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The Week In News
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
The Week In News
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
i-Shine Thanks Los Angeles! Chai Lifeline’s i-Shine is an innovative after-school program which provides friendship, homework help, recreation and fun to children living with illness or loss in the home.
Special Contributors:
Thank you to our sponsors, volunteers and special contributors who made the 2020-2021 school year exciting and enjoyable for our kids and whose creativity, flexibility and dedication helped transition i-Shine into a successful virtual program during these times of COVID-19.
Crystal Cookies Dorit Katz Karen Baughn
Kasiah Kluger Mad Science LA Richard Gralnik
Sheila Meyer Stephen O’Bent Yamit Pressman
Thank you to our program sponsors
STEVEN AND HELENA USDAN
With generous support from
THE ERWIN RAUTENBERG FOUNDATION
Thank you to our volunteers who delivered i-Shine kits, served as mentors and counselors, and ran activities. You made it all possible! Ahuva Abramson
Bracha Freeman
Eliza Hadjyan
Leah Druker
Rachel Jian
Shosh Leyton
Aliza Meyer
Chana Feigen
Estee Einhorn
Lexi Silberberg
Roberta Shuchatowitz
Shoshana Zisblatt
Allie Coen
Chani Litenatsky
Estelle Marco
Lippa Popack
Sara Adatto
Sophia Ratner-Stauber
Aura Schwartz
Chanie Friedman
Esty Blauner
Lisa Bersche
Sarah Dayani
Stacey Gralnik
Avital Ives
Daniel Goulson
Fraida Huttler
Malka Rosenbluth
Sarah Edelstein
Talia Sacks
Avital Abraham
Daniella Zisblatt
Henny Rosenfeld
Meira Ives
Sarah Silverman
Tamar Scheinfeld
Beata Hekmatjah
Danielle Goldschein
Ilana Korchek
Miriam Kosberg
Sarina Gottesman
Tova Berdugo
Beila Beron
Daphna Grabie
Ilana Lipman
Naomi Satloff
Shaina Weiss
Yakira Topp
Berta Kunin
Dina Shallman
Ilana Pollak
Nili Torbati
Shalva Kaplan
Yasmine Torbati
Bibi Popack
Efi Druker
Kayla Goldberg
Nooria Kerendian
Shayna Gitel Krich
Yosef Shuchatowitz
Bracha Cohen
Elisheva Levin
Keren Cohen
Phyllis Steinberg
Shirel Duek
Zach Goulson
“My favorite day of the week is i-Shine day!” - i-Shine child
“I am so happy I am able to be part of i-Shine. It is one of the best decisions I’ve made.” - Volunteer
“i-Shine brightens my kids lives every week!“- Parent “i-Shine gives my boys something to look forward to.
“i-Shine is done with so much love and positivity!”
- Volunteer
To volunteer, donate or enroll your child for Fall 2021, contact Sheva Katz at 424.777.5198 or skatz@chailifeline.org or visit our website at chailifeline.org/ishine.
It’s amazing how fun this is for my kids!” - Parent
Chai Lifeline West Coast Sohacheski Family Center is dedicated to helping children living with or impacted by serious illness, their families, and communities. For more information please visit our website at www.chailifeline.org.
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The Week In News
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
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Dear Readers, We wish every Bar Mitzvah Bochur that in 10 years he should put on Tefillin with the same excitement as he did that morning. We wish newly married couples they should appreciate each other a decade later the way they do now. Is this being wishful? Can we appreciate a sunrise that we see every morning? Can we enjoy the people who are constantly in our lives? Can we Daven on a Tuesday as if someone has just taught us how we can connect with our Creator? The first time we experience something special we are moved by the item. For it to be fresh we need to draw from within and there’s only one way: to connect with Hashem. It is the human experience that becomes stale. There is absolutely nothing in the world that isn’t taken for granted after being experienced 30 times. Hashem however is the source of all life and is beyond physical, emotional, intellectual and even spiritual experience. By connecting to him in a given moment, we are connecting to a realm that is above time. The more Hashem becomes a tangible part in our lives the more our lives are infused with the Shechina of an eternal G-d. And then everything can be experienced in a joyful spirit; waking up to our families. Greeting the neighbor who lives to our right. Davening with 15 other Yidden each morning. Delving into a Dvar Hashem zu Halacha. Complimenting someone who can use it. Making sure to be honest. Instead of being actions of rote they become individualized experiences of the eternal in the mundane. The Yetzer Hara, evil inclination will forgo anything but the present. He’ll agree to was nostalgia of the past or to wish for a future good future but there’s zero budging in doing what’s demanded now. Cause now is what matters. What we do now shapes the story of the past and leads us into the future and that is where Hashem is to be found; in the big or small decision in front of us right now. All this also helps with the current wave of anxiety humanity seems to be dealing with now. When we are present and mindful of what needs to be done at every moment we automatically deal less with the negative what if’s and what’s gonna be. This is also a good preparation for the time when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of our Creator as the sea covers the riverbed. May we experience it speedily in our days! Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos, and a meaningful Tisha B’av,
Shalom
T H E P R E M I E R J E W I S H N E W S PA P E R H I G H L I G H T I N G L A’ S O R T H O D OX C O M M U N I T Y The Jewish Home is an independent bi-weekly newspaper. Opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily the opinions of the publisher or editor. The Jewish Home is not responsible for typographical errors, or for the kashrus of any product or business advertised within. The Jewish Home contains words of Torah. Please treat accordingly. FOR HOME DELIVERY, OR TO HAVE THE LATEST ISSUE EMAILED TO YOU FREE OF CHARGE, SEND A MESSAGE TO EDITOR@JEWISHHOMELA.COM
The WeekCorner In News Sarah's
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
How to Plant the Seeds for Individual Growth in Children Sarah Pachter
Nili Couzens, a parenting expert, explains a beautiful analogy about raising children. Imagine someone who wanted to plant an apple tree. Because the apple tree requires a certain type of soil, weather, watering schedule and technique, they read up on it in order to be properly informed. After tenderly caring for the plant and following the book perfectly, the person realizes there is just one problem - the label on the seed container was swapped, and they actually have been growing a tomato plant, not an apple tree, all along! Couzens explains, “We all have our version of apple seed children, but if you get a tomato seed, you need to notice. Treating them like apples won’t make them apples, and you won’t even get good tomatoes. Take note though, because tomatoes are really great, and you might be missing out!” Children each have different needs based on their individual, inborn traits. Each child may require a different atmosphere depending on their strengths and weaknesses. Being mindful of what type of child you have and identifying their individual needs is critical in creating a positive atmosphere and healthy foundation for them, which will allow them to develop their own strong roots and actualize their potential later in life. Here are three tools to help you give each child their own personalized boost: Use Shabbat as a time to connect. A great time to connect with your children is on Shabbat evening, when everyone is relaxed and winding down after a
hectic week. This can be done at bedtime or during the individual blessings on Friday night, which can be tailor-made for your child and any area in which they may be struggling. Of course, everyone receives the standard blessing of being a light onto the world, but also try a specific bracha created especially for that child (ex: your oldest wants to make the basketball team, another child needs tools to deal with adolescent drama, and your youngest is struggling with learning her letters). A child growing up knowing they are blessed will see themselves in a better light. The messages we give our children seep into them like water seeps into the soil, giving them the hydration they need to thrive. As Rabbi Michael Green says, “One of the best ways to listen to your children and have a conversation is finding a really comfortable spot on the couch and look like you are doing nothing. Let them come to you.” Finding those few quiet moments on Shabbat to connect with each child one on one can have an immeasurable impact. Help them discover their toolbox. Describe to your child what is in their own personal toolbox. Think of it like the TV show Chopped - once they know what specific ingredients they have, they can turn those traits into strengths and build on them. When they open that box of ingredients, there may be things they don’t recognize or are unsure what to do with. It’s our job as parents to help them identify those qualities so they can build on them and use them into adulthood. Another
helpful tip from the experts at Chopped is to be sure and keep your tone neutral when describing an ingredient. Getting rhubarb or minced meat in your basket is simply another factor to work with, not necessarily something negative that causes dread at first sight. Your words become your child’s inner voice. Our brains are extremely powerful and believe whatever we tell them, even if it’s a lie. It’s up to us to be the voice in our child’s head, because when they are young, whatever we tell our children becomes their truth. In addition to listing their individual traits, it’s up to us to present those qualities in a positive way. As Nili Couzens explains, “Identify to your children what is in their tool box, because kids really don’t know themselves. If you tell a kid they are stupid, they will believe you. If you tell a kid they are smart, they will believe you. They have never been anywhere else and they have no experience on planet Earth, so what you tell them about themselves is really a surprise to them.” Nili shares the story about a middle school friend of hers who wore an eyepatch. In 8th grade he told her that for his whole childhood, nobody knew that he was seeing double, he just assumed everyone else in the world saw things that way too. One day he said to his mother. “Mommy, how do you know which door is the real door?” When she didn’t understand, he said, “You know when there are two doors and only one of them is real?” His mom realized he had been seeing dou-
ble his whole life and took him to the eye doctor. The young boy assumed everyone else saw the world the way he did. Like this young boy, our children possess amazing inherent qualities that they don’t realize makes them special - they think everyone has the same qualities that they do. You as a parent have a choice. If you have a funny child, you can either tell them, “Get serious kid, life isn’t all fun and games!” or you could say, “You are so fun! You have the best sense of humor. You could do amazing things with that and I love that about you!” If you have a kid who’s a dreamer you could say, “Get your head out of the clouds!” or you could say, “You have such a vivid imagination. When you read a book, it’s like you are in the book. That is amazing, and you can do such creative things.” Have a child who’s stubborn? Stubbornness can be a great trait too. Being stubborn will serve them well when they grow up and face the challenges of the real world. Tell them, “You have really strong values, and you stick to them. I really love that about you.” It all depends on how you present their qualities to them. Our role as a parent is to tell our children what’s great about the innate attributes Hashem blessed them with and guide them on how they can use it. Whatever Hashem gave them is part of their unique package. Our children are only young and in our care for such a short window of time. By using these tools, we can help make these impactful but fleeting years as meaningful and loving as possible.
