Five Towns Jewish Home - 1-11-18

January 11, 2018

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

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TUITION MISSION Maury Litwack Looks at Past Successes and Future Solutions for Solving the Tuition Crunch

See page 7

Around the

Community

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A Wedding of Warmth – Because of the Snow

Music for a Cause at Annual Long Beach Concert

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A Jew in East Jerusalem

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Hakaras Hatov to Rabbi Brown at Agudah Melava Malka

PASSOVER VACATION GUIDE See pages 97 – 117 – See page 3

SEASONS LAWRENCE

330 Central Avenue, Lawrence, NY 11559

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The Politics of Cholent, Kugel and Kishka

8 Tips for Making Your Commitments Stick

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

“Your family enjoys the same freshness you get when you stand at my counter” Tal, Fish Monger at Seasons

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PLEASE JOIN US IN WELCOMING

MARON HAGOAN HARAV

MOSHE HILLEL HIRSCH SHLIT”A

‫ראש ישיבת סלבודקה – בני ברק‬ ‫וחבר מועצת גדולי התורה‬

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Community Breakfast IN THE HOME OF MR. & MRS.

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9:30 – 10:30 A.M. THE ROSH YESHIVA SHLIT”A WILL ADDRESS THE CROWD PLEASE JOIN US FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Dear Readers,

I

Advocacy Center. Litwack and his team have been attempting to ameliorate the tuition crunch with government funding. Truthfully, the state pours money into its public schools. And it should. Educated, well-founded, responsible children will become the leaders of tomorrow. But a large group, especially in New York, choose not to use the public school system.

According to an article published last year in the New York Post, New York State spent more money per student in the public school system than any other state in the nation in 2015, which is the year when figures were last available. Even more mind-blowing is that the national average for a state to pay per student per year on public education is $11,392. Want to know what New York students cost the state? A whopping $21,206 per student. That’s a lot of textbooks.

There are thousands of children in New York who are enrolled in private schools. Whether they are in yeshivas, Catholic schools or other schools, these students are not using the public school system. What if, I once wondered, all these thousands of students decided to enroll in public school one year? What would the state or the city do? How could they house all these students and educate them? And where would they come up with those hundreds of millions of dollars?

Yes, there’s a concept of separation of church and state in the United States. The state should not be funding our Gemara classes. But what Litwack and his team are advocating for is government funding for our secular classes, classes that are mandated to be taught universally. If the state can pitch in with some of the funds, yeshivas would be able to provide even better services or even lower tuition costs. And wouldn’t that make a lot of “cents”?

Wishing you a wonderful week, Shoshana

have a confession to make: I don’t know anything about running a school.

I am sure that the undertaking is herculean and requires utmost dedication, determination and ingenuity. I can’t even begin to list the myriad tasks that are required and the work that’s entailed to keep on top of students, teachers, the administration, and the building itself. And what of the lessons that need to be imparted and the messages that go with every lesson? Countless hours, late nights, and carafes of coffee go into planning all of those.

We are an amazingly lucky community. Our children go to some of the best schools across the nation. Each one has its own flavor, embracing a different student body, hanhala, and hashkafa.

And every school in this community truly cares about its students. They approach chinuch with compassion; their mission is to help mold people, not just students, and they understand and value their purpose.

There are other communities that are not as lucky, other communities in which students are not always seen as growing individuals. And if they try to grow, perhaps spilling out of the boxes in which they’re supposed to fit, they are forced back into what’s considered the norm.

So we have a lot to be thankful for.

I know that we don’t always smile when we see our tuition bills at the end of the school year. It’s hard to remember how lucky we are when there are five figures – very large figures – at the bottom of the page. But the topic of tuition is not just something that’s stressful in our community. Every frum family struggles with it on some level. It is, after their home, the largest chunk that comes out of their paychecks.

Certainly there have been discussions about what can be done. This week, we spoke with Maury Litwack, director of state political affairs at the OU’s

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Contents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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COMMUNITY Readers’ Poll

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Community Happenings

40

A Tuition Mission by Tammy Mark

85

NEWS Global

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National

40

Odd-but-True Stories

38

ISRAEL

100

Israel News

21

World Builders

82

PEOPLE Avidar, Avisar and the Haganah by Avi Heiligman

116

PARSHA Rabbi Wein

72

Misplaced Mercy by Rav Moshe Weinberger

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JEWISH THOUGHT Bad For the Kidneys – and the Soul by Eytan Kobre

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Every Little Bit Helps by Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

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Finding the Right Shaliach by Rabbi YY Rubinstein

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HEALTH & FITNESS How to Have a Conversation by Dr. Deb Hirschhorn 96 An Antibiotics Risk by Aliza Beer MS, RD 98

102

Are Pompoms a Religious Thing? By Dr. Hylton I. Lightman

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FOOD & LEISURE

The Politics of Cholent, Kugel and Kishka by Naphtali Sobel

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Fill Your Kitchen with Winter Coziness

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Dear Editor, I always say that this town is like no other when it comes to chessed, charity and kindness. While I’m sure many people think I mean this metaphorically, we often find ourselves in situations where we see how much of a reality this is.

Our community is quite familiar with inclement weather. As such, when meteorologists began predicting the impending bomb cyclone, it was nothing we were not ready for.

Many, of course, were entirely dismissive considering the track record of these forecasters. Whilst the snow and storm where indeed significant, the damage and “down time” were of course nothing that our community haven’t faced.

Thursday morning, however, proved evident that our wonderful town would be grinding to a halt.

From Bayswater to North Woodmere and everywhere in between, the stores were shuttered, the roads were deserted, schools were closed and the streets were empty. Irrespective, there were urgent needs that needed to be tended to, medical appointments which could not be postponed, and simply put, the “snow excuse” was not going to make a difference.

I am personally grateful to Shalom Jaroslawicz, Esther Novak and Elke Rubin from our office, who are all bastions of chessed in their own right. Not only did they ensure that our office was up and running at the peak of this storm, but they contin-

ued to monitor our 24 hour hotline and “regular” phone calls throughout the day and evening. Mordechai Picker and his monster truck helped to ensure that several people in our community who desperately needed to make it to urgent life-saving appointments were able to make it safely – these people had no other way of doing so. We are also so grateful to several volunteers in the community who braved the fierce weather to make sure they were there for others in a variety of ways – without fanfare or recognition.

Yet this was just the beginning of a truly special day in our community.

Hatzalah calls poured in, and somehow, someway with almost no delay, these selfless volunteers were doing what they do best helping to save numerous lives. One may think that this is what Hatzalah does, but, wow, do we take them for granted!

Furthermore, I can tell you firsthand that this is not accomplished without self-sacrifice and complete selflessness (on their own and their family members’ part).

The snow didn’t stop Tomchei Shabbos from running that week.

Jeanette Lamm and her team of warriors had every excuse to say they couldn’t get it done. But as Thursday evening was upon them (with the streets icier than ever), volunteer after volunteer with SUVs arrived at TAG to make sure that all these families had what they needed for ShabContinued on page 12

LIFESTYLES From Resolution to Achievement by Rabbi Dr. Naphtali Hoff

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Dating Dialogue, Moderated by Jennifer Mann, LCSW

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Your Money

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S’Now One Asked for It by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

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HUMOR Centerfold

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POLITICAL CROSSFIRE Notable Quotes

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In the Iran Struggle, Information is Ammunition by Michael Gerson 118 CLASSIFIEDS

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Which do you prefer: a skiing vacation or a vacation to a warm locale?

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O V ES SH A H OP V E S S H A V E P S S O V P SA A H VE O E P S S A H O V P S E S A H O V 9 P S E S A H O V P E S S H A O V P S A H O OP VE ES P S S H A H V O E P S S S A P S E SH AV SAV E HO O V P S E S A H O VE V P E S S A H A O V P S E S S O V P E P SA SH H A O V O P E P S S A H O H O V E P S S S H A H V O E P S S O V P SA ES SH A H VE O V E P S E S A A H O V V P S E S S A H A O V P P S A H O VE PS ES P S S H A O V O P E P S S A H O H O V E P S S S H A H V O S S E S A H OP VE E P S E S E A H V O V P S E S V A A H O A V P S E S S S H A S S AV HO S HOP OP VE E P OP S S A V O P H E P S A S O H O V E P S S E H A H V O P S O AV AV E VE PS SA ES SH S H O V E P E S P A H O V V S E O S S A H A V E S H E S HOP HOP S O HOP HOP S OP SA P SAV E SAV E S V V O ES P SH SA ES SH A H O V V E P S E S A H A S S AV HO S HOP V P S SAV SAV E AV E S S A O P S E P H O O S S H AV SAV E OP OP E P S S SH H H O V E P S S V O E P SH SA E SH A H O V V E P S E S A H A V O V S S A H OP VE P S E PS SA S H A O V P SA E P S S A H O O V P E P S S H A H O ES S HO S HOP HOP S OP SAV SAV E AV E S V E S H E S E V S S A V H A OP VE P S E S A S A H O S V P E P S S O V O E P SH SA OP A H O V E P S S H A H OP V O S E P S S A H H E O V P S E S S O V P SA E SH AV H O VE S V E P E S A H A V P O V S E S S A O A H V P S E HOP S HOP S OP SA P SAV SAV E S AV E S H E S HO S HOP P O H H O V S VE ES SA A AV E AV E S V E S H E S HOP S HOP V P S A O P S S AV A H O V P S E P S S H A O V O P S A H O OP VE ES P S S SH H A H V O E P S S S A H H O V E P S E S S A H V O V E P S E S A V P S E SA SH AV SA HO A O V P S E S S A H O V P E V OP ES PS SH SA A HO S HOP H O V E P S S S A H V O E P S E S O V P SA E S SH A H VE O V E P S E S A A H O V V P S E S S O V P SA E SH SA A H O OP V P S E P S S H A O V O P E P S S A H O H O V E P S S S V O E P SH SA SH A H O V VE E P S E S A H V S A HO S HOP VE P S SAV SAV E AV E S S A O P S E P O V E P S SH H A HO OP V O P E P S S A H O H O V E P S S S H A H V O E P S PS SA AV SAV E AV E SAV E S V E S H E S HO O P S H O P S AV H A O V P S E P S S A H O O V P E P S S O V O E P SH SA SH A H H O V E P S S S A H V O E P SH S E S A H O V V E P S E S A H A S S AV HO S HOP P S SAV SAV E AV E S S A O P S E P H O O V P E P S S H O E P S SA SH AV HO S H O V E P S S S A H V O E P E S H O PS SA AV SAV E H O P S S SAV SAV E AV E S H O P E S O V S E P SH S A H OP O V P E P S S H A H O V O E P S S S O V E P SA SH SH A H V O E P S E S A H O V V E P S E S A H V O V P S E S SA A A H O S S S H AV SAV E OP P E P S S H O O V E P S H A OP V O E P S S SH A H H O V E P S S S V O P SA E SH A H O VE V P S E S A H A V O V P S E S S A A H O V P S E S S H A O P E P S S AV H S HO S HOP HOP S OP SAV SAV E AV E S V E S HO P S E S A The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

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honoring

harav yaakov & rebbetzin bryna bender marking forty years of heartfelt harbotzas torah

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HEARTFELT CHINUCH HEARTFELT GRATITUDE

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u n day A Night of

heartfelt hakoras hatov, inspiration, music and memories special address

reb shlomo yehuda rechnitz national chairman

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rav ephraim eliyahu shapiro

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Continued from page 8

bos in the most dignified manner.

And then came the “viral” texts and emails – first, of course, from Moish Smith and his famous “lists” which furiously made the rounds about a local wedding that due to the weather now had numerous cancellations from guests and vendors. Thinking that we had to save the day, we reached out to 25 volunteers who readily agreed to join the wedding; kudos to all of them who agreed readily and without hesitation. They made their way into Beth Sholom thinking they would hopefully fill the room and lo and behold they were shocked to see that the room was jam-packed with

more people than they ever could have anticipated. How these people even made it there I don’t know, but students from South Shore, SKA, YDT, TAG and many other schools filled the hall to capacity. Regular every-day men and women who knew nothing other than a mitzvah opportunity existed continued to pour into the hall. Amazing families like the Stahlers, Renovs and more cooked and baked up a storm without even being asked. The wedding was a beautiful one that will not be forgotten and turned into a story that could only be told in a community like ours.

So I ask you, all of you, to indulge yourselves for a moment and take it all in. In a world of negativity, bad

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.

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news, loshon hora and just so much difficulty plaguing so many, we need to take stock and look around us at the greatness, kindness and the opportunities that surround us. We are an amazing community, part of an amazing people that can perhaps be even greater if each and every one of us realizes that we can do better and we can do more for each other.

Humbly and gratefully, Boruch Ber Bender Dear Editor, I read the story you published on the Landsman family with interest.

It was a powerful, well-written article.

I got married before the testing programs were implemented, and my husband and I are both carriers for Tay Sachs. We were blessed to have three children and we were blessed to have three miracles – none of them had Tay Sachs. But we lived with that fear. I want to compliment you for publishing the article and for getting the word out. I think that it will definitely save lives as it raises awareness about the importance of getting tested.

A Reader

Dear Editor, The Landsman story broke my heart but I was amazed at the strength of this couple who has been able to forge ahead and reach out to the community to help them find the cure or treatment for their two adorable children.

How wonderful that the community – and the world – has joined together in their fight.

May Hashem bring them the right refuah in the right time and may they enjoy long, wonderful lives together as a family.

Chani Y. Dear Editor, This letter is for the man driving in the SUV on Central Avenue. Not everyone needs to know that you are trying to get to your destination. If you need to honk, and draw attention to the car ahead of you, do so lightly – and only do it once. We all appreciate living in a calmer, more peaceful town. But when you honk loudly and incessantly you disturb others and you shatter the peacefulness of our town.

L. K.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

The Week In News

Korean Thawing

This week, North Korea and South Korea sat down for a much-needed conversation. The situation between the two neighbors has been tense recently. A tentative settlement that came out on Tuesday included an agreement from North Korea that it will be sending a delegation to the Olympics, set to be held in PyeongChang, South Korea, on February 9.

“The North said that they will send a high-level delegation, including Olympic committee representatives, athletes, a cheering squad, an art performance group, spectators, Taekwondo demonstrators and press,” Chun Hae-sung, vice minister of unification, told reporters at the Panmunjom truce village on the border between the two Koreas.

The talks took place in the “Peace House,” a building on the Southern side, which resulted in the unusual sight of a Northern delegation stepping over the concrete curb that marks the border.

Representatives from the two Koreas sat down at Panmunjom at 10 a.m. Seoul time on Tuesday for their first talks in more than two years.

“I hope that the two Koreas can hold talks with a sincere and genuine attitude,” Ri Son Kwon, the North’s chief representative, said at the start of the talks, according to South Korean pool reports from inside the room. “Just as water continues to flow below thick frozen ice, people’s strong desires for these talks and improved inter-Korean relations cannot be stopped or frozen,” he said.

In Tokyo, a top aide to Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said that North Korea’s agreement to participate signaled a “change in stance” and that this was welcome.

Still, North Korea’s nuclear and

missile programs continued to pose serious threats to Japan and the region, and Tokyo would continue to put pressure on Pyongyang to change its ways, chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. But talking – even about sports – means that it’s possible to still negotiate with North Korea and many are hoping these talks will lead to more substantial discussions.

“The two sides agreed to make PyeongChang Winter Olympics a turning point in the inter-Korean relations,” Chun said. The South’s delegates said that peace talks, including about denuclearization, were needed, but the North Koreans did not respond at all, he said.

South Korea’s government has been eager to see North Korean athletes participating in next month’s Olympics, partly because it has been promoting the event as the “peace games” but also to minimize the chances of Pyongyang doing something provocative to ruin Seoul’s party.

The South Korean government even persuaded the United States to postpone annual military exercises, which usually take place from early March, until after the games finish on March 18 to decrease tensions.

In a surprising gesture toward the South, Kim used his New Year’s address to wish South Korea success at the games to signal the North’s willingness to send athletes. “With regard to this matter, the authorities of the North and the South may meet together soon,” Kim said. “Since we are compatriots of the same blood as South Koreans, it is natural for us to share their pleasure over the auspicious event and help them.”

More Saudi Royals Facing Charges

Saudi Arabia is continuing its sweep combatting corruption. Last week, 11 Saudi princes were arrested after staging a sit-in at a palace in Riyadh.

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people for abuse, putting their personal interest above public interest, and stealing public funds” and will “trace and combat corruption at all levels,” according to the release. Saudi officials estimate that corruption and embezzlement has cost the kingdom at least $100 billion over decades.

Kosher Store in France Burned Three years ago – to the day – of the anniversary of the assault against a Jewish supermarket by a terrorist in France, a French kosher grocery store was the target of an arson attack. The store in the southern Paris suburb of Creteil caught fire early Tuesday morning, just days after it was daubed with anti-Semitic graffiti.

“The damage is believed to be very severe,” Creteil prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.

The Promo & Destock store was one of two neighboring kosher shops in Creteil that were daubed with swastikas last Wednesday.

Israel’s ambassador to France Aliza Bin Noun called the fire a “shameful provocation” on the third

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The kingdom’s attorney general, Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb, said that the princes were protesting a recent royal order that “halted payments by the state to members of the royal family to cover their electricity and water utility bills.” They had also sought compensation for the 2016 state execution of a cousin who was convicted of murder. The princes were told by authorities that their demands were not in accordance with state law but the group refused to leave, disrupting public peace and order. Consequently, the princes were detained at Al-Hayer prison south of Riyadh, the kingdom’s capital, pending trial.

“No one is above the law in Saudi Arabia. Everyone is equal and is treated the same as others,” the statement declared.

These arrests came just two months after the arrest of dozens of prominent royals, businessmen and senior government officials. This nationwide corruption crackdown is being overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was appointed head of a new anti-corruption committee hours before the arrests began November 4.

The committee was put into place “due to the propensity of some

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anniversary of the January 9, 2015 attack at the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket in eastern Paris. Jihadist gunman Amedy Coulibaly killed three customers and an employee in an attack that triggered deep concern over growing anti-Semitism. That attack came two days after Coulibaly’s close friends Said and Cherif Kouachi gunned down 11 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, kicking off a wave of jihadist attacks in France.

In 2015, a record 7,900 French Jews immigrated to Israel, many of them citing increased fears over anti-Semitism. Still, anti-Semitic incidents in France continue to concern the Jewish community.

In April 2017, a Jewish woman was murdered, pushed from a third-floor window by a Muslim neighbor. A Jewish family was beaten, held hostage and robbed in what rights groups said was a hate crime during that month as well.

Gold for Meds Venezuela is going through a devastating financial crisis and is too

cash-strapped to pay for even basic necessities. The South American country has come up with an unusual solution when it comes to paying for medications that are badly needed for its citizens. President Nicolas Maduro has offered to pay big pharmaceutical companies in diamonds, gold, and other precious metals in exchange for pharmaceuticals.

In 2017, the Venezuelan currency lost 97% of its value and hyperinflation set in. The oil-rich country has used goods as a form of currency in its mining and petroleum industries but in pharmaceuticals it is not the norm to pay for medications with currency other than money. It is unclear if the large companies will accept such goods in exchange for the $5 billion the country owes them.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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The government is reportedly also trying to establish an oil-backed crypto currency, which Caracas is developing right now.

The lower global oil prices along with two decades of wasteful public spending led to a very unstable Venezuelan economy. Gross domestic product shrunk by more than 16.5% in 2016, and there is very little evidence to suggest that the country fared any better in 2017. According to the International Monetary Fund, inflation in the country will reach 2,000% in 2018. The government has $700 million in outstanding payments, and as a result import goods have declined drastically and there are food and medication shortages.

Millions of ghetto inhabitants in the country have developed a commodity exchange instead of using cash as a way to survive.

The most difficult medications in Venezuela to find are antibiotics and those used to treat chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Iran Bans Children from Learning English

After heeding warnings from Islamic leaders that learning the English language opens doors to a “cultural invasion,” Iran has banned the teaching of the English language in its elementary schools.

“Teaching English in government and non-government primary schools in the official curriculum is against laws and regulations,” said Mehdi Navid-Adham, head of the state-run high education council.

“The assumption is that in primary education the groundwork for the Iranian culture of the students is laid.”

English is usually taught to Iranians in middle school, around the age of 12 to 14, but some elementary

schools introduce the language even earlier. The more affluent families send their young children to private language institutes after their school day is over. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, voiced outrage over the practice in 2016.

There has not been any mention of the new rule being connected with violent Iranian protests taking place across the country. The young and working-class Iranians are expressing their anger at the corruption, unemployment, and class disparity that plagues their country. According to Iranian officials, 22 people have been killed in the protests and over 1,000 have been arrested. The protests have spread to more than 80 cities and rural towns.

Ahmadinejad Arrested?

According to one report out of London, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has allegedly been arrested by authorities for “inciting violence” against the government.

According to London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, during a visit to the western city of Bushehr on December 28, Ahmadinejad said, “Some of the current leaders live detached from the problems and concerns of the people and do not know anything about the reality of society.” Supposedly he also said that Iran was mismanaged and that the government of President Hassan Rouhani “believes that they own the land and that the people are an ignorant society.”

All these statements come as Iran faces the largest, most pervasive protests against the government in decades. Ahmadinejad’s anti-government comments prompted his arrest during the trying time for Rouhani’s government. The newspaper believes that authorities are seeking to impose house arrest on the former president.

In recent days, Iran’s state TV showed pro-government rallies in several cities, showing people supporting their country and their gov-

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ly nothing except for a place to sleep and other children who couldn’t move for all their toys.”

ernment. Hundreds of people were seen waving the Iranian flag and chanting slogans against the U.S. and Israel. State TV described the rallies as a “response to rioters and supporters of the riots.” The rallies seem to be a resistance to the spreading anti-government protests that began last week. The anti-government protests were sparked by increases in food prices amid soaring unemployment. Since then, at least 22 people have been killed, and hundreds have been arrested.

Good Night, Sleep Tight Sleep is a human necessity, and for parents of infants and toddlers it is a luxury. While parents have different approaches and philosophies toward sleep, we can all agree that children’s sleeping patterns greatly affect the entire household.

A recent book examines the habits about where, when, and how a

child sleeps across different cultures, based on a photo series by Venice-based photographer James Mollison called “Where Children Sleep.”

“I met many families who sleep together in one room or children who sleep in a space of convenience, rather than a place they can in any sense call their room,” Mollison explained.

“I came to appreciate just how privileged I was to have had my own bedroom to sleep in and grow,” he said. “I met children who had literal-

Clinical psychologist Jodi Mindell also researched children’s sleep patterns all over the world. She found the differences in bedtimes to be “unbelievable.”

“When I walked into doing this study, I really thought we would see 10- or 15-minute differences,” said Mindell, a professor at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and associate director of the Sleep Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It turned out, however, “we’re seeing these 2½-hour differences between some countries like Australia and New Zealand with other countries like Hong Kong and Korea,” she said. “Bedtimes ranged dramatically across cultures.”

The study, sponsored by pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, was based on 29,287 surveys of parents of infants and toddlers up to 3 years. The participating parents were from China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The latest bedtimes were reported by parents in Hong Kong, who revealed that the average bedtime is around 10:17 p.m. for their children.

The earliest bedtimes were reported in New Zealand: around 7:28 p.m., on average.

Other trends noted were bedtime routines, where children sleep, and how long they remain asleep.

A common routine in the U.S. is to prep children for bed with a warm bath and to soothe them with a lullaby or book. In the United Kingdom even more people give baths as part of their bedtime routine. This is not practiced in all cultures. In fact, in India, only 13% include baths in their going-to-sleep routine. In Indonesia, a mere 6% bathe their children before bed. They typically bathe in the morning or at another time during the day.

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“One of the biggest similarities is that most families,” points out Mindell, “include in their child’s bedtime routine, for 0-3, some type of feeding, whether it’s breastfeeding or bottle-feeding or snacks, and that’s consistent across all countries, but if we take that out, there’s big differences in activities like bathing.”

In terms of actually escorting children into dreamland, approaches vary drastically. In Korea, it is common for parents to lay down with their babies until they drift off.

But Dutch parents are more likely to to leave their babies alone in their rooms to fall asleep. They believe it is crucial that children learn to put themselves to sleep.

The fundamental finding of the study was that bedtime routines can benefit a child’s development.

“Children who have consistent bedtime routines not only sleep better, but it also promotes things like literacy, attachment, language, bonding and self-care – all the things that we want children to have, whether or not they live in India or whether they live in the United States,” Mindell noted.

It is unclear how many of the 126 women and girls who carried out suicide bombings for Boko Haram were brainwashed or forced or tricked into carrying out the attacks.

As for the explanation for the overall decrease in attacks, the study credits the battlefield losses of the Islamic State terrorist group making them overall less powerful. “With the military defeats suffered by the Islamic State in Iraq and in Syria and the loss of the caliphate’s territorial base, it appears that a further decline can be expected in the coming year in the number of suicide bombers who can be directly deployed,” according to the report.

The majority of the attacks were carried out in four countries: Afghanistan (67), Iraq (64), Nigeria (57) and Syria (40). In 2017, there were no suicide bombings in Israel or the West Bank. However, the head of the Shin Bet recently told the Knesset that 13 such attacks were foiled in the last calendar year.

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Last year the world experienced a decrease in suicide attacks. Sadly, even with the decline, 4,310 were killed in those 348 attacks and 6,700 were wounded. In 2016, there were 469 attacks; in 2015 there were 452.

Unnervingly, a large number of suicide bombings worldwide were carried out by females specifically. According to a new study by Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies, nearly a fifth of the 348 documented suicide attacks committed in 2017 were performed by women or girls. Most of the incidents involving women, about 92%, occurred in Africa by the jihadist group Boko Haram.

The study, written by Aviad Mendelboim and Yoram Schweitzer, of INSS’s Terrorism and Low-Intensity Conflict Research Program, used data from at least two different, independent sources.

Venezuela’s worsening economy has created chaos in the streets.

Due to the weak economy, food prices have skyrocketed, prompting the government to mandate that supermarkets slash prices. On Saturday, as shops opened their doors with lowered prices, mobs gathered outside scrambling to get into stores to purchase more affordable food.

The leftist administration of President Nicolas Maduro ordered more than 200 supermarkets to cut prices back to last month’s levels.

The state agency responsible for ensuring “fair prices” ordered some 214 supermarkets owned by 26 chains to drop their prices. As soon as word got out that the prices were mandatorily decreased, hundreds of anxious residents lined up well before opening time. One major supermarket in a wealthier eastern section of Caracas did not open for hours so

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

people began pounding on the storefront. “We’re hungry! We want food!” screamed the crowd.

