Issue 153

Treat yourself with care

With over 10 extracurricular programs to choose from, there’s not just one way to succeed at Yesodei Binah.

At Yesodei Bina our students come first. School doesn't end at 4 p.m. With our after school programs, mentorship opportunities, and all hours communication with our parent body, every parent knows that here, their child is the only one on our minds.

Individualized Approach

Professional Support Services

Mainstream EnvironmentElementary and High School

929.254.0080 info@yesodeibina.org 1363 46th Street Brooklyn N.Y. 11219

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Spotlight is a brand new Williamsburg based preschool geared to boys and girls ages 3-5 who need a more individualized setting.

By integrating the children into a mainstream setting for a portion of the day, the children are getting the best of both worlds: A special program catered to their needs and the access to mainstream classrooms to practice their skills.

• Small Classes

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• Therapy on Site

Director: Rochel Rivky Gestetner (Goldenberg), M.S. Ed

Occupational Therapist: Chana Rivkin, OTR/L

Physical Therapist: Chany Minsky, BS, PT

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Behavioral & Developmental Consultant: Esty Grunhut, MS Ed, BCBA, LBA

Lowest ranked hospital in NY by

Medical trauma is real.

It shouldn’t be this real.

Real stories of real pain.

A nurse put her feeding tube in incorrectly, causing fluid to leak into her lungs.

Esther P., Boro Park

Change is happening.

Stay informed | visit savemaimo.org

you almost

Don't need

So flavorful, THe Filling

It's the tradition of delicious you'll pass on to your kids, just like you taste the seudos of your youth with every bite of Mechel's kreplach dough. Bring on their favorite meal of the year!

Kreplach

Elevate th Eleg ce,

Every element of a table setting contributes to its appearance. Cover your table with a luxurious tablecloth, setting the perfect ambiance for your Yom Tov meals.

Blank Page

T his is a blank page. You can fill it with any story – drama, salvation, mystery, or something else.

J ust like the year ahead .

We don’t know what ג"פשת will look like. Certainly, the past year has taught us a thing or two about how little we know .

But we do know this:

Y our actions right now can turn the blank page of ג"פשת into a magnificent, blessed year.

Prepare your page for a great year ahead.

Fund the checks that bring simchas Y om T ov to your neighbors in need.

Endorsed by leading Rabbonim.

See what it says here? The Mateh Efraim writes that before Yom Kippur, a Yid must give a Pidyon Nefesh* for every member of his

After everything we’ve gone through, we don’t take it for granted. Neither can we forget those who lost loved ones. The spouses and children of those who are gone must deal with crushing pain – no matter what brought about their loss. When the families lack funds, their pain is worsened.

Right now, hundreds of bereaved families

Yom Tov

today takes away some of the pain.

Glimmering from ear to ear

As you usher in yom tov with a chosson in your house, yom tov preparations include fine jewelry for the kallah. May he always be able to gift her with beautiful things.

Reach out to hear about our incredible kallah packages.

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Brunch

Tzipy Horowitz

Chayala Horowitz

Esther Bauer

Judy Berger

Yehudis Blumenberg

Tamara Blumenthal Shaindy Brach

Goldi Bruck

Gitty Cziment

Leah Deutsch Chaya Dratler

Nellie Eisner

Judith Frank

Chaya Friedman

Esther Friedman

Surie Ginsberg

Malky Goldenberg

Bruchie Gross

Miriam Guttman

Devora Heller

Goldie Hoffman

Chanie Itzkowitz

Mirel Itzkowitz

Sara Raizy Kahan

Barbara Kahan

Toby Kain

Reb. Devoiry Koenig

Yoka Rebetzin

Rivky Kryman

Chaya Landau

Miriam Landau Chaya (Eva )Landau

Etty Leitner

Bashie Lowenbein

Chayie Markowitz

Esti Mermelstein

Yides Phillip

Miriam Porges

Faigie Preisler

Gitty Pscherhofer

Rochel Leah Reifer

Rechy Rosenberg

Raizy Schlussel

Chanie Schon

Chany Schwartz

Branci Schwartz

Judith Schwimmer

Yidis Sofer

Reb. Chavie Spira

Ruchie Stern Chaya Teitelbaum

Babchi Waxman

Goldy Weinfeld

Rosemarie Weingarten

Draizy Weinstock

Malkie Weizel Miriam Werczberger

Sarah R. Wulliger Raizel Zaidman Raizy Ziegler

Gitty Pultman

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INBOX

A FAMILY PROJECT

(Re: One Child at a Time, Issue 152)

I am really enjoying the articles by Fayge Holzberg. I am touched at how much Fayge cares about the children she works with, and how she makes a difference in their lives!

I’m most impressed that Fayge understands the importance of better understanding family dynamics and working together with the family as well as other therapists to help each child.

This article about little Malky really touched me. Many therapists would blame the mother and not even think about what she can do to help her child. There are those who care greatly about the child with whom they work, but often act disrespectfully to the mother or fail to realize what an important role the mother plays in the development of her child. Fayge isn’t like that, and I admire her for it!

Baila Stober

HEALTHY CHOICES

(Re: Pack Your Snack)

Thank you for your healthy snack contest. I’d like to share two ideas I use for students to enjoy: Place sliced apples in lemonade to keep

BY

them fresh, or bake crunchy oatmeal cookies with lots of healthy goodies to grab and go.

Yitty S.

PROCURING THE CONFIT

(Re: Elegant Offerings, Issue 151)

The meat recipes you featured for Yom Tov are so elegant and tempting to try.

First on my list is the battered dark chicken cutlets you featured. You sug gest “Pelleh turkey confit” as a topping, and I’m unsure where that can be procured. Is it available in local stores, or does it have to be ordered from the company directly?

C.S.

LEAH STERN RESPONDS:

The confit has to be ordered from Pelleh Poultry directly. They deliver in Boro Park, Bensonhurst and Williams burg. Their contact information is 845425-4559 or orders@pellehpoultry.com.

SOMETHING TO THE MESSAGE

(Re: Keep the Message Loving, Inbox, Issue 151)

I think B.M.’s message was misin terpreted. The point she was convey ing was that we, as educators, should not use frightening stories to scare our children or students into doing mitz vos. Of course we have to do what’s right regardless, and of course yiras Shamayim has to be taught and instilled in children. But that was not the point.

I personally remember my third grade teacher telling us a story about someone who looked out of her siddur during Shemoneh Esrei and became blind, r”l. I can assume that my teacher felt very good that her students davened beautifully after that lesson in tefillah. But as a young girl, I feared that one day I would become blind because I had looked out of my siddur by mistake. I will finish off like B.M. did: Educators, please don’t create a monster out of our Loving Father!

Rivky L.

FOUNDATION OF EMUNAH

(Re: Keep the Message Loving, Inbox, Issue 151)

While our Father is always loving, even after and during an aveirah is done, r”l, an aveirah is still something to be afraid of. Everything a person says and does will be accounted for. There is din and there is a Dayan! Children, too, should be afraid to do an aveirah, just as they are taught to be afraid to run into the road or touch a hot oven.

Nonetheless, our connection with Hashem is that of ahavah. Hashem is not out to get us, chas v’shalom, and He is with us all the time and wants to help us return to Him. His chesed and rachamim don’t leave us for one second.

It is saddening that some people aren’t clear enough with the basics of emunah. More time and effort should be spent in getting a solid foundation in Yiddishkeit.

Wishing all of Klal Yisroel a gmar chasimah tovah,

A. Piller

STILL A REALITY

(Re: Back in the School Day, Issue 149)

I was very surprised to read about what is considered historical in uni forms.

I am from Antwerp, and in Europe you can still see (non-Jewish) school kids with vests and blazers — and even neckties! And there are even schools in which all their students wear the same color socks, and the boys are in pants and the girls in skirts.

A Former European

EDITOR’S BULLETIN

(Re: Elegant Offerings, Issue 151)

In the Turkey Roll-Ups featured in our food section, the rice should be made with 4½ to 5 cups of water, and not 5 tablespoons, as appeared in print.

We apologize for the error.

The Boro Park View

SHABBOS SHUVAH

Mi Metaher Eschem

In his foundational sefer Tomer Devorah , the Ramak (Reb Moshe Cordovero, 1522–1570) explains each of the Thirteen Attributes of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. When he discusses the middah of “nosei avon ,” he teaches that Hashem Himself forgives our sins — not through any messenger or even malach . In truth, what difference does it make to us if we are being forgiven directly by Hashem or through a messenger? The Ramak answers that by forgiving us directly, Hashem displays great love to us, His children. He cleanses each neshamah and purifies it from any grime accumulated through sin. It is much like a mother who happily bathes her beloved child, and once the child is clean and fresh, she kisses him warmly out of her great love. This, concludes the Ramak, should rouse man not to sin again. After the King devoted Himself so to wash and cleanse him, how could he dirty himself again?

IN THE YEARS FOLLOWING World War II, the streets of Yerushalayim were home to many a desolate soul. Hav ing lost their entire families, communities and lifestyles in the war, many Holocaust survivors had lost their will to live. Some of them took to the benches. They would sit for a good part of the day, like your typical homeless fellow — only worse; they simply had no drive to do anything. They seemed to strive for nothing more than merely being part of the scenery, much like the cats and birds that meandered the streets.

It wasn’t easy to walk past such wretched individu als. Besides eliciting overwhelming pity for their crush ing state, they often emitted a terrible stench. Overgrown hair, unwashed clothes — they were the picture of unkempt

grime and dirt.

Most people didn’t pay them much heed. After all, it wasn’t easy to stand near them, and these fellows gener ally rebuffed any attempts people did make to show care or concern.

Most people, that is, but not the tzaddik Reb Fishel Henig, zt”l. Reb Fishel would not accept the self-inflicted fate of these individuals. He could not bear to watch their suffer ing and decided to do something about it.

One day, he hired several strong men for pay and in structed them to approach one such vagrant individual and convince him to take a shower. “Force” would be a bet ter word, as Reb Fishel knew the man would put up a fight. Sure enough, the men needed to physically tug the poor

fellow to come along with them. They gave him a haircut, bathed him, and helped him change into a brand-new set of high-quality clothes, all sponsored by Reb Fishel. The fellow struggled and resisted, but Reb Fishel’s men would not give up before the job was complete. A new person emerged.

The final step was setting him before the mirror. See ing his reflection, the poor man was shocked.

“Is this really me?!” he asked.

He peered into the mirror for a long moment and saw a pleasant, well-groomed individual — a person who must have inner value.

From that day on, the poor man was indeed a new per son. Slowly, he took to a normal, productive routine, very unlike his former self. He once again became a human among human beings, and set forth to marry and estab lish a family.

Reb Fishel did not stop there. He had his men do the same for several dispossessed individual, cleansing and rehabilitating them into robust, healthy members of so ciety. They became fathers and grandfathers, continuing the chain of our mesorah with rejuvenated energy. Today, countless families owe their lives to Reb Fishel, though most of them are unaware of this sad piece of their past.

* * * * *

Harav Hagaon Rav Binyamin Finkel, shlit”a, the Mash giach of Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim, explains that this is exactly what Hakadosh Baruch Hu does with each of us every Yom Kippur. He washes us, cleanses us, and turns us into entirely new individuals!

From this point, our job is to retain the spotless purity and stay away from anything that may sully our neshamah again.

This follows the words of the Tanna Reb Akiva, who exclaimed in the Mishnah (Yoma 85b), “Ashreichem Yisroel! Lifnei mi atem metaharim, u’mi metaher eschem — Avichem she bashamayim! ”

We can take this a step further. Imagine if the warden of the bathhouse who labors to cleanse us would promise that for every speck of dirt he washes off with our agree ment and desire, we would receive reward.

What an overwhelming privilege!

