CY Family Mag #206 by Country Yossi

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Message From the Publisher Hi Everybody, Not many Jewish magazines can truthfully claim 29 straight years of publishing excellence! Sure, the slick new glossies out there are large and impressive, but hey, let’s never forget they’re traveling on the road built by Good Fortune (remember them?) and yours truly! When there was nothing really worthwhile out there to read, we were there to lighten your mood, sharpen your wits and entertain as well as educate. As we begin our 30th year we thank Hashem for His kindness and blessings, and we thank you, our loyal advertisers and readers, who make it all possible. May we continue to share good times and good news for 120 years! It?s been a while since we’ve had the pleasure and honor of introducing a bright new star into the illustrious Jewish Music constellation. The arrival of this talented young singer/composer couldn’t come at a more propitious time. As various streams of modern Jewish music are converging and melding with contemporary sounds and rhythms, Yossi Lebowitz’s unique style encapsulates and distills the most creative facets of both and emerges with a fresh, new sound

that’s at once vibrant and ‘today,’ yet suffused with the ‘hartzig gefeel’ of yesterday. Read all about this young musical dynamo in our exclusive profile. With broken hearts, we present three personal reminiscences of our wonderful, sorely missed friend Chaim ‘Lobo’ Silber a’h. Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, Heshy Walfish and myself share some personal recollections and reflections on this great and very special man. Elsewhere in this Pesachdig issue you’ll find an absorbing, enlightening, always insightful, entertaining message from the publisher (that’s me!)! Ah chutz deim, we also feature the mostly unknown (until now) generous contributions of President Donald Trump’s father to a struggling shul. The Trump Shul is an eye-opener – don’t miss it! Our wide-ranging issue covers such abstruse topics as Deportation, Schmutz, The Golden Calf, and our exodus from Slavery to Slavery! So enjoy. Wishing you all a Chag Kosher V’sameach! Your friend,

Country Yossi

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ISSUE 206

“New York’s Premier Jewish Magazine”

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“IRS Form 1040: So called because for every $50 you make, you get $10 and they get $40!” – CY

Table of Contents

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Volume 30 Number 1

LET’S SHMOOZE ...................................................................................................................................................................................25 COVER STORY • Yossi Lebowitz: A New Star Rising on the JM Horizon, by Chaya Sara Schlussel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 OPINION • Stuck in the Middle, by Rabbi Berel Wein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 • Deportation Vexation, by Rabbi Avi Shafran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 SOUND OFF

• Today’s Golden Calf, by Rabbi Berel Wein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 • Schmutz is Not Torah Law, by Marvin Schick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 INSPIRATION.........................................................................................................................................................................................44 TORAH • The Haggadah on Many Levels, by Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 • Slaves, Women and Children, by Rabbi Pynchas Brener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 • Ha Lachma Anya: Its Meaning and Purpose, by David Gordon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 • The Missing Fifth, by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 TIMELINE ................................................................................................................................................................................................54

PEOPLE • A Special Man, A Special Smile, by Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 • Chaim “Lobo” Silber a”h - A Friend In Deed, A Friend Indeed, by Heshy Walfish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 • His Name was Chaim Silber but His Heart was Made of Gold, by Yossi Toiv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 • Trump’s Shul, by R. Collins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 ISRAEL • Passover: The Greatest V’nahafoch Hu of All, by Dov Shurin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 JEWISH MUSIC

• CY Songbook: Modeh Ani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 • Top 3 in Jewish Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 CONTROVERSY • YWN Coffee Room: No Chametz or Sell Chametz?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 JEWISH BOOKS • Top 10 in Jewish Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 HUMOR • Can’t You Just Plotz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 • Pre-Pesach Starvation, by Chaptzem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

• From Slavery to Slavery, by Kayla Kuchleffel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

COUNTRY YOSSI FAMILY MAGAZINE Telephone: (718) 851-2010 • Email: country@countryyossi.com COPYRIGHT © 2017 - Country Yossi Family Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Country Yossi Family Magazine is not responsible for unsolicited submissions. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, and other submitted materials must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. We reserve the right to print all letters in part or in full unless specifically requested otherwise. No articles, photographs, artwork or other material in this magazine may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever, without prior written permission of the publisher. Country Yossi Family Magazine will not be responsible for typographical errors or advertisers’ claims.

Cover Design: R.A. Stone Cover Photo: Nechama Leitner

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Interior Layout: H. Walfish

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BEARING THE COLD Dear Country Yossi, I just got off the phone with a friend who lives in Monticello. He said that since early this morning the snow has been nearly waist-high and is still falling. The temperature is dropping way below zero and the north wind is increasing to near gale force. His wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window and just stare. He says that if it gets much worse, he may have to let her in. J.M. Flatbush

PURIM COSTUMES OF THE YEAR Dear Country Yossi, Hi! My name is Esther M. Maryles (Brody). Recently we introduced the Kivi & Tuki CDs to our two little boys. They are now obsessed with them! We have the first two CDs

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and each play in our house round the clock. This Puirm our 5-year-old Moshe asked to dress up as Kivi, Tuki and Coutnry Yossi. We did our best! For our mishloach manos, we of course included a luscious piece of potato kugel signed from the cutest shteeble-hoppers in town! Thank you for your unbelievably talented CDs. Aside from the laughter, the kids gain so much information and nice lessons.

Dear Country Yossi, Today is Taanis Esther and the day is going Fast. Actually, this year Taanis Esther is one of the shortest ones ever, but Purim is the longest one. See, today is before you change the clock so it’s earlier and you don’t have to wait for the end of Megilla leining to break the fast. However, we change the clock during Purim; so we start earlier under the old clock but we finish one hour later under the new clock. (It’s really the same number of hours but it seems longer.) So it’s longer but we will have less sleep. But that’s OK since one can be yoitzei ad d’lo yoda by falling asleep at the end of the day. So now we can understand why in the Megilla, the Chachomim were known as the Yodei Itim. We might ask what is so smart about knowing what time it is? But they probably changed the clock then and without our modern day clocks it was very hard to keep track of time. But they were only the low level chachomim. On the next level were the Meshaneh Itim - those who actually decided when to change the clock. As we daven in Maariv, it says U’Vasevunah Meshaneh Itim. On the highest level were the Machalif Es Ha’zemanim - they knew how to change all the times in shul when prayers take place. So make every minute count and enjoy! Dov Fishman BP

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WHEN YOU’RE HAVING A HEART ATTACK Dear Country Yossi, Let’s say it’s 7:25pm and you’re going home (alone of course) after an unusually hard day on the job. You’re really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to drag out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five kilometers from the hospital nearest your home. But unfortunately, you don’t know if

you’ll be able to make it that far. You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself. HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN YOU’RE ALONE: Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack without help, the person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly

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and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough, and the cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest. A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without letup until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again. Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it to regain a normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get help or to a hospital. Tell as many other people as possible about this. It could save their lives! A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this message kindly sends it to 10 people, you can bet that we’ll save at least one life. Y.M. Boro Park

OUT OF LUCK Dear Country Yossi, So Moish dies and goes up to collect his heavenly reward. The welcoming angel greets him and asks, “So Moish, what did you do for a living?” Moish puffs out his chest and tells of his job as an administrator in an exclusive yeshivah. “Our yeshivah produces only the best boys!” he boasts proudly. The angel points to Gehinnom and cries, “Take him down!” Moish cries out in desperation, “We produced so many tzaddikim, don’t I deserve a spot in Gan Eden?!” “Certainly,” the angel answers. “But I regret to inform you that all available slots have been filled for the coming year, and we are unfortunately unable to accommodate you at this time. However, if you would like you may put your name on our waiting list in the event of an opening.” P.W. Flatbush

SIX UNDENIABLE FACTS OF LIFE Dear Country Yossi, The following are some undeniable facts that life teaches us.

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1. Don’t educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy, so when they grow up they will know the value of things, not the price. 2. Eat your food as your medicines. Otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food. 3. The one who loves you will never leave you because, even if there are 100 reasons to give up, he or she will find one reason to hold on. 4. There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few folks really understand that. 5. You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between, you have to manage! 6. If you just want to walk fast, walk alone; but, if you want to walk far, walk together! And the six best doctors in the world are: Sunlight, Rest, Exercise, Diet, Self-Confidence and Friends!! I once read a really great quote that goes like this: The nicest place to be is in someone’s thoughts, the safest place to be is in someone’s prayers, and the very best place to be is in the hands of Hashem. H.N. Boro Park

Yehudit and Chana did at that time. He gave many interesting examples of how we can, to use his phrase, develop a spiritual bounce. The story about Rabbi Shach was so compelling in teaching how we can harness Hashem’s assistance. The term mesiras nefesh got me thinking that the word nefesh is connected to our minds because just as the nefesh is a link between the body and soul, so too is the mind. Thoughts originating in the mind are not physical. So if we intend to learn from Chanukah to sacrifice, it

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should also include thinking about others, how we can help them and what we can learn from them. Is there someone servicing us who deserves our hakaras hatov? Do guests use the opportunity to reciprocate to their hosts and others to spread the goodness that is being extended to them? How can we thank and praise our rabbis for all that they do? Let’s use mesiras nefesh when it comes to bein adam l’chavero. B.R. Flatbush

COMMENTS ON LAST ISSUE Dear Country Yossi, In reference to Rabbi Berel Wein’s article stating that there is an upsurge of anti-Semitism on campus, I would like to suggest that we do what the Jews did in the early 1900s when it was hard to find a job without working on Shabbos. We created our own industries. My grandfather became a shochet and a chazzan. Others opened their own businesses. So too, we need to expand privately-owned universities like Lander/Touro so that Jews can earn their degrees safely. Also, wherever possible, Jews should get accredited online to avoid the nonsense they endure on campus. We need to guide big donors to support our own system. Enough is enough. On another note, Rabbi Weiss wrote about the lessons of Chanukah, asking us to strengthen mesiras nefesh in our lives as the Chashmonaim,

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THE PERFECT TREATMENT Dear Country Yossi, An Engineer was unemployed for a long time. He could not find a job so he opened a medical clinic and put up a sign outside: “Get your treatment for $500. If not treated get back $1,000.” One Doctor thought this was a good opportunity to earn $1,000, so he went to the clinic. Doctor: “I have lost taste in my mouth.” Engineer: “Nurse, please bring

medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in the patient’s mouth.” Doctor: “This is Gasoline!” Engineer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your taste back. That will be $500.” The Doctor got annoyed and went back a couple of days later to recover his money. Doctor: “I have lost my memory, I cannot remember anything.” Engineer: “Nurse, please bring medicine from box 22 and put 3 drops in the patient’s mouth.”

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Doctor: “But that’s Gasoline!” Engineer: “Congratulations! You’ve got your memory back. That will be $500.” The Doctor left angrily and came back after several more days. Doctor: “My eyesight has become weak.” Engineer: “Well, I don’t have any medicine for that. Take this $1,000.” Doctor: “But this is $500!” Engineer: “Congratulations! You got your vision back! That will be $500.” N.P. Boro Park

A DISSENTING OPINION Dear Country Yossi, I disagree with Dear Bubby about some issues she raised in the last two publications. Firstly, in the September issue, Summer Blues was trying unsuccessfully to get herself invited to a family member’s bungalow for weekends or a few days. The complaint was that hachnossas orchim was missing, and bubby said that the host knows how much she can handle and inviting the family member was probably beyond her ability. I say you never know until you try. Invite your family member and see how it works out. We need to be prepared to leave our comfort zone for others, especially when they specifically ask for something. Even when it comes to giving loans, we need to lend when asked. It is an aveira to refuse if we can afford it, unless we have good reason to suspect that they do not intend to return it. In the Chanukah issue the topic was over-spending on Chanukah gifts. Bubby said to negotiate the price in order to make it affordable for everyone. I say gifts should be given to tzedakah in lieu of a more costly gift. This should be done for mishloach manos too, as people have started doing recently. With all the money we waste on chatchkes and nosh we could be helping people pay their electric bills. What has it all come to? This is true for restaurants as well. I pass by these places and see them packed with people feasting on steaks and I think, if half of these people ate home instead, thousands of dollars could be redirect-

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ed to tzedakah! We constantly need to bear in mind that our money does not belong to us. Hashem gives it to us to use for our needs and the rest we need to give back to Him and His children. When we do so, our bank in olam haba becomes full. J.G. Flatbush

GETTING CLOSER TO MY KIDS Dear Country Yossi, In the September issue of Country Yossi the column by Sheri Toiv was very educational. She spoke about something that I wish I read when my kids were growing up. The title “Helping Our Kids Succeed This Year” explains how we, as parents, can open up communication lines with our children. She goes on to explain how we can help develop our kids’ emotional intelligence, so that they will be healthy, successful, happy and avoid risk behaviors. The way to do it starts from when the child arrives home from school. How do we talk to them about their day? A simple ‘How was your day’ usually gets a simple response fine. Conversation over. Instead Sheri says we need to ask specific questions to draw out details of their day. For instance, what was the best part of your day? How about the worst? What made you laugh today? Who did you sit with at lunch? What did you do at recess or gym? Tell me something interesting that you learned, or something boring. What was the most powerful lesson you learned? What was challenging to any of your friends or classmates? I recommend that all parents should read this article for their children’s benefit. I may have messed up with my own kids; maybe I can rebound with my grandkids. Maybe. I also want to note that I haven’t seen Heshy Walfish’s column recently, and I’m wondering if he is ok. I like his style of writing about life in our world. We go way back to the 70’s when he played concerts in Brooklyn College. He had a great sound, it was very entertaining. I’m still waiting for a Shteeble Hopper concert where I can hear live renditions of my favorites songs Continued on Page 51

