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A PUBLICATION OF THE FIVE TOWNS & QUEENS COMMUNITY APRIL 16 – APRIL 22, 2015 | DISTRIBUTED WEEKLY IN THE FIVE TOWNS, QUEENS & BROOKLYN

– See pages 5, 11, 52, 53 & 93

Survivor Ben Lesser Around the COMMUNITY

Living a Life That Matters

HAFTR Hosts Yeshiva League Model Congress

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HALB Fourth Grade Boys Celebrate their First Mishna Siyum

NYC’s First Lady Headlines OHEL’S Annual Legislative Breakfast

A Nation Divided Reunited 150 Years Since the American Civil War PAGE 86

– See page 4

– See page 40

– See page 3

Lincoln’s Assassination 150 Years Ago A National Tragedy in Three Acts

PAGE 74

Hillary Clinton and My Post-Pesach Diet by Nate Davis PAGE 66

– See page 4

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APRIL 16, 2015

From the Editor

Contents Letters to the Editor

Community Readers’ Poll Community Happenings

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OpEd: The 37th World Zionist Congress: A Wake Up Call to all Orthodox Communities 60 News Global

National

Odd-but-True Stories

Israel Israel News

People Survivor Ben Lesser: Living a Life that Matters by Tammy Mark 62 Lincoln’s Assassination 150 Years Ago: A National Tragedy in Three Acts

A Nation Divided Reunited: 150 Years Since the American Civil War by Avi Heiligman 86 Parsha Rabbi Wein on the Parsha

The Shmuz

Dear Readers, Last night, as I was working on some editing, I needed something sweet to munch on. I opened up my cabinets and surveyed the offerings. Well, why not snack on some macaroons? My husband was incredulous. Macaroons? After eight days of eating nothing else? Well, Pesach is now in the rearview mirror and it’s a distant memory. I can almost say that I don’t remember all the matzah, marror and macaroons. I do remember, though, the wonderful time we had on yom tov. It truly is a time to spend with family and the children had a wonderful time with their cousins. Hiding the afikomen, jumping on couches (don’t tell Bubby!), making concerts, and staying up ‘til the wee hours of the morning—it couldn’t have been more fun for them. Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and as I

was reading one of the news tidbits in this week’s issue about Holocaust survivors in Israel I stopped for a moment and asked myself: did I ever meet a Holocaust survivor? Did I ever meet someone who survived the concentration camps? I feel extremely connected to the Holocaust. After all, the six million kedoshim were each and every one of ours sisters and brothers. My grandmother, Bubby Mickey, survived Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, but sadly she passed away when I was just two years old. My grandfather, R’ Shmuel Chaim, escaped the clutches of the Nazis as he and his friends in Mir Yeshiva fled to Shanghai. My step-grandmother, Lola Lieber Schwartz, managed to evade Hitler’s minions throughout the war. My husband’s grandparents were survivors as well, but I was never zocheh to meet them. The survivors of Hitler’s atroc-

ities are sadly slipping away. It’s been seventy years since the camps were liberated, but where are those witnesses today? And where will they be in ten years from now? Twenty years from now? Will there be any left to tell their story and witness the horrors that the world once refused to acknowledge? “What will become of all the memories,” Abie Rotenberg writes in his song, “Memories.” “Are they to scatter with the dust in the breeze?” he poignantly asks. This year, I urge you to reach out to those you know who survived the war. Listen to their stories, record them, write them down. This way, you can bear witness to our nation’s tragedy. You can be their eyes and ears and mouths, and remember the horror for future generations “when the very last survivor fades away.” Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

Jewish Thought Scratch the Surface by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

Counting from the Harvest Up by Rabbi Naphtali Hoff 70

Weekly Weather

FRIDAY

SHABBOS

April 17

April 18

SUNDAY

MONDAY

April 19

TUESDAY

April 20

April 21

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY April 22

April 23

Health & Fitness The Last Mile – A Lesson in Patient Advocacy by David Elazar Simai, MD 78 How to Explain Divorce to Children by Deb Hirschhorn, PhD

LIGHT RAIN

MOSTLY SUNNY

RAIN / WIND

PARTLY CLOUDY

AM LIGHT RAIN

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Food & Leisure Spring for Salad

Lifestyles What’s in Your Toolbox? by Rabbi Mordechai Kruger 71 Ask the Attorney Your Money

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publisher@fivetownsjewishhome.com Yosef Feinerman ads@fivetownsjewishhome.com Shoshana Soroka eretzhachaim.org

Political Crossfire Hillary Clinton and My Post-Pesach Diet by Nate Davis 66 80 98

FRIDAY, APRIL 3 Parshas Shemini Candle Lighting: 7:18 Shabbos Ends: 8:20 Rabbeinu Tam: 8:50

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MANAGING EDITOR

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Humor

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Getting Back to Routine by Rivki Rosenwald, Esq., CLC 91

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CLASSIFIEDS@FIVETOWNS JEWISHHOME.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.

Letters to the Editor

Applications now being accepted for a CAHAL 9th grade class at Torah Academy for Girls for September 2015 · Curriculum based on NYS core standards · Individualized program addressing learning styles and building strategies to enable achievement and success For further information, please contact: Naomi Nadata at 516-295-3666.

in the U.S. is sourced from other public water systems!). Bottled water is also thousands of times more expensive than tap water. I urge The Jewish Home readership to see the excellent documentary film, “TAPPED.” I am happy to show it to congregations, sisterhoods, men’s clubs, middle and high school yeshivot and public school science classes and environment clubs. We are filling Hashem’s world with plastic bottles and bags. This is truly not a funny food felony. Sincerely, Joseph M. Varon Past President, New York State Marine Education Association Past Board Member and Treasurer, Alley Pond Environmental Center Former President, Northeast Queens Jewish Community Council

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

Readers Poll It’s spring! Time to enjoy the weather outdoors. Do you participate in the following outdoor activities on a regular basis: 62% Walking/Jogging 22% Biking 31% Rollerblading 39% Playing Sports **In this survey, participants were able to answer yes to more than one answer

APRIL 16, 2015

Dear Editor, Recently, you published a letter to

Dear Editor, The article, “Funny Food Felonies,” March 31, page 22 discusses a topic which is really more serious than most realize. “The sale of plastic water bottles is not allowed in Concord, Mass.” More and more municipalities, college campuses, national parks, etc. are getting on this band wagon and banning

the sale of one time use plastic water bottles. They are encouraging the use of reusable water bottles and are providing accessible free filling stations. Most recently to come on board is Zion National Park, thus eliminating the sale and disposal of 60,000 plastic water bottles every year. Americans purchase more than half a billion bottles of water each weekthat’s enough plastic bottles to circle the globe more than five times! Worst of all, bottled water hurts the environment. After millions of barrels of oil are used to produce and ship plastic water bottles, 75% of them land in the garbage or our waterways instead of the recycling bin. It is important to note that the federal government requires more rigorous and frequent safety testing and monitoring of municipal tap water than bottled water (and nearly half of bottled water

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Dear Editor, The recent letter penned by Rabbi Moshe Grossman is, in my opinion, inappropriate and in poor taste. For one, as we live in a Constitutional Republic, people have the freedom to travel where and when they want, and no one should hinder anyone from exercising that freedom. It doesn’t matter from where they are traveling or where they are traveling to – whether it is the Five Towns, Belle Harbor, Flatbush, or Boro Park, as examples. How about if we “Five Towners” told you that you don’t have the right to drive through the Five Towns? What – you’re worried about air pollution? Then, with all due respect, tell everyone in your neighborhood to stop driving and to start walking. Furthermore, this issue is completely and utterly a non-issue, not even worthy of discussion. To tell people that they can’t drive through neighborhoods or cities other than their own intimates a lack of respect for people and for their freedom of mobility. Who would have ever thought to tell someone that they can’t travel through a certain area simply because they don’t want them to? We can drive where we want AND we can shop where we want – this shouldn’t have been an issue to begin with. Sincerely, Rafi Metz

the editor by a resident of Belle Harbor who found fault with residents from our town driving through his neighborhood. I don’t know many people who live in Belle Harbor but I am sure that his words are his own. I am sure that many of his neighbors do not share his views. I am sure that most Belle Harbor residents have no problem with people driving through their neighborhood. When one drives from the Five Towns/Far Rockaway area to Brooklyn through Belle Harbor one only needs to drive on Beach Channel Drive. We are not driving through residential neighborhoods. In fact, if you need, you can pump some gas and shop in CVS on the way. We don’t speed; we are generally driving in our minivans with our children and families. We are not dumping our garbage on the way; we are merely passing through. I know that I would have no problem with people driving through a main thoroughfare such as the 878 to get to their destination. Hey, isn’t that what people do when they drive to Long Beach? It doesn’t bother me; I always wave to the beachgoers as they head to the beach on the weekends in the summer. The writer should remember that he does not own the roads in his town. He pays taxes just as we all do to make sure our roads are smooth and clear. And he should remember that we will welcome him where we live—no matter how much pollution his car exhaust produces. Wishing you all a good summer, S. Herman

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Dear Editor, The Civil War ended on April 9th, 1865. President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15th. How disappointing that most media failed to report on the 150th Anniversary of both. PBS missed a great opportunity to rerun Ken Burns’ excellent series on the Civil War. No wonder many have no sense of history for our great nation. Sincerely, Larry Penner Great Neck

APRIL 16, 2015

Please join us for an enlightening and informative

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Benefit Breakfast to support

Event Chairs

Margie and Rabbi Aaron Glatt Laurie and Robert Koppel Esty and Robert Levinson Malky and Jay Spector Evelyn and Averim Stavsky

Event Committee

Nicki and Rabbi Sol Appleman Ashley and Judah Charnoff Naomi and Ari Davis Esty and Dovid Feit Chana and Jay Fenster Elaine and David Frankel Ricki and Joey Genachowski Naomi and David Kaszovitz Batya and Jonathan Kaye Sandy and Eli Klein Adina and Ronald Korn Rena and Mark Kwestel Marilyn and Eliot Lauer Rachel and Shimon Laufer Shani and Jay Lerman Rose and Ed Leventhal Barbara and Tuvia Levkovich Carol and Jeff Lewisohn Autumn and Bruce Mael Alyssa and Michael Nadata Anne and Herb Pasternak Shira and David Perl Helena and Jay Rubin Michelle and Eli Salig Bonnie and Heshie Schertz Bonnie and Avram Sigman Barbara and Mendy Silber Esti and Asher Stahler Deborah and Yacov Stollman Sharona and Jeff Weinberg Esther and Baruch Weinstein Rochelle and Joseph Weisstuch

Guest Speaker

Dr. David Pelcovitz

Professor, Straus Chair in Psychology and Education, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration

From Tweets to Texts:

Do we ‘LIKE’ the way we communicate? With words of introduction

Rabbi Ya’akov Trump

Assistant Rabbi, Young Israel of Lawrence-Cedarhurst

at the home of

Malky and Jay Spector

12 Waverly Place, Lawrence, NY

Sunday, April 26, 2015 9:30 – 11 a.m. While this is not a singles event, proceeds will be used to fund future activities. Benefit Breakfast open to men and women. YUConnects conducts educational programs and meeting opportunities that foster healthy relationship-building toward marriage.

mglatt@yu.edu • 516.603.8141 • www.yuconnects.com Dedicated in memory of Ethel Korn a’h by Rabbi Dr. Aaron and Margie Glatt

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APRIL 16, 2015

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APRIL 16, 2015

The Week In News

Global World’s Most Overrated Cities When travelers embark on a trip or vacation they often have high expectations. Commonly people research their

destination thoroughly by reading reviews and looking at photos to make sure they are spending their hard-earned money on the perfect vacation spot. However, often travelers arrive at their chosen destination and discover that it’s not exactly all that it is chalked up to be. The pictures may have painted a prettier picture, disguising the dirt and pollution. The reviewers may have not

experienced the terrible weather or encountered the moody locals. So where should you not go on your next vacation? According to Yahoo Travel, stay away from these spots if you don’t want to be disappointed on your next junket. Most Overrated Cities Worldwide: Las Vegas — 28% New York City — 18% Miami — 14%

Paris — 11% Dubai — 7% Honolulu — 6% London — 3% Bora Bora — 2% Rome — 2% Sydney — 2% Other — 5%

You know what they say: What happens in Vegas, can, well, just stay in Vegas.

Afghani Soldier Attacks American Soldiers A group of U.S. troops in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan were attacked last Wednesday. An Afghani soldier opened fire, killing an American soldier and leaving at least another two wounded. The shooter was killed at the scene. The incident happened after a meeting between Afghan provincial leaders and a U.S. Embassy official in the compound of the provincial governor in Jalalabad. All U.S. Embassy staff were accounted for and returned safely to their mission headquarters, the embassy said. NATO confirmed that one of its soldiers died in the attack, but due to coalition policy, did not reveal the nationality of the assassinated soldier.

The victim is the second person in NATO to have suffered from such an incident since the new year, when the coalition launched its new mission in Afghanistan called Resolute Support. Back in January, an Afghan soldier killed three American contractors. Gen. Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, who is police chief for eastern Nangarhar prov-

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The Week In News ince where the shooting occurred, said the fatal encounter ensued right after the meeting in the governor’s compound and the embassy officials had left. “Right after the U.S. official had left, suddenly an Afghan army soldier opened fire on the U.S. soldiers who were present in the compound,” Sherzad related. The American troops returned fire, killing the Afghan soldier, whom Shettrzad identified as Abdul Azim from Laghman province. The Western-backed Afghan government’s nearly 13-year war against the insurgents has increased as both sides plan to strengthen their positions ahead of possible peace talks.

Kenya Freezes Terrorists’ Accounts Kenya has barred individuals and companies from transferring funds vital for Somalia last week. The move came after the police chief issued a list of 85 people and businesses with suspected links to the al-Qaeda-linked group Shebab. Shebab commander Mohamed Mohamud, said to be the organizer of the recent university massacre that left almost 150 people dead, was on the list. Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and Islamic State were labelled terrorist groups and their accounts were frozen.

However, the ban list also includes transfer companies that are a crucial tool for residents of Somalia to receive funds from relatives abroad. Dahabshiil, one of the most important transfer companies across the wider Horn of Africa region, was included on the freeze list. An estimated $1.3 billion is sent to Somalia each year. Many of the country’s poorest residents rely on transfer companies since they do not have access to formal bank accounts. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta promised Shebab fighters that his government will retaliate the massacre in the university in Garissa in the “severest way” possible. Monday morning started off with warplanes overhead attacking

Islamist bases in southern Somalia. The president also warned that the masterminds behind the attack were probably within Kenya, not Somalia. He urged everyone to be alert. The names placed on the ban list were allotted 24 hours to prove that they “should not be declared a specified entity” and was signed by Kenya’s police Chief Joseph Boinett. A $215,000 (200,000 euro) bounty has also been offered for Shebab commander Mohamud, a former Kenyan teacher also known as “Kuno” who is believed to be in Somalia.

Bangladesh Executes Islamist Official for War Crimes Bangladesh braced for protests and fresh violence on Sunday after a senior official of the largest Islamist party was executed on charges of crimes against humanity during the country’s 1971 independence war. Mohammad Qamaruzzaman is the second man to be hanged since the government revived war crime trials that have sharpened political divisions in the South Asian nation.

Qamaruzzaman was put to death last Saturday night for crimes he committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war. He was a senior official of the largest Islamist party and was executed on charges of crimes against humanity. Prosecutors said that Qamaruzzaman, an assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, headed a militia group that collaborated with the Pakistani army in central Bangladesh in 1971 and was behind the killings of at least 120 unarmed farmers. Bangladesh blames Pakistani soldiers and local collaborators for the deaths of 3 million people during the nine-month war of independence from Pakistan. During the fighting, 10 million people fled to seek refuge in war camps in neighboring India.

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The Week In News Jamaat-e-Islami, Qamaruzzaman’s political Islamist organization, condemned the execution and called for a nationwide general strike. Prior to the killing, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, implored Bangladesh not to follow through with the execution, claiming that Qamaruzzman’s trial did not meet international standards. The United States also requested that the government not proceed with the execution. “We have seen progress, but still believe that further improvements ... could ensure these proceedings meet domestic and international obligations,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement shortly before the execution. “Until these obligations can be consistently met, it is best not to proceed with executions given the irreversibility of a sentence of death.” Despite the admonitions, the Bangladeshi government insisted that the trial did in fact meet the proper standards and the defendant had the chance to challenge the prosecution’s case in open court and appeal the verdict all the way up to the Supreme Court. Qamaruzzaman declined to seek

presidential clemency. Hundreds of people who supported the trial and execution rallied in Dhaka. Similar demonstrations were held in other cities and towns. “We are happy that justice has been delivered finally,” said Mohammad Al Masum, a student at Dhaka University`dwaq who joined a procession in Shabagh Square. “I did not see the war but I am sure the families that lost their dear ones will be happy today.” Since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set up the tribunals in 2010, many have been convicted, mostly senior leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami. The party, which is allied with Hasina’s main opposition rival, believe that the trials are politically motivated.

Accolades for Jewish French Schools Jews in France should be happy that their children are receiving a wonderful education. Last week, Jewish schools were in the French news because they topped

two of the annual lists in which French media rank the country’s approximately 4,300 high schools.

The Beth Hanna high school, which is part of France’s Chabad Lubavitch network, clinched the first spot on the list compiled by Le Parisien daily, thanks to a 99-percent success rate among matriculation exams takers and 32 “added value” points, which are determined according to additional criteria like the percentage of students who took the exams, students’ grade averages, and the schools’ dropout and attendance rates. In the list compiled by the France Televisions public broadcaster, another Jewish school came out on top: The Lycee Alliance in the Paris suburb of Seine Saint-Denis. Interestingly, there are at least six reputable lists ranking French high schools, each presenting a very different selection. On those lists, though, the Jewish schools didn’t make the cut. The list topped by Alliance, for example, has 99 lower-ranked schools, but Beth Hanna isn’t one of them. The Le Parisien list, on which Beth Hanna is the top school, also has 100 high schools but not Alliance. And on the Le Figaro list, neither Jewish school made the top slot, with Beth Hanna ranked in 46 and Alliance at 88. Even so, French Jewish schools have managed to shine last year despite the stress on the community. Dominique Dahan, headmistress at Alliance, said it’s the first time her school received the top distinction though its performance has been consistent in recent years. About 40 percent of Alliance graduates pursue medical careers.

Egypt’s Strict Laws Attempt to Close Gaza Tunnels For years, Hamas and other terrorist groups have been digging secret tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The tunnels are used to bridge the gap

between the two areas and smuggle in weapons, goods, and people. Until recently, people caught in these secret tunnels didn’t face harsh penalties, but all that’s about to change. Under a new amendment passed by the Egyptian presidential decree, offenders convicted of creating or using the tunnels to cross borders will face life in prison. The intention of this new penal law is to deter people from using and building secret tunnels between the two territories. Under the new law, the Egyptian government has the right to seize buildings above the tunnels and any equipment used in their construction. As another attempt to control the tunnels, the new law also states that any individual who has knowledge of cross-border tunnels and fails to report them may be liable to a life term as well.

In the last few months, Egyptian soldiers have destroyed virtually all smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border. The smuggling of cheap fuel and cement have been affected by the closures, causing an increase in unemployment in Gaza and crippling the hurting economy. Cigarette prices have tripled. This is not the first anti-terror move made by Egypt against its neighbor. In February, an Egyptian court branded Gaza’s Hamas government, including its political wing, a terror group.

Diamond Heist Caught on Camera A video camera has caught footage of a brilliant diamond heist that was pulled off in London’s diamond district over one recent weekend. The videotape shows several men, their faces covered with dust masks, entering and leaving a building repeatedly. Detective chief inspector Paul Johnson said the burglars entered the building late on Thursday and left the next morning. They returned on Saturday

The Week In News

Exactly 70 years after the camp was liberated, more than 80 Buchenwald survivors observed a moment’s silence on April 11. Several U.S. army veter-

Capital Punishment for Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Mohamed Badie, the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, has been sentenced to death along with 13 other senior members of the group in Egypt. The official offense is “inciting

chaos and violence.” A life term was also handed down to a U.S.-Egyptian citizen for ties to the Brotherhood. The men were among thousands of people detained after freely elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi was toppled in 2013 by the military under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is now president.

Sisi sees the Brotherhood as a major security threat. The group says it is committed to peaceful activism and had nothing to do with Islamist militant violence in Egypt since Mursi’s fall following mass protests against his rule. Egypt’s mass trials of Brotherhood members and people accused of links to the group, as well as its tough crackdown on Islamist and liberal opposition Continued on page 18

Your Garage Door Design Center On Sunday, April 5, the body of an Israeli man was found in an old church in Berlin. He was found in the ruins by passersby in the early hours of the morning. Yossi Damari, 22, had sustained “massive injuries to his head.” A Berlin rabbi has said that the Israeli citizen had approached the Jewish community the week before asking for food and a place to sleep. Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal told reporters that the Israeli was a “man in his early 20s who came to us during the day last Friday and didn’t have a place to sleep and didn’t have anything to eat.” Teichtal, who is the head of the Chabad Jewish Education Center in the city, said a fellow rabbi arranged a place to sleep for the man at a community center near Alexanderplatz – less than half a mile from where the victim was found. “We arranged everything for him, but then he didn’t show up again,” Teichtal said. The Israeli embassy was immediate-

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Buchenwald Liberation Remembered

Israeli Body Found in Germany

ly notified after an Israeli passport was discovered in one of the victim’s pockets. Sadly, Damari was beaten so badly that identification of the body was not easy. On Friday, authorities reported that an Albanian man was arrested in connection to the murder. He was arrested in the Czech Republic near the German border and Germany is now seeking to extradite him. The German capital has become a popular destination for Israeli tourists in recent years. An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 young Israelis have moved to Berlin in the past few years.

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The cops have acknowledged that a burglar alarm at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit facility was triggered just after midnight on April 3, the start of the holiday weekend, but no one was sent to check on it. The crime was not discovered until businesses reopened on Tuesday. John O’Connor, former head of Scotland Yard’s armed-robbery squad, said that the thieves appeared professional and well-prepared, but police had been “utterly incompetent” in not answering the alarm call. Hatton Garden, the center of Britain’s diamond trade, has been hit by several audacious robberies in the past. It was for years the center of a predominantly Jewish-run industry, and it is still home to numerous Jewish traders. In 1987, two armed robbers made off with an estimated 60 million pounds ($90 million at the time) worth of jewels. In 1993, robbers handcuffed shop workers, broke through high-security doors, and cracked a safe to steal millions worth of diamonds.

ans and representatives of the nearby eastern German town of Weimar joined the elderly survivors from Europe and countries including Israel, the United States, Australia and Canada for the commemoration. Several of the participants in the ceremony wept while many other wore replicas of the uniforms worn in the camp. They held a minute’s silence at 3:15 pm, the time that the camp was liberated by U.S. forces. At the gate to the camp, which incorporates the slogan in German “Jedem das Seine,” or “To each what he deserves,” the survivors laid red carnations and white roses on the commemorative plaques. Buchenwald was the largest concentration camp on German soil. Between 1937 and 1945, the Nazis held almost a quarter of a million people there. An estimated 56,000 people died in Buchenwald, murdered by the Nazis or from illness, cold or starvation.

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night and left Sunday morning. The thieves climbed down an elevator shaft and drilled through concrete walls 6 feet thick into the vault. They stole the contents of 72 safety deposit boxes, which are used by many local jewelry dealers to store jewelry. Police have not disclosed the value of the stolen goods.

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APRIL 16, 2015

‫ על‬‫הדר‬ !‫ על‬‫והדר‬

Klal Yisrael recently marked a watershed moment in history, as Daf HaYomi B’Halacha completed its inaugural 7 year cycle. Many thousands worldwide have marked the historic moment with joyous celebration and Simchas HaTorah.

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‫ העולמי‬‫דרשו סיו‬ ‫ היומי בהלכה‬‫ של ד‬‫למחזור הראשו‬

‫ הלכה‬‫תהא שנת עיו‬

With the beginning of the new machzor, now is the perfect time to join Daf HaYomi B’Halacha and become proficient in the halachos of daily living.

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WHAT IS DAF HAYOMI B’HALACHA? Q: How do I keep track of the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha schedule?

Q: What does the “daily limud” cover?

A: No enrollment is necessary. Simply learn the daily Halacha limud of Mishnah Berurah. Additionally, you can join a Daf HaYomi B’Halacha shiur in your neighborhood. Live shiurim are available in dozens of cities throughout the world.

A: A pocket luach, which lists the daily limud by date, is available. Call 888-5-DIRSHU or email info@kolleldirshu.org to receive your free copy.

A: The program consists of learning a daily amud of Mishnah Berurah and an amud of “Biurim Umusafim” - contemporary halachic applications from today’s Gedolei Haposkim.

APRIL 16, 2015

Q: How do I join Daf HaYomi B’Halacha?

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A mere 7 years ago, Daf HaYomi B’Halacha started a movement, embarking on a journey to know the Halachos of everyday living. Today, tens of thousands worldwide have benefitted and are joined together by the daily limud of Mishnah Berurah and Mussar from Sifrei Chofetz Chaim. Gedolei Yisrael have endorsed and encouraged Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program’s unique retention and accountability methods, as a way to master Halacha.

