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The Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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“ WHY DOES THE SHULCHAN ARUCH SAY TALKING IN SHUL IS THE WORST AVEIRAH? BECAUSE TEFILLAH IS A GIFT FROM HASHEM. DISGRACING DAVENING IS THE SAME AS (LEHAVDIL) "SPITTING IN THE FACE OF HASHEM"... YOURE TAKING A GIFT AND THROWING IT BACK. THATS THE WORST FORM OF CHUTZPAH, AND THAT MAKES IT THE WORST AVEIRAH”

~ Rav Yissochor Frand, Shlita Full video message can be seen at theyeshivaworld.com FOR A FREE DISPLAY FOR YOUR SHUL, PLEASE EMAIL STOPTHETALKING@GMAIL.COM

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

CONTENTS

COMMUNITY

Community Happenings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

JEWISH THOUGHT Find Your Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Pointing Inward, Not Outward. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Weekly Daf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Op-Ed: The Case for the Israeli Rabbinate . . . . . . . 19

FEATURE Morocco and the Holocaust: A Shining Light Amidst Darkness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

LIFESTYLES Quotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Proactive Parenting: See It Their Way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

NEWS

Global. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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Dear readers, Elul – the name itself brings with it a wind of humility and self-reflection. It evokes the sound of the shofar and the yamim noraim beckoning us to become a bit more refined and sensitive to spiritual matters. Our cynical side says, “Yeah, yeah – you felt the same way last year.” That thought is both destructive and misses the point. The calendar year is like a spiral staircase. There are many floors, and one uses the staircase to ascend from floor to floor. Interestingly, though, when leaving one floor and heading to the next, one must totally turn away before heading back to the same side, one level up. Each year, we cycle back through the calendar, repeating each month and each of the yamim tovim. Although there may be times we feel like we are “turning our backs” on the spiritual elation felt during the previous Tishrei, in reality, this is part of ascending the staircase

The Week In News of life. The experiences we had during 5777, even the mundane ones, are ulitimately part of our ascending to the next year, 5778. The first Chabad Rebbe, Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, explains that Elul is likened to a king passing through the fields on the way back to the city. It is a time when all who wish can greet the king without the usual constraints of appointments. So too with us: Elul is a time the King of all kings allows us to approach Him more easily, asking for the fulfillment of our needs. We then “follow the King back to the city and palace,” including the innermost chamber of Yom Kippur. May the “wind of Elul” inspire us to become better people and may the King decide that the time has come to reunite with His people in an open and revealed way with the coming of Moshiach. Wishing you a wonderful and inspiring Shabbos Mevorchim Elul,

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

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What to Expect in the Messianic Era: Rabbi Wolf Teaches Courses about the Arrival of Moshiach Tova Abady Rabbi Reuven Wolf of Maayon Yisroel has been conducting the first course of six delving deeply into the topic of Moshiach. This six-part series held on Tuesdays at the Persian Youth Center at 8:30 p.m. has two remaining classes on August 22nd and August 29th. Rabbi Wolf’s impassioned discourse explains what is vital for everyone to know

about the up-and-coming redemption, so that we understand what is happening around us and how we are supposed to conduct our lives. He was inspired to begin these courses when he encountered a Sefer at the Chabad persion youth center called Inyano Shel Moshiach by Rabbi Shalom Dovber Wolf, a Chabad Chasid, who has studied the subject of Moshiach

extensively. Rabbi Peer, the rabbi of the Persian Chabad, was also very excited about this newly discovered source material on Moshiach and volunteered to host this first six-part class. Rabbi Wolf has divided his course into the following sections: Source (authorities on Moshiach including the Rambam, the Ramban and the Lubavitcher Rebbe), Vi-

sion (the core objective of the Moshiach era according to philosophy, halachah, and mysticism), Fulfillment (how dreams become reality through a human king), Relevance (why we need to believe and await Moshiach’s coming every day), Implementation (How different will the days of Moshiach be. Should we expect the entire world to be upside down?), and Essence (What is the G-dly power behind Moshiach? How will I experience the world around me in the Moshiach Era?). Donations and sponsorships are appreciated and welcomed, however everyone is welcome to take part. These classes are really a global event. In addition to the classes being held live in Los Angeles, they are also live-streamed and available afterwards on the Persian Youth Chabad Facebook page.

Table for 8: Adas Torah’s Third Singles’ Friday Night Dinner and Oneg Ariella Teichman On Friday night, August 4th, singles from the L.A. community and beyond gathered together for a lovely evening planned by Rabbi and Mrs. Revah, Daniel Sacks, Nechama Simon, and Ariella Teichman. Tfor8, or Table for Eight, is a model used in Australia in which singles are appropriately placed together at meals in order to have the opportunity to meet one another. Eight singles, four men and four women between the ages of 22 and 34, had Friday night dinner together at one of nine Adas Torah families’ homes, followed by an oneg where everyone had a chance to meet one another over dessert. The oneg brought together over 100 participants and 13 facilitators, including Rochelle Frankel, a successful shadchanit in L.A. and assistant event planner for Let’s Party. The turnout was unprecedented. The facilitators have been busy following up on ideas that were generated from the evening. The response and interest in such events has been enormous and we look forward to more to come.

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

TheHappenings Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

COMMUNICATED

Chance to Live Jerusalem Dream at Ramat Givat Zeev Over twenty Los Angeles mechanchim and mechanchos, as well as interested community members, attended a three day seminar on Holocaust Studies, presented by Torah Umesorah and hosted by the LA Torah Umesorah Teacher Center. The program was packed with information. Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Klein, head of publications at Torah Umesorah and director of Zechor Yemos Olam, Torah Umesorah’s division of Holocaust Studies, introduced the program and led several

sessions. He spoke about the importance of teaching the Holocaust. Before 1980, Jewish schools in America did not emphasize the Holocaust. Rabbi Klein, himself a child of Holocaust survivors, related that when he was growing up, the subject of the Holocaust was taboo. Neither his parents nor his teachers, who were also survivor that Holocaust studies need to bring more light into the world. Rather than leaving students with nightmare-triggering horror stories, Holocaust studies need to be up-

lifting and inspiring, with the overall goal of helping students become better people and better ovdei Hashem. “This is our legacy to live by,” said Rabbi Lebovits. “The Nazis wanted people not be human. As Yidden, we need to become more human, more baalei chessed, more tzelem Elokim… Let us reflect the Ribbono Shel Olam a little bit clearer.” Rabbi Klein touched upon the big questions the students might potentially ask – “why did it happen and what did the Ribbono Shel Olam want from us?” He emphasized the importance of conveying to students that our ability to understand is finite and we can never fully understand the infinite G-d. If the Holocaust is taught properly, then the students should “emerge with the sense of being closer to the Ribbono Shel Olam,” said Rabbi Klein. Students can also gain a greater sense of appreciation of themselves as Jews. One of the films, Strike on Heaven, demonstrated that the Nazis knew full well that “Yiddishkeit would live on as long as there is one Jewish heart still beating.” The G-dliness innate to the Jewish soul is independent of whether a Jew is able to daven in shul or perform any mitzvos. Our existence in itself is a threat to the Nazi ideology of secular humanism.

Los Angeles Undergrads Making Their Mark on BarIlan University Laboratories Seventh Annual Bar-Ilan University/ Yeshiva University Academic Summer Program Provides Invaluable Training and Hands-On Laboratory Experience to Science Majors from U.S. Universities Applying genome editing for gene therapy of genetic diseases of the blood and the immune system such as primary immunodeficiencies and cancer; researching disfluency of speech in bilingual children; increasing the efficiency of fuel cells – three Los Angeles undergrads are hard at work this summer conducting important research in various laboratories at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University. They are among more than two dozen

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Week In News

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undergraduate science majors participating in the seventh annual Summer Science Research Internship Program, a joint Bar-Ilan University (BIU)/Yeshiva University (YU) initiative. The Program enables students to gain hands-on experience in emerging scientific fields while being mentored by some of Israel’s finest scientists. During the seven-week research experience, the students conduct intensive internships in the University’s research laboratories with faculty members from the Bar-Ilan Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, and the Departments of Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Physics, and English Literature and Linguistics. Prof. Ari Zivotofsky, of Bar-Ilan’s Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Program, serves as director of the program. Based on the students’ academic background and interest, he matched students with mentors and research assignments that would both enhance their summer experience and promote individual growth and career development. While the focus is primarily on lab work, the program also includes trips to scientific and industrial sites around the country, including IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries), Teva Pharmaceuticals, and the laboratories of the Agriculture Research Organization (Volcani Center), as well as a series of lunch meetings with BIU faculty. To strike the proper “Torah U’Madda” balance, students supplement their daily lab work with nightly chavruta study and shiurim at the Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute Kollel in Jerusalem. “This program provides talented U.S. university science students the opportunity to become embedded in a high-caliber Israeli university lab, thereby experiencing rather than just hearing about what it’s like to live, learn, and research in Israel,” according to Zivotofsky. “In the labs they become part of a team and contribute to ongoing projects. Spending their summer with a like-minded group of peers fosters a commitment to research, Israeli science, and religious Zionism.” Rachelli Topp, Judy Leserson, and Yakov Stone – all of Los Angeles – are taking part in this year’s program. Topp will soon enter her senior year at Stern College for Women, where she’s majoring in Biology. She hopes to eventually attend medical