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O P I N I O N

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE BY RABBI BEREL WEIN

recently was on a tour of the Galilee region here in Israel. The tour stopped for a visit in the town of Rosh Pina. Because of cars parked on both sides of the street, the bus was unable to negotiate and bring us to the top of the hill where the walking tour would begin. Since I had visited Rosh Pina a number of times previously, I decided that I would remain on the bus instead of climbing all the way up the hill. However when the bus driver parked the bus all the way down the hill, he sweetly informed me that I could not stay on the bus and that he was going to lock it up and go to the synagogue for the afternoon prayer service. Not realizing where the synagogue really was, I volunteered to accompany him since I also wanted to participate in the prayer services. The bus driver led me through a wooded area, which opened up to an enormously high and steep staircase. At the top of the staircase stood the synagogue, which was our goal. The bus driver, who appeared to be approximately half my age and only two thirds of my bulk, started walking up that staircase in a brisk manner. As I later determined, the staircase had one hundred twenty five steps before it reached the street level of the synagogue and it did not have a handrail or banister on either side. Now a wise person would just sit down on the bottom step of the staircase and wait until the bus driver returned and opened the bus again. However, I felt challenged and so I began to ascend that staircase. After climbing about sixty steps, winded and amazed at my own stupidity, I stopped to con-

template the situation. It was just as dangerous for me to go down, as it was strenuous for me to go up the rest of the way. I was literally stuck in the middle. Standing precariously on the narrow step, I rested to catch my breath and decide what to do. Since I was climbing the staircase for the sole purpose of participating with a quorum in the afternoon prayer services, I brazenly assumed that Hashem would help me climb the remaining half of the staircase and so I proceeded to walk up the steps to the top. I must admit that after the climb I prayed with some fervor, thankful that somehow I had made it to the top of the staircase and that my vital organs still seemed to be working properly. Taking a far safer route down to the bus when the prayer service ended made me think of the dilemma that faces all of us at one time or another in our ordinary lives. We are often in a situation where we are stuck in the middle - where it is too difficult or impossible to extricate ourselves from where we are and yet

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we dread having to pursue the matter to its apparent outcome. The uncertainty as to whether to proceed or withdraw, to climb or to descend, is a very uncomfortable feeling. This is pretty much the situation in which Israel finds itself today regarding its relationship to the West Bank and to the Palestinians. Should we continue to build in those areas and contemplate annexing them to Israel itself or should we consider withdrawing further, both territorially and ideologically. This issue is now the heart of the debate that consumes much of governmental and civilian thought here in Israel. We are stuck in the middle and there seemingly are no good choices or avenues of escape that can prove satisfactory and positive in the long run. Our experiences with Gaza and Lebanon have made us very wary of abandoning the territory or settlements unilaterally. It seems that any move that Israel would make would endanger its short-term and certainly longterm security. Yet, in the face of worldwide opposition, even from those countries that claim to be friends of Israel, annexation of territories that are in dispute would bring about enormous diplomatic disapproval and other dire consequences. Once the Oslo agreements placed us on this slippery slope more than two decades ago, we constantly find ourselves to be in this position. Perhaps we have no other choice but to just stand on that middle step and wait and see what may yet develop in this very volatile part of the world. But it certainly is no fun to be stuck in the middle.

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O P I N I O N

DEPORTATION VEXATION BY RABBI AVI SHAFRAN

y wife and I don’t employ an undocumented housekeeper - or a documented one, for that matter. But we recently met someone in the former category. “Leah” greeted my wife and me as we arrived at the home of some friends who had invited us for a Shabbos seudah. Our hosts had not yet returned from the shul where they daven, and so I retired to the living room, and my wife went to the kitchen and spoke a bit with Leah, who had immigrated from south of the border. It turns out that Leah loves working for our friends, and considers them among the nicest people she’s ever met. We weren’t surprised. We have good taste in friends. It turns out, too, that she lives in fear of deportation, now that the administration is engaged in a crackdown on “illegal immigrants.” On February 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began carrying out “fugitive enforcement operations.” According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 680 people were arrested in five cities that week. It wouldn’t seem, though, at least at first glance, that Leah really has much to fear. The crackdown is aimed at criminal elements, and she, other than having immigrated unlawfully, is a law-abiding person. In the words of President Trump’s recent tweet, “Gang members, drug dealers and others are being removed!” Not housekeepers. Or gardeners, like the ones the president referred to in 2013 when, according to someone present, he told a group of young people born to undocumented workers: “You know, the

truth is I have a lot of illegals working for me in Miami… my golf course is tended by all these Hispanics - if it wasn’t for them my lawn wouldn’t be the lawn it is; it’s the best lawn.” In fact, going after undocumented criminals was precisely the policy of the previous administration, which deported no less than 409,849 people in 2012. In 2015, The ICE, in “Operation Cross Check,” arrested more than 2,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal records in one week. And even when the Obama administration shifted its enforcement priorities so that the vast majority of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants would not be subject to immediate deportation, it still went after convicted criminals, terrorism threats and recent immigrants with gusto. So what, if anything, has changed? Well, the language, for starters. Mr. Trump called the crackdown “a military operation,” though that description was walked back by White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who explained that the president had been speaking descriptively, not literally. But there is, in fact, a larger pool now of potential deportees, more people deemed enforcement “priorities.” An undocumented immigrant needn’t have been convicted of a crime to be deported. He or she can simply be charged with a crime, or deemed to have committed an act that an immigration agent considers, on his own, a deportable offense. What’s more, for the first time, ICE policy now allows the arrest of undocumented immigrants who have only immigration violations on their record, if they happen

to be discovered in the course of law enforcement actions. That, it seems, is what Leah was frightened of. While stories of ICE personnel conducting random “raids” in various public places, and their supposed plans to arrest people on their way to worship have been decisively debunked, she had heard of undocumented people with traffic misdemeanors being arrested. Leah might take heart in the president’s apparent shift on DACA, former President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows “dreamers,” people who illegally immigrated as children, to remain in the U.S. and work. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump vowed to “immediately terminate” the program. But - deeply angering some of his more anti-immigrant supporters - he has since softened his tone, calling most of the roughly 840,000 immigrants “incredible kids” and the topic of their status “one of the most difficult subjects I have.” And while he weighs the issue of “dreamers,” and lawmakers of both parties in Congress are trying to devise legislation to carve out a special status for them, the administration is still issuing work permits to undocumented people under the DACA program. That is an encouraging sign, at least to those of us who feel concern for young people brought over to the U.S. as children, and for all immigrants like Leah, who are only seeking better lives for themselves and their families. We Jews, both inherently and in light of our own recent history, should have a special appreciation of their hopes to one day become fullfledged American citizens.

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SOUND OFF

TODAY ’S GOLDEN CALF BY RABBI BEREL WEIN

ne of the most important, albeit only subtly presented, messages in a recent Torah reading is that of the enormous influence that current culture fads and beliefs have upon the society of its time. I do not believe that there is any other way for us to review the events of the creation and the worship of the Golden Calf by the Jewish people. Amazing in its brazenness and brainlessness, a people witness to a plethora of miracles and G-dly reve-

lation itself, in a moment of crisis, reverts back to paganism and idolatry. The whole idea of worshiping images and statues as though they had life and powers is completely foreign to our society. It is not part of our current culture and by simply applying basic logic, we are able to see it for the empty falsehood that it is. However, were we to live in a culture of paganism and idolatry as did our ancestors when they left Egypt there is no doubt that the Golden Calf could and would speak to us and enlist

our thoughtful consideration, if not even our allegiance. The Talmud tells us that Menashe, a king of Judah in First Temple times, when in a dream, was questioned by a leading rabbi who lived many centuries after the death of the king as to how he could believe and worship statues and idols responded: “Had you lived in my generation you also would have raised your garment in order to run more quickly to worship those statues and idols.” Menashe was a creature of his times and a captive of its prevailing culture. The rabbi who questioned him had other cultural challenges but could no longer relate to the culture that prevailed when Menashe was the king of Judah. We see many cultural battles on challenges that are present in today’s current Jewish world. These cultural battles raise passionate feelings on both sides of the questions that they raise. Nevertheless, I feel that even a few generations from now our descendants will look back at these cultural challenges and battles in amazement and wonder. They will say about us what we say about the generation that created the Golden Calf -”How could they have been so wrong?” The answer to that lies in the recognition of the enormous influence that the prevailing culture plays in our lives and thoughts. The culture of liberalism, tolerance for wickedness and basically immoral behavior has so corroded our judgment and our view of the purpose of our lives that we see everything through a distorted mirror. Jewish survival, moral growth and the preservation of the Jewish people and the Jewish State are the actions that should dominate our thoughts and behavior. Passing fads, which so occupy our current media, will be obsolete as we move on to newer fads and a different type of culture. The Torah attempted and attempts to raise us above temporary, passing fads. Only a traditional lifestyle based on Jewish core values and Torah principles will save us from the mockery of later generations.

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SOUND OFF

Shmutz

iS not torah Law By marvin Schick

hen I was a lad in Borough Park eons ago, it struck me as odd that some of the siddurim in the shul where I davened included a tefila for the health of the Czar. He certainly was no friend of the Jews and so I wondered why we were praying for his health. Not many years later, after the State of Israel was established, King Abdullah of Jordan visited the United

States and a group of yeshiva students, me not included, went to Rav Moshe Feinstein to ask whether while they were picketing him, they were also required to make the blessing recited upon seeing a Gentile king, “Who has given of his Glory to human beings.” In all candor, I do not recall Rav Moshe’s response. These were essentially abstract situations, not directly affecting our lives. In the years since, elections have

come and gone and although there often was disagreement within our community over which party or candidate deserved support, there was little emotion on either side of the issue, the general view being that each person was entitled to make his or her choice. Donald J. Trump has now been president for nineteen days. Prior to the election, his mode of operation was to denigrate people, whether they were crippled or had been prisoners of war or just plain political adversaries. Schmutz was his forte. In word, thought and deed he was enveloped in what clearly is antithetical to the norms that guide our religious life. After the election, there was a continuation of a style that dishonored the office that he would soon occupy. Yet, there was the hope, in retrospect probably naïve, that when he became president there would be a change. There hasn’t been a change. Schmutz continues to be his modus operandi. He has done nothing to unite the country and just about everything that he could to further divide the country. It is as if vulgarity is as much part of him as is the skin that encases his body. This reality is America’s problem. We have to hope and pray that the processes of checks and balances and other instrumentalities of this great democracy will somehow offset the damage that is being done. There is a more parochial arena of damage that especially concerns me. It is the support, indeed the enthusiastic support, that he is receiving from Orthodox Jews. There are Torah leaders who have proclaimed that Daas Torah mandates support of Mr. Trump. Doubtlessly because I am not a Torah scholar, it escapes me how our religion might mandate approval of a person whose behavior includes abuse, lying, cheating and so much else that should be repugnant to us. And so, although I have attempted to be obedient to Torah authority for two-thirds of a century, I write here that there is no Torah law that sanctions Donald Trump’s behavior and there certainly is no Torah law that mandates our approval of his behavior.

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Inspiration 1. Prayer is not a “spare wheel” that you pull out when in trouble, but a “steering wheel” that directs the right path throughout. 2. So why is a car’s windshield so large and the rearview mirror so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, look ahead and move on. 3. Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes years to write and just a few seconds to burn. 4. All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don’t worry, they can’t last long either. 5. Old friends are gold. New friends are diamond. If you get a diamond, don’t forget the gold. Because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold. 6. Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, G-d smiles from above and says, “Relax, it’s just a bend, not the end!” 7. When G-d solves your problems, YOU have faith in HIS abilities; when Gd doesn’t solve your problems HE has faith in YOUR abilities. 8. A blind person once asked: “Can there be anything worse than losing your eyesight?” The answer is: “Yes, losing your vision!” 9. When you pray for others, G-d listens to you and blesses them. So sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you. 10. WORRYING does not take away tomorrow’s troubles; it takes away today’s peace.

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T O R A H

The Haggadah on Many Levels by Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss

he annual holy narrative of the Pesach Seder is a multi-faceted experience with which we should familiarize ourselves so that we can get the most out of this rarified opportunity. The Haggadah makes a sweeping statement, “V’afilu kulonu chachamim, kulonu nevonim, kulonu zekeinim, kulonu yodim es haTorah, mitzva alenu l’saper b’yetzias Mitzrayim” - Even if we were all wise, all people of understanding, all elderly, veterans of this experience, and all knowledgeable of the Torah, it is still a commandment to tell the story of the Exodus. This obviously begs the question: If we all know why the paragraph of Ha Lachma Anya is in Aramaic, and what is the answer to the Four Questions, and what does V’Hi She’amda stand for, and there are only oldsters at the seder so there are no

youngsters to introduce its ideas to, why do we have to rehash it again? The answers to this question shed light on the different angles of the seder experience. The Rambam and the Ritva explain that the Haggadah is really a Shir of Hodaah, a Song of Thanks to Hashem. After all, Pesach is the anniversary of the Jewish people and as we express, if we weren’t taken out then we would still be a lowly Semitic people until this day. On this level, the Haggadah is not an experience of intellectual prowess nor an educational opportunity, but rather an eloquent chance to say thank you together with our loved ones to Hashem for the fact that He chose us for His nation and gave us His wonderful mitzvos. This explains why Ashkenazim wear the kittel, a garment usually reserved for prayer, during the seder. It also ex-

plains why the Haggadah is said over the second cup of wine, for song is said over a goblet of wine as it says, “Kos yeshuas esa uv’Sheim Hashem ekra” - The cup of salvation I raise and in the name of Hashem I call out. Likewise, certain Chasidic groups even wear a tallis during the seder. A completely different element of the seder narrative is that it is an integral component of the mitzvah of matzah. For the matzah is called lechem oni, which literally means ‘poor man’s bread.’ It is for this reason that at the announcement of “Yachatz!” we break the matzah, for a poor man usually has only a piece and saves some of that for later. But, the Gemora also informs us that lechem oni has another meaning: “Lechem she’onin alov devorim harbeh” - Bread upon which we answer many questions. Thus, in order for the matzah to be complete, we have to have a question and answer session about the Exodus.