“This scares me, but what can I do?” said Francisco Guaita, a carpenter hoping to find food for his three children, over the shouts and pushes.

“This is the worst government. We want Maduro out.”

Many are concerned that the situation can still get worse and that it isn’t at rock bottom just yet. Some feel Maduro’s policy of price controlling will dissuade supermarkets from stocking their shelves and could trigger looting. There are currently millions of Venezuelans who are unable to eat three meals a day; malnutrition is on the rise.

Maduro succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013. Venezuela currently has the fastest inflation rate in the world.

BDS Members Blacklisted

now designated significant funding to counter its hateful efforts. Last week, the Knesset approved $75 million to be set aside to fight BDS. The funds are to be partially used to set up a not-for-profit organization whose board will be comprised of foreign donors and local government officials.

The funding for this anti-BDS organization will come partly from the Israeli government and partly from Jewish donors and communities outside of Israel. The initial $36 million in funding is coming from the budget of the Public Diplomacy Ministry but at least ten Jewish philanthropists have agreed to match that sum. Some donors have pledged $2 or $3 for every dollar the Israeli government puts up beyond the original funding.

The new organization will use public campaigns, lobbying, and a social media presence to promote its agenda and to combat BDS. It will coordinate with pro-Israel organizations from around the globe and focus specifically on Europe for its first couple of years.

Bibi: Israel Thwarted Hijackings

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What’s A list has been composed by the Strategic Affairs Ministry of organizations that promote the boycotting of Israel. Gilad Erdan, the head of the department, will work with the Interior Ministry to block members of the listed groups from entering Israel starting in March.

The blacklist consists of around twenty groups that participate in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. BDS is known to openly work to delegitimize Israel.

Groups included on the list come from Italy, France, South Africa, Scandinavia, and the Jewish-American group Jewish Voice for Peace.

Israel has been fighting the BDS movement for many years but has

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated on Tuesday that Israel has prevented hijacked airplanes from crashing into European cities.

“We have, through our intelligence services, provided information that has stopped several dozen major terrorist attacks, many of them in European countries,” he told foreign diplomats in Jerusalem. “Some of these could have been mass attacks, of the worst kind that you have experienced on the soil of Europe and even worse, because they involve civil aviation. Israel has prevented that, and thereby helped save many European lives,” Netanyahu said, apparently referring to

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plane hijackings. He did not provide specific details about the attacks Israel helped prevent.

At a meeting of Israel-based ambassadors to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Netanyahu said Jerusalem contributes to the security of every single member of the Western defense alliance in that it fights both Sunni and Shiite factions of radical Islam. Besides fighting Islamic State terrorism aimed at European cities, Israel is also preventing the group from creating a second stronghold in Egypt, he noted.

“ISIS is being destroyed in Iraq and Syria, but it is trying to establish an alternative territorial base in the Sinai. Israel is contributing to preventing that in myriad ways,” Netanyahu said. “In general, I would say that Israel is the most powerful indigenous force in the Middle East that fights radical Islam.”

Israel further helps NATO by fighting Iran, the dominant Shiite power, the prime minister went on. The Jewish state does not only seek to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons, it is also “absolutely committed to preventing Iran from establishing a

military base in Syria. And we back our words with action,” he added, perhaps hinting at various airstrikes on weapon convoys and factories allegedly carried out by Israel.

Furthermore, Iran plans to import 100,000 Shiite fighters to Syria as part of its quest to dominate and eventually “conquer” the Middle East, he charged. If Tehran were successful in its efforts, radical Sunni and Shiite forces would clash in Syria, sending millions of refugees to European shores, the prime minister warned.

“Where will the spillover [of a Sunni-Shiite clash in Syria] happen?

In Europe. Where will the human flow go? To Europe. Who’s preventing that right now? Israel. Right now, Israel alone. But I maintain that it’s a common interest that we have,” he told the NATO ambassadors during the public part of the event.

Israel and NATO have cooperated on security matters for decades but recently upgraded their ties significantly. Last year, Israel opened its first office at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said that the Jewish state opposes the presence of Iran and its proxies,

notably Hezbollah, in southern Syria and Lebanon. Israel has been negotiating with the United States and Russia, the main brokers in Syria, to keep Iran-backed Shiite militias and the Hezbollah terrorist group away from the border.

Last week, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said the most serious immediate threat to Israel was posed by Hezbollah, followed by other jihadist groups supported by Tehran positioned on the Syrian border. Describing Iran as a “multidimensional threat,” the army chief said the most worrying aspect is the Islamic Republic’s desire to obtain nuclear capabilities, followed by its efforts to achieve hegemony in the region.

Rabbi Killed in Drive-By Shooting On Tuesday evening, Rabbi Raziel Shevach was killed while driving in his car on the highway near his home in Havat Gilad. He was shot in the neck in a drive-by shooting,

but managed to call his wife, who called an ambulance for him. Sadly, all efforts to save Rabbi Shevach’s life failed.

Immediately following the deadly attacks, IDF troops and Special Forces launched a manhunt for his killers, setting up roadblocks to catch the terrorists. As of Wednesday they were still not able to find the murderers.

Hamas released a statement calling the attack “heroic” and a sign of future attacks to come. “The attack outside Nablus is the first real response to show the leaders of the enemies and those that are behind them (the United States), that things that you fear – are coming,” the terrorist group said in a statement.

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On Wednesday afternoon, hundreds attended Rabbi Shevach’s funeral. He was 35-years-old when he was killed; his six children are now orphans. Rabbi Shevach was buried in Havat Gilad, the first person to be buried there.

His brother, Bar’el spoke at the funeral. In between sobs he spoke about his brother’s holiness, praising him for his devotion to Judaism and for his decision to become a volunteer medic. “You were so dedicated to making this world a better place,” he said. He also called out to G-d “to kick the Gentiles out of our land. Don’t put up checkpoints; kick them out.”

The town of Havat Gilad was established in 2002 in memory of Gilad Zar, security coordinator of the Shomron Regional Council, who was shot and killed a year ago in the northern West Bank.

During the eulogy given by Education Minister Naftali Bennett at the funeral, mourners interrupted him, chanting, “revenge,” some saying that the minister was “all talk” when he responded that “building is our revenge.”

The head of the local settler council, Yossi Dagan, lamented at the funeral, “Rabbi Raziel did not die from cancer, he died because he was a Jew living in Israel. I call, from here, on the members of the government.

We have the best army in the world.

We demand that the army bring the murderers their day of vengeance.

We must restore our national honor,” Dagan asserted.

Dagan harshly criticized the government for failing to install security cameras in the area. “If they had been (installed), these vile murderers would have been caught. Raziel was killed near the community of Gilad Farms, where there are no security apparatuses, despite repeated requests from my regional council,” Dagan said in a statement after the attack. “This terrible attack should be a tremendous warning sign.”

In November, Dagan launched a hunger strike along with representatives of bereaved families calling on the government to immediately transfer funds to improve West Bank’s security infrastructure. The campaign ended with an agreement signed by Netanyahu that put into writing a pledge to earmark NIS 800 million ($228 million) of the 2018 budget for West Bank roads and infrastructure development.

Trump Threatens to Cut Palestinian Funds The Trump administration is considering cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority if it does not cooperate with Washington in Middle East peace talks.

“We are reviewing our assistance to the Palestinians in light of their recent conduct, per the president’s recent message,” said a White House statement. The comments came after President Trump tweeted that he wanted to cut funding because Palestinians are “no longer willing to talk peace.”

The administration was not clear on whether it will cut funding to the Palestinian people or only to the funds that are funneled to the UN refugee agency UNRWA. A White House official said that they will “continue to review the impact and effectiveness of UNRWA’s aid programs. This is prudent, and indeed, it is our duty to the American taxpayer.”

Last week, U.S. envoy to the UN Nikki Haley warned that the United States’ support for UNRWA would end if the PA refuses to participate in peace talks. “I think the president has basically said that he doesn’t want to give any additional funding until the Palestinians are agreeing to come back to the negotiation table,” she said. “We’re trying to move for a peace process but if that doesn’t happen the president is not going to continue to fund that situation.”

In 2016, the United States gave UNRWA $368,429,712. It gave an additional $357 million to Palestinian aid projects, including $290 million through USAID and $54 million for security and justice assistance.

The U.S. channels its money to specific projects to try to reduce the amount of corruption and terrorist salaries it supports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly applauded President Trump’s support but has reportedly tried to prevent the U.S. from cutting all funds to UNRWA, fearing it will lead to further destabilization of the Gaza Strip. Since President Trump announced that he will be moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Mahmoud Abbas has said that he will not meet with

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any American diplomats on Trump’s team, including Vice President Mike Pence, who arrives in the Middle East later this month.

Moms to Be: Take Your Vitamins

Mothers-to-be who take folic acid and vitamin supplements before and during their pregnancy are much less likely to give birth to a child with autism, according to a University of Haifa study. Researchers found that women who take multivitamins with folic acid before and during their pregnancy are 61 percent and 73 percent less at risk, respectively.

Previous studies on the link between the regularly recommended

vitamins and autism prevention have had inconsistent results. Some defects that lead to autism occur when mothers are just three to four weeks pregnant, when some do not even know they are expecting. The cocktail of vitamins, particularly folic acid, has been shown to decrease the likelihood of developing neural tube defects that may cause spine and brain problems such as spina bifida and anencephaly.

Dr. Stephen Levine led the study which focused on 45,300 Israeli children born between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2007 who were all diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The group then picked a random sample of children and compared the prescriptions of their moms before and during their pregnancy. “Reduced risk of ASD in offspring is a consideration for public health policy that may be realized by extended use of folic acid and multivitamin supplements during pregnancy,” the study concluded.

The authors of the study admitted that they could not rule out other factors that may have been responsible for the reduced risk they found and said that more research on the subject is needed.

E. Jerusalem Called “Capital of Palestine” by Arab Leaders

The state of Jordan has announced that the Arab League will be seeking international recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state. After talks in Amman, Ayman Safadi, the Foreign Minister of Jordan, made the announcement at a joint news conference with Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the chief of the Arab League.

Foreign ministers of the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and the Emirates all attended the talks. “There is a political decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and we will strive to reach an international political decision to recognize a Palestinian state...with (Eastern) Jerusalem as its capital,” Safadi declared afterwards.

Abul Gheit said that another meeting is to be held at the end of the month with an expanded roster of attendees to discuss the status of Jerusalem. President Donald Trump announced on December 6, 2017 that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and will be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in the near future. The Arab world was angered by President Trump’s decision and has come back with many protests and declarations in response. Turkey and Malaysia have both declared that they will be opening embassies in East Jerusalem, which they are referring to as the capital of Palestine.

IDF’s Impressive New Intelligence Unit A new IDF unit was unveiled this past week. In a press briefing, a high ranking military official explained that Unit 3060 functions as the military’s “intelligence processor” and is

charged with developing operational data sharing tools for field intelligence officers. Although the unit was developed in 2014, its existence was kept secret until now.

The unit’s tasks include processing and transferring information between intelligence gathering and processing units and the army’s operational units. Information comes in many forms today, including visual data like aerial imagery collected by drones and satellites, data maps depicting enemy movement, photographs and videos taken in the field, audio recordings, and text-based data like reports. Unit 3060 has been dubbed the “Purple Unit” because it is positioned between Israeli military forces on maps which appear in blue and enemies which are marked in red.

The unit has 400 soldiers and officers. They will be developing software and applications to streamline information flow. The Purple Unit has already developed an artificial intelligence software known as “Albert” which translates information to operational forces on an easy interface, similar to a smartphone app. The unit has close relationships with the Israeli tech community. EBay Israel’s chief scientist, Kira Radinsky, is collaborating with the unit and is advising its data science laboratory.

Hamas Terrorist Shot by “Accident”

According to Hamas, a senior Hamas figure in Gaza was shot in the head in what the militant Palestinian group says was an accident.

Imad al-Alami shot himself this week while “inspecting his personal weapon in his home” and was in critical condition, Hamas spokes-

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man Fawzi Barhoum said. Medical sources say Alami, a former member of Hamas’s political bureau who has close ties to Iran, is being treated at a hospital in Gaza City.

Alami, who was born in Gaza in 1956 and is also known as Abu Hamam, was one of the founders of Hamas. In 2003, the U.S. declared him a “specially designated global terrorist.” It identified him as a member of the Hamas political bureau based in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and said he had oversight responsibility for the group’s military wing in Gaza and the West Bank.

Alami also served for years as Hamas’s main envoy to Iran, the group’s main military and financial backer, according to the Times of Israel. He left Damascus for Gaza is 2012, a year after the start of the war in Syria. He was then elected deputy leader in Gaza, a position he held until last year.

Prolific Israeli Author Dies at 85 Aharon Appelfeld, one of the

most prolific authors in Israel’s history, has died at the age of 85. His most recent book, Perplexity, was published just three months ago.

Appelfeld had written 47 books and was the receiver of the 1983 Israel Prize for literature and the 1989 National Jewish Book Award for fiction.

In 1997 he was appointed a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Appelfeld was born in Romania (present-day Ukraine) and lived there with his parents until the Nazis slaughtered his mother when he was eight-years-old. He and his father were sent to a concentration camp in Germany. He was separated from his father and escaped the concentration camp when he was 13, living in the forest among horse thieves and gypsies.

Much of Appelfeld’s writing was based on his experiences in the Holocaust. He wrote many famous Holocaust-fiction stories and books.

His first book to be translated into English was Badenheim 1939, which is still on the syllabus of many Holocaust classes. Appelfeld said that he transformed his memories into works of fiction. “I’m not writing memoirs — I’m using pieces of my own experience,” he would say.

After the war, Appelfeld unexpectedly found his father’s name on a Jewish Agency list of survivors. He said later in life that the miracle of finding his father was so unexpected and emotional that he was never able to write about it.

Appelfeld spent many years living in Jerusalem where he would write in cafés. He wrote once that “only in a Jerusalem café do I feel the freedom of imagination. That’s my starting point. That’s where I depart from, and it is to there that I return.”

He is survived by his wife, Judith, and three children.

for the past decade. The bloodthirsty terror group is, incredibly, sometimes criticized by other terrorist groups in Gaza for not being extreme enough. In August, a member of ISIS carried out the first suicide bombing against Hamas forces in Gaza in which a border guard was killed.

Hamas spokesperson Salah Bardawil dismissed the video as a “Zionist production.”

Israel Restores Electricity to Gaza

ISIS Declares War on Hamas The branch of ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula has declared war on Hamas. In its signature fashion, the terrorist group put together a gruesome video in which it calls on their supporters to attack Hamas. It then brutally kills one of its own members on camera for allegedly smuggling weapons to Hamas.

Abu Kazem al-Maqdisi, the speaker in the 22 minute video, says that Hamas “uses its smuggled weapons to empower that which was not revealed by G-d. It also fights supporters of the Islamic State in Gaza and the Sinai and prevents the migration of these supporters from Gaza to the Sinai.” Al-Maqdisi is an Islamic State preacher in the Sinai, originally from Gaza. He then calls on his supporters to attack Hamas locations in Gaza because they are the “the pillars of tyranny.”

The video begins with a clip of President Donald Trump saying that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. ISIS then blames Hamas for this development and for failing to fight Jews for the “correct” reasons.

Hamas, a sworn enemy of Israel, has been in charge of the Gaza Strip

After more than six months, Israel will restore the Gaza Strip’s power supply to full capacity now that the Palestinian Authority has agreed to pay what they owe for the utilities.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz has instructed the Israel Electric Corporation to increase the supply from its current 40% to its maximum capacity. The power rates had been cut significantly after the Palestinian Authority decreased their payments to Israel in an attempt to pressure Hamas to loosen its grip on Gaza.

The PA announced that it will begin paying for its complete share of electricity in Gaza last week. The announcement came as part of the reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The power bill being paid was one of Hamas’ key demands.

Gazans will now have six to eight hours a day of power, compared to the two to four hours they have had for the past six months. The shortages of electricity affected many areas of life in Gaza. Water treatment facilities were not operational and healthcare locations had to be closed for much of the day.

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NFL: No One’s Watching?

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What do you do on Sunday afternoon? If you say clean your closets, do carpool, put up a pot of soup, or relax on the couch you are one of the many Americans who are not watching football. The 2017 NFL season saw television ratings decline. Most people contributed the lack of interest in the NFL to the “kneeling” protests that angered fans and others around the country who had tuned into football for a chance to get away from political posturing.

Interestingly, according to a new survey put out by SurveyMonkey and Ozy Media, 33% of NFL fans boycotted the league this year. Want to know why? Nearly equal proportions boycotted in support of Colin Kaepernick or the protests as those who boycotted the league in support of President Trump, who vocally opposed the protests.

According to the 33% who “purposely stopped watching or attending NFL games this season,” 32% said they stopped watching or attending NFL games “in support of Donald Trump”; 22% said “in solidarity with players kneeling”; 13% said “no interest in the teams playing”; 12% said “in support of Colin Kaepernick”; and 11% said “news about traumatic brain injuries among players.” Another 8% said “games are boring.” 46% chose “some other reason.”

The results also show an interesting difference between male and female respondents: more men said they turned away from the NFL in support of Trump (35% to 25%), while more women said they did it in support of the players kneeling (30% to 17%) or in support of Kaepernick (17% to 10%).

A few months ago, President Trump took credit for the NFL rat-

This week, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it is ending “temporary protected status” for Salvadorans. Those affected have been living in the United States since 2001, when an earthquake struck El Salvador. The 7.7-magnitude quake was the worst tremor to hit the country in a decade.

Two more quakes shook the country a month later. In March of that year, then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft declared that immigrants from El Salvador who’d been in the United States since February 2001 could apply for temporary protected status, or TPS, which would protect them from deportation and allow them to get work permits. It was an 18-month designation.

Almost 17 years later, the Trump administration has ascertained that it is safe enough for the migrants to return home. They have until September 9, 2019 to do so.

More than 200,000 people in the U.S. will be affected by the declaration. There are also thousands of children who are now U.S. citizens whose Salvadoran parents will be losing their protected status.

It was not just the earthquakes that pushed Salvadorans to enter the U.S. The country’s civil war, which lasted from 1980 to 1992, sent more than 25 percent of Salvadorans on the run. More than 330,000 Salvadorans came to the United States between 1985 and 1990. About 465,000 of the Salvadoran immi-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

Lawrence High School, Cedarhurst, NY

540-A Willow Avenue Cedarhurst, NY 11516 Phone: 516-295-3666 Fax: 516-295-2899 E-mail: cahal@cahal.org Website: www.Cahal.org

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grants living in the United States are undocumented, as they continue to pour into the U.S. In the last five years, more than 58,000 unaccompanied minors from El Salvador were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. And in the last fiscal year, which ended in September, more than 24,000 Salvadoran parents and children traveling together were apprehended at the border.

El Salvador’s murder rate is one of the highest in the world, and experts have said poverty and violence were major factors fueling the recent migration wave. Many coming into the U.S. have connections to the notorious, ruthless Mara Salvatrucha gang, known as the MS-13.

Last month, the Trump administration announced that in July 2019 it would end temporary protected status for more than 50,000 Haitians who sought refuge in the United States after a catastrophic earthquake hit that country in 2010. Last year, officials also announced that TPS for Nicaraguan and Sudanese immigrants would end. The status of Honduran immigrants will be up for review later this year. Also this

year, officials will also have to decide whether to extend TPS for those from Nepal, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. The Trump administration extended TPS for South Sudan migrants last year and will reconsider the issue again in 2019.

2017 Most Expensive for Disasters

If you thought that there was an influx of hurricanes and wildfires in 2017, you wouldn’t be wrong. 2017 was the most expensive year on record for disasters in the United States. The disasters caused $306 billion in total damage in 2017, with

16 events that caused more than $1 billion in damage each. The bulk of the damage, at $265 billion, came from hurricanes. Remember Harvey, Irma, and Maria?

“2017 was a historic year for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters,” said Adam Smith, an economist for NOAA. Hurricane Harvey, which sparked extreme flooding in Houston and the surrounding area in August and September, caused $125 billion in damage, the year’s most expensive disaster. Hurricane Maria, which in September set off a fatal and ongoing humanitarian crisis in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico and elsewhere, caused $90 billion in damage. Hurricane Irma raked across the Caribbean and hit Florida in September, causing $50 billion in total damage.

The storms also caused 251 combined deaths. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria now join 2005’s Katrina and 2012’s Sandy as the five most costly U.S. hurricanes in the agency’s disaster record.

Western wildfires cost an additional $18 billion and 54 lives. This, too, was an annual record. Other large costs came from tornadoes, droughts, flooding and other severe weather events.

The previous most expensive disaster year was 2005, when events such as Hurricane Katrina caused $215 billion in U.S. damage when adjusted for inflation.

NOAA’s record of billion-dollar natural disasters goes back to 1980.

According to NOAA, there have been 215 U.S. disasters costing $1 billion or more since 1980, for a total of more than $1.2 trillion in damage.

The year 2017 tied 2011 for the largest total number of such events, at 16.

Clinton’s Under Scrutiny, Again It ain’t over till it’s over. Although during her campaign for president Hillary Clinton vehemently rebutted any suggestion that the Clinton Foundation engaged in any pay-to-play politics or other illegal activities while she served as secretary of state, the Justice Department has launched a new inquiry into the foundation.

FBI agents in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the foundation was created, have taken the lead in the

investigation. In the last month, at least one witness was interviewed and law enforcement officials said additional activities are planned for this month.

According to officials, the probe is to determine whether the Clintons promised or implemented any policy favors in return for donations or whether donors made pledges in anticipation of securing government outcomes. It is possible that the probe will further investigate whether any tax-exempt assets were converted for personal or political use and whether the foundation complied with applicable tax laws.

On Friday morning, just after the new probe was leaked to the media, Clinton’s chief spokesman, Nick Merrill, attacked the FBI for re-opening the case, calling the probe “disgraceful” and suggesting it was nothing more than a political distraction from President Trump’s Russia woes.

“Let’s call this what it is: a sham,” Merrill huffed. “This is a philanthropy that does life-changing work, which Republicans have tried to turn into a political football. It began with a now long-debunked project spearheaded by Steve Bannon during the presidential campaign.

It continues with Jeff Sessions doing Trump’s bidding by heeding his calls to meddle with a department that is supposed to function independently.”

Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian responded defensively, “Time after time, the Clinton Foundation has been subjected to politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have been proven false. None of this has made us waver in our mission to help people. The Clinton Foundation has demonstrably improved the lives of millions of people across America and around the world while earning top ratings from charity watchdog groups in the process.”

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

Chaos at JFK

After two days of delays and cancellations due to the bomb cyclone storm that hit the tri-state area on Thursday, travelers at JFK Airport faced more frustration.

On Sunday a water main break led to a shutdown of international flights arriving at Terminal 4. The chaotic scenes were circling on social media showing water dripping from the ceiling and hundreds of stranded passengers and baggage pileups. Workers were seen using squeegees and brooms to push the water out the airport’s doors.

According to the airport’s twitter account, only international arrival flights were not allowed into the terminal; international departures were not cancelled, just delayed. The airport urged passengers to contact their airlines for flight information. By Sunday afternoon, close to 50 flights were cancelled and more than 300 were delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

The previous day, on Saturday, there were 94 canceled flights. This created a pile-up of passengers who were scrambling to get booked on new flights, exacerbating the normally chaotic scene at the airport.

In a statement on Sunday, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the airport, said that extreme temperatures and the brutal snowstorm “created a cascading series of issues for the airlines and terminal operators over the weekend.

“These included frozen equipment breakdowns, difficulties in baggage handling, staff shortages, and heavier than typical passenger loads,” the statement said. “These challenges left passengers on planes for extensive periods, as the airlines and terminal operators experienced delays in getting aircraft in and out of gates,” the statement added.

Legendary Astronaut Dies

In 1972, John Young became the ninth person to ever set foot on the moon. The veteran U.S. astronaut completed six missions to space in his career. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced over the weekend that Young had died on Friday at the age of 87. Young is only one of 12 people to have stepped onto the moon. After serving in the U.S. space program for 42 years, Young retired in 2004.

Young was also known for his sense of humor. He smuggled a corned beef sandwich into orbit during one of his missions in space.

On Young’s first trip to space in 1965, he was accompanied by fellow astronaut Gus Grissom for the first two-man U.S. space jaunt. Before the launch, astronaut Wally Schirra, who was not flying on the mission, approached Young with a corned beef sandwich on rye bread from a deli in Cocoa Beach, Florida. He asked Young to give the delicacy to Grissom when they arrived in space, and Young happily obliged. During the flight, as they discussed the food provided for the mission, Young whipped out the corned beef sandwich and handed it to Grissom. As expected, NASA rebuked Young for the antics, which generated criticism from lawmakers and the media, but his career did not suffer. However, Young had an important point: every road trip needs some serious eats.

Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, is trying to appeal to African-American voters before his primary challenge against Chicago businessman J.B. Pritzker.

ed as saying. “And I think that’s part of a strategic gentrification plan being implemented by the city of Chicago to push people of color out of the city. The city is becoming smaller, and as it becomes smaller, it’s become whiter.”

Kennedy moved to Illinois after graduating college in 1986. He is the head of the family investment firm, Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises, and is a member of the mutual fund board of trustees for Chicago-based Ariel Investments. He has never held elected office before, though he worked on U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy’s bid for the 1980 Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

He has struggled to raise campaign funds and lacks the backing of the state’s Democratic establishment.

“I believe that black people are being pushed out of Chicago intentionally by a strategy that involves disinvestment in communities being implemented by the city administration,” said Kennedy. “I believe Rahm Emanuel is the head of the city administration and therefore needs to be held responsible for those outcomes,” he added.

“This is involuntary. That we’re cutting off funding for schools, cutting off funding for police, allowing people to be forced to live in food deserts, closing hospitals, closing access to mental health facilities.

What choice do people have but to move, to leave?” Kennedy was quot-

De Blasio for President?

In November New Yorkers roundly gave Mayor Bill de Blasio another four years in Gracie Mansion. But the Big Apple can be certain it won’t be seeing too much of its mayor in

You are cordially invited to a Special Networking Event by the and

Wednesday, February 7, 2018 Time: 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM Location: Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills 7011 150th St., Flushing, NY 11367 Free Parking available at the YCQ lot

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Yaakov Serle

Honoring:

Celebrating the QJL's 6-Year Anniversary and introducing the BJL

Words of Welcome

Rav Yitzchak Yisraeli

Chief Rabbi of the Bukharian community in USA and Canada

Introductory Remarks

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Chris Kennedy Eyes Chicago Chris Kennedy, who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Illinois, has come out against Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for his treatment of the African-American community. Kennedy, son of late U.S. Senator Robert

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the next few years.