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

school. Topp works in the lab of Dr. Ayal Hendel, who carried out his post-doctoral research at Stanford University School of Medicine. Hendel is a principal investigator and senior lecturer in the Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, where his research focuses on developing genome editing and the CRISPR technology as a method of gene therapy for genetic diseases of the blood and the immune system such as severe combined immunodeficiency. Topp is assisting Hendel’s lab in this effort. “I have been very much enjoying my research at Bar-Ilan,” says Topp. “The lessons I am learning in the lab and from the people at Bar-Ilan are invaluable. They have taught me the techniques, and they have opened my eyes to the innovation of scientific research and academic culture of Israel. I will take these lessons with me throughout my career.” Judy Leserson is also studying at Stern College for Women, where she’s majoring in Speech Pathology/Audiology. She’s working in the lab of Prof. Joel Walters, of the Department of English Literature and Linguistics. Walters studies the interface of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic aspects of bilingualism in early childhood and in mature adults with and without language impairments. This summer Leserson is assisting in Walter’s psycholinguistics lab, where she is researching narrative structures of bilingual children with and without specific language impairment, specifically in terms of the effects of narrative intervention and possible patterns in disfluency of speech. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity to learn about and be a part of the research that will eventually be part of my clinical practice. It’s really cool to see how the theory we learn in class is developed and made practical. I am also grateful for the opportunity to be in Israel and get a glimpse of what it would be like to work here. The professors in my lab have really become like professional mentors and I can definitely see them being valuable connections in my future learning and development in the field,” says Leserson. Yakov Stone, 20, is studying chemistry at Yeshiva University. This summer he’s working in the lab of Dr. David Zitoun, at the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, where one of the research projects being carried out focuses on electrochemistry and increasing the ef-

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AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

ficiency of fuel cells. “The PhD student that I’m helping, Yelena Gershinsky, is trying to find efficient ways to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gas. This hydrogen gas could then be used as a source of fuel in fuel cells, which is much cleaner source of hydrogen than we currently have (which is usually produced through steam reformation, a process which is harmful to the environment).

Instead, by applying an electrical current to water, it can be split into oxygen and hydrogen gas. This process, called electrolysis, can be made more efficient if certain metals are used to apply the electrical current to the water. My job is to help test the efficiency of different metallic compounds synthesized by Gershinsky,” says Stone. Stone, who hails from the San Fernando

Valley, is considering attending medical school or going on for a PhD. “I love it here. It’s amazing to see the types of research going on in Israel. This is the first time I have worked in a professional lab, and it has made me consider doing a PhD in Israel.” In addition to Stern College and Yeshiva University, this year’s undergrads are studying at Cornell University, Rutgers

University, Columbia University, Tulane University, Queens College, and Macaulay Honors College. Since its inception seven years ago, the program has benefited from the generosity of Dr. Mordecai D. Katz, Honorary Chairman of the Bar-Ilan Board of Trustees, who has supported the YU student participants, and from the J. Samuel Harwit, z”l, and Manya Harwit-Aviv Charitable Trust.

Jewish Educational Support Center Continues the Legacy of Perutz Etz Jacob Hebrew Academy Yehudis Litvak Even though Perutz Etz Jacob Hebrew Academy was forced to close its doors a year ago due to lack of funding, its administration refused to give up on their commitment to ensure a Jewish education for each Jewish child. Recently, Perutz Etz Jacob, with the generous help of the Ganzweig family, who offered their building on Beverly Boulevard, reopened its doors in its new role as an educational center, providing educational support for Jewish families and adhering to its motto of “no Jewish child left behind.” Open to all members of the Jewish community, the educational center supports parents in developing a customized curriculum for their child, both in Judaic and secular studies. The center caters both to homeschoolers and to those who prefer traditional schools. The center offers group davening with a minyan, as well as small group and individual tutoring. The center is committed to supporting every Jewish child in achieving their full potential, independent of their abilities and financial circumstances. Rabbi Shlomo Harrosh, former principal of Perutz Etz Jacob and head of the center, explains that any Jewish child can learn Torah and should be provided with an opportunity to do so. Rabbi Avi Harrosh, assistant to Rabbi Shlomo Harrosh, adds that while most children are able to succeed in a traditional classroom environment, many school age children perform much better when provided individual attention. “We help good, intelligent kids who are unable to intake information in a traditional classroom setting, for whatever reason.” The reasons are varied, ranging from a medical diagnosis, such as ADHD, visual issues, or various disabilities, to difficult family situations that affect the child’s ability to learn. At the center, each of these issues are addressed by customizing each student’s curriculum and providing them with individual or small group instruction. For example, children with visual processing issues use audiobooks. Computer programs with gamification help children absorb information, as well as providing both students and their parents with feedback. “Kids can see progress,” says Rabbi Avi.

“They are rewarded. They feel the sense of success.” Rabbi Avi explains that the administration consults with experts in education, who help design a curriculum to circumvent the issues in traditional classrooms. Rabbi Harrosh adds that each child is evaluated before they begin learning at the center, and an individualized program is created for each child. “All children have the ability to learn given the right setting,” says Rabbi Harrosh. As an example, he describes a boy who had trouble learning Gemara. With individual attention, he gained confidence in learning Gemara. Both students and their parents have tremendous appreciation for the center’s work. Ross Begun, parent of a third grader, finds the center welcoming and caring, providing a “high level of expertise and attention needed to be able to support my son’s growth and learning.” He explains, “Being here has allowed my son to flourish. His classroom is small enough to keep him comfortable and focused enough to be able to absorb the material. The teacher is able to spend one on one time with him to make sure he stays on track. He is loved by the rest of the students. A kid who had to attend a non-Jewish specialty school in kindergarten, because of his challenges, can now read in Hebrew and English, learn halachah reading by himself, and daven baal peh. This is what the center is doing for my son and my family.” The center also helps parents who need specific services for their children, directing families to the services available in our community. “We offer a wide spectrum of services,” says Rabbi Harrosh. Most of the center’s activities take place in their new location on Beverly Boulevard. For students who are unable to come to the center due to medical conditions or disability, teachers are sent to students’ homes for individual tutoring. In addition, the center runs support groups for parents. For more information, the center can be contacted at 323-655-5766.

Living with In theNews Times The Week

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz Publisher of the Yated Ne’eman

An American tourist turned off of Rechov Meah Shearim with a dreamy look in his eyes as he wandered about in the small alleyways. A local man approached and asked if he needed help with directions. The visitor explained that while he looked like a wayward tourist, he was, in fact, born and raised in Meah Shearim. He hadn’t returned for some forty years, and this was the first time he was back in the place where he had grown up. He had gone far from his roots, he told the Yerushalmi, and decided that it was time for him to return and see what he had left behind. There was one thing about which he was most curious. He remembered a scene from his youth. “There was a young man who would sit alone in a small shul and learn,” he recounted. “That was all he did. His sweet voice would waft out through the windows, capturing passersby. He alone had the key to the shul, and he seemed to be there perpetually hunched over a Gemara, standing up to walk around and contemplate an idea, then returning to the Gemara. What happened to the young scholar from Ohel Sara?” he asked. The local led him to the Ohel Sara shul and told him to peek through the window. “Here he is,” said the Yerushalmi. The visitor looked on in awe, a sight of more than forty years earlier coming to life in front of his eyes. That very same scholar, Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv, was sitting in his spot in the same shul, learning with the same sweet voice, hunched over a Gemara. Rav Elyashiv chose a path and never veered from it. As remarkable as his hasmodah and focus, was the fact that he stepped onto a derech as a child and never left it. He remained on that blessed path his entire life. Staying on the path, as much as anything else, leads to a life of brocha. That is the key of this week’s parsha,