Q: What does the“daily learning program” entail? A: One side in the Mishnah Berurah, 5 days a week, with Friday and Shabbos reserved for Chazara of the limud of the previous 5 days.

Q: How long is an average shiur? A: Approximately 30 minutes a day.

Q: If I learn Daf HaYomi B’Halacha, must I take the bechinos? Q: Are there any other resources to assist me? A: Yes. The program offers a free daily email, which features a synopsis of halachos covered that day. Simply send an email to info@kolleldirshu.org to be added to the list.

Q: If I miss my shiur, are other shiurim recorded?

Live Shiurim and recordings

Audio and video shiurim recordings

A: Yes, you can access shiurim via Kol Haloshon or Torah Anytime.

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A: No. Tests are optional. They are administered once a month, usually on a Sunday.

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APRIL 16, 2015

The Week In News alike, have drawn international criticism of its judicial system and human rights record. As such, rights advocates have criticized a U.S. decision to end a freeze on military aid to Cairo, saying Washington is putting human rights on the backburner. The United States has said the decision to end the freeze was in the interest of national security.

The sentences can be appealed before Egypt’s highest civilian court in a process that could take years to reach a final verdict. U.S.-Egyptian citizen Mohamed Soltan was sentenced to life in jail for supporting the veteran Islamist movement and transmitting false news. He is the son of Brotherhood preacher Salah Soltan, who was among those sen-

tenced to death. Mohamed Abdel-Mawgod, one of the defense lawyers, condemned the verdicts. “The court did not differentiate between the defendants and put them all in the same basket,” he told reporters at the courthouse. None of the defendants were present during the hearing.

Castro & Obama’s Historic Meeting

For the first time in over five decades, the leaders of the United States and Cuba held a formal meeting. When they spoke in a small conference room in a Panama City convention center, Barack Obama and Cuba’s Raul Castro pledged to reach for the kind of peaceful relationship that has eluded their nations for generations. Reflecting on the historic nature of the meeting, Obama said he felt it was time to try something new and to engage with both Cuba’s government and its people. “What we have both concluded is that we can disagree with a spirit of respect and civility,” Obama said. “And over time, it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our two countries.” Castro, for his part, said he agreed with everything Obama had said — a stunning statement in and of itself for the Cuban leader. But he added the caveat that they had “agreed to disagree” at times. Castro said he had told the Americans that Cuba was willing to discuss issues such as human rights and freedom of the press, maintaining that “everything can be on the table.” “We are disposed to talk about everything — with patience,” Castro said in Spanish. “Some things we will agree with, and others we won’t.” Not since 1958 have a U.S. and Cuban leader convened a substantial meeting; at the time, Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House and Fulgencio Batista was in charge in Cuba. But relations quickly entered into a deep freeze amid the Cold War, and the U.S. spent decades trying to either isolate or actively overthrow the Cuban government. The flurry of diplomacy kicked off when Obama and Castro spoke by phone — only the second known call between U.S. and Cuban presidents in decades. It continued two nights later when Obama and Castro traded handshakes and small talk at the summit’s opening ceremonies. Obama and Castro shocked many in December when

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The Week In News they announced their plan for rapprochement, and their envoys have spent the ensuing months working through thorny issues such as sanctions, the re-opening of embassies and the island nation’s place on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. Removal from the terror list is a top

priority for Castro because it would not only purge a stain on Cuba’s pride, but will also ease its ability to conduct simple financial transactions. On Tuesday, the White House announced that Obama intends to remove Cuba from America’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism.

Al Qaeda Top Cleric Killed in Yemen According to an al Qaeda statement posted online on Monday, Ibrahim

al-Rubaysh, its top cleric who had a $5 million American bounty on his head, was killed in Yemen, as the situation in the country spirals even more out of control. Al-Rubaysh, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, was killed in a “crusader strike” over the weekend “after he spent almost two decades carrying out jihad against America and its agents.” The statement did not say who exactly AQAP believed carried out the purported strike.

The U.S. has killed a number of high ranking AQAP leaders in recent years through targeted drone strikes, as part of its sustained counter-terrorism operations in the area. Al-Rubaysh is described by the U.S. as a senior “sharia” official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) who “provides the justification for attacks conducted by AQAP.” He is also accused of being the group’s “senior advisor for AQAP operational planning, and is involved in the planning of attacks.” He was held in Guantanamo Bay prison from 2002 to 2006. AQAP said after he was released he “quickly joined his brethren at AQAP.” The spiritual leader appears to have played a similar role in AQAP as Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen who was a top cleric and recruiter in AQAP before he was killed in a CIA drone in September 2011. After his strike death, the U.S. said al-Awlaki too was involved in the terror group’s external operations. Al-Rubaysh’s alleged death comes amid widespread violence in Yemen where Saudi Arabia is now leading an Arab coalition effort, supported by U.S. intelligence and logistical support, to repel a Houthi rebel assault against the remnants of Yemeni government forces. Last week the United Nations said the crisis was “getting worse by the hour.” In February, all U.S. government personnel left Yemen as the security situation deteriorated and the American embassy was closed. AQAP, the Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda, has been previously described by U.S. officials as the affiliate that poses the greatest threat to the American homeland.

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The Week In News Iran Wins Seat on UN Women

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When you think of countries championing women’s rights, you probably aren’t conjuring up images of Iran. But despite its terrible record on women’s rights, the Islamic Republic won a seat on UN Women, a United Nations body that was formed in 2010 to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality.

“In Iran, women are legally barred from holding some government positions, there are no laws against domestic violence … making it wholly inappropriate that Iran assume a leadership role on women’s rights and welfare at the U.N,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, criticizing the decision to make Iran a member of the women’s rights body. Power added that she was “extremely disappointed” in the UN group’s decision. Iran’s three-year term as a UN Women Governing Board member begins January 1, 2016. “UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide,” reads a statement on the UN Women website. It’s not that Iran’s record with women is a secret. A UN body found last month that repression of women in Iran has gotten worse under “moderate” president Hassan Rouhani. With the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran came repressive women’s rights policies in accordance with Sharia law.

In modern day Iran, women who have exposed any part of their body besides their hands and face can be punished and beaten for “Bad hijab.” In many cases, girls are married off at the age of 13 and are forbidden from leaving Iran or obtaining a passport without the expressed consent of a male guardian. It seems that the UN is undisturbed by countries that demean their women. Several other states that uphold discriminatory policies against women are members of UN Women, including Burkina Faso, Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan, Tajikistan, and others.

Pregnancy is Good for your Health In addition to the gift of pregnancy, it seems another benefit is wrapped inside those who are expecting. It turns out one of the best things a woman can do for her health is to be pregnant. According to a new Israeli study, pregnancy can have a “rejuvenating effect” on women and could slow down the aging process, especially in older women.

Israel Bat Mitzvah Celebration Turns to Tragedy

In a devastating reversal of celebration turned into tragedy, a 12-year-old Israeli girl was killed last week in a ferry fire while celebrating her bat mitzvah on a family vacation in Thailand. Shani Maril of Modiin was trapped in a bathroom stall and was unable to escape while the evacuation of the boat was taking place. Her entire family had flown to Thailand for Pesach to celebrate her bat mitzvah. The ferry was located about five miles off the coast of the southern province of Krabi when a fire broke out in the engine room. Most of the 114 rescued passengers and crew, including the girl’s parents and brother, were taken to Krabi and treated for minor injuries. Shani was the only one on the ferry who was not able to be rescued. The engine room where the fire started was located near the bathroom where she was trapped. Police are investigating the cause of the blaze, but determining a cause will be difficult as the entire vessel sunk after the fire had been burning for several hours. After a three day delay due to a Thai festival, Shani’s body was finally flown to Israel for burial.

Medical researchers at Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem studied the effects of liver transplants in pregnant and non-pregnant mice, finding that in 96 percent of the older, pregnant rodents, the liver had regenerated within two days. This was compared with 82% of young, non-pregnant mice and 46% of older, non-pregnant ones. The study also found that the pregnancy protected the mice from tissue damage around the heart, which is part of the human aging process, and that pregnant mothers got an injection of “youth serum” from the babies they were carrying. “As we age, it is more difficult for our tissue to regenerate itself,” the study found. “Because pregnancy is a unique biological model of a partially shared blood system, we have speculated that pregnancy would have a rejuvenating effect on the mother.” The healthy, rejuvenating effect is temporary and lasts for about two months after delivery, the research indicated. The review was led by Tal Falick Michaeli, Rubin Chair in Medical Science at Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, who has also done research on pregnancy that suggests it can restore the mother’s muscles’ ability to regenerate.

Survivors: Who Will Remember us When We’re Gone? The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel has released a report that shows that nearly half of

The Week In News

According to information released on Tuesday, the IDF, Shin Bet and Israel

This year, Israel has once again placed third when it comes to registering patents in the United States. According to Israel’s largest business information group, BDICoface, Israeli companies and entities registered no less than 3,555 patents in the United States in 2014 – an increase of around 21 percent over the previous year. The numbers for 2014 mean that the “Start Up Nation” remains third in the

Israel to Allow in Palestinian Cars On Tuesday, a spokesman announced that the IDF will allow Palestinian vehicles to enter Israel for the first time in 15 years.

In an interview with Palestinian news website Ma’an, COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said that permits will be issued for more than 100 doctors from the Bethlehem and Hebron areas, allowing them to enter Jerusalem with their Palestinian license plates to work at local hospitals.

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Purim Attack Thwarted

Israel: World Leader in U.S. Patents

world in terms of U.S.-registered patents, ahead of Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, China and South Korea, and behind only Japan and Taiwan. The BDICoface figures show that the leading Israeli-based companies in the field are in fact local branches of American technology firms – Intel, IBM, Marvell, SanDisk and HP. These companies are followed by Tel Aviv University’s research institutes and the Weizmann Institute. “The government must continue to nurture the issue through investment in technological education, improvement of infrastructure, and incentives for global hi-tech companies to carry on opening R&D centers in Israel,” Tehila Yanai, a managing partner at BDICoface, pointed out.

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Sadly, 46% of survivors also think that future generations will not remember the Holocaust after they are gone, a spike of nine percentage points from last year’s study. A lower 31% of the general public has the same worry, while half of Israelis under 30, the study found, never knowingly met a Holocaust survivor. The foundation works to help survivors obtain their benefits from the various bureaucracies charged with aiding them. Just 31% of survivors took full advantage of the benefits available to them under law in 2015, according to the foundation’s figures. Many survivors are struggling. While 189,000 survivors still live in Israel, 40 are dying each day, according to the report. Some 45,000, or nearly a quarter, live in poverty with an income below NIS 3,000 per month, according to National Insurance Institute figures quoted by the foundation. Over one-quarter, or 27%, said they did not have heat in their apartment during the winter months, while 65% said they needed help to pay for their groceries and medications. Over one-third, or 36%, live alone, and half are widowed. The report praised a reform spearheaded in the last government by former finance minister Yair Lapid that saw a government stipend of 2,000-3,600 shekels ($500-$900) deposited directly in survivors’ bank accounts each month. But, it noted, the plan “doesn’t offer solutions for unique, specific problems, especially among the neediest of the group.” The average age of a Holocaust survivor in Israel is 83.3.

police stopped a Hamas terror cell planning to fire at soldiers near Abus Dis on Purim. The members of the cell, who were arrested in early March, bought a car to be used in the attack, trained in shooting and collected intelligence on their target. The two central members of the cell were leader Ma’an Nur al-Din Ahmad Shaer and Daud Raja Daud Adwan. Both were previously imprisoned in Israel. Shaer served time for his involvement in shootings at IDF soldiers in the past. Shaer worked in the cafeteria of the Abu Dis University and is a Hamas member who served time in prison for his involvement in a terrorist shooting at Israeli army forces. The second, Adwan, is also a Hamas member who served time in prison and has knowledge of fire arms. According to the report, the members of the cell bought a car, and trained with fire arms and also collected information about the target. They had in their possession an AK-47 assault weapon, a 9mm gun and 40 bullets. During the investigation the weapons in question were discovered. Shaer was the commander of the cell and was the one who initiated the planning of the attack, which was originally to take place in Jerusalem. He enlisted Dawud, who recommended they change the target to IDF soldiers standing at a checkpoint near Jerusalem. In addition, Shaer planned on recruiting another operative, who would be used as a getaway driver.

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Israelis think a Holocaust could happen again. The annual study, released ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on the evening of April 15 this year, found that 46 percent of Israelis believe a second Holocaust can happen, five percentage points higher than last year. And a similar number of Israel’s 189,000 Holocaust survivors, or 47%, agree.

This will be the first time, since 2000, that Palestinian vehicles have been allowed to enter Israel. “This is a significant step intended to assist doctors in completing their life-saving missions,” said Brig. Gen. David Menachem, chief of the Civil Administration, an IDF branch responsible for civilian affairs in the West Bank. “The success of this step will be eval-

The Week In News uated in accordance with an assessment of the security situation.” Mordechai told Ma’an that a similar concession may soon be extended to Palestinian businessmen as well. The move follows a number of Israeli measures geared at easing civilian life for Palestinians in the West Bank. Last month, COGAT announced it would allow Palestinian men aged 55 and older to enter Israel without a permit, removing certain restrictions from day laborers who want to enter the country. A total of 174,416 Palestinians currently receive permits to enter Israel, but are not allowed to bring in their own vehicles.

Tehran with advanced weapons after an outline for an international nuclear deal was struck to curb Iran’s nuclear program. “This is a direct result of the legitimacy that Iran is receiving from the nuclear deal that is being prepared and proof that the Iranian economic growth which follows the lifting of sanctions will be exploited for arming itself and not for the welfare of the Iranian people,” Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement. Israeli officials said the supply of the system to Iran could prevent any military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The officials said the supply, if it goes ahead, would change the balance of power in the region.

Israel Protests as Russia Sells Defense System to Iran Members of the Israeli government denounced Vladimir Putin’s decision to provide Iran with a sophisticated S-300 air defense missile system this week. The Kremlin lifted its ban on supplying

Russia signed a 2007 contract to sell Tehran the S-300 system, but the weap-

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onry was never delivered amid strong objections by the United States and Israel. Moscow blocked deliveries of the surface-to-air missiles to Tehran in 2010 after the United Nations slapped sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program barring hi-tech weapons sales. Iran then filed a $4 billion suit against Moscow at an arbitration court in Geneva. The Lausanne framework marked a crucial advance in a 12-year standoff between Iran and the West, which disputes Tehran’s denial that it is seeking to build a nuclear bomb. However, Israeli officials, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have strongly condemned the deal for placing inadequate limitations on Iran’s ability to research and produce nuclear weapons. Global powers must resolve a series of difficult technical issues by a June 30 deadline for a final deal, including the steps for lifting global sanctions imposed on Iran and lingering questions over the possible military dimensions of its nuclear program. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who will have the final say on any deal, has plunged the accord into doubt suggesting that “nothing is binding” while President Hassan Rouhani has demanded that sanctions be immediately lifted when any deal is signed. Global powers Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States have said sanctions will only be gradually eased and want a mechanism to ensure they can be swiftly re-imposed if Iran breaks its word.

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According to Forbes, Israel has become the third-largest source of material for American television. Israel, in the last few years, has concentrated on producing concepts, also called “formats,” for television shows rather than attempting to produce expensive shows indigenously. These formats are then sold to larger, wealthier countries’ entertainment industries for production. First and second places for producing formats for American television belong to Britain and Holland. The top three firms in the format business in Israel are Keshet Media Group, Dori Media and Armoza Formats. All together, they have sold over 100 shows outside the country – including to France, Brazil and even Muslim countries such as Indonesia. The shows that have been built on

these formats have been both critically and commercially successful. They have won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

National A Quick Look at our Tax Numbers

Everyone is sick of hearing about taxes. Thankfully, this’ll be the last time till next tax season. The ides of April have come and gone, and this year, $1.4 trillion in individual income taxes were due to the IRS. But for many Americans, that’s only the half of it. A new report from the U.S. Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation shows that looking only at income taxes misses most of what we pay to the federal government each year. The average American pays an income tax rate of 10.1 percent, the Joint Committee shows, although that varies quite a bit depending on income. If that number seems low it’s because the Joint Committee is also accounting for lots of income that never gets taxed, such as Medicare and Social Security benefits, employer-paid insurance, and the employer portion of payroll taxes. Also, taxpayers pay the highest rates, above 28 percent, only on earned income above $200,000 or so. The IRS takes far less from the first $200,000 earned, especially after deductions, and from investment income. Finally, many poor Americans pay no taxes and even get money back: about 32 million people benefit from that Earned Income Tax Credit. However, just looking at income taxes can be misleading. All salaried workers also pay a 7.65 percent payroll tax to cover Social Security and Medicare, and higher earners owe another Medicare tax. Their employers also must pay the same amount in payroll taxes for each worker. The government collected $1 trillion from payroll taxes last year. Even after all that, Uncle Sam is still not done. On top of individual income and payroll taxes, the federal government collects $93.4 billion in excise

The Week In News

Officer Arrested in Shooting, Victim Laid to Rest Walter Scott was buried on Saturday night. Scores of mourners attended the

“The change will come,” he vowed, bringing to the crowd to its feet. George Hamilton, the head of the church where the service was held, said he believed that the death of Scott at the hands of a white police officer was “motivated by racial prejudice.” It was “an

County Sheriff Al Cannon said Slager’s wife, Jamie, who is eight months’ pregnant, and his mother visited with him at the county detention center on Friday. Slager was being held in isolation and being “monitored for his mental health,” Cannon said.

A Place of Happiness

Where are people the happiest across the United States? Turns out, it’s not in New York. The new Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index interviewed 176,000 people across all 50 states to see where people are smiling the widest. What determines a happy face? The Index took five categories into consideration: purpose: enjoying what you do every day, feeling motivated to achieve your goals; social: having supportive relationships; financial: managing your money to lower stress and increase security; community: liking your area, feeling safe, having community pride; physical: maintaining good health,

APRIL 16, 2015

She’s got her eyes on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. On Sunday, Hillary Clinton confirmed what many Americans had been predicting: she will be running for president in 2016. The former secretary of state, senator, and first lady formally announced her candidacy in a video on Sunday afternoon. In the last several months, Clinton and her people have been preparing for her campaign, despite a few slip-ups. Her team includes a long list of experienced advisers and strategists, some who ran Obama’s successful campaign. She also signed a lease recently for a new office space in Brooklyn, New York, which will serve as her campaign headquarters. How ready is America for another Clinton in the White House? A recent ABC News-Washington Post poll showed Clinton ahead of potential Republican candidate Jeb Bush by a 54-to-40 percent margin in a prospective match-up, with even bigger leads against Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Marco Rubio. If Clinton wins the presidency, she will be the first female president in the history of the country.

act of overt racism,” he maintained. Hamilton said his remarks were not meant as an indictment of law enforcement, but he singled out the officer who killed Scott as a “disgrace to the North Charleston Police Department.” “There is going to be change,” he said. “Walter’s death will not be in vain.” Chris Stewart, an attorney for the Scott family, said the death represented more than a race issue. “It’s a human issue,” he said. “We’re getting emails from people in Arkansas telling us, ‘I’m a white male, and I’m supporting this family.’ Their son is going to be remembered for changing the way we look at each other.” What set this incident apart from others is that much of the incident was caught on video on a passerby’s cellphone, causing Officer Slager to swiftly be charged with murder. The video shows Scott running away from the officer, who fires eight shots. Scott was struck five times and collapsed to the ground. Witnesses, however, are reporting conflicting accounts of the encounter. One witness says there was a struggle prior to the shooting and another claims that Scott showed no resistance. It has emerged that Scott was the subject of a bench warrant of over $18,104.43 in unpaid child support at the time that he was stopped, perhaps the reason why he attempted to flee the scene. Slager was immediately fired from his position and faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. Charleston

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Hillary Heads Towards the White House

service in South Carolina to celebrate his life, hoping that it will be a facilitator for change in America. Scott, a 50-year-old African American male, was pulled over last week for a broken taillight. As the police officer was writing him a ticket, he jumped out of the car and attempted to flee the scene. He was chased and tackled to the ground and the encounter quickly turned fatal when Officer Michael Slager, a white male, fatally shot Scott. The father of four’s service was attended by many local officials. His young daughter read a poem of love dedicated to her father. Anthony Scott, the victim’s brother, said that he believed G-d had chosen his brother as a catalyst for change in America.

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taxes on such things as fuel, cigarettes, alcohol, and plane tickets. The feds take 7.5 percent of every airline fare, plus $4. When you fill up at the pump, the feds are cashing in. The current gas tax is 18.4¢ per gallon.

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APRIL 16, 2015

The Week In News having enough energy to carry out tasks every day. Additionally, residents of high well-being communities are 12 percent more likely to learn new things, 16 percent less likely to worry about money, and 25 percent less likely to suffer from depression than members of low well-being areas. So where do residents walk around

with perpetual smiles shining across their well-tanned faces? Consider these ten areas: 1. North Port-Sarasota, Brandeton in Florida 2. Urban Honolulu in Hawaii 3. Raleigh in North Carolina 4. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura in California 5. El Paso in Texas

6. Austin-Round Rock in Texas 7. Provo-Orem in Utah 8. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara in California 9. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria in Washington, D.C. 10. Winston-Salem in North Carolina

Life Sentence for Jodi Arias Five years after Jodi Arias was found guilty of murdering Travis Alexander, she has been sentenced to life with no possibility of parole. Because two previous juries were unable to decide whether or not she should receive the death penalty, the final sentencing decision was up to Judge Sherry Stephens at this week’s hearing. Stephens had to rule on whether Arias would serve her natural life in prison or have the possibility of parole after 25 years.

After hearing tearful statements from Alexander’s sisters, the court also heard Arias’ mother asking for leniency, and then Arias’ final plea to receive the possibility of parole in 25 years. “It’s my firm belief that death would bring me untold peace and freedom. If I die today, I would be free and I would be at peace,” Arias said as she appeared in a prison jumpsuit in Maricopa County Court. “For years, that’s exactly what I wanted. But I have to fight for my life just like I did on June 4, 2008 because I realize how selfish it would be for me to escape accountability for this mess that I created.” Arias, who was convicted of first degree murder, maintained that Alexander was trying to attack her when she stabbed him multiple times and shot him. “To this day I cannot believe I was capable of doing something that terrible,” Arias said. “I’m truly disgusted and I’m repulsed with myself. I wish there was some way I could take it back.” “It hurts too much to remember him alive because if I remember him, I remember too much about how he was brutally taken from us and I can’t handle it,” Alexander’s sister, Hillary Wilcox, said amid tears. “This is what I’ve had to do so I can cope.” Wilcox said that sometimes when she does think of him, she is in the shower, and, “I know that’s because that’s where she killed him, so I have to quickly shake it out of my head and get out of the shower.”

The Week In News

Monday was the day Senator Marco Rubio announced his candidacy for president. He first shared the news by conference call with a group of donors. Then, he told a crowd of supporters in Miami that he intends to campaign for the Republican nomination for president of the United States. At 43 years old, Rubio is the youngest candidate in the field so far. The theme of his campaign, “the new American century,” serves to position him as a youthful alternative to fellow presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67, and Jeb Bush, 62. Ponce de Leon was looking for the Fountain of Youth when he happened upon Florida. Perhaps freshness is what America needs in 2016. In his speech, Rubio used his age to frame the 2016 presidential election as a choice between new (or young) and old. “This election is a generational choice about what kind of country we will be,” he said, speaking at Miami’s historic Freedom Tower. Referencing Hillary Clinton who threw her hat into the ring on Sunday, he said, “Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday began a campaign for president by promising to take us back to yesterday. Yesterday is over and we’re never going back,” he pledged. On domestic policy, Rubio sounded not unlike President Barack Obama during his election campaign in 2008, and focused his speech on income inequality, the rising cost of education and the diminishing achievability of the American Dream for low- and middle-income families. But on foreign affairs he differed with the president, criticizing the Obama administration’s nuclear nonproliferation deal with Iran and the president’s decision to reestablish relations with Cuba. The son of Cuban immigrants who came to the United States in 1956, Ru-

Fortune Strikes Twice This couple is one in a billion—and they’ve won a million for the second time. David and Kathleen Long won a million pounds in the lottery for the second time this week. Their win –and a car—is nothing new. They already defied the odds and won 1 million pounds in 2013 in the lottery.

That’s odd Till Death Do Us Part

For 73 years Lillian and William “Wild Bill” Wilson shared their life’s hopes and dreams. Their children recall that their story started in Corbin, Kentucky, almost three-quarters of a century ago. William was the school’s star quarterback; Lillian played basketball. The two ran away together to get married. When World War II broke out, William enlisted and fought in Germany. He came home to a career at department stores and earning his moniker “Wild Bill” with radio contests. Sadly, as the two began to age, they both developed Alzheimer’s. Separated by a fog, the two still knew each other, and last week, on April 7, despite residing in separate nursing homes 16 miles apart, Lillian, 89, and William, 93, passed away. They died within minutes of each other, sensing the loss of one another. “I knew we were going to lose both of them before too long, but there was no indication it would be that close,” their son, Doug Wilson, told the Herald-Leader. The last time the two sweethearts saw each other was in December. Their hearts, though, beat as one.