During a radio interview with John Catsimatidis on Sunday, de Blasio spoke about progressive causes and said that he will be traversing the country to support them.

“Democrats have to have the strongest most progressive message of economic change and fairness, so I think that’s even more important than a single leader emerging,” he said. “I’m going to go all around the country helping to support the folks who will be part of that change and the folks who believe in that kind of vision for the party.”

De Blasio praised Senator Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi for their recent efforts to that end, as well Sen. Bernie Sanders who swore him in last Monday. He did not mention Hillary Clinton, who attended de Blasio’s 2014 swearing-in with

her husband President Bill Clinton, but skipped this year’s ceremony.

Since coming to City Hall in January. 2014, de Blasio has traveled outside the country at least 11 times, including trips to Italy, Germany and France, and has taken trips outside the city at least 53 times — not including trips to Albany and Washington, D.C. Is he campaigning for something?

This year, de Blasio will be getting a $33,750 increase to his $225,000 salary, under legislation that was authorized by the mayor in 2016. His bank account in 2018 will see $258,750 coming from the city.

Talk about a pay hike. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a $1 salary during his time in office. President Trump receives a $400,000 salary, as required by law. Every quarter the president has been donating his salary to numerous causes he feels are important.

Union Embezzlement Unions are meant to protect workers and their rights, however,

a recent reveal of several scandals amongst union offices have exposed quite the opposite. U.S. Department of Labor documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press show embezzlement from hundreds of union offices nationwide over the past decade.

Recently, the United Automobile Workers, Fiat Chrysler, and federal investigators unraveled a scandal that involved money intended for worker trainings that ended up in the hands of union offices. In just the past two years, more than 300 union locations have discovered theft. The cases involved unions representing nurses, aerospace engineers, firefighters, teachers, film and TV artists, air traffic controllers, musicians, bus inspectors, bakery workers, roofers, postal workers, machinists, ironworkers, steelworkers, dairy workers, plasterers, train operators, plumbers, stagehands, engineers, electricians, heat insulators, missile range workers and bricklayers.

“Unions are not unique,” said Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor who teaches law at Wayne State University. “Another group hit hard by embezzlement are churches.

You can’t train people to be ethical.

It’s just access to money.”

He added, “These people view themselves as overworked and underpaid. Well, I’ve just identified 80% of the country.”

Sadly, theft is common in non-profits and small businesses, and often goes undetected for years due to lack of checks and balances and precautions put in place.

The cases from Office of Labor Management Standards last year cite theft and fraud ranging from $1,051 to nearly $6.5 million.

Fire & Fury Consumes Washington If Washington, D.C., was consumed in 2017 by a narrative that Donald Trump so badly wanted to

win the presidential race that he even colluded with Russia in order to achieve that result, the narrative in 2018 has begun with a completely different spin – that he never wanted to win the presidency in the first place.

According to a new book by Michael Wolff titled Fire and Fury, which purports to give a glimpse into the first several months inside the Trump White House, Trump only ran for president in order to further his brand and “his ultimate goal, after all, had never been to win.” According to Wolff, shortly before Election Day, Mr. Trump told his longtime friend Roger Ailes, the former head of Fox News, “I don’t think about losing, because it isn’t losing. We’ve totally won.” In fact, Wolff says that the Trump clan was so shocked and dismayed when Trump won that Melania Trump cried out of sadness on election eve once the shocking results came in.

However, a spokesperson for Mrs. Trump has said that Melania always believed that her husband would win and that she was thrilled.

“The book is clearly going to be sold in the bargain fiction section,” added the spokesperson.

In the days since the book has come out, many inaccuracies have been noted. For example, in one anecdote, Wolff notes how during the transition when someone mentioned John Boehner, the former House Speaker, Trump responded, “Who’s that?” However, John Boehner had been the subject of numerous tweets

by Trump before that date and they had golfed together several times.

The inaccuracies are, at times, comical.

The Washington Post’s national reporter Mark Berman noted that a story in Wolff’s book features an incident involving him which took place at Washington’s Four Seasons over breakfast. He tweeted, “I have never had breakfast at the Four Seasons, never actually been there but now I wonder if I can use this to go eat there and expense it?”

When asked about the book, New York Times White House correspon-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

‫ישיבה דרך איתן‬

Sefer Zikaron

‫ע”ש מרן רבי‬ ‫אברהם יפה'ן זצ”ל‬

Y E S H I VA O F FA R R O C K AWAY YAAKOV AND ILANA MELOHN CAMPUS

A Sefer Zikaron, dedicated

IN MEMORY OF REB YOSEF MELOHN Z”L

to the memory of Rabbi Brafman ZT”L, is being planned in conjunction with the dinner. Talmidim, chaveirim, mispallelim, and family members are invited to submit divrei Torah, articles, memoirs, vignettes, and photos. Submissions may be sent via email to zikaron@ yofr.org or mailed to the Yeshiva before January 22nd.

Please note: space constraints may limit us from including

The Rabbi

some submissions. Originals may not be returned.

Aaron Brafman

Rabbi Avrohom Boruch Brafman

TRIBUTE DINNER

Dinner Chairman

Mr. Joel Ganz Journal Chairman

C o m m e m o r a t i n g a L i f e o f B u i l d i n g Ta l m i d i m

Tribute Committee Mr. Moshe Majeski Chairman

Mr. Chaim Balter Dr. Joel Baum Dr. Tzvi Rubin Mr. David Schreiber, Esq.

Mr. Benjamin Brafman Guest of Honor L

Alumni Tribute Committee

Accepting the Rabbi Aaron Brafman Memorial Tribute

Mr. Yossi Deutsch Chairman

Mr. Yanky Kleinkaufman Dr. Yaakov Leb Mr. Aaron Martin Mr. Matis Miller

Motzei Shabbos, February 10, 2018 ‫מוצאי שבת‬ ‫שקלים‬-‫פרשת משפטים‬ ‫כ”ה שבט תשע”ח‬ At the Yeshiva Campus 802 Hicksville Road Far Rockaway, NY 11691

For reservations or journal ad placement please contact:

P. 718.327.7600 E. dinner@yofr.org W. www.yofr.org

4 9 T H

A N N U A L

D I N N E R

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dent Maggie Haberman tied herself in a pretzel and explained on CNN, “I believe parts of it, and then there are other parts that are factually wrong.

He believes in larger truths and narratives. So he creates a narrative that is notionally true, that’s conceptually true. The details are often wrong.”

Perhaps anticipating that his book will be discredited, the author cleverly issued a disclaimer in the prologue, stating: “Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many, in Trumpian fashion, are boldly untrue. These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book.” With this, Wolff attempts to deflect all accusations of yellow journalism and places it at the feet of He Who Bares All Blame for All Things Bad—Donald J. Trump.

In response to Pres. Trump stating that the Wolff is a “total loser who made up stories in order to sell his really boring and untruthful book,” Wolff responded on NBC that “my credibility is being questioned by a man who has less credibility than, perhaps, anyone who has ever walked on earth at this point.”

Since the book’s release, Wolff has been booked on most Sunday shows and is being paraded around as the Paul Revere of the “Trump Resistance Movement.” Although not mentioned in the book, in a recent interview on MSNBC, when asked if the president is an anti-Semite, Wolff stated, “You know, I don’t know. I think that he thinks about...I think he’s aware of who is Jewish in a way that might give, that might, that feels creepy.”

Wolff has admitted in several interviews that his book “is 25th Amendment kind of stuff,” referencing the amendment which enables the removal of a sitting presidency due to physical or mental incapacity.

As Washington was consumed

by Mr. Trump’s purported lack of competence, as reflected in Fire and Fury, the president, in a series of tweets, stated: “Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence.... Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have

been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star...to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius...and a very stable genius at that!”

Perhaps, Trump should add to his list of accomplishments his quality of being the best troller twitter has ever known.

Bye Bye Bannon

Steve Bannon, who until recently claimed to be the brain-trust for the populist movement which swept Donald Trump into office, has been

given the proverbial “cement shoes” treatment by the White House which rebuffed his apologies for inflammatory statements he made to Michael Wolff for his new book Fire and Fury.

In the book, it was written that Bannon decried Donald Trump Jr’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during the Trump campaign as “treasonous.” He also predicted that “they’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.” “You realize where this is going,” Bannon, who at the time was Pres.

Trump’s chief strategist, told Wolff.

“This is all about money laundering.

[Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s] path to [messing over] Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr. and Jared Kushner … It’s as plain as a hair on your face.”

These explosive statements – although completely contradictory to other statements that Bannon has made about the Russian investigation – capped off Bannon’s fall from grace. Last month, Bannon single-handedly cost the GOP the Alabama senate seat when he backed Roy Moore and propelled him to a primary victory over the candidate that Pres. Trump and the GOP sup-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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ported. Moore ended up going down in flames due to a history of indiscretions.

“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind,” noted the president in a statement, referencing Bannon being fired from the White House in August. “Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was. It is the only thing he does well.”

Bannon, who had returned as executive chairman to Breitbart News after being fired from the White House, issued a rare apology: “Donald Trump, Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around. My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda – as I have shown daily in my national radio broadcasts, on the pages of Breitbart News and in speeches and appearances from Tokyo and Hong Kong to Arizona and Alabama.”

White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley rebuffed Bannon’s apology and said, “I don’t believe there is any way back for Mr. Bannon at this point. I just don’t think there’s any way back.”

Bannon who was trying to build a movement to take on the GOP establishment had his wings permanently clipped by his over-the-top error.

His former main monetary backer, Rebekah Mercer, issued a statement distancing herself from Bannon. “I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected.

My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements,” stated Mercer.

When asked whether Bannon should be fired from Breitbart – which reportedly is being considered – White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded, “I certainly think that it’s something they should look at and consider.”

On Tuesday, it was announced that Bannon is stepping down from Breitbart. He had taken over for founder Andrew Breitbart in 2012, when Breitbart passed away.

Crossushi

Want to know about a food trend that’s going to be kosher real soon?

We know it’s going to be kosher because anything that’s really good ends up being made by intrepid and creative chefs in the kosher world.

So here goes: the food has been termed the crossushi and was originally called the California Croissant. Truthfully, it looks like a flaky rugelach, but instead of chocolate or cinnamon inside, eaters are treated to a sushi wonderland. The French croissant hides a salmon roll with ginger and a bit of wasabi inside. The outside of the pastry is topped with a mix of dried sesame and seaweed bits (nori). Need a little more flavor? Chefs offer a side of soy sauce for those who want to elevate the sushi experience even more.

The original sushi croissant, the “California Croissant,” was created at a Mr. Holmes Bakehouse location in San Francisco. But people have been loving the crossushi so much other stores have been offering their own version. Soon to come to Central Avenue? Well, it’s a cross between a pasty and sushi – what more can we want?

ington plummeted to an astonishing minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, making it one of the coldest places on Earth. The summit was tied with the Canadian town of Armstrong, Ontario, as the second-coldest location around the globe.

With the wind whipping at more than 100 mph, the wind chill on the mountain reached about 94 degrees below zero. It felt colder there than on the surface of Mars, where the temperature was minus 78 degrees.

“We basically just start saying it’s stupid cold outside,” Mike Carmon, senior meteorologist at the Mount Washington Observatory, said.

Mount Washington, which is in the White Mountains, sits at 6,288 feet above sea level. It is the highest peak in the northeastern United States.

Minus 36 degrees sounds cold but Mount Washington wasn’t the coldest spot on Saturday. That distinction went to two places: Eureka Nunavut, in Canada, and Jakutsk, Russia. Both recorded a temperature of minus 38 degrees early Saturday morning.

The East Coast had been gripped by extreme winter conditions last week, including blistering cold, heavy snowfall and strong winds that were all generated by what meteorologists call a “bomb cyclone.” Yes, it’s really cold outside.

Trust Me – or Not?

Cold to the Bone

Want to know what the second coldest place on the planet was this weekend?

New Hampshire’s Mount Wash-

A case of a stolen car was solved with a bit of irony last week in Virginia.

A man left his car unlocked as he warmed it up one morning. But then two individuals walked by, saw the unlocked vehicle, and made off with the car. Later in the day, clever officers found the stolen car while conducting a traffic stop. They also found forged checks in the vehicle.

Clearly, the two weren’t the most honest individuals.

They were also not the brightest thieves. Wilmer Garcia, one of the robbers, was wearing a t-shirt with the words “trust me” emblazoned across the chest. He was charged with auto theft and two counts of forgery.

Moral of the story: not all men who wear the words “trust me” on their t-shirts should be trusted. Oh, and please lock your cars. There are many coldhearted individuals out there who can’t wait to take your warm vehicles.

Daytime Heist

This may sound like the plot of a movie, but it really happened in Venice last week.

Several jewels and pieces of jewelry were on display at the Doge’s Palace, a popular tourist spot in Venice, as part of an exhibition of Indian jewelry from the Qatari royal collection. But not everyone at the exhibit was there just to look. A team of thieves, mingling with tourists, grabbed jewels from a display case.

One of the thieves acted as a lookout during the heist.

The exhibition displayed over 270 pieces of Indian Mughal jewelry from the 16th to 20th century.

The thieves made off with a pair of earrings and a brooch made of diamonds, gold and platinum. The pieces were owned by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani.

The tourists with the sticky fingers were professionals. They were able to delay the alarm system for one minute so it wasn’t triggered until they made their clean escape.

The pieces of jewelry, worth an estimated “few million euros,” will be difficult to sell because of their international recognition. As such, they will have to be disassembled and sold separately.

Sounds like someone stole the show.

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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5/$2 Lieber's

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4/$1 Zip & Lock Challah Bags

$1.29

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Lb

Family Pack

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Chicken Tops

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With Wings

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Chicken Drumsticks

Top Quality Meat & Poultry

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Aarons

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London Broil

$11.99 Lb

Sliced Beef Pastrami

12 Oz

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6 Oz

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Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

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14 Oz

Spanish Rice Pilaf

Dairy Wafer Roll

Fresh Snow Peas

Mini Soup Mandel

Cello Soup Split Pea, Vegetable, Or

Celery Knob

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Whole Hearts Of Palm

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3 LB

$1.99

Chicken Thighs

Whole Kernel Corn

$0.99

10 OZ

0.99 LB

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Cello Onions

By The Case

96 Oz Limit 4

Gourmet Mushrooms

Tradition

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Extra Large

Macintosh Apple

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Sliced Muenster Cheese

Chick'n Nuggets

6 Oz

10.5 Oz

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Strauss Achla

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White Fish Salad 7 Oz

8.8 Oz

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Mozzarella Sticks

Deep Dish Pie Shells

7 Oz

2 Pack

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Milk Cholov Yisroel 8 Oz

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20 Oz

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12 Oz

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Chocolate Chip Or Runny Chip

25 Oz

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Mehadrin

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Fresh Salmon Fillet

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the

Community YOSS Boys Learn About Their Hebrew Names

I

n connection with Parshas Shemos, Rabbi Eli Herzberg taught the Pre-1A boys at Yeshiva of South Shore about the importance

of their Hebrew names. The boys shared who they are named for and which is the first ois, letter, in their name. The children also wrote

their names in Hebrew and graphed how many boys start with each letter. The highlight of the lesson was when the classes went to the Beis

Medrash and each boy found their ois in the Torah.

CAHAL First Grade Chumash Presentation

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ith great simcha and enjoyment, the boys of Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs’ first grade CAHALclass at Yeshiva of South Shore had the opportunity to celebrate an important milestone in their chinuch.

On Sunday, January 7, our boys, along with Rabbi Henach Gewirtz’s first grade class, received their very first Chumashim.

It was a meaningful ceremony for the CAHAL class.

All dressed up with silver crowns on their heads, the boys showed proper kavod befitting such an important occasion. They each had a special line to say and read each word with confidence.

The celebration was enhanced with the special niggunim sung together by the students with musical accompaniment led by Rabbi Shlomo Drebin on the keyboard. Parents,

grandparents and extended family members watched with pleasure and nachas as their sons were totally integrated

and participated in this meaningful and uplifting YOSS event. From beginning to end, all of the children shined.

CAHAL expresses great hakaras hatov to Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky, Rosh Yeshiva, and Rabbi Chanina

Herzberg, Menahel, for always including the students of CAHAL as part of their yeshiva.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Parsha Comes Alive

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he children of Bais Yaakov of Queens Early Childhood Center learned about the beautiful bracha that Yaakov gave to his grandsons, “Hamalach Hagoel.” They enjoyed turning out the lights in the classroom and pretending to go to sleep as they sang the familiar words.

Each girl worked tirelessly to create a beautiful, unique sign with the words of the bracha, using hand painted paper to punch out stars of all different sizes. Each girl’s project reflected her own unique abilities and ideas, no two looking exactly alike. The culmination was an enjoyable pajama party. The girls had so much fun wearing their pajamas in school – even the Morahs got into the act wearing robes and crocs!

The children made a “bedtime snack” of s’mores and hot cocoa.

Food preparation is a wonderful way to incorporate all of the curriculum areas in a hands-on way. First the children thought about which ingredients they would need to create

the delicious treats and helped their Morah sound out the words and write a list. Then each student applied her math skills carefully counting out the chocolate chips and marshmallows to put into her own s’more. The Morah then challenged the children to figure out how many in all. The best part, of course, was eating them!

A Warm Snow Day

The children enjoyed a “bedtime story” called All The Awake Animals are Almost Asleep by Crescent Dragonwagon. Storytime was especially cozy while wearing pajamas. The girls had a wonderful time discussing the many animals in the book that start with different letters of the alphabet, especially unusual ones like a

16 Years on the Road and Now Coming to the Five Towns

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I

t was cold and snowy outside on Thursday and Friday but the girls in BYAM were busy warming up with a live conference call to brighten their day. More than half the school called in to hear words of inspiration and chizuk from Rabbi Neuman on both Thursday and Friday. He first made sure that all the girls had al-

ready davened and then told them divrei Torah and stories pertaining to the week’s parsha. The girls were so excited and proud to have a part of school at home. As one first grader put it, “It’s a good thing that I go to Bais Yaakov Ateres Miriam, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to call in for the conference!”

vole and a sloth.

As the children lay on their mats in the darkened classroom they thought about all they had learned during this fun day at the BYQ Early Childhood Center. They hummed the tune of “Hamalach Hagoel” and felt reassured that Hashem is watching over them always.

hat makes Al Haderech such a special camp? Every day is totally different! The campers start the day with davening and learning and then are off on a trip every day. The trips include rock climbing, nerf wars, boating, fishing, baseball games, live gameshows, and so much more.

When the trips are not a full day the campers also play sports and have special activities in and around camp. But the real highlight of an Al Haderech summer is the two out-ofthis-world overnights. Last summer the campers spent four days at Niagara Falls where they experienced the Falls from far and up close. Never wanting to be on the bus for more than 2-3 hours at a time the campers stopped at Letchworth State Park and saw the Grand Canyon of the East in addition to other sites while traveling to Niagara and back. While there, the campers were treated to beautiful hotel accommodations and

delicious meals. The campers also go on a two day trip. Last summer they slept (OK, maybe napped) at an arcade. They played until they fell asleep and slept wherever they found it most interesting (ball pit, skeeball lane, pool table, air hockey, etc.).

Where are we off to this summer?

Join us and find out.

Sounds like something you want to do? Al Haderech is open for boys currently in grades 3-8. Located locally in the Five Towns we provide door-to-door transportation on air conditioned buses and vans. This division is filling up quickly so register today before you get closed out.

Summer 2018 will our best yet!

Check out our website, www. alhaderech.com, or call our office at 718-755-1299. The boys’ summer 2018 second session will be from July 25-August 17.

Rabbi Michael and Malkie Merrill Directors.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Names, Not Numbers at HANC

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he eighth grade at HANC had an amazing experience recently. The grade was divided up into groups and had the opportunity to interview Holocaust survivors.

The students prepared extensively for these interviews. The girls studied their survivor’s bio and used it to prepare questions which would discuss the survivors’ memories from before, during, and after the war. The expe-

rience was one the students will never forget. As each survivor entered the building, he or she was greeted by our students. The interactions were wonderful. One of the highlights of the program was the intergenerational component. Seeing the faces of the survivors light up and seeing the students’ faces respond in kind was nothing short of magical. The survivor was escorted upstairs to the inter-

view room which was turned into a real set complete with video, sound, and light equipment. Each student took turns in the roles of interviewer, sound, video, and observer. The students were trained and directed by the Names, Not Numbers© production crew. We thank Jay, Pavin and Matt for all of their hard work with the project.

The interviews themselves were

most memorable. There were so many poignant moments. I do not want to play the role of spoiler so everyone will have to wait until the movie comes out with the interviews.

Suffice it to say that there were tears and even some laughter. Special hakarat hatov to Mr. Dov Rosenberg and Mrs. Tova Rosenberg for all of their help in making this week so special for the students.

their choice. Presenters spoke about how they reached where they are today and about the positive aspects and difficulties of their fields. The

various presenters, mostly consisting of DRS parents, included professionals who have achieved much success in the fields of medicine, dentistry,

law, finance, accounting, rabbanus, computers, politics, real estate, Jewish communal work, psychology, and catering.

DRS Career Fair

D

RS is not only interested in the education of its students during high school, but also cares greatly about its students’ futures. To that end, DRS held an exciting career fair for all 11th and 12th graders. The goal of the program was to present an array of career options to DRS students in an organized and informative way. The program began with an address from Mr. Lance Hirt Rosen, a successful businessman, as well as Chairman of the Board of HALB. Mr. Hirt spoke about his “rules and guidelines” for being successful and about what it is like to be a Jew working in a secular workplace, and stressed the importance of making a kiddush Hashem whenever possible. Following the address, students split up into different rooms to hear about specific professions of

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community PHOTO CREDIT: YAAKOV KATZ STUDIOS

At the 25th Anniversary Melava Malka of the Agudath Israel of West Lawrence on January 6 the community showed hakaras hatov to Rabbi and Rebbitzen Moshe Brown, who was the rav since the shul’s inception.

Although the weather outside was freezing, a standing room-only crowd packed into the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway.

Belev Echad Hosting Rabbi Zev Leff for a Special Shabbos in the Five Towns

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abbi Zev Leff is really coming!

It’s buzzing around all over town.

Rabbi Zev Leff, shlita, will be joining us on Shabbos Parshas Va’era, January 13. He will be speaking in the White Shul, Shaaray Tefila, Beis Medrash of Harborview, and Young Israel of Woodmere. Look out for the full schedule, and enjoy the wit and wisdom of his brilliant shiurim.

What is Belev Echad?

Belev Echad was founded nineteen years ago by Rabbi Nosson Kohn.

Upon moving to Bet Shemesh, R’ Nosson found a generation of young Israelis that had strayed faraway from the original Torah observance and traditions of their religious forefathers, those that had made aliyah one and two generations earlier. R’ Nosson had a vision – to take the many

newcomers settling in Beit Shemesh and train them to become educators, mentors and social workers in the surrounding moshavim.

Today, that vision has become a successful reality. Over 400 classes per month are offered in 22 moshavim surrounding Beit Shemesh and Ramat Beit Shemesh, reaching thousands of people who had very little connection to Judaism. Every day, Belev Echad delivers a variety of Jewish educational programs to all age groups, including men, women, boys, girls and teenagers. Besides the ongoing evening classes, inspirational and festive events are held to coincide with the Jewish calendar, thereby ensuring that Jewish tradition will continue on to the next generation.

In addition, there are trips and summer camps. The staff can often be

seen at weddings or, unfortunately, funerals. Much emphasis is placed on teaching the boys derech eretz, tolerance, and caring. This could be the reason why they are constantly being approached to run more programs.

Shalom bayit, parental education, and the “Jewish home” are also popular courses run in the moshavim.

Shul memberships have grown due to the boys who have married and joined the ranks.

Belev Echad deliver food parcels to needy families before Pesach and Sukkot, showing love and care to the local inhabitants. The madrichim and moshav boys help in arranging and delivering these parcels.

At the parlor meetings that Belev Echad held participants of the programs came to share with the guests the immense emunah and bitachon

that they acquired to help them in their day-to-day lives, at home, in school, at work, and in their service in the IDF. Rav Gad, rabbi of Moshav Kfar Uria, explained how Belev Echad transformed indifferent secular boys into boys ready to play an active part of the Jewish life of the moshav by attending minyanim, lectures and religious events.

You may like to join their “Adopt a Moshav” program, where individuals and shuls partner with Belev Echad.

You will be updated with progress that will enhance you with the satisfaction that your tzedakah funds are making a real difference.

Belev Echad is endorsed by a wide spectrum of rabbanim, including Rabbi Zev Leff, shlita, of Moshav Matityahu.

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Around the Community

Rambam Mesivta Celebrates 26th Annual Family Learn-A-Thon

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hat is a better day than January 1 to bring fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and brothers to the Mesivta to daven and learn together? For a quarter of a century, Rambam has been holding this special program on days when family members are “off” and have “free time.”

Rabbi Zev Meir Friedman, Rambam’s Rosh Mesivta, spoke about the significance of the message that parents send when they come to learn when there are signs they could easily read telling them they could be “off.”

And it wasn’t just fathers who showed up to make that statement!

The Rambam Women’s League and mothers make sure to be there at 7:30 in the morning to provide the much-needed background and logistical support for the day. Moms also were the chefs of the morning as they prepared the eggs and waffles catered by Grapevine Events.

The morning began in typical fashion with an 8

o’clock minyan as well as a Sephardic minyan.

Following davening, Rabbi Friedman shared a dvar Torah on the leadership of Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohein. He quoted Rashi and spoke about the fact that despite the fact that they had gathered many community leaders with them to approach Pharoh in order to free Klal Yisrael, those very same leaders abandoned Moshe and Aharon as they approached the king’s palace. Despite the fact that they were left alone, Moshe and Aharon proceeded with their mission and did not let social pressure or any other factors deter them. “A true leader leads, forges ahead, and is not dissuaded by the fact that popular opinion does not support his efforts. A leader is motivated by doing the right thing.”

The crowd of over 200 people proceeded to the gym, where tables and breakfast were set up.

The Women’s League, headed by Mrs. Judy Azose and Mrs. Carolyn Deutsch, along with their team of

volunteers, coordinated a sumptuous breakfast.