Start the cycle of Mishna Yomis with Rabbi Weiss by dialing 718.906.6471. Or you can listen to his daily Shiur on Orchos Chaim l’HaRosh by dialing 718.906.6400, then going to selection 4 for Mussar, and then to selection 4. Both are FREE services. Rabbi Weiss is currently stepping up his speaking engagements. To bring him to your community, call 718.916.3100 or email RMMWSI@aol.com. To receive a weekly cassette tape or CD directly from Rabbi Weiss, please send a check to Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, P.O. Box 140726, Staten Island, NY 10314 or contact him at RMMWSI@aol.com. Now back in print is a large size paperback edition of Power Bentching. To order call him at 718-916-3100 or email at above. Attend Rabbi Weiss’s weekly shiur at the Landau Shul, Avenue L and East 9th in Flatbush, Tuesday nights at 9:30 p.m. Rabbi Weiss’s Daf Yomi and Mishnah Yomis shiurim can be heard LIVE on KolHaloshon at (718) 906-6400. Write to KolHaloshon@gmail.com for details. They can now also be seen on TorahAnyTime.com. Certain short lectures can now be seen on Rav Weiss’ Facebook page. As Rav Weiss gives thousands of his lectures for free please sponsor a shiur for 300$. Mail to Rav Weiss P.O. Box 140726 Staten Island, N.Y. 10314

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Yet, another facet of the telling of the Exodus is to aid in the fulfillment of the unique mitzvah of the seder night, “Chiyov odom liros es atzmo k’ilu hu yotza m’Mitzrayim,” that one is required on the night of the seder to use one’s imagination to mentally visualize as if they were now actually leaving Egypt. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why we drink the four cups of wine (except, of course, for those who cannot do so because of health issues) for the slight intoxicating effect of the alcohol helps us to achieve this artificial sense of newfound freedom. And, in order to help us experience this imaginative rescue, we must say the narrative of the Exodus, although we are familiar with it, to help us relive the experience once again. Another important element of the Haggadah experience is to further accomplish the goal of taking what we know intellectually and making it a part of our very instinctive behavior and our very being. This is the aim of what we say in Aleinu, “V’yodata hayom v’hasheivosa el levovecha” - You should know today and bring it to your heart. Such lessons, like Yaakov insisting on always remaining a visitor in Egypt, which we know intellectually is the correct behavior, we review from year to year in order to remind ourselves that we too are only visitors in America. And, although we know this intellectually, to make it a part of our very persona we need to repeat it from year to year. As the Baalei Mussar have taught us, the way to make something a natural part of you is to review the idea over and over again, for constant repetition helps to get a theme into our very bones. Continued on Page 83

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T O R A H Pynchas Brener is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Caracas, Venezuela, since 1967. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva University and his Master’s degree from Columbia University, and is a PhD honoris causa of Bar Ilan University. He has an internet project and a website: www.pynchasbrener.com.

SLAVES, WOMEN AND CHILDREN

ho are the main characters of the Pesach story? We start the Haggadah by proclaiming “Avadim hayinu,” we were slaves. It is as if we want to emphasize our slave origins. We do not hide our beginnings, and the central message then is an unequivocal denial of the right of one people to enslave another. Man has innate dignity because he was created Betselem Elokim, in the “Image of G-d.” So that the entire notion of slavery of a human being is a nonstarter, for even the least intelligent or capable of us is heir to “Vayipach beapav ruach chayim,” we are descendants of the first human being in whose nostrils the Creator infused the spirit of life. Our rabbis explain that this means we were given the ability to speak, to create mental constructs of reality. But mostly it reflects G-d’s sharing with man from His own Self, of His own Being. The second character of the Pesach narrative is made up of women. From the very first moment when the Pharaoh decrees that the male children be destroyed at birth, we read that the meyaldot haivriyot, the Hebrew midwives do not obey Pharaoh’s edict. They are Yocheved and Miryam, wife and daughter of Amram of the tribe of Levi, according to Jewish tradition. It is somewhat bewildering to think that they had the courage to disobey the express orders of the monarch of Egypt. Would men have dared do the same? Who knows!

Why didn’t the Pharaoh choose Egyptian women to be the midwives for the Jews? This is what oppressors do many a time; they choose kapos from the Jewish population as the Germans did in the camps. The oppressed must be made to feel that their lot is just and proper, because their own people participate in the cruelty. As if to prove that for some reason they merit the inhuman treatment they receive. When the new edict was given that all the male born children had to be drowned in the Nile, Amram decides to separate from his wife Yocheved. He does not want to sire a child whose life must be extinguished. Our Rabbis point out that Miryam comes before her father with an argument demonstrating that he is even harsher than the Pharaoh. While Pharaoh wanted to destroy the male babies, Amram was condemning the baby girls as well. Again we see the importance of the role of a woman: Miryam, this time. Because of her reasoning, Amram decides to reunite with Yocheved who then gives birth to Moshe. But that is not all. Yocheved disobeys Pharaoh’s edict and places the baby in a basket and lets it float in the Nile. Another woman, Betya or Batya, the daughter of the Pharaoh, rescues the baby, recognizes that he must be one, the Hebrew newborn, and gives him the name Moshe, a faculty usually reserved for the biological mother. Batya directly challenges her own father!

But that is not all. Miryam, who was observing from a distance to see what will be the fate of the child, comes forth and suggests to Batya that she can find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child and that will be none other than Yocheved. What is the meaning of the name Batya? This story is told in the Book of Exodus, “Shemot” in Hebrew, a part of the Torah that by its very nomenclature emphasizes the importance of names which in Jewish tradition are not accidental. A name points to the essence of the individual, maybe it refers to the mission the person must fulfill in this world. This is our belief. Batya means “daughter of G-d.” Her name is mentioned in Divrei Hayamim, the last part of Tanach. A non-Jewish woman, daughter of a despot who enslaved our people, is selected for this distinction! My revered late teacher Harav Joseph B. Soloveitchik z’tl, was of the opinion that women were the leaders while Jewish people were enslaved in Egypt and only later on, Moshe assumed that role. And let us not forget that Moshe was saved by women. The leadership had been passed on from Amram, who was a Levi, to the women in his family. The third category of Pesach characters are children. The entire purpose of the Hagadah is “Vehigadeta,” tell the story of the Jewish people to the children. Vehigadeta is a mitzvah in the Torah, in addition to korban, matzah and maror. While matzah and maror can be fulfilled by mere eating, a physical act, vehigadeta is verbal, it requires understanding, comprehension, the transmission of story and sentiment. Vehigadeta can only be fulfilled by a being that received ruach chayim. The late champion of the Holocaust, who more than anyone did not permit the world to forget, or try to erase the memory of that period of inhumanity, Elie Wiesel, remarked on one occasion that the Pharaoh had focused his ire and cruelty especially on the young. Everything the Egyptians did had the purpose of interrupting the continuity of the Jewish people. The Pharaoh declared a war on the Jewish children. Therefore, the children are the heroes of the Seder night, they play the most important role Continued on Page 83

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T O R A H

HA LACHMA ANYA ITS MEANING AND PURPOSE

ince early childhood we were taught that Ha Lachma Anya (“Ha Lachma”) was an invitation to the poor and hungry to join us at our Seder table. But if that were true, then the invitation is a cruel hoax. Inviting someone to join our table when we are about to begin is more than a bit too late. People issue Seder invitations usually, at the latest, by Purim time - a month before. Moreover, in the time when we sacrificed the Pascal Offering when the Temple stood, the offering had to be eaten L’minnuyav, for a predesignated number of participants chosen in advance. Lastly, when we invite to the Seder we open the door (and some even the windows) as we do later when we beseech Elijah to come join us. Then there is the problem of language. The Seder is written in pure Mishnaic Hebrew (as taken from the tenth chapter, Arvai Pesachim, of the Passover Tractate), while Ha Lachma

is Aramaic. (And it is the only portion in the whole original Seder service, which is. Note that Nirtzah was a very late addition to the Seder and Chad Gadyah, the only other Aramaic portion, is itself a late addition to Nirtzah). Additional difficulties arise from the fact that the terms “Dichfin” and “Ditzrich” are technical legal terms having specific meanings - none of which involve the poor. According to the Bais HaLevi, a “Ditzrich” is one who is not yet satiated and therefore cannot partake of the Pascal Offering until he becomes such. A “Dichfin” is one who is hungry, which is the state one must be in to eat the first required Matzot. According to this writer, the term “Avdah” is a specific designation created by Judah Halevi in Dialogue 24 of Book II of The Kuzari, as we shall note below as referring to Babylonian Jewry in the era after the destruction of the First Temple. And what does all this have to do with the Passover Seder?

According to this writer there is only one way to resolve these various difficulties, and that is to say that the theme of Ha Lachma derives from the verse in Lamentations (1,3) as interpreted by the Midrash. “Gulsa Yehuda M’Onyee.” Judah was exiled because of “Onyee.” And Onyee refers to Lechem Onyee as in Matzah, the bread of affliction. Meaning the people of Judeah sinned because they did not eat Matzah as required on Pesach, but instead ate Chametz on Pesach in violation of the biblical prohibition. Ha Lachma is thus the lamentation of the Jews of Babylon exiled there in the destruction of the First Temple. They are the first generation since the entry by Joshua and the Israelites into Cannan not to offer the Passover sacrifice. And they further lament that when offered the chance to return to Zion they failed to do so because, as Judah Halevi argues, they were “Avdah” - slaves to their creature comforts in Babylon. (O king of the Kazars how my children sinned when offered the chance to return to Zion in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah they declined to return preferring to continue to live the luxurious lives they were living in Babylon. And only 24,000 consisting mainly of the poor, the ignorant and untutored, the non-learned and non-elites returned. It is for this specific reason, claims Halevi, that the Holy Spirit never resided in the Second Temple.) Babylonian Jewry committed two sins, while in Israel they violated the Passover, and after exile they refused to return, all as recounted in the holiday Musaf service. For our sins we were exiled from our land and then in addition we transgressed by distancing ourselves from it - constituting our second sin. The situation is documented in Ha Lachma. “Hashata Avdah” - here in Babylon we were now slaves to our creature comforts, our hope that next year we shall be free and complete Jews sacrificing the Pascal Offering in Jerusalem our holy city.

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Shmooze… Continued from Page 29 like “The Wedding’s Over,” “Shabbos Wine,” “It’s Gonna Be the Kinderlach,” “My Yetzer Hara” and others. Good music has a way of awakening the neshama and getting us to righteously wait for Moshiach to come. May it be soon in our days. Anonymous

REMEMBERING CHAIM “LOBO” SILBER A’H Dear Country Yossi, The levaya of Chaim “Lobo” Silber took place on Thursday morning, March 2. I sat and wept along with hundreds of others, a sea of people, whose lives this great man touched. He was a precious gift, whom Hashem gave us for 70 years. The depth of sadness is beyond description. Chaim a’h was a man whose life was filled with countless acts of chesed that knew no bounds. A man of integrity and dignity, filled with kindness and love for his family, friends, and all humankind. Chaim a’h had a heart of gold. A genuine, beautiful smile that would light up a room. He was strong, yet so sensitive and understanding. A Gentle Giant. Bigger than life. He was witty, and filled with wisdom. Chaim knew when he had to be tough, and when to be soft. He was a lifeline for thousands. There will be a deep chasm, a painful void, for myself, my husband who worked for Chaim for most of his working years, for my family, and for all who were blessed to have Chaim a’h in their lives. Let’s hope that moving forward, we will learn from and follow his stellar example of being there in any way we can for each other. What a wonderful and more beautiful world this would be, for us and for generations to come. It’s unbearably hard to imagine the world without him. We pray that dear, special Chaim a’h will watch over us all, just as he did in life. I will always remember him with abundant admiration and respect, for the amazing man he was. He is sorely missed. May he be a melitz yosher for us all. Y’hei Zichro Baruch. Esther Mochan Kew Gardens Hills, New York

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T O R A H

THE MISSING FIFTH BY RABBI JONATHAN SACKS

any commentators, among them the Vilna Gaon, have drawn attention to the influence of the number four in connection with the Haggadah. There are four fours: The four questions The four sons The four cups of wine The four expressions of redemption: ‘I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from their slavery. I will deliver you with a demonstration of My power and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to Me as a nation.’ (Ex.6: 6-7). It may be, though, that just as an X-ray can reveal an earlier painting beneath the surface of a later one, so beneath the surface of the Haggadah there is another pattern to be discerned. That is what I want to suggest in this chapter. The first thing to note is that there is, in fact, another ‘four’ on the seder night, namely the four biblical verses whose exposition forms an important part of the Haggadah: ‘An Aramean tried to destroy my father.’ ‘And the Egyptians ill-treated us and afflicted us.’ ‘And we cried to the Lord, the Gd of our fathers.’ ‘And the Lord brought us out of Egypt.’ (Deut. 26:5-8) There are, then, not four fours, but five. In early editions of the Talmud tractate Pesachim (118a) there is a passage that perplexed the medieval commentators. It reads: ‘Rabbi Tarfon says, ‘Over the fifth cup we recite the

great Hallel.’ The medieval commentators were puzzled by this because elsewhere the rabbinic literature speaks about four cups, not five. The Mishnah, for example, states that a poor person must be supplied with enough money to be able to buy four cups of wine. In both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds the discussion revolves around the assumption that there are four cups on seder night. How then are we to understand the statement of Rabbi Tarfon that there is a fifth cup? Among the commentators three views emerged. The first was that of Rashi and the Tosafists. According to them, there are only four cups on the seder night, and it is forbidden to drink a fifth. The statement of Rabbi Tarfon must therefore be a misprint, and the texts of the Talmud should be amended accordingly. The second was that of Maimonides. He holds that there is a fifth cup, but unlike the other four, it is optional rather than obligatory. The Mishnah which teaches that a poor person must be given enough money to buy four cupfuls of wine means that we must ensure that he has the opportunity to fulfil his obligation. It does not extend to the fifth cup which is permitted but not compulsory. Rabbi Tarfon’s statement is to be understood to mean that those who wish to drink a fifth cup should do so during the recitation of the great Hallel. The third view, that of Ravad of Posquiäres, a contemporary of Maimonides, is that one should drink a fifth cup. There is a difference in Jewish law between an obligation, hovah, and a religiously significant good deed, mitzvah. The first four cups are

obligatory. The fifth is a mitzvah, meaning, not obligatory but still praiseworthy and not merely, as Maimondes taught, optional. Thus there was a controversy over the fifth cup. Rashi said that we should not drink it; Maimonides that we may; Ravad that we should. What does one do, faced with this kind of disagreement? Jewish law tries wherever possible to propose a solution that pays respect to all views, especially when they are held by great halachic authorities. The solution in the present case was simple. A fifth cup is poured (out of respect for Ravad and Maimonides) but not drunk (out of respect for Rashi). When a disagreement occurs in the Talmud which is not resolved, the sages often used the word Teyku, ‘Let it stand.’ We believe that such disagreements will be resolved in the time to come when Eliyahu Hanavi arrives to announce the coming of Mashiach. One of his roles will be to rule on unresolved halachic controversies. An allusion to this is to be found in the word Teyku itself, which was read as an abbreviation of Tishbi Yetaretz Kushyot Ve’ibbayot, ‘The Tishbite, Eliyahu, will answer questions and difficulties.’ This therefore is the history behind ‘the cup of Eliyahu’ - the cup we fill after the meal but do not drink. It represents the ‘fifth cup’ mentioned in the Talmud. According to the Jerusalem Talmud, the reason we have four cups of wine is because of the four expressions of redemption in G-d’s promise to Moshe Rabbeinu. How then could Rabbi Tarfon suggest that there are not four cups but five? The fascinating fact is that if we look at the biblical passage