Lottery operator Camelot said on Wednesday the couple beat odds of 283-billion-to-1 when they won Friday’s lottery. What’s their secret for continued success? David Long says he played his usual numbers and watched in amazement as they came up. His wife, Kathleen, had to verify them. Since then, it’s all been a blur. The retired truck driver says the win means he’ll probably take his wife on a cruise — as he’s run out of excuses not to go now. A party is also planned. It seems that lightning truly did strike twice.

Whose Grass is Greenest?

“My lawn is the world’s ugliest!” “No, my lawn is!” “Hey, guys, you gotta see my yard; it’s so ugly, it’s rugly— really ugly!” In San Francisco, homeowners are falling over each other for the title of the Continued on page 30

APRIL 16, 2015

Last week, Gertrude Weaver died, a whole century after her sweet 16 at the age of 116. She was regarded as the World’s Oldest Person for five short days after the death of Misao Okawa of Japan, 117, who passed away on April 1. Now, the title of the world’s oldest person belongs to Michigan’s Jeralean Talley. Up until a few years ago, the centenarian mowed her own lawn and bowled until the age of 104. She lived on her own until 108, when her daughter, Thelma Holloway, no youngster herself, moved into her home. The elderly woman still walks around although she does rely on the assistance of her walker. “Given her age, I’d consider her to be very active and very mobile,” family friend Michael Kinloch related. “She’ll say, ‘Hey, I’ve got it!’ She’s very aware of the fact that she needs to move around, otherwise she’ll lose that mobility,” Kinloch says. “Her mental state is very sharp,” he added. What’s her secret to long life? Talley has the answers: “Treat the other fellow like you want to be treated. You don’t tell a lie on me so I won’t tell a lie on you.” According to new statics released by the U.S. Census Bureau data, more and more Americans are living to age 100,

Rubio Enters the Race

bio used his family’s story as an illustrative example of the achievability of the American dream. “I live in an exceptional country where the son of a bartender and a maid can have the same dreams and the same future as those who come from power and privilege,” he said. Rubio has won support among the community of Cuban exiles living in Florida. But with former Florida governor Jeb Bush also expected to step into the Republican ring, Rubio won’t have sole claim to Florida’s votes in the Republican primary, which could weaken his chances of winning the nomination. Rubio is the second Republican to announce his bid for the presidential nomination, following Ted Cruz’s campaign launch in March.

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New Oldest Living Person is American

and nearly 83 percent of them are females. The next oldest living person in the world, Susannah Mushatt-Jones, is also an American women, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

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Alexander’s relatives and friends were all seen wearing blue in solidarity. Blue was Alexander’s favorite color. All but one holdout on the second jury wanted to give Arias the death penalty, jurors said. However, because a unanimous decision was not reached, the judge was tasked with determining her prison sentence, and the death penalty was taken off the table. Arias took the stand for a marathon 18 days in the first trial, which turned into a national spectacle with live coverage. Judge Stephens ruled that cameras were not allowed in court during the second trial, covering the sentencing phase, except for the reading of the verdict.

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The Week In News city’s ugliest yard. But ugly may not be what it seems. Lush greenery, blooming flowers and emerald green foliage is considered “ugly” in drought-struck Cali. The San Francisco Department of the Environment is holding a contest to see who in the city has the “ugliest yard.” Spokesman Guillermo Rodriguez explained what might qualify for that ignoble distinction: “The ugliest yard really isn’t one that is desolate and full of

weeds and dirt. A yard that wastes a lot of water to maintain—that is ugly.” What’s with all this (water)fighting? The city hopes this gimmick will push at least a few residents into switching to less water-intensive landscaping. It’s awarding the grand-prize winner (as voted on by judges) a free lawn retrofit with drought-tolerant plants. The three runners-up get landscaping consultations and a mound of compost. And everybody who participates will be mailed

a packet of native seeds— “enough to get their yard makeover started!” says the agency. So far dozens have submitted their lawns for the prize, although many didn’t get the memo on what “ugly” is supposed to look like when they sent in photos of cracked concrete, overgrown weeds and drab grass. Hey, you know what they say: beauty is in the eyes of the gardener, I mean, beholder.

$100 in the Air If your bar mitzvah boy just received a $100 bill from his classmate, something’s wrong.

Police in Ohio say a middle school student took $25,000 from his grandfather and later started handing out $100 bills to his classmates. The thirteenyear-old gave away thousands of dollars before school officials got wind of the windfall. So far, authorities have recovered about $7,000. How the teenager swindled the $25K from his 83-year-old grandfather is still a mystery. What’s not a mystery is that lots of the money has already been spent.

Mango for a Million

Monday was a good day for mangoes. A deep pocketed Japanese department store shelled out a jaw dropping 300,000 yen ($2,500) for a pair of mangoes, a record price for the second year in a row. After the hammer fell at an auction in far-southern Miyazaki, the successful bidder airlifted the fruit to its luxury shop in Fukuoka, where they went on sale at a bargain 210,000 yen, according to the Miyazaki Agricultural Economic Federation. What’s so special about this pair of fruit? The mangoes – top-of-the-range “Taiyo no Tamago” (Egg of the Sun)brand – were the first to go for auction this year, an occasion that usually attracts inflated prices. To qualify as a

31 THE JEWISH HOME ď ł

APRIL 16, 2015

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The Week In News “Taiyo no Tamago” mango, each fruit must weigh at least 350 grams (12 oz.) and have a high sugar content. $2,500 seem a little steep for a fruit salad? Fruit is routinely expensive in Japan and it is not unusual for a single apple to cost upwards of $3. In fact, this year’s must-have luxury fruit is a particular brand of strawberry, with a single berry currently selling for around $415. In 2008, a pair of cantaloupes sold for $25,000. I could have told them to buy a few airline tickets for that price and head to Costco.

Spy Notebook Sold for $1M Looking to decipher the Nazi’s unbreakable Enigma code used in World War, British World War II code-breaking genius Alan Turing scribbled complex mathematical and computer science notations in a handwritten notebook. The only extensive Turing manuscript known to exist brought more than $1 million at auction on Monday. The 56-page manuscript sold for

$1,025,000. Turing gained international providence after being the subject of the 2014 film, “The Imitation Game.”

at King’s College in Cambridge in 1977. But he kept the notebook, using its blank pages for writing down his dreams at the request of his psychiatrist. The notebook remained in Gandy’s possession until he died in 1995.

A Wedding for a (Burger) King Turing’s notebook dates from 1942, when he and his team of cryptanalysts were at Britain’s World War II code and cypher school Bletchley Park. In one entry, Turing wrote about a complex calculus notation. “The Leibniz notation I find extremely difficult to understand in spite of it having been the one I understood the best once!” he wrote. “It certainly implies that some relation between x and y has been laid down eg, y=x2+3x.” He died in 1954 of cyanide poisoning. The notebook was among the papers he left in his will to friend and fellow mathematician Robin Gandy, who gave the papers to The Archive Centre

Ashley King and Joel Burger: a match made in fast food heaven. The two met in kindergarten in Illinois but it wasn’t until an assembly in fifth grade—when they were both student council members—that people made a connection about their last names. Someone had announced their names and council roles to the audience, and then another person predicted what would come years later in a simple yet poetic fashion. “He laughed and said, ‘You guys are Burger King,’” King, 23, recalled. “We were just in the fifth grade. I don’t think anybody was thinking about it.” Years later, the pair went on to date and in October Ashley said yes to Joel’s proposal. Certainly they were meant to be together. They published an engagement announcement in their local newspaper the New Berlin Bee with a photo of the pair behind a Burger King sign. “My mom said, ‘You have to have your picture with the Burger King sign and everyone will find it hilarious,’” King said. “We wanted to have fun with it in our paper. It’s been a joke with everyone we knew for the past 18 years.” Another newspaper, The State Journal-Register, picked up their story. And things blew up for the future Mr. and Mrs. Burger King. Now the original Burger King has announced that they will be picking up the tab for Mr. and Mrs. Burger King’s wedding. I don’t know what’s on the menu but the company will provide for personalized yo-yos, drink koozies, Mason jars and Burger King crowns, all in gift bags. It’s gonna be a whopper of a wedding.

“We didn’t really believe it at first. Joel kept asking if it was real or if they were joking. I couldn’t talk. We couldn’t help but laugh, because we were really excited and grateful that they thought to do this for us,” she said. Want to know who sponsored my wedding? Well my maiden name is Trad and my husband’s last name is Ishuns. Go figure.

I Do, I Do, I Do…

Getting married ten times is not a crime, although if you are married to all ten men at once it does pose a problem. A Manhattan woman faces felony charges in the Bronx after marrying 10 different men across an 11-year span — without getting a single divorce from any of her “husbands.” Liana Barrientos, 39, is charged with filing a fraudulent marriage license application and a bogus marriage license, said the Bronx District Attorney’s office. The native of the Dominican Republic was outed as a serial spouse following a probe of her most recent nuptials in March 2010. She swore that her marriage was her first trip down the aisle, but authorities didn’t agree. Apparently Barrientos has no problem saying, “I do”; it’s “I don’t” that she can’t utter. A Bronx detective uncovered nine previous marriage licenses for Barrientos, including a half-dozen issued in the span of six busy months, the court documents filed last November charged. The first license was dated November 5, 1999, to husband Mohamed Gerbril, and the last on August 3, 2002, to groom Kakhaber Khorbaladze — her sixth marriage that year. A man answering the door at Barrientos’ old Grand Concourse apartment said she had moved into a homeless shelter. I’m not surprised that none of her ten husbands invited her into their homes.. 

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APRIL 16, 2015

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APRIL 16, 2015

Around The Community Are You Someone who Dreams of Being a Great Teacher? T.E.A.M. Education, in conjunction with PACE University and The New Seminary, has refocused quality and teacher training in their dual degree Special Education program. Pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) or a Master’s of Education (M.Ed.) will help create better teachers. The presti-

gious Childhood and Special Education program (two degrees in one) through PACE University focuses on how to be a teacher with a heavy emphasis on pedagogy, teaching methods, philosophy of education, and educational technology. How do those students prepare for

their chosen field of education? Where will they get the best training? Can we quantify what makes a teacher great? We all believe that high quality training is essential and outstanding faculty is a must. The Open House at the New Seminary in Brooklyn is where these answers are discussed in depth.

T.E.A.M. Education and The New Seminary also guarantee each student a $13,000 instant tuition scholarship off tuition fees. This makes PACE University’s world class education an affordable option and a fun frum environment. This is where future teachers will learn to excel. What will you learn at the Open House? Potential Special Education students will learn that PACE University is the embodiment of high quality and student support. Students only need to dedicate one evening a week. From theory to practice is the hallmark of the PACE experience. If you have chosen to have a career path in teaching that highlights your skill-sets, idealism and strengths in helping children, isn’t it wise to become trained by the best program out there for the frum community? Employers want only highly trained candidates and those with superior knowledge in this field. Through the New Seminary, students are provided the opportunity to learn from world class instructors and teach in a classroom setting under the supervision of experienced PACE University faculty, while pursuing their degree. Through a graduate career at PACE, students will meet people who are experts in their field that impart wisdom and who can even connect you with exciting opportunities. Students pursuing their Special Education Degree also meet a lot of like-minded students growing as they are. This program is a frum cohort model that stays together until completion. This means that lifelong friends are made, the stress of closed classes is not an issue, and the pressure of university is significantly reduced. Choose to earn an advanced teaching degree and become the best teacher you can be. We are so proud of our graduates who are now making a difference in the classrooms by using the skills and knowledge attained through the PACE Special Education Program. The open house will be held at 7:00pm on Monday, April 27, 2015 at The New Seminary, located at 1492 E 12th street, Brooklyn, NY 11230 (bet. Ave N & O). “An accredited degree from a school like PACE university will propel students into higher salary brackets, enabling them to achieve financial goals previously beyond their reach.”

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The wedding of Chava Gefen, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Kalman Gefen, and Akiva Ratner, son of Mr. & Mrs. Herb Ratner, took place Monday evening, April 13 at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence, NY.

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The past two months have been jampacked at CSI Far Rockaway as our dedicated volunteers prepared for the holidays of Purim and Pesach. CSI: The Community Service Initiative is an after-school chessed program for 7th and 8th grade girls. Every Thursday, this group of energetic, creative student volunteers make its way to the White Shul to give back to the community while forming new friendships, developing new skills, and having a great time! Last month, the Purim spirit was in full swing. The girls assembled beautiful shaloch manos packages to donate to Bikur Cholim; the packages were later delivered to the Bikur Cholim Room at Long Island Jewish Hospital. The Purim celebrations continued the next week, when the girls made their own candy sushi, competed to decorate their teammates with toilet paper, and made their own costume accessories out of duct tape. After Purim, we spent time further developing group unity in our second Teamwork Workshop of the year. This time, the girls got sticky working with marshmallow fluff (while blindfolded!), figuring out how to get their entire team onto a small piece of furniture (don’t worry, we scraped the grass off the chairs), and faced off in a cake-decorating contest! Each girl’s camaraderie and creativity really shone through, and everyone added so much to the team. Special congrats to the winning team for their great job recreating ancient cave art. Recently, we had a discussion about doing chessed at home and the many opportunities for giving that come with Pesach preparations. To get everyone into

the Pesach cleaning and cooking mode, we spent the evening decorating beautiful aprons. Once again, every girl’s creativity was outstanding! Any discussion of CSI is not complete without mentioning the food! This month, the girls were treated to their usual pizza, soda, and snacks. They also had a few extra-special treats—learning how to make their own sushi, drinking freshly-made milkshakes, and, of course, eating lots and lots of candy, marshmallow fluff, and tea biscuits. We’d like to thank everyone who makes this wonderful program possible, specifically Mr. and Mrs. Lisitza for their continued generosity and support. We are also grateful to Zezi and Chaim Liebtag for everything they do to make CSI possible and to generationOn and DisneyNYC for their resources and support. And, of course, a huge shout out to our newest group leader, Hadassah Rubin, who will be joining CSI! Special thanks also to Mr. Altabe and Mr. Klinkowitz of TOVA Mentoring for their assistance in making CSI possible. And, of course, a huge thanks to the CSI girls for being so….AWESOME.

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Around The Community “HAFTR Tattler” Staff Wins Two Awards Bobbie’s Place at Press Day at Adelphi University Our award-winning “Tattler” staff at- of journalism and meet student journaltended the 2015 “Press Day” event held ists from all over Long Island. Students at Adelphi University on attended a break-out sesMarch 25. Mrs. Karen sion on a topic related Wolf, the “HAFTR Tatto journalism, enjoyed tler” advisor, accompaa kosher lunch providnied a group of eleven ed by Adelphi, and then students who representanxiously waited with ed the newspaper staff. the large group to hear Attending the conference the outcome of the Quill were Co-editors-in-chief Awards in a variety of Daniel Maron and Lizcategories, including zie Wallach along with “Best Online Newspaper, Dena Gershkovich, Isaac “ “ Best Online Writing,” Adlerstein, Maia Schlus“Best News Article,” and sel, Alyssa Fuchs, Daniel other awards. We are Neckonoff, Jack Eisenpleased to announce that berg, Jenna Friedman, Daniel Maron, Co-Editor the “Tattler” won “Best Leora Gershkovich, and Online Newspaper-SecShoshana Wallach. ond Place” and Daniel Maron won for The title of this year’s conference “Best Online Writing.” was “Getting the News from Elsewhere.” The “Tattler” staff is energized after Approximately 350 students represent- attending a professional conference and ing 26 public and private schools on came away with new ideas to implement. Long Island attended the event. The staff Please visit www.haftrtattler.com to read members had a wonderful opportunity to current articles on a wide range of topics. hear from a group of panelists in the field

Pesach resonates as a time of family, lively sedarim, Chol Hamoed trips, and for many, new clothes. Unfortunately, there is a large population of Jews that cannot afford many of life’s basic necessities, let alone luxuries. To help ease the burden for some, a group of girls from Shalhevet High School went on an amazing chesed trip to Bobbie’s Place in Brooklyn. Bobbie’s Place is a children’s clothing store that distributes brand new clothing to children for free in honor of the chagim. Started 17 years ago by Mrs. Michal Schick, Bobbie’s Place has expanded from a basement gemach to four store locations and serves over 8,000 children. Mrs. Schick started this store in memory of her husband’s grandmother, whom they called Bobbie. Her mission is to give each child a real shopping experience and provide them with a new, cute, and stylish outfit for the chagim. She hopes that each child whose parents cannot afford a new or nice outfit can “go shopping” and feel like everyone else. The stores have rows of clothing, sales clerks, fitting rooms, and even numbers for the amount of items they are trying

on. Furthermore, the store contains check out registers so that the children do not know their parents are not paying. The Shalhevet students helped organize and stock the racks with new clothes. They hung and sorted the clothes by size and color to provide a clean and fresh look for the “customers” to enjoy. Ninth grader Leah Feder stated, “This place is so cool! I want to volunteer here again!” Ninth grader Hadassah Fertig commented, “It was so amazing that they provide all types of clothing for all ages and sizes, including skirts, shirts, dresses, ties and more!” All of the girls had a great time and were thankful to participate in a very unique tzedaka organization.

HAFTR Hosts Yeshiva League Model Congress HAFTR High School hosted the 25th annual Yeshiva League Model Congress on Wednesday, March 25. Over 200 students from yeshiva high schools in New York and New Jersey participated in the day’s events. Presiding were co-presidents Jonathan Greenberg, Renee Frenkel, Joshua Lederer and Yonina Keschner. We were fortunate enough to have the Honorable Ronald Goldman, administrator of the Village of Lawrence, serve as the keynote speaker for the program. Model Congress is a simulation of

The HAFTR delegation

a congressional conference where students are placed in various congressional committees. This allows the students to experience American government firsthand. Students prepare and debate bills pertaining to important issues facing our nation today. This year students debated bills in the following committees: Appropriations, Armed Services, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Environment and Public Works, Ethics, Foreign Relations, Homeland Security, Intelligence, Judiciary, Science and

Technology, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Ways and Means. There was even a Crisis Committee that dealt with newly emerging crises. HAFTR seniors took on the role of chairpeople of the committees, while the students of close to a dozen schools involved themselves in heated debates over the important issues. This enabled them to gain knowledge of our political process. Congratulations to freshman Chloe Gottlieb on her Best Delegate win. Senior Chairs Julia Katz, Ariana Mestel and Ruthie Hoffman, with a delegate from another school

Hon. Ronald Goldman addressing the crowd

Around The Community

tance of remembering the tragedies that befell our people throughout the generations. “The mitzvah of Zachor is an ongoing, year-round mitzvah and as such when we have the opportunity

#soooooogood

There are many questions and very few answers. We just need to know that the Ribbono Shel Olam runs the world.” Mr. Mitgang was one of the first

Mr. Levkovich addresses the talmidim

prisoners in Auschwitz. He was forced to work on the construction of the camp along with some non-Jewish, Polish inmates. To differentiate the groups, the Nazis included a triangle (partial Magen David) to the number tattooed on his forearm. He too spoke about the

unimaginable horrors that he endured. When he spoke about the miracle that is the State of Israel, he spontaneously asked the boys to rise and he led them in a moving and beautiful rendition of Hatikvah. He mentioned that when he was in Auschwitz he did not have a siddur but was able to say everything by heart including the Yom Kippur davening. Both survivors participated in a question and answer period which covered a wide range of Holocaust-related topics such as: Oscar Schindler, liberation, anti-Semitism and accepting German reparations. At the conclusion of the program, Mr. Mitgang again asked the talmidim to rise as he recited the Kel Moleh memorial prayer dedicated to the memory of those who perished during the Shoah. Afterwards, the boys crowded around the speakers expressing gratitude and appreciation for their willingness to share their experiences and perspectives on one of the darkest periods of Jewish history.

APRIL 16, 2015

Mr. Mitgang displays his number from Auschwitz

to hear from Holocaust survivors we should do so, whenever possible,” said Rabbi Friedman. He noted that according to Rav Soloveitchik, zt”l, every calamity is part of our “Galus experience” and is an outgrowth of Tisha B’Av. Talmidim were shown a gripping video of the liberation of Auschwitz to convey a glimpse of the horrific conditions suffered by the kedoshim and those who survived. Mr. Levkovich told the boys about what he endured when he was their age...a teenager in Poland. He said he could not tell the whole story because “no one could believe that brutality could take place.” He miraculously survived forced labor camps, concentration camps and the Death March towards the end of the war. During the question and answer period, Mr. Levkovich was asked what he attributes his survival to. He responded, “I survived because of my faith in Hashem, it gave me something to live for.

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In what was described as one of the most meaningful assemblies this year, talmidim of Rambam Mesivta sat riveted for close to two hours as they heard from two inspiring Holocaust survivors, Mr. Sol Mitgang, 95, and Mr. Yosef Levkovich, 88. The program began with an overview of Yom HaShoah and the impor-

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Yom HaShoah Commemoration at Rambam

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APRIL 16, 2015

Around The Community RNSP Hosts Community-Wide Symposium on Counterterrorism & Safety Awareness In coordination with the NYPD (Queens Borough South Command and Intelligence Bureau), the Rockaway Nassau Safety Patrol (RNSP) held a community-wide pre-Pesach public safety briefing and Counterterrorism Symposium on Thursday evening, March 26, in TAG Elementary School. The event was designed as a proactive measure to educate the public on identifying the real threats of terrorism and reporting any suspicious activity to the authorities. The event was encouraged and championed by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, New York State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder, Councilman Donovan Richards, Achiezer President Rabbi Boruch Ber Bender, JCCRP Executive Director Nathan Krasnovsky, Hatzalah and Chaverim. Numerous dignitaries and representatives of the NYPD were in attendance including 101st Precinct Executive Officer Captain Vincent Tavalaro, 100th Precinct Commanding Officer Captain S. Craig Adelman, the Queens South Crime Prevention Team, Office of Emergency Management Assistant Commissioner Ira Tennenbaum, 101st Precinct Community Affairs’ Policer Officers Maurice Ropper and Kevin Campbell, 101st Community Council President Denine Ferguson, and community leader and 101st Precinct Community Liaison Yoni Dembitzer. Rabbi Yaakov Feitman graciously agreed to give over divrei bracha to the crowd of over 80 people, emphasizing the importance of community work and thanking all those involved in protecting our community, particularly praising our

exemplary police force. The speakers followed in succession and spoke eloquently and poignantly about the work of the RNSP and the symbiotic cooperation with the men in blue of the 101st Precinct, who work tirelessly in keeping our community safe. The RNSP warmly welcomed the new 101st Precinct Commanding Officer, Justin C. Lenz, and wished him much success in his new command. Executive Officer Captain Tavalaro addressed the audience and discussed select measures undertaken for the safety of our community during the Passover holiday. He also advised parents to be extra vigilant in light of the recent attempted abduction of two young children in Bayswater. The keynote address was delivered by Detective Derek Siconolfi and Analyst Jake Wells of the NYPD Intelligence Bureau. Topics addressed included threat and hazard awareness, planning for and avoiding a disaster, and reacting to an emergency situation. The presenters described the counter-terrorism work and intelligence gathering that takes place locally and abroad. Through a dynamic combination of slideshow and video

clips, the presenters also noted how that information is disseminated and analyzed in order to protect the various communities in and around New York City. Those in attendance walked away with a greater sense of awareness of the various signs and mannerisms of terrorists and a detailed analysis of red flags. The RNSP wrapped up the evening with a counterterrorism presentation of their own, specifically catered to our community, with milestones to reach and action items to take. The RNSP announced the launch of an initiative to protect our institutions including our shuls, schools, transportations and

events. More details to follow on this initiative in the coming weeks. The RNSP reminded all in the audience that it will hold its second annual appreciation fundraising event on May 14, 2015 at Moshe Wolfson’s house. Numerous members of the NYPD will be present to honor some of their own. Finally, the RNSP thanked Chief David Barrere of Queens Borough South, Detective Adam Berish of the Commissioner’s office, and all the RNSP volunteers and their spouses without whom this informative symposium would not have happened.

The Liberty Bell and the Human Heart: Shulamith Tours Philadelphia

The seventh graders of Shulamith Middle Division traveled to Philadelphia on Thursday, March 26 for a day of touring in The City of Brotherly Love. Bustling with excitement, the girls boarded the buses at 7 a.m. to begin their journey. The bus ride was blessedly uneventful, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the first stop of their whirlwind tour:

the Franklin Institute. From the human heart, to the brain, to principles of gravity, the girls had the opportunity to learn about science in a whole new way. They also enjoyed socializing during lunch in the cafeteria and then watched an IMAX movie about sharks. In addition to the Franklin Institute, the girls visited the famed Liberty

Bell and Independence Hall, the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States. Our tour guide, Mrs. Sheila Schwebel of Tourrific Travel, also arranged for us to visit the Mikveh Israel Synagogue, the oldest continually used synagogue in the United States. We were privileged to be addressed by the rav of

the shul, Rabbi Gabbai, who shared both historic details and divrei Torah with us. The tour ended with a delicious dinner of pizza and French fries, and a chance to visit the gift shops in the Bourse. Our thanks to the chaperones: Mrs. Billet, Mrs. Steiner, and Morah Tali Sasson, and parents of our students, Mrs. Eichler and Mrs. Kramer.