The caterer for the day was Grapevine Events headed by Dani Polotski, a Rambam alumnus, Class of 1998.

After breakfast, the family chavrusa learning began followed by Rabbi Max Anteby, noted senior lecturer for Aish HaTorah, who presented an informative, compelling, and inspiring shiur on the basis of Torah m’Sinai.

He discussed the unique significance of a national

revelation and explained why the claim of such an event could never be duplicated. “It is impossible to lie to someone about their own experiences,” said Rabbi Anteby. “Consequently no one could get away with making such a claim unless it was actually true. The Torah was and is the only source of such a claim.”

He went on to explain that despite being in exile for 2,000 years, scattered in countries throughout the

world, every single sefer Torah is exactly the same and differs at most on one letter for the spelling of one word which differs between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic tradition. A question and answer period followed, and the talmidim and their families enjoyed a meaningful morning learning together with plenty of “food for thought.”

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

On Thursday, as the snow piled high, Yeshivas Hillel Hazakein Avos U’bunim in Far Rockaway was packed with boys and fathers who came out in the blinding snow to learn. The boys started with learning and after 45 minutes the boys were introduced to the latest feature on the L&L hotline, the “Kiddush Club.” A story was told by R’ Yehudah Deutsch about making a kiddush Hashem which will be the first story on the hotline. All boys received doughnuts as well as raffle. After Mincha the boys got to watch a feature presentation. Thank you to all who helped make it happen.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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This division of CMY flips the sports oriented day and allows for MAXXimum hands on activities, where your son will explore the art of woodworking, robotics and STEM and at the same time enjoy the other wonderful fun parts of CMY. CAMP MAXX 2018 will be taking the day camp world by storm--are you ready to give your son the MAXXimum day camp experience?

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Cupcake Wars

I

t was war at this week’s Learn & Live program – cupcake wars. R’ Avrohom Sebrow presented the melachos of kosaiv (writing) and mochaik (erasing) in a unique L&L style.

R’ Sebrow first explained the rules of cupcake wars to all the boys and then all the boys were divided into nine teams, all different colors, plus a captain. The boys were given cupcakes as well as ingredients to decorate the cupcakes with. All the teams had to use all the items they were given to create one of the lamed tes melochos. Each team with their captains did a great job of bringing out their different creative ideas. Everyone was a winner, however, the judges

decided on the black team’s theme as the winner. The blue team won second place and the brown team came in third. Call the L&L hotline for all the details and to hear about the new program “The Real Kiddush Club.”

L&L would like to thank Seasons for sponsoring all the ingredients needed for the event. Thank you to our judges R’ Avki Klein, R’ Sebrow and L&L’s very own Yossi Keilson (R’ Wielgus for trying). Thank you Yeshiva Ateres Shimon. A special thank you to the entire L&L staff.

For more information regarding L&L please email us at learnandlivefr@gmail.com or call our new hotline 641-715-3800 pin 932191#.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Ohr Leah Academy Features Montessori Sensorial Activities

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t Ohr Leah, the girls are engaged in learning with all of their senses. Montessori sensorial activities, which include math instruction, pre-reading, writing, geography, science and much more, are those which engage and refine the five senses: tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory and gustatory. Children are particularly receptive to developing their senses from age 2-6 so it is important to give as many sensorial activities as possible to young children.

Ohr Leah activities are carefully designed. Some are purchased and others are handmade following basic Montessori principles. The materials are carefully designed to isolate the quality being mastered. For instance, a work introducing geometric shapes will have pieces that are all the same color in order to emphasize the shape. They will also have control of error, for example, the child will not be able to fit all of the cylinders in place if one of them is missing. Another important element is that these activities indirectly prepare the child for future learning. One example of this concept is that most of the sensorial activities come with ten pieces, which is an indirect preparation for the decimal system!

Sensory comes from the Latin word sentire, meaning “to perceive, feel.” Children who are using all of their senses are really learning! At Ohr Leah, our classroom materials are three dimensional and real. They are predicated on the fact that chil-

dren want to see and feel the real object; that concentration is the byproduct of a child learning with his or her hands! At this stage, it is not efficient to teach sensorial concepts using pictures. The learning process is greatly enhanced when all of the senses are engaged allowing concepts and skills to be acquired in a deeper and more lasting fashion.

Ohr Leah is still accepting applications for the 2018/2019 school year. Limited spots available. For more information about Ohr Leah please contact Suzanne Burger at 347-794-4940 or Leah Schwartz at 757-651-1129.

(S)NO(W) School By: Sarah Austin, MSH ‘18

T

he grind never stops for Midreshet Shalhevet students! At the end of the day on Wednesday, students were instructed to take home all the materials they would need over the weekend in the event of a snow day. Although it wasn’t actually announced until later that night, students were excited for their upcoming snow day.

Even though we weren’t in school, through MSH’s extensive use of technology, many students were still able to partake in AP Classes from the comfort of our own homes on Thurs-

day. With classes as demanding as A’s, the students were grateful not to lose a day of learning. On Friday, Mrs. Hindy Feder’s twelfth grade nashim b’halacha class was able to use technology to finish the material and review for our upcoming midterm. Having these two days off was a great opportunity to study for our midterms.

The two days off weren’t all work and no play. On Thursday, the snow was up to my knees in some places, so of course I took advantage of that!

Thank goodness for snow days!

I have one question: where is all this snow going to go when it melts?

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Around the Community

Masmidim: Extra Learning Opportunities Abound at Rambam

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he morning at Rambam begins with a 7:45AM optional shiur before Shacharis. Approximately 40 more boys choose to participate in lunch and evening learning as well. This group, which forms the core of Rambam’s Mas-

midim Program, stands out for their commitment to learning lishma, even when not required to do so.

The Rambam administration chose to honor those boys and their parents with a special presentation at the January 1st Family Learn-A-

Thon.

The Masmidim and their family members were called up and presented with plaques which read, “Special Recognition for enhancing the atmosphere of the Bais Medrash during the Masmidim hours and for

being the personification of the concept of ‘Lishma.’”

Their rebbeim stood proudly next to them and their families sharing the nachas of this well-deserved tribute.

Asara B’Tevet: A Fast Day of Inspiration at SKA

SKA TTYL members Rachel Ash, Mrs. Rikki Ash and Rebecca Weiss

By: Ayelet Aharon SKA ‘18

O

n Asara B’Tevet, Thursday, December 28, the TTYL (Turning Tefillah into Your Life) Committee of the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls ran an inspiring program to enhance tefillah. Upon entering the school building, a huge sign reading “Welcome to the MET (Museum Enriching Tefillah)” introduced incredible student produced artwork throughout the hallway. SKAers were surrounded by beautiful paintings and computer graphics created by the Art Academy and Graphic Design classes depicting different tefillot in a

unique visual form. In each davening group, one painting and one graphic design were presented to the girls to explain the deeper meanings behind the artwork in connection to tefillah.

Each class also benefited from individual tefillah workshops run by TTYL student facilitators. The classes were presented with a choice of twelve Post-it notes created by TTYL, each with an image and short poem related to tefillah. Every girl chose four Oost-it notes that contained a personal connection to her, and with the help of the student facilitators, discovered how the words of the poems can actually connect to words of tefillah. At the end of the session, the

Choosing TTYL Post-its for siddurim

girls were able to stick the Post-its into their personal siddurim in order to add personal meaning to their everyday davening. This program was an incredible opportunity for girls to see tefillot in new and exciting ways, and to add a layer of depth and meaning to their routine tefillah. The notes remaining in each girl’s personal siddur are a representation of the lasting impact of the inspiration and serve as a constant reminder of the lessons learned.

In addition to making the fast day so relevant for students, SKA offered an inspirational Asara B’Tevet Boker Iyun to women of the community as SKA Limudei Kodesh faculty mem-

bers Mrs. Sheva Mezei and Mrs. Rochel Chafetz delivered powerful shiurim to a large group of attendees.

Thanks go to Rabbi Isaac Rice and Mrs. Elisheva Kaminetsky for arranging this wonderful Boker L’iyun, Mrs. Kayla Mezei and Mrs. Rochel Chafetz for sharing divrei Torah, Mrs. Suzy Libin, Mrs. Meredith Pyle and the Art Academy students for this wonderful gallery of artwork, Mrs. Kaminetsky, Mrs. Aviva Dennis, Mrs.Rikki Ash, Mrs. Jorge Mallin and Mrs. Rivi Blum and all the TTYL members for all their work in making this Asara B’Tevet at SKA meaningful.

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A Wedding of Warmth – Because of the Snow

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hseph Weisz, a yeshiva bachur in Jerusalem, recently met Miriam Hershkop, a nurse and accomplished violinist in Jerusalem. Both had made aliyah. Dr. and Mrs. Sheldon and Alyssa Hershkop live in Toronto, and Mr. and Mrs. Daniel and Michele Weisz are from Huntington, NY. Once the couple decided to marry, they planned a wedding at Beth Sholom in Lawrence for January 4.

Once the blizzard was in the forecast, friends of the chosson’s parents, Riitta and Ned Schoenfeld of Woodmere, invited the chosson’s family to stay with them before and after the wedding to reduce the inconvenience of traveling so far in the snow. Mr. Weisz was becoming concerned by 11am the morning before the wedding. The blizzard had disrupted the travel plans of at least two-thirds of their guests. Then the heat in the catering hall broke, the photographer and videographer canceled, and the chef called to say he wouldn’t be there either. Mr. Weisz asked for some help

from Hashem and from k’lal Yisrael.

And help came. Rabbi Yair Hoffman of TAG arranged for another photographer and for some local girls to do the cooking and waitressing. The Schoenfelds spoke to Rabbi Levin and Menachem Lewin of Aish Kodesh, Rabbi Katzenstein of Yeshiva Gedolah, and to Jeremy Feder of the Lawrence School District. A message was sent out via email and WhatsApp to the local community. Additionally, the brother of the kallah, who learns

in Lakewood, contacted other rabbeim in the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, who continued to spread the word about the upcoming wedding.

Once it was time for the chuppah that evening and despite the snow, over 300 people were in attendance, 200 of whom had arrived for the sake of the mitzvah, never before having met either the chosson’s or kallah’s family! The chosson and kallah spent the next four hours dancing, smiling and meeting their several hundred

new friends. One rebbetzin commented that night, “When the Jewish people come together like this with such ahavas Yisrael, it shows Hashem that we are ready for Mashiach, may he come soon.”

The day after the wedding Mr. Schoenfeld called many of the shuls and schools to thank everyone for their efforts. On one such call, a rebbe from one of the schools made the following point: “Too often when we are invited to a chassuna, we start thinking that either it’s too far away, or not at a convenient time, or we identify some other ‘inconvenience.’ But this chassuna was wonderful because it reminded everyone of the incredible mitzvah to bring joy to the chosson and kallah, and all who attended were clearly there for no other reason than to fulfill the mitzvah.”

The Weisz and Hershkop families would like to express their hakares hatov to the community for making their simcha so wonderful and memorable.

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

Around the Community

Annual Robert Chiger Scholarship Concert Huge Success

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Rabbi Wakslak and Joseph Langer, a past shul president, conceptualized this scholarship concert twenty years ago. Since that time, the proceeds from this scholarship concert has allowed many local community youngsters to attend yeshiva and/or overnight summer camps. Thirteen years ago, following the untimely p’tirah of Robert Chiger, z”l, a young vibrant member of the congregation, it was decided that his memory would be most appropriately perpetuated by re-naming this scholarship fund The Robert Chiger Scholarship Fund.

This year’s concert was no different. With so many possible deterrents such as record freezing temperatures, snow on the roads, and no obvious place to park, an overflowing crowd simply appeared and enjoyed a

magnificent performance by Mordechai Shapiro, a talented new musical sensation handpicked by the Chiger family to perform for the second year in a row. The Tendler family from the Five Towns celebrated the birthday of their daughter with a surprise invitation to many of her friends who attended the concert and were appropriately acknowledged. This year’s performance was enhanced by the addition of strobe lights and smoke-generating machines.

As a consequence of the Chiger family generosity in conjunction with many other concert sponsors the event was also a financial success that will afford assurance to the families who will certainly benefit.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Names, Not Numbers at HANC

T

he eighth grade at HANC had an amazing experience recently. The grade was divided up into groups and had the opportunity to interview Holocaust survivors.

The students prepared extensively for these interviews. The girls studied their survivor’s bio and used it to prepare questions which would discuss the survivors’ memories from before, during, and after the war. The expe-

rience was one the students will never forget. As each survivor entered the building, he or she was greeted by our students. The interactions were wonderful. One of the highlights of the program was the intergenerational component. Seeing the faces of the survivors light up and seeing the students’ faces respond in kind was nothing short of magical. The survivor was escorted upstairs to the inter-

view room which was turned into a real set complete with video, sound, and light equipment. Each student took turns in the roles of interviewer, sound, video, and observer. The students were trained and directed by the Names, Not Numbers© production crew. We thank Jay, Pavin and Matt for all of their hard work with the project.

The interviews themselves were

most memorable. There were so many poignant moments. I do not want to play the role of spoiler so everyone will have to wait until the movie comes out with the interviews.

Suffice it to say that there were tears and even some laughter. Special hakarat hatov to Mr. Dov Rosenberg and Mrs. Tova Rosenberg for all of their help in making this week so special for the students.

their choice. Presenters spoke about how they reached where they are today and about the positive aspects and difficulties of their fields. The

various presenters, mostly consisting of DRS parents, included professionals who have achieved much success in the fields of medicine, dentistry,

law, finance, accounting, rabbanus, computers, politics, real estate, Jewish communal work, psychology, and catering.

DRS Career Fair

D

RS is not only interested in the education of its students during high school, but also cares greatly about its students’ futures. To that end, DRS held an exciting career fair for all 11th and 12th graders. The goal of the program was to present an array of career options to DRS students in an organized and informative way. The program began with an address from Mr. Lance Hirt Rosen, a successful businessman, as well as Chairman of the Board of HALB. Mr. Hirt spoke about his “rules and guidelines” for being successful and about what it is like to be a Jew working in a secular workplace, and stressed the importance of making a kiddush Hashem whenever possible. Following the address, students split up into different rooms to hear about specific professions of

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

DRS Nedivei Lev Service Society

L

ast week, DRS held its seventh annual Nedivei Lev Service Society Induction Ceremony. This special ceremony recognizes DRS students that have shown exemplary service to their community and school through extraordinary acts of chessed and kindness. The ceremony honored members of the senior class who have served their school and the larger community with great distinction. The ceremony was attended by the entire student body, as well as faculty and parents. Menahel Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky gave opening remarks and discussed the Nedivei Lev Service Society as well as the concept of chessed and giving to others.

What made the program truly unique was that the students were given awards by the directors and founders of many of the organizations that were the beneficiaries of the great chessed done by DRS students. Mr. Andy Lauber of i-Shine presented Moshe Strauss, Binyamin Ciment and Simon Kleinman with an award for their involvement mentoring boys who

have a family member struggling with illness. Rabbi Zalman Wolowick of Chabad applauded Sruli Fruchter for his volunteer work with the Friendship Circle. Mrs. Madeline Rosenberg spoke about Yosef Mehlman’s accomplishments at DRS. Representatives from OHEL Beis Ezra honored Dov Greenberg, Jesse Felder, Tzvi Heimowitz, Coby Ackerman and Jonathan Bezalel for their involvement in the important

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organization and its Youth Leadership Council. Rabbi Pinchos Chatzinoff of Cong. Tiferet Zvi thanked Moshe Bennet for his countless hours of service to the shul. Rabbi Natan Farber commended Aaron Perris, Binyamin Klein and Jeremy Koffsky for all the work they do the for the students in DRS, whether it be serving as G.O. President in Aaron’s case, creating fantastic videos as Jeremy does, and helping with

technical aspects of school and DRS Live in Binyamin’s case. Rabbi Aryeh Cohen lauded Dubi Fischman and Jonah Loskove for their dedication to D’varim Hayotzim Min HaLev, DRS’s weekly Torah publication.

A big yasher koach to all the honorees on their chessed and to Student Activities Director Rabbi Eli Brazil who coordinates all chessed opportunities in DRS.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

Learning Strong at Gesher

HANC’s Torah Bowl Victory

O

n Tuesday, January 2, HANC hosted the second Torah Bowl meet of the year.

Students mastered Parshiot Vayera, Chaya Sarah and Toldot with Rashi. HAFTR, HALB, Shulamith, North Shore and Silverstein Hebrew Academy of Great Neck joined us for

the competition. It was an intense, spirited and enjoyable day. We were so proud to host such an event and even prouder by the results of the day! The girls’ team won all 5 of their games! They have maintained their first place status since the first meet and look forward to continuing such

a strong season. The Middle School Boys’ Torah Bowl team also had a fantastic day. In the first game the boys played, they cruised by HAFTR as Mor Sharoni and Avi Brandler answered question after question. Following this, the boys beat HALB and North Shore. The boys narrowly lost

in the last match, on the last question, but finished the day with an excellent record of 3-1. The boys’ team is now 6-2 on the season and has set their eyes on winning the Torah Bowl championship.

We are so proud of the accomplishments of both our teams!

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

KolSave Market Comes to the Five Towns

I

n a development much anticipated by residents of the Five Towns and surrounding neighborhoods, KolSave Market, a new price- and value-centered kosher superstore, officially opened for business on Monday afternoon.

And shopper reviews started pouring in almost immediately.

“I’m really impressed,” enthused one woman. “I found so many things here at such great prices.”

“I actually did my shopping yesterday, but I wanted to check out the new store,” remarked another opening day visitor. “But once I started looking around … well … my shopping cart is already half full. I’m just loving these prices.”

Comments also focused on the store’s size (“big, but easy to navigate”) and cleanliness (“absolutely immaculate”). The abundant, free parking was also happily noted.

KolSave Market is located at 11 Lawrence Lane (the former home of Brach’s). A new mega-size Amazing Savings, due to open in February, will share the Lawrence Lane complex, now named Savings Plaza. Like traditional one-stop supermarkets, KolSave features fresh produce, meat, fish and deli departments. A full array of grocery products includes name brand and off-brand items, as well as

regular packaging and larger quantity packaging designed to deliver even more savings and value.

According to director of purchasing Howie Klagsbrun, the new market aims to keep food prices down by cutting overhead costs. The store opens at nine o’clock every day except Friday (when it opens at eight) and restricts the hiring of non-essential personnel, such as food baggers (cashiers do the job). “Modifications like these result in massive savings that we’re able to pass onto our customers.”

KolSave does not pack in cardboard boxes (bags only), which also translates into significant annual savings.

And while these savings are reflected throughout the store, on opening day it was the KolSave meat department personnel who probably fielded the most questions on how the store manages to keep prices so low.

So how do they do it?

Meat department manager and mashgiach Moshe Solomon explains that the store saves money on poultry by focusing on larger packages. “Buying in quantity allows us to get great deals from our suppliers without sacrificing quality. So while we carry all poultry cuts, we do not have them in all package sizes.

“Our meat is imported and there-

“People would say, ‘Don’t you think it’s dangerous to live here?’ I joke, ‘It’s not as dangerous as being a Republican in Pittsburgh.’”

Page 82

fore starts out less expensive. In addition, we’ve worked out an exclusivity agreement with our supplier that incentivizes him to give us the lowest prices possible.” Moshe points out that imported meat is generally leaner and, depending on the cut, may need some adjustments in temperature and cooking time to bring out the full tenderness and flavor. He also notes that much of the imported meat is, in fact, beautifully marbleized, so customers often benefit from low prices as well as fattier cuts.

Both meat and poultry are cut fresh daily on premises by the topnotch KolSave butcher team.

“Whatever the department, KolSave Market is about keeping prices low and value high,” says Howie. “We feel privileged to bring this unique, budget-friendly shopping experience to the community.”

KolSave Market is open Sun, Mon, Tues: 9am-7pm; Wed: 9am -10pm; Thurs: 9 am-11pm; Fri: 8am-2 hours before Shabbos.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

Which one of these children needs Chai Lifeline?

(Hint: They all do.)

Chai Lifeline is renowned for the care and love it bestows on children fighting cancer. But that’s only the beginning.

Chai Lifeline serves thousands of children with medical challenges that aren’t evident on the outside, everything from Crohns Disease to cystic fibrosis to heart disease and illnesses so rare only a handful of children have been diagnosed. And still, that’s only the beginning.

Chai Lifeline includes siblings and parents, too, with programs geared towards the entire family.

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Around the Community

Snow Days

W

e interrupt this regularly scheduled column for a snow alert! While the Five Towns community is still digging out from the “bomb cyclone” that hit last week and children are still glowing from their unexpected school closings, we wondered how Rav Binyamin Kamenetzky, zt”l ,would have handled the situation. As Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva of South Shore for more than 60 years, he certainly encountered his share of weather-related challenges… This prompted some reminiscing from his son and current Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky and some memories from Rabbi Chanina Herzberg, Menahel of the Yeshiva for over 35 years.

A Son (Rav Mordechai) Feels Like a Winner My mind drifts back to the ‘60s when we had no email system, websites or automated phone messaging.

When the big blizzards hit, we had a special way to know if school was closed and that was WOR-AM radio station. My family would huddle in our freezing kitchen, wrapped in blankets with cups of cocoa, waiting to hear the name of our school on the radio. Since my father was the dean of my school, I usually knew if we were closed before the radio announcement. My friends would bombard us with annoying phone calls at 7 a.m., so I always told them that they should just listen to the radio too.

“Your father never calls it in!” they would complain. I wanted to listen and write down the exact time that our yeshiva was announced to prove them wrong. I would get up at dawn to listen because I was sure that he indeed called it in.

“So many goyishe schools,” I re-

member thinking after hearing a plethora of saint-preceded academies that were closed. “Saint this,” in Mamaroneck, closed.” “Our Lady of that in Scarsdale, closed.” “Holy something or other” out in Freeport, Long Island, closed.” On and on. All types of schools. Nothing close to a yeshiva.

And then it finally came, “Yesheeba Cha Sofer. Closed.” “Yesheeba … (pause) and Meseebta Chain (sic) Berlin. Closed.” “The YMCA of Manhattan, will open at 12 p.m.”

“Yesheeba of Flatbush; closed.” And more came. I waited. I did not leave the radio. I would not even go to the bathroom. When were they going to announce us?

Yeshiva and Mesivta Toras Chaim of Greater New York at South Shore was not announced. I was always upset at the long name that we acquired, in the merging of my father’s Yeshiva of South Shore with Rabbi Schmidman’s Yeshiva Toras Chaim in East New York. I was sure that the difficult, long name was the reason the radio guy never announced it. The phone calls came. My friends were right. My school was not announced.

I was heartbroken. It was like my team did not even make it out of the first round.

I was dejected. I was sure that my father had called it in. He wouldn’t let me down. But I couldn’t ask him, since he was gone before I even got up. I don’t know where he went in those blinding blizzards before 6 a.m.

There was no way to get in touch with him and beg him to call it in. And I would not dare ruffle through his drawer, to find the secret code the station gave out, to call it in myself.

The radio announcer was about to go back to his regularly scheduled broadcast. The clock was down to its

Rav Mordechai Kamenetzky and his brother Tzvi on Central Avenue after the blizzard of 1969

final seconds. And then, like a buzzer beater, he stopped. “Oh, this just came in. Yesheeb and Meseebta Touring… Oh m’gosh,” he mumbled, “this is a long one.” My heart was pounding. And then he said it the way everyone out here in Long Island knew it, “Yeshiva of South Shore. Closed.”

I looked at the clock and noted, February 8, 1969, 7:23 a.m. And to myself, as if I had heard the swish of the winning basket, I softly hissed, “Yessss.”

Rabbi Herzberg Learns True “Warmth” I remember one winter over 30 years ago in the early days of my tenure as Menahel of the Yeshiva. I had to travel to a 6 a.m. bris in New Jersey and realized I had forgotten my tallis and tefillin in the Beis Medrash at school. It was a bitterly cold morning.

I arrived at what I expected to be a deserted building at 4:30 a.m. With

alarm, I noticed Rav Binyamin’s car out front. I raced inside, only to find him calmly sitting in his office, huddled in his coat. He was poring over an open sefer with a hot coffee steaming in front of him. He was wearing gloves.

“Reb Binyamin,” I asked, “is everything okay?”

“Yes,” he replied. “I shut the heat off when I left last night in order to save money. I realized that if I were to turn it back on when I came for Shacharis, it would take a few hours for the building to warm up. I wanted to make sure the school was warm enough for the boys when they arrive at 8 a.m.”

Rav Binyamin sacrificed his own comfort to ensure that his beloved talmidim would be warm and that their learning would not be interrupted by the cold weather. He led by example and put his boys and his Yeshiva first.

Celebrate your milestones as a way of pushing you forward towards even more.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Around the Community

NFL Football Star Todd Gurley to Join Majestic Retreats Las Vegas Pesach Program

A

ll pro running back Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams will be running the Majestic Retreats Las Vegas Chol Hamoed Football Clinic at the Green Valley Ranch Resort. The football camp & drills will also feature UNLV coaches and football players.

In 2017, Majestic Retreats, the Pesach program owned and operated by brothers Avi & Shnuer Faskowitz for over 16 years, teamed up with Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa. This prime property offers the most luxurious hotel rooms in the entire Las Vegas Valley. The spacious, elegant rooms feature large bathrooms and modern conveniences, offering guests everything they need for the perfect Pesach stay. The Spa at Green Valley Ranch offers the ultimate experience in relaxation and rejuvenation with a 30,000 square foot facility, exquisitely designed and supremely located

within the GVR’s lush, finely-manicured grounds, offering the perfect refuge from the hot desert sun. Including a state-of-the art fitness center and a fully-featured salon, as well as a variety of holistic spa treatment, The Spa will nourish your body, mind and spirit. It’s no wonder GVR is consistently voted the Best Spa in Las Vegas; no one else can compare! With a reputation for a high standard of excellence, and impressive meeting space, impeccable in-house staff and grand accommodation, the Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa offers a premier Pesach experience.

Guests of the Majestic Retreats/ GVR Pesach Program enjoy the world class food of RAM Caterers with all day BBQs at the pool, outstanding Pesach cuisine prepared by professional chefs, an amazing tea room, mouthwatering kiddushim, a pack-yourown-lunch store for Chol Hamoed

excursions, private and communal sedarim, Ashkenaz and Sephard minyanim, a full service spa and fitness center, daily and nightly entertainment, tennis, basketball, pool tables, 5,000-sq. ft. arcade, movies, bingo with prizes, a professional fun-filled children’s camp, babysitting, play group, daily adult and children activities and programs, daf yomi shiurims, famous entertainers, inspiring scholars and lecturers all in close proximity to fabulous sightseeing and Las Vegas attractions.