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Press Release The Week In News
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Bike4Chai Gears Up for Record Number of Riders LA Cyclists Will Take Part In An Annual Charity Bike Ride As the country reopens following more than a year of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, people are ready to hit the road… for a good cause. On July 29, a record 600 cyclists will ride close to 60,000 miles to support children with serious illnesses as part of Bike4Chai. Now in its 12th year, the annual cycling event raises funds for Chai Lifeline, the international children’s health support network which provides social, practical, and financial assistance to children with life-threatening and lifelong illnesses and their families. Moshe Bloch of L.A. will join 10 riders from Los Angeles taking part in Bike4Chai 2021.
“Knowing that Chai Lifeline is always needed, in all our communities, for all different reasons, is more than enough to push me to get on the bike & fundraise,” said Bloch. “We must all do our part to help such an amazing & impactful organization.” This year’s one-day ride will feature two scenic but challenging route options of 80 or 103 miles. Cyclists will depart from Mountain Creek Resort in Vernon, NJ, stopping at the gates of Camp Simcha Special, Chai Lifeline’s summer camp for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities in Glen Spey, NY. There, the riders will be greeted by the campers, many
of whom require wheelchairs, respirators, or other medical equipment to survive, before returning to Vernon for a finish line celebratory barbecue. “With every mile they ride and every dollar they raise, our cyclists impact the lives of thousands of children and families living with pediatric illness,” said Yoel Margolese, director of Bike4Chai. “Thanks to their dedication, as well as the overwhelming support of our community, Bike4Chai continues to be, not only a world-class cycling event, but one of the largest experiential fundraisers in the world.” Bike4Chai benefits Chai Lifeline’s
more than two dozen year-round programs and services, including professional case management and counseling, meal delivery to hospitals and homes, transportation to medical appointments, emergency financial assistance, Project Chai crisis intervention, insurance advocacy, i-Shine afterschool programming for children living with illness or loss in their families, Camp Simcha/Special summer programming, and more. To learn more, visit www.bike4chai. com.
Once Believed Impossible, Now You Can Perform the Mitzvah of Sh’mitta from ANYWHERE In the World! “The mitzvah of sh’mitta is only for Jewish farmers” is an oft repeated, but untrue misconception. With the upcoming sh’mitta year, Zo Artzeinu is on a mission to give everyone the opportunity to take part in this rare mitzvah. The Torah blesses all who observe sh’mitta with bountifulness, and no longer does this apply only to Israeli farmers. HaRav Yaakov Ariel, leading Posek on all mitzvos of the Land of Israel, former Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan, and President of Torah VeHa’aretz has said of the Israel Trees project:
“through this partnership [you] KEEP THE MITZVAH AS WELL because the Land belongs to us all… I therefore bless the efforts of Zo Artzeinu’s Sh’mitta Campaign.” As these trees are being freshly planted, purchasers will also share in the mitzvah of arlah, the prohibition of tending to a tree in its first three years. For the purpose of arlah, every tree MUST be planted before Rosh Chodesh Elul, so the time to plant trees is running out! Sh’mitta is one of the most difficult mitzvos for Israeli farmers to keep—by
observing the full halachos, they are placing their entire livelihood in the hands of Hashem and trusting Him for success. On top of the mitzvos of sh’mitta and arlah that each person receives when they plant a tree in Israel, they are also answering the prayers of farmers who are having this tremendous emunas Hashem. Every person who purchases a tree will receive a certificate of authenticity from Zo Artzeinu which will affirm the tree that they planted. Trees can be planted on behalf of other people as a gift, in honor of someone’s memory, or as a dedication for
any occasion. Plus, from Rosh Chodesh Av (Motzei Shabbos, July 10th) until Motzei Tu B’Av (Sunday, July 25th), Zo Arzeinu is doubling all orders. For each fruit tree ordered, they will be planting two! Trees are actively being planted right now; anyone who wants this mitzvah must plant trees while they are still able to be planted in Israel. If you would like to take part in this momentous mitzvah, you can plant a tree at IsraelTrees.org/shmitta.
Graduate Program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies to be offered at Yeshiva University NEW YORK, NEW YORK: The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University is pleased to offer a Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies beginning in the fall semester 2021. “Holocaust Education, at its heart, is character education, which is sorely needed in today’s world,” said Dr. Shay Pilnik, director of the Fish Center. “This
new program will form the core of the Fish Center’s mission to build a new cadre of teachers, professional and lay leaders across the United States committed to Holocaust education and remembrance and ready to meet the challenges the field is currently facing.” The new master’s program joins the Fish Center’s current programming, which includes courses, lectures and teacher
training workshops attracting students from across the United States and abroad. It also fulfills the vision of the Fish Center’s founder, Emil A. Fish, to have the Center conduct a multidisciplinary investigation of the Holocaust of European Jewry through history, theology, psychology, law, literature and education by relying on the resources and faculty of one of the world’s premier Jewish institutions for
higher education. Information about the program can be found at on the Fish Center website (https://www.yu.edu/fish-center/) or by contacting Dr. Shay Pilnik (shay.pilnik@ yu.edu) or Hodaya Blau (hodaya.blau@ yu.edu).
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
The Week In News
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Living with the The Week In Times News
By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Homesick
Publisher of the Yated Ne’eman
The way we observe the restrictions of the nine-day period is fast becoming one of the great dichotomies of religious Jewish life. We know that this is a period of mourning. We know that we are not supposed to wear fresh garments. We know that there are no major simchos during this period, no music, no meat, nothing that would take our minds off of the great suffering our people have endured throughout our history. Yet, although we are well-intentioned and observe every halacha, kallah k’chamurah, when it comes to the Nine Days, the observances don’t always impact us. They become more of an inconvenience than a way to force us to introspect. We are in a period in the Jewish year when we are instructed to conduct ourselves a certain way, reflecting the mourning we feel within. Chazal direct us not to eat meat or listen to music. However, it is possible to observe all the halachos and refrain from all forbidden activities, and yet not experience the mournful feeling that our actions are meant to induce. During the Nine Days, we are meant to reflect on what we are lacking by being in golus. Being in jail is dreadful. Speak to anyone who has been there and they will tell you that even life in the so-called “camp jails” is awful. Despite how they are depicted in the media, camp jails are very sad places. Every waking moment that a person is incarcerated, there is a reminder that he is not home. The prisoners have a certain degree of freedom in their dormitory-like rooms and can walk about the campus unencumbered, but the knowledge that they are not home serves as a constant punishment. Children go to sleep-away camp, where they are together with friends, all having a good time, yet they get homesick. Camp is great. It’s a lot of fun. Campers get to meet other youngsters from all over, swim, play ball, and go on exotic trips. But it’s not home. They get homesick and call up their parents crying that they want to come home. Campers receive packages from home, letters and cards, and after being away for a whole week and a half, their parents sit in hours-long traffic to spend time with their children on visiting day. The prisoners, and lehavdil the campers, are comforted in their longing by remembering home, thinking about home, and getting updates and packages from home. They know that they will soon be home. Camp lasts but a few weeks, and a stay in Otisville’s satellite camp style jail is also finite. The people who are there
don’t have to do anything to be able to return home. Golus is different. We are far from home and we don’t know for how much longer. Every day, we wait anew to be returned home. It is one of the fundamental beliefs of our faith. The Rambam writes (Hilchos Melochim 11:1) that anyone who does not believe that Moshiach will be sent to reestablish Malchus Bais Dovid, rebuild the Bais Hamikdosh and gather all of the nidchei Yisroel, and does not actually wait for and anticipate his arrival, is a disbeliever in all of the nevi’im and in the Torah and Moshe Rabbeinu. To be considered a maamin, a believer, it does not suffice to believe that Moshiach will come to redeem us someday. Rather, we must expect his arrival every day. A person who doesn’t expect Moshiach to arrive is a kofer, r”l. Similarly, the Gemara (Shabbos 31a) states that when a person arrives in the Bais Din Shel Maaloh after 120 years, he is asked six questions. One of the questions is: “Tzipisa l’yeshuah? Did you anticipate Moshiach’s arrival?” Part of expecting Moshiach to arrive every day is doing actions that will lead to his arrival. If we wait for him and want him and are eagerly anticipating his arrival, it would follow that we ourselves would be undertaking to do what Chazal teach will lead to the geulah and to encourage others to also act accordingly. The Alter of Kelm explains this with a parable. A person was shouting, “Help! Help! My father is dying!” When people rushed to offer aid, they saw that the son was standing next to his father and choking him. They said to him, “Are you crazy? If you want your father to live, why are you choking him?” The Alter would say that it is incongruous to mourn over the destruction of the Botei Mikdosh and then engage in actions that caused their destruction and prevent their reconstruction. During these days of Av, we mourn. We remember the time when the Bais Hamikdosh stood in the center of Yerushalayim. Tisha B’Av is the repository of sadness and mourning for everything that has befallen us. We reflect on the tragedies that occurred to the Jews throughout the ages and are saddened as we recall them. Tragedy and sadness are part of our essence. On Tisha B’Av, we shall remember the 45 kedoshim of Meron, the victims of the Stolin bleacher collapse, the victims of the Surfside building collapse, the six million victims of the Nazis, the hundreds of thousands brutally killed in pogroms, those murdered during the Crusader peri-