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Find Your Path which begins with the words, “Re’eh, see, anochi nosein lifneichem brocha ukelalah, I place before you blessings and curses. Es habrocha asher tishme’u…” Those who listen and follow Hashem’s word remain on the path of brocha. Those who choose not to listen have no path to follow and find themselves ending up in the wrong places. Someone who listens to the word of Hashem and follows His path is fortunate enough to know where to go and, just as importantly, what to avoid. If you have a path through life, you know how to live. People who don’t have a path to follow get lost and end up far from the path of blessing. Life throws so much our way that if we are not on an established derech, we can, when confronted by challenges, become sad, anxious, depressed and lonely. Those who don’t follow a derech will often lack the self-confidence needed to get back to where they belong. The test of life is to withstand the ever-present pressures and difficulties. If we are ensconced firmly on a path, with a clear goal, then we have the strength to handle challenges. People who find themselves in trying situations, facing danger, illness or financial difficulty, can retain their values and equilibrium if they follow the path of “re’eh” and brocha. When Rav Yisroel Salanter was on his deathbed, he called one of the local gabboim, a fellow Rav Yisroel suspected would be asked to remain with his body until the kevurah. Rav Yisroel spoke with the poor man about the fear of being with the dead and explained to him why he need not fear, thus giving him strength to face the imminent task. Not long after, Rav Yisroel’s soul left him and the gabbai was able to discharge the mission of remaining with the body,

because this tzaddik was calm and tranquil enough in his final minutes to continue on his well trodden path and maintaining his lifelong practice of focusing on others. He felt bad for the poor man who would be left alone with the lifeless body. Many question why the parsha begins with the word “Re’eh,” in the singular, and then continues with the word “lifneichem,” which is plural. Perhaps we can suggest an answer of our own. The path is set for the individual to see and contemplate - re’eh. Once he has chosen to conduct his life on the proper derech, he is able to impact and help many people. Hence the plural; lifneichem. Every individual possesses the power to impact and influence the many. Man is given the capability to shape not just his own destiny, but that of many others. We need to follow the blessed path, and if we do, there is no limit to the impact we can have on other people. The one who is blessed can cause a revolution among others, and that is the greatest source of merit. There are people who are able to help many others. They are people of brocha. One such person in our times was Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, whose shloshim was recently marked. He began with one sefer. Its success emboldened him and showed him that there was a huge need for the type of work he became famous for publishing. From a small start, he went on to have a lasting impact on Jews around the world. When regular people, like you and me, are on the right path, armed with visions, dreams and words, we can light up the world, if we only want. The Kotzker Rebbe explained the shift in the posuk from the singular to the plural as a reference to the idea that we all have an individual path to Torah: Re’eh, find your path, your way, your road to Torah, but know that there is a path for each individual person. In our schools and homes,

we need to remember that what works for one talmid or child doesn’t necessarily work for another. This, too, is a directive for this period on the calendar, as we prepare for another year of doing our jobs as parents and teachers and meeting the call of the hour. It’s time that we developed the humility to really try to understand the way our children perceive things and speak to them, rather than at them. Rav Avrohom Pam, whose yahrtzeit will be marked this coming week, would recall a moment in his own home. There is a machlokes haposkim whether to first light the Chanukah menorah or to first recite Havdolah on Motzoei Shabbos Chanukah. Rav Pam’s minhag was to light candles first. One year, as he struck a match and was preparing to say the brachos, his fiveyear-old son called out, “I don’t care what you do. I’m not lighting candles until after Havdolah.” Rav Pam considered his son’s words and their source. He understood that his son was so frightened at the prospect of what he considered chillul Shabbos that he lashed out. Without hesitating, the rosh yeshiva looked lovingly at his son and thanked him. As we bentch Rosh Chodesh Elul this Shabbos, we demonstrate that we are committed to living the next year more productively. “Anochi nosein lifneichem.” The anochi - that is us - can gain for ourselves great benefit if we are “nosein lifneichem,” helpful to others. Success in impacting others starts with a respect and appreciation of where people are coming from. We have to learn to listen better and take the time to consider why people say what they say instead of brushing them off or shouting louder. Re’eh. See the children and the adults. See the opportunities, each one an island of its own. Open your eyes, even if the sights appear new, even if you don’t completely understand them, and even if what you see calls for a new approach. Take the time to see and understand. When we will recognize that other people think differently and have a path to avodas Hashem that is different than ours, we will join lifneichem, all of us as one, a nation marching forward into the new year, assured of endless blessing.

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Pointing Inward, Not Outward Sarah Pachter

I was walking my daughters to their ballet class, holding each of their hands in mine, grateful for the non-stroller stage of life that allows me to take my girls out of the car and walk with them, rather than shlep around with their bulky strollers. As we made our way towards the building, a mother came towards us pushing her stroller. Suddenly her not-quite-one-yearold pointed at my five and three year old daughters and cried out, “Baby!” This was very cute. I’m always amused when I see babies calling older children, “babies.” It may never have occurred to the ten month old that she herself was a baby. It’s not a blemish to be a baby, but this reminds me of the Torah concept “mum shebifnim” – a blemish within. This is a profound idea: when we look at other people, we are more likely to see a blemish that we have within ourselves. For example, physically, if we have an unsightly mark on our chin, we will notice the marks on other people’s chins. We become hypersensitive without realizing that it is our own insecurities which are being magnified. A more pressing area, though, is negative character traits. If we suffer from stinginess, all that we see in others is their stinginess. According to this Jewish understanding, we must be very careful of what we notice is wrong in another person’s character, because it is often a reflection or projection of our own shortcomings. If we are honest with ourselves, and examine our inner workings, we may often find this to be correct. Have you ever watched a standup comedian or a powerful speaker? What made you laugh the loudest? What inspired you the most? What genuinely affected you? Often, it is their humanity that we can relate to, everything that makes a person perfectly imperfect. “Yes! I know someone who does exactly that!” But we ourselves could never be that person! Rather than pointing outward, we need to point inward and reflect: “Wait, am I guilty of this behavior?” This approach can be the inspiration for tremendous personal growth and change. Sometimes another person’s anger or stinginess or insensitivity

is aimed directly at us and it hurts. But rather than wallowing in pain over their poor behavior, why not ask, “When have I been guilty of doing the same thing?” My mother-in-law, a woman who values personal growth and is quite an inspiration to me, always says, “I cannot control anyone else but myself.” This is so true! But it’s very hard to actually live by because we want to change others; it seems easier than changing ourselves! Pointing fingers and becoming frustrated with other people does not lead to anything productive. Instead, each time Hashem shows us someone’s shortcomings, even daily, we can think that we need to learn something. Life is like a theater where we can see others acting out roles and situations from which we can learn deep messages. Examples happen all the time. Suppose we are in the grocery store, and we see the person in line before us staring at their phone as the cashier attempts to ask questions about their order. We see the person in line waving off the cashier, responding with careless answers while they are glued to their phone screen. This interaction is an obvious moment of one human ignoring another. It doesn’t look good, and we might see this and shake our heads in disapproval. Yet, rather than judging the person in front of us, what if we flipped our perception around? Perhaps this interaction was shown to me for a reason? Maybe seeing this is a reminder of how rude and inconsiderate it is when I do this. Perhaps the message is for us to remember not to treat cashiers, bus drivers, sanitation workers, or anyone as machines. Treat them as the human beings that they are. The phone call or text message can wait. A powerful example of this is found in the Navi. When King David saw Batsheva, he was drawn by her beauty. Moreover, he knew through prophecy that she was meant to be the mother of his dynasty. Therefore, he called for her, and after they met, he sent

Uriah, her husband, to war. David strategically placed Uriah on the front lines so that he would inevitably be killed. Afterwards, the prophet Nathan was sent by G-d to David to ask a question about an issue that took place among the men of his country. Nathan said, “A rich man stole the sole sheep from a poor man and had it slaughtered for a lavish meal. Meanwhile, the rich man had many sheep of his own. What should be done?” (2 Shmuel 12:1-5) Kind David angrily responded, “That person deserves death!” To which Nathan then replied, “You are that rich man.” In that moment, David realized the severity of his sin and did teshuvah. This is the important principal the Torah is teaching us: How we judge others is how Hashem will judge us. When we see others doing something we consider inappropriate, do we try to judge them favorably and think what could have caused them to do this? Everything Hashem sends to us is a message. What we see in others is a window into ourselves. I remember a story about a young boy who came over to play at my friend’s home. This boy was from a religious family that valued Torah learning and davening to the utmost degree. But she overheard him using appalling language. Her initial

thoughts were, “This is how a religious child speaks? How can it be?! I wonder if his parents speak this way.” All sorts of judgments were flying through her mind. Then she stopped herself and thought, “Hashem is giving me this for a reason. What can I learn from it?” She realized that she didn’t always use refined language herself. She wouldn’t want anyone to overhear her when she was in the midst of a vulnerable moment when she was angry or upset! Her own words could use some improvement! This really shook her up. Judging this boy for how he spoke showed her the dissonance between her own beliefs and her own actions that had to be improved. How could she judge him when she had the same fault? This concept of mum shebifnim, in essence, works in the opposite way as well. Although we may be oblivious to what we are lacking in spirituality, we are often hypersensitive to what we lack physically. If we are longing to have a child, all we see are pregnant women. If a man is balding, it seems that everywhere he turns he sees men with full heads of hair. If we live in cramped accommodations, it seems like everyone else has a huge home! Whatever it is we are lacking, we see in other people (both spiritually and physically). If we allow ourselves to reflect and act from a place of self-awareness and compassion, then every moment in life can be an opportunity for personal growth and deveikus to Hashem, rather than judgment, blame, and disconnection from others. This awareness of mum shebifnim allows us the opportunity to point inwards, not outwards. Focusing on our inner blessings and practicing compassion for others while looking inward can prevent the negative effects of mum shebifnim. This can enable us to accomplish tremendous personal growth, internalizing within us the opportunity to expand our love for others and for ourselves.