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there are not four expressions of redemption but five. The passage continues: ‘And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Avraham, to Yitzchok and to Yakov. I will give it to you as a possession. I am Hashem.’ (Exodus 6: 8) There is a further missing fifth. As mentioned above, during the course of reciting the Haggadah we expound four biblical verses, beginning with, ‘An Aramean tried to destroy my father.’ In biblical times, this was the declaration made by someone bringing first-fruits to Jerusalem. However, if we turn to the source we discover that there is a fifth verse to this passage: ‘He brought us to this place (the land of Israel) and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey’ (Deuteronomy. 26: 9). We do not recite or expound this verse at the seder table. But this is strange since the Mishnah states explicitly, ‘And one must expound the passage beginning, “An Aramean tried to destroy my father” until one has completed the whole passage.’ In fact we do not complete the whole passage, despite the Mishnah’s instruction. So there are three ‘missing fifths’ - the fifth cup, the fifth expression of redemption, and the fifth verse. It is also clear why. All three refer to Hashem not merely bringing the Jewish people out of Egypt but also bringing them into the land of Israel. The Haggadah as we now have it and as it evolved in rabbinic times is, in Maimonides’ words, ‘the Haggadah as practiced in the time of exile,’ meaning, during the period of the Dispersion. The missing fifth represented the missing element in redemption. How could Jews celebrate arriving in the land of Israel when they were in exile? How could they drink the last cup of redemption when they had said at the beginning of the seder, ‘This year slaves, next year free; this year here, next year in the land of Israel?’ The fifth cup - poured but not drunk - was like the cup broken at Jewish weddings. It was a symbol of incompletion. It meant that as long as Jews were dispersed throughout the world, facing persecution and danger, they could not yet celebrate to the full. One great sage of the twentieth

century, the late Rabbi Menahem Kasher, argued that now that there is a State of Israel, many exiles have been ingathered and Jews have recovered their sovereignty and land, the fifth cup should be re-instated. That remains for the halachic authorities to decide. What, though, of the four questions and the four sons? There was a fifth question. The Mishnah states that a child should ask: ‘On all other nights we eat meat that is cooked, boiled or roasted; but this night only roasted meat.’ This text can still be found in the early manuscripts of the Haggadah discovered in the Cairo genizah. It refers to the time when the Temple stood and the food eaten at the seder night included the paschal offering, which was roasted. After the Temple was destroyed and the practice of eating a paschal lamb was discontinued, this question was dropped and another (about reclining) substituted. Was there a fifth child? The late Lubavitcher Rebbe suggested that there is a fifth child on Pesach. The four children of the Haggadah are all present, sitting round the table. The fifth child is the one who is not there, the child lost through out-marriage and assimilation. Rabbinic tradition tells us that in Egypt, many Jews assimilated and did not want to leave. The Torah uses a phrase to describe the Israelites’ departure from Egypt, “Vachamushim alu bnei Yisrael miMitzrayim” (Exodus 13: 18). This is normally translated as ‘The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.’ However Rashi, citing earlier authorities, suggests that hamush may not mean ‘armed.’ Instead it may be

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related to the word hamesh, ‘five.’ The sentence could therefore be translated as, ‘Only a fifth of the Israelites left Egypt.’ The rest, he explains, perished in the plague of darkness. The plague itself was less an affliction of the Egyptians than a way of covering the shame of the Israelites, that so many of their number did not want to leave. The loss of Jews through assimilation has been an ongoing tragedy of Jewish history. How do we allude to it on seder night? By silence: the fifth child - the one who is not there. So beneath the surface of the Haggadah we find, not four fours, but five fives. In each case there is a missing fifth - a cup, an expression of deliverance, a verse, a question and a child. Each points to something incomplete in our present situation. In the halfcentury since the Holocaust the Jewish people has emerged from darkness to light. The State of Israel has come into being. The Hebrew language has been reborn. Jews have been brought to safety from the countries where they faced persecution. In the liberal democracies of the West, Jews have gained freedom, and even prominence and affluence. But Israel is not yet at peace. In the Diaspora assimilation continues apace. Many Jews are estranged from their people and their faith. Something is missing from our celebration - the fifth cup, the fifth deliverance, the fifth verse, the fifth question and the fifth child. That is a measure of what is still to be achieved. We have not yet reached our destination. The missing fifths remind us of work still to be done, a journey not yet complete.

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T I M E L I N E 4.

AN ECLECT IC COL LECTION OF NEWS ITEMS, FEATURES AND HUMOR WE JUST COULDN’T FIT ANYWHERE ELSE!

ADULT TRUTHS 1. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is. 2. Nothing hurts more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong. 3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger. 4. There is great need for a sarcasm font. 5. Was learning cursive really necessary? 6. Map Quest or Google Maps really need to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. 7. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if

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they told you how the person died. Bad decisions make good stories. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blu-Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection again. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my tenpage technical report that I’m sure I did not make any changes to. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when

they call. 13. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 14. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger. 15. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?

THINGS I’VE LEARNED 1. One of life’s mysteries is how a two pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5lbs. 2. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely. 3. The best way to forget

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10.

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your troubles is to wear tight shoes. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don’t know what you are doing, someone else does. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my pants. Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks two sizes! Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like,’You know, sometimes I forget to eat!’ Now I’ve forgotten my address, my mother’s maiden name and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat! The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing and then they marry him. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That’s my idea of a perfect day!

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE BAGS

ew York City residents are breathing a sigh of relief. We have finally defeated Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Bag Tax. This fight, which we all waged, wasn’t just about this one isolated tax. It’s about a mentality that the city revealed to us. We have a fundamental disagreement with Mayor de Blasio. The Bag Tax resulted from our Mayor’s insistence that the only way to address environmental concerns was to punish New Yorkers with a tax, which he liked to call a fee. The sponsor of the council bill said the fee was meant to “irritate” New Yorkers into changing their behavior. But New Yorkers don’t want to be irritated. In fact, irritating people shouldn’t be the job of government. Government’s mandate is to protect its citizens and improve their quality of life, not to make it harder to get by. Elected officials should be geared towards bettering the lives of their constituents. Reaching into the pockets of everyday people to teach them a lesson is simply unwarranted and unfair. Why are so many New Yorkers angry with our Mayor? The reason I and many of my colleagues hear most often is that they see the Mayor nickel and diming them at every turn. The Bag Tax was one more example of how the City over-fines, over-tickets and over-taxes New Yorkers. The Bag Tax, at its core, is just another way that the city wants to dictate how we live our lives. The truth is that we all pick up positive habits and behaviors from those around us. We don’t need parenting from the city; we need governing. Growing up, my schoolbooks were protected with old newspapers.

Paper wasn’t thrown out until every inch was used. We knew not to waste. We were raised with this understanding. We don’t believe that the Mayor’s office and the City Council should compose a Nanny-ocracy that dictates to New Yorkers about their sugar intake or, of course, when questioned about this type of governance, we can

expect to hear double-talk or, worse, be demonized for asking such questions. In fact, last month at a hearing in Albany the mayor responded to my concerns with answers like “New York must lead the way in protecting the environment” or “Big sodas aren’t good for you.” I agree. What my critics have done is separate us into two camps. There are

people who care about the environment and those who don’t. That is obviously rhetoric used to fuel their cause and polarize us even more. But the simple truth is that we all want to do the right thing. That’s never been the issue. But we should take positive measures to get there. We can give a nickel back to New Yorkers who don’t use a plastic bag. Why doesn’t the City educate people about the environment? Isn’t it time that we begin implementing recycling laws that already exist? Recycling bins should be provided for shoppers. In short, let’s keep it positive. Wouldn’t that make more sense? Ask any number of New Yorkers and they will all tell you the same thing: They are sick of being shaken down by the City. But those same New Yorkers will gladly support positive measures to help. Or we can take the route of the Mayor and the city council. We can continue punishing people, continue “irritating” them continue delivering platitudes about mansion taxes and taxing the 1% while it’s really the 99% who are genuinely impacted by this elitist policy. But that wouldn’t be very fair, would it? Governor Andrew Cuomo signed vital legislation that I introduced and 164 of my colleagues in the Legislature (only 32 disagreed) have voted in favor of, effectively ending the Bag Tax. As a result, the Governor is establishing a statewide Task Force to develop a uniform State plan for addressing plastic bag use. By the end of this year, my colleagues will conclude with a report and proposed legislation. And if I have anything to say about it, our plan will respect you. 55

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P E O P L E

A Special Man, A Special Smile By Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss

hen submitting this obituary to be included in the wonderful Country Yossi Magazine, I realized it already has been printed and electronically circulated to many readers. So I’d like to add a thought exclusive to Country Yossi readers. Chaim Silber was a true gentleman. When thinking about the Talmudic adage “Derech eretz kadma l’Torah” Refined behavior comes before Torah success, Chaim immediately comes to my mind. He was always mindful of the people around him, whether on the golf course, at a wedding or in the arena of business. Our national motto is, “Naseh v’nishma” - We will do and we will listen.” Before we can succeed at a career of Torah listening, we need to behave properly. Chaim was a model of Jewish values and proper behavior! I will attempt to write about my dear friend, Chaim Ben Klonimos Kalman Silber zt”l, zy”a, affectionately known by many simply as LOBO (a nickname adopted by his beloved baseball team in the OBBL up in the Catskills). He outfitted this team every year with caps and sweatshirts and all kinds of other paraphernalia, with the LOBO insignia. One can find these caps and sweatshirts worn by all sorts of people throughout the world. I am reminded of what they used to say about my Rebbe, Rav Moshe Feinstein, and Rav Shach, zt”l, zy”a. When they asked Rav Moshe in what merit he lived long, he answered, “My whole life, I never caused pain to another person.” And when they asked Rav Shach what he attributed his longevity to, he answered that he always bentched from a bentcher. I always wondered about those answers. Both Rav Moshe and Rav Shach spent every waking moment learning Torah. Wouldn’t that be the first reason for their

long life? After all, about the Torah it states “Eitz chaim hi l’machizikim bah” It (Torah) is a tree of life for those who hold on to it.” I believe the explanation is that both Rav Moshe and Rav Shach knew that it would be nigh impossible for the common man to emulate their superhuman diligence, so they gave us something that we can sink our teeth into. Namely, being sensitive to other people’s feelings and bentching correctly.

So too, when talking about Chaim, most of us will not be able to emulate his global charitable accomplishments. The scores of people living today because he involved himself in their organ transplants… The countless widows and other indigents who were his constant concern… The money he gave out on Purim with such a passion… The philanthropic example which he exhibited with such a flourish on such public forums as JM in the AM… And, as Heshy Walfish, his beloved CEO, said at the levaya, these examples are only the tip of the iceberg. These accomplishments are not attainable for most of us. But there is so much more that we can learn from and emulate from this remarkable man. His motto was that whatever you do, perform it in the best way possible. Give it your

all. His personal insistence “L’olam y’hai adam” - Always be a mentsch above all. The dignity and grace which he brought to everything that he did, we should all try to copy. For example, a yeshiva bochur who is not so excited about having to spend time on his English studies. Even so, if he is doing it already, he should give it his all and make sure he behaves with dignity and like a mentsch with his English teachers. Let’s take a page out of Chaim’s book and look for every opportunity to make a Kiddush Hashem. As his brother, Yanky, related at the levaya, when he was at chemo he didn’t wear his customary LOBO cap. When asked about it, he answered that chemo is a special opportunity to make many Kiddush Hashems. People undergoing chemotherapy are understandably irritable, grumpy and moody. He made it a mission to thank his oncologist, talk sweetly to his chemo nurses, and cheer up his fellow patients. When doing this, he wanted to be wearing his black yarmulke so that it can be clear he was a religious Jew and Hashem’s Name would be sanctified over and over. His honesty, integrity and reliability in the arena of the business world and the tzedaka world were a means of Kiddush Hashem on a regular basis. As I said by the levaya, Chaim had many, many friends and he treasured his friendships greatly. He was reminiscent of a Meiri in the first chapter of Pirkei Avos who says, “Let it not be small in your eyes one enemy and let it not be too many a thousand friends.” This has always troubled me since a friend is one of the great treasures of life; so, why does the Hebrew word for a friend, which is spelled reish ayin, share the same meaning as “evil” which is also spelled reish ayin? There are no coincidences in the holy Tongue. I passionately believe the answer is that a good friend remains loyal even in “bad” times. That was Chaim personified. His friendships shone through in tough times. He was the opposite of a fair-weather friend. When times were hard, he was there to accompany a friend to a doctor, to help fill out the forms, and to arrange for a second opinion. If a better insurance was needed, his staff was already working