od and the Inquisition, the millions killed at the time of the churban, the Jews who were sold into slavery, and the people who were pillaged, beaten, robbed and thrown to the lions. The torture afflicted upon our people is far greater than any other nation had to endure.Tisha B’Av is the day when we commemorate it all. But the halachos of the Nine Days are not simply laws that we outwardly observe. They are meant to influence our thoughts and feelings during this time. They are meant to lead us to teshuvah, to do what we must in order to merit being brought back home. We know that the second Bais Hamikdosh was destroyed because sinas chinom was prevalent amongst Jews at that time (Yoma 9b). However, the Gemara in Maseches Sanhedrin (104b) points to the chet hameraglim as the cause of the destruction. It was on the 9th day of Av when the Jews in the desert cried for naught. Their “bechiyah shel chinom” echoes all these years, giving generation after generation many reasons to cry. The meraglim viewed themselves as insects, feeling small and insignificant, as they traversed Eretz Yisroel and accepted the attitudes and views of others. Upon their return, the meraglim shared their pessimistic report and analysis with the people. “Woe is to us,” they cried. “We are being led to a country that will destroy us.” They were insecure about their ability to merit Hashem’s blessing and protection. They feared that they wouldn’t be worthy of the promises made to them that they would inherit the Promised Land. They didn’t perceive their own greatness. The nation that was chosen as the favorite from among all others feared that they had been cast aside. Lacking sufficient self-confidence, they were easily misled and taken in by the apocalyptic predictions of the meraglim. Years later, during the period of Bayis Sheini, although the Jewish people were religiously committed, the rot at the root of the chet hameraglim was still present. Because the people were cynical, negative and pessimistic, they didn’t see the Jewish people as being worthy of Divine love. They hated each other because they didn’t appreciate the greatness inherent in every individual Jew. Insecure, they were blind to their own worth and, like the Jews at the time of the chet hameraglim, because they felt undeserving, they didn’t appreciate what they were given. On Tisha B’Av, we sit on the floor as aveilim reciting Kinnos, recalling how good we had it, how close we were to Hashem, and the holiness and unity that
were apparent in our lives. We bemoan the losses we suffered. We recognize through our tears how much Hashem loved us, and we proclaim that we know that He still loves us and that we are worthy of that love. By doing this, we repent for the sins of the meraglim and sinas chinom. Many of our problems are rooted in the sin of low self-esteem, of not realizing each person’s potential for greatness. People give up on becoming great even before starting the process. They are easily knocked off course and lose motivation to excel, because they don’t believe enough in themselves. This is one of the ways the yeitzer hora causes us to live a hopeless, sad and sometimes self-hating life. Chazal famously teach us that a generation that doesn’t merit the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdosh is viewed as having had the Bais Hamikdosh destroyed in its time. The Sefas Emes explains that anyone who doesn’t believe that their actions can contribute to the building of the Bais Hamikdosh is accountable for its destruction. Those who don’t realize that they have the power to bring about the return of the Bais Hamikdosh have a part in its destruction. To believe that we make no difference is part of the churban. Our response to churban is to have faith in ourselves and know what we are, who we are, and what we can achieve. This, says the Sefas Emes, is what’s meant by the brocha we recite in Birkas Hamazon referring to Hashem as the “bonei (presently building) berachamov Yerushalayim.” Rebuilding the Holy City is a steady, ongoing process. At any given moment, Hashem is rebuilding Yerushalayim. It is destructive to think that we can’t play a role in that process. We lost the Bais Hamikdosh because of two related sins: bechiyah shel chinom, a futile cry, and sinas chinom, baseless hatred. Realizing what a Jew represents is the greatest and most effective antidote to sinas chinom. Each of us carries so much power. We have to appreciate the mitzvos and ma’asim tovim of our friends and see their efforts with an ayin tovah. Parshas Devorim, like the rest of the last seder of the Torah, is Moshe Rabbeinu’s farewell message to his people. This week’s parsha introduces us to the seder that describes the stay of the Bnei Yisroel in the midbar and ends with prophetic words concerning their entry into Eretz Yisroel. The Jewish people went on to settle the land, erected the Mishkon in Shilo, built the Botei Mikdosh in Yerushalayim, and experienced two churbanos before being tragically evicted from the land promised
Living withIn theNews Times The Week
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
to them. They were sent into golus, where we remain until this day. Seder Devorim begins with Moshe Rabbeinu rebuking his people, because to merit geulah and entry into Eretz Yisroel, they had to engage in teshuvah. As the Rambam says (Hilchos Teshuvah 7:5), “Ein Yisroel nigolin ela beseshuvah,” Klal Yisroel will only be redeemed if we engage in proper and complete teshuvah. Since Moshe loved his nation and selflessly wanted them to be able to enter the land that Hashem promised them, he admonished them with love and respect so that they would accept his tochacha. He spoke to them in a way that preserved their self-esteem (Rashi, Devorim 1:1; see also Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 4:2), because he knew that for people to accept mussar, it is usually advantageous to maintain their dignity. Despite his keen understanding of their displeasing behavior, his speech was laced with love and respect. The role of parents, teachers and leaders when reproaching is to
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do so without destroying the person, while providing clarity about the correct path and conveying confidence for the future. It is commonly noted that we read this parsha before Tisha B’Av because it contains Moshe’s admonition beginning with the word “Eicha,” which we lain in the same tune as Megillas Eicha on Tisha B’Av. Perhaps we can suggest that another reason is to teach us how to give mussar and bring people home. It is not by demeaning them, yelling at them, or making them feel useless. It is by crafting the corrective message with sensitivity and infusing it with love, demonstrating that it emanates from a loving and intelligent heart. Man is created with a heart and a brain, impulses and emotions, competing character traits, and a complicated psychology and thinking process. In his youth, a person requires parents and teachers to set him on the proper path and teach him Torah, responsibility and manners. He needs to be shown and taught how to think and how to
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act. Man has successes and failures as he goes through life. Due to his very nature, he often requires course corrections by real friends, family and those who care about him. Torah and mitzvos help to battle the ever-present yeitzer hora, but every generation has unique temptations. The further we get from Har Sinai, the harder it is to deal with them. Just like Noach in his day - Chazal say, “Noach hayah tzorich sa’ad letomcho” - we all need help to make it and can’t always do it on our own. To the degree that people recognize this, they can be sources of support and constructive chastisement. We must act as Moshe did, admonishing in a way that could be accepted so that the people can merit exiting golus and entering the land of geulah. In order to bring people to teshuvah, which will bring us to the ultimate geulah, we need to preach as Moshe preached, and rebuke and reprimand as he did. Through his tochacha, Moshe demon-
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strated that he saw greatness in the people and worked to bring them to the level that would allow Hashem to end their golus and bring them to Eretz Yisroel. So too, in our day, if we are mochiach with love, treating others as brothers and sisters, and caring about them, we can help bring the nation out of golus and into geulah. So much Jewish blood has been shed. So much heartache has been felt throughout the centuries in golus. On Tisha B’Av, we plaintively ask, “Lamah lanetzach tishkocheinu?” For how long will death endure? For how much longer will we linger in golus? We want to go home. On Tisha B’Av, we say in unison, “Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha venoshuvah chadeish yomeinu k’kedem. Hashem, bring us back to You…” People all over say and intone these words with love and inspiration. Hashem, we know that Your arms are opened wide, waiting to receive us. We know that we are worthy of Your embrace. Bring us back. We want to go home.
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The Torah World Phenomenon Inspires Again By Rabbi Eliezer Sandler
Post-Covid 19 Farher in Yerushalayim
The heartfelt words of admiration in the box below, followed an amazing ‘postCovid 19’ public farher in Yerushalayim conducted by these two Geonim, which covered the entire Shas in depth! “Such proficiency in Shas causes one’s reasoning not to be simply a personal opinion, rather true Talmudic reasoning. Thus, you will readily come to the halacha throughout the Torah.” Maran, the Rishon l’Tzion, was expressing his amazement to the avreichim geonim of the Kollel Shas Yiden, after the public farher from in-depth reasoning on Shas through to practical halacha, and he enjoyed their absolute mastery of each subject discussed.
Shas Yiden’s Remarkable Growth
In just the last seven years, Shas Yiden has grown from one Kollel in Beit Shemesh with just over a minyan of avreichim to five Kollelim! There are now 82 avreichim geonim. The kollelim are in Yerushalayim, Bnei Brak, Beit
Shemesh, Beitar and London, UK. The big motivator for the expansion is the Nasi of Shas Yiden, Maran Sar Hatorah, Hagaon Hagadol Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlit”a. After testing the avreichim geonim for years, he gave his brocha to the founder, the Pozna Rov, Hagaon Harav Avrohom Eisen, shlit”a, to open further kollelim. Planning is underway for a sixth kollel to open by Kislev 5782 (December 2021).
A Unique Program
The idea of having each avreich submit to such a very demanding daily regimen and to complete Shas so thoroughly each year, is unique in the Torah world. They each conclude the entire Shas FIVE times a year (13,555 blatt) with every Rashi and Tosfos, all of which they learn to
master b’al peh! Acceptance is through a searching examination on 450 blatt and the ability and commitment to keep up with the pace of learning, namely, 7 days a week.
Public Farheren
The idea of public oral examinations of Shas Yiden has become very popular. This wondrous spectacle, for that is what it is, to see such incredible scholarship on display, has been repeated regularly, sometimes three or four times in a year. The frequency notwithstanding, every time such a test takes place, the spectacle reverberates throughout the Torah world and causes waves of amazement. This has an incredible impact on those who study Torah, and who are able to view the past farheren on the Shas Yiden website (www. shasyiden.com).