“Majestic Retreat’s has a phenomenal reputation in the Pesach industry. We are going into our 16th year and that is why premier

hotels around the country look to partner with us. From spectacular cuisine of Ram caterers, NFL players, clinics with Division One basketball coaches and players, and an incredible comprehensive day camp and teen program, we have put together a Pesach program with so many attractions, services and ‘WOW’ events for our guests that will create memories for years to come,” said Shnuer Faskowitz, owner of Majestic Retreats.

Strictest level of kashrus.

Visit their website at greatpassover.com and or call (718) 969-9100 and lock in a great program for you and your family.

The Iranian government’s problem is no longer a matter of performance but of legitimacy.

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

TJH How Cold Is Cold?

60° Californians put on sweaters (if they can find one) 50° Miami residents turn on the heat 40° You can see your breath; Californians shiver uncontrollably; Minnesotans go swimming 35° Italian cars don’t start

freezes; Miami residents plan vacations further south 15° French cars don’t start; cat insists on sleeping in your bed with you at night 10° You need jumper cables to get the car going

25° Boston rivers freeze; Californians weep pitiably; Minnesotans eat ice cream; Canadians go swimming 20° Politicians begin to talk about the homeless; New York City water

You gotta be kidding A trucker stops at a red light and a man catches up to him, knocks on his window and says, “Hi, my name is Yanky and you are losing some of your load.”

The trucker ignores him, the light changes, and he proceeds down the street.

At the next light, Yanky again catches up and says, “Sir, you are losing some of your load.”

The trucker ignores Yanky again and continues down the street.

At the next red light Yanky catches up, all out of breath, knocks on the window and says, “Are you deaf? I keep telling you that you are losing some of your load!”

The trucker looks at Yanky and says, “Hi, my name is Chaim, it’s snowing, and I’m driving a salt truck.”

0° Alaskans put on t-shirts

-20° Cat insists on sleeping in pajamas with you; politicians actually do something about the homeless; Minnesotans shovel snow off roof; Japanese cars don’t start

-10° German cars don’t start; eyes freeze shut when you blink

-25° Too cold to think; you need jumper cables to get the driver going

-15° You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo; Arkansans stick tongue on metal objects; Miami residents cease to exist

-30° You plan a two week hot bath; Swedish cars don’t start

5° American cars don’t start

32° Water freezes 30° You plan your vacation to Australia

Centerfold

-40° Californians disappear; Minnesotans

button top button; Canadians put on sweaters; your car helps you plan your trip south -60° Congressional hot air freezes; Alaskans close the bathroom window -80° Lawyers put their hands in their own pockets

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

Ice Trivia 1. What are the frozen water parts of the Earth system called? a. b. c. d.

Iceosphere Cryosphere Arctictosphere Polarsphere

2. What is dry ice made from? a. b. c. d.

Water Snow Carbon dioxide gas Nitrogen gas

across with less than 3.3 feet showing above water?

3. As ice freezes it: a. Expands b. Contracts

a. b. c. d.

4. Approximately what percentage of the world is covered by ice sheets and glaciers? a. b. c. d.

10% 25% 35% 60%

6. The expiration date for many foods is based on the food being in a freezer which is set to the correct temperature. What is that temperature? a. b. c. d.

5. What is a piece of ice that breaks off from an iceberg called if it’s an iceberg less than 6.6 feet

 Answers

 Wisdom Key 3-4 correct: You are slightly frozen...like a cheap freezer.

2.

1.

C B- The word “cryosphere” comes from the Greek word for cold, kryos.

D

6.

D

5.

A

4.

this?

24°C 18°C 4°C −18°C

5-6 correct: Forget about ice, you are on fire!

3.

B- This is why standing water in your pipes will cause them to burst if they freeze or why when you put a can of soda in the freezer it eventually explodes.

Riddle me

Bergy-bit Mini-glacier Cube Growler

0-2 correct: Sometimes when people hit their heads they forget information. Just put a growler on your head for a few minutes every day and your wisdom will slowly come back to you.

David has a large ice cube sitting in his freezer when he leaves his home in the morning. When he returns at night, he discovers that the ice cube is gone. Believing that there must have been an intruder, he calls the police who arrive, investigate and reach a conclusion that there was no intruder. What happened?

See answer below

31 71

The freezer stopped working at some point during the day and the ice melted.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Torah Thought

Parshas Va'eira

By Rabbi Berel Wein

M

oshe had complained to G-d that since the L-rd had sent him on a mission to the Pharaoh, the situation of the Jewish people had not only not improved but in fact had worsened.

Moshe’s view of the matter was that somehow the L-rd had not fulfilled the Divine part of the bargain.

This opinion was based on Moshe’s human logic and understanding, which, even though Moshe was on

such a high level, was still only a human response.

He is described later in Scripture as being “slightly less than Divine” and that “slightly” is the difference between the created and the Creator. No matter how long our life span may be, we all realize that there are limits. Therefore we view time and schedules in a compressed, immediate and demanding manner.

The one human trait that is perhaps

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most common with all of us is the lack of patience.

When personal computers first appeared on the market only a few decades ago, we thought it miraculous that in 30 seconds we could be connected to the whole world.

Today any computer that takes 30 seconds to reach the Internet is absolutely obsolete, unmarketable and assigned either to the trash or to a computer museum.

The governing word in human society is “now.” Only things and ideas that are “now” are to be treasured and respected. However, the L-rd of history is not bound by our standards. Here Moshe is taught a basic lesson, that G-d’s promises are always fulfilled but on the basis of

of faith and belief in the fulfillment of prophecy and Godly promises.

A famous English statesman once stated that “the wheels of history grind exceedingly slow but they grind exceedingly fine.” Generations upon generations of Jews longed to see the events that we are now experiencing and even taking for granted. The state of Israel and the strength of Torah life in our time after one of the worst tragedies in the history of the Jewish people are events that are historically breathtaking and nothing short of miraculous.

Yet we are impatient for more and for quicker developments. We are hard-pressed to take a longterm view of life and history. But

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Divine and not human scheduling and time.

Later, when Moshe glimpses Divinity and is taught the 13 attributes of G-d, so to speak, one of these attributes is inordinate patience. It is one of the supreme traits of the Divine that we are privileged to witness. And it is not within the purview of our own lifespans, at least not within the serious study of human and Jewish history. It is our human impatience that causes our lack

we should take to heart the L-rd’s response to Moshe that patience is a G-dly virtue meant to be emulated by humans. History is a process and so is Jewish history and Jewish life.

There was a famous phrase in Yiddish that a workman should never show a lame man a job that is still in progress. Well, our job is still in progress and snap judgments on its accomplishments should be held in abeyance.

Shabbat shalom.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

From the Fire

Parshas Va'eira Misplaced Mercy

By Rav Moshe Weinberger Adapted for publication by Binyomin Wolf

F

rom the outset, our parsha seems to send mixed messages.

On one hand, it begins (Shemos 6:2), “And G-d, Elokim, spoke, va’yidaber, to Moshe,” using the word for speech implying a harsh tone and the Divine name implying strict justice – din. But the pasuk then quickly switches gears and continues, “And He said, va’yomer, to him, ‘I am Hashem,’” using the word for speech implying a soothing tone and the Divine name implying lovingkindness and mercy – rachamim.

The Zohar explains that immediately after Moshe challenged G-d regarding the Jewish people’s suffering (ibid. 5:22-23), “Why have You hurt this nation?... From the time I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this nation...,” Hashem meant to convey to Moshe that there were two very different but simultaneous processes going on. On one hand, Hashem used the words “And G-d, Elokim, spoke,” to show that He was acting with din with the Egyptians – that they were about to suffer the consequences for their cruelty.

But Hashem was also telling Moshe that He was acting completely differently with the Jewish people. He said “I am Hashem,” using the word yud-key-vav-key, to show that all of the Jewish people’s suffering was about to come to an end, that within their suffering, He was preparing to treat them with great mercy. The Jewish people’s redemption was at hand.

That is why He then used the four expressions of redemption (ibid. 6:67), “I will take out... I will redeem... I will take...,” and “I will bring.”

But when Moshe relays this message to the Jewish people, the Torah says (ibid. 9), “They did not listen to

Moshe because of their shortness of breath and the hard labor.” Based on this, Moshe makes an argument to G-d using an a fortiori – kal vachomer deduction – to argue that Pharaoh will also not listen to him (ibid.

12): “If the children of Israel did not listen to me, how will Pharaoh listen to me?” The commentaries have great difficulty with Moshe’s logical derivation. Let us understand one basis for this difficulty.

It would have been understandable if Moshe was commanded to deliver the same message in the same tone to both the Jewish people and Pharaoh.

king of Egypt, [they were commanded to tell him] to take the Jewish people out from the land of Egypt.”

Hashem told Moshe to deliver messages appropriate for each recipient.

The beleaguered Jewish people desperately needed encouragement, hope, and love – rachamim. We needed to hear the four expressions of redemption. We needed to hear that we had a bright future in Yerushalayim and in Eretz Yisroel, a land flowing with milk and honey. Our Egyptian oppressors, however, needed words of rebuke, plagues, and punishment – din.

The ability to encourage and

The only way we can turn darkness into light is by seeing the goodness in other Jews, encouraging them, and treating them with rachamim.

It would then make sense to ask, “If my own people will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh?” But Moshe was commanded to send a completely different message to each recipient. The Arizal explains that Hashem’s message of din was meant for Egypt and His words of encouragement and love were meant for the Jewish people. On one hand, He told Moshe and Aharon (ibid. 13) “concerning the children of Israel” with the message of strength, compassion, and redemption quoted above. But “concerning Pharaoh, the

strengthen the Jewish people is so important that in the introduction to the Zohar it says that a person may only enter the chamber of Moshiach if he knows how “to turn darkness into light and to make the bitter sweet.” One must know the way of rachamim. He must see the good in the Jewish people in order to encourage them. That is the way Hashem wants His leaders to act in order to strengthen us. But the wicked must be dealt with using strict justice, rebuke, and “a strong hand and an outstretched arm.”

Unfortunately the world has completely confused these two approaches. When it comes to the Jewish people, they speak with din, judging the Jewish people’s efforts to live and protect themselves in the harshest possible light. They condemn the only democracy in the Middle East, beset by animalistic terrorists on all sides, and from within, at every opportunity. But when it comes to terrorists and backward Islamic extremists, they speak with a soft voice, with kid gloves, afraid to offend the delicate sensibilities of murderers.

The reality our world does not understand today is that when one shows compassion to the wicked, this will not “turn darkness into light and make the bitter sweet.” Although much of the world makes itself blind, we have seen that this rachamim only strengthens evildoers by showing them that good people are weak and will do nothing to stand up for justice and righteousness.

It was reported that ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria and not afraid of America or England. The only nation they fear is Israel and its soldiers.

The only way we can turn darkness into light is by seeing the goodness in other Jews, encouraging them, and treating them with rachamim.

May we merit to treat each other right and may we see much more than ten plagues visited upon those who work to destroy us with the arrival of the complete redemption, may it come soon in our days!

Rav Moshe Weinberger, shlita, is the founding Morah d’Asrah of Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere, NY, and has served as Mashpia in Yeshiva University since 2013.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Between the Lines

Bad for the Kidneys and the Soul

By Eytan Kobre

Favor and honor sometimes fall more fitly on those who do not desire them.

-Livy

J

ust before the turn of the 20th century, the sultan of a Middle East protectorate conceived of an idea to glorify himself at the expense of a newly arriving British minister. The sultan had a tunnel fitted in the anteroom next to his throne chamber so that the British envoy would have to arrive in the sultan’s chambers on his knees, according due honor and respect to the sultan.

When the British diplomat arrived at the palace to present his credentials, he took one look at the

waist-high tunnel and, rather than moving forward on his knees, entered the tunnel backwards. In the end, the sultan sitting on his throne at the other end of the tunnel saw emerging not the lowered and deferential head of the British envoy but quite another part of his anatomy.

That sultan was not the first Middle East ruler to narrow his palace entranceway in pursuit of self-aggrandizement. Paroh famously lowered the entranceway to his throne room so that all who entered – Moshe and Aharon included – would be forced to bow before him (see e.g. Alshich, Shemos 9:13).

Paroh’s lust for honor was not only pathetic, it was self-destructive.

He went to extraordinary lengths to refrain from relieving himself except for early in the morning, just

so his subjects would believe him to be a god who did not need to attend to bodily functions (Rashi, Shemos 7:15; Shemos Rabba 9:8; Tanchuma, Va’era 14).

Just imagine the toll on his kidneys.

The example of Paroh points to just how destructive honor-seeking can be (Avos 4:21; Rambam, Deios 2:14; Mesilas Yesharim, Chapter 11; Pele Yoetz, Kavod), and Paroh was no exception: • The Jewish spies sent to survey the Land of Israel were all distinguished and upstanding men (Rashi and Ramban, Bamidbar 13:3-4), yet they spoke ill of the Land of Israel and doomed the Jewish people to generations of misery in pursuit of honor, as they believed that, upon settling the land, they would have to

forfeit their prominence and prestige (Mesillas Yesharim, Chapter 11).

• Korach was a man of intelligence and stature (Rashi, Bamidbar 16:7; Pesachim 119a), but he fell from grace due to his lust for honor (Bamidbar 16:6; Mesillas Yesharim, Chapter 11); ironically, Korach accused Moshe of being an honor-seeker because he himself was one (Kiddushin 70a).

• Yeravam Ben Nevat was pious and wise, but he forfeited his place in the World to Come because of his pursuit of honor. After Yeravam sinned, G-d implored him to repent and promised that He and Yeravam and Dovid would “walk together in the Garden of Eden” (Sanhedrin 102a; Mesillas Yesharim, Chapter 11). But when Yeravam learned that Dovid would lead that procession, he

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

declined the offer.

• Haman was second only to the king of the most powerful nation in the world; all the king’s servants bowed to him by royal decree (Esther 3:2). But when one Jew refused to accord him this honor, “Haman filled with anger” (Esther 3:5) and hatched a plan that led to his own demise.

Like a mirage, honor is illusory; it escapes those who reach out to grasp it. “All who seek prestige, prestige flees from him; and all who flee from prestige, prestige seeks him” (Eruvin 13b; Avos 1:13; Yerushalmi, Sota 9:17; Yerushalmi, Avoda Zara 3:1; Tanchuma, Vayikra 3; Mesilas Yesharim, Chapter 22). The more it is demanded, the less it is given.

R’ Bunim of Peshischa once was asked, “Rebbe, I flee from honor, but still it does not pursue me. In light of our sages’ teaching how can that be?”

The Rebbe shot back, “When people truly flee from something, they do not turn around to see if it is in pursuit. They simply flee.”

Those who chase honor will never attain it because it flees from them; those who flee from honor will never attain it because when it chases them, they flee from it. The former cannot attain honor, while the latter runs from it. The difference is apparent only when one leaves this world: one who chased honor can no longer

ing together by horse-drawn carriage to a distant town. When they reached their destination, throngs of eagerly awaiting admirers detached the horses and began to pull the carriage themselves into the city. The Nesivos assumed that this honor was intended for R’ Akiva Eiger, so he descended from the carriage and began to pull it

Like a mirage, honor is illusory.

chase it and never attains it; one who ran from honor can no longer run from it and does attain it.

The ones who attain honor are those who seek to bestow it upon others (Avos 4:1; see Avos 6:6; Sichos Mussar 5733:19).

R’ Akiva Eiger and R’ Yaakov of Lisa (the Nesivos) were once travel-

with the townsfolk. R’ Akiva Eiger assumed that this honor was intended for the Nesivos, so he too descended from the carriage and began to pull it with the townsfolk. Only later was it discovered that they were all pulling an empty carriage – it never dawned on either of these two Torah giants that the honor was for them. They

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were far more preoccupied with bestowing honor upon one another.

In 1940, Winston Churchill was signing the Victoria Cross to a member of the Home Guard who had rescued five lives under a burning building that had been destroyed in the blitz. The man said, “Mr. Churchill, you honor me.”

“Ah, but you are wrong!” Churchill replied. “You are the one who honors me.”

As we bless the new month this Shabbos and pray for “a life of…honor” (Berachos 16b), we would do well to request the opportunity not to attain honor for ourselves but to bestow it upon others.

That would truly be honorable.

And it would be better for the soul – and the kidneys.

Eytan Kobre is a writer, speaker, and attorney living in Kew Gardens Hills.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

E-mail eakobre@outlook.com.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

The Observant Jew

Every Little Bit Helps

By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz

T

he story goes that a witch wanted to cast a spell on Rabi Chanina (Chulin 7b) and he said, “Do your best but it won’t work because Hashem is in charge of everything.” He then explained the verse (Devarim 4:35), “Ain od milvado, there is nothing besides Hashem,” to teach us, “A person doesn’t bang his finger unless it has previously been so decreed in Heaven.”

The idea is that if someone gets hurt, it was from G-d (and not from someone else’s ill intent.)

It’s for this reason that if something bad happens to a person he is supposed to reflect on it. Though someone else may have pushed him down the stairs, he only went down because Hashem ruled in Heaven that it should be that way. Therefore, there’s a message for him in the bang.

I’m not sure which message I was supposed to get when I recently walked into shul from the bitter cold outside and accidentally smacked my hand into the corner of a wood-paneled wall. Having been so cold, the hit split the skin and caused blood to flow. I thought of this Gemara right away and knew it was min hashomayim.

What I learned, however, was something very special. You see, when someone hurts a part of the body they use all the time, like their thumb or index finger, it’s obvious that it will cause frustration and a decreased use of the digit, if not pain and suffering too. But sometimes

we hit a part of the body, like I did in banging my hand and opening the side of my knuckle, that we figure doesn’t get so much use and will be less of a burden.

The surprise I was in for was finding out that I really do use that part. When I drive, I tend to roll the steering wheel across the back of my hand as a means of making a controlled turn. All of a sudden, I found myself wincing in pain because, to my surprise, I actually use this body

meaningful use for them and naively think they’re not important. But it isn’t true (though I still couldn’t tell you what the appendix does, other than give us a word in the dictionary for something added on, unless that came first and the organ’s name came later…)

Hashem knows exactly what we need in life and what we will need in the future. He gives us all the tools, though we may not recognize their value all the time. Everything in our

He gives us all the tools, though we may not recognize their value all the time.

part more than I knew.

How many times have you done some heavy lifting, gardening, playing sports, or other similar actions and later you experience charley horse and your muscles hurt for days? You suddenly are wracked with pain in places you didn’t know you had, let alone muscles that would be used!

It’s part of the same idea. In the course of our normal daily lives, we don’t think very much about those muscles or that knuckle. Like the flap of skin on our elbows or our appendixes, we don’t immediately see a

lives is there for a purpose and at some point we will use it. It therefore behooves us not to take anything for granted and not to think anything is unimportant.

When events occur and make their presence known in our lives, there’s a purpose. There was the story of a woman who came to a local beis din complaining that her husband had abandoned her, leaving her an aguna – a chained woman.

R’ Simcha Bunim of Pshicha was there and said, “Your husband is in the hachnosas orchim house of suchand-such a city.” She went there,

found her husband, and obtained a divorce.

The city was in an uproar about the far-reaching vision of R’ Simcha Bunim but he shrugged it off.

“It wasn’t a miracle at all,” he said.

“I was in the mikveh and overheard two men speaking. One of them mentioned that so-and-so was in the public hostel in a certain town. Since I make it a practice not to speak about others, I realized that I had heard it for some purpose and filed it away until the woman came to our court.”

When we recognize that there are no such things as coincidences, only, as my friend R’ Dovid Winiarz, z”l, would say, “Kah (a name of Hashem) –incidences,” that is to say, circumstances set up by G-d Himself in order for His plan for the world to unfold, then we will be able to appreciate not only the big things, nor even the small things, but everything because all of it is important and beneficial.

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 Instagram @RabbiGewirtz or 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.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Another L

k

Finding the Right Shaliach

By Rabbi YY Rubinstein

S

ix weeks ago, half an hour before Shabbos began, my wife fell down the four steps outside our house onto the concrete below.

Hatzalah arrived in what seemed like moments and it was clear that she had badly hurt her arm. We sat in an ambulance and sped towards the emergency room at South Nassau Hospital.

My wife’s shoulder turned out to be dislocated, and six hours later, battered, bruised and wearing a sling, we were home.

On Monday we went to see an orthopedic surgeon. After more X-rays it turned out that the arm was certainly re-located in the shoulder but the shoulder was also broken.

“Think of a golf tee,” the doctor told us. “The ball sits in it. The rim of the ‘tee,’ called the ‘glenoid cavity,’ has been broken off. In fact, a third is not where it should be.”

My wife would need surgery to fix it. Of course we wanted a second opinion, and we also wanted the best surgeon.

The “best surgeon” unsurprisingly worked in Manhattan. We got up at 5:00 a.m. to beat the December traffic and get to our 9:00 a.m. appointment. I had checked to confirm that he took our insurance but when we arrived the receptionist gave us the bad news that, in fact, he didn’t. The hospital did, though, so we decided to pay for the consultation privately, and the operation which would follow, we were told, would be paid for

by our insurance.

I must admit that I had heard about Manhattan’s legendary top doctors and when we got to meet ours he didn’t disappoint. In fact, none of the people working in the office did.

They all looked as though they had been cast by some Hollywood studio for a film or TV show. My wife was as surprised as me and commented that all the men were unusually handsome and that all the women were unusually pretty. Not only did they look good, their credentials and bedside manner matched their appearance.

Our new doctor, it turned out, screws back broken glenoids all day long. He even consults for a firm that makes the screws he was planning to use. (He explained he had to tell us that for full disclosure reasons and in case we thought he could get better and cheaper screws from Home Depot.)

The surgery was set up for the very next day and we were sent to the other side of Central Park for some bloodwork and pre-op tests.

This was American medicine at its very best: top guy, great staff, immediate surgery.

Halfway to the pre-op assessment, our top doctor’s, top office manager called to say that there had been a mistake. The doctor could not accept our insurance after all, even if the operation was being performed at the hospital.

We were devastated and to be

fair the lady on the phone sounded upset too. She had a solution to pass on from the doctor: we should turn around and go straight to the emergency room. Then we should say we had just seen the surgeon, but the shoulder pain had suddenly got worse and we thought the “golf ball” was falling from the “tee.” Then he would be able to do the surgery in the hospital with our insurance.

I am new to the health system in the States and this all seemed very confusing. Then there was the issue that the broken bone had to be replaced within a strict amount of days or the bone wouldn’t fuse together. So the question was: should we go back and attempt a Hollywood performance in order to get our Hollywood-looking doctor to do the surgery or not?

I must admit that being upset at my wife’s situation and pain as well as being scared that if we didn’t get the surgery done soon it wouldn’t work, I was very tempted to brush up my thespian skills and turn the car around.

My wife, despite being the one actually in pain, was quite sure what was the right thing to do: find a different doctor.

Her reasoning was impeccable.

“We are frum Jews. If the Doctor requires us to lie; no matter how silly and unreasonable the insurance company’s rules are…he isn’t the right shaliach!”

When we called a rov we know, he

agreed with my wife. Eventually we found an equally excellent surgeon in another hospital (who also consults about screws!) and the shoulder was repaired.

Many years ago, Reb Matisyahu Salomon, shlita, was giving a schmooze to the top shiur in Gateshead Yeshiva. In it, he mentioned the thorny issue of people smuggling things through Israeli customs without declaring them. He declared that he was not going into what he described as the “halachically complicated” issue of whether Israel can levy taxes or not. Instead, he addressed the moral issue as it affects the person trying to smuggle things through.

“To teach yourself to cheat and to lie and to swindle is never permissible,” he declared.

Even if you are passionately convinced that there is no Jewish legal requirement to declare the ten Rolex watches you are wearing under the sleeve of your shirt or trouser leg, you have begun to think and act like a thief. You have begun to train yourself in the nefarious arts of deception and lying.

Ten years or so after that shiur, I was speaking in Amsterdam, Holland. Being Scottish, international travel always requires careful examination of the duty free shops to see if there are any bargains to be had on the single malt whiskey shelves. On this occasion, there were!

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

One of my favorite whiskies was being sold at a bargain price per bottle and inevitably I thought to myself, “Why not buy two bottles?”

I checked to see how much you could legally bring into the UK and found that spirits were limited to two liters. The bottles containing the whiskey I wanted were maddeningly in bottles of one and a half liters. You could also legally bring two bottles of wine and there was an allowance for cigarettes too. I wondered if I could offset my allowance for these against the frustrating extra liter of whiskey that the two bottles I wanted produced.

I asked a salesperson and he said he wasn’t sure, advising me to buy the bottles and ask when I got to the UK. That’s struck me as a great idea and then a brainwave hit.

I travel a lot and there are always Jews on every plane. All I needed to do was find one who wasn’t bringing any whiskey with him and ask if he

would take one of mine. That way, the whole thing would be completely legal.

As I took my seat on the aircraft and looked around I was amazed to

lem. Then the voice told me that even if there was an issue, the rules were frankly ridiculous. You should be allowed to use your wine and cigarette allowance against your whiskey one;

I nodded to myself and could almost taste the whiskey I would be enjoying on Shabbos over the months ahead. find an astonishing statistical abnormality. There was not a single Jew that I could discern anywhere to be seen. Not one chareidi, Mizrachi or chiloni anywhere. (I suspected the captain must have been Jewish).

A little voice in my head began to reassure me that I was worrying too much. The Dutch shop assistant wasn’t sure if there even was a prob-

it made perfect sense. Lastly, the voice pointed out, I was wearing a baseball hat and, as this was in my pre-beard days, they would probably not even know I was a Jew, so there was not even a worry of chillul Hashem!

I nodded to myself and could almost taste the whiskey I would be enjoying on Shabbos over the months

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ahead.

Then another voice, in a familiar English accent I had listened to in mussar shiurim for seven years, echoed in my mind, “To teach yourself to cheat and to lie and to swindle is never permissible.”

In the end, I declared my “contraband” at customs much to the amusement of the officer who smiled, complimented me on my honesty, and explained that they were really interested in bigger fish than me before sending me on my way.

My wife was, of course, quite right.

We are frum Jews. If someone requires us to lie, no matter how silly and unreasonable the rules he’s telling us to bend are, “he isn’t the right shaliach!”

