhaps we need to try to communicate somewhat better at what we are trying to communicate.

Parents often say to their kids, “You should know better than to behave like that.” Yet, then they proceed to lose it with their kid. So where exactly should they know to behave better from?

picture? We want to know where our kids are every minute. We even track their locations. And then we wonder why our kids aren’t more independent?! We assert, “Speak to me more re-

Are we part of the solution or the problem?

We tell our kids, “Stop with your phones already,” though, it’s usually while we’re asking to borrow a charger or whether anyone saw where we put our phone. Can you see how they might see something off about that

spectfully!” Are we role modeling that to them? We demand, “Don’t text and drive!” Are WE? Do we resent when our children communicate with unthought-out re-

active behaviors and comments and then calmly demonstrate not being reactive? Or do we overreact to their overreaction? Are we doing what we’re asking? Are we sending unclear signals? Are we part of the solution or the problem? Think: do I want to be a successful sandwich bond? Do I want to connect with my bread the right way? Then I better be certain I’m taking the time to role model what I’m asking of that part of the sandwich. That way, the sandwich we are all part of will be ohso tasty and delicious.

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

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