“You are all so proficient in Shas, Rashi and Tosfos, that your minds are Talmudic minds and your reasoning is Talmudic reasoning,” declared Maran Hagaon, the Rishon l’Tzion, Harav Yitzchak Yosef, shlit”a, to the avreichim geonim of Shas Yiden. “Such an assembly as this, is an incredible Kiddush Hashem, and hastens the Geulah,” added Maran Hagaon Harav Bezalel Rudinsky of Monsey, NY.
L-R: Hagaon Harav Moshe Isaac Samet, Rosh Hakollel Shas Yiden Maran Hagaon Harav Bezalel Rudinsky, Rosh Yeshiva Ohr Reuven, Monsey, NY
“I was Blown Away”
The public farher exam was also conducted by Maran Hagaon Harav Bezalel Rudinsky, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva Ohr Reuven and Rav of Cong. Ahavas Yitzchok in Monsey, NY. He is known for his erudition in all Torah subjects, and who
L-R: Hagaon Harav Moshe Isaac Samet, Rosh Hakollel Shas Yiden, Maran Hagaon Harav Bezalel Rudinsky, Maran Rishon l’Tzion, Hagaon Harav Yitzchak Yosef, Hagaon Harav Avrohom Eisen, Founder Shas Yiden, Pozna Rov
Yidden TheShas Week In News
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
Avreichim geonim Shas Yiden
L-R: Maran Hagaon Harav Bezalel Rudinsky, Rosh Yeshiva Ohr Reuven, Monsey, NY, Maran Rishon l’Tzion, Hagaon Harav Yitzchak Yosef, Hagaon Harav Avrohom Eisen, Founder Shas Yiden, Pozna Rov
Entire gathering at the Shas Yiden Shas Farher in Yerushalayim
L-R: Maran Rishon l’Tzion, Hagaon Harav Yitzchak Yosef Hagaon Harav Avrohom Eisen, Founder Shas Yiden, Pozna Rov
l-r: Hagaon Harav Moshe Isaac Samet, Rosh Hakollel Shas Yiden, Maran Hagaon Harav Bezalel Rudinsky, Rosh Yeshiva Ohr Reuven, Monsey, NY, Maran Rishon l’Tzion, Hagaon Harav Yitzchak Yosef, Hagaon Harav Avrohom Eisen, Founder Shas Yiden, Pozna Rov
Some of the wide-ranging questions:
A short selection of questions referencing numerous sources from across Shas that led to extensive debate between the questioners and the avreichim geonim. QUESTIONS: •
How many implications are there if we say safek d’oraisa is l’kula implies being lenient d’oraisa or d’rabbanan?
•
It is known from the Brisker Rov that it is preferable if there is a support from the Torah, more than if we know the matter itself from real life, because the Torah verse is of greater reality than the object or matter itself. What are the supports for this statement from across Shas?
•
As well, when a Tanna says a reason in a Mishna, where does the Gemara still attempt to bring support statements from the Torah?
•
Is there a concept of arvus applicable to geirim?
•
Is there a chazaka for someone who says that he paid a debt within 30 days – because we say that there is a chazaka that one does not pay before the time limit of the loan?
•
Is the birth of twins considered an extra ‘plus’ for the father?
•
Can you bring a support for the Bach that rov ganvei Yisrael is not the simple meaning?
•
When may one tell an untruth, and under what conditions, and how many times and where is it mentioned in Shas?
•
What is the source in Shas for a Mora d’asra?
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be ready in your mouth so that if any man will ask you a question, you shall not fumble; rather you should be able to respond immediately’, which is the way of Shas Yiden,” he said.
New Questioning Format
Entire gathering at the Shas Yiden Shas Farher in Yerushalayim
personally completes Bavli, Yerushalmi and the entire Shulchan Aruch every year. The two Geonim examiners questioned the avreichim geonim for well over an hour, and derived much satisfaction from the amazing mastery of every corner of Shas by the Shas Yiden. At the conclusion of the farher, Rav Rudinsky was all-American when he declared, “I was blown away by the Shas Yiden. This gathering is an incredible Kiddush Hashem - that Jews should know Shas in such a manner! Such a gathering hastens the Geulah (Redemption), and if I can be part of it, I feel a great zechus (merit).”
Impact Worldwide
Rav Rudinsky said that so many Jews throughout the world have been inspired and have increased their Torah learning since they heard about the phenomenon of the Shas Yiden Kollel network. “You have strengthened thousands of Jews in the mitzvah of acquiring Torah knowledge, to the point that ‘the words of Torah should
The gathering, as on the previous occasions, amazed all who attended, with a continuous flow of brilliant questions. However, on this occasion by way of a change, most of the questions were in-depth questions. The avreichim geonim had to draw examples from all over Shas to Halachic-Conceptual questions where the answers could not be derived from a superficial knowledge level of Shas. Not unexpectedly, the avreichim g e o n i m weighed and considered all the volumes of Shas, and delivered in depth reasoning while throwing out ideas from all over Shas, as well as from halachic sources and the latterday poskim. This was all to Avreichim geonim Shas Yiden the amazement
of the Rabbonim examining them, and who declared: “You also know Choshen Mishpat by heart?” This amazing rischa d’oraisa (tumultuous Torah discussion) closed with the heartfelt words of the Rishon l’Tzion, who told the story of how his late revered father, Maran Hagaon Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, who had mastered Shas at age 15, would encourage others to master Shas. He also spoke about those who support and ensure the vibrant continuity of Shas Yiden. “Shas Yiden is unique in the Torah world,” he declared. To see the letters of the Rishon l’Tzion and Rav Rudinsky and to see the dynamic farher, or for more information on Shas Yiden, or to donate click on www. shasyiden.com or call 718-702-1528 or Mail: 1274 49th Street #562, Brooklyn, NY 11219
After the farher, the examiners with the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim, in the center L-R, Hagaon Harav Moshe Isaac Samet, Rosh Hakollel Shas Yiden, Maran Hagaon Harav Bezalel Rudinsky, Rosh Yeshiva Ohr Reuven, Monsey, NY, Maran Rishon l’Tzion, Hagaon Harav Yitzchak Yosef, Hagaon Harav Avrohom Eisen, Founder Shas Yiden, Pozna Rov
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The Week In News
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Seeing Hashem's Guiding Hand Dr. Moshe Katz Lived to Tell His Story BY TAMMY MARK
Dr. Katz with the brush that helped him survive
“I’m
not a Holocaust survivor per se, like everybody else. It’s one in a million how it happened.” To hear his inspiring stories of survival and success, it is evident that Dr. Moshe Katz lived through the war not only to tell the story to the world but to help secure a future for generations to come. Speaking with the soft-spoken nonagenarian, he shares his astonishing anecdotes in the most matter-of-fact way, attributing his survival largely to Providence. From the stories he relates, it is clear that the Katz family was no ordinary family, and the tenacious and brave Moshe Katz is particularly extraordinary. Dr. Katz lives in Lawrence, New York, in the center of the Five Towns-Far Rockaway region that he helped foster into the vibrant Jewish community it is today. He received his degree in Holocaust and Jewish studies and is an historian who can discuss every aspect of the ear The cover of Dr. Katz’s book. Moshe, Yankel, Surly, Josef, Louse, Sonny, Manca, Chana and Terry are depicted in the photo
and each country’s involvement in the war, his bookshelves filled with books on World War II. Dr. Katz has even studied books about Adolf Hitler himself, in an attempt to possibly comprehend the incomprehensible. Dr. Katz differentiates himself from those who survived the atrocities of the concentration camps and those who endured the devastation and hardships of life in war-torn Europe. Though he was spared from the camps, he had to hide his Jewish identity to survive. “I wasn’t hiding; I was working as a Christian working in different places, but I never had to hide,” he says. “I was working in different places – on a farm, in a supermarket, a garage – I got jobs all over. I had to run from one place to another, changing my name a few times, until finally I was liberated by the Russian army.”
History to Share Of the ten Katz siblings, nine survived the war. Moshe Katz chronicles his journey in his 2006 biography Nine out Ten, which he dedicated of Ten to his beloved parents, Chaya and Chaim, his adored older brother Pinchas, and his wife and daughters, his
aunts, uncles, hundreds of cousins and his revered rebbes and the six million souls who were murdered, as well as to the Righteous Gentiles who risked their own lives to save his. He estimates that over 200 members of his extended family perished in the camps. Written with the help of Nachman Seltzer, Dr. Katz’s book tells of life before, during and after the ghetto, and the numerous dangerous encounters and miraculous escapes he and his siblings experienced. As a young man before the war, Katz made a pact with his friends that if they lived to tell the story, they would. He was the sole survivor of his group, yet he couldn’t keep his word to tell his story for decades – sadly because nobody wanted to hear it. Dr. Katz explains that in the first years after the war, survivors were often dissuaded from sharing the atrocities, even among fellow Jews. It wasn’t until May 1960 that the horrific history became newsworthy. Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the “Final Solution” who had sent half a million Hungarian Jews to death in Auschwitz, was hunted down and captured in Argentina and brought to Israel to be tried for his crimes. Dr. Katz was determined to be there to watch it happen. The ever-resourceful survivor managed to procure a pass for the trial’s opening day. He praised G-d for the opportunity to see the vile Eichmann locked in a cage. When Dr. Katz returned home to the States, people were ready to listen. Finally finding an interested audience, Dr. Katz began chronicling his experiences by
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writing “My Mission” in the Hamodia publication. He later went on to present his story to students of all demographics for the next several decades, even switching to Zoom when the live events were paused during the Covid pandemic.