Rabbi Y Y Rubinstein is a writer and author who speaks all over the world. He lives in Inwood.

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World

Builders

A Jew in East Jerusalem

By Raphael Poch

L

ast year, the lone Jewish EMT in the East Jerusalem chapter of United Hatzalah raced across the Arab neighborhood of Wadi Qadum as he got one of the emergency medical calls that he has become accustomed to receiving. In under three minutes, he arrived at the home of an Arab woman, a resident of the area, and began to treat her for a severe allergic reaction. He was later joined by members of the chapter’s ambucycle unit, his fellow EMTs and paramedics, all of whom are Arabs.

While some may be familiar with the 300 Arab volunteers of United Hatzalah working within the larger Jewish organization, this is the story of the lone Jewish EMT volunteer in the Arab chapter of East Jerusalem.

Josh Wander lives in Ma’ale Zeitim, a gated community atop the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem.

From there he goes out to answer calls of those in need and suffering medical emergencies in the surrounding neighborhoods, including the many Arabs who live in the neighboring communities.

Wander is an immigrant from Pittsburgh, PA, where he was the Republican nominee for mayor. He lives with his family in the close-knit community because he and his wife, Tali, felt that it was the best place to raise their children.

During an interview he conducted shortly after moving to the neighborhood, Wander told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, “We live in what would be considered one of the more contentious areas of the country, but it’s all a matter of tolerance. People would say, ‘Don’t you think it’s dangerous to live here?’ I joke, ‘It’s not as dangerous as being a Republican in Pittsburgh.’”

During a recent conversation, Wander spoke about his experiences with United Hatzalah, and how appreciative he was of the opportunity to work as a volunteer EMT in a neighborhood where it can really make a difference.

“Many of the calls that I’m called out on have to do with some sort of conflict, whether it’s due to terrorism or some sort of skirmish in the local population. There are times when my

own security has to come first and I cannot go to an emergency scene because my own life would be threatened by going there, but when I can help, I feel that I can make a double impact, medically as well as culturally.”

Being the only Jewish member of his chapter might stick out in a different organization, but in United Hatzalah it is business as usual.

“The Arab volunteers in our chapter treat me professionally despite coming from a different background and heritage. In addition to the other medics, the residents of the Arab neighborhoods treat me with respect when I arrive at a scene. I wouldn’t say they necessarily appreciate the fact that I am Jewish and living here, but they appreciate that I came to help save lives.”

Wander said that he has never been attacked by the people who have called him for help. “A few times I have been attacked by the local population while trying to get to the scene of the emergency, but never by the people who have called for help,” he noted.

Josh got involved in the field of EMS during his first stint in Israel during the late ‘90s, before he moved back to Pittsburgh. “I was the online editor for the Jerusalem Post at the time, and there were a lot of bus bombings. We were often sending reporters out to the scene of terror attacks and the reporters were among the first people on scene. What struck me as odd was that while they were able to report about what was happening, they were not able to help the injured.”

Wander said that the situation did not sit well with him. “I thought that this was a terrible injustice, that we could report but we were unable to help the injured. I took a basic 80-hour course, and I began to get involved. Over the next 20 years I was involved on and off in emergency medical response, but never to the level of which I am now.”

There was a close connection that helped Wander get back into things when he immigrated to Israel for the second time. “I’ve known Eli Beer, the President and Founder of United Hatzalah, for many years. I spoke

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

to him, and I took the first refresher course that was available, which was bi-lingual.”

Amazingly, the cultural divide is not a big problem for Wander when it comes to responding to medical emergencies in East Jerusalem. The biggest problem for Wander is something far more logistically oriented – the lack of proper street signs in that part of the city. “It is the biggest challenge when trying to arrive at the scene of a medical emergency.

East Jerusalem has a severe lack of proper street signs and street numbering. When trying to find an exact location of a medical emergency it can be next to impossible without those guiding directions. Luckily, as a United Hatzalah responder, I have the LifeCompass application on my phone that shows me exactly where the emergency is located. It is just a matter of getting there. I’ve gotten to know the back roads and all of the backways in order arrive at emergencies.”

Regarding his work with Arab volunteers of the East Jerusalem chapter of United Hatzalah, Wander described his relationships with them as “close.” “I’ve formed a close relationship with the Arab

sense of accomplishment is the logistical issue that ambulances face which causes them to take far longer to respond to emergencies on the eastern side of the city than they do in other places. “Safety is always one

“People would say, ‘Don't you think it's dangerous to live here?’ I joke, ‘It's not as dangerous as being a Republican in Pittsburgh.’”

volunteers in the chapter. I think our working together, and our work in general, makes a bigger impact here on the eastern side of Jerusalem than it does in other places.”

One of the reasons for Wander’s

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of the paramount concerns for first responders, especially in the eastern side of the city. Ambulances are required to wait for a security escort before they enter into the neighborhoods. The time they spend waiting

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for the escort is time that the patient is waiting for treatment. This is extra time in which a United Hatzalah volunteer who lives in the neighborhood here can provide treatment for a patient before the ambulance arrives.

These vital minutes make a huge difference in the fight between life and death,” Wander explained.

Wander added that the efforts of the chapter and the organization do not go unnoticed. “The majority of people in the communities here in East Jerusalem are very appreciative of our work. Many people choose to call United Hatzalah, as we have a faster response time than the ambulances. In addition, having an EMT or paramedic on the scene in under three minutes to provide treatment and reassure the patient and their family is greatly appreciated here.

“It gives me a great feeling to know that I can help someone and, at the same time, perhaps bridge a cultural gap between two peoples that don’t always see eye to eye.”

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A TUITION MISSION

MAURY LITWACK LOOKS AT PAST SUCCESSES AND FUTURE SOLUTIONS FOR SOLVING THE TUITION CRUNCH

BY TAMMY MARK

T

he cost of an observant Jewish lifestyle is a topic that has evoked many strong emotions and tough conversations. Though some expenses may be regarded as somewhat optional, yeshiva tuition is not considered a choice for committed Jewish families.

The “tuition crisis,” as it has come to be known, is a pervasive concern that has been analyzed for decades.

“The crisis is the number one crushing issue,” says Maury Litwack, Executive Director of the Teach Advocacy Network. “It’s crushing because it’s hurting peoples pocketbooks, limiting family size, hurting people once they’re out of the system in planning for retirement savings – it’s the number one issue in our community.”

Litwack has some answers and

believes that people are missing out on the most realistic solution, that of government funding. “For close to five years now we’ve been working on something that has made tremendous progress and really is a solution to this issue. What we’ve done this past year is we passed legislation in Albany, a culmination of a five year plan – which was accomplished in four – which was

to begin to reimburse yeshivas and non-public schools for the cost of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers,” explains Litwack.

The Teach Advocacy Network, a project of the Orthodox Union, has been endeavoring to make a real impact in the major Jewish communities, with advocacy groups operating

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in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania and California. The New York branch, Teach NYS, is a partnership between the schools, the OU, the Sephardic community, lay leaders, and volunteers and parents across the spectrum. Having made tremendous progress in 2017 in particular, those at the forefront realized the time had come to talk publicly about it, and for the first time government funding is being recognized as a serious and viable solution to a seemingly impossible dilemma.

With their recent successes in Albany, coupled with certain articles hitting the internet on the tuition crises several months back, Litwack and his organization decided to approach the New York communities to talk about their work. One piece online was penned by a parent who claims to have solved his particular crisis by pulling his family out of day school and changing his whole lifestyle to minimize the higher costs that are part of the observant Jewish lifestyle.

As expected, there was much buzz and rebuttal to this drastic approach with many commenting and sharing the sentiment that while leaving yeshiva would not be an option, the current tuition is indeed a difficult situation for the community at large. Around the same time The Nishma Research Profile of American Modern Orthodox Jews reported that 97% of respondents said tuition crisis was their number one issue.

Generally, the options regularly considered when addressing the high costs of a yeshiva education focus on lowering operating costs, changing the model, or increasing revenue. Litwack explains that there are numerous existing models for yeshiva life – from Lakewood and Brooklyn to Long Island and New Jersey with costs ranging from $5K to $15-20K and above, as well as learning models galore – such as blended learning models, cooperative models and others. He cites an example of a Jewish cooperative school in Florida where parents themselves come in as support. While he believes there are lots of good options and many discussions still to be had, at all levels schools still struggle to bring in the necessary dollars to educate their students. There is a basic cost to educating each and every child, and Lit-

Maury advocating for the community’s children

wack believes that the question really should be about why all children aren’t getting covered by the government.

To that end, Litwack’s efforts are focused on the government revenue side. “The only models where a child is educated for free, or at a very substantially reduced cost, are pub-

cy Network has established. “Many of the other suggestions for lowering a particular yeshiva’s tuition, which are all important ideas, would likely only slightly bring down costs,” he explains, as there will always be the baseline costs, whereas Teach NYS is focusing on a concrete, across-the-

“THE ‘IMAGINE POINT’ HERE IS TO IMAGINE A FUTURE WHERE THE SECULAR SIDE OF EDUCATION IS PAID FOR AND IMAGINE A FUTURE WHERE OUR KIDS HAVE THE SAME QUALITY OF EDUCATION AS EVERYONE ELSE’S KIDS.”

lic schools or charter schools. Only in America have we decided that non-public schools are shielded from government funding. Almost every other country, from Israel to the UK, allows for funding and subsidies for non-public schools because they recognize the fact that it costs money to educate a child.”

Litwack feels strongly that the dialogue needs to change to fit the new framework that Teach Advoca-

board solution. “The State of New York spends $20K plus to educate every public school child; it costs money to educate children,” he notes.

Litwack recognizes the struggle and the viewpoint of most of the parents feeling the impact of the crisis.

“The viewpoint is one of pain,” says Litwack. He knows it’s hard to have a sophisticated outlook to a painful situation and that many families are feeling stressed and looking for an in-

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stant fix. “If you look at the tuition crises in a reactionary, immediate way, you don’t think long term and you’re not strategic about the solutions,” he cautions.

As a yeshiva parent himself, Litwack understands and appreciates the situation well. He has been working with the schools, and every administrator, rabbi and parent understands that we have to have the government subsidizing a serious portion of these costs. Litwack has been keenly trying to get this message out to the masses, having recently lectured in the Five Towns and throughout the Jewish community. While there are people who are listening and getting excited, he would love to see even more attending. “I think people are dying to hear about this, and if you don’t like what I have to say, then bring your ideas.”

He hopes that people who learn about their work will understand that something is happening – understand it’s a long term solution, understand that there’s progress and that we can do something meaningful. Though Litwack doesn’t back away from the criticism, he doesn’t think vitriol has any place in the conversation. We’re all looking for a solution to a problem that pervades all households. “To not show up and snipe from the sidelines is totally unproductive.”

W

hile even a year ago people may have been skeptical about what can actually be achieved, Teach NYS efforts have brought concrete changes to the status quo – changes that are further reaching than the concept of tuition vouchers.

Litwack wants people to understand and appreciate the profound value of what they working on.

“Years ago, Yossi Prager, who runs the AVI CHAI Foundation (an organization committed to the perpetuation of the Jewish people) said in an article that if you could figure out a way to pay for the secular side of instruction that it would provide a benefit in line with voucher programs. I actually believe it would be far better than vouchers; vouchers are income-based. In most places you only get a voucher if you qualify and you’re a low-income parent. If you’re making $200K a year or $400K a year, living on Long Island

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and you’ve got five kids, you may not be able to afford your tuition bills – you probably can’t – and in America that is not considered low-income.

“So, if we figure out a way to begin to reimburse the cost of the secular side of instruction, and we open the door, we should be breathing a sigh of relief that we pulled something off that has a path forward.

“In April of 2017 – the first time in American history – the State of New York passed legislation that we advocated for that says that the State has to reimburse the STEM teachers at the rate that those teachers are paid in the public school system. So it does two things,” Litwack explains, “it begins the process of reimbursement to offset the costs of secular instruction in our schools and increases the quality of the education, because now we could pay those teachers a premium of what they’re being paid in the public school system – that’s a big one.”

He adds, “This legislation is better than vouchers – it’s much better.”

The reimbursement process will begin with the 2018 calendar year. The schools will submit for the reimbursements, and Litwack estimates that the average school will get one teacher reimbursed, or half of one teacher in year one. It will be a process, but Teach NYS will continue to grow the program going forward. Maury qualified that this estimate is all up in the air until they see how many schools apply in year one.

Schools need to apply for their reimbursements and Litwack’s team will help with that part as well – working with all of the schools to make sure they apply for it. Teach NYS has a team dedicated to working with the schools to make sure they get all the allocated funds. He explains that because of the way the bill is written funds are pro-rated. “Anybody who applies for the money will get the money, so we want as many people in the program year one as possible.”

How does Litwack answer those seeking measurable success and relief? He points to past successes.

It’s been four years since Teach NYS passed the first legislation allowing schools to submit a reimbursement for the cost of security and security guards with the state. “We’ve gotten more security funding, which all the

schools have implemented.” Security is certainly an expense that is even more vital now than ever.

“If you said to a parent that we could figure out a way to increase security at your school without the school having to pay for it, parents would say, ‘Yes, I’m in. That’s great.’ So if you said to a parent that we could figure out a way to offset the cost of one of the biggest costs drivers of school, the secular side of education, and make the

STEM education, and the schools are figuring out a way to offset costs, this is a win-win for our entire community.”

How does Litwack respond to those who insist that costs must be lowered? “My response to people again and again is that I’ve seen costs being lowered in other states and I’m happy to talk about that. I have seen examples in New York of cost savings, I’ve seen examples in other states. I

“I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE WHO READS THIS TO TAKE IT AND GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE AND SAY, ‘HEY - SOMETHING’S HAPPENING, SOMETHING’S WORKING HERE. LET’S FIGURE IT OUT AND LET’S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.’”

education better so our kids know how to code and they were prepared for the next 21st century economy – that’s a big deal.

“This STEM bill has benefits that goes beyond the tuition crisis. We want our kids and our grandkids to have the best jobs; we don’t want them to be reliant on us. Having our children being prepared for the 21st century economy is something that New York State believes in, which is why they passed the legislation, and now it’s something that will benefit our community as well. There are numerous benefits. If we get this program running and they’re getting a better

also tell people that we need people to participate and show up and be active.”

Litwack addresses the fact that the government funding will not automatically translate to lower tuition since the decision will still be up to the yeshivas to determine tuition costs based on their particular goals.

“In other states, we’ve seen tuition drop, we’ve seen tuition maintain, and we’ve seen tuition increase in states with more government funding.

Some of the schools have taken the additional funding and they’ve talked to their parent base and they’ve made the decision to improve the quality of

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their education. They’re going to reinvest it in X, Y or Z. Others have said we can keep costs at a premium and others have said we can lower tuition costs. I think that when the government funding reaches a point that it’s serious enough, you could have those discussions.”

Furthermore, he doesn’t believe that tuition cost is the only concern for yeshiva parents and that, for many, providing a top quality education is the priority.

“I think it’s not true that everyone wants costs to go down no matter what,” observes Litwack. “Ultimately it goes back to the first part of the conversation: there’s a choice in education and there is a choice in our communities; there’s always going to be parent who want a $35K year education for their child and there are parents who are fine with a third of that cost. We can get the government funding in for schools, but ultimately the schools and local communities have to be the arbiters of where that money goes.”

With 50 percent of yeshiva families seeking tuition assistance, yeshiva leaders have to work hard to balance the priorities of providing a quality education to all and an affordable one to those in need. In Litwack’s experience, he has found that when given a choice between cutting tuition by $1K or $2K or securing a better education, a lot of parents would opt for the better education. The ideal is a quality education with costs coming down.

The more that the secular side of education can be covered, the more real relief can potentially be provided.

“It depends on the community at this point,” Litwack notes. “We’re no longer in a situation where it’s theoretical at this point – this can happen, the bill passed. Can the impact of this improve over the next 2 or 3 years? Sure.

Can it take 10-15 years? Maybe, it just depends on how much the community wants to roll up its sleeves and be active in it.”

C

ommunity members should know that they can make a difference. “We’re very public about the ‘3Ds’ – Doers, Donors and Door-openers. We need people who are going to show up in Albany, we need people who are going to show up

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in Nassau County, and we need people who are going to show up and make their voices heard in those halls of power and places where decisions are made.”

Last year’s Teach NYS advocacy mission brought 600 yeshiva kids, parents and others to Albany. Litwack would like to see that number grow for this year’s mission on March 13 with a much larger contingency. “We need more people from Long Island to show up and come there, just like they would for pro-Israel issues in Washington, D.C. We need them to show up for educational issues in Albany.”

He explains that education is a state and local government funding issue, with 92% of all educational funding in America allocated from state and local government – not from the federal government – and that’s where they need people to go and be counted. “Having thousands in Albany as opposed to hundreds is a big deal – so people can, at a minimum, do that.”

On the donor side, Litwack explains that it costs money to operate the infrastructure of any advocacy endeavor. Teach NYS employs professional economists, lobbyists and public relations people on the team and needs the funding to continue to get the job done successfully, with the hope to “double-down” to make a bigger impact. “Last year we generated $150 million for yeshivas in government funding and we spent $2 million doing it. We probably need to spend $4 million doing it,” Litwack says. “It doesn’t happen on its own.”

As for the “door openers,” Litwack implores everyone to get the message out however they can. “I encourage everyone who reads this to take it and give it to someone else and say, ‘Hey – something’s happening, something’s working here. Let’s figure it out and let’s see what we can do.’ For anyone who’s participated or been a part of it in any way, encourage others. For the first time in American history something big has happened – and it happened in New York, which has the largest yeshiva day school population in the country. I think it’s time we go out there and really step up our game on all three of those – that’s what we’re asking people to do.”

Litwack has been speaking in many communities with many more

on the schedule in the coming months.

He says he is happy to come and have people debate or dispute, and views it as a form of taking action and getting involved. “That’s you taking action on the number one issue in our community, and I welcome it.” He says the crowds have been a mix of supporters and skeptics and those with other suggestions.

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itwack has a political background and has served on the development staff of two schools. He even endeavored to launch a low-income school when he lived in Maryland. “I’ve been involved in this issue in a variety of different ways and what I’ve learned from that is that if you do one thing well, you can do a lot. People can make an impact in many ways, but real impact takes time and effort.”

Litwack grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. Now a father of four, ranging from a three-year-old up to 5th grader, Litwack currently lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, where his children attend yeshiva. He recognizes that sometimes people just want to vent about the situation, and he welcomes it. “I hear that pain and I’ve lived that pain – I’m happy to hear all of that.”

The time it takes to make a tangible difference will depend on the school and the particular community and the level of involvement from the community, Litwack explains. Though the security issue was a great way to open the door to funding, the guard

in front of the school is not transformational. “The ‘imagine point’ here is to imagine a future where the secular side of education is paid for and imagine a future where our kids have the same quality of education as everyone else’s kids – that’s a future people are willing to invest in,” he illustrates.

He reiterates the importance of the community’s involvement, “It’s not an individual effort – it’s a movement – that’s how we pulled it off.

“Bringing 600 people to Albany changes the game, hosting politicians in Cedarhurst changes the game, sending out tens of thousands of action alerts changes the game – but by sitting on the sidelines you miss 100% of shots you don’t take.”

He adds, “People view our entity as a serious entity. We thank politicians when they step up and do the right thing and criticize when they do wrong thing and leave them out. That has been critical to what we do.

“We’ve had kids on the steps of City Hall protesting, we’ve also had kids waving signs in Albany thanking politicians. We believe the community has to have its voice heard in a loud way – that means showing up and participating. We’re known as a consistent single issue advocacy group working on behalf of the yeshiva day school kids.”

Aside from his advocacy work, Litwack was recently appointed to Governor Phil Murphy’s transition team in New Jersey. He is honored and feels that it’s a reflection of the movement

Allen Fagin, CEO of the Orthodox Union, introducing Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York.

(Courtesy of the O.U.), at a Teach NYS event in Albany

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becoming more and more tangible.

“Politicians are recognizing us as a group that they can’t ignore. We hold them accountable.”

The six states where the Teach Advocacy Network operates represent 90% of the yeshiva day school population in America; with 1 out of every 13 children in New York City a yeshiva student. Aside from the STEM funding for New York, other states were successful in securing tax credits for scholarship dollars and funds for security, bussing, technology and nursing aid. The advocacy operations in those offices work with the same model of unified community, single action advocacy, and hire lobbyists and the best strategists to work on our communal issues.

Rabbi Hershel Billet, rabbi of the Young Israel of Woodmere, hosted Litwack for community-wide presentations on behalf of Teach NYS. The multiple events were well-attended and generally well-received. “Maury is articulate, smart, very knowledgeable, and totally committed to improving the quality of Jewish education while at the same time lowering costs,” says Rabbi Billet. “People were moved and very impressed by his presentations.”

The next mission to Albany is March 13th and surpassing 600 participants is the anticipated goal.

Litwack is gratified that many people from the Five Towns community signed up immediately after his visit.

Litwack’s passion, determination and strong sense of responsibility are clear. “I like to win on behalf of the community – that inspires me. I don’t want to let the community down. I feel an incredible achrayis and I want to fulfill what my responsibilities are to the community.” He welcomes the continual community feedback and acknowledges that it strengthens his team. “People showing up and people talking to me gives our group a lot of chizuk – we hear it, and we hear the criticism – we want to work harder, we want to do better.”

“We’ve never had a down year – we’ve done well every year we plan to continue to do well for the community.

We can’t afford to lose.”

After all, when we win, our children are the ones who are truly coming out triumphant.

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A Fulfilled L fe

From Resolution to Achievement 8 Tips for Making Your Commitments Stick

By Rabbi Dr. Naphtali Hoff

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.

We can help write that story by setting goals.“ -Melody Beattie

R

ecently, much of the world celebrated New Year’s Day. Though for us the day lacks spiritual meaning, it still offered us an opportunity to reflect on the outgoing year and set some resolutions for the year ahead. Maybe you decided to make a lifestyle change, such as eating healthier and exercising more. Perhaps you determined that it was time for more work-life balance or to travel more often. You may have set some business-related goals, such as making more sales calls or taking other action

steps that will improve your bottom line.

These, or any other constructive goals, are the first step in living a better, more fulfilled life.

But we know that for so many New Year’s resolutions are more commonly associated with failed aspirations and wishful thinking than with real, sustained change. We promise ourselves that we will think and do differently, but often quickly lapse into the same bad habits that promoted us to make said resolutions in the first place.

How can we do better this year and make our commitments stick? Here are some strategies that can get you over the hump and adopt new, sustained behaviors that will make 2018 your best (secular) year yet.

1. Focus on your purpose – Begin by doing some real thinking about who you are and what you want out of life. I know that this may sound a bit off the

deep end especially when you simply want to achieve a little more than you have in the past, but thinking in such terms can give you added clarity and deepen your intrinsic will to succeed, no matter what the goal. Why do you want more balance and time at home?

Is it simply to have more nap time or are you committed to being present for your family in a way that you haven’t been before? Why do you seek more money? Are you interested in more widgets or do you want to improve others’ quality of life and become more charitable?

2. Create a mental image – The more that you see yourself, for example, as a healthy person who makes wise decisions that will benefit themselves and those that they love, the easier it’ll be to resist those added pie servings and commit to real exercise.

Ten pounds is now less the goal than

living up to your new image of a fit, disciplined self. If you view yourself as intrinsically more curious and interested in learning what the world has to offer, you will find more opportunities to travel, even as you hold down a regular job and raise your kids.

3. Set concrete goals – The best way to set along a new course of definite action is to set clear, actionable goals. Seek to concretize your new sense of purpose and self-image into action steps that will bring you closer to the new you. Specific is the What, Why, and How of the goal.

What you will do Why that is important How you will achieve the goal Goals should be simplistically written and should clearly define what you are going to do.

Say, for example, you see yourself as being very distractible and seek to

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concentrate more deeply on tasks for longer durations. Set specific goals of what you would like to work on and for how long. Include elements that will keep you from becoming distracted and/or motivate you to stay on task.

It may read something like this: “In order to complete my daily report/proposal/blog post/etc. each morning (specific goal), I will set aside 60 minutes at the outset of each morning for the next two weeks for in-depth, uninterrupted work (what).

During this time, I will not answer phone calls, respond to emails or texts, or engage in any form of web surfing (how). By completing this important task first thing in the morning, I can do it while my mind is freshest and still attend to many other tasks and responsibilities (why important).”

4. Take immediate action – The natural thing for many is to push off taking action until…

The holiday season is really over I feel like it

Conditions are just right Resist the temptation to procrastinate by taking action, however small, TODAY! 5. Be accountable – Clear goals are only as good as the accountability

in-between time to achieve something meaningful.

as a way of pushing you forward towards even more.

6. Tell the world – Sometimes the simple act of announcing your intentions can keep you motivated. After all, who wants to look like a failure to

8. Reassess – If you follow these steps, your success is all but guaranteed. But then it’ll be time to set your sights higher. After you’ve been at it for a while, pause to determine what’s working, what isn’t, and how can you push yourself even further. Remember, goal setting and resolutions are not once in a lifetime events. Nor are they even once annual rituals. The real winners in life are the ones who keep their eyes continually on the prize of fulfillment and never stop finding ways to grow.

Celebrate your milestones as a way of pushing you forward towards even more.

behind them. Make sure that there is someone – ideally someone other than yourself – who is going to hold you accountable. (People can hold themselves accountable but most of us simply aren’t strong and unbiased enough to do this well.) Seek to speak or report often enough that will keep you honest while also giving you enough

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all your friends and family?

7. Reward yourself – Every so often (4-6 weeks, max) take stock of your achievement and reward yourself. As time goes on and the initial motivation is long in your rearview mirror, you will need a boost to keep you going and achieving. Celebrate your milestones

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JANUARY 29, 11, 2018 OCTOBER 2015 || The The Jewish Jewish Home Home

Dating Dialogue

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

Dear Navidaters, I

I’m dating a man named Josh, who I am very interested in. When we are together or even on the phone, he is wonderful. He is kind, interested in what have to say, interesting, and a perfect match for me. When we are out on a date, I never feel the urge to get home already and call it a day. I’m never bored.

When we’re on the phone, I sometimes feel as though we can sit on the phone for hours and still not run out of things to say to one another. I’ve never had an experience like this before. It’s just great.