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AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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Morocco and the Holocaust: A Shining Light Amidst Darkness Aaron Feigenbaum

The story of Morocco’s Jews during the Holocaust is undoubtedly one of the most miraculous yet underappreciated aspects of that tragic period. Like his compatriots in Denmark and Bulgaria, the king of Morocco at the time, Mohammed V, had the courage to defy the Nazis and the Vichy French government, refusing to hand over the country’s Jews. Because of his actions, thousands of Jewish lives were saved, and what could have been the worst disaster to befall North Africa’s Jews was averted. Yet, some may wonder why he did it at a time when so many other leaders of occupied countries were more than happy to collaborate with the Nazis. To answer that question, it’s necessary to take a look into the history of Morocco’s ancient Jewish community and to see how it came to be an essential part of the Moroccan nation.

The presence of Jews in Morocco dates back almost a thousand years, before the rise of Islam. It is believed that Jews first came to Morocco travelling on Phoenician trading ships and then settled in the coastal ports such as Tangier and the modern capital of Rabat. After the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion, persecution of Jews became official policy in Carthage (modern-day Tunisia), and many Jews from that land, as well as Libya and Algeria, emigrated to Morocco. By 732 C.E., Arab armies had conquered Morocco and Spain, despite valiant efforts of resistance on the part of a Berber Jewish woman named Dahiyah against the Arab general Hasan ibn an-Nu’man. Idriss I became the first Muslim ruler of Morocco and waged war on Christians and Jews who refused to convert, as a result pushing

many Jews into Morocco’s eastern mountains. Fortunately, Idriss I’s son, Idriss II, had a much more tolerant outlook. He founded the city of Fez, where Jews were invited to live alongside Arabs. Despite some restrictions, Jews could live relatively prosperous lives there. In fact, for over 300 years, the Jewish community of Fez experienced a “Golden Age” in which it produced brilliant works of religious study and poetry. Sadly, this came to an end in the 12th century when the fanatical Almohads, a Berber tribe, conquered North Africa and unleashed an intense wave of persecution against the Jews. The persecution was so severe that Maimonides, who lived in Fez for several years, advised the local Jewish community to leave the country. In contrast, the Merenids, who overthrew

the Almohads, showed great concern for the Jews and did their best to protect the country’s Jewish populations, even to the point of forcing them to move into a mellah (ghetto) near the royal palace to better ensure their safety. The Spanish expulsion order of 1492 caused a large influx of Jews into Morocco. 20,000 of them decided to make the country their new home but most of them used Morocco as a stepping stone towards other lands in the Ottoman empire. The 16th and 17th centuries saw increased foreign influence and greater political and economic instability. The ruling Saadian regime, desperate for resources, decided to heavily tax the Jewish population but also gave them almost complete control over trade with Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. The late 1600s marks the rise of the

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Alaouite dynasty, from which the current king is descended. The first few rulers of this dynasty continued the Saadian policies and forced the Jews to build the Meknes mellah, which became one of the country’s most prosperous Jewish quarters. This tolerance and dependence on Jewish trade continued until the vicious rule of Moulay Yazid, who encouraged violence against the mellahs and and expelled Jews from Fez and Marrakesh. The following rulers restored stability to the country and allowed Jews to rebuild their homes and businesses inside the mellahs. In 1864, at the encouragement of European countries, Sultan Sidi Mohammed declared Jews would be considered equals under the law. In 1905, in response to reports of oppression of the Jews in Morocco, the U.S. government sent an expedition to Tangier, which found that the traditional Islamic dhimmi laws (second-class status for non-Muslims) had not been imposed since 1870. When the French invaded Morocco in 1907, the situation for the country’s Jews rapidly deteriorated. The Casablanca mellah was completely destroyed. France was given control over most of the country with the Treaty of Fez in 1912 while Spain was given the northwest part of the country and Tangier was made an international city. When France came under Nazi control in 1940, the collaborationist Vichy government became the ruler of Morocco and sought to impose harsh anti-Semitic laws. Recognizing the importance both of Moroccan law guaranteeing equality and the unique bond between Morocco and its Jewish community, King Mohammed V bravely chose to refuse the Vichy or-

Fes Jewish quarter

Moroccan Jewish Life in the early 1900s

ders. As he famously declared, “There are no Jews in Morocco, only subjects.” As he saw it, he was the Commander of the Faithful, meaning that his role was to protect the People of the Book (Jews, Christians and Muslims) equally. As an act of further defiance, the king invited senior Jewish leaders to his royal banquets and placed them next to French officials. As he told the Vichy representatives, “I absolutely do not approve of the new anti-Semitic laws and I refuse to associate myself with a measure I disagree with. I reiterate as I did in the past that the Jews are under my protection, and I reject any distinction that should be made amongst my people.” In 1942, Morocco and neighboring Algeria were invaded by allied British and American forces (who were aided by a Jewish resistance group in Algiers called the Geo Gras Group) and the two countries were liberated from Vichy control. During the entire two-year Vichy reign over Morocco, no Jews were exiled, lost their citizenship, or even forced to wear a yellow star. It’s estimated that some 250,000 Jewish lives were spared thanks to the king. Mohammed V’s commitment to protecting the Jews extended even beyond the Holocaust. After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, tensions between Morocco’s Jewish and Muslim citizens ran high. A series of anti-Semitic pogroms in the eastern part of the country caused significant losses of Jewish lives and property.

In a speech that was read at synagogues across the country, the king warned Muslims not to hurt Jews and reminded them that Jews had always been loyal to the Throne. However, despite the king’s best efforts, the situation for Morocco’s Jews became untenable and 90% of them left the country between 1948 and Moroccan independence in 1956. Many of the poorer Jews immigrated to Israel while the middle and upper-class Jews mainly immigrated to France and Canada. The current Jewish population in Morocco is estimated at 7000 and is mainly concentrated in Rabat and Casablanca. There are an estimated one million Jews of Moroccan descent around the world. Given the king’s exemplary treatment of Morocco’s Jews, it may come as a surprise that in 2011 Jewish Moroccans were declared eligible to receive reparations from the German government. The reason is that Jews were forced to live in mellahs during the war. Jews had lived in them before the war, but during the war conditions in the mellahs became especially bad as food shortages and disease were rampant. Furthermore, according to Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and author of a book on the Holocaust in the Arab world, Moroccan Jews under the Vichy regime were still subject to discriminatory laws, including not being allowed to work in government, Jewish children being ex-

King Mohammed V

Synagogue, Fes Morocco

pelled from schools, and quotas on how many Jews could attend universities. It is also thought by historians that had the Americans and British invaded Morocco during Operation Torch in 1942, the Jews might not have held out against the Nazis and Vichy. Since 2011 over 43,000 Moroccan Jews have received German reparations, and Holocaust museums are finally beginning to record their testimonies. Yet despite his failure to prevent all of the Vichy laws from being enacted, King Mohammed V still stands out as one of the true heroes of the Holocaust. Two years ago, the king’s granddaughter accepted an honor from the The Institute for World Jewish Studies on her grandfather’s behalf. The current king, Mohammed VI, seems to be no less dedicated to preserving the legacy of Morocco’s Jews than his grandfather. At a cost of $20 million, he has pledged to restore the Marrakesh Jewish quarter, and just last year personally attended the rededication ceremony of the Ettedgui Synagogue in Casablanca as part of an effort to “safeguard the civilizational heritage of the Kingdom as well as the cultural heritage of all the components of Moroccan society.” While Morocco’s record isn’t perfect when it comes to anti-Semitism and human rights in general, it nevertheless has been, and continues to be, one of the most tolerant countries in the Islamic world, with Mohammed V’s exemplary actions during the Holocaust being Exhibit A.