Around The Community

49 THE JEWISH HOME 

APRIL 16, 2015 PHOTO CREDIT: IRA THOMAS CREATIONS

Enjoy the pictures of the fourth grade HALB boys at their first Mishna Siyum on Sunday, March 29! The students celebrated, along with their Rebbeim, parents and grandparents, with singing led by our music teacher, Mr. Sandy Shmuely. Each student wrote a book of divrie Torah in honor of the occasion, and presented a dvar Torah based on the Mishna. The tables were beautifully decorated with artwork created by the students and based on the themes of the Mishna. Everybody walked away from the simcha with a great amount of nachas!

Over 250 Participants Gain Chizuk and Perspective We all heard the news. As individuals we grieve, as a nation we are traumatized. A family. 7 children. An indescribable tragedy. How do they go on? How do we react? What lessons are we supposed to learn? There was an overwhelming response of people looking for chizuk as 750 people registered and over 250 people joined a live webinar by Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier of the Shmuz on March 31. The webinar focused on the tragedy in Brooklyn and gave the participants an opportunity to directly address, ask questions and bring up their concerns. Rabbi Shafier began the Webinar with a poll asking three questions: Did you know the Sassoon family personally? Did your children go to school with any of the children who perished? Do you feel that this event touched you? The findings were striking. Of the hundreds of people who were on the Live Webinar, 95% didn’t know the Sassoons personally. 99% didn’t have children in school with the children who perished. Yet over 75% of the attendees said that this event touched them deeply or profoundly. We read about these types of events all the time. In fact, in the course of a single year there are hundreds of such tragedies

that occur. Yet those don’t move us. Why? Because they happen to others. But this situation was different, it happened to one of ours. And while this doesn’t take away from the tragedy of the situation, it does point out our unity. We are one people. When an Italian airliner goes down, you don’t

hear about groups across the world gathering for solace. When a fire breaks out in California, there are no vigils held in N. Carolina. We are one people. And when something like happens, it affects us. It affects all of us because we are one. The Shmuz is a Torah lecture that offers a worldview on major life issues

ranging from working on our middos to learning to be a better spouse, from understanding the meaning of our davening to what is our purpose is in this world. Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier has been delivering these lectures across America and beyond for a decade.

YO U A R E I N V I T E D TO A

CO O K I N G C L AS S NE TO B E

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FIT

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CHM A N I M N AO

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MLWD ESIG N.CO M

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APRIL 16, 2015

Sale Dates: April 19th - 25th 2015

THE JEWISH HOME

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Weekly Kellogg’s 12 oz Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes; 10 oz Frosted Flakes; 11 oz Krave; 18 oz Raisin Bran or Raisin Bran Crunch

49 . . .2 ................................................... $

Ronzoni Pasta

Spaghetti, Elbows, Ziti, Rotini, Rigatoni, Ziti Rigati - 16 oz

¢ 89 ...................................................... Poland Spring Sports Cap Water

12 Pack - 23.5 oz $ 99 ......................................................

Crystal Geyser Water

Green Giant Whole Kernal or Creamed Style Corn 15 oz

3/$

Bush Vegetarian Baked Beans 16 oz

2/$

.................................................

12 Pack

6 Pack

Eight O’Clock K-Cups

Mondo Drinks

99¢

.................................................

699

Mott’s Applesauce or Fruit Cups 6 Pack

2/$

.................................................

Hunt’s BBQ Sauce Assorted - 18 oz

Hunt’s Tomato Paste 6 oz

4/$

All Varieties - 9 oz - 15 oz

Tropicana Orange Juice All Varieties - 59 oz

2/$

......................................................

Yo Baby Yogurt All Flavors - 6 Pack

Elmhurst Dairies Milk Assorted 64 oz

$ 99 .......................................

Ba-tampte Pickles

399

......................................................

Reddi Wip Topping

32 oz

299

2/$

Nabisco Chips Ahoy Cookies

2/$

Breakstone Whipped Butter

Except Organic - 8 oz

...........................................................

Super Pretzel

Assorted - 12 oz/13 oz

...........................................................

Of Tov Chicken Nuggets 32 oz

15 oz

6 oz

12 oz

449 $749

Nature Valley or Fiber One Bars

Pepsi, Sierra Mist, Mug, Mountain Dew, Crush, Schweppes

2/$

.................................................

Skinny Pop Popcorn 6 Pack

399

Ha’olam Margarine 16 oz

Lieber’s Corn or Rice Thins 2.9 oz/3.1 oz

99¢

Axelrod Sour Cream Assorted - 16 oz

.......................................

Except Pizza 8 oz

Except Reduced Fat 12 oz

Miller’s Shredded Cheese

Kineret Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Ha’olam American Cheese

Haagen Dazs Ice Cream All Flavors - 14 oz

Assorted - 20 oz - 32 oz

30 oz

Assorted - 10 oz

Yoni’s Cheese Ravioli Golden Pancakes

699

14 oz

2/$

.......................................

Sabra Dips & Spreads

.......................................

99¢

.................................................

.......................................

2/$

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2/$

12 oz

299

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.................................................

.......................................

Original Only - 36 oz

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2/$

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Mendessohn’s Pizza

3/$

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2/$

6.5 oz

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2 Liter

All Varieties 13 oz

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Hunt’s Tomatoes

All Varieties 5.34 oz/8.9 oz

.................................................

2/$

12 oz

Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard

9 oz

.................................................

2/$

.................................................

¢ 69 ...................................................... Yellow, Spanish, Pilaf - 5 oz

799

.................................................

Oneg or Bloom’s Chocolate Chips

99¢

Wolff’s Kasha

.................................................

1.5 Liter

Carolina Rice Mixes

Hellmann’s Dijonnaise Dunkin Donuts Ground 9.5 oz Coffee All Flavors $ 99 11 oz/12 oz

$ 99

1099

Bodek Cauliflower Florets 24 oz

599

.......................................

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299

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find it in the produce aisle

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lb.

Family Pack

CHICKEN BREAST WITH WING

lb.

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General Mills Cereals

Cheerios, Cookie Crisp, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs, Trix, Wheaties, Golden Grahams 10.7 oz/13 oz

4/$

......................................................

Wesson Oil

Canola, Corn, Vegetable - 48 oz

2/$

...................................................... Hecker’s Flour 5 lb

$ 49 Back Yard Stem Tomatoes

Yukon Potatoes 5 lb Bag

299 ea.

199 lb.

Golden Delicious Apples

99¢ lb.

..........................

Italian Kiwi

4/$

Bosc Pears

2/$

Andy Boy Romaine 2/$ Hearts

Red Potatoes

..........................

Florida Kirbies

Idaho 2/$ Potatoes

Persian $ 59 Cucumber 1 lb.

..........................

79¢ lb.

99¢ lb. Bunch Radish

69¢ lb.

5 lb Bag

..........................

Assorted - 6 oz

149 lb.

...................................................... Yo Crunch Yogurt

String Beans

Vidalia 19 Onions

2/$

79¢ lb.

Spaghetti Squash

79¢ lb.

Swedish Meatballs

699lb. $ 99 7 lb.

Persian Vegetable Salad

Skinless Southern Fried Chicken

Vegetable Lo Mein

4 $ 99 5 lb.

99 lb.

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699ea.

799 $ 99 3 $

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2 lb Container

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99 ea.

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order your shabbos platters early! Cucumber Roll

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450

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1999 $ 1999

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order@gourmetglatt.com

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makes a great gift!

Table Arrangements

............................

Giant Vegetable Roll $ 95

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550

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595

............................

all our cabbage is greenhouse grown!

Small White Bread $ 49 ea.

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1499& Up $ 3499& Up $

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low fat!

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299ea. $ 49 3 ea. $ 99 5 ea. $ 99 4 ea. $

At the Counter

599lb. $ 49 6 lb. $

We reserve the right to limit quantities. No rain checks. Not responsible for typographical errors.

APRIL 16, 2015

BONELESS FILLET STEAK

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Around The Community

APRIL 16, 2015

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Celebrating Success at Gesher

THE JEWISH HOME

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In just two weeks the Gesher Early Childhood Center will be celebrating its third successful year of educating children in our community. Each spring, Gesher’s annual event showcases the growth and success of the Gesher program. This year’s event will emphasize the many milestones that were realized in the past several months. Some of the more significant accomplishments include the move to a larger facility to accommodate the current and expected student body, the development of additional programming to better serve the community, and the enhanced teaming with local Yeshivas and school districts. Mrs. Chava Bodner, Founder and Director of Gesher, recently reflected on meeting those goals. “When we started Gesher we first contacted many of the principals and directors of our local yeshiva day schools. They were very encouraging as they clearly saw a need for a transition program in our neighborhood. Recently several of the principals relayed to us that overwhelmingly the yeshivas are extremely impressed by the product that we have created. That is especially rewarding.” More rewarding, however, is the satisfaction of the parents and the extended families of the students in Gesher. The children are happy and successful, and feel very secure in the warm, individualized atmosphere that Gesher creates. Mrs. Nicole Appleman is the grandmother of a current Gesher student. Before enrolling in Gesher, her grandson had been attending a school that provided for his educational needs but was incapable of creating the appropriate social emotional arena. Gesher has been a great environment for him, fully supporting him educationally and emotionally. Mrs. Appleman was so grateful to Gesher and looked to see if she could help Gesher in some way. In appreciation she and her husband, Rabbi Sol Appleman, have offered to host this year’s event. Similarly, many parent have stepped forward to express their gratitude. This year’s parent committee consists of parents of current students as well as parents of former students who have flourished

through the Gesher model. Building on Success is the theme of this year’s event. It reflects the plan that Gesher creates for each child. It also re-

flects the approach that the administration and staff utilize in preparing new initiatives to further service the community. Rabbi and Mrs. Appleman welcome the community to join them at their home, 133 Woodmere Blvd South, on Wednesday evening April 29 at 8:00 pm in support of the Gesher Early Childhood Center. For more information, Gesher can be reached at 516-730-7377 or at www. Gesher-ECC.org.

Read Rocky’s Rant on Pesachdik Bagels See page 58

55 THE JEWISH HOME 

APRIL 16, 2015

You Gotta be

Riddle!

Kidding!

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APRIL 16, 2015

56 78

(Note: According to legend, this was Lincoln’s favorite riddle) If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have? Answer on next page

Lincoln-Kennedy Link LINCOLN:

KENNEDY:

Jimbo walks into the police station looking for a job. The officer wants to ask him a few questions. Officer: What’s 2+2? Jimbo: Ummmmm...4! Officer: What’s the square root of 100? Jimbo: Ummmm...10! Officer: Good! Now, who killed Abraham Lincoln? Jimbo: Ummmm...I dunno. Officer: Well, you can go home and think about it. Come back tomorrow. Jimbo goes home and calls up one of his friends who asks him if he got the job. Jimbo answers, “Not only did I get the job, I’m already working on a murder case!”

Lincoln was elected to Congress Kennedy was elected to in 1846 Congress in 1946 He was elected president in 1860

He was elected president in 1960

His wife lost a child while living in the White House

Well Said Mr. Lincoln The best of Abraham Lincoln’s wit and wisdom ❝ No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar. ❞

He was directly concerned with Civil Rights

❝ Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. ❞

Lincoln was shot in the back of the head in the presence of his wife

Kennedy was shot in the back of the head in the presence of his wife

❝ Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. ❞

Lincoln was shot in the Ford Theatre

Kennedy was shot in a Lincoln, made by Ford

He was shot on a Friday

The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was known by three names, comprised of fifteen letters

The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was known by three names, comprised of fifteen letters

Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse

Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theater

Booth was killed before being brought to trial

Oswald was killed before being brought to trial

There were theories that There were theories that Booth Oswald was part of a greater was part of a greater conspiracy conspiracy Lincoln’s successor was Andrew Johnson, born in 1808

Kennedy’s successor was Lyndon Johnson, born in 1908

❝ Whatever you are, be a good one. ❞ ❝ If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee. ❞ ❝ My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. ❞ ❝ It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues. ❞ ❝ I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be. ❞ ❝ Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. ❞ ❝ When I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend onethird of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say and two-thirds about him and what he is going to say. ❞ ❝ If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? ❞ ❝ Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the L-rd makes so many of them. ❞

57 79 THE JEWISH HOME

Honest Abe Trivia

3. Which of the following is true about Lincoln? a. He was the first president with a beard. b. Lincoln invented a device to free steamboats that ran aground and patented it, making him the only president to have a patent. c. He kept important documents in his hat. d. He battled depression for much of his life. e. All of the above 4. John Wilkes Booth’s brother, Edwin, was also a famous actor. What interaction did he have with the Lincoln family before his brother killed the president? a. He saved the president’s son, Robert, from falling off of a moving train one year before Lincoln was assassinated b. He was the official White House entertainment advisor c. He was married to Lincoln’s cousin d. He gave drama lessons to the Lincoln children 5. What federal agency did Lincoln establish on April 14, 1865, the day he was shot? a. Internal Revenue Service b. Secret Service c. Environmental Protection Agency d. Department of Energy 6. How many elections did Lincoln lose

Answers: 1. A- Booth was a wellknown actor. In fact, Lincoln watched Booth perform in numerous plays, including one called “The Marble Heart” at Ford’s Theater on November 9, 1863. According to the book, Lincoln’s Sanctuary: Abraham Lincoln And The Soldiers’ Home, Lincoln enjoyed Booth’s performance so much he sent a note backstage inviting him to the White House so they could meet. Booth, a rebel sympathizer and Confederate spy, evaded the president’s invitation. 2. B-Although it was initially unclear what he said, the consensus is that he shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis!” This is a Latin phrase that means “thus always to tyrants.” He is also said to have shouted, “The South is avenged!” in English. Booth managed to make his way to an alley in back of the theater where a horse was waiting for him and made his escape. 3. E 4. A- Edwin Booth saved the life of Lincoln’s eldest son, Robert Lincoln, one year before Lincoln’s assassination. It happened when Robert and Edwin Booth happened to board a train at the same station and Robert lost his footing once the train started moving. According to Robert Lincoln, Edwin Booth grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back to his feet. Robert Todd Lincoln recognized the famous actor and thanked him for his efforts. He also wrote and spoke about the incident on several occasions be-

fore his father’s assassination. 5. B- Although it sounds ridiculously ironic that the Lincoln created the Secret Service on the day he was assassinated, the truth is that at that time the Secret Service’s mission was solely to investigate crimes related to the Treasury, such as counterfeiting. Shortly after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901, the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for protection of the president. 6. E-Lincoln lost his first race for the Illinois General Assembly in 1832. He had gone o n to lose a race for the U.S. Congress, two races for the U.S. Senate, and one campaign for a vice-presidential nomination.

APRIL 16, 2015

2. After shooting Lincoln, Booth jumped from the Presidential Box onto the stage and shouted something. What was it? a. The war shall continue! b. Sic semper tyrannis! c. Revenge of the South! d. The devil has departed!

before becoming president? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 5

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1. What did Lincoln’s killer, John Wilkes Booth, do for a living? a. He was an actor b. He was a senator c. He was a general in the Confederate army d. He ran a gun range

Wisdom Key: 5- 6 correct: Four score and seven years from now they will still be talking about your immense knowledge of Lincoln. 3-4 correct: You are right in the middle— you probably would have stayed out of the Civil War. 0-2 correct: Who do you consider to have been the 16th president? Jefferson Davis? (Never mind, that probably went right over your head…go back to your video games. You know, if Lincoln’s log cabin only had Playstation maybe he would have made something of his life.)

G OT FU N N Y?

Comm Let the ission er dec Send

your s t

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o fivetow centerfold@ nsjewis hhome. com

ANSWER TO RIDDLE: Four, because calling a tail a leg doesn’t mean it is one.

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APRIL 16, 2015

The Rocky Rant

Rocky Zweig

Exodus 2015 Truth

be told, I’m not really much of a curmudgeon; I just play one on TV. My sister is always amazed that I’ll eat pretty much anything she puts in front of me. Give me a bed and a pillow and a roof over my head and I’m usually pretty happy. But there are some things that genuinely annoy me. One is being chased by Neanderthal pizza delivery boys. But wanna know one of my biggest pet peeves? Kosher imitation shrimp/crab/lobster meat. Ever read the ingredients of that stuff? It’s mostly pollock, a cheap fish often used as an ingredient in gefilte fish. Then they add some orange food coloring and some other junk and shmush it all together, bend it into shape, and voilà: Sau-sea Shrimp Cocktail! Okay, maybe not Sau-Sea; maybe Sau-Sealowitz, but you get the idea. (And by the way, you should all be very proud of me, because there are literally dozens of fish puns that I could insert here, but I’m not. In fact, I’m not even going to use one, just for the halibut.) Know what I think? I think the whole concept is disgusting. I could go the rest of my life without ever eating anything that even remotely resembles a crustacean and die happy. Is there anyone out there who can genuinely argue the fact that a lobster is nothing more than a giant sea bug? A huge underwater cockroach, complete with exoskeleton and antennae? Why would anyone ever want to eat that, let alone something that purported to imitate it? If I ever inadvertently walked into a Red Lobster franchise, I’d probably go running for the exit, zip on over to the nearest Walgreen’s, and buy a can of Raid! Other than a few occasions when I’ve been forced to eat crow, I’ve always been pretty cool with most of what the Ribbono Shel Olam told us we can and cannot consume (except kasha; that should definitely be on the list of no-nos!). Why do we insist on adding stuff? You may be wondering where I’m leading with all this. Okay, here’s where I’m leading with all this: Pesachdike Pancakes. Pesachdike Waffles. Pesachdike Pizza. Pesachdike BAGELS. I gotta repeat that last one, because I still don’t believe it: Pesachdike BAGELS. No one in his right mind would ever call me a ch’nyuck. Truth is, I’ve never met a kuloh I didn’t like. But personally? I think whoever came up with Pesachdike Bagels should be taken out and shot. Now, now, don’t get all hutchky-putchky on me, and Shoshana, don’t you dare edit that, because obviously I don’t seriously mean he should be shot. I think. Of course not. But he does need to be, um, reeducated. You know, like in the old Soviet Union. Or the new United States. Somebody has to remind the guy what Pesach is all about and why we eat…KULO MATZOH…HELLO?? Let’s call our mad food scientist Mr. Bagel. Hey, Mr. Bagel, here’s a test: Would you serve them at your seder? No? Then they should not exist, guy!

My grandson Avi eating pastrami on something decidely-not-matzoh, somewhere in New Jersey on Chol HaMoed

Don’t you get it, Mr. Bagel? It has ZERO to do with halacha and everything to do with mesorah. I can’t help but remember my shverr, Mr. Mendel Kirsch z”l of the Lower East Side (previously of Reishah, Galitzia), standing at my kitchen window reibbing the horseradish by hand for the marror for the sedorim with the tears running down his face and how he was absolutely nispoel the year we went out

Somebody has to remind the guy what Pesach is all about and why we eat…KULO MATZOH…HELLO?? and bought a La Machine and accomplished in seconds what had previously taken him perhaps an hour, and a very uncomfortable hour at that. Who does that anymore? Whatever became of those Yidden? What would they think of Pesachdike bagels? When I first got married, my wife and I argued about whether we should use ketchup on Yom Tov. It was still a pretty new-fangled concept. When we

wanted soda, we mixed raspberry syrup with seltzer. Orange juice? My father-in-law squeezed it fresh for the kids every morning. Pizza? Pasta? Pancakes? Bist du in gantzen meshuga?? But the insanely misguided new products that have unfortunately been evolving over the past few years are only the tip of the iceberg of this Brave New Pesachdike World. A few months ago my daughter Feige told me about a conversation she overheard at Lucille Roberts, presumably between Zoomba and Palango. The question was not “Are you going away for Yom Tov?” The question was, “Where are you going for Yom Tov?” Now, I have to believe there must have been some young women there who couldn’t afford to be going anywhere. How do you think they must have felt? Wherever I went this Chol HaMoed, there were parking spots. I kept waiting for tumbleweeds to go rolling down Coney Island Avenue. Where was everybody? It was positively eerie. You could have gone bowling down the aisles of Pomegranate! I’ve lived in Flatbush a long time. I have never seen it this empty. And I mean never. Not Succos. Not Pesach. Not even during the summer. What was it about this year that had everybody heading out of Dodge?

Two

very interesting, albeit extremely bizarre letters appeared in another Jewish publication over the past month or so. I’d like to quote them here in their entirety: “Waste of Money” (appeared March 4th, the Pre-Purim issue): One of the biggest joy’s (sic) in my life is giving tzedakah. I love writing out big checks to help people less fortunate then (sic) me — around Purim time I usually cut checks in the vicinity of $30,000 - $35,000. What troubles me is that I haven’t done enough. You see, in a few short weeks our entire family will be flying off to a super luxury Pesach getaway in an über fancy 6 star hotel. The same Pesach extravaganza cost me last year $89,500 for our family of 16. I would much rather give the bulk of that money to needy families and stay home. I am guilt ridden beyond words at this yearly inordinate and excessive indulgence. Unfortunately, my family has come to expect this yearly excursion and I am not even sure if they would know how to make Pesach should we decide to stay home one year!! I know that most [OJP — Other Jewish Publication] readers will agree with me — staying home is the way to go. (He actually signed his name, but I won’t write it here)

and while I’m at it, Mr. First Letter Writer: nobody cares how many checks you “cut in the vicinity of around Purim time.” Nobody cares how much you spend on your “über fancy luxury Pesach getaway.” Nobody even cares that you know how to make an umlaut on your keyboard. Have a little class, why dontcha? Okay, so here’s my bottom line: I have been away for Yom Tov on a few occasions. I’ve found that it just ain’t my cup of tea. For me, there’s no way to duplicate the ambience or heimishkeit of a seder at home, even if you have a private dining room at the hotel. It simply isn’t the same. That said, I get it. I understand the allure of locking up your house, picking up and landing someplace where you don’t have to lift a finger. I just think it might not be the message we want to be sending our kids. Maybe they need to see their parents cleaning and shopping and joyfully taking part in the preparation of Yom Tov, rather than just showing up where everything is already a fait accompli. We have been opening our doors to Eliyahu

Rocky Zweig has been writing since he was sixteen and was the Editor-in-Chief of the late and decidedly unlamented Modieinu, the mimeographed (remember mimeographs?) newspaper of the Tenth Avenue Pirchei of Boro Park, where he wrote everything from stories to news articles to hashkafa articles to...yes (now it can be told!)...letters to the editor. Rocky was sixteen a very long time ago. He is the proud father of three marginally neurotic children. He has been married three — count ‘em — three times and has finally determined that he’s probably not very good at matrimonial bliss. He lives in his Fortress of Solitude in Flatbush with a small menagerie: Clarice, a European Starling; Rabbi Horatio LeZard, a Bearded Dragon; an aquarium filled with Lake Malawi African Cichlids; and a ten gallon tank that functions as a Home for Unwanted Goldfish, or H.U.G., collected over the years by his grandkids and great nieces and nephews at myriad street fairs and carnivals (rather than face the unpleasant task of flushing these unfortunate piscine creatures when they are eventually, inevitably ignored by their own obnoxious progeny, the parents simply call Uncle Rocky who then feeds them and cares for them until their ultimate natural demise three or four or even ten years down the pike). So apparently Rocky seems to get along better with animals than with his fellow homo sapiens. Or sapienses. Or whatever. Rocky’s column will be appearing every other week in The Jewish Home.

APRIL 16, 2015

Oh,

Hanavi during our sedorim for millennia; why do we suddenly expect him to need a GPS to find us?

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Oookay. Am I missing something? Am I not sensitive enough to be able to empathize with these poor, unfortunate souls? Let me see if I understand their respective plights correctly: they are downtrodden and broken-hearted because some unknown, unseen, unexplained evil force is coercing them into leaving hearth and home to spend z’man cheiruseinu being waited on hand and foot while lounging poolside in

their monogrammed silk smoking jackets? Do I have it about right? Well, OMIGOSH! How can they possibly survive such an ordeal? What if gee, I don’t know, one of their wives stumbles getting up from her chaise lounge and breaks a nail? What if one of their adorable rugrats drops her iPad into the aforementioned pool while playing Toca Hair Salon and munching on a pig-in-a-blanket? How can one family possibly live through such nesyonos? Know what might be a good idea? Ready? Here’s a really novel concept: instead of bemoaning your fate, STAY HOME!