Yet that is exactly what Hakadosh Baruch Hu promises us as we are cleansed. We are granted chesed upon chesed! Not only does He purify us by eliminating our sins, but He even promises great reward for this. Whoever does teshu vah out of love merits having each of his sins turn into a zechus, as the Gemara states (Yoma 86b): “Zedonos na’asos lo k’zechuyos.”

Countless families owe their lives to Reb Fishel, though most of them are unaware of this sad piece of their past.

NYPD Pledges Additional Yom Tov Security at Annual Briefing

For the first time since 2019, the NYPD held its annual pre–Yom Tov security briefing in person instead of on Zoom, offering its assurances to increase police presence at shuls and other significant locations.

Approximately 400 community leaders traveled last Wednesday to NYPD headquarters at One Police Plaza for the meeting, which was arranged by Deputy Inspector Richie Taylor and also included a kosher breakfast. Taylor noted that the fact that Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commission er Keechant Sewell personally attended the briefing attested to New York City’s deep commitment to ensuring the secu rity of Jewish communities throughout the five boroughs.

Boro Park 24 reported that there are no specific threats against the Jewish community at this time. Sewell acknowl edged the recent uptick in hate crimes directed at visibly Jewish individuals and said that they only strengthened the NYPD’s resolve “to combat all forms of bias, prejudice and hate.”

Sewell noted that the city’s Jewish residents can help the NYPD by reporting all bias crimes, explaining that reports are the first step in the process of ensuring justice.

“Together we will continue our work to keep our city safe and make sure that everyone who lives, works, worships and does business in our city feels safe too,” said Sewell.

That message was echoed by Adams, who wished partici pants a “shana tova,” and said, “You must be as vigilant as the police department. You see something — say something and do something.”

The meeting also included a moment of silence in memo ry of Misaskim founder Yankie Meyer who served as a police chaplain for years. Rabbi Alvin Kass, chief chaplain for the NYPD, remembered Meyer as “a vibrant champion of the Jewish people and Jewish causes throughout the years.”

Yeshiva World News reported that those thoughts were echoed by Sewell, who described Meyer as “an exceptional person, respected and held to the highest regard by all those who knew him.”

White House Excludes Orthodox Jews From Hate Crimes Summit

Despite the ongoing rise in anti-Semitic violence, par ticularly in the tri-state area, a presidential summit that was hailed as a success for bringing hundreds of activists and minority group leaders together to discuss hate crimes had just two Orthodox Jewish participants.

President Joe Biden spoke out against hate crimes at the United We Stand Summit, held on September 15 at the White House. Promoted as an event to promote na tional unity while decrying acts of hate and violence, the summit’s participants included bipartisan and nonpar tisan federal, state, local and tribal officials, civil rights groups, faith and community leaders, business leaders, law enforcement officials, gun violence prevention lead ers, and former members of violent hate groups who now work to prevent violence.

Only two Orthodox Jews were invited to the summit: Nathan Diament, executive director for the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, and Rabbi Moshe Hauer, execu tive vice president of the Orthodox Union. The limited number of journalists approved for the summit did not

include four Orthodox Jewish journalists who had hoped to cover the president’s speech.

One of the journalists reached out to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to express his concern about barring Orthodox Jewish reporters from an event on hate crimes, given the ongoing attacks on community members. According to the New York Post, he was told that size limitations of the White House’s East Room left space for just a handful of journalists and that the press team would do its best to in clude him at future events.

“I’m relieved that we were able to reach an understanding,” said the journalist. “The Jewish people have enough enemies as is. Thankfully, the White House press shop isn’t on that list.”

NYC Training Program Aims To Curb Anti-Semitism Through Education

A city agency is hoping that more knowledge will equal less violence, using a program to educate the public about the Jew ish community as a vehicle to combat anti-Semitism.

Understanding Jewish Experiences and Anti-Semitism is an initiative of New York City’s Commission on Human Rights, which is being administered by the agency’s Com munity Relations Board. JTA reported that it was developed in conjunction with State Island’s Wagner College Holocaust Center in response to the ongoing rise in anti-Semitic attacks. Initially rolled out last April, the program’s goal is to strength en inclusion, acceptance and intergroup relations throughout the city by offering a greater understanding of New York City’s Jewish community and its religious practices.

Rabbi Niederman, president of the United Jewish Orga nizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn, was one of several community members who helped shape and edit the training program.

“In light of the rash of anti-Semitic hate crimes being per petrated in the city, I am happy to see that the NYC Commis sion on Human Rights is taking important steps to combat anti-Orthodox Jewish sentiments by responding to the grow ing hate especially targeting the Orthodox and hasidic Jewish community,” said Rabbi Niederman at the time of the pro gram’s launch, adding that he hoped it would foster a greater environment of tolerance and understanding.

Other organizations involved in creating the program in cluded the Boro Park Jewish Community Council, the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council and the Jewish Commu nity Relations Council of New York.

The program, which also included a version focusing spe cifically on the chasidic and Orthodox communities, is being offered by the CCHR upon request and has already been pre sented to multiple city agencies, community-based organiza tions and houses of worships. Details for a plan to share it this fall in New York City public schools have yet to be finalized, and CCHR community liaison Jonah Boyarin said that his agency is seeing high demand for the program.

“Our hope for this training is that everyday New Yorkers can become empowered to understand their Jewish neighbors better and to look out for them, to interrupt anti-Semitism when they see it in everyday life,” said Boyarin.

RECAP: Julia thinks her husband is planning to run away. She meets with her sister, Talia, and asks for help. Talia says she should start by looking more carefully into their finances. Was there any account Julia might have missed?

The money Lenny had taken from Sheva’s savings account was almost gone, so he’d been slashing expenses wherever he could. Earlier in the trip, he’d gone to the lounge on occasion, ordered a coke or beer, and looked for an English-speaker to chat with. He’d even bused to a few tour ist spots and paid admission fees.

But those days were over. He’d only taken the bare minimum of cash from Sheva’s account, and now he was running on fumes.

He hoped Julia would appreciate the sacrifices he was making.

He needed to take more cash; there wasn’t any choice. But he didn’t dare take too much, not when his chances of pay ing it back had become so slim. And that meant long hours in his hotel room with nothing to do, far away from the lounge, the shopping centers, or anything else that might tempt his malnourished wal let.

So he sat with a book he’d brought from home. It was a fat, heavy novel with a thin, limping plot, a story about a mys tery man with no moral compass and an endless supply of false identities.

It must be nice, Lenny thought, to be able to just disappear into another per sona whenever the whim struck.

The protagonist, whose name was never revealed, hopped from Hawaii to Malaysia to Novosibirsk as easily as Lenny might grab a bag of potato chips from the gas station — more easily, actually. Lenny was counting every quarter at the mo ment, and money was clearly not a prob lem for this guy. He always had a duffel bag full of cash stuffed in some anony mous locker somewhere.

Nobody questioned him; nobody stood in his way. He took what he needed and faded into the shadows.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Lenny was stuck in a dumpy hotel room with nothing to do until Sunday. Shabbos

was tomorrow night. Lenny would cel ebrate with a few rolls, some packaged deli, and a plastic cup of grape juice.

He sighed. If only he had a few duffel bags of cash lying around…

He turned over in his bed and ad justed his reading lamp. This guy in the novel always had everything he could possibly need. That was the life. Lenny would take that over his current situa tion, in a New York minute.

He frowned. Marking his place in the book, he closed it and tossed it onto the bed. Then he wrapped himself in a blanket and opened the door to his miniscule balcony.

Freezing cold swept around him, but Lenny didn’t care. He liked being out here, even if he could only stand it for a minute or two. He liked looking at the skyline, seeing the lights sweeping off into the distance. He liked how the snow blanketed everything. He liked listening to the wind.

It wasn’t true, what he’d thought ear lier. He didn’t want The Protagonist’s life. It was a joke. That guy had every thing he needed, true. But he had noth ing a person could really want. Lenny had a wife, three kids. As much as the kids drove him up the wall, as much as he dreaded what Julia might say if all this fell apart, he wouldn’t want a life without them.

They were, after all, the whole rea son he was doing this, flying halfway around the world to get hold of his great-grandfather’s book. To provide for them. To give them a good life. He des perately wanted that. He wanted to be a success, in their eyes if no one else’s.

Lenny’s dad had run a grocery store for 40 years. He was careful and hon est, but the family never had more than just enough. And yet, Lenny’s dad never once fell behind on the bills.

He’d expected Lenny to follow in his footsteps and had been openly disap pointed when Lenny chose a different path. But Lenny hadn’t cared. He want ed something more for his family than just scraping by. His children would never wear pants with patched knees, or watch with envy as the other kids went off to summer camp. He would give them a good life.

That was Lenny’s vision. And yet, here he was, in more debt than his fa ther had ever acquired, and with no way to pay it back without the money

from this manuscript.

Part of the money. He wouldn’t keep it all, of course. He wasn’t greedy.

An extra-harsh blast of wind tore at the blanket. Lenny turned and ducked back inside.

He slid the door shut and rubbed his hands together to restore circula tion, standing by the heating vent and rotating in a circle. As he turned to the bed, he noted a dull glow coming from next to his book. His phone was ringing.

He grabbed it with a touch of apprehension, worried that he was in for another uncomfort able harangue from Rabbi Ginz burg. But when he saw the num ber on the screen, his spirit lifted immediately.

“Julia!” he said into the phone. “How have you been? How are the kiddos?”

“How dare you!”

Lenny’s stomach twisted. “Whwhat?”

“I don’t know what game you’re play ing with me, Leonard,” Julia spat into the phone, “but you could at least be man enough to leave our daughter out of it!”

“Julia, I don’t know what you’re talk ing —” he stopped suddenly. Our daugh ter. Oh, no…

“IS this about Sheva’s savings ac count?” he asked cautiously.

“How could you?” Julia screeched. “How could you do that to her?”

Lenny frowned. “You don’t under stand; I only borrowed the money. I’ll pay it back. Of course I will!”

“Don’t lie to me!” Julia said, her voice dripping with bitterness. “Not again! You planned this trip so carefully. I know you’re not coming back!”

“Planned this trip?” Lenny splut tered. Where in the world had she come up with all this? “You think I’m — I’m running off or something?” He was starting to get angry, which wasn’t good, but he couldn’t understand why she was acting like this.

“Oh, no? Please! You planned a trip to Poland — if that’s even where you went — weeks in advance. But you only tell me the day you fly out! You could tell Yossi Baumgarden, but not your own wife? And now I find out that you paid for it with our daughter’s money!”

All the blood drained from Lenny’s

face. He sat down on the bed. “Julia, lis ten! I said that to Yossi so he wouldn’t ask any questions. It was just a harm less little lie. But you I told the truth! I promise! I literally booked the ticket that same day!”

“I’m not stupid, Lenny.” Julia was crying now. “I know what this is. I can’t believe you would do this to me! Think of the kids!”

“I’M NOT RUNNING AWAY!” Lenny shouted into the phone. “For heaven’s sake, Julia! I’ll be back in a few days!” At least, he hoped he would. Who could tell? It all depended on how things went Sunday.

She was crying even harder now, mumbling something about how she could believe him, but Lenny couldn’t catch the words. His gut wrenched with every sob. He felt terrible. Dirty.

There was a knock at the door.

“Hang on,” Lenny said to the phone. He walked to the door and opened it. A heavyset, balding man in a bathrobe stood glaring at him.

Lenny eyed the man apprehensively. “Yeah?”

The man waved his hands and ges tured at Lenny’s room. “Przepraszam, czy mógłby Pan sciszyc głos? Próbuje odpoczac.”

“What? I don’t speak Polish.”

With a frustrated look, the man pointed at Lenny. “You… very loud! Quiet, please?”