Here’s the problem. Josh is a very different person around other people. I couldn’t wait for my parents to get to know him in the way that I know him, so that they would understand what I’m so excited about. But when he comes around, it’s almost like I don’t recognize him. He’s very shy, almost uncommunicative. The same is true with my friends. I arranged a “double date” with my best friend Caren, who is married. I couldn’t wait for Caren to meet him, since I was talking so much about him. On the date, it almost seemed like a veil came down, and he was, I hate to admit, but almost like a total dud on the date. Caren is very sweet and I’m sure she didn’t want to tell me how she really felt about Josh, but I could tell that she seemed confused about what all the fuss was about.

I don’t understand what is going on with Josh. I’ve tried to gently bring this up with him and ask him why he presents so differently with my parents and other people than he does with me when we are alone. He really didn’t get into it too much, didn’t react as though my concern was any big deal, and just said that he gets shy in public.

I think we’re getting close to the point where it wouldn’t surprise me if Josh proposed. We do talk in generalities about the future. I can definitely see myself making a life with Josh. But I am a sociable person and know that we won’t be living in a bubble. I picture myself having an open home with lots of guests on Shabbos and all that jazz. I’m seriously worried that I won’t be able to live the full, social life I’ve always envisioned with Josh. It concerns me. Yet, I’m not sure that this should be a deal breaker for me and Josh.

Any thoughts about whether this is reason enough to break off with Josh, or even better, how I can help Josh sparkle in public the way that he sparkles with me?

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

Our intention is not to offer any definitive

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

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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The Panel The Rebbetzin Rebbetzin Faigie Horowitz, M.S. think both of your questions are misplaced. There is an issue that needs dealing with together as a couple. If the relationship is progressing seriously and this is an obstacle in taking it to the next step, work on it together with professional help. You care enough about him to want to invest in this. You can tell him that very carefully so that you can explore the future together. You need to be very respectful of his social issues when broaching this to him and you shouldn’t make it seem that he has a problem. It’s about the relationship and its progress. It’s not about getting him to

I

sparkle or deal with his shyness.

Be prepared for learning things about him and about yourself in the therapy room.

This challenge is not a deal breaker. Both of you will have to own this challenge if your relationship is to go further. You may find it worthwhile to revise your expectations if you care about him very deeply. And he may need your active support that is unconditional.

The Mother Sarah Schwartz Schreiber, P.A. irst and foremost: congratulations on finding that one in a

F

million guy who is kind, attentive, and respectful of you, the guy with whom you never run out of things to say; soon you’ll be finishing each other’s sentences. NO! You do not discard this treasure because he is, by his own admission, shy in public.

Bear in mind there are guys out there who are natural raconteurs, who perform well in front of an audience. If you consult your “musthave” list, I would imagine “gift of gab” ranks lower than “bleached white teeth.”

Josh sound like a keeper – albeit a timid one. If you are bothered by his stage freight, observe his behavior in a less intimidating environment – perhaps, his own living room or best buddy’s Shabbos table. Getting him to sparkle

Shy people take time to warm up and tend to behave more “appropriately” when they feel safe and comfortable.

may be a by-product of his comfort and confidence. With time and his partner’s support and encouragement, Josh may reveal his most

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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

charming persona – a dazzling reflection of the “stars” in his wife’s loving eyes.

The Shadchan Tzipporah Feldman t sounds like Josh is a very special guy, certainly, someone who shouldn’t be discarded so fast.

However, we all have to be true to ourselves. There are some women who naturally want quiet husbands.

They are so very out there on their own that it works out great for them to have a husband who is a great audience in public arenas. The pressure is off the husband, and the woman gets all the attention. Does this sound like you? Can you be the main star in public and the spokesperson for your coupledom and feel comfortable in that role?

I

Or, have you always pictured yourself with the type of husband who can sit at the head of your table, run the show, be entertaining and gracious to all, and allow you to sit back and glow in his stardom? For some women, this role for their husband is very significant and something that they always dreamed of having. Without it, they would somehow feel as though they are missing out on a key ingredient to their marriage!

Think carefully and determine whether or not this is important to you. Not anyone else, but you alone.

If his shyness will always leave you feeling frustrated, it is something to be taken seriously because you can’t make Josh into someone that he is not.

Mind you, it’s important for you to realize that with time my guess is that he’ll warm up to your family and friends and definitely reveal more of his “sparkling” personality, at least more so than he does now.

Shy people take time to warm up and tend to behave more “appropriately” when they feel safe and comfortable. But Josh will probably never be the life of the party and if that’s something that has always been important to you in a major way it must be taken into consideration very seriously and determined whether it’s something you can happily overlook, as you enjoy so many other wonderful qualities from him.

The Single Tova Wein

H

ow important is it to you that your future husband impress other people?

Because that is basically the issue we are dealing with here. Clear-

You’re the only person who Josh really has to impress.

ly, when you are alone with Josh, he is a homerun in your presence. It sounds like you are totally happy with him and there is nothing lacking in your relationship. How many women can honestly say that their husbands make them feel so appreciated and heard? This is very special. No doubt, if the two of you were living on a desert island, there would be nothing to talk about. You would know for sure that Josh is the one.

Your concern relates to the impression he makes on others and that they are not truly getting a glimpse into his wonderful char-

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

acter, which is evident to you, due to his shyness in a larger group setting. Must that be so important to you? What if your parents never witness the

conversationalist that you seem to enjoy regularly? I’m guessing that if you’re happy, they will be happy for you and trust that you

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know what you’re doing and why you picked Josh. The same goes for your friends. Surely they trust you to make a wise choice in your husband, and though they can’t necessarily experience firsthand what you experience, they

will take your word for it and see that you’re happy.

You’re the only person who Josh really has to impress and it seems to me that he’s done a fine job of that!

Focus on your wonderful chemistry and happiness together. The rest is just noise!

that he will one day “sparkle” publicly as he does privately, then this sounds like a match made in heaven. But if you go into this thinking and praying and hoping that he will change because his shyness deeply disappoints you or leaves you feeling empty inside, then I think you owe it to yourself and to Josh to slow things down and think very deeply before getting engaged.

All the best, Jennifer

Esther Mann, LCSW and Jennifer Mann, LCSW are licensed psychotherapists and dating and relationship coaches working with individuals, couples and families in private practice in Hewlett, NY. To set up a consultation or to ask questions, please call 516.224.7779. Press 1 for Esther, 2 for Jennifer. Visit www.thenavidaters.com for more information.

If you would like to submit a dating or relationship question to the panel anonymously, please email thenavidaters@ gmail.com. You can follow The Navidaters on FB and Instagram for dating and relationship advice.

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

W

ithout meeting Josh, it is impossible and even unethical to say what exactly is going on. Solely based on what you’ve reported about Josh in your e-mail, his behavior and shyness is making me think of social anxiety. You can google “social anxiety” and you will find no shortage of information. You may or may not see whether Josh’s public behavior meets some of the criteria.

For the purpose of my response, let’s call it “public shyness.” It seems as though Josh is either personally unfazed by it or doesn’t have much insight or ability/desire to speak with you about it. A conversation about it seems to only scratch the surface of what is going on.

This is a confusing situation, and I understand why you wrote into the panel. On the one hand, you really like Josh and he is so wonderful. He fulfills you on so many levels. On the other hand, when you see Josh in more public settings, he is not the man you know. Additionally, there is a breakdown in communication around his different public persona. Whether consciously or subconsciously, knowingly or unknowingly, Josh puts up a bit of a wall when it comes to your feelings on the matter. So, there’s two issues here. The first is the “public shyness,” and the second issue is the breakdown in communication coming from Josh.

Some women move forward with a man who is quiet or shy and that is a fine choice for those women. One key ingredient, I believe, is a spouse who is open to talking about how it

may impact his beloved with his beloved. This conversation is necessary to keep you feeling happy and securely attached and connected to your husband. Without this, feelings of loneliness and rejection often take root. The other necessary ingredient in order to move forward in this relationship is complete acceptance of his shyness.

We can’t go into any relationship with the expectation that our spouse will change. We go in with open arms and full acceptance. In other words, you’ve got to be into him, all of him: the Josh he is when alone with you, and the Josh he is in public.

My recommendation is for you both to go into couple’s therapy (short term) to talk about this issue that has now come up between the two of you.

The therapist will help the two of you talk about this and hear what each of you need. He or she will help you open up the dialogue around Josh’s “public shyness” and keep the communication up and running in a positive, non-threatening way. If something is going on with Josh (and remember, I really don’t know what that is secondhand, through an e-mail) that will hopefully come to light in the couple’s therapy. Should Josh be interested and open, he can begin his own therapy. (If this is social anxiety, there are wonderful treatments found to be effective for many people.)

If you know in your heart of hearts that you can accept and love Josh exactly as he is, with no expectations

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Dr. Deb

How to Have a Conversation Part II

By Deb Hirschhorn, Ph.D.

L

ast week, the topic of “How to Have a Conversation” dealt mainly with one’s spouse. But there are an awful lot of people one has to talk to in the course of a day.

Wouldn’t it be nice if those went well instead of inflicting pain on the other person?

Even the most well-meant comments can be painful to a listener if certain precautions are not taken. So, here are a list of those precautions to be used in conjunction with the ideas given last week.

• Don’t assume There is a huge tendency for people to assume they know something about the other person that they really don’t.

Here are some made-up examples: Alice to Roberta (who struggles with a weight problem): “You really need to exercise along with watching your diet.”

(Roberta’s thinking, “Well, thanks for that information. Gee, how did I get by all these years without knowing that?”)

Mike to Bill (who is having problems with his wife): “I would suggest therapy. It can really help.”

(Bill and his wife have been in therapy for two years. How is this advice helpful?)

Sandra to Aviva (who mentioned some stress about an upcoming issue): “Well, there is a great breathing app you can download to your phone to help with deep breathing. That is huge in reducing stress.”

(Aviva has been a yoga teacher for 10 years. She practices it daily herself

and finds it enormously helpful.)

Daniel to Rivka (who was complaining that at the preschool her child attends, the teachers speak Yiddish to the children but her son does not speak Yiddish and is being isolated by this.): “Don’t worry; children pick up languages very quickly.”

(Rivka’s son is learning disabled and already behind in his English, social skills, and academics.)

We should never assume • that someone doesn’t know already your sage piece of advice • that someone hasn’t already been

challenges that another child might not have.

As if insulting someone unintentionally and stabbing them in the heart, also unintentionally, isn’t enough, the biggest unfortunate byproduct of making assumptions when you really don’t have the complete picture is that you lose the relationship itself.

In every case that I’ve cited above, the listener has completely and totally lost faith in the ability of the speaker to ever help him or her again. The degree to which the speaker has missed

The degree to which the speaker has missed the boat is directly proportional to the degree of alienation in the relationship that missing has caused.

taking action on what you suggest • that someone hasn’t tried what you suggest and it hasn’t worked for them • that someone is the right fit for the advice you’re trying to give Yet, people insult each other every day – unintentionally – by making pointless suggestions that are off the mark but make the listener feel stupid.

Not only that, as is the case with Daniel and Rivka, the “advice” becomes a dagger in her heart because it is a reminder that her child has extra

the boat is directly proportional to the degree of alienation in the relationship that missing has caused.

So before you try to give advice next time, you’ll be well advised to inquire some more about the situation.

You’ll want to know what the other person knows, what he has tried already, how helpful he has found what he tried, what objections he might be harboring to the ideas you hold dear, and so forth. Do a little information gathering before you offer new ideas.

• Stop if you find yourself feeling angry If you happen to be engaging in a really unpleasant conversation like one of those above and you are ready to blow your top because of the huge gap between where your head is and where that of the other person is, it is necessary to stop. Immediately.

If you don’t stop, your anger will preclude the other person from being able to hear your point! So the conversation is pointless anyway.

Not only that, your anger will cause the other person to become defensive which means their response will not be the “real” response they would want to share but one that comes out of a perceived need for self-protection.

I witnessed that very thing just the other day. Two people had taken hardened positions all because one of them became angry. No one was listening and the process started to escalate. In the old days when I was new at this, I helplessly stood between people waving my arms for them to stop. But of course, they were too far into their emotions being out of control to listen.

They just peeked around me and continued the argument!

This rule is true whether it is your spouse, your child, your boss, your employee, your friend, or tech support.

• Use some sugar when you’re giving advice As Mary Poppins so famously said, “A teaspoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down,” and this is especially true when you’ve done your information-gathering and you are quite

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

certain that the advice you have to give is needed and necessary but not so pleasant to receive.

There are three kinds of “sugar.”

1. Use qualifiers. There are lots of ways of sounding like you think you know everything. For example, the word “is” is a big no-no. As soon as you say something “is” it sounds exactly like you received the information from On High.

But the opposite is true with qualifiers such as “In my opinion,” “It seems to me,” etc. Which of these would you rather be told by your boss: “Your work is not up to our standards” versus “I would prefer that in your work you would do some additional fact-checking before publication because otherwise we may find that the person you wrote about really did not say some of the things that are being attributed to him.”

You will notice that qualified sentences do get a bit longer than the terse, “it is like this” sentences.

While neither one of these options is too pleasant, the second one is more humanized, isn’t it?

2. State the positives first. This is always welcome, even when you don’t want to criticize someone’s work.

Imagine a parent having this conversation with a child: “Benny, I was so happy with your report card last quarter. You did so well in conduct as well as academics. Now, however, it looks as though your Spanish grade slipped a lot and your conduct went with it. What happened?”

“Dear, that dress you bought is beautiful. And it fits like it was made for you. But with me out of work, I’m not comfortable with the price tag.”

And don’t tell me there are no positives. I hear this way too often from couples who have grown that far apart but when you go to the funeral of such a person, it’s always amazing how many positives can be found. The lack of positives in your own thoughts may be part of what’s bringing out the worst in the other person.

3. Leave room, both in your own mind and in the space of the conversation itself, to correct any misconceptions that you may have.

Many times, it will look like both people have the same set of facts, yet something will come out – when room is left for that to happen – that even the speaker would not have thought of.

That is because conversations with an attitude of openness and true expectation of learning something we didn’t

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already know can create room for that new information.

Take the example of Benny’s father in the conversation above. Notice that he says, “What happened?” Because of that open-ended question along with the praise of the last report card and the qualifier (“it looks as though”), Benny really feels like thinking about this. He himself wants to know what happened.

“Well, you remember Mrs. Small, the Spanish teacher?” Benny answers, thinking about the whole term.

“Yes,” says his father.

“Well, she had to leave in the middle. She was sick or something. And the person they got instead….” Benny’s voice trailed off and the look of disappointment on his face told it all.

Stephen Covey, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, tells the story of a group of very wild and rowdy boys getting on a subway with their father.

They’re tearing up the train and the father is sitting, staring at the ground, doing absolutely nothing. You would think that this is a very irresponsible dad, right? Who needs more information than what their own eyes are

telling them? Well, it’s always good to leave room. The author approached the man and learned that his wife – the children’s mother – had just died.

Don’t assume; stop when you start to feel angry; and use sugar in difficult conversations. You will be doing the great chessed of speaking with kindness instead of causing pain.

Dr. Deb Hirschhorn is a Marriage and Family Therapist. She can be reached at 646-54-DRDEB or by writing drdeb@ drdeb.com.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Health & F tness

An Antibiotics Risk

By Aliza Beer MS, RD

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e take antibiotics to knock out bacterial infections, but for some people, these drugs can trigger a potentially life threatening infection caused by a type of bacteria called clostridium difficile, or C. diff. It can cause colitis, a serious inflammation of the colon. This just occurred to a close family member of mine. He suffered from severe diarrhea a whole day until he finally collapsed and was taken to the ER by ambulance. He had been on antibiotics a month before to treat a toe infection. In the hospital the stool culture revealed it was C. diff, and he was promptly admitted for a few days.

So how and why does this happen? C. diff bacteria actually exists all around us. It’s in the air, water, soil, and feces of humans and animals. Many people have the bacteria in their intestines and never have any symptoms. When someone takes antibiotics, often both the bad and some good bacteria get killed off, allowing the C. diff to grow unchecked.

The treatment for C. diff is, believe it or not, another antibiotic, usually Flagyl or Vancomycin. In addition to the antibiotic, probiotics are prescribed. Probiotics are organisms,

such as bacteria and yeast, which help restore a healthy balance to the intestinal tract. You can find probiotics in your local drugstore over the counter. An excellent dietary source of probiotics is yogurt. If your doctor prescribes an antibiotic, for example for strep or a sinus infection, speak to him about taking a probiotic at the

a C. diff illness is very straightforward. Avoid dairy, raw fruits and vegetables, and anything high in fiber. Drink a lot of water, tea, or broth, and eat toast, applesauce, bananas, rice, and white pasta. When symptoms have resolved, then gradually introduce foods you normally eat back into your diet. The most

Everyone in the house should wash their hands thoroughly and often with soap and hot water.

same time to help prevent intestinal infections and find out which probiotic is recommended. It’s important to eat yogurt every day you are on the antibiotic. There are a number of different strains of probiotics, some help the gut and intestinal tract, some help boost immunity, and then there are those that have been shown to help alleviate eczema.

The nutritional treatment during

important piece to remember during the onset of symptoms is hydration.

Diarrhea is typically severe and dehydration very common. Going to the emergency room for IV hydration may be necessary as well. Also, C. diff is very contagious. Wash all the linen, laundry, and towels of the infected person in very hot water.

Everyone in the house should wash their hands thoroughly and often

with soap and hot water, especially after using the bathroom and before eating. Purell alone will not kill the bacteria. Clean the bathrooms used by the infected person with Clorox and wipe down all surfaces that they came in contact with Clorox as well.

Antibiotics are crucial in helping us maintain good health. Unfortunately, the side effects can be just as distressing as the original infection or illness. Never self-medicate yourself with antibiotics and always discuss with your doctor what other options are available. If antibiotics are deemed necessary, then discuss with your physician and registered dietitian what probiotics/food should be consumed. If there is a diagnosis of C. diff, then again a medicinal and nutritional plan must be formulated by a physician and registered dietitian and sanitary conditions maintained.

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

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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Health & F tness

Are Pompoms a Religious Thing?

By Hylton I. Lightman, M, DCH (SA), FAAP

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ast week witnessed record-breaking cold, but to the Lightman and Keehn families, it was the most heartwarming week. Our children, Eric and Naava, welcomed into this world their second child, their first son.

Most births are accompanied by stories and our 8-pound prince owns his: he was born during the “winter cyclone” when the East Coast of the United States was slammed with snow. Thank G-d, our daughter’s labor set in prior to the storm so she and her husband made it safely to the hospital. Their son was born about 2:45 am on Thursday. Only the potent combination of snow, ice, wind, and poor visibility and road conditions prevented the grandparents, the baby’s big sister, and extended family from flocking to the hospital that same day.

On Friday, when both the weather and roads were less dangerous, I went to the hospital together with three adoring aunts and one proud uncle to meet our newest grandchild and nephew. In addition, I examined him; once a pediatrician, always a pediatrician.

Afterwards, I chatted in the

nursery with the nurses. With her colleagues listening intently, one nurse said, “Dr. Lightman, I have a question and I hope it’s respectful.

All the religious patients take their babies home in these awesome pompom hats. Are pompoms a religious thing?”

I smiled.

Looking at the world through

quired a status that clearly the nations of the world are equating with Torah Jews.

It’s apparent that our actions and everything we do in this world are scrutinized, analyzed, and discussed. How humbling. How I daven that we are always seen as a Light Unto the Nations.

Based on being in and out of

“Lady, it’s our pleasure to help you and your religious brothers and sisters. We respect you for respecting your religion.”

the eyes of these non-Jewish women, I totally “get” the question.

Pompom hats span the spectrum in fabric, texture, color and so much more. They are ubiquitous in today’s Jewish Orthodox communities throughout the world.

To the best of my knowledge, pompoms are not a “religious thing.” However, they have ac-

Northwell-Long Island Jewish Medical Center for a couple of days surrounding this baby’s birth, I’m proud to be a Torah Jew. The Bikur Cholim Room is stocked by the Satmar Bikur Cholim, Elite Caterers and others.

Naftali Brach of the Satmar Bikur Cholim treks every erev Shabbos from Williamsburg to New Hyde

Park to make sure the room is functioning, including the warming oven. My wife, who spent Shabbos at the hospital with our daughter and grandson, told me that on Friday evening several men spanning the spectrum of Orthodox Judaism davened in the room. The warming oven was fully stocked, including 2 trays of cholent and food with people’s names on it, apparently prepared by the Satmar Bikur Cholim for people who had contacted them with personal dietary needs, i.e., vegetarian, gluten-free. In addition to challah rolls and mini-challahs, there was an array of matzah that included whole wheat and spelt.

The fruit was fresh, and the box containing 1-person portion-sized cut up cake was overflowing with at least five different kinds of cakes.

There was grape juice in the refrigerator along with Cholov Yisrael, Cholov Stam, and pareve cream for the coffee. This was in addition to plates, cutlery, napkins and cups.

By the end of Shabbos, most of the food was gone. There’s no way to know how many people availed themselves of the Bikur Cholim room’s resources but suffice it to say, plenty.

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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your cleaning lady on time. Offer water or food to sanitation workers when you see them working, especially during extreme weather conditions. Thank the cashier in the supermarket. Don’t slam the phone down on the front desk person in your doctor’s office because you don’t get the answer you want.

Refrain from making U-turns on Central Avenue and other streets – so it might be 5 extra minutes to drive around the corner. And there is much more.

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Jew. As I’ve written here previously, civilizations have come and gone but we Jews, the Jews whom so many of those so-called civilizations have aspired to eradicate from this world, are here. Our actions will always be recalled and pointed to. Please G-d, they should be pointed to for good reasons.

Our speech and actions reflect our inner thoughts. We should always to maintain a positive outlook of our fellow man, speak favorably and give others the benefit of the doubt. We should always remem-

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Further, there is a Shabbos elevator labeled “Sabbath Elevator” in every patient building in this medical center. The Shabbos elevator in the building where our daughter and grandson were had some technical difficulties on Shabbos. Lots of patience and some ingenuity were required to navigate it without being mechallel Shabbos according to my wife. Yet the guard saw that she needed the Shabbos elevator without saying so. He stepped forward, stating, “Lady, it’s our pleasure to help you and your religious brothers and sisters. We respect you for respecting your religion.”

Shabbos is a workday for physicians, nurses and others in the hospital, and our daughter’s room was trafficked accordingly. Paperwork was presented, and our daughter explained that she couldn’t sign until after Shabbos and all understood and accepted. Just prior to Shabbos, the nurse adjusted the bathroom light sensor not to go on; another light was left on for her.

Some readers might be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” It’s a very big deal, my dear readers.

I remember a world where you couldn’t take this for granted, even in New York. We’ve come a long way and there are many people and organizations to thank that laid the groundwork for what we enjoy today and should never take for granted. The real trailblazers are the ones who remained committed to Torah and its tenets despite the vicissitudes they encountered every step of the way in carrying on Torah Judaism. Nothing swayed them. We enjoy the fruits of their steadfast commitment and hard work.

But we have our own work to do to assure that we are admired and we can continue to practice our religion.

First, remain involved with the world at large. Know what goes on. Speak with community members who are politically involved, including askanim who devote countless hours to matters that we too often take for granted. Vote in elections. Don’t know how to vote on issues? Speak with your rav or local askan.

Know that every action is scrutinized as we are watched. Pay

ber we are a nation of rachmanim, bayshanim, and gomlei chassadim.

Let’s be as fresh-looking as those pompom hats that elicit smiles wherever they go.

As always, daven.

Dr. Hylton I. Lightman is a pediatrician and Medical Director of Total Family Care of the 5 Towns and Rockaway PC. He can be reached at drlightman@totalfamilycaremd.com, on Instagram at Dr.Lightman_ or visit him on Facebook.

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Chef

Trnare tristique. Morbi tempor eros quis eros ultricies, vitae pulvinar felis rutrum. In vitae lacus eget erat interdum vehicula quis non tellus.

Talk

The Politics of Cholent, Kugel and Kishka Part I

By Naphtali Sobel

O

ne of the 39 Shabbos prohibitions is cooking/kindling fire.

Shemos (35:3) states, “Do not kindle a fire on the Shabbos day.” The Karaits who instigated trouble for Torah Jews, misinterpreted this verse to mean one may not have a fire kindling in his house at all even if it was kindled prior to Shabbos, thus removing the possibility of having hot food Shabbos day. The rabbanim instituted a custom that we should specifically have hot foods on Shabbos day to remove ourselves from the fallacies of the Karaits. Thus, one who eats cholent on Shabbos shows emunas chachamim.

Since then, Jews throughout the Diaspora created many different types of chamim for Shabbos lunch pending on their regional influences. The first reference to what we know as “cholent” is dated to the year 1180 in the writings of Rabbi Isaac of Vienna.

There are several etymologies as to where the name cholent got its name.

One theory is that it comes from the French word “chaud,” which means cooked, and “lent,” which means slowly. Another such theory is that it comes from the French word “chaudes lentes” or hot lentils. Yet a third theory is that it comes from the Hebrew word “shelan,” which means “it rested” [overnight] since in previous generations the cholent would be placed in the baker’s oven before Shabbos “to rest” and would be picked up on the way home from shul on Shabbos day. Nowadays, the term cholent can be used to depict a mish-mosh.

On a culinary note, in my opinion, when purchasing meat for cholent you should keep two factors in mind: the first is meat with a high fat content, and the second quality in the meat is that it should contain high colla-

gen and connective tissue content.

This can be found in meats such as ribs (flanken), second cut brisket, or cheek meat. The best value meat for which you don’t need to remortgage your house and has phenomenal results is beef neck bones. “Shabbos “or “cholent” meat is a generic marketing term. There is no limb on a cow called “Shabbos “or “cholent.” Be careful when purchasing “boneless flanken” or “mock cheek meat.” These are usually terms used to hike up the prices on chuck or shin meat. Always ask the butcher what they are selling you.

People like to know if browning the meat and caramelizing the onions are important when making a cholent. When browning meat, you are creating the “Maillard” reaction. This is a chemical reaction that transpires through browning proteins and lends your meat intense roasted flavors and

aromas. However, when you cook cholent for a full day, I personally would omit this step to prevent the meat from overcooking more than necessary since cholent has many hours to develop flavor regardless of what’s done at the beginning of the cooking process.

I think the most important factor in the cholent meat is the soft texture in an already highly flavored dish. Therefore, I would avoid browning the meat in order to salvage its integrity. However, if you need to throw together a quick pot in ten or twelve hours for Thursday/Friday night, you should brown the meat in order to speed up the cooking process and to quickly develop flavors that will not otherwise come out in a 12 hour cholent.