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“Sad About Pesach” (appeared in the April 2 , Pre-Pesach issue): As I drive down Avenue J, Avenue M, Coney Island Avenue, and I see the bustle of people shopping for Pesach, I am left with a sinking and empty feeling. As I drive around Flatbush and I see people busy cleaning their cars and shlepping bags of garbage out of their homes in anticipation of the imminent arrival of Pesach, I am left with a nagging feeling. As I go to my sibling’s [sic] homes prior to Pesach to wish them a good Yom Tov and I smell the sweet aroma of the special Pesach dishes, I am left with a sad and depressed feeling. You see, in our home we don’t do much prior to Pesach besides for packing a few suitcases. On Wednesday morning a car will pick us up and whisk us to JFK and off we go to a fully catered vacation where our every whim will be met and satisfied in the most luxurious manner possible. But alas, the grass is not always greener on the other side and I only wish that we could experience Pesach at home together with our special Flatbush friends and neighbors!! Chag Someach to all — we will miss you!! (He signs his name, too) nd

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APRIL 16, 2015

Op-Ed

Isaac Blachor and Dr. Francine Stein

The 37th World Zionist Congress

A Wake Up Call to all Orthodox Communities

The

37th World Zionist Congress (WZC) will take place, iy”H, in October

2015 in Israel. We call upon the entire Orthodox community to organize, register and vote for the Vote Torah slate. The voting period ends as of April 30, 2015, and we need to register and vote prior to that deadline. First the facts: 525 delegates representing Jewish communities from around the world will assemble at the Congress, the parliament of the Jewish people. 145 of the delegates will come from the United States. These delegates and their alternates will be elected and the ongoing election period will continue until the end of April 2015. The WZC will, in turn, elect the leadership and determine policies for the World Zionist Organization (WZO), the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) through the election of 50% of the JAFI Board of Governors and 50% of the JAFI General Assembly, the Keren Hayesod (KH) and the election of the General Assembly and leadership of the Keren Kayemet L’Yisroel (KKL). Through its control of these agencies, it will have a major impact on the more than one billion dollars of funding that these agencies are able to allocate. The allocations will be proportionate to the strength of the various Zionist factions that are present at the WZC. All told, there are 11 slates competing for votes in the United States and the Orthodox community is represented by the Religious Zionist slate, whose position as slate # 10 on the ballot was determined by a lottery. This slate is running under the banner of Vote Torah. This slate is headed by Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University. The slate includes local community leaders from Orthodox institutions and communities throughout the United States. On Long Island, the slate includes, among other leaders, Rabbi Hershel Billet, Rabbi Kenneth Hain and Lawrence Mayor Martin Oliner. In New Jersey, the slate includes, among other leaders, Rabbi Shmuel Goldin and Rabbi Shlomo Rybak and in Westchester County, Amit National President Deborah Isaac. In New York City, the slate includes Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, YU President Richard Joel, RZA President Rabbi Yosef Blau, OU leaders Rabbi Steven Weil and Allen Fagin, Touro College President Dr. Alan Kadish and YU Vice President Rabbi Kenneth Brander. In the Chicago region, the slate includes Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, RCA President Rabbi Leonard Matanky, Rabbi Jerold Isenberg and past RZA president, Bert Kahn. There are Orthodox leaders from the West Coast, including OU President Martin Nachimson on the slate. This is a national slate which is supported by the RZA, Amit, Emunah, YU, Touro, the National

Council of Young Israel, the Orthodox Union, RCA, Bnei Akiva and the Torah MiTzion Kollelim. Each of these organizations has representatives on the official slate. Furthermore, in full compliance with the rules of the WZO, 25% of the delegates are “Youth Delegates” between the ages of 18 and 30. They are among the finest examples of the vibrancy of Orthodoxy and they all deserve our full support.

The Reform and Conservative movements have tried for years to gain control of this key department.

So,

what are the allocations and why should our communities be con-

cerned? The reasons are many. Here are just a few. There is a Department of Religious Affairs for the Diaspora, funded through the WZO budget. It

supplies Torah-based educational materials, without cost, to yeshivas and day schools. In our local Long Island communities, that has been of benefit to HANC, HAFTR, SKA, Rambam, TAG and South Shore, as well as to other educational institutions in our community. In the New Jersey region, the list of schools that benefit includes Moriah, Yavneh, Noam, Ben Porat Yosef, Frisch, TABC and Maayanot. The current leadership of the department is its chair,

Rabbi Yechiel Wasserman, and its Director General, both of whom come from the Religious Zionist faction and were appointed to their positions by the Religious Zionist faction at a prior Congress. The Reform and Conservative movements have tried for years to gain control of this key department. They would like to impose their own form of educational materials and literature for distribution to our yeshivot and day schools and only our continued strength at the Congress can help prevent that from happening. Orthodox communities throughout the United States benefit from schlichim (emissaries) sent by the WZO and JAFI to help local Jewish communities, especially the smaller Jewish communities. Schlichim give shiurim, serve as role models and are often the glue that helps build up these smaller communities. Religious schlichim and their families are recruited and trained by the WZO and JAFI, and in order to sustain this program, we must turn out and support the Vote Torah slate, which is the only slate committed to maintaining the strength and numbers of these religious schlichim. The WZO is the agency that allocates the funds that support Jewish communities in Israel. The Vote Torah slate is the only slate committed to maintaining that support for all Jewish communities, including those established across the 1967 ceasefire lines in Israel. J Street is pouring money into this election, supporting the slates that will seek to cut off all such funding and services. Heaven forbid that they succeed, and established Jewish communities lose this important funding source from the Settlement Division. In 1948, the total Jewish population of the four kibbutzim in the Etzion Bloc totaled about 500, when Israel was forced to evacuate that area. Today, the Jewish population in that area approaches 90,000. Imagine if they were forced out of their homes and communities because the funding and services needed were cut off. One way to help prevent that from happening is to register and vote for the Vote Torah slate. The registration fee is $5.00 for those between the ages of 18 and 30. All others pay a $10.00 fee, and the fees pay for the services of supervising the elections by Election America. It is not too late to seize the moment and vote for the Vote Torah slate. Please go to VoteTorah.org and follow the links until you have received confirmation that your vote for VoteTorah has been recorded. In this way, your voice will be heard at the Congress. Isaac Blachor is a Vice President of the Religious Zionists of America (RZA) and Dr. Francine Stein is a past National President of Amit. Both are on the Vote Torah list of delegates to the World Zionist Congress.

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APRIL 16, 2015

“From ghetto to work camps to death camps, one-third of my early life was spent with one mission in mind: survival.”

Living a Life That Matters By Tammy Mark

After 70 years, it isn’t about honoring an anniversary that matters. It’s about honoring ourselves. About celebrating that even in the most adverse situations, the most hellish moments in life, we can rise above them. We can hold our heads high and turn those tragedies, those struggles, into reasons to move forward. To work hard. To work the hardest. To overcome the challenges and stand at the top of that mountain and look down and know we did something.” This is the message that Ben Lesser, a Holocaust survivor and author, is on a mission to spread. Ben Lesser is one of the world’s few remaining Holocaust survivors, and this reality is painfully significant to him. Retired after many years of building a successful life in America with multiple careers and a family, Ben now spends his time traveling and lecturing around the globe, sharing the lessons of one of the world’s greatest horrors. As we commemorate Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day this April 15, April 29 will mark the 70-year anniversary of the liber-

ation of the Dachau concentration camp. Ben will be attending the Dachau Liberation Ceremony, where the History Channel will record and air a segment highlighting Ben’s journey and his liberation from Dachau. In an excerpt from his book, Living a Life That Matters: From Nazi Nightmare to American Dream, Ben shares the harrowing story of the days just before his liberation. “It was long – that death train from Buchenwald to Dachau. A journey from hell. But, then again, I spent five years in hell on earth. From ghetto to work camps to death camps, one-third of my early life was spent with one mission in mind: survival. “So, when that train came to a halt on April 26, 70 years ago, I had

Golden lapel pin

no idea what was in store. Weak, dying, I exited that train, helping my cousin off (we had one piece of

bread to share the age 91, who passed way last year, entire duration of wrote her own story of survival in A the journey and were World After This, which was featured walking skeletons in The Jewish Home last year. as we emerged from Ben went on to become a devotthe train) and headed into the next chapter of hell. Only, this one lasted for three days and then Dachau was liberated. That was 70 years ago.” Ben recently asked his daughter Gail to find out how many people survived that train ride seven decades ago and who are still alive today. Her research led her to the chilling conclusion that of the 3,000 aboard that train, 17 had made it into Dachau, and today Ben may be the only survivor from that train.” That reali- Ben with his sister Lola zation further reinforced his burning belief in sharing his story ed husband, father, grandfather and with the world. great-grandfather, as well as a sucBorn on October 18, 1928, Ben cessful entrepreneur. It was in 1985 came from a loving Orthodox fami- when his grandson, in the fifth grade ly of seven, of which only he and his at the time, told his teacher about his sister Lola (Lieber) survived. He tells grandfather Ben’s story. Ben came of his childhood in pre-war Poland, in and spoke about his experiences through the 1939 German invasion, for the very first time. The children and the utter devastation that fol- were glued to their chairs – and that’s lowed. Ben’s story continues, fol- when Ben realized that he couldn’t lowing his liberation from Dachau in be silent. For the past 30 years he 1945, as he shares his post-war jour- has traveled to schools, synagogues ney, including his reunion with Lola and organizations, devoting his presand her husband Mechel, his even- ent life to speaking out in order to tual arrival in United States, and his preserve the memory and the lessons pursuit of the American dream. Lola, of the Holocaust.

a matter of choices. Crisis or calamity—you can choose to let it ruin your life or learn and move forward. Understand the consequences of personal choices. It is possible to let trauma make you stop living, or commit to living a life that matters.”

“Success is a matter of choices. Crisis or calamity—you can choose to let it ruin your life or learn and move forward.” having stopped formal school at 10 ½. He worked as a truck driver for UPS for 25 years, amongst very few Jewish drivers. Within a year or two, Ben was the highest paid in Southern California, but didn’t stop there. When they needed a writer for some promotional materials, he took it on with his limited language and won company awards for his work. Knowing the value of education, Ben went to night school and After the war made Dean’s List. When he entered the field of real estate, he opened offices and groomed his agents for success; they became the top agents in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. The discipline and focus on survival that he had in the camps stayed with him throughout his multiple careers. Being so grateful for a chance at a new life, it never entered his mind to ask for help. “What’s stopping you in this wonderful country? Be the best in whatever you do and don’t rely on others – we can choose our own destiny,” he challenges. Ben wants young people to feel empowered to succeed and change the world. He explains, “Success is

Ben Lesser knows that his survival thrust upon him a profound mission. As he speaks to students, he realizes that not only are there fewer and fewer survivors, but there will be less people who have even met a survivor, which leaves less opportunity for keeping these memories and lessons alive. As with all of his endeavors, Ben is relentless in his mission of crying out for those who are gone. His voice cracks as he asks, “Who will be left to counter the lies of the Holocaust deniers –the proof of man’s inhumanity to man? Today’s

kids are the last witnesses to the truth. They have to take on the responsibility to tell the world and cry out to the world ‘Zachor!’” 

APRIL 16, 2015

He hopes his book will inspire readers and listeners not only to remember the lessons of the Holocaust, but to evaluate the choices they make in their own lives. Ben came to America at 18, without a trade or a word of English,

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ZACHOR has produced and distributed over 150,000 pins to date. Currently residing with his wife in Las Vegas, Ben speaks to local schools and organizations whenever he can and will travel further when possible. Ben is determined to further his message and does not let distance prevent him from his mission. Recognizing the power of social media as a means to reach the younger generations, he utilizes Facebook and Twitter to spread his message further and promote ZACHOR and I-SHOUT-OUT, the youth movement powered by ZACHOR. I-SHOUT-OUT is a call Ben with his daughter Gail Gerber (right) and granddaughter Robyn to action for anyone Weber (left) wanting to speak out against anti-Semitism, intolerance, injustice, racism, or bulyoung girl told him she would cherlying. ish the pin for the rest of her life, he The website features a virtual realized that he found a new way to help keep the world from “acquiring wall that will stay forever for future amnesia.” Ben began handing out the generations. Ben wants children to pins on his visits, leaving the students feel that they can make an impact with something tangible to remember and participate in making the world him by. a better place. His hope is that the positive messages and commitments to kindness will “go viral” and spread throughout the world to counteract the many expressions of hate that have been sprouting across the globe. Ben is looking to get six million “shout outs” to compensate for the six million quieted voices. He hopes for the students to remember the pledges they made against racism and other forms of hatred. “We don’t know who they will be when they grow up—they could be president,” he points out. Ben uses his personal story of survival and success to inspire young adults to achieve greatness in their own lives. He wrote his book in 2012, first intending it as a memoir. He decided it wasn’t enough; he knew that children needed answers. Thus, the ZACHOR Holocaust He went on to include explanations Remembrance Foundation was born and timelines. “The book provides in January of 2009. ZACHOR pro- testimony and documentation about vides the pins free of charge to all Holocaust – a personal intimate view speakers and teachers of Holocaust of history, not dry facts,” he relates. education programs, to be distribBen also tells his story of coming uted to their students and listeners. to America and his pursuit of success.

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In 2008, Ben visited one school while wearing a small golden lapel pin with the Hebrew word “Zachor” remember engraved on it, which he had received at his local Holocaust survivors group. Some of the students inquired about the pin. He gave it to one of the students; when the

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APRIL 16, 2015

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APRIL 16, 2015

P R O S P E C T PA R K

Political Crossfire

APRIL 16, 2015

Nate Davis

THE JEWISH HOME

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Hillary Clinton and My Post-Pesach Diet

t’s no coincidence that Hillary Clinton announced her run for the presidency on the same day that I started my post-Pesach diet—they are both extremely depressing events (that actually make me want to eat); they are both “been-there-done-that”; they both start with highly inflated characters, although one is trying to deflate himself and the other is trying to inflate herself more; and they both revolve around 270— in Hillary’s case that’s the amount of electoral votes she will need to win the general election and in my case that is how much I currently…never mind, this is bordering on self-incrimination. Let’s just say, unlike Hillary’s campaign, my scale does not lie. So does Hillary have a chance? Do I have a chance? The key to my diet’s success will be to just keep my mouth shut. And that will be the key to Hillary’s campaign’s success—to just keep her mouth shut because if history is our guide, any time she opens it a shoe finds its way into it (which by the third day of my diet I’d probably be willing to eat). You see, Hillary has the same foot-in-the-mouth disease as Biden, but her version of the disease is more gruesome. Biden’s strand of the disease has that “charming crazy uncle” character to it, which makes it somewhat comical. Hillary’s strand of the disease has more of that “obnoxious aunt” character to it… You know that aunt who made the crazy uncle into the crazy uncle (“Oy, can you blame him? Did you ever meet his wife?”). Hillary is not stupid—even she realizes that she has a Hillary problem. So she is trying to rebrand herself. Will it work? I don’t know. I mean rebranding does wonders for certain products. For example, Coke and many other food products have recently gone through successful re-brandings. The differ-

ence is those products are likable in the first place; unless Hillary turns into a custard doughnut, she is simply not likable. Much like my plan of getting smaller, Hillary’s plan is to engage in a “small campaign”—aimed at meeting regular people in small settings. She even started her campaign by announcing that this is going to be more of a kitchen table discussion. She wouldn’t know what a normal kitchen table was like if it hit her in the head. She probably had to have a staff member write a memo that ketchup goes with burgers and mustard goes with hotdogs.

mysteriously turning up at the White House two years after their disappearance which hampered a Justice Department and Congressional investigation); Sniper-gate (lying in 2008 about coming under sniper fire while debarking from a plane in Bosnia); Clinton Foundation-gate (taking millions of dollars from foreign entities and governments in return for political favors); Speechgate (getting paid $200,000 per speech even though she wants to be the champion of the little guy); No-Accomplishments-as-NY-Senator-gate (self-explanatory); Secretary of State-gate (The blossoming of radical Islam under her watch during the catchy-sloganed “Arab Spring”); Benghazi-gate (her failure to provide the requested security

And unless Hillary turns into a custard doughnut, she is simply not likable. But there is a method to her focusing her campaign on kitchen table chit-chat. I know that in order to be successful on my diet I simply need to put up the proverbial gate outside of my mouth and stay off of carbs. Hillary knows that to be successful with her campaign she simply has to put up a proverbial gate and stay off of topics such as: Whitewater-gate (the shady real estate development deal which she and Bill were involved with in Arkansas, resulting in many of their friends winding up in jail); Commodity-gate (Hillary’s first commodity trade ever, back in Arkansas, which netted her $100,000 on a $1,000 investment); Hillarycare-gate (her epic failure at creating a healthcare plan when she was charged with doing that as first lady); File-gate (disappearance of files from the White House after the mysterious death of Bill Clinton’s deputy White House counsel Vince Foster, hampering the investigation into his death); Billing-gate…not to be confused with the very obvious Billgate (Hillary’s billing hours from when she was a partner at the Rose Law firm

to the American embassy in Benghazi, resulting in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in an al-Qaeda terrorist attack, and then engaging in a cover-up by saying it was caused by a stupid YouTube movie which caused spontaneous rage); Email-gate (breaking federal law by routing all of her emails while secretary of state through a server set up at her home in Chappaqua, and then saying that she only did it because she didn’t want to have to carry two phones… which she happens to carry anyway) … just to name a few. With all of these gates, Hillary’s “kitchen table conversations” are pretty much going to be limited to “Pass the ketchup, please.”

n her big announcement Hillary promised that she wants to be a champion. That is a noble mission. She had 67 years to accomplish that. I want to be airplane, the problem is I don’t have wings or an engine. Many

people want to be many things, but last I checked, we don’t elect people to be president so that they can harness their inner powers and prove themselves. I would gladly sponsor her attending a Tony Robbins seminar—she can walk on broken glass and hot coals all day, on the house. And besides what are we going to do with Bill Clinton if he becomes first man? To illustrate what a big problem that is: Is it not true that the first thought that just popped into your head was, “OK, this is going to be inappropriate.” Isn’t that enough said? Talking about kitchen table discussions, Bill Clinton is that teenager that parents discuss in hushed tones at kitchen tables all across America: “Dave wants to go to the cabin two days before the rest of us. Do you think he will behave?”… “Bill wants to be the first man. Do you think he will behave?” “Melissa wants the keys to the car again. She says she changed and is no longer reckless. Should we give them to her?”… “Bill wants the White House again. Oy, do you remember the stress we had with him last time, but he says he changed. What should we do?” “Kelly says she is responsible now. Should we let her take care of the house while we are away?” … “You think Bill is up to it? What’s going to be with all of those broccoli gardens that Michelle Obama spent seven years planting?” At this point there are lots of questions about Hillary’s campaign. Although she is not yet facing a formidable opponent in the primaries, there are plenty waiting on the sideline just in case she crashes and burns. You see, like my diet, it is quite possible that Hillary will crash and burn (like her hard drive did) as she gets out of the gate. She may also stumble along like a drunken turtle and not gain enough momentum—like me on the treadmill. Or, she may finally succeed in her lifelong mission of becoming president— much like I may finally succeed at my 20th post-Pesach diet. But if somehow my diet is cosmically tied to Hillary’s success—PASS THE FREAKIN’ ICE CREAM! 

Torah Thought

Parshas Shemini nuity in the exile/diaspora. The Torah references this by emphasizing that the dedication of the Mishkan/Tabernacle took place on the eighth day. The eighth day represents the continuity and extension of the spirit and the lessons of the seven commemorative days that preceded it. One is charged with somehow feeling greater,

The eighth day is the measure of what we have gained over the seven days that preceded it. found themselves wanting even on the seventh day. Jewish history is harsh and unbending when it comes to unnecessary, frivolous and temporarily politically correct changes and compromises. So, to a great extent, Shemini shel Pesach – the extra eighth day of the holiday – has become a litmus test for Jewish survival and conti-

more spiritual and more purposeful after the seven days of commemoration and dedication. The eighth day is the measure of what we have gained over the seven days that preceded it. This is also true as far as holidays are concerned and is equally true with all momentous occasions in Jewish life. Living in the land of

Israel has always been meaningful and challenging at the same time, and has a holiness and personality all its own. Every day in Israel is the eighth day. The exile/diaspora does not have that quality or ability built within it. It requires a special eighth day in order to fortify the gains and attitudes that the seven days of the holiday granted. Judaism operates on a rational but yet mystical plane of events, commandments and customs. It allows no shortcuts and frowns upon foreign imports into its spirit and lifestyle. All of this is represented in the dichotomy that it has created between the observance of the eighth day in the land of Israel and in the exile/diaspora. This important lesson should be incorporated into our observance of this Shabbat, whether it be here in in Israel where it is the Torah reading of Shemini – the “real” eighth day, so to speak – or in the exile/diaspora where it is the eighth day of Pesach itself. Shabbat shalom.

APRIL 16, 2015

applies, the tradition and custom of our forefathers is binding upon the Jewish world till now. All of those groupings that tinkered with this and other Jewish customs and traditions over the ages have sooner or later diminished or even disappeared from the Jewish world. And those who abolished the eighth day of Pesach in the exile/diaspora eventually

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ue to the fact that the seventh day of Pesach this year falls on a Friday, the Torah reading of Shemini will occur on different dates in the Jewish world. Here in Israel it will be read immediately after the conclusion of the holiday of Pesach, which is only seven days in length. In the exile/diaspora the Shabbat immediately after the seventh day of Pesach is reckoned and observed as the eighth day of Pesach and therefore the Torah reading of Shemini is postponed until the next Shabbat. Eventually the Torah readings of the land of Israel and of the exile/diaspora will be reconciled and become simultaneous once more. The observance of the extra day of Pesach, Succot and Shavuot is an ancient custom already recorded for us in the times of the Second Temple. It has been given halachic legitimacy and emphasis for the exile/diaspora by rabbinic literature and responsa ever since then. Though the original reason given for its observance apparently no longer

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Rabbi Berel Wein

THE JEWISH HOME

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APRIL 16, 2015

The Shmuz

R’ Ben Tzion Shafier

Parshas Shemini

A Leopard Can’t Change its Spots

“And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” — VaYikrah 12:3

he Sefer Ha’Chinuch explains that Hashem separated the Jewish people from all the nations. We were given a distinct role in this world. Our lives and everything that we do must be different than any other people. To remind us of this, Hashem gave us a sign, a permanent reminder of our uniqueness – the mitzvah of milah. The change in our bodies shows that just as the body of the Jew is different than that of a gentile, so too is our soul. By all rights, the Jewish baby boy should have been born already circumcised, as this would have more clearly shown that the Jew is unique amongst the peoples. However, there is a second lesson that Hashem wanted to impart to us. Just like a person can take his body and permanently change it, so too, a person can change his very essence – his neshama. Therefore, rather than creating the Jew circumcised at birth, Hashem gave us this mitzvah to perform. This explanation of the Sefer Ha’Chinuch is difficult to understand. Since Hashem wanted us to know that we are a nation apart from any other nation, then surely as he said, the Jew

should have been born circumcised. Wouldn’t that difference have been more clearly shown had the very genetic material of the Jewish person been different? The Chinese are clearly distinct from Europeans. The skin colors

am what I am. This is my nature, and there is nothing that I can do about it. Granted, I may not be happy with the way that I act, granted I may wish that I were different, but what can I do? This is who I am.”

If I sincerely believe I can’t change, then, in fact, I will not be able to. of various peoples show them as distinct races. Had the Jew been born without a foreskin, the entire world would have known that this people is set apart. Throughout the millennia, every person would have clearly seen that the Jews are unique. From birth they were different, so their very essence is different. Yet that difference has now been lost. Any human can circumcise himself; in fact, many non-Jews do. Wouldn’t it have been a far more powerful lesson for us as a nation to know that we are different because we were born that way? A Leopard Can’t Change its Spots The answer to this question is based on one of the greatest shortcomings of man – self-limiting beliefs. Often, a person will find himself thinking, “I

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Such thoughts become self-fulfilling. If I sincerely believe I can’t change, then, in fact, I will not be able to. I won’t seek out the methods of change, I won’t find the necessary motivation, and the reality will be that I cannot change. This single concept can be the most damaging idea that ever crosses a person’s mind. We Were Created to Change The Gra writes, “If not for changing one’s character traits, what is the purpose of life?” Change isn’t part of the Torah – it is the focal point of all of our avodas Hashem. The reason we were put on this planet is to grow. All of the mitzvos focus on growth. But growth means taking who I am now and changing it, taking myself from where I am, and willfully, purposefully changing me. Whether it is in character traits, beliefs, trust, or honesty, whether it is in seeing Hashem more clearly or in treating people with greater respect, every part of what the Torah demands of me is about change. If a person was locked into the idea that he cannot change, then in fact he won’t be able to. To such a person, the Torah has no relevance. The answer to the question on the Sefer Ha’Chinuch seems to be that this concept of man’s ability to change is so central to being Jewish that it warranted

giving up another essential lesson. It is true that had Jews been born circumcised, it would have taught us that just as our body is different, so too is our soul. That concept would have aided us in recognizing our mission in Creation. However, the concept that “I can change the essence of who I am” is far more central to being a practicing Jew, and therefore, it came at the expense of the weakening the first lesson. This idea has great relevance to everything that we do. We often find ourselves mired in thoughts that limit our ability to grow. “That’s just the way I am. What can I do? I didn’t choose to be born stubborn, hot-tempered, selfish, and arrogant. Ask my Creator why He made me this way.” While it is true that each individual was created with a different nature and temperament, and it

may well be that one person has a greater tendency towards anger, jealousy, or arrogance than another, the entire focus of our lives is supposed to be towards changing our natures. However, to do that, we must clearly see change as possible, as something within our capacity. For that reason, Hashem gave us the mitzvah of milah so that we can have a permanent reminder of our ability to change.