Gevald, the whole building must have heard him yelling. Shamefaced, he said, “Yeah, sorry. Of course. Sorry.”

“Julia,” he said after he’d shut the door, “I’m not running away. You have to believe me!”

“Why are you whispering?” Julia asked.

“Never mind that!” His mind raced. “Look, I’ll email you the receipt for my ticket. It has the date right on it. You’ll see I booked it the same day I left. Okay?

IT MUST BE NICE, LENNY THOUGHT, TO BE ABLE TO JUST DISAPPEAR INTO ANOTHER PERSONA WHENEVER THE WHIM STRUCK.

And you can see the return ticket. I lied to Yossi, not to you. I promise!”

“What about the money?” Julia demanded. “That’s Sheva’s money!”

“She’ll get it back!” Lenny said. “I just needed to take care of something. We didn’t have the cash, so I improvised. But —”

“This is another of your stupid schemes, isn’t it?”

“It’s not stupid,” Lenny said, though he privately wasn’t so sure.

“Let me guess,” she hissed. “By the time you get back here, all of our money troubles will be over. Right? Just like every other time…”

“Julia —”

“Don’t you ‘Julia’ me! You lied to me after all. You said you were going on vacation!”

“Yeah, but I —”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Julia sounded more controlled now, but she was just as furious as before. “If you’re right, if for once, your plan goes off without a hitch, then fine. You give her back the money, and never do this again. But if it doesn’t work out, and if you come back without the money you stole —” Julia’s voice shook “— you might as well stay in Poland…”

* * * * *

“You excited for Shabbos?” Izzy asked.

They sat in their car, at the entrance to the Jewish cemetery on Bracka Street. With nothing to do until Sunday, Zach had finally gotten his wish to do a little touring. A very little tour ing. With sunset so early, Shabbos would come mid-afternoon, so they still had to restrict themselves to Lodz proper. There would be no road trips to Warsaw or Prague, at least not yet.

Lodz was full of tourist attractions, but most wouldn’t work out for them. Izzy vetoed the churches and art museums right off the bat, and their options were further reduced by the weather. They couldn’t explore Łagiewnicki Forest, tour the underground “Inner Tube” museum, or visit the famous Pi otrkowska Street promenade. It was too cold and snowy to be outdoors for long.

So they saw the Manufaktura, a converted factory complex that had been owned by the famous Jewish industrialist, Iz rael Poznanski. Then they toured his palatial home.

With only a few hours of sunlight left, Izzy insisted on vis iting the cemetery. The initial land for the graveyard, which contained about 200,000 graves, had been donated by Izrael Poznanski, as well, making this day a sort of abridged biogra phy of the controversial magnate’s life.

But that wasn’t what drew Izzy. Three generations of Izzy’s great-grandparents were buried here. He couldn’t not come.

“Not exactly,” Zach admitted. “To be honest, I’m not looking forward to 25 hours of nothing.”

“Who says you gotta do nothing?” Izzy asked, inching the car forward and peering through the snow for some sort of di rectory. “Shabbos is what you make of it.”

“If you say so,” Zach said. He gazed at the white landscape, with headstones scattered everywhere like monstrous, mis matched teeth in a sea of empty white. He turned to Izzy and grinned. “Come on. Let’s go meet the family.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Recap: Carolina gets engaged. After the happy bride has a sorry accident that leaves her with a swollen ankle, and then contracts a skin infection, the matchmaker gets concerned. She arrives at the Dominguez home late at night equipped with her tools to eradicate the evil eye she says has attached itself to Carolina.

Carolina stared at the matchmaker in disbelief.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m going to do something called bleigies sen, which means pouring lead. Have you ever heard about it?”

“I don’t think I have,” said Dona Angelica.

“Well, you are about to find out what it is,” said the matchmaker. “Let’s begin. But first light two candles and turn down the lamps.”

The kitchen was soon plunged into murky darkness, the flickering candlelight casting bizarre shadows on the bare walls.

The matchmaker’s face glowed orange whenever she bent over near the candles to arrange her instruments on the kitchen table. She chanted under her breath as she worked, but every once in a while, she interrupted her chanting to mutter some comments to herself. Carolina shuddered and hugged herself.

“Will this hurt, Frau Klinger?” she asked.

“Of course not, young lady,” said the matchmaker. “It will only make you feel better. Here, sit in this chair.”

She took a few bars of lead from her box and tossed them into the saucepan on the fire. Then she took out a large green cloth.

Carolina shrank back. “What’s that?”

“Sit still, young lady,” she said. “I’m going to cover you. Don’t move.”

She spread open the cloth and draped it over Carolina. She took a quick look into the saucepan on the fire and saw that the lead had melted. With a murmur of satisfaction, she took the water container in one hand and the sauce pan with the molten lead in the other. She held the water container in the air over Carolina’s head and whispered an incantation, and then she carefully poured the molten lead into the water.

The hot lead made a hissing sound as it struck the water. The matchmaker put the saucepan back on the stove but not directly on the fire. Then she took the water container and drained the water into the empty container. A number of pieces of lead remained at the bottom of the water con tainer. The matchmaker touched them gingerly to make sure they were cool enough to handle. Then she lifted out one of the pieces.

“It’s ready,” she declared. “You can take off the cloth and take a look.”

Carolina removed the cloth, and she and Dona Angelica both craned their necks to see what the matchmaker was holding. It was a curiously shaped piece of metal that re sembled a bulbous flower on a long stem.

“Here, do you see the eye?” said the matchmaker. She pointed to the bulbous mass. “This is the eye itself, and this part here is the nerves and the blood vessels that attach the eye to the body. Do you see it? It is clear as day. There it is. That’s the ayin hara, the evil eye.”

She reached into the container with the pieces of solidified lead. They made a rattling sound as she rummaged among them.

“Here, look at these,” she said as she held up three more pieces of lead that had formed themselves into similar shapes. “You see the eyes? You have quite a few of them on you. They are watching you with malice.”

She looked into the container and pulled out a long, serpentine piece with a row of ridges along its spine.

“And look at this one,” she said. “Do you see the snake? Here, look at the front. You see that gap? That’s the mouth. The snake is talking about you. It’s talking, talking, talking. That’s not healthy. It’s not good.”

She looked into the container again and rummaged among the pieces.

“Look at those things!” she exclaimed with exasperation. “There are so many of them. It’s no wonder you had your accidents.”

“So what do we do?” breathed Dona Angelica.

“We say more prayers to dispel the evil eye, and we continue to check the lead pieces to see how successful we are.”

“But I don’t know the prayers, Frau Klinger,” protested Dona Angelica.

“You don’t need to know them,” said the matchmaker. “I know them. Here, let’s do it again. Would you like to pour the lead, Senora Dominguez, while I say the prayers against the evil eye?”

“Do you think I could do it? Is there a special way?”

“There’s no special way to do it,” said the matchmaker. “When I give you the signal, just pour the lead into the water slowly and steadily.”

She tossed all the pieces of lead into the saucepan on the stove and moved the saucepan onto the fire. The lead began to melt.

“All right, young lady,” she said. “Time to cover up. Put the cloth over your head.”

She started rocking back and forth, her lips moving almost without sound as she repeated her formulas and incantations. Halfway through, she lifted the water container over Carolina’s head and nodded to Dona Angelica.

Dona Angelica’s hand trembled as she lifted the saucepan from the stove and poured the molten lead into the water container over her daughter’s head. She shuddered at the hissing sound and replaced the saucepan on the stove.

The matchmaker drained the water into the empty container and peered at the new lead formations. She reached in and pulled out a few of them.

“Better, much better,” she declared. She held up a piece of lead formed of two attached strands. “Here, look at this one. You see the two pieces? That’s you and your future husband. You’re going to have a happy marriage. I can tell. I know about these things. But we’re not finished yet. Look, there are still a few eyes and a snake. Here, look at these eyes. They’re smaller, weaker, almost broken. Do you see it? It’s clear as day. And the snake, it’s more like a worm now than a snake. Come, let’s do it again. Cover up, young lady.”

She tossed the pieces of lead into the saucepan and waited for them to start melting. She lifted the water container, began her incantations, and nodded to Dona Angelica, who lifted the saucepan and, with more assurance this time, poured the molten lead into the water. After another hiss, the matchmaker drained off the water and inspected the residue. She reached in and pulled out a smallish flower-shaped formation.

“Here, there’s still one evil eye left,” she said. “It’s a stubborn one, but we will get rid of it. Take a good look at it. See how weak and fragile it is. One more push, and it will fall apart.”

“Is that the only one?” asked Carolina. “Is there anything else in there?”

“Look for yourself, young lady. Nothing but scraps and sticks. We’re doing well here. Now, let’s do it one more time. Let’s hope it will be the last.”

Once again, Carolina sat in the chair with a green cloth draped over her head, the matchmaker said her incantations, and Dona Angelica poured the lead. Once again, there was a hissing sound. Once again, the matchmaker drained off the water, leaving the residue in the contain er. She lifted out one large chunk of mis shapen lead and held it up for all to see.

“Aha!” she cried out. “It’s finished. There’s nothing left of the evil eye.”

“Are you sure?” said Carolina as she removed the green cloth from her head.

“Absolutely. Here, look for yourself. There’s nothing here but a clump of harmless lead. You’re safe, my child. All the evil eyes are gone.”

* * * * *

The boat traffic on the Moselle River was returning to normal levels. People strolled through the streets and along the embankments of the river, listening to the raucous noises of a city awakening from months of winter slumber. In the Jewish quarter, Reb Mendel and Sebas tian sat on a bench in the sunshine and watched the last traces of the Purim cel ebrations being swept away.

“It was very kind of you and your wife,” said Sebastian, “to invite our fam ily for Pesach. My mother and sister are completely preoccupied with the wed ding preparations, and it would have been a real burden to prepare Pesach, especially since we’ve never really done it properly. Last year, the rabbi invited us, but we weren’t expecting him to invite us again. So your invitation was really a lifesaver. I hope it’s not too much trouble for your wife.”

“Don’t be concerned,” said Reb Men del. “We will have plenty of help in the house. And we can well afford it. There will be no hardship. Having your family as our guests for Pesach will be our great est pleasure and honor.”

Sebastian inclined his head. “The pleasure and honor will be ours.”

“You said you wanted to talk to me about something. We have time now.

There is something I have to tell you as well. But first, tell me what is on your mind. You seem troubled lately.”

“I am troubled,” said Sebastian. “I feel I’ve completely lost my bearings. I don’t know who I am or what I want to do. I don’t understand my relationship with my people, with my religion. Somehow, I am neither here nor there.” He stood up and looked off into the distance. “I have never talked about it, Reb Mendel, but I carry a heavy burden of guilt.”

“Do you want to talk to me about it now?”

“Yes, I suppose I do. But my guilt is only part of it.”

Reb Mendel remained silent, letting Sebastian take his time.

Sebastian sighed. “My parents were always extremely discreet about their Jewishness,” he began. “They never went to secret assemblies, and they never told anyone about their Jewish identity. We were like a tiny Jewish island, a speck in a vast Christian ocean. We had a sort of private faith with no connection to any religious community. A strange way to be religious, wasn’t it?”

“They did what they could,” said Reb Mendel, “under the circumstances. They did not prefer it that way.”

“Of course not, but that’s the way it was. Anyway, while my father was away — when we thought he was dead — I went to a few secret assemblies in Toledo. I even took Carolina with me one time. I was a fool. I told them my name was Luis Alvarez, and I thought it would make me safe. But it was just the tiny chink in our armor that the Inquisition needed, and it brought about our downfall. My father was very upset when he returned and found out what I had done, but it was too late. They tracked us down. My family was uprooted, and my father was killed. And it was entirely my fault. I was re sponsible. I am responsible.”

He buried his head in his hands, and when he lifted it, his eyes glistened with tears.