Marrakesh Jewish quarter

The Week In News Torah

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

The Weekly Daf

How do we scare the witnesses from bearing false testimony? Rabbi Shmuel Wise, Maggid Shiur of RealClearDaf.com

On 29a, the gemara made several suggestions as to what we say to the witnesses in order to instill fear in them from giving false testimony. Rav Yehuda proposes that the court cites Proverbs 25:14 to the witnesses: “Clouds and wind – but no rain – when a man takes pride in a false gift.” The verse means that if people testify falsely, it causes the rain to be withheld from the world. Rava questions this approach. Why would this scare witnesses plotting to give false testimony? “So what if our sin causes a drought?” they will say to themselves, “we’re not farmers – we make a good living as professional false witnesses – a famine won’t affect us!” Rava therefore suggests that the court cites a different verse from Proverbs (25:18): “A club, a sword, and a sharp arrow, when a man testifies falsely against

his fellow.” This verse teaches that if people testify falsely it brings a deadly plague to the world. Surely the risk of death would make these witnesses think twice! Yet Rav Ashi says that the witnesses will remain unfazed. “Eh!” they will say to themselves, “plague shmague! Nobody dies before their time.” We learn from this gemara just how irrational people can get when in the grips of the yetzer hara (evil inclination). For a rational person would surely understand that, first of all, when there is widespread famine, everyone is impacted. And the rationalization that a deadly plague shouldn’t worry them if it’s not their time to die yet is also ludicrous. For the whole idea of a retributive plague is that the sinners have “forced G-d’s hand” to destroy them be-

fore their original mazel (predetermined fate) dictated! So how does Rav Ashi suggest that we scare the witnesses? Rav Ashi says that the court cites from I Kings (21:10). This verse is part of the narrative of Queen Izevel’s evil plot against an innocent man, Navos, whose vineyard was desired by King Achav. The queen proposed to have Navos killed by having witnesses falsely testify that he cursed G-d and the king. Rav Ashi says that we quote this verse in which Queen Izevel refers to the commissioned false witnesses as, “‫בְ לִ ַּיעַל‬-‫ ”ּבְ נֵי‬which we can translate as: low-lifes. “You see?” the court tells the witnesses, “even your employers think you are low-lifes! If you give false testimony, no one will have any respect for you.” Astounding! According to Rav Ashi, the witnesses’ attitude is: “We’re okay with causing world-wide famine and deadly plagues; but to be looked down upon by others – that we can’t live with!” Can a court verdict be reversed? The mishnah on 32a taught us that by monetary cases the court can change any verdict whereas in capital cases only a guilty verdict can be reversed. The gemara on 33a cites the mishnah in Bechoros that appears to contradict our mishnah. The mishnah there states that if a judge cannot reverse a verdict in a monetary case – and might even have to make restitution to the litigant who lost as a result of the erroneous ruling. The gemara advances several possible resolutions all of which suggest that indeed a court verdict can be reversed – but only under certain conditions (and the case in Bechoros is a case where those conditions have not been met). Rav Nachman’s theory is that a court ruling can be reversed through the authority of a higher court (“greater in wisdom and numbers”). Rav Sheshes proposes that a court ruling can only be reversed where the error was the result of overlooking an explicit and halachically accepted teaching (e.g. from a mishnah or even a ruling issued by a contemporary sage). The logic here is that a verdict that overlooks an established halachic ruling is viewed as null and void. As opposed to a ruling that is only considered erroneous on the level of incorrectly “weighing the opinions” which the mishnah in Bechoros teaches cannot be reversed. For example, the judge rules like an earlier opinion that appears

more reasonable to him, but it turns out the consensus among halachic decisors is like the other view. Although the ruling is considered erroneous (and the losing litigant therefore has a legitimate complaint), being that the ruling does not contravene an officially accepted opinion, we do not regard the ruling as null and void. Rav Chisda theorizes that in general monetary court verdicts can be reversed unless the judge gave extra strength to his erroneous ruling through a demonstrating act. For example, upon ruling that the defendant was liable to pay, the judge physically took the money from the defendant and gave it to the plaintiff. Such a demonstration serves to make the ruling irreversible. The gemara wonders: how would Rav Chisda explain the case where the judge ruled that this person is exempt from paying? The gemara initially suggests that where the judge rules “exempt” simply telling the defendant, “You are exempt,” is as strong as physically handing the money to the plaintiff by a ruling of “liable.” The gemara’s argument here is that since no further action must be taken by a ruling of “exempt” (for the defendant just keeps the money in his pocket) the judge’s words, “You are exempt,” have the same finality as handing the money to the plaintiff in a “liable” case. The gemara raises some serious problems with this answer in terms of fitting it into our mishnah’s wording, but Ravina then comes up with a brilliant new defense of Rav Chisda. How could the judge strongly demonstrate a ruling that exempts the defendant? Ravina explains: suppose the case involved a loan and the borrower had given something to the lender to hold as collateral for the loan. Should the judge rule that the loan is not owed, he could demonstrate that ruling by physically taking the collateral from the lender and handing it to the borrower! So the next time someone asks you about the issue of a beis din reversing its rulings, tell him: it’s complicated. Go work on Sanhedrin daf 33! Rabbi Wise is maggid shiur of Real Clear Daf (realcleardaf.com). Real Clear Daf is a website and mobile app (for iOS and Android) that offers free audio shiurim and other resources to assist your journey through Shas. You may reach Rabbi Wise via email: rabbiwise@realcleardaf.com or by phone: 855-ASK-RCD-1 (275-7231).

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Op-Ed

The Case for the Israeli Rabbinate

The Week In News

Going the extra mile!

Rabbi Menachem Levine, Rabbi of Congregation Am Echad

The Israeli Rabbinate has its share of critics, often with good reason. Like other parts of Israeli government bureaucracy, the red tape is endless. An intensive Dale Carnegie seminar should be mandatory for employees to learn customer service. Several English-speaking employees and a high-tech overhaul would do wonders. As a rabbi in Silicon Valley, however, I can tell you that beyond protecting the State of Israel’s Jewish character, the Israeli Rabbinate provides expatriate Israelis with an irreplaceable gift. It is a priceless heirloom bestowed upon their children, rather than they themselves: the gift of a

This is a result of a number of factors, including the Reform invention of patrilineal descent, and the liberal movements conducting conversions that fail the standards set by centuries of written Jewish legal precedent. Regretfully, these individuals are not considered Jewish by American Orthodoxy, which is the fastest-growing and youngest Jewish movement in the U.S. These individuals understandably resent being in a no-man’s land of personal identity, and are often convinced by their liberal clergy to blame the intransigence of others for the question mark upon their Jewish status. Yet the fault for this state

bona-fide Jewish identity. Israelis who live here in California come to my office to request that I officiate at their wedding, or, sadly, to arrange a needed gett (Jewish divorce). They bring their sons to our synagogue for a bris milah (circumcision) and pidyon haben (Redemption of the First Born). If serious, they call upon me with their non-Jewish girlfriend and speak with me about an authentic conversion. Why do they come to me, out of all the rabbis in the phone book? Because they know that when they return to Israel, they will have a marriage, divorce, or circumcision for their child that is universally accepted. They know that their children will be able to marry anyone within the Jewish community. Furthermore, the standards of the Israeli Rabbinate protect them from falling prey to the quickie, sham conversions or ineffective Jewish divorces so readily available here in California. There are those who loudly protest that in order to have Jewish unity, all practices must be equally accepted. The American Jewish community is a case study of what occurs when there is no baseline standard. There are growing numbers of Americans who self-identify as Jews, yet are not Jewish according to halachah (Jewish Law).

of affairs lies not with the Orthodox, who have maintained a conversion process that dates back to pre-Talmudic times, but with those who manufactured new definitions of Jewish identity. This being the case, organizations that help couples bypass the Israeli Rabbinate are doing a tremendous disservice to their clients and future generations. It is they who are fragmenting the Jewish community through their actions. There is historical precedent which proves this point. Almost 2000 years ago, a Jewish sect created shortly before the destruction of the Second Temple similarly changed the laws of conversion and identity. Within fifty years, the Jewish status of their members was questionable at best. After one hundred years, the mainstream Jewish community was forced to consider all of them to be gentiles. Today, this sect is known as Christianity. The Rabbinate’s clear guidelines and definitions are a gift to the Israeli community, which remains acutely aware of these issues. It is that very knowledge that protects their Jewish identity for generations. For my child to marry yours, we must begin with a universally accepted definition of Jewish identity. Then, together, we can forge true Jewish unity.