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on it before he was asked. While we might not be able to emulate this last part, we can sure work on bettering our loyalty to our close ones and widening our circle of friends. In Yiddishkeit, there is premium placed upon getting our priorities right. We are taught that our home comes first. As busy as Chaim always was, his family always came first. When his dear wife, Eva, was ill, everything else was placed on the back burner. And, as it is reported in the Megillah about Mordechai HaTzadik, for five years he daily endangered himself to look by the chatzar bais hanashim, the royal women’s sector, to check out Esther’s welfare. So too, for Chaim, Eva was always his first concern. No matter how busy we are and although there are no accolades, plaques and recognition for what we do behind the closed doors of our home, for the good person, family must always come first. When thinking about what I will miss most about Chaim, it is a tough dilemma. On a personal level, our late night conversations, full of his practical wisdom and infectious humor, are something I will surely miss. But what was really unique and I find myself pining for, was his incredible smile. If you have an internet connection, go to matzav.com they have a picture of Chaim with his magical smile. The Mishna teaches us: “Hevei mekabel kol adam b’seiver panim yafos” - One should greet every person with a meaningful, beautiful countenance. Rav Avigdor Miller, zt”l, zy”a, broke down this Mishnaic advice into three components. ‘B’seiver:’ with thought. Don’t just merely give a robotic Good Shabbos. Put some thought in it. Wish a person, in your mind, to digest the food well, to have a good nap, etc. ‘Panim:’ face the person. Don’t stick out your hand while talking to another person in the other direction. And finally, ‘Yafos:’ make your smile as wide and beautiful as possible. It is said about one of the great baalei mussar that he practiced two years to get his smile right. Anyone who benefited from Chaim’s smile can readily understand how it could take two years to perfect such a smile. It was a knowing smile. An empathetic smile. A profound smile. It remained with you and filled you with warmth long after he left you. It was a smile that let you know he cared about

you, he understood you and you were so dear to him. Upon reflecting on how much I miss this smile, it made me understand a Gemora in the beginning of Berachos which I studied and taught many times but never really understood until now. The Gemora in Berochos (5b) relates that when Reb Elazar took ill, Reb Yochonan went to visit him. Upon seeing that the room was dark, he uncovered his hand. Reb Yochonon was so beautiful that the radiance of his skin illuminated the room. Reb Elazar then started to cry. Reb Yochonon asked him, “Are you crying because in your mind you didn’t study enough Torah? Why, it says it’s not how much you study that counts, but rather if you make the attempt, and you certainly did! Are you crying because you weren’t awarded riches and you are worried that that might show Hashem’s disfavor in you? Not everybody gets to have prosperity in this world. Are you troubled by the suffering of your children? I buried ten children.” Reb Elazar answered, “You misunderstand. I am crying for your beauty, which will one day decompose in the ground.” Reb Yochonon nodded and said, “About this you can surely cry.” And they both cried. It always troubled me that these two great Tzaddikim were crying about the loss of transient physical beauty. The Maharsh”a asks this question. He answers that Reb Yochonon was the last of the beauties of Yerushalayim. So, upon his death another piece of Yerushalayim would be lost. However, I would like to propose another answer. The Gemora in Kesubos (110a) teaches that the very same Reb Yochonon would say “Ul’von shinayim mei’cholov” - Showing the white of your teeth, namely giving a smile, is more important than milk. Now we all know how important milk is. If you don’t have milk in the morning, you have to make omelets or pancakes for the children. If you don’t have milk in the middle of the night, then you better find a 7/11 or CVS where you can buy Similac or Enfamil for the baby. Even so, teaches Reb Yochonon, a smile, especially in the home and wherever you are, is more important and meaningful than a cup of milk or even a brewed latte. Like the smile Reb Yochonon talked about, with his personal beauty and shine, Reb Yochanan was able to impact upon many, to cheer up the downcast and to en-

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ergize his flock. Reb Elazar said, I cry about this smile which will one day disappear in the ground. I too cry over Chaim’s special smile, which is now hidden from our view. The smile that Reb Yochonon bequeathed upon people was readily there, although he himself buried ten children. Similarly, there is a video clip which went viral, taken during Chaim’s first chemotherapy. Sitting in the treatment center surrounded by a makeshift kumzitz (Oh, how Chaim loved music. His closeness with Shlomo Simcha, Shlomi Dachs, and many other performers, the trademark M’imkomcha which was sung by every LOBO chasanah, etc.), he left a parting message to the world. While smiling and winking, he pointed to the chemo pole adorned with all kinds of medicine bags, and jokingly said, “As I sit with my refreshments, I am doing great. And to my friends on the World Wide Web,” and then he took his hands to his mouth and threw his trademark kiss, and said, “I love you all.” That ability to smile for others, even under the harshest circumstances, is something we can all try to emulate. Chazal teach us “Shma Garim,” a name foretells a person’s destiny. His name was Chaim and he had an amazing zest for life. How he enjoyed a Chasanah! But not the sweetbreads and stuffed cabbage like most of us. Not even the band, although he certainly enjoyed that. He loved sharing in the joy of the choson and kallah. Sometimes he paid for the wedding, but that’s beside the point. His trademark Lobo dance on the dance floor radiated his excitement for the new young couple. Chaim, I conclude with an apology. I merited getting to know you through our mutual love for paddleball, then you became my Talmid, but there are so many people who knew you better and much longer than I, and could have given you a much more knowledgeable tribute, so let me just say that this is just the beginning of the story. Now that you are in Shamayim, please be a meilitz yosher for your dear family, your incredible circle of friends, for all those you supported, and for all of Klal Yisroel. We miss you and love you and may we be reunited with T’chiyas Hameisim speedily in our days. Please learn and daven for the refuah sheleima of Miriam Liba bas Devorah, b’soch shaar cholei Yisroel.

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Chaim “Lobo” SiLber a”h “a Friend in Deed – a Friend indeed” by heshy Walfish

How does one deal with the devastating loss we have suffered? How does one reconcile one’s conception of the world as it was and as it now is? How does one come to grips with this new reality… a reality that must go on without the dynamic, welcoming, larger-than-life presence of Chaim “Lobo” Silber? Chaim and Heshy at a co-worker’s daughter’s wedding.

n a very personal note, it is hard for me to write this. As I write, it has now been two weeks since the p’tira of this amazing individual, and I am not one bit closer to having an answer to any of these questions. I must confess that I am still reeling and having trouble wrapping my mind around the enormity of the loss. I consider it one of the highlights of my life that I was privileged to not only call Chaim my friend, but to have worked so closely with him over these last twelve years in every aspect of his businesses. His computer leasing business, which he built from nothing into a thirty-five year successful enterprise, and, equally as important, if not more so, his vast chesed network which, while well-known - perhaps legendary - was operated in a low-key, understated manner, one I likened in my hespid at the levaya to the tip of an iceberg. So, so

much more lay deep beneath the surface. So how did Chaim Silber, a Torah Vodaas yeshiva boy, become the world-famous Lobo? As Chaim told me many times, one of his proudest accomplishments was one over which he had no input, no choice; namely his parents! Often when asked to what he attributed his sterling midos he would reply, “Ich bin Kalman Zilber’s ah zeen - I am Kalman Silber’s son.” Chaim’s kibud av v’eim was exemplary, and with good reason. He credited them with instilling in him the kavod habrios - the respect for people’s feelings, that was the hallmark of his daily interactions. He told me a story of once sitting with his mother in a hospital cafeteria. She asked someone to bring her some sugar for her tea. Before the person returned, someone else gave her the sugar. She thanked that person but didn’t use the sugar, preferring to wait until the one she asked came back, so as not to have to tell that person that the chesed performed for her had been in vain. This sensitivity to others became a hallmark of Chaim’s sterling personality. I first met Chaim in the summer of 1976, when we were both in a bungalow colony in Kauneonga Lake in the Catskills, or the “mountains” as they are affectionately known. We spent two more summers together there and then, when the colony was sold, moved on to a colony called Julene’s, which shortly thereafter was renamed Green Tree Acres, where we spent the next thirty-eight summers, together with an amazing group of people who over time became much more than a group of friends, but rather a true, bona fide family. It was there at Green Tree that “Lobo” became more than a nickname and developed into a fullfledged persona. It began with our softball team. The OBBL - the Orthodox Bungalow Baseball League - is a fixture of summer life in the mountains, but it was not always so. The league was

actually an outgrowth of the team we had in Kauneonga. Chaim would, through his network of friends at other colonies, arrange for us to play competitive games each Sunday. It was from this effort that the OBBL was born. Chaim was integral to its beginning and a major component in its development and continuation. His team - our team - took on his nickname Lobo as the team name, and quickly became a dominant force, winning many championships over many years.

But as omnipresent as Lobo was on the sports fields, it was in truth only a small part of the chesed that was an integral part of his daily life. Chesed was as natural to Chaim as breathing. He could not survive without either. And it wasn’t just the giving. Anyone can give. Even poor people give tzedakah. It was the way he gave. I never saw him reach into his pocket for even a few dollars or write a check, no matter how small, without taking the time to interact in a meaningful way with the person who was the recipient of his tzedakah or chesed. This above all else was what made him special. His empathy, his connectedness, his willingness to involve himself in the details of the situation that caused the person to seek him out was unparalleled. So strong was his connection to people, very often his personal involvement would continue long after the need for monetary assistance had passed, as people whom he had helped came to rely on his warmth, his friendship and his sage advice. Chaim made sure those connections stayed strong by including them on his Erev Shabbos call list. I spent countless Fridays with Chaim and sometimes feared that his famous flip phone might have to be surgically removed from his ear! The day was filled with warm wishes to countless people; widows, orphans, the elderly... the list went on and on. Truly, chesed was not a vocation for Chaim. It wasn’t even an avocation. As a way of maintaining our distinct identity, Chaim’s It was truly his lifeblood. niece designed a logo which Chaim put on T-shirts and caps And it wasn’t just people who sought him out who rewhich were distributed to the team prior to each season. Litceived his undivided attention. As I also said at the levaya, tle by little, as more and more people began to understand there were so many times I would witness an innocent rethe Lobo philosophy behind the Lobo insignia, the amount mark, by some person not known to either of us, lead Chaim of shirts and caps grew and grew until just about anyone on a journey of discovery to see just what he could do to who wanted one got one. And each one came with a personhelp. I’ve seen some of those situations turn into multiple al message from Chaim, whether spoken when handed over years of support for people he had never previously met. in person, or written when sent through the mail - “Wear There are so many stories, I could fill this magazine and With Pride!” You are part of a unique team. Not the softball still keep writing, but Chaim wouldn’t want that. As outgoteam, where only a select few could play, but the greater, ing and personable as he was, his chesed was always done much more important team, Klal Yisroel, which was discretely, always mindful of the feelings of the recipients. Chaim’s true team. He imparted to everyone his message of He didn’t trumpet his acts of kindness nor did he seek apmentshlichkeit, sportsmanship, and ehrlicher, yiddish beprobation for them. He just did them. Quietly. Efficiently. havior. While to some, sports may Constantly. To say he will be sorely seem a minor, even frivolous pur- Chaim and his brothers walking their mother, yibode l’chaim, missed is to understate in the exdown the aisle at his daughter’s wedding. suit, Chaim understood its power treme. and used it to spread his message I will, however, speak briefly worldwide, sponsoring teams, here of his last days as they related to his and in Israel, whose participants entire, year-long ordeal. were thus enabled to channel their Chaim received the diagnosis competitive spirit in keeping with of his final illness mere days before Chaim’s overarching philosophy. In his youngest daughter’s wedding; a this way Chaim became known to, celebration that had been elaborateand was an influence on, generaly planned and eagerly anticipated tions of kids who grew up playing for months. Unwilling to cast a pall on Lobo teams and absorbing his on the upcoming simcha, he told message of achdus - togetherness. no-one in the family, not even his The outpouring of love and sorrow wife, relying instead on the support from these kids upon hearing the of a few close friends to help carry news, so many now adults with kids him through the night in the proper of their own, was a testament to his frame of mind. And boy did he pull long-lasting influence. For this it off; being not only the proud and alone his memory should be a happy father, but the Lobo-at-ablessing. chassanah that so many others had

been privileged to see at their and conserve whatever warmth own simchas. he could. And it was from unThe very next day after der those blankets that we conthe wedding, early in the ducted our last meeting. With morning, he went to the hospijust his eyes, nose and mouth tal and underwent a procedure showing, he instructed me to confirming the dread diagnoanswer the ubiquitous wedding sis. From that point forward, and bar mitzvah invitations that using all the experience we had been piling up; how much had gained helping other peoto give as a gift and what to say ple in similar circumstances, in the personal notes that acwe focused on getting him the companied them. I wrote then, best care possible. Early on it as I write now, with tears seemed there was a real streaming down my face. How chance to beat the odds, if he could this be on his mind now. could get to a point where a But then I realized. How couldsurgical soultion was a possin’t it. This was the identity, the blility, and he put himself very soul of the man. The next through all the debilitating day, the very best of us was treatments required to reach taken away. Chaim in Israel on Succos that point. Unfortunately, it The rest of that day, and was to be in vain, as surgery turned out to be not feasible. the levaya the day after, are still pretty much a blur to me. I Despite our best efforts the disease had spread. have vague impressions of the huge, overflowing crowds, As the days and weeks and months went by, we tried as both at Shomrei Hadas Funeral Home for the hespedim and much as possible to keep to our regular schedule, meeting Wellwood Cemetery for the k’vura. He touched so many every day to discuss matters from the mundane day-to-day relives, and so many came to pay him his proper kavod sponsibilities, to the far loftier tzedakah and chesed pursuits ha’acharon. He deserved every bit of it and I will miss him that truly drove him forward. He remained totally committed terribly. to maximizing his remaining time to its greatest effect. As we approach the yom tov of Pesach my mind turns But all too soon, even this became more and more difto one of the highlights of the seder - Dayeinu. I’m sure I’m ficult. Many times, during those final weeks, Chaim’s not alone in asking, “What do you mean, ‘it would have biggest complaint to me was that after a lifetime spent conbeen enough?’ No it wouldn’t! Not to cross the yam suf? Not centrating on the needs of others he had to be so focused on to receive the Torah!? Not Chaim at the ice cream truck he prohimself and the pain he was suffering. It broke my heart to to go into Eretz Yisroel? vided for at Greentree every Sunday. see him in that pain. How does this make I was with Chaim the night before he was niftar. By that sense?” I now think I untime his eating had become sporadic; and his nutrition and derstand. Any one of hydration had suffered for it. Hatzalah had been called to Chaim’s magnanimous acts give him some much-needed fluids but the relief provided of chesed would have been was only temporary. He retreated under his blankets to try enough. Any two. Any three. But it is only in lookChaim learning with his son Dani, circa 1978 ing back at the almost incomprehensible totality of his lifetime of chesed that we can truly grasp the enormity of the blessing we had in the person of Chaim Silber. While we who are left are forced to say Dayeinu, I know that Chaim will continue to advocate for all of us from his new position in shomayim. May he truly be a meilitz yosher for his dear family and friends, and for his ultimate team Klal Yisroel. Y’hei zichro boruch.