Similarly, I would not caramelize the onions in an overnighted cholent that’s anyways developing dark, rich flavors.

But if you put up a quick cholent then

The Jewish Jewish Home Home || OCTOBER JANUARY 29, 11, 2018 The 2015 The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

the caramelization is then essential for rapid flavor development.

Does soaking beans remove the gas? The answer is that properly cooked beans will be easier on your stomach, preventing much discomfort. If you have sufficient water for your beans to drink and room in your pot for the beans to grow, then I would not bother soaking the beans. Soaking the beans can help cook and soften the beans since they are pre-saturated if you have an overstuffed cholent pot which suffocates the beans. However, I don’t think anyone is immune to the ramifications of eating bowls of beans, regardless of soaking/and or properly cooking them.

There are many debates as to which cooker is better. I will lay down the facts for you to choose. The West Bend-style slow cooker has a nonstick surface and is almost as easy to clean as your favorite omelet pan. It is less insulated than an earthenware pot, thus preventing overheating and overcooking. On the other hand, the heating element is on the bottom so the heat may not be as even. On the other hand, an earthenware crockpot does insulate better and has a more rustic appeal. The heating element

goes around the walls of the crockpot yielding an even heat throughout.

Some people prefer cooking on the stovetop or oven but those methods require more skill and pose a risk of burning. Caterers usually cook cholent in 40 quart GI (these are square pots utilized by the military. GI stands for

barbecue sauce or coffee in cholent. I also feel beer lends an interesting malty or hops flavor that doesn’t exactly satisfy the classic cholent flavor.

I think that kiddush cholent is the “cholent gauge” which most people try to emulate, and most caterers are definitely not using those ingredients.

One theory is that it comes from the French word “chaud,” which means cooked, and “lent,” which means slowly.

Government Issue) pots or humongous built-in steam kettles for four to six hours. The ch-lent is then placed in pans and then warmers at about 200 degrees, allowing overnight flavors to develop. Most shteeble cholents are made in eighteen quart turkey roasters.

I like to keep the ingredients in my cholent fairly simple with the exception of ketchup. I’m not particularly fond of ingredients such as duck sauce,

I am more willing to experiment with ingredients on a Thursday or Friday night cholent when it’s not the main attraction.

I believe the custom of Thursday night and Friday night cholent stems from as follows. Deli take outs do most of their Shabbos business on Thursday night and Friday. People would buy cholent as a Thursday night snack or dinner since this item was available.

Since then, many people would inten-

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tionally make a special pot for Thursday night. In my belief, “gas station” chulent was born from this practice.

Friday night cholent came about as a result of people skimming off some of the Shabbos lunch cholent on Friday night. Subsequently, people started making cholent designated for Friday night as a result of this phenomenon.

There is something special about having a sneak peek on Friday night of the Shabbos day cholent.

There is a famous joke that says that the difference between a bochur and a yungerman is that a bochur eats cholent Thursday night, Friday afternoon, Friday night and Shabbos day. A yungerman eats it Shabbos day, motzei Shabbos and Sunday. Nowadays, if you are very makpid on these customs you can purchase cholent in your favorite smokehouse, in a can, or as a frozen dish or travel meal.

What toppings do you like? For many of us the toppings take the cholent to the next level. Common cholent accompaniments are kishka, kugel, eggs, kielbasa, jachnun or pastrami.

My personal favorite kishka is Meal Mart. It is extremely important that the kishka is submerged in the cholent to retain its moisture. If it’s above liq-

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JANUARY 11, OCTOBER 29,2018 2015||The TheJewish JewishHome Home

uid level it risks drying out. Some will let the kishka fall apart in the cholent so it becomes part of the gravy. Cholent eggs are known as “haminados” in Ladino and “chamin aiyer” in Yerushalmi Yiddish. These are best eaten as a warm egg salad mixed with raw or fried onions, salt, pepper and oil. Potato kugel can be placed in foil on top and comes out like a moist overnight kugel. Jachnun is a Yemenite rolled dough item and is awesome with the cholent eggs and schug, especially if you like carbs on top of carbs.

I would like to leave you with my cholent recipe for when you want to prove you make the best cholent in yeshiva, for the kiddush club, for your family, to take you to the moon, or if you’re simply trying to take over the world.

Naphtali Sobel is an experienced chef and food consultant. He is available as a personal chef and for consulting. He can be reached at napsob87@gmail.com.

R EC I P E

FO R

Yo u

FRO M TH E KIT CH EN OF

C holent

N aphtali Sobel

PR EPAR AT IO N

IN GR ED IEN TS

1 bag cholent beans 3/5 bag barley 1/5 bag baby lima beans peeled and diced 2-3 small onions or one large, ed 2-3 potatoes, peeled and cub t 2 lbs. of mea Marrow bones, optional 2 TBS + 1 tsp salt 2 TBS black pepper 2 TBS + 1 tsp garlic powder 3 TBS paprika 1 cup ketchup 6-8 oz. oil Water to cover

.

This recipe is for a 6 quart pot er with water Mix all the ingredients. Cov k on a high Coo s. about 2 inches above ingredient place on a n the , setting until the beans are soft e water mor add and low setting. Stir occasionally, if needed before Shabbos.

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105

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

In The K

tchen

Fill Your Kitchen with Winter Coziness Roasted Veggie Salad Ingredients Salad 8 cups mixed greens 1-2 sweet potatoes, diced into small cubes 1-2 red beets, diced into small cubes 1 gala apple, diced into small cubes 1 ripe pear, diced into small cubes ¼ cup Craisins 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds 2 tablespoons crumbled feta, for dairy meals

Dressing 1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon pure apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Toss sweet potato and beets with cooking spray or olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20 minutes or until just browned.

In a large bowl add mixed greens, cooled sweet potato and beets, apples, pears, Craisins and seeds.

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a cruet or jar. Shake to combine.

Drizzle over salad right before serving.

Roasted Chicken with Vegetables Ingredients 2 lbs. red potatoes (about 6 medium), cut into 3/4inch pieces 1 large onion, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, divided 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed, divided ¾ teaspoon pepper, divided ½ teaspoon paprika 6 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed 6 cups fresh baby spinach (about 6 oz.)

Preparation Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, onion, oil, garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon rosemary and ½ teaspoon pepper; toss to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, mix paprika and the remaining salt, rosemary and pepper. Sprinkle chicken with paprika mixture; arrange over vegetables.

Roast until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 170°-175° and vegetables are just tender, 3540 minutes.

Remove chicken to a serving platter; keep warm. Top vegetables with spinach. Roast until vegetables are tender and spinach is wilted, 8-10 minutes longer.

Serve chicken with vegetables.

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015 The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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Pumpkin Muffins Ingredients 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 ½ teaspoons salt 3 cups granulated sugar 1 can 15 oz. pumpkin puree 4 large eggs ½ cup vegetable oil ½ cup water or orange juice

Preparation Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil or juice in large mixer bowl; beat until just blended. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

Prior to baking, if desired, combine ¼ cup pumpkin seeds in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the muffins.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Store muffins in covered container or resealable plastic bags.

If desired, top with cream cheese frosting or drizzle with vanilla glaze.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Notable Quotes “Say What?!”

The Golden Globes were last night!

Everybody’s talking about the big speech Oprah made — and a lot of people say she should run for president. But it’ll be weird at her State of the Union, when Congress keeps checking under their seats for a free car. “YOU GET A CAR AND YOU GET A CAR!” - Jimmy Fallon

If (life’s) not good today, forget about it. Tomorrow, it will be better.

Look at it that way.

– 103-year-old Mary Todisco, who was born in Boro Park when Woodrow Wilson was president, talking with the Daily News about the secrets of her longevity

I watch my weight — no sugar, honey.

- Ibid

About halfway through Michael Wolff’s new book on Donald Trump I had the sense that all this was familiar. As the pages flew by – and the reading is both alarming and delicious – the sense of deja vu became even more pronounced. At the three-quarters mark, I realized where I had read all this before: William L. Shirer’s The Rise and the Fall of the Third Reich.

If anyone wants to ask any questions on politics or conflicts, ask this guy. Bye bye.

- Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha who brought a life-size, cardboard cutout of himself to a press

conference on Monday before walking out

- Richard Cohen, Washington Post, making the increasingly common and sick comparison by the left that President Trump is like Hitler

What they’re trying to do, though, is now that they couldn’t criminalize political differences they’re trying to pathologize, to psychiatrize, political differences. They’re trying to say, “Oh maybe we can’t get him on crime but we’re going to show that he has mental problems, that he’s disturbed.” The guy on CNN today was talking about he has Alzheimer’s and he should be subjected to a neurological exam. That is so dangerous. That is what they did in the former Soviet Union. I was involved, represented some dissidents in the Soviet Union who were sent to mental hospitals. They did it in China. They did that in apartheid South Africa.

– Alan Dershowitz, on Fox News, talking about the new left-wing talking point that President Trump is not mentally fit for office

It’s incredibly frustrating to think to yourself, “Wow, if this guy were not in the race, we’d win this thing.” And I absolutely believe if Trump had notgottenintotheraceIthinkwewouldhave

won.

– Outgoing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who had abysmal approval ratings, in an interview with NJ Advance Media

How is Jerusalem different from Ramallah, really?

– What an Egyptian intelligence officer asked several influential talk show hosts in Egypt, while urging them not to stoke rage over President Trump’s declaration that the U.S. considers Jerusalem the capital of Israel and that Ramallah would be a fine capital for the PA, according to recordings received by the New York Times

MORE QUOTES

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

It’s pretty remarkable that over at Haaretz they believe [imprisoned arch-terrorist] Barghouti will bring peace, but that belief in prayer as something legitimate is idiotic. Rogel Alpher and his friends will respect every custom they meet on a trip abroad, will go to sporting events in Spain and cheer Messi at the top of their voices from the stands as if he can hear them, but when Jews turn their eyes to Heaven and ask for rain, they freak out.

And I am not even addressing the wonderful commentary of the Rambam, who explains that prayer is intended first of all for man, and its goal is to open our hearts. In short, I’m sorry to tell our friends at Haaretz, but as a believing Jew for whom the prayers for rain have always been exciting, I will continue together with the entire Jewish people to pray for rain. May we have a good and rainy winter – with G-d’s help.

- Facebook post by Israel’s Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan in response to an article in left-wing Haaretz by Roger Alpher stating that “anyone who prays for rain is an idiot”

I dunno. I’m drunk. I don’t know where I’m at.

- Michael Lester of Florida to a 911 dispatcher when he called to say that he is driving drunk and should be pulled over

There is this idea that some people seem to have that socialists believe we should all be walking around wearing burlap sacks. That’s not true. Everyone deserves to be wearing a nice coat like Bernie Sanders.

– Micah Uetricht of Jacobin Magazine responding to Sen. Bernie Sanders wearing an expensive $600 coat at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s inauguration

The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

27

I don’t know why everybody is making such a big deal about it.

If I’d killed a big buck I could see it, but it was just a doe.

- Bertha Vickers, 100, of Mississippi, talking to a local newspaper about her recent deer kill on a hunting trip. She turned 100 on January 9, 2018

He wants to be very careful to protect his sources.

Somebody’s already been killed as a result of the publication of this dossier.

-Josh Levy, attorney for the founder of Fusion GPS, which created the false “Trump dossier,” during a Senate Judiciary Committee interview in August, according to a just released transcript of that interview

My credibility is being questioned by a man who has less credibility than, perhaps, anyone who has ever walked on earth at this point.

- “Fire and Fury” author Michael Wolff responding to President Trump’s criticisms of his book on NBC’s “Today”

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The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

I have good news.

First, most American children are going to live far better than their parents did. Second, large gains in the living standards of Americans will continue for many generations to come.

The grand jury room looks like a Bernie Sanders rally.

Maybe they found these jurors in central casting or at a Black Lives Matter rally in Berkeley.

- How one unnamed witness described Robert Mueller’s grand jury to Richard Johnson of the New York Post

MORE QUOTES

– Warren Buffett in an op-ed in Time Magazine

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The Jewish Home | OCTOBER 29, 2015

I think most Americans would support the president on this.

We don’t like to see our money going to countries that burn our flag. In Pakistan, they incarcerate Christians… They put Dr. Shakil Afridi in jail for 33 years. He’s the guy that helped us get bin Laden. They looked the other way when bin Laden was there over a decade. Yeah, Americans agree with the president. We ought to quit sending good money after bad. And what I discussed with the president – I have an idea for using some of that money at home. We have bridges, roads that need repair. Keep that money at home and put it to rebuilding our infrastructure here at home.

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Forgotten Her es

Avidar, Avisar and the Haganah

By Avi Heiligman

Yosef Avidar

I

n the pre-IDF decades, there was an evolution of sorts of the defense forces in Eretz Yisrael. From the turn of the century and onwards there were several groups but none as big as the Haganah. Started in 1921 and ultimately forming the backbone of the IDF in 1948, the Haganah was a vital piece of the defense network during the British Mandate. Arab gangs that the British had let roam wild were now being stopped. Several prominent members of the IDF had their start with the Haganah.

Yosef Avidar was born in what is now part of the Ukraine – then it was under the Russian empire.

In 1925 his family immigrated to Eretz Yisrael. Two years later the 21-year-old joined the Haganah which, at the time, was busy smuggling arms and supplies past the British. Within ten years he was a senior commander in the Haganah.

One of his chief assignments was to manufacture ammunition.

Located 15 miles south of Tel

Aviv, a secret factory was built.

Constructed next to a British military outpost, Avidar and fellow Haganah member dug into the limestone. The factory was built with trapdoors and other innovative

over 2.5 million bullets were manufactured at the facility. This factory also became part of the backbone of the IDF manufacturing machine.

Avidar held many posts within the Haganah including the deputy

"I am a veteran army officer, a third generation of Jewish officers in the Austrian army, and yet the excitement has shed tears from my eyes."

means so as not to alert the British of its existence. Disguised as a kibbutz, the factory was called Machon Ayalon and was buried four feet below the surface. Completed in just a month, the factory used World War I-era equipment to make the bullets. For three years, 1945-1948,

chief of defense. In that capacity the British arrested him and held him for several days before his release. In 1947 and throughout the War of Independence, he was in charge of collecting weapons and ammunition for operations. He was one of Israel’s first generals and af-

ter the war was given the Northern Command. Three years later, in 1952, Avidar was appointed commander of the Central Command and retired from the IDF in 1955.

Upon his release from the army Avidar held the important role of Israeli Ambassador to the USSR for three years. Later, he was the Director General of the Ministry of Labor and after that he was the Ambassador to Argentina.

Most Haganah members were young, vibrant individuals with a thirst for creating a Jewish homeland. Sigmund von Freidman was born in 1892 in the Austrian Empire (today that area is part of Serbia). His grandfather had been an officer in the Austrian Army, and his father was a colonel working for the secretary of defense in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Sigmund went to the military academy in Vienna and served as a captain in the artillery during World War I. He was stationed in Poland and France as a commander of heavy guns. Af-

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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Then-director-general of the Defense Ministry Shimon Peres, defense minister Pinhas Lavon, IDF chief of staff Moshe Dayan and deputy IDF chief of staff Yosef Avidar on August 19, 1954

ter the war he worked in the ministry of defense and then served as leader of the World Federation of Jewish Veterans.

As Hitler began his rise to power and moved into Austria in 1938, von Friedman was imprisoned for six months. Upon his release he packed his bags and moved to Eretz Yisrael. When he arrived he changed his name to Eitan Avisar and immediately was called in for a secret meeting. Haganah members were waiting for him as his reputation as a meticulous planner had preceded his arrival. For the next four years he worked for the Haganah as their head of the planning department. One of his biggest accomplishments was to create strategic plans for the Jewish defense forces. Jewish civilians couldn’t rely on the British for protection from Arab revolts after the White Papers so this plan divided Jewish lands into four sectors. As German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was making his way through Egypt and threatened Eretz Yisrael, Avisar’s plan was extended to add in Palmach units that were created for defense.

In 1943 Avisar was appointed deputy chief of the general staff.

During this time the British considered him a dangerous man so he had to keep a low profile. The Haganah’s secretary warned him

whenever the British were closing in for an arrest, and Avisar successfully evaded capture. When Israel became a country in 1948, Avisar was on hand for the ceremonies. He said of the moment, “Some say that the professional soldier is a tough man with a heart of stone, but I am a veteran army officer, a third generation of Jewish officers in the Austrian army, and yet the exciteG U A R A N T E E D D E PA R T U R E ment has shed tears from my eyes.”

Galil/ Tsfat every Monday After the Israeli War of IndeOld City every Wednesday pendence, Avisar was the chairman of the Israeli Court of Appeals. He CAN ALSO BE BOOKED ONLINE retired in 1954 with the rank of major general.

Men like Avidar and Avisar were extremely important in keeping the Haganah a functional group under British rule. The State of Israel depended on the experience and Leonardo Plaza Yerushalayim Offer: dedication of the former Haganah members during its early years.

SPECIAL PROMOTIONS Throughout the Country While they may not be household & FREE STUDENT Kotel Tunnels • Old City • Ir David names like Yitzchak Rabin and TOURS: Galil & Tsfat •TERRIFIC Golan Heights • Rosh Hanikra Moshe Dayan, it was the forgotten heroes whose stories are coming Kotel Tunnels • OldGedi City • Ir•David Masada and Ein Negev to light three-quarters of a century Galil & Tsfat • Golan Heights • Rosh Hanikra Footsteps of the Maccabees later.

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JANUARY 11, 2018 | The Jewish Home

Political Crossfire

In the Iran Struggle, Information is Ammunition

By Michael Gerson

T

hough events in Iran are murky, their direction is historic.

The Iranian regime – which has made a project of destabilizing others through terrorism and regional adventurism – has been revealed as deeply unstable. Many Iranian citizens thought that the election of the “moderate” Hassan Rouhani as president would bring more sensible and effective governance. Those hopes have fizzled. Many Iranians thought that the nuclear deal’s sanctions relief and unfrozen assets would improve their lives. For the most part, they haven’t.

The result – put in terms President Trump would appreciate – has been a broad revolt against the Iranian political establishment. The Iranian government’s problem is no longer a matter of performance but of legitimacy. Routine corruption, vicious oppression and economic mismanagement are increasingly seen as essential to the regime itself.

The breadth of this sentiment is what distinguishes the current revolt from the Green Movement of 2009.

Instead of mainly involving the upper middle class, discontent has taken root in the lower middle class – in the labor movement and among the unemployed. Instead of being concentrated in Tehran and a few other cities, current unrest can be found across the country in smaller cities and rural areas. (If it comes to it, this would complicate the imposition of martial law, because the Iranian Rev-

olutionary Guard Corps would need to be deployed more thinly.)

“In 100 years,” Iranian dissident Mohsen Sazegara told me, “we’ve never had such a movement all around the country.” The geographic and demographic scope of the protests is what makes them so remarkable – and so damaging to the longterm prospects of the regime.

The short-term prospects are a different matter. Those who hope that the Iranian national revolution will succeed in a single, big push – like the

This depends on the protesters rejecting violence themselves. In a study of civil resistance campaigns between 1900 and 2006, researchers Maria Stephan and Erica Chenoweth found that nonviolent efforts succeeded 53 percent of the time, compared with 26 percent for violent campaigns. And nonviolent approaches generally succeeded in less than half the time (an average of about three years). Why this difference? Because violence reduces public participation, which makes defections less likely.

The Iranian government’s problem is no longer a matter of performance but of legitimacy.

crowd turning against the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in Palace Square – are likely to be disappointed. In most civil resistance movements, the purpose of mass protest is not to overthrow the government directly. It is to convince observers – and especially elements of the police and army – that they can turn against the regime without imprisonment or death. Protests act as a signal to potential defectors that their risk is reasonable. If enough people join them, the chance of violence diminishes.

With this in mind, what should America be doing? U.S. policy has generally had two objectives: lengthen the Iranian regime’s nuclear timeline and shorten Iran’s democratization timeline. Nuclear proliferation isn’t particularly good anywhere. But such weapons are far less dangerous in the hands of democratic governments. For proof, just compare India to North Korea.

There is significant disagreement on the best way to lengthen the Iranian nuclear timeline. In the 2015 Iran

nuclear framework, the Obama administration made huge concessions to buy some delay. But whatever your view on that agreement, the matter at hand is supporting democratic change. And since direct meddling in Iranian affairs by America is toxic, this task requires some creativity.

If the objective is to give the Iranian opposition the time and space to encourage recruits and defections, then the Trump administration needs to increase the cost to the regime of a comprehensive crackdown.

This would need to be done in concert with the Europeans, making clear that repression will bring a return to economic isolation and sanctions. An effective U.S. response would also attempt to increase the access of Iranian citizens to the internet and social media – which is effectively blocked – through public pressure or (some have suggested) satellite internet access. This would permit the spread of information about the regime – how about better publicizing the cost of Iranian interventions in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza? – and reveal regime violence to the world in real time. In a struggle like this one, information is ammunition.

Implicit in all this is something often dismissed and completely undeniable: the strategic value of democracy promotion in a strong foreign policy. Much about the future of the Middle East, and the nature of the nuclear threat, now depends on it. (c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group

The Jewish Home | JANUARY 11, 2018

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Your

Money

He’s Mister Tax Miser

By Allan Rolnick, CPA

W

elcome to 2018! New Years’ always bring changes to taxes. Key numbers, like tax brackets, standard deductions, personal exemptions, and qualified plan contribution limits, all roll over on January 1. But this year brings more change than any year since 1987. Washington has just passed a sweeping overhaul of the entire tax code, from working individuals all the way to multinational corporations. Tax planners across the country are scrambling to ferret out the opportunities hiding in its 503 pages of typically dense, impenetrable text. (There’s a reason tax lawyers drive Jaguars.)

This year’s tax bill avoids one particularly awkward tax transition we faced in 2010 — one that became, for some families, literally a matter of life or death. 2010 has become known as the Year Without an Estate Tax. Estate taxes date back as far as 700 B.C. in ancient Egypt. (Of course, the Egyptians also buried their pharaohs with food, clothing, and jewelry for the afterlife.) Here in the United States, they began with the Revenue Act of 1862, which

included gift and estate taxes ranging up to 6%, including bequests to charities. The Revenue Act of 1916 created the modern transfer tax system, with rates up to 10%. But those rates quickly climbed — when America’s first billionaire John D. Rockefeller died in 1937, his estate paid 70%.

In 2001, the Bush tax cuts began raising the threshold for paying the

everything they’re supposed to, and we rang in 2010 with no estate tax at all. Finally, in December 2010, Washington reinstated the tax beginning on January 1, 2011.

This presented a pretty straightforward challenge as 2009 drew to a close. Keep Grandpa alive past midnight! But December 2010 posed a very different challenge. How much will Grandpa cost his heirs if he lives

This presented a pretty straightforward challenge as 2009 drew to a close. Keep Grandpa alive past midnight!

tax from $675,000 to $3.5 million over a series of years through 2009.

In 2010, the tax disappeared entirely. But then, due to Senate budget rules, it reset in 2011 at 55% on estates over $1 million. Of course, Congress had planned to do something to plug that one-year hole, but ... you know how Congress sometimes doesn’t get around to doing

long enough to raise one final toast to “Auld Lang Syne”? Here’s how the Wall Street Journal reported one case: “In New York the lapsing tax spawned a major family conflict, according to one attorney. As a wealthy patriarch lay dying at the end of the year, it became clear that under the terms of the will his chil-

dren would receive more if he died in 2010, while his wife (not the children’s mother) stood to benefit if he died in 2009. The wife then filed a “do not resuscitate” order and the children challenged it. The patriarch lived a few days into 2010, but his estate ... remains unsettled given the legislative uncertainty.”

What, if anything, happens to estate taxes in the newest law? Good news ... the amount you can leave to your heirs without paying actually doubles to $11.2 million! Even better, there’s no provision for the rules to change again any time soon, which makes planning so much easier. So raise a toast to 2018 ... and remember that, at least where taxes are concerned, saving money won’t require you to pay the ultimate price. So make sure you have all the right strategies for 2018 so you will only need to pay the least amount allowed!

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

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Life C ach

S’now One Asked for It But How’d You Weather It?

By Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., MFT, CLC

S

ome people call it a blizzard. I call it a paid vacation.

All the plans were made by G-d! No booking tickets, no packing bags. “Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ‘snow.’”

So, I’m sitting here watching the wind blowing, the snow flowing, and the world glowing bright. And I’m thinking of you! Yes, each and every one of you.

How are you weathering the storm? Catching up on fun or catching up on work?

This is a gift, free of charge. Get out your boots, your gloves – forget the shovel, just roll in it. Or build a snow “person” – after all, we must be politically correct, even in a blizzard. Or climb into bed. Read a book, watch a show. But don’t work! That’s what you do every day. This is a day off!

I know some people think, no, it’s not a day off, it’s awf-al! They feel locked in or out of routine. Some say, who needs the kids at home? I’ll tell you who: the kids! They need a day

off, too. You may want them out of the house, but today they only want to go out if they have a sled in hand.

As the flurries keep falling, here’s what’s probably going on: the kids are thinking, how many days of school can I miss and why couldn’t this storm show up on a Monday?

little cold rain can cause. It comes down gracefully, but then commits heavily. In the air, you can practically blow it away. However, on the ground, it hunkers down for the long winter.

Suddenly, the random people who wander the neighborhood start

The snow can make the world look like a wonderland or make you wonder where you’ll land.

But you’re thinking, is this going to be cleaned up by tomorrow? And the person making an event tonight or this weekend is probably thinking, I wish I could stop hyperventilating long enough to figure out what to do!

It’s funny how much trouble a

to look pretty appealing. Especially because, rather than looking suspicious, they look ready for work. And you need a path dug to get out of your house.

And what about getting to your car? You’re thinking, hey, I left it

here somewhere. Yay, you realize, that mound is not a snowdrift, it’s your car! Now, where is that thing you had last winter? You know, the brush with the scrape-y thing on it that helps you de-ice. That device is always so meaningful in the winter, when it snows, but then it’s relegated to some corner of the garage in the spring. And when you need it again, you wish you would have kept your garage a lot neater.

The snow can make the world look like a wonderland or make you wonder where you’ll land. Sure, it can be inconvenient, but you can’t make it go away by not liking it. You can enjoy its pleasant qualities or bemoan its challenges.

Facts are: it’s white, it’s soft, it’s angelic, or it’s cold, it’s inconvenient, it’s pathetic. The choice is yours.

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

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