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Maduro: Trump, Here is My Hand

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro wants to meet with President Donald Trump, despite mocking and criticizing him in the past. This request comes as the U.S. imposed crippling economic sanctions on his socialist administration. The Trump administration forced sanctions on eight close allies, accusing them of violating human rights and democratic norms. They are also considering adding on more economic sanctions to further isolate the government. During a meeting last week Maduro instructed Venezuela’s foreign minister to approach the United States about arranging a telephone conversation or an in-person meeting with Trump at next month’s United Nations General Assembly. “Mr. Donald Trump, here is my hand,” the socialist president said. He admitted to wanting a strong relationship with the U.S. On Thursday, Trump said he discussed Venezuela along with North Korea and Afghanistan in a security briefing with top national security aides and Vice President Mike Pence. Pence is scheduled to visit neighboring Colombia; the conversation is expected to revolve around

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

how to pressure Maduro. Venezuela is suffering from a severe economic downturn caused by low oil prices and government policies that have turned off private investments. The country’s bonds are one of the few ways the current government is able to raise money to support its collapsing economy. However, as the country’s political crisis deteriorates, the bonds issued by the government are a concern for investors who are hesitant to supporting an oppressive regime. Goldman Sachs came under political pressure earlier this year for buying a reported $2.8 billion in Venezuelan bonds on the open market at a substantial discount. On Thursday, Credit Suisse bank said it banned trading in Venezuelan bonds over what it said were “recent development and the political climate” in the country, according to an internal memo. Any future transactions involving Venezuelan officials or assets will have to go through additional screening, according to the memo. Over 120 people have been killed since anti-government protests began in April, driven by outrage over Venezuela’s collapsing economy and Maduro’s creation of a legislative superbody that governments around the world say is dictatorial. Interestingly, on Monday, Maduro called for military exercises and told Venezuelans to prepare for an “imperialist” invasion. “Everyone has to join the defense plan, millions of men and women, let’s see how the American imperialists like it,” Maduro told supporters, urging them to join the two-day operation on Aug 26 and 27 involving both soldiers and civilians. His call came just days after Trump said that military intervention may be an option to solve the Venezuelan crisis. Maduro is still insisting that he wants to hold talks with Mr. Trump. He says that the president’s advisors have confused him about the situation.

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Anti-Semitic Signs in Switzerland

Staying at a hotel over vacation should be relaxing, not distressing. But visitors to the Paradies Arosa hotel in Switzerland this week were shocked when they saw signs specifically addressing “Jewish guests,” reminding them to shower before swimming and to only use the refrigerator at certain hours. After the signs were publicized, the Simon Wiesenthal Center demanded the closure of the hotel and issued a statement on Tuesday calling on “the broader Jewish community and their Gentile friends to blacklist this horrific hotel.” On Twitter, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called for “justice” against the hotel’s management. After the outrage the hotel offered an explanation for the behavior and apologized for the racist signs. One of the signs declared in red, “To our Jewish guests,” adding, “Women, men and children. Please take a shower before you go swimming and although [sic] after swimming. If you break the rules, I’m forced to cloes [sic] the swimming pool for you. Thank you for understanding. Ruth Thomann.” The hotel said the sign specifically called out Jewish guests because two Jewish girls did not shower before swimming. Another sign on the refrigerator told their “Jewish guests” to only take out food at specific times since their staff does not want to be bothered at all hours. Interestingly, many Jews on vacation chose this hotel as their destination because it was known to be accommodating to the needs. Attempting to assuage the situation, Swiss Tourism spokesman Markus Berger called the sign unacceptable, adding: “It always needs to stay in perspective: This is one unfortunate incident.” Tzipi Livni, a former Israeli foreign minister, posted an image of the sign on her Facebook page and wrote that “there can be no tolerance and no indifference” to anti-Semitism and racism, in comments that also alluded also to violence around a white supremacist rally in Virginia in the United States. We “must not let there be a place in the free world for Nazi flags or Ku Klux Klan masks or ugly signs in hotels directed at Jews only,” she wrote. “We cannot

allow acts of hate against Jews around the world to become normal.” Switzerland’s foreign ministry said that it has been in touch with the Israeli ambassador and “outlined to him that Switzerland condemns racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination in any form.”

Iran: We Could Back out of Nuclear Deal

Iran was back to its bluster on Tuesday, saying it could abandon its nuclear agreement with world powers “within hours” if the United States imposes any more new sanctions. . “If America wants to go back to the experience (of imposing sanctions), Iran would certainly return in a short time – not a week or a month but within hours – to conditions more advanced than before the start of negotiations,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened at a session of parliament broadcast live on state television. The Persian regime says new sanctions that the United States has imposed on it breach the agreement it reached in 2015 with the United States, Russia, China and three European powers in which it agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most sanctions. The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on six Iranian firms in late July for their role in the development of a ballistic missile program after Tehran launched a rocket capable of putting a satellite into orbit. In early August, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law new sanctions on Iran, Russia and North Korea passed by the U.S. Congress. The sanctions in that bill also target Iran’s missile programs as well as human rights abuses. The United States imposed unilateral sanctions after saying Iran’s ballistic missile tests violated a UN resolution, which endorsed the nuclear deal and called upon Tehran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such technology. It stopped short of explicitly barring such activity. Iran has denied that its missile development breaches the resolution, saying its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear weapons. “The world has clearly seen that under Trump, America has ignored international

The Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

agreements and, in addition to undermining the (nuclear deal), has broken its word on the Paris agreement and the Cuba accord... and that the United States is not a good partner or a reliable negotiator,” Rouhani said. Trump said last week he did not believe that Iran was living up to the spirit of the nuclear deal.

Rwanda Re-elects Kagame with 99% Vote

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Saudi Arabia-Iraq Border to Open

The border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq has been closed since 1990, but soon the Arar border crossing will be open for business. It was closed 27 years ago after the countries cut ties following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Saudi and Iraqi officials toured the site on Monday and spoke with Iraqi religious pilgrims, who for the past 27 years had access to the crossing only once annually during the haj season. The governor of Iraq’s southwestern Anbar province, whose staff was on hand for the ceremonies, said the Iraqi government had deployed troops to protect the desert route leading to Arar and called its opening a “significant move” to boost ties. “This is a great start for further future cooperation between Iraq and Saudi Arabia,” said Sohaib al-Rawi. The announcement follows a decision by the Saudi cabinet on Monday to establish a joint trade commission with Iraq. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are both wooing their northern neighbor in an effort to halt the growing regional influence of arch-foe Iran. The Sunni-led Arab Gulf countries have hosted influential Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for talks with their crown princes in recent weeks, rare visits after years of troubled relations. Sadr’s office said his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman resulted in an agreement for Saudi Arabia to donate $10 million in aid to the Iraqi government and study possible investments in Shi’ite regions of southern Iraq. The opening of border crossings for trade was also on a list of goals for the talks published by Sadr’s office. Sadr commands a large following among the urban poor of Baghdad and southern Iraq, and is one of few Iraqi Shi’ite leaders to keep some distance from Tehran.

• •

Almost all of Rwanda “agreed” on President Paul Kagame’s reelection. On August 4 Kagame was re-elected with a near-perfect vote of 99%. This is a noteworthy victory, placing him alongside the likes of Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, and Kim Jong Un. Of course, no one was exactly surprised by the outcome of this election. Kagame admitted publicly on July 14 that the outcome of the election is obvious but nevertheless he imposed the election that cost impoverished taxpayers around 5 billion Rwanda Francs ($6 million). The expensive, scam elections had been preceded by a constitutional referendum in 2015. In that vote, 98% approved changes that allow Kagame, serving since 1994, to be president until 2034. Kagame is accused of doing what many African leaders before him have done before – rewriting the constitution in order to stay in power. Kagame is preoccupied with his image. He wants the world to view him as the single hero that stopped genocide, empowered women, helped slow down malaria and HIV/AIDS, built hotels, and assembled conference centers. Kagame’s life presidency and immunity from scrutiny or criticism ultimately imperils the country, region and continent. Rwanda’s road to true freedom, human rights, justice, democracy and rule of law is not close to over, perhaps it hasn’t even begun yet. One of Africa’s smallest countries in size, Rwanda has a population of 11.9 million and GDP of $8.376 billion.

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The Week In News

authorities disrupted the fun, sweeping through 31 resorts and restaurants. They suspended operations at two for unsanitary alcohol and in the process discovered a sketchy manufacturer that was supplying tourist hot spots. Regulators seized 10,000 gallons of illicit alcohol from the company, noting its “bad manufacturing practices,” according to government officials. They did not release the company’s name yet. Vacationers at one of the resorts, Iberostar Paraiso Maya, claim they had blacked

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

out and been assaulted at the resort after drinking at the beach and at pool bars. Regulators also temporarily shut down Fat Tuesday, a bar in Cancun. They seized a total of 90 gallons of illicit alcohol. The existence of counterfeit and otherwise illicit alcohol has been no secret. Mexico’s government has been aware of it for a while. The national health authority in Mexico has seized more than 1.4 million gallons of adulterated alcohol since 2010. As much as %36 of the alcohol consumed in the country is illegal, according to a report

this year by Euromonitor International. The recent raids came after tourists were reported to have gotten sick after consuming hotel alcohol. In January, a 20-year-old from Wisconsin was found dead at the bottom of the pool at Iberostar Paraiso Maya after consuming alcohol. Authorities say the drinks were probably contaminated or drugged. Illegal alcohol is classified as alcohol sold or produced under unregulated circumstances and can be potentially dangerous. The study, conducted in collaboration

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with the nation’s Tax Administration Service, found that was an improvement from two years earlier, when 43% was illegal. Last year, Cancun received more than 4.8 million visitors.