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HIS NAME WAS CHAIM SILBER BUT HIS HEART WAS MADE OF GOLD BY YOSSI TOIV

or myriads of people the Simcha of Adar was tragically turned to grief upon hearing the heart-breaking news of the untimely passing of our wonderful friend Chaim ‘Lobo’ Silber a”h. By now we’ve all heard many of the astonishing tales of his chesed, tzedaka, generosity of time and spirit, kindness and consideration, empathy and concern and almost apocryphal tales of his powerful, infectious, unbreakable bonds of true friendship and camaraderie that radiated love to all who knew him. And as my good friend, Heshy Walfish, who was his personal Gabai Tzedaka for twelve years assured me, what’s known is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg! His joie de vivre, zest for life, illuminated his smiling face and lifted the spirits of all around him. Although I wasn’t part of his special inner circle I had many occasions to experience his chesed magic first hand! I once received a call from a friend who was broken-hearted. It seemed his son and wife were experiencing fertility problems. Each treatment, he explained, cost $10,000! They had already had one which didn’t work. Would I be able to help them raise the money for another? I said I would, figuring it would take some weeks of working the phones. Since our Boro Park offices were in the same building and on the same floor I decided to try Lobo first. Suffice it to say with Chaim’s help the money was raised very quickly! Now for the really good news... within the

year the couple were the proud parents of TRIPLETS!! I wasn’t a close friend but when I invited him to my daughter’s wedding he made it a point to show up and hang around. His unforgettable solo dance

Yossi and Chaim at ‘The Shed” at Greentree

before the Chosson/Kallah brightened their hearts and added immeasurably to our Simcha! When our office was forced to move he generously offered us space in his. It was a large office used mostly for philanthropic, medical services, advice and financial needs and many other assorted chesed projects. A steady stream of people would come in

and always leave with a check in hand. Although he rarely came in personally his office staff was busy with gemillus chasodim round-the-clock. He loved our Country Yossi jingle and would sing it to me whenever he saw me. He once kiddingly asked me to write him a jingle so Heshy and I surprised him one day when we played him his very own Lobo jingle that we had professionally recorded in our studio. He loved it but refused to let us play it on the air! You see, it was too complimentary and Chaim in his humbleness felt too uncomfortable with such public praise. He was the quintessential behind the scenes type guy. He was the one that always got things done but when it came to taking credit he was nowhere to be found. Like Moshe Rabeinu “Hu’ish Chaim unuv m’od.” I’m in the process of rewriting the lyrics. When I’m done we will re-record it and have it played on the air. He now deserves the world to know how we all truly felt about him. The last time I saw him was last summer in Greentree Acres. He gave me a warm hug and led me to “The Shed” where he presented me with an honorary Lobo team cap. It will forever hold a special place in my heart. His passing leaves a painful void in our hearts but the lessons he taught us and the example he set for us will hopefully change us for the better. We will treasure his memory and the wonderful memories he generated forever.

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P E O P L E

Trump’s Shul By R. Collins

ven today, after Donald Trump has already been inaugurated as president of the United States, many pundits are still trying to figure out how it happened. How did the man with the smallest chance of victory manage to win this election, in complete defiance of all the predictions and assessments of the experts, and all the polls that seemed to be against him? In retrospect, there are many explanations for his astounding victory, some of which are more logical, while others are less so. There is one man, Rabbi Shmuel Wagner, who has no background whatsoever in the media or in political commentary, but who is confident that he knows of at least one reason for Trump’s stunning victory: the zechus of his father.

In an exclusive interview, Rabbi Wagner, mashgiach ruchani of Yeshivas Ohr Yerushalayim in Moshav Beit Meir, shares the incredible story of how Donald Trump’s father, Frederick Trump, built a shul for the congregation headed by his father, Rabbi Yisroel Wagner, and went on to make annual donations of funding for the kehillah and to aid Jewish families in financial distress.

THE RABBI OF TRUMP’S NEIGHBORHOOD After Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, several publications featured a grainy sixty-yearold photograph that depicts Fred Trump, the new president’s father, in a shul in the neighborhood of Flatbush in Brooklyn. The photograph was accompanied by a terse caption that did

little to shed light on the background to this unusual picture. Rabbi Shmuel Wagner is a son of Rabbi Yisroel Wagner zt”l, the rav of the shul in Flatbush where the picture was taken, and he reveals that there is truly an incredible story behind it. “To give you a little background information about Fred Trump’s generous donation and his special relationship with my father,” Rabbi Wagner says, “let me take you several years further into the past. My father was born in Galicia and was a tremendous illuy. He was a prominent bochur in Belz and was very close with Rav Aharon of Belz. He was about 18 or 19 years old when World War II began. My father was engaged at the time to a daughter of Rav Shraga Feivel Willig, the rav of the city of Buchach in Galicia. When the war began, he and his kallah were both displaced from their

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homes, and each of them miraculously survived the war. They were reunited after the war, also miraculously, in a displaced persons camp, and they got married in Salzburg, Austria.” From Salzburg, Rabbi Yisroel Wagner made his way to Bolivia, where he served as the rav of a Jewish community. “At first, my parents received papers for Bolivia,” Rabbi Wagner continues his account. “After he served as a rav there for two years, they came to California, in the United States, in the year 1950. That is where I was born. My father was the rav of a shul in California, but there were no suitable schools for children there, so the family moved to New York, where there were chadarim and yeshivos.” A few weeks after the Wagner family arrived in New York, Reb Yisroel was appointed to the rabbonus of a residential area belonging to a businessman named Fred Trump, father of Donald Trump. Reb Shmuel says, “Fred owned 31 residential buildings in the area, with many apartments for rent. It was an area on the outskirts of Flatbush, near the beach. Most of the tenants in those apartments were Jews, and almost all of them were irreligious.”

A SHUL IN A PARKING GARAGE Despite the fact that most of the local residents were not frum, they took an interest in Rabbi Wagner’s shul. “There was a minyan in the shul as soon as it opened,” Rabbi Wagner recalls. “There were Jews from Europe there, and they cared about davening in a shul. The shul operated in a parking garage of one of the buildings, and my father received the position of rav through a relative. “The shul began with thirty members, but it experienced tremendous growth in just a few years, to the point that it came to serve hundreds of families. Many of the mispallelim were not religious, but they were very much attracted to the shul, to my father, and to the warmth that he radiated to them. They loved the experience of the shul and listening to my father’s divrei Torah. And he, with his kindhearted manner and his trademark warmth,

taught them Torah and chassidus, at least to some degree.” At some point, the shul’s membership grew to the point that the facility was no longer large enough to house the congregation. It was understood that a shul needs to have a proper building in order to function. “My father had an idea,” Rabbi Wagner recalls. “He offered to approach Fred Trump, whom he didn’t know personally, even though Trump was his landlord. He hoped that he could use his wisdom to convince Trump to give him a building for his shul. He thought that he might influence his landlord by explaining that Jews, who were Trump’s largest group of customers, need a shul near their homes. He also knew that Fred Trump was a man of faith, and he was likely to relate to the request. “Thus, my father’s request appealed both to Trump’s emotions and to his shrewd business mind. And it worked. My father and Fred both understood that a kehillah that revolved around a shul would be a community whose members lead a proper spiritual lifestyle, and his business would benefit from that. My father managed to reach Fred Trump’s heart. Trump was very moved by the idea my father expressed and the two became close friends. Fred proceeded to donate a piece of real estate for the shul, and he even made a very generous donation so that a magnificent shul building could be built.”

“MY RABBI” According to Rabbi Wagner, not only did Fred Trump donate the plot of land where the shul was built and cover the expenses of the construction, but he also attended the ceremony at which the cornerstone was laid. “Fred was very moved by my father’s speech at the ceremony. He was highly impressed, and he became my father’s close friend. They met again and again, and over time they developed a close relationship. Trump viewed my father as a holy man and a great sage. He used to call him ‘my rabbi.’ “As I mentioned,” Rabbi Wagner continues, “the president’s father was very devoted to his Christian faith. So in addition to the business aspect of the

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shul, which he viewed as a very worthwhile move to benefit his Jewish tenants, he also put his whole heart into it. Over the years, my father had an official meeting with him once a year, in addition to the many other times they saw each other. At each of those official meetings, Fred would make a generous donation to the shul. In fact, most of the funding that maintained the shul came from Fred Trump. Rabbi Wagner adds that over time, Fred Trump’s donations grew progressively more generous. “Sometimes, my father would tell him about various Jewish families in the area who were needy, and he would give large sums to help them as well.” What motivated a non-Jewish businessman to make such large charitable donations to needy Jews? “He was devoted to my father,” Rabbi Wagner asserts. “He admired him deeply, and he used to ask his opinion on many things. He was very impressed by the fact that my father, a chassidishe Jew from Belz in Europe, became the rav of a more modern congregation and inspired many Jews to keep Shabbos and even to become fully religious. “In our area, there was also a Talmud Torah, a school for Jewish studies that was held after classes were over in the public schools. Fred Trump used to donate large sums to that institution as well. He was a very pleasant person with a very kind heart. Fred was also very serene and delicate. He was responsible for the beginning of Donald’s career.”

WHEN DONALD WORKED IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM Rabbi Wagner has vivid recollections of Fred Trump’s son, a wild, blond-haired youth. “Donald’s father left him and his brother an inheritance of over a billion dollars. In effect, Fred was the one who launched his son’s business career. I still remember going to shul with my father for Shacharis early every Sunday morning. The laundry room, where all the tenants washed their clothes in coin-operated machines, was in the basement of the building. And do you know who collected the money from those machines in the mornings? Donald Trump and his brother!

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“Donald was Fred Trump’s second son. I remember him from the age of about 14 or 15, with his wild shock of blond hair and his endless reserves of energy and drive. His father used to send him to collect the money from the laundry machines. Fred taught his children from a very early age to take responsibility; he gave them no breaks. Donald may have been wild as a youth, but his father raised him well.” Rabbi Wagner will never forget the respect that his father, Rabbi Yisroel Wagner, received from Fred Trump. “His respect for my father was incredible. He was a fine person with a generous heart. I have no doubt that that zechus helped Donald Trump, who was always very respectful of his own father and obeyed him in everything.” The son of “Trump’s rabbi” shares another interesting anecdote, from about two years ago. “My mother, who passed away about ten months ago, was called ‘the rebbetzin’ by Fred Trump. Two years ago, we celebrated her ninetieth birthday here in Eretz

Yisroel. In honor of the occasion, we sent an invitation to Donald Trump. We wrote to him about my mother, and we told him that we had known his father and we remembered him from his childhood. We asked him to write us back with a happy birthday message for my mother. To our surprise, he remembered the shul, and he sent us a very warm message, along with a picture inscribed for my mother.”

TRUMP’S FAITH During the election campaign in New York, Donald Trump told the Jews of the city that his father had built a shul there. He remembered the location well, and he recalled the work that his father had sent him to do in the residential buildings of the Jewish neighborhood. “Rabbi Wagner, did you ever meet Fred Trump?” “I was very close with my father, and I helped him with everything having to do with the shul. I learned in the Mirrer Yeshiva in Brooklyn, but every Sunday I davened with my father in

the shul, at his request. On a few occasions, I also joined him when he went to meet with Fred Trump.” “What did Fred say?” “Well, as I said, he was a man of faith. He used to tell us over and over, ‘I believe in G-d.’ He also used to say that in his eyes, my father was the epitome of what a religious clergyman should be like. Fred was a very moral person, and he worked hard to teach his children to be responsible, moral and hardworking.” In terms of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential elections, Rabbi Wagner has no doubt as to the reason. “This is certainly the reason for Donald Trump’s zechuyos,” he asserts. “This explains his shocking victory in the elections in the United States. I have no doubt of it. His father had the zechus of paying for a shul to be built and maintaining it for years. He gave money to many struggling Jewish families, and he gave great honor to the rav of the shul and to Jews in general. Donald has zechus avos, and that is what has brought him to the White House.”

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PASSOVER: The Greatest V’nahafoch Hu of ALL By Dov Shurin

ou know, it’s interesting that a person is permitted to recite the ‘Kidush Livana’ blessing - the monthly blessing for the new moon - on the night of Purim. And our Rabbis do NOT rule that it is better to recite the blessing BEFORE Purim night, because of the injunction that as a rule: ‘Ain m’oraven simcha b’simcha,’ meaning we should NOT mix one joyous occasion with another. A common example of that is if it is Friday night (Shabbos) and one remembers that he has not made the blessing on the new moon, and this night is his last chance, then he is allowed to make the ceremony with a blessing, but it is called b’dieved, as a last resort. Why? Because, as mentioned, we should not mix one joyous occasion with another. So, I must admit that almost every year I do Kidush Livana on Purim night. This year, as I stood with siddur in hand, My Beloved Maker sent me down a shalach monos’l! What is a gift from G-d, from Hashem? Well, we ask Him three times a day in our silent benediction, “Please favor us with ‘Deiyah, binah, v’haskel’ - with wisdom, applied understanding, and general knowledge. This was the shalach monos I received from heaven, and here is how... It was a clear, moonlit night, as I started to recite the ‘Sanctifying the Moon’ blessing, and suddenly a beautiful shalach monos-filled basket descended from the moon, it seemed, and landed right at my side (No! I wasn’t drunk, Wisenheimer!!). The beautiful basket was filled with chidushim treats. I pulled ‘out of the box’ a delicious reason for why, in fact, we do not apply

the injunction of not mixing simcha with simcha regarding saying Kidush Livana on Purim. The general reason is that Purim is a rabbinical holiday and the principal of ‘Don’t mix simcha with simcha’ is applied only when a Biblical’ simcha is affected. But this is refuted by our rule of going to ‘extra lengths’ not to undermine rabbinical decrees! (See Encyclopedia Talmudis). But my delicious chiddush is this: Chazal say, “Mishenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha,” When Adar comes we increase our joy. So, only in this Purim month, and on this Purim day, it is most proper to mix simcha with simcha. Because that is true MARBIM B’SIMCHA! This was never ever stated until the advent of the sage of the stage, Dov Shurin. And ‘out of the box’ I pulled another giggly treat! Question: From where in the Torah do we learn the rule of not mixing simcha with simcha? We learn it from our Elter Ziedeh, from Lavan! After tricking Yakov into marrying Leah, Yakov says, “I worked 7 years to marry Rachel!” “Ok, ok,” Lovon answers. “Wait until after the seven days of festivities and you’ll marry Rachel also.” Why seven days? Because ‘We don’t mix simcha with simcha!’ Boy, is this Purimdik! To learn this Klal from Lavan?! So then I started reciting the bracha, and I suddenly felt like I was ‘back in time,’ at the time of creation, when the moon had been the same size as the sun, but was now small, as a punishment for having asked Hashem to make it bigger than the sun. And my blessing was a declaration that soon there will be a future ‘V’nahafoch Hu,’