A Family with a Mission Moshe was the eighth child in his devout Jewish family. His father, Chaim, originated from Poland and his mother Chaya from Hungary; they raised their family in an idyllic existence in the Czechoslovakian city of Uzhorod. They were relatives of the Belzer rabbinic dynasty, and Torah permeated their lives. Chaim made a living as a brush maker and was highly regarded as an entrepreneur, baal chessed, and enthusiastic scholar. Chaya
“We had a signal if somebody wanted to bring a message – the secret signal was ‘brush.’” was a generous pillar of chessed herself, and their home was always filled with guests. They selflessly provided for others however they could – cooking for weddings and providing resources and care to their community until the end. The Katz children were imbued with a sense of familial and communal responsibility from their earliest days. Once Hungary took over the region and the winds of war blew in, life as they knew it had changed. The whole family learned aspects of the family brush business, with Moshe receiving extensive business training mandated through the government. The Katzes began to
prepare Hungarian documents for Jewish refugees. Though they were under constant scrutiny by the government, enduring beatings and other hardships, the family remained steadfast and intact as long as possible, surMoshe when v iv ing longer he was 18 than most Jewish families. Though the Hungarian Jews were not taken to the concentration camps until the final years of the war, they faced equally horrible fates as their fellow Jews. The terror began with detainments and roundups, and eventually gave way to deportation and death. “In spite of the newspapers and the radio, we never heard about Auschwitz – never, never, never,” explains Dr. Katz. “You weren’t allowed to listen to a foreign broadcast and the only way we would have found out would be listening to English stations from London. They had a way to find out who had a radio, and if you listened to a foreign broadcast, you were a spy. Even if you weren’t Jewish, you were eliminated.” Dr. Katz relates the atmosphere on the streets. “Three people walking on the street – they were eliminated for conspiring – only two could walk, even non-Jews. This was a law. They called them conspirators – because what else do you have to talk about except the war? This was their mentality.” He adds, “The police had one thing in mind – catching a Jew.” In March of 1944 Germany occupied Hungary, and the Nazi troops imposed harsh restrictions on the Jews, including curfews and the wearing of yellow stars. In April, the deportations began. Realizing deportation was imminent, Chaya and Chaim Katz made plans to disperse their family, sending each one in a different direction and keeping only their youngest, Yisroel “Sruly,” with them. Moshe was sent off last, specifically armed with emphatic directives to keep Shabbos and kosher until the end – Chaya told him that he would surely survive if he did. His parents were taken to Auschwitz by June 1944. Moshe and Leah, a’h, with some of their descendants
On Their Own Each of the Katz siblings forged their own journey. Most survived by working under gentile aliases. The Katzes were a resourceful and determined family and well regarded wherever they went. They tried to stay in touch as much as possible throughout the war and took every opportunity to help one another whenever possible. Moshe ended up working on a farm. His brother, Sonny, hid with 19 others in an unHiding as derground a gentile wine cellar at age 20 no t too far away. Moshe Katz attributes his survival to luck and his constant conversations and pleadings with G-d. “I have more luck than anybody else,” he shares. “You could imagine that in Europe life was different than here. I was 20 years old, and I never made a decision in my life. Whatever my parents told me, that’s what it was – there was no ‘but, if, or how.’ It was like an order from the king. So when I left home and I had to make my own decisions – and it’s not because I was smart – I was lucky with all the things that I did. “For instance, I worked on a farm where only the manager knew I was Jewish, of all of the workers – nobody knew. Not far from there was a wine cellar in the mountain hiding 20 Jews, and hiding there was one of my younger brothers.” Though luck may have played a big part, his resourcefulness can’t be overlooked. Dr. Katz shares how he snuck bread and whatever else he could to Sonny and to the others and attempted to boost their morale as well. On one of the last visits, Moshe brought vegetables to cook soup for them. He put nails on the table in four corners, put the pot on top of the nails and placed candles underneath. “We cooked a soup – it took five hours – but you should see how happy they were!” Moshe eventually smuggled Sonny and family friend Rivka out of the hiding spot right before the group was discovered. Rivka experienced her own miracles and narrowly escaped death to survive and raise a Jewish family.
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After that near-death encounter, Moshe and Sonny stayed together. They were in touch with their sister, Chana, who was not too far away. “We never wanted to be in one place with more than one or two of us,” Dr. Katz recalls. “We had a signal if somebody wanted to bring a message – the secret signal was ‘brush.’ If somebody approached any of the Katz siblings and said ‘brush,’ they knew they could trust them. “In fact, it was one of the brushes that my sister sent me when I was on the farm, and she hired a Nazi soldier to pick me up with my younger brother and brought me to the capital city.” Dr. Katz still has that very brush with the secret compartment. “As soon as he showed me the brush, I was able to talk to him, and trust him and there was hidden money in there – and this is how we communicated through the signal of a brush. She helped me with the papers and, somehow or another, we survived.” He remembers, “I had all kinds of jobs. One of the most important jobs was working in a German garage with a Nazi insignia on the label of the uniform. I was a king of kings for six weeks. Then they became suspicious of somebody, and they were examining e v e r y b o d y, and then I had to disappear from there – throw away my IDs and everything and start a new life.” Moshe was 20 years old and experienced one of his first feelings of helplessness. For t u nately, Chana helped procure new papers again, and Moshe procured a job in the supermarket. Traveling together, Moshe and Sonny narrowly escaped danger Dr. Katz with his wife Hindy in front of his extensive library
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
so many times, yet not much deterred them from trying to help others when they could. Along the way, the brothers encountered two children walking alone together, distant cousins who were now orphans. Moshe arranged for them to be taken care of in a monastery. He and Sonny would visit them as often as possible in attempts to ensure they remembered their Jewish identities, until it became too risky that they would all be exposed. It was October of 1944, and the last months of the war proved to be some of the bloodiest, as the Hungarian Arrow Cross soldiers were determined to destroy the remaining Jews. By November, the Jewish men were deported to camps. Moshe had some immunity by working in the supermarket, and he and Sonny managed to stay out of sight and dodged several close calls. They witnessed the unfathomable horror of young Jewish children being dumped and drowned in the Danube River. This massacre continued for several days. A reported 20,000 children were killed, their blood flowing through the river. “For them, it was more important to kill a Jew than win the war, because they were busy up until the end catching Jews,” Dr. Katz notes. “They didn’t mind using 10 soldiers in catching one Jew. That was their aim.” Mercifully, there were some heroic rescue efforts at the time, like those of Raoul Wallenberg, who rescued tens of thousands of Jews by issuing Swedish passports to them. Moshe and Hindy with sister Chana
“Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t work; nobody was sure until the last minute,” says Dr. Katz. By December, the brothers got word that the Russians were coming. Chana soon directed them to relocate move from Buda to Pest. “I was living on the other side of the Danube River, where very little Jews were,” Dr. Katz recalls. “My sister let me
know that the Russians would come only on this side of the river and then they would stop, so I moved myself to the other side of the river. Since I was working at that time in a supermarket, I brought along a lot of canned stuff which nobody could get, even with tickets from the government – it wasn’t available. When you moved into an apartment you had to register with the super, and on every block, there was an investigator. You had to register with them to make sure you’re not a spy, you’re not a Jew, and that I couldn’t do – I would never have passed. I was putting out a few cans and the conversation was on the food…luckily, we survived there. Somehow we survived.”
Picking Up the Pieces In January 1945, the Russians had liberated the city. The Germans disappeared, and Hungarian Arrow Cross officers were obsolete.
“For them, it was more important to kill a Jew than win the war” “When the Russians came in at least we identified ourselves as Jews, and they were friendly,” Dr. Katz says. “They gave us bread and everything. They trusted the Jews, but they didn’t trust the population. They knew the Jews were oppressed by the Germans and by the Hungarians and by the Romanians – everybody hated the Jew.” Moshe was looking for work and eventually ended up at the Russian military headquarters. He had a gift for languages, having been exposed to populations of Hungarians, Czechs and Russians. He became friendly with a few soldiers and eventually got a job translator and was given permission to move about the region freely. They supplied him with bread and other food, and Moshe and Sonny were able to join up with Chana and Terry. The Russian officers tried their best to convince him to give up his religion but Moshe never relented, doing his utmost to keep his mother’s entreaties and holding onto a small set of tefillin and one string of tzitzis. After a while, Moshe decided it was time to take leave once again. The Katz siblings were determined to visit their home. Dr. Katz explains how his Czecho-
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Dr. Moshe Katz with some of his brothers and some of their descendants
slovakian hometown city of Uzhorod was taken over several times in his lifetime: when he was born, it was Czechoslovakia; then Hungary invaded the region; then Russia came and took over; when Russia collapsed, Ukraine took over. It was once called Ungvar and today Uzgorod; his passport now says he was born in Ukraine. When they finally arrived at their childhood home, the Katz siblings found it completely ransacked with barely a wall left standing. At this point, nobody realized the true extent of the destruction of the war and human devastation that had occurred.
“I didn’t recognize him. He came without hair, with two different shoes, with an American soldier’s jacket…” The Russian communist government was taking hold in the city. Soon enough, the warnings came once again that it was time for Moshe to leave town, before he could be arrested, however, this time not for being a Jew. Ironically, as a former factory owner, he now risked arrest and deportation to Siberia as a capitalist. Moshe was now 21, and he led a group of 20 people – his brother and 18 teenage boys and girls who had all lost their parents. He managed to get two oxen and a driver to deliver them to the international train station with a plan to leave Russia for Romania. They then boarded a train to Grosswardein, where the Vizhnitzer Rebbe and some of his chassidim had already established a shul.