N. Korean Prisoner Recounts Captivity

No one says that prison is fun but Hyeon Soo Lim, who was imprisoned in North Korea for more than two years, didn’t expect the “overwhelming loneliness” he experienced. The Canadian pastor was just released from North Korea and spoke about the harsh conditions in the Pyongyang labor camp. Lim, 62, was apprehended in January 2015 for carrying out “subversive activities,” a charge steadfastly denied by the Canadian government which sent a high-level delegation last week to secure his release. Lim finally arrived back home last weekend, with his captors citing clemency on medical grounds. He was finally able to meet his granddaughter who was born while he was imprisoned. Prior to his arrest Lim was regarded as one of the most influential Christian missionaries operating in North Korea. He had visited the country dozens of times, generously working with orphanages and nursing homes. Unfortunately he got caught up with “the wrong crowd.” Some projects he worked on, including a noodle plant and flour mills, were linked to associates of Jang Song-Thaek, the purged uncle of leader Kim Jong-Un. Jang was arrested and executed for treason in December 2013. Last week, Lim joyously returned to his church near Toronto. He told the congregation: “From the first day of my detainment to the day I was released, I ate 2,757 meals in isolation by myself. It was difficult to see when and how the entire ordeal would end.” He added, “During the winter, I had to dig holes that measured one meter wide and one meter deep. The ground was frozen. The mud was so hard that it took two days to dig one hole. It was incredibly challenging. My upper body was sweating, my fingers and toes were frostbitten. I also worked inside a coal storage facility, breaking apart coal.” A number of Christian missionaries – mostly ethnic Koreans who are U.S. citizens – have been arrested in the past, with some of them only allowed to return home after intervention by high-profile U.S. political figures.

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Notable Quotes “Say What?!” Notable Quotes

OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home

Quotes The Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

“Say What?!”

My daughter attended this camp, and now is serving in the IDF. I am aghast at the outrageous decision to raise a Palestinian flag, as it shows complete ignorance of the situation. I am disgusted at the politically correct movement that sees moral equivalence in violence in defending oneself/country versus violence to destroy another. The people responsible should no longer work in a Jewish camp, organization, or represent any cause that is affiliated with Israel. - Carrie Warren, responding to Camp Solomon Schechter raising a Palestinian flag over their campgrounds in order to “help develop empathy” and as a sign of “friendship and acceptance”

What he [Dershowitz] is saying is “all of those black people are there and they don’t like Trump and so he’s not going to get a fair trial and so they should take it out of that jurisdiction. It shouldn’tisbe thereis to with.” I don’t like What he [Dershowitz] saying “allbegin of those black people that, and I’m that Dershowitz is talking like are there andsurprised they don’t likeAlan Trump and so he’s not going that. willtrial notand stand it. should We will take pushitback against to getWe a fair sofor they out of that that because thatIt isshouldn’t absolutely jurisdiction. beracist. there to begin with.” I don’t like

- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), responding to famed attorney Allan Dershowitz’ assertion that the special prosecutor empaneled a second grand jury in Washington, D.C., even though there is already a similar grand jury empaneled in Virginia, because a D.C. grand jury will likely have a significant amount of black people who are likely be anti-Trump

that, and I’m surprised that Alan Dershowitz is talking like that. We will not stand for it. We will push back against that because that is absolutely racist.

If I had said that race didn’t matter, she’d have called me a racist. She throws around the term so loosely and so inappropriately, and it weakens her credibility just by calling everybody racist by didn’t callingmatter, me a racist, she calls If I had saidathat race she’d when have called me real racists nobody is going believe her. ... and Racesomatters a racist.racists, She throws around the to term so loosely and Maxine Waters to know ... Being doesn’t inappropriately, andought it weakens her that. credibility justblack by calling give you a license people anywhen moreshe than being everybody a racist to bycall calling me racist a racist, calls real Jewish gives you a license to call people anti-Semitic. So racists racists, nobody is going to believe her. ... Race matters she understand everythat. criminal defense and ought MaxinetoWaters oughtthat to know ... Being blacklawyer doesn’t knows that race matters, ethnicity matters, political affiliation give you a license to call people racist any more than being matters... Sheyou targeted me to forcall no people good reason, she ought Jewish gives a license anti-Semitic. So to be herself. that every criminal defense lawyer sheashamed ought to of understand – Alan Dershowitz, responding to Waters

knows that race matters, ethnicity matters, political affiliation matters... She targeted me for no good reason, she ought to be ashamed of herself. – Alan Dershowitz, responding to Waters

Differences in distributions of traits between men and women may in part explain why we don’t have 50 percent representation Differences in distributions of of women in tech and leadership. traits between men and women Discrimination to reach may in part explain why equal we don’t representation unfair, divisive, have 50 percentisrepresentation and bad forinbusiness. of women tech and leadership. - From a manifesto written by a Google employee which decries Discrimination to reach equal the PC culture of Google and rocked the company, resulting in the writer being fired representation is unfair, divisive, and bad for business. - From a manifesto written by a Google employee which decries Ithethink Senator Blumenthal should take a in PC culture of Google and rocked the company, resulting the writer being fired nice long vacation in Vietnam, where he lied

about his service, so he can at least say he was there. I– President think Senator take a Trump in aBlumenthal tweet after Sen. should Richard Blumenthal (D, CT)long – whovacation lied about serving in Vietnam where and beinghe on lied the nice in Vietnam, Harvard swim team – accused him of having bad ethics about his service, so he can at least say he was there. Mr. President: bullying hasn’tBlumenthal worked – President Trump inYour a tweet after Sen. Richard (D, CT) – who lied about serving in Vietnam and being before and it won’t work now. No one ison the Harvard swim team – accused him of having bad ethics above the law. - Senator Blumenthal’s response

Mr. President: Your bullying hasn’t worked before and it won’t work now. No one is abovenight, the law.thousands of settlers Last - Senator Blumenthal’s response

desecrated the Plaza of Al-Buraq Wall, the western wall of the Last night, thousands of settlers blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and desecrated the Plazaprayers of Al-Buraq held a festive event, and Wall, the western wall on of the Talmudic ceremonies the blessed occasionAl-Aqsa of whatMosque, is calledand the held festive event, prayers Ninthaof Av according to theand Talmudic ceremonies onso-called the Hebrew calendar, or the occasion of of what called the Destruction theisTemple. -The officialof news of the Palestinian Ninth Avagency according to Authority the (PA), Wafa, reporting on Tisha B’Av kinnus at the Kosel Hebrew calendar, or the so-called Destruction of the Temple. MORE QUOTES -The official news agency of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Wafa, reporting on Tisha B’Av kinnus at the Kosel

MORE QUOTES

The Parenting Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Proactive Parenting: See It Their Way Sara Teichman, Psy D

Dear Dr T., My fourteen-year-old wears me down. She loves to complain, and I just can’t get through to her. So we are both unhappy and frustrated: She is because I “don’t understand her,” and I am because she just won’t stop. Since she was a little girl, she has been a complainer and a hoarder of injuries – all committed by me. Her mantra is “It’s not fair!” – not fair that she has to help, not fair that she has to clean up after her siblings, not fair that the younger kids take up so much of my attention that there is nothing left for her. But, here’s the truth as I see it. She barely helps and certainly gets the lion’s share of attention. Somehow, she just cannot see clearly when it comes to anything about herself. I have tried reason. I have given examples that contradict her view – no go. Basically, she has this perception that nothing is fair to her at home and will not budge. She is making herself miserable by her unreasonable ideas and nothing I say helps. How do I get her to see reality? If she could wake up and see things as they really are, we would do so much better together – and she would be so much happier. Rivkah Dear Rivkah, So, is the glass half-empty or half-full? The truth is that our perception is our reality. We all see things through our own unique lens – and then operate as if they are facts. Your daughter has her own narrative of the home. Regardless of the truth or accuracy of her perception, that’s how she sees it. And, it is frustrating to her when you don’t see it the same way. Basically, it’s all about perception. Consider the teen (or adult) who feels she is overweight. She is miserable, irritable, and likely to seclude herself at home. This very same teen who then buys some flattering outfits and is declared by her friends to look “so skinny” – well, she feels on top of the world and loves going out and socializing. For your daughter, the glass is half-empty. Most likely, nothing you say will make a difference. As a wise person once said, “If words would have helped, they would have helped a long time ago.” It’s time to try a different way. The first thing to consider when a child, spouse, or family member tells us some-

thing we don’t want to hear is that maybe it’s true. It is hard to see ourselves as others see us. Though we may feel that our kids’ complaints are totally unjustified, it is always wise to think again. It’s also a good idea to bring a spouse or close relative/friend into the picture and get another view of the situation. But, one thing is for sure. You cannot change your daughter’s view by arguing, cajoling, proving, or giving examples. To change this dance, you must change the tune. And, much as you may feel it is up to your daughter to make the first move, the reality is that as the adult you probably will have to take the lead. By far the best strategy is to show your

daughter that you are on her side. Though this is a slow process made up of many small steps, her ultimate belief that you are out for her good is what will most likely turn her around. How can you demonstrate to your daughter that you are on her side? Here are some of the ideas that you might find useful. • Listen, really listen, and validate her complaints. Don’t try to talk her out of them; rather, let her know that you believe that she truly sees things this way. Her feelings exist and they are real for her. Remember, you are not the opposing council in a courtroom ready to pounce on any small error. You are on her side. • Try to understand what she wants. Let her know that you want for her what she wants. You want her to be happy. Now, it may not be possible to give her what she wants, but make sure she feels that you wish you could. There is little to be gained by disputing her version of things. • Give her some control. Offer her some say in how things are done – especially in reference to her. Show her that you are not there to force her, but rather support her choices. Go for co-operation and working things out, not control. • Be a “yes” parent. Of course, we all have to say “no” sometimes, but if you don’t have to say “no,” give a gracious “yes.” • Anticipate her wants and needs.