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The Observant Jew

Scratch the Surface

cus on how it makes them feel, not about the one to whom it happened. People will insist on visiting a sick person who doesn’t want visitors, or paying a shiva call late at night when the person wants to go to sleep, because they have to “do the mitzvah” of bikur cholim or nichum aveilim. If they were truly seeing the other person, they’d have that person’s feelings in mind. Recently there was a tragedy at a funeral for a great sage. As the coffin was being removed from the building where the funeral took place, the crowd surged forward with people trying to get closer to it, and a man was trampled to death. This wasn’t a young boy or an elderly fellow, but a strong, healthy 27-year old adult who was pushed and shoved as people jockeyed for positions in the procession. In fact, as I write this, a second death has been reported as a result of injuries sustained at the levaya, this one an 18-year old young man who was engaged to be married. The people who seemed so concerned about the honor of the gadol, who tried showing their respect by moving closer to his bier, were actually more concerned with themselves. Perhaps they wanted to get closer so they could feel they did the right thing or be able to say they showed such honor to him by being right next to the coffin. Had they been looking out a window though, seeing others, they would have been careful not to push against others in a way that could hurt them. They might have tried to take blows themselves, rather than inflict them on others. The Gemara tells us that when Klal Yisrael came to the Bais HaMikdash, the throngs were so great that people found themselves lifted off the floor. Do you see the difference? When the crowd there surged, they saw others and lifted them up. The crowd at the funeral saw themselves and knocked others down. Clearly this was not intentional and many people sincerely wanted to show kavod haTorah for the deceased, but the fact remains that though people thought

they saw others, they were actually more focused on themselves. When we are sitting at a table and make a joke at someone else’s expense, we’re seeing ourselves. When we go to a store and push ourselves ahead of others, or take our time at the register, even to contemplate which tzedaka cards we might purchase as we check out, we’re focused on ourselves. Our only hope is to “scratch the surface” and remove some of the backing that prevents us from seeing others. When we do that, we’ll start to realize how many other places our vision is blocked, and how so much of what we see is not objective observation but a re-

Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. You can find him at www.facebook.com/RabbiGewirtz and follow him on Twitter @RabbiJGewirtz. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion. Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@ JewishSpeechWriter.com and put Subscribe in the subject. © 2015 by Jonathan Gewirtz. All rights reserved.

APRIL 16, 2015

out and yell, “You almost hit that other car!” (If it’s your spouse, the odds are that there will be some choice “terms of endearment” along with this exclamation.) “No, I didn’t almost hit him,” you retort, “I saw him!” But you didn’t really see him. You saw yourself, surrounded by obstacles, and you maneuvered around them. Had you seen the other person in the car you cut off, meaning you recognized there was a real person there, going about his business, you would have been more cautious and courteous. You thought you saw him, but you only saw yourself. People hear about a tragedy and fo-

When everyone manages to start seeing others, we will all be looking out for each other.

flection of our own desires and biases. Of course, the best part of making this change to our outlook is that when everyone manages to start seeing others, we will all be looking out for each other. Then, none of us will falter. Instead, like the people celebrating with true joy in the Bais HaMikdash, we will all be uplifted.

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here’s an old story about a rabbi who visited a rich but miserly man and asked him to look out the window and describe what he saw. The man said he saw the peddler at the market, the widow begging for alms, and a young boy sitting on a curb. Then the rabbi had him look in a mirror and describe what he saw. “I see myself,” said the man. “They are both glass,” said the rabbi. “So why is it that in one case you see others and in one case you only see yourself? It’s because the surface of one has been coated with silver. When the silver is added, you can only see yourself.” The point of the parable was that once the man became wealthy, i.e. he had “a little silver,” he no longer saw the needs of others. Today, we have a different problem. It’s not just the mirrors that have been coated, but the windows too. People look out the window and think they’re seeing others but they really only see themselves. Let’s say you’re driving down the road and you smoothly change lanes mere inches in front of another car’s bumper. Your passenger will likely freak

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Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

THE JEWISH HOME

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APRIL 16, 2015

A Fulfilled Life

Rabbi Naphtali Hoff

Counting from the Harvest Up

past month or more readying for and then experiencing Pesach. Countless hours of preparation were invested to

esach ended the other night and the immediate, desperate reaction from Jews worldwide was Cookie Monster-esque. “Chametz!” (Not sure if anyone broke into the “C is for chametz” refrain, but it wouldn’t shock me if they did.) Lest the reader think that I am some cave-dwelling hermit that subsists on potato starch and macaroons all year ‘round, allow me to share that I also love a good slice of pizza, particularly when I have been fed a wide range of matzah-based concoctions for eight consecutive days. So I get the fact that chametz is tastier and a much sought-after post-Pesach treat. But do we really need to ingest a double-zayis of leaven within 15 seconds of havdalah? While sitting upright, no less? Think about it. You just spent the

It takes continuous work and effort, a step by step approach that elevates us from the spiritual dregs of Egypt to the loftiness of Sinai.

ensure that we spend a week or more in a leaven-free (and, as most of our wives would have it, dust-free and gunk-free) environment. We celebrated a holiday of freedom by underscoring the importance of controlling our impulses and deflating our egos, as symbolized by

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are ready to throw it all away? That’s one reason as to why Hashem gave us the mitzvah of sefirah. You see, Pesach does not really end with that final havdalah. In fact, our Sages teach us that Pesach is just the beginning of a spiritual odyssey that culminates with Shavuos. It is then, following weeks of counting and (hopefully) growing, that we stand before our Maker ready to receive His Torah anew. As Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch points out, we begin to count from the day that we offer the korban omer (which marks the first barley harvest) to underscore the fact that material goals are not ends to themselves but the start of a nobler quest. You can have your cake (or pizza) and eat it too, so long as you make sure to recite the proper blessings with fervor. When Israel has already reached the point which for other peoples represents the ultimate goal of nationalist endeavor, when it already has freedom and independence, land and soil, fruit and grain on its own fields and meadows, at the stage where others cease to strive further and to count, there Israel first begins to count, both days and weeks. And it goes on counting up to the day when it celebrates the bestowal of (the Torah). (Collected Writings Volume I, Feldheim, p. 114) Sefirah presents a paradigm shift, one that strikes at the core of nation-

al identification and achievement. For the other nations, a booming harvest is alone a reason to rejoice. Farmers invest much time and effort into its success, and entire nations rely on it for their collective sustenance. But the Torah, in instructing us to count from the day of the harvest, reminds us that it is just the beginning, the means through which we can begin to focus on our loftier purpose, receiving the Torah. This is the deeper connection between sefirah and the period that links Pesach and Shavuos. Rav Hirsch writes in Horeb (pp.84-90) that each of the festivals represents a different aspect within the development of the Jewish nation. On Pesach our nation experienced its physical birth; for the first time we began to develop as an independent nation. Shavuos, on the other hand, represents our nation’s spiritual birth. Only with the acceptance of the Torah could we recognize our true, spiritual essence, fundamentally separating ourselves from all other nations. The true fulfillment of Pesach occurs through its Atzeres, Shavuos. It is then that we infuse deeper meaning to our national identity, well beyond the limitations of physicality and material bounty. But we cannot simply “arrive” at this level of sanctity. It takes continuous work and effort, a step by step approach that elevates us from the spiritual dregs of Egypt to the loftiness of Sinai. That’s where the upward counting of sefirah comes in. May we merit utilizing the sefirah period properly, to focus ourselves on our true purpose, a spiritual climb that will bring us, be”H, to the loftiest levels of sanctity and holiness.

Rabbi Naphtali Hoff is an executive coach and consultant and President of Impactful Coaching & Consulting (www.ImpactfulCoaching.com). He can be reached at info@ impactfulcoaching.com.

Hire Education

What’s in Your Toolbox?

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tells the employer everything he wants to know: how big a project can this person handle and is his work of high quality?

clearly, “I’m a nurse and these are the problems I’m ready to start working on tomorrow.” Some clients have protested that

He helps the employer imagine how much value he creates. This kind of statement is easy to write if you are building houses. But what if you provide a service, for example, healthcare? A typical nurse’s resume lists the hospitals she has worked

giving these specifics can narrow their search, excluding some employers where they might have had a chance. I don’t agree. My experience has been that detailing your accomplishments

for, and says things like, “administered medications, maintained accurate patient records, followed patient safety procedures, etc.” This is equal to saying, “I’m a nurse, and I do what nurses do.” Not very memorable, and to a hiring manager, no reason to pick out this nurse from the many others who want the job. What can a nurse, or any other similar professional, do to help their accomplishments stand out? It is helpful to think of professional accomplishments in terms of “who, what, where?” That is, to/for whom did you do this work, what tools did you use to do it, and where, specifically, did you do it? So our nurse might say, “Administered medications to cardiac patients pre- and post-surgery (who) using pharma-check software (what) in a 26 bed surgical unit (where).” Using this approach to write her resume and prepare for an interview, our nurse is able to grab a manager’s attention by stating

helps employers see you as someone who gets things done, someone who has the attitude and the motivation to develop depth and increased value in some field. That same attitude and drive can

help a person move to a related field and develop there as well. So the increase in detail, explaining as specifically as possible what skills you have and how you have used them, can only increase your chances of finding the right job. Technology in particular has become so critical in so many jobs that it needs additional focus. The job hunter should specify the tasks that she can use the software to accomplish. At what level of proficiency? Can she troubleshoot? If there is a certification, does she have it? Did she help design the software? Train others to use it? Provide feedback to the vendor and test updates for effectiveness? Did her work save the company money? Increase efficiency? Improve a process in some measurable way? When a job hunter uses the “who, what where” approach to specify the skills he is ready to use and what he can accomplish, his whole identity changes. Instead of being evaluated based on how much he costs, he helps the employer imagine how much value he creates. Instead of a worker looking for a job, he becomes a solution in search of a problem. Good solutions are hard to find, because they very quickly become employees. Rabbi Mordechai Kruger is the Director of Pathways to Parnassa, an organization dedicated to educating our community in all aspects of career choice and job search. Individual coaching is available. He can be reached at myparnassa@gmail.com.

APRIL 16, 2015

f only there was a mirror. A really good mirror, one that you could stand in front of and see the things that really matter. When a job hunter decides what job he is looking for, the one where he can use his unique combination of talents, skills and experience to do the job better than anyone else in the world, he has taken a huge stride toward finding that job. But often, when I ask a job hunter to write down those skills, the ones that are really important and will enable him to succeed, the room gets quiet. The pen doesn’t move. Because most people don’t have a clue about their skills and how they use them. If only there was a mirror. Job-related skills are always the first to be discussed. These are the things you have to learn in order to do your job. Whether you went to school, learned on the job, read a book, whatever, no nurse was born knowing how to debride a wound. Some people naturally and effortlessly build connections to other people. Nobody naturally and effortlessly programs a computer. So if these skills are learned and are actually used to get the job done, you would think they would be easy to identify, talk about, and write on a resume. And you would be wrong. The first step towards getting this job hunt on track is to shift the discussion from the worker’s skills to the worker’s accomplishments. To take a simple example, let’s talk about an imaginary client, Irving, an expert carpenter. Irving’s resume says just that, and his job search hasn’t been working very well. Which isn’t surprising, because words like “expert,” “highly knowledgeable” or other similar words just aren’t very helpful. Irving’s mother may be very proud of her son, the expert, but a potential employer isn’t going to be impressed. He’s looking for expertise in doing the work he needs done, and Irving’s claim is too vague to warrant a second look. The best way to make the points on a resume interesting and exciting is to use numbers and verbs. Not “expert carpenter” but “Built 2 colonial, 2 revival, and 2 craftsman-style homes, each between 2300 and 2600 square feet, which sold for between $750K and $900K.” (Numbers with dollar signs are the most interesting of all.) A statement like that

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Rabbi Mordechai Kruger

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APRIL 16, 2015

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Lincoln’s Assassination 150 Years Ago A National Tragedy in Three Acts BY MICHAEL E. RUANE German artist Carl Bersch was out on his second-floor balcony that drizzly night, sketching by gas light across the street from Ford’s Theatre. Henry Safford, a young War Department supervisor, was reading a book in his apartment on 10th Street, next door to Bersch. And Charles Augustus Leale, a 23-year doctor six weeks out of medical school, had a seat in the packed theater to see the play and the president. It was April 14, 1865. And the three men were about to be drawn into the assassination tragedy of Abraham Lincoln, 150 years ago on Tuesday. The slaying of Lincoln, who steered the nation through the Civil War and ended slavery, is among the nation’s most heart-breaking dramas. This week Washington marks the anniversary with ceremonies, a wreath laying, and, fittingly, tributes at Ford’s. Lincoln loved the theater, and went often to Washington’s playhouses. He was especially fond of Shakespeare, and could recite parts of his plays from memory. And his assassination was, in a way, a play in three acts. The shooting in Ford’s at around 10:15 p.m. April 14, by embittered thespian and Confederate sym-

The

pathizer John Wilkes Booth was the first act. It had stealth and treachery, as Booth sneaked up on Lincoln and shot him in the head. Act 2 captured the agonizing moments when the mortally wounded president was carried from the theater into the muddy chaos of Tenth Street, and there was nowhere to take him. In Act 3, Lincoln’s death agony played out in the boarding house where he was finally given refuge, and where he died the morning of April 15. Acts 1 and 3 are hallowed moments in American history. Ford’s Theater and the Petersen House, where Lincoln died, are national landmarks, crowded with tourists every day. Act 2 is often forgotten. played out between the theater and Petersen’s. The street was dark, muddy, and thronged with people. It lasted only a short time, but encompassed the tortured seconds when Leale and an entourage of doctors and soldiers searched for a house where they could care for the bleeding chief executive. “There they are, standing in the middle of the street, holding the dying body of the president, a thousand people standing by, and they don’t know what to

do,” said Lincoln assassination historian James Swanson. The first house they tried was locked. As the group waited amid the mob of stunned citizens, Leale paused to remove blood clots from Lincoln’s wound. Some bystanders were not sure what had happened. James Ford, the theater box office manager, thought the authorities were hauling out an inebriated patron. “What drunken loafer is that?” he asked, according to Thomas Bogar’s history of the evening. But from his balcony, Bersch, 30, had a clear view. He understood what was happening, and furiously sketched the scene below him. “I recognized the lengthy form of the President by the flickering light of the torches, and one large gas lamp post on the sidewalk,” he wrote later. The painting he produced is the only known work from the assassination done by an eyewitness, according to Laura Anderson a National Park Service museum curator. Finally, Safford, the federal employee who had been reading his book, also realized what had occurred. He emerged from William Petersen’s boarding house holding a candle aloft. “Bring him in here!” he called.

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• torian W. Emerson Reck’s account of Dr. Charles Leale, a union medical officer with Lincoln’s last hours. freckles and wispy mutton chops, had seen Lincoln “Houses were lighted up and speak a few days before. He was so impressed with hung with bunting,” Bersch wrote. the president’s “divine appearance” that he wanted to “Parades marched through the see him again, he wrote later. streets, waving flags.” He had heard that Lincoln was attending a perBersch, who had come to the U.S. formance of the comedy, “Our American Cousin,” at from his native Germany in 1860, Ford’s, and got a seat about 40 feet from the presiden- was about to become the Abraham tial box. Zapruder of the Lincoln assassinaThe president, his wife, Mary, and two guests, ar- tion. Zapruder was the Dallas busirived late. The play was stopped, and the audience nessman who captured the assassinacheered, Leale wrote. Lincoln paused, and bowed. Le- tion of John F. Kennedy on his home ale thought he looked “peculiarly sorrowful.” movie camera in 1963. When the group was seated, the play resumed. Bersch had been at work about an Minutes later, Leale heard a gunshot and saw hour, when the street suddenly went This painting by Carl Bersch depicts the mortally wounded president. It is the only sketch by Booth jump from the box to the stage waving a knife. quiet and a shout came from a winan eyewitness to the assassination. The original hangs in Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC The actor shouted and ran off. People began scream- dow of the theater: “‘President Lining for a doctor, and yelling that the president had been coln has been shot! Clear the street!” shot. Minutes later, “out of the north door of the the- the White House a painting of one of his predecessors Leale leaped over theater seats, got to the presi- ater appeared a group of men, carrying the prostrate after he had just been assassinated?” dent’s box, and announced that he was a doctor. The painting is entitled, “Lincoln Borne By Lovform of an injured man on an improvised stretcher,” As he entered, he tried to compose himself. The Bersch wrote. “They stopped a few moments at the ing Hands.” president was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed curb, hastily debating where to take the injured man • and head slumped down. He already looked dead, Le- to give him the best attention most quickly,” he wrote. Across the street from the theater, Henry Safford, ale recalled. “The tarrying at the curb and the slow, careful 25, put down his book and opened the window. He felt Lincoln’s right arm for a pulse but couldn’t manner in which he was carried across the street, gave He had a second-floor front room in the 11-room find one. He and some others eased Lincoln to the me ample time to make an accurate sketch,” which he boarding house of the German immigrant tailor Wilfloor and Leale began searching for the wound. liam Petersen, 48, his wife and seven children. planned to turn into a large painting, Bersch wrote. “I quickly passed the separated fingers of both Someone shouted from the street that Lincoln had The painting, now in storage in the National Park hands through his blood matted hair. . .and I discov- Service’s Museum Resource Center, in suburban been shot. ered his mortal wound,” Leale recalled. “The presi- Maryland, is haunting. “I was soon down at the door and across the street dent had been shot in the back part of the head, behind It depicts in somber hues the chaos as Lincoln is and edging my way through the crowd,” Safford wrote the left ear.” carried across Tenth Street, illuminated only by torch- later. But he could only get halfway to the theater, and retreated to his elevated front steps. He held a candle Leale stuck the little finger of his left hand into light and gas light. the hole in Lincoln’s skull. “I then knew it was fatal Bystanders look out windows. Dimly seen, the and watched the group with the president make its and told the bystanders,” he president’s head appears to way across the street, and hesitate. Someone called, wrote later. be bandaged, and his face “Where can we take him?” “As there was no response from any other house,” He removed a blood clot framed by what looks like from the wound, and strada white pillow, as bearers Safford remembered, “I cried out: ‘Bring him in dling the president’s body lower him over the curb and here!’” • began to administer a crude through the crowd. Leale spotted Safford with his candle and headed form of artificial respiration, In the background, which he said revived Linsomeone holds an illumi- for the Petersen house. Lincoln was carried to a small coln. nated sign with garbled back room, stripped of his clothes and covered with “On the carpeted floor words from Lincoln’s sec- blankets. His six-foot, four-inch frame had to be placed dilay prostrate the president of ond inaugural address, the United States,” he wrote. “With Charity Towards agonally on the bed, so it would fit. Leale ordered the window opened, and the wait “His long, outstretched, athAll...” letic body. . .appeared unThe painting “vividly began. A parade of anguished government officials and usually heroic. His bleeding depicts the panic, and sadA witness to his death. The hat worn by Lincoln head rested on my white linness. . .and confusion that family members came and went. Leale asked a more at the time of his assassination en handkerchief.” was happening in Tenth senior doctor to take over, but he stayed and held LinLeale knew he had to get street,” Swanson, the histo- coln’s right hand for most of the night. The president sank steadily, his breathing labored Lincoln out of the theater to treat him. But he believed rian, said. “More than many artifacts of the assasa carriage ride back to the White House would kill sination, [it] really takes me back to the mood of that and his pulse nearly undetectable. A gray dawn came around 6:30 a.m. At 7:22, Lincoln died. him. He and several other men lifted the president, and night,” he said. Leale smoothed the contracted muscles of Linwith Leale holding Lincoln’s head, began to maneuver But Swanson said the painting quickly became an coln’s features, placed two coins over his eyes, and him outside. “unwanted stepchild” of the assassination. “Guards, clear the passage!” Leale yelled. But as It was so distressing that it wasn’t displayed pub- pulled a sheet up over his face. Then he returned to his military hospital on what he and the others carried Lincoln feet-first onto Tenth licly for over 60 years. Finally, in 1932, the artist’s Street, he was not sure where to go. daughter, Carrie Fischer, of Annapolis, lent it to the is now the National Mall. He was exhausted, cold and Across the street, Carl Bersch had been out on his old Lincoln Museum in Ford’s Theater, according to sad, he recalled. His clothes were stained with blood. It was drizzling, and as he walked, rain fell on his bare balcony for some time, sketching the revelry that was the park service and a news report at the time. still going on in Washington since the surrender of the Later willed to the White House by Bersch’s grand- head. He had left his hat on his seat back at Ford’s Themain Confederate army at Appomattox five days ear- daughter, Gerda Vey, it was transferred to the park serater. lier. vice in 1978, according the historian, Reck. “All Washington was celebrating, delirious with “It’s almost as though it was a symbol of ill omen,” joy,” Bersch wrote to his family later, according to his- Swanson said. “What president would want to hang in (c) 2015, The Washington Post.

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APRIL 16, 2015

Health & Fitness

David Elazar Simai, MD

The Last Mile

A Lesson in Patient Advocacy

ne of the encounters that made an everlasting impression on me was my first meeting with Mr. Morris Steinberg, Director of Hatzolah in Kiryas Joel, Monroe. On July 1 2003, I started my career as an attending in Ezras Choilim Health Center, a beautiful clinic in the famous chassidish quarter of Monroe. At 27 years old, I was both nervous and excited to start this journey. I was excited because I felt it was an opportunity to help a community that I was told needed more doctors, a community of ultra-orthodox Jews which reminded me of my charedi lineage. I remember the joy of my late grandfather, Harav Chaim Yitzchak Aryeh z”l, who was delighted to hear the news that I was a doctor in Kiryas Joel. Personally, it was a fulfillment of a dream. Exactly a week before my wedding, I ventured to shop on 13th Avenue in Boro Park. While strolling down the avenue, I looked at the faces of the children on the street and felt that they were missing some “simcha,” happiness. On that avenue, on my last conversation with my soon-to-be-wife (before we saw each other under the chupah a week later), I told her that I wish G-d would allow me the opportunity to help bring on smiles to them. Not a year passed and I found myself practicing among them (it turns out that the chassidish kids are very happy – and maybe it was just a cold October day in Boro Park that took away some smiles that day). I was nervous because I was not sure why the CEO of the Health Center, Mr. Nuchem Friedman, was so interested in signing me on, and even more nervous

when I saw that in my first few weeks at the center there were less than 30 patients visiting the pediatric department, which staffed three medical providers each day. I remember calling the CFO of the Health Center, Mr. Jacob Friedman, on one very light, boring day and asking him if he had any ideas that could help boost our patient load and our providers’ morale. He laughed and said, “Dr. Simai, I noticed that you have a Mishna Brura book on your desk. Open it and learn, I am sure that the yetzer harah, evil inclination, will send a patient to interrupt you!” And so, nervous and excited, I spend the first few weeks at the center, trying to make good impressions, follow up calls to parents and hoping that the yetzer harah will keep on interrupting my learning…

ne afternoon, as I was sitting bored in my office, I heard a sudden knock on the door. When I opened the door, I noticed a man in his 50’s with a short grey beard, wearing an EMS vest. Although he looked tired, he greeted me with such a warm smile. He was flanked by a few EMS members and judging by their admiring gazes, it was pretty obvious that he was their chief. With his warm, smiling face, Mr. Steinberg proceeded to ask me some questions about my medical education and training and informed me of the special services that Hatzolah offers the residents of Kiryas Joel. We discussed head trauma and asthma protocols and the strengths and deficiencies of the local hospitals. Throughout the conversation, and subsequently with every encounter, I

noticed that Mr. Steinberg would go out of his way to compliment me. I remember how he called me once to discuss a patient who suffered from severe anaphylactic reaction to eggs. I briefed him about how we managed to control the patient and safely transport him to a hospital, but Mr. Steinberg started by saying the following words: “First, let me compliment you Dr. Simai for making such an elegant diagnosis. It takes a wise and experienced physician to make the diagnosis and manage it the way that you just did.” I was bewildered why a person so experienced was so nice to me, literally buttering me with so many kind words. I may have been young, but I knew that he must have an agenda, but what could it be? Why was Hatzolah so interested in a 27 year old pediatrician? It did not take long for that agenda to be revealed. You see, it turns out that Mr. Steinberg was a true public advocate. More than any other person in the medical field, he knew how to go the extra mile to help a sick patient. The amazing thing about him was that he often insisted on going the extra mile. He would deliberately choose to transport patients to a children’s hospital 50 miles away from Kiryas Joel, rather than risk having them managed by an inferior hospital five minutes away. He would travel to emergency rooms past midnight and sign patients out against medical advice in order to personally transport them to a better hospital. After a few weeks on the job, I started getting interesting phone calls from Mr. Steinberg. Most of them had been requests to call-in patients to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital ER. These were not patients of our center, but apparently their doctor was not responding quickly enough, and without a call from a referring doctor, the patients would sometimes spend hours upon hours in the waiting room. The other calls were consultations. Mr. Steinberg would call me randomly, at any hour of the day or night, and ask for a second opinion for a member of the Kiryas Joel or Williamsburg, Brooklyn, community. Mr. Steinberg seemed to like LIJ -Cohen Children’s Hospital and wanted me to introduce him to some pediatric specialists there.