Upon arrival in Romania, the police informed the group that if they could find an apartment that was previously Jewish-owned they would evict the current residents. They found a place with six bedrooms to accommodate them, and the police kept their word. They then went to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the organization promptly delivered beds, dishes and food and supplied the group with everything they would need for the apartment. Each day brought new survivors to town, recalls Dr. Katz. “Little by little, the Jews started to come back. My younger brother Sruly found out where I was. He came from Auschwitz. One Saturday morning, he knocked on the door. I didn’t recognize him. He came without hair, with two different shoes, with an American soldier’s jacket…” Sruly had endured Auschwitz, suffering from the loss of his parents and later his brother Pinchas on the Death March. He came searching for Moshe after the liberation. The Katz family was slowly regrouping. Sister Manca was nearby but was determined to track down their brother Louie, who had initially escaped town and passed for some time as a gentile brush maker. He ended up in Theresienstadt labor camp; Louie was tortured and left weak as an infant. Manca nursed him back to health. “Then I met my oldest brother Eugene, Yankel, on the street,” Dr. Katz remembers. “Suddenly, a Jewish restaurant opened up in our city. We didn’t see a restaurant or a Jew for so long. It was advertised all over the region, and suddenly all the refugees and everybody came waiting for it to open. We were walking and he was also walking, and I didn’t recognize him. He smiled, but the way he was dressed, we were very uncomfortable – we were afraid even to touch people because they had lice. Then he smiled and walked over. At home, he was like an aristocrat – he had a fur coat and white shirts, black tie, a hat – he looked like a king, and now he looked like a beggar…”
It turned out that after being initially sent away by his parents before the deportations, Yankel, too, had eventually been caught and taken to Auschwitz. Moshe had been acting as the eldest until this point, but his oldest brother now took the responsibility. Life started to feel a bit normal for the family. They soon understood how fortunate their family was to have each other amongst so much loss. Soon enough, Romania was also taken over by the communists. The prior government was full of Jews; when the communists came in, they hanged them all. The group moved on to Prague, and Moshe helped them get settled. He continued to assist the incoming Jewish refugees however he could. He shares, “Now we needed new papers again. The law was if you find your teacher from school, you could get papers and become a citizen. I found my teacher and he gave me a letter, and I got a passport and papers in Prague.” Luck and resourcefulness kept Dr. Katz alive. In December of 1945, Moshe received a letter from his brother Joe who had escaped through Switzerland. The Katz siblings set off for their next reunion. “In France, I had a brother who had survived. He already had an apartment, he was in business and he took care of all his siblings in a one bedroom apartment – we were lying on the floor.” Joe was doing well for himself – he wore custom monogrammed shirts and tailored suits, and he gave them everything they needed. There was not much religious Jewish life in Paris, and there was an almost two-hour walk to the synagogue. “We had to get back to Jewish life,” Dr. Katz says. The only answer for them was in America. But the United States wouldn’t let them in because the quota from Czechoslovakia was at a 6-8 years wait. Fortunately, they had an uncle living in the States who was able to secure papers for the three brothers, Moshe, Sonny and Sruly, as students. In 1947, a Danish freighter set sail for two weeks landing at Ellis Island. Moshe was 23 when he came to America. He met his first wife Leah Rosenfeld, a”h, an American girl who married him despite him being “a greener” immigrant. Leah and Moshe settled in Manhattan’s Upper West Side at a cousin’s apartment, along with Moshe’s two brothers. He started working in real estate with his uncle who was in the business. Moshe Katz was extremely successful in his new country; he landed on
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the pages of the financial section of The New York Times as the youngest man in real estate to purchase a building. By age 24, he had resold that building for a large profit. Dr. Katz went on to manage various properties and continued working up until last February. Moshe had purchased a small supermarket in the Bronx for his brothers to work in. They were the only ones closed on Saturday – not an easy feat since there were “blue laws” in effect at the time mandating closure on Sundays. The Katz family held their ground and eventually managed to pave their own way. They later started a new business importing electronics and grew it into a very big company. Moshe had many of his siblings working alongside him throughout the years. The other Katz siblings were spread all over the world. Chana got married in Romania in the summer of 1945 – the first Jewish wedding after the war. One sister got married in Paris, and the youngest sister married a Swiss man and remained in Switzerland throughout her life.
“Hitler’s aim was to wipe us out. My answer to him is to build future generations.” Sruly was drafted to the U.S. Army. He was sent to Germany and was stationed in Nuremberg, a mere 10 years after he was in the German concentration camp. “I went to visit him there…it was pretty hard,” Dr. Katz acknowledged. Moshe was caretaking as always, and he was always focused on religion. He wanted to make sure Sruly didn’t bring back a German bride like many soldiers did. Sruly got married in Antwerp in the early ‘50s – it was a huge joy to have all of the surviving Katz siblings celebrating together for the first time. “The rest is history,” Dr. Katz quips.
A Pillar of the Community Leah and Moshe moved to Far Rockaway in 1954 and then to Lawrence in 1965. They had three daughters. They first davened at Rabbi Rubin’s Sulitza shul and then the Agudah on Sage Street. When the Katzes landed in Far Rockaway, the only yeshiva in the area was the Hebrew Institute of Long Island (HILI), a coed day school. Dr. Katz was determined to
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
create more yeshiva options for Jewish families. Dr. Katz got busy, work ing to help found the Yeshiva of South Shore and e vent ua l ly To rah Academy for Girls. Though his first wish was to try to establish a girls’ school for his daughters, he didn’t have enough families who were interested. He focused his efforts on the boys’ yeshiva and held the inaugural meeting in his house. He recalls, “I got $500 from seven people including me, so we had $3,500 – at time it was a lot of money.” There were plenty of skeptics but Dr. Katz was resolute. “I said by hook or crook there will be one.” He went to Brooklyn to seek out Rav Binyamin Kamenetzky, zt”l, to convince him to lead the new yeshiva. They finally started out on Oak Street in Woodmere, with a girls’ school up the block. Eventually, the schools separated and both became thriving Torah institutions in their own right. Jewish life in the areas continued to proliferate. Little by little, restaurants opened and more people moved here – schools and shuls sprouted and grew. Many people moved from Brooklyn since there was an eruv, which was a draw for young families to be able to bring children to shul. Dr. Katz had succeeded in contributing to Jewish life and continuing his family’s legacy. Dr. Katz has countless other stories to tell. He helped people through the years whenever and however he could. He also stayed in touch with and helped support the Righteous Gentiles who had helped hide him through the war. He would send them his own daughters’ dresses later on from the States. He even provided materials for the families to start their own business, though it wasn’t simple for them to get on their feet. Dr. Katz explains, “Under communism, people grew up dependent on the government for everything. You got married; ten years later, you’re entitled to get an apartment. You couldn’t hold on to two jobs because then you’d be becoming ‘a different person.’ So when communism ended, I send them a box of material for making blouses or skirts. The blouses were ready, and they didn’t know what to charge. They had no idea – I told them to
Moshe and Hindy at a Names Not Numbers event at HALB Elementary
go look in a department store and if they sell for $10 , you sell for $7. They had no idea how to go into business – or how to think. They had no idea. The whole family had only worked as conductors or engineers for the railroad.” Everyone had thought the successful “American Jew” would forget them, but Moshe Katz never did. Leah passed away 23 years ago, and Dr. Katz is remarried to Hindy Diskind. Dr. Katz’s youngest daughter Debbie still lives nearby; the other two daughters are in Flatbush. He proudly shares that under him, from his three daughters, he has over a hundred descendants. His great-grandchildren are getting married now. He missed three weddings during the Covid period but he recently began attending simchos again and is blessed to say he has several more coming up in weeks ahead. “I’m in touch with all of them – I know all their names,” he says. “One grandchild lives right here and she comes every day.” He wishes he could wake up Hitler just to show him… Today, in his late 90’s, Dr. Katz admits it’s getting harder and harder to get out and around, but he thanks G-d for his children and that somebody is always here for him. Dr. Moshe Katz is one of the last of his siblings still alive, along with youngest brother Sruly. Sonny died this past year, and Louie passed away a few years back at the age of 102. Moshe is the only one of the Katz siblings who would speak about the Holocaust. “I’m doing this for 40 years,” he says. “I taught for 30 years in one school here in Yeshiva of Far Rockaway and in TAG for maybe 10 years, and I’m still president at TAG.” Dr. Katz also speaks in public schools to minority students, telling them that we can all fight bigotry together. “We are not their enemies,” he tells them. “We both have to fight the same enemies.” Dr. Katz’s story is far from over, but his biography close with these powerful words: “Hitler’s aim was to wipe us out. My answer to him is to build future generations.”