To be continued…

“I HAVE NEVER TALKED ABOUT IT, REB MENDEL, BUT I CARRY A HEAVY BURDEN OF GUILT.”

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SERVING UP SUKKOS SOUPS

BY: LIBBY GOLDBERGER

Dip your spoon into a warm bowl of comfort and inhale the sensations of Sukkos.

CHESTNUT SOUP

Silky smooth, with slightly earthy notes from the chestnuts, this comforting soup is the perfect starter for any meal. Add beef wontons upon serving for that satisfying crunch.

INGREDIENTS

2 T. oil

1 onion, cut into chunks

4 cloves garlic

24 oz. frozen cauliflower

2 whole parsnips

18 oz. chestnuts, about 6 small bags

2 bay leaves

1 T. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

6–7 cups water

Handful Enoki mushrooms, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Sauté the onion until golden.

2. Add the garlic, cauliflower and parsnip. Sauté this for another few minutes.

3. Add the chestnuts, bay leaves, spices and water.

4. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 1 hour.

5. Remove the parsnip, bay leaves and some of the chest nuts. Blend the soup, then mix in the chestnuts that you removed.

6. Garnish the soup with Enoki mushrooms.

BEEF WONTONS

INGREDIENTS

1 pack (11 oz.) purchased beef patties

1 pack (11 oz.) spring roll wrappers

DIRECTIONS

1. Defrost the beef patties.

2. Take 1 tablespoon of beef, roll it into a log, and place it on the center bottom of the spring roll wrapper.

3. Fold over the bottom part of the wrapper and roll it up, sealing it with some water.

4. Twist the top of the wrapper, then deep-fry the wonton until it’s crispy.

5. Repeat the above steps with the rest of the beef and wonton wrappers.

YEMENITE

SOUP

This hearty and aromatic soup originates from the Yemenite community, whose cuisine is full of fragrant spices and rich, flavorful dishes!

INGREDIENTS

Oil, for sauteing

1½ lb. cubed cholent meat

4–6 small marrow bones

1 onion, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, thinly sliced

5 stalks celery, thinly sliced

8 oz. tomato paste

2 tsp. Hawaij seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

10 cups water

Handful cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium-size pot, sauté the meat and bones in oil until brown.

2. Remove the meat and bones from the pot. Place the chopped onions and garlic in the pot, and sauté until the onions are transparent.

3. Add the vegetables, tomato paste and spices. Mix and sauté for about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Add the water and cilantro. Add the meat and the bones, and cook for about 3 hours, until the meat is soft.

CORN SOUP

This corn soup is full of veggies that simmer together until tender. The roasted corn and beef fry only deepen the flavors of this already delicious soup.

INGREDIENTS

Oil, for sauteing

1 onion, chopped

4 cubes garlic

1 lb. yellow split peas

2 carrots

2 parsnips

2 sweet potatoes Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tsp. consomme

6–8 cups water

DIRECTIONS

1. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is transparent.

2. Add the split peas and mix.

3. Cut the vegetables into chunks, and add to the pot. Sauté for about 10 minutes.

4. Add the water and spices. Cook for 1½ hours.

Note: This soup will be on the thicker side.

TOPPINGS

1 can (12 oz.) corn kernels

1 pkg. (4 o.z.) beef fry

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.

2. In separate pans, roast the corn and beef fry for 15 minutes until the corn is toasted and the beef is crispy.

3. Arrange artfully over the soup right before serving.

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Finding Forgiveness

by: MALKA KATZMAN

The Baum couple, living in their house for decades, welcomed new neighbors next door. But the warm welcome was short-lived. Both houses had a small side window in the kitchen, facing each other at a diagonal. A week after the neighbors moved in, loud banging alerted Mrs. Baum that something was up.

She looked out the window, and it was just what she feared: The new neighbors were building a porch off their kitchen! Right in front of the Baums’ window!

Mrs. Baum marched over to the neighbors and made it clear that the porch invaded their privacy, and that it was illegal as well. The neighbors didn’t see the big deal in extending a bit, across from their neighbors’ small window. They did see a woman nearly mad with rage.

The Baums saw inconsiderate and unreceptive neighbors. They put up a brick wall between the houses by the following week.

Mrs. Friedman knows this sto ry, because she has tried what she knows best: mediating and making peace between people. Unfortu nately, ten years later, the brick wall

between those neighbors is still up, both literally and figuratively.

But Mrs. Friedman is determined to tear down brick walls wherever she sees them and works valiantly toward that goal.

Aftermath of Tragedy

Several years ago, Mrs. Fried man’s close relative was very sick. This was after there had been ad ditional tragedies in the same fam ily. The family visited the Amshi nover Rebbe in Eretz Yisroel, who declared, “It’s not a hefker velt. Ev ery person will have to give a din v’cheshbon for hurting others.”

Machlokes had indeed wormed its way into the family, and the results were tragic. The relative passed

away, but the tragedy finally inspired the family to make peace with each other.

Mrs. Friedman shared this story on the Chazak hotline, and its waves and ripples carried far. People wanted to patch up feuds; they didn’t want to wait for tragedy. They asked Mrs. Friedman for her help, and thus she began the sa cred task of mediating between feuding parties and helping restore shalom, l’ilui nishmas her family member who had been a victim of machlokes

When someone tries to reach out to make shalom but their efforts fail, they might call Mrs. Friedman for help. Mrs. Friedman listens to their side of the sto

look, children see things one-dimen sionally and cannot forgive easily. She speaks to adults who are still angry at long-ago teachers, adults who suffered from childhood cliques that left scars, and, sadly, children hurt by parents. While a parent rarely severs the con nection with a child, unfortunately, the opposite does happen.

Who, Me?

“You don’t know me; I’m the nic est person. I don’t know how this hap pened to me!” is a line Mrs. Friedman commonly hears.

Mrs. Friedman debunks the as

an entire year. A year earlier, they’d had a heated argument, and both had hurled nasty insults at the other. Since then, they hadn’t communicated.

This story does have a happy end ing. But Mrs. Friedman has something to say before that. “A day after the ar gument was the time to call and apolo gize!” Expressing regret immediately dissolves hurt feelings, while leaving hurt to fester is a sin upon sin, and so much harder to patch up.

Mrs. Friedman is careful about this in her relationships. “If I suspect some one was hurt by something I said, I ask immediately, ‘Did I hurt you? Did I say something wrong?’”

ry, then calls the other party to convey the first side’s desire for concili ation, and to hear their side of the story. Mrs. Friedman acts as a go-between and at tempts to achieve mutual understand ing — and then, hopefully, forgiveness. Mrs. Friedman does not accept calls from third parties who report on a fight between two other people. One of the parties involved must initiate the pro cess of reconciliation.

Mrs. Friedman has mediated be tween mothers and daughters, sisters, neighbors, colleagues and friends. She finds that hurt incurred in childhood often festers and survives all the way into adulthood. While adults have more perspective and a more mature out

sumption that “it won’t happen to me.” Misunderstandings happen. Mistakes happen. There are two sides to every story — or rather, two different stories. Mrs. Friedman will hear one version from one side, and then something dramatically different from the other. Sometimes one side is hurt, and the other party doesn’t even know that they’d hurt them.

But we can try to prevent these fights from happening in the first place.

One Erev Yom Kippur, Mrs. Fried man got a call from Blimie*, who hadn’t been speaking to her younger sister for

But this pair of sisters did leave the issue to ferment for a full year. Mrs. Friedman encouraged Blimie, as she usually does before getting involved, to just call her sister. Blimie laughed. If it were so easy, she’d have done that already. The hurt was too deep. And besides, she was the older sister; wasn’t it her younger sister’s responsibility to reach out to her ?

Here Mrs. Friedman shares a vort that has often inspired others to make that call. In his sefer Yesod Ha’avodah, the Slonimer Rebbe shares that there’s a door from Gehinnom leading into

Turn on the light.

Gan Eden. And the door is not locked! So why don’t people just leave Gehinnom and enter Gan Eden? Because, the Rebbe says, the door is very low, and one has to crouch down to open it. If a person bent down in This World to others, he could leave Gehin nom and merit ultimate bliss.

But still, Blimie couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Mrs. Friedman tried another tactic: Would she do it in the zechus of someone? In those few minutes when a person forgives, he reaches high madreigos and could be zoche to great yeshuos The woman thought it over, and then said she would do it as a zechus for her son who was still single at age thirty.

She made the move, the sis ters apologized for their hurtful words — and a day after Sukkos there was an engagement.

Happy ending notwithstand ing, the yearlong misery the sisters experienced could have been avoided. “In most cases where people need help,” Mrs. Friedman says, “it’s because the issue was ignored for too long.”

And if you’re the one who’s been hurt, is there anything you can do to prevent the chasm? “It’s an avodah,” Mrs. Friedman admits. “But if we could delete hurtful happenings from our memory, we’ve set ourselves up for success in our relationships.”

So where’s the delete button? “Let’s remind ourselves that the story was bashert, regardless of who did it. We want to separate the story from the perpetrator.” That person is accountable for the hurt they inflicted, but that’s not my concern. My job is to for give.

Forgiving doesn’t mean that the story doesn’t upset me, Mrs. Friedman clarifies. I may be upset when remembering the incident, but I won’t be angry at the person anymore.

Yeshuos and Refuos

Mrs. Friedman has a note book full of amazing stories of forgiveness, and also the yeshuos that came on the heels of that forgiveness. She likes to call the yeshuos a “bonus,” because they should not be the reason for ef forts to reconcile. “We’re doing it for the Ribbono Shel Olam,” she clarifies

Mr. Schon* called Mrs. Friedman’s husband from the hospital. He was in extreme pain following surgery, and the many painkillers he received were not offering relief. Not only that, he was also informed that the surgery would have to be repeated. He wanted Rabbi Friedman’s help to contact someone he had hurt recently. He was a school principal and had recently fired a staff mem ber, who was now severely of fended and angry at him. He couldn’t make the call himself in this state of agony.

Rabbi Friedman called the fired staff member, and asked him to find it in his heart to forgive Mr. Schon. The man de liberated but replied that Mr. Schon did not deserve forgive ness. However, he said, this phone call came just after he’d spoken to a friend who was still childless after many years. He would offer his forgiveness in his friend’s zechus.

The refuah came just two hours later: The pain subsided, and the doctors notified Mr. Schon that the repeat surgery was unnecessary. And a year and a half later, the childless friend was blessed with a child.

It’s a beautiful world without hurt and pain. And we can all beautify it further, one forgive ness at a time.

by: NESANEL YOEL SAFRAN

The Yomim Nora’im, in addition to their other unique and holy aspects, are a time that brings a special focus to the concept of nedarim — vows — from the Erev Rosh Hashanah post- Shacharis hataras nedarim ceremony, to the doorway to that most heilige day of Yom Kippur with its moving Kol Nidrei chant.

Yet nedarim, and the avoidance thereof, are a year-round matter, and one should be aware of their ramifica tions.

One striking aspect of the inyan of vows is the seeming dichotomy of how they’re approached in halacha. On the one hand, a person is discouraged from making nedarim. In fact, accord ing to the Shulchan Aruch, even if one fulfills his vow, he’s called a rasha and a sinner simply for having made it. If one makes a neder and delays fulfilling it, his account is “opened” in Shamay im (a sort of Heavenly audit that we’d all certainly wish to avoid). And while there is a concept of annulment of vows — hataras nedarim — it should not be seen as an easy way out, nor is it al ways applicable.

Even for something as worthwhile as giving tzedakah, it’s best not to pledge in the form of a neder. Rather, if a person has the money, he should donate it right away; if he doesn’t, it’s better not to pledge, but wait until he does. If someone’s in a situation where he’s being called upon to pledge with other members of the tzibbur, he

should add the words “bli neder.”