Not only did I not mind being “taken advantage of” when asked to help Mr. Steinberg, I felt that he was helping me fulfill my mission – to increase the smiles on the faces of as many children as I could. This relationship grew stronger and stronger as our practice, with G-d’s help, experienced exponential growth.

n 2005, I moved back to the Woodmere and started a part-time private practice in Cedarhurst. For the next four years, I would travel back and forth to Monroe and work there 4-5 days a week. My primary hospital affiliation all this time was LIJ -Cohen Children’s Hospital. It was literally 3am in the morning, when I heard my phone ring. On the other side, a familiar voice—Mr. Steinberg. This time, an 8 year old boy from Williamsburg was in distress. He was diagnosed with a severe pneumonia at a local Brooklyn hospital and was in significant respiratory distress. A CT scan showed that he had a large amount of fluid accumulating in the lungs. Mr. Steinberg was paged by the Brooklyn Hatzolah members who asked for help. They all felt that he needed a pediatric surgeon to evaluate him ASAP and possibly drain this fluid. The problem was that the local hospital did not have any pediatric surgeons on call. The patient’s pediatrician was not reachable and the hospital would not transfer the patient out unless an attending at a receiving hospital would accept him. I recalled that LIJ had an emergency transport team which I never used, so I agreed to try my best to arrange the transport. Mr. Steinberg and I were both surprised and delighted that within 30 minutes the ambulances were on their way to Brooklyn. I was even more surprised to find out how quickly I fell back asleep… I woke up the next morning remem-

truly feel that Simcha transformed my approach to practicing medicine. I hope that G-d’s willing, I will bring a few examples of subsequent cases were I put these lessons to work. But to sum it all up, these are the conclusions I arrived at: The first lesson I learned was that no matter how much a respect a doctor commands, we are all human, we all have our moments in the sun, and we all go through dark days. In retrospect, the trust and confidence I had when I heard that Simcha was managed by top notch specialists should have been directed instead to sincere hope that G-d will direct these specialists in the right way. The second lesson I learned was that we often feel that the right physician for our illness may require us to cross many bridges and states, but G-d often shows us that the best doctor for us maybe right in our backyard. The last critical lesson I learned is that in order to help my patients, I had a lot to learn from Mr. Steinberg. Instead of nodding my head yes in awe of others, I should have realized that I was the only person who checked Simcha every day and as such I should have insisted on having the last word. I failed to go the extra mile, to have that “chutzpa,” and argue with my mentor. I should have realized that there was a message that Mr. Steinberg was sending me through all the elegant compli

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ments that he showered upon me. I do not think that Mr. Steinberg chose to wake me up at 3am that night just because I was a nice guy, but because he truly believed that I could and would be the right messenger to advocate for a precious soul. I thank you Mr. Steinberg for your kind and warm words, for your ambitious and relentless work, and most off all, thank you for allowing me to see another precious boy named Simcha come marching down the hallway of Eras Cholim Health Center on the eve of the festival of Shavous in 2007 and presenting me a platter of tasty chocolates with a smile beaming from ear to ear. The sight of Simcha’s glowing face took me back to that cold October day in Boro Park where I wished that someda, I will be able to bring on a smile on Simcha’s shining face. I assure you, Mr. Steinberg, that I will do my utmost to continue your legacy of going the extra mile – until the last mile! Wishing you and yours many happy, smiling days! David Elazar Simai, M.D. With sincere appreciation to the exceptional Hatzolah members of our community and Kiryas Yoel, who devote their lives to ensure our safety and happiness. Dr. David Simai is a Board Certified Pediatrician from the Five Towns. He is a full time attending in his own private practice since 2007 in Cedarhurst, New York. In addition, he is an Attending Physician at LIJ-Cohen Children’s Hospital, North-Shore Manhasset University Hospital and South Nassau Communities Hospital. He can be contacted for consultation at 516 374-2228 or via email at davidsimai@yahoo.com. NOTE: name, gender, geographical area and other identifying information were deliberately altered in this article in order to protect the patient’s privacy. This article is not intended to help diagnose or treat any specific disease. Always consult your personal physician before diagnosing or treating yourself or your child for any of the above mentioned illnesses.

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APRIL 16, 2015

must have provided Simcha’s mother with my cellphone because not three days passed and again (luckily for me it was mid-day this time) I was paged to my phone. It was Simcha’s mother. I was sure that she was calling to thank me, so with a huge smile, I picked up the phone and gave her a hearty greeting! But on the other end of the line was a very concerned sounding mother informing me that Simcha appeared as bad as he looked before his operation. My throat went dry as I was scrambling for advice. I decided to arrange for an immediate visit with the Infectious Disease specialist and the Pediatric Surgeon. And so we did. Simcha saw both specialists that day. They conferred and suggested to bring Simcha back to the operating table. They felt that the fluid had re-accumulated and that the problem was not infectious but more mechanical, so antibiotics would not help at all. At this point, the mom spoke with me in tears, imploring me to make the final call. I was holding the phone and trying to stay calm and collected, but my heart was going through tumultuous phases. Initially I felt great anger in my heart. Anger towards people that I trusted and humbled myself to. And frankly, I was angry at myself for not insisting—maybe the stronger antibiotic Pic line would prevent this? Then, I felt confused; how could this be? How could Simcha crash like this again? Is this really happening to us or is this a dream? Then, there was doubt: maybe they were correct? Maybe right now nothing else will help Simcha other than surgery? I felt desperate and confused and extremely disappointed. And then, G-d delivered a fantastic idea. Maybe we need a fresh set of eyes to examine this case? I decided to get a second opinion. For the next few minutes, I scanned my head to find a specialist that would see Simcha, and I decided that this time, I will not schlepp him out of Brooklyn. I remembered that there was one pediatric pulmonologist that I encountered in one of my rotations in Maimonides Hospital and decided to immediately call him. With G-d’s help he was available to speak with me. I described all the details of the case to Dr. Michael Marcus and then proceeded to

ask: do you think that we could control this infection without surgery at this point? Could we just re-order the Pic Line? Dr. Marcus did not reject the idea. He agreed to see Simcha that day and evaluate him. After examining Simcha and looking at his X-rays, Dr. Marcus decided to place Simcha on two strong, oral antibiotics simultaneously and he continued monitoring him as outpatient. With G-d’s help, this was all Simcha needed. After 2-3 weeks of treatment, Simcha’s lungs were crystal clear.

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tors, so although I worked hard arranging the Pic line, I felt that arguing with such an experienced specialist would be a mistake. “High dose amoxicillin is sufficient in my opinion,” he added. I reminded him of Simcha’s rocky post-op course, the fevers, the lung sounds and the oxygen. He will be fine with amoxicillin was the answer. Well, I said, I am happy to hear that you are optimistic. I was not about to challenge my mentor, and Simcha was sent home that day.

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bering nothing. I sometimes worked so much that I felt it was a clear miracle I made it home at nights. But the following night, I was paged again – this time at 4 am. It was Cohen Children’s Hospital letting me know that little Simcha had undergone surgery to drain the fluid from his lungs and was now exiting the Pediatric ICU. Since I was officially his doctor, I would have to see him daily and monitor his progress. And so I did. For the next 10 days, I would make sure to make the time to travel to the hospital between shifts in Monroe, on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. The thought of charging the parents for this extra work crossed my mind once (since I was not their PCP I could not bill their insurance), but when I met the parents on the first day, I quickly decided that it would be nice if I could spare them the added stress. At first, I was so excited that Simcha underwent the seemingly life-saving surgery, and that I had the merit to facilitate it. But Simcha had a very rocky postoperative (post-op) recovery. He continued to have fevers for nine days and required oxygen during that time. His lung sounds were horrible. 3-4 days after surgery I was so concerned about him that I insisted that the surgeon re-examine him. I saw a few cases like his in the past but they all recovered much faster. The surgeon told me that this was normal and reassured me that there was nothing else to do. This surgeon was a senior member of the team and his stellar reputation preceded him. The infectious disease team was following Simcha as well. Being that Simcha was still feverish, requiring oxygen, and with horrific lung sounds on day 7 and 8 post-op, I decided that Simcha would benefit from continued IV antibiotics at home via a Pic line,after his eventual discharge. I asked the special nursing team to arrange prior authorization from the insurance for this and within 24 hours it was approved. On day #10, I received the good news. The infectious disease attending called me to inform me that Simcha was fever-free and off oxygen for 24 hours and that in his opinion he could be sent home. “Really?” I asked, “I just heard him yesterday and he looked and sounded so bad.” “Yes,” he replied, “there is no reason to keep him here any longer.” Great, I thought. I guess this was the best news of the day! But here came some criticism. “David,” the doctor said, “I feel that the Pic line is a total waste. After all, the fluid from the lungs did not show any organisms, so I do not think you know what you are treating.” This specialist was one of my men-

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APRIL 16, 2015

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Notable Quotes

Compiled by Nate Davis

“Say What?” What really came through to me in the interview really is a couple things that really do show you the difference between him and Netanyahu. Obama is someone who has lived abroad, maybe more than any president in a long time. And because of that, he actually knows what America looks like from the outside in. And he can actually see America even to some point from the Iranian perspective. - New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on MSNBC, discussing his recent interview with President Obama

A fully autonomous weapon itself could not be found accountable for criminal acts that it might commit because it would lack intentionality. - From a report to the United Nations by Human Rights Watch and Harvard Law School, warning against the development of killer robots

The enemy is radical Islam. I will do everything in my power to defend America from these haters of mankind. - 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) during a campaign rally in South Carolina

A new poll in Cuba shows that President Obama is more popular than Fidel Castro. Then again, so is putting your whole family on a raft in the middle of the night. – Seth Myers

The U.S. will pay for my sons and the sons of Islam, permanently!!! … My sons are innocent, as innocent as all those who are being killed by your country. Today they are killing Muslims, and tomorrow will come your turn and he who doubts this is deeply mistaken!!!!! - Part of a social media posting by the mother of Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after her son was convicted ¡Heil Hitler! – Tweet by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa after he was accused of being a left wing fascist

– Conan O’Brien After months of negotiations, Iran has finally agreed to reduce its nuclear weapons program. Which was great until Putin showed up and said, “Hi, I’m here about the Craigslist ad for nukes.” – Jimmy Fallon No, not until I see, again I would say this about any candidate, until I see an actual vision of where she wants to go. – Mayor de Blasio when asked on Face the Nation on the day that Hillary announced her candidacy whether he is ready to endorse Hillary

According to a new poll, Republicans are more likely to have a doughnut for breakfast, while Democrats prefer to eat bagels and croissants, while Independents are that annoying friend who’s still looking at the menu after 15 minutes. – Jimmy Fallon The world’s oldest person passed away. So now the title of oldest person alive belongs to Gertrude Weaver, a 116-year-old woman from Arkansas. Not only is Gertrude the oldest woman in the world, she is the only woman in the world still named Gertrude. - Jimmy Kimmel

British Prime Minister David Cameron is facing criticism from working-class voters after he was caught on camera today eating a hot dog with a knife and fork. And he got criticism from wealthy voters because he used a hamburger fork. - Seth Myers

I was shocked. - Laura Bush discussing Barbara Bush’s initial proclamation that the country has had enough Bushes in the White House and doesn’t need Jeb Do you think I would tell my mother-in-law something? - Ibid., with a smile, when asked if she voiced her opinion to Barbara

I’m running for president. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion. – Hillary Clinton, who previously was paid $200,000 per speech, announcing via Twitter that she is running for president

Arizona Senator John McCain announced that he plans on running for a sixth term because he is concerned about the nation’s security. He plans to help just like any other 80-year-old: by sitting on his porch with a police scanner. - Jimmy Fallon

The Cincinnati Reds have debuted the first in-stadium nursery for moms and babies. So if you’re arguing with your wife about going to a game and you need a solution that makes everyone happy, this is definitely not it. - Seth Myers

Nigeria just held their election and their incumbent president, whose actual name is Goodluck Jonathan, lost the race. He was beaten by his rival, Betterluck Jonathan. – Conan O’Brien

MORE QUOTES

APRIL 16, 2015

A Kentucky woman has been arrested for giving a 1-yearold child beer and rum. She broke the Kentucky rule — never mix beer and liquor.

In England, Princess Kate started her maternity leave. Isn’t her whole life maternity leave? – Jimmy Kimmel

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has a new book coming out that slams President Obama. You can buy the book from Amazon or download the version directly from Cheney’s heart. – Conan O’Brien

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today appeared on a talk show called “Pasta and Politics.” It went so well that he’s agreed to go on “Meet the Garlic Press.” – Seth Myers

- Typo in a memo to the press on the day of Hillary’s campaign launch

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She’s fought children and their families all her career.

I apologize to Obama for expressing myself so emotionally. President Obama has no responsibility for this. There were ten presidents before him; all have a debt to us, but not President Obama. - Cuban President Raul Castro, towards the end of his nearly hour-long speech at the Summit of the Americas, the bulk of which was about Cuba’s grievances with the U.S.

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Rand Paul is taking a week-long break from talking to the media to spend time with his family before he officially announces that he is running for president. Because nothing motivates you to be on the road for two straight years like a week alone with your family. - Jimmy Fallon Jeb Bush identified himself as Hispanic, so I guess it’s actually pronounced “Yeb Bush.” - Seth Myers

Rand Paul is officially running for president. He even revealed his campaign slogan, which is “Defeat the Washington machine. Unleash the American dream.” It’s hard to tell if he’s running for president or doing an infomercial for Bowflex. – Jimmy Fallon

I believe we are going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth in the next decade and definitive evidence in the next 10 to 20 years. We know where to look, we know how to look, and in most cases we have the technology…. We are not talking about little green men. We are talking about little microbes. - Ellen Stofan, chief scientist for NASA, during a panel discussion

A new survey out says 64 percent of Americans own a smartphone. Which is interesting because in a related survey, 100 percent of smartphones say they own an American. – Jimmy Fallon

The White House announced that President Obama will attend a summit in Kenya this July. When asked if he’s ever been to Kenya, Obama said, “Of course. I was born — no, bored — over there. There’s nothing to do in Kenya.” – Jimmy Fallon A man has been arrested in Chicago after a returning from a failed attempt to join ISIS. Man, how do you blow it with ISIS? “Derth to America! I mean, death! Death to America! Can I try it again?” – Seth Myers

A new survey found that a growing number of millennials want to work from home and get more time off. They would have said more, but they had to pick up their gold star for participating in that survey. – Jimmy Fallon

A new guide for airport security urges agents to look for whistling, recently shaved beards, and excessive yawning. Which I guess explains why I saw two TSA agents frisking each other. – Seth Myers

A massive power outage in Washington, D.C., today affected a number of federal buildings, including the White House. When asked when they could restore power to the White House, officials said, “2016?” – Jimmy Fallon Google has received a patent for air bags and bumpers for the outside of a car to protect pedestrians. The material has a similar consistency to the memory foam they make beds and pillows out of. So in the future, getting run over is going to be a lot more comfortable. – Jimmy Kimmel

Legislative officials quoted Iran’s foreign minister and nuclear chief as telling a closed-door session of the parliament on Tuesday that the country would inject gas into the latest generation of its centrifuge machines as soon as a final nuclear deal goes into effect by Tehran and the six world powers. – A news report by Iran’s semiofficial FARS news agency, disclosing that Iran plans on violating the U.S.-published terms of the nuclear deal on the day that it goes into effect A stronger and wealthier Iran in the coming phase will be able to stand by its allies and especially the Palestinian resistance [Hamas], more than at any other time in history. - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an interview on Syrian TV, discussing the pending Iran deal and lifting of sanctions on Iran

Election season is heating up. We’re starting to hear who’s running for president in 2016. Hillary Clinton is expected to launch her 2016 campaign sometime in the next two weeks. So remember, act surprised. – Seth Myers

Dr. Deb

How to Explain Divorce to Children that is why he lashed out at his wife, but the children don’t know that.) Furthermore, blame and fault-finding are not middos that anyone wants to teach their children. The kids will latch onto it big time as a way to wiggle out of

For children to feel safe, they should be assured that their parents love them and that they will continue to take care of them. tired of the “stick.” That is why we say that tzaddikim don’t stand where ba’alei teshuvah do: For tzaddikim there is practically no choice, no struggle, whereas for ba’alei teshuvah the struggle is almost more than they can bear. (See Rav Dessler on this.) What will Renee and Steven tell their children? Here are some does and don’ts: Do not, under any circumstances, make the divorce one person’s fault. If the children were to get the impression that the divorce was because their mother wanted it, the boys would: – resent their mother – feel that their mother was not a stable, reliable, source of strength and protection for them – be afraid of women’s emotions – possibly be closer to their father and absorb some of his less than stellar middos The girls would, in addition, possibly reject their own femininity or reject men. If the children learn that it was their father’s fault for previous abusive, scary behavior, they might actually copy him. For young children, feeling safe and secure is automatic and they will naturally identify with the “stronger” parent. To them, the one who scares others must be stronger than the one who is scared. (We know that is not true. Steven may very well be scared of being abandoned and

their responsibilities. It is not necessary to share personal information with children While children should not be kept in the dark, that doesn’t mean sharing details or leaning on children emotionally. When, in an effort to protect children, secrets are created, it will make things worse. Unrevealed secrets somehow have a way of affecting children even two and three generations down the line. Children should be able to ask questions – and get answers that make sense to them. The key is not to assume the level of detail that children need in order to feel comfortable. Mostly, they want to know where they will live and when they will see the other parent, that their .daily lives will not change significantly. This will be an important source of comfort and stability for them. Be sure children feel safe physically and emotionally For children to feel safe, they should be assured that their parents love them and that they will continue to take care of them. They would like to know that their parents are a team so if it is at all possible for the adults to put aside their resentments and work together on their parenting, the children will be safe and possibly even happy. One of the worries children have is that they, in some way, were responsible for the breakup. They must be reassured that this is not the case. What if it actu-

ally is the case? I have heard sad stories of people who were told that their parents’ divorce was because of them. The reality is that that cannot be true. The parents made choices that they must take responsibility for. Let’s say, for example, a child has a congenital illness and parents argue over that child’s care. It is still not the child’s fault. This notion is ridiculous. Divorce should never be a source of embarrassment I told Renee to tell her children that all human beings make mistakes; that is the human condition. Perhaps both she and their father made some mistakes but that is not a source of shame. Furthermore, there is certainly nothing they need to be embarrassed about as they are innocent children whose childish mistakes had nothing to do with the divorce. One of the children apparently asked Renee what to say if friends say something to them about the divorce. I told her to have the child repeat to his friend just what I said: We all make mistakes; haven’t you made any? Questions are welcome It’s a good idea to finish up by encouraging questions so that children who may have difficulty expressing themselves get ample opportunity to do so. As much as my focus in marriage counseling is to preserve the marriage, Hashem put divorce on the table because He understood that for some people it is a necessity. That said, we are now in our sefirah period and it does not hurt to do a thorough cheshbone hanefesh – including our contribution to shalom bayis – to make sure our marriages are the best we can make them. Dr. Deb Hirschhorn, a Marriage & Family Therapist and best-selling author of The Healing Is Mutual: Marriage Empowerment Tools to Rebuild Trust and Respect—Together, is proud to announce that readers of The Jewish Home will receive a $50 discount on every visit to her Woodmere office. Attend the Food For Thought lectures at Traditions Restaurant in Lawrence on Tuesdays at 12:30 PM. (There is a lovely optional lunch menu for $12 cash.) Any questions, call 646-54-DRDEB or check out her website at http://drdeb.com. All stories in Dr. Deb’s articles are fabricated.

APRIL 16, 2015

to continue our work together “for me.” This is, unfortunately, typical. It takes a lot of strength, courage, and persistence to conquer one’s yetzer hara. It’s easier to slip back into bad ways once the “carrot” is removed and one is

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he was smiling and seemed okay. Little did I know. Her husband, worried, seemed open to whatever I would say. They sat together in the comfort of their kitchen with me peering into their home via Skype from 20 states away. “Renee has already filed the divorce papers,” Steven told me, “and I am realizing all the mistakes I made and I want to be a better husband.” Renee continued smiling pleasantly. What a good start, I thought. This is really different. Ordinarily, the unwilling spouse is completely unaware of what he or she did to bring this terrible calamity on. But here was a husband who not only was aware but wanted to correct the past. Indeed, we got off to a great start. I got to know this couple a little better over the next few weeks and decided to continue by seeing each of them separately. Renee was unable to get past her enormous visceral reaction to her husband. I did breathing and relaxing exercises with her, empowering visualizations, and taught her to speak up when she was in pain. She was a good student and everything helped – a little. Meanwhile, Steven was a really excellent student. We plunged into that area that to men is so yucky – feelings – and how feeling criticized or unappreciated can bring out his self-protectiveness instantaneously. He had an aha moment one time, literally seeing the progression from hurt to anger to nearly lashing out. Luckily, because of our good work together, he knew enough to breathe and retreat to another room to calm down before having confrontations. In spite of all this great progress on both sides, Renee was apprehensive about the future. Part of her did not want to go through with the divorce as they had young children. But part of her knew, at some level, that the worst was waiting to come out. After all, they’d been married a long time. Renee was right. Two weeks to the day after she told him that she could not get past the past and still felt fearful of the future, Steven, having fully digested the significance of this, let her have it. Renee texted me that in trying to speak up for herself and have her voice heard, “I was an utter failure.” On our next session, I learned that Steven backslid badly in spite of his professing to want

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Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

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Forgotten Heroes

Avi Heiligman

A Nation Divided Reunited 150 Years Since the American Civil War

ar has changed in many respects since WWII. Besides the weapons, tactics and training, the way a war begins and ends has differed from the ways wars had been fought in the past. Nowadays, even after the victor (in the cases where there is a clear winner) declares victory, fighting will continue and many times concessions are made to the enemy. But in the past, a treaty, ceasefire or armistice was signed and all hostilities ended. During the American Civil War this occasion took place at Appomattox Courthouse 150 years ago.

A painting by Louis Mathieu Guillaume depicting the surrender at the McLean house

The bloody war pitted brother against brother

y late 1864, the South had become independent from foreign exports for most materials necessary to fight the war. However, it was fighting men that they were lacking, and those who didn’t desert to help their struggling families were suffering from low morale. The Union had successfully beaten them in the west at Vicksburg, were destroying Georgia in Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Lee’s once powerful Army was playing a chess match with Grant’s Army of the Potomac that was quickly becoming a stalemate. The last desperate gamble by the South to invade the North was a failure as General Early’s Confederates were held up near Frederick, MD. This delay allowed Grant to send reinforcements to Washington, DC, and protected the city from an attack. Early retreated, and until the final surrender, the Confederate forces were on the run. The door was closing fast on the South and it was only a matter of time until there would be no escape. General Robert E. Lee’s troops were garrisoned in Petersburg, VA, and were looking for an escape route. However, on April 1, 1865, General Grant sent cavalry that attacked his flank at the Battle of Five Forks. Thousands of his troops were captured after being cut off from the main Confederate line. Severely depleted, Lee’s army was forced to retreat to Appomattox Courthouse but after linking up with more Confederate troops, they realized the fight was over. They had no provisions and the desertion rate was at an all-time high. On April 7, Lee Continued on page 88

Don Troiani's painting shows Union soldiers drawing their weapons in salute as surrendered Confederates march past

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refused to surrender after Grant had sent him a letter suggesting such a move, anticipating supply trains to feed his 30,000 starving men. General George Armstrong Custer (yes, the same one from Custer’s Last Stand) was there to burn the supply trains at Appomattox Station on the 8th, dashing any hope for Lee that he could hold out much longer. Grant, with more than double the troops that Lee had, was closing in for the finish but the Army of Northern Virginia still had one final battle in them to try to escape the Union entrapment. On the morning of April 9, Confederate Major General John Gordon attacked the Union cavalry and pushed them back. After pushing back the second line of defense, he saw two entire Union corps ready to attack. These began to push Gordon’s troops back and he sent a message to headquarters, “Tell General Lee I have fought my corps to a frazzle, and I fear I can do nothing unless I am heavily supported by Longstreet’s corps.” That was enough for Lee to literally throw in the towel (they had no white flag) and call for a surrender meeting with Grant, who up until the moment he received Lee’s letter was nursing a migraine. After a correspondence between the two generals, minor skirmishing was still taking place, and the two decided to meet at the brick home of Wilmer McLean for the formalities. The irony of picking his house was that in 1861 McLean had lived Manassas, Virginia, where the First Battle of Bull Run had taken place. Shots from a cannon blasted into his kitchen so he moved to be farther from the battle zone. At 1pm, General Lee showed up first wearing his impeccable uniform and a jeweled sword followed by Grant who was wearing a muddied uniform and without a sword. At first they reminisced about their fighting days during the Mexican-American War. It was an amicable meeting. The terms of surrender were favorable to both sides. The fighting would end and Lee’s men were given rations, the officers were allowed to keep their horses and swords, and instead of imprisonment, the infantry were told to go home. In return, all Confederate soldiers had to do was sign a paper that they wouldn’t take up arms against the U.S. Then, as Lee was leaving the house, Grant tipped his cap in honor of the great general who lost the war but not the hearts of the men fighting for their now-defunct country.