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TheBook Week In News Review
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Yedidya: A Novel
Written by Naomi Elbinger Based on the Torah Series “Thanking Hashem When Things Look Bad” by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis Reviewed by Devorah Talia Gordon From the opening pages of “Yedidya,” the reader is engrossed in the journey of Yedidya Steinhart, an aspiring, 22-yearold yeshiva bachur at a prestigious Eretz Yisroel yeshiva. However, as Yedidya’s life unravels when he is falsely accused of a crime, we are swept along as he tries to make sense of how this could have happened and figure out his next steps. With wonderful character details, Elbinger does a fantastic job of drawing us into Yedidya. We can see him; but more, we can feel him. We feel his pain and struggle, as Elbinger plumbs the character’s inner world. We are right there with Yedidya when everything starts to fall apart: his place in yeshiva, his relationships with family members, his parents’ marriage, and his self-image. When Yedidya wakes with the pasuk on his lips, “You have been shown, in order to know, that the Lord, He is G-d; there is nothing other than Him (Devarim 4:35),” he doesn’t realize this is anything special until he meets Gedalia, an old-time Yerushalayim bookseller. Gedalia, who becomes his spiritual guide, tells Yedidya that waking with a pasuk could be a form of minor prophecy (nevuah katanah). Over the course of the book, Gedalia helps
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Protests Rock Cuba
Mass anti-government protests were held in Cuba over the weekend for the first time in decades, as the country’s government partially blames energy shortages and a tightened blockade imposed by the U.S. for the nation’s woes. At a Monday press conference, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the protests were due to “economic asphyxiation” and “Miami’s conservative Cuban-American mafia,” as well as COVID-19. Though he acknowledged that there are
Yedidya unlock the meaning of this pasuk, as well as others. While the story is told through Yedidya’s eyes, Elbinger does a fine job of developing several characters and establishing their intricate conflicts with Yedidya, including roommates, friends, his mother, and sister. Each one of these conflicts serves a purpose, heightening Yedidya’s struggle and slow progression toward emunah, bitachon, and self-awareness. While the mystic figure Gedalia lends the book a touch of intrigue, and Yedidya’s visits with him are nicely woven into the text, the story takes place in great bulk at the ‘yeshiva’ Beit Tikva (a rehabilitation facility) for struggling youth. Directed by Motty, another unexpected mentor for Yedidya, Beit Tikva becomes the unlikely setting for Yedidya’s spiritual growth. Motty’s imperfections – his disorganization, trouble managing finances, and ADD – are in stark contrast to Yedidya’s yekkishe personality, yet Motty’s big heart draws Yedidya to him, and to the reader. The main plot and smaller conflicts
create a rich, well-rounded narrative. The pacing is good; just when you think he is going to have a break, Elbinger throws Yedidya another curve ball to push him toward spiritual growth. As Yedidya is forced again and again out of his comfort zone, the reader, too, is on edge; the suspense keeps us turning the pages. This novel was birthed in a unique fashion. After experiencing personal hardships, Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis, rosh kollel of Kollel Toras Chaim, made his personal slogan, “Kol mah da’vd rachmana l’tav avid,” ‘Everything the Merciful One does is for the good.’ The prolific writer and teacher wondered if, just as studying korbanos fulfills the obligation to bring korbanos, perhaps one could ‘fulfill’ the tzaros one needs to have in life by studying the teachings of Chazal about them. When this notion was confirmed by Rav Dovid Cohen, shlita, Rabbi Travis embarked on recording a daily shiur entitled, “Thanking Hashem When Things Look Bad,” on Kol HaLashon and Torah Anytime. As of this writing, there are 928
“legitimate” reasons for his citizens’ dissatisfaction, Diaz-Canel claimed the protests were part of an “unconventional war” backed by the U.S. Sunday’s protests saw looting and an overturned police car; mass protests are rare in the communist country. Photos showed security forces detaining, beating and pepper-spraying some protesters. Diaz-Canel called the protesters “mercenaries” and “counter-revolutionaries.” U.S. President Joe Biden praised the protesters as “bravely asserting fundamental and universal rights.” “We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime,” he said. Around 100 people were arrested on Sunday by Cuban authorities in connection to the protests. Additionally, there was a heightened presence of police across the nation. Rolling internet blackouts were reported; Cubans depend on the internet for their news. Cuba’s economy is struggling. Tourism, one of the most important sectors, has been devastated by the restrictions on travel during the Covid pandemic.
Sugar, which is mostly exported, is another key earner for Cuba. But this year’s harvest has been much worse than expected. Cuba’s sugar monopoly, Azcuba, said the shortfall was due to a number of factors, including a lack of fuel and the breakdown of machinery which made bringing in the harvest difficult, as well as natural factors such as humidity in the fields. As a result, the government’s reserves of foreign currency are depleted, meaning it cannot buy in imported goods to supplement shortages, as it would normally do. Meanwhile, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador promised to send medicine, food, and vaccines to Cuba if requested, and urged the U.S. to end its “unjust” embargo on Cuba.
Napoleon’s General’s Remains Returned to France On Tuesday, Russia repatriated the remains of one of Napoleon’s most trusted generals after their discovery in the country two years ago. The coffin with the skeleton of Charles-Etienne Gudin, one of Napoleon’s closest allies, was brought to the entrance
recorded shiurim! Many times, Rabbi Travis attempted to write a book on this topic, but a non-fiction book felt too serious to be received by those in great emotional pain. Thus Rabbi Travis decided to write it in the form of an analogy, with the help of two longtime talmidim. Naomi Elbinger, an accomplished writer, entrepreneur, and activist wrote the book, while husband Rabbi Shmuel Elbinger contributed his expertise as a talmid chacham and therapist. When the novel was almost finished, coronavirus struck. Rabbi Travis and Mrs. Elbinger wanted “Yedidya,” with its timely messages of emunah and bitachon, to be out, fast. They launched the book online as a weekly series, with an overwhelmingly positive response. This novel is packed with important messages; yet they are delicately woven into the fabric of the narrative without compromising a great story. Just as Yedidya discovers what his pasukim mean to him and draws closer to Hashem, by witnessing his challenges the reader receives much chizuk in emunah and bitachon as well. One walks away with the priceless gift of feeling enveloped in a warm blanket of reassurance – “Kol mah da’vd rachmana l’tav avid,” “Everything the Merciful One does is for the good.” “Yedidya” is available in Jewish bookstores, at https://www.feldheim.com/yedidya, and on Amazon, both in print and kindle editions. To find out more and start reading the book for free, visit https://yedidyabook. com/.
of the Moscow Vnukovo airport building on a horse-drawn cart accompanied by men in 19th century French military uniform. Gudin died in 1812 during the Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. The 44-year-old general was hit by a cannonball near Smolensk, a city 229 miles west of Moscow. He died of gangrene three days after his leg was amputated. The general’s remains were found in Smolensk in July 2019 by a team of French and Russian archaeologists. “Gudin represents a reconciliation between France and Russia, because Gudin was a Russian enemy in 1812. He came to attack Russia. Now, when Russia honors him and gives (the remains) to France, it’s the biggest symbol of reconciliation between our two countries,” Pierre Malinowski, president of the Foundation for the Development of Russian-French Historical Initiatives, said.
Will a Chinese University Open in Hungary? Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced a plan to open a prestigious Shanghai university in Hungary
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– and to have Hungarians pay for the campus. According to CNN, the campus would be located on the banks of the Danube River, in Budapest, Hungary, and would open in 2024. Critics of the university plan emphasize the high cost to the Hungarian taxpayer, warning that the money would go towards the interests of China’s Communist Party; they also note that the campus is planned for land previously slated for the construction of affordable housing for some 10,000 Hungarian students. Last month, thousands of protesters demonstrated in opposition to the plan. In addition, a joint letter sent to Chinese President Xi Jinping last month by opposition leaders in Hungary warned that they would “immediately halt” the project, as well as the railway linking Budapest and Belgrade, if they are elected next year. Meanwhile, the Hungarian government announced a public referendum on the university, but scheduled it for after the election. The Fudan Hungary University project would cost approximately $1.8 billion, most of which would be financed through a loan from a Chinese state bank. The construction itself would be carried out by a Chinese contractor, and the university would be established and maintained by a Chinese-Hungarian asset management foundation. The Hungarian government noted that 6,000-8,000 students from “Hungary, China, and other nations” would learn from 500 lecturers at the university’s various facilities. It also said that Fudan University is already collaborating with other European universities and has an academic partnership with Yale University as well. “If they manage to protect their national security interests, we are capable of that, too,” the government said, adding that the campus will “not be taking space away” from the planned student accommodations.
Dam Dispute
Members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Thursday expressed support for efforts by the African Union to mediate a dispute between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan regarding the operation of a hydropower dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. The Security Council was called in by Egypt and Sudan, in an effort to resolve the dispute after Ethiopia began filling the res-
ervoir behind the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) earlier this week. Ethiopia opposes Security Council involvement. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Council, “A balanced and equitable solution to the filling and operation of the GERD can be reached with political commitment from all parties. “This begins with the resumption of productive substantive negotiations. Those negotiations should be held under the leadership of the African Union, and should recommence with urgency.” According to Thomas-Greenfield, the African Union “is the most appropriate venue to address this dispute.” While Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia suggested the countries meet in New York for talks, other Council diplomats were wary of setting a precedent in allowing other countries to seek intervention on water-related disagreements. The dispute centers on Ethiopia’s claim that the dam is crucial to its economic development and for electricity, while Egypt views the dam as a threat to the Nile’s water supplies and Sudan worries about the dam’s safety and its impact on Sudanese dams and water stations.
denied the opportunity to refute any of the prosecution’s evidence and he was not allowed to call witnesses who would provide exculpatory evidence on his behalf,” he said. Sullivan, a former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts and former acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said his client had been held in solitary confinement for almost 100 days. Sullivan said his client’s meetings with his Jordanian lawyer almost always occurred in the presence of prosecutors. He called on the U.S. to seek Awadallah’s release. “This proceeding and Jordan’s mistreatment of our client has violated every international standard for justice and human rights,” Sullivan said. According to Sullivan, any conviction will be appealed. Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office at the state security court said Awadallah was given due process and not mistreated in any way; it also said Awadallah only mentioned torture as sentencing day neared.
Taiwan Tug-of-War
Arrests in Jordanian Plot
A Jordanian state security court on Monday sentenced two former officials to 15 years behind bars for a plot targeting the royal family. The officials, who were arrested in April, were accused of involvement in an alleged plot to kill Jordanian King Abdullah II’s half-brother. The arrested officials were named as Bassem Awadallah, who has U.S., Jordanian, and Saudi citizenship and once served as a top aide to King Abdullah II; and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family. Both were found guilty of incitement charges and sedition. They are also claimed to have conspired with Prince Hamza – King Abdullah’s half-brother – and sought foreign assistance. Both men denied the charges and Sharif’s lawyer declined comment, other than to say they would appeal the ruling, which had been handed down by a military judge in a trial consisting of six hearings. Michael Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor hired by Awadallah’s U.S.based family, said “the fix was in” from the moment his client was arrested. “Bassem’s so-called trial was conducted by a secret military court where he was
Taiwan is stuck in the middle of a battle of wills between China and the United States, according to a white paper on defense in Japan. “It is necessary that we pay close attention to the situation with a sense of crisis more than ever,” the paper said in a new section on Taiwan. “In particular, competition in technological fields is likely to become even more intense,” it said about the U.S.-China tussle. The defense review, which was approved by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government on Tuesday, points to China as Japan’s main national security concern. Beijing’s recent uptick in military activity around Taiwan has Tokyo worried since the island is close to the Okinawa chain at the western end of the Japanese archipelago. Chinese President Xi Jinping this month pledged to complete the “reunification” with Taiwan and in June criticized the U.S. as a “risk creator” after it sent a warship through the Taiwan Straits separating the island from the mainland. Japan’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Taro Aso, said this month that Japan should join forces with the U.S. to defend Taiwan from any invasion. Aso later said any contingency over Taiwan should be resolved through dialogue when asked about the remarks, which drew a rebuke from Beijing.