On the other hand, halachah recog nizes that one may make nedarim as a means of strengthening one’s Yid dishkeit, both in terms of fulfilling positive mitzvos and to avoid violating negative ones. Additionally, making a neder to improve one’s middos and tendencies is a form of avodas Hashem; for example, controlling one’s ten dency to indulge in meat and wine (or “decadent” desserts) by making a neder against eating them for a period of time may be helpful.

Similarly, using this method to forbid oneself from excessive indul gences can be a means of bringing a person to focus more on ruchnius and less on gashmius. I was told of an orga nized, rabbinically approved program in which Yidden trying to overcome a certain yetzer hara employ nedarim, and also have a built-in system of mon etary fines to those who transgress.

Just how serious a matter nedarim can be is illustrated by the following maaseh: Once a certain Rosh Yeshivah went almost three hours overtime in his weekly two-hour Thursday shiur.

THE WORDS, “BLI NEDER — WITHOUT A VOW,” ARE, OF COURSE, A FAMILIAR PART OF A YID’S LEXICON.

At the end of the marathon session, he apologeti cally explained to his amazed talmidim that dur ing the previous week’s shiur he had told the class, “Next week we will finish the perek,” and he was concerned that those words had been considered a binding neder

The words, “bli neder — without a vow,” are, of course, a familiar part of a Yid’s lexicon. While some might think it’s just a convenient and com fortable way of really saying “no” while mouthing “yes,” it’s an expression with real halachic meaning, and it can and should be employed within its proper context.

For instance, it’s good to get into the habit of say ing bli neder whenever one says they are going to do something that could be considered a mitzvah. This assures that one’s words haven’t become a neder This doesn’t mean that if he doesn’t say bli neder his words automatically become a neder, but this way he removes all doubt.

When it comes to worldly, non-mitzvah state ments, there are some who hold that merely stating an intention to do something has no connotations of a neder, and thus the addition of “bli neder ” is unnec essary. Of course, altz yashrus, one should express in tent to do only things he really intends to do — mean

what you say, and say what you mean.

Even using the phrase “I promise” can be tricky. When it’s obviously just being used as a figure of speech to add emphasis to one’s words, such as: “I promise you, you’re not going to regret it if you come along,” and the like, this isn’t a neder or even considered sheker

However, there are times when a promise can be more halachically binding, such as when saying, “I promise to do such and such.” So it’s a good idea to get into the habit of removing the term “I promise” from one’s vocabulary.

(This brings to mind the famous politician who was once called on the carpet for failing to do some thing he explicitly promised to do if elected, and with feigned innocence — and incredible chutzpah — he responded, “Yes, it’s true that I promised to do it, but I never promised that I would keep my prom ise!”)

Another point to mention is that the question of accidentally falling into a neder applies only to words one actually uttered, and not mere thoughts. For in stance, if a person had in mind that he’d never go to a particular restaurant again, he may change his mind and go without having to seek an annulment of a vow. It is said of some tzaddikim that they were careful to fulfill even any (positive) thoughts they had — but that is not a level for most of us.

As always, every thing mentioned here is not intended as hala cha l’maaseh, and one should always consult their rav

In sum, vows are very serious matters and shouldn’t be made except in the most pressing circumstanc es, and then only with rabbinic guidance. The Gemara (Shabbos 32b) relates the severity of vowing and failing to fulfill it, stating it can even be a sakanah, chas v’shalom, to one’s wife or children.

On a somewhat lighter note, the story is

brought in seforim of a super-rich mi ser, who was even more miserly with his attention and compliments to his wife. Due to this, he had terrible sha lom bayis problems, yet he was too cheap to pay the kesubah gelt to give his wife a get One day, in des peration, he came to the local rav, told him his tzaros, and asked him to daven for his wife to die. The rav, who knew all about both as pects of this fel low’s miserliness, looked at him with a wry smile and said, “I have a bet ter idea. Chazal tell us that if someone makes a neder and fails to keep it, his wife will die. The shul des perately needs a new building; the current one is mamash falling apart. Why don’t you make a vow to donate all the money for it within a week, and then don’t fulfill your neder.”

The miser got nervous. “That’s a lot of money,” he stammered.

“For you, it’s chicken feed,” the rav answered. “But, anyway, like I said, just don’t pay the vow; that way you’ll get to hold onto your precious money, you’ll lose your troublesome wife, and all of your problems will be solved.”

The miser readily agreed. He made a solemn, of ficial vow and was about to walk out of the rav’s of fice when the rav said, “By the way, can I ask you a tovah? Since your poor wife has only another week to live, can you please at least let her leave the world on a happy note? No matter how she acts, only compliment her; don’t criticize her at all. Oh, and give her your full at tention whenever she speaks to you. It’s a groise mitz vah — and it’s just for a week.”

The miser agreed and danced home with a spring in his step.

Six days later, the door to the rav’s office burst

open. “Rabbi, you have to cancel my vow!” the miser pleaded between huffing breaths.

“Why?” the rav asked.

“Because I don’t want my wife to die anymore! Since I started acting nice to her, she’s been acting ten times as nice to me. Now I realize what a gevaldig wife she really is, and I really, really don’t want to lose her!”

The rav shook his head sadly. “I’m happy to hear about your shalom bayis, but there’s nothing I can do. You made the vow in a way that can’t be annulled. Sorry.”

As the rav went back to his learning, the miser started to cry. Then he looked up at the rav. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Didn’t you tell me that because I wouldn’t fulfill my neder, my wife would die? So, therefore, I will fulfill my vow, and she won’t die!” He pulled out his checkbook. “You name it, Rabbi, I’m paying for the gantze new shul.”

The rav smiled knowingly. “Are you sure you can part with all that tzedakah gelt ?”

“Feh, it’s nothing for me,” the former miser assured him with a wave of his hand. “It’s especially nothing compared to a new-old wife, and new life of shalom bayis!”

So, bli neder, let’s make this a year in which we watch our words — both those we say and how we say them — especially to those closest to us.

Nesanel Yoel Safran is a writer, chef and student of Torah and life. You can read about all of this and more on his blog Soul Foodie (soulfoodiecom.wordpress.com) and contact him at soulfoodie613@gmail.com.

EVEN

THE PHRASE “I PROMISE” CAN BE TRICKY.

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These Little Children

by: CHEDVA STEINER

“Just a little faster,” I prod my little ones holding on to either side of the stroller. “I’m going to be late.”

One drags his feet on the pavement.

“Watch your shoes,” I say through gritted teeth.

The wind picks up, and my frustration mounts. Raindrops begin to fall, turning what I thought was a pleasant autumn day into a murky one. I’m on edge as I walk to shul, rushing little feet to keep up with my pace so I shouldn’t miss Yizkor.

The morning has been a challenging one, with the regular issues of little kids on a Yom Tov schedule and a Yom Tov diet, and it has taken a lot to get them fed and dressed and finally out of the house. And now, with an eye on the watch on my arm, I am in a rush.

“I don’t want to walk! It’s so far!” The stroller stalls as the kid holds it tight.

“We have to go. Just a little bit more, and we’ll get there.”

“I want to go home!” Now the other side of the stroller rattles in protest.

The tears prick my eyelids. They do be long home now, not dragged to shul on what has turned into a gray, unpleasant day.

This is not meant for mothers of little children, I think, the frustration rising within me. And

I don’t even have a babysitter at home to watch the kids.

Here I am, going to Yizkor to do some thing for my father’s neshamah, and yet, look at how I’m doing it! I’m being impatient and making these little legs move faster than they should, being less than anything a par ent On High can be proud of.

Somehow we make it to shul. The rain has cleared up but left remnants in patches of mud all over the shul’s yard.

I peek inside to see that I’ve arrived too early. My kids are not happy campers as I in form them we’re going to wait outside a bit now. But I am even more surly than they are as I try to whisper some words of davening while leaning against the railing.

I take out the snack stash I brought along, and it dwindles even before a significant amount of time is up. My toddler wriggles out of his harness. He is soon getting his new Yom Tov clothing all muddy, and the older kids start climbing on every dirty sur face they can find.

I bite my lip and try to keep my frustration in check. You’re here for Yizkor. These things are not important. It’s not the end of the world. Try to daven a bit!

Tug. “But Mommy, I want you to talk to me. Don’t daven now.”

I close my machzor with reluctance. Nothing to show for myself, and this is how I’m presenting to be mazkir my fa ther’s neshamah. The tears are pretty close to the surface again.

Finally, the shul starts to empty out, and my husband comes to take the children — who, of course, tantrum and refuse to let me go.

I feel the entire crowd outside watching the scene as I rush into shul and find a place at the back.

The atmosphere is hushed. Several women are bent over their machzorim, softly murmuring techinos. They sit there pa tiently, prepared and ready to say Yizkor for their loved ones…

And I blow in like a storm, every fiber of my being coursing with nervous energy, without having done a stitch of preparation for this precious little I can still do for my father.

I’m sorry, Tatty, I whisper soundlessly. I’m sorry that I’m such an embarrassment and was so overwhelmed. I’m sorry I didn’t prepare for this properly. I so badly want to do better for you.

I look around at everyone else, so ready for this holy te fillah, and I wish my morning would have been different.

Thankfully, the congregation doesn’t seem to be in a hurry. I quickly open my machzor and whisper the Yehi Ratzon in preparation for saying Yizkor.

The quiet in the shul and the words of the techinos soothe me, and I start to settle into the atmosphere. And even though I’m not worthy, listen to my cries in the zechus of tefil las rabbim…

Hashem, don’t recall my bad deeds, so I shouldn’t cause tzaar to my parent’s neshamah… All I need to say is right there.

And then I stop. Why didn’t I ever notice these words before?

And especially in the zechus of our little children… may their ne shamos be exalted and brought to a higher level…

Something in me quiets down.

Being busy with my children, taking care of them, does not preclude me from doing something for my father. On the contrary, they are the greatest zechus. No, maybe Yizkor is not meant for mothers of little children, but Yizkor is enhanced by these very precious young kinderlach.

And right there, over my machzor, something in me shifts. The tears that come to my eyes are a different kind of tears.

“Yizkor,” the Rav intones, and an emotional murmur ing ensues in the mostly empty shul.

And in that hushed atmosphere I whisper each pre cious word, knowing that my little children’s zechus gives me the power that can carry my words onward, onward, even when I’m so imperfect myself.

I BLOW IN LIKE A STORM, EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING COURSING WITH NERVOUS ENERGY, WITHOUT HAVING DONE A STITCH OF PREPARATION FOR THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE I CAN STILL DO FOR MY FATHER.

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As told to Y. BLOOMING

“Hashem, place a guard for my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips,” Dovid Hamelech begs (Tehillim 141). Before he asks for protection from evildoers and the wicked, a pleading King Dovid first seeks to be protected from himself — or rather, his mouth.

What was he so afraid of? As my story will soon demonstrate, the power of the tongue is a frightening tool we wield — both in how our words impact those we speak to or about, and how our absolute statements can become absolute facts that chain us for years and even decades.

This is it. I’m making the call.

I had been pushing it off longer than I wanted to admit. My thoughts on this day took me back to my wedding day, when I was a wide-eyed bachur eager to begin a new chapter in life and build my own Jewish home.

Life had been good to us in the years since. We had four beautiful children, a harmonious home, and we had been

managing on my modest income as a cheder rebbi. But there was yet one thing we both really wanted, and it had slowly grown from a mere desire to a strong yearning — one that only continued to grow with time.

Yes, I knew I was blessed. Yes, I realized that others would do anything to be in my matzav. But I couldn’t shake this one nagging wish for the future. Perhaps that was because, deep

Was a playful comeback from a slighted friend haunting my family all these years later?

inside, I had a niggling worry that I was the one who brought this upon ourselves…

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I went to the phone in my seforim room and dialed his number. I heard the first ring and knew there was no going back. My mouth went dry. Another ring, and I heard him pick up the phone, noisy children serving as the perfect background noise.