Union troops began cheering the victory but Grant quickly put a stop to it saying, “The Confederates were now our countrymen, and we did not want to exult over their downfall.” All that remained was the formalities of the soldiers to lay down their arms, and three days later in a formal ceremony the southern soldiers were disbanded. Union troops saluted the Confederates as they handed over their weapons.

ee, however, did not have control of all of the Confederate troops. Some held out for months, and the CSS Shenandoah didn’t surrender until November. Confederate President Jefferson Davis tried rallying the remaining troops but was unsuccessful and soon he was captured. The last fighting was seen at the Battle of Palmetto Ranch in Texas on May 12, which ironically resulted in a Confederate victory. Of course, by that time, the victory was moot since by the end of June all land forces had surrendered (American Indian allied to the South held out for much longer and soon they were waging their own war against the U.S.). The war was now over. Sadly, only five days after the surrender at Appomattox, President Lincoln was assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater. He was 56. The gracious terms that Grant gave the South had a great effect on the morale in the now-reunited country. Just four years later, he became the 18th president of the United States. During the election he won support from several of the Southern states and many freed slaves who voted for the first time. The surrender at Appomattox was the end of the bloodiest conflict on American soil and it ushered in the era of reconstruction that repaired the once splintered nation.

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.

Because You Deserve A Perfect Smile

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Ask the Attorney Zehava Schechter, Esq.

My Parent Has Dementia My mother has early-onset dementia. She is not able to handle her financial affairs and I want to help her. May she give me a Power of Attorney? The Attorney Responds: This is probably the most frequent question I receive from prospective estate planning clients. Before I answer the question – which is not so simple – I will tell you what I tell clients (and everyone else who will listen!). Please complete basic estate planning (Last Will and Testament, Health Care Proxy, and Power of Attorney) when you are well. This is not an issue of age. We do not know when life-changing events will occur and it may be too late then to set the necessary plans in motion. While you are making your estate plan, please also obtain long-term care insurance. Once you have a life-changing event, you will probably not qualify. As you may be aware, those affected with the mental incapacitation of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are usually physically well and live a long time after diagnosis. Longterm care insurance is a blessing in this circumstance and protects financial assets for family members. Notwithstanding what happens with your mother, this is your wake-up call to get your estate planning, insurance, and financial plans in order. Do it while you are well and it is on your mind. Now, to your mother. People affected by early-onset dementia usually have “good” mental days and lessgood days. One of the requirements for executing (signing and putting into place) legal documents is mental capacity or competence, which is basically the ability to understand what you are doing, who and where you are, and the ramifications of your actions. On a “good” day, when your mother’s mental capacity is increased, ar-

range for an estate planning attorney to meet with her to discuss her estate planning goals. This is a good place to note that when I meet with clients, other family members are not present to prevent the appearance of undue pressure or influence. You should expect to remain outside the meeting room when the attorney meets with your mother.

If the attorney believes that your mother possesses the requisite mental capacity, he or she will prepare the documents and schedule an appointment for their execution. Again, be sure to have the attorney return to execute the documents when your mother is lucid. If the scheduled day is not a good one for your mother, reschedule the appointment. If there is “no” good day, you will need to commence a guardianship proceeding in court. This is a costly action and takes significant time before the judge decides whether the allegedly incompetent person (AIP) is in fact in need of a guardian. So much time and expense is saved when a Power of Attorney is in place. Be well! No column is a substitute for competent legal advice. Please consult with the attorney of your choice concerning specific legal questions you may have.

This is your wake-up call to get your estate planning, insurance, and financial plans in order.

W. Zehava Schechter, Esq. specializes in real estate law, estate planning and administration, and business law on Long Island, New York. Please send your comments to SchechterLaw@gmail.com.

Allan J. Rolnick, CPA

The Tax Man Runneth

appears entirely serious about his run and plans to pour $250,000 of his own money into the race. “They’re raising serious money, but we’re going to raise serious issues,” he says. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t believe I’ve got a chance. I think that who becomes president is not up to Wall Street and the fat cats across the country. It’s up to the voters.” Everson does have one stumble on his resume. “I’ve made mistakes, and I don’t think that that precludes one from going forward and trying to contribute,” he admits. We’ll just have to see how closely the voters audit his behavior. Time will tell whether Everson knows how to translate his IRS experience into a shot at the most powerful job in the world. But here’s one thing he knows for sure — regardless of who’s president, you still need to pay your taxes. Make sure you have a plan because we know you enjoy keeping your hard-earned money, whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or anything in between!

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.

Getting Back to Routine

o I remember those last few weeks of pregnancy. You are rotund – or at least you feel that way! You are either running to the bathroom every ten minutes or downing Tums as if they were as delicious as jelly beans, one yummy color after another. Depending on how you’re carrying you’re busy one way or another. What’s your mindset? Torn! You want that baby out; you want that baby in. How so? The pressure up or down is driving you crazy. Therefore, keeping that baby inside is challenging. However, once it’s out of you, your life changes drastically. You are on call 24/7. Which feels more like 34/8! Why am I talking about this? This is similar to the post-Pesach dilemma. You want to hold onto the Pesach vacation; you want to move forward to life as you knew it. You want to get back to your routine. In some ways you’re up for anything that stops the flow of food, meals, matzah! On the other hand, you dread getting back to your routine! Work, school, cleaning, shopping, bills, meetings, commuting, whatever… Each comes replete with its own overwhelming set of challenges. Here are some choices, reported in the past, to have made transitioning more successful. Choice 1 - Bite the bullet! That means just go for it. And of course that’s better than biting into one more calorie of potato starch! Choice 2 - For some, easing out of it, slowly, works best. So wake up and make yourself matzah brei! This way you are duping yourself into thinking Pesach is not over. Of course if you are going to continue with this diet be sure to have a chaser of Citrucel on hand.

Choice 3 - Dunk your donut into your coffee at least twice before leaving in the morning. This should help remind you of the Seder in all its glory – the good, the bad and the bitter! Then, make believe you are searching for the afikomen. It may be at your office, or in your school, or at the supermarket. This will slowly help you find yourself back in these locations without that tough realization that post-Pesach life is starting again. This simple act, many claim, really works wonders. Choice 4 - My personal favorite: spend the day putting away Passover items, labeling, storing, basically turning everything back over, and voila – you’ll want to get out of that house so fast! For some of us there definitely is one new routine we are longing to get on with: getting into shape! The frigid weather hopefully is behind us. We can start our walking, biking, or running program. Luckily, there’s even a period ahead with a complete freeze on simchas, so we have a fighting chance at success. We’ve got about 49 days of controllable eating ahead of us before we’re drowned again, this time in an onslaught of ABC— All dairy, Blintzes and Cheesecake. So whatever your secret for getting back into reality, feel free to use one of mine—remember we’ve got to get back to our routines sooner or later. After all, we can’t just keep on breaking bread with people (the crispy kind). Someone’s got to make the dough!

You’re up for anything that stops the flow of food, meals, matzah!

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

APRIL 16, 2015

ture entitlement programs, including Social Security; set a military draft and system of national service; and break up banks that are poorly managed,” the Associated Press reports. And what does America’s former top tax collector think of his chances? He candidly admits he has less name recognition than the senators and governors eyeing a race. But he

Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

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he 2016 presidential election is 20 months away. Sadly, for those of us who don’t watch C-SPAN for fun, that basically means it’s right around the corner. (Keep a sharp eye out for negative campaign ads, coming soon to a radio near you!) Candidates are already lining up donors and hustling voters in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire. If it seems like some of them have been running since the end of the last election, it’s probably because they have. Americans like promoting military heroes to the White House. George Washington won the Revolutionary War and became the “father of his country” before assuming the presidency. Ulysses S. Grant won the Civil War and did it with a cocktail permanently occupying a space in his hand, too. Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated the Nazis. (Of course, generals who aim to become Commander-in-Chief usually do need to win a war first, as Alexander Haig found out the hard way in 1988.) Now there’s a candidate who’s ready to wage war on an enemy we can all unite against — America’s crazy and convoluted tax system. On March 5, Mark Everson announced he was throwing his green eyeshade into the ring and running for the Republican nomination. Not familiar with the name? Well, from 2003 to 2007, Everson served as 46th Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Oh yeah . . . that Mark Everson! Everson, 60, graduated from Yale University before launching a career that has taken him from business to government and back to business again. In 2003, George W. Bush nominated him for the IRS position, which he held for four years. He left to become President and CEO of the American Red Cross, and now he’s vice-chairman for a tax consulting company. Why is Everson running? He says he wants to make federal tax laws more consistent and less complex. (Where have we heard that before?) He would replace that tax for lower-income earners with a value-added tax. “He also says he wants to restruc-

Life Coach

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Your Money

In The Kitchen

Spring into Salad

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Avocado Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing Ingredients Salad 6 cups fresh baby spinach 1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced 1 avocado, diced 4 ounces crumbled kosher blue cheese ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted Half a small red onion, thinly sliced Dressing ½ cup olive oil

3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp. honey 1 Tbsp. poppy seeds Salt and pepper Directions Whisk all dressing ingredients together until combined. Toss all salad ingredients together with your desired amount of dressing until combined. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Quinoa Salad Ingredients 6 cups baby spinach 2 cups strawberries, halved 1 avocado, diced ½ cup cooked quinoa ¼ cup pecan halves ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese For the Vinaigrette: ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 cloves crushed garlic 2 teaspoons sugar, to taste Directions To make the vinaigrette: whisk olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and sugar in small bowl. Set aside. To assemble the salad: place the spinach in a large bowl, top with strawberries, avocado, quinoa, pecans and cheese. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to combine. Serve immediately. Continued on page 94

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Caprese Salad

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Ingredients 2 cups balsamic vinegar 3 whole ripe tomatoes, sliced thick 12 ounces mozzarella cheese balls, sliced thick Fresh basil leaves Olive oil, for drizzling Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Directions In a small saucepan, bring balsamic vinegar to a

boil over medium-low heat. Cook for 10 to 20 minutes, or until balsamic has reduced to a thicker glaze. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl or cruet. Allow to cool. Arrange tomato and mozzarella slices on a platter. Slip basil leaves between the slices. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the salad, getting a little bit on each slice. Do the same with the balsamic reduction. Store extra balsamic reduction in fridge for a later use. Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

Classic Greek Salad Ingredients ½ head romaine lettuce, chopped ½ large tomato, diced ½ cucumber, diced 2 green onions, sliced ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced ¼ cup crumbled low-fat feta cheese ¼ cup olive oil 2¼ tsp. red wine vinegar 2½ tsp. parmesan cheese, grated 1½ tsp. lemon juice 1½ tsp. garlic, finely diced

1½ tsp. dried oregano ¼ tsp. dried basil ¼ tsp. salt, to taste ¼ tsp. pepper, to taste Directions Combine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green onions and olives in a large bowl. In a cruet or jar, combine olive oil, vinegar, parmesan cheese, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Shake until combined. Pour dressing over lettuce mixture and toss with feta cheese. Serve immediately.

Watermelon Salad Ingredients ¼ cup balsamic vinegar ½ cup olive oil 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon honey 1 clove of garlic, minced salt and pepper, to taste 1 medium seedless watermelon, cubed ½ red onion, thinly sliced ¾ cup fresh mint, chopped 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Directions In a small mixing bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, mustard, honey and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Spread 2/3 of watermelon on serving platter. Top with onion, mint and cheese and season with pepper. Pour dressing over salad and garnish with remaining watermelon cubes.

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SHAITEL MACHER located in Far Rockaway looking for full time hair dresser experienced in styling and cutting Please call or text 347-409-6907 Morah Adina’s CAMP ZEES-KAYITZ for 3-4 year olds *A FEW SPOTS LEFT* Centrally located in Far Rockaway Call (718) 471-5283 Keep Grandma’s spirits up with my weekly visits 1-1/2 hr sessions. We play games, craft & chat. To schedule, call Slavie 718-510-4213. Email slavie@outlook.com

Experience Math Teacher Available to Tutor All subjects, algebra, geometry, Math A, Math B, Trigonometry, Calculus etc. Guaranteed improvement, first hour free. Shomer Shabbat. Call Yossi at 516-581-3930

HAIR & MAKE UP BY BRACHA BRAVER Party Specials, All Shaitel services available, Master colorist. Shaitel Care courses available Special prices with mention of this ad as well as Pesach Specials Best Prices Guaranteed, Years of Experience, References available Call main phone or text cell 516-943-0133 or 646-915-2527 The Children’s Clothing Gemach in Cedarhurst Is fully stocked for boys/girls in sizes newborn-teen To make an appointment please call/text 516-712-7735

Photos 4 your Simcha Professional Photography and Video We love what we do and it shows in our work! Competitively priced! Check out our website & specials. www.photos4yoursimcha.com or call Yaakov 718-868-1800

Yiddish Home Study Program: The new book Yiddish in 10 Lessons along with 2 CD’s has just been released to easily learn to read, write and speak the Yiddish language. Call Chaim at 516 924 7694 or www.conversationalyiddish,com You can also sign up to receive a Free Weekly Taste of Yiddish

950 Broadway

Woodmere, NY 11598 www.pugatch.com

BARRY PUGATCH

Commercial Properties For LEASE

Can you use the help of a professional and knowledgeable chef at your home this Pesach? Waiters also available Take off the stress and call Eli at 646-270-0559

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE LAWRENCE: Beautiful Sprawling 3BR, 3BA Exp -Ranch Set On 1/2 Acre In Lawrence Estate Area, LR, Granite Eik, FDR, Stone Fplc, Lg Den, Lux MBR Suite, SD#15, Much More…$1.249M Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

Carol Braunstein

(516) 2 9 5 - 3 0 0 0 www.pugatch.com

Struggling with Shalom Bayis? The Shalom Bayis Hotline 732-523-1112 Caring rabbanim answering your questions for free. So far very positive results BS’D!

Call or Text

(516) 592-2206

cbraunstein@pugatch.com

RETAIL STORE FOR LEASE

 1,400

+/- SF  Full Basement  Great Location  Close to All!!!

Lovely 4BR Exp-Ranch On O/S Property, Charming Home In SD#14, 4BR, 2BA Col, Eik, LR, FDR, Many Updates…$535K Updated Eik, Fin Bsmt & Attic…$425K

BEAUTY SALON FOR LEASE

 1,500 +/- SF  Full Basement  Prime Corner Space

With High Visibility If You Are Interested In Buying, Selling Or Leasing Call The Local Commercial EXPERTS 516-295-3000

Outstanding CH Colonial, 3BR, 2.5BA, Eik, FDR, Fin Bsmt, SD#14…$649K

Fabulous Exp-Split, 4BR, 3.5BA, Eik, FDR, Den, Fin Bsmt, Deck…$649K

CALL ME FOR A FREE M A R K E T A N A LY S I S F O R YOUR HOME!!!

LO OK I N G T O B U Y OR SE LL? C A LL M E T O DAY ! !!

TJH Classifieds COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

BORO PARK FOR SALE 54th St. (Bet. 11th & 12th Ave.,) 2 family, attached, 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, built-in closets, Kosher Kitchen & Passover Kitchen, Mint Condition. Asking 1.6 Mil. Serious buyers only. Email: Goingrealty@Gmail.com FAR ROCKAWAY MINTON ST. NOW SHOWING Completely renovated corner property 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, model kitchen, living room, dining room, backyard Call Yochi 212-470-3856 WinZone Realty FAR ROCKAWAY B13th ST. /Plainview 2 Bedrooms, full bathroom, Kitchen, Dining room /living room, Porch, Call Yochi 212-470-3856 WinZone Realty

PLAINVIEW

HEWLETT: 2,250 +/- SF Retail Store W/2 Bathrooms & Full Basement, Parking In Rear, Can Be Divided, Close To All, For Lease. Call For More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com VALLEY STREAM: 650 +/- SF Newly Renovated Retail Store, High Traffic Location On Rockaway Ave, For Lease Call For More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com WOODMERE Office/Retail Space For Rent Ground Flr: 2500 +/- sq’ available plus partial basement $2,950. and Second Flr: 1700 +/- sq’ available for $1,950. Hi traffic location front street and rear parking lot parking, front & rear entrance Village Plaza Realty * Sonja 516-840-5124

REAL ESTATE FOR RENT INWOOD 2 Bedroom Apt. for rent Sheridan blvd /Solomon Av. with private parking call for info 212-470-3856 Yochi @ WinZone Realty

4 Houses. Brnd New Construction. 4 rs. 5BR, 3 full bths + 2 half bths. EIK, LR/DR, den area oﬀ kit. Lndry on 2nd r. Full bsmnt w/ half bath. 4th oor has prvte brs and bth. Prvte drvwy. Call Chaya Moller for a showing. 516-506-3347

$625K

56 MURIEL

BELLE HARBOR Build your dream house facing the ocean in Belle Harbor on very desirable block. Places of worship close by. Call Kathy (917) 306-1610

FAR ROCKAWAY

#1 Far Rockaway and 5 Towns Rental Specialists

Milky Forst nc. Properties IAvrohom "Avi" Sobel

Cell:

347.524.6530

Office: 516.239.0306 Cell: 347.524.6530

Email: asobel18@gmail.com milkyforstproperties.com

Short sales, bank-owned, foreclosures, auction properties, land. Single-family or multi-family. Inventory is always changing. CASH ONLY. Call Melissa @ 347-757-0224.

OFFICES

420 Central Ave., Cedarhurst NY 11516

Avrohom “Avi” Sobel Office: 516.239.0306

INVESTMENT PROPERTIES FOR SALE

CEDARHURST TOP LOCATIONS

M ILKY FORST PROPERTIES INC.

Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

LAWRENCE

Stunning renovation completed. Gorgeous cntr hall. 5 lrg bds. Mstr suite w/ sitting rm. Gourmet Kosher Kitchen with Great Room. LR w/ Frplc, huge custom DR. 4 full bths & full bsmnt. Call Sherri for further details . 516-297-7995

APARTMENT RENTALS

Available For Rent (from April 1) 2 bedroom apartment in Far Rockaway (near Bnos Bais Yakov). Ideal for new-wed, young couple, or 2-3 roommate girls Call 516-225-4558

Licensed 420 Central Ave., Cedarhurst, NY 11516

FAR ROCKAWAY Young, legal, 2 family semi-detached, 3 over 4 bedrooms. 5 full baths. 1st oor is a duplex with a huge eat in kitchen w/radiant heat. Large master bedroom with bath..W/D hookup in both apts. Call Sherri 516-297-7995 $699K

Real Estate Salesperson

Email: asobel18@gmail.com milkyforstproperties.com

APRIL 16, 2015

FAR ROCKAWAY 2 Family house in heart of Far Rockaway Please call 646 523 4458



FAR ROCKAWAY: LAND Previously Approved & Zoned To Develop 6 One Family Dwellings In The Heart Of Bayswater, For Sale. Call For More Details (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

NORTH WOODMERE: Price Reduced!!! Spacious & Bright 4BR Brookfield Split, 3 Full Baths, Eik, Formal DR, Lower Level Den W/Brick Mantle & Fplc, Lg Bedrooms All On One Floor, SD#15…$659K Call Carol Braunstein (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com WOODMERE Spectacular All Renovated 6BR CH Colonial, Custom Granite Eik, 2 Dens, Fireplace, Luxury MBR Suite...$1.1M (516) 295-3000 www.pugatch.com

THE JEWISH HOME

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

THE JEWISH HOME



APRIL 16, 2015

100

TJH Classifieds REAL ESTATE FOR RENT

HELP WANTED

Cedarhurst Apartment Share Available for Frum Female 2 bedroom apartment in lovely area, 2nd floor of house Shomer Shabbat, kosher & pet friendly $800 monthly + security Please call: (917) 330-5470

CATAPULT LEARNING Teachers for Title I in Boro Park and Williamsburg Chassidic boys schools *College/Yeshiva Degree Required *Strong desire to help children learn *Excellent organizational skills *Small group instruction *Competitive salary Email resume: nyteachers@catapultlearning.com Fax# (718) 381-3493

HELP WANTED Growing Sephardic Brooklyn Girls Elementary School Seeks for the upcoming school year: • A dynamic and creative grade 5 Limudei Kodesh Morah For an Ivrit b’Ivrit class • General Studies teachers who are Certified for Pre-1A, Grades 2 and 5 • Minimum 2 years experience required • Excellent Salary, Benefits Email resume: rperlow@ydeschool.org

MISC. Looking for donation of car or minivan in good running condition. Tax exempt receipt available for full market value. Please call 347-342-8196

Sales position available in the luxury travel industry specifically working with international First and Business class airline tickets for a diverse group of clientele Will provide all the necessary training in our Five Towns office Commission based with very high earning potential for a motivated individual No previous sales or travel experience necessary Must be personable with excellent writing/grammar and communication skills Send resume to ANMHoldingsco@gmail.com

Office manager position available for a fast paced work environment in the luxury travel industry Must be excellent at multi-tasking, organizational skills, detail oriented, well spoken and confident via phone with excellent writing/grammar and communication skills Starting pay between $16-22 an hour, based on previous experience with potential growth Send resume to ANMHoldingsco@gmail.com

Looking for a FULL TIME RESIDENCE MANAGER to work in a residence with men with developmental disabilities. Responsibilities include supervising all aspects of client care, programming, staffing, and facilities management. Bachelor’s and experience working in this field required. Contact OHEL Bais Ezra 718-686-3102 or email your resume to resumes@ohelfamily.org to apply Looking for a registered nurse to work part time (3 hrs/wk) with adults who have developmental disabilities Strong health assessment skills needed Current NYS RN license and a minimum of 2 years of post graduate hospital experience required Contact OHEL Bais Ezra 718-686-3102 or email your resume to resumes@ohelfamily.org to apply

HELP WANTED

YNM/5towns Sheital Gemach is in desperate need of wig donations . Anyone who has wigs/falls they no longer need- There are many women who you can make very happy . Tizku l’mitzvos! Please contact 347-408-8354 for details.

BAYSWATER JEWISH LIBRARY IS NOW OPEN

Fast-paced office in the 5 Towns is seeking an entry-level employee to handle administrative and clerical tasks. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, email, etc Please email resume to admin@getpeyd.com for more information.

SALARIED SALES POSITION ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS

Fidelity Payment, a nationwide electronic payment technology co. is hiring limited number of regional account execs with sales exper. Base salary (up to $1000 weekly) + lifetime residuals. Fidelity provides businesses with; credit card processing, online payments, check services, POS systems, invoicing, accounting integration, Gift programs, ATM machines Etc. Full training + support. Apply @ www.fidelitypayment.com/salescareer

BUYER / MERCHANDISER

B’klyn electronics & appliance co. seeking Buyer/Merchandiser. Experience in purchasing and negotiating with vendors & understanding the nature of internet competition is required. Internet Savvy—Fluent English – Organized and Detail Oriented. One year buying, selling experience –Understanding internet competition. Will need to manage inventories, and prepare PO’s based on projections.

A wide selection of both the latest and classic novels, Biographies, Short stories, Holocaust, self-help, cookbooks, And more! OPEN MONDAYS FROM 6:30-7:30 PM AND FRIDAYS FROM 2:00-3:00 PM $25 yearly membership (718) 327-0604 OFFICE ASSISTANTS/CUSTOMER SERVICE FULL TIME help needed food company in Brooklyn: phone calls ,new projects, filing, collection,sales support Requirements: - Exceptional communication skills - Meticulous work - top notch organizational skills - comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, Quick books) - Able to handle working with deadlines Please send resume to : rachel@246foods.com Business oriented? Go-getter? Come grow with us! Jobs@focuscamera.com Salon in Cedarhurst is looking For a friendly, experience hair dresser, part time. Please send resume to: saraeidel@aol.com GENERAL STUDIES, JH MATH AND MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS FOR SEPT. ‘15. M-Th afternoons. 5 Towns area boys’ school. Email candidateteacher@gmail.com Due to simchos, Torah Academy for Girls, Far Rockaway seeking qualified, experienced elementary & jr high moras. Fax resume to 718-868-4612 attn: Rabbi Weitman

TJH Classifieds Post your Real Estate, Help Wanted, Services and Misc. Ads here.

Weekly Classified Ads Up to 5 lines and/or 25 words

1 Week......... $20 $10 2 Weeks....... $35 $17.50 4 Weeks....... $60 $30

EMAIL ADS TO: classifieds@fivetownsjewishhome.com Include valid credit card info. Deadline: Mondays 5:00pm Publishes on Thursdays

101 THE JEWISH HOME 

APRIL 16, 2015

102

Sued Like Challah Covers

onSale

THE JEWISH HOME



All new designs!

$9. 99$14. 99

Travel Hat Box

THE LOSEOU CONNECTION CC UPSCALE CLOSEOUTS

Reg. $35.00

$15. 99

516.218.2211

Plastic and Canvas Talis and Teffilin Bags

134 Washington Ave. CEDARHUST, NY 11516 Next door to CVS, in the Gourmet Glatt parking lot

UPSCALE

Reg. $20.00

$5. 99- $9. 99 STORE HOURS:

All Sizes Back in Stock!

Shayne Rain Coat

M.-W. 10:00-8:00 Th. 10:00-9:00 F. 10:00-4:00 S. 10:00-7:00

with over the hat hood

$19. 99

Isabell Canvas Slip on Shoes Toddler, Junior & Adults

Visit us at our other locations 4518 13th Ave. Brooklyn, NY 718.854.2595

Sunbeam Donut Maker

50 Court St. Brooklyn, NY 718.625.6677 1091 River Ave. Lakewood, NJ 732.364.8822

$6.99 Reg. $35.00

$17. 99 Quantities may vary according to store location • No rainchecks • Not responsible for typographical errors

103 LAKEWOOD

MONSEY

THE JEWISH HOME

B R O O K LY N



THE NEWSEMINARY.

APRIL 16, 2015

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