As the military rivalry between the U.S. and China deepens, their economic competition is fueling a race to take the lead in key technologies, such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The emergence of the rival technology camps poses a challenge for Japan because its economy relies as much on business ties with China as it does with the U.S. Japan will also have to spend heavily to keep up with government funding for technology development in the U.S., China and Europe.
Who is Behind the Haiti Assassination?
An armed group of “professional killers” assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise in his Port-au-Prince residence last week. At least 12 bullets hit the president in the firefight in which he lost his life. His wife was injured in the attack and was brought to the U.S. for treatment. A shootout between the police and some of the suspects in the assassination left burned-out cars, spent bullet casings, bloodstains, and bullet-pocked walls. Haitian authorities said that three burned-out cars belonged to members of the armed group, which numbers over two dozen people, including two U.S. citizens and retired members of the Colombian military. So far, 20 suspects have been arrested. Police said that at least two Haitian-Americans and 26 Colombians had been involved in the plot. Taiwanese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Joanne Ou said that 11 suspects were arrested in the Embassy without resistance. On Sunday, Haitian police announced that they had arrested a “key suspect” in the president’s assassination. Police chief Léon Charles alleged that Haitian national Christian Emmanuel Sanon had hired 26 of the 28-strong hit squad through a Miami-based company called CTU, run by Venezuelan national Tony Intriago. According to Charles, Sanon was “the first person” that one of the Colombian suspects had called when police surrounded them. The 63-year-old doctor, who resides in Florida, had arrived in Haiti on a private jet in early June with “political motives.” Police had found weapons, ammunition and a Drug Enforcement Administration cap in his possession. It’s possible that the Colombians may not have been aware of the extent of the plot. Charles surmises that Sarnon was
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The Week In News planning to become Haiti’s president. “The initial mission that was given to these assailants was to protect the individual named Emmanuel Sanon, but afterwards the mission changed,” Charles explained.
Taliban in Control The Taliban terror group claims it is in control of most of Afghanistan. At a Moscow press conference Friday, a Taliban delegation said the group is ready to share power but claimed it is in control of 85% of Afghanistan. “We don’t want to fight. We want to find a political solution through political negotiations. Negotiations of the kind are ongoing in Doha,” Interfax quoted Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying. The officials also said that the Taliban does not seek total power and is interested in including all members of Afghanistan society in its government. Meanwhile, Russia said that the Taliban controls two-thirds of the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. Most estimates place the Taliban’s control at about half of the country. The Pentagon is examining evacuating thousands of interpreters and families to outside Afghanistan, though the Taliban promised that interpreters would suffer no harm if they remained in the country. “We guarantee that they can be in Afghanistan, live normal lives, they will not be harmed,” Shaheen said. On Tuesday, a video, obtained by CNN, showed the Taliban executing 22 Afghan commandos as they surrendered. The massacre, which human rights groups have described as an apparent war crime, questions the assertions that the Taliban makes about peace. Responding to the news of the executed Afghan commandos, GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a U.S. Air Force veteran who flew missions in Afghanistan, in a tweet said, “This is horrible – yet it’s the reality of announcing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Removing the peacekeepers and leaving the Afghan people without support is a grave mistake, Mr. President.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday called President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal a “global embarrassment.” The incident of the video that was released this week took place on June 16 in the town of Dawlat Abad in Faryab province, which is close to Afghanistan’s border with Turkeministan. The Taliban dismissed the video as a fabrication. But the Red Cross confirmed that 22 bodies were retrieved, and CNN spoke with witnesses and verified several videos of the incident. The withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan – set to be complete by the end of August – marks an end to the longest conflict in U.S. history. Biden announced the plan to withdraw troops in April, and has fervently defended the move amid escalating concerns about the future of Afghanistan with the U.S.
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departure nearly complete. Proponents of Biden’s withdrawal contend that the pullout was long overdue, making the case that the costs of staying in Afghanistan far outweigh the benefits. But critics have characterized the withdrawal as a hasty retreat that endangers local populations – especially women – and effectively hands the country over to the Taliban. Biden has rejected the notion that it’s “inevitable” the Taliban will fully regain control of Afghanistan. “I trust the capacity of the Afghan military, who is better trained, better equipped and more competent in terms of conducting war,” the president said on Thursday.
support their starving families.
Giant Pandas No Longer Endangered Giant pandas are no longer an endangered species, Chinese officials said. The announcement follows decades of efforts to save the population, which currently numbers 1,800. Instead, the giant pandas will be re-classified as a vulnerable species, Cui Shuhong, director of the Department of Natural Ecological Protection of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, told a press conference last Wednesday.
Fatal Fire in Bangladesh A fire in a Bangladesh factory has left 52 dead and 30 injured, emergency services said. The fire broke out Thursday night at the Hashem Food and Beverage factory located in the town of Rupganj. The factory manufactured noodles, sweet confections, and fruit juices. Authorities said the fire took hold of plastics and chemicals stored in the building. Many people had been unable to escape the burning building because a door leading to the stairs to the roof had been padlocked.
Eyewitnesses said many people were injured after jumping from the factory’s upper floors. On Saturday, police rounded up a number of individuals, including the owner of the factory and his four sons, in connection to the tragedy. “It was a deliberate murder,” Jayedul Alam, the district’s police chief, said. The website of Sajeeb Group, the company that owns the factory, showed an apology note saying it sought forgiveness for the fire and was “on the side” of the families of the deceased. Children as young as 11 are said to be among the missing and the dead. Monnujan Sufian, the state minister for labor, said that a separate investigation had been launched into child labor at the factory. It is possible that as many as 16 children were killed in the fire. “This tragic incident brings to light yet again that despite laws that should protect them, many children in Bangladesh are not only working, but they are working in hazardous conditions,” Bangladesh’s UNICEF representative said. Employing children younger than 14 is illegal in Bangladesh, although many children use fake papers to obtain jobs to
Giant pandas were removed from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) list of endangered species in 2016, but the Chinese government did not agree with that removal. On Wednesday, Cui said, “China has established a relatively complete nature reserves system. Large areas of natural ecosystems have been systematically and completely protected, and wildlife habitats have been effectively improved.” He added, “The number of species such as Siberian tigers, Amur leopards, Asian elephants, and crested ibis has increased significantly.” The giant panda is native to South Central China. It typically lives around 20 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity.
Tensions Still Felt in Northern Ireland
In 2001, over the course of twelve weeks, pupils at north Belfast’s Holy Cross Girls’ primary school were subject to abuse from a group of loyalist Protestants blocking their path to the school gate along with urine-filled balloons and a pipe bomb. Three years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, also called the Belfast Agreement, which marked an end to the decades-long conflict known as the Troubles, tensions had not died down in Belfast’s Ardoyne neighborhood – and twenty years later, things are still tense. July 12 marks the day when loyalist
Protestants celebrate the victory of King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne, in 1690. The celebration usually includes marches and bonfires, and this year there were fears that unrest could ensue. Niamh Burns, who was five at the time and is now organizing a reunion for her classmates, told CNN, “You don’t ever really overcome it, you just learn how to live with it.” Both she and her older sister, also a pupil at the school, suffered night terrors as a result of the violence. “I’ve carried my experience with me the whole time, which has allowed me to do the work that I am doing now,” she said. Gemma McCabe, another former Holy Cross student, said, “I was brought up not to let that get at you or ... bring you down. I know it was a traumatic time, but to me it was only a short time of my life. “As you get older, you learn the politics of Northern Ireland and ... you would never have understood that as a kid anyway. So what way do you tell a kid? You don’t.” She added that her parents shunned the “us and them” attitude, encouraging her to work for the good of the community as a whole. Brexit has not helped to assuage tensions: the Northern Ireland protocol creates a customs border in the Irish Sea, to avoid having one on the island of Ireland. The flip side, however, is that it keeps Northern Ireland in the same customs union as the Republic of Ireland, which is a European Union member state, while at the same time adding checks on goods from the rest of the UK, of which Northern Ireland remains a part. As a result, those living in Northern Ireland feel the protocol puts them in a standing different than that of England, Wales, and Scotland. Meanwhile, while Protestants once outnumbered Catholics two to one in Northern Ireland, 2021’s census is likely to show a Catholic majority. Earlier this year, rioters in primarily loyalist neighborhoods hurled petrol bombs at police officers and set a bus on fire. Billy Hutchinson, a Progressive Unionist Party councilor, warned that it “doesn’t take much to light the fire.” According to him, “What we need to do is to build confidence in this community that they’re still British. And they will be until, you know, if some sort of poll says we aren’t.” He added, “I’ve seen the trouble starting when we didn’t have troubles. They start for a reason, and the same thing can happen again. So people need to be very careful.” A recent Northern Ireland Youth Forum (NIYF) report showed that mental health is the biggest concern for young people. When asked about religion, culture, and identity, 45% identified as Northern Irish and 82% said an individual’s religious background has no impact on how they would feel about them.
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The Week In News
JULY 15, 2021 | The Jewish Home
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