A lump the size of a super ball appeared in my throat.

“Do you remember…?”

Of course he remembered.

Mordechai* and I were friends, but we were more like brothers. We even fought like it. Throughout our years in yeshivah, we were hardly separated from one another. From early-morning learning to late-night mischief, we were a team, for better or for worse.

It is written that a person’s mazal tor in whether he winds up being a doubted that, Mordechai was Exhibit A of its veracity. From the time he was a little boy, he and everyone else knew he would be a mo hel. And I don’t just mean serve as a mohel or be among those who perform this particular mitzvah; I mean truly be a mo hel, one whose very essence is this sacred commandment.

In our bachur-ish years, we learned in a mid-sized ye shivah situated in a small yeshivah com munity. Life in town revolved around the yeshivah, and there was not much to do other than be a talmid yeshivah. As you can imagine, the food in yeshivah was nothing to write home about — unless you were writing a scathing one-star re view. Thus, whenever there was a bris in town, the understandably all clamored to enjoy the catered tuna sal ad scoops and lox rather than our meager breakfast, which led to the yeshivah banning us from going to any

But Mordechai was allowed to join any bris Because, of course, he was. I think that in the years we learned together in yeshivah, only Eliyahu Hanavi himself attended more bris events than Mordechai.

It was his life. And it was his identity, too.

id I mention that we were like brothers? Well, one night a trivial argument broke out, and tempers flared. When Mordechai said some thing that particularly triggered me, I shot back the most biting comment my brain could muster to express my displeasure. In the heat of the moment, I told

Mordechai, “I will not hire you as my children’s mohel!”

Stunned silence reigned. At first taken aback, he quickly composed himself and calmly responded, “Well, perhaps you won’t have any boys, and it won’t even be relevant.”

I probably should have apologized right then and there, but wounded teenage egos are not known for their ratio nal decision-making. Our heavy words lingered in the air for a while, but our bond was too close to be severed by a few words. We very soon returned to yeshivah-business as usual. And that bitter exchange? Well, it didn’t really mean anything.

Or so I thought.

As a good chassidish boy, I got married at a young age to a girl from a chashuv family. We were soon blessed with a beautiful baby girl, and our joy knew no bounds. When we welcomed a second girl, we rejoiced in each of them having a sister, certain that life still had many more bundles of joy in store for us.

Another year saw another daughter born. I know what you are thinking because I was starting to think it too, al though I wouldn’t say it out loud. In due time, a fourth child was brought home from the hospital wrapped in pink, and I could no longer suppress those thoughts.

Yes, we were incredibly blessed. But we desperately yearned for a boy who would enable us to perform the mitz

vos of pru urvu and bris milah, someone who would continue to carry our last name. We just wanted to complete our fam ily with the addition of a ben zachar

As much as I tried to convince myself that the years-old exchange had no bearing on my situation, I knew in my heart of hearts that there was only one thing left to do. And I owed it to myself, my eishes chayil and my future children to make things right.

Mordechai could not have been more gracious during that fateful call. In his cordial and even-tempered style, he told me that he forgave me and wished that I be blessed with not just one boy, but many. And he added a detail: He would love to be their mohel.

Today, I am the father of over a dozen children, ka”h. A significant number of them — all, actually, from our fifth and on — are chassidish yungeleit leading lives we are so grate fully proud of. I have spent my life instilling many values and virtues in them, as well as in the hundreds of children who have passed through my classroom. But there is one lesson I hope will never need to be articulated to them as clearly as it was to me:

Shomer piv uleshono, shomer mitzaros nafsho — He who guards his mouth and tongue, protects himself from dis tress.

WE JUST WANTED TO COMPLETE OUR FAMILY WITH THE ADDITION OF A BEN ZACHAR.

We All Want Our Tefillos to Reach

The Seforim bring down from the שודקה רהז that if a person wears a garment that contains shatnez, it creates a לידבמה ךסמ that in effect blocks a person's tefillos from reaching Hashem. There is a similar halacha brought down in Shulchan Aruch

that if a person davens in a shul and one flight above him there is a toilet on top of his head, that creates a לידבמה ךסמ that in effect blocks a person's tefillos from reaching Hashem. (Therefore, the plans of shuls are always designed to have the restrooms of the second floor above those of the first floor.)

Many Rabbonim have spoken publicly saying that shatnez is only one אתיירואד ואל whereas the האנה רוסיא of avoda zara is two אתיירואד ןיואל

A human

zara Shaitel

and is a much more severe issur - תורומחבש הרומח – and according to many poskim, even the םירוסיא connected to avoda zara (הרז הדובעד והיירזיבא(, like the האנה רוסיא from tikroves avoda zara is also רובעי לאו גרהי

if shatnez blocks a person's tefillos from reaching Hashem, how much more so does the severe issur of avoda zara ו"ח block a person's tefillos from reaching Hashem.

And if a clean toilet that has no waste in it now, can ו"ח block a person's tefillos, how much more disgusting in the eyes of Hashem is a sheitel made of tikroves avoda zara that is called הבעות

as the pasuk says: “אוה םרח ... ונבעתת בעתו ונצקשת ץקש .ךתיב לא הבעות איבת אל” Who knows how many tefillos are being blocked ו"ח when davening while wearing Indian human hair sheitels.

at least when you say tehillim or when you daven םיארונ םימי and are asking hashem so many different תושקב for the entire year, make sure to wear a kosher headcovering so that your tefillos don’t get blocked and have the maximum power.

Human hair avoda zara Shaitels are disgusting in theeyes of Hashem.

Recently, it was verified that the hair industry is full of fraud. Most hair in the world and even what is so-called Brazilian or European is really Indian temple hair that is forbidden as Tikroves Avoda Zara. Many Rabbonim and הרות

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Every time you wear a shaitel of הרז הדובע תבורקת, you are רבוע two אתיירואד ןיואל! this is something very frightening. So what iS thE Solution? There are many good quality 100% synthetic wigs on the market today that are free of any suspicion of idol worship, i.e. Rosé, Noriko, Syntastic, Natureal, Wonder, etc. Speak to your shaitel macher. Note: Be aware that the default for highlights even in synthetic shaitels is human hair, so be specific that highlights in your synthetic shaitel must also be synthetic. To receive a presentation or to request more information on this, email AZinwigs@gmail.com.

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by: FAYGE HOLTZBERG

Shabbos Tatty

It was a sunny, peaceful day when a loud fight erupted in the playground. Yossi was once again in the middle of it all. He was crying and shouting at the same time, saying that it was his turn to dance with the Torah. The chil dren had brought out an old stuffed Torah and were taking turns dancing with it. The other children seemed daunted by Yossi’s antics and gave in.

Yossi was given the Torah, and he danced and sang with grace and feeling, closing his eyes, lifting his hands up to ward the heavens. No one dared to stop Yossi, as he appeared to be in a happy trance. When the teacher announced it was time to go inside, Yossi had another meltdown, with more tears. This time he was kicking and screaming as he lay on the ground, inconsolable.

“The gates of tears never close” – Brachos 32

Yossi was the youngest in the class. He was the smallest in size, with the loudest voice and most intense personal ity. His eyes burned with fierce determination, and he was always “on fire.” His teacher had been trying to get him services for a good portion of the year. She confided in me that his personality and emotional outbursts seemed to be throw ing off the entire class. When I met Yossi, he was almost five years old and would soon be aging out of the program. His teacher requested that I help Yossi with emotional regulation in the short time we had together.

I first observed Yossi before beginning to work with him. He could almost always be found in the dramatic play center. His favorite dress-up clothes were an old, tattered shtreimel and a bekeshe that was missing a few buttons. Yossi would reenact rituals such as making Kiddush or Havdalah, and he loved to dance like a rebbe. His rendition was precise, real and full of emotion. It was clear that Yossi was imitating what he saw at home and in shul. He also connected to Yiddishkeit in an emotional way, with all of his heart and soul. This connection would be sure to prove important as Yossi grew older.

Though my job was to help regulate Yossi’s emotions, I didn’t want to extinguish them. Emotions are an essential part of all humans. Without them, life would be bland and boring. How you feel about something usually guides your behavior. Emo tions emanate as sensations in the body, and feelings are influ enced by our emotions.

As as aside, I am often baffled when watching adults tell a child to stop crying. Usually the child cries louder and harder when yelled at to stop. Crying is an important tool; it is a call for help. A child’s first means of communication is through cry ing. It’s only natural to want to calm a child down when they feel angry or cheer them up every time they feel sad. Howev er, it can sometimes be appropriate to allow the child to deal with uncomfortable emotions on their own, so they don’t grow to depend on others to regulate their moods. Kids who under stand their feelings and know how to deal with them are more resilient. Emotions are much more powerful than thoughts, and feelings can override even the strongest parts of our in tellect. Negative emotions matter and are important too. They

help us survive. Fear activates the fight-or-flight response, anger tells us to attack, and guilt may teach us to learn from our mistakes. No one wants to be sad or angry, but these feelings exist, have a purpose, and need to be ac cepted.

In my attempt to help Yossi, I called his moth er and had a long con versation with her. We went through a list of questions regarding Yossi’s behavior at home. We also went through the the TABS Assessment Tool, a norm-referenced tool designed to identify temperament and self-regulation problems that can indicate that a child is developing atypically or is at risk for atypical development.

Yossi’s mother seemed ashamed of Yossi’s display of emo tions and behavior. She was quick to mumble something about her husband being the same way. It was clear that she felt over whelmed by both her husband and her son.

I tried to make her comfortable by schmoozing about life in general. We got more specific as the conversation progressed, and we discussed the important role emotions play in one’s in ner monologue. Feelings are real and need to be acknowledged, validated and sometimes addressed. I encouraged her to let Yossi live in the moment and feel emotions as they washed over him. We discussed helping Yossi identify emotions and feel ings when he was calm enough to do so. I also encouraged her to allow Yossi to experience and feel emotions without dictat ing how he should be feeling. Finally, we spoke about the need for strong routines, structure and limits in order to maintain a warm and stable environment

I told Yossi’s mother that Yossi possessed many positive qualities. He could grow to be a great leader. He already had many necessary qualities, including creativity, passion, intel lectual abilities and a strong vision. We needed to teach Yossi more about self-awareness, empathy and flexibility. He could learn how to be a team player and how to shine with resilience when faced with adversity. Indeed, Yossi was exploding with potential; it simply had to be channeled properly.

The first step was to identify basic emotions. We created flashcards with pictures of Yossi demonstrating different emo tions. We hung the pictures on the wall in the therapy room, and later used them to reference how Yossi was feeling. We also painted emojis in Yossi’s journal. This was a relaxed and fun activity, as Yossi related well to emojis. Most importantly, we worked on creating an emotional toolkit for Yossi. This includ ed a range of techniques and tools Yossi could use to cope with

HIS RENDITION WAS PRECISE, REAL AND FULL OF EMOTION. IT WAS CLEAR THAT YOSSI WAS IMITATING WHAT HE SAW AT HOME AND IN SHUL.

emotions. Sometimes strong emo tions feel overwhelming and difficult to deal with. Preparing an emotional toolkit can help process difficult emo tions.

In order to give him a tangible outlet, we created sensory boxes con taining Yossi’s favorite items to help him self-regulate, regain a normal heart rate, and calm down. These boxes contained sensory items that would help him feel grounded by feel ing, smelling, hearing or practicing breathing. We left one box in school and made one box for him to bring home.