when the moon will again be as large as the sun! And in this blessing is also the prayer that the nation of Israel, which is compared to the moon, will witness our own, ‘V’nahafoch Hu’ and take our rightful position as Hashem’s spiritual teachers for the entire universe. Now I dance under the moon, begging Hashem to make me ‘untouchable,’ just as I can’t touch the moon. Followed by another ‘V’nahafoch Hu’ - inferred by our ‘Song of the Sea,’ after the army of Egypt drowned, when we left Egypt. We recite the verse - “Tipol ahleihem” You caused them to fall in fright, when they threw us out of Egypt. Then we read the verse backwards, ending again with their final fall. Or, in short: ‘Tipol ahleihem’ followed by ‘Ahleihem tipol.’ They fall, they try to reverse their mistake, but they fall again! Then we declare the Jewish ‘V’nahafoch Hu’ - Shalom Aleichem, Aleichem Shalom. In conclusion, after a review of this bunch of ‘V’nahafoch hu’s’ I wonder which one is greater, and preferred? The Purim one, when we subdued the enemy and killed them, or the Pesach one, when the Egyptians changed their minds and decided to recapture the Jews, but ended up drowning in the sea? I closed the siddur, pulled out the matza, the marror, the Seder wine, from my heavenly shalach monos basket. I smiled to Shamayim, as I realized that for the Shalom Alechem, Alechem Shalom Yiddin, for Jews who want to get ready on Purim for Pesach, the Passover V’nahafoch Hu is the GREATEST OF ALL!! When Hashem does our dirty work and our enemies have their great fall... A kosher’n Pesach to all. www.dovshurin.com- dovshurin@yahoo.com

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CONTROVERSY

TODAY’S TOPIC: What’s the Halacha: No Chametz or Sell Chametz? Lightbright: Come Pesach-time, may I… 1. Have NO chametz in my possession and property whatsoever, and thus none to sell to a non-Jew before the chag? Or must I, according to halacha… 2. Have chametz in my possession just so I can pack it away and sell it to a nonJew before the chag? Backstory: I prefer to be done with chametz before Pesach and that frees me of having to deal with any selling of chametz. Yet I don’t know if the owning of chametz pre-Pesach is a must and one must sell it because maybe that is a separate mitzvah and chiyuv (even if it is owning and then selling a cracker). Joseph: Have a chametz-eating contest the week before Pesach. DaasYochid: There is no mitzvah to sell chometz. There is a mitzvah to destroy chometz, and an issur to own chometz. So, having no chometz around is not an issue as far as not selling it, but you do lose the mitzvah of destroying it. WinnieThePooh Adaraba, There are those who are machmir and don’t sell chometz (they get rid of it all) and don’t eat any chometz that was sold by others after Pesach. There are those who only sell items that would be a big loss to throw away. There are those who sell closed packages only. There are those who won’t sell actual chometz, but will sell not-kosher-for-Pesach things that don’t have actual chometz in them. There are so many different approaches, which is why that now you have a basic understanding of what the issue is, you can ask your Rav. Lilmod Ulelamaid: You don’t have to have chometz to sell. In fact some people say it’s better to

get rid of all your chometz beforehand and NOT to sell it. Some people will even throw all their chometz out or burn it rather than sell it (because they hold it’s better NOT to sell chometz). Others will give it away to people who do sell chometz. There is nothing wrong (to the best of my knowledge) with not having chometz to sell. However, I think you might have to do a “mechiras chometz” (selling chometz) anyhow, even if you don’t have any real chometz to sell, just in case you do have chometz around. Before you sell your chametz, if possible, you should know what cabinets, etc, will have things in them that you are selling, and you should know what specific items you are selling (the Rabbi will ask you to list the places, and he might ask you what items you are selling). Aside from food, there are many products that may be chometz. There are also different opinions regarding which products have to be kosher l’pesach. By products, I am referring to things such as shampoo, conditioner, makeup, other hair products, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. There are books available that list the kosher l’Pesach products. But you should also ask your Rav about this since there are opinions that some of these items don’t have to be kosher l’Pesach. Lightbrite: Public Service Announcement: Do NOT get rid of dry oats in the garbage disposal! Under the drain hole in my sink is this vicious bladed creature (appliance/machine) called a garbage disposal that grinds up food waste before it drains into the pipes. So if I have scraps of food from my plates, or pieces of cooked broccoli that would stink up my kitchen trash if I tossed them in the trashcan, all of those bits get shredded up in the disposal. So last year, I put dry oats into the garbage disposal because I had already thrown out my last garbage bag of chametz trash and then realized that I still had some oats. I figured that I can save myself one more garbage bag and a trip to the dumpster by getting rid of it in the garbage disposal before kashering my sink. Needless to say, last year I got a brand new garbage disposal for Pesach.

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Sounds good, but what that really means is that the sink’s drain pipe was clogged, and it was filled with irky still water. Then, lucky me, I got to suck up the water with a turkey baster, as I waited another day or so for the plumber to install a new garbage disposal. The plumber said that his wife once did the same thing with dry rice. Which brings us to… Public Service Announcement #2: Do NOT get rid of dry rice in the garbage disposal. (See the reference about the plumber’s wife) WinnieThePooh: I don’t think people actually sell their pots and pans to the goy - only the chometz on them. If they did, they would have to toivel all the pots and pans after they buy them back, no? I know we do sell the pots and pans to the goy, but I never really understood it. Assuming the pots are clean, no real chometz on them, and cabinets were washed down from crumbs. All that would be left would be a taam of chometz on the pots themselves, but would that count to be sold? Anyway we do biur chometz, and nullify anything left. So what exactly are we selling to the goy when we sell our pots/pans/kitchen cabinets? Lilmod Ulelamaid: My understanding of the practice has always been that they are selling the chametz on the pots and NOT the pots themselves, since selling the pots would require tevila as you pointed out. My understanding is that it’s a chumra since there is (hopefully) not a kezayis of chometz in your pots. M’ikar hadin, while one is not allowed to eat any amount of chametz on Pesach, you are allowed to have chametz in your possessions if it’s less than a certain amount. I used to think that amount was a k’zayis but most people I know seem to say that it has to be less than the size of a cheerio, so I think I was mistaken about the k’zayis. In any case, you would not have chametz in the amount of a cheerio on your pots either. However, there are people who are makpid not to have ANY amount of chametz in their possessions on Pesach (either because they are being machmir or because they are going by another opinion). Presumably, these are the people who are selling the chametz on their pots. I don’t think it’s the b’liah they are selling - I think it’s any grease that may be left on their pots if they didn’t clean them super well. But again, everyone should check with their Rav. Personally, in my home we never sold the chometz on the keilim, but now that I sell my own chametz, I think I remember that it’s automatically included on the form, so I think I do end up doing it anyhow, but I’m not sure. Lightbrite: Hashgacha Pratis! Tonight I went to the grocery store and in the other line I saw what I thought was a local frum Jew buying a lot of Purim party stuff (Kedem grape juices and disposable plates in extra large quantities). So I was thinking, “Should I ask? Maybe I should ask? Naw, I don’t want to bother him. No, I should ask. No, he is about to leave.” Finally, he was paying and I couldn’t take it anymore so I said, “Excuse me, but do people sell their dishes?” There was a pause, then I realized that I should add “for Pesach.” Turns out that he is a Rav. And according to him, you sell your ENTIRE house. Yes, that’s right. Even after cleaning, the house no longer belongs to you during Pesach. You sell it to a non-Jew and then get it back after Pesach.

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That’s because there is still lingering chametz, he said. (There is no way to get rid of it all, so we sell any traces.) Yepp yepp - Moral of the story: Doesn’t matter if I don’t have chametz foods and my house is clean, my house (including dishes of course and everything else) must be sold for Pesach. He said to just go to my Rabbi and fill out a form and the Rabbi will do it for me. Lilmod Ulelamaid: Just check what items in your house you are allowed to use if everything is being sold. I always thought that if you sell your house for Pesach you can’t enter it on Pesach, but I guess your Rav holds differently (or I’m wrong). Lightbrite: I’ll ask. Maybe it’s like I am renting the space but nothing belongs to me? Will let you know when I find out. Lilmod Ulelamaid: It sounds like maybe the whole house belongs to you and you are just selling the chometz in the house, so I guess that’s why you can be there. But I always thought that when people sell their sefarim (technically the chometz in the sefarim), they are supposed to try to avoid using the sefarim or something (although I never really understood what that meant - either they should be allowed to or not allowed to.) Basically, these halachos are confusing and I never really understood how any of this works, and there are probably lots of opinions and lots of different situations, so just ask your Rav and do what he says. I’m very happy you asked him the main questions meanwhile and got the answers. Geordie613: It is imperative to take instruction from a competent Rav in Pesach matters. Some of the things said here are not accepted by everyone. I’ll give a few examples. Finding chametz on Pesach - It is not simple just to burn it. You are thereby showing ownership over it. If it is sold, it is no longer yours. You would have to ask your Rav if you can destroy it. It will depend how much it is, how edible it is and some other things. Selling your house - Actually selling? Or just renting to the goy? Selling implies a deed of sale and lawyers and everything. Selling chometz is not a joke, it has to be a legal sale. If you look on YouTube for “gateshead rav chametz” you can watch Rav Zimmerman conduct the sale before and purchase after Pesach of the chometz from a goy. Chometz of a certain size - Keeping chometz of a certain size should not be allowed. It may be technically permitted, but we don’t because it may come to be eaten. Cosmetics - Some are very particular to go through their whole cosmetics stock checking each item. Others hold that they are no longer edible for a dog, and therefore not considered chometz. Kitniyos - a huge subject, and dependent very much on family and local custom. This is just a small example of questions that come up, and you will find many conflicting opinions. Your Rav will probably be giving a series of shiurim in the run-up to Pesach about all these questions and lots more. As learned and experienced as some of us may be, we are at the end of the day anonymous people with laptops, PCs or smartphones. Nothing can or should replace your reliable competent and caring Rav.

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P CHICKEN SOU D N A E V O L H EMUNAH WITHEVED RIGLER - ARTSCROLL O SARA Y KIDS SPEAK 9ALDER - ARTSCROLL CHAIM W N RAV GUSTMAAGE - ARTSCROLL DAVID P OP A YIDDISHE KLLACK O GADI P M RLD OF CHEL THE SILLY WOGOLDSTEIN - FELDHEIM ZALMAN K9 PEOPLE SPEA ALDER - ARTSCROLL CHAIM W EARLY YEARS BERLANDER AND SHMOTKIN RABBIS O INCREDIBLE ACHMAN SELTZER - ARTSCROLL RABBI N AK TO YOU E P S T A H T S EIM PSALM ELL - FELDH B B EI L K O H YITZC CAUSE PRESS REBEL WITH A UDIT DJALILMAND - TARGUM SHIRA YEH

1. Simchas Hachaim - Aderet 2. Slow Down - 8th Day - Aderet 3. Lev Tahor 5 - Aderet

1. My Favorite Collection - Yaakov Shwekey - Nigun 2. Simchas Hachaim - Aderet 3. Project Relax - Nigun

1. My Favorite Collection - Yaakov Shwekey - Nigun 2. Fill the World with Light - Benny Friedman - Aderet 3. Lev Tahor 5 - Aderet

APRIL 2017 1. Mulei Simcha - Naftali Schnitzler - Nigun 2. Simchas Hachaim - Aderet 2. L'chaim Kindergarten - Nigun

IMPORTANT NOTE These ratings are supplied by the 7 major Jewish music outlets listed here, based on their actual sales over the last thirty days in the Greater New York area. The list does not reflect total sales of any CD. It does not include sales in other stores, cities or countries (Israel!). The list is designed to be an indication of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently popular in New York. Although every effort has been made to ensure fairness and accuracy, this list is published for entertainment purposes only and Country Yossi Family Magazine is not responsible for any inaccuracies or misrepresentations. 76

1. Slow Down - 8th Day - Aderet 2. My Favorite Collection - Yaakov Shwekey - Nigun 3. Bring the House Down - Avraham Fried - Aderet

1. Fill the World with Light - Benny Friedman - Aderet 2. My Favorite Collection - Yaakov Shwekey - Nigun 3. Lev Tahor 5 - Aderet

1. My Favorite Collection - Yaakov Shwekey - Nigun 2. Project Relax - Nigun 3. Lev Tahor 5 - Aderet

1. Little Lord Fauntleroy - Regal Productions 2. Wonders of Hashem: Up in the Air - Mitzvah Boulevard 3. A Matter of Chance - TECK Productions

1. Inter'n Rikken - Nigun 2. Simcha Leiner Live - Yochi Briskman 3. Wonders of Hashem: Up in the Air - Mitzvah Boulevard

1. Besimcha Rabba - Miami Boys Choir - Nigun 2. Mendy Music - Morah Music 3. Simcha Leiner Live - Yochi Briskman

APRIL 2017 1. Mali 2 - Malky Weingarten - Nigun 2. A Matter of Chance - TECK Productions 3. Bullied - Aderet

IMPORTANT NOTE 1. Farbrengen 1983 - JEM 2. Wonders of Hashem: Up in the Air - Mitzvah Boulevard 3. Mendy Music - Morah Music

1. 2. Mali 2 - Malky Weingarten - Nigun 3. Inter'n Rikken - Nigun 1. Wonders of Hashem: Up in the Air - Mitzvah Boulevard

2. Besimcha Rabba - Miami Boys Choir - Nigun 3. Bullied - Aderet

These ratings are supplied by the 7 major Jewish music outlets listed here, based on their actual sales over the last thirty days in the Greater New York area. The list does not reflect total sales of any DVD. It does not include sales in other stores, cities or countries (Israel!). The list is designed to be an indication of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s currently popular in New York. Although every effort has been made to ensure fairness and accuracy, this list is published for entertainment purposes only and Country Yossi Family Magazine is not responsible for any inaccuracies or misrepresentations. 77

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H U M O R Just Like Mother

Who, Me?