Where and when possible, fill them with a smile. The trick is to give freely – before she asks. We all know that while asking and getting is feels good, getting without even having to ask feels great. Showing your daughter that you are on her side is an effort. Some people would even argue that it is unfair – why should the parent be forced to accommodate the child? But, as adults we want to take the long view. We have a goal: to maintain a good relationship with our child. And, we have a choice: to continue to battle and see how that turns out, or to decide to stretch ourselves to reach our goal. The trick is to view our behavior not as a defeat, but rather as our carefully considered choice, a choice to improve our connection to our children by showing them we are on their side. The Book Nook: The Strength Switch by Lea Waters talks about the need for parents to overcome their negativity bias. The author writes about the need to focus on our children’s strengths, rather than correcting their weaknesses. This new science of strength-based parenting can help our children and teens flourish and thrive. Sara Teichman, Psy D. is a psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles and Clinical Director of ETTA, L.A.’s largest Jewish agency for adults with special needs. To submit a question or comment, email DrT@jewishhomela.com.

Dirshu The Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

Gedolei Torah and Horaah Address Siyum on Second Cycle of Dirshu’s Kinyan Halacha Program Siyumim Celebrating New Poskim Held on Three Continents Chaim Gold

“Recently I saw an older man, perhaps he was 70 years old, preparing a coffee on Shabbos. First he put the instant coffee in his cup, followed by the sugar. Then he added the hot water after which he went to get another cup and began pouring from one cup into the other. I asked him what he was doing and he replied, “It is Shabbos. I am using a kli shlishi.” When I explained that before adding the coffee one must first pour the hot water into a kli sheini or shlishi to cool off the water so that it doesn’t cook the coffee, the Yid seemed very surprised. He had no idea…” This story was told by the esteemed Skverer Dayan of Boro Park, HaGaon HaRav Yechiel Mechel Steinmetz, shlita, to illustrate how if one does not properly learn halachah, he can make the most rudimentary errors in halachah and possibly transgress basic laws of hilchos Shabbos. Rav Steinmetz delivered his address at the recent siyum on the second machzor of Dirshu’s Kinyan Halacha, the in-depth halachah program, where he celebrated the fact that Kinyan Halacha is preparing many of Klal Yisrael’s future poskim. The five-and-a-half-year program covers all the major areas of psak halachah necessary for practical horaah and indeed scores of new poskim have emerged as a result of the program. Kinyan Halacha Siyumim in America, Europe, and Eretz Yisrael Siyumim were held in major centers, most prominently the American siyum held at the Ateres Golda Hall in Boro Park, the European siyum held at the Beis Rochel Hall in Antwerp, and the siyum in Eretz Yisrael held in Ramat Gan. Nearly 1000 talmidei chachamim, who have been toiling over the most intricate sugyos in horaah over the past five-anda-half-years, have now completed the program and have amassed the tremendous amount of knowledge that will empower them to serve Klal Yisrael as poskim muvhakim for decades to come. At the siyum in Ateres Golda of Boro Park, the guests of honor were the mesaymim with their extended families who – after five-and-a-half-years of in-depth toiling and taking tests every six months both on the new material learned and chazarah of the material learned in previous years – had finally completed the cycle. In their honor, more than 35 prominent rabbanim and dayanim as well as the nasi

of Dirshu, Rav Dovid Hofstedter, took time from their busy schedules to join the siyum and seudas mitzvah that followed to show their esteem for the yeoman accomplishment of Dirshu’s lomdei Kinyan

yum!” Rav Steinmetz also publicly hailed the mesiras nefesh of the Dirshu wives who, with simchah, forgo the help of their husbands and material comforts so that their

Rav Yaakov Herbst, Rosh Chaburas Kinyan Halacha, Lakewood

Halacha. HaGaon HaRav Steinmetz, Shlita: Celebrating Together with the Tur, Bais Yosef, Shach, Taz, Pri Megadim…! The evening was opened by Rabbi Yaakov Herbst of Lakewood, one of the talmidei chachamim who had completed the years’ long cycle. Rabbi Herbst cited the words of the Maharshal who says that a siyum, the completion of an area of Torah is such a profound simchah that upon saying birchas hamazon one should recite the words, “Shehasimcha b’meono,” recited at the simchah of a chassan and kallah. Rav Herbest than asked the Skverer Dayan to address the crowd. Rav Steinmetz spoke about the tremendous simchah there is in Heaven when so many new dayanim and poskim are created to serve Klal Yisrael. He then cited the words of the Tiferes Shlomo who says that when a person makes a siyum all of the holy Tannaim and Amoraim mentioned in that masechta come down from the celestial worlds to participate in the simcha. “Imagine,” exclaimed Rav Steinmetz, “that together with us in this room are the Tur, the Bais Yosef, the Shach, the Taz, the Pri Megadim and all of the other great poskim over whose psakim these yungeleit have so toiled to understand! Imagine, they have all come down to celebrate the Kinyan Halacha Si-

husbands can keep up with the demanding schedule of learning and chazarah necessitated by the program. Rav Hofstedter: The Importance and Difficulty of Learning Halachah L’maaseh Perhaps one of the most unique, important aspects of the program is the hadrachah — the practical guidance for each participating yungerman. Each avreich receives a kuntress outlining all the material being learned for the forthcoming half year. The program also provides mareh mekomos and constant guidance in what to learn and where emphasis should be placed. The special kuntreisim, compiled by some of the greatest poskim of our time, have been among the major catalysts that propelled Kinyan Halacha to reach far beyond its original goals. The singing and spirited dancing at the siyum was infused with an otherworldly simchah with a depth and magnitude that can only be understood when one contemplates the amount of effort expended to arrive at such an august moment of yedias haTorah. Rav Dovid Hofstedter was then asked to address the siyum. In a comprehensive Torah discourse, Rav Dovid outlined the importance of learning Torah in a way

that one actually takes his learning to its ultimate halachic conclusion. “I was once visiting with the great posek of our time, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Wosner, zt”l. Rav Wosner told me the most difficult area of limud haTorah is learning halachah l’maaseh. ‘We see,’ said Rav Wosner, ‘that very few talmidei chachamim in each generation merit this special level of Torah learning as Chazal teach us, ‘One thousand enter [the yeshiva] but only one actually emerges as one who is worthy of horaah, [ruling comprehensively on practical halachic matters].’” HaGaon HaRav Prizant, Shlita: “How Much Simchah Would My Holy Father-In-Law Have Had To Be At Such A Siyum The guest speaker was HaGaon HaRav Shaul Yehuda Prizant, shlita, Rav of the Sanz-Klausenberger Community of Union City and a son-in-law of the previous Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe, zt”l. Rav Prizant said, “How much simchah would my holy father-in-law have had to be at such a siyum and to witness what Dirshu with all of its programs of accountable limud Torah has done. My father-in-law founded Mifal Hashas in order to produce Yidden who would learn and be tested on all of Shas. He understood the importance of such an organization and always spoke about the importance of sustained hasmadah and goal setting when it comes to learning.” At the Antwerp Kinyan Halacha Rabbi Chaim Starck, a Dirshu learner who completed all of Shas with tests before embarking on the five-and-a-half-year cycle of Kinyan Halacha related that the structure that Dirshu gave him was the primary factor in enabling him to complete Shas and halachah. As Dirshu is about to embark on the third cycle of the Kinyan Halacha program, Rabbi Avigdor Bernstein, a member of Dirshu’s hanhalah related, that over 3700 people have signed up for the third machzor! In addition, numerous large and small kollelim have declared their intent to spend the next five-and-a-half-years learning with the Dirshu Kinyan Halacha program. “Rav Prizant concluded, “Baruch Hashem, due to Kinyan Halacha and Dirshu’s other programs Klal Yisrael is being enriched with so many lomdim muflagim.”

The Week In News

AUGUST 17, 2017 | The Jewish Home

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