Yossi’s teacher and I collaborated and created group activities to work on emotions. This proved very helpful for Yossi, as his peers provided him with a view of how emotions looked from a different perspective. It was fun to do things as a group. Together we created games and materials for Yossi and his friends to learn from and enjoy: an emotions matching game, masks with different feelings, and wooden dolls painted with di verse expressions.

Soon Yossi’s emotional vocabulary grew, and he became more aware of himself and his surroundings. When Yossi felt overwhelmed by stimuli, he would go over to his sensory box and calm down on his own. Though it took work and modeling, Yossi learned to be empathetic, to see the needs of oth ers. He also was able to share and take turns more easily. Overall, he was happy, more verbal, and at last, calm and content.

On the day that services ended, Yossi came to school with a small box and a note of thanks from his mother. Inside the box was a thin gold bracelet. Though a number of years have passed, I still wear the bracelet. Sometimes, when things are challenging, I touch the bracelet and feel uplifted. I remember the little boy who had the courage and simple faith to feel with all his heart and soul.

Fayge Holtzberg, M.S.Ed., is a certified bilingual special educator. She has been working in the community as a consultant, evaluator and therapist for over twenty years. Mrs. Holtzberg can reached at Fayge18@gmail.com.

10:30-1:00

IT AIN’T A FREE COUNTRY. THE KING’S WORD IS THE LAW OF THE LAND.

RECAP: THREE YEARS HAVE PASSED. YOSEF AND RACHEL HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY THE LOCAL BLACKSMITH, SHIMON HATZAFONI. HE BRINGS THEM LUNCH, WHICH YOSEF SETS ON A DEVICE HE CALLS THE LUNCH LAUNCHER. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BRING THE FOOD TO HIM, BUT INSTEAD, IT LAUNCHES THEIR LUNCH INTO THE SKY!

AND MY WORD IS THE LAW OF THIS ALLEY!

UH, YONI, I DON’T THINK WE SHOULD BE TRAVELING THIS WAY. IT’S A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD!

HURT

NONSENSE,

PLEASE, SIR, DON’T HURT US!

by: YONAH KLEIN

illustration:

JACKY YARHI

With over 300 breeds of goats worldwide, goats serve many different purposes and have contributed a lot to civilization. Goats were one of the first animals to be domesticated back in the day, and are still appreciated today for their milk, meat and hair.

Goat’s Milk

Although the recent food box distributions may have made you think otherwise, cow’s milk actually takes second place in the milk popularity contest. Globally, goat’s milk is the milk of first choice, and for good reason.

Although goat’s milk is dairy just like cow’s milk, it has lower levels of lactose — which means it’s easier for lactose-intolerant people to digest it. Goat’s milk also has more vitamin A, calcium and potassium than cow’s milk.

Goat’s milk is also used to make goat’s milk soap, which is a gentle skin and face cleanser and moisturizer. It’s also a great exfoliator and can reduce acne. Who knew?

Myotonic Goat

Among 300 different breeds, there are bound to be some goat types that have rather fascinating features. One of the more remarkable species of goats is the myotonic goat, also known as the fainting goat. Because of a genetic quirk, the myotonic goat’s muscles freeze and become completely stiff when they get excited or startled. This can often cause them to topple over, which makes it look like they’re fainting. Their muscles return to normal within a few minutes and they go on their merry way, but this little quirk has caused them to be a favorite prank victim.

Myotonic goats are mostly bred as farm goats and as pets. Which is a good thing, because I think they might find it a bit difficult to get away from predators in time...

Interesting Goat Features

Goats’ pupils aren’t circular like those of human eyes; their pupils are rectangular. This gives them the ability to see 320 to 340 degrees around them without moving their head, compared to us humans who have a vision range of 160 to 210 degrees.

By: Toby Diamant

Wild Goats

Although you’ll come across goats on farms and in petting zoos, there are still around 36 species of goats that are wild in the mountainous regions of Asia, Africa, North America and Europe.These goats are agile and quick, and can be seen prancing around on treacherous territory. They’re able to climb trees, and really almost any surface, to get food and move around.

Goats in New York City?

New York City, well known for its many beautiful parks (well, they’re trying), realized a few years ago that they had a problem. Riverside Park, located in the Upper West Side next to the Hudson River, was overgrown with weeds, but sloped down sharply very close to the water, which made it impossible to weed.

Enter Skittles, Cheech, Elenor, and Big G — four goats from upstate New York who now get brought down every summer to hang out in Riverside Park.The goats are able to navigate the steep inclines and enjoy munching on the weeds that human gardeners aren’t able to access. This landscaping maintenance plan is eco-friendly, budget-friendly and friendly-friendly, with many park visitors eager to interact with these fuzzy groundskeepers.

Cashmere

That cozy cashmere sweater you just bought for the winter comes from… a goat! Goats grow soft, downy fibers on their underbelly, and those are used to make cashmere. Unlike sheep, which are usually sheared, the goats’ downy fuzz is combed off and spun into yarn. This is done so the fibers stay long, which prevents pilling in the final products. Manufacturers looking to cut corners often mix shorter fibers with the long ones. To test the quality of cashmere, rub it on your hand and see if the threads start pilling and rolling up. If that happens, you know the product was made using cheaper short fiber.

Cashmere is expensive because the process of separating the silky down from the rest of the goat’s coarser hairs is done by hand, and it’s incredibly difficult and time-consuming. It also takes these fine hairs from around four goats to make just one sweater!

Pashmina wool is also considered cashmere, but it’s even finer than typical cashmere. While cashmere can be made from the downy fibers of most goat breeds, pashmina is made only from Changthangi goats, which are found in high regions in India.

Why are baby goats called kids?

The name originates from the Norse, German and Swedish words kizzi, kitze and kidd, all of which refer to a young goat.

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HOW TO PLAY:

1. Gather round the table to play a family game of Boggle, using this Boggle board.

2. Once you have a winner, fill out the form below in its entirety.

3. Email the form to com ments@thebpview.com or fax to 718-408-8771 by Sunday at midnight.

4. Two winners will be drawn each week, each of whom will receive a $15 gift card at Judaica Corner!

PLAYING RULES:

Find words on the board containing four letters or more.

Letters of a word must be con nected in a chain (each letter should be adjacent to the next either vertically, horizontally or diagonally), and each letter can only be used once in a given word.

The following are not al lowed in Boggle:

Adding “s” to a word • Proper nouns • Abbreviations • Con tractions • Acronyms POINTS

4-letter words: 2 points

5-letter words: 3 points

6-letter words: 5 points

7-letter words: 7 points

8-letter words: 9 points

9+ letters: 12 points

Hint: Each Boggle board hides a word of nine letters or more!

LA

M I T R

UF H C O R BN N W E P VL D A G S A

Family name:

Full mailing address:

Full name of winner:

Full names of competing players:

Phone:

Amount of points:

List some words only the winner found:

Enjoy the Boggle board! The competition will resume after Sukkos.

The longest word found on the board: _____________________________

A new word you learned from the board: __________________________

Only complete forms will be entered into the drawing.

When you want to create high level designs, learning just the software programs is not enough.

At The Bold Edge we also teach you design + business, so that you stand out professionally.

Design/Business

Your Edge

The Edge email

bol de

8.853.4186

@the bold

Zissy Weinberger, 9, Viznitz

Thank you to the hundreds of readers who sent in beautifully colored pages! Keep coloring!

Chavy Dershowitz, 10, Satmar

A $5 credit was issued at Toys4U on the account of the phone number listed on your submission.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEN WINNERS OF THE $5 GIFT CARDS AT TOYS4U!

Yitty Pollak, 8, Skver

Esty Lieberman, 6, Satmar

Charny Lichtenstein, 6, Satmar

Tova Fass, 7, BYA

Moshe Neuman, 4, Sanz Bruchy Bretter, 10, Bais Shifra

Avrumi Jacobowitz, 4, Tzelim Meilech Landau, 6, Satmar

By: Faigy Jacobowitz

Send your colored page to The Boro Park View to enter a drawing for a chance to have your artwork featured in our pages and win $5 at Toys4U! Ten lucky winners will be announced each week!

To enter the raffle, email your colored page with your full name to comments@thebpview.com or mail it to 1274 49th Street, Suite 421, Brooklyn, NY 11219. Submissions will be included in the drawing only if all information is filled in.

Feel free to photocopy this coloring page for the entire family.

Classifieds

FOR SALE

NEOCATE/BABY FORMULA

Neocate $46.99 per can. Kendamil $38.99. Similac L’Mehadrin $28.99!! We also buy off any extra formula for a good price. Call for other types of formulas.

Formula Trade 347.369.4886

YOYA /BABY PRIDE STROLLERS

Now on sale, available in beautiful colors, ASTM standards, company backed warranty. Free delivery. Please call 845-263-2737

DOONA STROLLER

Doona Stroller, multiple colors available! cll/txt 1-201614-4045

CAMERAS FOR SALE

CANON CAMERAS 2ND HAND, EXC CONDITION! WITH/WITHOUT WIFI!

No warranty. 160 Lee bsmt. (behind Right Contact) call 347-871-2330

FURNITURE

Looking to sell dining room furniture in brand new condition. Great price. Pictures available upon request. Please call 860-572-6552

A/C FOR SALE

Barley used, 15,000 BTU air conditioner for sale. $350. call/text 718-666-1515

REAL ESTATE

MIAMI BEACH

Newly renovated beautiful ocean view 1 bedroom apt. for rent. 347.760.0570

2 APTS. FOR RENT

14th ave 42st, 2 apts, 2 bdrms, 2nd flr, heat incl. Chosson Kallah Preferred. Call 718986-7559 leave msg

3 BEDROOM APT 15/42 3 bedroom unfurnished brand new 3rd floor with appliances $3200. 347-581-5250.

HOUSE FOR SALE

17th Ave, 42nd St. 27x100 legal 2 family, brick, detached both sides, private driveway, backyard. Lovely block. Available immedately. 212764-7130

FURNISHED APT 54 & 13

2 BR Hotel style fully furnished apt. Full Kitch/ Bath, W/D. Excellent for Ch/ Kallah, or Simchas. 718-6860909/ 347-524-7686

LINDEN VACATION

Exlusive brand new fullyfurnished house, heated in-ground pool all amenities included, sleeps 9. 8 min walk to shul. Call/Text 601675-2665/Crownprincevilla@ gmail.com

MONSEY RENTAL

Large 5 bedroom home with a beautiful backyard with hottub and swingset available for rent for shabbosim, August 19-September 6 and for yomim tovim. Located in Chestnut Ridge. Text/call Rikki 347-930-9736.

FLORIDA RENTAL

MIAMI BEACH Carriage Club North. Beautiful 2 Bedroom, 2 bath, ground floor. Available for Sukkos & winter season. Call: 347.499.0031

Classifieds

ARIZONA KOSHER GETAWAY

Beautiful villas with pool on gorgeous property in Casa Grande, Arizona, available for rent. Reasonable rates! Arizonakoshergetaway@ gmail.com call/text 347-2245574

MIAMI BEACH

Newly renovated beautiful ocean view 1 bedroom apt. for rent. 347.760.0570

SUKKOS RENTAL

6 bedroom ranch in chestnut ridge near shuls. Big porch. Available for the first few days of sukkos. Call or text 845-664-5521

HELP WANTED

SEEKING BABYSITTER

Seeking heimishe babysitter in my home twice a week, starting after sukkes. 11 and 50’s area. Call 718-635-3789. Lv detailed msg

P/T BOOKKEEPER

Bp office is looking for a part time Experienced Bookkeeper. Please call/ text 917 553 7842

JOB RESUME

Need a great work resume? Resumes are what we do (new grads or experienced)! Call/ text 845-554-5778 or email info@resumakerpro.com.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Full-time bookkeeper/ Secretary needed in small real estate office in Boro Park. Must be proficient in Quickbooks and Excel. Must be organized, responsible Excellent compensation for the right candidate. Send resume to ycrejr@gmail.com

F/T P/T ASSISTANT

Full time/Part Time assistant. Yiddish speaking. For small playgroup, for September 22’ Okay to start after Yom Tov. Great pay! 718853-4139

PLAYGROUP CO-TEACHERS

Seeking co-teachers pt/ ft great environment competitive pay! grads welcome! You’ll get the best training! for more info call 9292366129

P/T MORAH

looking for a P/T morah in a yiddish speaking playgroup on 18 ave lower streets twice a week from 12-3pm please call 347 335 4808 & leave message

COUNSELORS WANTED

Seeking heimishe girls to be counselors at a fun yearround Sunday program for children with special needs. Great atmosphere and great pay. Hours are 11-3:30. Located in Boro Park. Yiddish speaking. Call 718387-8400 ext. 5250 for more information.