Yonkel was 32 years old, At the height of a politand still single. ical corruption trial, the One day a friend asked, prosecuting attorney at“Why aren’t you married? tacked a witness. “Isn’t Can’t you find a woman it true,” he bellowed, who will be a good “that you accepted five wife?” thousand dollars to comYonkel replied, promise this case?” “Actually, I’ve found The witness many women I wantstared out the wined to marry, but dow, as though he whenever I bring hadn’t heard the them home to meet my question. parents, my mother does“Isn’t it true that n’t like them.” you accepted five thousand His friend thought for a moment dollars to compromise this and said, “I’ve got the perfect solution. case?” the lawyer repeated loudly. Just find a girl who’s exactly like The witness still did your mother.” not respond. A few months later they Finally, the judge met again and his friend asked, leaned over and said, “Sir, “So nu… did you find the perplease answer the quesfect girl? Did your mother like tion.” her?” “Oh,” the startled With a frown on his face, witness said, “I thought he OTE IN THE OTEL Yonkel answered, “Yes, I found was talking to you.” the perfect girl. She was just like H.N. A rabbi meets a couple and asks them my mother. You were right; my Flatbush how many children they have. “Sadly, we mother liked her very much.” are not blessed with any children yet,” they The friend said, “Then Trading Places say. what’s the problem?” “Let me write down your names and Yonkel replied, “My father My wonderful wife place a note in the Kotel, for a blessing,” didn’t like her.” finally got frustrated with says the rabbi. B.G. our usual Sunday routine, Williamsburg In a voice that told Five years later he meets the woman me she meant business again and asks, “So, how is the family?” she “offered” me the fol“Well, rabbi, we were blessed with 10 chilSaying Thank You lowing proposal. dren; two sets of twins and two sets of “Here’s the deal,” she One year, Bubba Sara detriplets.” said, “next Sunday we’re creed that she was no longer “Amazing! I would like to congratulate going to trade jobs.” going to remind her children your husband. Where is he?” “You are going to get about their thank-you note duthe children fed, dressed ties. As a result, their Bubby “He is in Israel,” she replies. and ready to go, and I’ll never received acknowledg“What is he doing there?” go out to the car and honk ments of the generous checks “Trying to find that note you placed in the horn for ten minutes.” she had given for their birththe wall.” M.S. days. Crown Heights The next year things were the change in behavior?” different, however. Send your true anecdotes, embarrassing moments, bright say“Oh, that’s easy,” the grandmother “The children came over in person ings, real life experiences, or any interesting incident relating to replied. “I haven’t signed the checks to thank me,” the Bubby told a friend Jewish life in America to: COUNTRY YOSSI MAGAZINE, 1310 48th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11219. All printed submissions yet.” triumphantly. will receive free tapes or another valuable prize. Winners should P.Y. “How wonderful!” the friend exbring legal I.D. PRIZES WILL NOT BE MAILED Boro Park claimed. “What do you think caused e-mail: country@countryyossi.com

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H U M O R

Pre-Pesach starvation

t wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that long ago when, if you were hungry around Pesach time, you had some options. Nowadays however, this has totally changed. As soon as Purim is over and all the leftover nosh from the mishloach manos is gone there is absolutely nothing to eat in the house. This time of year is just right in that sweet spot when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s too late to be able to eat some real good chometz and too early to have delicious, yummy boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs. During this most trying time of year between Purim and Pesach - internationally dubbed by yeshivah bocherim as Bein HaZmanim - people have to become very creative if they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to starve to death. Some people re-enlist in kollel just so that they can have access to the food staples of the well-stocked coffee room. Other people have been caught staking out local soup kitchens in an effort to get a bite to eat. Sadly, many such people never eat at home again after eating at the soup kitchen, because the food at home is no longer good enough for them. In every neighborhood they have their own way of dealing with this terrible problem. Some neighborhoods have communal meals in the hallways of large shuls to minimize the spreading of crumbs. Other neighborhoods hand-deliver specially wrapped food packages with bitesized foods only. Some even more stringent neighborhoods allow only foods that come in capsule form, as an added precaution. Food is such a problem at this time of year that many people go on a full liquid diet. Now you would think

that this is a simple solution, but that would be far from the truth. There are many rules that come into play even with a strictly liquid diet. If you plan on going the smoothie route you must make sure that all the fruits or vegetables are able to be peeled. This is just in case a chometzdig pesticide was used. Most people who do the liquid diet choose the easier option of a cool aid drink. This is one hundred percent accepted - as long as you boil and sift the cool aid powder before using it. Aside from the issue of finding food that is appropriate to eat so close to Pesach, is the issue of where to eat it. There are many rabbinical opinions on where it is preferable to eat food so close to Pesach. Some say you may eat the food in the basement but only near the door and on a napkin on your lap. Some more lenient opinions say you can eat the food at a table but only on a table with a stone surface and if it is in the garage. Another opinion - and this is the most widely accepted one - holds that you must eat everything on the steps outside of your house but you must immediately hose down the steps the second you finish eating, lest a bird fly off with some food and drop it on your roof before Pesach. During this time of year life in general is exponentially more difficult and complicated than ever. You see, during these few weeks of the year the cleaning ladies are busy scrubbing and scraping all day while the women of the home spend all day scheduling. Every mother is busy working on setting up her weekly schedule, detailing which agency will be sending her which cleaning person on which day of the week. Many CEOs would be

jealous of the keen management skills these women possess. Once the cleaning schedule is set it is time for the actual cleaning. This means that every surface in the home must be scraped, scrubbed, kashered, toiveled, sterilized and disinfected. This does not merely pertain to surfaces that came in contact with food during the year but the same rules apply to anything that has ever been in the same room as chometz anytime throughout the year. It would be one thing if all the cleaning actually took place only in the home. But this is sadly not the case. Aside from scrubbing all the walls, ceilings and light fixtures in the home there is so much more that needs to be done outside the home. This specific, detailed cleaning regimen applies to anything that is within one hundred amos of the home. This means that the sidewalk, garbage cans, garage doors, fire hydrants and street signs must also be cleaned for Pesach. So much time and effort is put into the Pesach cleaning process that many a person has had trouble being able to stop. It is not uncommon to see people walking around their homes during the seder with a loaded Windex bottle, getting in just that one last spray. So remember, being obsessively clean is ok as long as you can manage to stay out of the hospital. Chaptzem is a heimishe blogger that authors the Chaptzem Blog, the most popular heimishe web-site. The Chaptzem Blog has been quoted many times in the mainstream media and is viewed by thousands daily. www.chaptzem.blogspot.com

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H U M O R

esach - the celebration of freedom. This is freedom??? This is slavery!! For four weeks starting with the day after Purim, I literally work like a dog to get things ready. The first thing to be cleaned out is my junk drawer. We all have one if not two of these in our kitchen. Everything and anything is thrown into that drawer. Rubber bands, loose change, Lego pieces, cassette tapes, pencils without points, receipts, coupons (usually expired), a hair brush, dead batteries, band aids, scissors, scotch tape, etc. I throw out a few things but keep most of them, only I rearrange it neatly, promising myself that from now on, I will keep the drawer nice and neat. “Ah nechtiga tug.” Within one week, the drawer is one big mess again. Then come the closets. All my closets look like the “Before” picture in the magazine ads. I have one whole rack of clothes that don’t fit me right now, but will when I lose ten pounds. Some styles are so old already, they are coming back in. I decided to keep everything. On to my husband’s side. There are three suits that don’t fit him, but he tells me not to give them away because if he loses fifteen pounds, they’ll fit him. Aren’t we a perfect match? The knapsacks I leave up to the kids to do. Last year when I went to clean them, I discovered penicillin growing at the bottom. Three weeks before Pesach we start eating in the basement so that I can set up the kitchen and start cooking some food. But first I have to call in a repairman. The cleaning lady took apart the gas range and doesn’t know how to put it back together. Everything is washed and cleaned and polished. Counters are covered with crazy patterns of contact paper which were on sale. No one is allowed to use the upstairs bathroom until Pesach. Since I’m having company, I’m busy baking a cake every night, or cooking chicken soup in a pot so large you could take a bath in it. Last year I had my parents, sis-

ters, brothers and their families over for Pesach. “Freig shoin nisht!” Cases of eggs, potatoes, onions, apple juice, orange juice, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, butter, potato starch, matzah meal, wine, cocoa, papers, nuts, oil and seventy-five pounds of shmurah matzah were delivered to my house. ANOTHER KAYL A CL ASSIC

K ay l a Kuchle f fe l FROM SLAVERY TO SLAVERY One by one the guests started to arrive. Within minutes the house looked like a tornado had gone through it. Every bedroom had opened suitcases all over the floor. Hi-risers were opened and weren’t closed or made until Chol Hamoed. Kids were running and screaming and crying all over the place. The potato peeling ritual began and enough garbage was generated to start a landfill. Two of the twelve cakes were already gone and there wasn’t enough hot water for everyone to take showers. One brother decided he wanted to use ‘real’ chrain for maror instead of Romaine lettuce. He ran out to buy a root and began grating it. My sinus condition, which I had been suffering with for three weeks, suddenly cleared up. Two hours before Yom Tov my husband decided he needs a new hat after all and also a haircut. I was busy making a last minute hem and lukshen at the same time. Finally, Yom Tov was here. The men and boys all looked very handsome in their new suits and hats. The children looked adorable in their new outfits - and we women looked like something the cat had dragged in! I quickly ran upstairs to do my

Cinderella act and twenty minutes later, I looked great except for the bags under my eyes, broken nails and an awful backache. While the men were in shul, the women set a beautiful table, all the while reminiscing about the Pesachs of our childhood. After sitting through arguments of what is the right size kos, and the right size piece of matzah to eat, listening to twelve “Ma nishtanas,” wiping up at least one-half gallon of spilled wine, listening to stories of how things were in the alte heim, and reviving my brother after he fainted from the maror, it was time for Shulchan Oreich. All night long I was busy passing platters of food from one end of the table to the other. By the time it reached me, nothing was left! For afikomin presents - don’t ask! One child wanted to go to Disneyland for Chol Hamoed, one wanted to go to Seminary in Eretz Yisroel and one wanted a mink coat (me!). After the seder we all went upstairs like zombies and were asleep the second our heads hit the pillows. The next day everyone we met asked the same question. So - what time did you finish? And no matter what time we said, they always finished half-an-hour later. The next seder night was an instant replay of the first. Same questions, same answers. I’m seriously contemplating moving to Israel. My son comes home from shul and his new suit pants are torn. Thank G-d I had bought him an extra pair of pants. So auf tzi lihuches the next day he rips his jacket. Chol Hamoed another headache. Where do we all go? The circus? Astroland? Nelly Bly? Great Adventures? The Aquarium? FAO Schwartz? The Statue of Liberty? The Hall of Science? The Museum of Natural History? We decided the Bronx Zoo. We packed lunches of hard boiled eggs, matzah, fruit, nuts, chocolate, macaroons (they get harder every year and I still can’t figure out how to open Continued on Page 83

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APRIL 2017

R’ Weiss… Cont. from Page 46 Finally, there is another important pursuit at the sedar. Rav Chaim Pulagi, zt”l, zy”a writes that the Haggadah was written by Rabbi Akiva. As such, it is part of the Oral Law and there applies to it the rule of “Ein cheiker lisvunoso” - There is no end to its understanding. As such, even if we were all wise and knowledgeable of the Torah, every year we can find many new lessons in the Haggadah. As the great Rav Yecheskal Saran says in the Haggadas Chevron, “Every time we open the Haggadah we can discover new lessons.” May it be the will of Hashem that this year’s seder opportunity should be indeed a multi-faceted and wonderful experience for ourselves and our families, and in this merit may Hashem bless us with a chag kosher v’sameicha, and with long life, good health, and everything wonderful. Please learn and daven for the refuah sheleima of Miriam Liba bas Devorah, b’soch shaar cholei Yisroel. Sheldon Zeitlin takes dictation of, and edits, Rabbi Weiss’s articles.

R’ Brener… Cont. from Page 48 in the Haggadah. Many things are done that night, in order to arouse the curiosity of these children, to answer their queries. It is interesting to note that these three categories: Eved, slave; Isha, woman; katan, child are exempt from fulfilling certain obligations. The general rule is that they do not have to fulfill a “mitsvah shehazeman grama,” an obligation that depends upon a time parameter. A valid reason for this could be that they are not the masters of their own time. In the case of a woman it is argued that her own body makes her aware of time. Yet, when we speak of Pesach, it is in effect eved, isha and katan who are some of the main characters of our story. Our rabbis say that women have to fulfill certain mitsvot that belong to this category “hazeman grama” because they also benefited by the outcome of the events. However, the Pesach events show that the former eved, isha and katan are an integral part of Kneset Israel, the Jewish World, and that their courage and effective participation insured the redemption from Egyptian slavery.

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Kayla… Cont. from Page 81 up the cans. Does everybody use a crowbar?) And we piled into the car. The zoo was crowded with frum people. All the kids were wearing navy blue Canadian jackets, and everyone was eating the same lunch. By the time we came home, my feet were killing me and I needed arches. The next day, we all went to the circus. We had seats so high up I got a nose bleed. Halfway through, the younger kids fell asleep. The others had more fun playing with their flashlights. At last, Yom Tov was over. The kids were grating on my nerves, fleishigs was coming out of my ears, and if I saw one more potato, I’d scream! It took me over a week to get the house to look normal again, and even though I promised myself no guests next year, here I am preparing for them all over again, because that’s what Pesach is all about. See you in the pizza shop right after Yom Tov!

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KATZ TRIMMING.............................................(718) 436-5198 ................................14

YOUR TOP PRIORITY ....................................(718) 853-1576 ................................11

KOLLEL CHIBAS YERUSHALAYIM...............(718) 633-7112 ................................13

ZELDA’S ART WORLD ...................................(718) 377-7779 ................................66

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