FEMALE WORKER

Heimishe office in BP. Good phone, computer skills, multi task, no experience necessary. New grads welcome. Great work envrmt, excellent growth oppty. email resume: HRunitedsalesusa@ gmail.com

JOBS AVAILABLE

Part-time & Full-time jobs available. Email TopPartTimeJobs@ gmail.com

JOB OPPORTUNITY F/T - P/T

A Busy construction office in Brooklyn is looking to hire a multi talented secretary to do office work, Willing to train. send resumes to teamhr1377@gmail.com

JOB OPPORTUNITY

BP office seeks a f/t female secretary. Great pay, heimish environment, will train. Please send your resume to jack@eastcoastphoto.com

JOB OPPURTUNITY

Heimish BP office seeking f/t female secretary great pay, great environment.

Basic computer knowledge will train. please call: 347661-7454 email resume: resumessfs@gmail.com

F/T JOB

Seeking a motivated, dynamic, responsible girl to do accounts payables and office work. Inter-personal phone skills a must, full time only. End/after the summer. Please send resume to: jobs@ kleinsnaturals.com.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Busy heimishe Medical

Billing multi girl office in The Brooklyn Square seeking F/T employee. No experience necessary, will train. Great pay and benefits. Email Blimies@devington.com

OFFICE JOB POSITION

Boro Park office is looking for immediate hire full-time secretary. Detail oriented with basic knowledge in Excel and MS office. Graduate preferred. Please email :Jobs@knwcorp.com

SEEKING SECRETARY

Boro Park office seeking secretary with excellent communication skills and quickbooks, Mon-Thu 10:004:00. Please forward resume to: agreen1989@aol.com or call 718-610-9456

Tech

Customer

Classifieds

MARKETING AND ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR

Heimishe office looking to hire a geshmake yingerman to lead the marketing and admissions. Please send resume to office.icany@ gmail.com

GREAT OPPORTUNITY

Earn up to $10,000 per month + bonuses working from home and helping Frum students earn their college degrees in a Kosher environment in their own home. Skills necessary: A good working knowledge of gmail, a desire to help students between the ages of 18 - 25, and a warm and friendly personality. Please email all resumes or inquiries to supershevi36@ gmail.com

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Challenge Early Intervention seeks office employee for our Brooklyn office. Computer literate. Warm, Heimishe environment. Transportation provided. hr@challenge-ei. com 718-851-3300 Ext 210

FEMALE LIFEGUARD

YVY Fitness Center in Boro Park. Seeking female lifeguard P/T daytime hours. Call: 718-686-2404 Email: fitness@yeled.org

FEMALE AIDE WANTED

Female aide. free board. Allowance too. 718-576-4511

GREAT OPPORTUNITY

Looking for a chasidish younger man to spend time with a special needs bochur on sundays and evenings. Great pay. Please call 718-8518014 or 64-6281-9351.

P3 PROVIDERS

Seeking male and female P3 providers for late afternoon/ after-school hours. Excellent pay and environment. Please call 718-500-3765 x 103.

MALE WORKERS

Seeking male workers for a day program for individuals with special needs. Must be caring and enjoy working with the special needs population. Great pay and great benefits. Call 718-3878400 ext. 5208 for more details

SEEKING SECRETARY

Seeking secretary for a Hamaspik after-school program located in Boro Park. Must be responsible, fun, and enjoy working with individuals with special needs. Heimishe atmosphere and great pay. Available hours are weekday evenings Monday and Wednesday 5:00-7:00, and Tuesday and Thursdays 5:00-7:00 also motzei Shabbos, and Sundays. Email hlang@ hamaspikkings.org or call 718.387.8400 ext. 5218 for more information.

SECRETARY PART TIME

Yeled V`Yalda Staten Island. From 8:30-12:30 Mon.-Fri. Call: 718.514.8867 Email: mbernath@yeled.org

MENTOR WANTED

Seeking young and energetic girl to be a mentor for a highfunctioning special needs individual to help her with day programs, meal prep, and social interactions. Must be caring and passionate about working with the special needs community. Full time with great pay for the right candidate! Send resume to hlang@ hamaspikkings.org or call (718) 302-3333 ext. 5218 for more information

SEEKING STAFF

Seeking staff for Hamaspik girls’ group home in Boro Park. Hours needed: Sunday 9:00 am to 7: pm. Sunday nights from 7:00 pm to 9:15 am Choose the hours that work for you. Great pay, many benefits, very pleasant environment. Call 917-6486251 or email Phalberstam@ hamaspikkings.org

GREAT SALES POSITION

Be Your Own Boss! “Be in business for yourself not by yourself” best training + support provided, great benefits and retirement package. Please email dglick@newyorklife.com or call 845-639-5216

SEEKING STAFF

Seeking staff for Hamaspik boys’ group home in Boro Park. Hours needed: 7am9am, 3pm-8pm. Email resume to Phalberstam@ hamaspikkings.org

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Heimeshe insurance office in Boro Park seeking a F/T female employee. Willing to train. Good Pay. Please email resume: jobsins11219@gmail. com

F/T SECRETARY

Busy Heimishe BP office seeking f/t female secretary. Graduate preferred. Efficient, Detail Oriented, w/ good communication skills. job2021bp@gmail.com

SEIT`S, OT`S, PT`S, SLP`S

Work for the BEST agency. Competitive rates, easy billing, FREE Reading, Kriah, CTLE, Social & behavioral skill training & more. Trans B accepted. Email: Position600@gmail.com

SEEKING COUPLE

Seeking couple to work at Hamaspik girls’ or boys’ group residence in Boro Park on Shabbos and Yamim Tovim. Excellent pay and benefits. Great opportunity for the right candidates. Call 718-387-8400 ext. 165 or email Phalberstam@ hamaspikkings.org

Join Comfort Health as an coordinator and help children acquire the services they need to gain daily living and coping skills; while ensuring their ongoing success.

SUNDAY CLUB

Sunday girls club seeking heimishe, responsible, capable counselors. Dancing, Baking, Art, etc. Call 718- 930- 9044

And dear yiddishe mother. Give your daughter the gift of a lifetime of happiness &

with the marriage summit, 18 life changing classes with top marriage experts. For less than the price of a תוכרב

outfit, have the peace of mind knowing that your daughter has the tools, הפקשה & resources to be happily married. Call 929-286-9900 #2 or www.chanyfelberbaum.

DONATE VEHICLE

Donate any vehicle, get $2,400 gift for shopping and $1,500 tax deduction. 718-974-9428

BABYSITTING

SHARE A BABYSITTER

Have an amazing babysitter full time in my house, looking for someone to share with me: 18th Av. 59th St. Text/Call 347-528-9818

PLAYGROUP

Small playgroup now accepting for September. 47th & 19th Ave area. Ages 2-3. References available. 4 nonvoucher slots left 718-853-4139

Great opportunity local Boro Park RE Mgmt office for Secretary. Willing to train the right individual that has gd phone manner, able to multi task & have computer knowledge. Excellent growth potential.

resume to: sylvia@cgmail.net

SECRETARY F/T

Position available in BP office for responsible, organized individual that is able to multi task. Beginners welcome, willing to train. Excellent environment and opportunity for rapid growth!

Email resumes to:

Classifieds

BABYSITTING

Babysitting from 8-5. References avai. 14th & 56th. 718-438-5306/ 917232-1267

FOUND

pearl necklace in Williamsburg Wallabout area before the summer 347-243-1548

gold ring in williamsburg on Wilson st. 917-439-7064

diamond tennis bracelet on Erev shavuous 3 or 4 years ago in Ezras Torah neighborhood in Yerushalayim. 347-7338781

blanket 50th 13/14th 347898-1428 lv msg

FREE GIVEAWAYS

China closet 718-8532264

Box of used kindleins 347-228-4747

2 Loaves Mrs. Katz Gluten Free bread Call: 347-770-2404

GEMACHIM

Pidyon Haben 646-419-0782

Doona 260-366-6293

Twin Carriage (718) 522-3891

Neocate Formula 347-977-7940

Carseats, snap n go strollers, pack n play & bassinets 718-854-6829

buy/sell Neocate/baby formula 347.369.4886

Chocolate molds BP 718-972-4768. Williamsburg 718-522-3445

Bris Accessories 347- 244- 2065

Baby carriers 718-809-9707

Baby earbands 347 409 9479

Bris Accessories 718-435-0664

Kallah Cape 718 - 633 - 8261

Bridal Shoe Gemach 917-936-8997

KALLAH ACCESSORIES BP. 718-551-8714

Tehillim for Cholim www. tehillimonklaftefilah.org

Shoes & Crowns BP 718-972-4768.

Luzy’s cuddles & cradles. text (BP) 917-538-8500

Luzy’s cuddles & cradles. text (Willi) 929-275-1820

Pack n plays 718-851-1017

Twin Clothing (newborn-3) 347742-7189/718-972-0765

Clothing gemach (for women) 646-904-1247

Lingerie Conversions min fee 718-437-0428

Briefcase gemach 7184360936

Baby Scale 718-633-9266 or text 718-473-5268

Youth Corps Working Papers 718-854-0961

We sponsor your wig recut for tznius purposes . 929-675-9838

Reflector Belts 718-853-4966

Communication Class 347-753-1071. Dr Sarno Books 347-461-7330

Mezuzos (718)666-7222

Warm Mist Humidifier 917-373-2079

pediatric wheelchair-walkershower seat- cast cover for shower call 7183883079 lv msg

Baby Scale (Wmsbg) text 347-675-9509

New ladies clothing 646-904-1247

Lighting 9292762404

Simcha Décor 917 -536-1742

Simcha Caps 718-633-1084

Musical Kumzitz 347-543-2195

Bechers, Challah cover, Benchers 1718 854 1760

Laminated chuppah cards call 718-8078932 lv msg

Boys Simcha Wear sizes 9m-7 347.462.4596 Sundays 2:30-5

Kallah/Mechteniste Capes Wsbg 718-3009894/ BP 917-683-5557

Kallah Looseleaf Yom Hachuppah 718435-3492

Simcha basket 718-614-7274

Haircuts $6 929-290-6568

Easy birth from Koznitzer Maggid 917514-9461

Donate clothing 718-974-9428

Chupah Cards Color 347-885-5114

Scooters 718-431-7942

Gemach in desperate need of elegant clothing size 6-8 for Kallah getting married beginning September, shoes/heels 6.5 and 7. call: 9292762404

Property / land in Pennsylvania, high value. 212-470-1708 lv msg

We sponsor your wig recut for tznius purposes . 929-675-9838

Boro Park Business Breakfast by BPJCC to Benefit Local Small Business

Publisher: YOEL ITZKOWITZ

Editor in Chief: D. GORALNIK

Content Editor: R. REESE

Associate Editor: E.M. NEIMAN

Food Editor: M.P. WERCBERGER

Creative Director: AJ WACHSMAN

Project Coordinator: R. ITZKOWITZ

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